Let's Craft & Create November - Challenge #201 Stitched Up (Real or Faux)

 Back after a hiatus on the Let's Craft & Create Blog with November's optional Challenge - Stitched Up (Real or Faux).

{BYSHC} Blog - November Sketch Challenge #39

November 1 - already!!! I am not sure I am ready for the cold weather we have recently had a taste of in MN! Yikes! The good news is I will have more time to hunker down in my craft room and create.  

Crystal has a fun sketch for us to play with this month on the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Blog.  

I have been paper shopping recently and I actually cut it and used some of my new purchases on my first card this month!

 Both papers come with the gold foil, so I knew they would come in handy and made this card super-simple.  The deer is the reverse image of Woodland Reindeer Deco Foil Adhesive Transfer from Taylored Expressions and a sentiment strip from my stash.  I trimmed the border off of a different patterned paper scrap in my stash for the black border between the colors.  See - saving those papers scraps pays off!!

I hope you will give this month's sketch a try!  My mind of already rolling around what I will do for my second card!  Thanks for stopping by my blog.

In kindness, Cathy 

{BYSHC} Falling for the Holidays 2023 Linky Party - Day 1

 Hi {BYSHC} Friends!

It is hard to believe that the last holiday card making BYSHC Linky Party of 2023 is here already!! 

I have been in a state of transition with my home space since the middle of June, so I started making cards for this party in July.  It's not my typical pattern!  Can I tell you how happy I am that I worked ahead?!?  

If this design looks familiar to you, it may be because I used the sketch from this past August.  It's super versatile and there is lots of inspiration in the FB Sketch #36 Gallery.

For my first Linky Party card, I inked up Taylored Expressions Through the Woods stamp set.  I started by stamping the trees with Distress Inks on a piece of watercolor paper and then used a blender brush around the edges for sky.  I dripped water onto the panel and then splattered with white ink to give it a feel of light snow. I fussy cut one of the skinny trees to use as an embellishment.  The sentiment is from Unity's Feliz Navidad stamp set.  

The background paper is from a Tim Holz pad I was gifted in a destash exchange two years ago.  It's rustic feel went well with the trees!  I just added some ink to the sides of the background paper to give it a distressed look.  

Hope you are seeing your stack of holiday cards grow.  If not, play along with this week's Linky Party and get a head start on this year's cards!  Thanks for stopping by my blog.

In kindness, Cathy

{BYSHC} Blog - Sketch Challenge #38

 Back with a second card using Sketch #38.  I oriented the sketch vertically and adjusted the size of the vellum rectangles to fit the panel. The top layer of vellum was embossed with Taylored Expressions Confetti Embossing Folder.  The card's main image uses Papertrey Ink's Deer to Me stamp and Deer to Me Die sets.  All of those glorious stems and flowers come with the stamp and die set!  This is a set that is easier to die cut first and then line up the stamps. The Birch trees are dies from Newton's Nook, called Forest Scene Builder Die Set.  

Just one more week until the Fall Into Christmas Linky party!  Hope you can play along with our BYSHC sketch and the Linky Party!  Thanks for stopping by my blog.        In Kindness, Cathy 

{BYSHC} Blog - October Sketch Challenge #38

 A new month means a new sketch on the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Blog.  

For this sketch, I went super simple.  All of the layers and papers work together with Catherine Pooler's Belly Laughs Cover Plate.  I pulled out my white glitter paper to add a little more sparkle and mounted it. The sentiment strip uses a variety of leftovers on my craft desk mounted on a die cut flag of white glitter paper!  (Gotta love when that happens!!)  

Take a peek at the growing Sketch #38 gallery in the {BYSHC} FB Group or the weekly updates on the {BYSHC} Blog.  I hope you will be inspired to join us!  FYI - our third and final Linky Party is coming up later this month.  It's a great chance to get ahead or get a start on your holiday cards!  Thanks for stopping by my blog.

In kindness, Cathy

{BYSHC} Blog - September Sketch Challenge #37

 Back with my second card using the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmaker's sketch for this month.

 Today's card features a Julie Ebersol stamp I bought last year from Ellen Hutson, called Snow Angels. She is colored with Prismacolor pencils. 

It was one of those stamp sets I had to have when it was released, but never inked it up until this summer.  I created another card with the boy image using patterned paper during the Christmas in July Linky party. 

{BYSHC} Blog - Sketch Challenge #37

Happy first Friday in September and that means a new holiday card sketch on the {BYSHC} Blog.  

