TIME OUT#99 - Theme Challenge: New Beginnings

This is the last TIME OUT challenge of 2017 - the year has just flown by! 

Our sponsor for this challenge is Happy Little Stampers who are very generously offering a $15 gift voucher to a random entry that does the optional twist :)

I chose to go with a New Year's card. I just got this falling circles die from Neat and Tangled and immediately thought of champagne bubbles - perfect! I kept the design fairly simple - I just inlaid some gold glitter paper into the die cut, trimmed the panel and mounted it with fun foam onto a plain white card base. The sentiment was heat embossed in gold - it is from an older Hero Arts set called Holiday Sayings (one of my favourites for Christmas card sentiments) but I'm pretty sure it doesn't count as the twist ;)

Make sure that you check the wonderful DT inspiration as well as the amazing work of our great guest designer, PJ from PJ's Projects.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jill

TIME OUT #98 - Photo Inspiration

We are back at TIME OUT with a Home Sweet Home photo inspiration challenge this fortnight - and it is seasonally appropriate :)

If you are like me - still scrambling with holiday cards - this photo is fabulous inspiration. Here is my take:

I used the stag head and the woodgrain as a jumping off point. Starting with the card panel, I troweled some white texture paste through a Tim Holtz wood grain stencil using a circle mask - and covered it with Distress Glitter while it was still wet. I heat embossed the Simon Says Stamp stag head in gold, and cut it out using my scan n cut. The greeting, from Clearly Besotted, was white heat embossed onto a strip of SSS Schoolhouse Red card stock (my favourite red card stock!). The sentiment and the stag were mounted with foam tape and the panel was stuck to a SSS Slate card base- with a few sparkling clear sequins added for (even more) sparkle.

I really like this card - but if I were to make it again, I would probably shift everything down to the bottom half of the card.

Our guest designer this week is former TO DT member and amazing card maker - Sarah from Funky Fossil Designs. So happy to have her with us - her designs are always so inspiring.

We are being sponsored by Uniko, who are offering a gift voucher to the winner - so it is definitely worth taking some TIME OUT to play along with us!

Jill

   

TIME OUT #97 - Inspired By Words

The challenge this fortnight at TIME OUT is to create a project inspired by these words:

We have a wonderful guest designer with us this week too - Izzy from Izzyscrap has a wonderful CAS style always brings gorgeous inspiration.

I was inspired by the "celebrate all that is good today and everyday", and created a New Year's card:

I love this card in real life but it was really hard to capture in the photo. 

To make it, I started by applying Deco Foil transfer gel through the Tim Holtz stencil. I let it dry and then ran it through my Minc to apply the pink to yellow foil. I also foiled a piece of toner coated card stock with the same foil, and then die cut the WPlus9 "happy" from it. I white heat embossed 2018 on a smaller piece of the foiled card stock. The die cut, 2018, and the Taylored Expressions frame were all popped up with foam tape for dimension.

So now it's your turn to play along with our inspired by words challenge - with a chance to win a $10 gift voucher from Stamplorations!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jill

TIME OUT #96 - CASE-ing Michele

This week at TIME OUT, we are so lucky to be CASE-ing the incredible Michele from I Card Everyone. Michele has such an amazing CAS style and always uses her stamps in the most creative ways - she is a constant source of inspiration :)

The card Michele has made for us to CASE is gorgeous - check it out:

There are so many different elements of this design that can be CASE-d: the colour scheme, the die cutting, the masking and sponging.... I was inspired by the layout and that's what I went with:

My card is a one-layer design. I used the SSS Holiday Borders to stamp the three borders in three different colours of dye ink. I then stamped over the borders with VersaMark and brushed on some Perfect Pearls. I love the metallic effect that technique creates - it adds the perfect amount of shimmer for a simple design. The greeting is from MFT - stamped in silver pigment ink and brushed with Perfect Pearls as well.

So that was my take but make sure you check out the rest of the design team and our fabulous guest designer, Bobby from Bits and Pieces for more inspiration - we can't wait to see how Michele's card inspires you - so take some TIME OUT to join us :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Jill

TIME OUT#95 - Sympathy Cards

Our TIME OUT challenge this week is to make a sympathy card. We know that these cards are hard to make when they are needed so it is always a good idea to have a few on hand.

We are being sponsored by the wonderful Happy Little Stampers who are offering a $15 gift voucher to a random entry who includes the optional twist in their entry; the optional twist this fortnight is including a distressing technique in your card.

