CAS Colours and Sketches #408

  

Today's sketch marks the end of my February hosting duties over at the CAS Colours and Sketches  challenge blog.  I hope you've enjoyed my selections this month but before I go I have one last sketch for you to try.  Without further ado ...

I used triangle shapes in the sketch however you may choose any two shapes 

 for your design.  Also feel free to flip/rotate the sketch to your desire.  

I tend to work ahead in my design team assignments so while Valentines Day has passed at the time this post goes live, my cards were created well in advance.  And I say cards because I made two versions of my design.  

In my opinion, gnomes are not just for Christmas.  With just a bit of alteration I was able to create a cute Gnome Couple using just one die.    

I used snippets of assorted patterned papers for my gnomes, paper piecing them onto the backer die cut piece.  My He Gnome is created as per the die but because I don't own a She Gnome die I had to get creative.  Instead of the beard I added hair and bows.  Her long locks are actually lily dies turned upside down.  Works, don't you think?

For the background I used a rectangle stencil to do some soft ink blending for the look of a border without the bulk.  I stamped the sentiment towards the bottom of the blended panel, adhered the two gnomes side by side and added a die cut heart between them.  And because I thought this turned out super cute, I decided to create a second one using a completely different color palette and sentiment.

I love my Gnome Couples and I'm so happy I was able to find just what I needed to create a female version of a male die.  I hope I've inspired you to search your stash for the perfect alterations.  I invite you to come play with us and hope to see your cards in our gallery!  

Supplies:

Simon Says Stamp - Gnome die

Avery Elle - Lots of Love stamp set

MFT - Lily die set (she gnome's hair)

Sunny Studio - patterned paper

Pink Paisley - patterned paper

Taylored Expressions - rectangle stencil

Right At Home - Holidays on the Way stamp/die set (bow)

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   

_________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules 

Freshly Made Sketches #473

 

I'm popping in really quick to slip in a card for the current challenge over at the Freshly Made Sketches blog which ends in just a few hours.  Here is the sketch...

And here is my very simple card.

I used a stencil to ink blend a rectangle into the center of a panel of white cardstock.  I then die cut it using two different sizes of rectangular stitched dies.  I reassembled the pieces onto a card base of a similar shade as the blending.  I die cut the word Thanks from some glossy cardstock, adhered it to the center of the panel and then added some die cut hearts embellished with Glossy Accents.  Simple and straight to the point.  Thanks to you all for stopping by!

Supplies:

Taylored Expressions - rectangle stencil

MFT - Big Thanks die

Martha Stewart - heart punch

Tonic - Black Mirror cardstock

Distress Oxide

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   _____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules 

Color Hues #12

 Today's card was created with the latest Color Hues Challenge in mind.  The colors this time around are peach and green.  

The first idea to pop into my head was of course florals but I challenged myself to dig a bit deeper.  You all know my love for flamingos (flamingos for my daughter, sharks for my grandson) but did you know that most of them are not actually pink but rather a peachy/coral color? 

A photo from my pre-2020 adventures.  

 Remembering that little tidbit helped make this challenge easy.

I used a layering stamp and die for my flamingo image.  The heart background was created with a stencil...three different leaf images in three different colors of Distress Ink.  I die cut a white panel which I added to a green card base.  The sentiment is white heat embossed onto a strip of black cardstock.  For a finishing touch I added a bit of peach and green bling...'cause a flamingo needs to sparkle!

Supplies:

Hero Arts - Color Layering Flamingo stamp

Queen and Co - Polkas background die

PinkFresh Studio - You Are Amazing stencil set

Taylored Expressions - Simple Strips stamp and die set

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   _____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules 

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers #179

 

It's time for another Snarky Challenge over at the Sisterhood.  Our theme for this fortnight is 

Q is for QUEEN

and Sistah Lee totally outdid herself with our graphic.

I am a HUGE fan of Freddie and Queen so this makes my heart so happy.  Would you believe I still own my original 45 rpm vinyl of We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions from my high school years?  I also have several CDs and routinely watch the Live Aid Concert on YouTube whenever I feel the need for a Freddie Fix.  Yep.  I am that geek.  :-)

My card isn't nearly as interesting as Lee's graphic but here's what I came up with for Queen.

