Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers #254

 

If it's the first Saturday of the month then it's time for the start of a new challenge over at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers blog.  And being early September we're challenging you to create Autumnal themed cards....preferably (but optional) with a bit of humor or snark.  Rather than go the pretty fall leaves route I opted for a Halloween themed card.

Somebody's sure got a lotta raking to do.  Not it!

I began my card with the blending out of the panel.  I like to do this first when possible so it has time to dry before adhering my elements.  And speaking of elements, I stamped, colored (Copics) and fussy cut the images.  I am giving myself a pat on the back for my patience however you can see that I opted to stamp the spider and web 'cause "ain't nobody got time for that!"  I die cut the fence, assembled my elements and finished with the heat embossed sentiment.  

Supplies:

Art Impressions - Fright Night stamp set

MFT - Animal Farm Fence

I invite you to visit our blog for my autumnal inspiration where Leslie is our Reigning Queen.  You could be next!  

Thanks for visiting!

Jules

Color Hues #94

Hello again, my dearest crafty friends.  We have another color combination for you to try out at our Color Hues blog.  Carol is our host and she's chosen the perfect duo for autumnal cards but of course, don't limit yourself.  Anything goes as long as it uses just our two colors and our select neutrals.  You will see I added browns, tans and golds to my mix.

As I often like to do, I die cut my elements in white cardstock and then used Distress Oxide inks to color them.  This makes my die cutting process far more streamlined and allows me to choose colors along the way rather than right at the beginning. (Read that as .... I change my mind a lot.)

I die cut an assortment of leaves, twigs and acorns and used shades of dark orange (rust), greens, and browns.  We don't get fall here in Florida but I really do love the season.  I always try to get up to North Carolina in October to see my son's family as well as smell the frest autumn air.  

I gold heat embossed the sentiment and positioned it onto a small panel.  Too bad you can't really see the shine but at least it didn't mess with my photo this time.  I placed the foliage underneath until I found the "perfect" design.  (Ha...do not be fooled.  It took me hours.  LOL!)  I embossed the background to give it some additional fall feels and adhered it all to a piece of designer paper before assembling my card.

Supplies:

Scrapbook.com - Autumn Leaves die set

Erin Lee Creative - Loved stamp set

Simon Says Stamp - Layered Vine embossing folder

Spellbinders - very, very old deckled edge panel die set

Distress Oxides

gold embossing powder

Our guest designer is Colleen.  How do you become a guest you ask?  Play along and if your card is chosen from our gallery you automatically receive the honor of being showcased on our blog.  What are you waiting for???  Come play along!!!

As always, thanks so much for visiting!!! Your time is important to me.

Jules

Creating for Fun - Part 5

I am so fortunate to have Real Life crafty friends just a few hours away.  We have been trying to get together every few months and it's something I really enjoy.  This is a nod to Nancy and Carol who both live on the opposite coast of Florida.  We get together and craft, eat, drink and laugh.  The upside is that we also get to share supplies.  My cards today were created with dies I borrowed from Carol.  

My process in "borrowing" involves taking my little Empress mini die cut machine (TOTALLY recommend, by the way) and die cutting three replicates of the elements in white cardstock.  Once home (and often months later) I will color them and create my cards.  These elements are from an April gathering.  

Because these were all cut in white I had to be creative with patterns.  You may notice that many elements were run through embossing folders for texture.  I also added some white trim to the clothing and used the floral wrap ties as shoe laces.  You may also notice that the gait is different between the cards.  The first card was assembled as per Concord and 9th's website.  I got a bit creative on Card 2 by flipping one leg upside down and having her "kick" forward rather than backward.  I'm not sure if I invented this but I've not seen it before so I'm claiming it.  LOL!!!  I also stenciled the backgrounds and added some grass with dies.  All that was left was sentiments.

Supplies:

Concord and 9th - Weekend Market (borrowed from Carol)

The Stamp Market - Floral Diamond stamp set (sentiment on Card 2)

MFT - English Brick Wall stencil

Fun Stampers Journey - Cozy Knit embossing folder

Fun Stampers Journey - Love Stripes embossing folder

Lawn Fawn - grass die

Spellbinders - Better Press sentiment (borrowed from Nanc)

We're hoping for an autumn get together so I need to start stalking their IG galleries for more "wanna try dies."  LOL!  Thanks so much for visiting!

Jules

Creating for Fun - Part 4

 

I am so very late to the Postage Stamp cardmaking trend but better late than never.  I'm here today to share another card, made Just for Fun.  

