Double D Challenge: Feathers

Presenting another Double D Challenge -- Feathers!

Would you believe I have only one feather stamp in my vast collection?  And no feather dies.  However, I do have lots of birds so I chose this trio of Hero Arts birds to sing their songs with my one feather stamped repeatedly on the background panel.

I also stamped some music notes from a retired Power Poppy set and then embossed the background with SU's Subtle folder.  I love how that panel turned out.  The birds are watercolored, and I need to tell you the yellow sky area is NOT accurately depicted in the photo.  In reality it's a much softer color.  My camera does not do well with yellow and that's very sad for me as it's my favorite color.

The die cut music notes and sentiment are from a Simon Says Stamp set.

The Double D team has no shortage of feathers and they have some delightful cards to share with you.  I hope you have some feathers you can play along with.  Thank you, and have a happy day!

Stamps:  Hero Arts Three Songbirds, Simon Says Stamp Tweet Friend with dies (music notes and sentiment), Stampendous Feather Points  Paper:  Arches 140 lb cold press watercolor, Hammermill Premium 100 lb white, Stampin' Up Brocade Blue  Ink:  Stampin' Up Bordering Blue, So Saffron, Sahara sand, Ranger Archival Jet Black, Versamark, other SU inks for watercolor  Coloring:  Watercolor with SU inks  Other: Spellbinders A2 Curved Borders One, SU Subtle 3D embossing folder, SU Winter White embossing powder (old) 

Double D Challenge: Halloween Colors

Hi, friends!  We're doing Halloween colors this time around at Double D, and it doesn't even have to be a Halloween card.  I love that idea!  Here's our board with some color inspiration:

A prize will go out to a random winner.  Creative winners are by team vote.  See the Double D challenge Blog for more details.

I challenged myself to make a pretty card with colors I might use on a Halloween card, but totally NOT a Halloween card.  Have a look:

I made a blended background of olive, warm orange, and rich yellow.  Stamped the beautiful vining flourish over that in black, then topped it with purple butterflies and a purple band.  It's on a purple card base, and the sentiment picks up more of the black.

After I cut and colored the butterfly wings I pressed them into a Versamark pad and embossed with an iridescent embossing powder.  Very sparkly and it stays put!

Treat yourself to a peek at the team's samples.  Remember, it's anything in Halloween colors.  I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Thank you for your time.  Have a beautiful day!

Stamps:  Hero Arts Leafy Vines, Simon Says Stamp Tweet Friend w/die (sentiment)  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80 lb, Stampin' Up Elegant Eggplant, scrap black  Ink:  Stampin' Up Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Lavender Lace, Versafine Onyx Black. Versamark    Coloring:  Ink blending with brushes  Other:  Memory Box Canyon Butterflies, WOW Opaque White Super fine embossing powder, Iridescent Peacock embossing powder (old in my stash), Scotch brand foam mounting tape to pop up sentiment strip

Walking Down Memory Lane with Hero Arts

Helloooooo...  Is there an echo in here?  It's been a while since my last post.  I've been absent from the blog, but not from my stamp room.  It was time to reorganize and purge a few things, and whenever I do that it's like a walk down Memory Lane.  I took a notion to pull out one of my favorite oldies and put it on paper.

Hero Arts Botanical Peony, 2001.  Good grief, is that really 22 years ago?  I watercolored with a combo of Gansai Tambi paints and Tombow markers.

The sentiment is also Hero Arts.  It was an unlabeled demonstrator's set (from when I designed for an online shop).  That was back in 2010.  I use this sentiment frequently.  The most recent product on this card is the Hero Arts Wood Frame die.  I gave it a light watercolor wash.

About those bubbles...  They're just for fun.  It's been too long since I did this kind of watercolor and playful background.  This beautiful stamp was just asking for it.  The bubbles are simply circle stamps.  Hero Arts Box of Dots, 2003.

Continuing with more Hero Arts...  The So Sorry set I used on the next card is more recent.  It's a cling mount set, probably not more than 10 years old -- practically brand new!  This is another set I use a lot for the sentiments.  The watercolor background with branch was in my bag of backgrounds.  I added the sentiment plus extras and turned it into a card.

Talking about Memory Lane... We got our first PC specifically so I could shop online for stamps.  It was a Gateway, ordered by phone in the year 2000.  The picture below was how we used to do selfies -- put the camera on a tripod and set the self timer.  Forgive our dorkiness.  Don't tell Rich I showed you this picture.

