MOJO 206 and Inkspirations 84

Over at Inkspirations, we were warned not to be afraid of their color combo challenge this week!

Although, I don't usually make cards with such vibrant colors, I wanted to give this challenge a try.  I paired it with the latest MOJO sketch challenge.

As always, the last challenge of the month is a choice between a round or square card.  Or if you're feeling really ambitious, you could do both.  I opted for the square.

I think it actually hurts my eyes when I look at this card!  My intention was to really make the bright colors be the focal point of the card and then throw in a smidge of Concord Crush to round things out.  I'm not entirely sure that I like the Concord Crush rectangle, but I do like the row of circles.  They're easy to do.  I just punched a 1/2-inch hole then punched a 3/4-inch hole around it.  And I've just noticed as I'm writing this that I didn't use a single stamp on this card!  I haven't done that in a long time, but there's plenty of space on the Tangerine Tango layer to add one later.

Thanks for stopping by!

FTL155 and ColourQ 100

This week the sketch challenge at Clean & Simple Stamping added a color challenge twist.  They've teamed up with the ColourQ and want us to check the ColourQ archives and pick a color combo to use with our card.  I decided on #32 from May 2010.

I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that I picked a color combo that included Kraft, Kiwi Kiss and Basic Black!

I found some Groovy Guava designer paper from a set called Afternoon Tea.  That was a favorite of mine and I was glad to see that I had a bit left to use on this card.  The butterfly was stamped on Vellum and colored on the reverse side.  My "buttons" were made using the Sweet Buttons embosslit.  That is one terrific little gadget to have!  I wanted to use buttons for the circles, but I didn't have any buttons in the colors that I needed.  Then I remembered that I had the handy-dandy embosslit and my problem was solved! If you don't have a button in a certain color, you can just create one.  How cool is that?

Well today is the day that Hurricane Eileen is expected to create all kinds of havoc around here.  Later it's going to get quite windy and rainy.  We already had quite a bit of rain yesterday and I'm ready with my flashlights and candles in case the power goes out.  The good news is that even if the power goes out, I can still spend some time in my stamp room!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown 156

A funny thing happened on the way to making this card.  First, I chose to make a card using the latest color challenge at the Color Throwdown.

Then I spied a sketch challenge that I had printed out and put on my desk in my stamp room.  Frequently, I will print out a sketch challenge then keep the sketch within my eyesight in case the inspiration bug hits me.  Well, in this case it was the PPA107 sketch that inspired me to make a card.

So, armed with my assignment, I set to work!

The funny this is that the PPA challenge was from a week ago.  Somehow I lost track of time and thought I was making a card for this week's challenge.  Oops.  But anyway for this card, once again, I turned to the only Perfect Plum designer paper I own, which is from a Halloween series from a few years ago.  Layered against some Perfect Plum cardstock, it looks terrific and I set the basic layout of my card.  I stamped the big flower from the Fabulous Flowers stamp set in So Saffon then rock and rolled it with a bit of Perfect Plum on the edges.  After I cut the big flower into squares and mounted it on Perfect Plum and So Saffron squares, I added a Perfect Plum button in the middle.  Sweet!

We are expecting some bad weather tomorrow because of Hurricane Eileen that will be passing over us on Sunday, so today I have to concentrate on putting away some of my patio furniture that might start blowing around if I don't secure it in some way.  I hope that anyone reading this on the east coast stays safe during the storm and that it passes by without causing too much damage.

Thanks for stopping by today and BE SAFE!

Friday Mashup Challenge 21

Lesley has cooked up quite a challenge for us this week at the Friday Mashup!

How about this for a fabulous sketch?  And to make things interesting, you've got a bonus challenge to add some dry embsossing.  So here's the Mashup Challenge:

1. Create a project using the provided “Sketch”
2. Create a project that uses "Dry Embossing.”
3. Or "Mash it Up!" and create a project using the "Sketch and Dry Embossing"!

For my last week as the Guest Designer at the Friday Mashup I thought it was only fitting that I Mash It Up and create a card using the sketch and some dry embossing. 

