Owl Miss You Berry Much

Earlier this week a friend asked me to make a custom card. She wanted the sentiment "Owl Miss You Berry Much" to go with a gift basket and was hoping I would have some stamps to match. Thanks to some fabulous Paper Smooches sets, I did. So I am participating in the Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes challenge. From Paper Smooches I stamped and colored the owl from Chubby Chums and the strawberry from Fruitastic with Copics. Then I fussy cut them and adhered them to the panel with the custom sentiment. I mounted it all on some simple background paper and grounded it with pretty ribbon so the panel would really be the star. My friend was really pleased with the results which made all the extra effort worth it. 

AEIHeartU Watercolor Challenge Take 2

The current Avery Elle AEIHeartU challenge is to use watercolor. Like many crafters I have fallen in love with this trend. I recently treated myself to my first Avery Elle set Handwritten Notes. I love this set because it has great sentiments for every occasion, but also because you can mix it up with the fun extra sayings. I decided to create a fun custom background using a mix of the thank you style sentiments. I stamped out the various sayings and clear embossed them on watercolor paper. Then I put down some Distress Inks on my craft sheet, sprayed some water and rubbed the watercolor panel in them. I didn't worry too much about being precise. I just made sure all areas were covered and then dipped a bit extra to add some splatters and unevenness. I wanted the panel to shine so I was sure to use a contrasting color for the background. If you need help making your colors pop check out sites like Color Scheme Designer. If you love Avery Elle go check out this fabulous challenge!

AEIHeartU Watercolor Challenge

The current Avery Elle AEIHeartU challenge is to use watercolor. Like many crafters I have fallen in love with this trend. I recently treated myself to my first Avery Elle set Handwritten Notes. I love this set because it has great sentiments for every occasion, but also because you can mix it up with the fun extra sayings. For this card I decided to pop in the 'really' for emphasis. I wanted to make the sentiment the star of the show for a create a fun rainbow panel using Distress Markers. I laid down a few streaks of each color on some watercolor paper and then blended them a little with an aquabrush. I added a bit of shine to the hearts with Brush Pewter Distress Stain. I created a simple background with an Impression Obsession Cover a Card background stamp. If you love Avery Elle go check out this fabulous challenge!

Rainbow Stenciling

I've been a little obsessed with creating rainbows lately. I think it is because I want spring to be here so badly. The weather has still been flip flopping a bit, but Spring Break is on its way. Anyway I was inspired by the Keep It Simple challenge to use stencils and the Virginia's View stencil challenge. I used a Prima stencil and some Distress Inks to create the chevron pattern. I wanted to participate in the Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes challenge so I picked a Paper Smooches sentiment and stamped it in the same colors. I stamped and colored the cat from Paper Smooches Chubby Chums with Copics. Then I fussy cut him and adhered him to accent the panel. I mounted it all on some simple background paper so the panel would really be the star. I'm also entering this into the Open-Minded Crafting Fun challenge Animal Antics. Now I know this is extremely similar to my last Paper Smooches card but sometimes after school I just want to play without thinking about it too much so I did a variation on a card I already loved. Give the rainbow coloring a try, maybe it will convince mother nature to bring on the spring! Oh and if you're in the market for some fabulous colored inks to try it with Blitzy has a great sale on Memento Luxe inks.

Altered Chipboard Technique

Today's card was created for The Card Concept butterfly theme challenge. I used a clean and layered style. I wanted to share how I made the altered chipboard butterfly on this card. You can do the same thing with paper but the chipboard holds up well to all the moisture and it adds some dimension and weight to the card. This technique would look great with any piece of chipboard that has a large surface. I think using a congratulations sentiment on this baby carriage from Basically Bare would be adorable.

I started by priming my chipboard with a thin layer of white paint. It helps to make the other colors more vibrant and means you don't have to worry about any gaps between the splattered color. I embossed the sentiment around the chipboard being sure to include a full version of the sentiment in the middle so the message would be clear. The embossing will act as a resist on the next step.

Recently I had the opportunity to use Hero Arts Daubers and while I loved the look I had a bit of sticker shock at the price. Then the other day in my classroom we were using bingo markers in the art center and I thought to myself what a great cheap alternative. So off to the Dollar Tree I went to get some more bingo markers. Make a practice dab off to the side and then dab away. The bingo markers are more vibrant and less translucent than the Distress Stains and Hero Arts Daubers I have used but it all depends on what look you are going for and of course there is a limited selection of colors with Bingo Markers. But if you like the splattered watercolor paint look of other daubers, but are on a budget, hit up your local dollar store for this cheap alternative.

Check out the Card Concept challenge to play along!

Hippo Birthday Card

 The Open-Minded Crafting Fun challenge blog's theme is Animal Antics. Which is perfect for these little cuties from Lawn Fawn. I created this card with lots of Lawn Fawn. I used  the Grassy Borders die, Year Four stamp set and dies, Year Two stamp set, and Blue Skies stamp set and die. The coloring is done with Copics.  

Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge #8 and Curtain Call

Happy Sunday everyone! Newton's Nook has issued a fabulous sketch challenge for their latest Inky Paws challenge. They are also sponsoring the Curtain Call challenge. So I combined the inspiration photo and the sketch to come up with this simple card. I used the Heidi Swapp woodgrain background stamp for the back panel. I used the Sweetheart Tails set for this card. I stamped out the squirrel and then Distress the background with Frayed Burlap to create a background for him. I colored him and the nut with Copics. My color palette was inspired by the Baby Booties challenge at Curtain Call. Be sure to join in the fun at both or one of the challenges. Remember Newton's Nook offers a few free digital images to play along but once you see their stamps you will probably want to order a set.