MOJO193 and PPC60

We have finally had some lovely weather here in Massachusetts, so I spent quite a bit of time this long-weekend outside getting the garden ready (so many weeds!).  I planted tomato, banana pepper and summer squash so far and I'm going to add potato too.  But despite all this, I managed to make my way to my stamp room tonight and made a card using the MOJO sketch and the Picture Perfect Creations color challenge.

I love the MOJO sketch at the end of the month where we get to choose between round or square. I seem to go through stages where I pick one shape for a while then switch, and right now I'm in a square mood.

Do not adjust your set folks, the "thank you" sentiment is indeed blurry.  I had the floral image all stamped and ready to go.  I had to color directly on the stamp to get it to look this way (which can be a pain in the you-know-what) so when I stamped the sentiment and parts of it were missing, I stamped it again.  After all, I was using my stamp-a-ma-jig so what's the big deal?  Apparently, I moved the stamp-a-ma-jig a smidge, which made the sentiment out of alignment a smidge as well. 

I thought about doing it all over again, but I was not looking forward to coloring the stamp again, so I decided that the recipient of this card might think I did this on purpose and I will be credited with coming up with some fancy, new, blurry technique.  I can dream anyway!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Less Is More 17 and Color Dare 102

I mostly consider myself to be a Clean and Simple girl.  I very rarely make the kind of card that has so many layers and embellishments that it won't fit into an envelope.  But today, I think I may have made the most Clean and Simple card that I have ever made.  And it's all because of the Less is More and Color Dare challenges.

This is the sketch challenge from Less is More.  We get to choose which of the five squares we want to put the focal point of our card.  The rest is white space.  I was intrigued right away and the color challenge of So Saffron, Concord Crush and a neutral at the Color Dare seemed the perfect way to make this uber-CAS card. 

As you can see by my little flower, I have not got over my obsession with the faux mother-of-pearl technique so I sponged a little So Saffron and then sponged some Concord Crush onto my already prepared glossy cardstock.  Then I tried something a little different.  Instead of stamping the floral image in Black Stazon, I stamped the image in Versarmark then went over it with white embossing powder.  I wasn't sure if the white outlined stamp was going to show up or be lost against the white background of the card base, but it does and I'm pretty pleased at how it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Sketchbook Saturday 13 and Color Inspiration 157

It's late on Saturday, but I finally finished my card for the Sketchbook Saturday and Color Inspiration challenges. 

I've been watching movies on TV while making this card, which is VERY distracting.  I'm pretty sure I could have finished it hours ago if I was concentrating a little harder!

I stamped the background of my oval layer with En Francais.  I think it makes a nice background for the floral images from the Fabulous Florets stamp set, which you may have noticed that I watercolored.  And I'm pretty sure that I have had a watercoloring epiphany!  Previously, my attempts at watercoloring involved my very unprofessional attempts at shading and applying the colors "just so."  Well today, quite by accident, I applied the color in a rather slap-dash method.  I sort of swirled the colors around, left some "white" space and I've got to say that I really like how it turned out.  It really looks like watercoloring to me!

Thanks for stopping by today!

PPC59 and Viva La Verve and JAI69, Whew!

I think this is (possibly) the first time I've managed to combine three challenges in one card.  And one of those challenges that I managed to squeeze in was just a happy coincidence!  I actually started making this card on Thursday for the Picture Perfect Creations color challenge and one of the Viva La Verve sketch challenges for May.  Take a look.

So I had settled on the colors and the layout and I had a basic idea of how I wanted the card to look.  But I was tired last night, so I went to bed instead of finishing up.  Then tonight I sat down in my stamp room and picked a floral image that I wanted to use for my card.

I embossed the Early Espresso faux-alligator layer with clear embossing powder, then I couldn't seem to put the clear embossing powder down!  I stamped the floral images in Marina Mist, and embossed them too.  Then I stamped the leaves in Old Olive and thought they would look better embossed as well.  It's all quite shiny and lovely in real life!  So as I was cutting out the flowers and the leaves I realized that this card fit the Just Add Ink challenge this week of Fussy Cutting and my happy coincidence was born!

