TOMORROW'S TODAY

I almost forgot about my card for the Colour Q challenge this week. So, to make sure I meet the deadline, I'm posting today instead of tomorrow.

Here it is and I know you're thinking you've seen this before. Or one very much like it. You'd be right. I followed the same layout as this card

For my Colour Q card, I applied Crystal Effects to the large flower centers that dried to resemble brads, and dots of Smooch to the small flower centers. Added butterflies, a sentiment that was cut down to eliminate a dotted line and to allow different placement and called it done.

To see more beautiful samples using the colours in the challenge, go here.

Okay, I'm done now, I think :) Two posts in one day- kinda makes up for the days I miss.

Happy Canada Day weekend everyone!

BUTTERFLY PUNCH SAVE & COOL NEWS

Here is a good example of a card going in a direction other than the one I'd planned. Before I share the process, the blue background is not part of the card- it's there for contrast only.

Do you see the little shimmery bit on the butterfly? That is white shimmer ink that I had stamped on white card stock to begin the ink resist technique. I'll do it again so you see how gorgeous the technique is but this time, I went too far. I overstamped the piece with the French words and totally mucked it up. Way too busy! What to do?

This is why this post is called butterfly punch save. It works as a smaller segment.  So, I don't know if there's a name for the technique of cropping or punching your work to get a better result than the large piece, but this time, it's a butterfly punch save.

Don't you just love the calligraphy stamp? Suzanne Cannon (Quietfire Design) does fabulous work and shares it with us in the form of a stamp. Absolutely beautiful.

And the news? Suzanne has invited me to be a guest designer!!! This is so exciting and my brain has been grinding away with ideas to share. Truth: I am also somewhat terrified.

Here is her beautiful blog which also has links you'll want to check out.

So, I hope you have enjoyed your visit here today.

I feel a little bit like my slip is showing but I'm among friends who help me pull it all together.

Thank you for looking! 

BIRTHDAY CARDS

I recently had the pleasure of celebrating birthdays with friends. These are the cards I made for them.

The line drawing images required lots of marker colouring. The bicycle image was stamped with Stazon, then coloured with the markers. The poppies were embossed with black embossing powder, coloured with markers, then clear embossed. This second embossing thickened the black embossing areas but overall, I don't mind the look.

I like how the cards turned out but more than that, I loved celebrating with friends. 

We should do it more often.

Have a wonderful day and I hope you find yourself among friends- often!

Thanks for stopping by blogfriends.

LOVELY LAYERS

No fancy techniques here, just some basic stamping, embossing, sponging and layering. However, just the basics proves that you don't need some out-there technique to make something pretty. Although, personally, I love some of those out-there techniques.

Quite often, our stamping features an image and uses a sentiment like an accessory. For this card, I've done the reverse by featuring the sentiment. How could I not, it's so beautiful!

I hope you have a fantastic day!

Thank you for stopping by.

BARN BOARDS & QUIETFIRE DESIGNS

It's a B-technique today- barn boards. I like going into the grey tones to try for weathered barn boards. This never looks the same way twice which is part of its charm.

The cute words stamp is from Quietfire Design. It is one of the stamps in the Garden Delights set.

When I can, I like to include my technique card for you.

Don't be alarmed by the white left on your dye ink pad. Mine wiped off with a paper towel, no problem at all. (and I can be fussy about my stuff )

So, give it a try!

It's a good way to flex some creative muscle today.

Have a GOOD one!

DOTTY EDGES

A sampler card for you showing Dotty Edges. No rules for this other than placing dots around the edge of a design. I chose to extend the colour to the edge of the cut out and then to match the dots to the colour. Had I coloured just to the frame and left the border white, it would have a different look. That's the beauty of techniques with more than one method.

The colour for the image began with chalking and then I watercoloured ink into areas I wanted darker. This shows the card against a light background and this one.....

is against a dark background with the flash. The first photo shows truer colour.

This is another version using Dotty Edges. I used Spotlighting and then the dots to cover the circle edges. Another fun technique and I'm sure you could find many more samples online.

Thanks for looking and I hope you have a spectacular day!

TESTING 1,2,3

This card uses stamps and inks I did not want. During my first look through the new SU! catalogue, this stamp set did not make the cut. Nor did the new colours. By the time I placed the order, the stamp set had made it onto the list. I have used it repeatedly since I got it. 

 I noticed other bloggers work using the new in colors and thought the green would be nice for Christmas. Jutta came over with her new set of inks and paper, I tested them out and they're on my list. They are so vibrant!

I turned my sampler into a card and love it all.

So, all this has taught me that I can't trust my first impression  :) and that SU! consistently comes out with things I love. 

Have a wonderful day!

Thanks for looking.