Baby Boy

Crafter's Companion Bebunni "New Arrival"

A friend of mine is having a baby boy very soon and I wanted to make her a card.  Plus, I bought this stamp and needed a reason to use it - haha.  I need to make a confession here, making cards for little boys and men are much more difficult then they are for girls and women.  I had the image colored and the "Too Cute" stamped but I was so stumped on a layout yet again.  This seems to be a recurring problem so I think maybe it's time to find a book of card sketches to work from.  What was some of my inspiration for this card is the challenges I am entering it into, see them below.

The following is the list of Spectrum Noir markers I used to color this image:

Bebunni - IG1, IG2, IG4, IG6, IG7, PP1, PP3, PP5
Balloons - LG1, LG2, LG3, LG4, LG5
Blanket - LG1, LG2, LG3, LG4
Sky - TB2, TB3

I used the Blender Re-Inker and applied it to a cloth then dabbed the cloth to Bebunni and the blanket to give them both a soft, textured look.  The paper used is from AUTHENTIQUE: Precious Collection titled "Precious Boy" and "Kaleidoscope".  Added a few buttons, some twine, cut a tag shape with my Cricut, tied BoBunny's Double Dot ribbon to it and dabbed it with Versa Color "Fresh Green" ink.  Finished it off with a green flower gem.  What amazed me was I came up with this layout myself knowing I wanted to keep it somewhat simple but add layers and dimension with different cardstock and embellishments.  I also managed to incorporate two techniques that I have mentioned before - "Outside the box die cutting" and "Clean inked edge with a die cut".

CHALLENGES:

Loves Rubberstamps Challenge - Anything Goes LRSCB93
Spectrum Noir Monthly Challenge - Green
Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 311 "What a Gem"

Birthday Cards for my Mom

Crafter's Companion Everyday with Barkley "Be Fabulous"

Here it is as mentioned before, the post about the birthday cards I made for my mom as per her request.  I am showcasing the Everyday with Barkley stamp because I entered it into a challenge this week.  To see all of them just scroll down further after the CHALLENGES section.

Barkley is such a wonderful pup and his companion, this adorable cat, is just as much fun to work with.  I had a blast trying to get creative with the hat box because in real life they come in so many different colors.  As you will see, if you scroll down further, I did a differnt color scheme with the same image but a different layout.

The following is the list of Spectrum Noir markers I used to color this image.

Cat - GB2, LY1, CR2, CR5
Hat - PL1, PP1, PP2, PP4, BT1, BT4
Hat Box - BGR1, BGR2, BGR4, DR6, OR3, IB2, JG1, CT4, PL5, inside - PL1, PP2, PP4
Shadows - BGR1, BGR2, BGR4, IG1, IG3, IG4

A ribbon and some "White Opal" Liquid Pearls add the finishing touches to this card.  It can be for a more mature adult birthday or even for a child.

CHALLENGES

The Pink Elephant - Theme Challenge "Birthday"
Loves Rubberstamps Challenge - Anything Goes LRSBC93



Here are the other cards that I made for my mom.  Again, her request was for a more mature crowd - meaning not too childish.

Great Impressions Stamp

This image is stamped twice - once on vellum and again on cardstock - to give it that shadow effect.

Both cards stamped with Great Impressions "Peacock"

Both of these cards are embossed images using Martha Stewart's "Antique Gold" and "Sterling" embossing powder.

Crafter's Companion Stamp - It Australia "Dreamy Daisies"

I used 6 Spectrum Noir colors for these images: CT1, CT4, GB5, DG2, DG4, and CG1.

Crafter's Companion Everyday With Barkley "Be Fabulous"

Here is the other layout and color scheme for my showcased card.  Purple is one of my daughter's favorite colors so I may have to make this one again for her birthday.

Art Impressions "Girlfriends"

Many different Spectrum Noir markers were used for this card but I thought it definitely fit the crowd my mom has as friends.  If I had more time I would have made a couple of these ones but as it was I only made her the one.  Maybe she'll get one from me for her birthday this year.

That's all of them.  She has received them already and loves every single one.  She even said that when she hands them out to her friends she will be telling them that her daughter made them and if they want the can order some from me through her.  Thanks mom for the support!

Embossing and Coloring

Great Impressions "Rose Trio"

When coloring with Spectrum Noir markers you want to be able to blend shade and colors together, which usually means flat lines that can be colored over if needed.  Well, I thought I would try embossing and coloring to see if the shades would still blend.  I found that if you still color over the lines you end up with wet color that is still blendable into the next section.  The blending technique still worked even with the roses being embossed.  I am quite pleased with how this turned out.

I stamped this image using Versa Color "Pinecone" ink and embossed it with Tsukineko's "Iridescent" embossing powder.  The "Happy Anniversary" stamp is from Stampendous Special Messages set and was stamped with Versamark Watermark and embossed with Martha Stewart's Sterling embossing powder.

The following is the list of Spectrum Noir markers I used to color the image.

Roses - CR10, DR3, DR7
Leaves - CG2, DG3 (palette blended)
Shading - BGR1

CHALLENGES:

A Gem of a Challenge - Challenge #114 Anniversary
The Friday Mashup - FM149 Flowers/Monochromatic