HAPPY HALLOWEEN - AGAIN!

 

I'm continuing with playing around with using the challenges as inspiration for this year's Halloween card. If I make enough of them I can just send out these little experiments and each friend and family member will receive a different design!

 

Today it's CAS(E) this Sketch #337. The main die is a new one I just added to my collection from Recollections "Halloween" - purchased at Michael's. The background band is Obsession Impression "Spider Web", the sentiments are from Hero Arts, and the bats from Jim Holtz "Halloween Cutouts".

 

 

 

http://casethissketch.blogspot.com/2019/08/case-this-sketch-337.html

 

 

 

September 7, 2019

 



CLEAN AND SIMPLE CHALLENGE

 

AAA CAS Game #147 - "Along the Edge + Optional Twist Inspired by a Song". My entry is inspired by the old 1945 Christmas standard "Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow" by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn. 

 

 

 

Die and Let It Snow stamp from PTI "Christmas Cheer"

Inks: Memento "Gray Flannel" and VersaMark

White embossing powder

Metallic envelop from Papers & More

 

 

I really struggled with this card because I wanted the die image to stand out. I tried multiple layers of white card stock but had a lot of trouble with the thin letters and glue. This version is using a layer of thin foam with card stock glued on top and then mounted on the card. If anyone who has happened upon this post and knows how to clean Tombow liquid glue from card stock, I would be most appreciative!

 

https://aaacards.blogspot.com/2019/08/cas-game-147-along-edge-optional-twist.html

 

AND CONTINUING WITH HALLOWEEN...

 

This is my entry to this week's CAS(E) this Sketch #336 - thanks to last year's Jim Holtz Collection "Zombies" by Stampers Anonymous. This collection was right up my weirdness alley!

 

 

 

Papers by Simple Stories "Happy Haunting"

Martha Stewart blood drip border punch

Stamps: Stampers Anonymous Jim Holtz "Zombies"

Copic markers, small google eye, and safety pin - all from my stash

 

 

 

Edge detail with ribbons and safety pin

 



 

Custom envelope

 

http://casethissketch.blogspot.com/2019/08/case-this-sketch-336.html

 

 

 

 

8/31/19

 

FRESHLY MADE SKETCHES

 

 

Have I already said how much I LOVE making Halloween cards? They are so much fun and I can just let my normal "weirdness" run un-checked. If you look at my Gallery and scroll down to Halloween cards you can see all of cards I've sent out to friends and family over the past 10 or so years.

 

So I've been looking at the challenges as an opportunity to make them into Halloween cards and somewhere along the line I'll hit on the design that I want to duplicate for my official 2019 card. Freshly Made Sketches #300, the 3rd week of their 400th Sketch Celebration, has provided a fun challenge this week.

 

 

I chose to make the oval shape into a window rather than a layer on the face of the card. The paper is a new collection by Simple Stories called "Happy Haunting" that I picked up at Craft Warehouse. It's 2-sided with the herringbone on one side and the black and orange cobwebs on the other side. The ghost stamp is from Stampfrancisco and the oval die is from Sizzix. Also used, Versamark ink and black and white embossing powders. The square 6-1/2" black envelope is from Papers & More.

 

  

 

Detail at the oval window.

 

https://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/2019/08/freshly-made-sketches-400th-sketch_21.html

 

 

HELLO, AUTUMN

While August 20th is hardly autumn yet, it's starting to feel like it. It's still warm here in Southern Oregon (high 80s) but cooling off at night. And last Wednesday my husband returned to school for in-service and prep for school starting tomorrow morning. We have 2 international students from North London living with us this year and they will begin their classes tomorrow. The house is quiet for a couple of minutes so I snatched some time to join in with Addicted to CAS for the current challenge - #166 "One Layer".

 

 

 

Stamps: Impression Obsession #CL693 "Shades of Autumn"

Inks: PTI Fine Linen and Ripe Avocado

Copic markers and white gel pen

 

http://addictedtocas.blogspot.com/2019/08/addicted-to-cas-challenge-166-one-layer.html

 

 

September 2, 2019

 

  

BOO!

 

With this morning's card and coordinating envelope I'm playing along with Jen B and Freshly Made Sketches #399.

 

 

 

I have absolutely no idea which manufacturer the stamps come from! The papers are from an old 2014 Halloween pad from We R Memory Keepers. The inks are Versamark Watermark with Recollections Detail Black and Zinger! Purple embossing powders.

 

https://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/2019/07/freshly-made-sketches-399-sketch-by-jen.html

 

CAS(E) this Sketch! #331

My second post today! Brian King has come up with an inspirational sketch this week for CAS(E) this Sketch! http://casethissketch.blogspot.com/2019/07/case-this-sketch-331.html.

 

 

 

This is my take on it...

 

 

Dies: Impression Obsession "Birch Trees" and MFT leaves

Versamark ink and white embossing powder

 

 

I had a small piece of handmade rice paper that I thought was perfect for the trees. I know, here we are in the middle of summer and I'm already projecting to the fall - my favorite season of the year.

