Classes, Donation and Challenged

Hey friends!  Hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend and will be enjoying the first ‘official’ day of Autumn tomorrow!🍂 Yay!  I know that this is my most favorite time of the year and today it seems like it has finally cooled off a bit which is very welcoming to give the air condition a break!  Decorating for Fall/Halloween is also a favorite thing I like to do along with being outside…so I’ll be doing that this week and weekend for sure!

Today I have some creations that I’ve been working on.  The first one comes from a challenge that I wanted to enter along with breaking out a new stamp set, but excited about using an older embossing folder and some paper that has been in my stash for far too long:

He even looks like a wise old owl…and I thought he would be cute with a little bow around his neck too!  This is not a ‘new’ stamp set from Inky Stamper, but it’s the first time I’ve broken out to use this Owl stamp set!  Their challenge issued this month was “embossing” and so I pulled out a VERY old embossing folder (remember the Cuttlebug days?! LOL)  I think it was one of my very first ones!  Plus, I pulled out some Coordinations Sandable textured and colored cardstock.  It is weathered looking, but when you sand over it, the color comes out underneath…really cool stuff that I haven’t used very much!  You can get the coordinating dies for this ‘Owl’ set which also cuts out the owl and the leaf in the set.  I’ve colored them up with Copic markers and used the die to cut them out with.

For the embossing folder card front, I took a piece of the Coordinations paper, die cut it out and then ran that piece through the selected embossing folder and then sanded over it with a sanding block.  I also die cut a frame the same color as the card base and took a separate embossing folder from Stampin’ Up! to go over that with and sanded it a bit as well before popping it up on the card front.

Before placing all of the elements on the card front, I decided to add some white and black paint splatters over the background.  I also copper heat embossed the sentiment underneath the owl, die cut the strip and popped it up with one of the leaves over top. (You can also see along the edges that I’ve heat embossed too!)  I popped up the owl, but left him grounded to the frame and then finished it with copper sequins filled with glitter drops.  The copper twine bow was a last element decision.  LOL🦉    

Speaking of sanding, it reminded me of this class I took with Inky Stamper making these cards. (couple weeks ago)  I believe there are still a few kits available in the store if interested.  The directions are recorded and saved on their You Tube channel.

Anyway, the sanding reminded me of this class because at the bottom of the card, the kit included sandpaper for the beach.  Really love the look it gave to the design with the texture and tiny bit of sparkle in it!

 

And the same day I had the class above, I had this class from Craft Fancy during their OOAK event.  These were made from their “Alcohol Pearls Butterfly card kit” (I think they have some left in store if interested).  The kit came with one alcohol ink color in Celestial Pearls, which is beautiful, but I decided to also add some copper metallic from my stash for another bit of color.  I also went on my own a bit with the white heat embossed sentiments at the bottom.  I really had fun playing with the alcohol backgrounds and being able to cut them out in one pass for different looks.

I thought this set of four cards would be perfect to add to my donation box to The Butterfly Project in support of domestic violence.  So I was able to send off a batch of cards for that this past week too.

Hope you’ve enjoyed my mixed collection of projects here and I’m sure I’ll have more fun things coming soon!  Thank you for stopping in!

Challenges I’d like to enter for OWL CARD only:

  1. Inky Stamper Inkspirations FB Sept Challenge – Embossing (heat or dry)
  2. Let’s Squash It! – embossing folder (Cuttlebug & SU! used on mine) with letters or #s and sand it
  3. Pammie’s Inky Pinkies – Anything Goes
  4. Lil’ Patch of Crafty Friends – Anything Goes
  5. Allsorts – ‘real’ animal/creature
  6. My Time to Craft – embossing (heat/dry)
  7. Splitcoaststampers – SC871 Wednesday SketchSC871 Color

*Vicki*25 Comments

Working in Washi Encouragement

Hello friends!  Happy Labor Day!  Can you believe we’re in September already?  The time goes so quickly!  I’ve been helping my husband around the house so we can finish up some projects before the weather starts getting cooler on us!  He does keep me busy since being retired! LOL!

