Challenge #6: Inspiration with Nora

Happy Monday everyone!! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.

Nora here with an inspiration post for the Stamping Smiles Design Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge #6. This time I chose the last row down for my card-umbrella, critters and clouds.

I started off using a piece of patterned paper scrap that I had with clouds on it for my background and layered it over a top folding card measuring 4 1/4" by 5 1/2. I then die cut the clouds out of white card stock using Taylored Expressions "Rolling Clouds" die set. I layered the clouds over the patterned paper, popping the front one with foam adhesive to give it a bit of dimension.

Next I die cut the sun using the "Radiant Sun" die from My Favorite Things and blended Simon Says Stamps "Duckling" dye ink and "Spiced Marmalade" Distress Ink over the top. I tucked the sun between the two clouds.

I stamped the panda bear using Mama Elephants "Pandamonium" set and cut it with the matching dies. I then adhered him behind the sun.

I then added my favorite part of the whole card-the umbrella from Pretty Pink Posh's "Rainy Days" stamp set. Again, I used foam adhesive on the umbrella top to look as if the air had caught the panda and he was "floating" above the clouds.

My last step was to stamp the sentiment in black ink, also from the "Rainy Days" stamp set, add a few clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh, and a bit of Christmas Red Stickles to the umbrella.

This is one of my most favorite cards I have created in a while and I hope it inspires you to join us for Stamping Smiles Designs Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge #6. There are still a few days left!! I cannot wait to see what you create.

Have a FABULOUS week!!

Nora

Challenge #6 Inspiration with Rachel

Hello! Rachel here with you today with some fun inspiration for Challenge 6! For my card, I decided to use the middle row - Celebrate, Clean and Simple, and Critters.

I used a whole lot of masking for this one! My Misti is a lifesaver when it comes to stamping things like this. When I have a design with a lot of masking, I typically stamp the whole piece without masking on a spare piece of paper, so I know what needs to be stamped first (in this case, the bunny and the bear). I use that template on top of my finished piece to remember exactly where to place my stamps when I have a design I like. It saves me a lot of guess work! I simply place the template on top of my panel in the Misti and then remove the template from my Misti before stamping. It lines up the stamps perfectly and I don't waste paper trying to make the pieces line up!

After my panel was completely stamped, I simply colored the images with my Copic markers. I prepared the card base by heat embossing the sentiment in silver embossing powder. I used foam tape to adhere my panel for some dimension and then finished it off by adding a few of my favorite sparkling clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

I also added a little clear Wink of Stella to the frosting and some Glossy Accents to the sprinkles. Hard to capture in a picture, but gorgeous in real life!

Carnival Cupcakes	Carnival Toppers	Wonky Stitched Square STAX	Neenah Solar White 80 lb	Memento Tuxedo Black	Copic Sketch Markers	Versamark	Silver Embossing Powder
Misti Stamping Tool	Masking Paper	Sparkling Clear Sequin Mix	3M Foam Tape	Ranger Multi Medium Matte	Glossy Accents	Clear Wink of Stella

InLinkz.com

Challenge Guest Designer : Daria Grushina

Happy Friday, everyone! Today we have Daria with us from Falling Into Cardmaking as a guest designer.  I fell in love with Daria's creations from the start when I accidentally stumbled onto her lovely blog after searching for an idea for a particular stamp set. I am glad I did, because I absolutely love everything she makes and I know you will too!

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Hi Everyone :) I'm Daria and I am very exited to be here with you today! I'm a 30-plus-a-few girl, now living in Petrozavodsk that is in the North West of Russia. You probably already guessed by now, but I love cards! :) I have started to make them in October 2014 and couldn't stop since. I am 100% card-maker with a style toward Clean & Simple.

When Ka wrote to me asking to participate - I was more than happy :) And I still am! I really love the idea behind the challenge - that each and everyone can find their own inspiration in so many options! At first I though I would chose the diagonal line...but I remembered that I have already made that type of card (you can check it out here).

So for today's card, I have decided to go with the second row down from the current challenge #6: Glossy Accents - Clean & Simple - Twine! It was both easy and challenging at the same time. Usually, I use those to embellish my card if I feel it needs it, but I have never before started to plan the card from embellishments :) It was really fun! :)

Here is the project. It is basically a one layer card. I heat embossed some flowers from Altenew over the whole front panel in white and then masked central area to blend in some color. Colors used are: Spun sugar and Picked Raspberry of distress inks. I die-cut my sentiment twice from craft and glitter cardstock. I used craft color to coordinate with the twine, and glitter to make the card more bright. I also covered some of the petals inside the colored area with Glossy accents - it adds interest and fun dimension.

Hope you like my card and got inspired to join the fun! :) Thank you so much dearest Ka for the invitation, you are the Sweetest! I am very honored to join your challenge!

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Was this card not amazing or what?!! The result from this simple card is gorgeous! With just a small collection of supplies, you can make yourself a gorgeous piece like this too. :) Thanks to Daria for sharing an exceptional card that sure inspired us all! Swing over to Daria's blog to see even more amazing inspiration!

See you back here tomorrow for another inspiration post from our Social Media DT member, Rachel. Have a great weekend, everyone!!

Umbrella Card Set

Hello!  It's Lindsey today. :) I bought umbrella stamps years ago and have hardly used them, so when I saw the Challenge Six board, I knew I wanted to challenge myself to dust off those stamps.  Then, after I made my first card for Challenge Six I realized that I hadn't actually used the umbrella stamps...I just used the dies.  So today I'm back to share three cards I made using my umbrella stamps, inspired by the same three elements (going diagonally from the bottom): patterned papers, clean and simple, umbrella.

When I started my cards I was a bit in a crafting slump, so I went to Pinterest and did a search for "cute umbrellas" :) and was immediately inspired by this pin. 

Photo Source

Fruit umbrellas? LOVE!  (Sidenote: my favorite food has been fruit for as long as I can remember, so I might be a little biased.) :)

I started with the watermelon umbrella.  This particular umbrella from Papertrey's Scattered Showers set was perfect for this fruit because it already has a line separating the border, making it really easy to mask.  I used the raindrop in the set to stamp the seeds and finished it off with a sentiment from Paper Smooches' Chit Chat.

I was having too much fun, so I decided to make a set of cards.  My strawberry umbrella card was the easiest to make.  Instead of masking, I stamped the image on my card base in red, then stamped it a second time in green on scrap paper and trimmed out the top to look like leaves.  I used a white gel pen to draw on the seeds and added glossy accents on top for a little dimension.  The sentiment is from PTI's Fresh Floral Wrap-Ups.  This was such a quick card!  I loved that, too. :)

And last, a kiwi umbrella. We've been eating lots of kiwis lately, so I just had to do it.  I masked the center portion, so it could be a lighter shade and drew the seeds with a black pen.  The sentiment is from PTI's Sketched Shapes.

And here they are all together. {Insert happy sigh} I admit that my MISTI made this process much quicker and easier.  However, I didn't use it on my practice run and they still turned out pretty well, so you could definitely recreate the look with or without one.  You still have over a week to join us (or join again) for Challenge Six....can't wait to see what you create!  Have a wonderful week!

Champion Guest Designer : Kitty

We are back today with a guest design post from our 2nd Champion winner, Kitty from KT Fit Kitty. She created this kitty shaker card that stole our hearts and so we wanted to bring her out and feature her.

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Hello, everyone! I'm Kitty and I'm super excited to be here today as a guest designer! I live in Nova Scotia, Canada, with my hubby and three kitties. Unlike many crafters, I have not been particularly creative my whole life. I discovered my love of card making about ten years ago when a friend invited me to do some stamping. I took a few workshops, and I was hooked! My card-making style is "cute" and I especially enjoy kitties and other critters on my cards. I started my blog KT Fit Kitty in 2013, and I would be so happy if you would pop over for a visit!

My card was inspired by the third column: Umbrella, Critters, and Clouds. I made a cute little scene with some bright spring colours! The adorable bunny is Breezy from Your Next Stamp, and I coloured him with Prismacolor pencils and fussy-cut so I could pop him up with foam tape. I added Snow Writer on his tail and Glossy Accents on his eyes and umbrella.

The background was made with Twisted Citron Distress Ink using a watercolour smooshing technique and then die-cut with a Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangle. The three layers of grass were die cut with Lawn Fawn Grassy Border and I inked the edges with Twisted Citron. The cute picket fence is from Your Next Stamp, and I added lots of die-cut flowers (Impression Obsession), each with a gem in the center. The bunny die-cuts are from Impression Obsession Rabbit Set. I haven't seen any purple bunnies in real life but they are so fun on a card!

The clouds were die-cut using Lawn Fawn Spring Showers and I stamped a sentiment from Newton's Nook Birthday Flutter. The stitched panel was layered onto a scalloped stitched rectangle from Waltzing Mouse Stamps, and I finished it off with some tiny heart sequins.

I hope you enjoyed my card and will be inspired to join our challenge! Thank you to Ka and the design team for having me as your guest! I had fun!

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Isn't Kitty card just absolutely adorable and so full of life?! We love the bright colors and all the Spring elements in this super cute card. Thank you, Kitty for sharing your talent and providing us with more inspiration! Please hop on over to Kitty blog and give her some bloggie love!

Have a beautiful day, everyone!