Fourth

 Hello Everyone!

For today I am entering The Card Concept and Freshly Made Sketches. Here is my card for today, enjoy!

The bald eagle is an iconic image for the United States along with the stars and stripes of our U.S. flag. For those abroad, the 4th represents the 4th of July or our Independence Day. 

I used the FMS sketch to creatively place the sentiment. The number four is from a Valentines Day die set. All I did was seperate the 4 from the rest of the pack. It was the perfect size for my design.

This image shows a wood pattern that was stamped lightly in white. It adds nice texture and creates a sense of Americana. The stars and strips were popped up using foam tape. The four is also popped up using some stacked die-cutting.

Challenges Entered:

The Card Concept: Challenge 176- Red, White, and Blue
Freshly Made Sketches: FMS538

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 are headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy.

All the best,

With Winter comes Spring

 Hello All,

For today I will be playing along with the Time Out Challenges. Here is my card for today, enjoy!

Nothing says Spring like Crocuses. This panel was colored using colored pencils on 110lb. cardstock.
I worked to create an ombre effect from the fresh green bottom to the sunny yellow to of the card.

I think the colors are fresh and Springy but I feel using white for borders and vellum behind the light bright sentiment gives it a more airy feel.

Our Michigan April has the cloudest on record. Ugh. So this card is going to someone local.
Someone who could use a bit of color this bleak Spring.

Challenges Entered:

Time Out Challenges: Challenge #212- Spring

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 are headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy.

All the best,

Feathers

 Hello,

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

Challenges Entered:

Freshly Made Sketches: FMS533

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 are headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy.

All the best,

Message in a Bottle

 Hello Everyone!

I have a very special post today because I am the guest designer for Color Hues! I just adore color challenges and this blog is absolutely no exception. I am so happy to be their guest designer! Here is my card for today, enjoy!

For me, the challenge from Color Hues screamed Ocean and Beach. So, I pulled out my Stamp Peddler (formally Peddler's Pack) stamp collection and came right to this image.
Stamp Peddler's images are so realistic and the stipple on the image makes shading a breeze. 

Guest Designing at Color Hues!

So happy to be here again.

I colored the image using bristol paper and alcohol markers. Wow! The bristol really made a difference when mixing media. I used alcohol markers over the entire image but then used multiple wax-based colored pencils in tan. It gave the aged quality I wanted and remained within the confines of the color challenge. After learning more about Brisol I learned I used the perfect paper! Lucky me and lesson learned.

I love the idea of a message in a bottle. The message in a bottle concept is so romantic, so random, but fated to find the right person. That is why I picked this sentiment. I foiled it using dark copper.

Thank you to Color Hues for having me this fortnight. I adore color challenges and was so happy when they asked me to be their guest.

And thank you, my reader, for stopping by my little byte of the internet. If you aren't already a follower I invite you to consider it. I share designs, techniques, and thoughts about well.... whatever is on my mind.  

So, join me as we all embark on our crafting journey together at TheGrandStampede. I hope you all have a fantastic day and lots of good crafting vibes headed your way. Stay safe and healthy!!

All the best,

Fresh Green Spring

 Hello Again,

Today I am playing along with The Color Throwdown (🧡the color combo this week) and Freshly Made Sketches. Here is my card for today, enjoy!

A very simple card with a fresh green color for a background. You will also notice butterflies adorning the background too. This was done by stamping the image with VersaMark Ink and then dusting pearl mica powder on the butterflies. 

The large white border gives the card a fresh feel of airiness. You will also notice the background butterflies are a bit more apparent due to the angle of the light. 

The single butterfly was a remnant from another project as was the 'wooden' circle. I think these elements balance the card nicely. The card is directly in the light which illuminates the single butterfly and the shimmer of the mica powder butterflies on the background.

Challenges Entered:
Freshly Made Sketches: FMS532
The Color Throwdown: ctd689

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 are headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy.

All the best,

Spotlight Hearts

 Hello All,

For today I am playing along with The Flower Challenge and The Color Throwdown. Here is my card for today, enjoy!

This card illustrates the classic spotlight technique. I stamped a very detailed image using shadow ink. I added a mask of hearts and stamped the detailed image again in black. I purposely didn't want to incorporate a lined heart. I wanted the color to do all the work. 

I thought this would be the perfect Mother's Day card.
The hearts signify mother and child. 

This detailed shot shows how the color did the work to outline the heart. However, after I stamped the image in black I did brush on a very light coat of shadow ink to help guide my way around the shape.

Challenges Entered:
The Flower Challenge: Challenge #67- Add a Heart
The Color Throwdown: ctd689

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 are headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy.

All the best,

Vintage Style

Hello All,

Today I will be playing along with The Card Concept, Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge, and Festive Friday. Here is my card for today, enjoy!

I am usually not one to create vintage cards but I had this patterned paper background and thought I would give it a whirl. I distressed the edges with DI Expresso and Tattered Rose.

The vintage layered die-cut flowers frame the sentiment nicely.
I chose the sentiment stamp because of its scripty feminine quality.

The wooden hearts are tinted with Tattered Rose DOI. 
I thought the hearts would add a nice touch and extra texture.

Challenges Entered:

The Card Concept: Challenge #173- Vintage Style
Festive Friday: Challenge #FF0107- International Dance Day
I chose pink, patterned paper, die cuts

Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge: #tttc158
I chose florals, patterned paper, die-cut

 

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 are headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy.

All the best,

Spring Tulips

Hello All, 

For today I will be playing along with The Paper Players and Freshly Made Sketches. This is a simple Mother's Day displaying the beloved Spring flower, the tulip. Here is my card for today, enjoy!

The theme April Showers is referenced by the fresh green colors and white space of the card. After a good rain, you can smell the scent of Spring and everything seems brighter and fresher than before.

The tulips are from a layering die set that sits on a fresh green background. The tulips are arranged at different levels. This caused me to cut down some of the flowers to fit the confines of the background. I think eliminating the bottom of the tulips makes for a nice design element.

Again keeping it simple and light with a Mother's Day sentiment strip.

Entering Challenges:

The Paper Players: CAS April Showers- PP587

Freshly Made Sketches: FMS532

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 are headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy.

All the best,

Turtles

 Hello All,

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

Abstract imagery of turtles swimming in the water is the intent of this card. The triangular facets seemed to contrast nicely with the curvy waves and swirly, yet geometric, turtle images.

The images were stamped directly on the card base, colored using alcohol markers, and then sponged the background using Savaged Patina DI over part of the images. 

Challenges Entered:
Freshly Made Sketches: FMS531
Color Throwdown: ctd688

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 are headed your way. I hope you all have a fantastic day and please stay safe and healthy.

All the best,