CREATING A SCENE

 I am SO looking forward to spring!! While we've been much more fortunate than most of the rest of the country weather-wise, these gray days are getting tiresome. I'm anxious to get out in my garden for a spring clean-up. 

My very simple card this morning is inspired by AAA Cards CAS Game #183 One Corner + Optional Twist 'Create a Scene'. I'm slipping in just under the wire!

This card was made with a couple of old stamps in my stash - the clouds/sun is an acrylic Hot Off the Press #HOTP-1206 "Cloud & Raindrops" and the sprouts are one of my favorite very old red rubber images from I don't know where. I stamped the image 3 times and embossed it with Zing! "Leaf" powder. The small sentiment is Hero Greetings. Once I stamped, colored and embossed the "scene" I die-cut a rectangle from it and popped it up with foam and adhered it all to a bright green folded card, which doesn't show in this shot.

AAA Cards: Game #183 One Corner + optional twist Create A Scene

Added on February 28:

TIME FLIES...

 This is the first Saturday for quite some time that I've had the time to come into my craft room/office to play with my stamps and paper. Where does the time fly off to? 

We've had some troubles over the past few months with our beloved Sara. She turned 14 last month and it seems that 14 is ancient for a Labrador retriever. In addition to difficulties with her hips, she's slipping into "doggie dementia" and walks in counterclockwise circles. It's almost a full-time project to just keep an eye on her to prevent her from urinating in the house (which she has never done in the 13 years we've been privileged to have her). We have our good days and we have our bad days,

So it seemed natural to want to give myself a bit of a break and do something up-lifting like making cards and entering challenges. In the interest of the symbolizing of "time flying" here is my first card of the morning:

I love this butterfly stamp from Kaiser Kraft. I bought it back in September of 2019 (you know, that year before the entire world started falling apart) to make my retirement announcements. Here is that project. 

I stamped the image twice - once with navy ink on white cardstock and again with white embossing powder on navy cardstock. Then I cut a strip of the embossed navy and glued it over the top of the white and then die-cut the rectangle and popped it up with foam backing. The tiny sentiment is a new Hero Arts "Hero Greetings" acrylic set that caught my eye. You'll see another sentiment from that set on my next post. The envelope was made from a sheet of German paper by Alexandra Renke. 

I made this card so I could participate in challenge #473 at Freshly Made Sketches

Freshly Made Sketches: There's Still Time to Play With Sketch 473

February 23, 2021:

 

 

HEARTS

It's time for a new Addicted to CAS challenge #191 Hearts - just in time for Valentine's Day. Thank you, Nancy! Here's an opportunity to show off your personal Valentine's Day cards, or just play with the challenge code word.

My card probably requires a bit of an explanation. Why would anyone choose a praying mantis image for a Valentine's Day card - especially since the females of the species bite off the heads of their mates after mating? Hardly an apt image for a "romantic" holiday! Well, anyone who has known me for any period of time knows I have an affinity for these fascinating creatures. Some years ago, having never seen one in real life, I started seeing them on the doors of my home and place of business. It happened enough times to encourage me to do some research about praying mantis imagery and it's meaning in various folk cultures. I talked about it to everyone who would listen and started picking up little praying mantis objects d'art when I travelled and would see them - a handblown glass one in Moreno, an etching in Australia, a paper mache one in a garden shop at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, etc. etc. Before long friends started sending me photos and refrigerator magnets and hand-painted metal mantises from Africa. My friends on a special-interest online forum would send me notes that they were thinking of me because they had spotted a mantis on their porch or yard and they started calling me "Frantis". So this Valentine's Day card was sent to all of those special friends:

How could I resist purchasing a whole collection of wonderful bug rubber stamps from Katzelkraft ("Les Nounounes" #KTZ234) with this little creature in the collection? There are also all manner of whimsical bugs that will start making an appearance within my projects! This one was stamped with Momento "Tuxedo Black" ink and colored with Copic markers. The little hearts are from one of my favorite clear stamp collections - Avery Elle's #ST-18-07 "Loads of Wishes", stamped with PTI's "Hibiscus Burst" ink. The strip printed paper and small tag are also PTI items and the "Bugs & Kisses" stamp is from a Halloween collection.

The inside sentiment was generated from my brain and computer!

Now it's your turn to give it a go - let's see what you've got!

                                                Addicted to CAS: Challenge #191 - Hearts

Postscript: And what woman wouldn't want an enameled and bejeweled praying mantis from her husband on Valentines Day?!

 

   

PATTERN

 Since seeing that Sue had selected the codeword "Pattern" for our next Addicted to CAS Challenge #190 I've been mulling around ideas in my brain as to how I might use this beautiful arabesque-patterned paper that I bought about a year ago. As a full sheet it's WAY too busy for a CAS approach - rows of hexagons with at least a dozen different arabesque style designs in an overall pattern. So I decided to use just one of the pattern designs behind a circle cut-out. As I worked with it the card took on a bit of a surprise to me as I thought it might be fun to use another patterned paper die-cut to contrast with the blue/tan/white arabesque circle. The real challenge was to do this in a CAS manner.

