Pets or Animals at Die Cut Diva's

Hello, fellow die lovers!  Have you entered the current challenge at Die Cut Diva's yet?  This month's challenge is Pets or Animals and we are sponsored by the fabulous Frantic Stamper!  They are offering an adorable prize, worth $20!

I decided to use a Frantic Stamper die that I already owned to make this card:

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Pink Paper
Frantic Stamper Floral Frame & Hummingbirds, #FRA-DIE-10412
Oxide Inks
Impression Obsession Love Die, #DIE385-B
Wood Heart {you could use this one}
VersaMark Pad 
Hero Arts Pink Prisma Embossing Powder {from My Monthly Hero Kit, Jan. 2018. But any of these pink embossing powders would work}
3 mm Pink Crystals {I got these from online, looking at the Nail Art section!}

The first step to making this card was gathering all my pink, purple, and red Oxide Inks plus a piece of watercolor paper to make the floral frame.  I just worked the colors until I was happy; layering them, spritzing them, adding more color, subtracting color, and I didn't write down the colors I used.  If you have any Oxide inks then you are familiar with the process - if you don't have any Oxide inks, what are you waiting for?!?  Once the paper was fully dry {this is very important - it is disastrous trying to die cut wet, or even slightly damp, paper - trust me!}, I cut out the frame.

Then I cut the hummingbirds out of white card and attached little pink gems for their eyes {as I said above, I got these from the Nail Art Supply section of an online retailer - I got 10 different colors, all divided up in a container similar to a weekly medicine holder, for less than $5!} and set them aside to dry.  

Meanwhile, I chose a wooden heart from my stash and began embossing it with VersaMark ink and pink embossing powder.  I think I embossed it at least 10 times; I didn't want any of the wood to show through.  I actually worked on the

heart for two days, obviously taking many breaks along the way.  I had a scrap piece of paper floating around on my desk from this project and, frankly, I was at the point where it needed to be used or thrown out.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the shimmer on the scrap matched the shimmer on the heart really well.  So I cut the word love from that paper and attached it {draped it?} over my wooden heart.  The heart was glued onto the card, as were the hummingbirds and there you have it!

Looking at this write up it makes it appear that there was a lot of work involved making this card, but the construction went smoothly and it didn't seem as labor intensive as this tutorial sounds.  I wanted to stretch myself and NOT use cats on the card - trust me, they are my go-to, as many of you may know - and it was fun to think outside the litter box!  I hope you can find some time to enter the Pets or Animals challenge at Die Cut Diva's because you can't win if you don't play!  Fondly, Christi

I am entering my Floral Hummingbirds Card in the following challenges:
Die Cuttin' Divas - #374, Heat Embossing 
Shopping Our Stash - #359, She's a Crafting Machine {used Big Shot & Heat Gun}
Back to Basics - #5, Heat Embossing
Sunny Day Crafting - #25, Any Animal 
Happy Little Stampers - (M) Anything Goes with Dies

I Love Your Face!

One of my recently acquired stamp sets is from Neat & Tangled and it's called "Friendly Florals."  I just cannot stop coloring this fantastic set!  My boss is going through a terrible time at work right now and I really think she could use a cheer up; plus, we always say "I miss your face" to each other, so this is a perfect card for her!

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Zig Clean Color Markers
Neat & Tangled Friendly Florals Stamps
Neat & Tangled Friendly Florals Dies
Spellbinders Vintage Pierced Banners, #S4-820
Hero Arts Ink in Amethyst
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Dimensional Dots 

I stamped the flower arrangement on watercolor paper using archival ink in Jet Black and then colored with Clean Color Markers using a detail water brush.  I've been doing so much water coloring lately I've noticed it really does matter what paper you use;  the inexpensive paper will pill and even rip if you rework your color a few times, whereas the more expensive paper will put up with a lot more 'abuse.'  The expensive paper also seems to make my colors flow more easily, but I'm not sure if that is the truth or just my mind justifying the cost <smile>.

Another Peek

Anyway, once the flowers were dry, I cut them with the coordinating die.  Setting them aside, I stamped the sentiment on some plain white card and die cut it.  I positioned both where I wanted and used dimensional dots to attach them to the white card base.  As a finishing touch, I stamped some little dots {the stamp is included with the set} in a coordinating purple.

