Frosty

This was a fun project for me. I haven't made a step card in awhile, and while I love learning new techniques, I enjoy  revisiting some old ones for variety. . I decided to do a side step card for these challenges .  The challenge at Mod Squad (Frosty the Snowman) was to use snowmen.  I oped for digi images from Beccy's Place   http://beccysplace.blogspot.com/  because I could size them for this project.  I love dimension and texture on a card.  The side step card provides lots of dimension, but I also created levels by using pop dots. I am not skilled enough with my photography to show the many levels.  The texture does not  show up that well either, but I used some white  embossing powder on the trees and the song lyrics.  The  front snowman has a piece of a cotton ball on his hat and the snowman on the second level has a cotton ball snowball in his hand ready to throw at you. I also used home made flower soft around the fence and on snow hills.  The fence and trees are IO dies. I used a digital image of the song lyrics of Frosty the Snowman for a background.  This actually came together quickly because I used images and die cuts that I had in my stash.  The only thing I didn't have is the lyrics from Frosty.

I will enter this in the  Dies are Us Winter Wonder  Land

http://diesruschallenge.blogspot.com/2014/12/challenge-15-winter-wonderland.html

in Mod Squad  Frosty the Snowman http://modsquadchallenge.blogspot.com/

and the Simon Says Wednesday challenge.

http://simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/

Christmas Greetings

 I will enter this in the Mod Squad Challenge "The Music of Christmas" http://modsquadchallenge.blogspot.com/  the DiesR Us  "Winter Wonderland"    http://diesruschallenge.blogspot.com/and the IO challenge Christmas Greetings 
http://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/2014/11/new-challenge-christmas-greetings.html  I used the following products from IO.

C3503

DIE100-F
DIE221-H 

Night Carolers

I love these carolers from IO and could not wait to use them.  I am still on a learning curve with the new camera and editing program so this is not the best picture. I will enter this in the the IO challenge Christmas Greetings http://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/2014/11/new-challenge-christmas-greetings.html

I will aso enter this in the Mod Squad Challenge "The Music of Christmas" http://modsquadchallenge.blogspot.com/  and the Dies R US Challenge "Winter Wonderland"  http://diesruschallenge.blogspot.com/
I used the following IO dies.

DIE084-V

DIE100-F

Timed One Layer card

I made this card for a timed challenge at the Mod Squad Challenge Blog http://modsquadchallenge.blogspot.com/
I love what you learn about yourself when you decide to take on a challenge.  I learned that I do not work well under pressure. I set the timer and began working in a frenzy. I won't go into the number of mishaps that occurred that forced me to start over again THREE times, When I felt my blood pressure rising, I decided that Joyce, this week's hostess, would want me to go back to my snail's pace in order to protect my health. So this card took me 10 minutes and 15 seconds (not counting the time it took the Stickles to dry). Most of the time was taken up by coloring.  I used pencils, but I think it might have gone faster with markers,

Grandma's Attic

The Mod Squad Challenge hosted by Donna Phelan is to use a doily somewhere on your card. I decided to make a fall card.  I stamped some faded brick card stock with an IO background stamp masking the section where I wanted my sentiment.  I love this sentiment from Gina K Designs. The sunflower and leaf flourish are from MFT.  I don't remember who made the little flower die but the acorns are from Cherry Lynn.  My camera is not compatible with new computer so my son took this pic with his cell phone and it has a little glare.  Need to decide on a new camera soon. You can see the other fabulous entries here.  I will also ent this in the Dies R Us challenge ,Thankful. http://diesruschallenge. http://diesruschallenge.blogspot.com/?mc_cid=c3173065ed&mc_eid=d382285b4a

Blue Doves

Got this Dove and Holly set from Flourishes when they had a huge sale last year so I decided to bring it out and try coloring it.  I still need practice but I decided to enter it in the Blue Christmas challenge at Mod Squad.  http://modsquadchallenge.blogspot.com/

Earl's Retirement Card

My brother-in -law is so easy  to make a card for because he has sooo many hobbies,  I did a fishing card for him that I entered in a challenge a while back.  He loved it, and told my sister he was waiting for a retirement card.  I have never tried a box card so I decided he was the perfect candidate.   The front panels are fishing related, the two sides are golfing and hunting related and the back panel is camping.  I will enter this in two challenges.  My friend, Judy Woodland, is hosting a challenge at Mod Squad .  The challenge is to make your favorite type of card.  This fits in two ways because I tried something new and I made a special card for a special person  .http://modsquadchallenge.blogspot.com/ I will also enter it in Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Get Crafty Use Kraft"
http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/

This card was his birthday card that I entered in a Stamp TV challenge in March.

