colourQ 215

I'm pretty sure the new color palette from colourQ should have had me reaching for some autumn leaves, but I couldn't resist trying something a little different.

I spent a lot of time deciding how I wanted to approach my card for this week's challenge.  I had seen this awesome sketch at Sketch Frenzy Friday and was determined to make it work somehow.  But once I settled on the sketch I couldn't figure out what colors should go where.  After much trial and error I settled on the arrangement you see here.  My only regret is that I wish I had stamped off the grid pattern stamp to make it a little more subtle.  Oh, and I wish I had a better idea for the horizontal flag at the top.  But that's it.  Really.

The rest of the colourQ team have made some wonderful cards for you this week, so make sure you head on over there and check them out.  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Off the Grid (SU); Delightful Dahlia Additions (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Bravo Burgundy, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry, Whisper White (SU)

Ink:  Rich Razzleberry, Basic Gray (SU); Pitch Black (Adirondack); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Pierced Rectangle STAX (My Favorite Things); Flag Tag dies (Paper Smooches); Halloween sequins (American Crafts)

colourQ 205

It was so nice to have yesterday off from work (yay!) and I'm sad that today I have to go back (boo!).  The weather here was no fun for what is supposed to be the traditional "end" of summer because it rained like I haven't seen it rain in ages.  I was out shopping and got stuck in a couple of stores because the rain was so bad I didn't want to go out to my car in the lot.

But weather talk aside, today brings us a fresh new palette at colourQ (yay!).  The inspiration for this color combo comes from the most fabulous boots I have ever seen.  You can find them here, but I'll warn you ahead of time, they don't come cheap!

My card today is a study in everything that could go wrong when making a card.  The stamp set is a new one from PTI that I was dying to try out.  The flower is actually made from stamping three images on top of one another.  It took several tries before I had all the images lined up correctly.  Then I had trouble inking up the leaf.  I find the new SU "firm foam" pads to be absolutely horrible with solid images (like this leaf).  They are way too juicy, so I had to experiment with several different ink pads before I found one that didn't puddle on the stamp.  I wasted a whole sheet of card stock trying to find the right one (I ended up coloring the stamp with a marker).  Then when I was stamping the grungy image on the card base behind the square focal point, I dropped the stamp, got a rogue image and basically a big mess.  It's no wonder I stuck with it, but we stampers are a hardy lot and failure is not in our vocabulary!

The layout for my card is from the ladies at Sketch Frenzy Friday and I really like it.  It's got great lines and lots of possibilities!

Don't forget to check out the cards from our fabulous colourQ design team.  They are sure to get those creative juices flowing!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Delightful Dahlia Additions (Papertrey Ink); Distressed Background Blocks (My Favorite Things); Gorgeous Grunge, Much Appreciated (SU)

Accessories:  Pierced Square STAX (My Favorite Things); Island Indigo baker's twine, Dimenstionals (SU)