CASE Study #192 & Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge #8

I have a couple of things to share today. First up is a card for the CASE Study #192 challenge. This is Wida Miller's 4th week as the May Muse.

I love so many things about Wida's card, starting with the black & white striped panel anchoring her embellishments. The stripes, gold glitter and stacked sentiments inspired my card, which kind of created itself.

I lightly painted the wood sentiment pieces with distress inks to add just a tiny touch of color.  Does any remember the movie Truly, Madly, Deeply from the early 90's? It's an old favorite starring my boyfriend, Alan Rickman (please don't tell my other boyfriend Colin Firth about us - it was very awkward when they were both in Love Actually).

This second project is a little gift box I made and filled with crafty bits & pieces for a friend that fled the San Diego wildfires for Texas. Well, that is sort of true - they arrived in Texas with a smokey smelling moving truck after having to pack & leave at the height of the fire. Not because of the fire though, it was a long planned moved and I will miss you at our crafty get togethers and field trips Pat!

For this project I truly dug into my hoard, using a metal handle, hatpin and brad along with an assortment of flowers. I am entering this in the Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge #8 to use Metal or Glass.

The Dear Husband and I are finally going out for our Anniversary dinner tonight - only 2 weeks late this year :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Papertrey Ink May 2014 Blog Hop

The Papertrey Ink May 2014 Blog Hop challenge is to use Aqua & Melon on a project. Looking at the inspiration board, I wondered why I don't pair these colors more often, they are so pretty together!

Aqua Mist and Melon Berry inks are used to the stamp the feathers before die cutting them. They are layered on a white panel that was stamped with a Keep It Simple: Sympathy sentiment and impressed with the Linen Impression Plate.

The larger two feathers are adhered flat to the panel at the base and popped up at the top.

Sadly, I seem to be needing a number of sympathy cards this year, and this one has already headed off in the mail.

Our Memorial Day Weekend plans went by the wayside when our sweet Maltipoo, Bella, was attacked by another dog on Friday. After surgery that evening, she is recovering nicely but very frustrated at losing her freedom to roam around the house and yard until after her stitches are removed.

I'm off to check out all the beautiful cards linked to the Hop.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

CAS(E) This Sketch! #76 + ColourQ #241 + Simon Says

If you are like me, a little pile of die cuts can build up on your desk. Every now & then I'll challenge myself to use a couple on the next card I make, so this card started with a brown cardstock "you" die cut and aqua TE chevron cutting plate.

I used CAS(E) This Sketch #76 and Colour Q Challenge #241 to help pull it altogether.

I trimmed down a piece of the cover plate and ran scraps of white and turquoise cardstock through the Big Kick to get a few pieces to inlay. Swiping the Delicata Gold ink pad over some of the white pieces gave me the gold I needed.

After playing around with a couple of options, a second "you" die cut was colored with the Delicata Gold and layered on the brown die cut, offsetting it slightly. A few dots and sequins finish this one off.

This card is also being entered in the Die Crazy Challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Muse #67 + Simon Says Stamp Die Crazy

I spend way too much time on my card for the Muse #67 challenge where Theresa Calvird has inspired us with this wonderful grafitti style creation.

The easy part was gathering a number of sentiments that would work well together, but I kept stumbling with the actual execution.

More than one panel was ruined by a crooked or splotchy image, but I like the grafitti style so much, I had to keep going.

Wink of Stella is added to the large "you" and a few enamel dots finish this one off.

This card is also being linked up to the Die Crazy challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog.

Things are calming down around here as the wildfires are slowly being brought under control and temperatures have dropped enough this evening to open all the windows again.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

RIC#59 + Gallery Idol 2014 Washi Challenge Take Two + SSS

The idea of covering a panel with pieces of washi tape and then die cutting a tree has been on my "things to try" list ever since I made this card with layers of washi tape last year. The Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Gallery Idol 2014 Open Audition theme to use washi tape prompted me to finally give it a try and, I have to admit, I love the results!

This card was influenced by the Runway Inspired Challlenge #59, where the translucency of the dress reminded me of washi tape.

Here is the panel before the Memory Box Arboscello Tree was cut. Pieces of the green washi tapes were randomly layered above the black tape, reversing the RIC59 image colors.

The black tape is adhered at a slight angle so the pattern is not straight and mimics the look of a gnarled & knotty tree trunk.

