Impression Obsession Designers' Challenge!

This week, the Impression Obsession designers are engaged in a collaboration with the Simmmerz designers, using IO stamps and Shimmerz paints...a natural mix! This is the card I did, a double slider using one of the brand new Leigh Hannan Christmas stamps due to be released at CHA later this month, and sentiment stamps also from the Christmas collection. I coloured the image with Touch alcohol based markers, then overpainted accents with Shimmerz paints (Bubble Gum and Angel Wings. It's difficult to capture the beautiful shimmery finish, but trust me, it's just GORGEOUS, and so perfect for Christmas! This design holds a surprise gift card well...nice for popping in the mail! It also meets the current Wednesday Stamper challenge...colourful.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you'll have time to look at the other Impression Obsession designers' blogs for their beautiful creations. The links are on the sidebar, just look right. ;)

I wish you a creative summer weekend!

Card for a friend...

I created this one to meet the following challenges: Created by Hand (inchies), Gothic Arch (create an ATC, Gothic style), Timeless Tuesday (use dimension...pop it up) and Secret Crafters (use three ribbons). I created an inchie envelope, then masked and stamped it with this design stamp from Quietfire. I accented the border and the tiny heart with Glitter Ritz Stardust Opaque Microfine glitter. I used Sookwang double sided tape on cardstock, then punched small hearts and covered them with Glitter Ritz Grasshopper Opaque Microfine glitter. I cut the Gothic arch from this beautiful classic Italian Portofino paper, edged it with Krylon 18 Kt Gold Leafing ink, then glued the inchie envelope and pop dotted the glittered hearts onto the arch. I attached the arch to a Cuttlebug embossed gatefold card, and wrapped a length of ecru double faced satin ribbon 'round the card.

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit today. I hope YOU have some time to create something beautiful!

Designers' challenge

The Impression Obsession designers' challenge is to create cards suitable for men...always a challenge for me! This first card uses this swirl background stamp which I white-embossed on my origami tie, and the "Just for You" stamp from the "Anytime Sentiments" set.

This second card uses a sentiment stamp from the Cupcake set (MC 181), coupled with a diecut arch and silhouette I did with the Silhouette SD electronic cutter. The Dad's wings meet the Gothic Arch challenge for this week, and the buttons meet the Craft Challenge over at Charisma Cardz.

Several other Impression Obsessioon designers are posting their challenge cards today, so I hope you can take some time to blog-hop a little. The links to their blogs are on my right hand sidebar. Who else is participating? Daniela, Dina, Laura, Jeanne, Jenny and Shirley!

Would you like to see your own artsy work featured on the Impression Obsession blog? We'd love it! Please send Impression Obsession stamped creations along to our IO blog mistress here.

Thanks for stopping by, hope your day is delightful!

Challenges, for a friend

The current Created by Hand challenge is to use a summer theme; the current Crazy Amigo challenge is to use a favourite brand; the current Wednesday Stamper challenge is to use the colours of our flag. Our Canadian flag is red and white...and today is Canada Day.

I used a gold embossed "friend" stamp from Quietfire Design, and a sheet of damask paper from one of my perennially favourite manufacturers, Making Memories.

I cut the centre aperture of this tri-fold card with the Cuttlebug and the round Nesties die; the card is another one for my friend Meg whose seven year old son Ben is fighting cancer. The centre panel's circle is actually just space...nothing there..the card folds to view the "friend" on an inside panel from the front.

An assortment...

Well, I haven't posted in a week...I think that's the longest I've ever been away from blog-land! I have a few cards to post, related to different challenges and things, so I'll put them all here.

The current Created by Hand challenge is to use French. The current One Powerful Hour challenge is to use numbers, and this week's Theme Thursday challenge is time. I created this card to send to some friends we'll be travelling with this fall...to Paris! (We're also travelling to Nice and Rome...SO looking forward to the trip!) The stamps are from Suzanne's beautiful calligraphy at Quietfire Design and I picked up this cute plastic ribbon with the clocks at a local paper crafting shop, the Cutting Garden. They have a brand new blog if you'd like to look! I just joined their design team, so I'm looking forward to spending lots of time there! The Fleur de Lis punch is by EK Success.

The current craft challenge over at Charisma Cardz is an open theme, so I'm posting other cards I created yesterday as samples for the Cutting Garden. I LOVE stitching and beading and 3-d work. It's time consuming, but a nice thing to do sitting on the patio during "garden appreciation moments" in the sumertime (lol). This first card uses beautiful green velvet flocked paper by Making Memories, and Kaisercraft flat backed pearls, available at the Cutting Garden.

This baby girl card uses a template from Stampington and stamps from My Mind's Eye (Laundry Line) stamped and embossed on vellum. Everything I used for this card came from the Cutting Garden, including the Nestabilities and the Swiss Dots embossing folder for the Cuttlebug. Here's a link to the "Darling Dress Template" if you'd like to make one of these cards.

