Age is Just a Number...

Let's Seize the Birthday today! Of course, birthdays mark the passage of time, and time in that sense seems to only move in one direction, which leads us to our newest topping...

IT'S JUST A NUMBER. Some birthday numbers are great: a first birthday, sweet sixteen, turning eighteen... but if you know my cards, you know I enjoy adding a little humour whenever possible, so naturally I went in a different direction: 

We actually did a very similar theme once before, and then as now, this sentiment is just too close to the theme to resist using it. I made sure the rest of the card was completely different, though. I added some caution tape stripes to my background with a Papertrey Ink set; one reads Caution: Another Year Older, while the other says So Many Candles... So Little Cake! For the cake, I used an Essentials by Ellen layer cake, with candles from the same Hero Arts set as the sentiment. Of course I had to add a little sparkle to the candle flames. Lots of stamping, so I am going to add this to Simon Says Stamp's Monday challenge: Stamp It. 

If you don't want to be as in-your-face about someone's birthday as this ;) remember that our toppings are always optional - we love to see any newly created card in our gallery! Our latest surprise guest, Annie and the rest of the Seize the Birthday party goers have lots more inspiration for you on the challenge blog. 

Supplies: Neenah white & Stampin' Up Cajun Craze (?) cardstock, Essentials by Ellen Wish Big, Hero Arts Irreverent Birthday & Papertrey Ink Caution Another Year Older stamps, Versafine onyx black & Catherine Pooler tiara & orange twist inks, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, Sugar Pea Designs card builder elements, Paper Smooches Bannerific & Spellbinders circle dies, Recollections clear glitter glue

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On the First Three Days of Christmas

I've been making Christmas cards all year this year for ABC Christmas Challenge, but sometimes I like to make cards just for fun! Also, I've been missing playing along at Jingle Belles, where they have a fun challenge right now: The Twelve Days of Christmas. You can be inspired by the Christmas song, or simply use numbers on your card. I have the perfect set for that! 

I think if one tries hard enough, one can fit all twelve days on a card, but I was happy to use the first three. The idea to stamp the French hen (she looks so Francophone in her blue beret and red wattle) three times was totally inspired by Michele Ferguson. I like how the birds together form a Christmas tree shape (or am I stretching a bit? :D) and how they look with just pops of colour and some minimal shading. Only the pear got a little bit of Copic blending. 

This makes Christmas card #30 for the year! 

Supplies: Neenah white & Stampin' Up real red cardstock, Essentials by Ellen Twelve Days & Hero Arts Family and Friends stamps, Versafine onyx black & Catherine Pooler Rockin' Red ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers

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The Snarky Sisters and Liquor

It's the weekend, and not surprisingly, Edna and the Snarky Sisters' thoughts turn to liquor. That's right, our newest challenge is L is for Liquor. Here's my sober take on the theme: 

Such a variety of martinis to choose from! Of course, eventually they all catch up with one. The martinis and sentiment are from a fun My Favorite Things set. The three glasses are mounted on fun foam to add some dimension. I'm adding this card to the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge Stamp It, and CASology's LOL challenge. 

My sisters in snark are of course offering lots more drunken inspiration on this theme, and so is our current guest designer and Queen of Snark, Julie! Grab an adult beverage and some stamps and join us! 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, My Favorite Things Martini Time stamps & dies, Uniko Background Builders Christmas 2018 stamps, Versamark, Memento pear tart & rich cocoa & Catherine Pooler Tiara & orange twist ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, fun foam

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Happy Little Stampers ATC: Ocean/Sea

It's time for the September Happy Little Stampers ATC Challenge to begin! This month our theme is OCEAN or SEA. Funnily enough, this is the third time a team I'm on has picked this theme recently, so I was all set with pieces I could use as backgrounds! I had no trouble coming up with five ideas: 

Here are a few details about each one...

This background was made with Unity stamps and watercolour powders. My watercoloured crocodile (alligator?) is from Technique Tuesday and the sentiment from Essentials by Ellen. 

This shimmery background (if you squint you might see it 😉) is made with Twinkling H2Os and the plastic wrap technique. The cute little otter, coloured with Copics, is from Lawn Fawn and the sentiment from Sunny Studio. That wave I cut into the panel is part of an ATC die set from STAMPendous... how handy! 

This uses another part of the same panel as the crocodile ATC, this time with a My Favourite Things fish and a sentiment from Newton's Nook, tied on with some Hemptique variegated cord. 

Another piece from the same panel as my sea otter, but this time with a sea turtle stamp (from Hawaii!) stamped and embossed with one of my all-time favourite embossing powders, verdigris. Another sentiment from the same Essentials by Ellen set. 

