Simon Says "Anything Goes" & Tic Tac Toe Challenge #013

It's been a long time since I had a chance to play at the Tic Tac Toe Challenge (or very many challenges at all for that matter) and they have a new Challenge Graphic on their blog. The ladies at the challenge all seem to be Stampin' Up Demonstrators but when I checked the Challenge Rules, there is no requirement to use SU! products so I'm going for it this week or until they tell me otherwise.  I chose the diagonal line of Pink, Flowers and Gold for my card.

This has been the busiest summer that I remember for a long time - several years. My blog and participating in Challenges has taken a back seat to the class I decided to take this summer - Adobe Illustrator.  I just finished the class, although I need a lot more practice, and I just wanted to sit down and make a card because doing that makes me happy.  The Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge for this week is Anything Goes, so this card is for both challenges. I'm really thankful that Simon doesn't have a requirement to use one of their exclusive products on the Blog Challenges.  I do try to use their products for the challenges as a general rule because I buy many of my products there.  Those products will be linked throughout this post.  While I was taking the class, I wasn't linking my products to anywhere, but I will be back to doing that now. as well as writing the "How To's" of my cards.

This card started with a Spellbinders Bookplate Label Die which hasn't been available in who knows how many years and the Papertrey Ink Beautiful Berries: Autumn Stamps and Dies.  The label die is one I got in 2006 at the Great American Scrapbook Convention at the Spellbinders Booth.  It both cuts and embosses and I haven't used it nearly as much as I'd like.  So I started by cutting that from Stamper's Select White Cardstock and then using a tan embossing pad, ran it through again to emboss it a little deeper.  I also misted the label with a very fine mist of water (just once) to help those fibers in the paper stretch a little more so they would make a nice embossed impression.  I left the paper in the die to finish drying while I completed a few other steps.

Next I die cut a few of each of the berry branches from the Beautiful Berries: Autumn Dies. Using the negative as my place holder in my Mini MISTI, I stamped the various layers of color using all Papertrey Inks in Dark Chocolate, Lovely Lady, Autumn Rose and Ripe Avocado. Each of the layers is double stamped for thoroughly saturated color which is one of my favorite things about using the MISTI.

A few years back, I got this Pink and White Damask Design Paper at my local scrapbooking store which has since closed. It is from American Crafts and I have no idea if they still carry it.  I wouldn't think so, but you never know. Anyhow, I have found that such a fancy design doesn't work well for a lot of things but once I did a quick layout placement of the elements, I decided it was perfect for this card.  I only had one 4.25 inch x 12 inch strip of this left, but I cut both using the MFT Blueprints#15 Stitched Rectangle Die.

Since I had already stamped extra berry branches, I cut another of the bookplate labels as well.  I figured I might as well make 2 cards while I was at it. I used a bottle of Boss Gloss Clear Embossing Ink from Stampendous that has a blotter top on the bottle to dab some on the openings in the die (see photo) and then using a stencil brush with Ranger Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder in Interference Red brushed the perfect pearls on there. That color is kind of a mauve-y pink when they are set.  Perfect Pearls have a binder in them so you only need to have a very fine mist of water to set them or you can use inexpensive hairspray.  I used my little mister bottle that I filled with water after I emptied the contents of the Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist from it. I like how fine the mist is for their bottles and I usually keep them. They are great if you want to make you own color mists or whatever.

Once I was sure the Perfect Pearls were set and dry, I used my powder tool on the labels and then stamped a sentiment with Versamark and heat embossed it in Simon Says Stamp Antique Gold Embossing Powder and then assembled the cards. The sentiment came from the Papertrey Ink Make It Market Garden Gate Kit which is NLA (No Longer Available ) but you could use any sentiment that will fit on your label or shape.

