Monochrome Madness, Part 1

 Hi Crafty Friends,

I'm in a monochromatic state of mind and wanted to share a few of my most recent monochromatic creations with you--all in summery shades of blue-green--from light pool to deep teal, but each in a very different style:  

I made all of these for our June monochrome challenge over at A Blog Named Hero--and my center (shaker) card is also for this week's Beyond the Blue Challenges.   And all the stamps and dies above are from Hero Arts!  I am getting pretty attached to this idea of a simple singular color palette--it gives my brain a chance to focus on other aspects of a card--texture, material, layout.  

In fact, I like this idea so much that I have one more one color card--and my second YouTube video to help illustrate a background technique I use in the card.  Perhaps you'll drop by again tomorrow for this Part 2 blog post of my monochromatic obsession.

I hope you like these cards--and that you'll visit these two challenge blogs for some more inspiration from my very talented co-designers and also to join the challenges.

Thanks for stopping by,

Essie  

Rustic Reimagined: A Wood and Feathers Fantasy

 Hello Friends and Happy Friday! 

My crafty cohorts and I have a new card challenge for you over at Beyond the Blue.  It's easy and fun!

For this challenge, you make a woodgrain card front with a stamp or embossing folder (I used an embossing folder), cut it up, color/ink blend it in at least two different ways, and reassemble the pieces.  You get a cool barn plank effect that makes a great back drop for a quote or a diecut...or--in my case--both!

The feathers are from my overly large stash, colored during a gel press session with splash inks, and I've "gilded" them with iridescent foil applied with the help of a glue pen.  The quote "art grows brain cells" is from Picket Fence Studios--and it was their original video by card designer and Crafty Queen Susan Wymer that got our Beyond the Blue Team fired up for this latest challenge.  

Hope you'll join us in trying out this fun and easy effect!

Thanks for stopping by,

Essie