Sunday, September 30, 2012

Sending Warm Wishes - Mojo Monday Challenge

Playing along with the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge #260 . . .



Using paper left from some previous challenges, I played around with these soft hues again and tried a little something different with my stamped images, splitting them above and below the sentiment.



I used a white pen for the flower petals.




Supplies used: Bazzill Cardstock, Prima Pattern Paper, Stampin' Up Ink, Close To My Heart Stamps, We R Memories Washi Tape, Punches from Stampin' Up, Flower and brad from my leftover stash.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Sketchbook Saturday Challenge #78


A clean and simple look was my focus for the Sketchbook Saturday Challenge, and then a little smudge led to the addition of a strip of "tasteful trim" for my sentiment. And then another smudge led to the addition of a pearl and you can 't have one flower with a pearl and the rest vacant.  Clean and simple became just a bit more.

 


Lesson learned: apply the black ink last!


 All Supplies Used are Stampin' Up.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

CAS-UAL Friday Fall Card

In my attempts to get back in the groove, I have made what appears to be a set of cards from one set of pattern papers.  I like doing this, as it gives me the option to give the cards as a little gift with some stamps and perhaps a pen. I created two cards yesterday, and the third card in my series is designed using the Mojo Monday challenge.  Here is the sketch . . .


Here is my design . . .


I love the layering of the flowers and the ticket.  And the use of white embossing powder for the greeting is a fun touch.  



Supplies
Cardstock - Bazzill
Pattern Paper - My Mind's Eye 
Ticket Embellishment and Buttons - My Mind's Eye
Ribbon - just scraps from my stash
Stamps - Stamps of Life
Inks - Close To My Heart and Versamark 
Embossing Powder - Stampin' Up
Other - Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher



Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Case Study Challenge #109

Playing along with the CASE Study Challenge #109. I decided to use some Close To My Heart pattern paper, inks and stamps from the Flirty Collection. I just love these colors.

The inspiration . .  .



My design . . .


And from another angle . . .



Supplies Used:  Cardstock, Pattern Paper, Stamps from Close To My Heart; Ink from Close To My Heart and Color Box; Markers from Stampin' Up;  Die Cut from Sizzix/Stampin' Up; Stickles.







Monday, September 24, 2012

Anything Goes "Bird-day" Card


Denami Stamp's challenge was an anything goes challenge.

I had paper left from a previous layout I had done.  So I decided to use one of those adorable chick stamps and keep things simple.  I stamped the words of the stamp onto the ribbon, and my inclination was to keep everything straight, but I talked myself into running the ribbon at an angle. 

Here is my design . . .


Supplies:  Bazzill Cardstock, Bella Blvd. Pattern Paper, CTMH Seam Binding, CTMH Ink, Denami Stamps, Stampin' Up Markers.




Sunday, September 23, 2012

Freshly Made Sketch #53

This week's Freshly Made Sketch incorporated strips of paper with a circle.  Here is my design:  


Hexagons are so popular right now, and I wanted to tie them in with this card. I have some hexagon stamps that fit perfectly into the circle of the Memory Box die cut.  I also had some paper left from a previous project.  With the right ink colors, and some pop dots, I knew I could tie it all in together.  

I popped both the memory box die and the individual hexagons on top of it.  I love the dimension. 


Supplies Used:  Bazzill Cardstock, Bella Blvd Pattern Paper, Memory Box Die Cut, Stamps from Papertrey Ink, Ink from Color Box and Stampin' Up, Jewels from Kaisercraft

Mojo Monday #259



Used my Summer Smooches paper to make a little something for Mojo Monday.

The sketch . . .


My design . . .



When I saw that scallop border, I thought that a ruffled edge would be perfect with some lightweight seam binding.  It also offered some great dimension. 


All product used is Stampin' Up. 

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Hope Happens - Skipping Stones Challenge

The sketch design for this challenge was super sweet . . .



And my design, inside and out . . .




