TAWS Blog Hop

It's blog hop time at The Alley Way Stamps!  And today I get to show you a card I made using the fun Tag-Alongs stamp set.  There are lots of great images and sentiments in this set for a bunch of different occasions.  I had a hankering to make a Christmas card so with a little help from the Mojo sketch and the tic-tac-toe challenge at Merry Monday I came up with this.

Now, if you would like the chance to win the new release from The Alley Way Stamps then here's what you have to do.  You can pick and choose the ones you want to do, but keep in mind the more you comment, the more chances you have to win.

1. Comment on The Alley Way Stamps Blog
2. Comment on the Design Team blogs (you'll find the links if you scroll down)
3. Post about it on Facebook or your blog
4. Like us on Facebook

(leave a separate comment for each that you do)

You have until March 31st at 9:00PM TAWS time to leave your comments.

And during the month of April when you shop at The Alley Way Stamps and spend $40 or more, you'll get a free stamp set.  Nothing to do but shop!  And this fun little guy will be added to your order!

Now off you go to do the HOP!!!  You never know which comment random.org will pick so don't miss out!  Here's the lineup...

 
 
 

Freshly Made Sketches 79

This week at Freshly Made Sketches, Rita has given us a sketch that seems straight-forward but I found to be a little tricky.  I'm sure she didn't mean it that way (right, Rita?), but tricky is what I saw.

To complement the sketch I was inspired by the current Muse challenge which features a card designed by Ardyth Percy-Robb and features a lot of circles.  I wanted to incorporate circles onto my card where the scallops on the sketch were and got it in my head that interlocking circles would look pretty cool.  In the end I think they look like the Olympic rings gone bad, but what do I know?  Here's Ardyth's very cool card:

I can assure you that the Freshly Made Sketches design team has created some excellent cards for your viewing pleasure, so head on over there to check them out.  See you in the gallery!

Supplies

Stamps: Funky Florals (Papertrey Ink)

Accessories:  washi tape; 1/2-inch, 3/4-inch, 1-inch punches; Dimensionals 

TAWS April Sneak Peeks #2

It's sneak peek time at The Alley Way Stamps!  Today I get to show off a card I made using the sentiment stamp set Life is Short.

This stamp set is full of wonderful phrases and for this card I split up the phrase so that part was on the front of the card and part was on the inside.  (Easy to do by inking up the stamp with a marker instead of an ink pad).

This fun layout is from the latest Deconstructed Sketch and the pretty pink colors are courtesy of Dynamic Duos.

Now, if you would like a chance to win this stamp set head on over to The Alley Way Stamps blog.  All the comments posted today on the blog will go into a random drawing.  You can have two entries:  one for commenting on the sneak peek post at The Alley Way Stamps blog and one for sharing the sneak peek on Facebook.  Commenting closes at 9:30pm TAWS time so hurry on over!

Supplies

Stamps:  Life is Short (The Alley Way Stamps)

Accessories:  Welcome Neighbor DSP, Loves Me DSP (SU); Sentiment Strips die (MFT); Petite Scallop Oval die (Spellbinders); Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon; Pretty in Pink button; Dimensionals; crochet thread

colourQ 182

Are you ready for some pretty colors from Arielle and colourQ?  I loved the eclectic mix of these colors and they gave me the perfect excuse to ink up a brand new stamp set.

The splashy images of this stamp set actually remind me of a somewhat famous landmark in Boston.  Visible from the Southeast Expressway there is a gas tank that has been painted with the "Rainbow Swash," a design by Corita Kent.  It's been there since the 1970's and I'm sure I've seen it hundreds of times.  I wonder if I was subconsciously thinking of it when I first saw this stamp set?  Here's what it looks like.

  

Incidentally when I was searching the web for a picture of the tank I read a little about the history of it and found out this is the largest copyrighted artwork in the world!

Thanks for stopping by today.  Be sure to hop on over to colourQ and check out the beautiful cards the design team has made to amaze and delight you!

Supplies

Stamps:  Watercolor Wonder, Grunge Me (Papertrey Ink)

Happy Birthday to My Aunt

My aunt is celebrating her 80th birthday next week and today her daughter is celebrating the event with a little party.  I looked through my stash of birthday cards and didn't find anything that tickled my fancy so I thought I'd make something fresh for her.  And I've got a triple play going on here because the card I've made combines three challenges:  Seize the Birthday, Fab Friday, and Addicted to CAS.

The feminine sketch challenge at Seize the Birthday is, of course, perfect for my aunt and the colors from Fab Friday inspired me to make my card full of springy leaves and flowers which, in turn, was perfect for the Addicted to CAS challenge.

