Last month Hero Arts had the perfect challenge for me in my current crafting frame of mind, since they were looking for holiday cards. So did I flood them with entries? Of course not. :P I put one card in, at the last minute, and it wasn't even a Christmas card.
I made this card from one of the sketches on offer, posted it at the last minute... and thought it was, well, okay. I looked at it again over the next few days, and then finally decided to take it apart and see if I could make it better.
The thin black mats just seemed to make the other elements 'pop' more, and the off-white card base brought out the colours of the patterned paper more effectively than the white. It's still not my favourite card ever ;) but I'm definitely happier with it.
In the meantime, I'm trying to be a little more efficient when it comes to the current month's contest.
Of course this month Hero Arts isn't asking for holiday cards, but I managed to work one in anyway, using three of the colours in their colour palette -- red, blue and olive. I also added some bling with snowflake embossing tinsel on the reindeer sweater and glitter embossing powder on the tree, as well as the star on top.
This reindeer does look merry, doesn't he? :D
P.S. It's my week off, but the current Crafty Creations challenge looks like a fun one, so check it out!
Supplies: (thank you) white, mauve & black cardstock, Generations subtles collection card base, Basic Grey plumeria patterned paper, Hero Arts Le Journal stamp, Versafine onyx black ink, clear embossing powder, Martha Stewart border punch, K&Company BW Flora & Fauna Charmers charm; (be merry) white cardstock, DCWV patterned paper, Hero Arts Christmas Reindeer & Get Merry! stamps, Versafine onyx black, Versamark, Stampin' Up old olive craft & real red & Brilliance sky blue inks, clear & glitter clear embossing powders, Ranger snowflake embossing tinsel, recycled star, pop-dot tape
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I have another entry for the last ever Chick Challenges with {ippity} challenge! I was struggling with the second layout they offered, but was then inspired by -- of all things -- my great-niece's newly redecorated bedroom. She's turning six soon, and as with many girls that age, loves pink, and princesses, and fairies... and butterflies. Her room is so pink, it seems to glow, and in one corner, there is a large butterfly mobile with additional butterfly wall decals. Those details coalesced into this:
The photo doesn't capture all the glimmer and shimmer I managed to pack onto this card. I used two colours of pearlescent ink, a Crafter's Workshop butterfly stencil, two images from Bevy of Butterflies and a sentiment that I stamped three times, including a second-generation stamping in the pink and purple. The glittery ribbon and some bling up the shine factor, too. I think it's a perfect card for my girly-girl's birthday. ;)
Supplies: white & purple cardstock, Unity Bevy of Butterflies & (?) stamps, Brilliance pearlescent orchid & pearlescent purple inks, Crafter's Workshop mini butterfly ballet template, Stampin' Up basic rhinestones, 3/4" square punch, $ store ribbon, pop-dot tape
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And... it's Friday again already! Time for Unity Friends with Flair. For today's card, I went with one of the two sketches on offer for the current Chick Challenges {with ippity} challenge. Wouldn't you know it; I only just recently discovered this site, and now the challenge blog is closing!
I'm not sure I've ever made an ironic card before, but I thought "winter joy" would be a fun sentiment to pair with this less-than-joyful penguin. He's coloured with a combination of Sharpies and watercolour pencils, and the sky sponged with a little iridescent ink. I used one kind of Stickles on his hat trim, and another kind for the snow. I like that this guy can be coloured a little differently each time I use him. I may try paper-piecing him soon!
As always, check out the Unity blog to see what else people are creating this week! Oh, and maybe their weekend sale. ;) Have a great weekend.
Supplies: white & blue cardstock, DCWV patterned paper, {ippity} pain and pride & roly poly winter joy stamps, Versafine onyx black, Versamark & Stampin' Up real red inks, clear embossing powder, Sharpies, watercolour pencils, frosted lace & rock candy distress Stickles, Spellbinders circle dies, Inspirations grosgrain ribbon, 3/4" square punch, pop-dot tape
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There is nary a flower in sight at Crafty Creations Challenges today. The challenge: a project with NO flowers. When I mentioned the theme to my husb, he said, "that's a challenge???" :P He's obviously used to my style of crafting. ;) If you like to embellish your creations, it may be more difficult. But have no fear! I'm here to give you some ideas.
Idea #1: Keep it CAS (clean and simple). 'Nuff said.
Idea #2: Pick an animal theme! I went with cats.
I needed a card for our cat-sitter after a weekend away, and used this sweet Market Street Stamps cat, paper-pieced with appropriate cat-themed paper, along with a little pink for her ears, nose and cheeks.
