Coffee Beans for Aliens?

Hey friends - hope your week is going well. Since it's the first week of the month, Darnell is doing I = Inks for her IDEAS program. See her beautiful inspiration cards HERE. Thought I'd play along and create a galaxy background for a cute alien stamp I got at Paperganza. Coincidentally, at Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers #265, A is for Alien so I'll play there too!

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Solar White; 

scrap of green

Stamps - Trinity Espresso Terrestrial;

MFT Perk Up (retired)

Inks - TH Distress: Black Soot, Blueprint Sketch, 

Shaded Lilac, Chipped Sapphire, 

Mustard Seed, & Squeezed Lemonade

Other - Paper Studio stars; white gel pen; 

foam tape; Hero Arts Shimmer Spray; Copic Markers

First I took an A2 panel of Neenah and blended 3 inks: Shaded Lilac, Blueprint Sketch & Chipped Sapphire, then edged with Black Soot. Sprayed with shimmer mist. When dry, I added star gems and white gel details, then added to an A2 card base. Adhered a green strip to the bottom & stamped the "Bean Me Up" along with some coffee beans. 

Next, I stamped the alien in the coffee cup space ship onto a scrap of Neenah white, extending the rays with a sharpie. Masked and inked the rays, then colored the rest with Copics. Fussy cut and stamped the coffee beans beaming up in the ray area. Stamped the ship with the company name "Espresso Terrestrial Coffee Co". Adhered the space ship to the card.

Finally, I stamped and fussy cut a thank you sentiment to match the coffee theme. Thanks Trinity Stamps for the adorable alien stamps which are getting first play here! Since NBUS, I'll add to Darnell's August NBUS Challenge #77. I'm also playing at the August We Love Stamping Challenge using the Anything Goes option (other theme is flowers).

If you missed it, I made a cute crocodile card with products from Riley and Co. Just learned that, starting tomorrow, R&C will carry closeout items from My Favorite Things!! I can't wait to pop over and see what they'll have. Frantic Stamper & Simon Says Stamp have some items too; maybe other places, but these are the ones I know best. None of these are affiliate links, I just list for your convenience.

Thanks for visiting and have a crafty day!!

Fun Fold for Autumn

Hi all - welcome! Many challenges have autumn themes right now - thought I'd play along with a few! I was trying to decide on a design when I spotted my friend Dawn's beautiful flying finch fun fold card. It looked like fun so I googled the fold and found Susan Campfield's video tutorial. Here's my take:

Supplies: Paper - Poptone Berrylicious;

Paper Studio woodgrain; many scraps

Stamps - Hero Arts Hello Autumn (retired but found HERE)

Dies - Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves & Small Stitched Leaves;

Hero Arts Nesting Oval Infinity Dies

3D Embossing Folder - Spellbinders Mushroom Harvest 

Susan's instructions were clear & simple so I was able to assemble the card base quickly. Next I found a lace pattern among my scraps for the narrowest panels of the "wings". I thought the mushroom embossing folder would give a nice base texture on the other panels. Perfect for a leafy arrangement. Die cut an oval base & stamped the sentiment on it. Added it to the card front with foam tape. Next I die cut leaves from five different colors in the scrap bin. Arranged the leaves on & under the oval - done! Here's a flat view; it folds to fit an A2 envelope:

Here's a view from the top so you can see the "wings":

I'm sending my autumn card to these Challenges:

• Day of the Month Card Club #67 - Autumn Stroll Day
• Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers #253 - A is for Autumn
• Sunday Stamps Challenge #343 - Autumn Hues
• Allsorts Challenge #797 - Autumn Colours

That's it for now. Thanks for stopping & have a crafty day!