Seize The Birthday - Stripes

Hello, we've got a new challenge for you at Seize The Birthday, chosen by Linda, and it's Stripes.

The stripy background was in my stash from a couple of years ago, so I can't remember what I used - possibly Distress paint.  Actually, the lily (Altenew) and sentiment (The Stamp Market) were also in my stash.  I just diecut the panel, and a coordinating black panel, and mounted then onto green card.

Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog where you can see some more fabulous inspiration from the rest of the design team, and our fab Surprise Party Guests, and join in the fun.  If stripes aren't your thing, you can always play along with our Anything Goes theme.

See you in the gallery!

Visible Image - Music On World Off

Hello! For my Visible Image Design Team post today I wanted to show you one of the cards I made for the Hobbymaker show last week using the fabulous Music On World Off stamp set.

I started by stamping the headphones in Versafine Onyx Black then heat embossing with clear powder, then secured the Orbs stencil over the panel.

I chose a range of bright funky colours, and just concentrated on the area around the headphones.

After stamping the sentiment on hot pink card, I chopped it up unevenly and scribbled a border around each piece with a black fineliner.

I also did some second-generation stamping in Versafine Smoky Grey along the top and bottom and drew a border around the panel.

I matted the panel onto black card to complement the black headphones and squiggly lines, then mounted that onto my hot pink card.

By swapping out the colours this design could easily work for a male card too.

Pop on over to the Visible Image blog for this and other fab stamps, stencils and dies.

Seize The Birthday - Retro

Hello peeps, we've got a fun challenge for you at Seize The Birthday - Retro, chosen by Jules.  I think we were on the same wavelength when we made our cards!  My girls look like they've just stepped out of her campervan and are headed into town :)

The background is Distress Inks, and the ray stencil and groovy chicks stencil are by Sheena Douglass.  The sentiment is from my Groovy Shoes set by STAMPlorations.

Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog to find out how our team, and our surprise party guests, have interpreted this fun challenge, then join us in the gallery.  If Retro isn't your thing, you can still play along with any birthday card in our Anything Goes theme.

Visible Image - Butterfly Ink Mini

Hello, did you catch the Visible Image 20th birthday celebrations and launch of new products?  Alongside a fabulous limited edition cat stamp set, there are 18 new-sized mini stencils and three MDF products.

For my design team project today I've used the gorgeous Butterfly Ink Mini stencil and a sentiment from the Lilies With Love stamp set.

I used a combination of Distress Mica Stain sprays and ink blending for my grungy background.  I love the blue drips!

Once I'd stencilled the butterfly with Cosmic Shimmer Gold Pearl, I sprinkled on some Finnabair loose glitter before the paste had chance to dry.

I wanted a general sentiment so I chose 'Sending love' from the Lilies With Love' stamp set.  I stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black onto white card, then trimmed and matted the card onto black, leaving a narrow margin all round.

The blue glitter picks up on the blue drips of the background.  Here's another angle:

And, of course, in real life the glitter looks even better!

The stencils are sized perfectly for card making, at 4x4 inches square.  They're also great for home decor as you saw in the launch samples.

Pop on over to the Visible Image website and snag a few now!

Seize The Birthday - Cute Critters

Hey, Seize The Birthday fans!  We've got an irresistible challenge for you this week, chosen by JoAnn - Cute Critters.

I couldn't resist using this Anita Jeram image from Colorado Craft Company.  Originally I sponged the grass area, but it all looked a bit meh, and this gelli print piece from my scraps was saying, "Look at me,  I match, I'll jazz it up!"  And it did.  And I like it much better now :)

Pop along to the Seize The Birthday blog for some more fabulous inspiration from the team, and play along with our Cute Critters challenge.  If cute critters aren't your thing, you can still play along with any birthday project.

Visible Image - Just Hit Play

Hello peeps!  For my Visible Image Design Team project today I've got a retro card for you using the fun Just Hit Play stamp set.

I rarely plan and mock up a card, but I needed to for this one.  I started by stamping out the main elements on scrap copy paper with Versafine Smoky Grey, cut them out and placed them onto my slimline card base to determine the layout.

Then I chose my colours for my cassette tapes, stamped them and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

I used Memento Desert sand to stamp the unspooled tape.  I didn't want to fully cover the background so again I positioned the stamped pieces as I went, checking for balance in my composition.

