A Place To Start May 2019 - Tempting Techniques: Showcase Your Favorite Technique

Hello there!  This month at A Place To Start we want to see you Showcase Your Favorite Technique.  Right now, I'm loving Distress Ink blending - particularly Distress Oxide Ink.  I created a birthday card for my husband using this technique:

I blended a trio of Distress Oxide Inks for the sky:  Spiced Marmalade, Picked Raspberry and Wilted Violet.  I blended them using make up brushes that I bought from Amazon.  The ocean is blended with Faded Jeans and a bit of Cracked Pistachio.  The waves and sailboats are from a Stampin' Up set,Lilypad Lake, while the sentiment is a gift from my friend Darnell, but I misplaced the label for it. I colored the sail boats with Spectrum Noir markers.

I must admit that I have much better luck ink blending with the make up brushes than I have had with the little round blending tool.  If you have trouble ink blending, I recommend giving the make up brushes a try.

I love how this card turned out.  I find it soothing just to look at.

Thanks for visiting!

613 Avenue Create #221-Anything Goes-Option Shaker Card

Hello, Friends!  We have a delightful challenge this month at 613 Avenue Create.  Our Anything Goes option is to create a shaker card.  Shakers are always fun, and I really should create them more often.  The recipient always seemed to be surprised by the shaker elements.  Here's mine:

Can you see the shaker elements spread across the front of the card as it is placed flat on a table?  I used seed beads and some other little sparkly bits.  This one was really easy to create as I cut down a pre-printed card, stamped a sentiment on it, encased it in a small clear envelope, added the shaker elements, and finally sealed the envelope.  I cut a frame using dies, and glued the frame down to a card base.  I then glued the shaker envelope into the frame opening, adding the flowers as design elements and done!

I hope you like it.  It was super quick and easy.

Thanks for visiting!

613 Avenue Create #220-Anything Goes-Option Wedding/Anniversary

Good day, Crafty Friends!  This month at 613 Avenue Create our Anything Goes Challenge has the fun option of a wedding or anniversary card/project.  I made a card for our friends who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.  It was a lot of fun to make.

This is the front view of my card.  I had a difficult time with shadows while taking photos of the gold birds, leaves and hearts.  They are punched out of gold mirror card stock which I could just not get to photograph well.  Please excuse my lack of skill in this regard.

The roses and flowers are a die cut which I glued to the front after using a die to cut out a heart on the card front.

Here you see the birds on branches.  I die cut the sentiment using number and alpha dies, adhering them to a scalloped punch, edged with gold ink.

Below you can see that this is a tri-fold card.  There's a stamped sentiment and die cut which you can't see.  But we signed the card and included a personal message before I photographed it - my mistake.  I didn't want to show our message so I chose to show this view of the tri-fold.  Oh, well. 

I really like how the card turned out. I may make another tri-fold card in the future. It's nice to be able to include more dies and sentiments.

Thanks for visiting!

Card Stock:  Recollections 110 lb
Gold Mirror Paper:  My stash
Flower, Letter & Number Dies:  Tattered Lace
Bird Punch:  Stampin' Up
Heart Punch:  Martha Stewart

A Place to Start - Official Launch

Hi, there!  I'm proud to tell you that I am now part of A Place to Start, a blog where new crafters can find helpful information and where all crafters can display their creativity.

Welcome to the official launch  of A Place to Start.  We thank you for the support you have already shown us in our previous challenges.

It is our goal to make our Place more than just a challenge blog.  Over the coming months, we will have tutorials, product comparisons, and a Q&A section.  We will also revive our ATG Neverending Challenge.

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CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR THE DESIGN TEAM

We are a Just For Fun Blog but for our launch this month,our good friend, artist Rick St. Dennis, has graciously offered to sponsor the challenge.  The Top Sprout Honoree will receive Rick' March 2019 - Easter/Spring Packet.

Marketplace Zibbet Rick1949

APTS Launch Challenge: Create A Single Layer Card w/Matching Envelope - or Anything Goes

I taped off the edges of my card and sponged Distress Oxide Ink on the space between the tape.  Then I stamped the flower image with black pigment ink, coated it with clear embossing powder, and heat embossed it.  Finally, I spritzed wanted onto the inked panel before stamping the sentiment.  

