Clean and Simple Card Making 2: Day 3 and 4

Hello Everyone,
Can I just say I am loving this latest of the online card classes run by Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner (and friends). Yesterday Jennifer shared an inking technique that allows you to ink blend in order to get a gradation of colour. On my card I used this technique to create the colours of the butterflies. I stamped the first butterfly in red; then without cleaning the stamp, I inked it with orange and this is how you create the tertiary colour. Then I cleaned the stamp and inked it up in orange; then, without cleaning it I inked it with the hot pink to again create the tertiary blend. It is an easy and very clever technique - especially if you don't want to spend on a ton of ink pads! Today in class, it was all about the negative or white space. So I incorporated that into this card as well. This is much simpler - normally I would be tempted to add little touches to fill the white space. I think it works. Of course I couldn't resist adding one little rhinestone to each butterfly - I coloured these using the same technique! The butterfly is from SU's "Papillon Potpouri" and the sentiment is a PTI Think Big Favourite. Thanks for looking!

Happy stamping,
Meg

Clean and Simple Cards Day Two

Hello Everyone,
Today I am trying a new technique using my inktense pencils. This technique is from Online Card Classes - Clean and Simple Cards 2. Our "homework" is to make a one layer card. I have such a hard time with this be cause I LOVE using mats. Anyway... Jennifer McGuire demo'd this really cool technique that she called "Faux Artist". Here are the steps I followed to make this card. I stamped the PTI Think Big Favourites "Congrats" sentiment in soft granite. Then I used my Inktense pencils and coloured over the sentiment in rainbow colours. Next I used a water pen to blend the colours. Finally, I used a thicker nibbed pen and dragged it up and down over the sentiment to create that washed background. I found the sentiment too washed out looking so I traced back over with the inktense pencils. Then I added some glitter stars sut with a new Memory Box die. I still feel like I would like to mat it and mount it on another card base, but I am going stay outside my comfort zone and leave it as it is. Let me know what you think!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Muse Challenge 2 and Clean and Simple Cards Day One

Hello Everyone,
When I saw the Muse challenge this morning, what struck me most about the inspiration card was the fantastic saturated colours. I love dark bold colours. I am taking Kristina Werner and Jennifer McGuire's online card class and decided to use one of their sketches and the inspiration of the bold flowers from the Muse card to create mine. When I was done, I felt something was missing, so I added the little stars - these reminded me of the little hearts on the patterned paper on the Muse inspiration card. I am pleased with the result. I used the Melon Mambo and Tempting Turquoise to mirror the colours of the flowers from Susan Dahlberg's card at Muse and the layered text bubbles from Jennifer McGuire's card over at Clean and Simple Cards 2. The sentiment is from Neat and Tangled's "Just Hello" stamp set.  Thanks for looking.

Happy Stamping,
Meg

CAS-ual Fridays: CFC 87 Make Your Mark

Hello Everyone,
Time to play along with CAS-ual Friday! I didn't get my shiznat together for last week's challenge, so I am making sure not to miss this week's. When I was browsing the design team's amazing cards, I was really inspired by Christina's. I just love the delicate flowers and the gradated colouring. That is what inspired my card. I used my Distress Markers - Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, and Barn Door - to colour the little hearts. The sentiment is from the Verve stamp set "Make a Statement". This card is simple in design, but was very finicky to make - even though I love the way it turned out, I don't think I will be reproducing it. The difficulty with CAS design is that if anything is even the slightest bit off kilter, you see it right away. Anyhoo, after much fiddling and redoing, I think I finally got the result I was looking for! Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Stamping,
Meg

CASology Week 28: Drink

Hello Everyone,
I was thrilled with this week's CASology cue card: drink. I knew I would have to use SU's "Happy Hour" stamp set. This card is simple and fun - I love the sentiment. I might add a little heart somewhere and make it a Valentine. I used a little trick I picked up from either Jennifer McGuire or Kristina  Werner (I can't remember which one - it might have been in one of their online classes {which I highly recommend}); instead of matting the focal image on a full piece of black cardstock, I simply added a slim strip to the top and bottom to give the illusion that it is matted. This is a great way to use up scraps and still provides that bit of "pop". I am really enjoying these weekly challenges and am not finding it too onerous to keep up with the blogging! Thanks for looking...

