Gross!

It's challenge #144 at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers, so what else could we do but G is for Gross? 

Instead of adding 144 images to my card, I went for the other definition of gross: 

Isn't he a cute little infectious disease carrier? That is a germ that is proud of his work. Since he's so happy, I concentrated on making a somewhat gross background. Iced spruce is my least favourite colour of distress ink, so I started by smooshing that onto some mixed media paper, adding a little bundled sage and fossilized amber oxide as I built up the layers. For dimension, I scattered some aged silver frantage embossing powder, and finally spattered it with some black soot distress ink. The bacterium is coloured with Copics, and the sentiment heat-embossed. Here's a close-up highlighting the inaccuracy of  my adding Glossy Accents to his eyes: 

Once you get over the cringe factor, gross cards are a lot of fun to make! Be sure to check out the gross creations of the Sisterhood as well as our newest Queen of Snark and guest designer, Helen. Show us your worst! 

Supplies: Neenah white & Recollections black cardstock, Canson mixed media paper, Paper Smooches Healthy Vibes stamp & die, Simon Says Stamp/CZ Design Simple Sentiments #1 stamps, Versafine onyx black, iced spruce & bundled sage distress & fossilized amber distress oxide inks, Wow clear gloss & Stampendous aged silver frantage embossing powder, Copic markers, MFT blueprints 29 stitched rectangle die, Glossy Accents, foam tape

Pin It Now!

DOG Days of Summer

Shopping Our Stash has a fun new challenge called "The Dog Days of Summer". All you need is a dog on your project! I can do that... 

Look at him, isn't he a cutie in his bow tie! I kept him simple, but went all out on the background with a stencil and two shades of distress ink. I tried to make sure his bow tie matched. The sentiment is a Tim Holtz sticker.  

And now that's done, back to my usual cat cards. 😹

Supplies: Neenah white & (?) blue cardstock, MFT Puppy Kisses stamp, Versafine onyx black & salty ocean & blueprint sketch distress inks, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, MFT stitched rounded rectangle die, Altenew weave builder stencil, Tim Holtz Small Talk Snarky sticker, foam tape

Pin It Now!

Age is Just a Number...

Let's Seize the Birthday today! Of course, birthdays mark the passage of time, and time in that sense seems to only move in one direction, which leads us to our newest topping...

IT'S JUST A NUMBER. Some birthday numbers are great: a first birthday, sweet sixteen, turning eighteen... but if you know my cards, you know I enjoy adding a little humour whenever possible, so naturally I went in a different direction: 

We actually did a very similar theme once before, and then as now, this sentiment is just too close to the theme to resist using it. I made sure the rest of the card was completely different, though. I added some caution tape stripes to my background with a Papertrey Ink set; one reads Caution: Another Year Older, while the other says So Many Candles... So Little Cake! For the cake, I used an Essentials by Ellen layer cake, with candles from the same Hero Arts set as the sentiment. Of course I had to add a little sparkle to the candle flames. Lots of stamping, so I am going to add this to Simon Says Stamp's Monday challenge: Stamp It. 

If you don't want to be as in-your-face about someone's birthday as this ;) remember that our toppings are always optional - we love to see any newly created card in our gallery! Our latest surprise guest, Annie and the rest of the Seize the Birthday party goers have lots more inspiration for you on the challenge blog. 

Supplies: Neenah white & Stampin' Up Cajun Craze (?) cardstock, Essentials by Ellen Wish Big, Hero Arts Irreverent Birthday & Papertrey Ink Caution Another Year Older stamps, Versafine onyx black & Catherine Pooler tiara & orange twist inks, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, Sugar Pea Designs card builder elements, Paper Smooches Bannerific & Spellbinders circle dies, Recollections clear glitter glue

Pin It Now!

On the First Three Days of Christmas

I've been making Christmas cards all year this year for ABC Christmas Challenge, but sometimes I like to make cards just for fun! Also, I've been missing playing along at Jingle Belles, where they have a fun challenge right now: The Twelve Days of Christmas. You can be inspired by the Christmas song, or simply use numbers on your card. I have the perfect set for that! 

I think if one tries hard enough, one can fit all twelve days on a card, but I was happy to use the first three. The idea to stamp the French hen (she looks so Francophone in her blue beret and red wattle) three times was totally inspired by Michele Ferguson. I like how the birds together form a Christmas tree shape (or am I stretching a bit? :D) and how they look with just pops of colour and some minimal shading. Only the pear got a little bit of Copic blending. 

This makes Christmas card #30 for the year! 

Supplies: Neenah white & Stampin' Up real red cardstock, Essentials by Ellen Twelve Days & Hero Arts Family and Friends stamps, Versafine onyx black & Catherine Pooler Rockin' Red ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers

Pin It Now!

The Snarky Sisters and Liquor

It's the weekend, and not surprisingly, Edna and the Snarky Sisters' thoughts turn to liquor. That's right, our newest challenge is L is for Liquor. Here's my sober take on the theme: 

Such a variety of martinis to choose from! Of course, eventually they all catch up with one. The martinis and sentiment are from a fun My Favorite Things set. The three glasses are mounted on fun foam to add some dimension. I'm adding this card to the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge Stamp It, and CASology's LOL challenge. 

My sisters in snark are of course offering lots more drunken inspiration on this theme, and so is our current guest designer and Queen of Snark, Julie! Grab an adult beverage and some stamps and join us! 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, My Favorite Things Martini Time stamps & dies, Uniko Background Builders Christmas 2018 stamps, Versamark, Memento pear tart & rich cocoa & Catherine Pooler Tiara & orange twist ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, fun foam

Pin It Now!

Happy Little Stampers ATC: Ocean/Sea

It's time for the September Happy Little Stampers ATC Challenge to begin! This month our theme is OCEAN or SEA. Funnily enough, this is the third time a team I'm on has picked this theme recently, so I was all set with pieces I could use as backgrounds! I had no trouble coming up with five ideas: 

Here are a few details about each one...

This background was made with Unity stamps and watercolour powders. My watercoloured crocodile (alligator?) is from Technique Tuesday and the sentiment from Essentials by Ellen. 

This shimmery background (if you squint you might see it 😉) is made with Twinkling H2Os and the plastic wrap technique. The cute little otter, coloured with Copics, is from Lawn Fawn and the sentiment from Sunny Studio. That wave I cut into the panel is part of an ATC die set from STAMPendous... how handy! 

This uses another part of the same panel as the crocodile ATC, this time with a My Favourite Things fish and a sentiment from Newton's Nook, tied on with some Hemptique variegated cord. 

Another piece from the same panel as my sea otter, but this time with a sea turtle stamp (from Hawaii!) stamped and embossed with one of my all-time favourite embossing powders, verdigris. Another sentiment from the same Essentials by Ellen set. 

And finally, another piece of watercolour powder background I happened to find, this time with a turtle and seaweed from Paper Smooches. After colouring him with Copics, I added a little sparkle to the edge of his shell. The sentiment is Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous. 

*SEA* anything that inspires you? My ATC teammates have lots more ocean-themed inspiration on the Happy Little Stampers blog. Never made an Artist Trading Card (or Coin) before? Everything you need to know is on the HLS blog, too! 

Pin It Now!