CAS(E) this Sketch #232 - hi, there

I made a summer greeting card today - greetings from a bear in a summer forest. This bear stamp is one of my favorites. He always makes me smile. :-)

My card design was inspired by Chrissy's sketch: CAS(E) this Sketch #232.

I used both the positive and the negative parts of the grass die-cuts - just put them apart an inch or so. The front grass panel is raised with foam squares.


Stamp: All Inside, Bear Ware (Ellen Hutson)
Paper: Bristol Smooth White (100 lb), Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: VersaFine (Onyx Black - Tsukineko), Distress Ink (Ranger - Lucky Clover, Blueprint Sketch, Mowed Lawn)
Accessories: Grassy Edges (My Favorite Things), All Inside dies, Bear Ware dies (Ellen Hutson), Marker (Furty Flamingo, Peekaboo Peach, Pink Pirouette - Stampin' Up!), Glossy Accents (Ranger), Thin 3D Foam Squares (3L)

Thank you for your visit!

CAS(E) this Sketch #231 - happy birthday & Japanese Mini Cards

I had only a few Japanese sentiment stamps, so when I went back to Tokyo this spring, I bought some. I love the brush font of the stamps! They're pretty small, so I made a set of "mini cards" earlier this week.

 congratulations

 thank you

 thank you for your hard work

 just a token of my appreciation

Then, when I saw the new sketch of CAS(E) this Sketch #231 on Thursday, I was a little surprised. Did I foresee the future? 😉

Here's N@ Ali's sketch:

I basically used the same elements I used in making the mini-cards, and turned the square 90 degrees. I literally copied the sketch! It's very simple and easy to make.

The tiny birthday cake die-cut is so cute!

[Japanese Mini Card]
Stamp: Kimochi Stamp (Kodomono Kao), Pattern Swatches (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Calypso Coral, Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Vellum (Stampin' Up!) 
Ink: Frosty Pink, Sunkissed, Sea Glass, Mountain Mist (Altenew), VersaMark (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Squares Collection Thinlits Dies, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Modern Label Punch, Flourish Thinlits Dies, Embossing Powder (Melon Mambo, Calypso Coral, Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi - Stampin' Up!), Jewels Basic Pearl (Stampin' Up!), Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Nuvo Jewel Drops (Orange Marmalade - Tonic Studio)

[Happy Birthday Card]
Stamp: Thoughtful Banners (Stampin' Up!), Pattern Swatches (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Gold Foil Sheet, Vellum (Stampin' Up!) 
Ink: Frosty Pink (Altenew), VersaMark (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Squares Collection Thinlits Dies, Modern Label Punch (Stampin' Up!), Wonky Stitched Rectangle STAX, Balloon Shaker Window & Frame (My Favorite Things), 1/8" Circle Hand Punch (Fiskars), Embossing Powder (Melon Mambo - Stampin' Up!)

Thanks for stopping by!

CAS(E) this Sketch #230 - thanks

When I saw Donna's sketch for this week's CAS(E) this Sketch, I thought this was a great opportunity to use the color scheme I've been wanting to use. I saw these colors at Design Seeds last summer.

Here's Donna's sketch (#230) - isn't it perfect for color-blocking?

I layered a few sentiment die-cuts and coated it with Glossy Accents.
(The sentiment looks black in the pictures, but it's actually gray.)

Paper: Soft Sky, Pistachio Pudding, Peekaboo Peach, Riding Hood Red, Basic Gray, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Peek-a-Boo Polka Dots, Many Thanks (My Favorite Things), Itty Bitty Punch Pack (Stampin' Up!), Glossy Accents (Ranger)

Thanks for visiting!

CAS Watercolour Card Challenge - hello

When I shared my card at the CAS Watercolour Challenge for the first time last month, I thought I should try using real watercolors the next time (July), so I did. Here's my card:

The July CAS Watercour Challenge's theme is "Butterfly"!

I die cut a butterfly from watercolor paper, and colored it. Lots of experiments in mixing paints to get the colors I wanted. It took time, but I'm happy with the results. 😉 

 
Stamp: Lacy & Lovely (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Watercolor paper (140 lb - Strathmore), Whisper White (Stampin' Up!) 
Ink: Watercolours (Cotman Compact Set), Midnight Muse (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Butterflies Thinlits Dies (Stampin' Up!), Homespun Stitch Lines (My Favorite Things) 

Thanks for visiting me today!

