Tag Time!

I decided I felt like making a tag today. Perhaps it's in anticipation of my friend Tracey's 25 Days of Christmas Tags, which starts tomorrow! Last year I managed all 25 days, which for me is practically unprecedented. I'm not going to hold myself to matching that this year, but I'm hopeful. ;) I did need a little extra inspiration today, though, so I went to another challenge that Tracey is involved with, Tag You're It. The current featured tag is by Rubeena Naz: 

I followed the double tag format, the offset watercoloured image with a small sentiment over it, but otherwise went far less glam... and Christmas:

I grabbed this cute Charlie Brown-style tree image and stamped it just off the edge of the tag before watercolouring it. Of course I had to add some glossy accents to the red ornament. Instead of glitter paper for the second tag layer, I grabbed some patterned paper, and rather than sequin strings, raffia and jute twine. 
I'll be back tomorrow with the November Naughty or Nice challenge... and just maybe the first of 25 tags?

Supplies: Strathmore mixed media cardstock, My Mind's Eye Vintage Christmas patterned paper, Unity Small Stuff Christmas stamps, MFT black licorice ink, Zig real brush clean colour markers, May Arts jute twine, red raffia, Glossy Accents

Spooky...

It's time for a new challenge at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers! 

W is for Watercolour! One of my favourite things to do, and definitely popular in the cardmaking world. My card may not be too snarky, but at least it's spooky... 

I've used three different types of watercolour for this: watercolour powder for the sky, Twinkling H2Os for the ground, and distress markers for the moon, cat and jack o' lantern. I had used masking fluid to protect a moon-circle in the sky before using my powder, but whether my masking fluid is just too ancient or the watercolour paper too porous, some of the paper rubbed off with my mask after everything was dry. So I had to settle for an inlaid die cut circle instead. Otherwise, this turned out much as I hoped it would. Although you can't see in the photo, I brushed the bat with black Wink of Stella to give him some sparkle. I debated adding a sentiment, but decided to leave it for the inside. 
Feel like having some watery fun? Come and play along with my snarky sisters as well as this week's guest designer, Lauren! 

Supplies: black cardstock, Strathmore watercolour paper, Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Crazy Cats & Crazy Things stamps & dies, MFT black licorice ink, Magenta Nuance cerulean blue watercolour powder, distress markers, Twinkling H2Os, MFT inside and out diagonal stitch & Spellbinders circle dies, Martha Stewart bat punch, Wink of Stella black glitter marker, pop-dot tape

Pin-Sights Challenge Revisited

I decided I should play along with the current Ellen Hutson Pin-Sights challenge, only this time pay attention to a bit more of the inspiration board than the upper right photo. :D

So this time, I've incorporated autumn colours and pumpkins, not just the little ghosts in one corner. 

I combined two different stamp sets for this: almost everything comes from Got Candy? but I also needed Thankful because I wanted the pumpkins to sit on a bed of leaves. I think I set a personal record for number of inks used on one card! Five for the leaves (even though in the end you can barely see them, but hey), an extra orange plus green for shading the pumpkins,  a different orange for the main sentiment, another for the speech bubble, and of course the black. Whew! Oops, I forgot the blue for the bit of sky behind the pumpkins; the ground below them was also a leaf ink. For the leaves, I stamped them and then used a water brush to pull the ink into the image to colour them. 
Are you ready for Halloween? I now have more cards than I need... time for the candy! 

Supplies: white & orange cardstock, Strathmore watercolour paper, Essentials by Ellen Got Candy & Thankful stamps & dies, Ranger archival black, Altenew buttercream & caramel toffee & fossilized amber, carved pumpkin, fired brick, gathered twigs, rusty hinge, forest moss, dried marigold & tumbled glass distress inks, MFT blueprints 24 stitched rectangle die, pop-dot tape

Outstanding in Their Field

I have a new Christmas card combining the challenges at Muse: ChristmasVisions and the current Jingle Belles challenge: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks (animals). Here is Cornelia Wenoker's inspiration card for the Muse challenge: 

After I looked at this, I had one particular stamp in mind that wouldn't go away. So I ran with it and ended up with this: 

Deer, trees, that was all I needed. I also was inspired by Cornelia's clean design and use of foil to add a shiny element. 

My shine comes from spritzing the night sky with sparkle mist as well as the black sparkle embossing powder and a black glitter cardstock mat. I masked off the bottom part of my panel before sponging the night sky with distress inks. I played around with various sentiment ideas, but anything I tried seemed to spoil the balance of the card, so I left the front as is and put a sentiment on the inside.

P.S. My snarky sister Chris reminded me that this card works perfectly for the new Shopping Our Stash challenge, Three Trees, too! Thanks, Chris! 

