colourQ 283 Redux

Top o' the morning to ya!  It's St. Patrick's day - the day where everyone is Irish even if you're not!  And around these parts it's also Evacuation Day.  A totally made up holiday that just happens to fall on March 17th every year so that anyone who works for the government in Suffolk County can have a day off!  Sadly I work in Bristol County so I'm plugging along at work today. 

But it's also Tuesday, which is also colourQ day.  Due to some technical difficulties the challenge from last week is being extended, so you've still got time to play along.  And the colors just might inspire you to make a card celebrating this green holiday!   I know it did me - at first.

Now don't call me crazy because there is no pot of gold or shamrocks on this card.  And I'm not going to try to convince you that I exercised a little poetic license because I think those flowers look a bit like wilted shamrocks.  Nope, I started out making this card with visions of leprechauns in my head.  I even bought a digital image on Etsy.  But I just wasn't feeling the love from the little bugger so I made this instead.

I made a crafty resolution to myself this year that I was going to try new things.  And one thing that I do horribly is water color and I am determined to do it better.  So I treated myself to some good quality watercolors and used them to color my flowers.  I was trying to be very careful and not create a big muddy mess and I'm pretty happy with the result.  At least I'm encouraged to keep plugging along at it.

The layout for my card comes from the latest Deconstructed Sketch.

Thanks for stopping by.  And don't forget you've got another week to join in the fun at colourQ!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Charming Gardners (a.muse studio); Bright Days (Avery Elle)

Paper:  Kraft (Papertrey Ink); Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Smoky Slate (SU); Distress Watercolor Paper (Ranger)

Ink:  Jet Black Archival (Ranger); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Dotted Borders die (Avery Elle); Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX (My Favorite Things); Gansai Tambi watercolors (Kuretake); baker's twine

colourQ 272

Well, I guess I had one more Christmas card in me!  I thought I was done and then I got this new stamp set in the mail (a last minute Black Friday purchase) and decided that the new palette (inspired by this vintage ornament) at colourQ would be perfect for it.

So I stamped Santa, colored him up and assembled my card using the latest Deconstructed Sketch.  It's been a long time since I've used Poppy Parade and I've got to say I haven't missed it!  It's a little too tomato-y for me.  I like to eat tomatoes, I just don't want them on my cards!

And just pretend that those green sequins are sort of the color of Always Artichoke.  I really wanted to use some enamel dots and wouldn't it figure that I've got a million of them but none were even remotely close to that color.  So I had to settle for some sequins (which aren't the right color either) but I'm pretending that they are!

Well that's it for me.  As usual, the colourQ ladies have cooked up a fine assortment of cards for you to see so be sure to check them out.  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Thanks so much for stopping by and remember you can ignore the stupid "prove your not a robot" code!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Jingle All the Way (My Favorite Things)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Poppy Parade, Baked Brown Sugar, Always Artichoke, Poppy Parade DSP, Coastal Cabana DSP (SU)

Ink:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Always Artichoke (SU)

Accessories:  Pierced Rectangle STAX (My Favorite Things); Banner Trio die (WPlus9); Lucky Blend sequins (Avery Elle); Wink of Stella pen

Autumn Wishes

I was so productive yesterday.  I managed to make three cards, try a different take on some shepard's pie, go to the supermarket, watch some football and all of that in plenty of time to watch the season premier of The Walking Dead.  That's a good day I say to myself!

The first card I made was for the color challenge at The Paper Players, uses the layout at Deconstructed Sketch, the Autumn theme at As You See It and a button and sentiment for Sentimental Sundays.  Whew!