Our Guest Designer this week is Sue from Sue's Card Craft - she has gorgeous cards so make sure you stop by her blog to check them out.

 Here is my take on the challenge:

I created a one layer card for this challenge. I used some torn paper to create a mask on the card and then I used some Distress Inks to add some blended colour. I then splattered some water over the panel to create the water spots and stamped some Hero Arts wild flower silhouettes over the blended area. The greeting is from Clearly Besotted.

Here is another card that I made with the same technique - but I made it into a panel instead and popped it up (because I got some inky fingerprints on my card ;) )

We can't wait to see your cards - so make sure you take some TIME OUT to play along :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jill

TIME OUT #94 - Home Sweet Home Photo Inspiration

We have a fabulous Home Sweet Home photo to inspire you this week at TIME OUT - check it out:

Our wonderful sponsor for this challenge is Stamplorations - the winner will get a $10 gift voucher :) and our guest designer is Janet from Swan Lady Impressions - I'm sure you're already familiar with her fabulous cards so make sure you stop by for a visit.

When I first looked at this picture, I was completely taken with the seahorse - I even bought some dies but then I got distracted by the branches and pumpkins and came up with this card:

I used a combination of Hero Arts and Ellen Hutson dies - and inked up the die cuts with Distress Oxide inks. I used a woodgrain texture plate, some Nuvo Drops, a Clearly Besotted greeting and some twine to dress them up a bit.

We can't wait to see which direction this fabulous inspiration photo takes you - so make sure that you take some TIME OUT to play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jill

TIME OUT #93 - Breast Cancer Awareness/Friendship with CAS-ual Fridays

This fortnight is a special challenge at TIME OUT - it is a theme challenge focused on Breast Cancer Awareness and/or friendship cards. Our fabulous sponsor is CAS-ual Fridays, who have an incredible selection of encouragement and breast cancer awareness stamps, and they are offering a prize to the top pick and to a random entry that features PINK on their card.

Our talented guest designer this week is Yulia who has a wonderful blog about cards and Project Life pages - great inspiration so make sure you check it out :)

Here is my card:

I went with a pink, white and gold colour combo and just had fun playing with the fabulous "Be" stamp set from Cas-ual Fridays  - the butterflies and the wonderful quote (You are capable of more than you know - Glinda) - which is little blurry from my less than stellar embossing -are from the set. I used an MFT paint swipe stamp for the sentiment background and I just swiped the ink pad around the edges. I added a little bit of gold embossing around the edges as well. I stitched some die cut vellum butterflies over the smaller stamped butterflies with some gold thread and added some gold Nuvo drops to finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jill  

Hello There - MFT

Today, I am sharing a card that I created for the MFT Card Design Superstar Challenge

I am entering the Coloring Virtuosu category with this card:

I started out by stamping the Bundles of Blossoms background in black, and then I spent hours (yes - hours!) colouring it with my Copics. I kept the background in neutral grays (N0, N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6, N7) and I didn't go too dark with the contrast because I really wanted the focus to stay on the three pink blooms (R81, R83, R85, R89). I absolutely loved the way it turned out :)  I trimmed down the panel so that it would have a border around it - but instead of matting it with a solid coloured card stock, I decided to add some bold Sephora stripes with my N7 Copic. I used the MFT All Lined Up stencil as a guide to add my lines before colouring them in.The greeting is from the Polar Bear Pals stamp set and white embossed on a piece of card stock coloured with N7 as well. The strip was die cut with a Blueprints 29 die and popped up with some foam squares. I kept the embellishments very minimal but did add a few Ice Cube jewels (Little Things) around the sentiment. You can really only see them when the light hits them.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jill

TIME OUT #92 - Inspired By Words

Our "Inspired By Words" challenge this fortnight at TIME OUT is all about creativity :)  Today is International Dot Day which is all about celebrating the power and potential of creativity , and our quote is one that reflects that sentiment:

“Paint the flying spirit of the bird rather than its feathers.”~Robert Henri.

Here is how I was inspired by these words:

`I love these MFT flamingo dies :) I coloured mine with Distress Inks, and framed him up with a glittery silver frame, some pretty pink sequins, and background created with texture paste and glitter. The sentiment is from the MFT companion set - I thought it was a great take on the inspirational words.

I did another one where I used some light blue Nuvo paste on the background instead of the texture paste:

I like the way it looks in real life but it is very busy looking in the picture...

Our guest designer this week is the always inspiring Carol from Just Me: C - it is so fitting to have her guest designing on International Dot Day since her designs are so creative. 