    

I couldn't possibly know what this stamping thing would turn into.  Not sorry.

Thanks so much for coming to visit.  I wish you many happy, healthy, and safe days always.

Roses on Floral

Welcome back!  I'm glad you came.  I have another card made with UFOs (unfinished objects).  Lately I've been trying to use them in combination with my NBUS (never before used schtuff), but today it's all UFOs.

The roses were stamped on watercolor paper and colored with Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits.  Just trying the paper/pencil combination with a very old Hero Arts stamp which I still love.  I decided to let the image stay simple because, truthfully, I like it as is with no background shading or artsy stuff.

In the background is the retired SU Floral background stamped in SU retired Gable Green.  All these things are old favorites.  Even the die I cut the background panels with is an oldie but goodie.  The image and stamped background were both in the drawer.  I simply die cut and put them together.  Very CAS and fun for a change.

Linking again to the challenge that inspired me:

Shopping Our Stash #422 -- UFOs (unfinished objects)

Details are summed up below.  Thanks a bunch for stopping by!

Stamps:  Hero Arts Posy Prints, SU Floral background  Paper:  Arches 140 lb hot press watercolor for focal image, SU Whisper White for Floral background, textured white for card base  Ink:  Memento London Fog and Tuxedo Black for focal image, SU Gable Green for Floral background  Coloring:  Prismacolor Pencils  Dies:  Spellbinders Scored and Pierced Rectangles, Spellbinders Long Classic Rectangles  Other:  Rhinestones, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Double D Challenge: Just Wing It

Time for another Double D challenge, friends!  We're doing "Just Wing It" for a theme and we'd love to see where your wings take you.  I have golden dragonflies today.

Here's our inspiration board with a variety of winged things:

And a prize for a random winner:

This Elizabeth Craft "Dragonfly" die set has been sitting in my not-yet-used basket far too long.  I thought I'd be using them with flowers, but it somehow never happened, so when this challenge came along I decided to make them my main focus.

I have to show you this photo of the die set so I can 'fess up to what inspired me.  Just keeping it simple with an ink-sponged background, water splatters, circle stamps, and some tiny dragonflies.

I used some favorite older Stampin' Up! inks -- Cool Caribbean and Gable Green.  Old Hero Arts Box of Dots stamps -- inked mostly on the edges by rolling in the stamp pad and then rolling on the paper.  Gold mirrored card stock with Gable Green for the card base.  The inked panel is Strathmore Mixed Media Vellum Surface card stock.  A seriously quick and easy card to make and lots more fun than I expected it to be.

I'll be looking forward to all the things with wings this challenge inspires.  Do check out the wonderful DT cards on the Double D blog, leave some love, and then play along with us.  Have a happy day!

Stamps:  Poppystamps Believe in Magic sentiment, Hero Arts Box of Dots, Hero Arts tiny dragonfly from Printer's Lowercase alphabet set  Paper:  Strathmore Mixed Media Vellum Surface, gold mirrored card stock, SU Gable Green  Ink:  SU Cool Caribbean and Gable Green, Tempting Turquoise for tiny dragonflies, Memento Tuxedo Black for sentiment  Accessories:  Elizabeth Craft Dragonfly die set, Spellbinders Nested Lacy Pennants, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Feathers and Frame

Perhaps you know there's a new challenge blog in town:  Darnell's "Twofer" Challenge.  The idea is to make two completely different cards for different purposes using the exact same stamp.  I thought it sounded like a lot of fun!  There are specific, but easy and clearly stated rules to follow, including the fact that we are to include both cards in one photograph, so I'll start off with that.

The prompt this time around is "feathers".  They can be dies or stamps, with or without birds attached.

I made a birthday card with an embossed panel and designer paper.  Coloring was done with Copics.

Full details, birthday card:
Stamps:  Hero Arts Three Song Birds, Inque Boutique Sentiments  Paper:  X-Press It Blending Card, other white, blue Core'dinations card stock, Echo Park Fine and Dandy designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Sizzix Flowers embossing folder

With a few changes I used the same stamp for a Christmas card:

I hope it looks enough like a Christmas card.  The frames and poinsettias were already made up and in my stash, waiting to be used.  The poinsettias and some of the enamel dots are covering up the stamped flowers.  Frame and image colored with Copics.  I used a white gel pen and glitter on the red frame.

