Stencil Thanks

So, I think I am in love with layering stencils.  I've only got a couple but I made a card today using the colors from CAS Colours & Sketches and a stencil from The Ton and I love how it came out!

Layering the stencils was so easy to do and the end result is so pretty!  💕

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Thank You Builder (Altenew)
Paper:  Whisper White, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Stormy Sea (Papertrey Ink); Early Espresso, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Climbing Cosmos Layering Stencil (The Ton); Blueprints 15 die (My Favorite Things)

CAS Colours & Sketches 363

I'm late again for my CAS Colours & Sketches post. 😞Work is crazy - I'm an essential worker amid the COVID-19 crisis - so sometimes I get home and all I have time for is a quick meal, a cuddle with my fur babies, and I'm off to bed.  But I am determined to get back on track and first up is the sketch from CAS Colours & Sketches - and special thanks to the ladies there for inviting me along this month and for being so patient with me.

Often when I see a circle on a sketch I reach for a floral stamp.  Well this sketch was no different!  I used a sunflower stamp inked with colors not usually associated with a sunflower - the colors at Less is More inspired me to think outside the box on this one.  Raspberry and red on a flower and some gray leaves fit the bill.

Thanks for stopping by!  And special thanks to CAS Colours & Sketches for inviting me as their guest designer this month.

Supplies
Stamps:  Painted Harvest (Stampin' Up!); Tiny Words (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Basic Gray (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Raspberry Fizz (Papertrey Ink); Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Real Red (Stampin' Up!)

CAS Colous & Sketches 362

I'm so late with my post for the CAS Colours & Sketches challenge!  This virus issue has been wreaking havoc with my time -- not because I have it but rather because I'm part of the team at work responsible for making sure that my fellow employees and customers are safe during this crisis.  So while I'm grateful that I managed to carve out some time to escape into my craft room and get creative, the other side of the coin is that I'm a bit off schedule with my blog posts.  But better late than never, I present this card I made for the latest color challenge.

I was intrigued by the sketch at FabFriday, which I thought was perfect for using up some of my old patterned paper.  A big square filled with the patterned paper and a small square with a colorful flower!  A perfect match I say to myself!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you can join us at CAS Colours & Sketches for this color challenge!

Supplies
Stamps:  Simple Sentiments (Avery Elle)
Paper:  Pure Ivory (Gina K); Naturals White (Neenah); So Saffron, Melon Mambo, Vellum, Spring Flowers DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Sprightly Sprigs die (Verve); enamel dots (Freckled Fawn, My Mind's Eye)

CAS Colours & Sketches 361

It's week two of my guest spot over at CAS Colors and Sketches and this week we've got a sketch for you.  I will confess that when I see a circle on a sketch I tend to think of some kind of flower.  The double-layer circles on this sketch had me thinking of some patterned paper and a die cut flower.

The die cut flower is, of course, my favorite poinsettia die so this quickly became a Christmas card.  And those two horizontal layers were a great spot to put a sentiment.  The colors of my card were inspired by the challenge at TGIF Challenges.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Fa La La (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Old Olive, Purely Pomegranate, Basic Black, Holiday Treasures DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Layered Poinsettia die (Penny Black); Petite Scallop Circles die, Standard Circles die (Spellbinders); enamel dot (Freckled Fawn)

CAS Colours & Sketches 360

I am pleased as punch that the ladies at CAS Colours & Sketches asked me to join them this month as their guest designer!  The first challenge is a color challenge so let's get to it!

I loved the sketch challenge at Sketch Saturday that debuted a couple of weeks ago.  Although the sketch challenge was technically "closed" I used the sketch anyway - must embrace inspiration no matter where it comes from!  And at AAA Cards there is a challenge right up my alley...Maxi White Space.  Ta daaa!

Thanks for stopping by!  And special thanks to CAS Colours & Sketches for inviting me along this month!

Supplies
Stamps:  Tiny Words (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Call Me Clover, Mint Macaroon, Blushing Bride (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Button Stacks die (Papertrey Ink)

Funky Florals

I was organizing in my craft room yesterday.  One thing that drives me nuts is that the companies that make ink pads, by and large, don't put a label identifying the ink color on the side of the pad.  So since I store mine vertically I end up having to devise some system so I know what color is where.  Yesterday I attacked my Altenew ink pads and put a small dot on the sides of them. 

While I was in my room I inked up an old favorite stamp set and played along with the challenges at Color Throwdown and CAS Colours & Sketches.

It's a pretty simple card with a wee birthday sentiment.  I should have taken the opportunity to use the colors for a masculine card, but I really wanted to use those flowers!

Here are my dotted ink pads.  I'm almost done with them, but I think we crafters should start a revolution and demand labels on the side!  It seems logical to me...

Freshly Made Sketches 414

Well, I don't know why I forgot to publish this post on Wednesday, but I figured I better do it or else!  So here we go:

One of these days I will make a card that doesn't have a Christmas theme.  Today is not one of those days!  😉 Today is our debut of a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches and our hostess, Karren, designed a sketch that I decided would fit my Christmas card needs perfectly...... if I flipped it on its side.

