Autumn or Spring Seasonal Colors at Craft-Room Challenges!

For this fortnight the challenge at Craft-Room Challenges is to use the seasonal colors of Autumn or Spring.  Zoe has provided us with some beautiful inspirational color pallets to use: 

Spring Colors

Autumn Colors

Autumn Card on the left, Spring on the right

In response to this challenge I made 2 cards because I could not decide what colors to use.   First I am going to show you my spring watercolor card.

This is what I used to Make my Spring Watercolor Card:
White Card Base
Penny Black wood mounted rubber stamp, "Rhyme", #2959K
Distress Markers in Dusty Concord,  Faded Jeans and Seedless Preserves
Distress Ink in Milled Lavender
Watercolor paper
Spritzer filled with Water
Remnant Rub, Life Quotes, "hello friend"
Blue & Purple Cardstock
Stipple Brush

No pictures of the process today because it is SO easy.  First you want to pick out a rubber stamp that isn't intricate - the more "block style" the design is the better this will work.  Scribble your markers directly onto the stamp (have your watercolor paper ready and have enough to make at least 2 prints) then lightly spritz the colored stamp with water.  Flip the stamp over quickly (try not to muddy the colors) and stamp and stamp again.  The beauty of this technique is you get a different result each time you use it and it's fun!  I took one of the images I made and trimmed it down, trimmer the blue & purple cardstock to layer the image and then used a Tim Holtz Remnant Rub that says "hello friend" down on the lower corner.  After the card was assembled I felt the white watercolor paper was a bit stark, so I stippled it with Milled Lavender - I think it warmed the card up a bit.

For my Autumn Colors card this is what I used:
Tim Holtz Dried Flower Stamp from Flights of Fancy Set, 
Cream (vanilla) Cardstock
Ranger Adirondack Ink in Caramel, Currant, Terra Cotta & Pesto
Clear fine (detail) Embossing Powder
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Small Alphabet (sorry I don't who made it)
Distress Ink in Brushed Corduroy 

Embossing Close up

I used a piece of cream cardstock, stamped the Dried Flower in Caramel first and embossed it with the clear powder, the ink is wet so you don't need embossing fluid. Completed the same steps using the Currant, Terra Cotta & Pesto inks.  I stamped thankful, not really worrying about if they were straight. as long as I could tell all the letters were in the same word it worked for me, on a scrap of cream using the Jet Black ink.  I edged the saying with Brushed Corduroy to make it pop a bit.  Glued the Dried Flower quartet onto a moss green card I had then glued the sentiment onto the corner. 

I have to share a short story with you.  I moved a few years back and ended up living in a one room apartment once I got to Colorado.  There was absolutely NO room for any craft stuff.  So my stuff sat in storage for almost 9 months.  Lots of it dried out, but the Adirondack pads stayed juicy.  I did not have to reink a single one!  I find that amazing! Keep in mind, these ink pads are about 13 years old - I got them when I first began stamping - so it wasn't as if they'd never been opened. 


I am trying to get a little clean and simple - I hope you think these cards fit the criteria!  Hope you enjoyed checking out my latest post and you still have 2 weeks to enter the Craft-Room Challenge!  Thank you ~ Christi

I would like to enter my Autumn Colors card in the following challenges:
Again, here is my Autumn Colors Card - the challenges I am entering with my Spring Watercolor Card will follow:

Little Red Wagon - #256, Anything Fall Themed
Red Rubber Inspirationals -  #139, Stay Focused on Stamping, Anything Goes
Addicted to Stamps & More - #114, CAS
Wednesday's Creative Inspirations - #282, Autumn Colors
The House That Stamps Built -  Repeat Impressions DCC924 ~ Fall

Now I would like to enter my Spring Watercolor card in the following challenges:

Treasured Times Rubber Stamp Challenge - #25, Anything Goes
Sister Act Card Challenge - #76, Anything Goes
 Addicted to Stamps & More - #114, CAS

~ Thank you for stopping by!! ~

Thankful Card

I am trying to squeeze this one last “thanks” card before the holiday.  After I made this card I realized that it sort of looked like a turkey – that wasn’t my intent – LOL – but hey, if the turkey fits. . .

