Glow...

It's my second post as CASology's guest designer for July, and this week's cue word is GLOW: 

Just like last week, lots of ideas crossed my mind,  but I still ended up going with my first instinct, which was to pull out this light bulb stamp with its perfect sentiment. After stamping and heat-embossing the image, I cut it out and traced around it onto my card base before sponging the glow. I stamped the sentiment, then coloured in "light" using the same ink. 
Here's a close-up that shows the silver embossing better:

The regular CASology design team has of course come up with their usual creative ideas, so be sure to see where this week's cue word took them. Then I hope you'll join us! 

Supplies: white cardstock, Unity stamps, Versamark, Memories black & Memento dandelion inks, silver embossing powder, Simon Says Stamp postage stamp die, pop-dot tape

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CASology Guest Post

Happy Canada Day! It's Canada's 147th birthday, and it also happens to be my first post as guest designer for CASology! Yep, just a little excited. Here is this week's cue word:

There are lots of directions one could take with this, but I ended up sticking with my initial idea, which was to use a boat. Here's my card:

I started by masking the top half of the card with some washi tape, before mirror stamping a reflection of the sailboat using the plastic sheet from my stamp positioner. I used distress ink, as I wanted the ink to run a bit when I went over it with a watercolour wash of Twinkling H2Os. This adds a lovely shimmer to the card. After removing the washi tape, I used my stamp positioner again to get the upright image of the boat in just the right place. The sentiment is rather perfect for this challenge, too, don't you think? And while this could easily have been a one-layer card, my current supply of watercolour paper is not my favourite card base, so I popped the panel up on a blue base instead.  
I'm going to sneak this card in on the last day of Simon Says Stamp's current Anything Goes challenge. 
Of course, for true inspiration, make sure you check out what the regular CASology design team has created. And then I hope you'll join us this week with your take on the cue word!

Supplies: blue cardstock, Canson 140 lb. watercolour paper, Unity/Webster's Pages Celebrate & Technique Tuesday Vroom stamps, chipped sapphire distress ink, Twinkling H2Os, clear embossing powder, pop-dot tape

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S is for...

steam·punk

ˈstēmˌpəNGk/

noun

noun: steampunk; noun: steam-punk

1. a genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advanced technology.

The Snarky Sisters are back with a new challenge... STEAMPUNK! Edna is looking very fine in her steampunk garb, don't you think? I find steampunk as a design genre much easier to recognize than define... and much easier to admire than create. So of course I had to attempt this twice. ;)

For my first card, I went to the always reliable Pinterest to do the bulk of the work for me...

After trying to find the origin of this fabulous cat on both Google and Tin Eye, I concede defeat. It was just too much fun not to use. I paired Captain Mittens with some patterned paper that I sponged around the edges. I added some faux cogs and gears thanks to some washers and a metal button. All of them were soaked briefly in vinegar and salt to add a little ageing. 

Then I remembered I have one almost-steampunk stamp! Attempt #2:

I split the sentiment into three, partly so I could selectively ink the third word. This time I had real gears, thanks to a visit to my mother-in-law's basement and the discovery of a '50s era alarm clock. 

Of course I'm entering my cards into Simon Says Stamp's current Anything Goes challenge. 

And there you have it! Steampunk meets clean and simple. :D For some true steampunk inspiration, you need to see what my snarky sisters have created, as well as this challenge's guest designer, Shelly! And let's just say, if I can do steampunk, anyone can, so let's see your creations! 

Supplies: (Ambrose Mittens) black cardstock, Staples photo paper, Studio Calico Abroad patterned paper, Memnto tuxedo black ink, Marvy-Uchida corner-rounding punch; (dream, fly, imagine) white cardstock, Heidi Swapp No Limits patterned paper, Unity stamps, Versafine onyx black & Colorbox mango tango ink, Zing clear embossing powder, Memory Box woodland branch die

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Beavers and Maple Leaves

Happy Friday, and happy lead-up to Canada Day! I know my American friends have to wait till next weekend for their long weekend, but some lucky people will be able to turn this weekend into a four day one. Canada Day and a few challenges inspired me to make a fittingly Canadian card:

