Have a FaBOOlous Day

I'm on the Scrap 'n Stamp blog today with a card for the Random Acts of Cardness challenge prompt, BOO! 

My background is made with distress oxide inks - on the back of a Scrap 'n Stamp postcard! The ghosts and banner sentiment are both from Lawn Fawn, and the B from a Concord & 9th alphabet set. I'm adding this to the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge, SPOOKY/Halloween, the Addicted to CAS challenge, Spooky, and the Two Old Bats challenge October Anything Halloween. More details of how I made this card are available on the Scrap 'n Stamp blog! 

 Hope your week is off to a faBOOlous start! 

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Color Hues: Red and Kraft

Here we are, speeding into the second half of October, which means it's time for a new Color Hues challenge! Our awesome leader Nancy has chosen the colours: RED and KRAFT. Like Nancy, I find these hues a great pairing for Christmas, and immediately headed in that direction: 

Kraft is also a handy colour for stamping gingerbread! And of course this poor guy is one of my favourites. After stamping him, I used the point of a toothpick to add some leftover amputation crumbs. I stamped the sentiment in red, then deckle-die cut the panel. On the next panel - are those the world's tiniest gingies stamped on the kraft? Why yes! And then I cut the third panel from patterned paper. 

As my teammates demonstrate, these hues are for more than just Christmas! We also have our guest designer, Maja, so be sure to visit the Color Hues blog to see all the inspiration on view. I hope you'll join us! 

Supplies: Neenah white & desert storm cardstock, Echo Park Christmas This & That patterned paper, Ellen Hutson Tis the Season & Picket Fence A Christmas Walk stamps, MFT biscotti & Stampin' Up real red ink, Sizzix/Tim Holtz stacked deckle dies

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The Sisterhood of Pink Stampers

Are you ready for a new Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge? Traditionally in October, the sistahs acknowledge Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a Pink Halloween challenge, but just to be snarky, we're breaking with that and saying that P is for EVERYTHING PINK! Some people are big fans of pink, me... not so much. But here I am, rising to the challenge with a Christmas card! 

I was actually halfway through another card when this one popped into my head. I cut some snowflake masks with dies, arranged them on my card panel, and blended two shades of distress ink over them. Since the thought of snow can drive one to drink :D, I thought my sentiment worked. 

The main reason I chose a holiday theme for my card... Jingle Belles is NOT messing with tradition and their annual Pink Christmas challenge is on now. 

We have a retired sister returning as this week's Queen of Snark and guest designer... Jane! She and my teammates have swathed the Snarky blog in shades of pink - go take a look and then join us! 

Supplies: Neenah white & Memory Box Berry Red cardstock, Riley & Co Weather Outside is Frightful stamp, Versamark, Memento Rose Bud & spun sugar & picked raspberry distress ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Sizzix/Tim Holtz mini paper snowflakes  & MFT blueprints 24 stitched rectangle dies

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Inkspirational: For Boys or Men

Happy Saturday! It's time for a new Inkspirational challenge, and teammate Pia has chosen the theme For Boys or Men. This is a great opportunity to add a masculine card to your stash! My card is inspired by the always brilliant Julie Ebersole:

It was such fun to take the random shapes in this stamp set and turn them into this little nautical scene! For the sun, I added just a little orange ink to the edges of the yellow, and second-generation stamped the sail for a lighter colour and a little texture. Of course I had to heat emboss the sentiment. ;) 

I would love a view like this, especially as we head closer to winter, so I'm adding this to the current challenge at CASology. 

I know a lot of us find making masculine cards a bit of a challenge, but the Ink team is here to give you some great ideas! I hope you're inspired to join us. 

Stay Cool by Julie Ebersole, Summer of Stamping Clear Stamps

Other supplies: Neenah white & Memory Box sunny orange cardstock, Catherine Pooler tiara, orange twist, stone blue & juniper mist, Memento nautical blue & Brilliance pearlescent blue ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder

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Seeing Red at Scrap 'n Stamp

It's my turn to pick the prompt for Scrap 'n Stamp's Random Acts of Cardness challenge, and I decided to use my favourite colour, red! You can read all about my card on the blog, but here's a little peek: 

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A Tiny Craft: Halloween ATCs

Here we are in the middle of October - time for a new A Tiny Craft challenge! Halloween is just over two weeks away, and a perfect choice for our new theme. 

