On a bit of a jag here....

...it seems like I can't get away from this set. I really like it and the cards that have been coming with it! I also feel like I have been using white to the extreme. Maybe not, but this card feels a lot white! This is the card I submitted for Kristina's Color Inspiration Challenge #13. I am pleased and not supremely confident that it will make the top ten. That isn't why I do it, though. It's fun to make your card and then see what others have done with the same input! We all think so differently and sometimes alike.
Here is what Kristina used to pull the colors for this challenge. I didn't use any of the pattern from the inspiration piece. I just try to remember that it is offered up as color inspiration. So with that, I'll get to my brief description.

Card stock: Whisper White, River Rock
Ink: River Rock, Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate, Regal Rose
Stamps: The Art of Life, Vases in Vogue
Accessories: Rose Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals
Tools: Small and Large Oval punches, Mat Pack, Paper Piercing Tool

One more note: I edged the flowers with the Purely Pomegranate after I colored them with the Regal Rose. I like the effect! It was kind of like the rock and roll technique, but not really!

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Postcard Project

So....I fought with this one for several days. I was responding to the sketch challenge for the Unity Stamp Co. Release Party today. Boy,did I cut it close. When I was all finished uploading to SCS, I had 14 or 15 minutes to spare! Overall, I am pleased. I just don't really like my handwriting so much! It would be tons better if I had my BF Amy write on it or a certain couple of teachers that I know! Anyway, here it is! The part that had me really stuck was the inverted? scallops along the edge of the sketch. It just wasn't working for me. So, I gave up of that and tried to replicate that design in other places. I used a stamp on the corner of my postcard. (Oh yeah, the stamp image was way to big for the size paper that I was working with, so I did a reverse mask technique to get just the corner of the stamp image. Then I had to reverse mask the other two edges to get the scallop-stamp edge on them too!) Then found a ribbon slide with the same design on its edges in my stash! I was super excited when I found it!

Here are the supplies that I used.
Paper: Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, PC Heritage Post dp
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip (and CC marker), River Rock
Stamps: Carte Postale, Balmy Breezes, Live Your Dream, Wish Postmark by All Night Media
Accessories: MM Ribbon Slide, Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Glue Dot
Tools: 3/4" circle punch, 1" circle punch, Stampin' Sponges

All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

I am never this ambitious!

Seriously, I rarely combine two challenges when I am making cards. This one combines three challenges. It was mostly by accident.

A few days ago, I took out the coffee stamp as one idea of what I might do for the No Time To Stamp? challenge. I left it on my desk and worked on some other projects and ideas that I had going on. So then I started working on the Gina K. June Release Challenge #1. I found two patterned papers for the challenge that I like together and picked up the coffee image to use on the card. (But, oops, I didn't read the challenge carefully and the lower dp should have been worked into the stamped image.) Finally, it came time to color in my image and I remembered today challenge on SCS to "hit the bottle". So there it sits, a triple, if you will!

Here are the supplies that I used to make this card.
Paper: Whisper White, Mellow Moss?, PC Slab V dp, Pool Party dp
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Soft Sky, Mellow Moss
Stamps: Three For You, Coffee Image by Papersalon
Accessories/Tools: French Blue Grosgrain, SAMJ, 1 3/8" circle punch, Scallop punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Aquapainter

All products are Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted.

Michaela is coming!

I made this card to go with a gift for a new little one coming to join my extended family. I combined a couple of challenges to flesh this card out. WT171 (Ways to Use It) encouraged crafters to break out the rick rack! I happened to have one roll of lavender rick rack and I used it. The second challenge was a sketch challenge posted by Julie Koerber for Gina K. Designs. It's the June Release Challenge #2 and randomly picked winner will receive a Gina K stamp set. Wish me luck!

Here are the supplies for this card.
Card stock: Lavender Lace, Barely Banana, Pixie Pink, Whisper White, PC rob and bob studio DP
Ink: StazOn Jet Black
Stamps: Baby Talk, Short & Sweet
Other: Watercolor Crayons (Bold Brights & Neutrals), Blender Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals, SAMJ, Offray Dashes, Dots & Checks rick rack

All products used are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Unforgettable Frog!

I will be so sad when this set retires in August. It's very fun and perfect for little people and of course, Sweet Pea is a little person! I'm sure that I will get over it and find another set that is current and works for that need. Oh well!

Sometimes I take inspiration from the image itself or the lines in the image. Today I felt inspired by the colors that Kristina pulled from this piece:
It's a table setting from MoMA!

I used Whisper White card stock for my base. Next, I layered on Sahara Sand card stock. I topped it with a piece of Wild Wasabi DSP. I stamped my frog image from Unfrogettable in StazOn Black on Whisper White card stock. I used my SAMJ to place the crown upon his head. Then, I took my blender pen and picked up Wild Wasabi ink to color the frog and So Saffron ink to color his crown. I stamped the sentiment from Unfrogettable above him and cut the image down to size. I mounted the image on a slightly larger piece of So Saffron card stock and then glued it down on the DSP.