Thanks for stopping by!

Color Lab Challenge 42

This week the colors for the challenge at the ColorLab are brought to you by yours truly! 

A while back Julie asked the ColorLab design team to come up with colors for future challenges.  So as I pondered what colors I would choose, I happened to glance at the curtains in my stamp room.  And I realized that the reason why I chose the fabric for these curtains in the first place was because I loved the colors so much.  The logical conclusion that I reached was that these colors would make a fabby color challenge too!

What can I say?  I'm a Crumb Cake girl at heart, and when you pair it with the Soft Suede and Baja Breeze, I'm in heaven.  Good thing my eye settled on those curtains, or else I may never have decided that these colors would make such a sweet card!  Of course, half of the battle when making a card is an appropriate layout to highlight the colors and I chose my layout for this card from the latest MOJO sketch.  I think the two challenges go great together!

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to pop on over to the ColorLab, check out the inspiration from the rest of the design team, then make something of your own.  We'd love to see what you do!

Color Throwdown 143

This week is my last week as guest designer at the Color Throwdown.  I've had a lot of fun over the last few weeks taking a peek into so many blogs and seeing so many amazing and inspiring cards. 

Each week, the Color Throwdown gives us a color challenge that may be out of our comfort zone, may challenge us to think outside the box, or may encourage us to think of colors in a whole new way.  And that, my friends, is exactly what a color challenge is all about!  So please, put aside your color fears and give this color challenge a try.  I guarantee that you won't regret it and will find yourself on an amazing colorful journey!

So, that being said, on to this weeks color challenge!

How's that for a fabby color challenge?  To me, this challenge is all about summery, colorful flowers!

Since I can't seem to stop, I made most of my flowers using the faux mother-of-pearl technique.  I sponged some Rose Red onto my prepared glossy card stock, then stamped the floral image in Rose Red classic ink before I remembered that Stazon works better on the glossy card stock.  A little heat setting from my hair dryer and I'm good to go!  Maybe Stazon is not such a necessity, after all!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you have a chance to drop by the Color Throwdown and show us what you've got!   And don't forget to check out design team's creations for loads of inspiration!

Tammy Hershberger
Kristin Eberline
Broni Holcombe
Barbara Anders
Danielle Kennedy
Cathy Indelicato
Kisa Peters
Laura Pryor
Carole Burrage

ColourQ 86 and Stamping 411 Sketch 204

I didn't think I was going to get a card in today, but I managed to do it.  I had a pitstop to make after work and I thought that by the time I made it home I'd be in no mood to be creative.  But to my surprise, I did some laundry then found myself thinking that since I had nothing else to do, I might as well sit down in my stamp room, watch the Red Sox, and see if I could come up with something.

Luckily the ColourQ and Stamping 411 challenges provided some inspiration!

As usual, when I see the ColourQ challenge I am full of ideas.  However, when I sit down to make a card, all those ideas go out the window and what I end up with is not what I intended when I started!

As I looked around my stamp room searching for ideas, I spied some of my glossy card stock that was alread prepared for the mother-of-pearl technique.  So I sponged some Daffodil Delight and Real Red on it and used the flower stamp from the Growing Green stamp set to create the flowers you see here.  That polka dotted designer paper is from some long-retired SU! paper from my stash, and I thought it was awfully cute!  As I mentioned this is not the card I dreamed of when I saw this awesome color challenge, but this is what I ended up with!  Funny how that happens sometimes!

Thanks for stopping by today!

SPCC 101

Today, I have the distinct pleasure of being the Guest Designer at the Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo.  And this week we've got a fabulous color combo for you to work with!  I hope you have time to join us!

One of my co-workers recently had a baby boy, so this color combo fit perfectly with my plans to send her a card to congratulate her.  A little help from the Sketchbook Saturday challenge, and I was off!