This next card is just a simple stitched and beaded Happy Birthday card, with the sentiment computer generated for cutting with Nestabilities Labels Four dies, a little scrap of gold mirrored cardstock, and a silk flower from...yep...the Cutting Garden!

This last card is for a special little boy, and meets the challenge over at Cute Card Thursday, which is "Wheely Good Fun." I used a new stitching pattern for this one, and I didn't place the pattern properly, so it ended up to be kind of crooked, but I sent it anyway; I think he'll like it. Ben is the seven year old son of a friend. He was diagnosed with leukemia two years ago, was being treated successfully, but came out of remission recently, and is very ill. He's on the list for a bone marrow match, which is his only hope of survival now. If you're interested in creating a card to send him some cheer, please e-mail me for his postal address. I've posted this on several card making sites, and we're hoping to fill his mailbox with happiness...such a small gesture, but so uplifting for this little guy. If you can spare a card or two, you can reach me at this e-mail address: CardsforBen@live.ca. I'd be happy to forward the postal address.

Thanks for taking the time to visit today.

Impression Obsession Designers' Challenge!

The Impression Designer Obsession designers' challenge today was to use no patterned paper in our creations. One of my favourite ways to create special cards is to use stitching and beading, so I decided to use that to highlight some of the wonderful IO sentiment stamps. This card uses one of the sentiment stamps from the "Anytime Sentiments" set. After stitching the corner flourish with metallic variegated thread, I stamped it with Versamark, then thermal embossed with Ranger Seafoam White embossing powder, and added a border peel-off and several pink crystals from Kaisercraft.The current Craft Challenge over at Charisma Cardz is "Diamonds are a girl's best friend," so I've used crystal;s on several of these cards to meet that challenge. The "Theme Thursday" challenge is "beautiful," and I suppose that's open to subjective interpretation. I really enjoy using beautiful metallic threads when I stitch and bead, so I hope these cards meet that criteria! ;) The current "Created by Hand" challenge is an open theme...so I'm meeting that one too.

This card uses one of the "Birthday Wishes" stamps. There are eleven stamps in this clear acrylic set...what a great value! After stitching and beading the netted design on the right side, I added a gold foil peel-off around the oval border, then decoupaged a 3-d pansy in the centre. Then I stamped the sentiment in the lower left corner with Versamark, and thermal embossed it wth Top Boss Black embossing powder.

The next card uses a tiny Happy Birthday stamp on the bottom right corner from the same set, along with more stitching and some Kaisercraft flat backed pearls. I also used some butterfly stamps (from Crafty Individuals), thermal embossed on vellum and pop-dotted. Over at the Flourishes blog, the Timeless Tuesday challenge is to get inspired by a Kim Polson poster. I used this one as the inspiration for this card.

This next card is for a very special person who's about to celebrate a wonderful event in her life. My sister Katherine retired from a decades long career in teaching three years ago, returned to university, graduated last month with a degree in divinity studies from McGill University in Montreal, and will be ordained as a Presbyterian minister this summer, starting her new career in her sixtieth year! We think she ROCKS! (lol) The stamp I used here is from the Impression Obsession Birthday Greetings set. The white pearl beads are hand stitched onto the card, the crystals are flat-backed, and glued on.

This last card has no stitching, but I needed a new home card for some friends, so I used one of my very favourite Gary Robertson stamps from Impression Obsession. This one is called "Window Box." For colouring, I used Prismacolour Premier Pencils, Tombow watercolours and some of the new Clearsnap Smooch paints. The top piece is punched with one of Stampin' Up's border punches. I added flowersoft and crystals to some of the flowers for a little more dimension. Impression Obsession has FABULOUS new stamps from Gary Robertson...such FUN to use! There are several beautifully detailed window and door stamps, the seasonal bird houses are a MUST-see, and the outhouses...well...I just LOVE them!

I hope you'll take the time to see the beautiful work posted by the other Impression Obsession designers today. You can find direct links to their blogs on my sidebar, to your right. Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Hope your weekend is delightful!

Thank you card

I find myself needing several thank you cards these days, so I look to blog challenges for inspiration. This card uses one of my own photos and follows the current Ismaki challenge sketch. As an avid gardener, I think these colourful tulips are positively YUMMY, which is the challenge over at Charisma Cardz Thursday Challenge. The Thank You stamp is from Impression Obsessions (CL 48: Greetings Galore; I really like how we can gently form unmounted stamps to follow a curve like this...); the butterfly is from my very favourite and utterly fabulous butterfly set from Crafty Individuals, and the flowers are Hero Arts; all the white you see is stamped with Top Boss embossing ink and thermal embossed with Ranger Seafoam White embossing powder, with the flowers and the butterfly on vellum. Thanks so much for stopping by today!