Archives for March 2021

“Beautiful Blossoms” Challenge

March 9, 2021 Challenge Cards, Handcrafted Cards

Look what’s blooming in the latest Simon Says Stamp challenge with “Beautiful Blossoms”!

Well, hi!

Spring is just around the corner (thank, goodness) so I’m grateful for some bright, floral fun with this “Beautiful Blossoms” card challenge. I used some new and some old to make three very different cards to enter the challenge.

Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

Crow Picnic Card

For this “Beautiful Blossoms” Challenge entry I dove into my old Stampin’ Up! stash of stamps for this crow and sunflower set. I remember making tons of cards using this set back in the day. But I always used colored pencils. Now that I have Copic markers I find I use them as much or even more than colored pencils!

This is an anniversary card for a family member so I decided to use the ant stamp to stamp the word “LOVE” in the grass. It’s a little wonky, but hey, they’re ants…they’re not perfect!

I also used some red and white baker’s twine to add some interest at the top and bottom.

Thanks a Bunch Card

While I do love stamping, sometimes I just want to crank out a card with only paper and no stamps. So I used this Sizzix die cut in pink (four layers) to create the main focus of the card.

The background paper is from a Simon Says Stamp card kit. I used my Spectrum Noir glitter brush to cover the entire front of the jar of flowers. You can’t see it in the picture, and no matter how I angled the camera I just couldn’t capture the shimmer. But it’s there! You can see how it looks on another one of my pink/black floral cards here.

I love pink and black together!

Floral Bike Card

I’ve been wanting to use this die set from Sizzix since my daughter gave it to me recently as a gift. (The floral jar in the Thanks a Bunch Card is also from her! Thanks, dear!) What is it about bikes and flowers?

Anyway, everything was die cut in white cardstock. The bike has four layers for dimension. I used Copic markers to color in the bike and flowers. The background is made using an embossing folder.

I used an embossing mat in my Big Shot to press a flower image onto the matching envelope. Loving the look of this clean and bright card!

Alright, spring. I’m ready. You can come now. I guess while I wait I’ll just have to hope that Simon Says Stamp will do more spring-y challenges!

Y’all take care!

Spring Window Card

March 5, 2021 Handcrafted Cards

Just anxious for spring and sharing this Spring Window card I made with the most recent Simon Says Stamp card kit

Well, hi!

It’s normally my day to post challenge cards from the Monday Simon Says Stamp challenge. But, since the challenge this time is “Anything But a Card,” and I mostly do cards….well, I thought I’d just make this cute Spring Window Card instead.

We got a little taste of spring a few days ago and now it’s back to wet and cold. I’m so ready for warmer weather and some flowers. And a break from rain! So, I thought this nice Spring Window Card would brighten things up a bit.

I used stamps from the most recent S imon Says Stamp Card Kit. I just got it the other day.

simon says stamp card kit spring window card

So much stuff in this kit. Markers, paper, envelopes, patterned paper, stamps, dies, embellishments.

I used the brick stamps to create a background and colored some of the bricks in with some neutral colored pencils. The window is stamped on cardstock, colored in with colored pencils, and mounted with foam tape onto the card base.

Confession: the sentiment is actually from the previous month’s card kit. (All of the cards in this post feature something from that kit.) But all else is from the March kit.

I paired the card with a matching envelop and now it’s ready to be sent to a loved one!

Y’all take care!

No-Line Watercolor

March 3, 2021 Handcrafted Cards

Watch me on my first attempt at no-line watercolor.

Well, hi!

Welcome to this very rough but very fun first attempt at no-line coloring. What’s that you ask? Well, I’m no expert but here’s the basic idea.

You stamp in ink that’s light enough that when you are done painting or coloring in, you no longer really see the lines. It’s just a different look.