I really love how pretty this card is; it just seems so happy! It's just what the doctor ordered for someone who is struggling.  Thank you so much for stopping by; I really appreciate your views and comments. ~ fondly, Christi

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Just a reminder - my giveaway end on June 30, 2018 - you can get all the details here.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~    
  I am entering my "I Love Your Face" Card in the following challenges:
Addicted to CAS - #139, Girl Power

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - #112, Q is for Quotes

Crafty Catz - #422, Anything Goes w/ the Option of Beautiful Blooms

Aud Sentiments - #206, Anything Goes w/ a Sentiment

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Bright & Cheerful {entry 2}

Moving Along With the Times - #74, June Blooms

Crafting by Designs - Flowers, flowers, flowers!

Calling all Sistahs -#14, Encouraging Card

The Flower Challenge - #21, Use a Previous Challenge, I used Challenge 1 {anything goes}

 

Get Well Card

My sweet neighbor was having some minor dental surgery (if ANY surgery can really be called minor) so I made her this get well card.

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Neat & Tangled Friendly Florals Stamp Set
Neat & Tangled Friendly Florals Die Set
Zig Clean Color Markers
Gelly Roll White Gel Pen (for the center of some flowers)
Watercolor Paper
Lawn Fawn Scripty Sayings, #LF844
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Hero Arts Ink in Amethyst 

I've been coloring this stamp set since I bought it and I must say it has moved to the front of the line for the coloring fun it offers.  I've been making cards furiously with it; faster than I can even take pictures or blog about them!  And the dies work like a dream; I haven't had to throw out a single cut, except where *I* messed up - very easy to line up!  I actually had one set of these flowers colored and cut already but it was so easy to make a matching bunch.  I like how the florals "frame" the sentiment.

As I said, I quickly colored another bouquet of flowers, adding some of the extra flowers and leaves.  Once I had the placement of all my flowers, I stamped the sentiment directly onto the card; I don't use these stamps nearly enough!  The flowing script is so cute and it was one of the very first Lawn Fawn sets I ever bought.  I like that Lawn Fawn doesn't discontinue their stamps in what seems like a second; I hate it when you FINALLY purchase a set you have been dying for and the next thing you know the manufacturer "retires" it!  Not that retirement ever stops me from using a set - I just like to let my readers know where I found the products I use and it stinks if I can't provide a link.  I have fond memories of seeing a set used on cards and trying to find out who made them.  Before Lawn Fawn, I was strictly a Tim Holtz kinda gal (and I still do love Tim!)  Nothing cute here!  My tastes have grown, I'd say!

Another Peek

Anyhow, I attached the flowers directly to the card, framing my sentiment, and had the Man leave it for her on her table for her to see when she returned from her operation.  We care for her little dog, Lola, when she won't be available in time to feed her or let her out.  It's fantastic because I get all the good stuff about owning a dog (Lola used to stay here in our home when the previous owner lived here; she will often walk right in, which doesn't thrill the cats very much, but they have all gotten used to each other and there is minimal hissing and spitting now) but I don't have to deal with all the yucky dog stuff.  Except the yard poop patrol because Lola wants to ensure everyone knows this is HER house, too, so she leaves her scent all around.

The card was sweetly appreciated and she is well on the way to having her mouth back.  I was happy to make this card for her; I truly enjoyed coloring the flowers.  I hope you like it as much as I do!  Thank you so much for stopping by.  Also, a quick note to let you know I do have a giveaway going on right now (until the end of the month) so you might want to check out all the details here.  Have a great day! Christi

I am entering my Get Well Card in the following challenges:
Crafting by Designs - Flowers, Flowers, Flowers!
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Bright & Cheerful
Tuesday Throwdown - #397, You're on my Mind
Allsorts - Use 2 or More Dies {I used the floral die twice}
The Flower Challenge - #21,  Use a Previous Challenge {I used #1, Anything Goes}
Creatalicious Challenges - #141, Anything Goes, with optional Flowers

Happy Father's Day!

Since the cats were so thoughtful and got me some Harry & David truffles for Mother's Day, I figured the least I can do is make them a card to give to their dad for Father's Day! I hope you like it!

