Hope Your Birthday Is A Splash!

 

I have been very busy trying to get my stash weeded, inventoried and cataloged. I have not been creating very much as I am trying to get this enormous project behind me, but today I was checking out my favorite challenges. I just had to drop everything and play at Just Us Girls where the current challenge is to CASE one of the designers. ALL of the cards are fabulous, but when I saw Carol Mc's card, I knew right where I had to go. 

This is Carol's card. I absolutely LOVE it!

I was inspired by her multicultural women on floats in fashionable bathing suits and hats. What a fabulous take on Time Out's Fashionable Challenge too! I used Avery Elle's Splash stamps and dies to float my women friends on their donut tubes in a lovely pool with water compliments of MFT's Perfect Pool Water Stencil. I used Pretty Pink Posh's Grid Stencil to create a patio around the pool. I had a blast making this, and I just love the way Carol inspired me with her creation.

Project Details
Stamps/Dies	Avery Elle Splash stamps & dies Photoplay A2 Round Rectangle dies
Cardstock	110lb. Neenah Solar Crest 80lb Neenah PTI Soft Stone
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black Copic Markers VersaMark PTI Soft Stone
Embellishments	Little Things Raindrops by Lucy's Cards
Other	Spellbinders Platinum Plus Die Cutting & Embossing Machine Scor-Pal Score Board Fiskars 12" SureCut Deluxe Craft Paper Trimmer MISTI Stamping Tool Bearly Art Precision Glue WOW Dual Speed Heat Tool Pretty Pink Posh Grid Stencil MFT Perfect Pool Water Stencil

I'm also playing at:

 Seize The Birthday #260 (no twist)

The Paper Players #638 - Tic Tac Toe

Bottom left to top right - sparkle (on donut floats), die cuts, dry embossing

Allsorts Challenge #726 - One For The Girls

Christmas Peace

 

The other day I played with embossing folders and made many beautiful backgrounds. Today I began to make cards with them. I love the way this one came out. I know several people who are really suffering physically and emotionally during this time, and I wanted to find a way to send holiday greetings that would soothe the soul. It is not a very merry and jolly time for everyone. I though this was such a perfect way to convey a loving message of comfort.

The glitter paper is copper colored, and the enamel dots are red. It is hard to see the true colors in this picture. It is a very gray day where I am and photos are not easy.

Supplies:

Stamps~None

Ink~SU Almost Artichoke

Paper~Gina K. Designs

Other~SSS Forest Border Embossing Folder;  - SSS CZ Design Peace Wafer Die; 

Im playing at:

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #69

Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge #29 - Anything Christmas

SSS Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

NBUS December Challenge #45

CZ Design Peace Die Cut

Allsorts Challenge - Christmas

Simon Says IG Challenge: Die Cutting

Happy Birthday, Jon

My twin boys just celebrated their 23rd birthday. My goodness, time surely flies. I made this for Jon, and when he opened it, he said "this is so me". I loved that. He is such a wonderful guy trying to make his way in the college lacrosse coaching world. He is very tenacious, passionate, and boy, can he work a room! I am so very proud of this guy, and I like him very much too! 

Jon loves lacrosse and he loves coffee, so I combined them for his card using Bear (Ellen Hutson). I bought a digital image of crossed lacrosse sticks, edited one out of the images, resized it for bear, and colored the head red. Jon is working with the Rutgers University Lacrosse Team at present.  RU colors are red and black. Bear's coffee cup has a red band to match. The background stenciling is inked with Faded Jeans. I love the way this turned out. Love ya, kid.

I'm playing at:

Seize The Birthday #250 - Anything Goes

Krafty Chicks #635 - All Occasions

Allsorts Challenge Week #700 - Any occasion

SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Happy Birthday, Greg!

Browsing through Pinterest the other day, I saw THIS card by Donna Okoniewski, which really cracked me up. I was looking for some inspiration for my twin son Greg's birthday card, and this was it. I took the design right from the card I CASE'd, but changed it up by using a very different color scheme, a stenciled background for the card base, and stamped, heat embossed with sparkly black EP and die cut the spider webs. I also stamped the spiders, and added some stenciled clouds. Greg is a PhD student working with lots of technology, economics and data analytics. He has a wicked sense of humor. The simplicity and humor of this card made him laugh a lot, which was the desired effect! Also, I think it is pretty cool that you can see a face when you look at this card - 2 eyes and a mouth in the spiders, eyebrows in the webs above the two top spiders... Love ya, Greg.

Impression Obsession Web Stencil, Reverse Confetti Hello Bootiful Stamps & Dies, A Colorful Life Designs - Cloud Edger Stencil.

I'm playing at:

Seize The Birthday #250 - Anything Goes

Krafty Chicks #635 - All Occasions

Allsorts Challenge Week #700 - Any occasion

SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

The Ocean Will Set Your Soul Free

CYHTP July 23 - August 10 - Beach

A new challenge starts today at Can You Handle The Pressure? where the theme is always Anything Goes with an Embossing Folder and an optional twist. Heat embossing is welcome, but not required. An Embossing Folder must be used. For this challenge, the twist is "Beach".

Although my scene is not a "beach" scene per se, when I go to the beach, I go to the ocean. So here we are! I have the good fortune of having the ability to go to the beach pretty much whenever I want, and I do this frequently. There's no place I'd rather be.

To create my card,  I used a Kraft card base. I debossed using Ink on 3 Fleurette's ~ Atelier Ink - Shark Tooth White ink, Catherine Pooler Ocean Buddies stamps and dies colored with Copics. The sentiment is from Picket Fence Studio's Swim In The Sea stamp set.