I used a card base of Crumb Cake then followed it up with some Chocolate Chip and Blushing Bride.  It's hard to see in the picture, but the vertical Chocolate Chip layer is paper pierced along the edge.  It adds a nice touch!

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

MOJO 205 and ColourQ 99

Wowza!  The color challenge over at ColourQ this week is quite a challenge!

Even though the graphic called to mind Christmas, I couldn't help but think of Halloween when I first saw this challenge.  The colors are autumn-inspiring but that little bit of Island Indigo makes it somewhat unusual.  But what really made me want to give this challenge a try was this week's MOJO challenge.

To me this is the perfect layout to give the ColourQ color challenge a try.  It's got a lot of different layers going on which will help to showcase the colors.  And the colors are somewhat eclectic so no matter how you lay them down, you'll create something interesting to look at.  

 For my card, I went with a pumpkin graphic.  It could be Halloween or it could just be autumn.  Or it could just be that I was thinking of how yummy pumpkin pie is!  In any event, I think these colors make a pretty cool card!

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

Paper Players 60 and CCMC163

I wanted to participate in the latest Create With Connie and Mary color challenge because it included Pacific Point, a color I don't use nearly enough.

But I was also a little afraid of it, because the colors are so diverse.  But I reminded myself that sometimes being scared of a challenge is just what the doctor ordered.  Then I saw the sketch challenge at The Paper Players and realized that these two challenges would be perfect for each other!

Often when I attempt a color challenge that has just three colors I try to use a layout that is pretty clean and simple.  This beauty gave me plenty of opportunity to leave a lot of white space.

Initially, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do for the focal point of my card and after some deliberation decided on the small flower from the Fabulous Florets stamp set.  I embossed it with Tangerine Tango embossing powder then popped it up on some dimensionals.  The sentiment is from the Bring On the Cake stamp set.

Despite my original misgivings about this tough color challenge, I'm actually pretty pleased with how this turned out.  And I love using that rickrack.  It's so Charlie Brown!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown 155 and Sketchbook Saturday 25

Today is my sister's birthday and I wasn't inspired by any of the birthday cards I had in my stash so I decided to combine the latest Color Throwdown challenge with the Sketchbook Saturday challenge and make a new card.

It's nice to see Kiwi Kiss make an appearance now and again.  All in all this is a terrific color challenge and I think the sketch was a great way to show the colors off.  The only thing I had to change was the Barely Banana, since I didn't have any of that color.  I substituted So Saffron instead.

I tried something a little different when I stamped the flowers so that the layers would show up.  The first, largest layer is stamped in Rose Red.  Then I inked the flower again in So Saffron, and before I stamped it I drew some lines on the edge of the stamp with a Rose Red marker.  I wasn't sure how it would come out, but I like it.  At least it shows a little contrast between the layers.  The smallest layer is just stamped in So Saffron.

Thanks for stopping by today! 

ColourQ 98

I think it's been a couple of weeks since I made a card for the ColourQ challenge and I've missed it.  The challenge always seems to feature colors that inspire me to think outside the box so I like to participate when I can.  Last night I was determined to make a card for this week's challenge.

This graphic grabbed my attention right away because the colors are gorgeous and those crocheted flowers are adorable.

I started out making this card armed with the ColourQ challenge and a particular sketch challenge, but after I'd made it I realized that the sketch was supposed to feature a Christmas card.  Oops!  Since there was no way I could pass this off to represent any holiday, I have decided to create my own Hello Friend group so that we can celebrate our own holiday whenever we want.  The first meeting will be on the second Tuesday of......Never mind.  Probably not a good idea!

Seriously, I really enjoyed this color challenge.  It's got all the sorts of colors that I really love, especially the new Island Indigo.  I haven't had much chance to play with it, but I hope to rectify that in the future!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Friday Mashup Challenge 20

It's Friday and that means it's time for another Friday Mashup challenge!

So, here's the "Mash Up!" challenge:

1. Create a project using “Buttons.”
2. Create a project using "Cupcakes".
3. Or "Mash it Up!" and create a project using "Cupcakes and Buttons"!

As you check out the projects from the other design team members you may notice that we added some extra touches.....Paper Piercing and Paper Piecing, so if you're really up for a challenge add those techniques to your project as well!

