Bravo!

I've been busy making some graduation cards for a friend and needed to squeeze one in for my niece too.  I was actually kind of tired of looking at sentiments that proclaimed that the graduate would soon conquer adventures the likes Christopher Columbus had hardly seen.  So I went in a bit of a different direction.

"Bravo" could mean a lot of different things, but in this case it's a celebration of all that my niece has accomplished.  She deserves a hearty congratulatory sentiment and this one sure sums it up!  The colors at The Card Concept merged with the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch for this one.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Beautiful Botanicals (a.muse stamps); Oh Happy Day (Avery Elle); Textures 2 (Florileges Design); Sketchy Chevron Border (Impression Obsession)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Solar White (Neenah); Basic Black (SU)

Ink:  Basic Gray, Daffodil Delight (SU); Pitch Black (Adirondack); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Notable "Cute" enamel dots (My Mind's Eye); washi tape

Freshly Made Sketches 138

Hello and welcome to another edition of Freshly Made Sketches!  This week the sketch is brought to you by the super talented Jen Timko.  She's a very busy stamper these days and always manages to wow me with her cards!  The sketch she designed has a nice layer on it that is wide open to interpretation.  I thought it looked rather like a tag so that's what I put on my card.

I love a long weekend off from work because I get to spend some relaxing time in my stamp room.  Usually my weekends are spent crazily making cards for upcoming DT work, but when I have an extra day it's like winning the lottery!  So on Monday I was able to make my FMS card with inspiration from the current Muse challenge.  I didn't have quite the same bright colors as in Cornelia's card but I used the brightest colors I could find to make my card.  The vague chevron shape of her colors had me reaching for this new background set from WPlus9 with it's modern looking chevrons.

The Freshly Made Sketches design team have got some great cards to show you (don't they always)!  So head on over there to check them out.  I hope you can join us in the gallery this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  So 80's, Borders and Backgrounds 4, Hand Lettered Hello (WPlus9)

Paper:  White Linen (Ellen Hutson); Basic Black, Whisper White (SU)

Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Lucky Limeade, Tangerine Tango (SU); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Hand Lettered Hello die (WPlus9); Enamel Dew Drop Stickers (Freckled Fawn); black seam binding ribbon, baker's twine

colourQ 243 and Seize the Sketch #21

It's that time again when I get to show you a card that I made using the newest color palette at colourQ and the layout from Seize the Sketch.  This week the colors are inspired by this shower curtain with its riot of flowers and the sketch comes to you from the sweet and talented Lori Turner.

Don't you love this sketch!  That rectangular layer has SO many possibilities.  I took the opportunity to use it to show off this gorgeous leafy die along with a couple of wee flowers and a layered butterfly.  I didn't use any stamps on this card (which is rare for me) because I couldn't figure out exactly where I wanted to place a sentiment.  I didn't want to mess with the lines of the die cuts, so I think I'll end up leaving this one plain.  That way I can use it for just about any occasion and when I need it I can stamp a sentiment on the inside!  

There's loads of inspiration over at colourQ and Seize the Sketch so head on over there to check out the beautiful projects from the design teams and get all the details for playing along with us.  I can hardly wait to see how you interpret this sketch and these colors!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Paper:  White Linen (Ellen Hutson); Winter Wisteria (Papertrey Ink); Certainly Celery, Bermuda Bay, Tangerine Tango, Vellum (SU)

Accessories:  Palm Fancy die (Hero Arts); Delaney Butterfly die, Cheviot Butterfly die (Poppystamps); Bricked embossing folder (Tim Holtz); Boho Blossom punch, Basic Pearls (SU)

Happy Birthday Ga

My niece's birthday is Tuesday and instead of searching through my stash of ready-made cards for a birthday card for her I decided to make one from scratch.  Somehow all the stars aligned in this card because I included four different challenges to make this.  I'm not sure if I've ever done that before but here it is.  This combines the colors at Color Throwdown with the sketch from Sketchbook Saturday along with the texture challenge at Addicted to CAS and the flower cue card at CASology.  Whew!

