Hello You!

The other day on Facebook I saw a post that the Gallery Idol audition was open for 2014.  Last year my friend Lesley participated (and made it all the way to the top five!!).  I had never heard of it before but cheered her on and voted for her all the way through it.  When I saw that it was beginning again I briefly thought about trying out.  I asked some of my stamping friends if they were going to do it and was met with a chorus of resounding "no."  But it was my friend Sylvia who (inadvertently) convinced me to try.  When I told her about it she just smiled and called me a "card dork."  That's when I knew that I had to do it.  If nothing else for all the card dorks out there.  So for better or worse here's my entry..

For the audition we have to use decorative tape on our card and since I've got a rather large supply of washi tape I figured I was up to the challenge.  We can actually enter up to three cards for this first round so this probably won't be the only card I make, but we'll see.  I've got an idea or two kicking around in my head so I hope to find some time to make at least one more.

For this card I followed the first week of May challenges at Viva la Verve.  There's a sketch and a color combo and I combined both on my card. 

Thanks for stopping by!  (And wish me luck)!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Papillon Potpourri (SU); So 80's, Hand Lettered Hello (WPlus9)

Paper:  White Linen (Ellen Hutson); Smoky Slate, So Saffron, Whisper White, Vellum (SU)

Ink:  So Saffron, Smoky Slate, Tempting Turquoise (SU)

Accessories:  Pierced Square STAX (My Favorite Things); Stitched Mats:  Rectangle (Lil' Inker Designs); Basic Rhinestones (SU); washi tape

Freshly Made Sketches 135

Today at Freshly Made Sketches our hostess is Narelle who inspires me every day.  She's fearless when she chooses colors for her cards and, of course, is well known for her fabulous layers.  She's created a lovely sketch for us this week...

...which I screwed up.  The ribbon was supposed to go in front of my tag and my "any shape" is supposed to be the Eiffel Tower but it sort of looks lost amid the other images.  My FMS teamies said they liked my interpretation of the sketch and encouraged me to go with it.  As it happens I didn't have time to re-do it as I would have liked so here it is!

Incidentally the challenge this week at Cupcake Inspirations is "Parisian" and when I saw it I thought that was a cool challenge but not having anything to do with Paris in my stamping stash thought I would have to pass it by.  Then a bit later it was like a light bulb went off in my head because I remembered this French Market stamp set that I had picked up ages ago on the clearance rack at Michael's.  It's a Tim Holtz set so I tried to layer a bunch of images together a-la-Tim, but since we at Freshly Made Sketches like our cards clean, I had to reel myself in!

As always our rockin' Freshly Made Sketches design team have created some colorful cards for you to see this week.  Be sure to check them out!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  French Market (Tim Holtz); So Many Thanks (SU)

Paper:  Pure Ivory (Gina K); Natural White (Neenah); Basic Black

Ink:  Pitch Black (Adirondack); Distress Embossing Ink (Tim Holtz)

Accessories:  Bricked embossing folder (Tim Holtz); Traditional Tag STAX, Pierced Traditional Tag STAX, Sentiment Strips die (My Favorite Things); Jumbo Brass brad (SU); black embossing powder, black seam binding ribbon, baker's twine

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)

Oh Yeah Baby!

On my quest to make a bunch of baby cards for a co-worker I decided to try my hand at a shaker card.  Lately I've been seeing them all over the place and although I'd never made one before I thought it would be fun to try.  The layout from Wanna Sketch as well as Kim's adorable card gave me loads of inspiration!

I love those little piggy toes peeking through the sequins!  I think I put too many in.  Sometimes they don't shake because they're stuck!  Even still I think it's pretty cute and I bet the mother-to-be will think so too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Baby Prints (SU); Say What (Mama Elephant)

Paper:  Smoky Slate, So Saffron, Whisper White, Sweet Pea DSP (SU); acetate

Ink:  So Saffron, Smoky Slate (SU)

Accessories:  Pastel Sequin Mix (Verve); So Saffron button (SU); crochet thread

Thanks a Million

May the 4th be with you.  * Sorry, couldn't resist *

On to the card.  I was working on this card for a long time in my head yesterday afternoon as I ran errands and did some housework, so you'd think that it would have come together in a snap when I finally got in my stamp room.  Not so...

