First Xmas Card

I made my first Christmas card of the season today for the Splitcoaststampers Clean and Simple Challenge, which was a sketch this week.

You'll be amazed to read that this is actually a current SU stamp set called Beautiful Season - I know I usually use my trusted retired sets. I really needed some new holiday stamps, so I treated myself to this one and I love it!

The red c/stock and ribbon are Cherry Cobbler, but I didn't have the ink, so I substituted it with Ranger Distress ink in Barn Red and the match is pretty good. I popped up the little bird on dimensionals and gave the holly berries some pizzazz with Ranger's Rock Candy.


Have you started your Christmas or holiday cards yet? I'm sure you probably have, but at least I've made a start :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Ali

Vintage Dictionary Butterflies

Blog candy reminder: you have until midnight tomorrow, September 18, 2011 to enter for a chance to win my blog candy, which includes some of the dictionary pages you'll see below. Just click on this link and scroll down to the end of the post to enter. Thanks :)

Here's a card I made this week using the Vintage French/English dictionary pages from my store. I sponged various shades of Stampin' Up! and Distress inks in blue, green and yellow onto half a sheet and punched out a bunch of butterflies with a Martha Stewart punch. Pretty simple, but it's just the kind of card I like - lots of white space!


Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Fabriano watercolor cards, vintage French/English dictionary, watercolor paper
Ink: Various shades of blue, green and yellow dye inks, black
Embellishments: rhinestones (Stampin' up!)
Tools: Nestabilities, butterfly punch (Martha Stewart), Big Shot, Word Window punch

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ali

Herringbone Card

It's been ages since I took part in one of my favourite challenges, the Splitcoaststampers Clean and Simple Challenge. But I took advantage of a free half an hour this morning to participate. This week it's a sketch challenge.



To create the panel, I used the Herringbone technique (Technique Junkies newsletter Dec 09/Jan 10) with strips of a retired Stampin' Up! paper cut into 1/4" strips. I love this technique for using up the piles of patterned paper I have, especially SU packs or 6x6 pads from companies, such as Basic Grey. Because all the colors coordinate, it takes the guess work out of choosing different papers from different manufacturers and making sure the colors and patterns look good together.

The sentiment is also Stampin' Up! from the Upsy Daisy set.

Don't forget to enter to win my blog candy in the post below - there are only 6 days left!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ali

Colorful Silhouettes

I tried a new technique called Colorful Silhouettes and I LOVE it! It's from the Technique Junkies most current newsletter. The basic technique is as follows:

1. Cover c/stock with several colors of ink.
2. Stamp a background and heat emboss with white e/p.
3. Stamp a silhouette image and heat emboss with black e/p.

It's a bit fiddly, but so worth the results.

The first card is for today's Gingersnaps Color Challenge, which I hosted. The colors to use are red, blue and yellow - the three primary colors. Check it out if you have a chance plus the rest of the Design Team's awesome work.

I'm also entering this card into a sketch challenge - Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch. She always has great layouts. The main image in this card is from the SU set Just Believe and the background stamp is the retired French Script.

My second card was also made using this technique and I'm entering it into the Stamping 411 sketch challenge. Again, I love their sketches, but remember it's an SU only site!



The main image in this card is from SU's Inspired by Nature, the background is the retired French Script and the image is from Trendy Trees.

Hope you're having a fantastic week!

Ali

Sympathy Quilt Card

Unfortunately I have a sympathy card to share today - I made it for a friend who lost their father-in-law.


The "Quilt Card" technique is one I used to do a lot and I wrote a tutorial on my old blog. Here's a link to it if you'd like to know who to make it.

Quilt Card Tutorial

It's an awesome way to use up patterned paper scraps. For this card I used a Basic Grey 6x6 pad that I've had kicking around for years.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend,

Ali

Card for Claire

Hi folks,

we got back from vacation this week and I've been frantically cleaning my studio. I came back and saw it with fresh eyes, and I didn't like what I saw. It was a total mess. I took some before and after pictures, which I'll post next week.

When it was all done, I was finally able to make a few projects. Today's share is a card for my friend Claire, who moved back to the UK from the US a couple of years ago. I haven't seen her for ages, but we'll be able to get together finally this summer - yeah!