CAS Mix Up Card Challenge - hello

As I mentioned in my previous post, I enjoyed coloring tissue paper so much that I made a bunch of sheets. I used green and blue shades and made this card last weekend.

I was going to make a card with summery bubbles, but because of the tissue paper texture, it turned out to be something like "a hello form the universe". 😉

I pasted the colored tissue paper on white CS, and die cut circles. I stamped the sentiment, die cut it, and layered it over a few die-cuts to create dimension. I added a few Nuvo drops as a finishing touch.

I'm sharing my card at CAS Mix Up July Challenge. There are a lot of inspiring cards in the gallery. And I want to thank Loll again for creating and sharing the fantastic tutorial video. 

Stamp: Hello Stamp & Cuts (Hero Arts)

Paper: Whisper White (Stampin' Up!), Tissue Paper
Ink: Distress Ink (Mustard Seed, Peacock Feathers, Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean - Ranger)
Accessories: Circles Collection Framelits Dies (Stampin' Up!), Hello Stamp & Cuts (Hero Arts), Nuvo Glitter Drops (White Blizzard - Tonic Studio)

Thanks for visiting me today!

CAS(E) this Sketch #229 - sweet friend

I'm so thrilled and honored to be guest designing this week over at CAS(E) this Sketch! Thank you so much, Chrissy, for the invitation!

This is Hannelie's thought-provoking sketch (#229).

Here's my take on it:

I loved the interlocking blocks behind the main image on Hannelie's sketch, and I wanted to showcase them as much as possible. So I chose to use some outline leaf dies instead of solid leaves.

I watercolored the paper with distress ink, dry embossed it, and cut it into block pieces.
The sentiment was stamped with VersaFine, and heat-embossed with clear embossing powder.

I hope you'll enjoy making your card as much as I did making mine using the sketch! Please check out the design team's creations for more inspiration!


Stamp: Thoughtful Banners (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Watercolor paper (140 lb - Strathmore), Whisper White, Basic Black (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: Distress Ink (Wilted Violet, Blueprint Sketch - Ranger), VersaFine (Onyx Black - Tsukineko)

Accessories: Layering Leaves Dies (Concord & 9th), Embossing Folder (Woven - We R Memory Keepers), Embossing Powder (Ultra Fine Clear - Hero Arts), Sequin (Orchid 4 mm - Pretty Pink Poss), Glossy Accents (Ranger)

Many thanks for visiting my blog today!

CAS Mix Up Card Challenge - thanks

It's July, and time for a new CAS Mix Up Challenge! 
I'm pretty new to this Challenge, but it's already one of my favorite ones. It introduces me to new media and shows me how to use it. It's so fun to try new things every month!

Here's my card - stamping, tissue paper, die-cutting:

I love the colored tissue paper texture. It looks and feels like Washi paper.
I splattered Gold Perfect Pearl over the colored tissue paper, and pasted it on the white panel. I die-cut a leaf image out from the panel, framed the panel, and raised it with foam tape. 

I went overboard today and made a bunch of colored tissue paper, so I'm looking forward to using it for future cards! 😃

Stamp: Vintage Leaves, Endless Thanks (Stampin' Up!)

Paper: Whisper White (Stampin' Up!), Tissue Paper
Ink: Distress Ink (Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade - Ranger), Mossy Meadow (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Leaflets Framelits Dies (Stampin' Up!), Deckled Rectangles Large Dies (Spellbinders), Perfect Pearls (Gold - Ranger), Foam Tape (3M)

Many thanks for visiting me!

CAS(E) this Sketch #228 - happy birthday

Mom's birthday is coming up, so I made a card for her.

When I saw Chrissy's dynamic sketch of CAS(E) this Sketch #228, the curved lines reminded me of the beautiful flowing dresses printed on the Oscar de la Renta postal stamps.

  
I heat embossed the flower pattern (background stamp image) in silver pearl, and colored the flowers with Zig brush markers. 
I also heat embossed the sentiment on a piece of vellum, and layered the vellum over the top half.

Stamp: Something Lacy, Made for You (Stampin' Up!)

Paper: Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: VersaMark (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Dies (Stitched Basic Edges 2 - My Favorite Things), Embossing Powder (Silver Pearl - Wow, Melon Mambo - Stampin' Up!), Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers (Kuretake)

Thanks for checking in!