Waltzingmouse Flower Show CASE 2 ~

Hi there!  I’m back with another card for the Waltzingmouse Flower Show CASE challenge.  I won’t have time to bop in tomorrow, so I thought I’d just post them back to back.  This one was also inspired by JJ Bolton. 

I wanted to make another Thank You card for my step-daughter, but I found that the Folk Art medallion was too large for a standard size card.  I didn’t want her to have to pay extra postage so I chose to use one of my favorite Waltzingmouse sets, Festive Foliage. 

Instead of using the full panel in vellum, I used just a strip across the center.  Super simple!  I may keep this one for my Christmas thank yous though!  Thanks again for stopping by!

 

Alyssa

Waltzingmouse Flower Show CASE 1 ~

Hey there!  I’m squeezing in here with a little card for the Waltzingmouse Flower Show CASE challenge.  I was inspired by JJ Bolton with her gold embossed black card

I used Folk Art medallions and embossed the large image in black with the accents in gold.  I went with a square card base and used my Lil’ Inker Designs Stitched Squares to cut it out.

I couldn’t find a great place to put a sentiment, so I left it blank.  K, I’ll be back in just a second with another card I made for this challenge.  Thanks for stopping by! 

 

Alyssa

Runway Inspired Thank You ~

Hola!  I’m bopping in at the last minute to share a thank you card I made inspired by RIC #34.  It’s kind of humorous to look through the submissions for this inspiration pic because everyone had mostly the same interpretation.  There are some real gems in there though.  That’s part of the reason I love participating in challenges and hops – all the inspiration that can be found through the links to blogs you may have never seen otherwise.

I’m making a bunch of thank you cards for my step-daughter.  She is turning 18 and then a couple weeks later, she will be graduating from high school.  I wanted them to be interesting but mail-able so I stuck to a pretty CAS design.  This is just one of a few different designs I’ll be making for her.  She is still a teenager; she gets bored easily.  lol

The larger sizes of the ginkgo branches are stamped in Versafine Onyx Black and clear embossed.  The smaller sizes are stamped in VOB, over stamped in glue (gotta love clear stamps for easy placement!) and covered in black flock.  It didn’t work as perfectly as I may have liked, but it does give this very plain card some interest.  I also added a couple of Studio Calico enamel dots to mimic the model’s pretty lips!  I’m throwing this one into the Simon Says Stamp Challenge – anything goes!  The more you enter, the more chances to win ;)   Thanks so much for stopping by!!

 

Alyssa

April Papertrey Ink Blog Hop ~

Hey there!  I’m jumping in with a quick post for the Papertrey Ink April blog hop.  The challenge this month is to design on an angle – something I don’t love to do!  I’m way too OCD for tilty things :)  Here’s my card

I used the leafy vine die and stacked two on top of each other for the tilted angle.  The hb sentiment is from Mother, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black…had I thought to add it before the vines, it would be embossed but I forgot to think that far ahead! 
The violets are white embossed and watercolored with reinkers.   interested about the colors I used, leave a comment and I’ll respond.  I'm linking this up with the Moxie Fab World's Wonder of Watercolor challenge.  Lastly, I added some fun lavendar rhinestones in a *random* pattern.  Ha!  I tried for random and can never make it look like the pros!  I’m also entering this into the CAS-ual Fridays birthday challenge and Simon Says Stamp challenge - anything goes.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great time on the hop!

Alyssa

All that Glitters ~

Hey all!  Here is my card for the current CAS-ual Fridays challenge

It was inspired by my gorgeous step-daughter’s fabulous prom dress

I used VersaMark and interference powders with some glossy accents and varied glitters for some extra sparkle!


And a detail shot of the pretty feathers

Thanks for stopping by!
ETA:  Argh!!  I was trying to link this up at the very last minute and the linky thing froze up.  Boo!  It didn't get in for the challenge :(

Birthday Wishes ~

Hey there!  I have a fun little birthday card to share today.  The idea struck me when I saw the CASual Fridays challenge #97 – chevron and flowers. I recently got the chevron dies from PTI, so I knew I had to play along.  I started by cutting out a couple of chevron pieces from a leftover cereal box…see, I was going to make my own embossing folder with the pieces.  I ended up using the negative piece as a mask on the card base with Memento new sprout ink.

 

I went to emboss some flowers and found my heat gun had died!  Argh…my plan needed embossing so off I ran to the nearest big box craft store armed with my 50% off coupon.  I found a stamp that I’d been coveting for some time at 70% off – woohoo!  It’s like it was meant to be   Life got in the way, so I was finally able to finish today.  Not before I found more inspiration though. 

  The Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger is a gorgeous picture of pink magnolia blossoms.  I was inspired to color the large bloom in soft pink with a bright yellow center and darker pink shadows.  I had to dust off my color pencils for this one.  It was fun, but I need a little practice with these babies.

