FMS578 - Still Cozy

 Playing along with this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge #578 to get the creative juices flowing to kick off my Saturday morning crafting. 

Got my first stamp set by Colorado Craft Company called Lots of Love.  I just love these snuggle bunnies!  I don't have much time at all to craft during the week, but I did stamp out a number of things I wanted to color this week and this was one of them.  I masked off the bunnies to do some ink blending wit some Gina K Designs ink to create the sunset.  I used wild dandelion, lemon drop, peach Bellini, light orchid, medium orchid and wild wisteria. I splattered some diluted white acrylic ink before removing the mask.  I colored the grass and bunnies with copics and heat embossed the sentiment in white. 

I couldn't;t find any patterned paper that I really loved to pair with the image so I created my own with some ink platers using the same colors from the ink blended sunset.  

Here is the sketch:

Bright and Sunny Birthday Wishes

 I pretty much never do any card making during the week because I work stupid long days and barely have the energy to cook dinner before winding down for the night.  Now that both of kids are to college, it's not unusual for us to be in bed by 9:00 or so.   We laugh at ourselves.  #old

I do look forward to Saturday mornings in particular when I know I will jump out of bed to make a cup of coffee, put on some country music, and get going on some crafting.  This is 100% a stress reliever for me a creative outlet.  I stepped away for almost 7 years to finish raising my family, but I a so happy to be back into hobby of mine again. 

Gina K. Designs was a stamp company that NEVER interested me 1st time around.   Stampy stamps?   Nooooo.   Wasn't my style at all.   I colored with copics.....and that was it.  Seven years later and now I infrequently use my copics and I am OBSESSED with Gina K Designs producet.  

Here I made a bright and sunny birthday card with some of my newest products from my most recent haul:

All products used are from Gina K Designs.   I started out with the Mega Flowers stencil.  I used small blending brushes to ink of the flower centers with wild dandelion and tangerine twist ink.  Then I finished ink blending the flowers with passionate link and bubblegum ink.  

To create the sentiment panel, I used the Sketched Flowers stamp set.  I did the ink thumping technique on the flower with the same inks used in the stencil and then stamped the sentiment in obsidian amalgam ink.  I added a few lemonade sequins to embellish. 

Birthday Wishes

 Still working on building up my stash of birthday cards.  For some reason, I seem to choose everything BUT birthday sentiments when making cards so I need to make a conscious effort to make them.

I started with a piece of watercolor paper and embossed that in the Altenew Bold Floral Drape 3D embossing folder.  I used distress oxide inks to watercolor the flowers and the background.  I put it back into the embossing folder when it dried and ran it through one more time really pop the images back up.  

Tried out my brand new Tim Holts Tonic Rotary Media Trimmer for the first time making this card and OH DO I LOVE IT!    Worth every penny!   I was just not 100% with any of the 4 paper trimmers I have....but 5th cutter is a charm!   Highly recommend!   I cut my card stock at an angle to create space the sentiment added a small white strip of card stop to highlight the identical line.   Straight as an arrow!   Love that cutter!   

I chose a sentiment from the Gina K Designs Radiant Roses stamp set to complete the card and stamped on an angle.  

Elegant Birthday Wishes

 Re-discovered the Altenew Garden Rose 3D embossing folder from the Craft Your Life Project Kit: Garden Rose bundle.  this week and decided to make an elegant birthday card. 

I started by ink blending some Gina K Design Inks in dark orchid, medium orchid, light orchid, and powder blue.  I spritzed the back of my card stock panel with water before embossing it in the embossing folder to prevent the card stock from tearing. I dragged a white pigment ink pad across the embossing to really highlight it and dusted on some ranger perfect pearls.   I die cut the MFT All About You die x3 and glued them together to create dimension.  I hear embossed the sentiment in white from the coordinating stamp set.  

Colorful Birthday Wishes

 Weekend crafting.......it's what I am up to these days! This weekend I am intentionally trying to focus on some some birthday cards to build up my stash. 

I started by doing some ink blending with Gina K Design inks in wild wisteria, passionate pink, tangerine twist, and wild dandelion.  I spritzed the back of my card stock panel before running it through my.Platinum Six in the Simon Says Stamp Magnolia Branches 3D embossing folder so that the card stock wouldn't break down.  I then used a white pigment ink pad and dragged it over the embossing to really highlight it and dusted on some Ranger Perfect Pearls.  

I heat embossed the sentiment from the Gina K Designs Radiant Roses stamp set in black onto vellum and added a few sequins.  

FMS577 - So very Grateful

 I'm playing along  with this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge #577 today.

I am playing along with the Gina K Designs Radiant Rose Layering Bundle.   I stamped the roses in Gina K Designs obsidian amalgam ink and then used the stencils to ink blend with light orchid, medium orchid, andd dark orchid ink.   I die cut them out and popped them up with foam tape.  I used the Radiant Roses Words Foiling Sheets and the Fancy Foils Gold Sequins to create the foiled sentiment.   The layering bundle inclues the die cuts for the sentiments well.   

