Just a Little Hi

 This card is from another 30 Minute Cardmaking Stash Dash event. 

The parameters were as follows: Type of card: anything EXCEPT A2, Colours: green, Embellishment: glitter or sparkle and Technique: inking. 

I stencilled a background using three shades of green ink. I also inked the edge of the card base in green. A mini slimline scalloped border was die cut x3 and stacked and the flowers were assembled to form a long stem. I added a stamped sentiment across the bottom and placed some sparkles around the flowers. Easy - but it did take me longer than 30 minutes! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Rotated Circle Cards

 I saw a card like this on social media and wanted to try it myself. 

It took a while to find the right striped paper - the stripes need to be pretty close together for this to work well. 

I die cut the largest circle from the centre of the paper and continued to die cut more circles until I was down to the smallest size. The circles were placed back into the opening, rotating each one ninety degrees. I kept the patterns lined up across circles. A die cut sentiment with a vellum shadow was added at the bottom. 

Staying with this same technique, I wanted to try something a little different... I chose a monochromatic striped pattern as it worked best for this technique. The circles were die cut the same way but this time, I placed the smallest circle in the centre first and offset each of the other circles so they would meet at the correct angle against the base piece (if that makes sense). This is really a play on the eyes. I know some people cannot look long at an illusion like this but it is so neat in real life. Again, a die cut sentiment with a vellum shadow was added at the bottom. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

CAS Thinking of You

 This pretty card was inspired by one made by Deborah Wheeler when she entered a card like this into one of the challenges where I am on the design team. 

I used watercolour paper and stamped a simple floral image. I used a black Sharpie marker to doodle a rectangle around the flower and painted the inside with very light blue watercolour. I coloured the flower with markers and die cut the inside rectangle from the larger rectangle . A sentiment was stamped on the larger piece and everything was adhered to a black card base. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 566 - Leaves of Thanks

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge 566!

I stayed very true to the sketch. I chose four shades of blue cardstock and taped them together to emboss them. I wanted the pattern to continue down the card. The leaves were die cut from three shades of yellow/orange cardstock and arranged under a circle with a thank you sentiment. I added some Stickles to the dots around the circle and brushed the leaves with a gold shimmer brush. 

Come and join us at Atlantic Hearts and show us how you interpret this week's challenge. 

You have until Sunday evening to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Ribbon Shaker Card

 This card is from another 30 Minute Cardmaking Stash Dash event. 

The parameters for this challenge were as follows: Type of card: A2, Colours: pastels, Embellishments: ribbon or washi tape and Technique: dovetailing. 

I used four colours of ribbon to create a striped shaker piece and glued down a few sequins in place before adding tiny gold stars inside. The background was die cut from a piece of alcohol ink patterned paper and adhered to a gold card base. I added a hot foiled sentiment that was dovetailed on each side and added a few sequins around the sentiment. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

SS 745 - Dragonfly Hello

 Welcome to Sketch Saturday Challenge 745!

The sketch is shown below. The optional theme (in addition to the sketch) is to feature green. 

I stay very true to the sketch. It's hard to see in the photos but there is a very thin emerald green mat around the entire card. The patterned paper pieces were arranged on a black embossed background and I used another piece for the border for the image. The dragonfly is a rub-on image (haven't used those in years!) and was applied to a lightly inked cardstock piece. I stamped and die cut the sentiment and added it along the bottom of the image. Three enamel dots finished off this card. 

Come and join us at Sketch Saturday and show us how you interpret this week's challenge. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

CD 589 - Just Because Stem

 Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 589!

You must use Royal and Periwinkle plus ONE of the three colours in the second row. 

I used Royal, Periwinkle and chose Sage as my third colour. I also used silver. 

The background was embossed with a small dot print on silver foil and adhered to a Royal cardstock base.  I die cut the stem pieces from both Royal and Sage and pieced them together on a Periwinkle background using both the light and dark sides of the cardstock. The sentiment was die cut from silver foil and adhered to a circle background and I added some clear dew drops around the card. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you interpret this week's challenge. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Cut It Up Challenge 298 - Rainbow Striped Birthday

 Welcome to Cut It Up Challenge 298!

The theme for this challenge is to use stripes or dots. 

I chose stripes. I created a background using seventeen cardstock colours in rainbow order. The card front was embossed with a 3D burlap embossing folder and I cut that on an angle. The stripes were placed underneath and the embossed piece was adhered with foam tape. I left enough room across the card to place a die cut "happy" sentiment. I used vellum for the shadow so the colours would be visible through the word. A small "birthday" was added on the same angle as the larger word and the rest of the embossed front was adhered with foam tape. 

Come and join us at Cut It Up and show us how you interpret this week's challenge. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

MTTC 528 - Hello Vellum Inked Card

 Welcome to My Time to Craft Challenge 528!

The theme for this challenge is to create your own background. 

