CAS(E) This Sketch 289 Meets Fusion

Hey there!  It's time for my CAS(E) This Sketch - Fusion combo card!  It's a retro sketch this week all the way back to #55!

I played along with that sketch in December 2013 and my card then had a Christmas theme.  What a difference five years makes!  This time around I chose to use the colors of the Fusion challenge and created a card with a trio of flowers.  You'd think I was expecting spring or something!

My teamies at CAS(E) This Sketch and Fusion have created some fantastic cards to inspire you so I hope you'll play along with us.  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Mesh (Darkroom Door); Thank You Kindly (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  White (Spectrum Noir); Lemon Tart (Papertrey Ink); Groovy Guava, Tangerine Tango (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Green Parakeet, Pinefeathers (Papertrey Ink); Jet Black (Altenew)
Accessories:  Petal Party die (Memory Box); enamel dots (My Minds Eye; Doodlebug Designs)

CAS(E) This Sketch 231

I was helpless to resist using a beautiful dragonfly die cut on my card for our latest challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch.  When you see the sketch you'll know why!

I will admit that this card too way too long to put together.  I kept fussing over the size of the dragonfly and my decision to use a background stamp for the square image rather than a paper layer messed with the horizontal banner layer.  According to the sketch it's supposed to be under the square layer, but I couldn't do that.  After trying a few things I settled on a strip of some favorite washi.

I was inspired, too, by the CASE the designer challenge at Global Design Project which also featured a dragonfly!  I used soft, muted colors in shades of gray and blue in keeping with Tanja's inspiration.

All my fussing paid off because I like the end result of this card!  And my teamies at CAS(E) This Sketch have created some fabulous cards with this sketch so I know you will be wowed with their inspiration!  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Mesh (Darkroom Door); Mini 72 (PaperArtsy)
Paper:  Soft Stonen (Papertrey Ink); Basic Gray, Soft Sky, Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Basic Gray, Soft Sky (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Libellules die (4enscrap); washi tape

Freshly Made Sketches 253!

Hello, hello!  It's Wednesday so that means it's time for a new challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  This week Jennifer Brum is our hostess and I just love her sketch.  It's got some great shapes and there's lots of room for interpretation.

It occurred to me when I sat down to make my card that I hadn't made one with a butterfly on it in a long time.  So despite the colors at Cupcake Inspiration telling me to do Christmas again I ignored that voice and opted for a winged fellow instead.  Plus I don't want anyone thinking this is the all-Christmas-all-the-time channel!  (Although if you pop by tomorrow you'll see another Christmas card, she said sheepishly).  My butterfly is a popped up double layer of minty card stock, which I stamped first with a mesh background, and a vellum overlay.  It's my favorite butterfly to do because it looks like it just landed on the front of the card!   Can't you just see the wings fluttering?

Thanks for stopping by today!  The gals at Freshly Made Sketches have made some beautiful card this week so be sure to pop on by there and check them out.  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Mesh (Darkroom Door)
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Poppy Parade (SU); Mint Julep, Vellum (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Mint Julep (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories:  Banner Trio die (WPlus9); Bubbles stencil (Tim Holtz); translucent embossing paste (Dreamweaver); enamel dots (My Mind's Eye)

colourQ 341!

It's finally looking a bit more like spring around these parts.  After a week of rain and temperatures more suitable to November, May is finally stepping up and acting like the warm spring it's supposed to be.  Here's hoping it lasts!

It's Tuesday and that means there's a new palette at colourQ and the colors this week definitely called a bit of spring to my mind.

I thought I had sold my Peach Parfait stamp pad and was originally going to substitute with that horrible cantaloupe color but luckily I came across the right color before it was too late.  Good thing too because the cantaloupe was totally wrong when it comes to being peach!  The layout of my card comes from the latest challenge at Match The Sketch and instead of using actual layers on my card I've simulated them with stamped images.  The butterfly, of course, is not stamped but is a beautiful new stitched die that I recently got and is meant to take the place of the smaller rectangle on the sketch.