For added texture, I chose the Simon Says Stamp Whirl Leaves die and also die cut some additional leaves in gold cardstock with the Simon Says Stamp Fiddly Leaf die.  I also chose some patterned paper from the Gina K Designs Autumn Splendor 6x6 paper pad to tuck behind the flowers.   I embossed the background layer with an old embossing folder....and I have no idea who makes it.  :)

Here is the sketch:

Time Out Challenge #233 - Elegant

 "Springing ahead" today and it it good for my soul!   There is something hopeful about adding more light back into our days and hearing the birds chirping this morning.  Winter depresses me.  I don;' know how I have survived my entire life living in New England.  Not a fan of winter at all! 

I am playing along with the Time Out Challenge #233 which is to create something elegant so decided to play along with the Simon Says Stamp Beautiful Flowers stamp set.

I am really wanting to learn how to watercolor ad have started watching a few technique video. I ordered myself some brushes, but they haven't arrived yet. I am curious to see what kind of results I get when using those brushes.  For now, I used the Altenew Watercolor brushes and colored the image with Arteza Real Brush pens.  The sentiment is from the Waffle Flower Essential Sentiments stamp set. 

SSSWChallenge - Tag It

 Today I am playing along with the Simon Says Samp Wednesday Challenge - "Tag It!"  I am really liking Penny Black stamps these days!  They have a nice mix of beautiful florals AND cute little critters and cool dies so it's a nice mix for me as I continue what the heck my style is in the round 2 of being in this paper crafting world.  

Today I made a tag wit the pretty Exuberance stamp set from the new Penny Black release.

I stamped my image on watercolor paper with momento black ink and used Gina K Designs re-inkers in  Passionate Pink, Wild Wisteria and medium spruce inks.  I added some sea glass ink around the image. 

Watercoloring is new to me.  I like it, but I need to keep practicing and learning.   I have started to check out Sandy Allnock's youtube channel for some tips.  Got any recommendations for any other artist's youtube channels?  I'm all ears! 

GDP484 - A Birthday Wish for You

 This week I received the new Gina K Designs Radiant Roses Layering Bundle (and other goodies) from the newest release so know I was going to creating something with that as soon as Saturday rolled around!   This bundle is a really great deal!   For $44.95 you get a full size stamp set, an embossing folder, stencil set, and all of the coordinating dies!   I decided to play along with the Global Design Project's challenge #384 which is a "CASE the designer" challenge this week.  

I started with some 140 lb Canson Montval watercolor paper  and added a wash of color with some watered down Gina K Designs sea glass ink.  After it dried, I splattered some additional color onto it.  

I stamped and die cut the rose and leaves and then ink blended using the coordinating stencil and some medium orchid, bubblegum pink, sweet mango and grass green ink.   The Radiant Roses Words poly-glaze sheets don't come with the bundle, but they are only only $6.95 so it was a "worth it" add on for me.  I ran off the sheets with some Gina K Designs Gold Sequins Fancy Foils through my laminator in a carrier sheet.  I then die cut the sentiment with one of the dies that comes with the bundle.  I added a few sequins to embellish.  I almost always mount my finished design on a white card base, but I liked how the blue card stock really made the watercolored background stand out more.  

Here is the pretty card I was CASEing for the challenge:

 

More Ink Cube Thumping

I'm continuing with the ink cube  thinping technique to play along aagainwith the Gina K Designs monthly challenge.  Let me start by saying, I am not really a pastels kind of girl so I am not sure what possessed me to make this card in pastels.... and I kind of want to make it again in a hole different color scheme because I do like the design I came up with for this card.  Some people DO like pastels so hopefuily it will appeal to whomever receives it.  :)

All supplies used are from Gina K Designs.  First I used the Sunshine stencil with some bubblegum pink ink to create the background panel.  Next I ink blended with dark lilac, medium liac, light lilac, and bubble gum pink.   I then splatter some watered down medium lilac ink.  Then I stamped the floral image from the You are Enough mini stamp set in momento black ink.   Then I restamped the image but this time stamped it in bubblegum pink and then "thumped"on some light liac as well before stamping.   I fussy cut the blooms and popped them up with foam take.   Finally, I heat embossed the sentiment.  

Copic Coloring over Ink Blending

 I just love the Unity Newsprint Floral Greetings background stamp for a quick but beautiful card!   I've made a few cards with it now, but each card has a very different feel to it.   This time I did some copic coloring over ink blending. 

I stamped the image with Momento Tuxedo black and then ink blended some Gina K Designs inks in light spruce, powder blue and medium lilac.  I then colored the flowers and leaves with copics in similar tones.  I used a white Prismacolor pencil to add some highlights and a black one create some additional shadows on the center of the flowers.  I used the Gina K Designs You die and a heat embossed sentiment from the MFT All About You stamp set.

Ink Cube Thumping Technique

 Today I am playing along with the new Gina K Design's monthly challenge which is to do the ink cube thumping technique.  You can watch THIS video to learn how to do it.  You must be part of the Gina K Designs You must be part of the Gina K Designs & Stamp TV Friends facebook group to play along with the challenge.  I highly recommend the group for lots of crafty inspiration! 

I did some masking first and stamped the MFT Romantic Script background stamp in Gina K Designs soft stone ink.   I then did my ink cube thumping with light spruce and blue denim ink onto that pretty branch of leaves from the Gina K Designs Filled with Sunshine mini stamp set.   I heat embossed the sentiment from the Gina K Designs Bold Bloom mini stamp set.  It was actually a pretty quick and easy card to make!