CAS Mix Up Challenge Guest Designer!

Hello Stamplings!

It was an honor for me to win the August CAS Mix Up Challenge and, as a result, I am thrilled to be posting today as the Guest Designer for the October CAS Mix Up Challenge.

Blackout Embossing!😶

As it happens, any time I get ink anywhere near an embossing folder, it turns into the dog's dinner. (An expression I've never understood because my dog's dinners are pretty good!)

But I'm not one to back down from a challenge and I'm so glad I didn't! I had fun with this technique and I'm so tickled it worked for me!

The 3D embossing folder I used is from Simon Says Stamp called, "Feathery Fronds." It's unusual as an autumn foliage choice, but I like unusual choices and the folder has deep indentations, which is what you want. The NBUS sediment is from "Autumn Bounty" by Altenew. The banner is from MFT. (Don't forget to add stamping to your design!)

Before embossing I blended CP fall colors all over a panel of Strathmore Mixed Media paper. I lightly misted the panel and then ran it through my Gemini. For the blackout-ing, I used my brayer, running in both vertically and horizontally. My hands and arms sometimes get to dipping and swaying, even without wodka, so asking them to carefully swipe an ink pad back and forth over paper is like asking me to land an airplane. 

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I have to tell you, this was one of those magic moments that happen with crafting! It is really cool to see the result in person. Not only did the brayer give me needed control, it allowed me to smoothly add more ink to places that needed it for a really polished finish.

There are several excellent videos posted on the CAS Mix Up Challenge blog. I found them very helpful. In fact, I got so into it, I ended up making three different designs. The other two are full-panel designs, however, so I will save them for another post. 

Which reminds me to remind you not to forget the "CAS" part of the CAS Mix Up Challenge. The easiest way to accomplish this is to cut down your mixed media artwork as I have done with my card. 

To the left is the definition and there are also amazing DT designs on the main blog as examples of how to use the blackout embossing technique to make beautiful CAS designs!

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Thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse! And thank you to Lolly and the Design Team at CAS Mix Up Challenge for their hard work each month and for always expanding my creativity! I look forward to seeing what you create this month using this fun technique!

*Life is too short!

The C Word

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you are chugging along well! Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there and the moms who play the role of both mom and dad! And special hugs to all of you who miss your dads.

The C word in my title is not Cancer or Covid, it's Christmas! Yes, I know, some of you are backing away in horror. Not me. I learned my lesson the hard way, which is, if I don't have a good start by now (😱July 1st is just around the corner), then it's an uphill climb to get them finished. 

And, guess what, I don't have a good start by now, so I made two. They are both QACAS, so why didn't I make more of them? She asks with a slap.

Onefer

CAS Christmas is back (pause for applause) and Linda has chosen Wreath for the prompt. I wanted to also use my entry as a reminder about CAS Mix Up Challenge where I am this month's guest designer. Lolly wants us to use pastes or gels, but I don't have any wreath stencils. Hmmm.

So ... what I did was, I covered over parts of a NBUS Gina K. "Fizzy" stencil (which was a gift from a friend😙) with two solid circle shapes, so that I could apply Cosmic Shimmer Sparkle Texture Paste (which was a gift from a different friend😙) in the uncovered holes so in the form of a wreath. I'll wait a minute while you go over that again and create a video in your head. It's for your own good. If I made you a video, you wouldn't get this brain exercise.

I didn't capture the schparkle very well in the photo, but it's very shiny and glittery irl. I used glossy red c/s for the mat, the PTI bow, and the sediment.

It's different, but it's kinda growing on me. I debated with Hammy about drawing circles around the wreath or shading it to add more definition, but he liked it free and breezy. Well, sure. Free and breezy is a natural state for him.

Other Challenges

• Addicted to CAS: Dots.
• Krafty Chicks: Clean and simple.

Twofer

I thought maybe this sunburst stencil could work as a wreath, but maybe that's taking artsy too far. So, okay, I will just use it as another reminder to you that the June CAS Mix Up Challenge is still going on and we'd love to see your clean and simple cards using pastes or gels!

I will add this to the Blue and Green color challenge over at Color Hues and the Add a Sentiment challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday.

RIP Verna

Verna 1924 - 2022

It is with a mixture of sadness and relief that I let you know my friend Verna passed away. Thank you to all of you who so kindly sent her cards these last few years. She always told me when she got a new one and she'd always say, "How talented your friends are!" She loved each and every card. Mwah!

And she loved seeing Nellie through the porch window when we would visit. I wanted to share this photo with you before I forget. I couldn't believe I caught the shot ~ it looks like she is smelling the flowers!

Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!* I hope you get a chance to smell the flowers and, as always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse! 

*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling: Click CTL + Home. Click the Home tab under my blog banner which resets the post. Click Page Down to reach the end of the post. Click Comments and a pop-up box opens. Click "Jump to Comment Form" and wallah, no more car pool tunnel! Mwah! (p.s. If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave me your email address so I can respond. Thank you!)

NBUS Flower and CAS Mix Up Guest Designer

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you are doing well as we start this first day of June! Of note, today is National Pen Pal day! (You see what I did there?) Thanks to this wonderful blogging community of cardmakers, I'd like to thank all of the 200+ amazing pen pals friends who exchange awesome handmade cards with me!

The sales were insanely tempting this past weekend. Did you cave in? It was hard to resist and if you didn't resist, I hope you got everything you wanted!  

Due to a win in Febrooary, this month it is my pleasure to be the Guest Designer for CAS Mix Up!! CAS Mix Up has been on hiatus and it is wonderful to have the challenge open again! CAS Mix Up has a rotation of themes and for June the theme is "Stencils." In addition to a theme, there is a prompt for you to follow and the prompt for June is "Pastes/Gels." 

Here is my card to inspire you:

I have to tell you that when Jenny told me the theme was "stencils," I was glad because I purchased quite a few of them over the last coupla years and I even made up cool binders for them ... and then I pretty much ignored them. This was just the kick in the pants I needed to stencil again.

But then when she went on to tell me I needed to use a stencil AND embossing paste or gel, I literally gulped. Just like they do in novels.

Now what do I do? Embossing pastes and gels are another thing I got into for five minutes five years ago and then pretty much ignored. But, okay. I can do this. They wouldn't call it a challenge if it weren't challenging. And you know what? I ended up having the best time making my card. Forgive me for tooting my own honker, but I love how it turned out!

What happened first was, I blended CP Aquatini onto a white card through the NBUS round flower stencil from Funky Fossil.

Next, I applied the gel medium through the stencil. I hope you can see in some of the photos the wonderful silky "feel" that happens when the gel hardens. It is translucent, so the pretty aqua color remained.

Next I used a Poppystamps Pointed Rectangle Die to cut a frame to go around the circle. Because this is a CAS challenge, the card design needs to be clean and simple. That means lots of white space, so I cut the circle in half and made two cards. (I temporarily taped the circle back together on the back in order to take the photos for this post.)

So I held my half-circle up this way and that on my card and I finally decided to use it as a faux flap on a colored card panel. I know, I'm with you on wishing it opened up as a tri-fold, but it never even occurred to me until I saw it finished. To bring the eye in and make the design consistent, I added a matching pierced frame as a border. 

Now. What to do about a sediment? I was looking through my various word dies, when my little hamster helper challenged me to add another stencil element to really inspire everyone! Well, that was a cracklin good idea, but I don't have any word stencils ...

... so I just made one using a Hugs die from MFT! Shazambam! I used Dreamweaver Pearlescent Embossing Paste through the homemade stencil and it really worked a shiny treat. 

It's an honor to join the extremely talented group of designers at CAS Mix Up for June and I encourage you to check out their cards for lots of great design ideas ~ then get your stencil groove on using embossing paste or gel and join the gallery! If I can do it, you can do it, and I can't wait to see what you make!

Twofer

Real quick, here is another card that I made a while ago for a dear friend. I love this little mum-like stencil flower, but it's unmarked so I can't help you there. I do wish all stencil manufacturers would etch their names on their stencils. I used Gina K. Glitter Gel mixed with some Opal Magic (pink-blue) acrylic paint. The amazing sediment is from "Unforgettable" by WPlus9. Here's a closeup of the schparkle:

Challenges

• Addicted to Stamps and More: Die cuts and/or stencils.
  
• Just Us Girls: Photo challenge. Love the big pink flowers in the bike basket.
  
• Retro Rubber: The pp is years old and the sediment stamp set is from 2015.

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Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!*

I'm excited that I'm going to be seeing some crafty friends over the next few days and, after that, enjoying some non-crafty time with another dear longtime friend! Pray for us that Covid leaves us alone to have some long-awaited time together. Mwah!

*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling: Click CTL + Home. Click the Home tab under my blog banner which resets the post. Click Page Down to reach the end of the post. Click Comments and a pop-up box opens. Click "Jump to Comment Form" and wallah, no more car pool tunnel! Mwah! (p.s. If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave me your email address so I can respond. Thank you!)