I combined Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers' Sketch #37 with Stamping Bella's Christmas Camper stamp. It's stamped on watercolor paper and then fussy cut after I was done coloring.  The background is made using Picket Fence Studios Falling Snowflakes Stencil with Taylored Expressions Glitter Grab adhesive.  I love how thin and smooth the layer goes on and then when it's dried, it is ready to run through my Mini-Minc machine with some silver holographic foil.  This was a trial to see how the process worked with foiling, but I decided to use it because the rustic edges were perfect for this card! 

The sentiment is a fussy cut Hero Arts Season's Greetings and the panel behind it is PTI's Snowflake Mix & Mat Die. 

I hope you have the time to play along with us this month.  You can see the sketch is versatile and can accommodate just about any shape you might want to use!  Add your finished card to the Sketch #37 folder in the BYSHC FB group.  You might be featured on the blog this month or win our monthly prize!  Thanks for stopping by to take a closer look at my card.

In kindness, Cathy

{BYSHC} Blog - August Sketch #36

 Hello {BYSHC} Friends!  

August means a new sketch as a springboard for working on that stash of Christmas/holiday cards. 

I was trying to get to the "free shipping" level for a recent Taylored Expressions order and the variety of trees in their Through the Woods stamp set called to me, so I decided to ink it up for this month's sketch.

I started by stamping the trees with Distress Inks on a piece of watercolor paper and then using a blender brush around the sky.  I dripped water onto the panel and then splattered with white ink to give it a feel of light snow. I kept one of the skinny trees to the side and fussy cut it as an embellishment.  The sentiment is from Unity's Feliz Navidad stamp set.  The background paper is from a Tim Holz pad I was gifted in a destash exchange two years ago.  It's rustic feel went well with the trees!  I just added some ink to the sides to give it a distressed look.

Hope you are seeing your stack of holiday cards grow.  If not, play along and get a head start on this year's cards!  Thanks for stopping by my blog.

In kindness, Cathy

Let's Craft & Create Challenge #198 - Polka Dots &/or Stripes

 I have been working on building up my stash of Christmas cards AND stretching my stamps this summer, which you will see reflected in this month's Let's Craft & Create Polka Dot and/or Stripes Challenge #198.  The stripes and polka dots are actually candles and their dotted accents from The Greetery's Make A Wish stamp set. I used the set for an IG birthday hop in June and then the creative wheels started turning about using the stamps! That's how this card came about.

I hope I have inspired you to try thinking creatively about your stamps and that you have a chance to play along with the LC&C Blog's challenge this month. Thanks for stopping by my blog.                                               In kindness, Cathy

{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge #35 - Linky Party Day 8

 Back with my second card for the July Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Sketch and the last day of the Christmas in July Linky Party.   

Knowing I would use the die I picked up from Craft Fancy, a scrapbook store in Illinois, for my focal point, it worked better to flip the sketch.  The font and size of the sentiment from the Merry Christmas die is so versatile I could immediately think of lots of things to make with it.  (Thank you, Jennifer McGuire!!)

 

I cut the die once from white paper and a second time from some Tim Holtz holiday paper from my stash.  I used distress inks to blend the reds for the sentiment and greens for the leaves and inlaid them on the black print background. The panel is mounted on green. I found the scrap of plaid for the bottom strip.  The sequins are double mounted - clear on the bottom with gold on top.  One of the many Echo Park Christmas papers I have in my collection was the natural choice for the base.  The pattern was small enough that the red flowers were visible all around the center panel.  

 

 

July's sketch would make a great spring board for adding a card to the July Linky Party. You have until midnight to add a card to the Linky Party gallery.  I'm looking forward to seeing today's entries!  Thanks for stopping by my blog.  

In kindness, Cathy 

 

  

{BYSHC} Christmas in July Linky Party - Day 6

 Hi All,

Back on my blog with a card for Day 6 of the Christmas in July Linky Party.  I pulled out some "must have" purchases from last Christmas season were use for this first time this week!

This one features a stamp from sponsor CCC called Snow Globe Bear. I used the coordinating dies to cut out the bear, penguins and snow globe.  The elements are stamped on to heavyweight card stock and given a faux watercolor look with Distress inks.  The background is one more piece of paper I made stretching the Make A Wish stamp set from The Greetery.  I splattered a little bit of red ink, added a scrap of red striped paper, used a sentiment from Pinkfresh studio, and finally popped on some jewels and sequins to finish off the card.

The Linky Party runs through July 28th at midnight CST.  You still have time to add your card to the {BYSHC} gallery! Thanks for stopping by my blog.

In kindness, Cathy

Challenges Entered:

NBUS July/ CCC Stamp and die

Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge #44/ AG

My Time to Craft Christmas #65 /Cute Christmas

12 Months of Christmas #102 - AG