Butterflies for Less is More

Okay last one today I promise :)

This post is for the Less is More sketch challenge. Since I kind of found my nitch in CAS cards I am super loving this challenge blog! It's funny how long you can do something without finding your own style. I'm so glad I did though It's made the process so much more enjoyable for me :)

Here is the sketch

and my take

there's that white card base again :) I stamped my butterflies (Hero Arts, Antique Engravings) on a spare piece of white then fussy cut them out. I decided to water color them with distress ink and a H20 pen. I used broken china, seedless preserves, worn lipstick, spiced marmalade, mustard seed, and peeled paint.

Here is a close up of the butterflies

The stardust stickles (it's like the white card base I can't help myself) added some fun shine. The sentiment is from Hero Arts Friends set.

Finally done posting for the day, I hope you have been inspired by what I shared with you. As always I'm so grateful you stopped by :)

Always . . CASE

Back again!

This time with my take on the CASE Study challenge! I absolutely adore this challenge. I mean who doesn't take inspiration from other crafters?!

This is the card we are to CASE.

and my interpretation

 Super simple just like the lovely Jennifer Rzasa's. If you would like to see all the wonderful creations from her please visit her blog.

I started with a white card base (do I use anything else anymore . . .seriously!) I stamped the hearts (Hero Arts, Sweet Hearts) in black then colored with markers. The Sentiment is from Hero Arts, Live & Laugh.

To add some interest I added stardust stickles and glossy accents to some of the hearts.
I think the hearts may be a little big what do you think?

I'll be back with one more, hope you aren't tired of me yet lol

Apparently I'm going to be one of those people

You know one of those people who doesn't post for a week but then has three posts in one day :)
The way my schedule works makes posting difficult when I actually make the cards. Consequently I have a bunch to post at one time :) Hope you don't mind!

Today's first card is for The Play Date Cafe. Every week I try to play along with the wonderful ladies there and sometimes it just doesn't work out. Thankfully this week it did :) Here are the colors

and my card

I cut out a mask using my die (Spellbinders, Labels 11) and laid it down over a white card base. For the background I rubbed on faded jeans and crushed olive. To darken the color and increase the gradation I added chipped sapphire to the very edge of the top and peeled paint to the very edge of the bottom.
Leaving the mask in place I stamped the flower (Hero Arts, Tall Flower). I know this stamp is a few years old but I just love it :)

I stamped the flower again on a scrap piece of white and then fussy cut it out. I colored the pieces with Victorian velvet, seedless preserves, and dusty concord. I adhered the pieces parts to the card flat then added some stardust stickles. I decided against putting a sentiment on it so I could have it in my arsenal for whatever occasion I needed.

Thanks for popping in :)

Hanging Heart Hugs

So over at Lily Pad Cards they have added a new challenge, Virginia's View. I am so excited because I super love Virginia's work. You can check out her fabulous work on her blog Yes, Virginia...

This is Virginia's first challenge and I HAD to play along

and here is my take

The photo is so gorgeous I took it quite literal. I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, Truly Appreciated) first then began stamped the hearts (Hero Arts, Sweet Hearts) around it. I stamped the hearts again on a separate piece of white. I colored them with seedless preserves, worn lipstick, and dried marigold. To blend them I sprayed the heck out of them with Pearl Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels). Once they were dry I fussy cut them out and adhered them to the card. I drew in the hanging lines with a fine black pen and a ruler.

Now I love some pearl shine but my heart lies with stickles :) The pearl really muted the colors so I decided to add the stardust stickles to really make them pop off the card. I rounded one corner for some balance then popped up the whole panel on a white card base.

I really think it came out simple and sweet. yay :) Oh side note if anyone has some tips for photographing white cards please let me know. As you can see I struggle lol

Okay I'm off to play with some more stamps and ink! Thanks for coming over :)

Heartfelt Sketch

Guess what I made?!

It's another sketch card! I really love sketches and the way two people with the exact same sketch can see completely different things. Since Get Sketchy went down I haven't found a really good sketch challenge. If you know of one please help a girl out :)

This card is based on another sketch from Kristina and of course a little technique too!!

I started by using the faux letterpress technique I saw in Jennifer's inspiration showcase. I inked up my embossing folder (Sizzix, Damask) with soft pool ink. I embossed the piece then cut it to 1 and 1/2 by 5 1/4. I cut two more thin strips of white that I colored using worn lipstick and dried marigold. I wanted the color to be bold so I went ink pad to paper. I added them to the card base then stamped my sentiment (Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages). I then cut out the hole with my spellbinders die.