I got some new October Afternoon sprinklers and I wanted to try them out so after I stamped the flower and masked it off, I gave the card base a shot of color.  The spray zone is a little bigger than what I intended but it's actually growing on me.  I intended to watercolor this flower and got it all ready to go on water color paper then my brained zoned out and I grabbed some Copics and before I knew it I was coloring with those instead.  I tried to keep the colors light and went over it with the colorless blender to remove some color and make it look a little more water color-y and I don't think it looks too bad.

The title of this post is "Happy Birthday Ga" which is niece's nickname.  Her name is actually Stephanie but for some reason her younger sister started calling her Ga and nobody knows why.  As  is the way with that sort of thing, the name stuck and now we all call her Ga!  Go figure!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Charming Gardners (a.muse studio); Wet Paint (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:  Soft Sky (SU); water color paper

Ink:  Jet Black Stazon; Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  All Aboard Sprinklers (October Afternoon); translucent embossing paste (Dreamweaver); Burlap stencil (Tim Holtz)

Tis the Season

It's been a while since I've added a Christmas card to my collection so I was feeling in a festive mood as I checked out some of my favorite challenges last night.  It just so happens that the flower challenge at Merry Monday, the inspiration photo at Festive Friday and the week four sketch at Viva la Verve all went together in my mind.

For some reason I make a lot of Christmas cards using kraft cardstock.  I like how it gives warmth to a design.  And the inspiration photo from Festive Friday definitely had some warm colors to my eye, like kraft, off white, and red.  I added some silver glimmer paper too because that little deer looked kind of shimmery to me.

Today is the start of a nice long weekend here and I am really looking forward to that extra day off from work.  I've got tons to do outside and so far it looks like the weather will cooperate!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Memorial Day to all my US friends!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Think Big Favorites #8 (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Silver Glimmer, Deck the Halls DSP (SU); Natural White (Neenah)

Ink:  Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink)

Accessories:  Pierced Oval STAX (My Favorite Things); Banner Bundle die (Verve); Blooming Poinsettia die (Memory  Box); Berry Blend sequins (Avery Elle)

Freshly Made Sketches 137

This week the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches is hosted by little ol' me!  The funny thing is that when I got serious about making my card for this week I had no ideas.  Zero.  Zip.  Nada.  If nothing else, this tells you that I don't design sketches with a card already in mind!  As I sat staring aimlessly at my stash of supplies hoping for divine inspiration I somehow remembered this great DSP I had that my uber talented friend Karren used on her FMS card last week.  From there I made a leap of some sort to a sunflower and my card was born!

I think my using a flower was heavily influenced by the CAS floral challenge this week at The Paper Players and the flower challenge at CASology.  Sometimes I get something in my head and there's just no getting it out!  Luckily this time the inspiration paid off and I created a card that I like lots!

Be sure to check out the beautiful cards the Freshly Made Sketches team have created to inspire you this week.  Then break out your own supplies and join us in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Textures 1 (Florileges Design); Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Marigold Morning, Old Olive, Whisper White, Parisian Breeze DSP (SU)

Ink:  Crumb Cake (SU); Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink)

Accessories:  Sunflower die (My Favorite Things); Stitched Leaves die (Lawn Fawn); Iridescent Chocolate sequin (Ellen Hutson)

colourQ 242

I am not ashamed to admit that when I first clapped eyes on this week's colourQ palette I wanted to run in the opposite direction as fast as my little feet would take me.  It's not that I didn't like the bold and colorful colors, because I did, I just had no idea how I was going to put them together in one place.  Cool sneakers aside, this was a tough challenge for me.

But they don't call it a challenge for no reason, right?  Usually when I see a bit of green I think I can do something with leaves and perhaps work in a flower and that was the road I went down first with my card.  But as I got working I realized that I had no (good) ideas for flowers so I grabbed a few graphic stamp sets and went about laying down color and images in a somewhat random way.

The newest Wanna Sketch gave me the perfect layout to show off these cool images and I happily stamped away until I got a look that I liked.  The only mistake that I made was that I stamped the sentiment before I put the card together so although it's straight, it's straight with the tilted layer and not the card base.  The difference is subtle but it doesn't look too bad, I say to myself.

