Danny's Cards Blog

I mentioned yesterday in my Koala Cards post that I had a huge win with an abundance of clearance stamps at Hobby Lobby. These stamps come from Tracey Hey , but my Hobby Lobby had them for a mere $2.49! Anyway, I was super excited by these pretty big stamps, but I knew the tactic had to be different as A2 size would be too small for these huge stamps. I made these cards for two distinct challenges. Over on Making the Cards they had this sketch challenge: And here's my interpretation of that challenge: I've never really done this type of coloring before where you don't color the whole image, and it wasn't until assembly that I ended up happy with how it looked. All cards were colored using Copic Markers. For the second card, I went with Sweet Sketch Wednesday's sketch challenge.  I don't make too many square cards so it was nice to be challenged in a different way. I went into my scrap box and used an assortment of circle scraps to complete the sketch: In my f...

My local Hobby Lobby had a blowout sale on a number of stamps, and I loaded up (which means tons of inspiration for the next few weeks). I was excited about these koala stamps thatwere so charming from first sight. The stamps come from Art Impressions , but my Hobby Lobby had these marked down on clearance for $3.49. I made these koala cards for two distinct challenges. Let's take a look. The first challenge is courtesy of The Color Throwdown blog. Here were the colors they wanted makers to use: And here's what I did with the red, blue, green and grey. I used Copic Markers to color in the koala. The background is a basic cuttlebug brand emboss folder. For my second card, I used Paper Craft Crew's sketch. I used the exact same stamp, but without color restrictions, I made a far more eclectic card. Here's the sketch: And here's the card I made based on the sketch: Using 3D Dot adhesives, this card ended up with a lot of dimension. Here's another view of the card...

Over on AAA Cards , they had a unique challenge that I've not really seen from a clean and simple challenge. Let's take a look: So I went in knowing I had to cover two quarters of the card. It could be any quarters, but I wanted to use an emboss folder for one of the quarters. That's no small feat as those folders often are meant to take up a large portion of space. But with a little careful spacing, I managed.  I used these Hampton Art stamps . I couldn't tell if it was because I just re-inked my pads or if it was the stamps themselves, but I really struggled to get a clean stamp from these. I had to go over them with Copic black markers to fully color in the image. I often find that's the case with stamps that go with full black over letting you color them. Here's the card I'm submitting to the challenge: But I also made two others: I can't say that the cards have super wow factor, but they look clean and simple, which is really all I was going for her...

Sometimes you make a card, and then you think the link party ended and you're like, "okay, I'm going to restructure this and turn it into a sketch challenge," and then you realize that not only was the first challenge still having its link party, but so is the second challenge. This is a long way of saying, this card is made for two challenges. I originally thought the link party ended at CAS Colours & Sketches ... turns out I was wrong. Their challenge was to use the following colors: Then, over on Try Stampin' on Tuesday they gave us this wonderful sketch: I mentioned yesterday that I purchased a random donation box from Stampin' Up. In it was this  Brutus Monroe  stamp set. I used the stamp from that and pulled out my Copic Coloring markers. And here's the end result: Overall, I'm really happy with the design. I don't make a ton of horizontal A2 cards, so that was nice from a visual standpoint. So a 2-for-1, which is not something I normal...

Before I get to my card this week, I'm happy to announce my owl card was Cupcake Inspirations Sweet Pick! Great news. It's been a few months since I've had a recognized card, and this card felt like something wholly unique, so... yay! Over on the Tic Tac Toe Challenge blog, designers got an array of fantastic choices for designing cards. Let's take a look at this surprising board: I didn't actually know where to begin. In truth, I don't have a ton of Alphabet Stamps; and I've never assembled a card with Staples before--so those two would be tough. From there it was just a matter of whether I was going to go with a Chevron pattern or a Peony card. Judging from the title of this post, I think you can figure out where I went. The order of the day was Sequins, Peony and Orange. It took me a while, but I did find a peony stamp.  Now I've been working on my Copic Coloring for the last week, so I was excited to get to work on these cards. I'm going to onc...

Over on CASology , the word of the day revolved around comfort. While I love all the many fanciful layers that my Anna Griffin cards provide, something about a clean and simple design often comes off more eye catching. Here is the cue card: I don't do a ton of Clean and Simple. That said, when I do, I usually sift through my stamps and pull out my copic markers, which is exactly what I did. This was the Hero Arts stamp se t I ended up using: When I saw the stamps, it was as if each parent of the animal was providing comfort to the little one. It was the perfect set of parents to children cards, which you so rarely see.  I actually had a couple of issues with the stamping process, so I pulled out my black pen and filled in any areas that didn't come out correct. Anyway, here were the three cards I ended up making: I'm neither the best stamper nor the best colorer, but overall, I'm happy with these cards. I posted them to Facebook just yesterday and the elephant card imm...

Over on Freshly Made Sketches , the sketch challenge was just what I needed to continue my Valentine's Critter Cards. The sketch was as follows: I really stayed true to the sketch itself with only a minor variation. Here was the end result: All the card stock is from a Hot Buy Paper Pack at Michael's, and the stamps are this year's  2020 Recollections Valentine's Set .  Check back later this week for a full review of Anna Griffin's China Cabinet Box.  Anyway, if you like what you see, be sure to hit the SUBSCRIBE button at the top to see new posts. And be sure to follow me on Instagram  @DannysCards For More Valentine's Cards, Check Out: Valentine's Sketch Challenge: Valentine's Day Critter Cards Related posts: Global Design Project #275: Lovely Envelope Cards Color Week Challenge #567: Notable Note Cards Try Stampin' Challenge #486: Smash the Patriarchy Cards Daring Cardmakers Dictionary Day Entry: Defining Birthday AAA Cards CAS Game #175 Entry: Co...

I'm gearing up for Valentine's Day this week. Over the weekend, I spent time with some new stamps and got to coloring. After some ho-hum attempts the prior week, I was ready to make some Valentine's cards with a little style. When I'm really stumped with what to do with a variety pieces, nothing helps more than a couple of Sketch Challenges. The first challenge comes courtesy of Sweet Sketch Wednesday . The Sketch was as follows: And here was my product. I used Washi Tape and rhinestones at the bottom, which really gave this card the flair it needed. Over on The Paper Players , their sketch challenge also gave me heaps of inspiration.  The L shape around the border gave me some pause. But with a little Washi Tape, I came up with just the right solution. Unfortunately, I didn't check the date on the third contest I was entering, so I missed the deadline. Nevertheless, I would have submitted this card to Just Add Ink . Here was the sketch: And here was my submission: ...

For the past week and a half I've been working on an assortment of cards. Unfortunately, the lighting in my house isn't the best and often gives off a blue hue. Thankfully, today the lighting was perfect, so I could finally get pictures of some of my various Christmas Cards. Today's challenge comes courtesy of the Christmas Kickstart Challenge Blog . If you're anything like me, you often collect embossing folder after embossing folder. I must own, literally, two hundred or more folders--of which 30 of them are Christmas theme. I was excited to see the Christmas Kickstart Challenge blog offer an embossing folder and stamp set challenge .  I immediately knew what stamp I wanted to use. Last year I purchased this Otterly Cozy Christmas set from Lawn Fawn . Unfortunately, I never got around to using it. With some quick use of my Copic Markers. I created four different cards all with minor variations. I always love the texture look of Copic Markers. I utilized an assortment ...

Over on the Christmas Card Throwdown , they served a delight color challenge that was perfect for Christmas inspiration. I was super amped to pull out all my brand new Christmas stuff after getting a plethora of items from HSN's Anna Griffin craft sale. At the top of my purchase was the 3D Christmas Ornaments , which are great not only as ornaments but as the front of a card. Here was the color combination the Christmas Card Throwdown gave: Of course, what makes this perfect is not the blue and white, rather it's the craft which is my favorite color to use for holiday cards. Here was my first attempt with the snowflake Christmas die. I love how intricate the snowflake looks, and even without the 3Dimensions, it's quite the die. Here it is at a different angle: It really does have quite the lift off the page. I'm definitely in love. The stamp set too was from Anna Griffin. It's the Holiday Layer Sentiment Stamps and Die set. I tried out another ornament, largely wit...