It's hard to see in the photo, but above the floating baby head, is a sentiment that says "welcome baby."  Perfect!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Paper Players 48 and ColourQ 85

Once again the color challenge at the ColourQ this week was too irresistable!  And combined with the design team samples and the cards others had already uploaded, I was full of inspiration.  Since today is Sunday, I checked out the Paper Players challenge and found I couldn't resist Nance's sketch either!

I wanted to go a little distressed with my card today.  But once I got going I was having a really hard time deciding how I wanted this card to end up.

I had decided on the big butterflies right away, but then I fussed over what I wanted to use for the two small circle images.  First I was going to use a couple of small butterflies, then maybe one butterfly and one button, them maybe some ribbon.  I was all over the map.  Usually when this happens to me, I take a little break and think about something else for a while.  So I did, and when I came back to the table I settled on the pewter colored brads.  I really like how it came out because I think the small butterflies and buttons I was originally going to use were overpowering my big butterfly too much.

I used some very old, Stampin' Up! embossing powder for the sentiment.  I think it must be very old and perhaps it's degrading a bit, because it's not very smooth looking.  I was very glad to see the return of embossing powder in the Summer Mini and I hope this means we've got a good chance of seeing some in the new catalog.  Sometimes, when I want a sentiment to look really bold, I prefer to use embossing powder and the new ones work like a dream!

Thanks for stopping by today!

PPC Sketch Challenge and Color Dare 101

For my card today, I went with the sketch challenge at Picture Perfect Creations and the color challenge at the Color Dare:  Old Olive, Regal Rose, and Early Espresso.

It seems like it's been ages since I've made a card with Early Espresso.  And this color challenge gave me an excuse to use it and the Early Espresso bakers' twine.  A while ago, I bought the twine but hadn't used it.  I use crochet thread quite a bit on my cards, so the other day I made a card and used the white baker's twine instead of the crochet thread.  I really liked the weight of it and it didn't have the tendency to twist around itself like the crochet thread does. 

Since I liked it so much, I thought it would be worth it to buy one of those big cones of baker's twine that you find at bakery supply stores.  I found one selling white twine and the price was ok considering the amount of twine I was buying.   Well, I got it the other day in the mail.  The bad news is that it's not really white.  It's more of a natural, unbleached color but that's ok because I can still use it.  What I was shocked to see is just how much twine I got.  The total amount of the cone is 3,024 YARDS!  That's right YARDS, not FEET!  There's enough twine on this thing to wrap me up mummy style!  In fact, that may be what I do with it because there's no way I'll be able to use that much twine in my lifetime!  Live and learn, I say!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Color Lab Challenge 41

I had a feeling that when I tried out the faux mother of pearl technique that I was going to want to do it again soon!  And this week's ColorLab challenge had me thinking that I should try it right away!

I had some designer paper from the Lap of Luxury paper pack, which took care of the Blushing Bride and the Concord Crush. Now I just needed to work on the Pear Pizzazz and Perfect Plum.

I've got to admit, I had a hard time working these colors.  But I'm nothing, if not persistent!  The card base is Concord Crush and it's layered with a couple of different papers from the Lap of Luxury designer series paper along with some Blushing Bride and Concord Crush.  When I had those parts settled, I decided to use the mother or pearl technique on my floral accents, coloring the flowers with Perfect Plum and Blushing Bride, then I added a Pear Pizzazz leafy bit.  Once I had it all together, I realized that these colors are gorgeous together!

My layout for this card came from the Sketchbook Saturday sketch challenge.   Every week, Chupa encourages me to think outside my comfort zone with her sketches.  That's what this card-making journey is all about, right?

So I hope you take some time to visit us at the ColorLab and make a card using these colors.  And don't forget to check out the design team for some inspiration!

Color Throwdown 142

I am in love with the colors this week at the Color Throwdown! 

I managed to score an entire unopened package of Kiwi Kiss cardstock from someone who wanted to get rid of it so, of course, that's what I chose for my green.  I won't need to hoard my previously-dwindling stash of that color for a while now!

I thought that the FTL sketch was pretty interesting so I chose that for my layout.  In fact, this is the second time this week that I made a card this size.  There must be something in the air!

And I got to try a new technique with my card.  Take a look.