These colors are gorgeous and if the cards the colourQ design team have made are any indication of how the gallery will look this week (and you can bet they are), we are all in for a big treat!  So please come and play along with us and show us how you see these colors!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Mesh (Darkroom Door); Painted Greetings (Altenew)
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Melon Mambo, Cameo Coral, Whisper White (SU)
Ink:  Peach Parfait (SU); Black Tie (Ranger)
Accessories:  Blueprints 20 die (My Favorite Things); Daphne Butterfly die (Poppystamps); Clear Droplets (Pretty Pink Posh)

Freshly Made Sketches 209!

This is two weeks in a row that my Freshly Made Sketches card has been a Christmas card.  As always around this time of year I start to worry that I don't have enough Christmas cards made.  Luckily for me Jen Brum's sketch with a tree put me in mind of Christmas - but don't worry - you can use whatever shape want.  I didn't use a tree but I did use another iconic Christmas image.

The inspiration challenge at Tis' The Season had a bit of a muted-neutral look to it so that inspired the colors of my card.  I almost used green on the sentiment - to echo the green of the pine sprigs - but decided that carrying on with my neutral theme looked better.

I hope you have some time to check out the cards at Freshly Made Sketches because there's a lot of inspiration to be had there.  We'd love to see your interpretation of this sketch in the gallery!  I hope you can join us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Texture Stamp (Darkroom Door); Jingle All the Way (Technique Tuesday)
Paper: Fog (Simon Says Stamp); Vellum (Papertrey Ink); Silver Glimmer (SU)
Ink:  Fog (Simon Says Stamp); Smokey Shadow (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories:  Blooming Poinsettia die (Memory Box)

colourQ 299

Happy Tuesday!  It's time for a new palette from colourQ!  This week our colors are inspired by this rug.  An eclectic batch of colors if I've ever seen any!  But I see a challenge and I embrace it with both arms, all of my stamps, ink and whatever else I can scrounge up, then I get to work!

The background of my card is a bit of card stock embossed with translucent embossing paste and another bit stamped with an old SU background stamp with a canvas "texture."  I remember the days when background stamps were all the rage and I was convinced that I couldn't live without them.  Well fast forward a "few" years, I don't use them much and my life still has meaning! Even still I wouldn't want to part with them.  They give such great texture without adding any bulk.

 I was a teensy bit late making my card this week, but luckily the Mojo sketch came to my rescue.  It's been a dog's age since I've played along over there and truthfully my card-making style has evolved away from the layers that are a hallmark of the Mojo sketch.  But every once in a while I like to do something a bit different than my norm.  This sketch was perfect for showing off the colors and a bit of my old DSP that I can't seem to get rid of!

The colourQ design team has really rocked the colors this week so be sure to check them out.  And I hope you have time to join us in the gallery this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Papillon Potpourri, Canas (SU); Mesh (Darkroom Door)
Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Cameo Coral, Blushing Bride, Rich Razzleberry, Summer Starfruit, Whisper White (SU)
Ink:  Summer Starfruit (SU)
Accessories:  Thanks Script die (Mama Elephant); Diagonal Strip stencil (Simon Says Stamp); Basic Rhinestone (SU); translucent embossing paste (Dreamweaver)

colourQ 287

This week the palette at colourQ is one of my favorite kinds.  A little dark, a little light and a POP of color (inspired by these mugs)!  For my color I chose red, because my friend Jen said I should!

I thought the inspiration this week at Muse was perfect for my monochromatic + some color card.  Never mind that I made a very similar card a few weeks ago.  (I think I may have CASEd myself)!  Sue me - I love this stamp set and it's perfect for this sort of layout.

I can't wait to see the colourQ gallery this week.  This kind of color combo always inspires some gorgeous cards!  And if you take the time to check out the cards from our design team you'll see a preview of what I mean!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Botanical Silhouettes (Papetrey Ink); Texture Stamp (Darkroom Door)
Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); White (Spectrum Noir); Basic Black, Real Red (SU)
Ink:  Going Gray, Real Red (SU); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Stitched Rectangle die (Lawn Fawn); enamel dots (My Mind's Eye)