Seize the Birthday: Stripes

Hooray, it's a Seize the Birthday Thursday! Our latest topping should be fun and easy: STRIPES. But if stripes aren't calling to you, we love to see any new birthday card appear in our link-up. Here's my stripy version: 

The day I made this, it was a perfect day to sit outside and use my watercolour powders - not too windy is important, I've discovered. ;) I do like to try to work outside with some of the messier media, though. This also gave it a chance to dry more quickly in the warm summer air. While I waited, I die cut the main panel from the same watercolour paper and added the big, quirky sentiment. Then I ran the coloured panel through the same die and inset the stripes. I now also have a colourful cover plate to use for another card! I added three gems to help ground the sentiment. Quick and fun!

The beginning of August means a brand new surprise party guest: Jenny! Check out her card, as well as those from the rest of the birthday team, then have fun playing!

Supplies: Canson watercolour paper, Rubber Stampede Swirl Happy Birthday stamp, Versamark, Catherine Pooler Juniper Mist ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Magenta Nuance cerulean & berry watercolour powders, Sugar Pea Designs large striped cover plate die, Studio Katia September crystals

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ABC Christmas Challenge: P, Q and R

It's the first Wednesday of <gasp> August, and that means it's time for a new ABC Christmas Challenge! We have three prompts for you this month: P for PLUMP, Q for QUALITY STREET and R for RIBBON. There are more details on the blog if any of these seem a little confusing. ;) (Probably not ribbon... :D) And since I am hosting the challenge this month, I have a prize up for grabs for one lucky participant: 

I own this set as well, and you can
see a card example here. 

First up, P for Plump, and I went with a plump little snowman: 

I love this line of snow peeps from Unity, and don't use them nearly often enough. He is stamped, embossed and coloured with Copics - and as you can see, embellished with Stickles and Glossy Accents. 

Next, Q for Quality Street. Apparently the purple-wrapped chocolate is one of the most popular, so there's my reason for a purple Christmas card! 

I foiled this large sentiment onto a dark purple cardstock panel, then backed it with, as it turns out, the same patterned paper as I used for one of my cards last month! Which means I must be almost out of it, sigh. I thought the stripes echoed the colourful candies in the tin. A bit. :D 

Last up, the Straightforward R for Ribbon. I mostly use ribbon for tags, but decided it would be fun to create a card with a ribbon element: 

This starts with a 6"x6" background stamp, that I embossed in gold on watercolour cardstock before colouring with Twinkling H2Os. I took just one section of the finished panel, topped it with some off-white cardstock, and added the sentiment, ribbon, and crystals. 

I have a nice section of the panel left for another card, but I also had a smaller off-cut just begging to be made into a tag: 

Now I think I should have incorporated black into my card! ;) 

My first and third cards are off to the current challenge at Jingle Belles, Red & Green All Over. 

Don't forget, I have a little prize on offer this month! And be sure to check out all the beautiful inspiration from my ABC teammates. 

Supplies: (be merry) Neenah white & Fabriano grey cardstock, Echo Park Times & Seasons patterned paper, Unity Gifts Galore (snow peep Nicholas) & Hero Arts Family and Friends stamps, Versafine smoky grey ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, Spellbinders circles & MFT blueprints 29 stitched rectangle die, icicle & frosted lace Stickles, Glossy Accents; (merry Christmas) Fabriano purple cardstock, Doodlebug Frosty & Friends patterned paper, Picket Fence Merry Christmas foiling die, Crafters Companion silver foil, MFT double stitched rectangle die; (joy & love) Bazzill marshmallow cardstock, Fabriano hot press watercolour paper, Simon Says Stamp Outline Winter Floral & Furry Christmas stamps, Versamark ink, Simon Says Stamp antique gold embossing powder, Twinkling H2Os, MFT blueprints 24 stitched rectangle die, May Arts ribbon, Studio Katia gold crystals; (tag) Recollections black cardstock, Fabriano hot press watercolour paper, gold pearl paper, Simon Says Stamp Outline Winter Floral & Unity/Jillibean Soup Christmas Eve Chowder stamps, Versamark & Catherine Pooler rouge ink, Simon Says Stamp antique gold embossing powder, Twinkling H2Os, CUTplorations manila tag die, Recollections ribbon

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Addicted to Stamps and More: Make Your Mark

Addicted to Stamps and More is back with a new Make Your Mark challenge! I decided to make my mark with interference watercolours on some black watercolour cardstock: 

This black watercolour cardstock pad is a recent purchase, and I may be in love! 140 pound weight, lightly textured, and takes heat embossing beautifully! I embossed the pansy stamp in white, then used Daniel Smith interference watercolours to paint it. Of course I had to look up what exactly was meant by "interference", and apparently the pigments refract, rather then reflect, the light. So they are shimmery and quite different from the way they look on my dot page. (I look forward to trying the red, which is barely even pink in the sample.) Added a white-embossed sentiment and adhered it to a purple card base. The close up gives a better idea of the colour and shine. 
 

Whatever you choose to make your mark with, I hope you'll join us! 