I went the crown route and thought this Art Impressions biddy's hat was perfect.  I had to create my own computer generated sentiment but I love getting more mileage from my stamps.  

I stamped, colored and then fussy cut my image, adding some polka dots to her dress and some shimmer to her accessories.  I did a bit of tone on tone stenciling to the wall behind her and die cut the floor using some patterned paper from my stash.  I used a speech bubble die for my sentiment and added in my customary blingage at the end.  (Blingage...look it up.  ROFL!)

I will be using this as a birthday card for some lucky friend of mine.  :-)

Supplies:

Art Impressions - Birthday Hat stamp set

Penny Black - Wood Floors die set

Altenew - Beveled Squares stencil

Altenew - Speech Bubble die

Studio Katia - Iridescent Bubbles

Copic markers

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   _____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules 

Twofer Card Challenge #35

 

The idea behind the Twofer Card Challenge is to create two cards using the same stamp/stencil/die along with their prompt. The concept is simple however I struggle with the execution.  The current theme is balloons.

 

The simplicity of my cards do not reflect the amount of mental struggle involved.  LOL!  I think my mojo has left the building.

The first card involved stamping, coloring and cutting the images which I placed on a Distress Oxide ink background.  To create card #2 I had to do a bit of masking so that my balloon strings went behind the little Ninja.  I added some glossy accents to my colored balloons, strips of gold cardstock and black/white striped vertical borders and a diagonal line of tiny gold stars.  

I'm happy with the end result but I'm even more thrilled that they're finally done.  Sometimes I make things way harder than need be.  

Supplies:

MFT - Balloon Bundle stamp/die

Create a Smile - Dr's Helper stamp set

Waffle Flower - Snail Mail stamp set

MFT - Balloon Bundle stamp/die

Mama Elephant - Tiny Ninja stamp set

Waffle Flower - Make a Fish stamp set (sentiment)

Honeybee Stamps - gold stars

MFT - diagonal striped 6x6 paper pad

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   _____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules 

Inspired By Challenge #161

 

The inspiration photo for this week's Inspired By Challenge is just beautiful.  I am in love with that milk paint pitcher.

Alas, no pitchers in my stash but I do have vases.  This card was a real stretch for me as the top panel is a single layer of stenciling.  No stamps other than the sentiment.  

The focal point and background were created entirely with masks, stencils and Distress Oxide inks.  I began with vase, followed by the leaves and finished up with the flowers.  I added some grounding, a little bit of background and then stamped the sentiment with Distress Oxides as I didn't want to take away from the soft effect.  What you can't see in the photo is that I finished it off with a spritz of shimmer spray.  It's perfectly subtle.  

If I'm being honest, I'm not sure I entirely love this look.  I love the card but this totally flat technique is not really "me" as I'm used to outlines around my images but maybe it will grow on me.    What do you think?

Supplies:

Altenew - Versatile Vases mask and stencil set

Altenew- Sakura stamp set (sentiment)

Clarity Stamps - Double Sprig stencil

Pink Fresh Studio - Hanging Garden stencil set

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   _____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules 

CAS Colours and Sketches #407

We're back with another color challenge over at the CAS Colours and Challenge blog.  After my choice of bold colors two weeks ago I thought I'd go with a much softer color trio this time around.  I hope you like them. 

For our color challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colors. You may also use neutral colors; 

however, the challenge colors should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. 

We use Stampin' Up  color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' 

products as long as you match the challenge colors as closely as possible.     

I created an extremely minimalistic card this time around.  I mean, we are talking Clean and Simple to the max.  

I wanted a 'white on white' baby card and began my card by first die cutting a trio of baby clothes three times each.  I stacked the die cuts and arranged them on a white card panel cut slightly smaller than A2 size.  I stamped the sentiment in a crisp black pigment ink before adhering the clothes to my card front.  I used some Distress Oxide inks to blend out some colored cardstocks to get the shades shown in our challenge graphic and then die cut three tiny images (one per challenge color) to decorate my clothing.  I adhered the finished panel to a blended gray card panel and then adhered this to a white card base.

