Happy Little Stampers Watercolour: Die Cuts

It's hard to believe this is my first blog post for 2020 (in Australian time) or conversely, my last post for 2019 (in Canadian time)! Whichever way you look at it, I am grateful to be part of the Happy Little Stampers Watercolour Challenge design team for this new year. Our first optional theme is DIE CUTS. I think my creative mojo may still be in holiday mode, but I did manage to come up with this: 

I used the current sketch from Freshly Made Sketches to give my creativity a little shove. ;) To start, I die cut the flowers from watercolour paper and used distress inks to loosely watercolour them. Then I cut the two backing panels from watercolour paper and watercoloured them through a stencil. Once I'd put everything together, I decided to use this to add a sympathy card to my stash - it's always helpful to have a few on hand of there's not a lot of time to make one. 

Beautiful cards from my watercolour teammates, including our newest members, Carole, Swapna, and Anna! You have all month to die cut, watercolour, and join us. 

Supplies: American Crafts textured blue cardstock, Canson watercolour paper, Clearly Besotted Message Me stamp, Versafine onyx black, spun sugar, picked raspberry & salty ocean distress inks, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Simon Says Stamp Fresh Daisies, Sizzix/Tim Holtz Stacked Deckle & MFT Blueprints 24 dies, Carabelle Studio Mosaïque stencil

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Rated... X?

Edna obviously knows how to celebrate the holidays 😱 - and so the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers is offering up X is for X-rated Xmas! Some of the sisters are better than others at going there - and sadly, my x-rated inspiration was sorely lacking. So here's my best effort: 

My Santa, yes, is still wearing clothes, but he is obviously ready to par-tay. He is coloured in Copics, and dancing on a stamped floor. My sentiment is festively sparkly with embossing powder. 

What about you, are you ready to go there? In honour of the season, this is our FOUR WEEK challenge - so you have almost a month to join us with your parental advisory project! 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, American Crafts green foil paper, Stampin' Up Visions of Santa, MFT Sassy Pants Holidays & Simon Says Stamp/Kelly Purkey Oh, Dear stamps, Versafine onyx black & Stampin' Up garden green ink, Wow clear sparkle embossing powder, Copic markers, Wink of Stella clear glitter brush marker, fun foam

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A Naughty Inkspirational Challenge

Inspirational is offering a challenge I can definitely enter! Their word prompt is NAUGHTY, and as a founding member of the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers, this is a challenge I can handle. In fact, I even used it to make multiple cards! 

I don't often make repeats of a card, but a) time is running out and b) Canada Post says cards with layers or embellishments sent outside the country might need to be charged parcel rates. Yikes! I need some relatively flat cards STAT! So I made this quartet of Santa cards, stamping the Santa in the MISTI, colouring, then adding the sentiment in either red or green. Here's the red version: 

And the green version: 

Since a few of my snarky sisters are on the Shopping Our Stash design team, I'm hoping they'll appreciate me linking this up to their current challenge, Happy Holidays.  

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, Craft Smith red & green card bases, Picket Fence Studios Straight Form the North Pole stamps, Versafine onyx black, Stampin' Up real red & Memento bamboo leaves ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, Winnie & Walter Katharine Cutaways pierced frame die

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Hey You!

In my continuing quest for more Christmas cards, I am entering the current challenge at My Favorite Things, with this sketch: 

There are not enough polar bear cards in my life this year, so out came MFT's Cool Day stamp set:  

I stamped my bear, masked him, and added the ice floe from the same set. His sweater and hat are paper pieced, with just a little bit of Copic shading. For the background, I blended some distress inks, then splattered both Perfect Pearls solution and water. A vellum strip gives the ice floe some ocean to float on. My bear's "who, me?" expression seemed perfect for the Hey, You sentiment from another MFT bear set, Bitty Bears. 

I'm also adding this to the current Creative with Stamps challenge, Polar Bear. Another Christmas card down, only ??? left to make and send! ;) 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, vellum, Echo Park Winter Wished patterned paper, MFT Cool Day & Bitty Bears stamps, Versafine onyx black, Memento Luxe Danube blue, Brilliance pearlescent sky blue & blueprint sketch, chipped sapphire, shaded lilac & mermaid lagoon distress inks, Wow clear glaze embossing powder, white confetti Perfect Pearls, Copic markers, foam tape

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Happy Little Stampers ATC: Bling

Welcome to the December Happy Little Stampers ATC Challenge! I'm ending my six-month design term with this post - I have loved being on the team, but I've never fully convinced myself that my CAS style is really suited to ARTIST trading cards and coins. ;)

This month our theme is 💠BLING💠. I'm not an overly blingy person - not a lot of jewellery, rarely are there sequins on my sweaters, you get the idea. But when it comes to Christmas, all bets are off, so it seemed the natural way to go. Here is my set of four: 

The smallest size of Tim Holtz's Blueprint stamps are much easier to use on ATCs than full size cards! I picked my patterned papers, stamped them both on that and on white cardstock, and coloured in the latter. When I went to fussy cut them, I quickly realized that was not going to happen with the snowflake. So I coloured it right on the patterned paper with a white glaze pen. 

