Sympathy Through Sunlight

Hello Everyone,

For today I will be playing along with The Color Throwdown and Freshly Made Sketches. Sympathy cards are always difficult to make but death is something we all face. Here is my card for today, enjoy!

Flowers in silhouette with direct sun streaming through its leaves. 

The sunrays were done using Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide ink. Used my stylus and a template to keep rays even.

The direct sunburst was created by white acrylic paint. I applied the paint from the center and feathered it out in the starburst pattern. The paint and Oxide Ink reacted to create a white-yellowish tint to the paint. After it was dry I added a bit more Oxide Ink for saturation.

Challenges Entered:

Color Throwdown: ctd594

Freshly Made Sketches: FMS436

 

Thank you so much for stopping by and I do appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to spend time with me. Lots of good crafting vibes headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy. 

All the best,

Red, White, and Blue; Thank You

Hello Everyone,

For today I will be playing with The Card Concept and CAS(E) this Sketch. Here is my very patriotic card for today, enjoy!

This flag card is to honor my neighbor's friend who's service to the U.S.A. was one of honor and pride.
I had absolutely no idea he served until we were talking one day.
I thanked him and he brushed it off as if to say 'please! no big deal!'. His humility wanted me to give him a hug. Unfortunately, we can't because of social distancing.
So, I thought a card would be the next best thing.

I thought the design was appropriate because he is also an amazing wood craftsman.
The background on the card was created by a kraft CS base. I painted patches of it white for a distressed look. Then dry embossed it and dragged brown ink along the length accentuating its texture.

The flag, of course, is representational. My daughter said to only put on 50 stars. Great idea until you try to do it! I am sure I have more than fifty but who knows. Every time I would try to count them I got lost. 

Challenges Entered:

CAS(E) this Sketch: CTS #373

The Card Concept: Challenge #135- Red, White, and Blue

 

Thank you so much for stopping by and I do appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to spend time with me. Lots of good crafting vibes headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy. 

All the best,

Lovely Lilacs

Hello Everyone,

For today I will be playing along with Addicted to CAS, AAA Cards, and Stamping Sensations card challenges. Here is my card for today, enjoy!!

I found a technique on Pinterest, of course, on how to make lilacs using q-tips. I know it is an old method but I have never heard of it and was intrigued. I stamped some leaves from a retired SU set and got to work using q-tips to create some lilacs. It is probably self-explanatory but all I did was dip a q-tip in paint and dabbed it on the cardstock. Easy peasy! 

I used exactly one-third of the card base. I was unsure by just eyeballing it so I took to a ruler and measured it out. 

Challenges Entered:

AAA Cards: CAS Game #165- Up to One Third

Addicted to CAS: Challenge #184- Flower

Stamping Sensations: Flowers to brighten your day

  

Thank you so much for stopping by and I do appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to spend time with me. Lots of good crafting vibes headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy. 

All the best,

Simply Serenade

Hello Everyone,

For today I will be playing along with Time Out Challenges, Double D, and NBUS card challenges. I am using a stamp from one of my favorite stamp companies called Peddlers Stamp. I have wanted to use this stamp for a long time and now I have the opportunity! Here is my card for today, enjoy!

The violin, to me, is the essence of 'the arts'. It represents hundreds of years of history and culture. The instrument is both beautiful to hear and is visually stunning. I wanted to depict the music sheets as 'loved' and worn from practice and maybe a recital. This card can be for a myriad of occasions like graduations, congratulations, thank you, and the list goes on.
 

I started with the Peddlers Stamp and then colored it using a variety of alcohol markers. I then cropped and mounted the stamped image on brown cardstock. I cut around a piece of the violin and tucked the sentiment under the violin image for a nice touch.

I wanted to keep the sentiment simple, crisp, and not to compete with the amazing stippled background image.
Peddlers Stamps are so amazing and excellent quality. I just only hope my coloring is just as nice as the stamped image.

Challenges Entered:

Time Out Challenge: Challenge #161- The Arts

Double D Challenge: Begins with 'M'

My 'M' is music
NBUS- Challenge #14
First time using this stamp- 'Serenade' by Peddler Stamps

  

Thank you so much for stopping by and I do appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to spend time with me. Lots of good crafting vibes headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy. 

