Seize the Birthday #219

 

The current topping over at the Seize the Birthday challenge is Travel.

I will admit that this one had me a bit stumped.  I associate travel cards more with retirement than birthdays but maybe that's just me.  I have always made it a point to incorporate their prompts into my cards so after lots of rifling through my stash here's where the prompt led me.

I'm not a camper nor a glamper but if I owned one of these cuties,

 I'd want it to be in turquoise and red.  

I started with the camper die set, die cutting it in white and coloring each piece in with Copics.  I then decided I needed something to pull it and found this old woody station wagon die which turned out to be perfect.  I also die cut these pieces out in white and Copic colored them.  I just purchased this awesome background die which was again the perfect back drop element.  I stamped a simple birthday sentiment, adhered the panel to a white card base and finished it off with my customary clear droplets. I really love it when things just come together nicely.  

Supplies:

Cottage Cutz - Camping Trailer die set

Impression Obsession - Woody with Surfboard die set

Ellen Hutson - Abstract Mountain background die

Reverse Confetti - Word Up stamp set

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 #430

 

It's the final Tuesday in July which means we have a new sketch up over at the CAS Colours and Sketches blog.  This one has loads of possibilities.

I decided on the bold look of black and white stripes.

I stamped the stripes vertically on a white card panel and then die cut it with a postage edge panel die.  I stamped and fussy cut the butterfly and popped it up with some foam tape.  The sentiment is heat embossed in white onto a strip of black cardstock.  I adhered the panel directly to a pool colored card base and added a trio of clear droplets to finish it off.  

I invite you to visit our blog and hope to see your card in our gallery!

Supplies:
MFT - Brilliant Butterflies stamp set
Ellen Hutson - Striped Background die
Mama Elephant - Peek a Frame dies
MFT - Bitty Birthday Wishes stamp set

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 #22

Today I'm sharing my card for the current Color Hues challenge blog where the color duo this time around is Lime Green and Aqua.  

I went for bold and graphic in my design.  What do you think?

Thanks to an awesome stamp set this design looks far more complicated than it is.  I began by stamping the background blocks in two different colors of dye ink.  I stamped the graphic lines over top with a crisp black pigment ink and cut the panel down so as to create a wide white border to the finished card front.  I inked a piece of white cardstock with both inks using the pad to paper technique and used it to die cut the sentiment alphas.  I also die cut the alphas in black and adhered them offset to create a shadow.  The sub sentiment was white embossed onto a black cardstock strip.  I adhered the panel to an A2 sized white card base and added a few matte enamel dots to finish off the design.  I'm really liking the way it turned out and am so happy I was able to carve out some time to play along.

Supplies:

MFT - Abstract Doodles stamp set (a freebie from MFT during Kathy Racoosin's Road Trip in 2019)

MFT - Bitty Birthday Wishes stamp set

Simon Says Stamp/Cathy Zielske - All Caps die set

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 #190

 

Many thanks to all of you who shared cards with us last fortnight.  We had a wonderful response and I'm hoping our latest prompt is just as popular.  

The new challenge over at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers is Colourful ... or if you're in the states like me... Colorful.  *wink*  

I just adore Lee's graphic!

In the words of Laura Bassen, I decided to "strip it up" this time around.  

I grabbed a few different colors of cardstock scraps and used my trimmer to cut them into narrow strips of various widths.  I then adhered the colorful strips in non-rainbow order (gotta be different!) onto a piece of thin typing paper.  I stamped and die cut the large greeting onto the striped panel in a horizontal orientation.  I stamped and heat embossed the computer monitor in white onto black cardstock and then added in an ink blended panel to simulate the screen.  I stacked the OMG with four layers of miscellaneous cardstock before adhering it to the screen.  I oriented the remainder of the striped background vertically to use as the bottom section of my card front which I finished off with rounded edges before adhering it to a white card base.  As usual, I finished off my card with a sprinkling of clear droplets.  

I invite you to visit our blog for more inspiration from the Sistahs as well as our Reigning Queen,   I hope to see your card in our gallery!

Supplies:

Reverse Confetti - OMG stamp and die set

Ellen Hutson - Voices in my Head stamp set

Hero Arts - Irreverent Birthday stamp set

The Stamp Market - cardstocks

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 #429

The CAS Colours and Sketches blog has a new color trio for the week.  Come check us out here! 

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

such as white, ivory, black, brown, grey, or metallics; however, no other colors should be added to 

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 pulled together three colors of Distress Oxide inks as well as three colors of cardstock that matched well with the challenge colors and got to work.

