Creating in Black and White + One

Hello! I created this card using Black and White plus a pop of Red.  Using the Snowflake Mandala Stencil from GKD, I inked a white cardstock with Black Amalgam ink and trimmed the panel to attach to a card base of GKD Red Velvet CS. I stamped and die cut the word Hello.  I layered the word with Red Velvet CS before attaching. 

Tip: To make a layer for the die cut word, I traced the outline of the die on CS and fussy cut.  This gives a perfect "shadow" layer for any die. 

Challenge:
Monthly Mix Challenge at Gina K Designs: Make a card using black and white and a pop of one color.

Happy Little Stampers: July Stencil Challenge Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by. I love reading your comments. 

Hugs, Theresa

Happy Easter

Wishing everyone who celebrates today - Happy Easter!

Challenges:
Can You Handle the Pressure?  Challenge Anything Goes Embossing with a Twist of Easter

Supplies Used: GKD Stamp, GKD Green ink, White CS, Yellow CS, Yellow Satin Ribbon, Cuttlebug Anna Griffin Border EF, Printed Image from file.

Pray for the people of Ukraine. Thanks for stopping by. Hugs, Theresa

To Save or Throwaway

Hello! Are you one of those card makers, like me, who is always seeing an item that could be repurposed on a card and hoard all sorts of items for that purpose?  I am trying to use up some of these saved items instead of just throwing in a box.  This week I purchased a garden flag and the picture on the package was perfect for a card.  (See photo below) So I trimmed the glossy photo from the package and attached to a scrap of blue cardstock and then to a card base of Textured Green CS from my stash.  Stamped the sentiment from my stamp stash with GKD Blue ink and heat embossed with Clear EP to create a Birthday Card. 

Challenge:
As You Like It Challenge: To recycle or buy new.  My card is made from a recycled package. I really like to buy new but there is a great satisfaction when I can salvage something and create something without spending money.  And it's also a challenge to my creative side to do so.  

Photo of Flag Package

Praying for the people of Ukraine. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Hugs, Theresa

Whimsical Flowers

Hello!  I've decided to try and make more than one card at a time since it is easy to do once you have stamps and supplies out.  I have used Gina K Design stamps and a die from Whimsical Wildflowers for these cards using partial die cutting and water coloring on both designs. I stamped the floral image twice on watercolor paper and heat embossed one with gold EP and one with white EP.  I water colored each with DOI Picked Raspberry and DI Forest Moss using a water brush. I used the GKD Die to partially cut the image.  The top card was finished by placing the cut portion on top of a Pattern Paper that I created with GKD Background Stamp Petite Flourish using GKD Fresh Asparagus ink on white CS.  Finished this one with a card base of GKD Fresh Asparagus CS and a Gold Embossed GKD sentiment. . 

I kept the second card clean and simple by simply adding the partially cut image to a card base of Yellow CS and stamping the GKD sentiment with Distress Ink Forest Moss.  I found it hard to water color this image since it was embossed with white EP but I just tried to follow the lines by looking at the first card that I colored first 

Challenges:

Top Card-

Mod Squad Challenge: Create Your Own Patterned Paper

Seize the Birthday: #180 Anything Goes Birthday,  I love their new graphics. 

Alphabet Challenge: T is for Try Something Different. First time to try partial die cutting in this way.

 Bottom Card:

CAS Mix Up Card Challenge: January Partial Die Cutting + Stamping + Your Choice.  I chose to use water coloring and heat embossing.

Happy Little Stampers: January Watercolor Challenge-Anything goes + Optional: Die Cuts

Have a great day! I love reading your comments. Theresa

DIY Patterned Paper

 Welcome to my studio!  I am sharing a couple more Christmas cards made with Gina K Stamps that I also used for creating my own patterned papers.  I used poinsettia stamps from the Merry & Bright and Joyful Holiday sets.   The sentiments (heat embossed with Clear EP) and other stamps were from the Holiday Wreath builder.
Other Supplies: White CS, GKD Red and Green CS, GKD Ribbon, GKD  EP, GKD Green Ink, Memento Red Ink, Red Nail Heads, Spellinders Circle and Oval Dies.
Challenges:
Modsquad Challenges: Create your own patterned paper.
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge: Always about using patterned paper.  Hope DIY paper is allowed. 

Have a great day! I love reading your comments. Theresa

Buttons on My Tag

Hello!  I have so many buttons in my craft stash and I love when I find any use for them.  I keep saying I am going to make some jewelry with some of them but never have.  But I did use some of them on a tag that I am entering in Tag You're It! Challenge #96 which inspired me to pull out some square buttons featuring flowers and one has a butterfly.  I believe I receive these in a Blog Candy or maybe found in a garage sale. Not sure!  I found a dotted pattern paper with some glitter effects that I thought was perfect as a background for the buttons.  I shaped my own tag design using my trimmer and some corner punches.  Stamped words on a ivory panel with GKD Fresh Asparagus ink using stamps from GKD Tropical Flowers set. Sewed on the buttons with green twine found in my leftovers.  The bit of twine was just enough for the tag.  Finished with a round pink button and the last of the twine for attaching the tag to a gift. (I colored the button with a Copic marker to better coordinate with the colors.) Used foam tape to adhere the two panels together. 