Once the washi tree was die cut, a second white panel was stamped with the Avery Elle sentiment, die cut and embossed with a Linen Impression Plate. The die cut opening is backed with computer paper run through a Xyron and the little pieces carefully poked out of the die cut and adhered to the backing.

I now have a white tree waiting to be used on another project and the washi tree is inlaid into the opening on the panel.

This card is also being linked to the Die Crazy challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog.

It has been a rough few days in San Diego County. These photos show a couple of the 8+ wildfires that have been challenging our community. We are not in any danger - both are at least 10 miles away to the east and southeast of our home, but my husband's office is in an evacuation zone, along with the home of dear friends, so it will be another anxious night for us.

This is not our typical May/June weather when a dense marine layer usually keeps us at a nice pleasant "room temperature" inside and out.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Make It Monday #164: Cluster Stamped Sentiment

I had a little time today to play around with the Make It Monday #164: Cluster Stamped Sentiment from Heather Nichols. You can check out her video tutorial here and give it a try.

For this card, the Wet Paint Thanks sentiment is stamped with Versamark ink and clear embossed. Two sizes of Sketched Shapes circles and Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, Tropical Teal and New Leaf inks create the cluster of color around the sentiment, making it really pop.

I didn't want to keep the shiny embossed finish on the sentiment, so ironed it off and then added avery subtle tounch of glitter with a Wink of Stella pen.

This card came together in minutes, but as I was making it an idea for adding a little dimension came to me. I quickly stamped a second panel and then lined the Building Blocks dies (the four are still wired together) over the sentiment.

It was easy to cut the final two strips, as the first two dies nestled in the openings I had just cut (hope the makes sense). I love that the spacing work well enough to fit a letter on each block! The panel is adhered to a Tropical Teal card base and then the cut strips popped up in the appropriate opening.

So which do you like better?

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

MIM #163: Envelope Wraps + CTS#75 + MFW Hip on Handwriting + The Card Concept #9 Monochromatic Purple

With crafting time at a premium right now, I was happy to see a few challenges come together on one card. We have a wedding to attend next month and I thought the Make It Monday 163: Envelope Wraps from Danille Flanders was a great idea to add a little extra design to our card & gift. You can check out her tutorial here.

The wedding colors are lavender and grey, which makes this card perfect for The Card Concept #9: Monochromatic Purple Clean & Simple category. The card design is based on the CAS(E) This Sketch #75 and I am also entering this card in the Moxie Fab World Hip on Handwriting Challenge.

The wedding invitation has the bride and groom's initials intertwined, so I took that idea as a starting point for my design. I masked a couple of Wet Paint stamps to isolate the "l" and "j" before clear embossing them on a piece of watercolor paper cut with a Half & Half die.

I created a heart stencil and used a watercolor technique with Plum Pudding ink. After the panel dried, the embossing was ironed off and a touch of Wink of Stella added.

The envelope wrap was made by cutting both ends of the panel with the Half & Half die and using stamps from the Grand Ampersand stamp set. The ampersands were stamped first and left to dry for a few minutes, then lightly painted with a wet brush, pulling the ink off the image.

The sentiements were added before the panel was completely dry, allowing the ink to bleed slightly.

Happy Mother's Day to those celebrating this Sunday! I'm feeling a little sad this year, as it is the first one that I know for sure my mom doesn't know her children or grandchildren (or husband for that matter). It is a strange thing to miss someone who is sitting beside you, with a smile on her face and ready to give a hug anytime. Alzheimer's is a sad & challenging disease.

This photo was taken on a family vacation to Scotland in 1966, the first time my maternal grandparents met the five of us kids! I love all the tartan and distinctly remember carrying my uncle's transistor radio everywhere we went.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Curtain Call + CTS74 + CASology 94: Metal

Our schedule is crazy busy right now, so busy that when my daughter & I checked the calendar a few weeks ago to schedule her birthday party she had the choice of last Friday or the middle of June. Friday night wasn't my first choice, but I couldn't make her wait 6 weeks, so we made it work. 

I get itchy fingers when I'm out of the office too long and finally managed to squeeze in a little time this afternoon to make one card for three challenges. The Curtain Call May 1 - Pretty & Pink, CAS(E) this Sketch! #74 and CASology Week 94: Metal came together to create this card.

The PTI sentiment is stamped and masked first, then Delicata Gold is used to stamp the stars. This ink is so rich & intense!

A few sequin stars were added for a little glitter & dimension.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie