Two Cards for Two Challenges

I have cards for two challenges to share today. Both were created before we left for vacation, and both have already gone in the mail. The first card is for The Paper Players Challenge—a new challenge for me. The current challenge is for masculine cards.

Masculine cards can be a challenge, but I thought these colorful feathers worked for one of our longtime friends who just celebrated his birthday. I first colored this image for the #100DayChallenge. The image itself is a coloring page made for cards by Papertrey Ink, “What the Doodle: Feather,” and has been in my stash for years. I first tried one of these with Copic markers but that hit the circular file. Using my Polychromos pencils made for much cleaner coloring.

I tried a new design technique that I’ve seen elsewhere, slicing a narrow strip from the black panel and backing it with a piece of red cardstock. I love the way it came out. 

The sentiment strip from Althenew’s “Sentiment Strips 2” was embossed in white on black cardstock.

The second card is my second entry to the Just Us Girls: Leaves challenge. This card was sent to a long time friend thanking her for lunch on her porch a few weeks ago. 

What I like about Altenew’s “Leaf Canopy” stamp set is there are both open and solid leaves.

I applied several colors of Wendy Vecchi’s ink pads to the solid leaves and spritzed them with a tiny bit of water before stamping them. Then I overstamped with the open leaves in black waterproof ink and used the same inks to add water color to those leaves.

The sentiment (just perfect for this thank you note) is also from the “Leaf Canopy” set. I trimmed the panel down just enough to have a thin black border on the Memory Box Licorice card. I love these cards because they have a white interior perfect for writing a note.

We’re down to our last two days at the cottage. Despite the dismal forecast, the actual weather hasn’t been too bad—only one day of rain. It is cooler than we wish, but it hasn’t kept us indoors. It’s foggy over the lake now, but it’s supposed to clear and our last two days are forecast to be warmer and much sunnier. Here’s hoping!