What I Used to Make my Card:
Vanilla Card Base
Lawn Fawn Shadow Box Card Dies, #LF1486 (I used the hills only)
Lawn Fawn Bayou Backdrop, #LF1624
Lawn Fawn Rub-A-Dub-Dub Stamp set, #LF1583
Lawn Fawn Rub-A-Dub-Dub Dies set, #LF1584
Lawn Fawn Toadally Awesome Stamp set, #LF1581
Lawn Fawn Toadally Awesome Dies set, #LF1582
Lawn Fawn Ocean Wave Accents Dies, #LF1436
Zig Clean Color Markers
Ranger Archival ink in Jet Black
Watercolor Card
Blue Card for Water, Brown Card for Hills, Green Dotted Card for Backdrop

This card might seem intimidating considering all the different stamps and dies I used, but it was really not difficult to put together and I think the "pull it all together" piece is the backdrop.  I hope Lawn Fawn makes more of this type of stand alone die.  I have SO many ideas on how to use it; I've already seen a few cards using it upside down so the hanging vines are like seaweed! So cool!

I started this card as I do most cards; I colored and cut the main characters which, in this case, are the ducks.  I knew I had to use them since the Man & I used to feed the ducks by his apartment in Michigan.  I love feeding the ducks, and he even made sure we had cracked corn to feed them and not bread since bread is supposed to be bad for the ducks and wild birds.  So sweet!  So I colored the ducks, cut out all the components I'd be using from the Bayou Backdrop, and used the Wave Accents to cut the little pockets in the water; the ducks had to be able to swim!

When I began to put the card together, I noticed that it needed a little more action other than just the cute ducks, so I looked through my stash of critters and found one more lone frog left over from my Hoppy Mother's Day card.  I decided he'd be a great addition.  Along with him, there was a small butterfly and a pond lily (actually, I think I colored the lily with Copics, I am trying to figure out how to use them since I have such a great stash) all colored and cut; perfect!  I also stamped, colored, and cut some cattails from the Toadally Awesome set because I like them better than the ones that came with the Backdrop.  Once everyone and everything was glued down, I stamped the sentiment directly on the card, along with some little flies for the frog to eat. 

So, while this card used a lot of components, it actually didn't take that long to put it together.  I hope the Man likes it; I had a blast constructing it!  Thanks so much for checking out my little tutorial!  I hope you have a chance to enter my giveaway; all the details are on this post.  Have a lovely day ~ Christi

I am entering the Happy Father's day Card in the following challenges:
Lawn Fawnatics - #30, Cards for Guys
Allsorts Challenges - #472, Use at Least 2 Dies
Simply Create. Too - M, #139, For a Male
Cardz for Guyz - #196, Father's Day
Unicorn Challenge Blog - #33, Masculine

There's a Cat in the Tub?

This is my first post for the Die Cut Divas Design Team and I want to thank the entire team for the wonderfully warm welcome!  If this is your first time here, or your 100th, I invite you sit, take a break, and hopefully have some fun! 

This month's challenge is sponsored by Frantic Stamper and the theme is Animals/Pets.  Should be an easy one; most of us have SOME sort of animal die and I have been thoroughly enjoying your makes thus far in the challenge.  You do want to join in {you have about two more weeks} because this is the fabulous prize you can win:

Worth $20!!

As some of you may know, I have the Fabulous Feline Five; four males and one chubby, short black girl.  Mew is my baby and I knew when I found out the theme I had the purrfect card to make.  See, Mew likes to use our tub as a gym.  Actually, closer to a skateboard ramp.  She throws herself around the tub (sometimes she does it SO hard I am positive she's hurt herself, but she loves it!), talks and purrs and generally has a great time, to the point we were actually discussing having just a shower stall put in but that idea was nixed.  After all, what would Mew do?  Anyway, here is my card:

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Watercolor Paper
Zig Clean Color Markers 
Lawn Fawn Meow You Doin' Stamp set, #LF1315
Lawn Fawn Meow You Doin' Die set, #LF1316 
Lawn Fawn Rub-a-Dub-Dub Stamp set, #LF1583
Lawn Fawn Rub-a-Dub-Dub Die set, #LF1584
Lawn Fawn Slide on Over Circles, #LF1382
KasierCraft Paper Pad, Misty Mountains, 6.5" x 6.5", #PP1040
Alcohol Markers, Spectrum Noir, BT1 & BT2
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink in Watering Can
Foam Tape, white
Darice 5mm Crystal Clear Sequins, #10043-8

I have a confession - this is my very first interactive card ever.  I recently purchased the Slide On Over Circles die set, watched the Lawn Fawn Video, and gave it a try.  I definitely would change things a bit the next time I make one of these cards but, all in all, it was a lot of fun!  

