Seize The Birthday - Sweet Day!

Yes, it's already time for a new challenge at the Seize The Birthday challenge blog!  For this 2 week challenge there is NO Toppings Option.  Anything goes...as long as it's a birthday card!

I've been seeing some amazing creations by Birgit recently on Pinterest and was inspired by her work with inks and/or watercolors.  HERE is a link to her blog.  And a link HERE to her cards on Pinterest.

Here's what I created...

I had SO much fun playing with distress inks and water to create this card.  Loved it!
The leaf was die cut from 140 lb water color paper.  I smooshed ink onto my craft sheet, then misted it, generously, with water.    I placed my leaf onto the wet inks and moved it around a bit.

Then...the scary part.  I lifted it and turned it over to see how it looked.  Success!
I dabbed a bit of darker ink around the edges of the leaf.  Once the leaf was dry, I stamped the veins and used the tip of the brush to add more ink to them.  I finished the leaf with a coat of Glossy Accents, letting it dry overnight before adhering the die cut leaf to my water colored card panel.

Thanks for stopping by!  Now it's time to check the inspiration from the rest of the Design Team at Seize The Birthday.  Just click on the link!

Supply list ~
card stock: 140 lb cold press watercolor paper (Strathmore)
ink: frayed burlap, vintage photo, spiced marmalade, fired brick, barn door, walnut stain (distress inks by Ranger), vintage sepia (Versafine)
stamps: leaf prints, garden variey (Papertrey Ink)
die: leaf prints (Papertrey Ink)
other: glossy accents (Ranger), water, brushes

A Watercolor and Bokeh

Yay!  It's time for a new 2-week challenge at Seize The Birthday.  This time there is no Toppings option.  So...anything goes.  Well, as long as it's a Birthday card, of course.

It wasn't easy to decide what technique I wanted to use for this No Toppings challenge.  I'm seeing so many fun video tutorials lately.  When I came across Dawn Woleslagle's video on the Bokeh technique...that made my decision easy!  HERE is the link to her video, if you want to check it out.

I made 2 cards using this technique.  I'll show you my second attempt first.  I love how this one turned out!  The first one...not so much.  I'll include a photo of it at the bottom of this post though, so you can see what I mean.

This was SO much fun.  I love playing with watercolors, as you've probably noticed.  Then add to that some circle stenciling, some Wink of Stella and a few sequins.  Oh. And a heat embossed sentiment, too. 
Well.  Good times!

Um...here is my first attempt at Dawn's Bokeh technique.

I added some white splatter to this card, and it just doesn't look right.  THEN when I stamped "birthday" under the Happy sentiment it just looked wonky.  So, I stamped it on a scrap that I had trimmed off the main panel. I attached that with foam tape.  Hmmm, it just doesn't look right.
But I figured it was only fair to show you my experimental card!

Anyway, thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you'll leave a comment.  I lvve reading them!
Susie

Supplies for "It's Your Day" ~
Card stock: white (Recollections from Michael'), watercolor paper (Artist's Loft from Michael's)
Stamps: think big favorites #2 (PTI)
Ink: versamark, unicorn white
Other: white ep (SU), watercolores and brushes (Michael''s), sponge dauber (SU), clear wink of stella (Kuretake), in color sequins (SU)

Supplies for the "Happy Birthday" ~
Same as for the card above, just different watercolors and the sentiment is from Wet Paint by PTI.
 

Happy! Seize The Birthday with some cluster stamping!

Yes, it's time for a new challenge at Seize The Birthday!  Guess what?  There is no Toppings option for this challenge.  That means ANYTHING goes.  Well, as long as it's a birthday card, of course!

I used a technique called Cluster Stamped Sentiment.  HERE is the link to the video, if you'd like to try it.

The sentiment was heat embossed first, then lots of stamping.  Finally, wipe the ink residue from the embossing...and your sentiment pops!  It was a fun technique, even though it took me several tries to get it right. :)

Okay...follow the link HERE to see what my team mates have created to inspire you!  I hope you'll play along with us!

Supply list ~
Card stock: white (PTI), wisteria wonder (SU)
Stamps: wet paint, button boutique (PTI)
Other: clear embossing powder (SU), heat tool

Seize The Birthday: Anything Goes!

We've got a new challenge for you at Seize The Birthday.  This time...no toppings option.  So anything goes, as long as it's a birthday card (of course!).  You already knew that. :)

What you may not know, is that a member of our Design Team has a birthday today.

Jodene Tripp...Happy Birthday!!!
She's sweet and talented and we're so fortunate to have her on our team!
You can click on over to her blog Jodene's Cards & Creations to leave birthday wishes for her.

For my card, I was in the mood for something bright and sunny.  Patterns and the color orange are what I chose!

Yes.  It's bright.  And it makes me smile!  Isn't that triangle patterned paper fun?  I even snipped out 3 tiny triangles to scatter around my sentiment.  :)

I hope you'll play along with us.  Now click on over to the Seize The Birthday challenge blog to see what the rest of the Design Team has created for your inspiration!

Thanks for looking!

Supplies ~
Card stock: white (PTI), pumpkin pie (SU)
Stamps: wet paint (PTI)
Ink: onyx black versafine
Patterned paper: dear lizzy lucky charm 6 x 6 pad (Am. Crafts)
Dies: tipped tops (PTI)

Seize The Birthday - Watercolors

Yes, it's time for a new challenge at Seize The Birthday!  As always, anything goes...as long as it's a Birthday theme.  No Toppings option this time.

Oh, the possibilities are endless, right?!  I decided to use a technique that I saw Julie Ebersole use recently in a video.  I've done a few watercolor cards in the past, but this technique was a little different.  HERE is the link, if you're interested.

You can click on any photo to enlarge it.

Wow.  It was fun to play around with distress inks and my aqua painter.  There's just something relaxing and therapeutic about it.  If you've never tried it, you might want to!

I used watercolor paper for my card front, but mounted it onto cardstock.  Instead of putting water in my aqua painter, I just put a bit of water in a plastic lid.   For some reason, I always end up with too much water on my project otherwise.  I swished and swirled on 3 colors, then dried them with my heat tool (instead of waiting for them to dry).  Then I stamped my images and sentiment.

Next, I spattered some Mister Huey's and Color Shine onto the card.  Then, to add a bit more shine, I adhered 3 sequins.  That's it!

I hope you'll play along with me and the rest of the Design Team.  We love to see what you create for each challenge!

Supply List ~
Cardstock: white (PTI), watercolor paper (Canson)
Ink: onyx black, delicata golden glitz (Tsukineko), peacock feathers, mowed lawn, spiced marmalade (distress inks by Ranger)
Stamps: happy trails, beautiful butterflies (PTI)
Other: aqua painter (SU), mister huey's color mist in gold (Studio Calico), heidi swapp color shine in teal (Pink Paislee), sequin mix crystals opaque (C Cartwright), water