Scrapping for Less ~ Sketch Challenge #5 Extended!!

Hello there crafty friends!

The May challenge for the Scrapping for Less: Show & Share Facebook group is extended through June!! The May challenge is a fun sketch challenge and since we've included the sketch in the May 2020 Sketch Sheet that's available to download on the Scrapping for Less website, we thought it would be a fun idea to extend the challenge and let everyone have some more time to play along and maybe even use their May 2020 Let's Encourage Once Another Card Kits in the challenge!!

So, the key to playing along with the challenge is being a member of the Scrapping for Less: Show & Share Facebook group if you aren't already a member ---> join here!! Also, please note that you don't need a blog to enter the challenge as you're adding a photo of your creation directly in the Challenge album in the group. But you are welcome to include a link to your blog in the description of your creation, if you'd like.

Here's what Sketch Challenge #5 looks like...

I have a couple of cards using this sketch to share with you...

My first one is from the reveal and hop for the May 2020 Let's Encourage One Another card kit... this was a very fast card to create. I literally didn't stamp one thing for this card. I just trimmed the patterned papers and adhered them to a white card base. I die cut the oval from white card stock and adhered it to the card. And the sweet Little Lady Ephemera pieces and enamel dots finished off the card! Easy Peasy!

My second card is also using products from the Little Lady Collection of the May 2020 card kit. I trimmed my patterned papers and adhered them to a white card base. I die cut a wonky stitched oval die from white card stock. I used the cloud stencil from the Banana Split subscription and blended a little scene for the ladybug and her daisies with Tumbled Glass and Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide inks. I used Shabby Shutters and Mowed Lawn Distress Markers for the shading under the ladybug and the stems of the daisies. I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of white card stock and mat it with the Lemon Drop card stock. I adhered the sentiment to the bottom of the oval scene and then popped up the oval and sentiment strip with foam squares.

I used the following Copic markers to color the stamped images in this card:

Ladybug ~ R000, R14, R46, N0, N2, N4, N5

Daisies ~ Y11, Y13, Y35

I thought about adding a couple enamel dots but the pretty daisies in the bottom right corner work right along with the sketch design so I left it as is. I sure hope that you'll play along with our fun sketch challenge. 

This challenge will continue until June 30th at 11:59pm EST. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, July 1st in the challenge album. Please use #sflsketchchallenge5 in any social media posts when playing along with the challenge.

And I'd like to invite you, again, to come play along with this challenge over in the Scrapping for Less: Show & Share Facebook Group! We'd love to see what you create using this fun sketch!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ May 2020 Flavor of the Month Card Kit ~ Let's Encourage One Another

Easy

Nice

Caring

Opportunity

Unite

Refreshing

Applaud

Giving

Exhilarate

Motivation

Excite

Nurture

Thoughtful

Hello Cardmakers! I hope you are doing well this morning. This month’s theme is all about encouragement. How about taking one of the words in the acronym above and making it your word for the coming month? My word is going to be motivation! Motivation to send out at least 3 cards a week to encourage someone. The design team and guest designers this month have created some absolutely fabulous designs with the card kit contents. Hop on through and take a look. One person I know who encourages people each and every day is Courtney Kreeber, she has helped design components of this month’s kit. Her group Handmade Happiness over on Facebook is all about encouraging each other. Who have you encouraged today? Check out this wonderful card kit centered around encouragement over on the Scrapping for Less website. Also check out the SFL blog post and make sure to enter the Rafflecopter. ~ Teresa, {SFL Owner}

If you are just starting hopping, we're so glad to have you join us! 

The hop starts on the Scrapping for Less blog or you can start hopping right here.

Here's a quick look at the May 2020 Let's Encourage One Another card kit...

Double Dip Subscription...

Banana Split Subscription...

Such a darling kit!! I had so much fun creating cards to share with you today... 

let's get to the cards!

Collection One: Love Big

How cute is that Big Foot Benny?! I love him! I stamped him with black ink and colored him up with Copic markers. I trimmed the striped paper and adhered it to a card front of Sour Apple card stock measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2". I die cut the polka dot paper with my largest circle die (approx. 3-3/4" in diameter) and adhered it to the card. To create the background, I blended some light green and blue inks over the cloud stencils included in the Banana Split subscription. I added the chalk heart sticker to the background and popped up the sentiment from the Benny the Bigfoot stamp set by SFL. I also popped up Benny using foam squares. To finish off this card, I added one of the Jolee's flowers over top of the little flower in the stamped Bigfoot image.

