Dreamcatcher

Hello again Readers,

For today I am playing along with CAS(E) this Sketch with a card that I have always wanted to make but didn't think I had the materials to make it, that my friends, is a dreamcatcher. Going through my stash, I discovered I had plenty of supplies!! Here is my card for today, enjoy!

I didn't have dreamcatcher stamp, so I looked at my medallion collection of stamps and found
this oldie but goodie to use instead. I think it is a wonderful substitute.

The color and style of the designer paper fits the mood for the dreamcatcher.
I thought a simple sentiment and some string would be a nice touch with the sketch.

This photo shows the stitched detail of the dreamcatcher
as well as the colorful feathers.

Challenges Entered:
CAS(E) this Sketch: CTS #189



As you may know from my previous posts, we just returned from a Labor Day camping trip to Northern Michigan. To remember the trip I had the kids pick out one souvenir. My daughter and son both picked dreamcatchers. Very interesting and heartwarming because the entire way back to camp they were discussing what kind of dreams they were going to catch. And as they talked, I wondered where these dreams will take them?

Just a note: My daughter got her instrument and was very happy to start practicing with it. I had an entire two hours to spare!! More than enough time to get on it! My daughter even called me to tell me not to forget.. Good grief!! These not so great moments I call 'Mom of the Year' moments. Not my most shining moment.

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed your visit and am looking forward to hearing what you have to say. Do you have a 'Mom of the Year' moment to share? I will be back later today for another challenge prompt from PINspirational. So until then take care and happy crafting.

All the best,
Shawna

CAS Hello

Hello Readers,

For today I am playing along with Freshly Made Sketches and Color Throwdown. This was a fast design full of texture and color.. Here is my card for today, enjoy!

Challenges Entered:
Freshly Made Sketches: FM253
Color Throwdown: ctd409
  

My daughter is joining band this year.. Yeah!! However I am that mom that completely forgot to go out and rent her an instrument. And oh by the way her first practice starts this afternoon.. So forgive my short post but I have to go and get my daughter and instrument.

Thank you so much for joining me at TheGrandStampede. I really do appreciate every single visit; comment or not! I hope this finds everyone well and healthy. So until next time take care and we will see you soon!

All the best,
Shawna

Crisp Fall

Hello Readers,

Here I am again announcing another challenge at Make My Monday. Here is my card for today, enjoy...

One thing Fall has that I think most of the seasons don't have is texture!
I tried to depict the textures of fall though material choices, color variances, and pattern.
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Our challenge for the next two weeks:

Challenge #30

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Well that should do it for me. I hope you have a great day and thank you so much for stopping by my little byte of the internet. I do hope you will join us at Make My Monday. It should be fun! Until then take care and happy crafting.

All the best,
Shawna

Circular Peacocks

Hello Readers!

For today I am going to playing along with The Paper Players and Less is More.. These two blogs have inspired me to put two of my absolute favorite elements together; peacocks and circles!! Seriously, I couldn't believe my creative eyes!! So here is my card for today, enjoy!

Using a Spellbinders stencil created this bubbly
peacock colored background. Tape the stencil down, load up a sponge with ink, and apply.
Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy
(I say that to my kids all the time.)

Side view of the card. I wanted to border the white space so I thought this stitched rectangle die would do the job beautifully. Lots of white space around this (hopefully) CAS card. 

Left/Top: This angled view shows dimension provided by the peacock feather die cut. White simple with dots of color to frame the sentiment. Right/Bottom: This front view shows the sentiment as one. You can still notice the die cut dimension however you can also read the sentiment clearly.

Challenges Entered:
Less is More: Week #292- Colours found in a Peacock's Feather
The Paper Players: PP311- Circles

It was Monika Reeck from Creative with Monika who called me out!! She said in a comment that I loved circles. I never gave it much of a thought until I started looking at my work and holy moly was she right! Circles have is no end which rests my eyes and am in love with the curves they make. They just make me happy.

And peacocks are so majestic and fancy. They can play the part of feminine or masculine with their universal colors they adorn. It never gets old seeing a peacock spread those glorious feathers. And again peacocks just make me happy.

I guess today I can sum it up as happy! Rain is gone and I just made a card that I love.. Yup... Happy!

Thank you so much for joining me today.  I hope this card inspires you to somehow create your own happy. Take care everyone and see you soon. 

All the best, 
Shawna

Sunny Sunflowers

Hello Everyone,

I am back from a week long Labor Day camping vacation. We had some great family time with lots of marshmallows and laughs and some stories by the fire. But now I am back and hopefully have gotten some mojo back. With that said I am playing along with Inkspirational, AAA Cards, The Card Concept, and Inspired By All The Little Things. Here is my card for today, enjoy!

This is actually a stamp from Peddler's Pack that I stamped and then painted per the challenge
from Inspired by all the Little Things. You will see below how a grid helped me to keep the painting loose and dream-like. 

