May Card Chain Challenge featuring MFT Spring Friends

Hi there!  This month sure has flown by, hasn't it?!  Its time for another Card Chain Challenge reveal post!  If you're new to the Card Chain Challenge, let me tell you, its wonderful!  Ladies from all over the globe get to exchange their beautiful creations and its quite inspiring!  What a fun way to make new friends! 

So, as with any challenge, there are a few rules.  You must stick with any one (or more if you are so inclined) of four different options.  For May, our options were:

1. Color Palette option:

2. Sketch option:

3. Theme option:  Stars / Trees / Friendship

4. Product option: Washi Tape / Origami

I really wanted to incorporate as many of the options as possible, but my final creation ended up using only 3 of the challenge options ... and that's totally fine!

I wanted to use Distress Inks to water color a customized plaid background.  The color palette is not one that I'd normally choose, so I thought this would be a good way to highlight the color palette.  I once watched a video on Kristina Werner's YouTube channel where she shows this technique.  I love to watch her tutorials because she simplifies everything!! If you'd like to watch it also, just click here! :D  The colors ended up being slightly darker than I'd intended, but that's okay too!  We're going with it anyway...

Next, I stamped my images onto water color cardstock using Antique Linen Distress Ink.  I was going for the no-line water coloring technique here.  I really, really like this technique!  Its very forgiving...I make so many mistakes when water coloring, so this is great for me. :D 

While I waited for my little girl to dry, I inked a background panel with Distress Inks and cut it out using a Cross Stitched rectangle die.  I die cut my clouds using the leftover water color cardstock and stamped my sentiment directly on the inked panel.  By then my water colored image was dry and I was able to cut her out with the matching die.  I lined all of my images up and adhered them using a combination of foam adhesive and Tombow Mono Multi glue.  

The sentiment on the inside of the card is what ties the theme option in...friendship! Because you can always make a new crafty friend when you participate in the CCC. ;)  I ended up really loving how this one turned out...its so nice to be pushed outside of your box every now and then! 

 

The June Card Chain Challenge is currently open but closes on June 6th, so if you're interested in joining in, hurry and head on over there to get signed up!  You'll be glad you did! :D

A complete list of supplies used on this project can be found below.  Until next time, go get your craft on!

Hugs,  

Supplies Used:  Tim Holtz Water Color Cardstock; My Favorite Things (MFT) Spring Friends stamp set and matching dies; MFT Cross-Stitch Rectangle Stax; MFT Cloud Nine Dienamics; Distress Inks: Victorian Velvet, Stormy Sky, Forest Moss, Tumbled Glass, Tattered Rose; Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers: Brown, Oatmeal, Flesh, Blue Gray; VersaFine Onyx Black; Simon Says Stamp White Top Fold A2 card base

Love From Lizi May Kit

Hi there!  I hope you are having a fabulous Memorial Day weekend...I am always so humbled when I think of this holiday and what it stands for.  We all owe such a debt of gratitude for those who have given and served so selflessly so that we may live our lives as free men, women and children!  I can honestly not thank our service men and women enough in one lifetime!! 

I am dedicating these ten cards that I've created with the Love from Lizi May kit to these men and women who have dedicated their lives to protect our nation and our beliefs.  Let us remember them and honor them always!! 

For card number one, I knew I wanted to create a background using these spiffy little mustache stamps...they're so dapper!  Using distress inks to create backgrounds is one of my go-to techniques and it always turns out so fun!  I stamped the images in black ink onto Bristol Smooth cardstock and heat embossed with clear EP. 

For the timepiece embellishment, I used one of the Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers dies called Pocket Watch, one of the arrow dies included in the kit, one of the letter charms from the kit, and a gear piece from the TH Ideology line.  I painted all of my pieces using Distress Paints and coated the silver inside pieces in Glossy Accents.  I like that the sticker used for the sentiment had a pocket watch already there and wanted to take it a step further. :D

For card number two, I wanted to use the music themed items from the kit.  Music and art are never ordinary so I thought this was the perfect sentiment to go along with this theme!  

