INKspirations!

Hello! AAA challenges has a brand new monthly challenge dedicated to  Christmas cards.  (Yay!) The theme for this challenge is Traditional Christmas. To play along, click the link ( HERE) I really liked the inspiration of the bright red bauble with pine boughs. My thoughts of a traditional Christmas are wreaths on doorways, shiny ornaments, and Christmas music.   I chose colors of the winter tartan plaids that are common for this season in red, green, and navy.   Assembly:  The finished card is a top folding A2 sized card.  I used Evening Evergreen card-stock as the base (SU). Next I used a piece of lightweight ivory cardstock (Recollections) and embossed music from - Stampin Up’s Merry Melody embossing folder, and trimmed with a red foil border. (Recollections) The wreath was die cut from The Noel Tidings set from Stampin Up.  I cut the evergreen from the same Evening Evergreen cardstock. The oval center was cut from Night of Navy cardstock.  It ...

 Hello, Today’s card is inspired from this week’s sketch at Atlantic Hearts, sketch #702. To play along, click the link  (HERE) This is the sketch used:  I had the idea to use fall trees for my card, so I began by prepping a piece of mixed media paper with a wet brush. I smooshed colors from light to dark in Delightful Dijon, Dusty Durango, Real Red, and Old Olive inks (SU).  The color was applied to a stamp block and smooshed onto the paper.  The paper was textured with the Timeworn Type embossing folder from Stampin Up. The panel was trimmed to approximately 3 1/2 x 5 inches. The trees from Stampin Up’s Inspiring Canopy were cut from gold foil card stock and layered over the water color panel. The trim from Unity’s Cardstock Edge Dies was cut from Feels Like Autumn 6 x 6 DSP from SU, and added to the panel.  The tree trunks were trimmed and a grass border was cut and added for a more finshed look. The sentiment “Some Days are Just Hard” from SU’s - Prairi...

 Hello! Today’s card was inspired from AAA’s Cards sketch #326.  To join in on the fun, click the link  (HERE) .  For my card,  I cut a piece of Night of Navy (SU) cardstock as the base, measuring 5 1/2 in. x 4 1/2 in. I trimmed a piece of Multi Media paper to 4 x 5 1/4in. I used a stamp block and added Misti Moonlight ink (SU).  I added a generous amount of water from a brush and “smooshed” the block onto the paper that was brushed with water.   I used Impression Obsession’s sled die. I cut 3 from light weight cardstock and glued them together for dimension. A small red pom-pom was added to the hat for a pop of color.  A brush of Wink of Stella was added to add to the sillouette. Snow flakes were stamped from Stampin Up’s Peaceful Place Stamp set in Seaside Spray ink (SU).   The sentiment “Joyus” was stamped in Versafine Onyx black ink from Stampin Up’s Joyful Noel set. Thanks for stopping by! - Valerie Kaye

 Hello! I finished up my card tonight for the Build Your Holiday Card Stash Linky Party.  Tonight is the last night, so I am just getting this card in under the wire!  The falling for the Holidays Linky Party is a fun way of building up your stash, and a chance to win cool gifts from the many sponsors!   (Video Here) Envelope was made with - Oh Holy Night DSP from Stampin up and the (SU) punch board. If you don’t have a punch board, Concord and 9th has options envelope cutting dies or envelope liner dies.   Amazon has an envelope punch board  (HERE) *** Crystal’s blog is a great place that  shares sketches each month to help crafters create fun cards through the year. For my card, I am using Unity’s Oh Come Let Us Adore Him stamp.  This is a beautifully detailed red rubber stamp, and part of the Stash Builders collection.  These stamps are special because Unity stamps will debut a new stamp at a phenomenal price each month.  🥰 I’m actua...

 Hi there! I have really enjoyed adding dimension to cards different ways, and today I thought I would try the technique of a pop up panel. I love the simplicity of this card, but the clear window really adds an extra special element to the card. I learned of this technique from Jennifer McGuire.  You can learn a few different ways of creating a pop up card  (HERE) For this card, I used the stamp from Unity called - Oh Come Let Us Adore Him.   For watercoloring, I stamped onto multi-media paper with Ranger Sepia permanent ink.  To paint this scene, I used Delightful Dijon as a medium yellow shade for the hay, Tip Top Taupe as a light wash over the manger, and Early Espresso for the hair and shadows.  The blanket I used a Soft Seafoam Marker to create shadows.  For the skin tone, I used a Blushing Bride Marker and picked color up with a paint brush. (Stampin up Ink and Markers) To finish the blanket, I added Wink of Stella for a Dazzling white effect. T...

 Greetings!  Today’s card was fun to create.  This week’s theme from the Inspired by challenge used grey, black and orange, and candy as the theme.  For my card, I cut 3  labels from Unity’s - Hide and Eek ephemera set, and mounted them into a piece of printed paper from Unity’s - Spooky Days Paper Pack. I used the bats and candy from an older Hello Bluebird set called - Halloween Fun.  The images were stamped in Versafine Onyx black ink and colored with markers.  Wink of Stella was added to the eyes of the bats and the candy for sugary sparkle. The center panel was added to a card base that was left over from a previous card.  I had used the  inked the Timeworn Type embossing folder and ran it through my Big Shot.   Thanks for stopping by! - Valerie Kaye