I've got a rare three-fer here since I made this for the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch, the colors at Pals Paper Arts and the grunge challenge at Addicted to CAS.  I didn't like how I had the grungy images arranged on the first card I made.  So I grabbed another piece of card stock, but this time around the background images were too dark and the sentiment got lost.  Finally I remembered to stamp off, arranged the images "just so" and sure enough the third time was a charm and I got a card I liked!  By the time I had put it together it was late, my eyes were droopy and I put it aside to photograph and post today.

The sun is shining and I've opened all the windows (finally) to let some beautiful fresh air inside!  My kitties are going nuts running from window to window since they pretty much haven't smelled fresh air since I took them to the vet last November!  Poor things!  My new rolling garden seat arrived and I think I'll put it together so that I can work outside without  killing my back.  I peeked inside the box and there's about a million pieces in there so I hope I can put it together before winter sets in.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Sketchy (KaiserCraft); Textures 2 (Florileges Design); Funky Florals (Papertrey Ink); The Big, the Bold and You (Winnie & Walter)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Solar White (Neenah); Kraft (Avery Elle); Whisper White (SU)

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Bermuda Bay (SU); Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink); Pitch Black (Adirondack)

Accessories:  Notable Cute enamel dots (My Mind's Eye); washi tape

Hello Sunshine!

I am cautiously optimistic that spring has not only made an appearance around these parts but she is here to stay.  It is, after all, May 3rd and up until yesterday the temperatures here were well below average.  But I think we've turned the corner so to celebrate I made this card using the sketch at As You See It and the colors from Color Throwdown.

I got some new stamps and this "hello" die recently so I was anxious to put them to use. I tried the whole layered die thing here by cutting out four layers of the "hello" and gluing them together to create some dimension. It looks pretty good in person!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge (SU); So 80s, Hand Lettered Hello (WPlus9); Sketchy Cheveron Border (Impression Obsession)

Paper:  Ultra Smooth Pure White (Avery Elle); Harvest Gold (Papertrey Ink); Basic Black, Cool Caribbean (SU)

Ink:  Cool Caribbean, Cameo Coral (SU); Harvest Gold (Papertrey Ink); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Tag Me die (Reverse Confetti); Hand Lettered Hello die (WPlus9)

Freshly Made Sketches 134

Halfway through the week - YAY!  This week at Freshly Made Sketches Karren is our hostess and her sketch is a real treat to work with.  Karren ranks up there as one of my card making heroes.  Not only is she a very funny lady, but she creates the most amazing cards!

I had a million ideas running around my head when I saw the sketch.  I knew that I wanted to start with some patterned paper for the background layer, so I started this card-making journey by perusing my monster stash of DSP.  I've always loved the colors in Urban Oasis (still mad about SU retiring Kiwi Kiss), so I started my card there.  I quickly chose Basic Gray and Kiwi Kiss added a pop of color from Regal Rose and I was done!  Easy Peasy!

I hope you can join us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  The design team have got some great cards to inspire you to be sure to check them out!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Distressed Grid (Creative Embellishments); Thanks (Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:  Basic Gray, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Urban Oasis DSP (SU)

Ink:  Kiwi Kiss, Basic Gray, Regal Rose

Accessories:  Pierced Circle STAX, Fancy Flourish die (My Favorite Things); Enamel Dew Drops (Freckled Fawn); baker's twine (American Crafts)

colourQ 239 and Seize the Sketch 19

Happy Tuesday!  Today I've melded the beautiful colors from colourQ and the latest sketch from Seize the Sketch to make a little "thinking of you" card.

The colors are inspired by this dress and the sketch comes to you from Jessi Fogan (I love all those little flags)!  I used some really, really old SU DSP for the background layer on my card and I'll admit it was hard to cut into it.  (If you've been here before you may remember that I've mentioned a time or two that I've got a giant stash of patterned paper that I've been slowly working my way through).  Occasionally I come across a particular favorite in my stash and in moments of weakness, I cut it up.  It's for the best really.

I love sketches like this with a big layer on it that is just perfect for anything your imagination can cook up!  I used it to show off these beautiful colors with some stems and butterflies.

Be sure to check out the inspiration from colourQ and Seize the Sketch because there are some great cards all around for you to see!  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Grand Peaceful Wildflowers, Winged Beauties (My Favorite Things)

Paper:  Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, Whisper White, Berry Bliss DSP (SU)

Ink:  Ripe Avocado (Papertrey Ink); Tuxedo Black (Memento); Calypso Coral, Pumpkin Pie (SU); Copics

Accessories:  Winged Beauties die (My Favorite Things); Banner Bundle die (Verve)