Our sponsor for this challenge is Happy Little Stampers - they have generously offered a gift voucher to the top pick :)   - so it is definitely worth taking some TIME OUT to play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by!
Jill

TIME OUT#91 - CASE-ing Beverly Brown

CASE challenges are always so much fun - I just love being inspired by other card designers - especially when they challenge me to look at things differently. The CASE card this week at TIME OUT is from Beverly Brown of Uniko Studios - our generous sponsor for this challenge, and it was such a fun challenge. Here it is:

I played around with a few different designs focusing on the rainbow stripes - but I eventually ended up with a "looser" CASE - here it is:

This card is a true one-layer card - something I don't make that often :) I started by stamping the beautiful flower from Indigo Blu (Colour Me Dahlia) onto the card front. I then masked around the stamped area and blended in some Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, and Mustard Seed Distress inks to create "stripes". I then re-stamped the flower in Versafine Onyx Black to make sure it popped against the background (I love my MISTI!!!). The greeting is from one of my favourite sentiment sets - Altenew Many Thanks stamp set.

Our wonderful guest designer this week is Lucie from LucieG Cards whose designs are truly inspiring - so make sure you check out her blog along with the rest of the DT to amp up your inspiration and play along with us.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jill 

TIME OUT #90 - Autumn Theme

We have a new TIME OUT challenge for you - this fortnight we are looking for Autumn themed cards - it's getting to that time of year already :)

There is a really fun optional twist for the challenge as well - speed stamping. We are challenging you to stamp your card in 10 minutes or less (not including time to gather supplies). If you need some incentive to give speed stamping a go, our fabulous sponsor, Happy Little Stampers is offering a  gift voucher to a random entry that does the optional twist!

Our guest designer for this challenge is Elaine from Craft-E Place - her designs are fabulous so make sure you check out her blog.

So here is my Autumn themed card:

No twisting for me this week - I am just not a very fast stamper :(  For this card, I stamped and clear embossed the Neat & Tangled leaves on some Distress Watercolour paper. I then used some Brushos to colour the leaves in different Autumn colours. I added some splatters to the panel - black and copper to stay with the Autumn theme. The greeting from W Plus9 was white embossed on a black MFT die cut banner and popped up on the card base.

We can't wait to see your Autumn themed cards - so make sure take some TIME OUT to play along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Jill

We're Gonna Need A Bigger... Cake!

Just a quick share today inspired by a couple of challenges. This is actually a re-make of a card that I made a while back but never shared on my blog - it is a great masculine Birthday card - and I can never have too many of those!

The wave was created by smooshing some Tumbled Glass and Broken China onto a piece of Distress watercolour paper - drying between the layers. I added some white splatters as well with Studio Calico white mist. The shark (from Avery Elle) was coloured with Copics, coated with Wink of Stella, and popped up with a mini action wobbler. The greeting is from the same Avery Elle stamp set - here is how it is completed on the inside of the card:

I will link up to the following challenges:

• Inkspirational - code word Wave
• Addicted to Stamps and More - Clean and Simple
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - For a Child

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jill

TIME OUT #89 - Home Sweet Home Inspiration

We're back at TIME OUT with another inspirational Home Sweet Home picture this week:

In addition to this great photo, we also have a fabulous guest designer to inspire you this week: Trina from My Crafting Closet has some great designs and inspiration to share so make sure you stop by her blog.

Here is how I was inspired:

I think that it is pretty obvious where I drew my inspiration :) I immediately thought of this Neat & Tangled Origami map stamp and die set that I have and I had to use it. I stamped the map and then coloured it with some Copics. I die cut the map and then popped it up on a black card base using some black foam tape. I love the shadow that this creates around the map - here is a better photo of it. 

I used a Stamplorations sentiment to finish the card. We are lucky to have Stamplorations as our sponsor for this challenge - the winner will receive a gift voucher for their store.

So take some TIME OUT and play along with us - we can't wait to see how you are inspired!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jill

TIME OUT#87 - CASEing Cornelia

This week at TIME OUT, we are CASE-ing the incredible creative Cornelia from Stempel Spass - I love her designs - they are always so much fun and her CASE card is no exception!

We also have a great Guest Designer with us this week: Pooja from Reusing, Cards & Quilling has some great designs so make sure to stop by her blog. 

