Just A Note

 Another card, another opportunity to play with inks and stamping, can't get better!!!

 My main focus for this card was the color combination at Color Throwdown and the sketch design at Freshly Made Sketches.  I pulled out a really old Hero Arts background stamp, stamping it in white and embossing it in white so that that design then acted as a resist to my Distress Inks, Tea Dye and Spun Sugar.  

 I just received some new Altenew stamps so I of course had to open those packages to finish my card.  I added a few Nuvo Crystal dots in black and a transparent light pink to finish the card after coloring the images with Zig Clean Color markers on watercolor paper.  

 Here is the Color Throwdown combo.

And here is the Freshly Made sketch.

And the Fusion challenge, I didn't use butterflies but a wreath design.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Celebrate

Yes, another card completely inspired by some online challenges plus purchases from last weeks stamp convention.

 I'm quite sure my favorite stamp pad and favorite color ink ever is the Distress Oxide in Blueprint Sketch!!! That and the new stencil from Stampers Anonymous and Tim Holtz are a match in stampers heaven.  That color also helped me use the Color Throwdown combo.  

 I used a flower stamp set from Altenew and added color to complete the Color Throwdown combo with Distress Inks and Zig Clean Color markers.  The stamp set has a matching die set making cutting out the flower and leaves so easy and perfect.  

 I put a strip of vellum across the card from to help it fit the Freshly Made sketch.  

 Here is the Color Throwdown combo.

 Here is the Freshly Made sketch.

And the Time Out challenges anniversary challenge.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Miss You

I fell in love with the Freshly Made sketch for this week so I designed this card around that and the Color Throwdown color combo.  

 I wanted to keep it as simple as possible so I started out with a watercolor paper card base and used a stencil and some Distress Spray to create a background for my other elements.  

 The leaves are two piece die cuts from Altenew and the scallop/stitched circle is a die from My Favorite Things.  I added color to these pieces with more Distress Ink.  The "miss you" die cut piece is from Simon Says Stamp, I lined the cut out words with a kraft colored piece of paper to use another of the colors in the combo.  

 Here is the Color Throwdown challenge.

And the Freshly Made sketch challenge.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

My Heart Smiles

I don't what challenge I loved the most as I created this card.  

 I'll start with the Color Throwdown color challenge because I knew I had to play along with this combo.  The layout of the card was then inspired by the Freshly Made Sketch and the CAS(e) this Sketch.  

The bottom border design is a stamp by Lawn Fawn and then the color was added with Distress Stains.  The flower is from Altenew.  

 Here is the Freshly Made Sketch.

 Here is the CAS(e) this Sketch.

Here is the Color Throwdown challenge.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

So Happy We Are Friends

I am so in love with the Freshly Made sketch for this week so I just had to sit down and play. 

 Something about the sketch made me also want to keep my card rather simple so I started out using a stencil from Alternew to create a subtle background with gray ink.  

 The stitched squares are from a die set by My Favorite Things, the leaf is a layered stamp from Altenew and the "thanks" is from Paper Smooches.  Lots of Distress Inks were used. 

Here is the Freshly Made Sketch challenge.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Using Copics

Yes, a few more online challenges used, did I say I love them!!!!

 I really like the Freshly Made sketch for this week and had to sit for a minute to decide how to use it.  I decided to cut my main piece of watercolor paper and then work with both parts.   

I also used the CAS on Friday challenge to use Sequins and the Addicted to Stamps challenge to Make Your Mark, all using Altenew Stamps.

 I don't usually use Copic markers on Watercolor paper, the watercolor paper does not allow you to really blend the Copics but in this case it did work out just fine.  I stamped the leaves with black ink and embossed them with clear embossing powder and then colored all of them. The background was also colored with a black pen.  

Here is the Freshly Made sketch.

Here is the Addicted to Stamps and More challenge.

Here is the CAS on Friday challenge.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Purple Butterfly

I found a fun bunch of online challenges and created a card. 

The colors are a result of the Color Throwdown and I used a layout for the card to match the Freshly Made Sketch. For the side element, I used a hole die from My Favorite Things and accented it with browns using Distress Inks.  

I placed my sentiment slightly different from the sketch but I thought this fit my card better.  The sentiment stamp is from Stampers Anonymous.  

I used a set of butterfly dies from My Favorite Things.  In order to use the colors in the challenge, I cut the top layer from watercolor paper and colored that butterfly from a variety of Distress Inks.  I like the resulting distressed look.  

 Here is the Color Throwdown challenge. 

And the Freshly Made sketch.

And even though my butterfly is purple and not pink I thought my card fit in with the Addicted to Stamps and More challenge.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Golden "love"

I found a few online challenges that I simply needed to play along with.

 The color combination came from the photo inspiration with Time Out Challenge.  I wanted black and white stripes so I created my own with a black watercolor pen and a Copic black pen.  Once I drew my lines with a ruler, I used a waterbrush to make the watercolor black ink run.  In the photo this ended up looking like it has a lavender cast but it is actually more black and white in real life making it go along with the photo.  The layout of the card went along with the Freshly Made sketch.

 I made sure my card was really on the simple side by adding black and gold glitter.  

 Here is the Time Out Challenge Photo. 

 Here is the Freshly Made sketch I used. 

This also fits the CASology challenge.

 This CAS on Friday challenge is to use markers or pens. 

And the Simon Says Wednesday challenge is Anything Goes.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Be Still

My card was created around a few online challenges, starting with the soft color combination from the ColorThrowdown Challenge. 

 A The Crafter's Workshop stencil and some Distress Ink on watercolor paper set the stage with the background.  I used a stitched rectangle die from Avery Elle.  

 In order to use the soft kraft color I cut a heart with a Simon Says Stamp die and tried to color the Altenew flower and leave with a soft brown color too.  The Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge is to add a sentiment so I used a stamp from them for my sentiment.  

 I made white pearl dots with Liquid Pearls for a little bit of elegance.  

 Here is the Freshly Made sketch.

 Here is the Color Throwdown Color challenge.

Here is the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

A smear of color with Watercolor

It's no secret, my favorite inks to reach for are anything and everything Distress from Ranger.

 This might be one of the most simple ways to use the mini Distress Stamp pads to create a background.  I added a few different colors of the inks to an acrylic block, gave that a spritz of color and ran the block downward on a piece of watercolor paper.  The inks slightly run, creating a place to add other stamps and elements.     

 I then just stamped a leaf sprig on this pre-prepared background and added soft colors to that.  I used used a little bit of water and a little bit of added color with Copic markers. The leaf sprig is a stamp from Altenew and the sentiment is from a set of stamps by Simon Says Stamp.

 The layout for the card goes along with the Freshly Made sketch.

 Casology's challenge for this week is watercolor.

Plus this fits the Addicted to Stamps and More Photo Inspiration challenge.
This also fits the Simon Says Stamp flickr challenge of Emboss it.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)