I am very good at picking up various Halloween bits when I find something fun in a craft store or on sale online. Making a few Artist Trading Cards is an excellent way to use a few of them up! I used some ephemera from K & Company, some die cuts I already had, a sparkly bat background left over from another project, and added a few new items, such as the cobweb embossed panels. Here's a closer look at them: 

I'm entering these in the current Anything Halloween Goes challenge at Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge. 

Have some fun Halloween items in your stash? Why not make an Artist Trading Card or Coin and join us? 

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Seize the Birthday: Use a Stencil

It's Thursday, and time for a new challenge at Seize the Birthday! Cathy has picked our latest topping: Use a Stencil. When stencils first became a new *thing*, I was better at collecting them than using them. But I have grown to love how versatile they are! For my card today, I went with plaid...

... and a cat. :D A friend remarked that I haven't been making a lot of cat cards lately, so I decided to rectify that. I started by masking off my card panel so I would get a narrow band of plaid across it, using a blending brush and distress ink. I chose one of my taller cat stamps and coloured him in grey. (Yes, a lot of my stamped cats are grey. Duncan approves. :D) 

As always, if the current topping doesn't inspire you, we love to see any birthday card in our gallery! My teammates and our new surprise party guest, Carol, have used stencils in a variety of ways, so be sure to head over to the StB blog and check them out. Hope you'll join us! 

Supplies: Neenah white & scrap red cardstock, MFT Cat-itude stamps and die, Versafine onyx black & barn door distress ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, ARTplorations Just Plaid stencil, MFT blueprints 24 stitched rectangle die, foam tape

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Addicted to Stamps and More: Make Your Mark

It's time to Make Your Mark at Addicted to Stamps and More! This time around, I am making my mark with a little Copic colouring on a Christmas card: 

My new Christmas cat stamps came out to play again! How cute is this little sweatered guy on his giant ornament? I concentrated most of my limited blending skills on the ball, then added lots of sparkle and a gold hanger. To compliment his sweater, I embossed some textured green cardstock with a knit embossing folder. A little patterned paper and a sentiment finished everything off. 

My teammates have used various colouring media to make their marks on beautiful cards, so be sure to visit the ATSM blog! Make your mark and join us! 

Supplies: Neenah white & textured green American Crafts cardstock, Lawn Fawn (?) patterned paper, MFT Meowy Christmas stamps & die, Versafine onyx black ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, MFT stitched rounded rectangle & Sunny Studio slimline basics dies, Lawn Fawn liquid stardust, gold Smooch, foam tape

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Gnome for the Holidays at Scrap 'n Stamp

Just in time for the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend, it's the October Scrap 'n Stamp blog hop, and our theme is GNOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS! Gnomes have been popular for a while now, and the trend shows no sign of slowing any time soon. Scrap 'n Stamp has a fun variety of gnome stamps and dies to choose from, and I'm using Spellbinders' Holiday Gnomes for my card: 

Don't tell anyone, but I have to confess I'm not a huge fan of gnomes. I quite like the ones in this Holiday Gnomes set, though. Not too cute, and a Scandinavian flair. I picked the hairiest (although it's a close call) and coloured him with Copics. For the background, I blended some tumbled glass oxide ink with a little salty ocean for a wintry sky. I didn't worry about masking off the bottom and just faded out the blending. With Memento cottage ivy ink, I added the trees using another stamp in the set. The scene I created didn't really leave enough room for any of the sentiments included in Holiday Gnomes, so I grabbed a sentiment from Lawn Fawn's Thanks a Latte - even though it's a wintry scene, my gnome is very hygge, so I think it works. 