Supplies: white cardstock, American Crafts black glitter cardstock, Memory Box Deer in the Field stamp, Versafine onyx black & shaded lilac, stormy sky, faded jeans, blueprint sketch & chipped sapphire distress inks, Ranger black glitter embossing powder, MFT blueprints 24 stitched rectangle die, Imagine Crafts sparkle shimmer spritz


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Pin-Sights for Halloween

There's a new Pin-Sights challenge at Ellen Hutson! This month's inspiration board is full of autumnal colours. 

Of course, I totally ignored all those fall colours and went straight to the the upper right corner. Those little ghosts, especially their expressions, reminded me immediately of the one in the set Got Candy? 

I stamped six of the little guys, three in a row that I then die cut with a stitched rectangular panel, and three more to due cut separately. These I popped up not _quite_ right on top of the others, to give a sense of motion. That little flair button? Made by my awesome design teammate at Naughty or Nice Challenges, Danielle. And gives a token nod to the colours in the majority of the inspiration board. ;) 

Supplies: white, black & grey cardstock, Essentials by Ellen Got Candy? stamps and dies, Versafine onyx black ink, Sizzix/Tim Holtz cobwebs embossing folder, MFT stitched rectangle die, flair button (by Danielle Lounds), pop-dot tape

Christmas Sweaters!

I'm sneaking in with a card for the current Muse: ChristmasVisions challenge before it closes tomorrow morning. This week's muse is Chriss Blagrave with this cute card: 

Why look! That mouse is wearing a sweater! That's all the inspiration I needed to pull out my Christmas reindeer! 

I was inspired by other aspects of Chriss' card as well, of course: the clean and simple design, the bit of greenery, the background wash of blue and even the little star on the mouse's tail. I used a torn post-it note to add a horizon before painting a light wash of blue Twinkling H2Os for a shimmery sky. Then with Zig markers I coloured the reindeer and tree. I think this is the first time I haven't stamped and cut out a separate sweater to avoid having brown snowflakes on it — it's not as bad as I thought it would be. The little wood veneer star seemed to be just right with the embossed brown ink and homely sweater. 
My biggest departure from the Muse card is not making mine one layer. I wanted to be able to pop up my elements as well as have a coloured card base. 
Since I used a classic Hero Arts stamp set, I'm also linking up to their current holiday card challenge. 

Supplies: Strathmore watercolour & mixed media paper, Craft Smith green cardbase, Hero Arts Christmas Reindeer stamps, Colorbox espresso ink, Zing clear embossing powder, Zig Clean Colour Real Brush markers, sea spray Twinkling H2Os, MFT blueprints 24 stitched rectangle die, Studio Calico wood veneer star, pop-dot tape

(gah)

If it's October, it must be time for the Pink Christmas challenge at Jingle Belles. It's a card challenge with a purpose... not just the usual one, to build a stockpile of Christmas cards before the holiday crunch sets in, but to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. The challenge owners, Lauren and Steph, even donate $2 for each pink Christmas card linked up. 
This, however, does not explain my post title, does it? In addition this year, Steph and Lauren are remembering and honouring Leslie Hanna, she of Crooked Stamper fame. Leslie was not a big fan of the colour pink, and always wrote the colour as (gah) pink. Regardless, she was a big supporter of the Jingle Belles challenges, even the pink one. ;) (Here's a card from last year's challenge.) As well, she was a funny and loyal friend to many of us in blogland. Sadly, she died Christmas Day last year. We miss her. 
This is my third year playing along — I felt an extra urge to do so this year. Here's mine:

I have not been to the Antarctic, so I feel perfectly confident in giving these penguins a pink sky. I sponged two different pinks as well as a little mauve for the sky. Normally, I'd have masked the skyline or added a snowy layer, but decided I liked the soft border where the sponging stops. A splatter of sparkly mist adds some snow to the Christmas scene of penguins, their tree and some presents. 
Feel like joining in on the pink Christmas fun? The challenge ends Wednesday, so you still have time! 

Supplies: white & black cardstock, Strathmore mixed media paper, Lawn Fawn Toboggan Together stamps & dies, Unity Greetings of Christmas stamp, Versamark, Versafine onyx black, Brilliance galaxy gold & spun sugar, picked raspberry, shaded lilac & bundled sage distress inks, Zing clear, Hero Arts sparkle & PSX verdigris embossing powders, MFT Inside & Out diagonal stitched rectangle die, Zig clean colour real brush markers, Perfect Pearls white confetti mist, Wink of Stella clear glitter marker, pop-dot tape

Party Time?

This is my second post of the day — please click HERE

for the latest Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge!

What? It's the middle of October already? That means you only have ten days left to come and play along with the current challenge at Naughty or Nice, Spooky Sistahs and Wild, Wild Women!

