Chill Bear

 I'm getting a Christmas Card made and also entering the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.   The Challenge is featuring Spellbinders products today.  I'm using the Dies called Chill Bear.  I started with the dies and a torn hill of snow.  The trees and snowflakes are also in this set of dies.  The Winter wishes was in my sentiments book.  I think I cut it on my Scan N Cut, but I couldn't swear to that.  It's cut in white glitter paper but blends into the blue background somewhat with the blue tint that is in the paper.  I like that it lets the bear stand out rather than the sentiment. The sky was ink blended with a very light coat of Baja Breeze ink.  I've had lots of fun with these dies over the last couple of years. 

 Hope you are having a fun time adding to your Christmas Card stash these last few months.  I am behind on what my goal was for this month in the year, but this was fun and will add at least one.

Cards for Challenges and Card Group

I love making cards for the challenges on Split Coast Stampers.  For the past two years it has been harder to find the time to keep up with them as much as I'd like to.  but I did find a little time in the last few weeks to do some of the challenges.  

This little gal was water colored and entered in the Free For all Challenge. I've been trying to catch up a little on coloring all the images I have either stamped  ready to color or printed from my digital stamps.  I use different coloring methods.  Colored pencils,  watercolor and  Copic markers keep me from getting bored with one method.  I am really enjoying having some of these fun images to make my cards with.  

The Free For All (F4A) Challenge happens on each Friday of the month.  

Little Piglet was water colored for the Clean and Simple challenge (CAS), one of the Monday challenges at Split Coast Stampers.  The other Monday challenge is the Technique lovers Challenge (TLC) .  You can choose one or both on Monday.  The theme for this week was summer fruits.  So, piglet got to join in because of his juicy watermelon.  I wrote the sentiment so I could send it to a friend.  So far, I haven't done the TLC.  There is no deadline though so I can still do it whenever.

These next few cards are the cards I made for samples of the cards my card group made in May.  

This is a card from the Magnolia Moods set from Stampin Up.  It's an easy card with black stamping around the background panel and a white panel for the sentiment (both cut with stitched and scalloped dies).  Then a stamped and die-cut flower was colored with just a few lines of Copic marker. 

This card was a take-off of an old paper Pumpkin kit.  Two 12" strips 3-3/4" high are joined together to form the accordion folded base.  Stamping on each of the sections of the base and then a die cut letter

to spell out thanks finishes off the card.  We also made the box to present the card to its recipient.  

I decide on the cards, design the samples and cut the kits for my group to make the cards.  I gave them an additional choice in May because our next meet up is too close to July 4th to make that card in June. 

 

This was the simple July 4th card.  White card base, navy star embossed panel and then ribbon, stars and a July 4th die cut from a set of dies I ordered on Amazon years ago.  It was a good way to use some of my wide striped ribbon.  Still have several other colors of this wide stuff.

This Birthday card for my grandson was made for him but i entered it in the CAS challenge from a couple of weeks ago because the theme was Masculine cards.  Even though it is not officially CAS, there were no challenge police who said I couldn't enter it.  That is one of the nice things about SCS, they just like to see what you are making - no hard and fast rules, except to be nice.  

This flower panel was another on in my box to be colored.  It was another one I water colored and sent off to a Split Coast Stamper friend for her birthday. You can join the group who send out Birthday cards to all the SCS members having a birthday each month.  Each of us send a few cards out to make sure everyone with a birthday receives a card, a great group of people. 

This is another one that went out for a birthday. It was fun to use some sunset themed designer paper to give my sunbathers their evening view.  I colored the sunbathers with watercolor again. 

So, I really have been busy even with card making, I just can't seem to find enough time, like I once did, to participate in every challenge in the week.  And then I forget to sign up for some challenges that I would like to do, as in The Card Chain Challenge. I get busy and forget to get signed up before the deadline, have done that for the last three months.  Someone, remind me!  If I only had a brain!

Hummm - I think there's a scarecrow card in my future.

Have a great weekend.  It will be here again before we know it.

 

Gearing Up for Father's Day

 I am entering this card in the Simon Says Stamp Challenge featuring Tim Holtz products.

On my card I used the clockworks movement stencils (TH) to make a shaving cream background.  Then I cut some more gears with the dies from Geared up Garage from Stampin' Up.  I trimmed the shaving cream panel with old olive cardstock, added the gears in two colors and stamped and water colored the car.  The car and the greeting are layered twice to give them more dimension.  

I enjoy the Simon Challenges because they are so varied.  I can usually find something I have from the companies that are featured since I have always bought stamping supplies from several different companies.  There are just too many fun things to limit myself to one company.  

Filling in the Gaps or trying anyway

 Back in February of this year I tried to get some cards uploaded and fill in the gaps of my Card Chain cards.  But we have been rather busy running to doctors for my hubby.  So, that post never got finished.  But better late than never.  So here we go.  

Sent to Viv in UK for June

I love making nautical or ocean/ beach cards.  This is one of my favorite stamp sets. 

I received this wonderful collage type card from Karolina in UK.

Her multi medium piece is really great isn't it. 

This one went out to Robyn Oliver in July. 

 I couldn't resist using that feather paper I've been hanging onto.

And in Return I received this lovely Asian themed card from Imke in Germany. 

She did such a beautiful job on this card with the significant red.  

The picture really doesn't do it justice.  

I got to send to Alice in Finland for September (again my nautical themes appear).

From Laneen in WA I received this multi media beauty.  You should feel those bricks and see the shimmer on them.  So fabulous!   

I have had such a hard time remembering to sign up for several months 

 last year so we skip to December now.

Started using my Hello Bluebird Stamps more and sent this card out to 

Daja in Germany for December

I think Gail squeezed me in under the wire for December.  I received this fun 

Tim burton styled (That is what it reminds me of anyway and I love it.) card from her.  

I loved the colors for January and used them to make

 this card for Linda in MI 

 Robyn in AU used those same colors for the card she sent me in January.

She did such light-handed colored pencil work on this beautiful card. 

For February I used a new embossing folder and colored it with markers

to send to Jo in England

 Linda in MI used the sketch for February and I received 

this cute Hello card from her.  

  

Yes, I forgot to sign up for March and April.   I think I need a secretary.  I have to be secretary for my hubby.  Who wants to be mine, so I don't forget any more.   Now that I have this finished, I am going to go sign up for May and hope that I can stay on track a little better for the rest of the year.  

Purple Art Impressions

 A friend of mine was the guest designer for the Monthly challenge at Art Impressions.  So many challenges, so little time.  But I do like purple, so I had to make another card since I had the Art Impression stamps out on my desk still.  

I always get a giggle out of this image, but I have to say that this old gal is way better than me.

 I wouldn't last 5 minutes on that skateboard at this stage of my life. I know because I've tried.

 

Time for another Art Impression Challenge

 The challenges at Art Impressions happen bi-weekly so they come around quickly in my life.  But The challenge of Not Just Paper for this one just called me to make another card.  

My card is only one layer - well I guess you could consider the clothing a second layer.  

It's pieced on to these gals - Stamped the image on the fabric scraps and then carefully cut out the clothing item and glue it over the stamped image on the card.   I used fabric for the blue pants and the yellow and green shirts.  I also used little metal discs for the earrings the gals are wearing.  I colored the remaining parts of the image with Copic markers, then masked the image and added an ink blended background.  The image is from Live, Laugh, Love - CS15.  The inside of the card has the remainder of the sentiment, which reads . . . "Well, two out of three ain't bad".

 It was a lot of fun making a wardrobe for these ladies.  Wish I could make my own clothes that fast -

 I'd really like those blue pants.  

 

Lucky Me!

 I just won a Free Stamp set of my choice at Art Impressions!  I entered the last stamp Bi -Weekly challenge and I was lucky enough to win the random winner spot.

These funny Art Impressions stamps always give me a giggle.  I have several of their sets and now I will own another one.  How awesome is that!