Running Late

Freshly Made Sketches - I rotated the sketch.  The pattern paper is from StampinUp.

Color Throwdown - The background looks blue on my computer, but it really is purple.  I stenciled the circles on the top part of the card. 

NBUS - The stamps (image and sentiments) are an old set from Taylored Expressions. 

Here's a look at the inside:

As always, thanks for taking a look. 

Father's Day

This is for my hubby for Father's Day.  He is REALLY  into cars -- of all types.  The stamps, word stamp-die, and flame stencil are all from HoneyBee Stamps. The wood frame die is from Hero Arts.  The stamping is embossed in sliver, and I colored the car with distress inks.  

1) Stamplorations Stencil Challenge - Anything Goes - Can you see the stenciled flames on the side of the car? 

2) Double Trouble Paper Crafting Challenge - This is a new challenge for me.  

Thing 1 (Trouble Maker) -- create a masculine project

 Thing 2 (Double Dare) - Link to "Use Your Stuff" Challenge

 Thing 3 (Twisted Sister) - use at least one round item -- do tires count?

3) Use Your Stuff - Masculine or Father's Day

4) NBUS - Never Before Used Schtuff - the stamp and die (from Honeybee) have never been used before

5) Cardz 4 Guyz - Father's Day

Here is a pretty picture of a recent sunset. Looks like cotton candy.  

Thanks for taking a look.  Until next time.  😷

at Home - Get well Soon

By now you've heard of, and been impacted by the Coronavirus.  I live in Suffolk County NY - one of the areas that have been hit somewhat hard.  Like many of you, we have voluntarily (or involuntarily) limiting our outside exposures.  

So I created this art journal page to reflect today's life.  I don't think too much explanation is needed as to my meaning.  Stamping and creating and journaling are helping me to stay sane.  I can't say I'm always smiling.  But I try.

Here are some close ups so you can read my journaling. 

And if you'd like to read more of my thoughts, check out yesterday's blog post - here is a snapshot:

This is going into the following challenges:

Stamplorations March Stencil Challenge

Happy Little Stampers -

 

Creative Artiste Challenge Blog  

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge- Stencil Fun

Products used:

Stencils: Tim Holtz (sun rays & cobblestone), TCW (bricks), Hero Arts ? (clouds)
Stamps: Paper Smooches (virus), Dylusions (house: I inked the 4 corners, then extended the house), Inky Antics (stamping girl), Technique Tuesday (HOME)
Dies:  Lawn Fawn (virus), ??  Get well soon sentiment
Other products used:  acrylic painted background

Thanks for looking.  
Until next time.  Stay well!

Hey Hot Stuff

This is for my hubby for our 37th anniversary.

I love pepperoni pizza -- would you believe I did not know what pepperoni was before I met him?  It's true!  One of our favorite date nights was to go to one of several Wine and Cheese places -- usually little homes with several little rooms that were repurposed with tables and chairs - -board games, and of course cheese platters (with pepperoni) and wine.  Nice and cozy - perfect for dates.  I do miss those places.

This stamp from Sugar Peas is perfect.
I used their sketch: Sugar Peas Sketch #45 with a few tweaks.

At Shopping Our Stash Weekly The theme is 

Something For The Big or Biggest Boy - 

I do think my hubby is the Big Boy.


At Addicted to Stamps the theme is Make Your Mark.  I colored the Pizza Chef with Copic Markers. And then popped him up with some dimensional tape.

And at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge the theme is  Anything Goes

 I made the background with a stencil from The Crafter's Workshop -- I colored the embossing paste with a bit of fired brick distress ink.  After that dried, I sponged some Antique Linen distress ink over the paper to give it a more authentic pizza parlor feel.  I added a bit of Crystal Effects to the pizza, his hat, and the wood pole.  

That's all of now.  Off to do my weekend chores.  Weekends are indeed too short.  It was fun while it lasted.  Thanks for looking - have a great day. 

Into the Sunset

For my husband for our anniversary - 36 years next week.  We are off from work next week -- he's pulling out and swapping an engine on his car, and I'm crafting in my room.  We'll both be happy doing our hobbies -- but we will certainly take some time for a nice ride (not with the top down yet . . . too cold) and go out for dinner.  And of course see our kids too.

Virginia's View - Layers and Dimensions - I colored the image (from Deep Red) with watercolors, and then partially die cut it.  Then cut the scalloped oval from pattern paper (DCWV) and sponged it with some more orangey colors.  These are layered and popped.

I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches - I flipped this upside down -- I'm not sure if this still qualifies  . . .

Always Playing with Paper - it's their Anniversary too -- Anything Goes

And  for Cardz 4 Guyz  - Something Beginning with S -- Sunset and Steve (that's my husband)

I created the rest of the Sunset with 2 stencils.  I sponged the rays with a Tim Holtz stencil, then shifted it a bit.  Then put a Simon Says Stamp falling hearts over the white space and sponged in the blue hearts.  They look more like flying birds  . . . oh well - up close they are hearts.  

Thanks for looking and commenting.  For those of you celebrating Easter or Passover, I hope you are having a good holiday.

Chester's Home sweet Home

When my son and daughter-in-law bought their first house this year, I wimped out in the card department -- and gave them one from my stash.  It has weighed a bit on me that I did not create a just-for-them creation.  So I've been trying to think of what to do.  

