Online Card Classes - Stenciled Day Two and CASology Contrast

Hello Everyone,
I am LOVE, LOVE, LOVing the new Online Card Class "Stenciled"! I did not think that using stencils was going to be so exciting - Wow I really am a craft geek :) There are lots of fabulous techniques shown today, but the one that really caught my eye, was the stencil "tracing" that Kristina Werner demo'd. I love the sketchy hearts juxtaposed with the bold black sentiment. It created a beautiful contrast. I created two cards inspired by Kristina's.

I made my stencil by cutting a heart background out of a transparency with my Silhouette. I have this great sentiment set from Uniko Studios that I knew would be the perfect pairing for this technique. It is called "All Occasion Sentiments 3". I wanted a Valentine for my best friend - I her and want her to know it! So, this card was created. I stamped the sentiment with Ranger Archival Black - I have to mention that these Uniko stamps are beautiful to work with; they are deeply cut and create the crispest images. Then I placed the stencil over and coloured in the little hearts with my Derwent Inktense pencils - just like Kristina showed us. I love the result and the contrast of colour with the bold black sentiment is fab - Perfect for the CASology challenge "Contrast".

But then I had a brainwave - what if I used my Wink of Stella Glitter markers?! So I redid it and made it even more CAS. I love the bold on bold (colour and black) contrasted with the white background. The glitteriness of the hearts was difficult to capture with my camera, but the shimmer in real life is yummy! I am just so thrilled with my creations! Thanks so much for stopping by.

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Online Card Classes "Stenciled" Day One

Hello Everyone,
I am taking the latest of the Online Card Classes - Stenciled. I was really glad when they announced that the next Online Card Class was going to be about using stencils. I love what people are doing with stencils, but I don't really own any. I was curious to see what techniques we would be shown. As always this class is jampacked with all kinds of wonderful tips and tricks that make card-making even more fun - YAY!

On this card, I combined the sponging technique that Debbie Hughes demo'd with the colour combo that Laura Bassen used, and the "add-a-little-sparkle" tip from Jennifer McGuire! I actually made my stencil with my Silhouette. I had purchased this heart background a while ago. I cut it out from some old transparencies that I brought home from school - I have a SMARTboard in my classroom, so my transparencies have become obsolete in the classroom, but not in the craftroom! you can bet that I will be hitting up my co-workers for all their old transparencies too! Anyway, it cut perfectly. I lined it up and sponged from the center out. I used Mustard seed Distress ink first in the center and then went around it with Spiced Marmalade. Finally I went around the outer edges with Picked Raspberries. I love the colour created by blending the Spiced Marmalade and the Picked Raspberries. The little sentiment was stamped with a Hero Arts Alphabet and the little heart is from Paper Smooches "Many Thanks" - I inked it in both Mustard Seed and Spiced Marmalade to match the blend on the card. When all was inked, I dipped the whole thing in some SU! Irridescent Ice embossing powder to add a little sparkle. I am not sure that the sparkle shows up that well in the pic- but, it is sparklicious in real life. I am thrilled with the way this card turned out!

Thanks so  much for stopping by. I am going to head out for a walk shortly to take advantage of the "warm" weather - it is a mere -10 (celsius) up from yesterday's bone-chilling -37!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Paper Smooches Sparks: Anything Goes

Hello Everyone,
Today I am entering this card in the Paper Smooches Sparks challenge. I was inspired by this card by Laurie Willison. I have used this layered die cut technique before, but I LOVE that she tucked a red one in the middle. So, for my card I die cut the "Love" word die from Paper Smooches six times from three different colours of red cardstock (SU! Cherry Cobbler, Real Red, and Rose Red) and stacked them from darkest to lightest. Then I added the white top layer and coated it with clear Wink of Stella glitter. You can't really see the Wink of Stella in the photo, but it adds just the right touch of subtle sparkle in real life.

The graduated colour looks really cool in real life. I stamped the "You" and the heart on the background, then I scored the random pattern of lines. I love this look - it is such an easy way to add a bit of texture. The "you" is from PS "Sentiment Sampler" and the heart is from PS "Many Thanks". I added a touch of clear Wink of Stella glitter to the heart too. I really love the way this card turned out. Thanks Laurie for your inspiration and thanks PS for great dies and stamps!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

CASology: Dot

Hello Everyone,
After making my card for the CASology: Dot challenge, I am seeing spots dots! Goodness, when this card was percolating in my head, I thought, "That is going to be quick and easy." Wrong! Why is it that the simplest designs are the hardest to execute?

