To the Moon and Back

Today's card just tugs a bit at my heartstrings, so I hope you don't mind if I share the story behind this one.  I bought the stamp I used on this card because the sentiment means so much to me.  If you ask my son how much his mommy loves him, he'll answer, "To the moon and back!"  (I must pause here to announce that I have amazing children.  Sure, I'm biased, but it's still true!) 

So when I found this stamp recently, I knew it would be well-loved at my house.  And when I saw this week's challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch (check them out HERE), I decided it was the perfect time to pull out this stamp and start creating.  I have a feeling you'll be seeing more cards with this stamp in the future.  It's just such a great sentiment!

Here's the sketch I was working with:

And here is my card:

It's really hard to see in this picture (darned overcast day!), but the sentiment panel and the moon are shaded with peach, yellow and blue tones to give them some dimension and keep them from being stark white.  I used die cuts in my Big Shot for most of this card.  The moon is a circle die cut, the sentiment is a Nestabilities die cut, and the stars are die-cut from shimmery silver paper.  I stamped my sentiment, then sponged dye ink and chalks on my sentiment panel and the moon.  I adhered everything to a dark blue card base (it's lightly textured, which also doesn't show up well in the picture).  This will be an easy card to recreate, so I plan to make a few more to donate to Operation Write Home.  I am sure there are some deployed mommies and daddies who would love to send cards home to their kids!

I am working on another challenge card today and will be posting that one tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Products Used:

 

Stamp - Unity

Paper - Various sources

Ink - Night of Navy Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)

Tools: Big Shot; Sizzix Circles #2; Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Eighteen;

Provo Craft die for stars; Stampin' Up! chalks; various dye inks

Go Ahead, Copy Me!

You know how in school you're not allowed to copy someone else's work?  Well, in cardmaking circles, copying is form of flattery!  There's even an acronym for it: CASE, which stands for Copy and Share Everything.  This doesn't mean you duplicate the card exactly; instead, you use the existing card to springboard your own creativity.  You can replicate the colors, the sentiment, the design, etc., but put your own twist on them and change up a few elements.

Today's card is a CASE for a Splitcoast Stampers challenge.  Once a week, a Featured Stamper is chosen, and those who play in the challenge pick one of the Featured Stamper's cards to CASE.  The original card can be seen here.  This is my CASE of that card:

I kept the basic layout and design of the original card.  I chose a different sentiment from the same set used on the original card.  I also changed the colors, the image and the number of layers. 

I started by sponging several hues of purple and lavender chalks on a panel of white card stock.  I sponged the chalk by rubbing a piece of craft sponge (you could also use a sponge dauber) in my chalk, then rubbing it on the card stock in a circular motion.  I started with my palest lavender shade and gradually added more color, using progressively darker shades of purple.  I stamped my image in White Craft Ink, then covered the ink in white embossing powder and Stampin' Up! Glassy Glaze embossing powder.  (I added the Glassy Glaze because I don't like the way my white embossing powder sets on its own.  If you have a better-quality white EP, you would not need to add Glassy Glaze).  I heat embossed the image, then stamped "Happy Birthday" in Elegant Eggplant Classic Ink.  I adhered this panel to an Elegant Eggplant card base.  In the picture the card base almost looks black, but in reality it's a very deep and rich purple.  It's one of my favorite card stock colors!

This card offers endless possibilities for colors, images and sentiments.  And if you've never tried sponging chalk, I hope you'll give it a try!  Here's a tip: A white eraser can fix most chalk mistakes, which makes it a great medium for perfectionists! 

Here's a list of the Stampin' Up! products I used:

Stampin' Pastels (chalks)

Glassy Glaze

Elegant Eggplant card stock and dye ink

Sentiment - "Elegant Greetings"

Image - "Close as a Memory"

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Stamping!