I popped the stickers up with foam tape and fussy cut the cassette tape.  I inked the edges of my little tag with Distress Ink and coated the tape and record stickers with Glossy Accents. I used white and black gel pens for the little hand drawn accents.  I really wanted to give this one a good bit of dimension since I used so many stickers!

Card number three uses one of the vellum panels from the kit...no need for a sentiment since it was already there!  I used patterned papers from the kit for the background and a line of foil to divide them. 

 

The arrow dies were just right for adding some small details and once again I used Glossy Accents on them for some dimension...and the little blue gems were perfect to add a bit more to some of the foil details on the vellum panel.

Card number four uses another of the vellum panels but the design is slightly different.  I think this one just might be my favorite because of the message it conveys!  Whales travel such great distances and they do it without question...they have complete faith in their migratory paths and they travel with purpose.  We could take a cue from these magnificent beasts any day!

I used another of my go-to techniques here...adhere glitter washi tape onto cardstock before you die cut and it comes out perfect every time! And I am loving the color of the Nuvo drops in this kit! :D

 

For card number five, I used a lot of scraps leftover from cards one through four.  I don't like to waste anything!

Add a few details, adhere everything to the card base and this one is pretty simple and straightforward!  I did use my Onyx Black Spectrum Noir sparkle pen on the "friend" die cut to add some sparkle, but it is so hard to see in photos!

Card number six...I fell in love with this sea turtle image as soon as I opened my kit and couldn't wait to use it!  I cut it out of the vellum panel using my detail scissors and placed it on top of one of the tags that I'd given a little paint makeover using more Distress Paints and some Distress Crackle paints.  I love this look! 

I used the film strip stamp from the kit and some glitter embossing powder to make a border detail on my blue patterned paper.  Once it was heat set, I added some more of the arrow die cuts to finish it off.  The sentiment die and word sticker are both from Tim Holtz...

With Father's Day right around the corner, I really needed get crackin' on some cards!  Cards number seven and eight are both for Father's Day. :D

I was really impressed with the word stickers in the kit...they laid down beautifully without any fuss!

Card number eight uses a stamp and die set from Simon Says Stamp's last release...it's a great set for both Mother's and Father's Day cards, and it went so well with the mustache in this kit!

The images are perfect for popping up also...so cute!

Card number nine is an interactive card.  The tag isn't actually adhered to the card base.  Instead, I created a pocket for it using these cloud border dies and foam tape.  It slides perfectly into place and lifts out of the pocket just like a real hot air balloon!  The sky's the limit with this one! ;)

Here you can see that the vellum balloon isn't attached to the clouds...it is actually just resting on top and the Nuvo drops (from a previous LFL kit) help to keep it in line. 

Last but not least, here is card number 10!  The large butterfly embellishment is die cut from another Tim Holtz die called Fanciful Flight.  This one was really fun to make.  I die cut the bottom layer for the wings only once using the green patterned paper in the kit, and cut the overlay layers three times in black cardstock and once also using the green patterned paper.  I stacked the black cardstock pieces together so that there would be plenty of dimension in the wings.  I spritzed the bottom/base layer of the wings with Perfect Pearls Mist in Perfect Copper, layered the overlay dies on top and then coated the top layer with Glossy Accents.  For the body, I used a Nuvo glue pen to coat black cardstock and then applied the foil from the kit along with some more of the little blue gems. 

 

I layered some patterned papers and velum pieces onto my card base before attaching the butterfly and the sentiment.  This sentiment is one of my new favorite dies from Poppy Stamps!

Well, that's it for the May kit...If you haven't seen the LFL June kit yet, I highly recommend checking it out!  It looks like another super fun kit from Lizi...I can't wait for mine to arrive!  I believe its already sold out, but you could always subscribe so that you won't miss out next time!  A complete list of supplies used for the May kit cards can be found below.