Please head over to the Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge Blog to check out the Design Team inspiration projects. You are sure to be impressed! Then dive into your embossing folder collection and join us with or without the twist! Just be sure to use an embossing folder on your creation!

I'm also playing at:

Allsorts Challenge #686 - Summer

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Vacation

Love You, Gnomie

 

Time Out #205 begins today, We are challenged to be in love. So much room for interpretation there.

The challenge runs from Thursday, January 13th to Wednesday, January 26th. We are generously sponsored by Alex Syberia Design.

Challenge winner as chosen by our Design Team will receive a $15.00 coupon to use in the Alex Syberia Design ETSY Store. In addition, our winner will be eligible for a guest designer spot in a future challenge.

Joining us for this challenge, we have the incredibly talented Milla of Mustesormi and winner of Time Out Challenge #202. Milla has mad coloring skills and her work is awesome! Treat yourself to a stroll through Milla's blog and you will be sure to get your creative juices flowing! 

I used Alex Syberia's Be My Valentine Digital Stamp to create my card. I colored it with Copics and fussy cut it. I popped it up with foam tape and adhered it to a die cut linen panel cut from The Greetery Nordic Frames die, which seemed to go so well with the gnomes. There is a little stenciling in the background done with SSS Falling Hearts Stencil. The sentiment is from SSS Gnome School Sentiment Strips. The panels were adhered to a SU Real Red card base.

Please hop on over to the Time Out Challenge Blog to see the wonderful creations that the Design Team came up with to inspire you. Come play with us!

I'm also playing at:

Try It On Tuesday - In With The New

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Fun With Stencils

Allsorts Challenge 658 - AG With Something New

Alex Syberia digi and SSS Sentiment Strips are new

Thrilled

Less Is More Challenge #451 begins today. We are challenged to create a CAS SPARKLE themed card.

Our Guest Designer is Less Is More July winner Viv of Daizy Mae Designs. Viv is an incredibly talented card artist, and she has such a way with floral designs and watercolors! Her work is breath taking. Please do yourself the favor of visiting Viv's blog where you are sure to be amazed and inspired.

When I saw the inspiration word, I immediately thought of the sparkle of a diamond, particularly that of an engagement ring. That made my mind go to this wonderful "Polished" die set from Paper Smooches and then this card  happened. I am not so sure about how I feel about my sparkly embossing beneath the hand because the sparkle would not come from under, but I did it anyway taking some artistic license and giving the hand a sparkly place to rest. Here's a close up:

I love the tiny gold band and that awesome sparkly gem. I work with someone who just might be the recipient of this card if things work out as I think they will, so I am ready!

Please head over to the Less Is More Blog and see what the Design Team has created for your inspiration. I hope you'll play along with us to share your creations. Remember to keep your design Clean And Simple which we define as designs that include large areas of CLEAR AND CLEAN space with NO PATTERN, NO INK and NO TEXTURE See challenge guidelines on the Less Is More Blog.

LIM BLOG

LIM FACEBOOK PAGE

LIM INSTAGRAM

I'm also playing at:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Glimmer and Sparkle

Watercooler Wednesday #323 - All Things Feminine

Allsorts Challenge #640 - Anything goes with an option For The Love Of Your Life

Wish Upon A Starfish

Less Is More Challenge #443 begins today. We are challenged to make a Clean and Simple card with the sketch below.

 

For my card, I used the MFT Rectangle Peek-a-Boo Window Die to frame my starfish image from Tim Holtz Mini Blue Prints Nautica Strip Cling Rubber Stamps. I colored it with Copics, and added a sentiment from Hero Arts to complete my card.

 

Please head over to the Less Is More Blog and see what the Design Team has created for your inspiration. I hope you'll play along with us to share your creations. Remember to keep your design Clean And Simple. See challenge guidelines on the Less Is More Blog.

I'm also playing at:

Little Red Wagon #601 - Sand and Sea

Allsorts Challenge #624 - Anything Goes

Shopping Our Stash #445 - Here Fishy Fishy!

Make the Cards #15 - Beach

Purple Birthday

It's time for a new challenge at Less Is More - Shades Of Purple.

I love purples, and when I saw this challenge, I immediately know what I would do. To create my card, I stamped the floral image from the Essentials By Ellen You Should Know set by Brandi Kincaid, first with Versa Clair Nocturne Ink, and then again with VersaMark Dazzle embossing ink. I heat embossed it with clear EP, giving the outline of the floral image some sparkle. I love the effect. The sentiment from SimonSaysStamp Messages For Every Day from the Fluttering By collection is heat embossed, die cut with a sentiment strip die from Pink & Main, and popped up.

Please head over to the Less Is More Blog and see what the Design Team has created for your inspiration. I hope you'll play along with us to share your creations and for a chance to win. Remember to keep your design Clean And Simple.

To be eligible for showCASe and PRIZE WINNER choices you will need to carefully follow the guidance on our GLOSSARY OF TERMS and our HOW TO PLAY pages. Your design should feature lots of clean / white / blank / non patterned / non textured space. All challenge details are on the Less Is More blog. Good Luck!

I'm also playing at:

Watercooler Wednesday #288 - All About Occasions

Allsorts Challenge #589 - "I Love..."

I love the color purple!

Seize The Birthday #199 - Anything Goes

My Time To Craft #440 - Embossing Wet or Dry