For the envelope, I taped off a small border and sponged on Distress Oxide Ink.  I used second generation stamping for the image, party on and partly off the inked strip. Done!

Please do visit the blog, enter the challenge, and apply for a DT position.  We'd love to have you join us.  Good things are coming!

Thanks for visiting!

613 Avenue Create #219-Anything Goes-Option Kinetic Card

Hello, Crafty Peeps!  Welcome to another challenge at 613 Avenue Create.  This time our Anything Goes Challenge has the option to create a kinetic card.  I chose to make a pop up box card.  It was a lot of fun.  This is a birthday card for my grandniece who turned 18.  I wanted a special card for a special young lady who is now a college freshman. I have given her the card, and I'm pleased to say that she loved it.

I used a box die from Divinity Designs (formerly Our Daily Bread Designs).   I decorated the box with papers from my stash.  The Make a Wish sentiment is one I made at a Stampin Up Make n Take at Scrapbook Expo last year.  The other decorations on the flaps are die cuts from my stash of dies. The images are from various stamp sets in my stash. I used my Spectrum Noir markers to color the shoe, birthday cake and the green tea frappuccino (my niece's favorite drink).

Card stock:  Recollections 110 lb & 65 lb
Dies:  Assorted from my stash
Stamps:  Assorted from my stash

Challenges:
Dragonfly Dreams - March - For a Special Female
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Crafts Galore Encore Challenge Blog -March - Anything Goes


Thanks for visiting!

613 Avenue Create #218 - Anything Goes - Option Use a Critter

Our Anything Goes option at 613 Avenue Create this month is to use a critter.  Year before last (I think), I received the adorable Favorite Puperoni stamp as a freebie from Simon Says Stamps.  This is my first time using the sweet little puppy, although I did use one stamp in the set before.  Since I am determined to use my unused stamps, I decided to dig out this one and make a card.

You cannot tell in the photograph, but the card base is very lightly colored with Peeled Paint Distress Oxide Ink.  I also added sparkle to the pup's eyes and nose with a glitter pen after coloring him with my Spectrum Noir markers. But I colored the image a while back and have no idea which markers I used. He's cut out with my Scan and Cut 2 - I love that machine so much - and then popped up. I added a shadow so he wouldn't seem to be floating.  I hand cut the banners from some DP in my stash and added the bubble sentiment.  He'll go to my grandson or grandniece.

Card stock:  Recollections 110 lb
Spectrum Noir Markers
Designer Paper:  My stash
Sentiment:  Hero Arts CL737

Challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Little Patch of Crafty Friends #99 - Anything Goes
Crafty Animals #23 - Anything Goes



Thanks for visiting!

613 Avenue Create #217-Anything Goes-Option Water Coloring

Happy 2019, everyone!  We're off to a New Year and a new challenge at 613 Avenue Create.  Our Anything Goes Challenge has the option of water coloring.  I made a very clean and simple card for this challenge and here it is:

I used Crayola water colors to paint stripes of a piece of water color paper.  Once it was dry, I die cut the Hero Arts Paper Layering Daisy and the love sentiment (I've had this dies so long that I don't remember who made it).  I glued them to a card base and bam!  My card was finished.

I have had that daisy die for several years, but this is the very first time I used it.  But it's definitely a new die in the sense that it has never been used. I actually saw the die on Virginia Lu's blog and fell in love with it. Why it took me so very long to use it, I cannot say.  But I will say that in 2019, I am determined to use my NBUS (thanks, Darnell!), and I have tons of it.

So hop over to 613 Avenue Create to see who won the last challenge of 2018 and to enter our first challenge in 2019.

Card stock:  Canson water color paper
Water colors:  Crayola
Die:  Hero Arts Paper Layering Daisy; unknown love die

Challenges:
Die Cut Divas Challenge Blog - Something New
Crafting with an Attitude #47 - Anything Goes
Crafting from the Heart #234- Anything Goes

         

Thanks for visiting!