Summer cards at Sweet Stampin' Challenge

 Time to share my card for the challenge at Sweet Stampin' Challenge.  Our theme this fortnight is "You are my Sunshine - shows us your summer cards. 

It's winter time here in NZ - but summer to me, means spending time at the beach....

We live very close to a couple of beaches... and spend a bit of time there in the summer time.   My card is made using stamps and dies from Altenew. - Summer Wishes and Be Like a Lighthouse.   The card was inspired by the sample on the packaging.   I used a Penny Black mask/stencil for my sun and a combination of orange inks.   The water was from the Be Like a Lighthouse set, stamped in Starlight ink and then a bit of pale blue blended over it.  The shells and starfish are from Summer Wishes together with the sentiment.  The shells and starfish were stamped and then ink blended using the matching stencils before die cutting.  

Do come and join us with your summer projects 

Radiant Rainbow - Altenew Live Challenge #15

 Got to watch Jen Rzasa this week - and loved the challenge - Radiant Rainbow.   Jen did an amazing rainbow stenciled floral... amazing.  

I started this last evening after work - and finished today. 

My background was made using a My Favourite Things stencil Petal Circle - which I used Distress Oxides in Worn Lipstick, Wilted Violet, Tumbled Glass and Mowed Lawn inks.  I then moved the stencil slightly and blended again.   Added a light blending of the same colour over each area.   I used a Gina K stencil to cut out a 4" square. And then spritzed with Shimmer mist in Frost.   I then die cut a circle and stamped a sentiment from Altenew's Classic Greetings.  I then took the smallest of the Altenew's Leafy Canopy and stamped in Versamark and white embossed it.  Once it was die cut, I took my metallic watercolour paints and painted rainbow colours!   They are so vibrant in real life, but hard to see the shimmer in the photo.    Finished with some silver dots for embellishments.

Altenew June Inspiration Challenge - Inspired by Samantha.

 Last week I got an Altenew die set - Petite Mountain Aven.   I had to look up these flowers to see what they looked like.   They are sweet little white flowers with yellow centres.... but for today I was inspired by Samantha Pfrimmer - the guest designer and challenge setter for the June challenge at Altenew and made them little orange flowers.

I was still not well this morning so stayed home and after a bit of a sleep in, I got up and decided to CASE Samantha's card. 

I started by finding some sand cardstock for my background.   I then used some Distress Spritz Fossilised Amber to splatter the background.   Next I die cut the flower 4 times from some off white Fabriano 260gm card and used Altenew's Golden Sunset Crisp Dye inks to add colour to the petals.  I die cut out the centres with some dark cream card and used some darker Orange inks (Warm and Cozy inks) to add some blending.  Added some Gold Glitter pen to the last layer.   Used two different green card - one dark and shimmery and the other an olive green, to cut the leaves. Added a little ink blending on them.   I decided I needed something to "ground" the flowers so used the branch from Altenew's Itty Bitty Flowers die set.  The sentiment is stamped in black and clear embossed - from Classic Greetings and cut with the matching die.  

I'm entering this into The Flower Challenge 103 - Add heat/dry embossing - my sentiment was heat embossed. 

and also Darnell's NBUS - first time using the Altenew Petite Mountain Aven die set

 

Christmas Critters

 The June challenge at Christmas Kickstart is Christmas Critters.  I haven't made many Christmas cards so far this year.... and today I was home sick (again!!! - went to work yesterday only lasted 2 hours.  Coughing still 12 days from getting sick) so some time to play.  Went to the doctor today and have antibiotics for 7 days!  And off work for another day or two.    I was looking for a particular stamp and saw the Tim Holtz - Snarky Cats Christmas - perfect for the challenge.

I made a winter night scene... Made my own stencil/mask using a piece of card and a Spellbinders nesting circle die.  I masked off the bottom of the circle with a piece of post it note and added some yellow around the circle.  Then used the die cut circle as a mask and added dark grey and dark blue Altenew inks for the night sky.   I found a freebie magazine stamp (never been used) that had some snowflakes.   Stamped with Altenew Cloud White pigment ink and embossed with white powder.  Added some dots of white pen.  Added some grey and blue for the snow.  Stamped the sentiment and bird from the Tim Holtz set and then stamped the Snarky Cat onto some white scrap card and cut with the Scan'n'Cut to add to the card after adding some colour with alcohol markers.  

I also made another card today... using the new Waffle Flower Postage Collage Butterfly stencil.   But not sure if I'm sending this one to a friend for her birthday... so will wait till the decide before sharing.  

Thanks for stopping by. 

 

Mini Mission . Altenew Live Challenge #14

I didn't get to watch this week's Altenew Live challenge with Jen Rzasa due to being really busy at work.  I usually have my iphone on in the background so had to watch it on replay during my lunch break.... and I was super excited to see my card was Jen's winner....