I LOVE this challenge - there are so many possibilities to make a background and I had to settle on only one... I chose a vellum technique that is so much fun. 

The coloured background was made on vellum by using three Copic markers. I scribbled colour on the entire piece and then splattered it with rubbing alcohol. The alcohol created a droplet effect (better than spraying) and the vellum did curl initially but it flattened out itself. It didn't take long to dry. I die cut a stitched frame plus a floral image and a sentiment. The flower and sentiment pieces were stacked x3 and I arranged the pieces on the card. I added a small enamel dot to the base of each flower but left this card pretty clean and simple. 

Come and join us at MTTC and show us your projects with created backgrounds.

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Postage Birdies

 The postage collection from Waffle Flower has become incredibly popular. 

I used the outline die to cut the card front. The birds were stamped on five of the sections and I stamped a sentiment in the top left corner. I masked the birds to stamp branches under some of them and then coloured those images. A cloud stencil was used to create a cloud background behind the images. I used the postage stamp set to add details like the stamp prices (if only they were that cheap!) and a few other details. The card front was adhered to a light blue mat, a black mat and then to the card base. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Friendship Alcohol Inked Background Card

 I saw this cool technique on YouTube and wanted to try it myself. 

I used a sunburst stencil and texture paste on vellum. One that was dry, I added two colours of alcohol inks (bold pink and blue) and where they met, purple was created. Based on those colours, I stamped and coloured the image and die cut it using a circle die. The sentiment was stamped and fussy cut. The corners were rounded on the card as well. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

TSOT 641 - Just a Note Coneflower

 Welcome to Try a Sketch on Tuesday Challenge 641!

This was a fun sketch - lots of possibilities! 

I created my own background by using cling wrap and three colours of ink. I pressed the inks on my glass surface, sprayed them with water and used the cling wrap to press into the ink and then onto the cardstock. The emerald green panel was embossed with a 3D embossing folder and I added a piece of glitter paper across the front. The flower and leaves were die cut from white cardstock, inked and splattered with water before being assembled. I added a hot foiled sentiment at the top and some clear dew drops around the card. 

Come and join us at TSOT and show us how you interpret the sketch shown above. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

From the Desk of...

 This set of masculine cards was made for a friend of mine - I edited out his name but each of the tags has his first and last name printed. This is a set of ten cards - I made two in each colour scheme (photographed one of each). I know they will be put to good use! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Hello Striped Card

 This card uses a sort of inlay technique without placing tons of little pieces into another die cut. 

The background was stamped using three shades of blue ink and cut down to fit the card front. I placed it on a dark blue mat and then on a lighter blue base, leaving room across the centre for the sentiment. The shadow of the sentiment die was cut from the front of the card base and I die cut the individual letters from a lighter blue cardstock piece. The letters were stacked x3 and placed back into the shadow area but on the inside of card base. The photos show this better than I can explain it... 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Music Cards

 Every now and then, a wonderful opportunity arises for us. Mine happened earlier this week. I was invited by a former music student of mine to hear his ensembles perform in a competition. He has told me several times that I made a big difference in his life and I am the reason he decided to pursue a career as a music teacher. As a teacher, we never know the impact that we have on our students - this was one of those amazing opportunities to see that in action. 

Both of his ensembles performed wonderfully! I just put these cards in the mail for the two groups. I think it is so important to recognize students and although I don't know these young people, I know that their teacher is making a big difference in their lives. 

Below are the two cards - one for each ensemble. I know he will read the message inside to the kids. I am also attaching (albeit a very bad) photo of the two of us. I had not seen this fellow since June of 1997 when he finished grade 8. It was such a terrific reunion! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

DT 160 - Squirrel Birthday Fun Fold Card

 Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge 160!

The small graphic is below - please visit the Double Trouble Challenge Blog for details. 

Thing 3 requires that we use something that hops, skips or leaps. I have a few frog stamps but the images are small... too small for what I had in mind. I chose squirrels - they definitely leap! 

I created the scene on the front by stencilling some clouds and then adhering the stamped and coloured die cuts. The grass was stencilled last as I wanted it to look like the squirrels were in the foreground. Inside the card where there is a place to write a message, there is another squirrel and sunflower plant. This card folds flat for mailing and fits into a standard A2 envelope. 

Come and join us at Double Trouble and show us how you interpret this challenge. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

I am also linking up my card with the challenge at Creative Creases (fun folds).

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson 

MTTCC 80 - Noel Snowflake

 

Welcome to My Time to Craft Christmas Challenge 80! 

The theme for this challenge is to use white and metallics ONLY - no other colours or neutrals. 

I used a snowflake stencil and sparkly texture paste to create the large snowflake. The silver snowflake and the smaller white one were die cut and arranged in the centre of the larger one. I added a hot foiled sentiment at the bottom and adhered the card front to a silver base - easy! 

This photos shows the sparkly snowflake a little better. 

Come and join us at MTTCC and show us your white and metallic projects. 

