Outlines St. Patrick's Day challenge

Not being a sender of St. Patrick's Day card I had to think a bit about my stash of Outlines stamps to come up with something for this challenge. It isn't precisely a card for the holiday but I hope it is close enough! The shamrock is made from a heart stamps printed & embossed 4 times, painted with Twinkling H2Os, and trimmed out. I used the stem stamp that hasn't gotten much use over time. This was a good opportunity.

The sentiment letters are die cut and the gold shamrocks are punched. The shamrock center is punched, dry embossed, sanded and inked with gold. I wanted a flatter card than using a button would give me so I made an embellishment instead. You can't tell in the photo but there are Gloss Gel gems on the shamrock leaves.

http://outlineswithkathy.blogspot.com/2012/02/challenge-41-st-patricks-day.html

Stars & Stamps sketch #110

Before Valentine's Day I had been playing with this cool stamp from Purple Onion Designs. Hadn't made a card with it but when I saw the sketch this week on the Stars and Stamps blog I knew right away I was going to use the panel I'd made. The ribbon and silk cording have been in my stash for ever. The faux heart buttons are thick watercolor paper die cut using the smallest Spellbinder heart die. Usually it takes me forever to make a new card but this one came together in a snap.

Outlines' Make it Square challenge

It is unusual for me to make a square card although I love how they look. Mostly my cards are going to me mailed at the US first class rate and square cards are at a higher rate. Outlines' challenge gave me the excise to just go square anyway!

I particularly love this stamp. It is fun to layer and can be made into a masculine card or a feminine one. I heat embossed the image 3 times. As I am on a roll with the Twinkling H2Os I colored with them. Cutting carefully I managed 5 layers popped up.

http://outlineswithkathy.blogspot.com/2012/02/challenge-40-make-it-square.html

S&S sketch challenge #109

It has been ages since I did a sketch challenge for the Stars and Stripes blog. The base of this card is piece of faux paste paper I made long ago. I love the bright colors and texture. The bird collage stamp is from Art Journey, the sentiment from the dollar bin at Michaels.

It was fun to do a S&S sketch again!

Hurray for Hollywood challenge

Michael Strong challenged the group to make cards in honor of the upcoming Oscars. I used his star set on the background and embellishments. Veronica Lake had such star appeal! That photostamp is from The Stampsmith and the sentiment is from Verve stamps.

Feb sketch Michael Strong group

Not a great photo I'm afraid but it is what I have. The circle stamp is a Michael Strong image layered over a square stamp from Outlines Stamps. Both were black embossed and colored with Twinkling H2O watercolors which are sparkly with mica. Love them. I had fun using bits from my ribbon stash which have been patiently waiting for me to play with them.

Red, black and white challenge Outlines

This week's challenge on the Outlines blog was to use the colors red, black and white. The cupcake was heat embossed in black and paper pieced. I added a bit of Stickles to the frosting. The patterned papers are envelope liners. There are some red gems and red ribbon to embellish

the card. Due to the shadows in the photo the popped back window looks off but it really is centered. The cupcake is popped up too.

http://outlineswithkathy.blogspot.com/2012/02/challenge-39-color-combo-challenge.html

Feb. sketch challenge, Outlines Stamps

This sketch was a real challenge for me. My usual layouts tend to be pretty simple and symmetrical which the original sketch is not. My interpretation kind of slid it that direction though. I worked with Tombow markers and Distress inks for color.

http://outlineswithkathy.blogspot.com/2012/02/challenge-38-february-sketch-challenge.html

It was my good fortune to win the drawing for last week's challenge at Outlines Stamps. I've been looking at every stamp on their website trying to make up my mind which of the lovelies I don't already own I will choose. You know I am having a blast, lol.

Hearts

The challenge at the Outlines blog this week was hearts. I used an old stamp of theirs along with the new dies I indulged myself with. Along with gel pen I used Gloss Gel, Pearl Pen and Diamond Glaze for sparkle.
http://outlineswithkathy.blogspot.com/2012/01/challenge-37-follow-your-heart.html