Seeing White at Scrap 'n Stamp

White is the prompt today for December's Random Days of Cardness challenge on the Scrap 'n Stamp Facebook page! White cards can be elegant and classy... and then there's mine. :D Here's a sneak peek:

All the details are on the Scrap 'n Stamp blog!

The Sisterhood of Yuletide Stampers

Oh look, here's Edna, ready to roast Chet's nuts - oh wait, I mean some CHESTNUTS on the fire to get ready for Christmas - and so are the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers with our new challenge, Y is for Yuletide! My card today is exactly as snarky as you want it to be... 

In an admittedly small sample size, women are far quicker to get the potential snark on this card than men. :D I stamped and masked a battery so I could add a second leaning against it, then coloured them with Copics. The sentiment is stamped in red and embossed - as are the batteries, of course, I emboss everything I can. :D I added a couple of scored lines on each side of the panel before adding it to a card base with patterned paper. 

Yuletide is approaching, so I hope you will consider joining us! Be sure to check out what my sisters in snark, and our newest Queen of Snark and guest designer Justene have created for the challenge! 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, Teresa Collins Noël patterned paper, Simon Says Stamp Big Holiday Wishes stamps, Versamark, Versamark onyx black & Stampin' Up real red ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers

Inkspirational: Plaid

Happy weekend! It's time for a brand new challenge at Inkspirational, where my teammates Marlena and Pia have together come up with a fun designers choice theme: PLAID! Since I'm all about the Christmas cards at the moment, I took the opportunity to make two more. Here's my first: 

I took inspiration from a card I made a couple of years ago, but changed the layout and my bear's choice of sweater. I continue to often paper-piece this guy even though the little details (paws, point of Santa hat) can be... painstaking. The background is distress inks splattered with water, and then after I die cut the panel, I added a little more dark blue around the edges above where I planned to put the vellum ocean. With his mug (hot buttered rum, perhaps?) I thought the "stay warm" sentiment worked well. 

My second card was much easier to make, but still adds another one to the holiday stash: 

As I checked through my supplies for various iterations of plaid, I came across this cute snowman panel. I rounded one corner, matted the panel on red, then found coordinating patterned paper and cardstock to make up the design. (That snowflake-embossed cardstock is actually marketed as cream, but it's definitely yellow to my eye!) After I put it together, it seemed to need just a little something, so I added the die cut snowflake that balanced everything out. 

There is more plaid inspiration on the Ink blog - I hope you'll join us! 

Supplies: (stay warm) Neenah white cardstock, vellum, Echo Park Christmas This & That patterned paper, MFT Cool Day stamps, Versafine onyx black & salty ocean, wilted violet & chipped sapphire distress ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, MFT blueprints 29 stitched rectangle & border dies; (winter fun) Neenah white, Fabriano cream & (?) red cardstock, Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather & Basic Grey Evergreen patterned papers, Sunny Studio slimline basic borders & Sizzix/Tim Holtz mini snowflake dies, PTI snowflake impression plate, fun foam

Seize the Birthday: Hobbies and Pastimes

Welcome to the last Seize the Birthday challenge of the year, and happy American Thanksgiving! Hard to believe we’re so close to December and the holiday season. In December, the StB design team takes a break from birthday cards - after all we, and we hope you, have built up enough stash over the year to cover those December babies! ;)

I picked the current challenge - Hobbies and Pastimes. It might initially sound tricky, but really, anything people might enjoy doing counts! I made two different cards, and only time kept me from executing more ideas. Here’s my first:

Music! Listening, playing, creating - any or all of these could be someone’s hobby. I used a couple of cute performing critters and their maestro to make my little scene. I gave them a stage with some swipes of a distress ink pad and a pencil crayon line. 

My second card:

This one is much simpler, and almost a little PAB* for me (PAB = my copyrighted acronym for Plain and Boring :D), but wouldn’t it be perfect for a crossword solver? I’ve had the crossword sentiment stamps and patterned paper forever, but couldn’t come up with a suitable pencil stamp. This sticker seemed to do the trick.

