A Lil Sass

Hi - I played along with the SplitCoastStampers Free for All challenge today.  It's called 'I'll take a slice."  What it challenges you to do is take a slice off the front of your card. 

 My card folds at the top.  I trimmed about 1 1/4" off the bottom of the front of my card.  Then I attached the argyle paper from the Handsome Boy collection by MME, and used a border punch for a decorative edge.  I used the same border punch on the top of the yellow piece at the bottom, but you can only see it when it's open since it's hidden behind the argyle front.  The stamp set is Boots, Class and Sass from Unity Stamp Co.  I colored with prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits.  I finished with sequins.  It was really easy but turned out to be a really fun card.

Thought for the day:  "If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all.:  - Anna Quindlen

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!!

Playing with Backgrounds

 Hi!  Lately I've been seeing lots of backgrounds created with distress inks.  So, I decided to play along.  It really was fun using the distress inks and then watching the evolution of the backgrounds.  I only used two colors of distress ink on each of these cards.

For this card, I used Shabby Shutters and Faded Jeans.  I misted with water and then used a paintbrush to drop a few bigger water drops on it.  Once the water dried I splattered watered down white and black acrylic paint.  I used the Papertrey Ink Boy Basics Rock On stamp set and die.  I didn't use any dimension, so it's great for Operation Write Home.  The OWH Midweek Throwdown is to make a masculine card, so this works for the challenge too.

This one uses Pickled Raspberry and Dried Marigold distress inks.  I misted water and added a few extra water drops on this one as well.  I only used white acrylic paint for splatters here.  The stamp set is Live What you Love from Unity Stamp Co.  I also added 3 pink gems to the center of the butterfly.

These backgrounds were really fun to make, I made a couple more, but will share those another day.  I have more color combos I want to try too.  :)

Thought for the day:  "A kind and compassionate act is often its own reward."  - William John Bennett

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

Sharing 3

Hi!  I'm sharing three cards today because they kind of 'go together', at least for the sake of my blog posting.  :)  Sometimes I love the patterns on the patterned paper so much that I really want to create cards with it.  That's what I did with the 3 cards for today.  There is minimal stamping on them, but I really like how they turned out. 

All the papers are from the We R Memory Keepers For the Record collection.

For this card, I used 4 papers from the collection and colored the flowers and the green leaves with my Copic markers (the bird was already colored and the words were already on the paper).  On the inside I stamped a  Tim Holtz's sentiment that says, "it's the little things that make life BIG."

For this one, I used 2 papers from the collection as well as grey cardstock.  The faux washi tape and the doodled frame were already on the paper, so I just stamped the "Hi There!". 

For this one, again I used 3 papers from the collection.   The frame and the ribbon beneath it are already on the paper, so I stamped the sentiment, which fit so perfectly here.  The stamp is made by Inkadinkado.

For the thought for the day, I think I'll go along with the last card.  "Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase."  - Martin Luther King, Jr

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!!

Mother's Day Cards for Operation Write Home

Hi -  Today's cards are based on the sketch challenge from Operation Write Home.  I made a few more Mother's Day cards to finish packing my box. 

Here is the sketch:

Here are my cards.  This first one uses paper from We R Memory Keepers and Bazzill, prima flowers, a Quickutz die for the leaves and some soft twine.  These are not my go-to colors, but I like how it turned out. 

This one uses paper from We R Memory Keepers and Chatterbox and the same soft twine.   I love how this paper shines.  :)

Thought for the day:  "Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk."   - Doug Larson

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

Anchors Away...

Hi!  More inspiration from the Online Card Class and from my Mom.  :)  I was talking with my mom this morning and she said she wanted a card with an anchor on it for one of her friends.   I love when she does this  because it gives me yet another starting point!  So, for this first card, I used a new technique I learned from my CAS3 class as well as sketch rs#106 from Retro Sketches.   

This second card uses some patterned paper I had leftover.  I love the colors on this paper so it's been sitting on my desk waiting for a special card!   I am having fun using this anchor stamp and die set from Hero Arts.  It was an exclusive set for Archivers' which makes me a bit sad, but I do love it!

"

Thought for the day:  "People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously.  This is how character is built."  - Eleanor Roosevelt

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!!

Masculine Masking

Hi - I am still learning new techniques with the Online Card Class - CAS3.  However, I am learning that the CAS style is still a struggle for me, LOL!  

I LOVE the technques I'm learning and will definitely be using them but I might just be including them in cards that are more my style.  :)  This card uses masking to create the plaid, a REALLY fun technique!  The stamp/die cut are from Hero Arts and it is inlaid into the card creating one layer.  I love how flat I am learning to make my cards, it works well for mailing, which is what I usually have to do and it also works well for Operation Write Home!   I tried to make this a truly one layer card, but for me it needed the definition of the brown cardstock around the outside.   I really wanted to add more, like a fish-tailed banner with a sentiment across the bottom, but I kept it CAS.....at least for now.  :)

I am enjoying the class tremendously and will definitely look more closely at future classes.  :)

Thought for the day:  "There's not a lot of traffic when you go the extra mile. "  - unknown

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!!

Clean and Simple Card Class

Hi  Today is day 4 of the Clean and Simple Card class.  My 3 cards today are a mix of the techniques we have been learning.  

Operation Write Home is requesting Mother's Day cards right now and my box is almost ready to go so I decided to add some Mother's Day cards to it. 

The first one uses masking and stamp layering techniques.  Many of my supplies are in our storage unit, so I was worried that I didn't have a floral set that I could build on.  But, I found this one which is an old Heidi Grace set.   I used chalk inks and added some pearl pen to finish.  This truly is a one layer card, which is definitely not a strong style for me, so I was really excited with how it turned out. 

This one is made with the same supplies, and is also a truly one layer card.  :)

After I made the one above, I decided that I wanted to see how it would look with a bit of detail around the masked portion,  so I created an inlaid die cut to keep it as one layer.  I did ink around the die cut with a bit of blue ink before I put it back in it's place, but I do think I like this one a bit better.  

This class is so much fun and I really am learning a lot of good stuff!

Thought for the day:
"The true test of character is...how we behave when we don't know what to do."    -  John Holt

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!