Shades of Fall

I started with some polished stone paper that I had made awhile back and embossed the sentiment from IO on it. Then I cut an oval out of black card and a larger oval out of tomato soup card.  I stamped the tomato soup layer with IO wood plank cover a card stamp.  I attached the layers with pop dots and then inserted the branches which I colored with Copics under the black ovals.  I added the chickadees to the branches. The IO products used are

My Little Chickadees - C8589

Birds Die - DIE003-A

Leafy Branch - DIE055-

Wood Plank CC177
CL143
I will enter this in The Shades of Fall challenge at IO
http://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/2014/10/new-impression-obsession-challenge-shades-of-fall.html
and the Monday Anything Goes Challenge at Simon Says http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/
                           

In the Pink

I made this card for a special friend.  I tried to duplicate a technique that Sue Wilson uses on her cards where  she uses Cosmic Shimmer glue dots as a border.  Here is a link to how she does her technique. http://particraft.blogspot.com/p/hi-guys-i-love-this-stamp-and-i-think-i.html  I tried  this technique using liquid pearls, but my hands were not steady enough so I used flat-baked pearls in different sizes. I used white glitter paper behind the Spellbinder die.  The other dies are also Spellbinders.  I am not satisfied with the the embellishments so I will probably change that out some before I need to send the card. It needs something taller along the side.  A feather or a stickpin might work. The pink is a prettier color in person and there is tons of dimension that does not show on the picture. . The sentiment is from Gina K Designs.  I will enter this in Lee's n the Pink at Mod Squad.http://modsquadchallenge.blogspot.com/

Happy Thoughts Background

I haven't had time to make many cards or participate in many challenges lately, but I did get a card made this weekend.  I made it for two challenges. The IO challenge and the Simon Says Wednesday challenge.  They both asked you to make your own backgrounds for your card.  I made a simple background by stamping a sentiment several times,  I used Gina K Honey mustard ink to stamp the sentiment.  The IO products used in this card
are clear stamp set CL43 and Bird on a Branch die  DIE161-N.

This is the inside of the card.



















The IO challenge is here
 http://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/2014/09/impression-obsession-challenge-beautiful-stamped-backgrounds.html

The Simon Says Challenge is here
http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/

Laurie's Birthday

My girl friend loves flowers and pearls and all thing girly so I made  this card for her birthday.  The hydrangea is an IO die and the other dies are Spellbinders.  These dies add a  paper piercing detail which adds texture without all the work. I will enter this in Celebrate Birthday's challenge at The House that Stamps Built..
  http://www.thehousethatstampsbuilt.com/designers-choice-challenge/dcc827-celebrate-birthdays/

Winter Scene Shaker Card

The challenge at Mod Squad is to create a Holiday  Theme card that uses both acetate and vellum so I pulled out my Madison Window and created a shaker card.  I used the acetate behind the window die and the vellum for the poinsettia topper. I colored the vellum with some Copics on the back side.  I really love how the embossing pops with this technique. There are a few things I wish I would have done differently, but it is prettier in real life than it is in the picture. You can see the challenge here .

Donna's Birthday Card

I liked the birthday card that I did for my husband's barber and I needed a birthday card for a good friend who is not the pearls and lace or fancy die cut type, but I still wanted a  feminine card. I decided to use the same layout but I changed the colors, added some embossing with an embossing folder  and used butterflies instead of the deer. I think she will like it. 












I will enter it in the IO  challenge "The Gift of Friendship"
http://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/2014/08/impression-obsession-challenge-.html 
I used the following IO products.
DIE171-K Circle cut out border
DIE084-V wheat 
CL342 stamp set
 D5642 insect set 
DIE139-I insect die

You Melt my Heart

I wanted to use this large snow flake die as an aperture for a shaker card so I cut it out of white card and then embossed it with a snowflake embossing folder. I adhered the clear plastic to the back of the aperture.   I created the background by using myVersa Mark pen to make small dots that I embossed with white ep  to look like snow.  I stamped the cute penguin from Gina K Designs on white then colored him a bit.  I used liquid applique for the hat and snowball then I fussy cut him and put him on the background.  I filled the background piece with sequins and white flower soft.   I used mounting foam around the top piece and then adhered them together. I used a few sequins and some ribbon for embellishments. I will enter this in the Stamp TV Release Party Challenge  http://stamptv.ning.com/forum/topics/august-release-challenge-texture-texture-texture and the Simon Says   Any thing goes challenge here .

