A crop party is a modern quilting bee. A group of friends gather to have girl friend time, sharing joys and sorrows while preserving memories and creating a special keepsake.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Exciting News!

 
 
  
I have learned so much and become a better card maker by playing challenges.  My favorite one is  Heart 2 Heart Challenges.  Not only do they provide a variety of challenges from theme to technique to sketches to product, they feature my favorite product line which, if you haven't figured out by now, is Close to My Heart.  At the end of each month, the design team selects the top ten entries spread among the month's challenges and a Top Chic of the Month.  I do not usually brag, but most months one of my cards makes the top ten.  As I scrolled down the winners list for May, I was a little disappointed to see that my "May Flowers" card was not selected for that challenge.  I think it is the best of all the cards I made last month.  As I continued to scroll down I saw why:  My card won the Top Chic of the Month award!  AND as Top Chic I get to play with the "Big Girls" as guest designer!  Yes, I am feeling a little nervous...
 
The first challenge in July a technique challenge.  This is my favorite kind because I get to try something new or get to revisit something I haven't done in a while, which is the case this month with masking.  This card uses two masking techniques.  The first one, which I used with the sentiment, is a pretty common one.  Have you ever wanted to use a particular stamp but did not want to use the whole image?  Simply put a sticky note over the part you don't want before you ink the stamp, remove the sticky after inking (critical step, lol), and stamp away.  Only the inked part shows.  Here is what the stamp looks like unmasked:
  
 
The second masking technique I used involves cutting out a shape, placing it on your paper and sponging around it.  When you lift up the shape you can see it in the un-inked part.  Think of it as reverse stamping.  My preferred sponge for this is the round yellow one which you cut into quarters because of the nice texture that allows other colors to show through.  I used CTMH's Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to cut a solid butterfly (page 55) to use as a mask and a lacey one to use as a focal point.  A funny thing happened as I random stamped and my mask got covered with more and more layers of ink.  I liked the way it looked and used it as my focal point instead.  Here is a close up of it all dressed up with the new for summer glitter gems:
 
 
 

Did you notice that the butterfly's antennae come from the Find Your Style butterfly?  It does not show well, but I used a Sky alcohol marker to tint the bitty sparkles embellishing the embossed sentiment.  I was not really into markers until CTMH came out with alcohol markers.  Now I am working on my collection! Because one of the things I have learned from playing challenges is to decorate the inside, here it is:
 
 

 
 
Thank you, Allisa Childers, for inspiring me to pay more attention to the inside of my cards! 
 
So there is my first card as guest designer at Heart 2 Heart Challenges.  Whew!  Thank you for stopping by!  Now head on over and see what the others have done with masking.  Until next time, Hansi
 
Materials used, all from Close to my Heart:
Paper:  White Daisy and Smokey Plum cardstock
Ink:  Sky, Crystal Blue and Cotton Candy dye ink, Smokey Plum pigment ink, Sky alcohol marker
Stamps:  Live out Loud (retired), Find Your Style (retired)
Embellishments:  Pink Glitter Gems, Bitty Sparkles, Clear Detail powder
Other:  Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge
 
The example of the full stamp image:  White Daisy paper, Hollyhock, Smoothie, Sorbet, and Honey dye inks, Clear Detail embossing powder



 


4 comments:

  1. Awesome card, Hansi! Congratulations on being Top Chick at Heart 2 Heart Challenges--you truly deserve it! You did a great job with your first assignment as Guest Designer! Your card is outstanding and your explanation is wonderful. Your talent is HUGE Hansi and I'm always inspired by your work. Thanks for playing along with us at H2H this week--I look forward to what you'll share with us next week!
    :) Marie

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  2. Congratulations on your guest designer gig, Hansi. You certainly deserve it, and these cards are fab!! I haven't done any masking in a long time but this challenge was inspiring. Off to grab a sponge dauber! :)

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  3. Just caught a glimpse of this card on the thumbnail in my Feedly feed, and said, "That looks like a Hansi creation!" Looking forward to your other projects for this month's Guest Designer spot with Heart 2 Heart. This card is lovely (as usual!) and so serendipitous that you ended up using the masker butterfly as the focal image. I think this says something about life...

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  4. Love the colors you used on your card, Hansi. Absolutely gorgeous! Look forward to seeing what other lovely creations you have in store for us at H2H!

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