VSN Go for the Gold

Continuing on with Splitcoaststampers Virtual Stamp Night cards, 

Compulsory Round ~ Back to the Fundamentals:

Use only paper, ink, and stamps.  Of course I cheated a little bit by using coordinating dies rather than fussy cutting.

I'm using an old color combination from Sunday Stamps from my "idea stash".  These challenges are a great way to use some retired product and scraps!

Stamps: Warmest Heart, Sophisticated Sled, Falling Snow BG; Paper: Flirty Flamingo, Darling Duckling, Smoky Slate, Gray Granite, Whisper White; Ink: Crushed Curry, Moody Mauve, Smoky Slate, Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends; Accessories: Warmest Heart Dies, Sophisticated Sled Dies, Die-Cutting Machine.

Made of Snow:

Ski hills & snow people.  Vikki Jo mentioned snow angels, and I was wondering if I could come up with something with my current stash.

I hand-sketched a mask for the snow angel and circle punch for the footprints.

Stamps: Cookie-Cutter Christmas, Christmas Pines, Mountain Adventure; Paper: Cloud Cover, Whisper White; Ink: Mint Macaron, Emerald Envy, Balmy Blue, Cloud Cover, Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends; Accessories: Blender Pen, Blending Brush, Deckled Rectangle Dies, Die-Cutting Machine.

Gold Stars on a CAS Card:

Well, I'm attempting a CAS card in terms of layers, but the background has quite a bit of work into it.  (Masking and stamping was an option wrought with possibility for error.)

I blended Darling Duckling ink on the background, and then splattered with masking fluid.  Once dry, I blended Island Indigo and Night of Navy ink to create a nighttime sky.  Not showing up well are the die-cut stars made with gold foil paper.

I'm using another previous Sunday Stamps challenge from my "ideas stash", a sketch by Lisa.

Stamps: Musical Jamboree; Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Gold Foil Sheets; Ink: Darling Duckling, Island Indigo, Night of Navy, Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends; Accessories: Masking Fluid, Blending Brushes, Hexagons EF, Snowy Wonder Dies, Die-Cutting Machine.

Boardwalk Fun

Hi All!  Today I'll show you the card I put together for my downline shoebox swap.  I wanted to make a card that had a little more depth.  A z-fold card is always fun, and the orientation of the rollercoaster dictated the card open on the right rather than the traditional left.

Here's the closed view.

The z-fold dimensions: card base 4-1/4 x 9-1/2", scored at 5-1/2 & 7-1/2"; bottom strip 1-1/2 x 9-1/2", scored at 2 & 4".

Stamps: Boardwalk Fun; Paper: Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, Garden Green, Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Beautiful Bokeh DSP, Nests of Winter DSP; Ink: Smoky Slate; Accessories: Starburst Sequins, Sponge Brayer, Boardwalk Fun Dies, Die-Cutting Machine.

The weather today is windy and cold, windchill down to -13F, so I hunkered down and alternated between reading and stamping.  For fun, I played along with the recent Virtual Stamp Night on Splitcoaststampers.

Bonus VSN Color Challenge:

The theme is "Go for the Gold".  After watching the Winter Olympics Day 1 skiathlon, I was inspired to make an Italian flag color challenge card.  I pulled out the retired Let the Good Times Roll bundle, to pair with Boardwalk Fun, and altered by z-fold dimensions to fit the rollercoaster.

These z-fold dimensions are card base 4-1/4 x 8-1/2", scored at 5-1/2 & 7"; bottom strip 1-1/8 x 8-1/2", scored at 1-1/2 & 3".

Stamps: Let the Good Times Roll, Boardwalk Fun; Paper: Poppy Parade, Garden Green, Mossy Meadow, Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Flowering Fields DSP; Ink: Poppy Parade, Old Olive, Garden Green, Memento Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Fine Sparkle Gems, Thrill Ride Pop Up Dies, Boardwalk Fun Dies, Die-Cutting Machine.

SSC379 True Blue Joy

Hi Ho, Welcome to another Sunday Stamp challenge.  I have a bunch of scraps on my desk from swap-making, so I thought I'd come up with a sketch to use some of them.

This card uses December's Product of the Month, True Blue Florals DSP.  It is so pretty!  I'm a sucker for a Balmy Blue background.

Here's my sketch for this round.  Come join us!

Stamps: Traditional Labels; Paper: Night of Navy, Whisper White, True Blue Florals DSP, Night of Navy DSP, Vellum, 2022-24 In Color Glimmer Paper; Ink: Night of Navy; Accessories: Loose Frosted Dots, Sprig Punch, Thoughtful Wishes Dies, Traditional Labels Dies, Die-Cutting Machine.

SSC378 Life is a Beautiful Ride

Hey All!  Welcome to another Sunday Stamps challenge.  We need something to look forward to in the dead of winter, and Valentine's is just the ticket!

Here's this week's color combination; hope you'll join us!

Stamps: Bike Ride, Beautiful Ride; Paper: Real Red, Polished Pink, Pretty in Pink, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Whisper White, Tranquil Textures DSP, 2022-24 In Color Glimmer Paper; Ink: Real Red, Soft Suede, Memento Tuxedo Black; Accessories: 2021-23 In Color Jewels, Cookie Cutter Builder Punch, Build a Bike Dies, Die-Cutting Machine, Dimensionals.

