Sunny City

Playing along with the monthly challenge at Pinkfresh Studio! This month, the challenge was "shakers and frames" and here was the color palette...

I made a shakers card with these fun colors using "A Day in the City" stamps and die...

I stamped the images on the single scene die, then colored them with Zig Clean Color Markers and a waterbrush. The shakers contains a mix of sequins and paper hearts and confetti.

Backed the shaker with some heart patterned paper, then dotted the scene with Nuvo Drop "flowers" in the grass, Stickles on the sun, and Sakura Glaze pen on the windows. So much fun to create with Pinkfresh Studios stamps and large coordinating scene dies!

Spring Mood

This week at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog, there is the sweetest spring mood board that is sure to get your card-making inspiration flowing! 

I chose my Hello Bluebird "Banner Buddies" set for a spring scene...

I made a background using the My Favorite Things "Drifts and Hills" stencil, inking Tumbled Glass Distress Ink with brushes at the top, then inking Cracked Pistachio at the bottom. Afterward, I flicked water droplets mixed with Cracked Pistachio, Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers, and Peeled Paint inks at the bottom. 

Die cut the banner using the Hello Bluebird "Vertical Banner Die" and stenciled it with The Stamp Market's "Plaid" stencil using Picked Raspberry ink

Stamped and die cut the adorable Banner Buddies animals and colored them with Zig Clean Color Markers and a waterbrush. The sentiment is also from the set. Added a woodgrain post for my banner, and speckles of Nuvo Drops and Glossy Accents here and there. Happy Easter to you all!

To the Moon Sketch

At Freshly Made Sketches, Linda has a great sketch this week, one that sparked an idea in my mind as soon as I saw it!

Those vertical panels made me think of rockets blasting off, so I turned to my much loved Half-Pint Heroes (and Half-Pint Heroines) from Waltzingmouse Stamps!

I am very inspired by Nicky Meek's amazing card making and watercoloring skills, as well as her ability to create the sweetest scenes and most incredible backgrounds! She made a galaxy background HERE (the cutest card!) that I used as inspiration...and luckily she described how she made it.
I started in the center blending Tim Holtz (regular) Distress Ink in Tumbled Glass, then moving outward in a circular pattern, used Peacock Feathers, Chipped Sapphire, then Black Soot. Splattered watered down white acrylic paint over the top; then when dry, added some silvery dots with a Sakura Stardust pen. So realistic!

I watercolored the rockets using Zig Clean Color Markers, added details with a white gel pen,  Diamond Stickles on the flames, and Nuvo Drops on the lights. Used a DCWV chevron stencil with Nuvo Moonstone Glimmer Paste to make the flight path.

I split a sentiment from Half-Pint Heroes, stamped it in Versamark and then heat embossed it with white powder. I masked off the word "moon" in the sentiment so I could use the amazing Skinny Upper Alpha dies from The Stamp Market! Stacked two of each letter, and coated the top layer with Moonstone Glimmer Paste, too. A few wooden stars coated with white pigment ink, and this rocket card is ready for lift off 😉!

Mailbox Blooms

Playing along with the theme of "Beautiful Blooms" this week at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  I used Concord & 9th's "Mail Drop" set, coupled with Simon Says Stamp's "Artsy Flower Parts!"

I've never had a mailbox set, and once I saw this one, it made me so happy! The whimsical artsy flowers seemed like a perfect match for a little spring scene. Stamped and die cut the pieces from Arches watercolor paper, then colored them with Zig Clear Color Markers and a waterbrush.

The Mail Drop set comes with many different options for layering and die-cutting. I layered the mailbox with post and the lid piece, cutting a slot from the lid for my little letter. It comes out, and on the back it says,"Sending paper hugs."

Lots of Glossy Accents and Nuvo Drop Accents, with the scene adhered to a Spring Rain cardstock base (Papertrey Ink) like a perfect blue sky! So much fun using these sets together, can't wait for my mailbox and garden to be blooming!

Down on the Farm

The theme for this week's Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge was "Down on the Farm," which gave me the perfect opportunity to use Avery Elle's Market Stand and Peek-a-Boo Pets stamp sets again!

This time, I practiced watercoloring with my Zig Clean Color Markers and a waterbrush, stamping the images first with VersaFine black on Arches watercolor paper.

Added a sentiment from PTI's Blooming Button Bits, and some Nuvo Drops and white gel pen accents. Made a light watercolor wash of blue and green for the background.