I had a vague idea in my head of what I wanted my Freshly Made Sketches card to look like when I stumbled upon the color challenge at CAS Colours and  Sketches.  The colors there were just the inspiration I needed to turn my vague idea into an actual idea.  I turned the sketch counter-clockwise and used some gold washi at the bottom of the card. Then I added a big sentiment in red outlined with gold glimmer paper along with a few green enamel dots.  My green dots are not exactly the color they are looking for but they'll have to do!

Thanks for stopping by to check out my tardy Freshly Made Sketches post.  Better late than never!

Supplies
Stamps:  Fa La La (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!); gold glimmer (Recollections)
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Fa La La die (Simon Says Stamp); enamel dots (Doodlebug Designs); washi tape

Tag You're It 88

It's time for a new challenge at Tag You're It!  This time around we are looking for spring flowers - my favorite!

I love flowers.  I grow them in abundance around my patio during the summer months.  I like nothing more than relaxing on my chaise lounge and being able to smell them while I read or take a nap!  So this challenge was a no-brainer for me.   I used a leafy sprig and some flowers from a couple of ancient Stampin' Up! sets using the colors at CAS Colours & Sketches.

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow teammates at Tag You're It have made some great tags to inspire you.  I hope you'll join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps: Best Blossoms, Great Friend (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Coastal Cabana (Stampin' Up!); Solar White (Neenah)
Ink:  Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Tag Sale #5 die (Papertrey Ink); enamel drops (Freckled Fawn); white seam binding ribbon, white crochet thread

Freshly Made Sketches 260!

I've been away for a few days but I'm back today with a new card for the latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches!  This week our hostess is Kim and she's got this great sketch with awesome shapes.  Take a look!

I just got that new leaf stamp and really wanted to ink it up.  I think I tried three times and made a mistake of one kind or another on it each time.  I ended up going with my first try because I could obscure the mistake with the die cut sentiment.  (Some of the veiny part of the leaf didn't stamp completely).  BTW, that veiny part is heat embossed in copper on top of the sponged color background.

I was inspired by the challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches and though it looks gold in the picture, the die cut sentiment and cord are actually copper in color.  And in case you miss it in the photo, there's a vellum flag under the sentiment too.  Photography is obviously not my forte!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the inspiration from the always-amazing Freshly Made Sketches design team.  We'd love to see you in the gallery this week!

Supplies
Stamps:  Lace Leaf (Concord & 9th)
Paper:  Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Vellum (Papertrey Ink); Kraft-Core Metallic (Tim Holtz)
Ink:  Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!); Versamark
Accessories:  Grateful Leaf die (Concord & 9th); Epis de blé die (4enscrap); Jumbo Fishtail Banner STAX (My Favorite Things); copper cord (Stampin' Up!); copper embossing powder (Ranger)

colourQ 364!

We've got some great colors for you this week at colourQ!  They put me in mind of a Halloween card (thanks in no small part to that fabulous wreath)!  I was all set to use a certain image on my card when I decided to go back and look at some old Halloween cards that I had made to see what I would find.  Well, what I found were several stamp sets that I forgot that I even owned!  So in the NBUS spirit I scrapped my original idea and used some cute monster feet from an oldy-but-goodie set!

I only stamped half of the sentiment (the other half says "smell my feet")!  And I also used some really old patterned paper that's got candy corn all over it.  What says Halloween better than candy corn??!!  The layout for my card comes from the latest challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches.

I hope these colors inspire you to create a fun card with us at colourQ!  And I hope we'll see you in the gallery!  Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies
Stamps:  Funky Feet (The Alley Way Stamps)
Paper:  Pumpkin Pie (Stampin' Up!); Black (Simon Says Stamp); X-Press It Blending Card
Ink:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Jet Black (Altenew); Copics
Accessories:  Stitched Rectangle STAX, Sentiment Strips die (My Favorite Things); Harvest Corn baker's twine (Maya Road); black button (a.muse studio)

colourQ 348!

It feels like summer is in full swing here where I live and what better way to celebrate than a new challenge at colourQ  where the colors are inspired by a pretty bathing suit!

Despite the obviously feminine inspiration, the colors put me in mind of a more masculine design so that's the direction I took.  I actually think this card is gender neutral, but since I left off flowers and butterflies I call it a man-card!

I based my card on the sketch at CAS Colours & Sketches.  Instead of separate rectangular layer, I created a frame with some post it tape then colored in some stencils right up to the edge of the mask to create the impression that a rectangle is there.  I had no idea how it was going to look when I started but I think it came out pretty good.  (The sentiment was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed, which resisted the ink I used on the stencil).  And I did another little substitution when I used a couple of enamel dots to take the place of the two little squares on the sketch.  The challenge this week at Less is More is to use a stencil so that's what I did!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you can join us at colourQ this week.  Be sure to pop on by there to check out the inspiration from our design team!

Supplies
Stamps:  Big Words (Mama Elephant)
Paper:  Sweet Tooth (My Favorite Things); Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White (SU)
Ink:  Cool Caribbean, Certainly Celery, Night of Navy, Pumpkin Pie (SU); Versamark
Accessories:  Blueprints 20 die (My Favorite Things); Splatters stencil (Tim Holtz); enamel dots (My Mind's Eye); clear embossing powder

Freshly Made Sketches 240!