As I had mentioned, although I wasn’t posting on my blog, I was still crafting.  I’ve also been trying to organize my craft room with my husband helping me to move things around as my space had really gotten to be over-whelming.  Carrying several card kits (many never used) and boxing them up to store, I realized how many things I actually have and never used!  It’s fun to buy stuff, but I think it’s even better to use something I have…as I’m becoming my own store!  So for this reason, my purpose has really shifted to TRY using what I already have if possible!  I know many of us are in the same boat, so perhaps I can help inspire too!

Here’s a set of cards that I’ve been working on from a virtual class that took place sometime in July.  It was supposed to be a set of 4 cards created with this gorgeous paper, stamp set and washi tape collection from Teresa Collins (Called “Create a Beautiful Life”).  The purple and butterflies really spoke to me and I got the kit…which I honestly didn’t need, but this is how it’s been!  I was supposed to get some already cut butterflies with the kit, which I didn’t…but it was fine, as of course, I had some dies that worked just fine for these cards and I decided to go off a bit on my own anyway.

Remember the post I had recently done about the washi tape challenge?  This is what made me think about this card kit class and that I needed to finish it up!  There’s a couple ideas in there using some of the pretty washi tape from the TC collection.  I think taking all of these virtual classes has taken a tole and burned me out a bit as well because although I’m making the cards (and have a huge stash of them), I usually still have extra product/material to use up too!  It sort of compounds the problem and doesn’t really help much.  I think it’s just time to consider a heavy freeze on it all!  Or at least until some of my stash gets used up anyway!🙄

Here’s a closer look at each one of the cards in the set.  If you’re on my website, just click on each photo below to enlarge it or if you are set up with e-mail, it will probably show in original form.  (There’s a caption under each card with the details too.)

  • The background is made using washi tape.
  • Left over washi tape pieces from previous card to form heart.
  • Inside of heart window with washi tape pieces.
  • layout using pattern paper.
  • More papers used with an ink blended heart window and black splatters.
  • Used more snippets from paper collection.
The washi tape cards are the top 3 and the paper snippets/scraps are the bottom 3.

I stamped some of the sentiments that were included with the stamp set from the collection, but there were also strips at the bottom of some of the pattern papers, so I took some of them and used them for some of the other cards.

I really like how they’ve turned out and this will be a nice set of encouragement cards to send along for my donation box this month to “The Butterfly Project” for domestic violence.

Really hope they were inspiring for you as well and that you’re reminded to use your own stash of papers, washi tape and other forgotten materials too!

Would love to play in these challenges for fun:

  1. Crafty Sentiments – Anything Goes 
  2. Crafty Creations – Anything Goes
  3. 2 Crafty Critter Crazies – Anything Goes + animals (butterflies count!) 
  4. The Crafter’s Cafe – Anything Goes
  5. Love to Scrap – Anything Goes
  6. Penny’s Paper Crafty – Anything Goes
  7. Cute Card Thursday – Anything Goes (birthday optional)
  8. Just Us Girls – 6 of anything (Didn’t realize it, but used 6 strips of pattern paper on the last card in the gallery!)  Thanks Vicki D!😉

*Vicki*22 Comments

MFT Summer School: Rule of 3 Sympathy

Hello there friends!  Hope you’re having a great week.

It seems, unfortunately, that every time I make another sympathy card, I run out and need to make another…it almost makes me hesitant to create another one to build my stash for the fear of it.  But as a card maker, I create with my heart and it’s important for me to share that with others and especially in times like this.  I know that those people that  know me, understand this.

(This post is dedicated to a family friend that has been around since I can ever remember him.  RIP Bill)

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Upon knowing that I needed to create a sympathy card, I had seen that the My Favorite Things Summer School had started and their first lesson was about “The Rule of 3” and so with that in my mind, I went to my MFT stash to create this card.