I wish the three leaves showed up a little better, but they all seem to blend together a bit.  I rock and rolled the colors on them but was having a hard time adding a little definition between them with my extra juicy Mossy Meadow ink pad.  It kept adding much more color than I wanted so I stopped trying to do it before I ruined them.  They look better in real life!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  French Foliage (SU); Distressed Grid (Creative Embellishments); Fall Colors (Precious Remembrance)

Paper:  Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Hello Honey, Mossy Meadow, Tangelo Twist, Very Vanilla (SU)

Ink:  Hello Honey, Tangerine Tango, Mossy Meadow (SU)

Accessories:  Candy Cane button, Always Artichoke seam binding ribbon, Decorative Dots embossing folder (SU); Pierced Square STAX (My Favorite Things)

Colour Me.....Hello!

It's been a dog's age since I posted anything here so I figured I'd better pop in with a little tag I made so you all didn't think I ran away!  I started making this last night and then put it aside while I waited for some embossing paste to dry.  I finished it up this afternoon and am just now getting around to posting it.

The colors of my tag are from the very cool palette at the Colour Me challenge.  Just eyeballing the design team cards and the gallery I was so impressed with how pretty these colors looked together that I wanted to make sure I played along.  The layout is my somewhat liberal interpretation of the Deconstructed Sketch.  I followed the layout of the sketch, but instead of a square base I used a tag!

Well that's it for me.  Back to the old craft cave I go to get a head start on this week's projects.  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Paper:  Soft Stone (Papertrey Ink); Coastal Cabana, Hello Honey, Basic Black (SU); watercolor paper

Ink:  Hello  Honey

Accessories:  Traditional Tags STAX, Pierced Traditional Tags STAX (My Favorite Things); Hand Lettered Hello die (WPlus9); Chevron stencil (Heidi Swapp); Speckles stencil (Tim Holtz); Make it Merry button, Springs Sprinklers (October Afternoon); white embossing paste, black seam binding ribbon, crochet thread

colourQ 240

Today at colourQ, the palette is inspired by this vintage teacup which just happens to be a candle now.  Not sure how an open flame and a vintage tea cup get on, but it sure is pretty!  For my part I was excited to see a color challenge featuring an old favorite, Sage Shadow, so I dug way into my giant hoard stash of DSP to find a pretty pattern in this color.

The layout for my card comes from the latest Deconstructed Sketch and I'm sure it will be no surprise to anyone that I messed up the sketch but cutting my chevron shapes upside down.  Unfortunately, I don't have enough of the patterned paper to scrap it and cut some the right way so this will have to stick.  And in the spirit of the "sparkle and shine" sentiment I went over the little flower with my Wink of Stella pen to give it some sparkly shimmer.  It doesn't show up on the photo at all but it looks really pretty in real life.

Hopefully you'll have time to join us in the colourQ gallery this week.  The always amazing colourQ design team have got some great cards and scrapbook pages for you to see, so hop on over there to check them out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Summer Silhouettes (SU); New Day (Precious Remembrance)

Paper:  Linen White (Ellen Hutson); Whisper White, Sage Shadow, Pear Pizzazz, Wintergreen DSP (SU)

Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Strawberry Slush (SU)

Accessories:  Stitched Leaves die (Lawn Fawn); Basic Rhinestone (SU)

Good Tidings

I don't know why but I obsessed over this card for way too long.  I finally just decided to post it and move on.

This is my somewhat liberal take on the Deconstructed Sketch using colors from the Festive Friday challenge.  I wanted to use stamps to mimic the flags in the sketch so I grabbed some of my favorite textural stamps, added the sentiment, some washi and sequins and thought I was done.  But then I realized that I missed the little circle element on the sketch so I went back and added a snowflake.  I still wasn't happy though.  There wasn't really anything festive about my card, an essential element of the Festive Friday challenge.  So I put it aside and went to bed.

By the time I got back in my stamp room I had spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about this card.  In order to add the festive I pulled apart a bunch of stuff, added a Christmas tree shape and a star.  I'm still not entirely happy with it, but it is what it is!