A Scrap 'n Stamp blog hop means there's a PRIZE on offer! One lucky commenter will win a $50 gift code to the store - for gnomes or whatever else you might want to add to your stash! The fun starts at the Scrap 'n Stamp blog, and here's the list of all the stops: 

Tara

Deborah

Jessica

Chala

Kia

Lindsey --> you are here

Susan

When you shop, remember to use my code, 10Lindsey, for 10% off your order. Happy hopping and Happy Thanksgiving! 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, Spellbinders Holiday Gnomes & Lawn Fawn Thanks a Latte stamps, MFT extreme black, Memento cottage ivy & tumbled glass & salty ocean distress oxide ink, MFT wonky stitched rectangle die, foam tape

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Happy Little Stampers: Stencils

The October challenges have begun at Happy Little Stampers, and it's the turn of the Stencil Challenge! As long as there's a stencil involved, it's anything goes, and so I added a Christmas card to my stash: 
 

The birch trees are stencilled in embossing glaze. Once that was dry, I blended a mix of blue distress inks for the wintry sky, then spritzed with shimmer mist. I added a single die cut cardinal and an embossed sentiment on vellum. Other than the drying time, a quick and easy card to make! 

Any occasion, any style - if your card makes use of a stencil, add it to this month's gallery! For more inspiration, head over to the HLS blog, where my teammates have used stencils in beautiful ways. 

Supplies: Neenah white & Stampin' Up real red cardstock, vellum, Stampin' Up Holiday Collection stamp, Versamark & stormy sky & faded jeans distress ink, Ranger rich red embossing powder, Winnie & Walter Scenery: Into the Woods stencil, Picket Fence snowdrop white embossing glaze, Sunny Studio Rustic Winter & Winnie & Walter Katharine Cutaways pierced rectangle die, Tsukineko clear sparkle shimmer mist

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ABC Christmas: U and V

It's the first Wednesday of October, which means it is time for a new ABC Christmas Challenge! A look at the letters is an easy reminder of how little of the year is left; we are up to U for Under the Tree and V for Vocabulary. No big surprise, there's a cat under my tree: 

This is a new stamp and die set from MFT, and while usually I can't seem to bring myself to use new stuff right away, this was too perfect for the theme to pass up. The tree, cat and ornament (hmm, how did it end up on the floor?) are all coloured with Copics, with a few gel pen highlights added here and there. The ornaments have glitter marker, the star some Glossy Accents, and the Santa hat some Stickles. I found some grey patterned "wallpaper" and embossed some textured grey cardstock for the floor. 

There are lots of ways to interpret our Vocabulary prompt - I decided to make a card with just words, no images: 

And I actually mass-produced, making four of them! Since I had cut a sheet of cardstock into four panels, it was easy with the MISTI to ink all of them the same way. As always, I couldn't make all four exactly the same, so two of them got a secondary sentiment and mat in red, and two in green. 

Here we are, closing in on the second week of October - now's as good a time as any to build up your holiday card stash! Lots of festive inspiration from my teammates on the ABC blog. Hope you will join us! 

Supplies: (meowy Christmas) Neenah white & Fabriano grey cardstock, Kaisercraft Black & White Timeless patterned paper, MFT Meowy Christmas stamps & dies, Versafine onyx black ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, Winnie & Walter Katharine Cutaways pierced frame die, PTI woodgrain impression plate, Glossy Accents, frosted lace Stickles, Spectrum Noir clear glitter shimmer marker, Gelly Roll white gel pen, foam tape; (Merry) Neenah white, PTI pure poppy & SU garden green cardstock, Winnie & Walter In a Word: Merry stamps, Catherine Pooler rouge & Colorbox frost white ink, Wow opaque white embossing powder, Winnie & Walter Katharine Cutaways pierced frame die, foam tape

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Happy Little Stampers CAS: One Layer Card

October's Happy Little Stampers challenges continue with the CAS Challenge! This month we are looking for a ONE LAYER CARD. I love making CAS cards, but one layer cards are an entirely different beast. There is no room for error! I persevered and made a Halloween card: 

I recently added this fun MFT stencil to my collection, so broke it out and blended a couple of distress inks onto my card front. Leaving it in place, I used the same colours with a raindrop stencil, only upside down. ;) A white glaze pen added some texture to the ghostly eyes. The sentiment is stamped in black and embossed. 