The hearts were die cut (Cricut, George and Basic Shapes) and then inked. For the big heart I colored the entire piece with dried marigold (again ink pad to paper) then stamped (Hero Arts, Antique Brocade) with worn lipstick. The smaller heart was colored with soft pool ink then covered with stardust stickles. To finish it off I added some pen work around the circle and 3 black pearls.

One more card to share today then I'll be off to play some more hehe!

Butterfly Sketch

So I have been playing around with some of the sketches provided in the clean and simple card making class.

Kristina made a card using this sketch which was completely adorable. Jennifer also mentioned you can still use technique in CAS cards you just have to be a little more selective. I combined the sketch with Jennifer's advice and this is what I got

I masked off the inside and stamped my background (Hero Arts, Large Fabric Design) with versa mark then white heat embossed. I put the mask back in place to color with worn lipstick, scattered straw, and shabby shutters. I drew a line with my marker to make a clear boundary. It looks more layered to me this way.

I stamped the butterfly (Hero Arts, Antique Engravings) three times on the base of the card and also on scrap paper. I fussy cut the scrap paper ones and colored them each with one the distress ink colors then coated them with stardust stickles. I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, Live & Laugh) and the popped up the butterflies on foam to complete.

I think it's still a clean a simple card with just a little technique :) Thanks for stopping by to look and I'll be back with another card using different sketch.

Color Blocked Hearts

I decided to try the coloring blocking technique Jennifer showed us in the first week of class. I had this idea in my head and that technique just wasn't working with it so I adapted :)

I cut one inch strips and colored them using Hero Arts Color challenge colors (say that three times fast). I used pumice stone, milled lavender, worn lipstick, festive berries, and spun sugar. Once I adhered them to my label I trimmed off the edges and then mounted on the black "shadow.' I stamped the hearts (Hero Arts Sweet Hearts) in jet black archival ink (Ranger) and added glossy accents to the solid ones. The sentiment is from Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages. Little pink rhinestones finish off the card.

So what do you think? I think it's lovely :)

Hey Foxy!

This week in the clean and simple class Jennifer showed us some great ways to do a mirror image.
This is my first attempt and I super love it :)

I drew the frame with a black marker and a ruler. The fox is from Hero Arts and so are the hearts. I used two different sets for the two sizes. The bigger heart is from their new set Sweet Hearts and the smaller is included in the All Occasion Messages set. To create the outline heart I just stamped one inside the other. I colored with markers and added glossy accents to make the hearts shiny. Three little rhinestones create the foxy girl's "barrette".

Thanks for coming by! I have just one more post :)

Less is More: One Layer Birds

Happy Thursday evening to you :)

We are covered in snow here in Ohio and while we have had few significant snow falls this year I can't say I really missed it. How about you, love the snow or hate it?

Tonight I have a few cards to share so I'll apologize for posting three in one night. The first I made to play along with the Less is More Challenge: One layer cards with birds.

All the stamps are from Hero Arts Whoo Loves You set. I stamped in jet black archival ink then colored with markers. I just added glossy accents and stickles to make them shine. Such cute little love birds tee hee!

Same Colors New Card :)

Since I had the mask left over from the last card  I decided to use it and make a second card,

Here's Kathy's Lily Pad Palette again

The frame is colored with chipped sapphire. The flower (Hero Arts, Butterfly Flowers) is victorian velvet and seedless preserves. The leaves were colored with evergreen bough and broken china. I added some white dots in honor of Kathy :) Some deep purple pearls and glossy accents on the frame completed it. I'm not sure if I {love} it but considering I've been making next to nothing I'll take what I can get :)

Are you still there?

Hello? Hello?

Hey! I know I've been missing since after Thanksgiving, please accept my sincere apologies. It's not that I haven't been crafting at all just not a lot. :( Am I the only one who has trouble finding their footing after the whirlwind of holidays? Anyway, I have a card today using Kathy's Lily Pad Palette . . . .actually I have two!

I decided to take Jennifer, Julie and Kristina's Clean and Simple card making class. At first I was a little hesitant but I am so grateful that I did! It's just what I needed to get a foot hold :) In day two Julie talked making a flat card but building in layers. This is my attempt and I really like it.

The photo just does not do it justice. I'm going to try and post a better one later. I masked by cutting out the label die (Spellbinders, Labels Two) and using repositionable adhesive. I also masked the flower (Hero Arts, Flower Blossom) leaving a white border. The mist is Turquoise Blue from Tattered Angels. It is so shimmery in real life and that maybe why it's photographing so poorly.

Thanks for coming back to visit after this crazy long hiatus and it's not too late to join in on the card class.

I'll be back to show how I used the mask in my next post!