colourQ 230

The other day a co-worker asked me to make her a birthday card for her mother.  She wanted something "nautical" as they are a fishing family (her father was a lobsterman).  I had one nautical stamp in my stash, but the images were better suited to a masculine card so I asked my trusty stamping friend Sylvia if I could borrow a stamp set full of fish and shells.  Of course she said yes!!

Luckily the colors this week at colourQ and the sketch at Create With Connie and Mary were a match made in heaven for the card I had in mind!

The kelp made a nice background for the conch shell and a birthday sentiment.  I added the sea horse as an afterthought and I wish I hadn't.  It looks funny to me, but I suppose a sea horse is probably found lurking in sea kelp so maybe it will grow on me!

These colourQ colors are pretty fab if you ask me (not to mention those to-die-for shoes) so I hope you have chance to join us this week.  Our amazing design team has got some pretty fabulous cards to show you so pop on over and check them out!

Supplies:

Stamps:  By the Tide, Sincere Salutations (SU)

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Summer Starfruit, Cool Caribbean, Basic Black (SU)

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

colourQ 218

This week at colourQ the palette has got some colors that are so popular this holiday season.  It seems like everywhere I turn I see gorgeous Christmas cards using shades of these colors.  I couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon :)

It's been a dog's age since I played along with the Create With Connie and Mary challenge and I loved their sketch this week.  To my eye it was perfect to go along with these colors.  No flower say "Christmas" to me better than a poinsettia so I used that as the focal point on my card.  I love how clean and colorful this is!

My Fantasy Football team has made it into the playoffs!  Since this is the first time that I've played I'm pretty darn pleased with myself!  I'm facing some stiff competition coming up and I have very little hope that my team will persevere but I'll give it my best shot!

I sure hope you can join us at colourQ this week.  Be sure to head over there to check out the other cards from the always amazing design team!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Watercolor Winter, Contempo Christmas (SU)

Paper:  Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Cool Caribbean (SU)

Ink:  Real Red, Lucky Limeade, Basic Black (SU)

Accessories:  Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details (SU)

Freshly Made Sketches 91

This week at Freshly Made Sketches, Cindy is our hostess and she has designed a sketch for you that leaves lots of room for your creative interpretation.  I love sketches like that!

I decided to use the great color challenge from Create With Connie and Mary for my card.  Partly because I seem to have discovered that yellow, in all its many shades, is a pretty awesome color and I really liked how it looked with Island Indigo and Early Espresso.  I'm coming to realize that yellow looks pretty fantastic with just about everything!

I've got to say that each week the gallery at Freshly Made Sketches is chock full of projects that are beautiful, inventive, and inspiring.  It seems you really like the challenges that we bring you each week and we really like seeing how you have interpreted the sketch.  So keep 'em coming!  

This week our amazing design team has got some beautiful cards to inspire you so please hop on over to check them out.  I hope to see you in the gallery this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday for DD#56 and CCMC255

I just wanted to pop in quickly today with a card I made with the pretty colors at Dynamic Duos and the lovely sketch at Create With Connie and Mary.

As I was putting this together it occurred to me that vellum might look nice on my card so I layered it over the Soft Suede cardstock.  I stamped the leaves on it and at first they looked quite splotchy so I ended up going over it with a marker.  I adhered it with the stamped image facing down so that it has a little softer look.

I was on a roll last night in my stamp room and actually managed to make three cards!   I needed to get a jump start on things for the week ahead because in a couple of hours I'm headed over to my nephew's graduation party and I'll be gone all day.  I'm bringing the sangria, YUM!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Raining Flowers, Summer Silhouettes, Itty Bitty Banners

Accessories:  Bitty Banners die, Dimensionals

colourQ 191

Yesterday, spring finally decided to make an appearance in New England so I was able to get outside and do some work in the garden.  I'm woefully behind but I did manage to get the tomatoes and cucumbers planted.  Yum!  The good weather is expected to continue so next up is summer squash and zucchini.

But enough about vegetables.  I know you really came here to see the new colourQ reveal.  This week we've got some pretty eclectic colors, but I know that our faithful colourQ-ers will have no trouble cooking up some fabulous inspiration in our gallery!

