Happy New Year with colourQ 222

Can you believe it's the last day of 2013?  I can't!  Every year seems to go by faster and faster and I just wish that it would slow down a bit.  I've got a few resolutions for myself in 2014 but I'm not going to tell anyone about them because I don't want to jinx myself!

Anyway it's onward and upward to the last color challenge of 2013 with colourQ.  The colors are appropriately party-worthy so I inked up a party girl!

When I finished this I thought I over did it with the gold accents but now that I see it here I like it a little better.  The patterned paper is a little scrap that I had in my stash.  It had some kraft-colored stripes so I went over them with a sparkly gold jelly roll pen.  It looks really cool in real life!

I followed the layout from Saturday Sketch and I deviated a teensy bit by wrapping gold cord around the bottom rather than adding another layer.  But that's kind of like the sketch, isn't it?

The weather people are forecasting a big snow storm here for Thursday and Friday.  Blech.  Times like this I wish I lived in a place where I didn't have to worry about digging my car out of the snow so that I can get to work on time.  :(

Hop on over to colourQ and check out what the design team has got to show you with these colors.  I can guarantee you will be wowed!

I hope you all enjoy a safe new years eve and a healthy, happy and prosperous 2014!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Cheers (My Favorite Things)

Paper:  Basic Black, Gold, Going Gray (SU); X-Press It Blending Card

Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copics

Accessories:  Traditional Tags STAX (My Favorite Things); gold cord (SU)

Best Friends

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Today I've got a card to show you using a couple of cute guys from Meltdown and a sentiment from Tag-Alongs.

I used the colors from Sunday Stamps and the layout from Unscripted Sketches for this card.  I've got to confess that I'm done with Christmas and all the colors that go along with it, so it was a real treat to make.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Joy to the World!

Happy Christmas Day!  I couldn't resist sharing this tag with you today because it has a sentiment that is very special on today of all days!

I chose the colors from the Friday Mashup challenge and this wonderful sentiment from Jolly Holiday for this gift tag.  The tag was attached to a gift to my brother-in-law which he opened last night.  I have no idea if he liked the tag or the gift because I'm composing this post on Monday!  Oh, the joys of modern technology!

I hope that your Christmas day is fun, relaxing and filled with joy!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Jolly Holiday (The Alley Way Stamps)

Paper:  Kraft (Avery Elle); Real Red, Gumball Green, Bermuda Bay (SU); Neenah Solar White

Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine); Gumball Green, Real Red (SU)

Accessories:  Tag Your It die (My Favorite Things); Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon (SU); baker's twine

colourQ 221

Christmas Eve is such a magical time I think.  Since I was a kid my family has always celebrated together starting on Christmas Eve.  There is always lots of food and visits with family before we go to midnight Mass.  After Mass we head to my aunt's house for more food and visits with family.  The night always ends with the "Portuguese Band" coming to the house and performing traditional Christmas songs.  I'm lucky if I make it home by 3:00 AM!

But before that all happens I've got to go to work and when I get home, take a nap!  And before that happens I must show you the card I made for the newest colourQ challenge.  This week the colors are inspired by this ornament.  

I'm sure I should have been inspired to make another Christmas card but my Christmas mojo is only working sporadically so I made this thank you instead following the latest retro sketch.  You might think that a blue starburst is kind of weird and I thought so too when I was assembling this card.  But once I had put it all together I thought it looked pretty nice.  So I kept it.

I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas, if you celebrate it, with your family.  And if Santa brought you some new crafting goodies you should head over to colourQ on Thursday to try them out as you play along with our challenge!

Merry Christmas!

Supplies:

Paper:  Neenah Solar White; Coastal Cabana, Baja Breeze, Midnight Muse, Baked Brown Sugar (SU)

Accessories:  Sunshine die, Thanks die (Simon Says Stamp)

BE Inspired 44

We are now approaching the final stretch to Christmas!  I hope you are ready!  My shopping is done and I plan on spending the weekend wrapping presents, doing some baking and generally getting into the Christmas spirit!  And to help me along, the BE Inspired Challenge at The Alley Way Stamps blog was all about a fun and colorful Christmas.  The colors inspired me to make one last Christmas card using images from Jolly Holiday!