My cute little smiley face is from the Neat and Tangled stamp set "Kindness Matters". I created a mask to help me stamp the smileys evenly and then one to sponge around them to create the pink "dots". Three pices of cardstock later,,, I finally got it, only to smudge the sentiment - AARGH! The sentiment is from AveryElle "Handwritten Notes". I managed to cleanit up enough to photograph, but I am not sure that it is one I can send to someone :( Anyway, I created my pink smileys by stamping in Versamark, clear embossing and sponging with Hero Arts Neon Pink ink. I really like the bright clean graphic look of this card. I am finished crafting for the day, time to go for a nice brisk walk!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Little Tangles 29: One Layer Card

Hello Everyone,
Time to particiate in another Little Tangles Challenge! This week the challenge is to create a one layer card. I have to say that I find sticking to one layer a real challenge! I always end up adding a layer - even if it means mounting white on white! I used three different Neat and Tangled sets for this card: "On the Strip", "Lot to Say" and "Just Hello". I think these were some of the first sets I bought from N & T.

First I stamped the speech bubble and gave it a shadow with my Stormy Sky Distress Marker - I wanted it to have some dimension even though it is one layer. Then I stamped the sentiments in Hero Arts Neon Blue and Pink inks. I stamped the little phone and coloured it in with a clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush pen - you can't really see this effect in the photo, but it adds a subtle sparkly goodness in real life. I was going to leave the card at that, but there was too much white space on the left and it looked off balance. That is when "On the Strip" came to the rescue! I stamped down the left side with the blue neon ink. Finally I rounded the corners with my Corner Chomper. I am really pleased with the result.

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Top Tangle!

Hello Everyone,

Wow! The New Year has been great so far in my Megacrafty world! First I got an honourable mention on CASology a little while ago and now I am Top Tangle over at the Little Tangles Challenge blog for Neat and Tangled stamps. I am thrilled - I love their funky and fun contemporary designs. You can see my original post here. I am lucky enough to win a stamp set of my choice from Neat and Tangled. I Love this one, so that's my choice! I have eyed the "On the Corner" stamp set for awhile now - since its release and haven't been in a position to purchase it yet - a blessing in disguise I guess. Anyway, I am off to create for a couple of more challenges. "See" you soon!

Happy Stamping,

Meg

CAS(E) This Sketch #59: The Sequel

Hello Everyone,
Here is the second card I made for the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge this week. It is a little bit more of a play on the sketch, but I think it fits. I love the way this card turned out. This stampset is from Clearly Besotted "Paired Up" - I love these stamps; if you haven't checked them out already, head over to Stephanie WIncott's blog to see her wonderful stamps and creations. This is a very simple card. I stamped the little "Leaf" hearts and sentiment in Pale Tomato Shadow ink. The branch is stamped in Soft Granite and the birds are in Versafine Black Onyx. Just lovely! Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to head over to CAS(E) this Sketch to check out all the amazing entries.

Happy Stamping,
Meg

CAS(E) This Sketch #59

Hello Everyone,
This week I am playing along with CAS(E) this sketch. I was really intrigued by this week's sketch - ti is very minimalist and really had me thinking. At first I couldn't come up with anything and then I ended up with two cards! Funny how that happens - I will post them separately so that I can link up both cards.

So this is the first card that I came up with. I was at Heather's Stamping Haven here in Ottawa - my favourite local craft/stamping store and I bought two new sets from Penny Black. I used Heart Swatches on this card. I love all the images in this set, but this tall narrow heart made me think of the feathers in the sketch. I inked it up in Bubble Gum Shadow Ink and then masked it and stamped again in Red Royal Shadow ink. The sentiment is from the other new set I bought: From the Heart. I felt the hearts were blending into each other too much, so I outlined them with my Copic fine liner. I like the result - a very simple valentine. Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Honourable Mention at CASology!