SSC377 Christmas Mushrooms ~ The Magic of Winter

Hey-ho, and welcome to the first Sunday Stamp challenge of the new year!  Today I'll share what I put together for holiday cards.  I can't stand the hustle and bustle run-up to Christmas.  It steals my joy, so I always target creating New Year's cards instead.

When I was a kid, we had a beautiful hand-blown glass mushroom ornament on the tree. 

That memory led me down the path in search of the lucky Christmas mushroom. With either nature or good luck themes, Christmas mushrooms (fly agaric) under fir trees are associated with northern European (German) or Asian winter solstice celebrations, symbolizing luck for the coming year and the magic of winter.  Here's another interesting reference to Christmas mushrooms.

I tried to keep the card relatively simple since I had to make a bunch, and of course I didn't have the paper I wanted for the juniper berries.  Had to wait for an order from eBay to show up for a little bit of sparkle.  The inside sentiment for my card is, "Wishing you a magical New Year."

The mushroom in the background is a previously unshared wood blank I decorated last year with Sale-a-Bration goodies: Toadstool Garden DSP, Fresh Freesia Seam Binding, Purple Adhesive-Backed Sequins, plus Ladybug Trinkets.

This week's sketch is by Lisa.

Stamps: Terrific Toadstools, Christmas to Remember; Paper: Evening Evergreen, Basic Black, Whisper White, Toadstool Gardens DSP, 2022-24 In Color Glimmer Paper; Ink: Real Red, Gray Granite, Versamark; Accessories: White Embossing Powder, Subtle Embossing Folder, Christmas Greenery Dies, Die-Cut Machine, Dimensionals.

Falliday Fest 2024

I'm back with some more end-of-the-year Falliday Fest challenges.  It's been a few years since I partook in New Year's Eve stamping challenges, and it was relaxing to get back to creating for fun.

The Tastes of the Season

For the smells and tastes of the holidays, I chose my grandmother's gingerbread cookies.

Stamps: Gingerbread Man; Paper: Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Mint Macaron, Garden Green, Pecan Pie, Whisper White, Country Gingham DSP; Ink: Pecan Pie, Versamark; Accessories: Delightful Decorative Dots, White Embossing Powder, Gingerbread Man Dies, Die-Cutting Machine.

Metal Foil Tape ATC

Combining the metal foil tape & ATC challenges, I basically followed along with this video to create the background. 

I grabbed some weird things to make texture, like a Pedro's bicycle cleaning tool and spiral-bound notebook.  The hardest part is to figure out what layers to put on top without covering up all the background interest.

Stamps: You're Amazing, Plane & Simple; Paper: Pecan Pie, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla Scraps; Ink: Cajun Craze, Pecan Pie; Accessories: Amuse Creative Candy Clear Sticker, Misc Embellishments from Stash, Sponge, Crystal Effects, Metal Aluminum Tape, Drywall Tape, Black Acrylic Paint, Art Anthology Dimensional Paint, Stylus, Garage Gears Dies, Die-Cutting Machine.

Geometric Christmas Wreath

Rather than masking a wreath area, I die-cut a wreath and used leaf and holly masks to color it.

Stamps: Traditional Labels; Paper: Real Red, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Plaid Tidings DSP; Ink: Real Red, Old Olive, Garden Green, Memento Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Embellishments from 12 Days of Crafting Advent Calendar Kit, Blending Brushes, Holly Berry Builder Punch, Christmas Greenery Dies, Traditional Labels Dies, Layering Circles Dies.

Triple Z-Fold

Here's the PDF instructions to the fun fold.  When I try this fold again, I'll edit the instructions to make a 5-1/2" tall card.

Stamps: Turtle-y Awesome; Paper: Shaded Spruce, Basic Black, Whisper White, Turtle-y Cute DSP; Ink: Versamark; Accessories: Shades of Green Hexagons, White Embossing Powder, Turtle-y Awesome Dies, Spotlight on Nature Dies, 12 Days of Crafting Advent (postage die), Die-Cutting Machine, Dimensionals.

Crafting Advent Calendar

Hey All, I got a chance to make some cards with 12 Days of Crafting Advent Calendar.  It was my first experience with a crafting advent calendar, and it was pretty fun to get a surprise every day.

HCE15 ~ Bring in the New Year with Fun Color

I used both stamps and stencils to create quarter panel of a Split 4 Technique card.  I also played along with an old challenge at Splitcoaststampers, Holiday Challenge Extravaganza HCE15, a color challenge.

Here's a screenshot of most of the product in the advent calendar.  I've got a bunch of cards in my future in order to put these goodies to use.

Stamps: 12 Days of Crafting Advent Calendar; Paper: Rose Red, Basic Black, Whisper White; Ink: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Memento Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Gold Glitter Dots, Flirty Flamingo Baker's Twine, Blending Brushes.

Christmas Faux Shutter/Fractured Card

So I realized that the advent flower images could pass as poinsettias.  So on to SCS 2024 Falliday Fest challenge list.

Another demonstrator Terri Gaines used the flower petals for leaves as well, which was pretty clever.

Stamps: 12 Days of Crafting Advent Calendar, TE All Together - Christmas; Paper: Evening Evergreen, Basic Black, Whisper White, Painted Christmas DSP; Ink: Evening Evergreen, Poppy Parade, Real Red, Versamark; Accessories: Gold Glitter Dots, White Embossing Powder, Die-Cutting Machine, Dimensionals.