If you know someone that has served, or is serving, in the Armed Forces, please be sure to hug them and say an extra THANK YOU for me!!  Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Hugs,



Additional Supplies Used: 

Dies: MFT Stitched Hexagon Stax, SSS Stitched Squares, SSS Stitched Rectangles, Hero Arts Infinity Rectangles, Poppy Stamps Stitched Cloudline, SSS Mom and Dad Icons, MFT Sunny Skies, MFT Photo Corners, MFT Sending Hugs, MFT Stitched Interactive Window Trio, Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle Frames, SSS Painted Friend, Tim Holtz Fanciful Flight, Tim Holtz Pocket Watch

Stamps:  SSS Mom and Dad Icons, SSS You Matter

Various Others: Tim Holtz Big Chat stickers, MFT Black & White Basics 6x6 paper pad, fun foam, Perfect Pearls Mists in Perfect Copper, Glitter Washi by Scotch in black, silver and copper, twine, button, Distress Ink, Distress Paint, Glossy Accents, Tim Holtz Ideology Gear, Nuvo Jewel Drops in Grey Mist, black cardstock, blue cardstock, white cardstock, Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers, hole punch, corner rounder

SSS Wednesday Challenge: Best Mom Ever

Hey y'all!  I hope you had a fabulous weekend!  Its Monday, and time to get some projects that I've had in the works finished up...what have you got planned for the week??  I thought I'd start out with a few Mother's Day cards that I've been working on, and it just so happens that the challenge this week over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog is A Hint of Pink!  How perfect for some Mother's Day cards!

I'm a sucker for a good technique, so when I started these cards, I had every intention of doing the same technique for each one, just with a slightly different color palette.  Well....things went as they normally do in my life and I got distracted!  I ended up with two techniques, but equally lovely results!

In these first two cards, I chose to use a combination of distress inks blended through stencils.  These two Tim Holtz stencils are some of my favorite because they can be so versatile!

The inspiration for the pink, aqua, lavender color scheme came from this past week's Color Throwdown challenge and I'm always up for a good monochromatic card, so I decided to use blues on the other.  I wanted these to be ultra feminine, so I applied Delicata ink in White Shimmer (still through the stencil) once the distress ink had dried. 

As with many shimmery and glittered effects, its hard to see in the photos, but the sheen is so pretty in person!  For the glittered pieces, I adhered some of my favorite glitter washi tapes over white cardstock before running the pieces through my die cutting machine.  Its a simple trick that I use all the time and I'm never disappointed with the results.  

For the next two cards, I stamped a background stamp from Simon Says Stamp onto watercolor cardstock and heat embossed the image so that I wouldn't have to worry about my water coloring running together.

Using this technique is a real time saver!  To color the images, I used Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers and a water brush.  I LOVE the results that you can get using this technique! 

For the pink and gold card, I used the same washi tape die cut technique as in the first two cards.  For the black, white and bright card, I die cut the "mom" from black cardstock and used a Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen in Onyx Black to add some sparkle.  I will be entering this particular one in the Lawn Fawnatics challenge #4.   

Add some sequins to all 4 of them (because you can never have too much sparkle for mom!) and call it a day!

I hope you've found a bit of inspiration from today's post, and I hope that you'll experiment with these techniques on your own.  They are so much fun and the results are almost fail safe!  A complete list of supplies can be found below.  Until next time, go get your craft on!

Hugs,



Products used:  Scripty Mom die by Lawn Fawn; Mom + Me clear stamp set by Lawn Fawn; Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Gothic and Doily; Distress Inks - Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Salty Ocean, Spun Sugar, Shaded Lilac; Delicata White Shimmer Ink pad; Bristol Smooth Cardstock; 110 lb. black cardstock; 120 lb. white cardstock; Vellum; VersaMark Ink; Opaque Bright White embossing powder by WOW!; Ultra Fine Gold embossing powder by Simon Says Stamp; Liquid Platinum embossing powder by Ranger; Circle Doodle background stamp by Simon Says Stamp; Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers; MISTI stamping tool; Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen in Onyx Black; Glitter Washi Tapes by Scotch Expressions - Gold, Silver, White; Sparkling Clear Sequin Mix by Pretty Pink Posh; Sweet 16 sequin mix by Simon Says Stamp; Zig 2 Way Glue pen.