Hello Everyone,
I just had to pop in to say, "YAY!" I am flabbergasted that I was an honourable mention this week at CASology. For so long I was a challenge "lurker" - I would drool over the design team cards and all the fabulous entries and I just didn't see myself as an entrant. Then I tried one and loved all the feedback and getting comments on my blog. I am a sucker for playing along. So thank you to everyone who creates all these great challenges and to all those who participate - design team members and participants - you make it so much fun. Thank you CASology for the nod.

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Muse 49 and Ltlle Tangles: Sunshiney Hello

Hello Stampers,
Today in the Ottawa area our roads are like skating rinks! As a result, what was supposed to be my first day back to school after the holidays, turned into a "snow day". After the requisite time put in marking, I decided I had earned some crafting time.

I saw the Little Tangles challenge "Hello" a few days ago and ideas have been percolating. away. Then today I got my email notification that the new Muse challenge was posted and when I saw the card, I knew what to do.

I was inspired by the sun and clouds on Laurie's fabulous card. I immediately thought of the Neat and Tangled set "Just Thinking of You". It is actually a thought bubble, but I think it makes a fabulous clound too. Then I needed my sun rays and the PTI set "Hello Sunshine" came to mind. I took the sentiment from the Neat and Tangled set "Just Hello". I outlined the clouds with a B00 Copic and the sun rays are Hero Arts Shadow inks: Orange Soda and Butter Bar. I think it all makes for a very cheery simple card. I hope you like it!

Happy Stamping
Meg

Just in the knick of time: CASology Cue Card - Party

Hello Everyone,
 I am going to get this in just under the wire. I have been thinking about CASology "Party" challenge all week and nothing was coming to me. I have lots of stamps etc... that would apply, but I just couldn't narrow it down. Until last night .... while I was sleeping all those ideas percolated into my brain and I dreamt this card. I have seen this technique (die-cutting and piecing a stamped image) on several cards that I love, but have never tried it. I kept it quite simple with a white on white concept, but just a splash of blingyness brought in with the gold embossing powder. I love this sentiment from Avery Elle and think it fits well with the new year. The numbers are a PTI number set. As with all simple ideas - this was trickier to create than I was anticipating, but I love the result. Thanks for stopping by and telling me what you think!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

CFC 125: In a Word

Hello Everyone,
I write this post with some trepidation. I love this challenge from CAS-ual Fridays to make a card whose sentiment reflects the goal of the year. So I want  to "go big or go home" with my goals for  the year and felt this sentiment captures that for me. So this card popped into my head. I used Hero Arts Neon inks and Nicole Heady's Tie-Dye technique. I wanted a bright wild background to go with the sentiment. Now that the card is complete, I am not sure I like it :( But I will post it anyway because I do still think it reflects what I wanted to convey. If nothing else, this may end up being my choice for Suzanne Dahlberg's April Fools blog hop!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

One Layer Wednesday Becomes One Layer Simplicity Challenge

Hello Everyone,
Well it is a very chilly -30c here in Perth - a perfect day to stay indoors and stamp. I was checking out the uber-talented and Queen of CAS Ardyth Percy-Robb's blog Maskerade (if you haven't seen her blog, stop reading and GO) - and was thrilled to see a "new" challenge blog announced. I say "new" because it is One Layer Wednesday in a revamped version - it is now the "One Layer Simplicity Challenge"! I have long-admired the OLW cards, but have never entered in their challenges. It seems that every time I set out to make a one layer card, more layers just sneak in! This time I am going to resist the desire to add more. So the challenge is to create a quick card needed to restock your supply. Well, every year at school (I am a teacher) as Valentine's rolls around, my co-workers ask what designs I have for sale. So I ahve created a bold Valentine that I think could work for guys and gals. I used I used the Hero Arts set "You & Me". I have had this set for awhile, but have never used it. I guess that makes it an NBUS card too (a nod to the talented and hilarious Darnell Knauss - head over to her blog too!). I created a mask with typing paper and sponged the heart with my distress inks. I started with a base coat of Picked Raspberry; then I went around the edges with Fired Brick. I added a little bit of Old Paper to the very edge and then blended over the whole thing with the Picked Raspberry again. Next I pulled out my Versafine Black onyx and stamped the sentiment. Voila! My very first one-layer card.

Happy Stamping,
Meg