Use a Stencil at Cardz 4 Guyz

The new challenge for the next two weeks at Cardz 4 Guyz is #241 - Use a Stencil, chosen by Sue with the winners picked by Heidi.

Please check out the blog for details and also to see the wonderful samples by our Design Team.

I've used two stencils for this card.  The paler background (sponged with Cajun Craze ink) is "Small Brick Wall" by MIX-ables Stencils while the grass, plant and dragonfly (sponged with Mossy Meadow and Bermuda Bay ink) are "Mini Butterfly Meadow" by The Crafter's Workshop.  I love the way they work together, don't you?

After creating my scene with stencils, I cut the piece out using my fancy double stitched rectangle die and then mounted it onto two strips of Cajun Craze cardstock.  Then I attached the whole to my base of Heavy Whisper White cardstock.

I hope you enjoy my card as much as I enjoyed making it.  Have fun with our challenge.

Ink and/or Paint at Cardz 4 Guyz

The new challenge for the next two weeks at Cardz 4 Guyz is #239 - Ink and/or Paint, chosen and hosted by Sian.

Please check out the blog for details and also to see the wonderful samples by the Design Team.

I think the die for the Eiffel Tower, released by Stampin' Up! in their Mini Catalogue this year, is stunning and so versatile.  Even if a person hasn't been to Paris in the Springtime, the sheer number of paintings and photographs of the profusions of blossoms and greenery makes it hard not to be aware of the beauty that abounds.  I used my inks to create an "explosion" of colours onto which I mounted my metallic Eiffel Tower and the sentiment.  Which guy wouldn't enjoy receiving this for his birthday?

The base of the card is the Heavy Whisper White, while the matte is Blackberry Bliss.  I've used the Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow and Tangerine Tango inks for the background.

I hope you enjoy my card as much as I enjoyed creating it.  Have fun with our challenge!

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Creative Fingers Challenge #180 - Anything Goes

Happy Little Stampers February - Anything Goes with Dies

WWC245 - Anything Goes Challenge

Oh my goodness!  It's time for one of our awesome "Anything Goes" Challenges.  Just for fun I decided to used the sweet Magnolia Blooms stamp set for a fancy fold.  The Magnolia Blooms set is the "baby sister" to the much larger Good Morning Magnolia stamp set.  It doesn't come with a die set but for my purposes, it's gorgeous (and much, much more reasonably priced).

I used the Heavy Whisper White for my base, added a layer of Highland Heather and another of Purple Posy.  Then I took a piece of Whisper White and embossed the centre using the gorgeous oval from the Heirloom Frames 3D embossing folders set.  I love the depth of embossing as well as the dainty "engraving" that covers the oval.  Finally, I cut a piece of Purple Posy cardstock using my oval stitched die.  On that, I stamped the large magnolia image from the Magnolia Blooms set, using the Gray Granite ink.

I coloured the leaves and the outer portion of the petals with the White Stampin' Chalk Marker.  Once the leaves dried, I coloured them using my Mossy Meadow Stampin' Marker.  For the petals, I added another two layers of the Chalk Marker to achieve as solid white a colour as possible.  Leaving the inner portion of the petals the original colour of the Purple Posy cardstock worked out well for this image.  Finally, for the centre of the flower, I used my gold Nuvo Crystal Drops.

For the inside of the card I cut a piece of Purple Posy cardstock using a stitched rectangle die.  Then I added an outline of the Stitched Nested Labels dies in Mossy Meadow cardstock.  Finally I added a Whisper White stitched rectangle with the sentiment stamped using Purple Posy ink.

I love how beautifully the easel card stands, don't you?

I hope you'll check out the wonderful creations by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I've entered my card into the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #105 - Anything Goes

Get Creative Challenges #85 - Anything Goes

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge #116 - Anything Goes

WWC228 - Marsha's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Oh I love our fabulous Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenges.  What fun to be able to create anything as long as I give it a feminine twist.  And what could be a better patterned paper to reach for than that gorgeous Pressed Petals Specialty Designer Series paper?  The images are photographs and simply "pop" off the page!

Look at that wreath of flowers.  Doesn't it look as if I've added real pressed flowers to my card?  Well, I haven't.  The patterns on this paper are all so incredibly realistic that they seem to be 3-D.  The butterflies?  Now those are 3-D since I cut them from Soft Suede using the gorgeous Butterfly Beauty Thinlits dies which carried over and are now in the Annual Catalogue.  The Soft Suede compliments the patterns I've cut from the retired Sale-a-bration paper, doesn't it?  I lifted the lower right butterfly up on a foam Dimensional while the upper left butterfly is simply glued down along the centre of its body.

I've used the sentiment on the front of the card and inside the card from the Beauty Abounds stamp set (also carried over into the Annual Catalogue).  It's hard to tell, but it's stamped using the Mossy Meadow ink.  The two layers of cardstock on top of the Heavy Whisper White are actually Rococo Rose and Mossy Meadow.

Those pretty butterflies and the "bokeh" circles inside the card are also from the Beauty Abounds stamp set.  I used the Merry Merlot and Rococo Rose inks to continue with the colours in the patterned paper.  The sentiment is, again, stamped using Mossy Meadow ink.

I hope you'll check out the wonderful creations by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I've entered my card into the following challenges:

Artistic Inspirations Challenge #216 - Anything Goes

Tuesday Throwdown Challenge #435 - Anything Goes

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #97 - Anything Goes

WWC204 - Gail's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Both my husband and my son-in-law are avid fly-fishermen and so the brand new Best Catch bundle in the Stampin' Up! Occasions Catalogue was on my very first order.

I used a special "X" fold for this card because it added dimension and spotlights the action.  I thought the wonderful Floral Romance Specialty Designer paper would be perfect for the card and so I took all my greens from the paper.  The hardest thing about the card, I will admit, was the fussy-cutting I chose to do along the left side of the card.  I wanted those leaves hanging over the opening and love the effect, don't you?

For the base of my card I used the Mossy Meadow cardstock.  I love the way it compliments the other colours and also gives a real "out-in-the-woods" feel to the card.  For the narrow panel I made a background using my re-inkers and some of my Brushos.  It looked like moving water--perfect for the die-cut fisherman.

For my fish I wound up using two layers.  The top layer is vellum onto which I've heat embossed the trout using silver embossing powder.  Then I used my Stampin' Blends to colour both the front and back of the vellum.  I found that intensified the colour, which I was hoping it would.  The second layer isn't stamped at all, but is merely a piece of Whisper White which I've also die-cut with the same die.  It really helps the colours to "pop".

The reeds and grasses are included among the dies in this bundle but don't have a stamp to go with it.  I found it was easy to colour the grasses and reeds using my Stampin' Markers.  The cattails have an extra glow thanks to my Wink of Stella.

Finishing off, I stamped the sentiment on Whisper White, cut it out with my 1" punch and then mounted it on a square of Mossy Meadow, cut with the smallest of my Stitched Squares.

The above pattern should help should you wish to try this fancy fold pattern.

And let's not forget that the talented Sandie Munro is our Guest Designer this week as well.  Check out her work and the wonderful creations by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I've also entered this creation in the following challenges:

Crafty Creations Challenges #382 - Anything Goes

The Male Room #102 - Anything Goes

Simply Create Too #145 - Anything Goes