Friday, July 31, 2020

Turning the Page August 2020

Time to turn the page on our calendars to a new month.

I make calendars each year for my desk and my family.

I thought I'd set up a regular post on the last day of each month to share them.

I hope you enjoy my “Turning the Page” posts.

Here's our August page.


By the way, the calendars are clipped together and can be displayed on an easel
or hung on a push pin or magnetic hook.  We all have a different way to display them.

If you would like a word document with the calendar, email me (bonklass(at)gmail(dot)com.
and I will be glad to send it to you so you can design your own.

If your email address is not in your profile, I have no way to send this to you.

Email link is in my profile on the sidebar.


Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!




Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Toucan CAS(E) this Sketch

Hi there.  I'm glad you stopped by!


When I saw the sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch...
I immediately thought of my NBUS Toucan Bundle.

I just happened to have a stenciled background sitting on my desk.

It seemed they were made for each other and the challenge too.

I stamped the body, then die cut the bird.  The die cuts the whole bird.

I place the cut into my MISTI and positioned the stamp for the large part of the 
beak, and colored it with Distress Markers.  Then I did the same for the end
of the beak.  It took a couple tries to get the beak somewhat right.
The first one fit well behind to give this guy a little more heft.

This looks like a card for Jack so I attached the toucan with a Wobble.

While I was at it, I did another.


For this card, I used a background from my stash that was done with Brushos 
sprinkled andspritzed on a gelli plate.. (I'm glad I wrote on the back how I'd done it.)  
I added some subtle stamping over the background and a die cut of tropical looking leaves.


Challenges:
NBUS #16 - Never Before Used Schtuff





Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!


Card Recipe (cars 1)
Stamps:  Toucan Paradise (C9)
Ink:   Versafine Onyx Black, Lucky Clover, Mermaid Lagoon, Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Cracked Pistachio, Picked Raspberry (DM), Stenciling - Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers (DOX)
Paper:   Neenah, Snippet of Baked Brown Sugar
Other:  Toucan Paradise Dies (C9), Tumbling Leaves Stencil, Sponge Dauber, Action Wobbles (AI)

Card Recipe (card 2)
Stamps:  Toucan Paradise (C9)
Ink:   Pistachio Pudding, Rich Razzleberry (SU), Versafine Onyx Black, Mustard Seed, Twisted Citron, Worn Lipstick, Peacock Feathers (Distress Markers
Paper:   Neenah, Basic Black (SU)
Other:  Toucan Paradise Die (C9), Brusho (Leaf Green Lemon), Gelli Plate, Palm Fancy Die (HA)

Monday, July 27, 2020

Colorful Christmas and Sparkling Stars

Hi there.  I'm glad you popped in!

I have two Christmas cards to show you today.

First up....


....for Christmas Kickstart, Starry, Starry Night.

A dear, sweet friend sent me this fun star die for my birthday.
I cut it from some really schparkly glitter paper that was in my stash and
popped some of the cut out stars in the openings.

I popped it on a piece of sparkle paper.  I fear it's the last of that.
Maybe I'll find some more someday.

I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment on vellum.

Next up....


...for the Jingle Belles Challenge, an inspiration photo (see below).

I zeroed in on the reindeer and all the hanging colors.

Vixen was colored with Twimarkers because they have a tiny point that
works great for tight areas.

Also joining in with Rudolph Days where we can link our Christmas cards from 
the 25th to the end of the month with my friend Maureen (Scrappy Mo)



Challenges:
Christmas Kickstart #34 - Starry, Starry night (reindeer, garland, colors)
Jingle Belles - Colorful Christmas Inspiration
Rudolph Days - ATG Christmas




Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!