I was having some trouble making these colors work then I checked out the latest sketch challenge from Create With Connie and Mary and suddenly the light bulb went off in my head!  I knew exactly what I wanted to do and exactly what stamp set I wanted to use.  Serendipity, baby!

I hope you have time to join us this week at colourQ!  The design team has created some beautiful cards for you so be sure to check them out!

colourQ 183

It's Tuesday and that means it's time for another beautiful color challenge from colourQ!.  This week Arielle has given us another palette that I think is perfect for a spring-time card full of flowers.

I was inspired by the sketch at Create With Connie and Mary so I inked up the very pretty leaf and flower images from Secret Garden for the focal image on the sketch.  Then I thought that some baker's twine would be a fun twist to the scalloped horizontal layer.  I very nearly forgot the Daffodil Delight from the color palette but luckily I had these wee buttons in my stash and since buttons make the very best centers on flowers, I added it!  

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to pop on over to colourQ and check out the cards from the design team.  They're pretty terrific!  

Supplies:

Stamps:  Secret Garden, Kind & Caring Thoughts (SU)

Accessories:  Daffodil Delight button (SU); Calypso Coral baker's twine (SU), crochet thread

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)

Thanks, PP130 and CCMC236

I had planned to be a lot more productive in my stamp room yesterday, but I've discovered that watching "How It's Made" on the Science Channel is extremely distracting to the creative process!  I mean seriously, how am I supposed to concentrate on making a card when I'm learning how bowling balls are made?  I did, however, manage to squeeze out a couple of cards one of which uses the sketch from The Paper Players and the colors from Create With Connie and Mary.

I can see that Secret Garden is fast becoming my new favorite stamp set from the mini, especially since it has those handy dies to match the images.  These flowers and leaves were inked up in the requisite colors along with the sentiment from So Many Thanks.  I meant to add some stitching to this card, but completely forgot in my haste to get it done, photographed, and posted.  So the mini sewing machine will wait a little longer before it's used again.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Create With Connie and Mary 224

Sometimes at this time of year its nice to take a break from the Halloween cards, the cards for autumn, and the cards for Christmas and make a card "just because."  That's why I was so glad that the challenge this week at Create With Connie and Mary had colors that were perfect for just about any occasion you could think of!

When I first started thinking about my card for this challenge I was disappointed that I didn't have any Daffodil Delight DSP to jazz things up.  But then I thought that I could make my own, so out came the flourish stamp from Creative Elements to create a subtle background.  I already knew that Island Indigo and Lucky Limeade look ridiculously fabulous together so I happily stamped the stem and flowers from Summer Silhouettes in those colors.  I added this cute sentiment from Made For You in the corner.

I tried my hand at the crinkly bow that LeAnne excels at and I have to say I like this one a lot better than the first one I attempted.  I crimped it in the center with an Antique Brad and just basically let it all hang out!  I think I was fussing with it too much on my first attempt when I should have just let the bow do its crinkly thing!

The DT over at Create With Connie and Mary have got some fantastic cards to show you for this lovely color combo so make sure you take some time to head on over there and check them out.  You're gonna love what you see!

Create With Connie and Mary 223

How time flies!  I can hardly believe it's Thursday already and time for a new sketch challenge from Create With Connie and Mary!

Eeek!  Diagonal lines are always a bit daunting for me, but with some guidance from the color challenge at Fab Friday I put together this card using the pretty flowers from Everything Eleanor and a little sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  

My parents 56th wedding anniversary is coming up soon so I had it on my mind when I made this card.  My father has always loved flowers and my mother has always loved my cards so I think this is a match made in heaven!

The fabulous design team at Create With Connie and Mary has got some amazing inspiration for you so pop on by to check them out.  I hope you can join us this week!

Create With Connie and Mary 222

This week at Create With Connie and Mary we have got a great color challenge.  I think a lot of people have strong feelings (and not all good ones) about Summer Starfruit, but I actually think it's a pretty cool color so I sort of made it the focal point of my card.

When I started perusing blogland for a great sketch to go with these colors, I stumbled on iSpy Sketches where they are having a Friday Free For All.  You can pick any one of their past sketches for your card and I found one that I thought would be perfect to show off my pretty Summer Starfruit DSP.  This is the first time that I've participated over there so I thought it was pretty cool that I got to pick my own layout!  I chose #20.

I stamped my tag with the text stamp from Daring Adventure in Chocolate Chip.  Then I stamped the leaves from Summer Silhouettes in Gumball Green over that.  I added the small flower from the same set stamped with both Summer Starfruit and Chocolate Chip.  A couple of Gumball Green circles for an accent and some Summer Starfruit ribbon across the top and I had a card that absolutely loved!  Isn't that great when that happens?

The DT at Create With Connie and Mary have got some great cards with these colors to inspire you so be sure to head on over there and check them out.  I hope you can join us!

Create With Connie and Mary 221

Thursday, of course, brings a new fun challenge from Create With Connie and Mary.  This week we've got a  sketch challenge for you.  I've been seeing so many cards lately that have autumn leaves on them (mine included!), that I wanted to go in a completely different direction for my card this week.  I used some summer flowers to remind me that although summer is gone this season, it will be back sooner than ever!

I inked up the beautiful flowers from Pleasant Poppies in Black Stazon on watercolor paper.  Then I grabbed my long-neglected aqua painter and colored them with Calypso Coral and Certainly Celery.  I don't watercolor very often but this stamp set just calls out for it I think.  I lightly dragged some Pool Party around the edges of all the images to highlight them, but it's really difficult to see that in the photo.

I left off a sentiment because this is one of those cards that could be used for a variety of occasions and it's so simple to add the appropriate sentiment when I need to.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Don't forget to head on over to Create With Connie and Mary to check out the inspiration from the design team.  You won't be disappointed!

Create With Connie and Mary 220

This week at Create With Connie and Mary we've got a great color challenge for you.  Take a look:

I think these are such great colors for a winter themed card and I briefly considered breaking out some snowmen, but I figure that winter will be here soon enough and there will be plenty of time for snow later!  So I turned to an old favorite, Raining Flowers, that I had not used in a while.

I made this card a few days ago, a day that I will always refer to as "backwards day."  That morning I went out to do some shopping and when I got home I realized that the shirt I was wearing was on inside out!  How embarrassing!  During the day I had wondered why the collar of the shirt was curling in a strange way and why the tag seemed to be sticking out.  Duh!

But my inside out troubles did not end there.  Much later that day I sat at my stamp table assembling this card and once all the layers were glued down (in a never-to-be-released fashion) I realized that I had put one of the layers on backwards.  You can't see it in the photo (on account of the whole backwards thing) but there is actually a Whisper White layer with the Baja Breeze circles attached that was supposed to be layered onto the card base with the circles facing down so that all that would be visible was part of the circle which would form a scalloped edge.   Unfortunately I put the layers on with the circles facing up so that what you see are...circles.  Once I realized my mistake I tried to pry the layers apart but they were stuck fast and here you have my card.

The sentiment, by the way, is from Bring on the Cake.  And after this little card-making blip I think I deserve some cake!

Be sure to head on over to Create With Connie and Mary and check out the projects from the design team. You're sure to find some inspiration there!

Create With Connie and Mary 219

Is it Thursday already?  Well of course it is, which means it's also time for another great challenge from Create With Connie and Mary!  This week is a sketch (a square one, my fave) and you are going to love it!  I don't know how Connie and Mary do it, but week after week, they create these awesome challenges!  Take a look at what's on tap for this week:

I felt like it had been ages since I used some Soft Suede so I started with that as my card base then picked a color that I thought went well with it.  I used some Baja Breeze card stock cut with the Labels Framelit then layered it with some DSP from Twitterpated.  Then I went to check out my stamps to figure out which ones had been neglected lately!

After much contemplation, I used the flowers from Stippled Blossoms which were perfect for two-step stamping  using Baja Breeze and Soft Suede.  I added some leaves stamped in Wild Wasabi which seemed to be the same tone as the other colors.  

The horizontal layer is a strip of Baja Breeze layered with some Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon, a little Linen Thread and an Antique Brad.  I added the sentiment from Just Believe at the last minute because I thought the card was missing something.  I'm glad I did because I think it makes that big label a little more interesting!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to pop on over to Create With Connie and Mary to check out the inspiration from the design team!