This is what I used to make my card:

• Tim Holtz Mini Blueprints, SMS170, wheat (stamped 5 times)
• Small alphabet stamp set – Studio G (sorry, I don’t have the font)
• Tim Holtz Distress Markers in Brushed Corduroy, Mustard Seed & Gathered Twigs
• Small water brush
• Watercolor paper
• Dark yellow base card
• Brown shiny layer from DCWV The Luxury Stack
• Orange cardstock
• Brown cardstock
• Dark brown cardstock
• Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black

Start by stamping and coloring the wheat stamp 5 times on the watercolor paper - this VERY important since the Distress markers won't watercolor on regular cardstock. I stamped mine & colored them before I cut them out so they’d be right next to each other and I could try to get the color somewhat the same.  Once they are colored, cut out only the wheat stalk.  Then hand stamp THANKFUL with a small alphabet set on a piece of white cardstock.  Trim and mat on dark brown cardstock (I know it is a tad crooked, but the stamps I used are the old rubber stamps, remember the ones you couldn't see through & basically hoped they'd stamp straight? Well, there ya go).  

Here are my "turkey feather" wheat stalks prior to attaching them

Arrange the wheat stalks behind the sentiment in a fan shape (I taped them in place with removable tape so I could be sure nothing but what I wanted showed – then as I removed the tape, I glued my wheat to my sentiment).  Mat on the brown cardstock, then the orange, then the shiny brown (there is actually a beautiful paisley type design on the shiny cardstock but there was no way I could get a picture as you can barely see it in person) and lastly, mount on the dark yellow base card.

 

A close up of the sentiment and if you look very closely

you can see some of the pattern on the shiny cardstock

up in the left hand corner

This was the first card I made with my new stamp sets and the Distress Markers.  Have you ever bought a stamp set and one image spoke to you & screamed to be used first? For some reason the wheat stamp screamed to me and this is the result.

 

And the final result

Hope you enjoyed and please consider leaving me a comment. Blessings to you & yours!

Don't forget to pop on over to Anything But a Card and check

 out the current mini-challenge!

I would like to enter my Thankful Card in the following challenges:

Card Mania - Autumn Colors

The Paper Girls - It's Time to Give Thanks

Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes

Sister Act Card Challenge - Anything Goes
Craft Your Passion - Thanksgiving/Thanks
Make it Monday - Anything Goes
2 Sisters Challenge Blog - Thank You

And, yes, I found these challenges at Challenges for Days - the blog that fulfills all your challenging needs (ok, maybe not ALL of them, but quite a few)!

Fall Is In The Air Card

This card was a bit more work than usual but I feel the outcome was worth the it - I hope you agree! I formulated this card while looking through the many, many rub-ons I have.  I didn't use them for a long time for fear that I would do them "wrong", and I was certain they wouldn't work the way they were supposed to.  Surprise, surprise! Once I got over my fear I discovered how easy they are to use and almost impossible to mess up (mostly because you can check them before you are done to make sure they have rubbed-on correctly).  Perfect for a crafter like me.

Materials I Used  (of course feel free to use what you have in your stash):

• 3 Decorative papers from Indian Summer Line from Basic Grey; Aspen, Maize & Plum Wine
• 1 ¾ Square Punch
• Homemade Background paper, using a white card stock base painted with Distress Paint (attached the squares to it), made with Distress Paint; Aged Mahogany, Crushed Olive, Scattered Straw, Gathered Twigs
• Distress Marker Frayed Burlap
• Distress Ink in Gathered Twigs
• Scrap piece of off white cardstock for rub-on
• Basic Grey Rub-on “Fall is in the Air” in wine color
• Gold Paper for layer
• Dark Orange card stock for layer
• Square card in rusty brown
• Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Iridescent Gold

