"Deja Hue" Dirty Dozen Design Team Challenge

Over a year ago I wrote in THIS POST that I was given the great honor in the paper-crafting world to join the "Dirty Dozen" on Splitcoaststampers.   Splitcoaststampers is an on-line paper crafting community where crafters can learn new techniques, chit chat with each other, share their art work, and so much more.  One part of this community is "The Dirty Dozen".  This is an invitation only group of crafters whose work is seen as exemplary so they are asked to be part of the Dirty Dozen.  The requirements of the Dirty Dozen is to create six cards for six months centered around a different theme each month.  The cards then are uploaded into the "Dirty Dozen Gallery" and only fan club members are allowed to see them.  After six months, Dirty Dozen members are allowed to post them elsewhere on social media or their blogs.  I've been showing  five different sets of cards each month, and today I am finally going to show you my very last set of cards.

The theme for my last Dirty Dozen Challenge was "Deja Hue".  It was a "Play on Words" challenge.  Deja Vu is the illusion of remembering scenes and events when experienced for the first time.  For this challenge, participants were told that instead of scenes and events, to remember colors (hues).  Some ideas for inspiration were:

• Be inspired by color combinations
• Make a new card inspired by the colors of an older card of yours
• Make a project using a color combination that has had meaning in your life
• Try any coloring tutorial

There are no hard rules in the Dirty Dozen Challenge so I just focused some of my six cards around color itself.

Stitched Paint Palette

For my first card, I used one of Spellbinder's stitching dies called "Stitched Paint Palette".  I love the sentiment from MFT.  I always feel we should be ourselves in life and not to pretend to be someone we're not. 

To make this card, I cut out all the pieces in the die set and stitched them up.  The color pieces and solid white panel behind the brush were popped up on dimensionals.  I stamped the sentiment in white craft ink and used white embossing powder to really make it pop.

Smooshed Ink

For my next card, I actually did try a coloring technique I found on Pinterest called "Smooshed Ink".  It's the easiest technique in the world; anyone can do it.  Simply take a clear acrylic stamping block, apply several different shades of ink to it, and smoosh it onto your paper.

To make my card, after I did the "Smooshed Ink" technique I stamped some funky flowers in black ink and then embossed them a sparkly black embossing powder.  The sentiment is a die cut.  I added crystals for embellishment.  It is a very simple but interesting card.

Wedding Colors 

Anyone who got married in the 80's probably had peach as their wedding color.  I had peach as my main color with teal as my accent.

To make this card I used the stamp set "Spring Time Wishes" from MFT.  I stamped the girl out twice, once on the main panel and another time on a piece of scrap paper so I could pop her skirt, flowers and hair bow up on dimensionals.  I embossed the background with a Cuttlebug embossing folder and then swiped a white ink over the raised portions to pop them out more.  

Paint Palette

This was another easy card to make.  I did the background by just swiping water colors in streaks onto watercolor paper.  Then I cut a paint palette using a die from MFT and adhered all the pieces together.  The background on the paint palette was done with markers.  The sentiment was created with white ink and white embossing powder.

French Painter

For this card I used a new-to-me product called "Lunar Paste" and a stencil.  I put the shiny, textured  inside the stencil holes which created this fun paint splatter background.  The little girl is a stamp from MFT.  I stamped her separately, fussy-cut her out, then popped her up on dimensionals.  The sentiment was adhered with two purple brads. 

Have A Sweet Day

For my last card I chose colors from a Splitcoaststampers color challenge.  

To make this card, I used a Spellbinder's stitching die called "Stitched Ice Cream".  I cut all my pieces out, did some ink blending, and then stitched and assembled.  I sprayed sheer shimmer over the ice cream and added some glitter too.  The cherry has glossy accents on it.  The background was done with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

I hope you enjoyed my last set of Dirty Dozen cards.  Now I have so many cards, I have no need to make new ones for a long, long time. 

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!
 

"Summer Jobs" Dirty Dozen Card-Making Challenge

Nine months ago I wrote in THIS POST that I was given the great honor in the paper-crafting world to join the "Dirty Dozen" on Splitcoaststampers.   Splitcoaststampers is an on-line paper crafting community where crafters can learn new techniques, chit chat with each other, share their art work, and so much more.  One part of this community is "The Dirty Dozen".  This is an invitation only group of crafters whose work is seen as exemplary so they are asked to be part of the Dirty Dozen.  The requirements of the Dirty Dozen is to create six cards for six months centered around a different theme each month.  The cards then are uploaded into the "Dirty Dozen Gallery" and only fan club members are allowed to see them.  After six months, Dirty Dozen members are allowed to post them elsewhere on social media or their blogs.  Well, it has been six months since I completed my first challenge, so I can finally show me my first set of cards!

The third Dirty Dozen theme was "Summer Jobs" and these are my submissions:

Farm Card

The first photo shows the outside of the farm card.  Once opened (the second photo) is another farm scene.

I live in a rural area and summer time provides a lot of summer jobs on farms.  

