Sparkle - Winnie and Walter Rerun

Good morning! Today is the start of a new Rerun Feature at Winnie and Walter - and this time we are using Sparkle, which I've paired up with a sentiment from The Party for this card - make sure and stop by the Winnie and Walter Blog to read all the info and join in with the challenge to have a chance to win this month's prize!

I heat embossed some of the elements in gold on watercolor paper, then did some ink smooshing with distress inks. The sentiment was stamped in black ink next, using my MISTI to stamp a couple times for a nice dark impression. Added some ink splatters in black, then let it all dry and backed it with a scallop rectangle using Essentials: Noelle Cutaways and layered with foam tape on a coordinating card base.

Here are links to the products I used on this including affiliate links where possible. Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!!!

Sparkle The Party Essentials: Noelle Cutaways MISTI PRECISION STAMPER Stamping Tool Whole Kit and Kaboodle Tsukineko VersaFine ONYX BLACK Ink Pad VF-82 Tsukineko Versamark EMBOSS INK PAD Watermark VM-001 EK Success POWDER TOOL Applicator 54-04002 https://www.simonsaysstamp.com/product.aspx?id=342224 *American Crafts Zing! GOLD Glitter Embossing Powder *Ranger WATERCOLOR PAPER Inkssentials Surfaces ISW39532 Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100# BLACK Black8 RESERVE Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pad WILTED VIOLET Ranger TDP47360 RESERVE Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pad MERMAID LAGOON Ranger TDP46790 RESERVE Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pad FOSSILIZED AMBER Ranger TDP46783 Heidi Swapp BLACK VELVET Color Shine 00794 Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100# LAVENDER Purple LR24 WHITE FUN FOAM 12 Pack 118711 9 x 12 Scor-Tape 1/2 Inch Crafting Tape Sizzix BIG SHOT MACHINE Gray And White 660425

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Cactus Hugs

Hello! Dropping by again today with another card I made just for fun for another challenge! Love having a bit of spare time to squeeze something like this in - so refreshing!

I cut it close with this month being so busy, but missing the SPARKS challenge so much, of course I had to play along with the new Paper Smooches November Challenge - Gold:

Also linking this up with this weeks Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes:

I heat embossed that cute cactus in gold, then watercolored it in. Added a sentiment, die cut from gold cardstock, and an extra little sentiment. Finished off with some coordinating pattern paper layers.

Here are all the supplies I used for this card - thanks for stopping by yet again! Have a wonderful day!!!

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Mint and Gold Map

Hello! Sharing another card I made Saturday morning to join in with some of my favorite challenges - this Origami Map stamp set from Neat and Tangled has long been one of my very favorites!

I just adore this color combo for the current challenge at Little Tangles - Mint and Gold:

I also thought this was a perfect fit for the current Virginia's View Challenge - Geometric Patterns:

This card is actually quite simple - my pattern paper is from American Crafts, my image was heat embossed in gold on vellum, and a sentiment from Sailmates in white - then I machine stitched it with some wonky stitching, leaving some threads hanging loose.

Thanks for dropping by today! Have a WONDERFUL day!

Winnie and Walter - Watercolor Cards

Good morning! I'm posting again over on the Winnie and Walter blog this morning to share a couple more cards with some of the amazing new sets from the most recent release. 

For both of these cards, I played with one of my favorite techniques - watercolors! First up, a floral sympathy card - I just can't get over the beautiful florals that Winnie and Walter released this time around!

For this one, I simply heat embossed my images from In Bloom: Addie's Garden in white on watercolor cardstock, then colored it in. I pained teach part with a light watercolor wash, then dripped in darker colors in certain areas and let it bleed out for a natural look. Added a sentiment from The Big, the Bold, and the Comfort, a strip of green cardstock, and then machine stitched it right onto my kraft cardbase.

Next up, I wanted to attempt an ombre look with watercolors. 

Instead of starting at the top or bottom, I went out from the center. I love the deep blue, and it was just natural to pair it up with some gold! I heat embossed the heart from True on vellum, then fussy cut it out and adhered it with tiny dots of glue behind the embossed parts. I then built and stamped my sentiment directly on the watercolor paper using that same set, as well as My Precious. Finished off with a few flicks of white Mister Huey's mist, and then adhered directly to a white cardbase.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Hope you are having a wonderful day!

Floral Watercolors - and Photography Set Up

Good morning! Thought I'd drop by with a card this morning for a couple of challenges - and I have also gotten a lot of questions in the past about how I photograph my cards, so I thought I would share a few pictures of my set up in case it might help someone else! I enjoy photography almost as much as making cards - and love having crisp, clear photos to share. It has taken me quite a while to come up with a system I love, and that process will probably grow and change more as time goes on, but for now I'm pretty happy with what I'm doing.

That info is at the bottom of this post - but first, here is the card I made:

And, the challenges! First up - inspiration from the Altenew March Challenge - From Places Abroad:

This stamp set from Altenew was brand new just landed in my mailbox the day I started this - so perfect for the Never Before Used Schtuff Challenge:

Also linking up with this weeks Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes:

And finally - this took me a couple days to complete, so counts for a couple days of the 30 Day Coloring Challenge. I've lost track of what day I'm on - but as far as I know I only missed a day over the weekend when my hubby and I went away to celebrate our 15th anniversary:

I used the lovely (new to me!) Altenew set called Persion Motifs, and stamped a pattern with Versamark ink on the smoother side of some Ranger watercolor paper. I used some MFT dye inks to watercolor this - they work perfectly if you just smoosh them on your nonstick mat and add water! The sentiment was heat embossed in gold on a strip of black cardstock, I added some Heidi Swapp Color Shine in gold flicked on the watercolor paper, and finished off with a couple of Pretty Pink Posh gold sequins.

Okie Dokie - now the photography! Here is my set up:

I have 3 pieces of foam core board - the top two are taped on the back with Washi Tape, so I can fold them up and put them away, and I have a couple pieces of 12x12 pattern paper that I prop up inside. The whole thing sits on a tall stool that I can set next to the window in my craft room to catch the natural light during the day.

I angle it whatever way I need to, depending on the time of day, to catch the best light. The foam core board is a new addition - but I found that it helps so much with eliminating the shadows from the back and left side of my cards - the white bounces the light back and reflects it on the side of the card not facing the window. 

I shoot with a Nikon D7100 right now - with a 50 mm lense. I always shoot in RAW format - I find that it gives me the most adjustments. Up until just a month or two ago I had a Canon DSLR, but I am so in love with my new Nikon! I edit my photos in Adobe Photoshop, and use a photo editing plug-in called Rad Lab (you can check it out HERE) that I love! It gives me the ability to edit my photos and see exactly what they look like as each change is applied. 

Anyway - if you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I would love to answer anything you might be wondering about - and I hope this gives you new ideas on photographing your projects as well! Would also love to see what other people use, so if you have a blog post, feel free to link up in the comments so I can check it out! 

Thanks so much! Have a wonderful day!!!