 The first thing I did when I made this card was punch out 4 squares with the square punch I had – for 3 of the squares I used the Basic Grey papers and each one was the same pattern but in different colors so I punched out the same part of the pattern from each color, then I punched one square out of some scrap vanilla card stock I had.  I applied the rub-on (for some reason the package has no identifying information on it, sorry about that!) to that square and sponged some Gathered Twigs ink around the corners, then edged it in Frayed Burlap using a Distress Marker.  Then I made the background that the squares are attached to, I used a scrap piece of white card stock and colored it with various Distress Paints (see list of colors above); it was really pretty, but I wanted to use other layers as well, so you can’t see the paper very well.  I adhered the 4 squares to that piece of paper once it dried.  I just eyeballed the spacing because I can’t be bothered using a ruler; I have tried to use a ruler in the past to perfectly and evenly space things, but it made me certifiably crazy, so now I just wing it.

I cut out another layer from some gold paper I had and then another layer out of a dark orange card stock. Typically, when I am making layers I just use my Fiskars Personal cutter and find an area on the clear guide and then cut all the sides of the paper with the same point of reference.  I just purchased a set of rulers made especially for making layers but haven’t had the time to play with them yet.  I’ll keep you posted.  I glued all the layers together and then glued them onto a Mahogany-Rusty-Brown (I can’t figure out what color the card looks like most, so you got all three) square card from my stash. 

Finally, I spritzed the whole thing lightly with the iridescent gold mist. The pictures of this card don’t do it justice as it is a very pretty card.  The gold layer and the Glimmer Mist are nice and subtle but I think they give the card that extra “zing”. NOTE: For some reason every picture I took made the rub-on look black, it isn't black, it is a wine color (like those leather jackets from the early 80's - LOL)

Close up of the rub-on

The finished card - shows off the subtle shine I think

 Thanks for looking and enjoy your day!

I would like to enter my card in the following challenges: 
4CraftyChicks - Anything Goes
DL A.R.T. - Anything goes
Penny's Challenges - Anything Goes
Challenges 4 Everybody - Anything Goes

~*~*~ Where did I find these AWESOME challenges??? They were listed in Challenges for Days ! ! !

Fall Leaves Wreath

Before I get into my post, I want to apologize for not being around these last few weeks.  One of my cats, Boo, had a serious health scare and I was very preoccupied with him.  Thankfully, it appears that he is going to be fine!  So, now, on with the show!

 I love the dollar store (in my area it’s called Dollar Tree) and on one of my visits I found these cute wreaths and fabric-like leaves.  The leaves come in a pack of 50, so of course I had to have 2 packs.  I decided that these would make a fabulous project for my introduction to the Design Team for Anything But a Card Challenge blog. Yes, my dear readers, I landed a design gig and I am SO excited as this will be my first time on a design team! I hope I make them proud!

The leaves & wreath before. . .

 OK, enough gushing, back to the project.  I took my wreath (it is small, measures approximately 8 ½” round) and pulled out my leaves & glue and went to work.  Those of you who can use a hot glue gun may want to try that instead of using regular glue like I did, I am glue gun challenged and can’t use one without causing a disaster (but that story is for another time). 

The beginning of the leafing. . .

What I did was spread the glue on the edges of the leaf and then I pushed the part of the leaf I wanted to attach through the wreath with a craft stick – I only glued the bottom of the leaves until I was almost done and added some more to fill in some spots.  On the fill in leaves, I glued the bottom edges and put a few dabs on the body of the leaf (of course all the glue was on the back of the leaves). 

All Leafed Up (wreath holding courtesy of Manny)

The Gluing of the letters

 Then I decided that I wanted to add the word fall to the wreath.  So I turned to my trusty Silhouette Cameo and made the word fall using a thick font.  Once I got a size I liked I also made a mirror image of it so I had 2 full sets of the word “FALL”.  I cut both of them out of different papers I had from Basic Grey.  Then I took the letters, put glue on one of them, placed a piece of string (that I also got at the Dollar Store) and sandwiched the string between the 2 letters so they could move and you’d see both sides. 

