Two CAS Cards using Stamplorations Stencils

Hi Friends!

I have a couple of cards to share today. Yay! A couple of weeks ago I commented on a new to me blog called After-Hours Ink & Flowers. Oh the beautiful work that Laura Jane produces. You should check it out. Her profile picture is so sweet! I adore her hat. She wears is beautifully. Anyway, I didn't pay attention to the part of the post that talked about a giveaway, I just wanted to comment on the lovely creation. Imagine my surprise when I got a comment from my friend Carol of Just Me:c saying I needed to contact the gal at Stamplorations as I had won some blog candy! What!?! Apparently my name was selected from the comments on that particular post. Whoo hoooo! Last weekend I ordered a couple of stencils and they arrived today. Yay! Fast shipping that arrived in plenty of time for me to play. :)

I ordered a stencil (or maybe it should be called a mask) called Shower of Flowers thanks to Carol. She completely inspired me with this card. I loved the colors! Here is my take using the stencil/mask, Ripe Persimmon and Tattered Rose distress inks. The sentiment is Avery Elle Oh Happy Day and I wasn't sure where to put it. I think it works. I added, though you can't really see it in the photo, some Wink of Stella all along the inside edges of  the white spaces on the butterflies for a little bit of sparkle. Thanks so much Carol, both for the heads up and the inspiration!!

The other stencil I ordered is called Leaf Prints and I chose to ink it with Twisted Citron and Squeezed Lemonade distress inks. The sentiment is from the same Avery Elle set. I added the Pretty Pink Posh sparkling clear sequins for a touch of bling. 

I could have added more layers to the cards, but I really wanted the stencils to shine this first time using them. These were so fun to play with. I think I will have a lot of fun trying out different color schemes and backgrounds with them. 

Thanks so very much for stopping by.  I hope you are having a great day. 

Hello Friend and Enjoy Your Day Cards

Hello!

I have a couple of cards to share with you today. Two completely different cards. :)

The first one is my take on this one. I was really struck by the colors she used with the Hero Arts stencil. And just for fun, I added a liberal spritzing of Perfect Pearls mixed with water in my mini spritzer. I also used a die I received as some very happy mail a couple of months ago from my good friend, Alanna. She is so sweet! Thank you once again, Alanna! She makes some terrific CAS cards, too! I finally figured out a way to use the die...I think! LOL I actually made this card a week or two ago, but wasn't sure I really liked it. It's growing on me and hey, it just might inspire someone else, so I'm gonna go ahead and share. I really like how the blending and all that came out. I'm just thinking the card design needs work. (See why I am such a copycat-this stuff frustrates me).

 I had originally made the stenciled piece a full card front size. But I used the friend die on the bottom portion. I didn't like how it looked and thought to futz with the die cut, but messed it up. So, I was left with the size you see and couldn't figure out what to do to showcase it well. I then used the organdy ribbon and tied a bow. That looked silly, so off that went. I cut the friend in black and liked how that popped, but it needed more, so I tried the hello from Close To My Heart's Have a Happy Day Set. Eh, it works, I think. I added the black gems at the top to help balance it. All in all, I do like it. Sort of. 

And for the other card...I was inspired by different cards I saw on a google search of this Lawn Fawn Let's Play stamp set. One card I saw, the blogger watercolored using Inktense pencils. Oooooh, I have some of those! So I sat down to play. I don't have the dies for this set, so everything is fussy cut. (I didn't cut in between the lines attaching the swing to the frame and seat. I watercolored that part and glued the dog on top.)  I also inked the images in black pigment ink and clear heat embossed, so my colors would stay in the lines. This one produces a smile for sure! It's pretty vibrant. 

The clouds are from another Lawn Fawn set, Hello Sunshine. (Can you tell I realllllly like Lawn Fawn stamps these days? I'm acquiring quite the collection). I stamped in versamark ink  on vellum and clear heat embossed. They looked a little lost in the sky, so I tried watercoloring on them with white watercolor from a set I have (no white Inktense pencil in my set of 12). You can't see it very well in the photo, but the white looks kind of neat in person. 

That's it from me today. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day!

Hugs,

Tank You, Dad and a Watercolored Flower

Hi Friends!

Long post alert. 

Did you see Kristina Werner's Tank you, Dad shaker card here? I thought she did a great job with it and I was inspired to make a version. I don't own the letters or the Lawn Fawn stamp set she used, but I didn't let that stop me! I found a similar style of lettering on the Artiste cartridge for my Cricut (cut at 3/4 inch) and I own the Paper Smooches version of fish stamps called Surf and Turf. 

And here is my version of the card. Mine is 4 1/4 by 5 1/2.  I think that is called standard size?

Close up so you can see some of the sequins I used. I also used Wink of Stella on the white space of the letters, but the camera didn't pick it up. I almost wanted to add something to the white frame, but was too afraid I would mess it up and didn't want to have to start that over again.

It was a fun card to make. I took my time and let it dry before adding to the background('m learning patience with watercolor techniques). I used the freezer paper method of masking that Kristina showed and it worked very well, I think. I will have to remember that!