I used the 411 sketch this week, but missed the upload deadline :(. The set is a retired SU one called Essence of Love - it's one of my go-to sets.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Ali

Finally, Some New Cards

I finally stamped! These are the first cards I've made in 2011 - can you believe that? I think I've had stampers' block or may be I just needed a break! Anyhow, I'm happy with how this trio turned out. They're very clean and simple - just how I like it.


The first card is for the Gingersnap's Supply Challenge - charms. I included two silver leaf charms, which I tied onto a piece of Kiwi Kiss satin ribbon with linen thread.


The other two cards are for this week's Splitcoast Clean and Simple challenge. All three cards have Fabriano watercolor card bases and the main panel is also 140lb Fabriano watercolor paper. I love this stuff!



The leaf image is from Memory Box and is watercolored with various shades of green ink. All sentiments on the cards are from Stampin' Up!

Note: We are having a Design Team Call at Gingersnap Creations at the moment. Check it out!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day!

Ali

Sunday CASE

Happy Sunday everyone! It's a very happy weekend here because my brother and his wife finally had their baby yesterday - a healthy baby boy called Oliver. I'm so excited to be an aunt again! I can't wait to see the little cutie.

I managed a quick card today between getting home from church and going to see a movie with my daughter. I checked out the Featured Stamper challenge on Splitcoast and it was a lovely CAS (clean and simple) gallery belonging to Jenn Spencer. Her card can be found by following this link. I changed the color scheme and stamps, but kept the layout pretty much the same.

The panel on the left was created using a TJ technique called Sanded Whitewash. I sponged inks onto a white panel and painted it with a light layer of gesso. I ran it through an embossing folder when it was dry and highlighted the raised areas with ink. I'd made the Sanded Whitewash panel ages ago, so it was a quick and easy Fall card. The sentiment is from SU.

Don't forget it's your last chance for the blog candy today. Enjoy what's left of the weekend!

Ali

Simple Thanks You Notes

I needed to make a batch of thank you cards for a wonderful group of women at my church, so I sat and cranked these out this afternoon. I'm really happy with how they turned out and you don't hear me say that very often!

[They also fit nicely into today's Splitcoast Free For All challenge.]


The card bases are my favorite Fabriano Watercolor cards that were embossed using an SU folder. The centers of the flowers were highlighted with chalk and the sentiments were stamped inside using summer sun ink. The cards were finished with a scrap of taffeta ribbon. I also stamped the envelopes for a little more interest.


Thanks for visiting. Have a wonderful weekend!

Ali

Creative Connections - Haunted

There's a new feature on Gingersnap Creations called Creative Connections and the theme is Haunted.

I heard about it from Shar at Ill Tempered Ink. Why not play along? Post a creation to your blog mentioning my post and the Creative Connection post on Gingersnap Creations. Let's all craft it forward and see how far we get this connection to go!


My haunted piece is a simple card using the Scene Silhouette technique (TJs Aug/Sept 09). The background is masked, brayered and sponged for a grungy Halloween look. The image and sentiment are both from Stampin' Up!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ali

Gingersnaps Color Challenge & Ancient Paper

The color challenge at Gingersnaps today is Neutrals plus one color - so I deemed brown to be a neutral and paired it with lime green (kiwi kiss).

The background behind the flower silhouette (Stampin' Up!) is just sponged with a various shades of yellow and green, then spritzed with a brown marker. Behind the image is a piece of Ancient Paper. This is a TJ technique from the Dec 09/Jan 10 newsletter, which involves brown paper and ink - super duper easy and it creates such a nice texture.

I hope you'll find time to visit Gingersnaps and take part in the challenge!

Back after a Break

I took a blogging break for a few weeks over the summer to spend time with family and friends. We had family staying with us for best part of a month and we did a bunch of fun things. Here's a brief snapshot:

I just have two Gingersnaps challenge projects to share today - the first for the current color challenge (red and black) and the second for the supply challenge (punches). The color challenge card uses an image from Crafty Individuals and is colored with Prisma pencils and gamasol. The background stamp and sentiment are both from SU.

The second card was made using the Inchie Masterboard technique and a retired SU set called Architectural Elements. It probably needs a sentiment or another embellishment, but I literally had five minutes to make it. The punch I used was a 1" square punch.


