CAS(E) this Sketch 45

Hello Everyone,
This week I am participating in the CAS(E) this sketch challenge; here is the sketch

I love this sketch - it is so simple and beautiful. It also provided the perfect opportunity to use this new Penny Black die. I just knew that it would be perfect for this card. I also got the opportunity to use this great senitment set from Uniko Studios - this is the first order I have made from them and I am super-impressed with the quality of their stamps. I cut the branches from Neenah Solar White CS and coloured them with Copics. I added some Glossy Accents to the berries - they look quite luscious in real life!

I am thrilled with the way the card turned out. Hope you enjoyed stopping by.

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Missed it by that much...

Hello Everyone,
I was bound and determined to participate in this week's Muse challenge and was not fast enough. I loved Therese's card, so I decided to case it anyway and post it. I got this great little house die from Heather's Stamping Haven here in Ottawa a while ago, but had not yet used it. So following Darnell's NBUS lead I felt it would be just perfect for this challenge. I did a pretty direct case of Therese's card. We are in the process of selling our house, and I think this design would make a great change of address card. I love the simplicity of it - I did a little blingification by putting on the pop of red with the heart, which I had to glitterify with my Wink of Stella glitter pen. :)

Happy Stamping,
Meg

CAS-ology Cue Card: Silhouette

Hello Everyone,
Sorry for the absence - the end of August and the start of school is always a crazy time for me. Work takes priority and unfortunately stamping falls by the wayside. I am cutting it very close for this week's CAS-ology challenge; when I saw that the cue card was silhouette, this Penny Black Daisy die jumped right into my brain. I also just got the "Fabulous" sentiment in a new Uniko Studio set - so what a great pairing! I love the way this turned out - the funky paper from which I cut the flower is from a pack I got at Michael's. I can see that this bold sentiment is going to be so versatile. Anyway I bet stop typing and actually get this uploaded to the CAS-ology blog before time runs out - I am almost out of time!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

CAS(E) this Sketch 40

HI Everyone,
My local stamping store Heather's Stamping Haven just started carrying the new dies from Penny Black - of course I needed to get a couple. I got this Daisy die and am loving it. I saw this week's CAS(e) this Sketch and new I had a winning combination. So I looked up this tutorial from Julie Ebersole and decided it was time to try it out.

I didn't have the inchies that Julie used, so I doubled up two pieces of Neenah Solar white cardstock and covered it with Eclipse masking paper. Then I ran it through the Vagabond with the die to make a deep impression, but not to cut it all the way through. I peeled off the masking paper around the flower and sponged with Mustard Seed Distress ink; next, I sponged with Spiced Marmalade. Finally I peeled the masking paper from the flower. I covered the whole panel with Versamark Ink and clear embossed the whole panel. I repeated this process 4 times to create an enameled effect. I love the way it turned out - it is glossy goodness. The photo doesn't quite show off the gloss to its full effect.

Thanks for looking.

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Muse Challenge 29

Hello Everyone,
I missed the Muse challenge last week and was determined not to make the same mistake this week. So I was wxcited to see that the Muse this week is Laurie Willison - I LOVE her cards and find her blog so inspiring. I will admit that this card is no exception, but the colours were challenging to me - a more muted pallette than I usually work with. It took a couple of days of percolating, but the card finally worked itself out last night while I slept! Anyone else dream card designs?!

I decided to use the "sketch" and work with a slightly bolder tone of the same colours. I kept the background very monochromatic and let the flowers add the punch of colour. I pulled the blue, yellow, and green from the background of Laurie's card and used those colours for my flowers. I love the result. The flowers are from a Verve set called "Make a Statement" and the sentiment is from Paper Smooches "Sentiment Sampler" - love that set. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge: Sheer

HI Everyone,
I have decided to join in the Paper Smooches Sparks challenge this week. The theme is to include something sheer/clear in your card, I decided to go with vellum. I had seen a card with coloured vellum strips and loved it - I can't for the life of me remember where I saw it, so I can't credit the original designer... If anyone recognizes it, please give me a heads up. Anyway, on to the card,

I cut four strips of Vellum and coloured them with four copics 2BGs, 1RV and 1YR. I then wrapped the focal piece with them. I cut the Paper Smooches "Love" die from Neenah Solar white and coloured it with RV copic. I stamped the "you" from the "Miss You" sentiment from the PS set "Sentiment Sampler". I added the little rhinestone heart for just a little blingification. I am pleased with the way it turned out.