I know cupcakes are all the rage, but I don't own anything cupcake-worthy so I had to content myself with buttons.  That was no trouble for me because I love buttons!

And I sort of added in some paper piercing.  Only I added thread to the pierced holes and called it sewing!  I love this color combo of Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Basic Gray and Old Olive.  It's a little earthy and not very summery for this time of year, but I think it looks terrific.  I only wish the sentiment showed up better.  It's from the Cottage Garden stamp set and I probably should have wet embossed it so that it was more prominent.  In real life it's not as light as it appears here, though.

Now, head on over to the Friday Mashup and check out the challenge and the samples from the design team.  And while you're there check out the "Fan Favorite" challenge.  Your idea could be featured on a future challenge.  How cool is that?

Thanks for stopping by today!

MOJO 204 and Picture Perfect Creations 69

Today, I've got a card made with one of my most favorite colors!

I'm not sure why I love the Crumb Cake cardstock so much, but I do.  Actually my love affair with kraft paper (which is really what this cardstock is) began a long time ago, when one Christmas I made bunches of hand-crafted soaps and potpourri and wrapped everything up with kraft paper.  I haven't looked back since.

Today I made a card for the latest MOJO sketch and combined it with the Picture Perfect Creations color challenge.

I used Crumb Cake as my card base and the rest of the colors completed the color challenge.

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

PPA106 and Some News!

I found the challenge this week at Pals Paper Arts a bit intriguing.  The title of the challenge is Dress For Success.

And isn't this little kitty adorable all dressed up with his necktie?  Our challenge was to use one piece of designer series paper, one punch, one sentiment.  That sounded like fun and it's not the sort of challenge I usually do, so I wanted to give it a try.

I thought it would be easier if I chose my designer series paper first then let that inspire my card.  I used the new Berry Blossomss paper and chose the page in shades of Wisteria Wonder. 

Once I decided on the Wisteria Wonder I hit a mini road-block.  I wasn't at all sure what I wanted to do next.  I was pretty sure that I wanted to use the Fancy Flower punch with a stamp from the Posy Punch set, but I didn't know what color I wanted it to be or what sentiment I wanted to use. Then I remembered that Calypso Coral looked pretty good with Wisteria Wonder and so that's what I stamped my flower with.  I thought that the center of the flower needed a little something extra so I broke out my long-neglected Sweet Stitches fabric brads and attached the Wild Wasabi polka-dotted one.
   
And I've got some exciting news to share.  Lesley from Always Playing With Paper has decided to create a new sketch challenge blog, Freshly Made Sketches, and has invited me to be a member of the Design Team!  I have long admired her work and I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw her email inviting me to participate.  The whole idea is to make a project with clean lines...not necessarily clean and simple...just "clean."   Our first challenge will be on September 7th and I hope that you can join us then!

In the meantime, thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Color Lab Challenge 53

Today is the first day of a new format at the ColorLab color challenge.  We usually begin our challenges weekly on Thursday, but we're switching to a monthly challenge on the 15th of each month.  Hopefully, this will give everyone more time to participate!  So let's get on with today's challenge.

For my layout I chose the FTL153 sketch (which for this challenge has teamed up with CAS-ual Fridays for double the fun)! 

First, I stamped the scripted image from the French Foliage stamp set once in Soft Suede, then again in More Mustard.  Then I stamped one of the floral images from the Simply Soft hostess set in Pear Pizzazz then followed that with some Pool Party to fill in the colors of the flower.

So go on over to the ColorLab and check out the samples from the design team to get your creative juices flowing.  Then create something!  We'd love to see what you do!

Paper Players 59 and CCMC162

This two weeks in a row that I managed to finish a card for the Paper Players challenge on the day of the challenge.  This week they've cooked up a bit of a monochromatic challenge for us.

Pink!  How sweet!  I adore Rose Red - it's one of my favorites.  Then I found a sketch challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary.  I've never participated in one of their challenges, so I thought it was high time that I did!