Supplies used (not found in the kit):

Copic markers ~ W00, W1, W3, E000, E00, R00, R14, YG11, YG23

Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink

Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide ink

Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Memento Tuxedo Black marker

Scrapbook Adhesives Foam Squares

Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue

My Favorite Things Stitched Rectangle STAX

Collection Two: Easy Peasy

As I mentioned yesterday in my Sneak Peek post, this collection is my absolute favorite!! The colors are gorgeous and that lemon, as well as the blossom, are so beautiful... not to mention the fabulous sentiments!! I can't get enough of this one!! Anywho... I just wanted to showcase the beautiful lemon for this card. I layered the pretty lemon slices with the strips of polka dot papers onto a 5 x 5" square white card base. I die cut the Lemon Drop and white card stocks with a couple of square dies from my stash. I adhered them together and then adhered them to the card. I then blended a bit of Evergreen Bough Distress Oxide ink (it's much lighter in person... not sure why it's so dark in the photo) in the top center portion of the white card stock. I colored the lemon with Copic markers, fussy cut it, and cleaned up the edges with a Memento Tuxedo black marker. I popped it up on the card with foam squares and then added a few of the enamel dots and tied a sweet bow with the yellow twine included in the collection. I love how this card turned out!

Supplies used (not found in the kit):

Copic markers ~ Y000, Y11, Y13, YG0000, YG11

Evergreen Bough Distress Oxide ink

Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Memento Tuxedo Black marker

Scrapbook Adhesives Foam Squares

Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue

Newton's Nook Square dies

Collection Three: Weather Together

The third collection in the card kit has a fun scene building stamp set that I can't wait to play with more! For my card today, I just focused on the pretty papers included in the collection and kept this design CAS. I did have fun stamping and coloring the sun stamp. I stamped it with a mix of yellow inks and then I colored the center with Copic markers. I adhered the die cut sun to the edge of the patterned paper and then popped up the whole piece with foam squares. I stamped the sentiment and die cut it with a banner die. I trimmed it and adhered it to the card. To finish off this card, I added the the three enamel dots to the side.

Supplies used (not found in the kit):

Copic markers ~ Y000, Y11, Y13

Mustard Seed Distress Oxide ink

Scattered Straw Distress Oxide ink

Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Scrapbook Adhesives Foam Squares

Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue

Stampin' Up Round Corner punch

Newton's Nook Square dies (stitched circle die)

Lawn Fawn Everday Sentiment Banners dies

Collection Four: Little Lady

This card came together so fast!! I used four of the fabulous Little Lady Ephemera pieces to create this adorable and super quick card! And there are a whole bunch more pieces (as you can see in the background of my photo) to create a whole bunch more cards!! You may also recognize this card design from the current challenge in the Scrapping for Less: Show & Share Facebook group. I'm so happy to see it included in this month's sketches to download... check out the downloads here ---> May 2020 Sketch Sheet!

Supplies used (not found in the kit):

Scrapbook Adhesives Foam Squares

Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue

My Favorite Things Oval STAX Set 1

That's it for me this time! Your next stop on the hop is... Christine

Be sure to head back over to the Scrapping for Less blog to enter the Rafflecopter once you've finished hopping!

Thank you friends for checking out my blog post!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ May 2020 Flavor of the Month Card Kit ~ Sneak Peek!

Hello there crafty friend!

Today, I'm sharing one last sneak peek of the May 2020 Let's Encourage One Another Card Kit from Scrapping for Less before the big reveal and hop tonight at Midnight EST!! Who's excited for this kit?! I am! I am!! 

And the collection that I'm using for today's sneak is my absolute favorite from the kit! Aren't those papers absolutely stunning! I love the colors! Gorgeous!

The stamps are just as amazing and the sentiments are so sweet! Perfectly paired with all the fun products in this collection... and really, the entire kit!

I used the following Copic markers to color these stamped images:

Lemon ~ Y000, Y06, Y11, Y15

Leaves ~ YG0000, YG03, YG11, YG67

Lemon Blossom ~ C00, C1, C3, Y000, Y06, Y11, Y15, R0000, R83, R85

Last month's card kit sold out pretty quick... be sure to sign up for this month's awesome kit before it sells out too!! And then come back tonight for the reveal and hop... the design team and guests have some amazing creations to share with you!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Unity Stamp Company ~ December 2018 Layers of Life Revive ~ Spring | Summer Coffee Lovers Hop

Hello there crafty friend!

