Nautical Thinking of You - AHSC #318

Today's post is my design team creation for this week's sketch over at the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. 

Using your embossing folders in a letter press technique is a fun way to get more from your supplies! I inked up the back side with 2 different colored small ink cubes, carefully inserted my cardstock and then ran it through my embossing machine. This resulted in an inked design that is debossed (recessed design) into the paper rather than embossed (raised design).

Lots of little extra details are what make a card come alive and here I've utilized foam mounting squares, jute twine thread, gold glitter dots, cross stitch edged die cuts and fussy cutting to enhance my design.

I also just love using Versafine black ink for my sentiments -the ink coverage is crisp and thick!

Until next time~

Mother's Day - AHSC #316

Thanks for joining me for the sketch of the week over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. I love using sketches as my jumping off point when I am creating.

For this card, I used some of the succulent patterned paper and a card front that came in the February Paper Pumpkin kit from Stampin' Up! The pattern on the card front is a nice subtle gray that I had a hard time getting the camera to pick up on.

I colored the gorgeous teacup in soft watercolor pencils and added the vellum for a nice feminine touch. The use of pop dots for added dimension helps the focal point jump off and catch your eye  a bit more.

My mom and grandma always gardened and have house plants now and when I was growing up, so that's where I guess I get my love of plants from. Although, until I recently moved to a house with better lighting, and really started paying attention to plant care I never thought I had a green thumb...I thought it had skipped me over, lol!

Until next time~

Betta Half - AHSC #314

Hello and welcome to this week's card sketch using the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. 

This was a fun card to make because I just got this stamp set from Hero Arts and was really looking forward to using it for the first time! It's a multi layered stamp set that requires no coloring of the Betta fish body because the ink colors you choose do all the work for you. I have kept Betta fish as pets for quite a few years now and their natural beauty never ceases to capture my interest. 

The subtle bubble background paper was something that I made well over 10 years ago and had saved in my stash, so I was very happy to find the perfect way to put it to good use. You can't tell from the pictures, but I did color in the seaweed with a clear sparkle brush pen for some subtle shimmer.

EDIT UPDATE: Ok, so I knew when I finished this card 2 weeks ago that something felt "off" about it...I just felt like it needed a little something more! I looked through all my border stickers and couldn't find what I was looking for, so I took the blog pictures anyway and moved on to a different project. THEN, when I sat down to edit these photos and write this blog post, it hit me...skinny silver glitter washi tape... THAT is exactly what this card needs, lol. So I added it and guess what? I think I was right - It really draws the eye to the fish as the focal point and it's perfect now! What do you think??? Did you like it better with or without the last minute addition of the washi tape?

Until next time~

Hip-Hippo-Ray - AHSC #312

Hello and welcome to this week's edition of the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge! Today's card is sweet and simple and will be sent to one of my nieces for her 9th birthday at the end of the month.

While it may be hard to see from the top photo, I did add some dimension to the card front by using adhesive foam dots on both the back of the hippo circle and the sentiment banner.

This sweet little hippo is from a set I got from Itsy Bitsy when I was on their design team and I colored her up very simply using watercolor pencils in gray and pink. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but I also used a shimmer brush for the shadow under her feet.

The patterned papers are left over from a paper pack that my daughter left behind when she went to grad school several years ago...gotta use up that crafty stash, lol!

Until next time~

Cactus Hello - AHSC #310

Hello again and welcome to the month of April! Hopefully spring is now headed to your neck of the woods, but if not you can always try growing succulents indoors like the ones I feature here today on my AHSC design team card using this week's sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. I will also be entering it in the following challenges @ The Paper Players for "Tic Tac Toe" (on the diagonal using diecut/embossing/floral), @ Dare2BArtzy for "Anything Goes" and @ Penny Black and More for "Going Round in Circles". 

I have admired succulents for a long time and successfully kept aloes and Thanksgiving Cactus alive over the last few years, but after the harsh Midwestern winter we are coming out of I decided to try my hand at acquiring a larger indoor succulent collection to help keep the feeling of spring alive all year long. (below, is a pic of the first 6 babies I just got a few weeks ago...all have been re-potted and are doing well) 

When I looked through my stamp collection, I was very happy to find that I already owned several nice sets that contained succulent or cactus images...the card today was made by combining plant stamps from a  Stampin' Up set with pot stamps from a Close to my Heart set. Turned out to be the perfect combination!

I fussy cut all the plant and pot images and then mounted them flat to the card front. I also used a diecut from Spellbinders for the "hello" edgecut and then carefully dry embossed selectively the area below with the tiny circle dots to tie it together with the blue pattern paper at the top of the card and add some dimensional interest.

That's it for me today, but I would love for you to join us in our sketch challenge and I am sure you will be seeing more succulents featured on cards here in the future too.

AHSC #308 - Rosy Thanks

Today's design team card for Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge uses Sketch #308 and doesn't have much stamping on it but instead makes good use of this gorgeous patterned paper from Close To My Heart.

I love using textured cardstock when I want a solid color to make more of a statement, which I did here with the two shades of gray. 

The two lighter colors of the patterned paper are very subtle and hard to capture on camera, but in the top left corner is a thick, pale pink stripe and in the lower right is a light gray polkadot.

That's it for me until next time,

AHSC #306 - Pink Peony Birthday

Welcoming March and the coming of spring using soft, pretty colors and lovely peonies this week! Designed using sketch #306 from the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge , I made this card for my Grandma's upcoming birthday... 

My card differs slightly from the sketch in where I placed my bow, but that's only because I had to hide a mistake I made while embossing (at the last minute) in the bottom right corner of the card, lol.

I kept it simple on the inside but loved being able to showcase the shade differences in Close To My Heart's (CTMH) colored cardstock...man, this cardstock is brilliant! One side is the darker shade and the other side is the lighter shade...it's like having 2 pieces of co-ordinating cardstock in one and I am loving using it! It's quickly becoming my "go-to" cardstock!

Fine Detailed gold embossing powder is the key to capturing all the gorgeous details in these peony stamps (also from CTMH). A little bit of sparkle pen traced over the charcoal grey sentiment and just 3 mini gold pearls completed the look.

Come join in the fun with us over at Atlantic Hearts and until next time~

AHSC #304: CAS Die Cut Birthday Wishes

Today's card creation for the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge Design Team uses only diecuts on the front and a single sentiment stamp on the inside. 

I went for springy shades of blue-greens since we're still seeing piles of snow and gray skies where I live, lol. 

Sweet and simple inside too...

The tiny pearls added the perfect finishing touch!

That's it for me today ~ Happy Monday!