Look at how beautiful this paper from Ella & Viv Paper Company is:

Tunisia EAV-1003

After I cut the circle die in the white cardstock I sent it back through my Big Shot with a vinyl pad to make a plate mark for a more finished look. The sentiment is from PTI's "Winter Hills", stamped with their "Blueberry Sky" dye ink. The die-cut hollyhocks are an old favorite of mine from Impression Obsession (DIE169-R). I cut one of the dies from PTI's dotted paper (I think it's Fine Linen) and also used it for the lining of the envelope. The second die was cut from white cardstock and layered under the patterned ones as a sort of shadow.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what each of you might come up with in response to the "Pattern" prompt! Please join us!

Addicted to CAS: Challenge #190 - Pattern

 

ADDICTED TO CAS - SNOW

So here we are already at the second challenge of 2021! Ceal has selected a code word that is very appropriate in many areas in the northern hemisphere. My local weather is wet and cold but we have snow on all of the mountains surrounding our valley. I'm looking forward to seeing what all of you come up with.

My choice was to keep my card pretty much colorless and just play with texture and dimension by layering dies and embossing. I have a very strong preference to square cards, although here in the US they're quite expensive to mail. 

The snow embossing folder is from Darice. The evergreen tree dies are Tim Holtz #660978 for Sizzix Thinlits. The snowline is what's left when you die-cut one of Lawn Fawn's stitched wavy dies and use the plain edge without the stitching. I glued an additional 2 layers behind the snowline to give it dimension and 3 layers of cardstock on the tree in the foreground. I would also like to give a shout-out to a wonderful product a friend gifted me with - Artist-tac, permanent dry adhesive sheets that are really useful when attaching detailed dies to a card (I will tell you that I'm not being paid to advertise for this product).

The sentiment is from PTI's "Winter Hills" stamped with their "Stormy Sea" ink. The envelope is lined with some old paper scrap I've had laying around for years.

Now it's your turn - have fun!

                                                          

WANTING TO TRAVEL AGAIN, BUT ALAS...

Wouldn't it be wonderful if in 2021 we can begin to travel again? I think this card came out of a bit of wishful thinking.

But, you know how some cards just come so easily? An idea comes, you go straight to your supplies and the card is finished without incident. That's not how this one came about. I started with the intent of jumping off from the challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch!, remembering that I had a couple of sheets of a very old paper that looked like tire tracks (similar to the pattern on the diagonal band of sketch #402 by Chrissy Larson). I have to admit that diagonals are not my favorite layout for cards, so maybe that was the problem. I persisted, going through piece of paper after piece of paper, giving up more than once, and completely over-working the concept.  Well, here's the final result and it took longer than just about any card I've made and my craft room is a total train wreck!

The sentiment is from Simple Stories 'Simple Vintage Great Escape', stamped with PTI Dark Chocolate. The tiny tag is from PTI. The papers are all from my stash of scraps.

CAS(E) this Sketch!: CAS(E) this Sketch #402

 

Addicted to CAS

My big news for the beginning of 2021 is that I've been invited to participate as a Design Team member for Addicted to CAS! This is my first ever design team assignment and I can't begin to tell you how pleased I am. I've been following and participating with this challenge blog off and on since about July 2015. I was so impressed by the design abilities of that team that I considered them to be the "rock stars" of the card making community. To now be on this team 5-1/2 years later is a HUGE privilege for me!

Having said all of that, here is my first card as a member of the Design Team:

This challenge of January 2, 2021 is #188 "Emboss (Dry or Heat)" hosted by Barb. I decided to try my hand at using both methods of embossing on the same card. (This card layout is similar to one I produced last February.) The dry method was achieved by using a postage stamp die I have and running it through my Big Shot with a rubber mat. The heat embossing is done with VersaMark watermark and ZING! "Rouge" embossing powder for the lips and white embossing powder by Stampendous for the 'XOXO' (PTI "Heart Prints"). The tiny red heart is die-cut from red card stock using a die from one of MFT's collections. The sentiment is from Impression Obsession, stamped in Memento Die Ink "Tuxedo Black". I'm thinking I may use this design for this year's Valentine's Day card.

Here's a close-up:   

It's now your turn!

Addicted to CAS: Challenge #188 - Emboss

   

THE CHRISTMAS SEASON...

 ...is crashing down on me! I spent yesterday starting on all of the Christmas decorations and felt completely overwhelmed. Last year I gave away my old 7' tree and replaced it with a small tabletop one for just this reason, but it doesn't seem to mitigate the need to drag all of the old decorations out of their boxes in the garage and elsewhere and feel obligated to use ALL of them! So today the project needs to be completed because the workmen arrive again tomorrow to continue with the kitchen cabinets and all of these boxes need to be stored back in their places.