Here's a closer look at each one: 

Bling: rhinestones on the snowflake centres

Bling: snowflake sequins

Bling: gold glitter sentiment & gold Smooch on the hat

Bling: gold star on the tree & Glossy Accents on the ornaments. 

Since all my ATCs have sparkle of some kind on them, I'm adding them to the current Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge, Let's Sparkle. 
While December can be a busy month, I hope you'll have time to join us! 

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Frosty the Snowman

Frosty the Snowman is the theme for the almost over challenge at the Paper Players. I'm finding challenges handy this week as I catch up on Christmas card making after a month of mostly tags. ;) So a prompt, sketch, or theme can give me a head start on getting more cards made. I also had a new snowman image to try: 

He's a much more rustic snowman than my usual, more cute ones, and I tried to keep the setting for him a bit rustic as well. At first I was going to colour him with Copics, but my markers and I weren't getting along, so I switched to stamping and embossing him on watercolour paper instead, and that seemed to suit my abilities and his looks much better. :D For the background, I cut a stitched panel also from watercolour paper (so the snow would match) added a stitched hillside, and blended a little distress ink for the sky. The joy and love sentiment seemed to suit the tone of the card and the space it needed to fit into. ;) I dry embossed a woodgrain pattern into my olive panel before putting the card together. 

This card was also made with the current Shopping our Stash challenge, Happy Holidays, in mind. 

Fair warning: there will (I hope!) be more Christmas card posts soon!

Supplies: Bazzill marshmallow & Stampin' Up old olive cardstock, Canson watercolour paper, Picket Fence On a Christmas Walk stamps & dies, Simon Says Stamp Furry Christmas stamps, Versafine smoky grey & tumbled glass distress ink, Wow clear gloss & Hero Arts sparkle embossing powder, Zig markers, MFT stitched rounded rectangle & blueprints 24 stitched rectangle & Paper Smooches stitched dies, PTI woodgrain texture plate, foam tape

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ABC Christmas Challenge: Y & Z

It's the first Wednesday in December, and the last month of the year - and that means the final two letters in the alphabet for ABC Christmas Challenge! This month our two themes are Y for Yuletide and Z for Zigzag. 

I knew exactly what I wanted to do for Y is for Yuletide - and could NOT believe that in my, um, large collection of Christmas stamps I did not have a single sentiment with "yule" or "yuletide" in it! So with a computer-generated sentiment, here's my card: 

I thought this chill snowman was perfect for a cool yule sentiment. He's coloured in Copics. I considered making a sky background, but with the minimal colouring of snow guy, I liked the way this grey snowy background patterned paper looked. I used an edge die to cut the snowy base of the card. 

My Z for Zigzag card: 

I confined my zigzags to the panel backing the festive feline family. They are watercoloured and fussy cut, with a sentiment from the same set added to the card base. 

These two prompts are ideal to get your Christmas card creativity going! Lots more inspiration on the ABC blog, as well. Hope you can join us! 

Supplies: (yuletide) Neenah white cardstock, Memory Box grey card base, Doodlebug Frosty Friends patterned paper, Paper Smooches Swanky Snowdudes stamp, Versafine onyx black ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, Paper Smooches borders 1 & MFT wonky stitched rectangle dies, black icicle Stickles; (zigzag) Bazzill marshmallow & Stampin' Up pear pizazz cardstock, Canson watercolour paper, Newton's Nook Newtons Christmas Family stamps, Versamark, Versafine onyx black & Memento bamboo leaves ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Gansai Tambi watercolours, Winsor & Newton iridescent medium, Spellbinders Page Maps Potpourri die, foam tape

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Happy Little Stampers: Christmas

I'm welcoming December with the Happy Little Stampers watercolour challenge! Our optional theme for this last month of the year is, not too surprisingly, Christmas. After making so many tags through November, it was almost a challenge to go back to the larger canvas of a card! I chose a large image to help me: 

My poinsettia is heat embossed on watercolour paper. The line style of the artwork meant there would be lots of nooks and crannies for watercolour powder to show off its different shades and colours. While it was drying, I added a wash of bundled sage distress ink to the back panel, speeding up its drying time with my heat tool. Then, by flicking water, I was able to add some of the same embossing powder to the mat and heat emboss the spatters. I also added some spatters of the same distress ink. Once the flower was dry, I cut it close to the edge, and added it and the sentiment to the green panel. A green card base was my last step. I thought about adding some dimension to the centre of the poinsettia, but nothing I had would have matched the embossing, so I left it alone. 

There are beautiful inspiration cards on the HLS blog today, in a variety of styles! If you aren't in need of Christmas cards, we'd love to see any new watercolour project added to the monthly gallery. I have thoroughly enjoyed this first year of bringing watercolour inspiration to you with Happy Little Stampers!  