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Muse Challenge #1: Inspired by Amy Kolling

Hello Everyone,
I am participating in the first Muse Challenge. I really like the participatory aspect to this card "club" and am drawn also by the amazing design team too. The challenge is to be inspired by our first muse: Amy Kolling. I am a regular follower of her blog, so being inspired by her is not much of a challenge. I was really drawn to her great bright yellow flower and the sentiment. I had also seen a technique a while ago on Jennifer McGuire's blog where she used the negative pieces from a die and pasted them to the front of the card and coloured them. I loved this idea, because I always "feel" bad for those unused pieces. To create my card I used the negative petal centers from a Daisy die and adhered them to the card front and then coloured them with my copics. Next I stamped the simple sentiment - which is from a CAS-ual Friday stamp set "Truth Is". I love the way it turned out. Thanks Muse for this great new challenge!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

The Paper Players 129: Clean and Simple Sketch

Hello Everyone,
When I saw this lovely sketch at the Paper Players Blog, I knew I had to play along. To create my card, I cut a square out of a piece of Eclipse masking paper that was the same size as my piece of cardstock; I masked off the cardstock and used my blending tool to sponge on some distress ink (Broken China). When it was the colour and consistency I wanted, I peeled off the mask. I simply stamped the sentiment underneath (K. Werner's Signature Sentiments) and adhered the daisy (Memory Box die cut). I love the simplicity of the card. Of course I had to add one little bit of bling, so I coloured a clear rhinestone with a turquoise Sharpie and embellished the center of the flower. I will send this to my BFF this week. Thanks Jaydee for creating such a wonderful sketch!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

CASology Week 27: Blue

Hello Everyone,
This week I am not waiting until the last minute to participate in the CASology challenge. I was excited to see the cue card was: blue - a colour I love. When I was out and about today I had to stop by my favourite craft store - Heather's Stamping Haven - and of course I couldn't leave empty handed! One of the new toys I came home with was the fabulous Hero Arts background stamp that I used on this card. First, I coloured a piece of white cardstock with dark blue, medium blue and teal inktense pencils - then I blended with water. I inked up the background stamp in Versamark and embossed it in white. I love the way it turned out. I used a banner die from Simon Says Stamp and the sentiment is from Kristina Werner's "Handwritten Sentiments". The little rhinestones were clear and I coloured them with a turquoise Sharpie! Thanks for looking - I hope you like my take on "Blue".

Happy Stamping,
Meg

CAS-ual Friday: The Sequel

Hi Everyone,
Well I made two cards that fit the CAS-ual Friday challenge this week and I couldn't decide which one to enter. So, I am entering both! Yesterday, when I was out running errands, I stopped at Chapters because I knew that the new Paper Crafters' Special Issue "75 Creative Card Challenges" was out. I just had to purchase it and am so inspired by the projects inside. I just had to case Amber Kemp-Gerstel's card on pg. 11. I wish I could link to it. She used a Kraft cardbase and I used white. Apart from that  - and the rhinestones I couldn't resist adding (and the sentiment) - it is a direct case. It is going to my aunt who is one of the kindest souls I know. I send her a card every week, and this week I want to let her know she is appreciated - so the round of applause is for her and all she has brought to my life! I think she will like the funky design. Thanks for looking and I hope you have had a great weekend - I am off to play in my craft room for just a little while onger! :)

Happy Stamping,
Meg

CFC85: Round of Applause

Hi there Everyone,
This week's challenge at CAS-ual Friday is a fun one - make a card that celebrates an accomplishment and has at least one circle. The card I am entering is for my BFF - she just finished her last exam to become a Real Estate Agent. It was super tough for her, but she did it! I just bought some Inktense colour pencils by Derwent and am in love with the beautiful saturated colour they create. I cut a piece of water colour paper to 4"x5.25" and coloured it pretty solidly with a red section, an orange section and a yellow section. Then I painted with water - how easy. I went back in at the intersection of the colours to blend a little more. I love the way it turned out. I die cut the word Brilliant from Kristina Werner's "Brilliant and Strong" die set available at Simon Says Stamp. The "you are" comes from Neat and Tangled's "Kindness Matters". The little butterfly is from SU!'s "Beautiful Wings" embosslit. I cut it from watercolour paper and used my inktense pencils to colour and "paint" it too. I love the way the card turned out - thanks for looking!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

CASology: Winter

Hello Everyone,
I have been thinking all week about this new CASology challenge: Winter. I have to admit that I am a little saturated with making winter cards. I decided to go very simple. So I chose some paper from Recollections Jolly Jamboree paper pad for the card base. Then I cut out the Memory Box Country Landscape from white cardstock - I adhered it to the cardbase with dimensionals. The sentiment is a Think Big Favourite (not sure which one). I thought the sentiment looked a bit too stark, so I added the snow flake (Martha Stewart). I am pleased with the way it turned out and am just getting this posted under the wire! Thanks for looking.