Supplies used: Bazzill Cardstock; Little Yellow Bicycle Hello Spring; Ribbon from my scrap stash; Stamps from Skipping Stones Designs; Ink from Stampin' Up and Close To My Heart

Smile for Freshly Made Sketches

For this week's challenge, I could pick any design from the last year's sketch collection. And so I chose one from earlier in the year that I had not had the chance to work with . . .



I still had papers from Hello Spring (Little Yellow Bicycle) and wanted to incorporate them with stamps from Stamps of Life. Here is the result.
 


Those darn stamps are so fun to work with . . . I absolutely love that they have a two step process so you can outline first, and then stamp the inside parts later.  And I love the overlap of that top pink flower, in that the overlap areas are darker.

Now the sketch had that one piece that could be any shape.  So I decided that I would cut the flower petals out for the image that was partially stamped in the bottom corner, and bring it to life by popping it up.  Love the result.


Supplies Used:  Bazzill Cardstock; Hello Spring Pattern Paper from LYB; Stamps from Stamps of Life; Seam Binding from Close To My Heart; Ink from Close To My Heart, Color Box, and Stampin' Up; Buttons from Stash. 

Tall Order for Sparks Challenge

This week's sketch for Paper Smooches was a tall order, perfect for the little giraffe from the Zoo set.

The sketch . . .

 And my design . . .



Love those big eyes!  I actually started with a wider strip, and then trimmed around the head so his head would be wider. 


And the inside . . .


Supplies used: Bazzill Cardstock; American Crafts Paper; Seam Binding from ' Up; Ink from Close To My Heart; Stamps from Paper Smooches; Markers from Stampin' Up; Fiskars Circle Punch

Mojo Monday

Using leftovers from last week's projects, I quickly got to work on the Mojo Monday sketch for this week.  

Here is the sketch . .

And here is my design . . .





Supplies used:  Bazzill Cardstock; Little Yellow Bicycle Hello Spring; Stamping Up Ribbon; Die Cuts from Memory Box and Stamps of Life; Stamps from Stamps of Life; Ink from Color Box; circle punches from Fiskars.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Sketchbook Saturday #76

I played along with Sketchbook Saturday Challenge and am getting it in under wire.  Here is the sketch:


I decided to frame out my card, and have a floral design behind the frame.  I used white cardstock as my background, and cut the frame out of both the white and the pattern paper, and then used that white piece for inking up my design.  



Here is a close up that shows a little of the sparkle in the card (on the birds wing and the stamped flowers).  


And on the inside, I chose a subtle pattern, so one could still write a message.


Supplies Used:  All supplies used are Stampin' Up. 

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

The Play Date Cafe #148

This week's challenge at the Play Date Cafe was Peach, Navy Blue, and Stone.  The colors were a bit daunting for me.  I picked out some patterns from Basic Grey which included the peach and navy, and then I added the stone by using a dark gray ink and some gray cardstock and button. 

Now the inspiration photo had some netting within, and that gave me the idea to use my new hexagon die from Papertrey Ink.  I had never purchased their stamps, but hexagons have been all the rage and I just had to have this die and stamp set for my collection.  I cut the base of the die in the peach toned Basic Grey, and then cut some inner pieces of navy and the second Basic Grey pattern paper.  I then pieced the background together.  What's nice is that the die is an A2 card size, so it fit perfectly on teh card base. 


Hmmm . . . in regular light that button looks grey, and in the picture it has a green tinge.  I may be performing a button transplant a bit later in the evening. 


Supplies Used:  Paper from Bazzill and Basic Grey; Hexagon Die, Outline Stamp and Sentiment from Papertrey Ink; Fiskars Circle Punch; Button from my stash; Ribbon from Close To My Heart; Ink from Stampin' Up;


What's the Scoop


Ever lose your top scoop of your cone?