Supplies: Canson watercolour paper, Craft Smith textured green card base, Altenew Modern Poinsettia stamps, Versamark & bundled sage distress ink, moonstone embossing powder, Magenta Nuance red watercolour powder

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The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers: Yummy

Happy Saturday! We are ready to begin a new challenge at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers: Y is for Yummy! Edna obviously thinks a lot of different "things" are yummy, as do I, but I went for a perhaps obvious choice: 

Dessert is always yummy, right? :D A chocotini seemed like the closest martini to dessert. To offset the choice of brown ink for my drink, I embossed it in sparkle embossing powder and gave it a colourful backdrop using a Concord & 9th turnabout stamp. 

So many interpretations of our theme on the Snarky blog today, by my sisters and our current reigning Queen of Snark and guest designer, Helen! Hope to see you playing along! 

Supplies: Neenah white & Papertrey Ink smoky shadow cardstock, MFT Martini Time stamps & dies, MFT A Toast TO You & Concord & 9th Mosaic turnabout stamps, Versamark, Memento rich cocoa, dandelion, lilac posies, Paris dusk & Stampin' Up real red inks, Hero Arts sparkle embossing powder

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25 Days of Christmas Tags: DAY 26!

This is it, it really is the last day of Tracey McNeely's 25 Days of Christmas Tags! Isn't it nice, having an extra day, sort of like finding an extra present after you think you've opened them all. ;) 

Today we welcome our bonus day guest and sponsor, Hello Bluebird! 

I have two pairs of tags today using Hello Bluebird products. First up, a couple of cuties: 

The fox is very cute, but HELLO, that bunny? Totally makes me smile. For each tag, I coloured the critters in with Copics, picked an appropriate tag colour, and then blended the edges with some white ink for a frosty look. The fox's snowflake is embossed in puffy white embossing powder, and the mistletoe berries are given a hint of dimension with a white glaze pen. Close ups: 

A couple of very simple bookmark tags: 

These large sentiments come in both outline and solid form, and I chose to heat emboss the solid versions, in silver for the blue tag, and white for the red tag. Just to make them different, I sprayed and splattered the red tag with sparkle mist. Again, close ups: 

If you have been playing along in Tracey's event, whether by making your own tags inspired by each day's designers, or by commenting on the designers' creations, you still have a few days to play along! As for me, I can move on to all the things I've neglected over the past 26 days... ;) 

Our 26 generous sponsors! 

Supplies: (fox & bunny) Neenah white & Stampin' Up bashful blue & basic grey cardstock, Hello Bluebird First Snow & Snow Fun stamps & dies, Versamark, Versafine onyx black, Colorbox frost white & Memento Luxe Danube blue ink, Wow clear gloss & puff white embossing powder, Copic markers, PTI Tag Sale 2 & CUTplorations stitched tag dies, Gelly Roll white glaze pen, Offray & Michaels ribbon;  (merry & peace) scrap blue & red cardstock, Hello Bluebird Bold Holidays stamps, Versamark & Versafine onyx black ink, Wow clear gloss, Hero Arts white & silver embossing powder, PTI bookmark die, Hemptique blue & red & silver twine

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25 Days of Christmas Tags: Day 25!

Here we are... Day 🌟25🌟 of Tracey McNeely's 25 Days of Christmas Tags! (Shh, don't tell anyone, but somehow there is one more day tomorrow...) Today our guest and sponsor is Honey Bee Stamps! 

I had great fun playing with my Honey Bee goodies! I ended up with a trio of tags: 

The sentiments are all from a terrific stamp set called Santa Express. I really like the font! And all the tags are made from their Scallop Circle Gift tag. It includes two different inner circle dies plus a tag reinforcer. For an extra added bonus... the two patterned paper tags? That's from the bag Honey Bee packaged my order in! As soon as I saw it, I planned to use it for my tags. I discovered I had a perfect ink to coordinate with it - but finding appropriate ribbon was another story. :D Because the weight of the bag paper was fairly light, I backed it with white cardstock. And I had one of those days where I could not align them perfectly. When things like that happen, I confess to reminding myself that THESE ARE TAGS - let's face it, they tend to get even less attention than our carefully handcrafted cards! A closer look at each one: 

Do you want to win a prize? Tracey has an amazing lineup of sponsors, and you can be eligible for a prize by making your own inspired tags or by commenting on the designers' posts daily! As a reminder, all the details of the tag event can be found here. And contrary to expectations, I'm back tomorrow with one more day of tags! 

Our sponsors! Thank you! ♡

Supplies: Neenah white & desert storm & Stampin' Up old olive cardstock, upcycled paper bag, Honey Bee Stamps Santa Express stamps, Stampin' Up bravo burgundy & old olive ink, Wow clear embossing powder (for the olive tag) Honey Bee Stamps Scallop Circle Gift tag dies, Pebbles Inc & Offray ribbon, May Arts red twine, jute cord, $ store jingle bells

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