Here is my card:

OK - so my CASE is a little bit "loose" but I was really inspired by the fun KatzelKraft image that Cornelia used so I wanted to use a KatzelKraft critter as well - I went with a cat instead of a bird though. I had this previously stamped card base (stamp is an older Studio Calico one), and I thought that it went perfectly with the cat image... it looks like the cat is apprehensive about the numbers... sometimes I feel like that on my Birthday ;)

I stamped the cat and coloured it with Copics. I then stamped the greeting - also from Studio Calico - outlined it and cut it out like on the CASE card. I added an extra Taylored Expressions greeting on the inside of the card to complete it: "Another year older, definitely, another year wiser, maybe" - I thought it worked well with the image.

We can't wait to see how Cornelia's card inspires you - so take some TIME OUT to join us!

Thanks for stopping by!
Jill

TIME OUT #86 - CELEBRATIONS

It's time for a theme challenge and we are looking for Celebration themed cards with an optional twist of keeping it one layer. As an added incentive for keeping it one-layer, our fabulous sponsor, CAS-ual Fridays, is offering a $25 gift voucher to a random entry that uses the optional twist!!!

Our guest designer for this challenge is the incredible Tae-Eun - I am sure you are already familiar with her wonderful CAS card designs but make sure to visit her blog to check out her take on this challenge :)

Here is my take on the challenge - a bright celebratory rainbow:

This card is all about this wonderful sentiment stamp set from CAS-ual Fridays - I couldn't chose just one sentiment to use - so I decided to use them all :)  I actually made this a mass card production (you can never have too many Birthday cards) so I lined the stamps up in my MISTI and stamped them on 6 different colours of cardstock in Versamark so that I could heat emboss them in white. I then used my trimmer to cut apart the greetings before mixing and matching them on 6 different card bases. Some of them, I adhered directly to the card base (above), and some of them I adhered with foam tape to add some dimension (below). I had planned on making a similar card with the optional one-layer twist by inking the stripes on the card base and then adding the white heat embossing but I ran out of time..... so no twisting from me this week..

How are you going to interpret this theme? We can't wait to see your creations so make sure you take the TIME OUT to play along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jill

ATCAS Guest Designer - Cheers!

I am thrilled and so honoured to be Guest Designing at Addicted To CAS today - I was asked to play along based on this card from the Pink challenge a couple of weeks back.

The cue card for this week's challenge?

And here is my take on the cue card:

For some reason, I seem to have a lot wine themed stamps in my stash ;) but I chose this older MFT one for my card. I kept it really simple by stamping the image and the greeting in SSS Intense Black ink, and I coloured the image using Copics. I added some sparkle to the champagne with my Sakura glitter pen - including some extra bubbles. I also added a layer of Glossy Accents to the glass to intensify the sparkle. I finished off the card with two types of washi tape along the bottom of the card, and a thin strip of black card stock to finish it off.

Thanks again to the wonderful DT at Addicted to CAS for having me along today and I hope that you will join us for this fun challenge!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jill

TIME OUT#85 - Home Sweet Home Photo Inspiration

The challenge this fortnight at TIME OUT is a photo inspiration challenge - check out this fabulous tropical-themed Home Sweet Home picture:

Our guest Designer this week is Ashwini from Experiments with Card Making Etc  - her designs are always so creative so make to check them out. 

We are also sponsored by Happy Little Stampers - who are offering a $15 gift voucher to the winner!!

Here is my card:

I kept things really simple - masked the edges of a piece of Tim Holtz watercolour paper, and then clear embossed the flowers using a Stamplorations stencil. I used some Brushos and water to paint the open space, and then I ironed off the embossing powder -I actually used my Minc machine which works beautifully for it :)  I adhered the panel to a top folding card base and added a white embossed W Plus 9 sentiment and some green gems from my stash. When I looked at the picture after I finished card, I realized there really isn't too much green in it - so I would have to say that I was more inspired by the "tropical vibe" of the picture rather than any particular element. I can't wait to see how this picture inspires others - so make sure you take some Time Out to play along!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jill

TIME OUT #84 - Inspired By Words

This week at TIME OUT, we have a challenge where we are asking you to be inspired by the following words:

'Flowers and Friends make life a garden'

We are very lucky to have Michele with us as our Guest Designer -- I am sure you are already familiar with Michele and her stunning cards - her blog I Card Everyone is a

showcase of beautiful and really creative designs.

Here is how I was inspired by the words:

I started out by applying some white embossing paste through a Forileges Design stencil to add some texture to the background. I then added the frame (die cut with some circle dies) with some foam tape before adding the Copic coloured flowers and W Plus 9 Sending die cut. The flower is from Stamplorations - a set called Bloom Sketches - I don't know what kind of flower it is so there is a pretty good chance that it shouldn't be blue....  If you like the stamp,  Stamplorations is offering a gift voucher to their store for the winner of the challenge :)   - another great reason to join the fun and play along!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jill

Butterflies and Skyscrapers

A few cards to share today....