Lots of rain yesterday (yuck).  The weeds are going crazy in the garden and I've no time to pull them out.  Should be a fun adventure out there when the sun comes out!  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Textures 1 (Florileges Design); Abstract Art (My Favorite Things); Jingle All the Way (Technique Tuesday); Playful Christmas 2 (Kitchen Sink Stamps)

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Real Red, Very Vanilla (SU)

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Garden Green (SU)

Accessories:  Stitched Stars die (Lil' Inker Designs); Berry Blend sequins (Avery Elle); washi tape

Let it Be - DS144 & CTD285

One thing after another prevented me from getting into my craft room this week.  I finally sat down Friday night to make a card using the Deconstructed Sketch and the colors from Color Throwdown, but a cat-tastrophy prevented me from finishing it (more on that later).  Anyway, a rainy Saturday afternoon found me with some time to finish the card so here it is.

I love these colors and as soon as I saw them I knew I had to participate in the challenge.  Originally I planned to die-cut some leaves out of Pear Pizzazz and put those behind my layered flower but I changed my mind and decided to using my translucent embossing paste to add some leaves instead.  This is where the cat-tastrophy begins.  I was carefully applying the embossing paste over my leaf stencil when one of my cats jumped up onto my craft table.  I thought she was going to jostle the stencil so I must have made a noise or a motion or something that startled her because the next thing I know she's running away and manages to insert her foot in my jar of embossing paste!  What ensued was me running around the house trying to catch her so that I could wipe the embossing paste off her foot before it hardened!

She can be quite wiggly when she wants, but I finally got her calm enough that I was able to get the majority of the paste off before she licked it all off.  By the time that happened I was pooped had no desire to finish my card so I put it off until Saturday.  Cats, sheesh!

Thanks for sticking with me for the cat story!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Secret Garden (SU); Let It Be (Verve)

Paper:  Sahara Sand, Early Espresso, Blushing Bride, Whisper White (SU)

Ink:  Early Espresso, Blushing Bride (SU)

Accessories:  Turning a New Leaf die (Papertrey Ink); Secret Garden die (SU); Translucent Embossing Paste (Dreamweaver); Bluebell Smile enamel dots (My Mind's Eye)

Trim the Tree DS128

Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday well wishes yesterday!  I had a lovely day, went out to eat and had barbecue chicken pizza (my favorite).  Then I settled down to watch the Patriots.  I was really hoping for a win as a birthday present and boy did they deliver!  Although technically the win didn't happen until after midnight, I'm still going to count it!

Today I've got a fun Christmas card to show you using the latest sketch at Deconstructed Sketches.  I love those sketches because they've always got fun layers and usually give me a good excuse to dig into my huge stash of patterned paper.

I love this tree from Jolly Holiday and I use it a lot at this time of year.  It's so versatile and can be used on card stock and patterned paper alike for different looks.  I wish it came in a bigger size **hint** hint**!

Sadly, today is the last day of my vacation.  It's back to the old grind tomorrow :(  I'll have Thursday off for Thanksgiving, of course, but otherwise it's work, work, work.  Why is it that 15 minutes after you're back in the office after a nice, long, relaxing vacation it's like you never left?

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Jolly Holiday (The Alley Way Stamps)

Paper:  Scarlett Jewell, Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss, Holiday Cheer (Papertrey Ink); Very Vanilla (SU)

Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento); Ripe Avocado (Papertrey Ink)

Accessories:  Pierced Circle STAX (My Favorite Things); Stitched Sentiment Flag (Lil' Inker Designs); Guidelines Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)

colourQ 212

Is it any wonder that the new color palette at colourQ inspired me to dig out some more Halloween stamps?  And when I think Halloween I invariably think of this witch from a long-retired SU set called Best Fiends.   She's pretty awesome!

I actually had a couple of cards made with these colors but wasn't satisfied with either one.  Then I remembered this cool Deconstructed Sketch and knew that the circles would be perfect to show off these bright colors.  So I scrapped what I had done and started all over again.  From those circles it was a short leap to the square that features this old gal!

