paper smooches challenge

I decided to play along with this month's Paper Smooches Challenge. It's a color challenge, and I decided some of the purples would make a fun Christmas card. Here's what I came up with:

I stamped the snowflakes from the Fresh Snow set with Versamark Ink on Tim Holtz watercolor paper, then I embossed them with Judikins Sparkle Embossing Powder. I picked out 4 Distress Ink colors that I thought matched some of the colors in the challenge, although that lightest color seemed to match better before I added the water. I used an ink blending tool to create somewhat of an ombre effect. I then sprayed it with a Perfect Pearls and water mixture so everything is nice and shimmery. I used some frame die cuts to cut out a frame. I die cut Merry Christmas twice and glued them together, then embossed it with the sparkle embossing powder, then glued that to the small rectangle. I popped up the two inked pieces with foam adhesive over a piece of cardstock with more sparkle embossing powder. I like how it turned out. The whole thing is very shimmery and sparkly.

I'm also going to send this card to the 2016 Caring Hearts Card Drive. If you like making cards, I hope you'll send some there, too.

Thanks for stopping by!!

paper smooches sparks challenge again

I decided to make a second card for the April Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge. I used the Birthday Bash Stamp Set. I stamped the greeting, then masked it off to stamp the balloons. I stamped the single balloon in Audrey Blue from Simon Says Stamp and added sparkle with the Spectrum Noir clear shimmer pen. I used a little piece of foam tape to pop up the balloon. I rounded one corner, added a few Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear sequins, and then that's it for this simple card. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

paper smooches sparks challenge

Every month I see the Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge, and I think about entering. And then the next thing I know, the month is over and it's time for a new challenge, and then the cycle repeats itself. I finally managed to create a card for the challenge this month, and I may even do a second one, but I'm not making any promises. :)

The challenge is black and white with a pop of color. The color on my card doesn't pop as much in photos as it does in person, (Who knew mint would be so hard to photograph?) but I think you can see it a little better in the close up.

I started out by stamping a background using the Calico stamp set on Neenah Solar White cardstock. I rounded the corners and ran my black ink pad along the edges to help it stand out from the white on the card itself. I then die cut Happy Birthday from some mint cardstock and used a clear Spectrum Noir glitter marker all over it so it's super sparkly. That is a new-to-me marker and I really like it. I adhered the die cut to a vellum strip that I stapled with the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher. I finished the card with a couple sequins and droplets from Pretty Pink Posh.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by!