I first started with a piece of Whip Cream cardstock that was cut out with the A2 Stitched Rectangle Stax die and then stamped the large leafy image from the Dandelion Greenery stamp set with Grout Gray ink 3 times.  I also stamped the smaller leaf image 3 times over it as well.  I took the sentiment from the Deepest Sympathy stamp set and stamped it with the MFT Extreme Black ink.  I layered this panel over a top folding A2 sized Grout Gray cardstock base.

The butterflies were cut out with a die set no longer available…but I love them and can’t part with them!  I’ve used the Whip Cream cardstock for the outline of the butterflies, black for the middle sections and then I used:  Lemon Chiffon, Tickled Pink and Berrylicious cardstocks for the layers behind the butterflies.  I glued the centers only down so that the wings would pop out a bit.

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Here’s a closer look at the butterflies and you can see on the colored portion of each of the butterflies that there is a bit of a shimmer on the wings.  I took my glitter brush pen to go inside each section of them.  I’ve also added 3 Ice Sparkle Crystals to the design for a bit more sparkle.

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So as you’ve noticed, I took the “rule of 3” quite literally with my design here!  It actually helped me to focus on that particular lesson to finish up my card.  Sometimes, I’ve noticed it really helps to “challenge myself” with a project so that I have something to focus on when I need to complete a task that would otherwise be difficult if I was just staring at a blank piece of cardstock.  Don’t back down from a challenge or anything in particular that helps keep you focused…especially during times like these right now, as it is something that may be of help for you in more ways than you realize!  It sure is for me anyway, and I really need it!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope that I’ve helped inspire in some way!  Be well and happy friends.  I’ll see you again soon!

Challenges:

  1.  MFT Summer School – Lesson 1 “Visual Triangle”MFT_SummerSchool2020_VisualTriangle
  2. Dragonfly Dreams – Anything Goes
  3. Lil Patch of Crafty Friends – #139 Anything Goes
  4. Pearly Sparkles – #54 Anything Goes
  5. A Perfect Time to Craft – #8 Anything Goes
  6. A Bit More Time to Craft – #120 Anything Goes
  7. Love to Craft – LTCCB49 Anything Goes
  8. Double D – Butterflies

*Vicki*31 Comments

It’s CAS at Cute Card Thursday!

Hello friends!  I hope you’re having a great week so far!!  I had forgotten to give updates on the “bird nest” situation, but actually the last time we had checked, the baby bird hopped onto the roof next door and the mother bird was chirping at us and then the baby took off and flew away!  We never were able to get any more photos.  I think there was just that one baby bird that survived.  Now we have the empty nest in the tree.  We think another bird may be trying to build on it, but we don’t see anything.

Today is Thursday which means it’s time for a brand new Cute Card Thursday Challenge!!  The theme for this week is CAS (clean & simple)  Our sponsor is All Dressed Up, so be sure to play along for your chance to win!

Here’s my take on the challenge:

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I have used this really cute image kindly donated by our sponsor called Dreaming of Summer.  I love the “dreamy” pose she has!  I thought she would look so cute proped up over a fence, so I made one for her!

**Sometimes, CAS puzzles me as to the “definition” of what it TRULY is.  To me, it is a bit different to some than others.  I feel it to be more like an “art term” where everything is subjective in it’s form and if I have to think about it TOO much, I’m not being “me” and having my fun with it…so I just create weather it is considered simple or not.  🙂  For me, this seemed like a CAS design.**

First, I colored up the image and then stenciled on some clouds behind her.  I took a craft knife and cut out just the bottoms of her elbows.  I stamped another panel with a woodgrain stamp in gray colored ink and then used a punch with a sharp point to create the “planks” for the fence.  I sponged around the edges with more gray ink and then I tucked the fence panel underneath her elbows and attached it to the image panel.  I cut out these pieces with a stitched rectangle die and layered that onto a piece of black cardstock that was layered over an A2 top folding white card base.  Lastly, I added the die cut “hello” with black cardstock in the corner.

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Here’s a closer look at the coloring I’ve done on this image.  I’ve colored her in with Copic markers and then for the tiny butterflies, bees and flowers around her, I’ve used some metallic gel pens to color them with.  You can see the shimmer on them.