You have two weeks to link up with this challenge. 

We can't wait to see what you create! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Anemone Faux Shaker Easel Card

 I saw a card like this on Facebook but there was no watermark on the saved image... I would love to give the original poster credit for the design. 

The arch is an open shaker but I glued the sequins in place so they wouldn't fall to the bottom where they would not be seen. The easel front was embossed with a woodgrain embossing folder and I die cut all of the flower and leaf pieces and inked them. Those pieces were assembled and added to the left side of the easel. The sentiment was die cut three times and stacked before being placed on the card base to hold up the easel component. I added some clear gems on the flower and leaves to finish off this pretty card. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Blue Birdies

 I just love these little birdies. They were stencilled onto a card front using four shades of blue ink. I stamped the eyes, noses, beaks and other details and then stamped some hearts and coloured them in red and yellow. There is a sentiment inside the card that says "Life is tweet with friends like you." I added both a light and dark blue mat under the card front. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Celebrations Delivered Virtual Class

 I recently participated in the Celebrations Delivered online class run by Scrapbook and Cards. I have done several of their events and they are always terrific - this one was no exception. 

The theme was celebrations - baby, wedding, graduation, new home, etc. I like to make my cards the same way the instructors do because then I have the products and I can play with them on my own.

There were three formal classes - each one had three cards but the last class had three bonus cards as well. They are all so cute! Do you have a favourite? 

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 564 - Jaws Birthday

 Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge 564! 

The sketch shows four different patterns behind the main image, I stamped a mixed line pattern (one stamp in three shades of blue) and added thin black strips to make it look like four separate panels. The fish were stamped, coloured and die cut and I added them to an inked background, along with some bubbles and clear gems. The sentiment was embossed in white on the lower half of the border piece. 

Come and join us at Atlantic Hearts and show us how you interpret this week's sketch. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Animal Postage Collage

 I pulled out my postage collage set and did something a little different with it. 

The sections were lightly stenciled with blue ink and I stamped five of the openings with an animal and associated pun. The animals were coloured and I stamped some postage elements on the piece as well. That was adhered to a black mat and then a light blue card base. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

SS 744 - Just a Note

Welcome to Sketch Saturday Challenge 744!

This is an interesting sketch - so many possibilities! The optional theme (in addition to the sketch) is "something you love". 

I love flowers so that's the optional theme element for me. I used a yellow, orange, green and black colour scheme - somewhat unusual for me. I stamped the yellow cardstock with a floral image and arranged the design on a piece of green cardstock. The border pieces were die cut with a stitched border die and placed around the black centre piece and along the yellow edges. I stamped, coloured and die cut a floral image and added it on the back cardstock with a ribbon underneath. A hot foiled sentiment was placed at the bottom and I put a small sequin in the centre of each flower. 

Come and join us at Sketch Saturday and show us how you interpret this week's sketch. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

CD 587 - Floral Wreath

 Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 587!

Choose at least three of the colours from the graphic below. I used Periwinkle, Capri, Mist, Harbour and Silver plus black, white and Kraft. 

The background was die cut and I placed that piece on top of the white card base. I added a stitched border around the outside. The flowers were die cut using both the light and dark side of the cardstock and I inked the bases of each flower. The leaves were die cut from Kraft cardstock and also inked at the base. I arranged the flowers in a circle an added the leaves around the outside. A hot foiled sentiment was placed in the centre along with some silver metallic thread. I used a white gel pen to add details to the flowers and added some silver gems to finish off this card. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you interpret this challenge. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Cut It Up Challenge 297 - Heart Flip Card

 Welcome to Cut It Up Challenge 297!

The theme for this challenge is "have a heart". 

I chose to make a flip card. The heart flips over so it is visible from both the front and the inside of the card. 

I chose a very bold pink cardstock and some floral patterned paper. The paper was actually black and white and I selectively coloured some flowers and leaves before adhering it to the card. The hearts were die cut and I added some die cuts florals on the front heart, a sentiment on the second heart and a second sentiment on the last heart, along with a few extra floral images. There is a piece of white cardstock on the back to write a message (I covered my personalized stamp image in the lower left corner). The flowers were brushed with a clear shimmer brush and I coloured in the tiny little heart images as well. 

Come and join us at Cut It Up and show us your heart related projects. 

You have two weeks to link up with the challenge. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

MTTC 527 - Pink Hugs

 Welcome to My Time to Craft Challenge 527!

The theme for his challenge is to use a Cupid image and/or arrows. 

I had to use arrows as I don't have anything Cupid related. I stamped a large heart and coloured it with bright pink markers. Two arrows were stamped into the heart. Several smaller heart images were stamped around the larger heart and I added a sentiment at the bottom. A border was doodled around the edge and after adhering the card front to a black base, I added some black sequins. 

Come and join us at MTTC and show us how you interpret this challenge. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy, 

Alyson