Frosty Tidings

It's time for another Tic Tac Toe challenge! Here's the grid for challenge #305:

I chose the top row of ornament, gold and snow/snowman for a wintery tag.

Mr Frosty was stamped and coloured first, then I cut my bauble and ink smooshed the background. Once that was dry I stamped the snowflakes, edged with ink, painted the gold topper and buckle and embossed 'let it snow' a few times. I added Mr Frosty to the bauble, tied some gold thread and added gold-on-black sentiment stickers.

Materials used:

• stamps - Mr Frosty (Tim Holtz)
• dies - nesting baubles (stash)
• other - Big Shot, water brush, MISTI, Posca gold paint pen, white embossing powder, heat tools, gold thread, metallic stickers - Holiday Talk (Tim Holtz)

I do hope you'll be inspired to choose a row of elements and play along. Visit the Tic Tac Toe blog to see more samples from my team mates.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Still Kickin'

Over at Tic Tac Toe Challenges we've a new grid to inspire your paper crafting. 

I made a fun birthday easel card using elements from the left vertical row of stitching, animal and polka dots.

I just adore that donkey's face! Looks like he's been partying hard, lol.

Materials used:

• stamps - Still Kickin' (Unity Stamp Co), All About You (My Favorite Things)
• other - stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, MISTI, bakers twine, pennant punch, water brush, foam squares, patterned papers from Stampin' Up

I hope you'll get the chance to play along with us and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Brighten My Day

Over at Tic Tac Toe Challenges we've a new board to whet your creative whistle, this one suggested by yours truly.

As much as I'm very appreciative of the arrival of spring here, I also really love enjoying a "second autumn", as it were, through challenges based in the northern hemisphere. I'll never pass up the opportunity to play with all the delicious things associated with my favourite season! With that in mind, I had a ton of fun creating my card and used the left diagonal line of autumn/fall colours, leaves and metallics.

For my background I sponged around the edges of the card before embossing. I layered on some distressed hessian and lace that had been coloured with oxide sprays. My leaves were die cut before colouring with distress inks and I gave them a coat of distress glaze to enhance and preserve the colours. My frame was cut from woodgrain card and coloured with spray stains and oxides. Metallic aspects are small gold dots and some gold ink splatter.

Materials used:

• stamps - Caring Thoughts (Simon Says Stamp)
• dies - leaves (stash), Decor Frames (Tim Holtz), sentiment strips (Paper Rose)
• other - hessian ribbon, lace, linen thread, calypso coral ribbon, gold dots, woodgrain card, Pinewood Planks embossing folder (Stampin' Up), various distress and oxide inks and sprays, MISTI, distress glaze, Big Shot

Entering in the Four Seasons challenge - anything goes Fall.

Check out the gorgeous samples from my team mates over on the Tic Tac Toe blog and thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Creepy Peekies

Welcome to a new challenge with Tic Tac Toe, where you pick a row - horizontal, vertical or diagonal - and create using the three elements in that row. 

For my project I made a set of Halloween themed tags using elements from the bottom horizontal row of metal embellishment, Halloween colours and die cut (and also fit the right diagonal of twine, free, metal embellishment).

I die-cut my tags then stamped and watercoloured the adorable images before sponging the edges. The backing was attached and distressed before a black eyelet was added with some mummy cloth threaded through and tied off with baker's twine. I stamped the sentiments, attaching them with staples, and added some ink splatter to my backgrounds.

Materials used:

• stamps - The Creepy Peekies (Unity Stamp Co)
• dies - stitched tags (stash), sentiment strips (Paper Rose)
• other - distress inks, water brush, MISTI, Big Shot, mummy cloth, baker's twine, black eyelets, Crop-O-Dile, blending brush, stapler, fan brush, water spritzer

Do check out projects from my team mates over on the TTTC blog and I hope you'll be inspired to join us and create.

Thanks for creeping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Birthday Under Construction

Welcome to a new Tic Tac Toe challenge! Here's the grid with options for this time around:

My picks were birthday, fun fold and free on the left vertical row to make a card for my adorable grandson who had a birthday recently. Under advisement from his mama I bought him some construction vehicle toys (one of his current loves) then decided to see what I could use to fit that theme for his card. As luck would have it, I found some dies, so set to making diggers and such, then paired these with co-ordinating clipart. It ended up being quite the loooooong card!

I started with cutting a bunch of pieces from various coloured card, adding shading and detail with ink or markers before assembling vehicles, wheelbarrow and barrier. Once I realised how big the largest vehicle was, that determined the size and style of my card. The clipart I found compliments them perfectly and I left one segment relatively clear for me to add my birthday greeting. I even decorated an envelope to match and then, of course, the wrapping paper had to match too... (And yes, I'm aware I have a matchy-matchy obsession and no, I don't need a 12-step program, lol). 

A true labour of love and he did like it, though of course the toys themselves were the star of the day! 😂

We hope you'll pick three elements in a row to create and join us. Check out what my fellow team mates made to inspire you over on the challenge blog.

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Patchwork Wishes

Welcome to a new Tic Tac Toe challenge! Here's the grid to pick three-in-a-row elements:

I chose the left vertical line of friendship, any colour, any shape die for some colourful rooster fun.

Materials used:

• die & stencil combo - Country Rooster (Papertrey Ink)
• other dies - Essential Arches (Spellbinders), Best Wishes (stash)
• other - Big Shot, blending brushes, paper clip, gingham ribbon, craft foam, distress tool, foam squares, sewing machine

I hope you'll join the fun and create and share. Be sure to check out more samples from my team mates over on the Tic Tac Toe blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

You Make Me Smile

Are you ready for a new Tic Tac Toe challenge? Here are the combinations we have to play with this time around:

I chose the middle horizontal line of pink, square card and CAS (clean and simple).

Isn't that face absolutely adorable? 🐷

Piggy is watercoloured and I added a touch of white gel pen to the eyes and cheeks. I love that the dies used for 'smile' are uneven sizes - for me, it adds to the playfulness of the card. I even used the number one for the 'l' rather than the capital L in the set. These dies have different font styles and sizes for all the letters and remind me of a ransom note with the letters cut from a magazine, lol.  

Materials used:

• stamps - Just Pig-Cause (Unity Stamp Co)
• dies - Word Play (Tim Holtz)
• other - MISTI, water brush, Sidekick, sentiment strip, white gel pen

I hope you'll get the chance to play along. Check out more samples to inspire you over on the TTTC blog.

Thanks for oinking by!

Cheers

Kerry

MVP

Howdy and welcome to a new Tic Tac Toe challenge. This time around I'm the featured designer and this is the grid I devised to play with:

I made a card using the top horizontal row of numbers/initials, plaid and sports.

Materials used:

• dies - Playful Alphabet (Stampin' Up), Flags & Banners, Frames & Sentiments (Spellbinders Classic Mouse), stitched rectangle, tag
• papers and ephemera - Man Cave collection (Mintay)
• other - sponge daubers, foam squares, Big Shot, crop-o-dile, large eyelet, leather cardstock (Tim Holtz), distress inks and sprays

I do hope you'll play along and create using our grid as inspiration. There's more samples to see over on the challenge blog, so check those out and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Beautiful Day

Welcome to another Tic Tac Toe challenge! This week we have the following grid for you to pick three-in-a-row:

I chose the middle vertical column of die cut/punch - embossing - layers to make a shabby/vintage easel card.

I worked on my card front first, choosing papers and distressing them before layering. The nest was die-cut from papers in the collection and given a little ink for shading, while the bird was cut from white and coloured with distress inks. Once they were attached I added the grasses, wheat sheaf and butterfly. On the inside I carried through the papers and distressed edges, heat embossed my sentiment and added the flower and leaf. Everything was given some white gesso splatters before assembly.

Materials used:

• stamps - Gnomes for Summer (CTMH)
• papers & ephemera - Whispering Way collection (49andMarket)
• dies - layered warbler (Simon Says Stamp), bird nest (stash)
• other - blending brushes, MISTI, Big Shot, craft foam, Dimensionals, clear embossing powder, heat tool, gesso, splatter brush, distress inks

There's more samples to see from my team mates over on the Tic Tac Toe Challenge blog and if you are inspired to choose a row and create, be sure to share!

Thanks for dropping by and have a beautiful day.

Cheers

Kerry

Happy Egg Hunt

It's time for a new challenge at Tic Tac Toe. Here's the grid to choose from for challenge #289:

I picked the middle horizontal row for my offering.

The grass, eggs and bow were cut from designer paper, while the bunnies were cut from beige card. I gave them fluffy little white cottontails which I think looks very cute! That one bunny is so excited for eggs he's leaping over them all, lol. 

Materials used:

• stamp & die combo - Egg Hunt Sentiments (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Postage Collage Egg Hunt Icons, Nesting Eggs, Postage Collage Bunny Silhouettes (all Waffle Flower)
• other - thick bakers twine, clear dots, Big Shot, craft foam, Dimensionals, blending brushes, distressing tool, white PanPastel

I do hope you'll pick a row of three elements and join us for this fun challenge. Check out what my team mates created to inspire you over on the Tic Tac Toe blog, and thanks for hopping by!