I’ve also taken some liquid pearls to place some dots around her as well.  I thought it made her look a bit more whimsical.

You can also see where her elbows are lifted up over the fence panel too.

Vicki-CCT586-ADU-flat

I hope you’ve enjoyed my creation today and I hope you will stop on over at the Cute Card Thursday blog and see the inspiration from the rest of the team and play along with us!!  We look forward to see what you come up with!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!  See you soon!!

Challenges for this card:

  1.  All Dressed Up Challenge – Anything Goes + ADU imageCrafty
  2. Craft Rocket – Summer is Coming
  3. Happy Little Stampers – Anything Goes with DiesHLS AG Badge
  4. Crafting From the Heart – Anything Goes
  5. Crafty Creations – #392 Anything Goes

*Vicki*22 Comments

Cute Card Thursday Has Wings!

Hello friends!  It’s Thursday already which means it’s time for a brand new challenge over at Cute Card Thursday!  This is a really fun one to play with!  This week we’d like to see your “Wings” things!  Can’t wait to see what everyone makes!!

This week we are being sponsored by All Dressed Up Stamps and I have used one of their lovely images for my card today:

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Isn’t she the sweetest little thing?  I have used the Fairy Magic image that was kindly donated from our sponsor and I have colored her up using Copic markers.  I’ve also sponged some light blue ink around the image panel before matting it onto a green sparkly layer cut with a scallop square die.  I also used some craft foam to pop up the image panel over my card for a bit of dimension.

I have just bought these gorgeous Fairy Garden papers from Kaiser Craft and used them on the background panel of my card.  I also used some gorgeous shimmery light green cardstock to go with it!  I’ve taken a thin strip of the glitter cardstock and attached it up against the butterfly papers and then attached some lace over it.  I then mounted this entire panel over a white top folding 5″ x5″ card base.

Vicki-CCT569-ADUWings-close

Here’s a closer view of the coloring and the little sparkly details I’ve added to her.   For the wings, I’ve taken a glitter brush pen over them and then used some metallic colored gel pens to add some dots to her wings as well as the butterfly wings along with some gold dots around her ribbons and the sentiment.

Here you can also see the wood veneer butterfly accent that I’ve added at the top.  I painted it with white gesso and then painted over it with some pretty pearl shimmer paint before attching it to the card.

Vicki-CCT569-ADUWings-flat

Lastly, I’ve added three pearls at the bottom left corner of the card.  In this photo you can see the pretty shimmer on the light green background cardstock.  It was hard to capture in the photos, but the butterfly papers are sparkle embossed as well.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my creation today and are inspired to come join the challenge with us this week for Cute Card Thursday!  Please be sure to stop by and see the rest of the inspiration from the design team as well!

Thanks so much for dropping in today and I’ll see you again tomorrow as I will announce the winner from my Turner Syndrome Awareness Blog Hop Giveaway!!  Stay tuned!!

Challenges I’d like to enter this card:

  1.  All Dressed Up Challenge – #89 Anything Goes + ADU image
  2. Not Just Cards – Anyhing Goes
  3. Crafty Creations – Anything Goes

*Vicki*25 Comments

2 Crafty Critter Crazies February Challenge is Here!

Hello friends!  **This is my first of 2 posts today, but be sure to stop by right after this post for the final post this morning with a special blog hop and prizes available to win!**

Today starts our brand new February challenge over at 2 Crafty Critter Crazies!  Remember that this is an always ANYTHING GOES challenge, but you must include a critter somewhere on your project to enter!

We are being sponsored this month by Sparkle N Sprinkle!  The DT has created some wonderful creations using their products, so go check it out and play along with us this month!  Here’s what I’ve created for the challenge:

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I have used this gorgeous January digital stamp release from SnS called Ribbons of Love [DIGI933DE] which was created by my wonderful blog friend Donna Ellis!  If you stay tuned in later, you will see another creation I’ve made for the blog hop using this same set!  It’s a very beautiful and versatile set to have!