The Gift of Friendship

This card is a birthday card I made for my husband's barber.  I love the wheat die from IO and could not resist using it again. I will enter it in the IO challenge "The Gift of Friendship"  http://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/2014/08/impression-obsession-challenge-.html  and Lee's Fruitful Harvest at Mod Squad  http://modsquadchallenge.blogspot.com/ .
and the Monday Witch Kraft  challenge at Simon Says  http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/

I used the following dies and stamps from IO for this project

I used the following dies and stamps from IO
Deer Trio - DIE080-N Deer Trio
DIE171-K Circle cut out border
DIE084-V wheat 
CL342 stamp set

CAS Pine Branch

I started on my Christmas cards yesterday.  This is another simple design using IO dies products that I will enter in the CAS http://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/2014/08/impression-obsession-challenge-clean-simple.htmlchallenge at IO.    

I used the following IO supplies:
Small snow flake DIE100-F
Pine Banch   DIE021-N
 Not Only at Christmas stamp C3503

CAS Snowflake

Just got this large snowflake die from IO and had to try it out. I also needed to get started on Christmas cards for this year.  These are not Christmas colors, but I still like the combination. I will enter it in the CAS challenge at IO.    http://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/2014/08/impression-obsession-challenge-clean-simple.html


IO die DIE093-X

Embossing Paste 3

This is my third attempt at using embossing paste.  I used a Die Namics die to make the stencil and  PTI  phrase play for the sentiment. The dogwood is a die from Susan's Garden. For this card, I tried something different.   I saw someone on You Tube use patching compound  instead of embossing paste so while I was making a mess I thought I would give it a try.  It is a bit thicker and not as smooth as the embossing paste but it took the color about the same.  The biggest difference was the drying time.  Even after drying all night it still had some moisture so I ended up using my heat gun.  I am not sure how it will hold up in comparison with the embossing paste but so far I have not seen any evidence of cracking.  It sure is a lot cheaper.  4oz of embossing paste cost me $9 while 16 oz of the DAP ElastoPatch was under $4.  You can see the video and challenge entries here http://stampwithk.blogspot.com/2014/08/embossing-paste-flower.html

Embossing paste flower

Second attempt at using embossing paste.  Again I had some paste seep under my stencil. The flower is a Memory Box die and the ENJOY is one of PTI Phrase Play dies. You can see the video and the challenge here.  http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/make-it-monday/

Embossing Paste Lotus Die

I ordered some embossing paste last week and it arrived on Friday just in time for the challenge at PTI to use embossing paste.   Then I had to decide what dies I would use to make a stencil.  Here I used the Spellbinders Lotus die. I needed to tape it more securely because I had some paste get get under my stencil. I used the happy from phrase play die and the birthday is from the matching stamp set. You can see the video and challenge at  http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/make-it-monday/
 I will also enter it in the Masculine Birthday at the Mod Squad. Usually I use brown shades or blacks and greys for masculine cards, but I decided men like color too.
http://modsquadchallenge.blogspot.com/

CAS Birthday

This is a card for the IO  Clean and Simple challenge http://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/2014/08/impression-obsession-challenge-clean-simple.html   and the Mod Squad Masculine Birthday challenge. http://modsquadchallenge.blogspot.com/  

The wheat( DIE085-X)and sentiment(CL342) are both IO products.  The designer paper is Gina K Designs.

Stephanie's Birthday

I needed a birthday card for my niece so I decided to make one that fit the Sparkle, Glitter or Bling Challenge at The House that Stamps Built. The Butterfly is a Cherry Lynn design and the branches are from IO.  I typed the sentiment and cut it out with a Spellbinders die.
http://www.thehousethatstampsbuilt.com/designers-choice-challenge/dcc730-sparkle-glitter-or-bling/

I will also enter it in the Wednesday challenge at Simon Says "Make it Sparkle."
http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/

Paper Pieced Pears

There are four different dp patterns used in this card.  Each of the pears is a different paper and the leaves are the fourth.  I colored the flowers and the branch with markers,and the background is sponged with spun sugar and tea die distress inks. I will enter this in the Pretty Pieces Challenge at Mod Squad.
http://modsquadchallenge.blogspot.com/

The Sky is the Limit

I made this card for a my niece who is turning six this year. I got the idea from the Make-it Monday  video at PTI and will enter it in the challenge there.
 http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2014/08/make-it-monday-175-creative-card-borders-using-non-border-dies.html
The super girl is a stamp with matching die from MFT and the balloons, rainbow and sentiments are PTI.  I dabbed the white card stock with different color markers to make the background.

Hello Friend

This card is for the sketch challenge at MFT.    http://www.mftstamps.com/blog/stamp-and-win-with-this-weeks-card-sketch-187/    The greeting is from Hot off the Press and the flowers are Die- Namics sunflowers. I used some self stick fabric pieces at the top and bottom of the fish tail  that I got in a prize package that Barbara Campbell was offering at her web cite http://inmycreativeroom.blogspot.com/  .  Thanks, Barbara.