Challenges:
Tag You're It: Challenge #96-Graphic below.

Have a great day! I love reading your comments. Theresa

Patriotic Poppies

Hello!  I'm back! I took out time from making cards for a few months to work on some projects that I made with many of the photos in my files.  I created several videos to preserve the photos on DVD's that we have made on our trips to Captiva, in our gardens, and of other events the past few years.  

Now I am back to making cards and entering challenges.  Today I have a card made with Gina K Design stamps from Inspiring Poppies, a set that I have never used.  I inked the image with GKD Amalgan Black ink on white CS and colored with Red Copics.  I trimmed the image with an oval die and placed on a mat of GKD Red CS cut with a scalloped oval die....dies from Spellbinders.  Attached this to a white CS layer and a card base of GKD Navy CS.  Finished with a sentiment from the same set stamped in Memento Paris Dusk ink on a white circle layered with a Red Scalloped circle....circles cut with Spellbinders dies. Just for fun, I added a Navy Star Brad.  

Challenges:

Gina K Designs Monthly Mix Challenge: July "Flag, You're It". Use a flag’s colors on your creation. Chose Red, White, Blue for America's flag.  Poppies always remind me of our veterans. 

Die Cut Divas: July Challenge is anything goes with optional twist- Patriotic. 

Dies R Us Challenge: Challenge #124 - Anything Goes using dies by companies carried at the DRU Store. Used Spellbinder dies. 

The House That Stamps Built: DCC J319 Red, White, and Blue

Tuesday Morning Sketch: #510 Sketch.  Took liberties to use oval shapes instead of rectangle.

Have a great day! I love reading your comments. Theresa

Birthday Roses

Welcome!  I have been playing with a stencil, a die, stamps,  Ombre colors, and water coloring to create this birthday card.  I made the Ombre background by inking DOI Lucky Clover and Cracked Pistachio with Gina K Stencil Rounded Swirl on white CS.  I stamped the Rose stamp from GKD Tropical Blooms with GKD Amalgam Black ink and water colored the image with a water brush using the same green inks and Picked Raspberry DOI. Used GKD die to cut the rose and attached using foam to pop up the image.  Stamped the GKD sentiment with the pink ink. Finished with a green card base.
Always Fun Challenges: #104 Birthday
Mod Squad Challenge: Stencil Your Background
The House That Stamps Built: DCC43 Use a Stencil (2)
Double D Challenges: Watercolors
Happy Little Stampers: April Watercolor Challenge Anything Goes with optional twist Brights
Creative with Stamps: Challenge #37 Birthday
Gina K Designs Monthly Mix Challenge: Ombre Ink Blending

Have a great day! I love reading your comments. Theresa

Bokeh Card with Watercoloring

Welcome!  I had so much fun making my first card with the Bokeh technique that I had to do another one but this time I used water coloring instead of sponging. On a panel of watercolor paper, I wet the paper with water using a brush and then dropped in colors with a water brush using Candied Apple, Lucky Clover, and Cracked Pistachio DOI until the panel was to my liking  This card has colors that contrast more than in my first attempt at Bokeh technique which was more monochromatic.  I then used my homemade template of circles with Hero Arts White ink and a dauber to create the Bokeh effect.  This is really fun to do as you watch the outcome of the design.  I decided to tear the edges of the finished panel to use a smaller section that I attached to a card base of GKD Grass Green CS, added a die cut of a branch with leaves, and stamped a sentiment from GKD  Whimsical Wildflowers set with GKD Fresh Asparagus ink.   I added some texture by embossing the lower part of the card with Cuttlebug EF Gingham Border.
I like the feeling of movement on this card that resulted from the Bokeh circles, the torn edges, the spreading branch, and the font in the sentiment.  It all seems to flow together.
Challenges:
Make My Monday Challenge: #87 Use words or sentiment.
Cupcake Inspirations: CIC461 Use Something New.  Bokeh technique with water coloring is new to me.
Happy Little Stampers: January Watercolor Challenge-Anything Goes with Optional Twist: Texture
Monthly Mix Challenge: Gina K Designs-My Sentiments Exactly
CAS Mix Up Card Challenge: January- Bokeh + Stamping + Your Choice.  Used Bokeh, stamping, water coloring, torn edges, dry embossing with embossing folder, die cutting.

Have a great day! I love reading your comments. Theresa

Trio of Cards

 Hello!  Today I have 3 cards to share that I made using the same Gina K stamp set called You Make Me Smile but used different techniques for each card.  The top card was stamped on GKD Moonlit Fog CS with GKD new Amalgam Ink that works perfectly with Copic Markers, Watercolors and Colored Pencils,  I used Pencils to color the image and simply attached to a darker gray card base. 

