Happy Little Stampers: Botanical

Let's welcome in the month of October (already???) with a new Happy Little Stampers Watercolour Challenge! 

Our optional theme this month is Botanical. I went with a tree: 

The stamps I used are from an early Concord & 9th stamp set. After stamping and embossing the elements, I used distress inks to watercolour the birchbark and sky, adding red glitter glue to the tiny heart for a pop of colour and sparkle. A quick and easy wedding card. 

I hope you will come and join us with your watercolour creations! 

Supplies: Stampin' Up very vanilla & Bazzill textured brown cardstock, Canson watercolour paper, Concord & 9th Tree Hugs stamps, Memento Luxe rich cocoa & tumbled glass, antique linen & gathered twigs ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Recollections red glitter glue

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Seize the Birthday: Geometric Shapes

Happy Seize the Birthday Thursday! TaeUen has the honour of picking today's challenge, and she has chosen Add Geometric Shape(s).

I decided if I picked one really good geometric shape, that would be okay. :D 

Of course I'm referring to my big black hexagon acting as background for my main images. However, I would like to also point out the oval olive and the irregular decagon martini glass. ;) I liked the black to make the rest of the images really pop. Aside: this is one of those cards I made and almost immediately used, so I'm making do with the quick photography of that day. (Also, I need to continue to work on my photography...) 

How nice of Simon Says Stamp to have a Wednesday Anything Goes challenge I can add this to! 

The geometric shapes on the the Seize the Birthday design team cards range from one (me) to many! Our current surprise party guest, Annie, has brought some shapes to the party too. Remember, if the geometric topping doesn't square with you :P we love to see any birthday cards in our link up! 

Supplies: Neenah white & Stampin' Up basic black cardstock, MFT Martini Time stamps & dies, MFT A Toast to You stamp, Versamark, Versafine onyx black, Memento new sprout, Versamagic spanish olive ink, Wow clear gloss & Ranger silver extra-fine embossing powder, Paper Smooches Hexalong die, foam tape

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Gross!

It's challenge #144 at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers, so what else could we do but G is for Gross? 

Instead of adding 144 images to my card, I went for the other definition of gross: 

Isn't he a cute little infectious disease carrier? That is a germ that is proud of his work. Since he's so happy, I concentrated on making a somewhat gross background. Iced spruce is my least favourite colour of distress ink, so I started by smooshing that onto some mixed media paper, adding a little bundled sage and fossilized amber oxide as I built up the layers. For dimension, I scattered some aged silver frantage embossing powder, and finally spattered it with some black soot distress ink. The bacterium is coloured with Copics, and the sentiment heat-embossed. Here's a close-up highlighting the inaccuracy of  my adding Glossy Accents to his eyes: 

Once you get over the cringe factor, gross cards are a lot of fun to make! Be sure to check out the gross creations of the Sisterhood as well as our newest Queen of Snark and guest designer, Helen. Show us your worst! 

Supplies: Neenah white & Recollections black cardstock, Canson mixed media paper, Paper Smooches Healthy Vibes stamp & die, Simon Says Stamp/CZ Design Simple Sentiments #1 stamps, Versafine onyx black, iced spruce & bundled sage distress & fossilized amber distress oxide inks, Wow clear gloss & Stampendous aged silver frantage embossing powder, Copic markers, MFT blueprints 29 stitched rectangle die, Glossy Accents, foam tape

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DOG Days of Summer

Shopping Our Stash has a fun new challenge called "The Dog Days of Summer". All you need is a dog on your project! I can do that... 

Look at him, isn't he a cutie in his bow tie! I kept him simple, but went all out on the background with a stencil and two shades of distress ink. I tried to make sure his bow tie matched. The sentiment is a Tim Holtz sticker.  

And now that's done, back to my usual cat cards. 😹

Supplies: Neenah white & (?) blue cardstock, MFT Puppy Kisses stamp, Versafine onyx black & salty ocean & blueprint sketch distress inks, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, MFT stitched rounded rectangle die, Altenew weave builder stencil, Tim Holtz Small Talk Snarky sticker, foam tape

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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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