I began this card by stamping all the kitties with Jet Black ink on some watercolor paper.  Then I colored them with Zig Clean Color Markers (I just got the 90 color pack - my gift to me for my birthday!), let them completely dry, and cut them out with the matching dies.  Secondly, I stamped all the bubbles, and the bathtub with Watering Can ink (I found black to be too harsh for the outline); colored them with Spectrum Noir #BT1 and highlighted with #BT2.  Please be kind, I am still very, very new working with alcohol inks!  Once the bubbles were dry, I cut them out as well.

Another Look

Then I took the background paper and used the smallest Slide On Over Circle die and used that to make my interactive element.  I am not going to go into how I made the card since Lawn Fawn has a wonderfully easy video on how to construct this type of card and if you'd like to learn how I made it, I highly suggest going to the video.  This is the second time I've made this type of card and this one went together MUCH easier than the first; I guess practice does make perfect!

Lastly, I stamped the sentiment on white card and mounted it on some pink card, to give the illusion of a picture hanging on the bathroom wall (I am waiting for the Lawn Fawn Mini Picture Frames Die set to get here - they would have been purrfect!!) and my card was done.  

Thank you for stopping by my blog today and I'll be back on the 25th of this month with another project for this month's Die Cut Divas challenge.  In the meantime, why don't you whip up a project with an animal or pet in it and join in the fun at Die Cut Divas? I hope to see you there!  Oh, one more reminder, there are about two more weeks to enter my giveaway, check out all the details here - who knows, you might win! Thanks SO much, Christi

I am entering my There's a Cat in the Tub? Card in the following challenges:
Crafty Animals - #15 Anything Goes with an Animal
Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes with Dies {entry 2}
2 Crafty Crazy Critters - #15, Anything Goes with a Critter 
Creative with Stamps - #27, Cute Animals
Art Impressions - #234, Odd Animals {it is odd for a cat to bathe in the tub!}
The Sisterhood of Crafters - Animal Crackers

Dreaming of You

A while back I posted a card made with a Memory Box die that had these adorable bunnies and I spoke about buying the sheep at the same time.  Now, I KNEW I had made a card with the sheep; they are just too cute to keep filed away.  Today I finally found the card that I knew I'd made! I'm happy I found the card; not so happy that I forgot about it! 

What I Used to Make this Card:
White Card Base
Memory Box Leaping Sheep Die, #99903
VersaFine Ink in Onyx Black
Silver Shimmer Card
Silver Glitter Card
My Monthly Hero, August of 2017, for sentiment and clouds
Die-Namics Stitched Oval STAX, #MFT-521
White Card
Black Card

I knew exactly how I was going to use these sheep, but before I settled on which ones I was going to use I cut out a bazillion, like I typically do.  In addition to this sheep, there is one that is smaller.  I made brown sheep, beige sheep, and even black sheep - in both sizes.  That was wonderful until one of my darling fur babies got into the stash and tipped it over.  All over.  Needless to say, a sheep herder I am not.  I'm STILL finding them and this was over 2 months ago.  Happily, I had set aside these four already, so the damage wasn't too great.

Another Peek

Having my sheep done, I chose a dark grey for the night sky, silver card for the moon, silver glitter card for the large star, some white puffy clouds, and a few sequin silver stars.  I used the Hero Arts My Monthly Hero kit from August, 2017 for the moon, large star, clouds, and the sentiment.  I cut the sentiment using one of the stitched oval stax dies.  Once I had the placement down, the card made itself.  In retrospect, a few of the sheep just might be looking a tad too high, but I still think it's a cute card.

