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)

Autumn Colors

I know it's fall, but we aren't seeing that here where I live but it will come.

 I used the retro sketch for my design.  That piece in the middle is a page torn from my tablet of watercolor paper.  I love using this strip.  

This leaf is a stamp by Tim Holtz.  I did stamp it on watercolor paper and then I did add color with Copic markers.  The finish is a spray of Antique Bronze Distress Spray.  I cut the word out of copper glitter paper and the die is from My Favorite Things.

Here is the retro sketch.

I also used the Fusion challenge for the fall inspiration.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Window background

I found the newest inspiration photo from Just Us Girls and I knew I needed to play along.

 I loved all of the white in the photo and the splashes of turquoise, the orange and yellow in the rug and the accents of wood so those were the features I tried to put in my card.  That amazing cut background is a die from My Favorite Things.  I just didn't take out all of the triangles that were cut.  I thought that resembled the windows and all of the white in the photo.

 There is a yummy rug in the photo and it has splotches of orange and yellow so my Flowers by Altenew Stamps worked for that.  The little frame is a stamp and die from Lawn Fawn and I colored it with some brown Distress Stains to match the wood accents. The die cut word "thanks" is from Reverse Confetti. 

Here is the Just Us Girls photo inspiration piece. 

My card also goes along with the Stampin' Celebration sketch.

My card also fits the inspiration photo at the Fusion Challenge.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Yellow and Gray Goodness

I wanted to use the current Fusion challenge so of course, I created a card.

 The Fusion challenge includes a sketch and an inspiration photo, you can use one or both and so I went with both.  It was fun to try to get the color gray to be a good portion of my card.  

 Once again, I went with some watercolor paper.  I stamped the flower stamp from Tim Holtz with white ink and embossed it with white embossing powder.  These embossed lines of the image will now act as a resist to the inks I add.  I went with a variety of Distress Stains.  When they are spritzed with water, the colors run and mingle.  To get the gray I used black, brushed pewter and pumice stone.  The sentiment is from Reverse Confetti.

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

AAA Cards Easter Colors Themed challenge

 I am having so much fun creating Spring or Easter colors themed cards lately.  Who can resist bunnies and chicks and flowers!!! So I am a fan of the newest AAA Cards challenge. 

 I created my background with a Simon Says Stamp stencil, some embossing paste and some Distress Inks.  In order to get the embossing paste yellow, I simply added some Distress Stain ink to the stencil first and then spread the embossing paste over the stencil. This combines the paste and the ink.  

I then gave it a quick spray of some spray inks.  That adorable little chickie and the cute sentiment are stamps from Reverse Confetti.  More coloring with Distress Stains.

Be sure to check out the AAA Cards Design Teams cute creations and take some time to play along. 

This also fits the Fusion challenge because of all of the yellow and the celebration of Easter.

And the Addicted to CAS challenge of CUTE.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Cutest Puppy Dog

I recently got this set of stamps from Reverse Confetti that has the cutest little puppy dogs in it. Of course, I had to put it to use.

 The Fusion challenge seemed like just the right place to start.  I created a fancy background with some Distress Stains and then I ran this piece through the Cuttlebug using an embossing folder.  Now that I had my background, I needed just the right little accents to make this a card. 

 The heart die is part of the dog set.  I colored a piece of watercolor paper with some Distress Stains, I left it to dry and then cut out my hearts.  I wanted to use places of irregular color for my hearts to give them more interest.  The dog was stamped, colored with Copic markers and then given a bit of added color with Distress Stains.  This dog has a matching die so I cut him out with that. 

Here is the Fusion challenge.  I followed the sketch with the hearts instead of stars or bows.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Sprays of Flowers

I wanted to use one of my new stamp sets so this is the card I created.

 I have used this technique before but I have been seeing it used quite abit so I wanted to try it again.  I stamped the flowers with white ink and embossed them with white embossing powder on watercolor paper, then I added colors with Distress Stamp pads and Distress Stains until I liked the result.  I kept spritzing it with water as I added inks.  The stamps and the sentiment are both by Paper Smooches.

 I just loved how the colors mixed and ran with the water.

 This fits the photo inspiration challenge at Paper Smooches Spark. 