Happy Stamping,
Meg

CAS-ology: Gold and Summer Card Camp Week 3 Day 4

Hello Everyone,
Today the challenge over at Summer Card Camp is totry something new. Debbie Hughes and Kristina Werner - the queen's of CAS - decided to go shabby chic. I too have tried this style in the past, and while I admire others' creations, I just don't like it for myself. So I decided to do another entry for the CASology Gold challenge and step outside my box... a little.

I stuck with a simple design, but really blinged it up. I made my own glitter paper using sook wang tape and  Glitter Ritz Microfine glitter - I am not a big glitter gal, but this glitter is exceptional. I used a new Memory Box die and a Martha Stewart snowflake punch. How I stepped outside the box... First of all the amount of glitter, secondly the washi tape. You may not think this is revolutionary, but I love it on other cards, I just never know how to use it - apart from holding my dies in place when I am die-cutting. So I took a page out Julie Ebersole's book and used it at the top of the card. Lastly, I used some sequins - I have avoided this trend because I thought that like washi tape, they look great on other people's cards, just not sure I would use them. I got some with a recent Neat and Tangled order as a thank you (I love that they always include a little gift with the order), so I thought that this would be the perfect time to use them. I started out by "sprinkling" them all across the top portion of the card front like snow, but it just did not look right. So, I did what fit more with my style ... I used them to embellish the single snowflake - I layered a white one inside a larger gold one and topped it off with a gold bead.

 I did not step way outside the box, but did incorporate things that I wouldn't normally use and I love the result. Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Muse Card Club: Challenge 27

Hi Everyone,
When I saw the inspiration card for this week's Muse challenge, I loved the combo of purple and red - that is what inspired me to create this card. I just got the Neat and Tangled "Across the Card" stampset and had to try it out. So I stamped it and embossed in gold; then I used PTI's "Quilled Elegance" to create a border above and below. I used the purple/red combo to add a bit of colour. Head over to Muse to check out the fabulous inspiration card and play along!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Summer Card Camp 2 Week 3 Day 2 and CASology Cue Card 54: Gold

Hello Everyone,
Today we had yet another amazing class at card camp - one of the techniques was embossing die cuts. I chose to put my own twist on this and follow along with the new CASology Cue Card: Gold. I will admit it probably would have been easier to just emboss the die cut of the flowers, but what I did instead was I created a mask with Eclipse Masking paper and used the negative as a mask on my card front. I sponged the fower space with Versamark and embossed in gold. I peeled that mask off and replaced it with a mask of the oval and sponged around the flower with  Peacock Feathers Distress ink. Then I stamped the Hello sentiment in Delicata Gold Pigment ink - I actually triple stamped this to get the opacity I wanted. I love the way it turned out. I didn't really stick to the  colour combo of the week for camp, but my inspiration was a Tiffany's box - turquoise and gold. I hope you like it. I loved all the funky "mixed" EPs Jennifer used in today's class, so I am going to try mixing my own concoctions - if it works I will post again later.

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Summer Card Camp Week 3 Day 1, Part Two

Hello Everyone,
I have another card to show you! This time I am casing the delightful card that Kristina Werner demonstrated over at Card Camp today. I changed things up a little, but essentially, I used the same sketch and distress watercolour technique she used. The heart and sentiment are from a die set that Kristina desgined for Simon Says Stamp - the thank comes in a heart that fits inside the heart I watercoloured - but it looked a little too washed out with the heart around it, so I just cut the sentiment out and adhered it onto my die cut. In true Kristina fashion, I not only added the white dash lines, but also used my corner rounder! Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Happy Stamping,
Meg