I wanted to follow the style of painting provided by the inspiration photo.
But I have never tried impressionist painting. So with a little internet research and YouTube
I thought I would drum up the courage to try it. 

The sentiment was done using a mixture of upper and lower case letters.
I thought it would be more fun plus it gets me off the hook if it isn't completely straight. 

I made this picture extra large to show the color variances and texture, both visual and literal of the painting. You can still see some of the grid but I think that is okay because I think it becomes part of the design. It doesn't seem to distract but add to the card.

I can not find the tutorial that shows how to use a grid to create the end result but I think by looking at this you can probably figure out how I did it.
And it just so happened I had the perfect grid stamp to overlay the sunflowers
then start painting squares different shades of yellow. 

Challenges Entered:
Inkspirational: Challenge #116- Primary Colours
Inspired by All The Little Things: Challenge #22- Sunflowers
The Card Concept: #57- The Rainbow Connection
AAA Cards: Game #72- New To You Technique

   

Wow was this fun!! But starting out I thought I could never complete a project in this free form, impression'ish style. Most of the tutorials online I saw the same thing. In the beginning of the process everything looked like a big hot mess. As they progressed however, it started to look..... well..... fantastic. 

With doubts and fears I placed my brush on the paper and started painting; you don't know until you try, right? Well I think this turned out beautifully! Love the mixture of the colors. This was due to the grid painting I did for the first layer and then allowing it to poke through the overlays of paint. It's not Van Gogh, Monet, or Renoir but I am proud to call it mine.

Thank you so much for stopping by my little byte of the internet. I feel refreshed from vacation and happy to be back in Blogland. If you are so inclined, please feel free to leave a comment. Until next time take care and happy crafting.

All the best,
Shawna 

Pastels Color & Medium

Hello Friends,

I am so happy announce that today I am the guest designer for CAS on Sunday! What a joy and a honor to be joining them here today. 

Their theme this week is all about PASTELS. 

I was so inspired by their theme that I made not one, but two cards for this challenge. Enjoy!

The boat is not hardlined but made to be mystical; I guess you could say spiritual.
The boat was created using stencils from Martha Stewart call Nautical Study and masking fluid.

When the masking fluid was dry I started my watercolor wash.
I tried to make sure the edges were blurry with no distinct line.

I removed the masking fluid when the watercolor was dry.
Then stamped the sentiment using two separate sets.

I wasn't sure if the theme of pastel was meant for color or medium. So I decided to use both thus my second card. Enjoy!

SO...

This card was created using the medium pastels.

The pineapple is a symbol of hospitality and welcome.
So I thought it would be fitting to use this sentiment.

I used a pineapple stencil from Dreamweavers and a
stipple brush to quite literally pound and brush the color on the paper.
The minimal color and white space surrounding the image makes it very CAS indeed.

I think what I like most is the way the leaves of the pineapple kind of
fade away but still keeping its shape. Fun surprise!
Pastels come in a variety of textures. Mine was very chalky and messy.
I decided to seal the pastels to avoid anymore smudging. 

So that is it for me! I want to give a huge thank you to CAS on Sunday for having me as your guest. I am truly touched.

And thank you so much 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 my crafting journey together at TheGrandStampede. Until next time, take care everyone and happy stamping.

All the best,
Shawna

Floral

Hello Friends,

Another month means another challenge at House of Cards. A beautiful card for a beautiful challenge, enjoy!

These flowers are so pretty. Using the masking technique allows one flower to stamped many times and look like a bouquet.

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The sentiment is so well placed right in the middle of the flourish (at least I think that is what it is called). It seems to blend into the design so nicely.

Left/Top: The card is bordered in white. It is meant to lighten the otherwise heavy scene. Lots of large flowers made finding the right sentiment difficult. They all seemed too small until I found this one. Perfect!! Right/Bottom: The set comes with series of stamps to shade the flower. I apparently need more practice. So I used the outlined image and colored it using watercolor. I still think it is so pretty and turned out quite well..

I am always so honored to be asked to make a card for someone to send out. But before I start I like to talk to the person who asked me to make the card what the back story is about. I think knowing why you are making a card beyond just the sentiment makes a better designer. This backstory was particularly tragic and so troubling to hear.  The woman was only twenty-one years old; that is tragic enough but when lifeguarding she was struck by lightning. It was a completely random accident. I cannot imagine her parents hearing this news. That who the card is for, the parents of this young woman who was taken so early.  

While I was making this card I kept silently asking her if I was doing what she thinks her parents would like. Strange I know, but in a small way I think she was answering yes. 

I know this a very somber note to leave on, but I do hope you will be able to play along with us at House of Cards. As usual we really enjoy seeing your take on the challenge. So please hop on over and see what the other8 talented DT's created. See you there and until next time take care.

All the best,
Shawna