AAA Cards challenge

It's time for a new AAA Cards challenge

 This weeks challenge is to create a card using the inspiration card.  I started out with some paper or Washi tape for my card. The inspiration card has a band of color across the card and I love using paper tape so this made for a quick start.

 I cut out my flower using a Spellbinders die to go along with the flower on the inspiration piece. A die cut and a stamp for my sentiment, both from Paper Smooches. 

Here is the AAA Cards challenge.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Using Paper Tapes

Paper Tapes or Washi Tapes are so popular and really so much fun to use. 

 The Paper Players challenge for this week was to use tapes so of course I had to play along since I love these things. I love how fast and easy they are to use and you can combine patterns so easily. 

 After I had my variety of tapes on my white cardstock, I used a PaperTrey, Inc "LOVE" die cut word and cut that out of the larger, black pattern. I then cut the word again from red cardstock and put that into the cut out area of the word. The "you" is a die cut from Simon Says. My tapes are from Recollections and Queen & Co. 

Here is the Paper Players challenge.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

It is about the DOTS

A fun challenge at CASology this week is to make a project using dots. 

 This turned out easy when I pulled out some of my paper tapes! I used a Hero Arts heart stamp and a PaperTrey, Inc. sentiment to finish my card.

 I so love using this stuff.  They make for such a quick little accent and they are so easy to combine tapes and patterns.

Here is the CASology challenge.
I also thought this fit the Paper Issues "You are just my type" challenge. 
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Sketch Love

I love sketches, but I love, love, love this one!!!! As soon as I saw the examples for this sketch by the DT at CAS(e) this Sketch, I knew it would be so fun to play with.

 I thought of this die from Cheery Lynn Designs.  I could have used just one of the halves after I cut it but I thought why not use both halves.  I still used the sketch as my inspiration, I just added a little more detail. 

 The sentiment is from Avery Elle, I love the font of these sentiments.  Those cute little buttons are from Queen & Co.

Here is the CAS(e) this sketch.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

What a fun colour combo!

Yeah! I found some "stamping" kind of play time last night. I went straight to the Colour Q combo for this week for my inspiration.

 This first thing I picked up was my new fav, my newest stamp set purchase, a set from The Craft's Meow.  I picked this flower set so I could color the flower and leaves to match the combo.

 The "You" and the "are the best!" are a stamp and matching die from a set by Simon Says Stamp.

Here is that amazing Colour Q combo I used.

I used this great retro sketch as my layout inspiration.

 

 

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Yummy color combo

I needed to create a few Thank You cards and I had already fallen in love with the color combo at The Play Date Café so I went to that for my inspiration.

 I pulled out some of my most favorite flower stamps with matching dies from PaperTrey, Inc. plus the most perfect sentiment stamp from PrintWorks stamps. 

 First off, I stamped the dictionary background stamp from Hero Arts in a dark pink color on plain white cardstock. Next I cut the flowers and leaves and then stamped the images over the cut out pieces.  I did emboss the black stamping with clear embossing powder, that really adds the wow factor to the flowers.  I love the dictionary images showing through. 

I then took a great pink spray ink from Stephanie Barnard and Clearsnap.  I wanted just a few splashes so I took off the sprayer top and flicked some ink here and there.  The label piece is cut with the Cricut and some pink rhinestones finish is off.

 This is a slightly different version. I sprayed the pink spray on the yellow cardstock.  The spray of color made more of change to the yellow cardstock.

Here is The Play Date Café combo
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

New stamp fun

The other day, I ordered some pretty wonderful Avery Elle stamp sets.  Of course, I just had to put them to use.

 I used the retro sketch for this week with this set.  I just love the label and the sentiments in this set and I thought I was able to put the sketch to use with the stamps.

 I used a yummy new pigment stamp pad from Clearsnap for the label.  Do you see the strip that I created by just stamping the leaf sprig over and over?

 Here is the retro sketch.

 LOVE these solid flowers and leaves in this set and knew I could get the Dynamic Duos color combination. 

 That neat label shape is cut with my brand new Cricut cartridge, Artiste from Close to My Heart.  The stamp pads are by Clearsnap. The strip accent is paper tape from Queen & Co.

Here is the Dynamic Duos combination.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Spring Time Flowers

I think some of my most favorite flower stamps are from PaperTrey, Inc.  I have used these particular stamps several times and still love using them.

I was playing with these flowers and the leaves that go with them and made them fit the retro sketch for this week.   I had stamped the leaves many times on plain white cardstock, not reinking each time so that I had clearer leaves and more subtle leaves.  I then added a little bit of color with some Copic markers.  When I was finished with this piece, it was easy to cut it up to go along with the sketch.

