YOU & ME & CHLOE

Yesterday when I was messing around with trying to pull together a card for a Freshly Made Sketches challenge, I had more than one extra stamped and colored Valentine wreaths (Penny Black "Wreath Whimsy" #30-654) and I decided to use one of them for a Time Out Challenge #230 "Inspired by Words" this morning. I made this Valentine card for my loving husband of 37 years: 

I stamped the wreath with PTI "Scarlet Jewell" and colored it with Copic markers yesterday and this morning I trimmed the cardstock to a stitched die-cut rectangle and die-cut a stitched circle from the center. I stamped the sentiment on the front of a folded card base. The sentiment is part of a stamp set I bought last year. I haven't used this sentiment before and discovered that the ME is messed up - bummer! (That will teach me to wait a year to use a stamp and it can't be returned.) I added some small, stamped hearts with PTI "Pure Poppy" to partially disguise the messed-up letters. I mounted the rectangle to the card base and glued a couple of MFT birds die-cut from scraps to further disguise the ME. Very simple but made with love! 

I carried this card and a 12x12 white paper and overlaid paper lace into the guest bedroom to photograph it on one of the beds because the light was best there (although a bit yellow this morning). Chloe (mother of the kitties we've been fostering) follows me around the house like a puppy and decided to photo-bomb the picture!

TIME OUT Challenges: Challenge 230 - Inspired by Words 

NEW CHALLENGE AT THE PAPER PLAYERS!

Joanne has presented us with a new Sketch Challenge #PP625 at The Paper Players! I started my card with the need to make a thank you card for a very thoughtful gift I received from my husband's nephew and his wife. 

Both images on this card are from the same large floral arrangement (#PR101 Hero Arts + Gina K), using the upper part of the arrangement for the lower left and the bottom placed sideways at the upper right. I stamped them in Memento "Tuxedo Black" on a white card panel. After stamping, I die-cut the panel with a stitched rectangular die and then cut it a second time with a smaller double-stitched rectangle. I mounted the original black and white frame to a card base and inserted a blank in the rectangle cut out from the face. I colored the roses and leaves on the smaller rectangle, added a silver-embossed sentiment (PTI "Embroidered Blooms"), and glued the colored images onto the face of the card with a layer of dimensional foam. The final touches were 3 small pale pink sequins and some tiny silver dots at the little buds in the leaves. Here's a view that captures the shine a bit better on the sentiment and sequins:

On a personal note, I found Joanne's sketch to be a bit difficult - isn't that the purpose of these challenges? I guess my years of designing interior spaces got the best of me - I can't stand to see area rugs that are hanging out away from furniture. Interior designers insist that the rugs and furniture need to overlap, and I tend to apply that same principal to my cards! Take a look at all of the design inspirations from our talented team, and you'll see the same "designer's rule" holding with each of their cards, whether it's layered individual elements or a background that pulls everything together. 

I'm anxious to see how our followers approach this sketch - maybe someone will prove me wrong and do a fabulous card with no overlapping elements! 

https://paperplayersprivateblog.blogspot.com/2022/12/jan-29-pp625-sketch-joanne.html 

A later note: I may try to do this card again - this next time heat embossing white on a black or gray background as a frame, combining it with the white panel overlaid. It wouldn't necessarily be in line with Joanne's sketch, but it would make an interesting positive/negative project. Hmm. Watch this space!  

FIRST VALENTINE

I've been debating about whether to send out Valentines this year - it's been a really busy month and I'm feeling a bit burned out. The window of opportunity is narrowing, but I have so many pink and red scraps that need to be used up! I thought I would start with a couple that will probably go to family members and the closest friends and we'll see how it goes.

I started with a challenge sketch from Freshly Made Sketches - #570 by Jen T. I might have done this card at least three times because it just wasn't happening. I had decided to do a reverse circle to use a favorite wreath from Penny Black ("Wreath Whimsy" #30-654) but I wasn't finding the right size circle dies large enough to cut around the wreath and still have space for the horizontal element - everything was too small or too large.

