CCMC190 and Color Throwdown 180

The colors this week at Color Throwdown threw me for a loop (pun intended)!  But I don't like to back down from a challenge once it is issued so I pressed on and came up with this.

This is the first time I inked up my Bordering on Romance stamp set and I would ordinarily color the leaves green, but duty calls and green had no place in my card today!  I don't have any Barely Banana anymore (it was a lovely color and I miss it) so I substituted So Saffron instead.  I colored the stamp set with my blender pens and laid down a little So Saffron in the center of the flowers and finished them up with Pumpkin Pie.  I wasn't sure what those circles were supposed to be (are they flowers, are they dew drops?)  so I used a little artistic license and colored them with some Bashful Blue.  Then using even more artistic license, I colored the leaves with Basic Gray!

The layout is from the latest Create With Connie and Mary challenge, which is a sketch this week.  

I wasn't sure how I was going to treat the ribbon portion of the sketch and then I remembered that I had some So Saffron buttons in my stash.  So I adhered one of those and tied a little bow through it with some Baker's Twine.

It's been quite a bit windy here today.  And the skies have been alternating between sun and clouds all day.  Many times there have been snowflakes flying around - sometimes with the sun still shining!  I've got to say that this has been a strange winter here in New England this year, but I hope that spring is just around the corner.  I'm looking forward to warm days and spending time in the garden!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cardabilities 49 and Stampin' Royalty 112

I found a new (to me) sketch challenge called Cardabilities so I thought I'd play along.

I got some new stamping goodies yesterday so I wanted to ink them up right away.  I chose my colors from the Stampin' Royalty challenge this week and sat down to get inky.

These colors were harder for me than I thought they would be.  I changed my mind a million times about the focal point on my card until I settled on this cute notebook paper and the flower.  By the way, the layered flower is heat embossed with Cherry Cobbler.  It looks so rich in real life!

Thanks for stopping by!

My New Blog Banner

I'm so happy to show off my new blog banner designed by the amazing and talented Lesley.  I just knew that Lesley would create a special banner for me that would perfectly suit my style - and boy, did she deliver.   She even created a "signature" for me!  

If you are interested in a personalized banner, then run (don't walk) over to Banners by Lesley.  You won't be disappointed!

Freshly Made Sketches 23

I haven't needed to make a baby card in a long while, but I found myself needing one and the Baby Prints stamp set was perfect for what I had in mind for Tui's sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

A few years back, Stampin' Up! had a similar stamp set with baby fingers and toes and I always kicked myself that I didn't have it, so when this set showed up in the Mini I jumped at the chance to buy it.  I used a color combo of Whisper White, Bashful Blue, and Night of Navy - true boy colors to be sure!  And in my never-ending quest to use up my stash of designer paper, I used a piece from the Spring Showers dp pack that was brand-new when I was young and had no gray hair.

Isn't this sketch fabulous?  You know it is!  And just wait until you see what Tui  (the uber talented designer of this sketch) and the rest of the Freshly Made Sketches design team created with it!  I just know that you'll be inspired to join us this week!

Lesley Croghan

Linda Callahan

Cindy Hall

Tui Nathan

Jennifer Timko

Rita Wright

Kim Singdahl

Tracey Vidal 

colourQ 125

Arielle has given us a color combo I can really wrap my head around this week at colourQ!

Oo-La-La.  I love these colors!

Jen Shults' Deconstructed Sketch this week was the perfect layout for what I had in mind for my card.  I used some designer paper from Urban Garden and Urban Oasis (still trying to use up my stash)!  The flowers and leaves are from PTI; the sentiment is Verve.  I wish I had added a little bit more Dusty Durango than the brad in the center of the flower, but at the time I put this card together it was the best I could think of.  I actually woke up yesterday morning with an idea for adding some "branches" from Dusty Durango cardstock, but decided against making any changes.  I hope I'm not the only one who dreams about making cards!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a chance to check out the colourQ challenge this week.  The design team has got some amazing inspiration to get your creative juices flowing so don't forget to pop on by and check them out!  Then use the linky tool to add your creation!

CCMC189 and Unscripted Sketches 146

I absolutely LOVED the colors for the challenge this week at Create With Connie and Mary, so there was not way I was going to skip it.

For my first attempt, I tried embossing one of the flowers from Fabulous Florets with the gorgeous Melon Mambo embossing powder, but it didn't look very good against this yummy Lucky Limeade dp.  So I went back to one of my favorite flower stamps from Array of Sunshine.  I stamped it twice and fussy-cut the layers to give it some dimension.  My layout is courtesy of the latest sketch challenge at Unscripted Sketches.

Thanks for stopping by!

Color Throwdown 179 and Pals Paper Arts 129

This has been one of those weeks where I have had absolutely no time to stamp!  I actually have not set foot in my stamp room to get crafty since last Sunday!  Eek!  Today I was determined to remedy that, so I checked out some of my favorite challenges and sat down at my desk.

I recently learned that friend of mine got engaged to be married so I wanted to make a card for her.

I used the wonderful layout from Pals Paper Arts designed by Margaret Moody.  It's a great sketch that can be dressed up or down.  I decided to keep mine pretty clean to show off the lovely lady holding the champagne.  The colors come from Color Throwdown.

I think taking a week off has made my card-making skills rusty because now that I've had a chance to really look at this card I wish I had dressed it up a bit.  Now that I've got my feet wet again, I'll be heading back in my stamp room to get my craft on!

Thanks for stopping by!

Freshly Made Sketches 22

Do you ever start to make a card with a very clear idea in your head how it's going to end up and then somehow you end up changing your mind a million times?  It seems like I've been telling this story a lot lately, but this is what happened to me with my card for the latest Freshly Made Sketch designed by the very talented Jennifer Timko.

I had been pondering what I was going to do with this sketch when I accidentally knocked a box of cards off a shelf in my stamp room.  The cover came off the box and inside was the inspiration for this card - only the colors were completely different.  But I decided to go with the basic design - altered for this sketch.  I'm a huge fan of earthy colors so I used the Woodland Walk designer paper and some Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, and Wild Wasabi cardstock.

Then the real trouble began.  I cut out some flowers in Very Vanilla from with my Tattered Florals Sizzix die and stamped it with French Script.  I crumpled the flowers then put them all together with an Antique Brad.  Then I put them against all my cardstock layers and experienced that moment when you realize that you've made a huge tactical error and the flower you've just spent time primping and getting "just so" looks awful.

I tried spritzing it with some Log Cabin Smooch Spritz (which actually looked pretty good) but I decided in the end that my frustration came from the fact that this card lacked color.  So I cut out some more Tattered Florals flowers with some designer paper from the Sweet Pea paper pack, crumpled them and hooked them all together with the Antique Brad.  I added a "happy birthday" sentiment from Something to Celebrate.  Finally a card I could be happy with!

I'm quite sure you didn't come here to read this mini-novel, but rather to hear me gush about the Freshly Made Sketches design team, which has again created some amazing inspiration for you.  So be sure to stop on by and say hello, then head on back to Freshly Made Sketches and show us what you've got.  I can't tell you how amazed we are each week at all the gorgeous creations we get to see!

Lesley Croghan

Linda Callahan

Cindy Hall

Tui Nathan

Jennifer Timko

Rita Wright

Kim Singdahl

Tracey Vidal