For this card, I’ve used the uncolored images and placed the images together how I wanted them to appear in a Word doc and then printed it out.  I printed out an extra butterfly so that I could cut it out and pop it up over the design for dimension.  All of the butterflies were colored with Copics.

For the background of my card, I took some Demo Donna’s Lace and placed it over top of a piece of cardstock that I’ve covered with a Super Adhesive Sheet.  I then sprinkled some Caspia Sea glitter and burished it over the lace layer.  (Sometimes I use the backing from the adhesive sheet to help burnish it in.)  After I felt it was burnished in, I removed the lace layer and sprinkled on some Lemonade glitter over the rest which gave me the unique glittery lace background!  As you can see, I’ve also taken a small strip of it to add to my design.  I have layered that piece with a strip of black fishtail banner and tied a white ribbon bow to attach over it.  The butterfly image panel was cut, layered with black cardstock and attached over the middle of the glittery background which as also layered with black cardstock and attached to an A2 sized white top folding card base.

vicki-ribbonsoflove1

Looking more closely at the card, you can better see the glittery background along with the coloring on the butterflies.  The two butterflies at the top was brushed with some Sparkle N Sprinkle Brushable Glue and then I sprinkled some Diamond Dust glitter over top of their wings for a bit more sparkle.  I glued the center of the yellow butterfly down and popped up the wings with my finger for a bit of dimension.

Please be sure to check out the 2Crafty Critter Crazies blog for more inspiration from the rest of the design team and I hope to see your critter creation in the gallery this month!

Thanks for stopping in…stay tuned in for my next special post!!

*Vicki*17 Comments

I’m Joining a Critter Challenge Design Team!

Hello friends!  Welcome to October!  There are so many fun and exciting things yet to come this month and I’m thinking it will probably fly right by me!  But first, this exciting news is something that I will share with you first!

DESIGNING FOR.pages

I have been invited to join the 2 Crafty Critter Crazies challenge blog as a design team member and I’m truly honored to be crafting alongside several of my blog friends already on the team!  Thanks so much for welcoming me to this wonderful team! 🙂  If you are not already familiar with this challenge blog, please stop by and check it out!  Obviously you must use a critter on your creation (any crafty style make), plus it’s an always “anything goes” as long as you use a critter and you have an entire month to enter!  Of course I am a huge critter fan and love using those type of images on my creations…so I hope you’ll come along and play! – The challenges are always the very 1st of each month.

So for my creation this month, I have used a gorgeous image kindly provided by our sponsor:

Vicki-2CCC-Ching-Chou Kuik

I have used Flutter Butterflies Grey Scale digital image from Ching-Chou Kuik on my card for today.  for this image, I decided to pull out my case of Prisma pencils to color it in as I thought it would be a good one to practice with.  Including the background, I’ve colored the entire panel with pencils.  It took some time to do the blending and such, but it was very therapudic and I enjoyed the process of it.  I used a white gel pen for a few highlights in areas on the butterflies.  (Some of it was also from a white pencil.)

I cut out the colored panel with a stiched rectangle die and mounted it onto a black scallop rectangle panel that I’ve popped up with craft foam.  I’ve also added a kraft doily that I’ve cut in half on both the top and bottom of the panel.  I found some pretty black and ivory design paper to mount her on.  I took some sparkly black ribbon to go across that paper and then mounted it all over a top folding A2 sized black card base.

Lastly, I’ve cut out some extra butterflies in black cardstock to accent my image panel and then I’ve added some clear glitter Stickles along the edges of the image panel to finish it off.  I really wanted the image to be the main focal of this especially since I spent so much time in the coloring.

Here’s a closer look at the image and coloring:

Vicki-2CCC-Ching-Chou Kuik-close

Looking at this photo, I also added some shimmer to the colored butterflies with a Spectrum Noir clear glitter brush pen.  Sometimes you have to angle it just right to capture the shimmer on it.