I love circles, so I was definitely on board with this fun sketch.  Here's what I came up with:

With this card I did something I almost never do.  I added some bulk in the form of that pleated flower, which pretty much ensures that this card is not getting mailed to anyone in a regular envelope!  To make the flower I used a Sizzix die called Mini Paper Rosettes.  When I first saw the die in the store I just had to have it!  And it's so easy to cut these flowers out all pre-scored rather than scoring your own paper.  I bought it with the intention of using the flowers for gift bags and favors, but I couldn't resist trying it out for this card.

Well today dawned rather dull and cloudy, so I took the opportunity to continue the deep cleaning of my house that I started last week.  This morning I focused on the cellar with the intention of vacuuming up every last spider I could find.  I think I was successful, but those creepy crawlies always manage to find their way back.  Funny how I like my Halloween crafts to be full of spiders, but I like my cellar to have none!

Thanks for stopping by today!

MOJO 203 and Color Throwdown 154

On Monday I printed out a copy of the MOJO sketch challenge and left it on my desk.  I've been staring at it ever since, hoping I'd get the time to participate.

Finally today, after weeding, pruning and painting I found some time to  make that card.  I combined it with the Color Throwdown challenge.

Now, these are some colors I can wrap my head around!  "Dark gray" for me means SU! Basic Gray which usually means I turn to my leftover Walk In the Park designer paper.  But I don't have much of that left, so I decided to go a different route.

I used some So Saffron designer paper from the retired Sweet Pea collection as the main background layer.  For my smaller layer I added a little paper pierced layer of Old Olive peeking out from the top of the white.  At the bottom of the white layer I adhered some Basic Gray circles.  First I punched some 1/2-inch circles then punched a 3/4-inch circle around it to create a circle outline.  And although it may not look like it in the picture, the flower is colored with Daffodil Delight.

We had some lovely weather today and I spent most of it outside weeding the garden (I swear it's my part-time job in the summer), pruning the boxwood and doing a little exterior house painting.  I can't believe it's almost the middle of August and summer will soon give way to autumn.  How time flies!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Friday Mashup Challenge 19

This week the Friday Mashup challenge is all about one of my favorite things.  Butterflies!

So, here's the "Mash Up!" challenge:
1. Create a project with "Butterflies and Bling".
2. Create a project using "Marina Mist, Perfect Plum and your Choice of ONE other color and ONE Neutral".
3. Or "Mash it Up!" and create a project that using "Butterflies, Bling and the Color Combo"!


For the second week in a row, I chose to Mash it Up and creat a card using the color challenge with a butterly and some pretty bling!

I ultimately chose basic black as my color of choice and crumb cake as my neutral.  Or was it crumb cake as my color and basic black as my neutral?  Ack!  I don't know!  But what I do know is that I like the two together!  I used some retired Halloween designer paper for my Perfect Plum layer.  It's pretty much the only dp I own that is Perfect Plum and it's not very Halloween-y so I use it for all sorts of cards. 

And for my butterfly, I used the gorgeous image from the retired Simple Friendship stamp set.  This is one of those stamp sets that I can't possibly get rid of.  The butterfly is too beautiful to give up!  I stamped the image in Versamark onto Marina Mist cardstock then embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I finished it up with a bit of rhinestone bling.  And my "sparkle" sentiment is there to pay a little homage to all that bling!

So, I hope you'll give this challenge a try.  Visit the Friday Mashup and see the samples from the design team.  They will definitely inspire you to give this one a go! 

PPC68 - A Little Shabby

It's been a very busy week and I haven't been able to spend much time in my stamp room, but I did manage to make a card for the Picture Perfect Creations color challenge and the Sweet Sunday sketch challenge.

For some reason I had it in my head that I wanted to make a kind of shabby-vintage card.  I have no idea why, but sometimes these things just come to me!

I'm more of a clean and simple girl, but I really like the vintage look as well.  And every once in a while I try my hand at it.  I had been seeing a lot of cards lately that were using newsprint paper with images stamped on it and I liked the look of it.  So that's what I did here with one of the floral images from the Simply Soft hostess set and the First Edition designer paper.  I sponged the edges with More Mustard, then went over it very lightly with some Basic Black too.