I used my magnetic art station to anchor everything in place ready for adhering.

Once everything was stuck down, I trimmed the two overhanging cassettes.  The style of the sentiment made it easy to slice and chop into individual words.

And those of us from the cassette era all know why the pencil's in the photo, don't we?

Pop on over to the Visible Image site for these and more fabulous goodies, and lots more inspiration!

Seize The Birthday - Tic Tac Toe

Hello!  We've got a fab new challenge for you at Seize The Birthday - Tic Tac Toe, chosen by Glenda.

I went for the middle row - watercolour, clean and simple, dots/circles.  The flower stamp is from Carabelle Studio, and although there are some dots on the image around the flowers, I added a few more with my paintbrush.  The sentiment is from MFT.

There are so many options with this challenge, but if that's too erm, challenging, you can play along with any birthday theme.

Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog for some more gorgeous inspiration from the team and our surprise party guests, and play along.

Visible Image - Wings of Change

 

Hey, Visible Image fans!  For my DT blog post today I've chosen the beautiful Wings of Change stamp set.

I stamped all the butterfly images on white card and watercoloured them with Salvaged Patina and Wild Honey Distress inks, then fussy cut them.  I also smooshed some card in the same colours, using mainly the Salvaged Patina.

Using the smooshed panel and some linen-effect card, I diecut the background frames using an Aall And Create die.

For my base card, I used the Ripped Fishnet stencil as a stamp by inking it with Lost Shadow Distress ink, then laying it onto my base card and pressing down with a paper towel to give a subtle background.

I stamped the sentiment on a piece of white card, matted onto black card, highlighted the words 'begin' and 'again', and adhered the smallest butterfly in the top left corner.

Originally I was going to use the two large and one medium butterfly, but I preferred the impact of just one large butterfly placed on the large pool of colour.

I love the grunge detail on this butterfly:

The use of the blue on the words highlights them without clashing with the design.

And I've still got some butterflies left over for future card makes - win, win!

Pop on over to the Visible Image website for these and other incredible stamps, dies and stencils.

Seize The Birthday - Fruits

Hello, we've got a new challenge for you at Seize The Birthday, and this time our host Colleen has gone for fruit.  All of my fruit is either drink related or cake related, so seeing as Monday's post was drinks, I've gone for cake today.

This is another card that was thrown together from bits on my desk.  The background was in my stash.  It had been there for a while, a bit lurid, and I wasn't sure how I would use it.  It was a mop-up piece, and I wasn't really impressed with the colours. So I dry-embossed it with a linen folder, even less impressed.  Then I rubbed Inca gold over it.  A bit better, but still a bit hard on the eyes.  And there it had lain for months, neglected.

Meanwhile, I'd already decided on the cupcake from Colorado Craft Company Big and Bold Sweet Friend, and sloshed a bit of colour on it and trimmed it.  Then I set about looking for a background, tried this, and they just went together.  And this is why I can't throw stuff away!  The sentiments were also retrieved from my stash.

Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog for some more fabulous inspiration from the team, and our guest designer Julia, and join the party.  If fruit isn't your thing, just play along with any birthday project.

Visible Image - Happy Hour

Hellooo!  It's Happy Hour at Visible Image with the fabulous Cocktails And Dreams stamp and die set.

I wanted a glossy, neon Happy Hour sign so I stamped the words in Catherine Pooler Pixie Dust ink then infilled with the lighter Sixteen Candles ink.

Then I added white highlighting with a Posca pen and dark lowlighting with an Emott fine pen, and glazed the letters with Lawn Fawn clear glaze.

For my bar-top I scored a strip of white card every half inch then swooshed Distress Inks over the whole strip.

For an urban/industrial look I wanted to use the Distressed Brick stencil.  When I was placing the stencil I wanted the gaps in the brickwork to surround the words, but realised that the Happy Hour was too low so I started my stencil further down, then chopped the top off afterwards.

I stamped and diecut several glasses and accessories then set about colouring them.  First, the Blue Lagoon:

Then the Mojito:

And lastly, the Strawberry Daiquiri:

Then it was time to assemble.  I placed the glasses at slightly different levels to imply depth.

Here's a few close-ups:

I cut the citrus slice in half for one of the cocktails:

The sign is very tactile:

Here are all the Visible Image supplies used:

All these and more are available at the Visible Image store, pop over and take a look!