Double D Challenge: Make Your Own Background

Welcome to another Double D Challenge, friends!  Our DD host, Darlene, is asking that we make our own backgrounds for this challenge.  What a great idea!  See our inspiration board:

Creative winners are by team vote, and the prize pictured below will go to a random winner.

I do have a background or two or 100 in my bag o' backgrounds.  The one I've used today was made quite some time ago on glossy cardstock with Stampin' Up inks and 91% alcohol.  Not sure which method I used for this one.  Most likely I soaked either a cotton ball or a small wad of paper towel with alcohol, then dropped reinker onto the wad, and pounced on the cardstock.  Maybe I dropped ink and spritzed with alcohol, or dropped alcohol and tipped the cardstock to spread it around.  If you've ever made an alcohol ink background, it's rather like that.

Does anyone still make alcohol ink backgrounds?  I never invested in the alcohol inks, but I had fun experimenting with this method.

I cut into the background with three parts of the years old Cheery Lynn Dutch Daisy Boutique Stacker A2 Frame to create the effect of a screen.  I was hoping the Memory Box Graceful Anemone was large and impactful enough to hold its own against the busy background.  Maybe it's just me, but I love it a lot.

A little bit of gold adds a lot of pretty, doesn't it?

When looking through my backgrounds collection I wondered why in the world I don't use more of them.  That's what's nice about a challenge -- it oftentimes sends us in a direction we haven't traveled in a while.

I hope you'll visit the Double D blog to see the team's samples and be inspired to share one of your backgrounds with us.

Have a beautiful day!

Stamps:  The Ton Easy Expressions with dies  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest 80 & 110 lb, glossy white  Ink:  Stampin' Up Lavender Lace, Old Olive, Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black, various for inky background  Coloring:  Ink blending with brushes  Dies:  Memory Box Graceful Anemone, Cheery Lynn Dutch Daisy Boutique Stacker A2 Frame  Other:  91% alcohol, Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

CAS Mix Up Reminder: Alcohol Inks on Vellum

Hello, there!  It's time for a reminder that our CAS Mix Up Challenge - Alcohol Inks on Vellum is still in full swing till the 24th.  Coni is our host this month and she has provided a full list of video links to help first timers like me.  Cards only, keep it clean and simple, and enjoy the play!

Short on time, I used the same piece of alcohol-inked vellum as on my other Mix Up card, but it really is such a pretty piece.  It's peeking through a border cut with one of my oldest dies -- Spellbinders A2 Curved Borders One.  I still use that set frequently.

This card is a mini-slimline, measuring 3 1/2 x 6.  The die cut "sending" was cut from a background made two years ago, part watercolor, part Ken Oliver Yellow Gold Liquid Metal.  Cool stuff!

Stop by the CAS Mix Up blog and check out the team samples for inspiration and then play along with your card.  I'm seeing some pretty things in the gallery!  Thanks everyone, and have a fabulous day!

Stamps:  Altenew Wishing You (birthday wishes), Stampendous Birthday Smiles (candles)  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80 & 110 lb, vellum  Ink:  Versamark, alcohol inks Stream, Butterscotch, Wild Plum  Other:  Rhinestone, Ken Oliver Yellow Gold Liquid Metal, Spellbinders A2 Curved Borders One, Frantic Stamper Sending Love/Hugs die, rectangle die unknown origin, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

CAS Mix Up: Alcohol Inks on Vellum

Hello again!  It's time for another CAS Mix Up Challenge, hosted by Coni this month.  She's given us an interesting task -- alcohol inks on vellum.  Say what?  I've never done much with alcohol inks, period, let alone on vellum.  Come to find out it's fun and, as you might expect with vellum, it produces a softer result.  There are several links to video tutorials provided on the challenge blog.

The team's samples are hugely inspiring, and we're delighted to welcome the lovely Hannelie as our guest designer.  Girl knows her way around a CAS card, for sure.

I've used gold and black over alcohol inks on vellum.  As the graphic above states, in addition to the prompt technique we must use stamping and at least one other mixed media element.  See the sidebar on the CAS Mix Up Challenge blog for a list of MM choices.