I think it shows up a little better at this angle.  It's the faux mother of pearl technique, which I learned at Stamping 411.

It's hard to see in these pictures, but it's quite pearly and shiny!  I really have no idea if lime green mother of pearl exists in real life, but I really wanted to try this technique and I was already using lime green, so the two worlds have collided here!  It was very simple to do and I plan to do it again for a wedding card I'm thinking of.  Stay tuned for that one!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a chance to play along with us this week.  Be sure and check out the cards from the design team.  Loads of inspiration there!

Tammy Hershberger
Kristin Eberline
Broni Holcombe
Barbara Anders
Danielle Kennedy
Cathy Indelicato
Kisa Peters
Laura Pryor
Carole Burrage

MOJO191

A few weeks ago, I made a card for a color challenge using the colors Wild Wasabi, Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette, and Very Vanilla.  I didn't think there was anything special about those colors until I actually put the card together and I took a step back and realized that those colors were pretty fabulous together!

Today, I decided to use those colors again for the MOJO sketch challenge.

I didn't have a specific sentiment in mind when I made my card, but I ended up making a card that would suit a lot of different purposes.

Of course, my card is a bit feminine, so I can't exactly use it to wish my brother-in-law a Happy Father's Day, but I think I could make it fit for just about any other occasion!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

PPC58 and SSSC117 Thank You

I've been kicking around the Picture Perfect Creations color challenge in my head for a week and I finally came up with an idea for a card using the Sweet Sunday sketch challenge.

I love these long and narrow cards.  They're so unusual!  For mine, I cut a piece of cardstock 6 1/2-inch square and scored it down the middle .  It fits perfectly in the SU! Small Open-End Envelopes.

This color challenge called for Tangerine Tango so I was happy to use the Tangerine Tango embossing powder for my flowers.  I stamped the leafy image from the Fabulous Florets stamp set in Chocolate Chip then layered my Tangerine Tango flowers on top.  I used extra-puffy 3D glue dots to adhere the flowers, so in real life there's quite a bit of dimension.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Friday Mashup 6 and Stamping 411 203

Monochromatic fun!  That's the challenge this week at the Friday Mashup.  And to add to the fun, we have the choice of adding a masculine theme to mash it up!  I had something in mind, but needed a little inspiration from a good sketch.  The Stamping 411 sketch settled that for me.

I'm not sure why, but monochromatic and masculine are a perfect match!  Since Father's Day is right around the corner, I thought these were great challenges to make a card for my Dad.

I'm fairly certain that he will not appreciate all this monochromatic goodness, but he will appreciate the hand-made card!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

ColourQ 84

The other day I bought a gift for my niece's birthday.  As I contemplated wrapping paper at the store, I decided that I didn't like anything on the rack and that I would like to wrap the gift in kraft paper then use some 1 1/4-inch striped grosgrain tied around the box.  (I hadn't decided which color I would use, though).  I also thought that I would make a birthday card to coordinate with the kraft paper.

Then along comes the ColourQ challenge this week, which I paired with a Verve sketch.

I knew that this color challenge fell right in line with my plans to make card to match my kraft covered gift.  What luck that the challenge this week used colors I love!

I love how the earthy colors like Crumb Cake, Old Olive and Not Quite Navy are highlighted by the Daffodil Delight.  That sunshine yellow is just the thing to make sure this card is not too boring!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Lab Challenge 40

ETA:  Well, it appears that Blogger has fixed whatever was wrong, so I can finally get this post up!

I'm so glad that I've had a chance to get some stamping in this week.  I don't know about you, but sometimes I think it's therapy!  And if I don't have a chance to get my fingers all inky, I get cranky!  I will spare you all the cranky details and share a creation with you instead.  Today, of course, is challenge day over at the ColorLab.  I hope you have time to join us this week as we create projects using these great colors.

I think I'm in heaven with these colors!  I know I don't use it very often, but Not Quite Navy is one fabulous color.  And look how wonderful these colors all look together.  I couldn't wait to get going using them.  I decided that the MOJO sketch from last week, would be a good way to show them off.

I really liked the scalloped edge on the larger layer and that cool oval element with the strings coming out of it.  There was a lot going on with this sketch, but I think that's the perfect way to highlight a color challenge that has more than three colors.

Once I put this card all together, I wasn't sure that I liked it.  Even now as I'm typing this, I'm not sure about it.  The Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy look crazy-good together, but I'm not sure that I've shown off the Pear Pizzazz and Rose Red to their best advantage.  I hate when I begin to second-guess myself about a card I've created.  I'm pretty sure it looks ok, but there's always that part of me that thinks that I should have gone back to the drawing board.  I'm sure you know what I'm talking about and I'm also pretty sure that I'm too hard on myself, but there you have it. 

Anyway I'm sure that if you check out the ColorLab challenge this week and visit the design team, you will find ample inspiration to create something of your own.  I hope you'll join us this week!

Color Throwdown 141

This is my second week as guest designer at the Color Throwdown and I absolutely love the colors this week!

I found the aqua an intriguing addition to the other colors, and I couldn't wait to see what I came up with!  I know that probably sounds weird, but often when I sit down to create a card I have absolutely no idea where I'm going to end up!  I chose the Sweet Sunday sketch challenge as a layout and prayed I could make something worthy!

I really like making square cards and I usually make mine 4 1/4-inch so that they fit in a regular A2 envelope.  (Anything to avoid paying the postage surcharge that goes along with mailing a square card)!  Plus that size is so darn cute.  I used Tempting Turquoise for my aqua quite sparingly because I wanted it to be an accent color that sort of stood out.  I colored and outlined a few bits on the stamp and sewed the long thin layer with a zig zag stitch on my mini sewing machine.  At the last minute I decided to sew around the edges of the Rose Red layer with a straight stitch and I'm so glad I did.  I think it really ties it all together.  I thought about stamping the flourish stamp from the Priceless stamp set with Rose Red ink, but embossed it with clear embossing powder instead.  It's a little hard to see (in real life as well as in the picture), so I wish I had gone with my first instinct!

I hope you'll head on over to the Color Throwdown and create something for this challenge.  And don't forget to check out the creations from the design team for loads of inspiration!

Tammy Hershberger
Kristin Eberline
Broni Holcombe
Barbara Anders
Danielle Kennedy
Cathy Indelicato
Kisa Peters
Laura Pryor
Carole Burrage

Thanks for stopping by!

MOJO190 and Stamping 411 Color Inspiration 156

This week the color challenge at Stamping 411 included Basic Black, which for me means a bold and dramatic color scheme.  The color challenge also included Pear Pizzazz and Tempting Turquoise so I when I combined all those colors together I ended up with a very pretty card.

I got a lot of help from the MOJO sketch challenge!

I've always felt that using a dramatic color such as Basic Black is a great way to call attention to your project without overpowering it.  On my card, I've just a touch of it on my scalloped square and on the sentiment, but I think it gives the card a bold look without stealing the show!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Paper Players 46 and Sketchbook Saturday 10

The color challenge this week at the Paper Players is just awesome!  I may have mentioned a time or two before that I think Cherry Cobbler is the best red EVER.  And it's been a while since I've used it, so I was happy to see it in this color challenge.

This seemed like a great color combo to do a masculine card.  The cards made by the Paper Players design team were terrific and seemed to be leaning towards masculine, so I thought I'd give it a go.  Since I love to combine challenges, I poked around in blogland for a while and settled on the Sketchbook Saturday sketch challenge for a layout.

However, once I decided on the colors and the layout, my mojo decided to take a vacation!  I went through at least four incarnations of this card before I settled on this one, and I'm still not sure I like it!
 

At this point, I don't even remember the first thing I was going to do with this card (clearly it was so traumatic my mind has blocked it out), but the second one involved owls, the third one was turtles and lastly I thought a butterly would be nice!  I'm glad I chose the butterfly because I do like this beautiful butterfly from the Simple Friendship stamp set.  I stamped it in Cherry Cobbler then stamped over it in Versamark and embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I know the embossing doesn't show up in the photo, but in real life it looks fabulous!  In the end, I'm not sure this is a masculine card at all but I'm pretty sure my Dad will like it when I give to him for his birthday!