I created a Gatefold design card following a tutorial on Splitcoaststampers .  I used a combination of stamps and my Cricket machine to make all the farm images.  The barn, Sio, fence, tractor, and tree were all made with the "Country Life" Cricut cartridge.  The pig, farmer, horse, and chickens are from MFT "Punny Farm".  The sentiment is from Crafty Secrets "Down on the Farm".  I used stencils from Taylor Expressions to create the clouds and the grass.

Canning Card

My next card shows my summer job:  canning. I spend a good part of my summer canning vegetables from my garden.

To make this card I used a free canning jar image off the internet and printed it out in two different sizes.  The strawberries are stamps.  I put Glossy accents on the large strawberry and the strawberry tag.  I cut some red gingham designer paper by hand and glued it to the top of the larger jar, adding a twine bow and a tag.  The sentiment is from a stamp in my stash, and is cut with an MFT banner die.  I created the jam in the smaller jar just by coloring it in with a Copic marker.  The strawberry designer paper is from Jellibean Soup "Coconut Lime Soup".

Beach Scene Card

Lots of people work as lifeguards in the summer, so I created a beach scene card.

To make this card I used retired Stampin' Up! "Sparkling Summer".  The sentiment is from Flourishes "Kid's Play".  I used Taylored Expressions cloud stencil for the background and then colored my own sea and sand with Copic Markers.  I added some Dew Drops to the sand to make it more sparkly.  The beach images were all stamped on to separate card stock and cut out by hand.  The sentiment is from Flourish's "Kids at Play" and cut with a MFT banner die.  I added a ribbon and a sea shell stick pin for embellishment.

Ice Cream Cone Card

Another summer job is an ice cream worker.  We have neighborhood ice cream trucks in the summer plus all our ice cream shops usualy re-open for the summer.  In Wisconsin, many ice cream stores are only open in the summer months.

To make this card I used my Circuit machine once again and cut out a large cupcake using the cartridge "Sweet Treats".  I dry embossed the cone and the background paper using Cuttlebug embossing Folders.  I colored the sprinkles various pastel colors and then put glitter glue on them.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts "Cupcakes".  I cut the tag and the white scalloped background with Spellbinder's Nestabilies.  Ribbon, twin, and a button are the embellishments.  The ice cream cone is popped up on dimensionals. 

Camping Card

In the summer, camps open up again and many people are hired to work as camp counselors, camp employees, etc. 

To make this card, I followed a Diorama Tutorial on Splitcoaststampers.  I used images from retired Stampin' Up! sets "Happy Camper" and "Travel Time".  I stamped all the images onto separate card stock, colored them in, and fussy cut them out then glued them to my diorama.  The starry background is designer paper.  

Gardening Card

Another one of my summer jobs is gardening so I created a gardening card.

To make this card, I used the MFT stamp set "Can Ya Dig It?"  I stamped all the images separately, cut them out, and glued them onto the card or used dimensionals.  The sentiment and seedling were stamped directly onto the card stock.  I created a trellis background using a die.  The clouds and sun were also cut from dies.  The flower background is designer paper. 

I hope you enjoyed looking at my Dirty Dozen Design Team cards.  I have shown you about half of them now.  There is more to come next month!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

See More Dirty Dozen Cards in These Posts:

"Let's Go Fly A Kite"

"Butterflies Are Free"

 

Under the Sea Handmade Cards

Spellbinders came out with these really cool tunnel dies last year, that I thought were pretty unique, so I ordered a couple of them.  One is for underwater scenes and the other one I purchased was for sky scenes.  This week, I will share my Under-the-Sea cards I made with these new dies.

The main cutting die set is on the right and is called "Underwater Tunnel".  The die helps you create a 3D underwater scene.  It comes with an anchor die and some plant life, but I also purchased some coordinating die sets to go with it "Underwater Marine Life" and "Luna the Seahorse".

The tunnel dies are so versatile!  You can use just one or two of the dies to keep the card more slim, or all three.  The card below using only one die cut layer, which makes for a slimmer card and therefore easier to mail.  I stamped a water background in versamark, embossed it with clear embossing power, heat set, then ink blended over it.  The water bubble stamps and ink blending make a more realistic water look.  The top layer is popped up on dimensionals, then I just glued all my little pieces on.  

There is a sentiment stamp set that coordinates with this set, but I didn't buy it.  I tell you, you can go broke just buying all the "add ons" that come with one new die set.  So, I cheated, and just typed all the sentiments from the set onto my computer and printed them out. Ha!

My next card shows how I used the die set to make a shaker card!  Once again, I only used one layer mounted up on dimensionals with a piece of acetate in-between.  I did the same ink blending technique to create the bubbles.  I put sequins inside my shaker card.

And here is a card using all three die cuts.  Each layer is popped up on dimensionals so it ends up being a pretty thick diorama card.  I dry embossed waves on the white card stock and added bubble embellishments.

Now, when you cut that many holes in your card stock you end up with a lot of scraps, so the next few cards I will do the reverse to use up those scraps!

Here I just took the punched out pieces and glued them flat to the card.

For this card, I dry embossed all the scraps,

I had some old Cuttlebug sea die scraps too (the whale, crab, star fish, and little fish) so I decided to use them up too.