For more pastime inspiration, visit the blog to see what my teammates and current surprise party guest Carol have come up with! Hope you’ll be inspired to use your cardmaking hobby and join us. 

Supplies: (toot your own horn) Neenah white cardstock, MFT Dots & Stripes Neutral patterned paper, Lawn Fawn Critter Concert stamps & dies, Versafine onyx black, Memento London fog, Brilliance pearlescent sky blue & Ranger ground espresso distress ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, Prismacolor pencils, Winnie & Walter Katharine cutaways pierced rectangle frame, foam tape; Neenah white, Stampin' Up basic black & (?) blue cardstock, KaiserCraft Black & White Timeless patterned paper, Stampin' Up Cross My Heart stamp, Versafine onyx black ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, American Crafts/Amy Tangerine sticker

Addicted to Stamps and More: Any Occasion

Welcome back to Addicted to Stamps and More, where our "Any Occasion" challenge is ready to go! Right now, if I have a choice, I am all about the Christmas cards. And yet... I was a bit at a loss for what I wanted to do. So I decided to try out a Sheetload of Cards, by Call Me Crafty Al! Here are my two favourites: 

If you're not familiar with Sheetload of Cards videos, each month Alicia (Crafty Al) designs a card sketch using patterned paper with a minimum of waste. For the November sketch that I used, she takes six sheets of patterned paper to create six cards. For the two above, I decided to add a stamped image to each one, as well as the stamped sentiment - the extra stamping might be why they're my favourites! ;) Making these made me think back to the early days of the pandemic, when I thought the SHORT TIME of lockdown would be a perfect time to use up lots of patterned paper on my cards! And here we are, so many months later, and still so much paper. ;) Here's a look at all six cards: 

Regardless of the occasion, we would love to see your cards in the ATSM gallery! Visit the blog for lots more inspiration from my teammates. 

Supplies: Neenah white, Stampin' Up real red, Memory Box stormy blues & American Crafts white glitter cardstock, Echo Park Keeping Cozy patterned paper, Catherine Pooler Nostalgic Season, Studio Katia Happy Snowmen & Taylored Expressions Simple Strips - Christmas stamps & dies, Hero Arts Snow Much Joy stamp, Versamark, Versafine onyx black, Concord & 9th dove & Catherine Pooler rockin' red & juniper mist ink, Wow clear gloss & opaque white embossing powder,  Copic markers, Cat's Pyjamas snowflake & MFT wonky stitched rectangle dies, Studio Katia & Hero Arts gems, Glossy Accents, frosted lace Stickles

Snow Fun at Scrap 'n Stamp

I'm on the Scrap 'n Stamp blog today with a card for today's Random Acts of Cardness prompt, ❆SNOW❆! Not my favourite type of weather, but I'll happily put it on a card. ;) Here it is: 

I explained the process of creating this on the Scrap 'n Stamp blog, but wanted to add my card here so I could enter it in a few challenges! With my little critter scene, I'm entering the current Lawn Fawnatics challenge, Holiday Critters. The Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge wants us to Make a Scene. And finally, Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge is "Make Your Own Background" - I made mine with distress oxide and snowfall distress grit-paste. 

I hope you'll pop over to the Scrap 'n Stamp blog and check things out! 

Color Hues: Silver and Gold

Welcome to the second November Color Hues challenge! Carol has picked our colours for this outing: SILVER and GOLD. While many of us went the festive route, these hues would be perfect for anniversaries, birthdays, lots of celebrations! Here's my card: 

It's unfortunate that the season for sparkly cards is also the season for bleak and gloomy days when trying to photograph. :) Using a stencil, I added silver pigment ink to the holly leaves, and then very carefully and with a lot of sticky note masking added gold embossing paste to the berries. Once that was dry, I also spattered the panel with silver and gold watercolour paint. I trimmed my panel so that I could add silver glitter washi tape behind each side of it. The sentiment is embossed in gold on a scrap of the same black watercolour paper. 

I'm adding this to the November stencil challenge at STAMPlorations. 