I stamped the musical measures on a piece of white cardstock with PTI "Sweet Blush" and trimmed it with a stitched rectangular die. After over-stamping the wreath with PTI's "Scarlet Jewel", I colored the hearts and leaves with Copic markers, die-cut a stitched circle from the center of the wreath, and added the sentiment in Scarlet Jewel. I also rimmed the circle with a slightly smaller red circle. The dove is from Impression Obsession (#SS-176-E "Bird with Hearts") and I glued him to a scrap of pink polka dot paper and slipped him behind the opening before attaching the front panel to a card base with dimensional foam. 

 Freshly Made Sketches: Freshly Made Sketches #570 - A Sketch by Jen T

I think while I'm sharing this card, I'll also send it over to the Tic Tac Toe Challenge #194 by featured designer Joanne where it fits with the left column down - Die Cut/Heart/Patterned Paper.

TTTC194 - Featured Designer Joanne - Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Added February 4, 2023:

That's it for today - thanks for stopping by!

WHITE ON WHITE...

...ON WHITE! The current challenge at AAA Cards Challenge is Game #232 "White on White". It's been a while since I've done an all-white CAS card, so decided to try my hand at it. It took two tries to get it working. I had this idea about a lacey heart with a view of the inside of the card. I don't have the solid Penny Black die that goes with this "Fancy Heart", so I had to devise a way to attach the heart to the face of the card, cutting through three layers - I settled on vellum. 

I die-cut the fancy heart from white cardstock and glued it to the face of a scrap of patterned vellum. I die-cut the heart a second time from the center of a 4-1/4" x 4-1/4" square. Then I cut it a third time from the center of a 4-3/4" x 4-3/4" square and a fourth time from the center of a 5"x 5" side-folded card base! I glued all of these together and faced the heart with one last layer of die-cut heart for a bit of dimension and tied a narrow satin ribbon at the center. 

I love the translucent effect and I decided to complete the project with a square custom patterned vellum envelope.

  

AAA Cards: AAA Cards Challenge #232: white on white 

   

HAPPY "BIRD" DAY

That's this week's Clean and Simple challenge #PP624 at The Paper Players by Jaydee. I have a good friend in Nashville who's having a birthday this next week who will benefit from this challenge!

Last year I picked up an Inkadinkado stamp set (#60-31604 "Funky Flowers") with two sweet little birds on it and I hadn't used the birds yet, so perfect opportunity. I started on a white piece of cardstock. I stamped the little guy with Memento Tuxedo Black, masking off three flowers that were at the end of the stem. I colored him with colored pencils and Copic markers and masked him off to blend a circular sky behind him. (I made my own stencils by die cutting a circle and cloud edge and blended some pale blue ink in layers, working top-down.) Once this was completed, I die-cut the white cardstock panel with a rectangular stitched die, mounted it to a pale pink die-cut panel, and attached both to a white side-folded card base. I replaced the 3 flowers with 3 tiny die-cut hearts. The sentiment, embossed in gold, was added to a fussy-cut banner from a Hampton Art stamp set (#SC1013). I punched a hole in the end, added twine, and mounted it to the face of the card with dimensional foam. The final step was to add 3 small pink sequins for a tiny bit of bling. 

Clean and Simple challenges are always my favorite, so let's see what you all come up with!
 

https://paperplayersprivateblog.blogspot.com/2022/12/jan-22-pp624-cas-jaydee.html

I'm also sharing this card with the Seize the Birthday #253 "Winged Things":

Seize the Birthday: Seize the Birthday #253 Winged Things

COLOR CHALLENGE WEEK ON THE PAPER PLAYERS

This week on The Paper Players, Claire is challenging our followers to the "happy" colors Orchid Oasis, Parakeet Party, Highland Heather, and Whisper White. My response to that is a Happy Birthday bouquet to a dear friend (and my previous business partner - she doesn't like it when I say "old" business partner!). 

This was actually a fairly complicated card to make because of all of the "moving parts". I started out by making a small lavender envelope from a template I created some years ago. I die cut a bunch of flowers and leaves from various Alexandra Renke, Tim Holtz, Impression Obsession, and Penny Black dies on miscellaneous scraps, and gathered them into the envelope, tying it with a narrow satin ribbon through a punch and around the envelope. I attached a printed blue/orchid rectangle to the face of a white side-folded card base and overlaid that with a stitched rectangular panel with an oval opening and some dimensional foam. The envelope and bouquet were then slipped in behind the oval. A Tiny Tag from PTI was stamped with the small sentiment from Hero Arts and attached under the satin bow. Finally, I lined a white envelope with the same printed lavender paper as the small envelope on the card.