I hope you have time to check out the challenge and join us at colourQ.  The design team has put together quite a variety of projects for you, and not all of them are Halloween themed!  Head on over to check out the imaginative designs!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Best Fiends (SU)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White; Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Wisteria Wonder, Basic Black (SU); X-Press It Blending Card

Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copics

Accessories:  Pierced Square STAX (My Favorite Things); Nesting Squares die (Lifestyle Crafts); Banner Trio die (WPlus9); Halloween sequins (American Crafts)

BE Inspired 38

It's time for a new BE Inspired challenge over at The Alley Way Stamps blog!  The colors in the inspiration photo are over-the-top gorgeous and inspired my birthday card.

My card uses Bermuda Bay and Calypso Coral for colorful accents stamped in the beautiful images from Delicate Doilies.  I added a polka dotted layer for a little more visual interest and a birthday sentiment from Wish BIG.  And, of course, I couldn't resist using some of my new washi!   Incidentally, the layout for my card comes from the latest Deconstructed Sketch, which, as soon as I saw it knew it would be perfect for a little washi treatment!

If you play along with the BE Inspired challenge you can win a free stamp set!  All you have to do is play along with the challenge using an image from The Alley Way Stamps.  And if you don't have any stamps you can find FREEBIES here!  One lucky person will be hand picked and one person will be randomly chosen to win a free stamp set!

Good luck and I hope you have a chance to play along!

RE-Boot for DS116 and CFC113

The challenge this week at CAS-ual Fridays is to use kraft and text.  I love using kraft card stock and the text part got me to dig out a stamp set that was part of my NBUS (special thanks to Darnell for starting the Never Before Used Stuff movement)!  Once I decided to participate in this challenge I began to stalk some of my other favorite challenges to see if I could find a cool sketch.  I found one at Deconstructed Sketch.

How fun is this stamp?  I've wanted to use this set for the longest time, but could never seem to find the time to give it proper justice.  Luckily these two challenges seemed like a match made in heaven and I could finally ink it up!

I am SO enjoying the long weekend here and I hope my friends in the US are too.  The weather has been kind of sultry here in New England.  I think this is summer's last hurrah before fall's arrival.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Tech Talk (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps)

Accessories:  Gingham Garden washi, linen thread, dimensionals (SU)

BE Inspired 33

Today there's a new BE Inspired challenge over at The Alley Way Stamps blog.  The colors and theme are totally fabbo and though my first intention was to make a Christmas card, you can see that I went in the polar opposite direction!

The colors really inspired my card.  Especially the yellow which I have interpreted as Crushed Curry.  I added some black accents and a touch of gray in the hollowed out eyes of this awesome skull from Black Beard's Loot!  The sentiment was made by mixing up a couple of words from Jibber Jabber and Words to Live By.  The layout is courtesy of the latest Deconstructed Sketch.

If you've been here before on BE Inspired day you know that there are prizes to be had at The Alley Way Stamps blog if you participate in the challenge.  You have to use an image from The Alley Way Stamps, and if you don't have any you can find freebies here.

One lucky person will be chosen as the Top Pick and another will be chosen randomly.  Both will win a free stamp set!  You can find more information here so get inky and link up your creation!

Thanks for stopping by!

colourQ 193

This week the color palette at colourQ is based on this colorful Hawaiian shirt from Hula Girl.  Back in the olden days I would have run for the hills when I saw a color challenge like this, but now I recognize a challenge like this as a way to stretch myself creatively.  Sometimes I hit it, sometimes I don't, but the journey is always fun!

For this card I used the sketch at Deconstructed Sketch as my layout  because I find that a layout with lots of layers and interesting things (like flags) to be a great way to incorporate diverse colors like these.  As luck would have it the challenge this week at CAS-ual Fridays was to use flags or banners so I consider that to be kismet!

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to head on over to colourQ and check out the other cards and scrapbook layouts from the design team!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Grunge Me (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:  Island Indigo, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Ski Slope DSP, Welcome Neighbor DSP, Wintergreen DSP, Island Indigo DSP (SU)

Accessories:  Woodland Park button (October Afternoon); Stitched Sentiment Flag (Lil' Inker Designs)