I hope to start stamping again next week if I can find some mojo from somewhere - it's been months since I've sat down and made something just for fun. Sigh.....

Happy weekend!

Ali

Split Stamping Personality

There hasn't been much stamping or blogging going on here for the past few weeks, I'm afraid. That's what happens during school vacation. I have a little down time this week because my daughter is in camp and I finally managed to stamp today.

I have two cards to share - one I made for a tutorial I wrote on Gingersnaps, but haven't had time to blog. The background behind the woman is a sun print made using a chemically treated paper. You can read how it's done here. I restamped the image (from Artistic Outpost) on cream c/stock and cut out the woman and adhered her on top of the sun print. The pale blue background was made using the Sanded Whitewash technique (TJ newsletter Aug 09).


And the second card is for today's Clean and Simple Challenge on Splitcoast - it's been an age since I did that challenge. It's for my husband because we celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary next week.


Together they highlight my split stamping personality! Generally, I go for botanical, vintage and collage images, but I also have what I call my 'Papertrey' side. I love the clean lines of some of the modern images, such as this one from Stampin' Up (Cute by the Inch).

Quick Tip:

I love these Pitt Artist pens from Faber Castell and use them all the time. They have four different nibs - brush, medium, fine and super fine, and are waterproof and smudge-proof.


I like to run the brush tip along the edge of inchies (or other punched shapes) for definition and these work great. The super fine nib is good for filling in missing parts of a stamped image. Or the dots on this card. Their uses are infinite and at $11 - a real bargain. I got mine at an art supply store, but I'm sure Michaels and other big box retailers sell them too.

Here's hoping for more stamping time tomorrow.

Happy Stamping!

Ali

Hot Challenge

We've been sweltering in the Northeast US this week. It was over 100 degrees on Tuesday. This type of weather does not suit redheads! But my fellow Founding-Femme over at Gingersnaps, Sharon, also a redhead (hence Gingersnaps in case people didn't get that!) set a hot challenge this week.

The challenge theme is heat. You should see the awesome cards Sharon and the rest of the design team came up. Here's mine:

The image is from a stamp set in the current SU Mini Catalog called Elements of Style with French Script underneath. The technique is Brazen Brilliance that's also in the previous post.

It's supposed to a little cooler today and tomorrow, so we'll have some respite to watch the World Cup Final tomorrow. Have a happy weekend!

Ali

Washed Color Hydrangea

This is a card I taught at a stamping class last month and have only just got around to blogging it.

We created a Washed Colors (TJs April/May 10) background on a piece of watercolor paper using Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery reinkers. We added a little sparkle with some Smooch Spritz too. Once dry, the flower was stamped with black Stazon ink.


The vanilla card base is embossed with a new SU embossing folder called Vintage Wallpaper. All images are from a new SU hostess set called Because I Care.

Have a super weekend!

Ali

Stenciled Collage

I managed to squeeze an hour of playtime in yesterday afternoon and made some stenciled collage panels.

The challenge on the Design Junkie's blog last week was to try the Stenciled Collage technique from the Aug/Sept 08 edition. This isn't a technique I would normally have tried, but I loved it and will certainly do it again.


The stencil I used was from Michaels and I found it in the decorative painting/home decor section. I placed it over a Pulled Glimmers panel (TJ June/July 10) and applied white SU craft ink with a dauber. Once it was dry, I stamped the main image on top with Stazon. Here's a closer look:

The stamp and sentiment are from a retired SU set called Essence of Love. This technique works great with silhouette stamps. I bet it would look good with SU's Inspired by Nature or Upsy Daisy too.

I need to get to the woods with my dog before the heavens open - there are lots of black clouds outside. Thanks for visiting!

Ali

Pulled Glimmers

I love this new Technique Junkie technique, Pulled Glimmers (June/July '10). I just wish I had more colors of Glimmer Mist. I went to my local stamp store on Tuesday and they had a whopping six bottles on the shelf - hello??? I do try to support my local store, but I may be forced online in search of more colors. Anyone got a good source?


The two shades used here are Midnight Blue and Kiwi with a brand new stamp set from Stampin' Up! called Because I Care. I highlighted some of the flower centers with Stickles, but it barely shows in the photo. Sigh....

Thanks for visiting my blog today - happy creating!

Ali