I still cannot get over the cuteness of these sets! Makes me so happy...and excited for the start of farmer's market stands popping up in our town this summer! Thanks for stopping by!

Colors Sketch

A cool sketch by Jen Mitchell for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge!  I loved all of the elements at the top of the card, a fun new way for me to create!

I used The Stamp Market's "Color Me Happy" set, and PTI's and WPlus9 Studio's watercolor "splatter" stamp sets for my card...

I was inspired by Amy Yingling's card, The Stamp Market's creator, seen on Instagram (having trouble linking, just click on her name, then the Instagram logo at the top of the store's website)!

I inked the different paint splotch images with Tim Holtz Distress inks, then misted them with water before stamping against the watercolor paper. When dry, I added bits of sparkle with a Wink of Stella brush.

 

I stamped and die cut the palette and brush, then fancied them up with Kuretake Zig Clean Color Markers, Nuvo Glitter Paste, and Glossy Accents. Stacked two tiny hearts cut from the watercolor paper. The sentiment is also from the Color Me Happy set, and stamped in VersaFine black ink.

This little set is so much fun!

Spring Butterfly Throwdown

This week's challenge at the Color Throwdown is all about the spring colors...mint, aqua, dark pink, and green!

I chose to use The Stamp Market's Papillon set with its big, bold butterfly!

Stamped and die cut the butterfly and then made a background with their Crisscross Background set by heat embossing in white on mint paper. I also heat embossed my favorite sentiment from Have a Nice Day on vellum, and adhered it only at the top with a bit of glue so it would stay "wispy!"

Die cut the butterfly from the background, and backed it with some green paper, then bent the wings so you could see the color showing through a bit more.

Stamped the antennae with black ink, added Glossy Accents to the body, and added a tiny aqua dots with Nuvo Drops. Quit while I was ahead with this clean and simple card!

Rainbow Egg Fusion

Spring break is here and the weather is getting a bit better in Upstate NY! I was inspired by the fun colorful Easter eggs in this photo at the Fusion Card Challenge blog...

I loved the colors and shine, so out came my new Rainbow Cover die from The Stamp Market...

I cut various sets of patterned papers then pieced them together. Nuvo Drops in the colors gave it some gloss like the photos.  The sentiment is from The Stamp Market's "Have a Nice Day" set, and the cloud dies are from A Muse Studio.

Disaster did strike during the process...I chose to squeeze my blue drops REALLY hard onto scrap paper next to my card, rather than using a pin, as the bottle was plugged up. Yes, impatience (and muscle😅) led to a bottle explosion which sprayed onto my card on the top right of the rainbow (and left a pool of Nuvo Drops measuring 2 inches wide on my desk)! This card was too pretty to throw away, so I will choose a younger recipient who hopefully won't notice!

Eggs for Sale Sketch

Some fun with the sketch by Jen Timko at Freshly Made Sketches this weekend!

My end result turned out a little different than I intended, but you can't go wrong with Avery Elle's sweet chicken from Peek-a-boo Pets at work at the Farm Market Stand!

 Added a sentiment from Waltzingmouse Stamps' L'il Buddies and eggs from Spring Baskets. The "Thank You" is from the Peek-a-boo Pets set. The inside says "I'd be cracking up without you!" 🤗

Added some woodgrain stamping on the stand using a Heidi Swapp background, and some paper-piecing with Pebbles "Lake House" papers. The side banners were made with PTI's Double-Ended Banner dies.

Lots of Glossy Accents on those special eggs for sale! So much fun creating this little scene, thanks for "chicken in!" 😉😆

Lemonade Fusion

Playing along with the Fusion Card Challenge this week, and was inspired by the woodgrain, neutral colors, letters, and stripes in the inspiration photo!

I used the adorable "Peek-a-boo Pets" and "Market Stand" from Avery Elle!

This combination of sets is SO much fun to create with, and has adorable teeny elements! I kept my pets neutral and fancied up the stand with some paper-piecing.

I heat embossed the sentiment on woodgrain paper and added some Glossy Accents to the glasses, pitchers, and cubes. The coloring was done with Copic markers.

Fun patterned papers from Pebbles "Spring Fling" collection cut with stitched frame dies. On the inside, I stamped an encouraging sentiment from Pinkfresh Studio, "Find the sweet in the sour."

If you're searching for some fun and versatile sets, these sweet Avery Elle stamps and dies are for you! 💕 Thanks for stopping by!