You might remember that Thursday is usually ColorLab challenge day here, but we're trying something a little different.  We're changing to a monthly challenge beginning this month on the 15th, so I'll be back with a card for that on Monday.  Hopefully this will give everyone more time to participate in the challenges.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy Birthday Lesley!

Today is my blogging buddy Lesley's birthday so to celebrate, Nance has organized a blog hop so that we can all send her our best wishes!  Keep reading to find all the stops on our blog tour!

How adorable!  I wish I could see her face when she realizes what we've done!  I made a card that I've got to admit I fussed over it for quite a while before I settled on the finished product.  Ooh, the pressure!!

Lesley befriended me many months ago when she asked me to be a guest designer on her challenge blog The Paper Players.  She never fails to give an encouraging word and is a source of great inspiration for me.  I'm so glad that I "know" her even though we've never met, we live 3,000 miles apart and in different countries!  Luckily, in this electronic age that means nothing! 

I hope that you'll pop on over to Lesley's blog, Always Playing With Paper, and send her some birthday wishes!

Here are the other very talented participants in our blog hop today (with a big shout-out to Nance for putting this whole thing together)!  Be sure and check out their amazing creations!

Anne Marie Hile - Stampin’ Anne
Carrie Gaskin - Artistic Avenger
Cindy Beach - Stamps, Paper and Ink
Jaydee - Stampin’ with Jaydee
Jen Mitchell - I Create --------< That's me!
Joan Jeffery - JJ Creations
Lauri Ingram - Paperville
Laurie - Hiding in My Craft Room
LeAnne Pugliese - wee Inklings
Nance Leedy - Canopy Crafts
Rita Wright - Cards by Rita
Sandra Azzopardi - Sandra’s Stamping Spot
Tui Nathan - Stampin’ Time

Paper Players 58

I don't think I've ever done a challenge this early in the morning!  I don't usually find my way into my stamp room until late afternoon or early evening, but I'm avoiding housework this rainy morning!  And what better way to do that than to check out the latest challenges and create something!

When I first saw this week's challenge at the Paper Players I didn't think I had the right stamps to be able to participate.

But as I checked out my stamps to see if I could find something to work with I found the It's a Wrap Occasions stamps (that look vaguely like band-aids!) and found one that was perfect for the challenge.

Those adorable apples with the A+ grade are just right!  Once I settled on them I decided to make a favor box.  I love making boxes and it's been ages since I've done one.  The catalog had some nice designs like this one, so I copied it.  I think this would be so cute for a kid to find in his or her lunch box on the first day of school.  A sweet treat along with a sweet message!  What a great way to start the school year off!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Friday Mashup Challenge 18

I am so excited to tell everyone that today is my first day as August Guest Designer at the Friday Mashup!  I'm always so grateful when these opportunities present themselves to me and I only hope that I can do the challenge justice!

This week we are hoping to get your creative juices flowing by celebrating anniversaries and all the glittery goodness that goes with them!

So, here's the "Mash Up!" challenge:

1. Create a project using "Glitter".
2. Create a project for an "Anniversary" .
3. Or "Mash it Up!" and create an "Anniversary project using Glitter" !

It may not be obvious in the picture but I did the mashup, and combined glitter with anniversary! For my card the sentiment, of course, is anniversary but the center of the flower is pure glitter!  And the two look smashing together! 

Thanks for stopping by today. And I hope you'll visit The Friday Mashup and participate in the challenge this week.

Color Lab Challenge 52

Today marks the end of the new color palooza at the ColorLab.  In case you missed it, for the past five weeks the color challenge at the ColorLab featured one of the fabulous new In Colors from Stampin' Up!

Today, of course, features the delightful Pool Party.  And when you pair it with So Saffron and Not Quite Nafvy, it becomes spectacular!

 

The layout I used is from the fabulous sketch of Nance from the Paper Players latest challenge.  I thought long and hard about the shape of the focal layer before I settled on this shape from a Nesties die.  Although I wasn't at all sure that I made the right choice initally, I've decided that it looks pretty good!  I love when what I've envisioned in my mind mirrors what I've created with my hands.  Sometimes that's not always the case!

Well, thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to pop on over to the ColorLab, check out the inspiration from the design team and then show us what you've got!  We'd love to see what you do!