Cheers

Kerry

Hello - Tic Tac Toe Challenge #287

Welcome to my first challenge as part of the Tic Tac Toe Challenge design team! Here's our grid to choose three elements in a row - vertical, horizontal or diagonal. 

I picked the right vertical row of embossing, enamel dots/sequins and frame for a soft and sweet friendship card.

My background piece was dry embossed, sponged on the edges and lightly distressed. The flowers were die cut then stencilled and attached to the background, then I added the frame. I stencilled a second layer of flowers, trimming them to include just a few key blooms, and added these with foam over the first. There are two layers to the frame and sentiment and the last touch was a couple of groups of enamel dots.

Materials used:

• dies - Rising Wildflowers die/stencil combo (Pinkfresh Studio), Nesting Postage Stamps (Hero Arts), hello and rectangle from stash
• inks - serenade and wintergreen (Catherine Pooler), indigo skies (Altenew), bundled sage (distress), soft sea foam (Stampin' Up)
• other - Big Shot, blending brushes, Scripty embossing folder (SU), matte decorative dots (SU), foam squares, distressing tool

I hope something in the grid will inspire you to create and join us. Do pop over to the Tic Tac Toe blog for more ideas from my fellow DT members, and thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Aaarrgh! There Be Treasure!

The current Tic Tac Toe challenge caught my eye and fired up my imagination Big Time! 😂

So many delightful possibilities! The nautical/ocean aspect appealed to me most, so I picked the right vertical line of die cut, ocean, shaped card for some adventurous fun with my old friend the inquisitive pirate seagull.

I used some designer paper for the background and coloured the gull, cork and map using Copics. Stamping the sentiment was the last step before attaching everything to the bottle base.

Materials used:

• stamps - Treasure Hunt Sentiments (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Inquisitive Pirate Add-On (Waffle Flower), Whale in a Bottle (Spellbinders)
• other - Copic markers, designer paper (Astahasset), Big Shot, MISTI, sponge dauber, Dimensionals, foam tape, Memento tuxedo black ink

Hope your day is full of treasure. Thanks for stopping by, me hearties! ☠

Cheers

Kerry

Sending Love

I think I might have mentioned in a previous post how much I LOVE the current Color Throwdown colour combo, so when I saw the Tic Tac Toe challenge board and an idea came to mind, it was beyond my capabilities to resist using them again! And yes, it's another Christmas card, lol.

  

From the TTT board I picked the diagonal row of letters, free and rectangle shape. Here's my card:

I began with my envelopes - die cutting, sponging the edges and stencilling the features on the fronts. Then I worked on the foliage, cutting from teal card but adding depth of colour with Copics. Rhinestones were used for the berries and I clear embossed the sentiment after stamping in red. 

Materials used:

• stamp - Sending Love (Hero Arts)
• dies - nesting postage stamps infinity dies (Hero Arts), mini holiday greens (Tim Holtz), postage collage mini seals, envelopes (both Waffle Flower)
• stencil - postage collage addressed envelope (Waffle Flower)
• patterned paper - Cool Collab (MFT)
• SU cardstock - pool party, coastal cabana, Bermuda bay, poppy parade
• other - Copic markers, Big Shot, clear embossing powder, heat tool, sponge dauber, craft foam, rhinestones

Hope you're having as much fun in your day as I did making this! Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Winter Wonderland

Experiencing a white Christmas was on my bucket list for quite some time and it almost happened the year my daughter was living in Scotland ... until a little ol' global pandemic came along and then nobody was going anywhere - hardly leaving the house, let alone to the other side of the world. Ah well, such is life. Now I enjoy winter in December through card making instead, lol. 

Today's card is for three challenges which happen to dovetail together very nicely.

 

 

My Tic Tac Toe choice was the top row of ink blending, snow and tree.

I began with masking my paper for the snowy ground and blended the sunset sky (red sky at night, shepherd's delight 😉). Stamping came next, then small touches of puff embossing powder on the tree branches and at the feet of the deer before gesso splatters for falling snow. I die cut some snowflakes to tuck behind, cut my scene into three parts to mount, stamped a sentiment and called it done!