So how do you see these bold and bright colors on your project?  Our colourQ design team see them all kinds of ways so do hop on over there to check them out.  I hope to see you in the gallery later!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Extreme Elements (SU); Grunge Me (Papertrey Ink); Grunge Cirque (Tim Holtz)

Paper:  White Linen (Ellen Hutson); Solar White (Neenah); Tempting Turquoise (SU)

Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo (SU); Lettuce, Pitch Black (Adirondack)  

Thank You for Fusion and Unscripted Sketches

The colors in the inspiration photo at Fusion were too good for this girl to pass up but I wasn't sure that I would have time to play along.  Well along came the sketch from Unscripted Sketches and it was like a light bulb went off in my head and I knew exactly how to combine the two thereby ensuring that I would set aside some crafting time to create a little something.

I love any color combo that features black, white and a pop of one other color.  And shades of yellow always seem to be high up on the list of my faves.  For this card, in addition to the requisite black and white I chose Crushed Curry.  That is a yellow with some serious depth!

Regular visitors may note that this card was photographed while sitting on top of a vintage frog.  I've been wanting one for ages because sometimes my cards just won't cooperate when I try to stand them up for photographing.  On Saturday I went to the antique show in Brimfield Massachusetts and lo and behold I found a dealer that carried bunches of them in all shapes and sizes.  I picked up a round one in a nice pewter color and away I went.  I love how easily it holds the card and doesn't look too fussy.  I'm so glad I bought it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Summer Silhouettes (SU); Simple Sayings (Tim Holtz)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah), Basic Black, Crushed Curry, Whisper White (SU)

Ink:  Smoky Slate, Crushed Curry, (SU), Pitch Black (Adirondack)

Accessories:  Banner Trio die (WPlus9); washi tape

Simplicity

Another busy week at work means that when I get home at the end of the day I have no energy to make it into my craft room.  But I hate to go too many days without putting ink to paper so I made sure that I had some time Friday night to make a card for a couple of my favorite challenges.

This card uses the colors from Color Throwdown and the layout from CAS(E) This Sketch.  I really think that I need to take a photography class that specializes in close-ups because my photos just don't show the detail that I'd like.

Behind the flower and leafy sprig is a bit of embossing paste in a honeycomb design but I can barely see it, which is why I think I need a photography class.  And I don't even want to mention that the cardstock has a linen embossed texture that is totally lost.  I have taken photography classes before so I think I understand the basics of shutter speed, aperture and ISO but I'm clearly missing something when it comes to close ups.

But enough about that!  Today I'm off to the antique market in Brimfield, Massachusetts.  I didn't make it at all last year so I'm anxious to get out to the fields and see what I can see.  I can remember years ago when I was new to my house that I would go and come back with a car just chock full of stuff.  One year my mother-in-law spent the ride home in the back seat of the car wedged in between a sofa and a table or two!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Secret Garden (SU); New Day (Precious Remembrance)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); White Linen (Ellen Hutson); Lucky Limeade, Whisper White (SU)

Ink:  Melon Mambo (SU); Silver Encore (Tsukineko)

Accessories:  Leafy Branch die (Impression Obsession); Honeycomb stencil (Heidi Swapp); white embossing paste (Dreamweaver); silver sequins

Freshly Made Sketches 136

Hey, hey happy Wednesday!  Today at Freshly Made Sketches our hostess is Amy.  If you don't know her I suggest popping on over to her blog to see her beautiful cards.  She's got a wonderful sense of color, her designs are so fresh and her cards always make me smile!  Her sketch this week is eye-poppingly good and I can't wait to see your creations light up the gallery!

I know I've been using washi tape a lot lately, but that is not washi tape on my card!  I've got some MFT dies that resemble ripped washi tape so I stamped some patterns then die cut the "tape" out of them (using the colors from The Paper Players, by the way).  I stamped a funky flower, a little texture and I was done!

Don't forget to pop on over to Freshly Made Sketches and check out our newest challenge.  The design team have got some great cards to show you too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Jofy Mini 13, Jofy Collection 12 (Jofy); Take Note (Verve); Washi Patterns (My Favorite Things)

Paper:  Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Natural White (Neenah); Pear Pizzazz

Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid (My Favorite Things); Pear Pizzazz, Calypso Coral (SU); Copics

colourQ 241 and Seize the Sketch 20

I'm so lucky because every other Tuesday I get to show you a card I've made for colourQ and Seize the Sketch!  Today the color palette is inspired by this beautiful necklace and the sketch is designed by Lesley.

My translucent embossing paste was feeling a little neglected so I used it to create these diagonal stripes on the center of my card.  I love how that stuff looks!  And I finally got a chance to ink up this beautiful PTI feather.  There's a bit of gold embossing on it that's hard to see in the photo but it looks a little oo-la-la in real life!

Don't forget to check out the challenges at colourQ and Seize the Sketch.  The design teams have created some fantastic projects to inspire you.  And you can also get all the details for playing along!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Feather Finery (Papertrey Ink); Fancy Feathers (Clearly Besotted)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Solar White (Neenah); Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, Pool Party, Gold Foil (SU)

Ink:  Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink); Tempting Turquoise (SU); Distress Embossing Ink (Tim Holtz)

Accessories:  Diagonal Stripe stencil (Simon Says Stamp); translucent embossing paste (Dreamweaver); Naturals button, gold cord (SU); gold embossing powder

Hash Tag Life is Good

I really loved the simplicity of the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch and thought it would look especially good when paired with the monochromatic challenge at Colour Me.  But in order to create what I was envisioning in my head, I had to turn the sketch upside down, something I don't normally do!

I actually tried another image first before going with this billowy outlined flower.  But the first image was too chunky and after I popped it up on foam it looked like a giant pimple on the front of my card.  Definitely not the look I was going for.  

Monochromatic often means simple to me and I wanted to do justice to all the white space on the sketch so I kept the design rather minimal.  But to prevent the washi tape from looking lost amid all that space I added a bit of texture with some grungy images stamped behind it.  I love how adding random images like that seems to give a card texture.

It's a beautiful day here just in time for Mother's Day.  I hope you mothers out there have a wonderful, relaxing day!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge (SU); Truth Is (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps); #Hashtags (Tim Holtz)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Solar White (Neenah); Basic Black (SU)

Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid (My Favorite Things)

Accessories:  washi tape

Mother's Day for Cardabilities and Color Throwdown

I have discovered that the business of making cards goes much faster if the television is OFF.  Last night I sat down to make a card for the latest sketch at Cardabilities and for the palette at Color Throwdown and it took me forever because I was watching TV at the same time.  Other times I've consciously left the TV off and (no surprise) I'm so much more productive!

I meant to add some sequins or enamel dots to this card and completely forgot (probably another good reason to craft in relative silence).  I think I'll do that before I hand it over to my mother.  I'm not sure she's going to like this card because I don't think she's into the whole grungy card thing like I am, but we'll see!

I used some washi tape to create my own patterned "paper" for the flag here with the thought that this would be my second entry in the Gallery Idol contest.  I'm not totally in love with this card so I'm not 100% sure I will enter it.  The deadline is May 19th so I've still got some time to create something else and decide which I like better.

I don't think I will give up watching some of my favorite shows while I'm crafting.  It feels weird to craft in total silence (except for the parts where I'm telling my cats to get out of my space).  So I'll probably have to resign myself to inefficient card making!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes (SU); Mini Mixed Media Backgrounds (Stamplorations)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Enchanted Evening (Papertrey Ink); Bermuda Bay, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Vellum (SU)

Ink:  Enchanted Evening (Papertrey Ink); Bermuda Bay (SU)

Accessories:  Dizzy Doily Duo die, Gerbera Daisy die, Fishtail Flags Layers STAX, Sentiment Strips die (My Favorite Things); Little Leaves die (SU); Lucky Limeade baker's twine (SU); washi tape