The layout of my card comes from the latest sketch challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  I really liked the simplicity of the layout and thought the layers would be a great way to show off some of the colors of the inspiration photo.

One extra fun thing about the BE Inspired Challenge is that if you play along you have a chance to win a free stamp set!  All you have to do is play along with the challenge using an image from The Alley Way Stamps.  And if you don't have any stamps you can find FREEBIES here!  One lucky person will be hand picked from all the entries and one person will be randomly chosen.  Each will receive a free stamp set!

So come play along with us!  Good luck!

Freshly Made Sketches 117

The final countdown to Christmas is on.  It seems like it has really creeped up on me this year and although all the gifts are bought, I still feel like I've forgotten something important.  Does that happen to you at this time of year?

Today is our last challenge of 2013 at Freshly Made Sketches!  We're taking a bit of a break to enjoy the Christmas and New Year holidays.  But after this challenge we'll be back bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on January 8th with a new challenge and some exciting news!  Sadly this is our last challenge with our amazing Design Team member Linda Suarez.  We are all going to miss her so much and I hope you can take some time to pop on over to wish her well on her card making and scrapbooking travels.

For my card this week, I braved the White on White challenge at The Paper Players.  They gave us the option to add a little silver and I did because otherwise my card looked miserably plain.  In the end I'm not sure it helped!!

I'm pretty sure it's hard to see in the photo, but I embossed a snowflake then added the flags die cut in vellum.  The whole thing was too much white for me so I added a bit of silver cord and the sentiment stamped in silver.  The silver is kind of washed out in the photo, and you'll have to trust me when I say that this looks better in real life!

The Freshly Made Sketches design team have finished off this last challenge of 2013 with a huge bang because you won't believe the cards they've got to show you!  Run right over and check them out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Jingle All the Way (Technique Tuesday)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White; Vellum (SU)

Ink:  Silver Metallic (Encore)

Accessories:  Banner Trio die (WPlus 9); Bitty Banners die (SU); Snowflake Trio die (amuse.studio); embossing paste (Dreamweaver Stencil); silver cord (SU)

I Heart You!

I've been so focused on Christmas lately that it's nice to take a break every so often.  The other day I was contemplating a few challenges and decided that the colors at Dynamic Duos and the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch would make a nice Valentine once I added in the wee hearts from True Colors and the sentiment from Mad Gab. 

The horizontal layer is some stripes made with embossing paste.  I can't stop using that stuff!  I wish I had angled the hearts in a more interesting way, but they are stuck fast and not moving now!

I suspect I'll be back to my regular Christmas programming next.  I still can't believe we're only a week away.  All the gifts are bought, they just need wrapping now!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  True Colors, Mad Gab (The Alley Way Stamps)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White; Kraft (Avery Elle); Marina Mist (SU)

Ink:  Marina Mist

Accessories:  Stripes stencil (Tim Holtz); embossing paste (Dreamweaver Stencils)

colourQ 220

I have been slightly disorganized this holiday season.  I only just got my Christmas cards in the mail and now at this late date I've turned my attention to gift tags.  And although the colors this week at colourQ don't exactly scream Christmas, I think they say "out of the box Christmas" so I used them to create this tag.

The challenge this week at Sketch Saturday was to pick any one of their sketches after #215.  I chose #217 and adapted it to make a tag instead of a card.