Meanwhile I did manage to get all of my Christmas cards mailed. My list is growing each year and I generally produce 24-25 of a single design. This year I used all of those and then offset them with 5 additional card designs that I had experimented with and/or produced for challenges. So it looks like next year I need to increase my out-put to 30! This is the primary card for 2020:

It appears that I went on a blue/aqua/white jag this year - mostly because of a bunch of medium blue metallic paper left over from last year. The village die is new to me this year - Hero Arts #D1787 "Tri-Fold Edge Village Fancy Die". This is a 3-die set but I only used 2, plus added a die-cut layer of snow for the inside message and to cover the "hinge" on the fold-over flap. The sentiment stamps are both from Impression Obsession (stamped in PTI "Blueberry Skies") and the winter swirl stamp is a very old favorite from my stash with a couple of hearts added to it. I lined the envelopes with lightweight printed paper I got at a Joanne's sale.

 

Due to all of the work still being done in my kitchen and dining rooms I may not post anything the rest of this year, but I have some fun things coming up in January 2021 that I've been anxious to share. I'll wait until then! 

  

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, ALL!

I'm not sure I've ever had a November that I was more glad to get to the end of! SO MUCH going on in our household! We are at the end of the 2nd week of renovation on our kitchen and it has gone much more smoothly than I would have anticipated. Monday morning the cabinet guy will arrive with most of the new cabinets and doors and drawers, so by the end of Monday we will be back up and running at full-speed once again. At the moment we have an extra bedroom stacked high with all of the odds and ends of a kitchen. Fortunately my son invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner, so we didn't have to make-do and spent a very nice evening with the grandkids.

In the meantime I've been working on a couple of challenges that caught my eye. This one is for CAS(E) This Sketch #399.

This is created from a lot of diverse dies and stamps. The main sentiment is from Impression Obsession and the swirl behind it is ancient - I have no idea whose it is, but it's been in my stash for quite a few years. The snowflake die is one of Hero Arts Fancy Dies from last year and the snowflake rectangular image is Kaiser Craft "Fading Dots". The inks are VersaMark Watermark, PTI "Enchanted Evening", Hero Arts Pigment Ink "Unicorn" and white embossing powder (background).

CAS(E) this Sketch!: CAS(E) this Sketch #399

 

 

 

BLUE & SILVER CHRISTMAS CARD

This is the final card from my busy Sunday. This one was created for the "Less Is More" color challenge #432 - Blue & Silver or Red & Gold.

I used a Halloween stamp (Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz "Haunted House") for the snow flurry behind the snowflake! The snowflake die is from Penny Black 51-561 "Snowflake Tag". The ink was Versamark Watermark and silver embossing powder.

http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.com/2020/11/challenge-432-blue-silver-or-red-gold.html

HAPPY WINTER BIRTHDAY

 Card #2 from Sunday, a birthday card for a cousin.

This one is to be entered into this week's "Seize the Birthday" #203 - 1, 2, 3

1 die cut, 2 colors, and 3 embellishments

http://seizethebirthday.blogspot.com/2020/11/seize-birthday-203-1-2-and-3.html

WELCOME FALL

 

A view of my dining room buffet decked out for Fall.

This next week will be very busy as workmen are arriving tomorrow morning to tear up my kitchen in preparation for new countertops, sink and faucet, cooktop, vent hood, and some new overhead cabinets. Our kitchen is tiny and as much as I would love to just tear out the wall between kitchen and dining and start from scratch, it ain't gonna happen! So we're satisfying ourselves by just widening the opening between the two rooms and adding a bar-height counter on the dining side. It's pretty minimal but will at least open the rooms more to one another. Given any other year I wouldn't proceed with this project the week before Thanksgiving - but 2020 is not like any other year I've known in my 3/4 of a century on this earth. We'll not be hosting a large family gathering this year. Oregon is partially closed down again for the next two weeks and gatherings of more than 6 are discouraged.

 

BACK IN THE CRAFT ROOM

This year's Halloween card was so time-consuming that it nearly put me off card-making for a while! I did manage to turn out 26 Thanksgiving cards, which will go into the mail this week. But I realized as I was sealing and addressing the final one, I had forgotten to photograph them! 

Yesterday I went back into my craft room/office to participated in three card challenges. It's amazing to me that I can make such a mess turning out only three cards!

The first card for "Color Throwdown #619 - Aqua, Red, and Silver".

It's been raining all day and there's very little light. The white is coming off as pink because of reflection. The little bird image and sentiment are both from Impression Obsession and the various dies are from a bunch of different ones in my stash. Ink is Versamark Watermark Ink with Zing! and Stampendous Embossing Powders. 

https://colorthrowdown.blogspot.com/2020/11/color-throwdown-countdown-619.html