Materials used:

• stamps - Postage Collage Winter View (Waffle Flower), Tiny Text Christmas (Tim Holtz)
• inks - blushing bride, lumberjack plaid, cherry cobbler, Versafine Clair nocturne
• other - snowflake dies, Sidekick, blending brushes, hills and drifts stencil (My Favorite Things), MISTI, craft foam, paint brushes, white puff embossing powder, heat tool, Versamark pen, white gesso

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Beach in a Bottle

This week's Tic Tac Toe challenge really got the old grey matter ticking and cranking, lol. Here's the board:

I was sorely tempted by the beach option. It's been so cold here the last couple of weeks, courtesy of a polar blast from Antarctica, that the idea of a sunny beach really appealed. So I picked the middle horizontal row - Beach, Yellow and Fun Fold - and let an idea percolate for a day or two until this morning I sat down to see if it would pan out. Happily, it did! Here's my offering:

Everything was cut from white cardstock and coloured using distress inks. I repeated the sunrise colours on the inside, stamping towards the bottom so it shows in easel mode, and attached the seagull from the set to act as a 'stopper' - and because it looks so cute there! 

Materials used:

• stamps - Polynesian Paradise (My Favorite Things)
• dies - Surf Shack (Cottage Cutz), Whale in a Bottle (Spellbinders), 
• distress inks - salvaged patina, peacock feathers, squeezed lemonade, mustard seed, antique linen, tea dye, brushed corduroy, vintage photo, twisted citron, mowed lawn, abandoned coral, scattered straw, saltwater taffy
• other - blending brushes, Big Shot, Dimensionals, circle punch, masking paper

Hope this brings a warm wish and sunny smile to your day! Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Hello Friend

Today I'm playing along with this week's Tic Tac Toe Challenge. Here's the grid:

I picked the left hand vertical column - friendship, die cuts, ink blending.

My background piece was in my stash, stamped in Versamark and clear embossed, then some white ink blended lightly over it - this mutes the background colour a little while also bringing out the stamped/embossed portion. I die cut the bird and branch/leaves, then coloured with oxide inks, used bought paper flowers but changed the centres to match my card base, and went (maybe a little too) crazy with white gesso splatters lol. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Vintage Flora (Honey Bee Stamps), Tiny Text (Tim Holtz)
• dies - layered chickadee (Simon Says Stamp), branch, stitched rectangle (Paper Rose), friend (stash)
• distress inks - squeezed lemonade, stormy sky, twisted citron, mowed lawn, brushed corduroy, picket fence
• other - Dimensionals, Big Shot, MISTI, blending brushes, black gem, paper flowers and stamens, white gesso, fan brush

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Edited to add: The team at Tic Tac Toe chose my card as the Designer Pick for this week. Many thanks! 

Tic Tac Toe Guest Designer

This week I'm guest designer for Tic Tac Toe challenge #196 and here's the challenge board:

I chose the diagonal line from top left - heart, free, die cut - and made a Valentines card.

Materials used:

• card - basic black and smoky slate (Stampin' Up), watercolour, Backdrops (Tim Holtz)
• distress inks - lumberjack plaid, hickory smoke, black soot
• other Tim Holtz products - Tailored thinlits, Gothic stencil, lumberjack plaid embossing glaze, Sentiments label stickers, Sidekick
• other -heat tool, Dimensionals, blending brushes, Country Bouquet punch (SU), R27 copic marker, Versamark ink

For the hearts I first smooshed my Versamark ink pad over the stencil then sprinkled with lumberjack glaze and set it, inked over with the matching distress ink and punched out the hearts after it dried. The die cut pieces were also coloured with distress inks once cut - the pieces from the jacket have to be inked on both sides as you fold back the lapel portions. 

Thanks for calling in. I do hope you'll visit the Tic Tac Toe blog and see the wonderful creations the design team came up with to inspire you.

Cheers

Kerry

Live in the Moment

Hello and welcome! The card I have for you today is for two challenges:

I chose the middle horizontal row of the grid - splatters, any sentiment, circle - and as luck would have it, items from my favourite-of-the-moment Curators Meadow collection use exactly the right colours of turquoise, yellow, brown and green. Here's my card:

I added touches of the challenge colours on my background too but muted them with gesso to allow the circles to stand out. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Create Happiness - Elements (Stamperia)
• card - watercolour, Curators Meadow (49andMarket), crumb cake (SU)
• distress sprays - antique linen, uncharted mariner, vintage photo
• distress archival inks - vintage photo, ground espresso
• circle punches - 38mm, 32mm, 1", 3/4", 1/2"
• other - water spritzer, white gesso, paintbrushes, white calligraphy ink, Dimensionals, Curators Meadow rub-ons (49aM), craft foam, sponge dauber, Small Talk stickers (Tim Holtz)

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Edited to add: My card was picked as the Designer's Choice for the Tic Tac Toe challenge. Thanks so much to the design team for this honour!