All the best,

Promises

Hello Everyone,

I hope this message finds all of you safe and healthy. I know we need to open up which rattles my nerves a bit but, that is not why I am here. I am here to enter my card into CAS Watercolour Challenge and CAS(E) this Sketch. Here is my card for today, enjoy!

Lots of color laid down to create this night sky. I got this technique from Kristina Werner. She taught me to use a simple Crayola watercolor set into a night sky.
 If you haven't seen any of her videos I invite you to check it out. She will not disappoint.

After the color layer was completely dry I started adding the black around the edges and then slowly going inward. Plus, the paper warped just a bit to create a darker edge. Oh, I love those happy mistakes! I think her technique was effective. 

This was probably the hardest part of the card was choosing a sentiment that fit the bill for such a pretty sky. I ran across this and thought it would be perfect. I used Versamark black and the MISTI to stamp it a few times to get the maximum black color on the card.

Challenges Entered:

CAS Watercolour Card Challenge: May 2020- Night Sky

CAS(E) this Sketch: CTS #372

 

Thank you so much for stopping by and I do appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to spend time with me. Lots of good crafting vibes headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy. 

All the best,

Superstar!

Hello Everyone,

For today I will be playing along with Tuesday Throwdown, INKspirational, and CAS(E) this Sketch. Space and stars is the theme of this post. So here is my card for today, enjoy!

The space scene was done by using Crayola watercolor, a white gel pen, and clapping hands.
I think it was Kristina Werner who taught me in order to get random spots on your card, you should spray your hands with water and clap over the panel. Works nicely
.

Per the CAS(E) this Sketch I ripped black cardstock and laid them on the edges.
I decided to rip them because of the untidy edges of our watercolored scene.

It doesn't show too nicely but the word 'star' is embossed using sparkle powder. It is an outline stamp which gave me the opportunity to fill it in using a white gel pen.

Challenges Entered:

CAS(E) this Sketch: CTS #371

Tuesday Throwdown: #457 - Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps - Tic-Tac-Toe

an image, a die, embossing

INKspirational- Challenge #213- Shake

  

Thank you so much for stopping by and I do appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to spend time with me. Lots of good crafting vibes headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy. 

All the best,

Vintage Facade

Hello All,

For today I will be playing along with Color Throwdown. The color and imagery intrigued me. I love the shabby chic-ness to the inspiration photo. The colors were such a pretty combination so I thought I would give it a try. Here is my card for today, enjoy!

What a card for our times. Not able to hug anyone while quarantined. We are, for now, left to look out our balconies or windows and think of all the hugs you would like to give but can't. This card may fill the gap between now and then.

Above: The background was probably most of the work on this card. I started by masking off the bricks and the balcony. I sponged the card with Old Paper, Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso, and Walnut Stain. I then added a layer of white pigment in to wash it all out. I then started stippling all around the card and around the stamping. I was imagining an old stucco building. I added a bit more sponging and streaks of white paint across the facade.  Below/Left: The vines are done with distressed gold patterned paper and brown paint lightly brushed on so the gold sheen would shine through. Bottom/Right: The brick was colored using waterbased markers that would resist the white embossing. I mixed yellow and dark red to make a brown terra cotta color.

Challenges Entered:

The Color Throwdown: 

Thank you so much for stopping by and I do appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to spend time with me. Lots of good crafting vibes headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy. 

All the best,

More Magnolias

Hello All,

For today I will be playing along with Freshly Made Sketches Challenge. Here is my card for today, enjoy!

A simple design using gray as a background color. I thought it added a bit of elegance to the singular magnolia on its dreamy backdrop.

I split the sentiment by stamping 'sending' and 'thanks' separately from the same stamp. I also like the color scheme on this card. The soft 'swishy' background really makes the magnolia look so pretty.

 What I really want you to see in this shot is the golden shimmer on the background paper. This was done by using leftover ink from another print and then added a bit of gold paint over the plate and placed the paper on top. I love the result.

 Challenges Entered:
Freshly Made Sketches: FMS434

Thank you so much for stopping by and I do appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to spend time with me. Lots of good crafting vibes headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy. 

All the best,