I began by die cutting the cactus and pot, adding in two neutral greys to the color mix.  I assembled and adhered the cactus to a small rectangular panel, stamping the sentiment below.  For the background I randomly applied the Distress Oxides to a card-sized panel of white cardstock making sure not to do any blending to keep my colors true.  I then covered the inked panel with a die cut panel of white cardstock.  The cut out circles allowed sections of the inked panel to peek through holes.  I decided to do a double mat on the focal image before adhering it to the card base and successfully resisted the temptation to add clear droplets.

I invite you to visit our blog and hope to see your card in our gallery!!  Have a great week everyone.

Supplies:

Cottage Cutz Potted Cactus die

Cottage Cutz Double Stitched Rectangle die set

Queen & Company - Polka background die

MFT - Itty Bitty Basics stamp set

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 

Perfectly CAS - July Challenge

I am very excited to share that I have joined the Perfectly CAS Design Team!  This is a definitely a challenge for even those who love Clean and Simple designs.  The objective is to use only 1/3 of your card in the design which mathematically means 2/3 of your card is left clean with visual "white" space.  The challenge opens on the 15th of every month and always incorporates a prompt.  This month's prompt is embossing.

In my opinion white space can still be very Clean and Simple even when embossed (no different than using a textured cardstock, right?) so I incorporated my embossing to the front panel by way of simple diagonal stripes while still using only 1/3 of the card as the focal point.  

For my sentiment I did a light touch of ombre' blending to white cardstock prior to die cutting.  After die cutting (but prior to adhering to the front panel) I triple heat embossed my letters with clear embossing powder which created a smooth shine.  I heat embossed the sub-sentiment in white onto a strip of glossy black cardstock for some additional shine.  I finished the card off with three small black clay hearts.   I wish the glossy finishes came through better in the photograph as it's quite pretty in real life.  

Supplies:

MFT - Big Thanks die

Simon Says Stamp - Because of You stamp set

Fun Stampers Journey - Love Stripes embossing folder

HAI - clay hearts

If you're new to this challenge I invite you to play along with us at the blog.  If you're already a regular, I'll see ya there!  

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 #428

 

Happy Tuesday everyone!!!  Holly has created a wonderful sketch for us to work with this week at the CAS Colours and Sketches blog. Check it out....

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when creating your card. 

I knew I had a diamond die in my stash so I used it as my jumping off point as dictated by the sketch and this is what transpired.

This diamond die has the thinnest of borders which cuts out both pieces simultaneously so I die cut the large diamond twice, once with gold cardstock and then again with white.  I die cut a smaller diamond for the center and then some leafy branches to set nestle in between.  To create a bit of interest to my white on white design I ran the front panel of the card base through my die cutter using an embossing folder.  A simple stamped hello was all that was needed to finish the card.  

Supplies:

Altenew - Fine Frames die set

Simon Says Stamp - Eucalyptus Leaves die set

Altenew - Versatile Vases stamp set

AC - embossing folder

I invite you to come play visit our blog and hope to see your card in our gallery!

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 

Seize the Birthday #218

 

It's been awhile since I've had time to play along with non-DT challenges.  I'm still doing a lot of in-state traveling but hoping to squeeze in a few cards here and there, starting with today.  

This 'hot off the presses' card was created for the current Seize the Birthday challenge where the prompt is Framed.

I kept my card extremely simple but I'm liking the results.

I used two stitched rectangle dies to create the white frame and then used the smaller of the two to cut the black rectangle which I inlaid inside.  The sentiment is heat embossed in white and the margarita glass is stacked four high for a bit of dimension.  I popped the framed panel onto the white card base using craft foam and stamped  "Cheers" on the inside of the card to finish off the sentiment.  Quick and easy!

Supplies:
Cottage Cutz - Double Stitched Frame die set

Gina K - Doodle Sayings stamp set

Paper Smooches - Drink Glasses die set

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 #189

 

Happy Saturday everyone!  It's time for another challenge over at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers

blog where I am the hostess for July.  Our new prompt is X is for Xposed and let me tell ya, Edna took it at face value.  :-)

I think Edna's been hiding a little secret

 underneath those frumpy dresses of hers.

My apologies in advance.  I used this stamp set recently (L is for Layers) however it was just too perfect for the prompt not to use it again.  

I stamped and colored my image with Copics and then cut it out with my Scan and Cut.  For my background I went with a simple ink blended rectangle.  I adhered the image to the center and added a sticker sentiment that I thought was perfect for both the exposed geezer as well as the prompt.  I cut the panel down a bit and adhered it to a white card base.  The inside contains a birthday greeting.  