I'm looking forward to seeing what our followers come up with for this color challenge! Check out the Design Team's inspirations and create your own version!

 

   

DALMATIONS & PUMPKINS?

I'm running a bit behind schedule on getting this card posted. My life has been really chaotic this past couple of weeks as I finished up a couple of interior design projects I've been working on - yeah, I know I'm supposed to be retired, but it's hard to turn down a couple of extra dollars when the opportunity presents itself! This is the mid-month reminder for our Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge for January. I'm going with the lower left-hand quadrant, featuring a Dalmatian and pumpkins in the snow. 

I have this old Inkadinkado dog stamp set that I re-purposed to create a Dalmatian by white heat-embossing the image onto black cardstock and fussy cutting him out. I thought he turned out pretty cute! I started with a scrap of gray printed stripe paper that I die-cut into a stitched rectangle and matted with a bit of orange cardstock. I heat-embossed some snow on the gray paper with Tim Holtz's Halloween spatter. Then I stamped some Simple Stories pumpkins (#13820 "Boo Crew") on white cardstock, colored them with Copic markers, and fussy cut them out to glue to the front panel, along with a tag tied with black & white baker's twine. All of this was glued to a white side-folded card base with a scrap of black & white striped paper. The final addition was the puppy backed with dimensional foam and some gel pen snow on the pumpkins.  

Now it's your turn to see what you can make of the inspirational photos - and don't forget to check out what my fellow designers have created. If we get 25 responses, there's a special prize!

Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge: January 2023 Mid Month Reminder

  

THE START OF A NEW ADVENTURE...

This blog title has a double meaning - it's included in the sentiment, but this is also the start of my year as a Guest Designer at The Paper Players! This first challenge is a theme challenge #PP622 "Tag, you're it!" in which the players are challenged to make a tag or use one on a card.

I've mentioned in the past that my very ambitious son, in addition to owning a restaurant and a beer store, is also a real estate broker. He asked me some time ago to come up with several designs for "new home" cards that he and other members of his team can give to their clients when they purchase a new home. I was thinking along those lines when I made this card.

I started with a 5" x 7" Strathmore watercolor card base and coordinating envelope. The tiny houses are a combination of Renke #D-XX-AR-W0128 "Winter City" and Nellie Snellen #SD214 "Village" dies plus a tiny heart from Our Favorite Things. The rectangular stitched die and tag are both from Dare 2B Artzy #D148 "Rectangular Framelits", but I shortened the tag after white heat embossing "New Home". The black sentiment is from Studio Light Essentials (#SL-ES-STAMP180). I wrapped black twine around the die-cut rectangle, attached the tag and key medallion, tied it with a bow, and added some tiny silver sequins.

 The Paper Players: PP622 - A Theme Challenge from Ann

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As I worked on this card it's the last days of 2022 and much of the US is blanketed in snow. Our January 2023 Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge features four snowy photos for your inspiration!  

 Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge: January 2023 Anything Goes Halloween

I worked my card around a zombie/snow sentiment from Impression Obsession's "Zombie Sayings":

I started with a gray cardstock slimline card base and panel that I stamped with a Tim Holtz haunted house in Memento "Tuxedo Black" ink. I was able to make light coming from the windows by first using a white gel pen and then over-coloring with a yellow marker. I over-stamped this with a Tim Holtz spatter stamp and white embossing powder to create the snow. The gray panel was matted with white cardstock and the sentiment stamped and adhered after trimming the top with a wavey die. Finally, a die-cut zombie (Whimsey Stamps #WSD488 "Monster Parade Die Set") was glued to the face of the card with some black dimensional foam and a couple of snowflakes added with a white gel pen. 

Now that the holidays are coming to an end, maybe you'll have more time to start using up all of the old Halloween paper and embellishments you've been stashing. See what the other designers have posted and join us here at Two Old Bats for some Halloween fun!