If I can conquer the one layer challenge, so can you! Lots of OLC inspiration from the HLS design team. You have all of October to join us! 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, Lawn Fawn Tiny Halloween stamp, Memento tuxedo black & blueprint sketch & shaded lilac distress ink, MFT watercolour wash freeform & ARTplorations abstract April showers stencil

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Celebrating Birthdays at the Sisterhood

Happy snarky Saturday! It's time for a new Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge, and we have decided to celebrate - with B is for Birthday! I may have to look into getting a set of pennants like Edna's for the next birthday bash I host. :D While snark is always optional for our challenges, I managed a little on today's card: 

For some reason, I seem to make a lot of snarky birthday cards. :D I wanted something a little different from my usual, and thought this sentiment paired perfectly with the patterned paper I had leftover from the 12 Kits of Occasions I was lucky enough to guest for. (Thank you, Tracey!) I added a pair of chipboard specs from STAMPlorations, coated with a bit of gesso and then painted with blue acrylic paint. 

Lots of birthday inspiration from my sisters in snark and our current Queen of Snark and guest designer, Melanie! Hope you'll join us. 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, Vicki Boutin Let's Wander patterned paper, MFT Sassy Pants Birthday Greetings 2 stamp, Versafine onyx black ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, CRAFTplorations sunglasses, white gesso, Decocraft blue acrylic paint

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Inkspirational: Photo

Inkspirational is back with a new photo challenge! Lots to choose from in this fun cake photo. I didn't really feel I could ignore the cute foxes...

From the photo, I also took inspiration from the little mushrooms and the greenery. Instead of the background bricks, I added texture with a woodgrain impression plate. The stamps and matching patterned paper (what a great idea that is!) come from Ms. Sparkle & Co - which seems to now be a subsidiary of DCWV, and no longer makes stamps or patterned paper. I turned to Freshly Made Sketches for help with my overall card design.  Bonus points if you know why I chose the sentiment I did! 

Lots of foxy inspiration from my Ink teammates, so be sure to visit! 

Supplies: Neenah white & (?) rust cardstock, Ms. Sparkle & Co. Paperie Woodland Creatures stamps & patterned paper, Simon Says Stamp To Thine Own Shelf stamp, Versamark & Memento Morocco, rhubarb stalk, cantaloupe & cottage ivy ink, Wow opaque white embossing powder, Winnie & Walter Catharine cutaway frame, Concord & 9th In Bloom sentiment & Spellbinders circle dies, foam tape

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Color Hues: Orange and Green

October! The month of (Canadian) Thanksgiving, Halloween, and possibly pumpkin spice everything. Of course, to start the month, there's a new Color Hues challenge. It's my turn picking the colours, and with October in mind, I chose ORANGE and GREEN. (I didn't know when I chose them that everyone seems to be going pastel this fall. :D) Time for my first Halloween card! 
 

I started by stamping, embossing and die cutting a few pumpkins and a whole bunch of leaves. They are watercolored using distress inks, with more intensity on the leaves for contrast from the pumpkins. I blended the same green on a scrap of cardstock for the ground. My sky is white pigment ink on dark grey cardstock with a cloud stencil. Although it's hard to tell, I used vellum for the ghosts. Finally, the sentiment is embossed in white. 

Since we celebrated our one year birthday recently, we have two guest designers for this challenge, Marcia and Jacinda! Be sure to check out the variety of creations from them as well as my teammates - you're sure to be inspired! 

Supplies: Neenah white & Memory Box earth neutrals cardstock, Canson watercolour paper, vellum, Ellen Hutson Got Candy & Thankful stamps & dies, Versafine onyx black, Brilliance moonlight white & carved pumpkin, Crackling campfire & rustic wilderness distress ink, Wow clear gloss black & opaque white embossing powder, MFT cloud stencil, foam tape

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