Hello, hello and welcome to the latest edition of a card I made for Freshly Made Sketches.  The sketch this week is designed by Jen Brum who makes some seriously beautiful cards.  I pondered this sketch for a while then I was telling a friend at work about it.  I showed her the sketch and, without blinking, she said it looked like a cake.  Never one to ignore a perfectly good idea I turned the sketch on its side and went with it.

At first I was going to make the cake using layers in the colors of the challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches.  I got it all assembled then began looking for some images of candles in my stash to finish it off.  I didn't find any candles but I happened to spy an old wedding stamp set which had a very simple tiered cake with a few flowers on it for decoration.  So I scrapped my original idea and went with an all white cake and added a few wee flowers in the colors instead.

The top layer of my cake has some dripping icing that is actually a punch in the style of dripping goo.  I got it about a hundred years ago when I used to make little treat boxes that looked sort of like Herman Munster.  The dripping goo made a perfect set of bangs for ol' Herman!  I don't use that punch very often but it's one of those things I'll never get rid of (like my electric fry pan) because it comes in handy every so often!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll hop on over to Freshly Made Sketches to check out the amazing cards from our design team.  There are so many cool renditions of this sketch you will surely find loads of inspiration there.  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Paper:  White Linen (Ellen Hutson); Rose Red, Blushing Bride, So Saffron, Whisper White (SU)
Accessories:  Basic Pearls (SU); Drippy Goo punch (Martha Stewart)

colourQ 335!

Hello and welcome to Tuesday which also happens to be the day of a new palette at colourQ!  This week the colors are eclectic for sure!

I shamelessly used the sketch at CAS Colours & Sketches to create a little rainbow of rectangles using the colors, sticking a sentiment on the bottom one stamped on white.  Easy peasy!

The colourQ design team had no trouble at all using these colors as you will see when you pop on over there.  I hope you have some time to join us in the gallery this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Celebrate Artsy (Stamplorations)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir); Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral, Cool Carribbean, Pumpkin Pie (SU)
Ink:  Bermuda Bay (SU)
Accessories:  Pierced Rectangle STAX (MFT)

colourQ 333!

Top o' the morning to you!  There's a whole lotta green this week at colourQ.  Just in time for St. Patrick's day!  A funny thing happened to me on my way to making my card for this weeks colourQ challenge.  More on that later.

I made a cursory check around my stamp room for some leprechauns or four leaf clovers or some other image that conjured up St. Patrick's day but came up empty.  So I opted for the next best thing:  a bit of grunge and a butterfly!

The sketch at CAS Colours & Sketches provided my layout, although it's a bit of a stretch and I'll understand completely if the design team over there kick me out of the gallery.  The dripping paint background stamp is meant to be the square on the sketch and the butterfly is, well, a super awesome focal point on any card!

I sat down at my desk on Sunday to make my card for this week's colourQ challenge and I had a fantastic idea in mind using a certain sketch and another challenge where the focus was supposed to be the sentiment.  My card came together quickly and I was so happy.  Then I started to write up the cheat sheet that I use when I write my blog post that lists the supplies, challenges, and other details about the card.  That's when I realized that the colors I used were for NEXT week's colourQ challenge!  Duh!  So back to the drawing board I went to whip up something made entirely of green!  The good news is that I'm a week ahead.  That never happens to me!

There are some very lovely monochromatic green cards from the colourQ design team this week so be sure to check them out.  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Splatdrip (Tim Holtz); Take Note (Verve)
Paper:  Sweet Tooth (My Favorite Things); Old Olive, Wintergreen DSP (SU)
Ink:  Kiwi Kiss (SU); Jungle (Avery Elle)
Accessories:  Cheviot Butterfly die, Delaney Butterfly die (Poppystamps); Blueprints 13 die (My Favorite Things); Clear Droplets (Pretty Pink Posh)

The Challenge #60

Happy Monday!  Today is a holiday for me so I'm home from work.  The weather has been uncharacteristically frigid so I haven't really enjoyed my long weekend with any special outdoor activities, but it's nice to be home relaxing all the same.

A few weeks ago one of my cards was chosen as a top pick at The Challenge so today I'm joining the ladies there as a guest designer!  The color challenge inspired a Valentine - a day late and a dollar short!

I actually had no intention of doing another Valentine, but I saw the sketch at CAS Colours & Sketches and thought the word "love" would look pretty good scrawled across the front of my card.  Then the challenge at Just Add Ink was to add a "V" so I had that covered too.  I'm pretty sure that this is the last Valentine that I'll make this year!  Finally it's one layer week at Less is More, where I haven't played along in a while so I'm adding this over there as well.

Thanks so much for stopping by and a big thanks to Lesley and the rest of the Design Team at The Challenge for inviting me along this week!

Supplies
Stamps:  Circles Circles Circles (Whimsy Stamps); The Big the Bold and the Happy (Winnie & Walter)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir)
Ink:  Real Red, Pink Pirouette, Basic Gray (SU)