My Tutti Designs stained glass dies come out differently every time, but always beautiful.  The top layer of gold sits on two 110 lb layers of white.  On the first white layer I popped out the background pieces, but left the frame, leaves and birds intact.   That assembly was glued onto the alcohol-inked vellum, then edges trimmed.   Finally it was glued to the white card base.

The next step was to color the inner image pieces with a black Copic, and then go over that with Wink of Stella.  I did my best to keep the actual card design CAS.  The sentiment is gold embossed and die cut.

If you enjoy making alcohol ink backgrounds, come try it on vellum and show us your card at CAS Mix Up.  We'd love to see it!  Have a good day!

Stamps:  Altenew Wishing You  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80 & 110 lb, gold mirror, vellum  Ink:  Versamark, alcohol inks Butterscotch, Stream, Wild plum  Other:  Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder, Tutti Designs Birds Stained Glass die, Spellbinders small rectangle die

Snowy Tree Scene

Welcome back!  Fiddling around with some things I'd pulled from the drawers, making a mess on my desk... I decided to turn some of the mess into a card.  The die is Tutti Designs Fir Trees Arch Scene -- not yet used, but definitely on the Christmas card line up this year.  Two 110 lb layers over an alcohol ink background.

About that background... I own exactly 3 alcohol inks which I bought when they very first came onto the market way back in I-don't-know-when.  All this time I just haven't been sure if I wanted to start collecting a whole other thing, if you know what I mean.  Anyway, this is my 3 color background on photo paper with 91% alcohol as the blending solution.  It looks fine to me.

The snowflakes along the bottom of the card are those that popped out when the die was cut.  Quite usable and not something I could bear to toss out.  Cutting two dies I ended up with 16 snowflakes this size.  I used some inside the card, as well, but still have quite a few little snowflakes left.  They'll be showing up on other cards.

I'll send my card with its NBUS tree die over to NBUS Challenge #18.  I know, practically every card I make heads over to that challenge.  It's just that I have so much NBUS and I'm trying to use it.

More supplies are listed below.  Thanks so much for your time today!

Stamps:  SU Heard from the Heart sentiment  Paper:  Neenah 80 lb card base, 110 lb for dies, photo paper for AI background  Ink:  SU Bermuda Bay for sentiment, alcohol inks are Wild Plum, Stream, and Butterscotch  Other:  Tutti Fir Trees Arch Scene

Double D Challenge: 12 Days of Christmas, Part 2

It's playtime with Double D, so let's have some fun with this one!  We're doing Part 2 of The Twelve Days of Christmas:

7th Day    Seven Swans A Swimming

8th Day    Eight Maids A Milking

9th Day    Nine Ladies Dancing

10th Day    Ten Lords A Leaping

11th Day    Eleven Pipers Piping

12th Day    Twelve Drummers Drumming

We always have creative winners, plus a prize for a lucky random winner:








PLEASE KEEP IN MIND that your card or project does not have to be for Christmas and it only needs to be inspired by the mood board.  It does not have to be a match, specifically.  Case in point:  I was inspired by "Ten lords a leaping", but I have only one lord a leaping.

Meet Harv from Art Impressions.  We go way back.  He just heard the news that "old is the new young", and he's pretty darned excited.  Can you tell?

I colored him with Copics and then fussy cut so I could arrange him on the card with some other fun goodies which I'll list in the recipe below my signature.  The hanging presents were cut from an alcohol ink background which looked odd as a whole, but awesome as a die cut.

I have a bunch of sentiments that go great with Harv, and this one is actually from another Art Impressions set called Loads of Fun.  I won it recently and haven't had a chance to use it yet because, well... Christmas.

It's a busy time for all, but I hope you can play along.  Visit my teamies on the Double D blog for more fun inspiration.

One more thing:

I'm afraid this is my last post with the Double D team, sniff sniff.  Yes, I am sad about that, even though it was a carefully thought out decision.  This was my first ever challenge team and it's been a great experience.  Darlene and Diane and everyone on the team are the BEST!  I'm just whittling down my commitments to free up some time for other things.  Thanks to this challenge gig I have new friends, so thank you Double D!