And the color combination fits with the Fusion challenge.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Black and White

I wanted something really simple and I wanted to use the Crazy 4 Challenge of opposites.

 I had wanted to use a window on a card and the cut out heart worked just right here. The heart stamp has a matching die and both are from Hero Arts.

 I stamped the heart with black ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder so the black was a little more intense.  The tiny heart and flower finished off the card. It's a mini, 3" square card. 

Here is the Crazy 4 Challenges.

This also fits the Fusion inspiration photo.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

A blackboard look

The blackboard look is popular today in basically everything and I love it.

 It is a fun look on a card so I used the inspiration photo at the Fusion challenge to help me create my card. The verse is from a set of stamps from PaperTrey, Inc.  I stamped it in white, embossed it in white and then added some Black Soot Distress Stain.  The embossed design acts as a resist to the ink resulting in a blackboard look.  Mixing that in with lots of pink accents just seemed like the right thing to do. 

 I added a line of sticky adhesive across my card and applied some wrinkled ribbon to that. The little bunch of flowers is from a little set by American Crafts and of course some fun sequins helps finish off my card. A card that is sure to be an encouragement for a friend. 

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

Lets get this party started!

Every year at this time my heart gets just so happy - there is actually a World Card Making Day, a day for something that I enjoy so much.  

 Of course, I wanted to sit down ahead of time and create a couple cards to share.  I was playing with watercoloring techniques this week and created the background to this card.  I used two colors of watercolor paints.  The paint comes in little tubes, I squeezed out a tiny amount on a piece of acetate then used my waterbrush to dilute that paint and pick up some.  I just painted simple lines on my watercolor paper, spritzed it with water to help the inks run a little more and then walked away to let it dry.  I always love the surprise that comes as the inks dry on the paper.   I used a Happy Birthday stamp from Wplus9 Designs.  I seem to not make many birthday cards so I thought that was a good theme for this card.  

 The big flower is a stamp from PaperTrey, Inc.  I stamped it with black ink on white watercolor paper and then added color with three shades of Distress Stain.  I love how the Distress Stains are so easy to use and give a watercolor look.  I did add a few sprays of Heidi Swapp Gold Color Shine.  

 Be sure to check out the tons of fun planned for World Card Making Day.  You can also find lots of fun posts on Instagram.  So many companies are offering specials.

 Another card I wanted to share uses the Fusion Challenge for my inspiration.  I didn't use the colors in the challenge, but I did use the sketch and I also stayed with a big flower, mine is just black and white with some great bright green.  The background was created with a The Crafter's Workshop stencil. I love stencils and I love theirs.  I just gave it a spray with some black spray. 

 I gave that background some splotches of green Heidi Swapp Color Shine.  My flower is a stamp from PaperTrey, Inc.  I kept the coloring extremely simple so I could stay with my black and white color combination.  Can you see that little bit of neat sparkle?  I used a Wink of Stella pen to outline parts of the flower.  Some green Liquid Pearls finished it off along with a die cut word from Clearly Besotted.  

Here is the Fusion challenge.

This also fits the Addicted to CAS Stencil challenge.

Thanks for visiting and I sure hope you get to do some paper crafting today.

Linda (lbpost)

Pink goodness

I wanted to play along with the current Fusion challenge so I sat down to do some creating.

 Every once in awhile, I sit down and play with inks and stencils so my background here was created during one of those play sessions.  I thought the resulting pinks went well with the Fusion challenge.  I used watercolor paper and some Distress Inks.  

 To follow the sketch with the Fusion challenge, I stamped these leaves from Wplus9 Designs with some Distress Stains.  The "hello" is also from Wplus9 Designs.  

 Here is the Fusion challenge.

And, I just have to share more Maui photos...

 This is the amazing view from our hotel room.  These cottages are part of the resort complex but we stayed in the tower part of the hotel.  I would strongly recommend The Royal Lahaina Resort to anyone for their Maui visit. It has it's own amazing beach plus other great features. 

 This photo is from our Lahaina visit.  This is an amazing area to spend time shopping and eating. 

This is one of my favorite beach photos.  One of the beaches we visited was Big Beach where the waves were so amazing, not to mention the cloud formations.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)