Hopefully my creative juices will come out of hiding soon because I've got a lot of challenges I want to do!  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

FTL139 and DCBD 226

Today I wanted to plant tomatoes in my garden.  I bought the plants yesterday and was all raring to go, then I got up this morning and looked outside.  It's overcast and quite chilly, so I talked myself out of planting and decided to make a card instead!  I really liked the colors this week at the Diva Coffee Break Designs and the Clean and Simple Stamping sketch, so it was easy to convince myself that I didn't belong outside!

The other day I made a card that I thought would make a good graduation card for my cousin, but now I think I like this one better!

This is such a great sentiment.  I've used it before to send a word of encouragement to someone, and I think it fits a lot of different occasions.  It's nice to let someone know that you are thinking of them and rooting for them as they begin a new chapter in their life.  Like a new job, or a move to a new location, or a graduation.  It's a very uplifting message!

Thanks for stopping by today.  And happy mother's day to everyone!

Birthday Wishes Brought To You By the Letter P

The color challenge this week at Pals Paper Arts is all about the letter P:  peach, pear, and poppy.

Lovely colors aren't they?  I was puttering around my garden today doing some weeding and assessing things.  Trying to figure out what did not survive the brutal winter we had.  So I had flowers on my mind when I sat down to make a card.  I used the Stamping 411 sketch for a layout.

I used the Greenhouse Garden stamp set because I wanted to do a bit of two-step stamping.  I thought that it would look nice if I stamped the flower in Peach Parfait first, then stamped the detail stamp with Poppy Parade.  I like how it came out.  Then the small flower is just stamped in Poppy Parade.  I had to stamp off twice to get the color light enough so that the detail stamp would show up.

And last but not least, I tried my hand at a little crinkly seam binding ribbon.  I keep seeing this all over blogland and I really liked it, but for some reason nobody wanted to give up the secret to creating the look.  I thought I had read somewhere about heating it up with a heat gun, but I tried that and it didn't do anything except blow the ribbon around my stamp room.  So then I tried wetting it first, then I put the heat gun on it, and all I achieved was a wet ribbon blowing around my stamp room.  So then I posted a question on Splitcoast and got an answer pretty quickly.  And it's so simple:  wet, scrunch, dry.  Apparently, most people let it dry overnight.  You can use the heat gun to speed things up, but the heat tends to flatten out some of the crinkles.  But as luck would have it I accidentally discovered a quick way to do it.

I already had the little piece of ribbon that I wet first, then dried with the heat gun.  I crinkled it up in a very tight ball then carefully unravelled it.  I got a very nice soft, but crinkly ribbon.  Then I cut another small piece off the spool and crinkled it up.  I didn't like the look at all.  The crinkles were sort of sharp looking and the ribbon itself didn't have the soft look of the first one I did.  So I wet it, dried it with the heat gun, then crinkled it into a tight ball again.  When I unravelled it, it was just the softer look I was going for.  I think wetting it first sort of softens up the fibers of the ribbon so that it crinkles better.

Please excuse my ribbon ramble, but I'm so happy I figured this out.  I'm sure everybody else out there has known about this for ages and is wondering why I'm so late to the party!  But thanks for stopping by!

ColourQ 83 and Viva La Verve

The color challenge this week at the ColourQ totally ROCKS!

Wow!  Are these colors fabulous or what?  I couldn't wait to get started.  I poked around blogland for a while and I found a rockin' sketch at the Viva La Verve forum that I thought was worthy of these colors.

I thought that sunburst would be a great way to show off all these colors.  And to make matters extra easy, Shannan Tuebner did a little tutorial on how to create the look.
 

This was such a fun card to make.  I had designer paper in all the colors except for Tangerine Tango, so the sunburst is an interesting mix of colors and patterns.  I stamped the larger Tempting Turquoise layer with the Canvas background stamp to give it a little texture.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!