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Paper Players Challenge 127: Love is in the air!

Hello Everyone,
With Valentine's Day coming up next month, it is no surpirse to see this  "Love is in the air" challenge over at the Paper Players. I saw this card on pinterest (great place for inspiration), and knew that I had to case it. I changed a couple of things up, but thought this was such a clever use of the Martha Stewart cluster of hearts punch. This is a super simple card - but very effective in its simplicity. I love the white on white. I used SU! red glimmmer paper for the hearts and bakers twine for the bow. I like the sentiment too - as this can be a "platonic" Valentine for a friend. The sentiment is from Kristina Werner's "Handwritten Sentiments" available at Simon Says Stamp.

Happy Stamping,
Meg

PPA 150: Melon Mambo, Basic Black, and Basic Gray

Hello Everyone,
I popped over to Pals Paper Arts - I haven't visited their site in a while - and loved the colour combo for the PPA 150 challenge. I also love the new look of the blog. This is the card I created for the challenge:

I cased this card by Amy Kolling - what a talented designer! I used melon mambo and an ink blending tool to colour the flower petals (stamped and heat embossed in black first). The flower image is from the Neat and Tangled set "Fresh Blooms". The leaves are coloured with Old Olive using the same technique. The sentiment is from another Neat and Tangled set called "Kindness Matters". I think this colour combo really suits this card. Be sure to head over to the Pals Paper Arts blog to see the other great cards they have there! Check out Amy's blog too!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

On a Roll: 2 in 1! CAS-ual Fridays and A Blog Named Hero

Hello Everyone,
Post number two for the day! I have the time, so why not! I always stop by CASual Friday challenge and was pleased to see the challenge this week: a CAS thank you card - how appropriate, since I have a few to send out this week. I created this card for the challenge and to send as a thank you to my parents for hosting my husband and I in Florida over the Christmas Hols. It was so nice to get a bit of warmth and sunshine in the midst of winter.

The background stamp I used is from Impression Obsession Stamps. I just bought it at Heather's Stamping Haven here in Ottawa. When I saw it, I knew I had to have it. The cloud background is so realistic. I inked up the stamp in Hero Arts pool midtone ink and stamped it on white cardstock. Then I stamped the sentiment in black on Vellum cardstock. The sentiment is from Neat and Tangled's "Kindness Matters" stamp set. I felt it needed something else, so I inked up one of the butterflies from SU's Butterfly Potpourri set and punched it out - of course I could not resist adding a few rhinestones. It is very rare that I make a true one layer card, but I felt this stamp really stands on its own (or almost on its own). As I was blog hopping I realized that the use of this new stamp, also qualifies this card for the "A Blog Named Hero" Challenge too: New Year, New You. For this challenge you have to try something new! So, this card qualifies. Thanks so much for stopping by, and I will be back soon with the cards I am sending out this week to my "card club".

Happy Stamping,

Meg

I'm Back! CASology: New

Hello Everyone,
It has been waaaaaaaay too long since I posted last. Posting regularly has been an on-going battle for me. My hat is off to those of you who post daily. I find once the school year starts (I am a teacher), my life gets busy and I have a hard time following through with posts - I am definitely crafting, but not posting. So, here is my resolution for this year... I am going to post more regularly. I know I have said this in the past, but this time I have a plan. I love following CAS-ual Friday Challenges and CASology challenges; I have decided that  I will enter each one every week. In order to enter I will have to post my creation. In addition, last year I made a commitment to send a card to a small group of friends and family each week of the year - so I will post these card creations as well. I think I should be able to manage three posts a week.

To start things off here is my entry for the CASology challenge this week. The cue card theme is new. To create this card I used two new items. One is the flower punch - I just picked it up yesterday at Michaels - the best part is that it was half-off! I love this little flower. The other new item is the foil paper I used to punch the flowers - it is very "flashy" in real life. I made this card for a friend of mine - she is part of my weekly card club; her birthday is this week and she is a flashy kind of gal, so I thought this would suit her to a "t". The sentiment is a Think Big Favourites from papertrey ink. I can't remember which one. Essentially this was a very simple card - I just punched the flowers, put a brad in the center, and attached each one with a dimensional. Then I stamped the sentiment. Very CAS indeed.

Happy New Year to everyone, and happy stamping!

Meg