Now it's your turn to take these colors and create something for the colourQ challenge.  The design team has got some great cards to inspire you so don't forget to check them out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Playful Christmas 2 (Kitchen Sink Stamps); Tinsel n' Trim (Reverse Confetti)

Paper:  Baked Brown Sugar, Summer Starfruit, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White (SU)

Ink:  Strawberry Slush, Coastal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar (SU)

Accessories:  Stitched Mats Square die, Stitched Mats Rectangle die, Stitched Sentiment Flag die (Lil' Inker Designs); Kraft Blend sequins (Avery Elle)

Freshly Made Sketches 116

This week Narelle is our hostess at Freshly Made Sketches and she's designed a fantastic layout that includes the ever-popular flags!

As you can see I took the flags and translated them to strips of washi tape.  Then I added a simple rectangular layer and embellished it with a pretty layered flower that I think looks a bit like a poinsettia.  The simple sentiment is one I think we could all wish for.  The colors of my card are inspired by the Fusion challenge that is resurrecting in January!  Yay!

The Freshly Made Sketches design team have out done themselves this week with their cards so be sure you head over there to check them out.  I know it's a busy time of year but I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Christmas Carols (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps)

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Real Red, Whisper White (SU)

Ink:  Real Red, Chocolate Chip (SU)

Accessories:  4 Petal Set die (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps); Pierced Rectangle STAX (My Favorite Things); Basic Rhinestones (SU); washi tape

Love Potion with PP175 and RS93

I should be working on Christmas cards and Christmas tags but as soon as I saw the new color challenge at The Paper Players I became convinced that a Valentine's Day card was in my future.  Pair that with the totally awesome sketch from retro sketches and I was off and running!

This lab beaker and fun sentiment from the brand new Bubbling Over stamp set from The Alley Way Stamps is just perfect for a Valentine.  Who wouldn't love to be overcome by the smoke emitting from the beaker as it points to the way to their own true love!  

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Bubbling Over (The Alley Way Stamps)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Raspberry Ripple, Pink Pirouette, Old Olive (SU); X-Press It Blending Card

Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copics

Accessories:  Pierced Circle STAX (My Favorite Things)

colourQ 219

This week the color palette at colourQ is inspired by these great owl ornaments.  I love these rustic and earthy colors!

I was inspired by Chupa's newest Sketchbook Saturday sketch and all the beautiful images she layered together on her card so I tried the same look on a Christmas card.  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out!

These gorgeous colors have inspired the marvelous colourQ design team to create some pretty fantastic cards this week so don't forget to check them out.  We'd love to see you in the gallery so I hope you can set aside some time to join us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Modern Christmas (Clearly Besotted Stamps); Gorgeous Grunge, Off the Grid (SU)

Paper:  Kraft (Avery Elle); Chocolate Chip, Whisper White (SU)

Ink:  Always Artichoke, Real Red, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip (SU)

Accessories:  Circle STAX 1, Pierced Circle STAX (My Favorite Things); Dot Fade Stencil (Tim Holtz)

BE Inspired 43

My head is evidently filled with visions of sugar plums because I plum forgot to post this card yesterday!  Every other Friday at The Alley Way Stamps blog is a new BE Inspired Challenge and I even though I made this pretty card for the challenge ages ago I proceeded to forget to post it.  Luckily my awesome Design Team buddies made sure the card went live on the TAWS blog and here I am today showing it to all of you!

I used the sketch from Seize the Sketch to guide my layout and was inspired by the snowflakes and pretty colors of the inspiration photo.  I used some pretty die-cut snowflakes and this wonderful scripty sentiment from Christmas Magic.  I've seen so many Christmas cards this season using these colors and it's become my favorite color combo this year.

Late post aside, now I'm going to tell you that if you play along with the BE Inspired Challenge using an image from The Alley Way Stamps you've got a chance to win a free stamp set.  Click HERE to get all the details and click HERE to find freebie images if you don't have any TAWS stamps.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Christmas Magic (The Alley Way Stamps)

Paper:  Coastal Cabana, Real Red, Whisper White (SU)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Circle STAX 2, Pierced Circle STAX (My Favorite Things); Snowflake Trio die (amuse.studio); Peace, Joy Love sequins, Into the Woods sequins (Lawn Fawn)