Kool Kitty Musings

DCM - August elemental inspiration

Good morning!

It's the first Friday of the month, so time for a new elemental inspiration challenge over on the Daring Cardmakers blog.

Joanne has a great image to share as inspiration:

And here's my take:

Paper: Carta Bella - Our House
Ephemera: Pebbles (r)
Stamps: Memory Box - Big and Little Words, The Stamp Market - The Flower Shop
Dies: The Stamp Market - The Flower Shop

For my elements I went with a text background (like the saucer), fruit, a pop of blue, and a fern frond.

It's always nice to use up some paper from a 6x6 pad and I've loved this Apple pie recipe pattern in the Carta Bella Our House pad for a while, just never knew what to do with it. Well enter some related Pebbles ephemera elements from an old Simon Says Stamp card kit and a few stamps and hey presto - an easy yet pretty card. :)

Make sure you check out the fab cards from the rest of the design team here.

Happy crafting!

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Memory Box - Big and Little Words stamps Shop at: SSS	The Stamp Market - The Flower Shop stamps Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - The Flower Shop dies Shop at: MISC	Lawn Fawn - Cilantro ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC
Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Carta Bella - Our House - 6x6 pad Shop at: SBC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops - Simply White Shop at: AZ | EH	Ranger - Multi-Medium Matte adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

2020 Card Challenge - August prompt

Good morning!

Well I'm not sure this month's prompt will be all that reflective of UK weather in August... but it's worth a try. ;)

{Pinterest pin}

Here are a few ideas to get you started, because even if the full on summer vibes aren't your thing, there's something that can be turned into a card (for all seasons....):

• Blue/aqua tones plus a pop of sunshine yellow - play with the palette and see what comes together. Mustard yellow is definitely a trend colour right now and could be used as your main colour with a hint of one of the other shades.
• Blend it - a sunset or sunrise scene can be easily achieved with ink blending. You could even try stamping with images in black to create a silhoutte.
• Pool/beach/island/chillax theme - so many paper and stamp collections of years gone by would fit this theme.
• Citrus or other fruit design elements - lemons, peaches, pineapples, they've all enjoyed trend status in papercrafting.
• Cheers! - feature a cocktail, mocktail, or beverage of some kind.
• Go retro - whether with a striking background print, text, or something iconic from the 20th century.
• Circle focus - use a circle aperture or a circle to showcase your sentiment. This can be easily done with sunray stencils and cover plates that already include the circle element.

I hope those get the imagination going. :)

Happy crafting!

DCM - Shake it!

Good morning!

There's a fun challenge over on the Daring Cardmakers blog today to round off July in style!

Rizwana has challenged us to create a shaker project - doesn't have to be a card, but it can definitely be part of a card design. :)

Here's what I came up with:

Stamps: Mama Elephant - Mini Everyday Messages, The Stamp Market - Scallop Background Builder
Dies: Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment Labels, The Stamp Market - Pieces of My Heart, The Stamp Market - Stitched Shaker Windows

I knew I wanted to create a shaker window with the Pieces of My Heart die from The Stamp Market, but I first needed to create a background for that element.

Enter the Scallop Background Builder stamps and a selection of fun ink colours.

I tried out the white Concord & 9th cardstock from my recent cardstock bundle purchase at Seven Hills Crafts and it's definitely a super smooth white finish.

If you don't need the thickness of 110 lb white cardstock, this is a good alternative for stamping.

I cut the larger heart from the Pieces of My Heart die set from Marshmallow cardstock for the frame and then from the stamped background to create the aperture. I also saved the cutout segments for future use.

I like to use my Fiskars trimmer if I need to gut a cardstock panel - in this case the Mushroom grey C&9th cardstock used for the mat to the background panel.

Once my shaker window was done, I used the confetti die from the Stitched Shaker Windows die set by The Stamp Market to cut the confetti from pink and peach tones of C&9th cardstock.

Unlike using sequins, these confetti elements are flat - so you don't need to double up or use thicker foam tape, i.e. less bulk!

Finally, I stamped a sentiment from Mini Everyday Messages by Mama Elephant and heat embossed it in white.

And that's it done!

Make sure you head on over to the Daring Cardmakers blog to check out the fun projects from the rest of the design team and play along if you can!

Happy crafting!

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Mama Elephant - Mini Everyday Messages stamps Shop at: EH | SHC	The Stamp Market - Scallop Background Builder stamps Shop at: MISC	Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment Labels dies Shop at: SSS	The Stamp Market - Pieces of My Heart dies Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market - Stitched Shaker Windows dies Shop at: MISC	Altenew - Blush dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Lawn Fawn - Carrot ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Celery stick ink pad Shop at: EH | SHC
Lawn Fawn - Kiddie Pool ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Peachy Keen ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Sunflower ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	PTI - Lavender Moon ink pad Shop at: MISC
Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC	Altenew - Red Sunset ink cube set Shop at: EH | MISC | SHC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Marshmallow Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Rock Candy Shop at: AZ | EH
Concord & 9th - Assorted cardstock pack Shop at: EH | SHC	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Crafter's Companion heat-resistant acetate Shop at: AZ	Hero Arts - White embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC
Ranger - Multi-Medium Matte adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC
MISTI creative corners Shop at: EH | SBC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Fiskars 12" reinforced paper trimmer Shop at: AZ | EH	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC