CAS Game #199 at the AAA Cards challenge is No Layers + optional twist Hugs. Who doesn’t like hugs? CAS and no layers is a little more difficult for me. This was my third attempt to create this girlfriend card.

After stamping my image in VersaFine Clair nocturne black ink, I heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. I really need to remember that this ink stays very wet which is why this is my third attempt….inky fingers make inky marks!! Anyway it is easier for me to color when I heat emboss my images so all is good. After coloring in my girlfriends with a variety of markers and pencils, I added the sentiment across their feet. It was just too funny to put in the inside of the card. My girlfriends and I are making plans that if we need to be put into a “home” away from home we need adjoining rooms.

My stamp set is Art Impressions “Live Laugh Love”. It’s really great that AI gives you colored images on their packaging.

Thanks for stopping in for a peek and stay safe.

The challenge with the As You See It Challenge blog is a speed challenge with humor. Create a card under 10 minutes and should be funny. I love these speed challenges as it really gets your adrenaline pumping. I pulled out my cardstock, decided on my stamps and design and got busy. The image and sentiment are both from an Inkadinkadoo clear stamp set probably from 2007. I have mini stamps of the same kind of stamps and they are dated 2007 so I’m figuring this stamp set is from the same time period. The images are really fun in this set.

Anyway I stamped them in black ink and die cut the circle (GKD large circle single stitched die) from white cardstock and die cut the Spellbinder’s scalloped nestabilities circlein black for the layering portion. I actually had to do this step twice since I couldn’t line the circle up on the scalloped piece….still not perfect but keeping it as time was ticking. The green panel was run through my Big Shot using Cuttlebug’s Happy Birthday embossing folder. The HB sentiment was fussy cut and finished in 9 minutes 41 seconds….WHEW ! I really cut this card close to the 10 minute deadline.

Our daughter’s birthday is in December and this card is definitely going to her. LOL…she should love it but I wonder if she thinks she’s more like me or her father. I can tell you it’s her dad!!!

Thanks for stopping in for a peek. Hope you enjoyed the last weekend in summer! Stay safe.

Challenge #258 – In The Air is the theme for the As You See It Challenge blog and anything that is in the air.

If you look closely at my very brightly colored background you will find several in the air items. And although not an actual rainbow, my background is rainbow colored. But just to meet the challenge requirements, I added several hot air balloons. That wonderful background is from Taylored Expressions’ Summer Vibes red rubber background stamp. The hot air balloons are Gina K Designs’ Up & Away stamp set illustrated by Theresa Momber.

This may be too much color for some but I’m loving it. This card went to my niece’s daughter in Florida. I’m hoping she will love it.

Thanks for stopping in for a peek. Stay safe and have a great day.

Gina K is hosting the Monthly Mix Challenge for September and has challenged us to create a background using ink cubes direct to paper. Although I haven’t invested in a lot of cubes, I was able to create my background using Sea Glass, Blue Lagoon, Tranquil Teal, Turquoise Sea and Applemint ink cubes. These were newer GKD colors and are colors that I enjoy so opted for the cubes for storage purposes. Any way….for my card today, I swiped the different colors across my cardstock ending with the Applemint, then added some Applemint to each of the other colors to add some interest. To me the background needed a little more interest so I pulled out GKD’s Leafy stencil and stenciled over that using Wild Dandelion. Why stop there? I then ran the stencil still attached to my cardstock through my Big Shot to dry emboss and add some more texture. Why stop there? Well, yes I did except for adding the sentiment and butterflies from GKD’s Birthday Blessings stamp and die set. LOL!! The butterflies were stamped in black onxy and sentiment in white pigment and added white embossing powder.

Fun challenge!

Thanks for stopping in for a peek. Stay safe and have a great day!!

Another week and a half of summer before we can expect some cooler temperatures and the leaves begin to change colors….but who’s counting? Certainly not the thermometers since it’s supposed to be back in the 90’s the next few days in Pennsylvania.

The CAS challenge with AAA Cards is up to One Third + optional twist Leaves. Since I’m getting ready for fall, I am opting into the twist. My leaves are layered on one third of the cardstock which was sponged using GKD inks in Wild Dandelion, Sweet Mango and Coral Reef and I partially dry embossed the sponged area with Cuttlebug’s Forest Branches embossing folder. The leaves are GKD/Thermoweb Stamp N Foil Thankful Leaves. I stamped and die cut the leaves instead of using the foil option. Since my one third section looked a little crooked after sponging (to be expected), I added a thin strip of glittery paper and stamped the sentiment from GKD’s Autumn Splendor StampTV kit in SSS Dark Chocolate. The sentiment is surprisingly pretty straight especially since it was a red rubber stamp that I had to cut….yikes!!

Thanks for stopping in for a peek. Stay safe and have a great day.

CAS challenge with The Sisterhood of Crafters challenge blog has a little twist. Not Clean and Simple but rather Cute and Simple! Fun play on CAS. So I opted for a cute image from SSS’s Happy Haunting stamp set with cats and pumpkins. I decided to make my pumpkins more colorful and the card lighter, too. My background for the cats and pumpkins is a Taylored Expressions stencil “Play the Angle” which was sponged with more lighter non-traditional Halloween colors.

Looks cute to me! Thanks for stopping in for a peek. Have a great day and stay safe.

To help celebrate the 600th challenge for the Just Us Girls Challenge. The word week challenge is 6 of anything. Using my Tim Holtz Sizzix cut out leaves dies, I lined up 6 of the decorative leaves and I do believe they are straight too…..LOL; stamped the sentiment in GKD’s Honey Mustard and sponged lightly around the border. The sentiment is from GKD’s Haunts and Harvest stamp set from the Festive Fall card kit. The patterned paper under the die cuts is Gilded Ink paper pad by Recollections.

Fun challenge and I’m getting anxious for fall to begin with some cooler weather.

Thanks for stopping in for a peek. Have a great day and stay safe.

It’s the September Anything Halloween challenge with the Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge blog and what an interesting mood board to inspire a card.

All of those skeleton heads caught my eye but really it was the awesome hats helped me decide on the Tim Holtz framelets with stamps and texture fades set.

To begin, I created a woodgrain background on black cardstock using 1/4 inch score lines, then swiped Hero Hues Unicorn White pigment ink over the score lines. After that dried, I spritzed that background a few times with the Halloween color Distress Oxide sprays and then came back in with the spider web stamp from the same set stamping in the Hero Hues unicorn white ink, adding some white embossing powder and heat setting. The spider was die cut from the same set too. I needed to add a flower and found this rosette in my stash and added the orange gem to the top.

I had a lot of fun creating this background and card with the hopes of getting some mojo back.

Thanks for stopping in for a peek. Happy Labor Day and stay safe.

Today’s card was created to play along with the Double D Challenges: Anything with a Tail. I decided to use the Hero Arts Reef Border and Frame Fancy Die for my background which framed a piece of ocean patterned paper and the Hero Arts Mermaid stamp & cut set for my card to be entered into this challenge.

It turned into a beautiful day today once Ida moved through our area and gave us a heavy soaking. This card reminds me that summer is coming to a close and also the calm after the storm.

Thanks for stopping in for a peek and have a great day. Stay Safe!