I'm using (more or less) the sketch from this week's Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge, and the CASology cue word "wood". You're right, no actual wood on this card, but there is our national wood-hewer, the beaver (I realize he was born a groundhog, but pop him in water and I think he makes a reasonable-looking beaver...) and a fine red maple leaf. I kept most of the elements of the Paper Smooches sketch, but dropped one panel and used a symbol in place of a sentiment. I die cut the leaf three times and layered them for some extra height instead of using pop dot tape. The beaver has glossy teeth and nose as well as a Stickled red Canada Day party hat. 
Since Simon Says Stamp has an Anything Goes challenge this week, I'm linking up there, as well. 
I'm back tomorrow for the latest Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge. Let's just say what you'll see tomorrow is quite different from today. ;) Enjoy the start of your weekend! 

Supplies: Neenah solar white cardstock, My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Two Rosy & Lime Twist Fly a Kite patterned papers, Paper Smooches Birthday Buddies stamp, Memento tuxedo black ink, Paper Smooches Leaves 1 die, Spectrum Noir markers, white gel pen, Simon Says Stamp sequin, Glossy Accents, Clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles

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Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

It really is officially summer now! So I'm not going to let a cloudy day (make that two or three in a row, but whatever...) stop me from making a bright sunny summer card:

This card had already started to develop in my head when two challenges came out that gelled my ideas: Just Us Girls with a colour challenge to use orange, yellow and a neutral; and Addicted to CAS with a "sun" challenge. Even though that patterned paper actually has tiny flowers on it, I love that it almost hints at sand... okay, at least to me. A big yellow sun, bright orange flip flops and fun alphabet stamps made this a quick and easy card to put together. I don't know why the yellow "M" photographed so strangely... the shine of the clear embossing must have caught the light just the wrong way. 
It's also Anything Goes week at Simon Says Stamp, so of course I'm linking my card there, too. 
And while we're on the topic of challenges... there are still a few days left to break out the glitter and join our current Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge! 

Supplies: white, yellow & orange cardstock; My Mind's Eye The Sweetest Thing Bluebell & Echo Park Dots & Stripes patterned paper, unknown alphabet stamps, Colorbox marigold & mango tango inks, Zing clear embossing powder, Lil Inkers flip flop, large sunshine & stitched rectangle mat dies, dimensionals
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A Confession, an Announcement... and Cards

First, the confession: despite the best of intentions, I rarely manage to play along with the weekly challenges at the challenge blog CASology. I follow the blog faithfully, save the cue word... and then *poof*! Time runs out. 
Then the other day, the post asked commenters to guess what what their 100th challenge word would be... and I was the one who got it right! That means I have the privilege of joining the talented design team as a guest for July. Woo hoo! 
I decided I really should get my act together and get a card made IN TIME for the current 100th challenge, with the cue word CELEBRATE.

And here is my completely unsubtle approach to that word:

In my personal definition of it, this squeaks in under the CAS (clean and simple) style. Although there are a lot of die cut glasses, they combine to form one main focal image. The hardest part of the card was trying to figure out how I was going to adhere all the glasses in just the *random* way I wanted them. Micro glue dots to the rescue! Micro glue dots are entirely too large for those teeny sequins, though... the smallest possible dots of Glossy Accents hold them in place. 
With all the Paper Smooches glasses, I am also going to enter this in the current Anything Goes challenge at SPARKS. I have a second Paper Smooches card I made, but it is such a major CASE (copy and share everything) of a card by current guest designer Diane that I'm certainly not entering it in a challenge. It will make a great end-of-school-year card though -- and that's something to celebrate, too! 

One more thing to celebrate... I think I've proved to myself that if I put my mind to it, I really can make a challenge card on time! ☺

Supplies: (celebrate) a rainbow of cardstock from various companies including Stampin' Up, Lawn Fawn Hello Sunshine patterned paper, Paper Smooches Free Spirits Icons & Avery Elle Cheers dies, Simon Says Stamps sequins; (yee haw) white, Stampin' Up (?) blue & kraft & Bazzill textured yellow cardstock, Paper Smooches Smarty Pants & Buckaroo stamps, Versafine onyx black, Memories black & Memento Luxe espresso truffle inks, Zing clear embossing powder, Prismacolor pencils, pop dot tape & squares

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