Idea #3: Go for a Christmas card! As long as poinsettias aren't involved, this should make it easy. And snowflakes can always stand in where flowers might normally go.
Isn't this reindeer elegant? I was also glad to discover that even after two years, my silver embossing powder is still usable, though starting to look a teeny bit tarnished. I think I can eke another few months out of it. A sentiment could just as easily have gone where the snowflakes are.
Check out the rest of the DT inspiration this week, and show us what you can do without flowers!
Supplies: (cat card) white & SU pink pirouette cardstock, Reminisce here, kitty, kitty patterned paper, Market Street Stamps cool cats, Versafine onyx black ink, clear embossing powder; (reindeer card) white & Recollections silver cardstock, navy paint chip, Hero Arts dashing reindeer & Christmas reindeer stamps, Versamark, silver embossing powder
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I do like my paint chips. They're free, come in a huge variety of colours and styles, have a nice finish... and did I mention they're free? ;) Paint chips can be a bit tricky to work with, but if you mess up -- oh well, it was free!
Every once in a while, I get out my bin of paint chips and see what happens. Here's one thing that happened:
A version of this card gets made every year -- it's my husb's favourite. (Eventually, we'll run out of people we haven't already sent it to, I suppose.) The only adornments are a really thin mat of platinum pearl paper (surprisingly difficult to see in the photo) and a rhinestone in the centre of the star.
I played some more, and this resulted:
I finally tried colouring my old office supply-type brads with embossing powder, and it works so well! (I emboss everything, yet had never tried this. Silly.) I thought the patterned paper was a perfect backdrop for the sparkly tree. Since I'm so proud of my brads, I'm going to enter this in the current (well, for another few hours) Do You Stack Up (DYSU) challenge to use them.
I'll be back tomorrow with a fun new challenge from Crafty Creations Challenges! (This week's "Just One" is still open till sometime in the wee hours this morning.) There may or may not be more paint chips involved. ☺
Supplies (polar bear) white cardstock, platinum pearl paper, navy paint chip, Westover Enterprises stamp, Colorbox frost white ink, Wow white embossing powder, Stampin' Up basic rhinestone; (Christmas tree) white and Recollections green linen-finish cardstock, Echo Park very merry Christmas music notes patterned paper, red paint chip, Prima Marketing stamp, Versamark, Ranger snowflake embossing tinsel & real red embossing powder, brass brads, iridescent cord
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And suddenly it's Friday again... not to mention November. No idea how that happened. ;)
Other than days of rain, we were unaffected by Hurricane Sandy, and I hope all is well with you, too, if you're reading this.
November for me means Christmas card-making kicks into high gear. I like to have most of them done by December, so I can focus on all the other Christmas tasks. So of course I went for a Christmas card today for Friends with Flair.
I decided to start the month by following the sketch for the Unity Kit of the Month sketch challenge. This cute little snowman is from the December 2010 kit, Just Be You. Since he's a fairly simple line drawing, I kept the colouring simple, too, but did add some interest with Stickles on his hatband and cheek, black enamel accents on his eyes and mouth, and glossy accents on his heart. Full disclosure: the sentiment is from a Jillibean Soup set, not a KOM, but I hope that doesn't disqualify the card. The sentiment is embossed in red to match his heart. I was going to use a snowflake-embossed panel behind him, but the patterned paper added needed colour.
And here's the promised bonus tag!
I am not a Tim Holtz-type tag-maker. My tags are to put on presents, not to frame and put on display. :D So by definition I keep them simple. I started by embossing the snowman in white, sponged and edged the tag in blue and added the rhinestones and ribbons.
Check out the Unity website for lots of inspiration -- probably some other Christmas projects, too! And just for a change, there's a weekend sale, too. Hope your weekend is dry and warm!
Supplies: (card) white & teal cardstock, DCWV patterned paper, Unity December 2010 Kit of the Month ( Just Be You) snowman, Unity/Jillibean soup Christmas Eve Chowder sentiment, Versamark & Memories black ink, Ranger rich red embossing powder, rock candy distress Stickles, Glossy Accents, black Enamel Accents, Spellbinders circle die, Marvy-Uchida corner-rounding punch, silver elastic cord, pop-dot tape (tag) white cardstock, Unity Snowbody Warms My Heart stamp, Colorbox frost white & Brilliance sky blue inks, Wow! white embossing powder, frosted lace Stickles, Stampin' Up basic rhinestones, $ store ribbon & iridescent cord, hole puncher
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