The images are colored with Prismacolor Pencils. I didn't used odorless mineral spirits to blend this time.  Even though I used two layers of foam tape, the loose fish pieces still stick. Might be smart to add a third layer. Oh well. I think Steve will like this card that will be from the girls next weekend.

And here is my second card. I keep seeing these card where the image is heat embossed and then watercolored inside the lines. My friend, Barb's work really inspires me. So I sat down to play a bit yesterday. I heat embossed the stamps from an old June, 2013 Stamp of the Month Close To My Heart flower set called A Flowering Bunch with Versamark Dazzle Champagne ink and clear embossing powder. I might try this again with white embossing powder. Then I used Pear ink for the leaves and Vineyard Berry for the flower. I squeezed the ink onto the inside of the lid and picked up the color with a wet brush. I like the variations in color I was able to get. I originally was going to try to use different colors of pink, but in the end liked the variations of the single color best. 

I tried to get a close up to show the Wink of Stella I added to the images, but my darn camera didn't pick up the sparkle. 

The background stencil is one I picked up at Joann. I used Blush ink . The thank you is from Lawn Fawn and the die is Spellbinders. 

The sparkling sequins are a super happy mail surprise from my friend Alanna. 

Thank you SO much, sweet friend! Made my day!

:)

That's it from me today. 

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you are having a happy day.

Hugs,

Jeanne

Stenciled Happy Birthday Card

Hi there!

I needed a masculine birthday card and got to work this afternoon trying to come up with something using stencils and distress inks. I found some neat looking Faber Castell stencils at Hobby Lobby recently. They have shapes that can easily be used for backgrounds on cards using whatever technique one may desire. Using stencils is really making a comeback it seems. The only drawback is the stencils I got are paper. So, while you can reuse them for a time, they aren't going to last forever. Ah well. I'll have fun for a while anyway.

I decided some good "guy" colored distress inks include Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn and Spiced Marmalade. I used some old stencil brushes because I had seen a video where a lady made a great looking background using them, creating a stippled look. Weeeeeelll, I tried that to start out with the technique she used in the video and I'd probably still be stippling next week. I obviously didn't have the right touch (or the patience) to continue that technique. I started moving the brush in a circular motion while pressing down a bit(kind of like how I used to do this years and years and years ago-ahem). Ahhhh, now that looked a lot better and was much quicker. It probably doesn't look any different than using a sponge, but I didn't get any hard lines either, so there is that. Here's the final card.

And below is a close up of a mistake an opportunity to embellish I made. I wanted to clear heat emboss the happy birthday sentiment. But.....I didn't wait long enough for the ink to dry from sponging the colors on and the embossing powder stuck everywhere. Um, oops? Nah...I embossed it anyway and liked the texture it added to the sentiment. So I used it! The die is a Nestabilities Shapeabilities die. I cut a white rectangular piece of cardstock and used the same stencil brushes to add the colors to the rectangle. This is a nice low profile card that should be easily mailable. 

That's it from me today. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have a great week!

Hugs,

Jeanne

Watercolored Butterfly Hello

Hello!

I was able to head into my crafty space this afternoon and I tried something new for me. And I think it worked out better than I'd hoped it would. :)

My friend Kay participated in a blog hop for Papertrey Ink way back in February. She posted a sneak  peek of  her card here. One of the things I especially liked about this card was her use of the quatrefoil pattern and distress inks. I copied this idea with a Memory Box stencil I picked up at my local scrapbook store (probably back in February). I used the same inks and that was as far as I got that day. This background piece has been sitting on my desk ever since. 

Then a week or so ago, I took a bit of a drive to a store that sells all the colors of Prismacolor pencils. I had some holes in my collection and wanted to fill them. :) They were having a watercolor demonstration. As you regular readers know, I am very much watercolor challenged, but I stopped to chat with the gal working the demonstration. She showed me how to use watercolor crayons and watercolor pencils. I have had a set or two of watercolor pencils collecting dust for years. I even have some watercolor crayons somewhere. Seeing someone demonstrate the technique in person was so helpful! I even got to try it under her watchful eye. Ever since that demo, I've wanted to try my hand at using my watercolor pencils. (I still have to look for the watercolor crayons I think I own).

I have to say, I'm quite pleased at how this turned out!

I used a new Hero Arts butterfly stamp and die set that I found at Joann's. Last month I came across this post and the idea came to mind of what I would try to do!

I used a Dazzle Versamark ink in Champagne and clear embossing powder to emboss the butterflies. Then I used General's brand watercolor pencils to lightly color along the edge of the embossed lines. I pulled out the color with a paintbrush dipped in water. 

I actually achieved a look that I liked! Whoo hoo! I have to say, I do like the control I felt I had with the pencils. 

I popped the large butterfly up with some foam dots. You can't really tell in the photo, but the body is covered with Wink of Stella shimmer. 

Finally, a watercolor session that didn't end in my being completely frustrated. 

There may be a little hope for me yet. 

Thanks ever so much for stopping by.

I hope you have a great day!

Hugs,

Jeanne