 These were such fun cards to make!  I really enjoyed working with these new tunnel dies!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Spellbinder's "Enchanted Mushrooms" Handmade Cards

Mushrooms were definitely on-trend for 2024.  Everywhere I looked I saw mushroom motifs in home decor,  but they also really integrated the paper crafting world.  I don't know what it is about these magical little spores, but they definitely attract attention.  I love it when I go hiking in the woods and I come across a beautiful, very fascinating mushroom.  They always make great photographs.  In fact, I would say it is almost impossible to take a bad picture of a mushroom!  They are so photogenic. 😀. 

I've purchased a few mushroom decor pieces for my home and garden last year, and while I was at it, I also bought some new mushroom dies, stamps, and embossing folders.  For this week's craft post, I thought I'd show you a few cards I made using my new mushroom paper crafting products from Spellbinders.

"Enchanted Mushroom" Stitched Cards

My first set of cards uses both the "Enchanted Mushroom" stitching die set and the "Mushroom Harvest" embossing folder from Spellbinders.

For the first card, I created the background with the "Mushroom Harvest" embossing folder and I decided to leave it white.  I then cut, ink blended, stitched, and assembled the mushroom pieces and glued them to the white embossed background.  I added three rhinestones for embellishment and the sentiment is a die cut from the set.

For my second card using the "Enchanted Mushrooms" Stitched dies, I ink blended the embossing folder with pink, red, and blue inks then spritzed it with a glimmer spray.

I didn't really like the way the second card turned out, and I prefer the one with the white background.  Which is your favorite?

"Mushroom Harvest"

I really love the way this card turned out.  It was a painstaking difficult process, but it was worth it.

To make this card, I simply colored the embossing folder with Copic Markers.  I had to be very gentle or the raised part would press in.  Once the whole embossing folder was colored, I added a sentiment from retired Stampin' Up! from the "Natural Beauty" set.  It is popped up on dimensionals with a red ribbon behind it.

So what do you think?  Are you a fan of mushroom motifs, or is a hard pass from you?  I'd love to hear from you.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

 

Easy Handmade Christmas Cards Using Stickers

Spellbinder's had a HUGE warehouse clearance sale in November so I took advantage of that and ordered a whole box of new toys.  One of the things I ordered was a $1.00 set of Nutcracker Ballet Chipboard Stickers.   You heard me right, $1.00!!! And guess what, they are still only $1.00 as I write this post, so you may want to scoop them up as they are cute!

So far, I managed to make four cards and two tags out of the sticker set, and I still have some stickers leftover.

Stickers today are not the same as stickers when I was a kid. Today's stickers have so much more interest, detail, and dimension.  They are so attractive looking, they are perfect for making quick and easy cards:  no stamping or coloring involved.  Anyone can do it!

My first two cards are my own design, and the last two cards I cased from the Spellbinder website which always has great ideas of how to use their products.

Christmas Ornaments Card

To make this card, I used the ornament stickers in the set and placed them on the white panel in different lengths.  I added gold twine to 'hang' the ornaments, and I used two red bow stickers for two of the ornaments and I created a gold bow out of the twine for the third ornament.  The "25" sentiment is also a sticker from the set.  I put some pretty Christmas designer paper in the background and added four rhinestones in the corners of the white panel.

Christmas Stocking Card & Tags

My next card uses a mix of stickers from the Nutcracker set, plus some Circuit cut outs and other stash I had lying around my craft room.  The stitched border was done with this month's latest Stitching Die:  "Cross Stitch Nested Card Front and Tag"

To make this card, I cut a Christmas stocking using my Circuit machine then I just filled it with a lot of the stickers from the Nutcracker set.  I added a foam snow man, and more images I cut with my Circuit machine in the bottom right corner, along with the sentiment. The evergreen foliage is from another Spellbinder's set.  Adhesive crystals and snowflakes were added for embellishment.

To make the tags, I simply cut them out, stitched them, stamped a sentiment and Christmas image, and then added an eyelet to the hole. 

The edges of the card and tags were stitched using one strand of red embroidery floss.

My last two cards were inspired by the cards on the Spellbinder's website.  The layout is the same, but because I didn't have the exact same supplies the designer paper and sentiments are different. 

                           Nutcracker Card

To make the first card I simply stuck the stickers onto the white card stock base that I cut with a Spellbinder's die.  Then everything was adhered to a pretty Christmas designer paper adhered to a white card.

Speaking of The Nutcracker, has anyone watched the new Ben Stiller Christmas movie "Nutcrackers" on Hulu?  It is so good.  The children in the movie dance their own version of The Nutcracker at the end of the movie, and it is so touching. It's hard not to cry!

Mouse King Card

To make the second card I adhered the stickers to a light blue card stock, then I put some glittery Christmas designer paper below and separated the two panels with a silver ribbon.  The simple card is finished off with a sticker sentiment and poinsettia flower.

 I hope you enjoyed my easy handmade Christmas cards and you will try making your own cards out of stickers too!  Only one pack of stickers made all these cards!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!