Love From Lizi April Kit

Hi there!  It's the week following Easter, so ironically, many of the cards featured in today's post are Easter cards!  I suppose that's the draw-back of having an international kit subscription, but Lizi's April kit was so cute that I just had to make Easter cards, even knowing that this would not go up on the blog until after Easter!  Story of my life!  Luckily, many of them are Spring cards as well. 

This month, I stuck to the traditional 10 cards, but you could easily make so many more from this kit!  I had an abundance of supplies left over.  Let's have a look, shall we??

For this first card, I suppose I was still in the googly-eye mood because I thought that the little eye glasses from the stamp set would look awfully cute with googly-eyes!  What do you think?

For this next card, I really wanted to be able to color some of those eggs!  I used a very fine line pen by Maped to do my coloring, so my eggs turned out pretty bright and bold.  Not exactly the look I was going for to match this pretty pastel paper.  So, when you need to tone down some color, vellum is your friend!

This next card is most definitely one of the brightest and most colorful of the lot!  And, can I just say that the raffia Lizi put in the kit this month is fabulous?!  I just love the way it looks when tied into a bow with long loose tails!

I knew I wanted to do some water coloring with "Easter" image in the stamp set.  I decided to use Distress Inks for two reasons: 1. the colors are bright and oh so pretty, and 2. they are soooo easy to water color with!  These colors seem to coordinate best with the kit: Wild Honey, Fired Brick, Peacock Feathers, Mustard Seed, Broken China, Dusty Concord, and Spun Sugar.

I also stamped the image using the same ink color so that I could use the no-line coloring technique. Some glossy accents over the stickers in the kit gives a nice shine too!  

Since the Distress Inks were already on my table, I thought it would be pretty to do some ink blending to color the eggs.  On a piece of Bristol smooth cardstock, I blended Peacock Feathers, Broken China, Dusty Concord, Mustard Seed and Spun Sugar.  I then distressed it using a Distress Sprayer and blotted with a paper towel.  Next, I heat embossed my egg images in white and fussy cut them out.  I pulled out a few of the wood veneer shapes from the kit, and used my last scrap of the colored Bristol paper to die cut the "Spring" sentiment, also from the kit.  A nice little geometric pattern gives a very clean look to this card. 

A little sentiment sticker from the kit and an action wobble make the perfect pair for this next one!

Cheater alert!  I so badly wanted to use the "Hoppy Easter" sentiment from this Simon Says Stamp clear stamps set along with the bunny die from the LFL kit...aren't they just darling together?!?!  I think this one just might be my favorite!

Here's another one of the little wood veneer shapes and some more of that fabulous raffia!  No sentiment needed for this one since the paper says it all!  Since Lizi is from the UK, I'd really like to ask her if "Blooming Lovely" has a dual meaning...wink, wink! ;)  Brits have a fantastic sense of humor...

With all of the pretty little flowers in the sticker pack, I just had to make a wreath!

Last, but not least, I thought that the stickers and the bunny would make an adorable little window scene.  Pink plaid cottage anyone??  Yes please! :D

It's so very hard to see on camera, but Wink of Stella clear glitter makes these white die cuts really sparkle!

So that's it for the April LFL kit!  I just saw the May LFL kit release last night, so go check it out!  It looks like a wonderful kit for Father's Day!!

If you're curious as to the April kit contents, click here to view them on the Love From Lizi site.  All additional supplies used are listed below.  Thanks for stopping by and see you next time!

Hugs,

Additional Supplies: Darice Wiggly Eyes, Vellum, Maped Graph pens, Copic markers, Pretty Pink Posh sequins, Memory Box Ric Rac Stitches, Distress Inks, Glossy Accents, WOW! White embossing powder, VersaMark ink, Simon Says Stamp Stitched Squares, Rectangles and Circles, Hero Arts Postage Stamp Infinity Dies, Simon Says Stamp floral embossing folder, Reverse Confetti Circles N' Scallops die, Simon Says Stamp Easter Greetings, Sunny Studio Fishtail Banners, MFT Pierced Heart Stax, MFT Classic Window die, MFT Mini Doily Circles, and random pink cardstock

**I will be entering some of the cards featured in this post to the Simon Says Stamp Monday & Wednesday challenges**