I still don't own any of the awesome coordinating stencils so I made do with just the background die.  At first I tried to "stay within the lines" however after that proved a bit tedious I just went with my gut.  And I'm happy I did.  

I chose four colors of Distress Oxide inks to color my white die cuts and then arranged them until I was happy.  Not rocket science but I did purposefully leave a section for my sentiment.  (I often forget that part.  LOL!)  Everything was adhered flat to the card panel with liquid glue.

Supplies:

Waffle Flower - Postage Collage die

Spellbinders - Stylish Oval Birthday Wishes stamp set

Spellbinders - Simply Perfect Layered Blooms die set

Spellbinders - Little Chickadee die set

Thanks so much for visiting!!!  I'm really enjoying my extra time lately and love making cards without restrictions.

Jules

Seize the Birthday #290

Hello my crafty friends!  It's my turn for hosting the Seize the Birthday challenge this fortnite which means I had the honor of choosing the Topping.  After far too much deliberation I chose the theme of Retro.  If you're stuck for ideas think 60s/70s colors, old fart technology, vintage, antique, old font styles, etc.   

I pulled out a van die and used Scooby Doo as my theme, right down to the late sixties/early seventies color palette.  (I'm showing my age, aren't I?  LOL!)

My card front uses products mixed and matched from a variety of different manufacturers.  I die cut the van in what I think are fun mod colors, adding the flower die for a touch of sixties flower child.  The background is a fun stencil which I blended with "far out there man!" sixties/seventies colors.  I stamped the Groovy portion of the sentiment directly on my Scooby Doo van and added the heat embossed Birthday underneath ....because this IS a birthday challenge, after all.  I have to say, my background reminds me of the afghans that my Grandmas made way back when.  (And I still own and use to this day.)

So!  What does Retro mean to you?  Be creative and strut your stuff.  I can't wait to see what's in store for our gallery.

Supplies:

Erin Lee Creative - A2 Flower Layering Market stencil

Taylored Expressions - Surf Bus die set

Ellen Hutson - Trippin' stamp set

Ellen Hutson - HB2U stamp set

Spellbinder - misc flower

Thanks so much for visiting!!!

Jules

Creating for Fun - Part 3

 

Hello my dear crafty friends.  I am back with Part 3 of my Creating for Fun series.  I was highly inspired by a set of die cut floral cards created by my friend Michele.  I may have to do some shopping at the Stamp Market for the dies she used but for now, here are my versions.

 

 

My cards started with a previously clear embossed scrap of green cardstock.  I thought it would make for an interesting leaf design when die cut.  I loved the look so I pulled out additional scraps in different colors, stamped them in Versamark and then heat embossed them in clear.  These all became the basis for the die cut elements.  It's a wonderful alternative to designer papers.  I photographed them below for reference.

I carried the clear embossed theme onto my white panel backgrounds.  I think the completed card assembly is self explanatory however please leave me a note in the comments if you have any questions.    

Supplies:

Concord and 9th - Picked Posies die set

Embossed Cardstocks:

    MFT - Marbled Background stamp

    Hero Arts - Chain Linked Fence background stamp

    Hero Arts - Tropical Foliage background stamp

    Simon Says Stamp - Chunky Sweater background stamp

The Greetery - Opposites Attract stamp/die set

I appreciate each and every one of you who takes the time to visit my blog.  Until next time..... Happy Crafting!

Jules

Color Hues #93

Hello my crafty friends.  I'm here today to share my card created for the newest Color Hues challenge.  Tracey is our hostess this fortnite and she has chosen the fun color combination of Orange and Yellow.  I chose a spring themed thank you card but this combination is also perfect for fall cards.

 

The focal elements were die cut from white cardstock and blended out with Distress Oxide inks.  The background texture is from an embossing folder.  The sentiment was heat embossed in white onto a tag strip using the same color of orange as is the card base.  I did use some of the die discards to polka dot up my cute rain boots.  I wasn't sure about this color combo at first but the end result makes me smile.   

Supplies:

Spellbinders - Hand Drawn Scallops embossing folder

Spellbinders - Notched Corner Frames die set

Spellbinders - Essential Sentiment stamp set

Spellbinders - Rain Boot Bouquet die set

Spellbinders - Swallowtail Tag die set

I invite you to visit our blog for additional inspiration from my teammates.  We would love to see your card in our gallery!!! 

Thanks so much -

Jules