We have not one, but TWO guest designers for this challenge, Carol and Hilary! Be sure to check out what they and my teammates have made with this fun pairing! 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock (card base), Van Gogh black watercolour paper, Ellen Hutson Season to Sparkle stamp, Versamark & Colorbox silver ink, pirate's gold embossing powder, ARTplorations holly background stencil, Picket Fence gold paper glaze, Gansi Tambi watercolours, silver washi tape

A Tiny Craft: We Remember

Here we in the middle of November, meaning it's time for a new A Tiny Craft (ATC) Challenge! We are looking for ATCs (cards or coins) for the challenge theme We Remember. With Remembrance Day (Canada) and Veterans' Day (USA) recently behind us, we are looking for something that reflects those commemorations. I made two artist trading cards with a poppy theme: 

Let me tell you a little more about each one...

This poppy is watercoloured with Daniel Smith paints on black mixed-media cardstock. I thought this sentiment was perfect for the theme - it's stamped in white pigment ink. 

This time I used a poppy die set, and added it to black cardstock that I'd stamped and embossed with a plaid background stamp. A little nod to the many regimental plaids. 

Be sure to check out the Tiny Craft blog - you are sure to be inspired to join us! 

The Sisterhood of Naughty Stampers

Now that the weather is getting chillier on the northern half of the globe, Edna is here to heat things up with a new Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge: N is for Naughty! So hey, I made a cat card! 

A Tim Holtz Snarky Cat seemed the perfect choice for this challenge, especially when I added the little bird for him to eye. The sentiment is part of the same set, so that made it easy. A little Copic colouring, some patterned paper, and a bit of sparkle on his jingle bells and hat trim were all I felt were needed. 

My sisters in snark, as well as our Queen of Snark and guest designer Tristan, are up to all kinds of naughtiness over on the Snarky blog! Hope you'll join in the fun! 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, Teresa Collins Noël patterned paper, Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz Stamptember Snarky Cats stamps, MFT extreme black ink, Copic markers, PSX silver glitter 3D paper paint, frosted lace Stickles

Inkspirational: Photo Challenge

It's time for a new photo to challenge your creativity at Inkspirational! Other than putting a big chair on my card ;) I think I went the most obvious route - lots of gold on black: 

So easy to make; so very hard to photograph. I guess you could call this a background stamp, but it definitely has enough going on that it can be the star of the show, especially gold-embossed on black cardstock. I debated adding something else, but decided to leave it just as it is. 

It's always fun to see how many different interpretations can be inspired by one photo! Be sure to check the Ink blog to see my teammates' great cards, and then I hope you'll find time to join us! 

Supplies: (?) black cardstock, Uniko Block Party Christmas stamp, Versamark ink, Simon Says Stamp antique gold embossing powder

Seize the Birthday: Beverages

Time for a new Seize the Birthday challenge, and my friend and teammate Julie has picked a fun optional topping for us: BEVERAGES! My mind, for some strange reason, went to wine: 

Excuse the odd angle of the photograph, but all this shine was hard to capture! Here's the head-on look...

And as the pull tab indicates, it's interactive! 

This uses an interactive die set from My Favorite Things called "Meet in the Middle" that I picked up as part of a kit a few years ago. It's only my second time using it, and I may wait a year or so before I attempt it again - it's a bit complex, for me at least! I did add my own little bit of engineering to the design so the pull tab did not extend out past the bottom of the card, as it does in the original design. I used red foil cardstock for the wine glasses and card base, and stencilled the white panel with a random dot pattern for a bit of interest. 

Lots of liquid inspiration from my StB teammates, as well as our current surprise party guest, Carol! Make a birthday card and join the party! 