I invite you to visit our blog for more inspiration and hope to see your card in our gallery!

Supplies:

Art Impressions/Hampton Arts - Get Well stamp set

Tim Holtz - Snarky Small Talk sticker set

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 - July Anything Goes With Dies

It's time again for another round of Anything Goes With Dies over at the Happy Little Stampers challenge blog.  You all know the drill.  If you use a die in any fashion, shape or form you qualify to upload it to our gallery.  

Without further ado, here is my card.

I die cut all of the elements from white cardstock and then colored each section with Copic markers.  Prior to assembling I added a thick layer of Tonic Glaze over the top of the berries and once dry, I added the seeds in with a gel pen.  The background panel was cut from a cover plate.  I debated on using a black card base but in the end I preferred the white on white look.  The Sweet sentiment is stacked four high with the top layer being cut from glossy black cardstock.  The sub-sentiment was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in white onto a strip of black cardstock.  The final step was to adhere it all down to the card base.  I think this makes a very sweet (pun intended) summery birthday card.

Supplies:

CottageCutz - Springtime Strawberries

CottageCutz - Sweet Phrase die

Reverse Confetti - Drop Cover Panel die

Avery Elle - Mom & Dad stamp set

Our challenges run until the end of the month so I invite you to visit our blog and play along!

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 #427

I hope all of my US friends enjoyed their 4th of July holiday.  It's the first Tuesday in July and Holly is our new monthly hostess at the CAS Colours and Sketches challenge blog.  Here's our new color trio for the week.

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

such as white, ivory, black, brown, grey, or metallics; however, no other colors should be added to 

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.

My first impressions belonged in two totally different groups.  1) Autumn and 2) Groovy 60s/70s.  Seeing as how there is no autumn in south Florida I went with the Mod Squad.  

I grabbed three colors of cardstock that closely matched the challenge colors and then proceeded to cut them into strips of various widths.  I adhered them onto a piece of thin computer paper and then cut them out with a circle die.  I stamped the large focal sentiment in black pigment ink, cut it out with my Scan and Cut and then followed it up with some clear heat embossing.  I stamped the sub-sentiment with Versamark ink and heat embossed it in white.  I die cut a white panel, adhered the circle and sentiment before adhering it to a card base of one of the challenge colors.  The three enamel dots rounded out the design.  This is definitely different but I'm digging it.  *wink*

After cutting out the circle I had a good sized piece of stripped paper leftover so I created a second card.  Without the nice size area of white space this one definitely isn't CAS but it's a fun card nonetheless.  

Supplies:

Ellen Hutson - Lucky stamp set

Miscellaneous cardstocks and enamel dots

Because this is my first time using this stamp set I'm linking my first card to Darnell's NBUS blog.

I invite you to visit our blog and would love for you to play along!

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 - July Christmas Challenge

 

I'm excited to announce that I am now a Design Team member for a second Happy Little Stampers challenge team.  Starting this month, in addition to creating for their monthly Die Challenge, I will also be creating cards for their monthly Christmas challenge.  

You may be scratching your head because you all know that I mass produce over one hundred cards each year using one single design so why in the world would I join a Christmas challenge?  Well.......I have a soft spot for Christmas supplies, especially when they go on sale after the holidays.  Other than Tracey's 25 Days of Christmas Tags challenge each November, these supplies go unused.  (And when I say I have a soft spot, I mean a verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry soft spot.)   *blush*   This challenge is going to be good for my soul as well as easing my guilt.  

Unlike the Anything Goes With Dies challenge, the Christmas challenge incorporates an optional prompt each month.  This month the prompt is Jingle Bells.

Have no fear!  Jules has the perfect dies for the job!

To create my card I die cut the bells and branch from white cardstock and colored them with Copic markers.  I created a sloping edge to a piece of white cardstock and added it to the top of a red card panel.  The sentiment was heat embossed in white onto the bottom corner of the red panel and the die cuts were arranged on the top left using some dimensional foam tape.  I adhered the panel to a heavy weight white card base and finished off the design with some gold foil pearls and glossy accents on the holly berries.  

I really love how this design pops but it's far too labor intensive for mass production.  Die cutting the elements in colored cardstock would decrease the time involved but I don't think it would look as striking.

I invite you to visit the blog and hope to see your card in our gallery!

Supplies:

Cottage Cutz - Christmas Holly Bells die set

Simon Says Stamp - Inside Christmas Greetings stamp set

Spellbinders - gold foil pearls

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