The first one is all about pink butterflies. I used the Memory Box Butterfly Heart die - it doesn't cut the butterflies out completely, just their wings. I carefully coloured each of the butterflies with Copics and Wink of Stella for some sparkle. I kept the rest of the card simple with a  Unity Stamp Company greeting

The next couple of cards were all about playing :) I used a TCW stencil that has 2 parts - the solid image and the outline image. I started by blending some Distress Oxide inks in the solid stencil. I then used some Viva black modelling paste through the outline stencil to finish the image. I absolutely love how these turned out in real life (I can't capture the gloss and texture of the paste on camera). I kept the rest of the cards quite simple - black and white with some silver glitter accents.

I will link up to the following challenges:

• Memory Box Challenge - using markers
• Addicted to CAS - Pink
• The Paper Players - CAS Butterflies
• The Curtain Call - Frosting Inspired Challenge (I think the butterflies look like the cupcakes in the picture with the dimension)
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Add a Little Sparkle
• Inkspirational - Urban

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jill

Distress Ink Smooshing

I was playing around with some Distress Ink smooshing and have a couple of quick cards to share:

This first card, I made with the Merry Monday colour challenge in mind - I used Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers, and Wilted Violet. The tree die is from Ellen Hutson - and I used the same ink colours on the geometric pieces before layering them on top. The greeting is from MFT and is silver heat embossed - and I added a Tim Holtz mirror star to finish it off. I made another version of the card with some silver splatters in the background instead of the Distress smooshing:

I made the second card with the current Inkspirational challenge in mind. I started by stamping a map onto watercolour cardstock in Archival grey ink before adding the smooshing Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, and Mustard Seed inks to the "urban" area of the map. I sprayed some old Studio Calico Mistables with some like-coloured Dylusions sprays, and added a white embossed Studio Calico greeting and a few Freckled Fawn hearts to complete the card.

I will link to the following challenges:

• Merry Monday - Turquoise Blue, Green and Purple
• Less Is More - Geometric
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge- A Bit Of Sparkle (silver splatter, shimmer spray on tree, shiny star)
• Inkspirational - Urban
• CAS Mix Up Challenge - Splattering, Stamping, Heat Embossing, Die Ctting

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jill

Sparkle and Shine

Today, I am sharing a few of the cards that I made for the most recent Online Card Class - Sparkle and Shine. I loved the class - not surprising since I love sparkly and shiny techniques :) The lessons inspired me to dig out my supplies and play - here are some of the creations:

Day 1:Glitter
For the inlaid glitter technique, I used my Memory Box Dancing Snowflakes die as well as a Taylored Expressions Noel die to create the silhouettes. I added three shades of glitter in an ombre effect over the Be Creative tape (Glitter Ritz - Deep Purple; Glitter Ritz - Canadian Blue; Elizabeth Crafts - Bluebell). I absolutely love the finished card - this may just become my mass-produced Christmas card this year :)

Day 2: Foiling
For my foiling card, I combined ideas from a couple of the videos to create my card. I used a Power Poppy digital stamp and foiled it in gold onto some smooth Bristol card stock so that I could water colour it using my Zig markers. The foil is hard to capture with my camera but it really shines in real life when the light catches it. I finished the card by creating an aperture with a Simon Says Stamp stitched oval die and adding a Concord & 9th Hugs gold foil die cut.

Day 3:Shimmer, Pearl and Flakes
I love gilding flake mixes - but I don't use them very often so I definitely took this as an opportunity to play with them. I did the inlaid flakes technique that Jennifer demonstrated. The background die I used is from Lil Inkers (love it!) - and I used three different flake mixes for the inlay. It is hard to see the difference between them since they all have a lot of gold (maybe I need to buy more so that I have some different colours!) but I love the effect anyways. The card reminds of falling leaves in Autumn so I probably should have gone with a thanks greeting but I used a Winnie and Walter die cut hello over a vellum strip instead.

Day 6: Embossing Powder
I used Julie's technique on this card - with the Ranger Sticky Stuff and some Glitter Ritz Cool Highlight glitter. The snowflake is layered stamping (from the The Ton)  which is hard to see through the glitter and the greeting is from Simon Says Stamp. Even though I loved the technique, I wasn't entirely happy with the card so I tried to save it by completely over embellishing with sequins :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Jill