  After I finished with the letters, I placed them under a heavy book to really squish them together.  I then edged the letters with a Distress marker in Brushed Corduroy.

  

Now, I realized after I cut the letters, put them together and was getting ready to hang them that I cut them out wrong.  But I was going to hang them anyway – so I did.  I hung them and. . . I hated it. I didn't like that I had messed up the letters so if they twirled they wouldn't be right and I didn't like the way they looked hanging at all. Since I didn’t want to waste the letters so I cut the strings off and edged the tops with the Distress Marker so you can’t see the white string.  Then I experimented with placing the letters directly on the wreath and I really liked the way that looked, so I guess between me not cutting the letters correctly and then hating them hanging are my happy accidents.  I think the letters look better where I ended up placing them.  I used double stick tape to hold them and it worked perfectly! 

All Done!! (again Manny the Wreath holder is holding the wreath)

And a close up of my beautiful letters!

I would also like to enter my project in the following challenges:
Hiding in My Craft Room - Die Cuts (my letters - FALL - are die cuts)
CRAFTITUDE - Anything Goes or Falling Leaves
Addicted to Stamps and More! - Anything Goes
Fab 'N Funky - Anything Goes
Crafty Girls Challenges - Anything Goes
City Crafter Challenge Blog - Wreath

I'm Falling For You. . .

This is my second post of the day (yes, I am on a roll!) so if you are looking for the most recent Happy Halloween card I've made, please scroll down (but, before you go, please consider taking a look at this card & leaving me some blog love ~ thanks!)

Fall is in the air! Autumn is my favorite time of year and I love all the colors that surround me.

I have made versions of this card before as I made a HUGE pile of punch out leaves, in fall colors,  years ago using a McGill Creativity punch of a maple leaf.  It was so long ago that I made these leaves that I can’t even remember why I made so many of them.  But I did, and so I am using them when I can.  The card base is another pre-made card I got and it is a deep red.  The first thing I did was make the sentiment “I’m falling for You” in Microsoft Publisher – in the past I have used tiny alphabet stamps for the words, but this time I wanted to make a quick card and using the computer is MUCH quicker for me than trying to ensure all those letters stamp out correctly (all the alphabet stamps I have are old – red rubber on cushion mounted to wood, so there is no seeing where they land).  So I made my letters to form the sentiment in a few fonts, printed them out on vanilla cardstock and chose the one I liked the best.  I just hand cut the letters & words out because I wanted it to look wonky and flawed (which is much easier than perfect!) I didn’t have to worry about crooked lines.  After the letters were cut, the first thing I did was practice where I wanted them – to me, in regards to this card, the “falling” was the most important part as the letters had to be placed like they were literally falling.  After I glued the letters to the base, I began to sort out where I want the leaves.  Next, I chose a few of the leaves to pop out and I used pop-up stickers on those.  Then I glued down the rest of the leaves, again in no particular order, only paying attention to the colors as I didn’t want 2 of the same color next to each other. 

Another fun, easy to make card, and it’s perfect to send to someone as a secret admirer or someone you love.  I also think this is easy enough (if you place the letters) for the kids to help with (but as much as I try, I can’t get the furbabies to help, they only want to play! Just as well, I can’t imagine cleaning glue off their paws).  Hope you enjoyed the card & have a sparkling day ~

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Use Your Stuff - Color Challenge (use orange, brown & green) 

Creative Craft Challenges 2 - Anything Goes

Inky Impressions - Fall/Autumn 

Crafting With Dragonflies - Nature/Leaves/Trees

Redd & Rosie's Challenge Blog - Shades of Autumn

How did I find all these awesome challenges to enter?? Just take a look at Challenges for Days, where you can find a challenge to enter for almost any type of paper craft!