I hope you have enjoyed my card today!  Please be sure to stop by the 2 Crafty Critter Crazies challenge blog and see the inspiration from the rest of the team and enter your critter creation to the gallery!  Looking forward to seeing your makes this month!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  See you soon!

challenges:

  1.  Crafty Creations – Anything Goes #375
  2. Fab ‘n’ Funky – All Creatures Great & Small
  3. Creative Moments – Anything Goes
  4. Creative Knockouts – Anything Goes

 

*Vicki*22 Comments

Rainbows and Butterflies

Hello friends!

That was quite a post yesterday and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your kind words…it was even hard to read those, but please know I appreciated your kind hearts immensely!

I have a very fun and cheerful card for you today!  Although I had missed the Cute Card Thursday challenge this last time, it is still going on and you have a few more days to enter if you wish to play along with us using your Bugs and/or Butterfly creations!  I just love playing with butterflies and the first thing that came to my mind was that past Simon Says Stamp card kit called “Beautiful Butterflies”.  There was some awesome rainbow patterned paper in the kit as well as a butterfly stencil and so I decided to mix them together!

Vicki-CCT539-rainbow butterflies

I used the rainbow papers (from Lawn Fawn) for the base background of my card.  I took the butterfly stencil from the kit and sponged in some Distress Oxide inks for the different butterflies in rainbow ink color!  I’ve used:  Picked Raspberry, Orange Marmalade, Squeezed Lemon, Twisted Citron, Mermaid Lagoon, Wilted Violet and sponged them in with a sponge dauber.  Mounted it onto a strip of black cardstock and placed over the rainbow background.  I heat embossed a sentiment from the stamp set included in the kit with white embossing powder and then used some foam tape to mount it over the card.  I finished off the card with some black enamel dots.

Simple and fun card to make!  I hope you will consider joining in the fun with us this week over at Cute Card Thursday!  Check out the inspiration on THIS POST!  Thanks so much for stopping in today!!  See you soon!

Challenges:

  1.  Addicted to Stamps & More! – Anything GoesAnything Goes badge
  2. Butterfly Challenge – Butterfly wheel on letter ‘O’:  butterfly, orange, over the edge (sentiment banner)#104
  3. Casual Friday (CFC204) – Rainbows & ButterfliesCFC204
  4. Crafting From the Heart – Anything Goes
  5. Artistic Inspirations – Anything Goes

*Vicki*25 Comments

Fluttering By

Hello friends!  Have you already seen a couple of different styles now on my blog?  LOL!  I’m trying to get one on here that I think I would be comfortable with for a while…so far I’ve settled on this one! 🙂

So I’ve been “outta the loop” for a while and feel a bit rusty, but I thought the BEST place for me to start is with some of those card kits that I keep on hoarding and then it just sits and never gets used…so I’m going to stop hoarding and start using!  Besides, all of the contents are already right together and you can’t go wrong with that, right?!

So I’ve pulled out an April 2018 Simon Says Stamp card kit  (sold out) with some butterflies and thought it would be great to work with!  I needed some “pick me up” cards that I’m sending out to a couple of fellow crafty friends who need a lift in spirit and hope this will help send a smile their way:

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This card was simple as I just used some papers from the kit, colored the images with my Copic markers and attached to design.  I colored some white glitter paper with a yellow Copic to get that color above the patterned paper.

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This is probably my favorite one as I love the pop of black everywhere.  I used some of the Mermaid Lagoon Oxide ink from the kit to ink blend, distress with water and then added the Copic colored butterflies.

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This one was inspired by Sheri Carrol’s card design.  I obviously like her design better, but I find it amazing just how different a design can turn out from each person.

I saw that the Coffee Lover’s Blog Hop just started today (Yay!) and so I hope to be back later this evening with something fun for that!  I haven’t played in challenges for a while and it’s always fun to create using some fun themes!

Hope you’ve enjoyed my butterfly cards today and please let me know if you’ve stopped by so I can see what everyone is doing!  Would love to know how you are!

*Don’t forget to share a smile today!  🙂

I would like to enter one of these cards into the following challenges:

  1.  Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Use More Than one Stamp
  2. QKR Stampede #297 – Anything Goes!

*Vicki*33 Comments