Purple Sympathy

I tried a different watercolor medium this week -- Ken Oliver's Color Burst powders. I've used the powders before to make beautiful abstract backgrounds, but this is the first time I used them with a brush to color "inside the lines." The colors are super vivid, and I found myself adding water and blotting to try to tone down the color a bit. It's amazing how far a few tiny flakes of powder could go! When I finished coloring the flowers ("Flower Fields" by Stampendous), I used the paintbrush "tap" technique to add sprinkles of color to the background. To do this, I got plenty of the color on the brush, held the brush firmly over the paper horizontally, and then tapped the handle of the brush with the index finger of my other hand, which allowed the color to be flung around a bit. I added the tag with the sentiment by Verve, and framed out my picture to complete it. This is an easy way to use some of those larger images, and is quick when you need a card to send out on short notice.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!

Out on a Limb

It's been a while since I've used my Hambo Stamps, mostly because I've been concentrating on making card ministry cards, and I lean towards more elegant images and sentiments for those. But then I have to remind myself that different people enjoy different things, and maybe a pun will be just the thing to brighten someone's day!

Here, I've used the Hambo clear "Owl" set, and colored the owl and the branch with copic markers. I'm identifying with this owl, as I too am feeling extra "fluffy" around the middle. Summer is a time for ice cream and milkshakes, and, well, you know how that goes. But I digress... The beautiful leaf print is another design in the "Aquarelle" pad, by Love Nicole. I popped up the sentiment with dimensionals, thus satisfying the "Ways to Use It" challenge for this week at Splitcoast. I love using dimensionals, so there was really no challenge in it for me. Perhaps I should push myself a bit harder next time.

Hope your weekend is a HOOT!!

Plaid with Flowers

This week's CAS challenge at Splitcoast asked us to use plaid in our creations. I actually had a piece of plaid out on my table with this teal textured cardstock that I thought could work together, and when I found this scalloped circle in a baggie of leftover elements, the card came together.

The flowers are from the "Enamor" clear set by Penny Black, and the sentiment is from "Kind Words" by Verve. I used copic markers to color the flowers. The plaid paper is from and American Crafts 6x6 pad called "#summer" -- which is filled with some of the brightest colors and designs I've ever seen in papers! Just using a small strip like this helps to tone it down a bit.

I have a special coupon code for Hambo Stamps that is good thru the rest of this month. Mention "CAS35" when you order to save 35% on all Hambo stamps thru next Tuesday (31st). This code is not referenced on the Hambo website anywhere, and is a special code just for my blog readers.

Have a great day!

Lacy Grace

Here once again is this beautiful "Grace" saying by Verve. I just love the typewriter font that the word "grace" is in! To make this clean and simple (CAS) card, I layered the floral designer paper (from Teresa Collins "Stationery Noted" 6 x 6 pad) over gray card stock, with a little strip of paper lace, made with a Crafter's Companion die. This is a design that would be so easy to mass produce, and you could use any print with coordinated card stock. Yep, I'll be doing this again...

Have a great week!

Abstract Hello

I'm having fun playing with my new "Floral Squares" dies from Pinkfresh Studio. One thing I like is that you can use the negative (cut out) portion of the die as well as the regular framed flower die, so with each cut, you have two die cuts you can create with. Here, I've used the negative portion, so the flower has been punched out of the purple paper.

The designer paper is from the "Aquarelle" pad by Love Nicole. Yes, I know I've used these papers a lot -- just a testament to how much I like them! This print is kind of wild, so I used a strip of vellum underneath the "hello" die (Hero Arts) so that it stands out a bit more.

It's the weekend! Hope you all have a great one!

Faith Hope Love ... and Persistence

One day I was playing around with Distress Oxide inks, and while not everything I made turned out the way I wanted, almost all produced something that could be salvaged. Such was the case with the colored panel above. The distressed piece as a whole was kind of crazy, but trimmed down, I liked this smaller panel. I embossed the Stampendous agapanthus flowers in white so they would stand out from the multicolored background. The sentiment is from the Penny Black clear set called "Faith."

I have to be honest: I had originally used this flower panel on another card that I'd made for my card ministry. I have a card rack in the lobby at church where people may browse the cards, and take any cards that they'd like, with the purpose of sending to a church member or friend who could use a lift in spirits.

Mostly I put general "hello/thinking of you" themed cards, with a few "get well" or "sympathy" cards thrown in, and the cards are usually chosen fairly quickly. Occasionally, though, there are "duds" -- cards that no one wants. The original one with this panel was one of those duds. I'd liked the card I made, but for some reason, no one else did. I got tired of seeing it left on the rack week after week, so I eventually brought it home. Not wanting to throw the whole thing out, I pulled this colored panel off the card and saved it, until I decided to use it on the card above. I put it back in the card rack the next week, and it was chosen immediately. This card wasn't that different than the original, but for whatever reason, this one must have spoken to someone, whereas the other one just sat there being aloof. LOL

I guess the lesson to be learned is to never throw anything away ... uh, be persistent! :)

God of Hope

Cards don't get much easier to make than this one -- even with the added step of framing the designer paper with a solid color of cardstock. This is more of that gorgeous paper from the Love Nicole "Aquarelle" pad. The stamp is from a set called "Gifts From Above" by Penny Black.

Short & sweet -- just like any Monday workday should be. Have a great week!