What do you think?  I really love the crisp white baby laundry and can almost smell tiny newborns.  :-)  

Supplies:

MFT Welcome Baby stamp set

MFT Bundle of Baby Clothes die set

Stop by our blog and play along with us.  I'd love to see your card in our gallery! 

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   

_________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules 

Tic Tac Toe Challenge #100

 

Today's card was one hundred percent inspired by the one hundredth challenge over at the Tic Tac Toe challenge blog.  Here's this week's board....

I'm in need of some cute thank you cards which helped narrow down the board for me.  I finally decided on the bottom row across...Thanks/Foxie/Gingham which resulted in this card....

I began by Copic coloring and die cutting my fox image.  I thought this soft gingham paper was a perfect compliment but to jazz it up just a bit I ran it though an embossing folder to create the large dotted texture in the background and then matted the gingham with a piece of gray cardstock.  The grayish green paper that I used to die cut the leaves is from the same paper pack.  I then stamped the front of a yellow card base with my favorite diagonal background stamp with white pigment ink.  Using the same Copic markers as his feet, I colored a piece of white cardstock from which I die cut the Thanks sentiment.  I heat embossed a sub sentiment on a piece of scrap cardstock (which actually matches the leaves far better than this photo is illustrating).  Then it was just a matter of piecing the card front together.  I rested the fox on the main sentiment and added the leaves behind him for some added interest.  And of course I finished off the card using some clear droplets.  I think he's one foxy fellow.

Supplies:

Simon Says Stamp - Eucalyptus Leaves die

Simon Says Stamp - Tiny Words stamp set

Simon Says Stamp - Bold Thanks die

HoneyBee Stamps - Feelin' Foxy stamp set

HoneyBee Stamps - Autumn Afternoon 6x6 patterned paper pack

MFT Stamps - All Lined Up Diagonally background stamp

Fun Stampers Journey - Big Dot embossing folder

Ellen Hutson - clear droplets

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   _____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules 

Let's Squash It #5

 

Today I'm playing along with the gals over at the Let's Squash It challenge blog where they have a love theme going on right now.  

My card definitely could be used as a Valentine although it's not restricted as such.  I went with one of my favorite color combos...red/black/white.  

I started by running a panel of red cardstock through my die cutting machine using a scripty embossing folder.  I added a narrow mat of black and white striped patterned paper.  I created a wreath using a die and white cardstock.  The sentiment was die cut and stacked three layers high.  I adhered the panel to a black card base and finished it off with five black and white clay hearts.  Now that it's finished I think this would work great as an anniversary card.

Supplies:

Simon Says Stamp - Eucalyptus Wreath die

Simon Says Stamp/CZ Designs - Love You die

MFT Stamps - B/W Diagonal Striped patterned paper pack

Fun Stampers Journey - Inspire embossing folder

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   _____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules 

Valentine Sharks

 

I'm stopping in with a drive-by post, sharing two shark themed Valentine's Day cards.  I sent my grandson a card from this set last year so these were created just because I love this set.  (Trust me, I wouldn't get away with sending him the same shark two years in a row.  LOL!  I need to make him something different this year.)

My first one is definitely on the feminine side, done in pinks and reds.  

I gave the shark a rose and positioned her on a heart cut from patterned paper.  I embossed the white panel with a swirled cover die, heat embossed the sentiment in white onto black cardstock, adhered it to a red card base and then finished it off with red clay hearts.

This second card is a bit more masculine.

I colored him with a darker combination of Copic markers and gave his skin a bit of stippling with the clear blender marker.  He's holding a chomped heart while contemplating the heart dangling from the fishing line.  (Will her or won't he???)  The background was created with Distress inks, a wave stencil and lots of water splatter.  I edged the panel with strips of gray cardstock and adhered it to a white card base.