Full details, Christmas card:
Stamps:  Hero Arts Three Song Birds, Power Poppy Bough Wow Wow (sentiment)  Paper:  X-Press It Blending Card for bird panel, Neenah 110 lb white for colored frames, Echo Park The Story of Christmas designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Impression Obsession  Rectangle 6-in-1 Frames, Poppystamps Small Blooming Poinsettia, enamel dots, Stickles Stardust and Golden Rod glitter glue, Signo Uniball white gel pen

I made the frame for the second card specifically so I could play along with The Sisterhood of Crafters "Frame It" Challenge.

I'm pretty sure it took longer to write this blog post than it did to make the cards.  I'll come back and visit again Monday.  You all have a nice weekend and I hope you can find time to do whatever makes you happy.

Things that Fly -- A Double D Challenge

Hello, and welcome to another Double D challenge!  We're doing "Things that Fly" this time around, and the inspiration board has lots of options.  The nice thing about creating for a specific challenge is that it gets you to looking around your stamp room, and that's how I happened to use all old stamps on my card today.

The Stampendous butterflies are my first ever clear stamp set, dated 2004.  I would have guessed they were older.  2004 doesn't sound like so long ago, but 13 years...  I guess it's relative, 'cause, you know, the 70s don't seem like so long ago to me, either.

The butterflies are embossed in black -- once on the card and again cut out with the wings lifted.

I also used an old script background, old sentiment, some leaves I've had quite a while.  I even used some of my oldest Spellbinders dies.  All details are in the recipe further down.  The velvet ribbon was pulled from a drawer full of velvet ribbon that I hardly use anymore.  All good stuff!

I took inspiration from the black and white butterflies and the flower color in the board below:

The team will vote on favorites, but additionally a random winner will receive this prize:

I remembered to photograph the inside of the card, too:

Come on over to our "Things that Fly" challenge and see more team samples.  They're pretty amazing!  Have a good day!

Stamps:  Stampendous Butterflies, Hero Arts So Sorry (leaves), JustRite Sympathy sentiments, SU! retired En Francais background  Paper:  X-Press It Blending Card, SU! retired Cameo Coral  Ink:  SU! retired Ruby Red and Cameo Coral, Versamark, Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Archival Shadow Grey  Accessories:  Velvet ribbon, black embossing powder, white embossing powder, Spellbinders Curved Rectangles Nestabilities (sentiment tab) and Parisian Accents (border)

Hey, Pup

Switching gears from Monday's soft and subtle sympathy card, today is all bright and cute and happy.  It's a birthday card for a friend at my former workplace.  She's not a flower kinda gal, but she does love dogs.  Her own is a black Lab mix.  Hence, the black dog.

I colored with Copics, cut out the dog and balloons, and popped up on foam mounting tape.  The dog is a Bugaboo digi -- Pup Balloons.  The "hey" word is a triple layer of SU's Tempting Turquoise, and the green is the very soft and pretty, retired, but still loved SU Gable Green.

I've been at the old stamps again, too, and I have to say it's been a pleasure.  It did me a world of good to clear out my stamp room.  Seriously, can one ever use an acre of stamps?  Is it enough to simply own them?  Two that I saved are in the background of this card -- a Hero Arts brush stroke stamped called Abstract Art, and an Ink Splatters stamp which I believe is D.O.T.S., but I cannot read the label clearly.  There are plenty of brush strokes and splats and splatters on the market today, but these and a couple others I saved will do me just fine for now.

I send birthday cards to all my former coworkers, and since I don't know all their addresses, I mail them to the workplace.  I like the thought of giving them happy mail in the middle of a very stressful day.  Whew, I'm glad I'm out of there, but I still have a great fondness for the folks I spent so many years alongside.  Have a good day!

Stamps:  Bugaboo digi Pup Balloons, Hero Arts Abstract Art, D.O.T.S.(?) Ink Splatters  Paper:  Neenah White, textured white, Gable Green, Tempting Turquoise  Ink:  Printer, Gable Green, Cool Caribbean, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets, Paper Smooches Hello Words, Memory Box Banner Parade, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Christmas Stars

Moving right along...  Today's two cards are some of the simplest I made this year and, yet, some of my favorites.  I would have made more, but you know how I am about multiples.

I used Sizzix Primitive Stars dies and a balloon string die to hang them.  The sentiment is old, from Hero Arts.  The card base is that Neenah 110 lb cover card stock I love so much.  These stars have Stickles Stardust glitter on all the white dots.

The second version has more colors, on kraft with a white-embossed sentiment.  No glitter on this one.  I don't know which one I like better.

Very simple and quick!  Happy holidays!