Card Recipe (card 1)
Stamps:  Think Big Sentiments #20 Christmas (PTI)
Ink:   Encore Gold
Paper:   Brushed Gold (SU), Sparkle (?), Glitter paper (?), Vellum (?)
Other:  Stars Die (MC Collection), Gold EP


Card Recipe (card 2)
Stamps:  Vixen (Hampton Art), Endless Wishes (SU)
Ink:   Archival Jet Black
Paper:   Real Red (SU), Neenah
Other:  Pinewood Planks EF (SU), Birdie Brown Alphabet & Numbers (MFT)


Saturday, July 25, 2020

Hooray for the Red, White and Blue

Hi there.  I'm glad you stopped by!

I know I'm late for Independence Day.  I was too slow to get these in on time.


For good measure, I did another.
I think these can work for those big grandsons!


I originally did these cards for JoAnn's Red, White and Blue Challenge at
Seize the Birthday but wasn't quick enough.  But the challenge this time has an 
option of a non-neutral card base.  Woot, this fits! I do love to play options!

Now let's see if I can get this in on time...


Challenges:
Seize the Birthday:  Non-neutral Card Base

  

Enjoy!



Card Recipe (card 1)
Stamps:  Home of the Brave (CTMH), Botanical Silhouettes (PTI)
Ink:   Dapper Denim, Real Red (SU)
Paper:   Midnight Muse, Real Red (SU), Neenah
Other:  Lucky Stars EF, Stripes EF (SU), Stars Framelits (SU), Skinny Strips Die (MFT)

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Fireworks, You Wow Me (MFT)
Ink:   Dapper Denim, Real Red (SU), Wow Emb.
Paper:   Midnight Muse, Silver Foil (SU), Neenah
Other:  Wow Die (MFT), Clear EP, Silver EP, Subtle EF (SU), Star Border Punch (SU)

Thursday, July 23, 2020

Poppystamps Butterfly Twofer

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

It's no secret that I love putting butterflies on cards.


I've used some fantastic embossing powder on these butterflies.
It adds wonderful sparkle.  I added some foil too!


I embossed this butterfly with a teal embossing powder but I didn't like it.
I dipped it back into the embossing ink and used the same embossing powder
as above over top.  I love the way that turned out!

My first Twofer cards this month had similar layouts so I made sure to use 
very different layouts this time.


Challenges:
Krafty Chicks #517 - All Occasions
Poppystamps - Glim & Glam
Twofer #29 - Butterflies


 



Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!



Card Recipe (card 1)
Stamps:  Banner Sentiments (PB)
Ink:   Wow Embossing
Paper:   Neenah, Textured (?), Gold Foil (SU)
Other:  Stitched Butterfly Trio Dies (PS), Stick Frames Die, Something Borrowed EP (Wow for CP), Gold EP (SU)


Card Recipe (card 2)
Stamps:  My Monthly Hero (Jan. 20)
Ink:   Wow Embossing
Paper:   Neenah, Texture (?), Gold Foil (SU)
Other:  Stitched Butterfly Trio Die (PS), Infinity Circles (HA), Quilted Stitch Spirals (LI), Long Island Teal EP (Wow), Something Borrowed EP (Wow), Skinny Strips Die (MFT), Banner Die (HA), Gold Sparkle Crystals (Studio Katia), Sequins (?)


Wednesday, July 22, 2020

More Stencil Outline

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

This might look familiar to some of you.
Blogger was playing tricks and it published a bit earlier than I expected.
Oops!


My sweet friend Loll, gifted me this lovely stencil recently and I couldn't
wait to have a play with it!

I used my blending brushes and some Distress ink through the stencil,
then used a watercolor pencil with a very sharp point to outline the leaves.

When I was finished, I cut the stenciled piece in half so I could
get two CAS (Clean and Simple) cards.

I die cut this half and used a larger die to emboss the card front.

Some watercolored die cut flowers and a popped up sentiment
finished it off.

The second half....
I added a watercolored die cut and a few die cut leaves.


Challenges:
CAS Mix Up - Stencil Tracing
NBUS #16 - New Stencil

 


About the time I think I've got the new Blogger figured out, something changes.
What is going on?  Different is not always better!


Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!



Card Recipe (card 1)
Stamps:  Every Day Sayings (HA)
Ink:   Wow Embossing, Shabby Shutters (DI)
Paper:   Neenah, Black, Watercolor Snippets (Strathmore)
Other:  Tumbling Leaves Stencil (SSS), Caran d'ache Supracolor Soft Pencil (Olive), My Monthly Hero Jan. 2020 Dies, Zig CCRBM (Lt Carmine, Olive), Stitched Rectangle Dies (SSS), White EP, 

Card Recipe (card 2)
Stamps:  Birthday (Verve)
Inks: Versafine Onyx Black, Shabby Shutters (DI)
Paper:  Neenah, Pear Pizzaz, Watercolor (Strathmore)
Other:  Tumbling Leaves Stencil (SSS), Magical Butterfly (AR), Grand Greenery Dies (MFT)


Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Fluttering Friends

Hi there.  I'm glad you could stop by.


Is it just me or do the weeks go by faster and faster?
The MFT Sketch Challenge is about to close on me.  Again!

I stamped the dragonflies (there are several in this set) with Archival Shadow Gray ink
and watercolored them by picking up ink from the lids of some Stampin' Up! pads
with a barely damp waterbrush.

I die cut them with the matching dies and used my favorite one for this card.

The front is embossed with a Reeds Embossing Folder and I used
the colors from the current MFT Color Challenge.

I'd better hurry over there before they close...

Challenges:
MFT Color Challenge #145 - Natural, Kraft, Berrylicious, Tropical Teal
Seize the Birthday #195 - Use a non-neutral card base

 


Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!



Card Recipe
Stamps:  Fluttering Friends (MFT)
Ink:   Archival Shadow Gray, Island Indigo, Baja Breeze (SU)
Paper:   Island Indigo, Crumbcake, Naturals Ivory (SU)
Other:  Fluttering Friends die (MFT), Stitched Dome Dies (MFT), Subtle EF (SU), Reeds EF (Darice)


Sunday, July 19, 2020

Split Four Wildflower Garden

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

I have a set of cards I did using the Split Four Technique.


I first saw this technique done on Marcia's blog and I was intrigued.


I looked through my stamps to see what I thought would work for this technique.


This Altenew Wildflower Garden set was sitting in my NBUS box and it seemed to 
be a good candidate for this technique.


Once the stamping was done, I cut the piece in quarters and decided how I 
wanted to orient them.

Some die cutting, narrow mats, splattering and a bit of embossing and I had
four cards.

I left off the sentiments until I decide what I need to use them for.

This is a great technique for some quick cards.

Challenges:
NBUS #16 - Never Before Used Schtuff



Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!



Card Recipe
Stamps:  Wildflower Garden (Alt.)
Ink:   Shabby Shutters, Crushed Olive, Mustard Seed (DI), Blue Breeze (MFT)
Paper:   Neenah, Blueberry Bushel, Marina Mist (SU)
Other:  Subtle EF (SU), Yellow Prills (Art Quest)


Friday, July 17, 2020

Flower Garden Fun

Hi there.  I'm glad you stopped by!

How are your flowers growing?
Outside, ours are cooking! Not good for flowers.

Inside though, blooming continues.


I enjoyed the Print Making technique so much that I tried it again

I used a set of stamps and dies that I've had for ages and have not used
nearly enough.

I die cut the flower heads and stems from watercolor paper and
colored them with Zigs and a waterbrush letting the overwash add color to 
another piece of watercolor paper.  

While the pieces were still wet and inky, I pressed them onto the
background piece to add even more color.

Then I practiced patience and let everything dry.  The hardest part!

Once dry, I placed the piece I'd cut the flower heads from in the MISTI 
and tucked the stamps into the holes left behind.

I wasn't exact, but close enough to get some details on the flowers.

This time I added some stamped script in the background. To keep it light,
I stamped off on a piece of scrap paper first.


On the second card I also stamped a fern in the background, using the same
technique as with the script.

I also used black as Kathy Racoosin suggested on Day 7 of her
30 Day Coloring Challenge.  I took a safer route and used watercolor
pencils instead of markers to add the black.

This card makes me think of Bette Midler.  It's much better
"From a Distance".  The shading does give the impression of dimension.


Challenges:
30 Day Coloring Challenge - Color every day
The Flower Challenge #46 - Summer/Winter Flowers

  



Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!



Card Recipe (card 1)
Stamps:  Flower Garden (TH), French Script (Darkroom Door)
Ink:   Archival Shadow Gray, Sahara Sand (SU)
Paper:   Watercolor (Arches CP), Naturals Ivory (ret. SU), Milk Chocolate (MFT)
Other:  Flower Garden/Mini Garden  Bouquet Dies (TH), Flower Stem #1 (TH), Double Pierced Rectangles Die (AE), Zig CCRBM (51 Lemon Yellow, 50 Yellow, 52 Bright Yellow, 44 Deep Green, 60 Brown)

Card Recipe (card 2)
Stamps:  Flower Garden (TH), French Script (DD), Meadow Greens (PTI), Happy Snippets (PB)
Ink:   Archival Shadow Gray, Sahara Sand, Certainly Celery, Basic Black (SU)
Paper:   Watercolor (Arches CP), Old Olive (SU), Neenah Natural
Other:  Flower Garden/Mini Garden Bouquet Dies (TH), Flower Stems #1 Die (TH), Zigs CCRBM (81 Lt Violet, 82 Purple, 46 Mid Green, 60 Brown, 62 Dk Brown) Caran d'ache Supracolor Pencil (Black), White EP

Butterflies for Twofer and Memory Box

Hi there.  I'm glad you stopped by!

It's Twofer Time!


This month's Twofer Challenge is Butterflies.

First up is using an alcohol ink background using lots of alcohol and a
Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink Blower.


The Memory Box outline butterfly and hello sentiment were die cut from some 
black Glimmer paper.  Love that sparkle!  The solid butterfly was cut from  vellum.

I used some frames from the Delicate Pine Frame Die Set and set
one off kilter.


My Twofer uses  the circle I cut from this card.

This time I cut the background butterfly out of a piece of salted watercolor and
went plain white for the outline.

Challenges:
Twofer #29 - Butterflies

  


Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!




Card Recipe (card 1)
Stamps:  Friendship Messages (SSS)
Ink:   Wow Embossing
Paper:   Neenah, Yupo, Black Glimmer (ret. SU), Vellum, Basic Black
Other:  Flitter Side Butterfly Die (MB), Delicate Pine Frame Die (MB), Hello Die (SSS), White EP, Alcohol Ink (Shell Pink, Pool, Lemonade)

Card Recipe (card 2)
Stamps:  Watching the World Bloom (MB), Banner Sentiments (PTI)
Ink:   Whisper White
Paper:   Bashful Blue (SU), Neenah, Salted Watercolor (Arches CP)
Other:  Flitter Side Butterfly (MB), Infinity Circles (HA), Bubbles Die (Ali), Subtle EF (SU), White EP

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

More Stencil Outlining for CAS Mix Up Reminder

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

There's still time to join in at CAS Mix Up.


Nancy is hosting the challenge this month.

This was such a quick and easy card!

I sponged ink through a stencil onto mixed media paper and 
using a damp waterbrush, I moved the color around.

When it was dry, I outlined the design with a Copic Multiliner.

For the background I did some partial dry embossing.

Stamped a sentiment and it was done.

Our Guest Designer, Greta, and our fabulous Design Team
have wonderful inspiration for you.  Check it out.  
Then I hope you'll pull out a stencil and join us at 


Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!


Card Recipe
Stamps:  Friendship Messages (SSS)
Ink:   Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Peeled Paint (DI and DM), Versafine Onyx Black, 
Paper:   Mixed Media, Basic Black, Neenah Solar White
Other:  Bouquet of Roses Stencil (SSS), Black Copic .1 Multiliner, Crackle EF (Darice), Stitched Shapes Die (SU)