Challenge Cards: Marie and Stella + Blue & Green

Greetings! Today I want to share 3 challenge cards. The first is a card I am entering in The Stamping Boutique's April Flowers challenge using their Marie Antoinette digital stamp. I am also sharing a card I made using digital stamps of the infamous Stella from Bugaboo Stamps that I am entering into their Bugaboo April Catch The Bug Bingo challenge. Finally, I am sharing a card I made using a digital image from Gecko Galz to enter in their Facebook Blue and Green challenge. It's a closed group so I'm not linking to that one.

Okay, so, first up is Miss Marie and I like to give credit where credit is due whenever I get inspiration. And I got so much of it that you might even call it a CASE. I saw this card online designed by Carol Gill for a challenge blog named Crafting From the Heart:

and the pearls and lace down the sides immediately screamed my name to me...loudly.  So those are the two elements I stole copied from Carol. Isn't her card lovely? I emailed her to ask permission to show you her card, and she very graciously consented. Thanks for everything, Carol! Now, here is MY card:

I know what you may be thinking - they don't look that much alike. Ok, but I know I didn't come up with those two important card elements on my own, plus I think it's cool when you can copy and yet the card doesn't look like you did. Anyway, I used the Marie Antoinette digital stamp (which I've grown to really like), printed her on my LaserJet, diecut her with a Spellbinders A2 Distressed Edges Nestie and colored the background (leaving the embossed edge white) and her with (believe it or not) my Zig Writer pigment markers. Except for her skin - Copics for that. Then I brushed some gold Smooch Glitz on the background all shabby-like, adhered the vintage lace from my stash to the back, and went to work setting the Creative Impressions flat-back pearls bling. Ended up using a dot of Tombow Mono Aqua blue and it made an annoying job less hellish. (I'm developing a bit of an obsession for that stuff. Tip doesn't clog and delivers tiny dots or lines, and gives a few seconds of move time before grabbing hold, dries clear and is cheap. What's not to like for paper elements and light objects? I'm still a Scor-Tape and tape runner girl for paper layering) I then added some Heidi Swapp crystal crown bling to her up-do.

Here you can see the shiny bling a bit better. Finally it was time to add the flowers. The image itself already has 2 roses which are part of the printed sentiment, but I was in that Pile-It-On mood and went with it, because Marie must have flowers! I assembled two layered flower elements with brads topped with a pearl, one larger, one smaller, and picked out 3 daisies that already had yellow jewel centers. I moved them around on the card until they felt somewhat balanced with the digital stamp. The top of the card front looked a bit bare so I fished out two jeweled flowers from my stash and called it done. I adhered the finished top layer onto a piece of Prima Melody patterned cardstock.

For the card back, I used more of the Prima on top of some DCWV stack pink argyle paper and used one of my favorite stamps from Lawn Fawn, going for a regal Parisian look. Both papers were diecut with the same Spellbinder nestie die set as I used in front.

I loved making this card and how it turned out, and I'm entering it in The Stamping Boutique challenge with pleasure!

Now, my second card is made for the Bugaboo challenge, which still confuses me and I hope I am following the rules. I am trying to. It's a Bingo challenge. I chose the top row, so my element words are yellow, sentiment and birthday. Additionally, I am using a Bugaboo image, actually several. Don't know if that counts extra or at all????

I love Stella and colored 3 digital stamps of her, all with my alcohol markers. On the card front of this birthday card, I used an unknown patterned paper scrap from my Black Hole of Stash for the background, and then cut some Memorybox Echo cardstock with a Spellbinders Label 8 Nestie die. I cut Stella down to a rectangle, rounded the corners and colored the background yellow  (there's also yellow in the background paper), I matted her on the Nestie and popped the sentiment, diecut with a My Favorite Things jumbo fishtail banner stax die. I Stickled the top of her margarita glass in gold and added some clear gelpen to her eyeglasses.

For the inside, more of the same with her color job. The sentiment on the left was stamped by me using Maya Road Just My Type alphas. Stella is matted on more Memorybox Echo which was die cut using a Spellbinder Labels 10 Nestie. On the right, the mat is a Spellbinders A2 Scalloped Edge frame die, and the Stella image on top comes in a polaroid frame with the sentiment (also without), so all I did was cut her out in a rectangle which fit the frame mat.

On the back, I used the same scrap paper and cardstock as before. I punched into the sides of the cardstock with Martha's Loops border punch. I also own the matching corner punch, but this here is my favorite look for it so the corner punch is rarely used. Hardest part - getting both sides lined up the same. I mark the center and line it up with center of the punch and start there. I probably got a little Stella'd away here. I could have 3 cards colored instead of one, so will likely not be piling it on in that way again. I made her for a special girlfriend, though, so it was definitely not a waste. So, I might do it again, now that I think about it, if the recipient is a VIP. Anyway, I am completely in love with Stella!

Okay, here's card #3, which I am entering into Gecko Galz's Facebook Blue and Green challenge. The image in the center is Gecko Galz, colored with alcohol markers and Zigs. I believe that's ancient Chatterbox argyle ribbon, DCWV argyle patterned paper scrap, and the die cuts. The bottom cloud was cut with a Lawn Fawn die, the sentiment was cut with my old-skool Quickutz blue Squeeze and QK Eliza font dies, and the adorable stars on strings was watercolor paper I'd spray-inked with Ranger Colorwash Sailor Blue and cut with a Papertrey Ink die called Dangled Stars.

Once again I reached for my Smooch Glitz to bling up the stars. I laid the die cut down on some palette paper and brushed over all of it, let it dry and peeled it off, then adhered it to the card using the Tombow Aqua. I then covered the card with wax paper and laid a lightly weighted book on top for about 30 minutes. Dry and securely glued.

The Papertrey die also has a strip of stars and I'd saved the negative which I used on the back of the card, along with some more ribbon, for which I have a tip. There are several ways to fray-check the edges of cut ribbon, including buying a product with that name. And it works well enough. But so does clear glue, I have found. I squeeze out a small dot of Tombow Aqua onto the pad of my finger and lightly coat the ribbon edges, let it dry on a nonstick surface and voila. I've not yet tried this on satin or a sheer fabric, so it's always best to test it on a scrap first. I googled all the different ways people fray-check their ribbon. The scariest one was using a lighter on it to burn the edges. The most interesting one to me was using the knife attachment on a wood burning tool, although it seems a bit wasteful to fire that up to fray-check like one ribbon. So for now I stick with the glue. I attached the stars strip by applying Tombox tap runner which made the star apertures sticky, so I pulled out the Stickles crystal glitter and rubbed it in until the sticky went away. So there a little bling on the back.
Wow, I may need to change this blog's name to the Short Story Blog, huh? lol Thanks for hanging in there and for your visit and comment as well. May your week be all you need it to be! xoxo