I hope you like this card as much as I do - it's a bit different than what I typically make, but I have SO many other ideas.  Wouldn't these sheep be darling on a baby shower card? I can see them frolicking in the snow for a winter themed card, perhaps meeting up with the bunnies.  I could go on and on but I won't.  Thank you for stopping by and I hope to see you again soon! Christi 

PS: My giveaway will be closing on June 30, 2018 - it is open internationally and you can get all the details here. Good Luck!

I am entering my Dreaming of You card in the following challenges:
2 Crafty Critter Crazies - M, Anything Goes with a Critter
a to z Scrapbooking - M, Monochrome
Creative with Stamps - M, Cute Animals
Happy Little Stampers - M, Anything Goes w/ Die Cuts
Get Creative Challenge - M, Monochrome
Path of Positivity - #60 - M, Anything Goes w/ specified color {neutrals}
Monochrome Magic - #11, Monochrome {entry 2}
Art Impressions - Odd Animals
Inspiration Destination - #152, Anything Goes, and Use a REAL Stamp
Stars Stampz - Monochrome

The Guys Have it at Stinkin' Inkers

The monthly theme for June at Stinkin' Inkers is The Guys Have It.  My man just so happens to have his birthday in May, so by the time you read this post he's already gotten his card and he loved it! Of course he did, I made it for him.  I hope you like my creation, too!

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Black Card
Red Card
Tiny Graven Alphabet {company out of business}
Silhouette Cameo
Free Font - Loki-Cola from dafont.com
Die-Versions Whispers Retro-Car, #DV-528 {retired but available}
Wink of Stella in Clear
Numbers Embossing Folder {local craft big box}
Homemade Dots
Craft Foam {see this post to read about the foam I used}

I had an idea in my head of how I wanted his birthday card to look.  Part of my inspiration came from the fact that my man is a Coca-Cola™ addict.  He drinks the stuff like it is going out of style.  I knew what I wanted the front of his card to say and to tie in his soda addiction {he calls it pop.  I guess it makes all the difference depending on where you grew up. It will always be soda to me.}  I chose a free font to design and cut the word "classic" for the front.  That was the easy part.

Before I even started my Silhouette Cameo machine, I decided to stamp the part of the sentiment leading up to the word "classic."  Some of you may remember how difficult it was to stamp personalized sentiments with the old fashioned wood mounted stamps.  Well, that was what I used on the front of this card.  And, honestly, I was stunned that I only had to stamp it once.  Of course, it's far from perfect but I wanted the words to be sort of wonky

Sparkle & You can see the
numbers a little bit

anyway
 {plus I knew I'd never, ever get the letters in any semblance of a line so I had decided if it was readable, it would work.}  Once that part was done, I sized the "classic" to fit on the panel for the front.

Then I made my car.  I cut out red card and some craft foam and glued them together.  I used clear Wink of Stella a few times {letting it dry in between coats} to give the car a sparkly finish.  All the components of the card were set aside while I took a piece of black card, embossed it with an old embossing folder I had, which was nothing but numbers, attached the white panel with the sentiment on it, and glued on the "Classic" I had made with my Silhouette Cameo.  In hindsight, you can barely see the numbers from the embossing folder, so I could have

Dimension!

skipped that step but, since it doesn't hurt the card any and since there was NO WAY I was going to stamp out all those words again letter by letter (!), I continued on and attached the white panel.  I also thought that perhaps I should have used dimensional dots, but the card was glued, so that was that.  

Lastly, I attached the foam backed car and the two plastic dots.  I made the dots out of Perler beads; they have a slight dimple in the center (that seems to only happen with the black ones) but he doesn't notice that sort of stuff so no worries.  I hope you decide to make at least one masculine card and join us at Stinkin' Inkers - I'd love to see you there!  Fondly, Christi

I am entering my You're Not Old, You're a Classic card in the following challenges:
Crafty Friends Challenge - #85, Happy Birthday
Always Happy Birthday - M, Anything Goes
Simply Create, Too - M, #139, For a Male
Crafting by Designs - For the Boys
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Cards in Envy - Let's Hear it for the Boys!
Dream Valley Challenges - #180, For a Man or Boy
Tuesday Throwdown - #395, What a Guy!