Magical Birthday for Seize the Birthday

Hello friends!  I'm very pleased to share my card as a Surprise Party Guest for Seize the Birthday!  The challenge is always to make a birthday card and optionally add "toppings" which this time is Beach Theme.

Seize the Birthday

I had several options for this theme in my craft stash, but decided to use a heretofore unused stamp set illustrated by Anita Jeram for Colorado Craft Company, so I'm sharing over at the lovely Darnell's NBUS blog.

NBUS #62

I'm diving deep into my Copic markers to make this wonderful stamp set come to life!

This stamp was such a treat to color but it is a bit overwhelming with all the different elements, so I think that's why I hadn't inked it up before.  I went to Pinterest for inspiration and ideas for how to color the mermaid's hair (not my strong suit lol!) and saw Amy Young's card here (if you love colorists, you definitely should follow her!) which also gave me the idea for the sparkles, plus I'd seen Kelly Taylor (another fabulous colorist you should follow!) do something similar here.

When the coloring of the scene was complete, I used a shimmer pen on the mermaid's fin (?), the stars and some shells, then added the sparkles with a white gel pen.  After using a square die to trim the panel down to 5.25" square, I thought it would look cool to continue the coloring on the outside of the stamped frame, then added sparkles all around there as well.  It was mounted on a 5.5" square card base and a sentiment from a different AJ/CCC stamp set was added in the top left corner.  

Then I created a panel for the interior using a stamp with the same flourishes as the frame, a shell and a starfish, and a sentiment from an old Lawn Fawn set that worked perfectly!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Be sure to pop over to the challenge blog, the design team has some fabulous inspiration!

Take care!

Stef

• Anita Jeram/CCC Mermaid & Whale stamp, Watch This sentiment stamp and die
• Lawn Fawn Fairy Friends (interior sentiment)
• Pink & Main Square die
• Sakura White Gelly Roll and Black Glaze (walrus and whale eyes) pens
• Tonic Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen
• Copic markers

Wild & Free for The Flower Challenge

Hello friends!  May is upon us, and this month at The Flower Challenge, we're asking everyone to color your flower(s) using any medium of your choice - inks, watercolors, pencils, alcohol markers, you get the picture.

TFC 91

I hadn't had enough play time with the Simon Says Stamp April card kit, so I decided to use the stamp set and a piece of the pattern papers included in the kit.

I chose this piece of pp because of the beautiful colors in a somewhat watercolor-looking design.  I matched up my markers to coordinate and colored the pretty floral image.  I love how dainty both the flowers are in this set.  The sentiment is also from the same stamp set.  Both the flower and sentiment were die cut with their matching dies.

The panel was trimmed down to 4" x 5.25" and added to the white card base, which ended up being a mistake, because then, when I went to trim off some of the leaf and stem to fit, it got a bit tricky.  But I got it done!  Both the flower and the sentiment were layered on one extra die cut before adding to the card for just a slight bit of dimension.  Finally, I added some purple gems. 

What medium is your favorite for coloring flowers?  We'd love to see your card in the gallery, you'll have until the 25th of the month to play along.  In the meantime, please head over to the challenge blog and enjoy all the beautiful inspiration my wonderful teammates have for you!

Take care!

Stef

• SSS Wild & Free Stamps and dies
• American Crafts Dreamer 6x8 paper pad
• SSS Cool Tones Dazzling Gems
• Copics - V05, 01, 00, G02, 00, 000, BG78, 75, 72

Tulip Pattern for Color Hues

Hello friends!  Well, here we are at the beginning of May and it's time for a new challenge at Color Hues!  This time the amazing Julie B. has chosen the beautiful color combo of Lilac and Lime.

Color Hues

I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is Feminine. 

For my card, I'm using a Hero Arts stencil and die set that was released in February, I believe.