Supplies: Fabriano purple cardstock, Van Gogh black watercolour paper, Ellen Hutson Pressing Thoughts & Waffle Flower Holiday Hugs stamps, Versamark ink, Wow white embossing powder, Daniel Smith watercolours, Winnie & Walter Katharine cutaways pierced rectangle die

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Happy Little Stampers: CAS

It's time for a new Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge! This month we are asking you to create an off the edge design. Mine doesn't fall too far off the edges, but enough to count! 

Is this not a showstopper of a rose stamp by Concord & 9th? Best part - the stamps do all the work for you! I stamped and embossed the outline in black onto my card panel. The layering stamps give it such an artsy look. It was just by chance that the top "splash" also went of the edge, but I really like that it did. From there, it was a simple matter to emboss the sentiment with some gold accent embossing powder, and pop up the main panel on some fun foam. 

This rose is seeing ink for the first time, so off it goes to the August NBUS challenge. 

Beautiful and varied "off the edge" cards by my talented teammates can be seen on the HLS blog! Why not play along? 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, Concord & 9th Painted Rose stamps, Versafine onyx black & Catherine Pooler Do-Si-Do, Polished, Mint to Be & Bay Breeze ink, Wow clear gloss & clear gold highlights embossing powder, MFT blueprints 24 stitched rectangle die, fun foam

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Ellen Hutson Summer of Stamping: New Release!

Ellen Hutson has a brand new release available NOW! It's the final release for the Essentials by Ellen Summer of Stamping, and it features new designs by Julie Ebersole! I am thrilled to be playing along today with stamps and dies from Julie's new set, Stay Cool. It's full of fun graphic images. Here's my first card: 

Popsicles! A perfect summer treat. The edible parts of the popsicles are stamped as intended, but to add a little texture to the sticks, after I inked each one, I "kissed" it with the wavy stamp in the set - this added a bit of woodgrain to them. I did add an embossed white highlight to each treat. To ground them, I stamped the dotted stamp repeatedly in my lightest yellow ink for a subtle background. I used the same ink to add the embellishments on either side of the sentiment, adding some shimmer with a glitter pen. 

While I was stamping my popsicles, I was reminded of a sentiment in an older set by Julie, and thus my second card was born: 

Put the semi-circle and the triangle stamps from the set together, and you get an ice cream cone! Although chocolate would be my favourite, brown might not have looked as fun as strawberry does. ;) A fancy edge, some patterned paper, and a sprinkling of sequins add interest to this CAS card. 

The Ellen Hutson brand ambassadors are showing off all the new release products with an Instagram hop... I do believe there may be prizes, not to mention all kinds of beautiful inspiration using the new release! Be sure to check it out, and thanks for stopping by! 

Supplies: 

Stay Cool by Julie Ebersole, Summer of Stamping Clear Stamps

Stay Cool by Julie Ebersole, Summer of Stamping Designer Dies

Solar White - 25 pk, Neenah Classic Crest Cardstock

Solar White Heavyweight 110 lb - 25 pk, Neenah Classic Crest Cardstock

Everyday Punnies by Julie Ebersole, Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps

Black & White Stripes, My Favorite Things Paper Pack

VersaMark Ink Pad

VersaFine Ink Pad, Onyx Black

Do-Si-Do, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad

Sweet Sixteen, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad

Lemon Chiffon, My Favorite Things Premium Dye Ink Cube

Memento Dew Drop Ink Pad, Angel Pink

Memento Dew Drop Ink Pad, Rose Bud

WOW Embossing Powder, Super Fine - Clear Gloss

WOW Embossing Powder, Super Fine - Opaque Bright White

Wonky Stitched Rectangle STAX, My Favorite Things Die-namics

Slimline Basics Borders, Sunny Studio Dies

Sparkle Pens Clear Overlay, Crafter's Companion Spectrum Noir

4mm Cupped, Sparkling Clear, Pretty Pink Posh Sequins

Tonic Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive

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Color Hues: Yellow and Pink

And just like that, it's August! The first of the month means it is time for a new challenge at Color Hues. Teammate Hannelie has chosen our hues this time around and they are YELLOW and PINK!  Initially, I wasn't going to make a floral card, as they can be tricky without the option of green for the foliage, but in the end, I did:

I started with a summery gingham panel with a background stamp and my lightest yellow ink. Next I smooshed two watercolour panels, one in the same yellow, and another in a trio of pink distress inks. The flowers were die cut from the pink, obviously, and the flower centres and accents from the yellow. To keep things light, I stamped the sentiment in grey rather than black ink before embossing in clear. After arranging the flowers, they still needed a little something, so I added some liquid glue to the centres and adhered some chunky glitter. 

Beautiful inspiration cards from my teammates and our current guest designer, Conil! I hope these pretty colours and the teams' projects will inspire you to join us. 

Supplies: Neenah white and Papertrey Ink soft stone cardstock, Canson watercolour paper, Concord & 9th Gingham Background & Filled In Florals stamps, Versafine smoky grey, MFT lemon chiffon & spun sugar, kitsch flamingo & picked raspberry distress inks, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Concord & 9th Everyday Bouquet dies, Studio Katia frost glitter

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