  Pink and orange are super springy and vibrant, so I added a couple orange flowers to flank the birthday die cut.  I’m also adding this to the Simon Says Stamp challenge: April showers and/or Spring Flowers and The Pink Elephant #194: Spring colors.  

  Thanks for stopping by!  Have a super week! 

 

Alyssa

CARDS April Challenge ~

Hello!  I’m back today with a fun little card for the April CARDS blog challenge. 

Lil' Inker Designs in the sponsor for this month and will be giving away the Mom die, the Dad die and the Mom & Dad Sentiment Stamp set to the winner!  April is a fun color challenge!

I chose to make another ‘Mom’ card to have on hand because my mom is so very awesome!  I chose a sweet little layout that I stole from my teammate Debby Hughes (who has a new blog, by the way!)

I chose a pattern paper with a funky, retro design to represent the green color.  The navy is the stamped sentiment from the set that is being given away and the embroidery floss bow.  The little heart is the scrap from the die cut of the shrinky dink key chains that I made for the release last week. 

Thanks so much for stopping on by!  Have fun with the challenge!

 

Alyssa

Lil’ Inker Designs April Release Day 3 ~

Hello!  Welcome back to the final day of the Lil’ Inker Designs April release!  You should’ve arrived here from the amazing Alicia’s blog.  If not, head on back to the lovely Laura’s to get started off right.  Today I have a couple of simple Mom and Dad cards for you. 

First off, I was inspired to make my Dad’s father’s day card because of our love of Superman.  He had a Superman belt buckle that I stole from him around my senior year of high school, and he ended up gifting it to me when I went to college.  I thought the new word die might be a fun way to customize a “SuperDad” symbol.

I created a symbol on graph paper and then fussy cut it out of red cardstock, die cut the dad die and backed it with yellow polka dot paper.  It was a little plain, so I added some flicks of yellow acrylic paint (another first for me!).  The sentiment is from Bunny Star – the ‘Super’ had to be masked from a larger sentiment in the set.  Pretty simple, but fun!

Next is a card for a mom.  I had initially thought I would send it to my mother-in-law since her son is so very tattooed, and she took him to get his first tattoo when he was 16.  Funny thing is that she really doesn’t like tattoos!  I realized that I sent her a card with the stamped roses for her birthday in January, so I’m not sure I can get away with sending her this one too.

I was inspired by the classic ‘50s style ‘Mom’ tattoo.  I began by stamping a bed of roses, popping the heart up on foam tape, the mom die cut on foam tape and adding an arrow from Of the Heart.

Lastly, I decided to play around with a little shrinky dink and see if I could create a couple of key chains with the word dies.  I’ve had this stuff for about 5 years and have never opened the package!  No better time than the present   I used a few different Copic colors to create an ombre gradient and die cut the words, popped those babies in the oven at 275 F for about 5 minutes and then fine tuned them with my heat gun.  Unfortunately, the plan was to use the little hole at the top of the mom die to attach the jump ring but it ended up shrinking too small. 

         

The first picture shows the colored plastic before heading into the oven.  The second is a comparison of size after shrinkage.  Lastly, (obviously) is the assembled keychain.  I super <3 the mom one…I’ll have to think of a creative way to use it on a card!

 

 

That’s it for me today!  Thanks for stopping by on this uber long post Don’t forget to comment for your chance to win.  Your next stop is the awesome Amy!  Have a great day!

 

Alyssa

Lil’ Inker Designs April Release Day 2 ~

Welcome back to the Lil’ Inker Designs Release blog hop!  You should’ve arrived here from Alicia’s blog; if not, head on back to Laura’s to get started off on the right foot!  Today we are introducing the stitched scallop die which is just like it sounds – the signature LID stitching on a scallop shaped border die.  So fun!

I really thought it was about time I jumped on the ombre bandwagon, and I came up with this little number

Scarlet jewel, autumn rose, sweet blush and vintage cream loveliness!  The card base is cut just a bit shorter in the front so it rests on the scallops.  Don’t you just love that stitched detail??  This card would be ho-hum without it…it’s just the perfect touch.  The sentiment is masked from Pinwheel Sentiments.  I’ll be linking this up with the Moxie Fab World Ombre challenge!

I decided to make a little treat bag for my little man for Easter as well.  Some time ago, I saw a post on Pinterest about planting jelly beans and them growing into lollipops.  I just knew I needed to make something for Z’s Easter basket with the 2 Cute Ink Funny Bunnies set right then and there.   

I printed out a little label and stuffed some ‘magic’ coated jelly beans in a bag.  The sweet little bunny got colored up and cut out…and then it sat until 5:30 the night before Easter.  In a rush to get it into his basket, I decided to use the stitched scallop to create a bag topper.  Isn’t he a cutie?  Here’s a close up and my little guy planting his magic beans and then finding his lollipop in the morning

      

Don’t forget to comment along the way for your chance at two $10 gift certificates to Lil’ Inker Designs.  Now head on over Amy’s blog for more gorgeous creations.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Alyssa