For my reminder card, I went witchy again, but in a totally different way: 

The only way I could get the sparkle splatter in the background to show was to take this angled, shadowed picture. The watercolour wash sparkles, too, since I used some Twinkling H2Os for my paint. I will likely never use anything but this cool black gold embossing powder for that cauldron — I love the flecks of gold and pebbly dimension it adds. Likewise, I think neon ombré tights may be a new favourite, too. I did some simple masking with my new masking pen to protect the tights against the watercolour wash. 

I'm hoping this qualifies as spooky and simple enough for the current CASology challenge, "SPOOKY"! 

Supplies: black cardstock, Strathmore mixed media paper, Stampin' Up Tee-Hee-Hee stamps, Versafine onyx black & Hero Arts neon red to purple inks, Zing clear, Hero Arts sparkle & black gold embossing powders, MFT wonky stitched rectangle die, Twinkling H2Os, Perfect Pearls white confetti mist, Molotow masking pen

Day of the Dead

Happy Saturday! It's time for a spooky new challenge at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers!

D is for DAY OF THE DEAD! Edna is looking very macabre today, is she not? She also confirms some of what (I think) I know about this November 1st celebration. And while sure, I could have researched it on Google and Wikipedia, it was way more fun to go with the little information in my brain already and not get limited by, say, the facts. So sticking with sugar skulls and flowers, here's my card: 

One of the benefits of the popularity of adult colouring books has to be the vast array of images on the internet. Sugar skull cat? Sure, no problem! I found mine here. He's coloured in with regular markers. Putting him aside while I made the background, I quite liked the idea of taking what's ordinarily a pretty staid roses background and using it for a Day of the Dead card. I patted four colours of purple ink on my craft mat (and if you know me at all, you'll recognize that as code for butcher paper) and smooshed my embossed panel. I added a black circular frame so the skull would really pop. The two flourishes are spritzed with purple and sparkle mists; the diamond is coated with sparkle as well. 

Ready to have some fun with the Sisterhood? Check out the spooky creations by the rest of the team, as well as our latest guest designer, Mimi! You have until October 27th to join us. 

Supplies: white & black cardstock, Strathmore watercolour paper, Impression Obsession Roses stamp, sugar skull cat image from internet, Papertrey Ink lavender moon, winter wisteria, plum pudding & royal velvet inks, Spellbinders circle & ? flourish dies, Laurentien markers, Perfect Pearls forever violet & Imagine Crafts Sheer Shimmer sparkle mists, Spectrum Noir crystal clear sparkle marker

Feeling Witchy?

This is my second post of the day! For the newest

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge, Please click HERE! 

Happy October! The first of the month brings with it a brand new Naughty or Nice challenge! 

                                                  

Spooky Sistahs and Wild Wild Women! We've left the options open with this, since not everyone is a fan of Halloween, but I did decide to go the witchy Halloween route. 

My cute little witch is from Michaels, while my sentiment is from a Stampin' Up set. I masked of the bottom half of the sentiment so I could save it for the inside of the card: 

I thought my die cut cat was perfect, looking up at the sparkly orange boots. 
Whether you choose to go naughty or nice, we'd love to see you join us this month! You have until October 25th. Be sure to pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the Troublemakers are up to! 

Supplies: white & black cardstock, Craft Smart witch & Stampin' Up Tee-Hee-Hee stamps, Versafine onyx black, Memento London fog, antique linen & carved pumpkin distress inks, Hero Arts sparkle embossing powder, MFT blueprints 24 stitched rectangle & stitched wonky windows dies, Impression Obsession cat die

Pink Halloween is Here Again

Yes, it's October, and if all the cooler temperatures, increased rainfall and dropping leaves aren't enough, the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers is insisting we celebrate PINK HALLOWEEN again. 

Not that I'm a big fan of the colour orange, but pink isn't my favourite either. So the Sisterhood has definitely bumped up my snark factor. And yet... it didn't quite translate into my card. 

Since I love them so much, I used both orange and pink inks to create my ink-smooshed background. I've had this silhouette stamp for ages, but this just might be the first time it's made it to a finished card. Both it and the sentiment are embossed in sparkle embossing powder. For the final element, I added a thin strip of metallic cardstock down one side of the smooshed panel. 

Pretend you can see the sparkle. ;)

I may have missed out on the snark factor today, but rest assured, my sisters have managed some! Be sure to check out their creations, as well as that of our latest guest designer, Queen of Snark Gina! You have two weeks to join us in the Pink Halloween fun... perhaps you will join the ranks of snarky royalty! 

Supplies: Stampin' Up basic black & DCWV metallic silver cardstock, Strathmore watercolour paper, Penny Black Nature's Dance & Unity/Echo Park Fright Night stamps, Versafine onyx black & spun sugar, worn lipstick, picked raspberry & carved pumpkin distress inks, Hero Arts sparkle embossing powder, EK Success 1" circle & Creative Memories corner-rounding punches, pop-dot tape