Happy day to all!

Stamps:  Art Impressions Harv and Loads of Fun  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, glossy white (for alcohol inks), turquoise textured  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, various alcohol inks  Coloring:  Copics  Accessories:  Cuttlebug Happy Birthday embossing folder  Dies:  Die-namites Hanging Presents, Sue Wilson Pierced Flags, Memory Box Oval Master Frame (used just the inner oval)

Pure Prairie Spirit Blue

Hi there and happy almost fall!  I thought I'd give a little nod to fall today by using some turned leaves on my card, but I'm not ready to give up summer yet so I have flowers and a butterfly, too.

Actually, this card happened when I was trying to do something else entirely.  It's the salvaged end result of a two day stamping fiasco.  I think I'm a little too distracted lately.  The stamp is Power Poppy's Pure Prairie Spirit, watercolored with Gansai Tambi paints on Arches 140 lb hot pressed watercolor paper.  The watercoloring was enjoyable, but I ran into trouble with the design.  I know!  It looks so simple, but what a struggle getting there!

Long story and I'll spare you most of the details.  Can you tell the card base is navy blue?  Not black.  I was thinking I never use navy blue, but when I went to my folder of navy blue paper I found it almost gone.  Hmmmm...  must have liked it more at some point.  The oval frame was stamped in a lighter blue with Stampin' Up!'s retired Linen background -- still a favorite.

I had one too many leaves on the card so I used Un-Do to remove one.  Un-Do is usually my friend, but it betrayed me this time and ripped the paper, and that's how the flags come to be there -- a cover up.  The leaves looked bland and needed some help.  Maybe a bow would be pretty, but you know me and lumpy cards... we just don't jive, hence the butterfly.  It was die cut from one of the pretty alcohol ink-on-acetate backgrounds my friend made for me.

We brought our new travel trailer home after a three hour orientation and it's sitting largely in the middle of the driveway right now.  I'll get some pictures to share one of these days.  We shopped for a few things for it, but it's not yet fully stocked.  Lots of fun just getting it ready for a trip.  Unfortunately we discovered a rotten corner on our house where rain water ran under the siding and now that has to be fixed.  We've been having quite a time of it for about a month and a half now when ordinarily everything is so hunky dory here.  I guess it was our turn.  It will all work out.

Enjoy your day!

Stamps:  Power Poppy Pure Prairie Spirit and Dynamic Duos: Foxglove & Ranunculus (sentiment), SU Linen background  Paper:  Arches 140 lb hot pressed watercolor, SU Night of Navy, Neenah 110 lb white, BasicGrey June Bug designer paper  Ink:  Palette Noir, SU Brocade Blue  Coloring:  Gansai Tambi watercolor paints  Accessories:  Memory Box Oval Master Frame, Taylored Expressions Mega Leaves, Impression Obsession Medium Butterflies, Spellbinders Nested Lacy Pennants

Double D Glitter Challenge

Hello there!  I'm playing along with Team Diane's Glitter Challenge at Double D today and I have a very easy card which was partly made for me.  I'll explain in a minute.  First, the card:

Now our very inspiring mood board:

And a super prize for a lucky random winner:

Now, to explain the card...  My friend, Nancy, came over recently and demonstrated alcohol ink backgrounds for me.  She left me with quite a few beautiful backgrounds, so they'll be showing up on cards in the days ahead.  It's easy to see how alcohol inks could become an obsession, sheesh.  This one is inks on acetate, glued to crumpled tissue paper with a little glitter sprinkled in between.

The dies are hers, as well -- Poppystamps "Floral Stem Collage" and "Scribble Thank You".  I pressed the "thank you" into my Versamark pad and then embossed with gold jewel embossing powder.  The flower is glittered up with Stickles glitter glue.  I had a few Nuvo glitter drops made up on an acetate sheet, and the color matched, so I added those, too.

The picture below shows a little more of the sparkle.  It wasn't easy to photograph in such a way as to show the sparkle yet avoid glare on the acetate.

Things are really sparkling over at Double D, so be sure and check out the team's cards.  Enjoy your day!