I’ve been wanting to try this for a long time but just haven’t gotten around to it. I believe that I picked stamps for this first time that were a little too detailed. Well, the surfboard, for sure. (But man, how awesome is that set?) But that’s okay. This little experiment was just for me. I didn’t really care if the end result was a masterpiece.

And clearly it is not.

Like I said. It’s okay. It was fun. And relaxing. No-line watercolor is something I hope to try with more stamps soon.

You can watch the sped up process here. I didn’t bother to narrate the video other than an intro and outro. I do, however, have some relaxing tropical music you can vibe to!

Watch my most recent video here, where I do some fun things with highlighters!

Y’all take care!

“Anything Goes” Challenge

March 2, 2021 Challenge Cards, Handcrafted Cards

Simon Says Stamp “Anything Goes” Challenge with a few cards and a journaling entry.

Well, hi!

Sometimes it’s nice to have a specified direction, but sometimes I do love when I can just do whatever I want!

So this latest challenge from Simon Says Stamp being “Anything Goes” is just want I was in the mood for!

Welcome to my five entries. Here they are in no particular order.

Bees & Floral Journal

This is the front page to my Line Upon Line General Conference notebook. I’ve been showing some drawings I’ve been doing on my Instagram (on Sundays). But this time I thought I’d mix things up by doing some stamping and coloring.

I chose to use stamps from the Hero Arts January 2021 kit. Can’t believe I haven’t used it yet before now! It’s such a great stamp and die set. I stamped the large floral and the three different bees. Then I colored it in with colored pencils.

Pig Out!

Okay, here’s a chance to address something. Months ago, in an effort to increase my stamp and die supplies with as little money as possible, I made an Amazon experiment.

I ordered some really cheap clear mount stamps with matching dies. Do they work? Um, mostly. Would I do it again? No.

The quality of the stamps is poor. They do not stamp with very clean lines, but sometimes you can hide this. The dies are not as sharp or exact either. These “cling” stamps do not actually cling very well. Once you manage to pry them off their plastic backing page, there’s no stick left. Not great.

So the lesson is: spend the money and buy from reputable stamp companies. If the price sounds too good to be true, it very likely is.

Still, for a simple card, and since I have the stamps already and might as well use them, this card is pretty cute. Not great lines, but still fun to use.

Stamped using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and colored in with Copic markers.

Gift Truck

Speaking of cheap stamps….yeah, here’s another example. I do love me a vintage pickup loaded with stuff in the back! But this set has the same issues as the pig. Blurry lines, dies are meh, and no cling.

But, again, still can be used. So I did. This set comes with gifts, pumpkins, hearts, presents, flowers, apples, leaves, etc.

The sentiment is from an Avery Elle birthday set. You can see the difference in quality between the crispness of the sentiment and the blurriness of the truck. I’ll not be trying the cheap Amazon stamp set experiment again! I mean, when I take on an Anything Goes Challenge, I don’t want the challenge to come from actually getting the stamps to work right!

Stamped using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and colored in with Copic markers.

Topiary Hello

Let’s get back to great stamps, shall we?! I love Hero Arts, and this was a surprise freebie in one of my recent orders. I think this simple and sweet topiary makes a lovely card, don’t you?

It came with matching dies. I used the die for the greenery section to make a mask so I could ink blend the leaf area for a softer and more complete look.

The sentiment is also from that set.

Stamped using Ranger Distress Ink pads and colored in partially with Copic markers and ink blending.

Sea You Soon

Another Hero Arts win here. That watery background stamp is from Hero Arts and I’ve been itching to use it. I love it!

I paired it with an old Stampin’ Up! stamp set that features a school of fish, octopus, starfish, and lobster. The “Sea You Soon” sentiment is from another Hero Arts set.

I just love mixing and matching stamp sets! I can sometimes be too “in the box” and forget to do that.

Stamped with Ranger Distress Ink stamp pads.

Alright, all done. Hope you enjoyed this peak at my “Anything Goes” Challenge entries. You can check out other challenges here.

Y’all take care!