Today, I'm sharing another card for the fabulous Spring | Summer 2020 Coffee Lovers Hop using one of my favorite kits from Unity Stamp Company called Revive... this is a Layers of Life kit from December 2018 and it is ABSOLUTELY amazing to use in a mixed media style card so, that's exactly what I did!!

I started by blending Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink over the right side of a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" piece of Kraft card stock. I then blended some Vintage Photo Distress Oxide ink over the left side and into the middle. I blended with big wispy circles kind of giving a smoky feel to the blends. I then blended some Ground Espresso on the right side leaving some of the Vintage Photo. And to add a bit more contrast to the colors I added a tiny bit of Black Soot to the very edge on the left side.

I stamped the Revive stamp onto the dried background that I rubbed with my anti-static pouch with Ground Espresso Distress Oxide ink and heat embossed a fine clear embossing powder. I then stamped another background stamp from the Vibes kit this time, but again with the Ground Espresso. I stamped that twice down the left side of the card. It gets lost in the darker portion of the card on the left side, but you can see some of the text in the center on the Vintage Photo blends. It needed more of something so I started looking through my stencils. I decided first to use the grid-like stencil from the Tim Holtz Mini Stencil Set 22. I used it on the upper right side and blended some Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink... it goes about two-thirds down the card. I then blended some Ground Espresso Distress Oxide ink over the same stencil in the bottom right corner.

I set that stencil aside and started rummaging through my stencils again... that's when I found my coffee splatter stencil and knew I HAD to use it! This stencil is from the Tim Holtz Mini Stencil Set 3. I blended some Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink over the stencil on the left side of the card. It really pops on the darker blends on that side. Now I decided the coffee cup was getting lost in this background so I stamped it again but this time I used VersaFine Onyx Black ink and I heat embossed it with the fine clear embossing powder, as well. And then to color the coffee cup all I did was blend some of the Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink making sure to keep it light near the top of the cup. To ground the cup on the background, I blended some Ground Espresso Distress Oxide ink just back and forth... I love how the stencil pops through the darker ink! I did a bit of water splatter and dabbed it up with a paper towel and then I added some black acrylic paint splatters. I fussy cut the cup and popped it up on the background. Now this fabulous sentiment which sums up my addiction to the wonderful caffeinated beverage that this whole hop is about is from another fantastic kit called Whit's Words. I blended a tiny bit of Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink on a scrap piece of white card stock and then stamped the Obsessed sentiment with Gina K.'s Black Amalgam ink. 

To mat my background, I blended some Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink around the edges of a white card front trimmed down to 4-1/8 x 5-3/8". I trimmed down my background to 4 x 5-1/4" and adhered it to the mat. I then adhered the entire panel to a black card front measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" and adhered that to a kraft top-fold A2 card base.

Well... this was not a short post but I think I covered all the details of this card. If you have any questions on how I created this card, feel free to ask in the comments. Be sure to check out the Spring | Summer 2020 Coffee Lovers Hop... it's winding down tomorrow. I sure have had a blast creating and sharing during this hop... I hope to sit back and check out more of the creations soon!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Polka Dot Orchard ~ Gnome Talkie Before Coffee ~ Spring | Summer Coffee Lovers Hop

Hello there crafty friend!

Today, I'm sharing a quick card for the fabulous Spring | Summer Coffee Lovers Hop using the sweet Gnome Talkie Before Coffee digi set from Super Sponsor Polka Dot Orchard!! 

Spring | Summer Coffee Lovers Hop

Love this sweet gnome!

This color palette is not one that I would normally do... which is why I just HAD to give it a try using the color combo keyword: ctd594 from the Color Throwdown blog!! AND I thought it would also be fun to play along with the amazing sketch #436 over at Freshly Made Sketches!!

I colored up this image with the following Copic markers:

Gnome ~ E000, E00, N0, N2, N4, N6, C00, C1

Cup ~ Y06, Y11, Y13, E23, E27, E51

For my ink smooshed background, I scribbled on my acrylic block with the Stampin' Up! Basic Grey marker and spritzed it a couple times with my mini water bottle. I then 'stamped' with the inky block onto my card stock. I did that a couple of times and then I smooshed my Black Soot Distress Oxide ink onto my Mixed Media Glass Mat. I spritzed the smooshed ink a bit. Then I grabbed my coffee cup (carefully, because it was still half full of coffee... lol), dabbed it in the ink and stamped right on the paper! Easy peasy! I die cut the Scalloped Stitched Rectangles Frame by Gina Marie Designs from white card stock two times. I adhered those layers together and then adhered it to my ink smooshed background. I trimmed off the excess card stock around the edges and then adhered it to my white card base. I adhered my fussy cut gnome and then added a few grey enamel dots from my stash. I love how this turned out!! 

It was fun using colors that I normally wouldn't use. I love when challenges take me out of my comfort zone!

Be sure to check out the fun Spring | Summer Coffee Lovers Hop!! And go check out the fabulous digi stamps over at Polka Dot Orchard!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Glitter Lace Butterflies and More!!

Hello there crafty friend!

Today, I'm sharing a couple of cards using products from the A La Carte section of the Scrapping for Less shop! Anyone else obsessed with butterflies?! I love them! Today I'm sharing the Lace Butterfly die by Gina Marie Designs that is available in the shop here ---> Lace Butterfly die.

I die cut the beautiful butterfly several times from the DCWV Single-Sided Glitter card stock in all the colors of the rainbow!! I decided for this card to use the turquoise glitter butterfly... it looks so lovely over the Insulation Pink card stock.

I applied some beautiful Glitter Glaze from Brutus Monroe over the Coffee Dot stencil by Echo Park. I think the Nuvo Frostbite Glacier Paste would give a similar look and it's in the shop here ---> Nuvo Frostbite Glacier Paste. So much glittery goodness!! I wish the pictures did it justice!

I trimmed the Insulation Pink card stock to 4-1/8 x 5-3/8" and adhered a Scalloped Stitched Rectangle frame by Gina Marie Designs that I die cut from white card stock. If you don't have a scalloped stitched rectangle frame in your stash, there's one in the shop here that is just slightly smaller than the one I used ---> Sunny Studio Frilly Frames Hexagon Stitched Scalloped Rectangle die... and it has that cool hexagon too! I stamped the 'Live Your Best Life!' sentiment from the Your Best Life Collection in the April 2020 City Streets and Country Roads card kit with Memento Tuxedo black ink and die cut it with a banner die. I trimmed it down and popped it up on the card.

To finish off the card, I added three cute flower sequins to the body of the glitter butterfly... it is so enchanting in person!!! Truly beautiful combined with the glitter butterfly!

Now, remember I die cut a whole bunch of these glitter butterflies... let me tell you there was glitter everywhere!!! But a handy tip for cleaning that up is using Swiffer Sweeper dry cloths. I was able to clean up everything with just one cloth... they are super sturdy and hold a lot of glitter!

For my second card, I wanted to make a slimline card that looked like the butterflies were flying in the clouds. I made a little video showing the ink blending and assembly of the card. You can check that out here...

I hope that you've enjoyed the cards I shared today! Be sure to check out all the fabulous items available in the A La Carte section of the shop! You can restock those consumables you've used up in the kit or find some other must have goodies to help enhance your card kit creations!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

Unity Stamp Company ~ May 2020 Whit Kit Have Courage ~ Enjoy the Little Things!

Hello there crafty friend!!

Today, I'm excited to share a couple of beautiful cards that I created using the stunning May 2020 Whit Kit called Have Courage!! Such a gorgeous kit!! It has fabulous watercolor papers, and glitter embossing powder AND these gorgeous flowers!!

Both of my cards are very similar in design, I just used different colors for the papers and for watercoloring the flowers.

How fun is this card design overlapping the patterned papers?! I just may use this design again and again... I love the contrast it gives to the card!

And those stunning flowers!! They were amazing to watercolor! 

And my second card using purples... I even added a touch of pink to the tips of the flowers! Love how they turned out!

A little bummed that I messed up the placement for my sentiment, but sometimes you just gotta go with it... LOL!

Here's a closeup of these stunning flowers!

Now, if you are interested I made a video for these cards showing my process in making these cards but I'll warn you... there's a bit of a glare from my OTT light overhead. I almost deleted the video completely when I realized I goofed, but I thought someone might like to see it anyways so I'm still sharing it...

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal