You Made Me Smile

Last night I got into my stamp room pretty late and somehow scrounged up enough energy to make a card inspired by the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch and the colors of the inspiration photo at Just Us Girls.  I was watching television while I made this (sometimes not a good idea) and since it was late by the time I finished I waited until this morning to photograph and post it.  Well I must have been dreaming of this card because in the light of the morning I was prying things apart so that I could re-do parts of it!

It's a glorious day today with the sun shining so I'm headed outside to putter around the garden and then do a little relaxing with a book on the patio.  One thing I discovered since being on vacation this past week is that I can't wait until I retire and I can putter around to my heart's content!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Textures 2 (Florileges Design); Sketchy Chevron Border (Impression Obsession); DIY (Precious Remembrance); Petite Posies (Technique Tuesday); Take Note (Verve)

Paper:  White Cardstock (Papertrey Ink); X-Press It Blending Card

Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid (My Favorite Things); Going Gray, Basic Gray (SU); Copics

Accessories:  Enamel Dew Drops (Freckled Fawn)

Hello Tag

I love to make tags.  I love them by themselves and I love to stick them on cards too.  Once upon a time I mused that it was too bad that there wasn't a challenge out there in this crafty blogland that was all about tags.  Well the stamping godmother has waived her magic fairy dust because there's a brand new challenge on the block called Tag You're It and, you guessed it, it's all about tags!  They're having a bit of a mini challenge to start things off so I thought I'd play along.

The colors on my tag come from the pretty challenge at Color Throwdown.  I did some sponging after I embossed the leafy image with clear embossing powder.  I stamped a few other images to create some texture then added the sentiment, which fits the Hello challenge at Friday Mashup.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Beautiful Botanicals (a.muse studio); Hand Lettered Hello (WPlus9); Feather Finery (Papetrey Ink)

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Whispher White (SU)

Ink:  Wisteria Wonder, Pink Pirouette (SU)

Accessories:  Traditional Tags STAX, Pierced Traditional Tags STAX (My Favorite Things); Pewter Jumbo Eyelets, Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon, linen thread (SU)

Sweet Baby

A while back a co-worker asked me to make some baby themed cards for her.  She wanted about six of them to send to a friend who was expecting a baby.  I told her that I'd be happy to make some for her but I was secretly scared.  If you've been here before then you know that baby cards are not really my thing and I was a little afraid that anything I made would be kinda lousy.  But I'm nothing if not adventurous in my craft cave so for the last few weeks I've been busy doing baby card searches and pinning a few that caught my eye.

We don't know whether the baby is a boy or a girl so I've been trying to stick to neutral colors.  The card I've got here was inspired by THIS adorable card and features the colors from Colour Me (kind of unconventional for a baby card), the sketch from Pals Paper Arts, and conveniently, the baby theme at The Card Concept.  And I got to use a brand new stamp set so I'm linking up to Darnelle's NBUS challenge too (just under the wire)!

I'm not sure mine looks as quite like a bib as my inspiration card (I think it might those in-your-face colors), but it does look better in real life.  It's a cute concept and I'm pretty sure the recipient will like it!

My vacation is winding down (insert heavy sigh here) and it's back to work on Monday for me.  I've had some fantastic weather this week and got a lot accomplished outside in the garden digging up weeds and flowers that had gone rogue.  I love that feeling of a job well done!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Onesie Two-sie (WPlus9)

Paper:  Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Natural White (Neenah); Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive (SU)

Ink:  Early Espresso (SU)

Accessories:  Houndstooth embossing folder, Daffodil Delight seam binding ribbon (SU) 

Freshly Made Sketches 142

Wednesday's in my house mean a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!  This week, the supremely talented Jen Brum is our hostess and she has created a sketch that I fell in love with as soon as I saw it!

This is actually the second card that I made for this sketch this week.  The first had a misguided attempt at using an artsy paint splash stamp along with some washi tape and I just couldn't wrap my head around it. So I set about creating this card with it's stripey embossing paste which looks better with the floating dots.  Much better, I say to myself.

The bright colors come from the latest challenge at Just Us Girls.  When I first saw it my thought was to run in the opposite direction, but then I realized that a challenge is called a challenge for a reason and I figured I ought to at least try to play along.  In the end I'm glad I did because these bright colors are quite eye catching.

We'd love to see you in the gallery this week so why don't you check out the inspiration from the Freshly Made Sketches design team then join us!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge (SU); Dot Spot (Papertrey Ink); Big Words (Mama Elephant)

Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango (SU); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Diagonal Stripe stencil (Simon Says Stamp); embossing paste (Dreamweaver) 

colourQ 247 and Seize the Sketch 23

I got some fun new stuff in the mail the other day and finally had a chance to try some of it out - just in time for the reveal of the new color palette at colourQ, (which was inspired by this adorable toddler's dress) and the latest sketch at Seize the Sketch, designed by our very own Lee Ann Barrett!

I actually started out with a different idea for this card and as I sat pondering what I was going to do with the oval on the sketch I looked down and saw this brand spankin' new die from Paper Smooches and it was like a light bulb went off in my head!  A few passes through my big shot and my idea was complete!  I inlaid the "hello" sentiment right into the pink cardstock and threw on some red sequins to take up some of that blank space (although they look anything but red in the picture).

I've had a look at the design team cards for colourQ and Seize the Sketch and they are pretty terrific so be sure to check them out.  I hope you can join us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Solar White (Neenah); Sweet Blush (Papertrey Ink); Bashful Blue, Island Indigo, Real Red, Island Indigo DSP (SU)

Accessories:  Quote Tag die (Paper Smooches); seam binding ribbon; baker's twine; crochet thread; sequins

Freshly Made Sketches 141

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.  This week our hostess is Cindy Hall and she has come up with a super-fantastic sketch!  Cindy has got an amazing eye for design and it shows in her sketch this week.  Take a look!

I chose the colors for my card for no other reason that I happened to turn my eye onto my Marina Mist ink pad and realized that I hadn't used in in a while.  That's as good a reason as any, I think!  I stamped a distressed background first then stamped the floral images, coloring them with blender pens so that the color would look a little water-colory.  It actually came out better than I thought it would.

As you can imagine, the Freshly Made Sketches have cooked up some fantastic cards for you this week so make sure you check them out.  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Distressed Grid (Creative Embellishments); Charming Gardners (a.muse studio); Be (Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Whisper White (SU)

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Marina Mist (SU); Black Licorice Hybrid (My Favorite Things); Onyx Black (Versafine)

colourQ 246

Today I've got the new color palette from colourQ to show you!  The colors are warm and I dove head first into them!  I attempted a three-fer on my card by combining the colors with the splatter challenge at Keep It Simple and the 200th challenge at The Paper Players (which I actually completely screwed up).  More on that later!

I had to substitute the sadly-now-retired Baja Breeze for the also sadly-retired Bordering Blue, but I got all the other colors right.  I really wanted to throw in some bits of washi tape here and there but none of the ones I have were exactly the right color.  Shocking, I know, considering the over-sized stash I've got.

Now, on to my screw up.  I mistakenly thought that the 200th challenge at The Paper Players invited us to choose any previous challenge and make a card inspired by it.  So I dutifully studied all the past challenges (I've got them all saved on my PC) and chose the sketch that was number 184.  Then last night as I sat down to compose this post I saw that I was supposed to make a card inspired by the DT cards posted for the 200th challenge, not one of the past 200 challenges!  Sheesh.  Talk about an epic fail.  But I still like the sketch and The Paper Players so I thought I'd share that little story!  200 challenges is quite an accomplishment and I can't wait for the next 200!

As usual, the colourQ team has made some beautiful cards this week so head on over there to check them out.  Can't wait to see you in the gallery!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge, Papillon Potpourri (SU); Hand Lettered Hello (WPlus9); Sketchy Chevron Border (Impression Obsession)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Whisper White, Vellum (SU)

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze,  Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive (SU)

Accessories:  Basic Rhinestones (SU); Berry Blend sequins (Avery Elle)

Thanks a Bunch

My mojo deserted me this week.  Every night I'd get home from work and had no desire to set foot in my stamp room.  I still checked out my favorite challenges but I had no ideas and couldn't rustle any up.  By Saturday I knew I had to get in there because I felt like my card-making skills were getting rusty.  While I was in there I realized what the problem was.  Today is Father's Day and this is the first one since my Dad passed away last year.  I've been thinking about that a lot this week and didn't realize that my sadness had spilled over into my card making.  I don't mean to dampen the mood, but it feels good to "say" that out loud.  Thanks for listening. :)

Anyway, although the first card I made yesterday did not turn out right at all, the second one looks pretty good.  I used the colors from Color Throwdown (although I substituted Lucky Limeade and Pool Party) and the June Viva La Verve sketch.

I stamped the sentiment on the vellum using pigment ink because it stays wet long enough to zap it with clear embossing powder.  Dye ink seems to smudge while it dries and I heard about this little trick somewhere or other.  I also stamped the flowers, created a mask, then stamped the leaves so that they would appear as if they were behind the flowers.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Dream Big, Sunny Days, Bloom & Grow (Verve)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes), Whisper White, Pool Party, Vellum, Everyday Enchantment DSP (SU)

Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Pool Party (SU); Onyx Black (Versamark)

Accessories:  Pierced Square STAX (My Favorite Things); Tag Me die (Reverse Confetti); Cakewalk button (October Afternoon); clear embossing powder, thread

Freshly Made Sketches 140

A funny thing happened on the way to making my card this week for Freshly Made Sketches.  The instant, and I do mean the instant, that I saw Linda's sketch I thought of this slightly raunchy stamp set.  Now, this in no way should be a reflection on Linda.  She's one of the most quiet and introverted stampers I know and would never endorse the use of a stamp like this.  Ha ha.  Fooled you!  She's actually one of the funniest, hippest and coolest people I know and I'm pretty sure she won't mind that I used this set for her sketch.

One of my sisters is turning the big 5-0 on the 19th of this month and I'm certain that she's not too happy about that.  Todays 50 is a lot different than when my own parents were 50 (gosh, did they seem old), so my sister really doesn't have much to be afraid of.  She tends to be a little on the serious side so I enjoy giving her a little shock now and then and this little stamp set fits the bill!  I think I might actually re-do it and stamp the "who's turning fifty" part on the inside of the card to not give away the punch line too soon.  She also favors fun, bright colors that are reminiscent of summer and, lucky for me, the challenge at Cupcake Inspirations was perfect for that.

So you know the drill.  The Freshly Made Sketches design team has got some fantastic cards to inspire you so on the off chance that you arrived here before there then I highly encourage you to take a moment to check out the inspiration from the design team and then, appropriately challenged, get ready to ink up some stamps and join us in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:

Stamps:  WTF (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Lemon Tart (Papertrey Ink); Pool Party, Calypso Coral (SU)

Ink:  Calypso Coral (SU)

colourQ 245 and Seize the Sketch 22

Every other Tuesday I get to show off some extra fun stuff here.  That's because this Tuesday is the debut of a new color palette from colourQ and a new sketch from Seize the Sketch.  This week at colourQ Arielle has found some great colors inspired by these fabric lanterns and over at Seize the Sketch our hostess is the super talented Lori Tecler whose cards range from cute and whimsical to classic CAS!

I thought I was in serious trouble with this eclectic color palette and procrastinated quite a long time about making this card but once I got going with my design the whole thing just sort of flowed together.  I love when that happens!  The sketch has a wonderful layout that is perfect for showing off pretty patterned paper and the shapes can be easily interpreted to show off your own design.  I tend to be quite literal when I follow a sketch (that's the left-brain banker talking) so I followed the layout to a "T" but our amazing STS design team has quite a collection of interpretations of this sketch to inspire you so be sure to head on over there to check them out.

And not to be outdone, my friends on the colourQ design team have created some cards and scrapbook layouts that will make you heart go pitter-patter!  Don't forget to pop on over there too!  And in the meantime, I hope you have time to join either or both of these challenges.  We always love to see your designs in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Summer Silhouettes, Off the Grid (SU); Take Note (Verve)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Solar White (Neenah); Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Pacific Point (SU)

Ink:  Summer Starfruit, Calypso Coral (SU); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Pierced Square STAX (My Favorite Things)

Simplicity for Sketchbook Saturday and Fusion Challenges

After struggling with making a card the other day I was anxious to return to my stamp room and make sure that I still knew what I was doing in there.  I had a slow start but I'm pretty happy with my card.  Yay me (!).

The sketch from Sketchbook Saturday gave me my layout and the Fusion inspiration photo gave me the colors for my card.  I struggled a bit finding just the right shades of orange but I made do with what I had.  Maybe I need to go ink shopping!

Finally after weeks of waiting, summer-like weather has found me!  Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous and after running some errands I parked myself on the patio with a book and relaxed for a couple of hours.  Today is going to be just as wonderful so I'll finish planting flowers and then I'll be getting down and dirty with some weeds!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Distressed Background Blocks, Jumbo Abstract Art (My Favorite Things); Esther's Garden (Art Gone Wild); New Day (Precious Remembrance)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Solar White (Neenah); Tangerine Tango (SU)

Accessories:  Lemon Drop Sprinklers (October Afternoon); Notable Cute Enamel Dots (My Mind's Eye)

Kick Some A$$

Did you ever start to make a card and nothing goes right.  The way you use the colors is wrong, the images are wrong, pretty much everything is wrong.  But you keep on trying and before long you realize that what you've got is total crap and you don't know why you even bothered.  Well this is one of those cards.  But I tried for so long to get a card I was happy with that I figured I'd show you what I ended up with anyway.

I thought the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch was so interesting and I really wanted to play along.  Plus the colors at Color Throwdown were a perfect monochromatic blend.  I thought for sure these were a match made in heaven.  Alas, for me it wasn't to be and I will unashamedly admit that I made at least five versions of my card before I settled on this one.  I don't hate this card, but it's definitely not what I had in mind when I started!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Abstract Art (My Favorite Things); Slash Border (Impression Obsession); So 80's (WPlus9)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah)

Ink:  Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Bravo Burgundy (SU)

Freshly Made Sketches 139

Half-way through the work week and time for another new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!  This week Rita is our hostess and she's one fabulous crafter.  She's got an irreverent sense of humor and a fabulous sense of design and you should totally check out her blog, if you haven't already!  Her sketch incorporates the ever-popular flags and a tag (one of my favorite things).

I found some great colors on the CAS on Sunday challenge blog and really hoped that I could do something special with them along with the sketch.  I knew I wanted to focus on some flowers and leaves and after lamenting that I don't own enough floral stamps I dug out an old favorite SU set and went to work.  In the end, I don't love this card because I think the arrangement of images and colors is just too bland.  But here it is in all it's glory!

The Freshly Made Sketches design team has not suffered from any blandness this week so do hop over there to check out their beautiful cards.  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Best Blossoms (SU); Group Hugs (Paper Smooches)

Paper:  Sahara Sand, Wisteria Wonder, Perfect Plum, Whisper White (SU); Vellum (Papertrey Ink)

Ink:  Perfect Plum

Accessories:  Tag Sale #5 die (Papertrey Ink); Little Leaves Sizzlet, Elegant Eggplant ribbon, (SU); clear embossing powder, sequins; baker's twine