Color Lab Challenge 3

Well we're at Week 3 of the color challenges over at the My Create, Ink Color Lab.  We had some really neat colors this week to create with.

For my card, I focused on the rug and just ran from there.

I think for this card I actually managed to create something I've never done before.  To me the colors are bold and bright and suitable for a kid's card.  So for the first time ever, I believe I've created a kid's birthday card!  And not just any kind of kid.  I think this card would be perfect for a boy's birthday.  Wow, let me catch my breath.  A kid/boy birthday card.  Who would have thunk it?  Not me, that's for sure.  I hope you have a chance to hop on over to the Color Lab and give this challenge a try.  I'd love to see what you come up with.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

MTSC84 and Color Throwdown 103

I didn't think I was going to have a chance to stamp anything tonight.  I'm trying to get ready to go down the Cape this weekend and spend some time with my sister and her kids.  I haven't packed a single thing and even though I'm only going for a couple of days, I feel like I should be doing SOMETHING to get ready.  So, I decided to do some laundry and make a list of things to bring.  Tomorrow, I'll put everything in my bag and then I'll be ready to go.

On to the card.  I used Mercy's Tuesday sketch challenge and paired it with the Color Throwdown 103 challenge. 

The houndstooth patterned paper I used is from the retired Holiday Treasures christmas paper and is actually Ruby Red, but I thought it was awfully close to Riding Hood Red.  In real life, I can barely tell that they are not the same color on these layers.

So that's it for me tonight.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Monochromatic Poppy Parade....Almost

I set out to accomplish a few things with this card.

First, I wanted to make a card for the Just Add Ink challenge this week.  Second, I wanted to use a color that I had never used before:  Poppy Parade.  The third thing was actually inspired by the Just Add Ink sketch challenge.  I thought the CAS layout would be perfect for a monochromatic theme.  So I went to work with just two colors:  Very Vanilla and Poppy Parade.  I started to assemble my layers and realized that there was just too much poppy going on for my taste, so at the last minute I decided to mount the "thank u" sentiment on an Early Espresso square.  Even though I had not made a truly monochromatic card, I thought it looked pretty neat.  So off I go, putting all my layers together.  Once I finished I looked at the sketch again and thought:  "What a major bummer."

As you can see here, the sentiment is supposed to go to the left of the squares.  Not BE one of the squares.  Since I couldn't undo what I had already done, I decided to put a row of dots from the Punched Posies set where the sentiment should have gone.  I'm going to link it up to the challenge and pray that I don't get deleted for blatantly not following the sketch.  I suppose that I should be happy that I at least achieved one of my goals with this card!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Thanks a Million

This week's Taylored Expressions sketch challenge was really sweet.  Nice clean layers and a nice big space to use my thanks a million stamp from the Word Play stamp set.

And how about that groovy paper?  I feel like I've been transported back to the Partridge Family!  Seriously, the colors are great:  they make me happy!  Today was another scorcher here.  I tried to sit on the patio this afternoon and get some Vitamin D, but it was just so hot!  That's when I know it's time to retreat inside and spend some quality time with my stamps!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Just Believe

I think I read somewhere in blogland that the stamp set, Just Believe was that blog person's new favorite.  I think I may have to agree.  The wispy flowers, the practical sentiments and that cool shaped block (which, by the way, is just screaming for a coordinating punch!) are really so versatile.  Although I've been playing with it quite a bit over the last few days, I think this is the first card I've posted using it.

I decided to use the Pals Paper Arts sketch challenge this week (with a little poetic license for the pointy #5 panel).  I can't resist their sketch challenges designed by Margaret Moody.  Her sketches always seem to evoke a clean and simple feeling, even when they have multiple layers.  Now that's a knack, I say to myself!

And for the first time, I participated in the Inkspirations color challenge.  Any time I find a color challenge that involves chocolate chip, I'm there!  And did you notice that I managed to sneak in a panel of some long-ago retired designer paper?  That chocolate chip "sanded" panel is from the Spring Flowers paper pack from a LONG time ago!  This particular distressed paper has always been a favorite of mine.  I think I've only used it once before, because I start to cry every time I cut it up!  (Just kidding).

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Color Lab Challenge 2

It's Thursday and time for another challenge from the Color Lab.  This week the colors are so bright and summery!

I love the colors in this challenge.  The Regal Rose and Melon Mambo really look awesome together.  And I got to set off the bigger flowers with a sweet rhinestone brad.  I love those!  I used the colorful Island Oasis designer paper here and I'm pretty sure that I have not used it enough!  I'm like a broken record when I mention that I've found something else in my stash that's been neglected too long.  To remedy this, I recently used two whole sheets of this fabulous paper to make a gift bag!  Be still my heart!

Be sure to head on over to the Color Lab and participate in this week's color challenge.  I'd love to see what you come up with!

Thanks for stopping by!

Crumb Cake Thank You

I seem to be on a Crumb Cake (f/k/a Kraft) kick lately.  But no matter what you call it, you must agree that it looks great with just about any color.

It seems to be featured in a lot of color challenges lately and that's just fine with me.  I think my fascination with it started when I was a kid and I used to cover my school books with paper made from grocery bags.  Then when I got older and a little more crafty, I ordered some ribbed craft paper from a specialty store and started making my own gift bags.  Then I discovered stamping and just had to have a supply of it in card stock.  There's something about the earthiness of the color that appeals to me.

For this card I combined the Color Throwdow Act 39 color challenge with the Fall-To Layout 99 sketch.  This is my first time using the Fast and Fabulous stamp set, and I've got to say it's pretty fabulous.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Fifth Avenue Floral With Butterfly

When I saw the colors over at the Color Throwdown blog this past Wednesday, I thought "be still my heart."  I don't know what it is, but the colors of black, crumb cake, kiwi kiss, and baja breeze are FANTABULOUS!  And I know you'll find this shocking, but I just happened to have some retired Urban Oasis designer paper left over, which had some fabulous designs using both crumb cake and kiwi kiss.

I have a VERY limited supply of Kiwi Kiss card stock left over, but I couldn't resist using it.  And as you can see, I used it sparingly!  I paired this wonderful color challenge with the Sweet Sunday sketch challenge.  I almost left the butterfly off because I thought the layout of the card looked okay without it, but I wanted to remain true to the sketch challenge.  I added the button to give it a little more visual interest.

Since the base of this card is basic black, I also included a whisper white panel on the inside to make writing a sentiment easier.  The wonderful Urban Oasis designer paper gave me this sweet strip to liven things up.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!