CAS Mix Up January Challenge - ready, set, snow!

Hi everyone,

Happy New Year! Wishing you another healthy and crafty year!

I am excited to be hosting the first challenge of this year for CAS Mix Up and we are so happy to have a wonderful Guest Designer, Tristan (Tinstar Designs), this month.

I chose Partial Die-cutting as the theme.

As the name of the technique says, you use only part of your dies to cut cardstock and add interest to your card design. If you are not familiar with the technique, there are tutorial video links listed on the challenge site, so please check them out.
I hope you have fun trying the technique and get more out of your dies.

I made a shaker card using the partial die-cutting technique:

Using Partial Die-cutting, stamping, masking, and sponging

[How I made the card]
1. Drew a snow hill line with a pencil.
2. Stamped the bear and Penguin.
3. Aligned the top cutting pad with the edge to be cut, and partially die-cut the bear.

A narrow cutting pad is easier to work with,

but a regular size cutting pad works fine.

4. Partially die-cut the penguin.

5. Partially die-cut the rectangle.

6. Cut the snow hill line with scissors and created a window.

7. Erased the pencil line and colored the bear and the penguin with Zig markers. Added some highlights with a white gel pen.
8. Stamped the sentiment.
9. Glued a piece of acetate from behind the window.
10. Masked a snow hill on the card base, and sponged the sky with light blue Distress Oxide Ink. Splattered some water.
11. Added some glitter drops on the surface of the snow hill.
12. Put a few sequins and some confetti inside the window, and adhered the front panel to the card base with foam tape.

There are fabulous cards our Designers and Guest Designer made for inspiration at the challenge site. Come and join us, and share your wonderful creations with us!

The challenge is open until January 24th.

Stamp: Ready, Set, Snow (My Favorite Things)
Paper: Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Versafine (Onyx Black - Tsukineko),  Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up!), Distress Oxide Ink (Tumbled Glass - Ranger), Zig Real Brush Markers
Accessories: Die-namics (Ready, Set, Snow - My Favorite Things), Infinity Dies (Rectangle - Hero Arts),  Acetate Sheet (Grafix), Foam Tap (3M), Sequins (Sparkling Clear 4 mm - Pretty Pink Posh), Confetti (Ice White Circles - Nuvo), Glitter Drops (White Blizzard - Nuvo), Gel Pen (White - Uni Signo), Connect Glue (Gina K)

CAS Mix Up November Challenge - Stay Awesome

It's time for more inspiration from the CAS Mix Up Design Team and our wonderful Guest Designer, Arlene.
Our challenge for this month is Oxidized Metal. This is our last Challenge for this year, so I hope you join us!

Here's my card:

Using Oxidized Metal Technique, Die-cutting, and Stamping

[How I made the card]
1. Lightly wet a piece of silver foil paper and dropped navy blue and purple ink from re-inker bottles onto the paper.
2. Dried the surface with a heating tool and covered the surface with clear embossing powder.
3. Heated the surface until the color of the embossing powder changed. Last time I heated it too long, so this time I was very careful. 😉
4. Die-cut a cityscape from white cardstock 3 times and layered the pieces.
5. Die cut a tiny star from a dark blue sequin and glued it to one of the buildings.
6. Die-cut a window from the oxidized foil paper and inlaid it in the white frame panel.
7. Glued the cityscape onto the foil paper.
8. Stamped a sentiment in navy blue and then in purple over that. 
9. Attached the window panel to the card base.


I re-made this card a few times. At first, I thought the grungy city buildings were perfect for the Oxidized Metal look, but die-cutting the detailed pieces (building windows in this case) from oxidized metal paper didn't work well for me. The die-cut building didn't look sharp and some foil parts were stuck inside the die because of the pressure of die-cutting and got peeled off.
I still thought this technique was good for a cityscape, so I switched gears and used the oxidized metal piece for the sky.

I know that nobody likes an air-polluted sky (obstructed by so many buildings), but that's the sky I saw most of my life, so I sometimes miss the scenery. 😉

The challenge is open until November 24th. Looking forward to seeing your card in the gallery!

Stamp: Essential Sentiments (My Favorite Things)
Paper: Whisper White, Silver Foil Paper (Stampin' Up!) 
Ink: Night of Navy, Elegant Eggplant (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Die-namics City Block, Blueprints 11 (My Favorite Things), Double Pierced Rectangles (Avery Elle), Embossing Powder (Clear - Hero Arts), Sequins (Rhythm N Blues - Craft Medley), Connect Glue (Gina K)

CAS Mix Up November Challenge - thank you

Welcome to our new challenge at CAS Mix Up!

Our talented Designer, Susan Joyce, is hosting the challenge this month and her theme is Oxidized Metal. Our wonderful guest designer is Arlene (Sudaystamper Papercrafts). 

There are tutorial video links at the challenge site, so please check them out and try this unique technique.

Here's my card:

Using Oxidized Metal Technique, Die-cutting, Heat-embossing, and Stamping

[How I made the card]
1. Lightly wet a piece of silver foil paper and dropped green and blue ink from re-inker bottles on it.
2. Dried the surface with a heating tool and covered the surface with clear embossing powder.
3. Heated the surface until the color of the embossing powder changed.
4. Well, I think I dropped too much ink and heated it too long...
    The surface film started peeling and part of it was completely gone after wiping off the surface with a paper towel. It made an interesting shape, and I didn't want to waste the piece, so I continued making the card using the piece.

5. Made a rectangular window in the front panel using a die, cut the Oxidized Metal piece into a rectangle using the same die, and popped it into the window. Taped them together in the back.
6. Stamped the sentiment and clear-embossed it.
7. Popped up the front panel on the card base and glued the thyme die-cut.


You have until November 24th to link up your card here. Looking forward to seeing your card in the gallery!

Stamp: Yay for You (My Favorite Things)
Paper: Whisper White, Silver Foil Paper (Stampin' Up!) 
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Pacific Point (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Infinity Rectangle Dies (Hero Arts), Rosemary & Thyme (Alexadra Renke), Embossing Powder (Clear - Hero Arts), Foam Tape (3M), Connect Glue (Gina K)