Sweet Summertime

There is nothing like a nice lazy summer afternoon with a soft breeze blowing and sipping on a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade!

I made this card to celebrate summer days and was inspired by one I saw on Pinterest and now cannot find.  Frantic Stamper stamps are dies used : Citrus Slices (FRA-DIE-09525), Artfull Mess Clear Stamps (FRA-CL-151) and Sweet Summertime Clear Stamps (FRA-Cl-108).

To start off I used (ironically) the Snowfall Stencil (FRA-STN-034) and some lightweight spackling compound (yes, like the stuff from the hardware store) to add texture to the back ground.  Then I created the lemons.  After cutting them from watercolor paper and I did a messy watercolor of the outer rim.  I used a 2 inch punch to cut vellum for the center of the lemons and glued them to the back.  The seeds were glued and the lemons were grouped by gluing only the watercolor sections.  

I wanted to do some splattering and did do a bit, but got cold feet.  I decided I needed a more controlled approach so I used the little splatter stamp from Artful Mess clear stamps which was much safer.  I then created a thread nest and topped it with the lemon grouping.  Lastly, I stamped the card with a stamp positioner and a sentiment from Sweet Summertime stamp set.

Aloha,

Brenda

PS - I would like to join in the Allsorts Challenge #731, use your die option anything goes

Cherry Blossoms and Pineapples

I have a couple more Frantic Stamper cards to share with you.  Both of them were inspired by this beautiful place I live.  The first card is a CAS card featuring the Pineapple (FRA-DIE-09937) and the Brooklyn Alphabet dies (FRA-DIE-10415).  I colored the pineapple with distress oxide inks and made it the focal point of the card.  Aloha was cut 5 times and layered for some added dimension.  This was a pretty quick and easy card to make.

As a side note, hereʻs a picture of our real pineapple patch.  They are getting close to being big enough to eat! 

The second card features Large Kokeshi Paper Doll (FRA-DIE-10569) and Cherry Blossom Branch (FRA-DIE-09333).  The cherry blossoms were colored with distress ink and Nuvo Drops.  The paper dolls dress was made with some very old, authentic wash paper from my stash.  I love the way she looks in it.  You can't tell in the picture, but her sash and fan are actually gold metallic paper which gives a nice shine.

Iʻll finish this post off with the beautiful piece of a rainbow I saw on my walk today.  Praying you all are doing well!

Aloha,

Brenda

 

As You Like It Challenge - Pastels or Brights

It's time for another As You Like It Challenge. This fortnight our challenge theme is to share your favorite pastel or bright colors.   For a chance to win our prize or top-3 spot, your project needs to show your favorite and you need to tell us why you've made your choice. That way, we can all appreciate why it's your favourite.

This week our sponsor is:

The colors I pick usually depend on the papers I use. The papers I chose depend on my image. I thought this cute Bunny would look great in pastel colors. I love the soft look pastels give.

We would love for you to join us at the AYLI blog to link up your creations.  While you are there, check out the prize that's up for grabs and take a look at the gorgeous creations the DT made for you to see!  

Thanks for stopping by!  

Aloha,

Brenda

LRW #707 - Getting Warmer

Oh, well, my word.  Our holiday on Monday has totally messed me ups and now Iʻm a day late.  So sorry!  Getting Warmer is the name of the game over at Little Red Wagon challenge. Chrissy is our very talented hostess and she would like to see our creations that use warm colors. Yellow, orange and red (and all their combinations) are the warm colors on the color wheel.

 
I was going through my images looking for inspiration and thought this little chili pepper (or at least thatʻs what Iʻm calling it) would be perfect.  He was a freebie from Pernilla Nilsson from years ago.  I used distress oxide in to create the background of warm colors.  The chili was colored up with Copic markers.

We would love to see your warm colors this week.  Why not give our challenge a go.  Itʻs easy to link up over at Little Red Wagon.  While you're there, be sure to check out the wonderful projects the other Girlfriends have created.

Aloha,

Brenda

CRAFT Challenge #679 - Christmas

It's time for another CRAFT Challenge!  We would love for you to join us over the next 2 weeks, in making a Christmas creation.

Our Sponsor this week is -

DRS Designs

My card was created with an image provided by our sponsor called Pinecone Square.  Now I have one more card for my Christmas stash.  We would love to have you join us this week over at CRAFT Challenge blog.

Aloha,
Brenda

Little Red Wagon #706 - Flora or Fauna

 It's rolled around to Wednesday again which means it's time for a new Little Red Wagon challenge.  This week Imke is challenging us to create something with either flora or fauna.  I love creating with both flowers/plants and cutesy little animals and I have a bit of both on this card.

I used Winston Bear gardening from Polkadoodles.  I colored him up with my Prismacolor pencils and layered him up on scraps from my paper box.

Why don't you spend a little time creating something like a card, or tag, or art journal spred and give our challenge a go this week.  Just head on over to Little Red Wagon and link up. While you're there, be sure to check out the wonderful projects the other Girlfriends have created.

Aloha,

Brenda

Hibiscus Flowers 1 and 2

 

Iʻve been making some Hibiscus cards, just because.  Before I made them, I did a little Google search and learned that the yellow hibiscus is the state flower of Hawaii.  I personally love red hibiscus like the one in this first card.  Neither one of these flowers are native Hawaiian plants.

I used a Frantic Stamper die, Aloha Hibiscus (FRA-DIE-09933).  It was colored with distress inks and placed on a piece of watercolor paper that was smooshed in distress ink  (salty ocean of course) and splattered with a bit of gold watercolor.  I used a very old stamp I had to stamp the sentiment.

The second card was created in the same fashion, I just added a square from Frantic Stamperʻs Many Squares die (FRA-DIE-10938).  The frame was embossed with gold Foundry Wax.  Another thing I did with both flowers was to cut a bit of the negative part of the die to add the center.  

I have a few more cards to show you featuring this hibiscus die.  I had trouble getting my mojo started, but once it was in gear, I had a hard time stopping.  They are all pretty CAS and worked up pretty fast.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you have a glorious weekend full of all you love.

Aloha,

Brenda