Jen's challenge this week was make a project using just ONE mini stamp set (plus a die if the set has one!) I chose to use a Mini Delight set called Butterfly Dreams.  It has a stamp set that has some butterflies and sentiments and a die set that has a birdcage and a branch.  #altenewchallengelive

I wanted a bit of stamping in my background, so used the branch from the die set and cut it out of some fun foam and used it as a stamp!  That counts I'm sure!  I stamped in with one of the inks from Enchanted Garden Crisp Dye inks and one of the inks from Frosted Foliage Fresh Dye inks - stamping once in full strength and one second generation stamping.   Die cut the birdcage from some purple card and rose gold accents.   I had tried about 6 times to get the layers done on the butterflies, but gave up and used Alcohol markers to colour.  I used a craft knife to cut the panel down, leaving parts of the wings over the edge.  The sentiment is stamped in black so used black and purple for my matting layers.   Added some dots made with the same rose gold card. 

Using the die cut from fun foam, as a stamp

I made this card yesterday afternoon - what a great way to spend my birthday... playing in the craft room!  And then out to dinner with our friends - Yvonne and Micheal.  

Mosaic Tiled card.

 I have been a bit unwell over the past week....a bad head cold that has ended up on my chest. I had last Friday and Monday off work, went back on Tuesday and only lasted till lunch time... and been coughing since.  Today I had the day off... my day before the birthday day off!  I had a hair appointment set for midday and then a visit to the optometrist in the afternoon, so decided easier to just take the day off!  My hair appointment got moved 3/4 hr earlier ( suited me better ) so did some shopping and had lunch at the Mall.  Got a new winter vest, a lovely pink sweater and picked up some old magazine freebies that my local stationery store was selling for between $2.99 to $6.99.  Also got my granddaughter's birthday present - ready for the 1st of July.   The trip to the optometrist was a bit expensive as I need to replace my frames and lenses - been 6 years with the same frames and prescription.   A couple of weeks till the new ones will be ready.  

Anyhoo.... Today I am sharing a card I made a while back to send to my friend Suna as part of our NZ swap group.  It was Suna's turn to set the challenge - and she chose "Mosaic card" - you can do this a number of different ways, I chose a tiled mosaic design.   Suna has let me know the card arrived....

I started with a stenciled panel I had made a few weeks ago.  It's an Altenew stencil - Floral Garden.  It was one of Altenew's earliest stencils - I took it and sliced it into 1 1/2" by 1" rectangles and added to a brown card panel.  I added some twine around the panel and then stamped the sentiment from Altenew's Our Friendship Blooms stamp set and cut it with a circle stitched die and a matting circle from a Gina K Master Layouts set.  Added some of my handmade dot embellishments.  

Suna let me know she has sent her card to me over a week ago but it still hasn't arrived.  She also sent me a birthday card that was post 2 days ago, that arrived today.  She lives about a 25k's from me (about a 20 min drive) but sometimes the post takes weeks to get between us.  

It's been a successful week for me with card challenges - won Jen Rzasa's challenge with my no black card (here) and Star on the top of the Tree at Christmas Kickstart Challenge with this one. 

Hopefully I'll get some time to play over the weekend... Going out to dinner tomorrow night with our friends and catching up with the Junior Turley's on Sunday lunch.    Take care all. 

Bye Bye Black - Atlenew Challenge Live#13

 I was able to watch Jen Rzasa's live challenge this week - Bye Bye Black - don't use black ink on your project.  

I have to say I already had the stenciled background done and in my scrap pile.  It had been destined for the bin as I didn't mask while stenciling and got some of the green onto the pink and in one spot it looked terrible.  I had put it aside to bin, but hadn't quite got around to doing so.   I looked at it and decided I could salvage some of it.... and here's what I did!

 I trimmed the worst bit off and cut to 3" by 4.5" and matted it with a 3/8" border in the green card,  I can still see a couple of spots where the green went where it was not meant to, but all in all, looked pretty good.  The stencil was Altenew Rose Bouquet (an older one layer stencil). I then stamped the sentiment from Altenew Friendship Blooms stamp set in Rubellite ink.  Finished by added some dots made by covering a bit of the green card in clear packaging tape and used my dots die to cut a few out.  Love how this can make glossy dots in the exact colour to co-ordinate with the project. 

#altenewchallengelive  

Pitcher Vase

 I recently got myself a new Altenew die, embossing and stencil set called Pitcher Vases.   It's amazing - you can die cut the two vases and then emboss them and add some stenciling. 

I die cut both vases in the set from some blue-grey card and over the weekend I made a card with one of the vases. 

I added some dark grey ink around the edges and the handle. For my white base, I used the Altenew embossing folder Mod Squares to emboss the bottom part of my panel.  Added the pitcher and them used Altenew Branches and Berries dies with some Scrapbook.com Sparkle papers to add branches.  The pitcher has a slit in the top so was able to add the branches into it.  I don't have any Altenew little flowers so have used a Poppy Stamp die to cut some little flowers.  Added some little silver dots in the centres.  The sentiment is from Altenew's Classic Greetings stamp and die set. 

With going away for some of the weekend... not a lot of time in the craft room, so happy with my results.