Sending Sunshine

 

When I first began crafting many years ago, I did a lot of dry embossing with stencils and stylus on a light table.  Today I experimented with a new stencil from My Favorite Things - Moroccan Mosaic.  First, I tried some gesso which was a total first for me.  Those are drying, and I am not sure if it was successful.  I was much happier masking off a section of the stencil and using distress inks with the ink blending tool.  The sentiment is a MFT Die-namics cut three times and brushed with the Wink of Stella pen. The little stamped part is from a Verve set.

Linking this to Freshly Made Sketches #341  and          AAA #117, 'Geometrics' theme

Send a Smile 4 Kids

It is a joy to craft, visit blogs, be inspired, send 'happy mail' to friends....but I have needed an outlet, a positive contribution with my hobby.  I've sent cards to military, sold them locally for cancer research fundraising, but haven't had an outlet lately.  I was thrilled to discover Send a Smile 4 Kids this week.   A packet is heading to them tomorrow.  These cards will be included, and they were made today with their mission in mind. I love making fun kid cards, but even with four grandchildren, can't really use all the stamps enough. I am really excited about making cards for children who need some laughs and love.
 Please check out their site and follow them on Facebook!

The stamps are mainly from MY FAVORITE THINGS's new release Toucan Do It! and the coordinating dies, also some leaves and the flower  from two very old Close To My Heart sets Extreme Happiness and Nature Walk. 

I did some partial die cutting on the card with three birds - inspired by a Jennifer McGuire video on that technique.  The first card just used a single die cut.  I used Copics to color the toucans. I made masks for the leaves and used some rock n' roll and second generation stamping for them.

 Inside:

 

Atlantic Hearts

Monday means a new sketch at Atlantic Hearts Sketch  Challenge. I'm not usually so fast with a card...but I had a brand new cover die on my desk waiting for inspiration. What a surprise to see this sketch!    

So I got to work right away.  I used a panel for some ink blending with Tumbled Glass and Salty Ocean.  I cut the cover on some craft.  Then I used several colors of ink as watercolor on a piece of watercolor paper. When it was dry I used the accompanying dies for flowers and leaves. I used a Savvy sentiment die cut from kraft and also from some tan foam.  The little bird is from a set of dimensionals I've had for years. They are lovely, but hard to find a use for.  This is so not my style, but I had a blast putting it together. If I have some time, I'll try another version with some stamping!

Rainyday Pleasures

My little corner of the PNW had every kind of sweet spring weather today!  Bright sun, windy bluster, soft rain, hard rain...a delightful weather parade.  I ran outside during the sunny times and checked on plants, pulled a few wet weeds and appreciated the sparkle on the flowers. I  watched lots of incredibly talented women share and inspire with videos, and discovered a new group that collects cards for children in hospitals.  I went through all my cards and gathered a pile that would be appropriate and fun for that.  And then I made some cards. Not for challenges, but for fun.

The first is for my oldest son who has been teaching English in Japan for nine years. He loves to travel about and has embraced the history and culture of his home there. There is a whole board of inspiration for this Lawn Fawn set on Pinterest.  Great fun to color! I fussy cut each piece. Hard to see in the photo, but the rolls have Nuvo drops in the center.

 

 

The next card was to CASE(E) the great ideas of Jennifer McGuire's post here

https://www.jennifermcguireink.com/2018/06/custom-stamp-layering.html

 

I used a new Altenew set, You Make My Heart Happy.  I had intended the card to be much simpler for the CAS Colours challenge to use Melon, Pumpkin and Garden Green.  But this happened! A lovely technique that really creates a stunner card. But definitely not CAS.  It is so hard to get round smooth dots with my Crystal Drops...I hope there is a video about how to do it!

 

 

 

 

 

Butterfly Wings

CAS(E) This Sketch #275 
 and CAS on Friday #134, 'Embossing' challenge were the inspiration for this card.

I have used the Darice Emboss Essentials die to both emboss and cut these lovely butterflies. Then I pulled out a product rarely used now - decorating chalks.  They really put some delicate color on the embossing. The sentiment is from Stamplorations, Trendy Butterlies 2, inked with Versamark Black.  The circle was cut with a Simon Says stitched circle die, and the panel backed with foam tape for dimension. I contemplated adding a few sequins...but hated to fussy it up.  It is hard to know when to stop. 

 

 

Swimming By

Playing with my new Jillibean Octopus set and my new Distress Oxide inks.  I have been wanting the oxide inks for sooo long!  Finally just splurged on a Mother's Day sale.  This card also tried a 'back' stamping technique  Jennifer McGuire posted this week.  My card did not use a raised panel though, and perhaps it would have been cuter if I had done that.  Instead, I masked the sides on the card front, and did some ink blending and spritzing before using the coordinating die cut. After coloring the inside octopus, I used a glimmer pen.  The inside sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

Linking to Freshly Made Sketches #340

 

and inside:

 

 

 

 

Holiday

Fun times with the grandsons while their parents got an 'adulting' break♥  We cooked, did a mountain drive and hike, did the playground with a younger cousin, watched movies, watched crafting videos and did a Jennifer McGuire CASE shadow box card (see below). Now I get to be back in the craft room alone - quiet reigns, and weather reports of three days of rain ahead provide a perfect excuse for crafting instead of yard work!!

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #267  and My Time to Craft #372 theme 'Holidays' inspired this last night.  Using some fun CTMH papers from the 'olden days,' gold shimmer card stock, a Simon Says stitched banner die, and a Verve stars die. I sanded the back blue panel, and clear embossed the sentiment that had been stamped in Versamark Majestic Blue.  Great card for 4th of July birthday!

 

 

 This was a fun project for the 9.5 year old and I to share. Really kids LOVE Cuttlebug, dies, punches, and the Misti!!  We also paint rocks♥