Party Animals - Free shipping

Hi stampin' friends! Sometimes I just love to create simple, yet I think, effective cards. My style...watercolor and then combine the image/scene with a stenciled background. That is just what I did for these 2 birthday cards:

I saw this stamp and die set called Party Animal at the Pink and Main website and just loved all the images and sentiments. I am a subscriber of their Monthly Subscription Kit and therefore receive a 10% discount on all their other products. Win/Win for me!

I do have a Brother Scan 'n Cut, but still buy coordinating dies for they cut out more detail than I seem to be able to achieve with my machine. What is so special about Pink and Main's dies? 1) they are pink, so you definitely know to what company they belong, if they get misplaced (never happens, right?), and 2) the packaging has the pink outline of the dies so you know right where to put them back and if any are missing!

I stamped all the images with Altenew's Obsidian Black Ink on Tim Holtz's Distress Watercolor Cardstock, sprinkled while still wet Nuvo's Crystal Clear Embossing Power and heat set.

Then I watercolored all the images using Daniel Smith's 238 Dot Card set I have been loving lately for the great variety and smooth application.

I used a NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) stencil that I have had for a while called The Crafter's Workshop Numbers Collage:

With a little Pixie Spray on the back it ink blended beautifully with Distress Oxide Prize Ribbon (love this color!) and my Scrapbook.com Foam Blending Tools:

Here they are side by side:

I used my new Penny Black Dainty Dashes Creative Dies to cut an interesting border and still leave white showing. These are on clearance now at Scrapbook.com and right now free shipping over $70 (4/11/22 - 3 days only) with the code APRILSHIP22!

The sentiments are stamped with Versamark Ink and then just white heat embossed with Nuvo Detail Glacier White Embossing Power onto black cardstock. Lawn Fawn's Licorice is my favorite to use. Works the best for some reason.  Don't forget to all prep your cardstock with a Magic Anti-Static Pad first.

Cutie patoodies!

Thanks for hanging in there. I will be submitting to the following challenges:

Be well, my friends! Enjoy the crafty life...

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

You're Pandastic!

Hi friends! Can you believe it is time for April's Paper Funday Challenge? The months just roll around so quickly. This month Lee Holland Art is one of our sponsors and I choose the cute cute digital stamp: Panda on a Branch:

My original thought was that this would be a "Hang in There" type of card, but I changed my mind when I saw in my stash Katie's Cutie's Panda Stamp with the sentiment "You're Pandastic"! This was a stamp & die set from The Greetery which is now retired and I am just using it now...

To begin I printed the image on my Brother Laser Printer with Ranger Tim Holtz Watercolor Paper which is my most used. It's bright white, has a smooth and a textured side, it is not too thick and doesn't warp very much.  All perfect for card making. I used the textured side for these images to give the white fur-like texture.

What I really wanted to do was to have a play with the new set of Daniel Smith Dot Watercolor Cards I bought from Blick Art: 4 cards with 238 colors to try! Full set syndrome on a small scale.

The genius of these dot watercolor cards is that you can try almost every color in the line without breaking the bank. And if you know watercolors, they go a very long way. I took a dampish brush and swiped the colors so that I could see the actual color and then I just played. Daniel Smith is a high quality watercolor and can be expensive if bought in quantity. This way, using the dots, when I want to purchase a tube, I will know which are my favorites.

I used blues and greens and the dot cards had 5 different blacks to try. I found out that, right now, Cobalt Teal Blue is definitely a favorite. If you are new to watercolor, these Daniel Smith watercolor dot cards also come in a set of 66 for under $5.00! You can't beat that.

I made 2 cards cut them both down with rectangle die cuts in my stash: Sugar Pea Designs Stitched Scallop Rectangles and a Gina Marie Design from Joy Clair Designs (now retired). Popped them up on Fun Foam for a nice even layer that won't bend in the mail.

Joy Clair Designs has many many dies that are so reasonably priced. I am always looking for a new rectangle set - my most used items. 

Next, I stamped a background with a leafy type image from a retired set I have in my stash from The Stamp Market called Field Flowers. I wanted a kind of bamboo look. One background is green and one is blue.

I know this post is long, but these cards came together very quickly and that Daniel Smith Watercolor is stunning in real life! Thank you to Lee Holland Art for their sponsorship this month. They have tons of really cute images to color on their Etsy Shop.  Give it a try!

I am also submitting to NBUS for this challenge group keep me using my stash, which is a very good thing!:

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Bunny Garden Stencil

Hi my friends! Today I have more Easter cards using my favorite stencil from A Colorful Life Designs called Bunny Garden:

and My Favorite Things BB Spring Gnomes and Coordinating Die. I used the little eggs and the half carrot on these cards:

I am playing along with the following challenges:

I used Pastel, Rabbit and Coloring - straight through the middle.

I used the photo only - those cute rabbits!

For the Card Concept, I was inspired by the rabbit images for my Clean & Layered Card.

I made 2 cards, ink blended both, but one I applied Brutus Monroe's Glitter Glaze - Fallen Snow through the stencil and one I left alone.

Don't you just love that little half carrot? I used it on almost all my Easter cards this year!

I tried to capture the sparkle in these pictures.

This Bunny Garden Stencil has been so versatile for me this year. I've really enjoyed using it - and can't wait to try more of the stencils from A Colorful Life Designs!

Thank you to the challenge hosts and you for joining me today!

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.