The only thing I messed up was the placement of the sentiment.  I seem to do that a lot {insert grimace here}.  But I still like this card.  And I'm sure my aunt will too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Summer Silhouettes, Happiest Birthday Wishes (SU)

Hi Friend for CTD234 & CTS20

Saturday has dawned bright and cheerful here in my neck of the woods.  I'm pretty sure that soon the threat of snow will stop and we can get down to the business of spring.  Everyone I talk to has had it up to "here" with the snow these past few weeks so when I see a sunny days like today I know it can't be long now.

On to my card that I made using the eye-catching colors at Color Throwdown.  At first these colors put me in mind of a Christmas card then I saw the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch and tried something different.

I made a little pocket out of Basic Black punched with a circle.  Then I filled it with some leaves punched in Garden Green and Crumb Cake.  The pocket looked a little forlorn with no decoration so I punched a tiny flower in Real Red and adorned it with a little rhinestone.

Well that's it for me.  I'm off to run errands then to do a little cleaning around the house.  Yuck!  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Lean on Me (Verve)

Accessories:  Meadow Leaf die (Poppystamps), Fresh Foliage die (Memory Box), Basic Rhinestone (SU)

Freshly Made Sketches 78

It's new sketch reveal day over at Freshly Made Sketches and since I'm the hostess this week, I thought I'd stretch my creative arms and try something a little bit different.  When I designed the sketch, I left some space that I thought might perfect for patterned paper, or stamped images or whatever your creative process could conjure up.  But as I began to contemplate my card for the challenge, I started to fixate on the "any shape" part of the sketch.

So, as I was driving home from work the other day I came up with an idea to do a sketch within a sketch.  Take a look and see if you see what I mean.

First I created a tag, and that tag follows the layout of the sketch.  Then the tag became the "any shape" part of the sketch on my card.  So I've got two sketches in one!  That's like double the fun!  And for extra credit I dug out some really old DSP for this one.  It's called Afternoon Tea and I absolutely adore it, which means that I hoard whatever little scraps I've got left.  But in my never-ending-quest to use up the DSP I've got in my stash I broke out the prettiest pattern in the pack to use on the card front.

My fellow Freshly Made Sketches design team members have got some great cards to inspire you this week, so hop on over to check them out.  Then join us in the gallery because we love to see you there!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Kind Words (Verve)

Accessories:  Sending Love Brad, Basic Pearls, Antique Brass Jumbo Eyelet, (all SU); white seam binding ribbon; brown crochet thread; Daisies #2 die (Sizzix)

Wings of HOPE for Dynamic Duos 44 and Deconstructed Sketch 93

The color challenge this week at Dynamic Duos inspired me to do a little something with a stamp set that is normally associated with pink.  I combined the colors with the sketch at Deconstructed Sketch and this is what I came up with:

I'm not exactly sure what made me think of Wings of HOPE when I sat down to make this card, but once I got the idea in my head there was no talking me out of it!  I kind of like the look because it's a bit unexpected!  A bit of washi tape for fun, some patterned paper from my ever-so-slowly dwindling supply of DSP and I was done.  For once, easy peasy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Wings of HOPE (The Alley Way Stamps)

Accessories:  washi tape, white embossing powder, dimensionals

colourQ 181

The color palette this week at colourQ has got a blast from the past!  It's been a long time since I've seen the words "Brocade Blue" anywhere, but here they are!

I actually found a bit of Brocade Blue cardstock in my stash, but it turns out that I didn't need it.  Instead I inked up a flower stamp with a marker.

During my travels around blogland I often come across cards that use a black color scheme for flower stems or leaves.  I've always wanted to give that a try because the results are always dramatic and eye-catching.  So I took the opportunity presented by this color challenge to try it out.  I like it, but I wish I had stamped some more leaves or something to take over a bit more of the white space.  In any event, the layout for this card comes from the latest sketch at Create With Connie and Mary.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a chance to head on over to colourQ.  While you're there check out the inspiration from the design team then play along with us!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Summer Silhouettes, Thank You Kindly (SU)

Just Because for CTS19 & PDCC173

Whenever I see a color challenge that involves black, white and one other color I get an itch to play along.  Such was the color challenge this week at The Play Date Cafe.  Here's what I made:

The other color (to my eye) was Tangerine Tango, so I inked up this great splotchy flower from Awesome Blossom in it.  I love this flower and you all are probably sick of seeing it, but I can't stop reaching for it!  My layout is my interpretation of the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch and as you can see I took some liberty with the placement of the sentiment.  I couldn't resist changing it up a bit and instead of a banner I made mine a bit of crinkly ribbon from 3 Girl JAM and a tag with a sentiment from Mad Gab.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Awesome Blossom, Mad Gab (The Alley Way Stamps)

Accessories:  Black Seam Binding Ribbon (3 Girl JAM), Antique Brad (SU), Scallop Square Die (Spellbinders)