There's a lot of standard supplies that I use here and I haven't mentioned them for a while so I'm going to take a bit of time to do that today.  I use Papertrey Ink's Stamper's Select White Cardstock for my card bases unless I want a colored card base, which is pretty rare.  I love the smoothness of the White and it is #110 lb. heavy weight cardstock. It makes beautiful cards.  For my adhesive, I use Kokuyo Dot Runner Style Adhesive. I used to always use this adhesive because I was a scrapbooker and the ability to move something that was crooked was important to me.  However, I had been unable to find it for several years. Thanks to Jennifer McGuire and her ability to find things, it is a whole lot easier to get refills right now. Plus, they have come out with an extra long version which is what I use.  It contains 36 meters of tape runner which is just under 40 yards. Yes - Yards not feet.  I have two of the regular length and one of the longer length dispensers.  I didn't buy the regular length dispensers, they are the ones I had from before. I was down to my very last refill so I was pretty happy when Jennifer started using it and telling us where to get refills. I immediately bought the Longer Dispenser and several refills for it.  I have retired my Pink ATG.  I hate that thing but my best friend loves it, so I'm saving it for her. *Ü*

I also like to use Thin 3D Foam Squares and usually have several packages of these around.  I can use these to add a bit of dimension without it making the envelope too bulky to mail with only one stamp unless I get carried away.  I do buy the big roll of Scotch 3M Foam Tape but I try to use foam squares most of the time. I also make a lot of flat cards because almost all of what I make gets mailed.  For liquid glue/adhesive, I use Ranger Multi Medium Matte with a ScraPerfect No Clog Tip on it. I've also tried some of the less expensive versions of foam squares.  It could be me because I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, but they drive me nutty when I can't get the release paper off of them.  I would certainly encourage you to find and use what works for you.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!  I am happy to be back doing the thing I love and sharing that with all of you. As always, if you have a question, ask away and I will try to answer it for you. Happy September everyone!

This card won Team Pick at the Tic Tac Toe Challenge where it was entered.

CAS on Sunday & Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

I've got a card today for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with an "Anything Goes" theme for this week as well as the CAS on Sunday Challenge with a "Christmas" theme.

Sometimes, in the everyday business of creating, we forget all of the tools we have at our disposal.  I know that my embossing folders sit in a basket on the shelf in my closet (behind closed doors usually) and I tend to forget they are there. I need to remember to bring them out more often as it is a really quick way to add texture and dimension to a project without a lot of fuss or mess. Some of the newer embossing folders are 3D although I still use both kinds.

I'm making a few cards for a friend's family and I wanted to make a really special one for her parents' card.  I know her mom loves purple and I wanted to use the Spellbinders Poinsettia Dies to make their card.  I originally did some ink blending on watercolor paper using Seedless Preserves Distress Ink but when I went to add the angled band across the front, I didn't like it that the papers weren't the same, so I cut another poinsettia in this gorgeous thistle colored shimmering cardstock. This paper is some I got several years at a scrapbook store in Whitesboro, TX.  I love this particular shade of purple so I've been hoarding what I have left but it was the perfect paper for the card I was creating today. And while I tried several different colors of card bases, I didn't really like any of them except the white. I needed to add some visual interest to the card base so I reached for my neglected embossing folders.  This particular one is the We R Memory Keepers Next Level Gemstone Embossing Folder.  I love the different facets or planes this folder creates on my plain white cardstock.  These come two to a package with two different designs and are 6 x 6 so that you can run your card bases either direction which is always fantastic for me because I make so many top folding vertical cards.

I added shimmer mist to the green cardstock for the leaves so everything would be shimmery.  The poinsettia dies cut four layers so you just have to adhere one on top of the other and finish off the center with the embellishment of your choosing.  Pearls are always a classic choice for me. To give a little bit of dimension, I cut Thin 3D Foam Squares in half  and put that just under the tips of the petals on the largest layer.  I used Ranger Multi Medium Matte to adhere the center of the poinsettia to the card base.  Additionally, I added one of the Thin 3D Foam Squares under each tip of the leaves and a drop of Multi Medium Matte at the center where I tucked the leaves in under the bloom.

Next I cut a piece of Gold Glitter Paper 1.5 inches wide and then another piece of the purple shimmer paper 1.25 inches wide so that just a narrow border of the gold glitter would show on each side of the band.  I stamped the sentiment from the Concord & 9th Holy Night Stamp Set.  I attached the band to the card on a diagonal using 1/4" ScorTape.

This turned out to be one of my favorite Christmas cards I've made this year. The detail of the white card base might not be very visible in this photograph, but it is definitely there when you see it in person.  Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I'll be back soon with another card.