I took a thin white ribbon that I have in my drawer (I think from JoAnn's) and colored it with a So Saffron marker. Then I wrapped it around and knotted it! I glued the whole works down on the base card and called it good! I am very satisfied with the finished product. My out of town guests were impressed that I could crank it out in the time that it took them to get showered.

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About those muted colors....

Well, yesterday I wrote about how hard it was for me to work with the Bold Brights. Today, I accepted the SCS Color Challenge #171. I couldn't resist with the inclusion of Soft Sky.

I used Soft Sky card stock as my card base. I cut a piece of Kraft card stock slightly smaller than the card. I measured my sentiment and cut a piece of Basic Black card stock in what turned out to be a square. Next I cut another piece of Soft Sky card stock and then a piece of Whisper White card stock for my main image. I stamped the background stamp from The Art of Life in Soft Sky ink on the white. Then I stamped the flower image from the same set in Basic Black ink over the background. The white card stock looked a little stark, so I sponged Soft Sky ink all over it. Next, I glued all three squares together, tied a random wide black sheer ribbon (from my ribbon drawer) around the bottom of the square and put in my three Ice Circle Rhinestone brads in the top right corner of the image.

Next, I stamped the sentiment from The Art of Life in Basic Black ink on the Kraft card stock. I wanted to soften up the card a little more, so I rounded the bottom corners of the Kraft and then rounded the bottom edges of the Soft Sky card base. Finally,I glued down the squares on the Kraft (adding a glue dot to secure the corner with the brads) and glued the Kraft piece to the card base.

All products Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Summer, Summer, Summer

It's the first day of summer break. It's sunny and 66 degrees. This is wonderful considering the horrid drizzle and cold that the Pacific Northwest has been plagued with for what seems like an eternity now.

I worked up this card for the No Time to Stamp? challenge #39 to "GO BOLD". Bold for me means bright. Bold for me is using something or doing something outside of my comfort zone and SU's Bold Brights are mostly outside of my comfort zone. It doesn't mean that I don't like them. It just means that I don't feel comfortable creating with them. Other people make wonderfully beautiful cards with these colors. So I went Bold!

I used YoYo Yellow for my card base. I stamped the flower image from All Natural in Versamark three times. I poured on the UTEE, fired up the heat tool and embossed those flowers. Then I took my sponged dauber and applied YoYo Yellow to the center of each flower. Next, I sponged the petals of the flowers in Real Red, Tempting Turquoise and Only Orange. The card seemed cheerful, so I determined it was a birthday card and stamped "wish big" in Real Red ink from the Short & Sweet set.

I mounted the whole thing on a layer of Tempting Turquoise card stock and then again on a slightly larger piece of Real Red card stock. I filled the empty space I had in the bottom left hand corner with a slot punch and then strips of Tempting Turquoise and Tangerine grosgrain ribbon tied in knots to hide the slot punch! I mounted that piece on the card base and called it done!

By the way, I cased a lovely card by Jennifer McGuire for the technique and layout. You can see it here.

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Designer Tulips

My DH described this card as "nice, it's colorful". I love him. He tried so hard to be interested. I do have to agree that it is colorful. I used the colors from CC170 on SCS. They are Real Red, Regal Rose and So Saffron. When I read the color names on Tuesday, I just knew that flowers were going to be the main focal image. Time just got away from me with the last week of school and here I am on Saturday (now Sunday, by the time I finish my post) trying to fit in all the stamping I want to do. So I combined the color challenge with Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #52. You can see the unadulterated sketch just below my card.


I used Whisper White card stock for the base of my card. (Of course, using a lot of white was a focus of Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration #11 this week. I didn't get there due to my DH's rock show! All ages shows only happen once in a blue moon, so I had to take the Pea to see her Daddy rock out!) Back to the details, the next layer is Real Red dsp from the Print Packs hostess gift. On top of that I layered a piece of Regal Rose card stock that I paper pierced and faux stitched with my Real Red Marker. I worked on my focal image next. I used my markers (Mellow Moss, Real Red, Regal Rose & So Saffron) to color an image called Designer Tulips by Hero Arts. After I got it stamps, I cut it down to the square, distressed the edges with my scissors and inked them up with my Regal Rose marker. I mounted the Whisper White square on So Saffron and that popped up the image with Stampin' Dimensionals. I finished my card by stamping the "thank you" sentiment from Holiday Blitz with Real Red ink.

All products used are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise posted.

Daddy's Day

This is the card that Sweet Pea will give her Daddy tomorrow with some really nice gifts provided by Grandma and daycare. (Mommy missed her shopping window to get something specifically from Pea, but will fix that situation on Monday).