 

7/27/19



Twin Birthday Cards

 

Back on May 18th I made a shaker card for my grandson's 10th birthday as part of a Seize the Birthday Challenge and have been intending to make a matching one for his twin sister. Now that my office/craft room is starting to get organized and I can make cards again I decided to do the second matching card this morning. Their birthdays aren't until September 9 so I'll be ready when the time comes!

 

These cards were made completely from scraps in my stash. the little birds are MFT's "Birds of a Feather" dies. The numerals are from PTI.

 

 

 

 

Colin's card has scraps from the twins' second birthday party invitations - shows you how long I hang onto scraps! However, the move to a new room did permit me to deep six a lot of small pieces that were no longer serving a purpose, other than to take up space.

 

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

Christmas in July

It's been a while since I've participated in any of the challenges - life happens! I'm actually retiring in September and I have been in the process of breaking down my old home office and transforming it into a craft room, which is no easy task. I still don't have things organized so that I can actually make cards easily because I have an existing interior design project that still requires some of my attention.

 

                                 But here I am playing with AAA CAD Game #144

 

 

My entry:

 

 

I thought it might be fun to do an all-white card, playing just with texture.

Dies: Hero Arts "Snowflake Edge Fancy Die" and PTI "Holiday"

Embossing Folder: Darice

Stamp: PTI "Wonderful Words: Holiday"

Embellishment and twine from my stash

https://aaacards.blogspot.com/2019/07/cas-game-144-maxi-white-space-optional.html

 

 

 

 



SPOTS

BUMMER!

 

I thought to participate in this week's Less Is More challenge and spent some time coming up with a card with "spots" on it. I completed the card, photographed it, and then went to upload it to the site and realized it was to be a one-layer card with spots. This is hardly a one-layer card! If I'm inclined tomorrow I'll see how I can translate this idea to a single layer.

 

 

 

I have no idea who manufactured these stamps - they've been in my stash for so

long. There were 2 stamp sets, one dogs and one cats. The inks are Memento

"Tuxedo Black" and PTI "Fine Linen".

 

You can see by the photo to the right why this stamp set is a favorite of mine! We have a

beloved yellow lab (Sara, also known as "Sarabella", "Sara Berry", "Sarabellum",

or whatever pet name we come up with at the moment) and 2 black cats. The cats

love to rub up against her but she doesn't really appreciate it much. 

 

July 4th and Freshly Made Sketches #393

I've been struggling the past couple of years with new ideas for the 4th of July cards I send to all of our family and friends. How many potential design options are there for stars and stripes and red, white, and blue? I haven't purchased any new stamps, paper, or dies for this holiday for a couple of years, so I feel like I'm in a design rut that I can't seem to break out of!

 

Using the design layouts in the challenges is helpful, so I played along with Freshly Made Sketches this week. I'm not sure if I will use this for this year's card edition but I'm running out of time.

 

 

Rubber stamps for both the Declaration of Independence signatures

and the Statue of Liberty are older ones from Stamp Francisco. The stars

die is one from my stash, manufacturer unknown. Inks are PTI "Spring

Rain" and "Enchanted Evening".

 

https://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/2019/06/freshly-made-sketches-393-sketch-by-lee.html

 

 

 



 

Color Throwdown #546

 

While I'm delighted to be the Guest Star Stamper for Color Throwdown #546 this week, it's been a mostly up-hill week - so many things in the fire (son's birthday, assisting with grandchildren, professional responsibilities, and root canal). I produced more than one design for this challenge and then started second-guessing myself on color interpretation. The carpet and library shelves in my living room are what I think of as "teal", but the photo for the throwdown is a brighter tone. I checked online for "teal" and found that I was completely wrong! One would assume that an interior designer would know what teal is! So... start over. 

 

 

https://colorthrowdown.blogspot.com/2019/06/color-throwdown-546.html

 

 

Finally, here is my rendition of navy, coral, teal, and cream. I wanted to do something that suggested a quilt square. The sentiment is from Avery Elle's ST-18-07 "Loads of Wishes" and it's printed with PTI's "Enchanted Evening". The papers and envelope are all from my stash.

 

 

 

 

Sometime in the next couple of days I may post the cards I designed with the wrong "teal" 



 



Thanks a Bunch

 

No card challenge today. In Friday's mail I received a very nice personalized spiral binder from a Portland hospitality furniture procurement firm that I worked with on my most recent hotel project. I want to send them a thank you note for their generosity, so I made this one. I'm madly in love with the Alexandra Renke dies that I bought recently at Craft Warehouse - this one is "Magic Flower 2". I cut it out from some PTI "Bitty Dots" paper in "Hawaiian Shores". I made the top band by blending some PTI "Blueberry Sky" ink and spattering a bit of water on it. Then I overprinted the leaf branches from a couple of different stamp sets (PTI "A New Leaf", W+9 "Botanical Bunch") in PTI inks - "Hawaiian Shores", "Ocean Tide", and "Blueberry Sky". The sentiment is Hero Arts. I punched 2 holes in the face of the card and threaded the flower stem through and then added gems and enamel dots from my stash.

 

 

 

 

This photo shows the card and lined envelope.

 

 

 

Coordinating envelope flap and close-up of die and sentiment.