And finally, another piece of watercolour powder background I happened to find, this time with a turtle and seaweed from Paper Smooches. After colouring him with Copics, I added a little sparkle to the edge of his shell. The sentiment is Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous. 

*SEA* anything that inspires you? My ATC teammates have lots more ocean-themed inspiration on the Happy Little Stampers blog. Never made an Artist Trading Card (or Coin) before? Everything you need to know is on the HLS blog, too! 

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Thanks for Challenges

It seems so long since I've been able to play along in challenges just for fun! Since I needed a couple of thank you cards sooner rather than later, I grabbed some inspiration from current challenges. 
Freshly Made Sketches offered a new card design today: 

With some stretching of the design elements, here's my take on the sketch: 

I pulled out an old Papertrey Ink sunflower set for my flowers, stamping two larger ones in yellow and a smaller one in orange. While the centres can be stamped and die cut separately, I decided for this card, at least, I preferred the look of them stamped directly on top of the flowers. To soften the centres a bit, I sponged them lightly with antique linen distress ink. For the circle element, I overlapped some yellow patterned paper with brown. The sentiment is from Altenew, and matted on the same brown. 

My Favorite Things also presented a new sketch today: 

Turning the circle element into a flower, here's my version: 

With apologies to MFT, the only product of theirs I used is the die cut tag. The large gerbera daisy is a two-step stamp from Uniko. I used a light and darker orange ink on the solid stamp to add a little extra shading. I backed the flower with some patterned paper on a grey mat. The thank you is another Altenew stamp from the same sentiment set as the first card. 

These two cards have already been written in and addressed! Amazing what one can accomplish under pressure. :D 

Supplies: (sunflower) Neenah white cardstock, Authentique Be(you)tiful & My Mind's Eye Baroque patterned paper, Papertrey Ink Simple Sunflowers stamps and dies, Altenew Many Thanks stamp, Catherine Pooler Tiara & Sauna, Memento bamboo leaves & antique linen distress ink, Spellbinders circle die, foam tape; (gerbera) Neenah white & Stampin' Up smoky slate cardstock, Authentique Be(you)tiful patterned paper, Uniko Gerbera & Altenew Many Thanks stamps, Simon Says Stamp intense black, Catherine Pooler sauna & tutti frutti & Memento bamboo leaves ink, MFT blueprints 29 label die

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ABC Christmas: S & T

SEPTEMBER. Now that we've entered that final third of the calendar year, can't you feel the impending rush of the holiday season in the background? You know it will be here before you know it... and that's why, if you haven't already begun, it's a great time to start making your Christmas cards! And ABC Christmas Challenge is here to help you with two fun themes for the month: S for SPARKLE and T for TEXTURE. 
Here is my sparkly card: 

Probably the majority of my Christmas cards have at least a little sparkle on them, but of course when faced with the prompt, my mind suddenly went blank. After I wandered around cyberspace for a few minutes, I found this card by Donna Mikasa, and my own grew out of her pretty inspiration. The blue panel has three types of sparkle: shimmery watercolour powder (and why more brands don't have a sparkle option is really kind of surprising); a few sprays of shimmer mist; and finally, some splatters of a different shimmer mist where the sprayer is now clogged. ;) More sparkle is offered by the snowflakes cut from glitter cardstock. Of course I used sparkly embossing powder for the sentiment. And finally, iridescent snowflakes and confetti for even more bling. 

For my texture card, I decided to go rustic:

Again, I needed a nudge to get me started, and these tags by Elena Roussakis provided just the right inspiration. Texture? Let me count the ways.  Textured cardstock for the stitched die cut focal panel. Embossing paste snowflakes. Torn paper snow. Stitched die cut tree and trunk. Jute twine. Woodgrain embossed background panel. I think that about covers it. :) 
Lots of sparkle and texture to admire on the ABC Christmas blog! I hope you can join us with your own Christmas creation! 

Supplies: (sparkle) Neenah white & Stampin' Up whisper white glitter cardstock, Canson watercolour paper, Clearly Besotted Message Me stamp, mermaid lagoon distress ink, Wow clear glitter embossing powder, Cosmo Cricket Pixie Paint pool party watercolour powder, Tsukineko sheer sparkle & Radiant Rain shimmer sprays, MFT double stitched rectangle & Tim Holtz/Sizzix mini paper snowflakes dies, Studio Katia iridescent ice flakes & crystal clear confetti; (texture) Neenah desert storm, Stampin' Up naturals white & old olive, Bazzill textured kraft & scrap of brown cardstock, Lil' Inkers Holly Jolly & MFT double stitched rectangle dies, PTI woodgrain impression plate, Simon Says Stamp falling snow stencil, Dreamweavers glossy white embossing paste, May Arts red jute twine, Little Things from Lucy's Cards gold dust star confetti

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