For the second card, I stamped with the same Amalgam ink on White CS but colored the image with Copics which I favor when coloring flowers. 

I decided to use watercolor paper and Distress Oxide inks for the third card.   I stamped and water colored the image with Picked  Raspberry and Peeled Paint inks using a water brush. 

I had fun playing with new ink and stamps from Gina K that were a birthday gift from my DH.

Challenges:

Stamp TV: Monthly Mix Challenge-use gray as one of the main colors in your creation (not just an accent color).  The top card fits this challenge which used gray card stocks,

Simon Wednesday Challenge: Simon Says Bright and Cheerful. The second and third cards fits this challenge. 

Addicted to Stamps and More: #297  Make Your Mark. Made my Mark with Pencils, Copics, and Watercoloring.

Color Throwdown: #498 Use Peach, Dark Pink, Light Pink. Green.  The third card uses all the colors of the challenge.

Less Is More: Challenge 373 Friendship. Used a single image for clean and simple card.

Happy Little Stampers: June CAS Challenge Smile

 Have a great day! I love reading your comments. Theresa

Black and White and....

Hello!  Today I have another Birthday card created with GKD Wild Blossoms set.  I like stamping this flower image in black and chose it for this black and white card with a touch of gold. I simply stamped the image and sentiment using GKD Black Onyx ink and GKD White CS.  I edged this panel with Pilot Gold Metallic Pen and adhered to a Black Card base. I added GKD White Organdy Ribbon with Gold Thread layered over a narrow Black Satin Ribbon.  Added a few more touches of gold on some of the flower centers with Gold Metallic Gelly Roll pen. 

Challenges:

Stamp TV Mix It Up Monday Challenge: What's Black and White and...?

CAS on Friday: Challenge #111 Flowers

Happy Little Stampers: July CAS Challenge Theme is Birthday

City Crafter Challenge Blog: Week 369 Black and White

Have a great day! I love reading your comments. Theresa

Shake, Shake, Shake

Hello!  Today I have a shaker card to share....not one of my favorite type of cards because I always have a difficult time photographing to show the items in the shaker window.  But they are still fun to make.   I made this one for the Mix It Up Monday challenge Shake, Shake, Shake at Stamp TV.  Since I am on a quest to use products and stamps that I seldom use or never used,  I began by selecting what I would use in the shaker from some old stash of confetti.  When I found these musical notes, I decided to go with a musical theme.  I found this GKD Label stamp in the Lovely Labels 2  set as well as the sentiment to go with my theme and also pulled out Cuttlebug EF Allegro to create my card with Red and White CS, GKD Black Onyx ink,  circle dies, a circle of acetate and a foam sheet.   The result is shown above.

For this shaker, instead of using foam tape  I used a panel of white foam cut slightly smaller than the white panel and cut out a circle for the window.  The foam was taped between the card base and top layer.  I used a die machine to cut the circle from the foam but next time I think I will cut by hand as the foam was flatten a bit by the machine.

Have a great day! I love reading your comments. Theresa

A Tower of Giraffes

Hello! Back for another post of another  CAS Card. I had been trying to come up with an idea for the Challenge at CAS-ology for the cue card RUN and remembered a stamp of running giraffes.  I stamped the pair of giraffes 4 times to create a Tower ...yes, that is what a group of giraffes is called.   I used a printed cardstock from DCWV Safari Chic Matstack  to create the scene of running giraffes with an African tree and sentiment all stamped in GKD Black Onyx ink.  I placed on a card base of DCWV Black. I hope this qualifies as a CAS card --I think I left enough blank space.


Challenge Links:
CAS-ology: CUE CARD is RUN
Fab 'n' Funky: Challenge is Walk on the Wild side

 I enjoy all your comments. Thank you. Theresa

Christmas in July

Hello!  I have been resisting making Christmas cards this early but there  are so many challenges to make Christmas cards that I finally gave in and made one.   I pulled out 2 GKD stamps from my Christmas stash to create this.  I stamped the tree from Very Merry Christmas set by Theresa and the sentiment from Festive Frame by Melanie with GKD Black Onyx ink.  I was very pleased with her new ink which I had just received in an order...it is indeed the blackest black ink. and works great with Copics!  I colored the image with Copics G 99, R 24, 46, Y28, YG 63 and cut out with Nesties Rectangle die.  I hardly used the rectangle or square dies but this was a good fit. My papers used were also from GKD - White , Red Velvet, and Fresh Asparagus. I embossed the green mat with Cuttlebug EF Divine Swirls. I kept this a simple design....no embellishments for easy mailing.

Challenges:
Stamp TV: Mix it up Monday-Christmas in July STV13MON 27
Whoopsi Daisy: Christmas In July
Fab 'n' Funky:  Christmas in July
ABC Christmas Challenge: N is for no embellishments
Craft Challenge: Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas: Challenge is Trees...use at least one.
Christmas Card Challenges:  Embossing

I have not been paid for endorsing any products in this post.
All opinions are my own and have not been solicited.
I enjoy all your comments. Thank you. Theresa