Supplies: Neenah white & (?) red foil cardstock, MFT A Toast to You & Lawn Fawn Push Here stamps, Versafine onyx black & barn door distress ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, MFT Meet in the Middle & Let's Toast dies, ARTplorations Dots All Over stencil, mini brads, Creative Memories corner-rounding punch, foam tape

Addicted to Stamps and More: Birthdays

Addicted to Stamps and More has a new BIRTHDAY challenge! It's probably good for me to take a break from thinking about making Christmas cards. ;) 

I love this giant rose and how easily it looks arty with the fill-in stamps. (Also, as I happen to be occasionally layered-stamps challenged, this set lets you get away with imprecision. :D) I stamped the outline in black before adding two peachy shades to the flower and two green shades to the leaves. I added a few artsy splatters - with another stamp! I coloured my sentiment strip with the lighter of the two greens before embossing the simple sentiment in white. (Easier to read in person than in photographs.) I'm adding this to the current The Flower Challenge: Add Leaves. 

Just because the holiday season is creeping up on us doesn't mean people don't have birthdays ;) - so why not make a birthday card and join us! 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, Concord & 9th Painted Rose & MFT Birthday Bears stamps, Versamark, MFT extreme black ink & Catherine Pooler bellini, polished, melon ice & garden party inks, Wow white embossing powder

Happy Little Stampers: Stencils

A new month of challenges continues at Happy Little Stampers with the Stencil Challenge! As my love affair with stamping and stencil colouring continues, another card of this style:

This is a stamp and stencil combo from Canadian company Pigment Craft Co. (There are dies, too, I just didn't need them this time.) After stamping and embossing with a sparkly black powder, I used the stencils to colour the flowers and leaves. Even though my stencil placement was occasionally imperfect (user error!), I still love how easy it was to colour everything. The shape seemed to lend itself to an off-centre panel cut, matted on an orange panel to go with the deepest shade of ink. A simple sentiment was the only other thing I felt the card needed. 

Although I didn't have to "add" the leaves, I hope this counts for the current Flower Challenge. 

Lots of beautiful birthday card inspiration from my Happy Little Stampers teammates! I hope you will make a birthday card and join us. 

Supplies: Neenah white & Memory Box Sunny Orange cardstock, Pigment Ink Blooming Floral stamp and stencil, MFT Birthday Bears stamp, Versafine onyx black & squeezed lemonade, carved pumpkin, crackling campfire & mowed lawn distress ink, Ranger black sparkle embossing powder, Sugar Pea Designs card front element builder dies

Snow Much Fun at Scrap 'n Stamp!

The first Friday of November means it's time for a new design team hop at Scrap 'n Stamp! We hope you have SNOW MUCH FUN checking out the projects we have created for your inspiration. We're mixing things up a bit this month, with a combination of blogs, Instagram posts and YouTube tutorial videos! Just remember to leave a comment on each stop along the way for your chance to win a $50 gift code for the Scrap 'n Stamp store. 

Onto my project: 

I'm using some new stamps from Taylored Expressions for my holiday card. I stamped all nine of the the little cuties before deciding on Santa, Mrs. Claus and Rudolph. Each is coloured with Copic markers. For the snowy background, I smooshed a panel of watercolour paper with mermaid lagoon distress oxide ink, and when dry (okay, I helped a bit with my heat gun), both sprayed and splattered the panel with Avery Elle white ink spray. More drying time! :D I die cut the three squares and the gold frames using a die from Concord & 9th's Turnabout kit. For the white panel, I dry embossed it using an assortment of mini snowflake dies from Tim Holtz. This was matted on a gold panel to complement the frames. I added more gold by foiling a Glimmer sentiment and cutting it in half - I didn't want longer sentiments to break the vertical flow. 

That's it from me, but you have lots more inspiration to come! Your next stop on the hop is Tara, and you can always start from the beginning at the Scrap 'n Stamp blog. Here's the full line-up:

Scrap ‘N Stamp

Kia 

Deborah

Chala

Lindsey

Tara

Susan

Jessica 

Oh, hey! There's a sale on, too! 

Happy hopping, and have a great weekend! 

Supplies: Neenah white and Sizzix opulent gold cardstock, Ranger watercolour paper, Taylored Expressions Little Christmas Critters stamps & dies, Versafine onyx black & mermaid lagoon distress ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, Concord & 9th Everyday bouquet & Sizzix/Tim Holtz mini snowflake dies, Spellbinders Glimmer Mini Christmas Sentiment Strips foiling plates, Glimmer gold foil, Avery Elle white ink spray