I just made it a little 3x3 because it will probably go right in the trash! My DH could care less about cards, personally. Anyway, the base is Old Olive cardstock with Certainly Celery layered on top of it. I found a mystery neutral in my scrap drawer and stamped the Montage Collection image on it in Old Olive ink. Then, I took my Basic Black marker and wrote: To Daddy on the envelope in the image. The card looked a little to plain, so I added the Basic Black card stock strip at the bottom and the MM asphalt snaps to the top.

To finish off my card, I stamped on the inside. I never do this, but my DH always looks inside anyway. I stamped the Father's day sentiment from All Year Cheer II inside in Basic Black ink. Sweet Pea finished it off with her signature in Crayola Black crayon. Thanks for looking!***All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Sweet Pea Alert

I found another one! Here it is!

"Delight"-ful Dreams

I've been away dreaming of all the wonderful cards that I want to make. Doesn't everyone do that? I also had to prep for a card party over last weekend that one of my girlfriends hosted. Not to mention, this is the last week of school and all the children are going bananas and the teacher are exhausted and have very little patience. This equals lots of work for yours truly!

I did have time to eek out this card. Have you seen this website? There is some beautiful work to view and some fun challenges. This card is from the Stamp Simply Challenge #38. The challenge is to use a solid image stamp. I cut my production time down from about two hours to about 30 minutes! Whoohoo! Plus, I am happy with my final product.

Here are the specifics about the card. I used River Rock card stock for my base. I layered a piece of Brushed Gold card stock on top of that. I cut the next layer from a Provo Craft dp called Heritage Post. I stamped the flower image from Art of Life in Basic Black on the dp with Basic Black ink. I needed to use my Basic Black marker to black out parts of the silhouette (it seems that the solid image didn't ink up completely, but was pretty forgiving). I attached the dp to the Brushed Gold card stock and tied the greenish gold ribbon from Theater Ribbon Originals around the card stock. I secured the knot with a glue dot. Next, I stamped the Wordsworth sentiment in Basic Black ink just above my ribbon. Finally, I attached that piece to the card base. Done!

All products used are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Asian Lantern Thanks

First off, I need to give credit where credit is due. I cased this from Julie Ebersole of Paper Trufflez. She does some really FUN stuff. I just had to have one of my own! So I changed up the sentiment and the colors, but otherwise it is about the same.

I used Groovy Guava card stock for my card base. I stamped the bamboo image from Embrace Life in Wild Wasabi on Wild Wasabi card stock. I overlapped one edge of the Wild Wasabi with a thin strip of Basic Black card stock. Next, I constructed my Asian Lantern. I stamped Blush Blossom card stock with a flower branch image from All Night Media's Japanese stamp set in Groovy Guava and Old Olive. I ran the card stock through the crimper and then punched it out with a 1 3/8" circle punch. I trimmed off the top and bottom of the circle (perhaps a bit too much). Then I attached the Basic Black card stock at the top of the lantern.

I pierced two holes in the black card stock. I threaded a needle with Gold Cord. I knotted one end and brought the other through and then knotted that end (if that makes sense). I attached a gold brad to the Wild Wasabi card stock and "hung" my lantern. Then I adhered the black/wasabi bamboo piece to the card base. I attached my lantern with Stampin' Dimensionals. Finally, I stamped the sentiment from Artfully Asian in Basic Black on the card base.

Spring Flower Sketch

I created this card for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #50. I knew that I wanted to dust off my retired set called Looks Like Spring and use some of the fun DSP that came out with the set. I really took my color lead from the DSP. I started off wanting some kind of pink color background, but it just didn't work out that way. You will find Beate's sketch next.
For my card, I used Kraft card stock for my base. I layered Chocolate Chip on the Kraft. I rounded the Spring Flower DSP on two corners and layered it on top of the Chocolate Chip. I stamped the three flowers from Looks Like Spring in Craft White on Kraft card stock. I was impatient so I heat set it with my heat tool. (Time is precious when you have a 2yo!). I trimmed around the flowers and then mounted it on Chocolate Chip card stock. I trimmed again, leaving a little chocolate border. I mounted it across the lower end of my card. Next I stamped the three flower image from Looks Like Spring in Craft White on the vellum. I also stamped the sentiment from Carte Postale in Chocolate Chip on the same vellum. Still in a hurry, so I heat set them! I attached the vellum layer to a Barely Banana piece of card stock with Barely Banana brads. Then, I attached those two pieces to a Chocolate Chip layer. I popped up that rectangle on Stampin' Dimensionals over my flower border and my DSP.

I struggled a bit as I thought it didn't quite look finished. I messed about with lots of other stuff and finally landed on one flower image stamped in Craft white on Kraft paper punched out with the Looks Like Spring punch. I lifted its petals a bit and adhered it to the vellum with a mini glue dot. Voila!

Oops, one more little piece. Before I figured out the Craft flower, I paper pierced two of the corners, using my mat pack and my paper piercing tool. Now, voila!

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