Action Wobble has a weekly challenge, and I love a little action on my cards.  So this week's challenge was "Gimme Some Sweets.  I made a little Neapolitan cone with a little wobble on that top scoop. 




And here is a photo of my wobble in action! (I'm dizzy!)


Supplies Used:  Paper from Bazzill and American Crafts; The Twinery Twine; Stamps of Life Stamps; Color Box Ink; Fiskars Circle Punch; Action Wobble.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Freshly Made Sketches a la Summer Smooches

Just one more challenge for the day.  I love when a challenge will spark my creativity.  This one is Freshly Made Sketches.  I used Stampin' Up product from a previous project for this one.



I really love the bright yellow ribbon on this one.  It just pops the whole design. 


All product used is Stampin' Up.  Summer Smooches paper, Summ Silhouettes Stamp, and die cuts as well. 

News Flash - Paper Smooches Challenge

The Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge included a trendy retro sketch of a woman on a phone . . . an old phone . . . the kind that plugs into a wall . . . likely had a dial . . . had a cord . . . the kinds from back in the day.  Back in my day!  

Retro always makes me think of my childhood growing up in the sixties, so I decided that the retro televisions would be perfect for the Paper Smooches challenge.  We were that family that waited and watched as everyone else got the color televisions.  (And now I am the family that waits and watches while everyone else moves to flat screen, HD, etc.  My husband is waiting for the television to break.  Hmmm . . .)



A little close up . . . what this doesn't reveal is that the screen has a coating of glossy accents.  The corners were made by folding one inch squares.  I'm loving that screen which appears to have bad, colorful reception.


Products Used:  Bazzill Cardstock, American Crafts Pattern Paper, Paper Smooches Stamps, Close To My Heart Seam Binding, Color Box Ink, Buttons from Stash

Mojo Monday

A little something for the Mojo Monday Challenge.

This was a busy little challenge with a lot of layers.  I tried a new stamping technique call "thumping" where you stamp in one color and then "thump" the side of a marker on the image to add a second darker color.  It game me some mixed orange and yellow on my flower.  I would definitely try this again on some other projects in the future.  


I used some glitter to add some dimension.  Loving that stamp! 


All supplies used were Stampin' Up, including Summer Smooches paper and Summer Silhouettes stamp.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Peachy Keen Stamps Challenge

Anything Goes was the theme for Peachy Keen's challenge, so I used one of their stamp sets to make a little birthday card for someone who will be celebrating in the next few weeks.  Nothing fancy, just some paper piecing and stamping with their April 2012 kit.  I just loved the cupcake paper on this set. 


 

I added some Stickles to dress things up a bit, and I stamped on my ribbon.  


Supplies Used:  Bazzill Cardstock, Little Yellow Bicycle Pattern Paper, Close To My Heart Seam Binding and Ink, Peachy Keen Stamps, American Crafts Brads, Stickles

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Little Birdies Giving Orders

Have not had a play date in a while, so the little birdie in the picture said to get busy, and I did.  It was The Play Date Cafe's Challenge #147 (to be exact). 

So I saw the little birdie in Little Yellow Bicycle's Hello Spring paper (because I was using it for another layout).  And that little birdie said to get busy as well.  He told me the colors were right and to make a gray card base and get to it.  And so I did. 

And I came up with the little design below . . .



A Sizzix die is used for the sentiment.  I cut the bird from another part of the paper and popped him up.  He had a tail that could not be cut, so he asked me to make him a new one . . . and I did.  

Now, the color in this picture below is a bit awful, but I wanted to capture how I made my birds fluffy tail feathers.  Fiskars heart punch . . . made a heart, then kept shifting it and making little cuts to make the little wispy pieces . . . and when I had seven . . . the bird said, "That's enough.  I'm small."  And so it was.  


Supplies:  Bazzill Cardstock, Little Yellow Bicycle Hello Spring paper, Fiskars Heart Punch, Stamps of Life Stamps and Sizzix Die, Close To My Heart Black Ink