Are you a shark fan? (in cardmaking...not real life. duh!)  

If so, which card is your favorite? 

Supplies:

Avery Elle - Shark Hugs stamp set (I used my Scan & Cut to cut these out)

Altenew - Dotted Swirls cover plate

Hero Arts - Infinity Hearts die set

Studio Calico - patterned paper

MFT - Make Waves stencil

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   _____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules 

CAS Colours and Sketches #406

 

The weeks go by quickly, don't they?  It's already time for the first of two sketch February challenges over at the CAS Colours and Sketches blog.  Ready?

Keep in mind that while this is sketched in the horizontal position, all CC&S 

sketches may be flipped and/or rotated to fit your design preference.  

I took full advantage of the flipping option to create a portrait style birthday card.

Because I knew I wanted a masculine feel to this card I started off with a dark grey cardstock panel cut slightly smaller than A2 size.  My oval die actually cuts tiny squares into the cardstock.  I ran it through my machine three times with white cardstock.  The oval shape was used only once however I stacked two additional layers of the squares over top for just a bit of dimension.  The happy die was cut twice, once in yellow and a second time in black which I adhered offset to give it the illusion of a shadow.  The birthday sub-sentiment was heat embossed in white onto a strip of black cardstock.  This was all adhered to a white card base.  And look Mom!  No bling!  LOL!!!

Supplies:

Happy - Whimsy Stamps die

Spellbinders - Mesh Oval die

Simon Says Stamp - Hello You stamp set

I'm excited to see what you all do with this sketch.  Come check out our design team inspiration and add your card to our gallery!

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   

_________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules 

 

Happy Little Stampers - February Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

A new month means new challenges over at the Happy Little Stampers challenge blog.  The HLS group actually has five different month long challenges in addition to the Die Cut challenge that I bring you here on my blog.  With Watercolor, CAS, Christmas and Stencil challenges there's bound to be something for everyone.  Definitely check out the blog when creating.  Today I'm bringing you a new die cut card for their Anything Goes With Dies challenge.

Anything Goes is just like it sounds.  If you use a die cut on your card, 

you've completed the challenge requirements.  Simple as that.

I decided to combine my desire to create Christmas cards all year long with my Design Team duty this month and created a fun little snow globe shaker card.

I started this card with a snowglobe die set. The top layer is an ink blended background leftover from a previous card.  (I love using my scraps!)  I adhered a layer of acetate behind the blue top layer.  I then glued and stacked four die cut snowglobes together, adding the evergreens tucked snow drifts to the bottom most layer.  After adhering the stacked layers to my black card panel I added the mica flakes to the center and then adhered the blue acetate layer over top, enclosing the mica flakes into the globe.  I white heat embossed the sentiment onto a black cardstock banner and popped it up on the card just underneath the globe.  I really love this nighttime feel and must say, these mica flakes make for some awesome faux snow.  

I hope you'll join in on the challenges.  If you use a die cut, link it to this monthly challenge!  

Supplies:

PoppyStamps - Snowglobe Kit die set

Impression Obsession - Evergreen dies

MFT Stamps - Snowglobe Sentiments stamp set

Ranger - Mica Flakes

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   

_________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules 

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers #178

 

Happy Weekend All!  Many thanks to the brave souls who ventured into Edna's glitter challenge.  Today starts a new challenge and I will admit, this one gave me some major agita.  The new prompt is NO.

Seems easy, right?  And it probably is but I went into overthinking mode and caused myself a lot of crafting stress.  After much agonizing here's what I created.

I have no idea when I would even use this card but hey, it's done.  LOL!!!  

I began with my old biddy.  She's part of an unnamed set from AI.  I decided to do some paper piecing to jazz up her outfit.  I colored in her skin and hair and used pearl jewels for her earrings.  I found a really old stamp set in my stash that had the single line of blah, blah, blah so I multi-stamped it to create the heat embossed white on black background.  I then gave her a bit of grounding using a stamp and more patterned paper.  I used an A2 sized piece of patterned paper for the front card panel, adhered the blah, blah, blah biddy, heat embossed the lower sentiment in white and finally rifled through my ginormous stash of Thickers for the NO.  I think the black and grey make for a striking card and would love suggestions on just who/when I could actually use this one.  Ha!