 The most fun aspect of the flowers and leaf piece to me was playing with the Stephanie Barnard Clearsnap sprays. I love these things. I did do some simple coloring with Copic markers but wanted the spray colors to really show off.

Here is the retro sketch.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Old stamps - New stamps

A Blog Named Hero gave a challenge this week to pull out any of our older Hero Arts stamps. Can I tell you this made me sooooo happy!

I went right to my Hero Arts drawer and pulled out this wonderful vine background stamp. This maybe is my all time favorite and it made me so sad to find they had discontinued it. I also went to the retro sketch for this week for the layout of my card.

 

The flower is also an older stamp. It comes with a pattern on it but since my ink was so wet, you can't see that pattern. I inked the flower with a Distress Stain and spritzed it with water. I stamped the vine with white ink and embossed it with white embossing powder and then rubbed it with a Clearsnap Chalk stamp pad in a great tan color. I love how the chalk stamp pads look for this and the embossed image acted as a resist to that ink. The leaf is cut with the Cricut. This also fits the Addicted to CAS challenge to use embossing. My card uses heat embossing and a little piece of dry embossing.

 

 

Here is the retro sketch.

 

 

Here is the A Blog Named Hero challenge.

Here is the Addicted to CAS challenge.

 

 

This quick little card uses some paper tapes. I did it to fit the Simon Says Stamp challenge to use Washi Tapes.

 

I have always loved alphabet stamps and so I needed to show off my newest set. It is from Hero Arts. Can I say I love it and I can see I will be using it often. The letters come solid and ouline. My paper tapes all came from Queen & CO, I so love her selection. The little wooden pieces are from Studio Calico, they just seem to fit about anywhere.

Here is the link to Simon Says Stamping challenge.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Favorite color combinations

The two cards I want to share in this post show off a couple of my most favorite color combinations.

 First up, the CAS-UAL Fridays challenge to use blue and this wonderful shade of blue mixed with white. I used the Broken China Distress Stain and a blue Chalkboard spray.  I thought that the blue and whites looked pretty neat on the gray card.

 The ornament and the snowflake stamps are from Hero Arts. I stamped each one with white ink and then embossed with white embossing powder.  The embossed images then act as a resist when the colored ink and spray are added.  I just love that look.

 Here is the link to the CAS-UAL Fridays challenge.
This also fits the HAPPY HOLIDAY challenge at Paper Issues. The challenge is for a Christmas project, but I think a card fits for that.
And this also fits the Addicted to CAS SNOW challenge. It is their very first challenge, how cool is that!!!

And for my other card...

 I also wanted to play with the Freshly Made sketch challenge.  It seems it always comes and goes to quickly to get a card done for with their sketch. I made sure to make it in time this week.

 I just got a set of sentiment stamps from Hero Arts. I LOVE this set. I combined two of the sentiments. So many of them mix and match plus I love that font. The chevron tapes are from Queen & Co. and the dot petals are paper tape from Smashbox. The button is from WalMart.

Here is the Freshly Made sketch.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Snowflakes and Puppy Dogs!

Those two things don't really go together except in my post today!

 First up, I wanted to use the sketch at Paper Smooches SPARKS and the color combination at Dynamic Duos so those two things are the inspiration for this card.

 One of my favorite stamp sets is this one from Paper Smooches.  I just love the big and long sentiments. This particular one can fit a few different occasions but I wanted it to go along with a winter theme so I added that adorable little birdie and some red snowflakes.

 This is the Paper Smooches SPARKS sketch.  The sketch shows a scallop edge but I used the wonderful, hexagon border stamp instead.

 This is the great color combination from Dynamic Duos

 And, here is a card I created to go along with the Saturday sketch at 2 peas.  At the stamp convention I went to this last weekend, I picked up this adorable and playful snowflake stamp and some great paper tapes from Queen & Co. 

 I took this photo from a side angle to try to show the Glossy Accents that I added to the yellow star on each snowflake. I used a Distress marker to color the snowflakes and then used a waterbrush on that. The star is colored with a Copic marker.

 Here is the Saturday sketch.

 I also want to share a fun little layout I put together. We have two puppy dogs that we love so much.  Bringing the new one home was so much fun although we sure weren't sure how it was going to go.

 I picked up a roll of leopard print Duck Tape at Michaels and thought it fit with a dog theme.  I just cut little strips and put them together in a zig zag design. 

I also cut some in these triangle shapes for more accents.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)