*Atlantic Hearts Sketch #587*

I am always impressed with the sketches at Atlantic Hearts...  they all work out so beautifully!  I hope you'll find some time to play along with us!

I love playing with all of the Spellbinders bloom dies I have... and for this card I decided to go with some very bright colours.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Granny Apple Green, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana

*Images:  The Ton Easy Expressions

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms, Floral Spray; The Ton Easy Expressions
*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenges:  Atlantic Hearts #587; AAA Birthday

*CAS Colours & Sketches #511*

 It's sketch week at CAS Colours and Sketches... I can't wait to see what others come up with!

I bought a new embossing folder and die combination a few weeks ago and thought it would work for this sketch... and while it does, it's a little too much to truly be considered clean and simple... but I went with it anyway...

Card Info

*Images:  Simon Says Stamp Big Old Birthday

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; tim Holtz Shaded Lilac, Twisted Citron, Salty Ocean Distress Inks

*Embossing Folder:  Lisa Horton Crafts Balloon High

*Dies: Lisa Horton Crafts Balloon High; Simon Says Stamp Big Old Birthday

*Challenges:  CC&S #511; AAABirhday #49

*Another Sheetload*

I enjoyed playing with this super fun Catherine Pooler patterned paper and the February 2021 Sheetload of Cards template from Call Me Crafty Al.  If you're like me and have a lot of patterned paper to use, check out these templates!  She has LOTS to choose from!

Items Used:

*Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White 110lb; Stampin' Up! Granny Apple Green

*Patterned Paper:  Catherine Pooler

*Images:  Avery Elle So Kind

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Charming Pink

*Tools: Corner Chomper; Perfect Layers

*Challenges:  AAABirthday

*January 2021 Sheetload of Cards*

For someone who loves patterned paper, I sure haven't used it much in the past years.  It doesn't lend to my usual clean and simple style.  So I am trying to use it more often.  I'm so glad I found Call Me Crafty Al's Sheetload of Cards idea....  she posts a new template every month where you can make a "sheetload" of cards but she also provides the measurements so that you can make just one card.  As I don't often feel the need to have a bunch of cards the same, I am doing the one card ideas.

The easiest way to do these cards is to use patterned paper from a pack...  then you know all of the colours will go together.  I am using a Stampin' Up! retired paper pack for this card.

I also want to wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the team at Time Out Challenges!!  If you like to work with challenges, I think you'll like this one!

Items Used:

*Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White 110lb; Stampin' Up! Basic Black, Bermuda Bay, Granny Apple Green

*Patterned Paper:  Stampin; Up!

*Images:  My Favorite Things All Smiles

*Ink:  Versamark

*Dies:  Stampin' Up! Pierced Blooms; Lawn Fawn Everyday Sentiment Banners

*Etc:  white embossing powder

*Tools:  heat tool; Big Shot

*Challenges:  AAABirthday

*AAA Birthday Game #3*

I am playing along with the AAA Birthday Card Challenge for the month of July... Game #3 is "for the girls".  My first thought was shades of pink... and flowers.

I'm not sure that I actually like this card.  If feels like it's really lacking.  Lacking oomph.  Lacking something.  But hey, I'll share it anyway...

I started out by cutting out three colours of cardstock with the Lawn Fawn Everyday Sentiment Banners die (the smallest one).  I centred them on the front of a side fold card and then put it in my Misti to stamp the sentiments from the Lawn Fawn Happy Happy Happy stamp set in VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink.  I added a black line around the banners to help make it stand out a little.  I then grabbed some scrap flowers from the MFT Stitched Blooms die set that I cut out several weeks ago, put them together and added them to the corner of the banners.

See, it's just not "right".... I don't know what it's missing or what I should have done differently....  live and learn!

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Neenah Solar White, Stampin' Up! Pixie Pink, Pretty in pink, Pink Pirouette and three unknown colours/brands
*Stamps:  Lawn Fawn Happy Happy Happy
*Ink:  Versafine Claire Nocturne
*Dies:  MFT Stitched Blooms, Lawn Fawn Everyday Sentiment Banners
*Tools:  Big Shot, Scor Pal, Misti

*AAA Birthday Game #2*

Once again, very excited to have had some time on my days off to play along with the AAA Birthday Card Challenge blog....  this month, their challenge is to use water colours in your creation.

Now, I will admit, I haven't done a lot with either my water colour markers or my Ken Oliver Colour Bursts, so I was a little unsure of what I wanted to do.  I was cruising Pinterest and found a post with a colour combination I liked so I decided to play a little bit... and this is what I ended up with

And you know what?  I like it!

I used a bright blue and bright green colour of my Zig Water Colour markers on a piece of water colour paper.  I started by scribbling the colours on the paper and then moving it around with water.  I then added more colour while the paper was still wet and added more water to get the colours to move a little more.  I know I need to keep playing with this as it's pretty amateur but I am pleased with it.

Instead of hitting it with my heat tool to force it to dry more quickly, I let it sit for a half hour to dry on its own.  I put the panel in my Misti and inked up the stamps by Lawn Fawn with Black VersaFine Claire ink (my new favourite!).  I used the Misti because I knew I wanted a very crisp black on top of the water colour so I was able to restamp the images several times to get the darkness I wanted on the textured water colour paper.  To finish off the card, I used my Perfect Layers Tool to create a 1/16" blue border around the water colour panel and then put it all on to a white card.  And, true to me, I added a little sparkle to the centres of the balloons with my Wink of Stella clean pen.

Thanks for popping by for a visit!!