I am very anxious to see what you all come up with for this prompt.  I know I'm going to have to many  "DUH" moments.  Come show us what you got!

Supplies:

Art Impressions/Hampton Art - unnamed stamp set (it's get well themed)

Ellen Hutson - Voices in my Head stamp set

InkBlot Shop - Get Grounded stamp set

HoneyBee Stamps - Farm Fresh Holiday 6x6 paper pack (this one is AWESOME!)

Kelly Purkey - Hot Mess stamp set (blah, blah, blah)

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   _____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules 

Tags, Anyone?

 

I have been trying to use put my card scraps to good use by making a tag or two along the way.  I'm not going into details here on my process or supplies but if you have a question, pop it in the comments and I'll get back to you.

In no particular order here are a few of my recent (non Christmas) tags.

Tags are just the perfect accompaniment to a wrapped gift or gift bag.  Not everyone appreciates the effort that goes into a handmade card (especially the younger crowd) but I still like to personalize my gifts.  These have always worked well for my daughter when gifting to her friends.  I'll part with a tag far easier than a card when it comes to youngsters and teens.  *wink*  

Do you make tags?  If not, give them a whirl.  They're a quick and easy way to get your crafty fix!

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   _____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules 

Color Hues #11

 

Today's card was inspired by the current color duo over at the Color Hues challenge blog.  The duo this fortnight are Reds and Pinks.  

These are fitting colors for February however I chose to create a Thank You card rather than a Valentine.

I began with a stencil and three reds/pinks from the Distress Oxide line of inks.  I applied the red ink through the entire stencil onto a piece of Bristol Smooth cardstock.  After cleaning and drying the stencil I repositioned it on the card panel, creating some overlap and filling in some of the white space.  I used the dark pink for this second round and then repeated the process with the light pink.  I then splattered it generously first with white acrylic paint followed by some black ink.  I matted the panel with some dark gray cardstock.  I ink blended a scrap of the Bristol with the lightest color and used it to die cut the sentiment.  The shadow layer was die cut from the same shade of gray as the matted border.  I adhered the sentiment at an angle, added some pink droplets and finally a layer of glossy accents over the pink sentiment.  

I'd like to be able to say that this challenge has gotten easier however I still struggle with the use of only two colors.  Thank goodness for blacks/white/grays/browns.  :-)

Supplies:

Picket Fence - Quilted Market stencil

The Stamp Market - Big Thank You die set

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   

_________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules 

CAS Colours and Sketches #405

 

It's the start of a new month of challenges over at the CAS Colours and Sketches blog where I am the host for February.  This can be a dreary month, even in sunny Florida, so I thought I'd start out with a bright color trio.

For our color challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colors. You may also use neutral colors; 

however, the challenge colors should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. 

We use Stampin' Up  color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' 

products as long as you match the challenge colors as closely as possible.     

Continuing my current fascination with bird images I created another wintery birthday card using a darling set from MFT stamps.

I began by stamping, Copic coloring and die cutting out three bird images as well as two branch images.  I took advantage of the neutral color option with the addition of the creams/browns I used for my birds.  I stamped the faint diamond pattern onto a white card panel using a light beige dye ink.  After determining the placement of my feathered tweeters, I stamped the sentiment in a brown pigment ink and then adhered the birds and branches to the card panel.  I adhered the panel to a card base created from heavy woodgrain cardstock and true to form, finished it off with two sets of three clear droplets.  This card will have left my possession long before this post goes live.  :-)  

Supplies:

MFT Winter Songbird stamp set

PaperTrey Ink - Cover Up Diamonds stamp set

Ellen Hutson - woodgrain cardstock

Ellen Hutson - clear droplets

I invite you to check out the wonderful inspiration that our designers have for you this week and hope to see your card in our gallery!  

 

It's a New Year!  Continue to stay safe and healthy my friends.   

_________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules