Halloween Night--#tgifc283

This week TGIF Challenges has another Designer Take Over challenge. I am loving this new type challenge.  The design team at TGIF Challenges really knows how to change things up in a fun way!  This week designer Tami Hewlett is taking over the challenge with her signature Ink Blending technique. She really is a pro at this technique--her cards are beautiful.  Check this one out on Tami's blog,  Swimming in Stamps.

I decided to use the Ink Blending technique to create a spooky Halloween night:

I used Stampin' Sponges (#141337) to blend Night of Navy, Misty Moonlight and Smoky Slate inks to create the night sky on a piece of Shimmery White card stock.  To make it spookier, I added splatters of Frost White shimmer paint (#147046) with a wet Water Painter (#151298).  The trees were added using White Embossing Paste (#141979), tinted with drops of both Night of Navy and Misty Moonlight refill inks, and the trees mask from the Basic Patterns Decorative Masks (#150697).

The finished sky was layered on a piece of Black Glitter paper (#153518).  (TIP:  cut the center of the glitter paper layer out with a Rectangles Stitched die--so you can use it for other projects.)  This layer was then adhered to the Misty Moonlight card base.

The greeting is from the Hallows Night Magic stamp set (#153356).  It was stamped on a strip of Basic Black card stock with Versamark (#102283) and heat embossed with Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder (#109131). Each end of the 5/8" wide strip was punched using the Banners Pick a Punch (#153608).

The Black Glitter Paper bats were die cut using the Halloween Magic Dies  (#153565).  These dies coordinate with the Hallows Night Magic stamp set and they both may be purchased in a bundle at 10% off (#155188). 

Head over to the TGIF Challenges Blog to see more wonderful examples of the Ink Blending Technique.  

Hope you have a great October!

--Sara Nell 

 

Childlike Wonder--#tgifc273

My card today was inspired by my fifteen month old grandson Easton's recent visit and the memories it invoked from my own childhood.  Easton loves to be outside and we took several walks together in our yard--where I had picked out a secret hideout for him under a low lying tree branch.   He loved our trees (he only has Palmetto Palms in his yard and neighborhood)!  He went into his little secret hideout and looked up and laughed and clapped his hands. Then he ran under another tree and looked up and turned around and laughed and then moved on to another tree.  He could have done that all morning.  I loved seeing the wonder and joy on his face as he watched the play of sunlight on the leaves.

Fast forward to this week and the inspiration challenge at TGIF Challenges:  Silhouettes. As I started to think of "silhouette" ideas, I thought of trees silhouetted against the sky and about Easton's joy under them.  Then I thought about my own joy under the trees.  As a kid on family camping trips, I loved to sit late at night and look up through the forest at the stars.  There is nothing like a star-filled sky away from city lights.  It is wonder-filled and magic!

I recreated this memory for my card:

The background started with a watercolor wash in Misty Moonlight and Rich Razzleberry on Shimmery White card stock.  After this dried, Frost White Shimmer Paint was splattered on the card with a dry Water Painter.  These splatters are my stars.

After the shimmer paint was completely dry,  I used the Stamparatus to stamp the tree images (a Loblolly Pine from the Rooted in Nature stamp set, #146482).   I placed the trees around the sentiment from the vantage point of looking up from the ground, through the trees to the sky.  I stamped each tree twice in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink.

The sentiment is from the Hallows Night Magic stamp set (#153356), which will be available for purchase when the August-December 2020 Mini Catalog goes live on August 4.  This greeting was perfect to express the magic and wonder of the scene--it's not just for Halloween! I used the Stamparatus to stamp it twice in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and once in VersaMark and heat embossed it with Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder.

Silhouettes are so fun to do and can be made with any stamped image, not just the silhouette stamp designs in our catalog (which I love, by the way).  Check out the wonderful samples in this week's TGIF Challenges Blog here.

I hope you are inspired to look at our world with childlike wonder today.

"Be still and know that I am God."  Psalm 46:10.

--Sara Nell