The stencil set is a layering one, so I found two ink shades each of purples and greens and went to work.  After the stenciling was complete, the panel was trimmed to just slightly smaller than A2 size.  The cover die was used on two panels of white, layered up and then adhered over the stenciled panel.  It would also be fun to use the cover die to cut the stenciled panel then use inlay but I wasn't up that task the day I was working on this card lol!

I had a die cut sentiment that I was going to use on the heart, but it was too big, so I went on "the search" for a sentiment and found the perfect match with another Hero Arts stamp set.  Most of the words are meant for Valentine's day but these worked out fine, stamped in gray ink.  

The dragonfly is having it's first outing on this card, cut from white then inked with the same purples.  I then used a shimmer pen on the wings, glued it together and added to the heart.  I liked the glitter look so much I then proceeded to go over all the tulips as well, then for the last touch, added some sparkly gems.

I hope I've provided a little bit of inspiration and for even more, be sure to visit the challenge blog and see all the beautiful cards by my very talented teammates!  The challenge will remain open until 9 am EDT Tuesday 5/14.  We would love to have you join us!

Take care!

Stef

• Hero Arts Tulip Pattern Layering Stencils and Fancy Cover Die
• Hero Arts You're Mine Stamp set
• Simon Says Stamp Nested Round Heart die and Etched Dragonfly die
• Altenew Lavender Fields, Deep Iris, Lime and Fresh Leaf inks
• Versamark Clair Morning Mist pigment ink
• Tonic Aqua Shimmer pen
• Honeybee Stamps Aurora Borealis gems

In My Heart

Hello friends, I'm back yet again this week, this time with a fun card for the current challenge at The Paper Players.  Claire has chosen some yummy, vibrant colors and I knew immediately what stamp set would work best with them.

PP685

I have had this cute stamp and die set for months but never used it so when I saw these colors I knew it was time to put it to use.

I stamped out all the images, colored them with Copic markers and then used the dies to cut them out.  The sentiment is from the set but I only used part of it, masking off the part I didn't want to include, then used a paper trimmer to size it appropriately.

Next the brick background was stenciled with gray about 2/3rds of the way down the panel, trimmed down to 4" x 5.25", then I built the scene, adhering everything directly to the panel except for the planters on each side, which were popped up with foam tape, as was the sentiment.  

Thanks for taking time to stop by!  I hope you're having a good week and that Spring has finally arrived where you are.  Here in Meridian, our weather keeps vascilating between 50s and 70s but I'm hopeful that by next week we'll be well into warmer weather. ;-)

Take care!

Stef

• MFT Sittin' Pretty stamps and dies
• MFT English Brick Wall stencil
• Simon Says Stamp Earl ink
• Copics - RV19, 09, 06, 04, 02, BG49, 13, 11, YG67, 17, 03, 01, YR27, 24, 15, 11, E11, 21, 00, C5, 3, 1, 00, W5, 3, 1, 0

Wild & Free for Color Hues

Hello friends!  Are you ready for a new color combo?  We have you covered at Color Hues, where the lovely Hannelie has chosen pink and yellow.  So perfect for Spring, right?

Color Hues

I couldn't resist making a card with flowers using these colors and of course I added a bit of gold metallic as well. ;-)

The April card kit at Simon Says Stamp had me swooning with the pretty floral stamps, so of course I inked up one for this card.  It was gold heat embossed, along with the sentiment from the same stamp set, and then I did some simple coloring of the flowers with yellow Copic makers.  I die cut both with the coordinating dies, then went to work on the background.

Pink ink was ink blended on a panel of white cardstock, darkening the edges while leaving the center a lighter color.  It was embossed with the Floating Flowers folder that came with the kit, then I used both gold and white to splatter although the white is very subtle, even in person.

After the panel dried, it was adhered to a 4.5" x 6" card base.  A pretty die cut circle was layered on, then the flower and sentiment were added.  With all the gold splatter I didn't think any bling was needed.

So what are you inspired to make with these colors?  We sure hope you'll share your wonderful creation with us, the challenge remains open until 9am EDT April 29th.  For more inspiration, you don't want to miss what my super talented teammates have made, so please be sure to pop over to the challenge blog!

Take care and thanks for visiting!

Stef

• SSS Wild & Free Flowers Stamps and Dies
• SSS Floating Flowers ef
• Altenew Baby Pink Crisp Dye ink
• Altenew Gold Metallic paint
• Dr. Ph Martin's Bleed Proof White paint
• Copics - Y15, 11, 00

Big Bold Blooms Birthday for The Flower Challenge

Hello friends!  We're at mid-month and time for our reminder post at The Flower Challenge.  This month we are adding layers to our floral cards.  

TFC90 Reminder

This time I used a die cut floral spray to create layers and since I'm using new products, I'm also sharing over at Darnell's April NBUS Challenge. 

I recently had a little shopping trip to Spellbinders and picked up the Copperplate Sentiment press plates and the Big Bold Blooms dies.  Betterpress ink in Bark was used to press the happy birthday sentiment onto a panel of the Betterpress porcelain paper.  The spectacular calligraphy used for the sentiment font absolutely makes me giddy, it's so beautiful!

Next all the spray components were die cut from white cardstock, then the leaves and flowers were ink blended with a number of Distress inks and I used brown Copic markers to color the little branches and flower centers, and warm grays to shade the white buds (?berries?).  Creating floral arrangements does not come naturally to me so I definitely borrowed ideas from the card samples for the Copperplate Sentiments on the SB website.  The colors were ones used by Amy R in this post on Prairie Paper and Ink, which was for Color Throwdown #787.  I love me some aquas and teals, and when paired with olive green, well, it just makes my heart happy!

After building the spray and adhering it to the card front, the last step was to add some bling with three Simon Says Stamp Surf Dazzling Gems.

If you haven't already, we'd love to have you show your layers, or share a second card!  Be sure to head over to the blog for all the beautiful inspiration from my wonderful teammates.

Thanks for visiting.  Take care!

Stef

• Spellbinders Big Bold Blooms and Envelope of Wonder (2 leaves) dies
• Spellbinders Copperplate Happy Birthday Press Plate
• Salvaged Patina, Peacock Feathers, Uncharted Mariner, Crushed Olive, Peeled Paint and Rustic Wilderness Distress inks
• Copics - E44, 47, W0, 1, 3, 5

Birthday Wishes

Hello friends!  Another day, another card!  This time I'm playing along at Seize the Birthday.  Nancy has a fun challenge for us to use green and one other color, and of course make it a birthday card.

STB 281

 

I hadn't made a mini or regular slimline card for a while, so I decided a mini slim would work well with the floral image I wanted to use.

Everything on the card but the frame is from the April 2024 Simon Says Stamp card kit.  I started by coloring up that pretty wild flower in a vibrant pink and of course greens for the leaves.  Next I flipped through the patterned paper selection from the kit and found this pretty green with a subtle floral pattern.  

After it was trimmed down and added to the card base, I decided to frame up the floral using a Pinkfresh Studio mini slimline frame, layering it up twice before adding to the card front.  The flower was partially adhered to the paper with some of the petals and the small but popped up with thin foam squares.  After adding the sentiments, some jewels seemed in order, so I found some pretty pink ones that matched the flower so well.

Thanks for visiting, I appreciate it! Be sure to come back tomorrow for my reminder card for the current Flower Challenge (layers) and on Tuesday when we have a wonderful new challenge with perfect spring colors over at Color Hues.

Take care!

Stef

• Simon Says Stamp Wild and Free Flowers stamps and dies
• Pinkfresh Studio Essentials: Mini Slimline Frame die
• American Crafts Dreamer 6x8" paper pack
• SSS Taffy Dazzling Gems
• Copics - RV19, 06, 04, 02, YG67, 17, 03