Here is my thought process:  the outside of the house is made of brick painted an off-white.  So I created the brick panel with a stencil -- first stamped the Home sweet Home onto the stencil.  Then I used translucent embossing paste.  This gave a really nice texture while letting the words show through.  Next distress ink filled in the "cement" area.   So I made a whole panel of that and then  . . . . time went by again.. . .. 

what to do with this brick wall???  Until I found this dog-on-a-charir stamp (in my stash)--- a NBUS stamp, I think from Whipper Snapper.   

And I knew I had to create it into Chester on his favorite chair.  So again I looked through my stash, and found this pattern paper.  I colored Chester with copic markers; and cut him out and put him onto the paper-pieced chair. I flocked his ear -- so cool.

I am using this sketch from Deconstructing Jen

And this week at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday blog - it is Anything Goes,

Perfect card for them -- One of a Kind!

Work has kept me very busy -- my crafting time comes in just minutes here and there.  So I've not done much card-making (which makes me sad), but I am also not buying as much (which makes me a bit happy).

As always, thanks for looking.

Congratulations on your Engagement

My son is asking his lady to marry him.  I hope she says, "Yes!"  She has a small collection of snails -- not real ones - garden ornaments mostly.  She and my son also have a fist bump, that turns into a snail of sorts.
This is for them.

I recently took an online card class, Stretch your Stamps 2.  The teachers of this class offer amazing ways to really use the products you already have (at least I have -- as I am a bit obsessive about collecting products)  :)

One of the techniques is using your sentiment stamps with a stencil.  I used that technique here.  Now, I don't have a stencil of a hill or clouds.  But I do have cloud dies, so I used one to cut a cloud out a piece of hard plastic packaging.  And I free hand cut the hill out of the same material.  Then I use these as my mask; to stamp the sentiment and sponge around the cut-outs to give more definition to the shape.

The hearts stencil is from Heidi Swapp.  The snails are from Outlines stamps; a company that is now, sadly, out of business.  The sentiment is from a Paper Trey Ink set.

I watercolored the snails with distress inks, then used Wink of Stella for some sparkle.  I used crystal effects on top of both shells to give them a smooth shell-like feel.  I think you can see it in this close-up.

I am putting this into the following challenges:

1. Less is More - the theme is "Animal"

2. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge "Anything Goes"

3. Color Throwdown 

4. Clear it out Challenge - Anything Goes, Just use your Stash.  Since the snail stamps are quite old, I think this qualifies! I didn't buy anything extra for this card (I do have a lot of "stash".  

5. Try it on Tuesday - Use your Stash!  I also found the heart-shaped crystal floating around . . . and only one!  Perfect!

6. Crazy Challenge - Cute Little Animals.  Don't you just love the eyelashes on the girl snail.  I drew them on, they are not on the stamp.

7. All Sorts Challenge - use Masking and/or Stenciling.  In addition to the hand-made stencils, I also masked the snails, so they would be place better on the hills.

Thanks so much for looking and taking your time to leave a comment.  I love reading them.

Have a great day!

Feel Better Soon

A good friend recently had surgery - this is for her.

When I saw the sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch , I just knew I had to create something (I'm also working on another card with this sketch) 

Recently I was at retirement party (not mine), and the table cloth was pink with this white and brown florally scroll -- I tried to capture it with my cell phone, but of course it looked better with a glass of wine.  And this has been on my mind that I need to do something like this for a card.  

So I looked through my stash and found a stencil (I don't know the brand) and played around for a while until I came up with the color arrangement I liked.  There were several failed attempts -- aqua backgrounds, too many layers, yada yada . 

I used the colors from  Just Add Ink : 

First I stenciled with a pigment white ink - and let that dry -- then I used Disress ink (I forget which color -- I tried several) I outlined some parts of the image with brown Spica pen, added some bling and done. 

The pieces are actually "inlaid".  So the part I cut out of the middle, I used on the inside of the card:

The sentiment is from Paper Trey Ink.  

I am also putting this into The Curtain Call Challenge where they are celebrating their first anniversary with some amazing sponsors!  The colors on their inspiration photo are very similar to the colors on my card:

Thanks again for looking!  I hope you are having a good day. 

Father's Day Journey

So after a great morning taking a class with Tim Holtz today and lunch with good friends, I realized I needed a card for the best man in the world -- my husband.  So I decide to put some of my new purchases to use :)

The stamps are from Tim Holtz (I've had these a while, but they are NBUS).  The flames are a stencil from The Crafter's Workshop.  The dot fade stencil is Tim Holtz.  And I used the new marker spritz tool on the bottom portion of the card.  I think you will be seeing more from this too!  It it sooooo easy to use!

CAS Colours and Sketches 

CASE(E) this Sketch 

Iron Craft Challenge - Inspiration #1 - which is the sketch and I used the color selection in the top left corner

Father's day is next Sunday.  I am glad to get this done today.  Starting tomorrow we will be dog-sitting for my son and girlfriend's dog for a week.  So between work and dog-walking, there will be no time for crafting.  Guiness is a terrific and such a cuddle-loving dog.  It should be a fun week.

I am entering this card in these other challenges:

Simon Says Stamp - Father's Day

Splendiferous Challenge-for-Boys

Moving Along with the Times - Father's Day

The Crafter's Cafe  - create a masculine card

Cards for Guyz - Father's Day

Edited to add this to Words to Live By - Oh the Places You'll Go - challenge.

A great cardmaker and blogger, Darnell is the guest designer here.  And after checking this out, I think this card fits the requirements of the challenge. Here is a (poor quality - sorry) photo of the inside sentiment.   I hope you can read it.  It is appropriate for many things.

Thanks for stopping by to look.  I hope you'll join and become a follower!