Ghoul friends

Today's card challenge at the Card Concept is a color challenge. I sure screams Halloween doesn't it?

My challenge this week was clean and layered. I thought this would be easy, but not so much. I had it in my mind that I was going to use the dancing ghoul stamp from the now defunct stamp company Picture Show. So I had to work everything around the image and make the layers work.

How do you start a card? Do you start with a particular stamp or a layout and the stamps to fit that layout?

The fun thing about this card is I took sticky back paper and cut my own flame stencil and sponged the flames onto the card. The flames are all the same orange ink, I just try to lighten the sponging towards the bottom to create shade.

I hope you will join us at the Card Concept for this awesome color challenge!

Trends

I have often said that I am way behind with trends in paper crafting, but the trend for watercolor anything is one I have heartily embraced in a timely fashion. So what with Jennifer Maguire and Kristina Werner's "Watercoloring for Cardmaker's class starting Monday, I had to pull out my watercolors. I have had the one set from the time I was a kid and it is well loved! Can you guess which one?

This week's sketch challenge at Just Us Girls is being hosted by Cheryl.  I have been trying to create CAS cards for the sketch challenges, which mean minimal layers. This sketch worked perfect for the idea I had. 

I just took a flat brush and spread on overlapping stripes of watercolor and just stamped the "artiste" image over the paint. it was so much fun I had to make one in cooler blues and greens.

Remember, you don't always need lots of pattern papers and layers for sketches. Think outside the box and join us at Just Us Girls this week!

Vintage Christmas sketch

Boy, did I escape from my CAS look with this card! I went totally vintage- something I am not real good at. See this post for more of an explanation. It wasn't that hard though, these great vintage papers from Authentique made it easy. I worked my card around them.

Here is the challenge sketch from Just Us Girls that I was was working from. Fun huh?

I used a stamp from Picture show, they have these whimsical vintage images. I wish I could give you a link, but they never went the online route and only did stamp shows. Unfortunately the last convention i was at they weren't there. Makes me think they went out of business. 

I asked my at home art critic, Mr. George what he thought- immediately he said to busy. He is a real proponent of CAS and can not go outside of his critic beliefs.

My sweet girl Pinkie loved it though.

Please join us at JUGS and show me your take on this great sketch!

Free to Play

Free, that is the inspiring word at CASology this week. I was sitting in my studio with my hand on my chin and I was thinking and thinking. Mr. George came in and said " you sure are thinking hard!" I told him about the challenge and that I couldn't come up with an idea. 

I went back and started pulling out boxes of old stamps, I was looking for a hand carved stamp of a horse that I made years ago, but it was no where to be found, instead I came across this funky little stamp. It just screamed FREE!! I used my favorite technique these days ombre stamping, but instead of stamping the funky fish girl from Picture Show- sorry they don't have a web site, I embraced my inner freedom and stamped them crooked. 

Finally do you remember when you were a child and everything you did was free and inspired- no constraints or worries you would do something wrong or someone might not like it- it was time to play and to enjoy the freedom of youth.

Kick Start and Hallmark Inspiration

I received a sympathy card when my kitty Winkie died. The person who gave it to me was embarrassed by the card. It just didn't say what she felt. I on the other hand loved it and knew I would be copying the design of it.

Here is the card I received.

I loved the shadow of the tree behind the main panel. I had gotten a tree mask from Crafter's Workshop at some point and hadn't used it yet. I think I was saving it for Halloween. I knew the tree template would be perfect for my version.

I started with some white paper and sprayed Mr. Huey's clay spray over the card. I stamped some blotches with pumice stone distress ink. I added my panel of trees colored with distress markers and the sayings. While it was rather similar to the first, it was my jumping off point. Like Jennifer Maguire during the Kick Start class, she often makes several cards when the inspiration is happening.

Here are two more cards made using the same template but different backgrounds. 

I loved how the white spray on the black card stock made it look the mikyway. The last card I used the white spray on kraft paper.

Three different cards from the one inspiration.

Have a great weekend!