SC592 / PP294

I made this card for two challenges that inspire me.

I used all four colors from the color challenge and tried to follow the sketch as closely as possible. The Wisteria Wonder color turned out to look more blue in the photo.The flowers were cut using framelits from the Botanical Blooms set and the circle stamp was from a retired Stampin' Up set called "Simple Friendship". I love making flowers and adding them to the cards I make.

The Challenge Is Butterflies

The challenge at The Paper Players for this week is "Butterflies". I knew that I wanted to make and post a card because I love making cards with butterflies.  As I was sitting at my desk yesterday, working on another project, I saw the card that I was going to finish and enter into the challenge. I needed a card some days ago. I found the card that I wanted to use. I didn't want to forget how I had made the card, so I set about making another one. I found the card stock for the base, designer paper for the panel and a coordinating butterfly. I never got the pieces put together; they have laid there, on my desk, for at least two weeks. Now I was being encouraged to get the card finished so that I could post it to this week's challenge.

This card uses a lot of different items. The card base is Stampin' Up's Rich Razzleberry card stock. The decorative paper is also by Stampin' Up. The center frame is a stamp from JustRite Stamps that coordinates with Spellbinders Labels 18 set and is stamped using SU Rich Razzleberry ink. The butterfly was cut and embossed on SU So Saffron card stock. The sentiment is from a Stampin' Up retired set "A Greeting For All Reasons". I am always amazed at how classic some of the old retired sets are.

I hope this still counts as a new project. I finished it just before lunch today.

Have a wonderful day.

The Paper Players Sketch Challenge

Using this week's sketch challenge from The Paper Players blog, I made a "thank you" card. It took me most of the afternoon to decide what papers to use. I found these three Designer Series Papers in the box of scraps. They coordinated with SU's Rich Rassleberry card stock. I always love using this color. The flower was stamped using a flower from the SU "Mixed Bunch" set. The sentiment is from the Unity set called "Butterflies and Sunbeams".

Thank you for stopping by to visit my blog.

PP257 and SC553

This has not been a week for "creating". Too many other things have needed attention. I finally got my card finished just before bedtime last night. My card turned out to be for two challenges -- The Paper Players color challenge #257 and the Splitcoast Stampers sketch challenge #553.

 The stamps I used are from a new set that arrived yesterday from the Unity Stamp Co. called "Blossoms & Blessing". When I saw the set I, knew that it was one that needed to go into my collection. I struggled with the sketch for several days. I knew what I wanted to do, but I could never get beyond choosing the papers. Once I thought of using the color challenge, things began to fall into place. These colors are beautiful together -- Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake and Old Olive. I stamped the bird on Crumb Cake card stock, cut it out and turned it over before attaching it to my card. There is no sentiment on the card front so it can be used for most any occasion or I can add one later.

PP254 -- Frame It

This week's challenge at the Paper Players is to use frames.

 

I made the frame by using Spellbinder dies. It was cut from Bermuda Bay card stock. The rose (a Penny Black image called "Brush Rose) was colored with markers, spritzed with water and stamped onto a water colored background. The card base is SU's Pool Party card stock.

PP253 -- Color Challenge

This is the week for the color challenge at The Paper Players. 

"Mint Macaron" -- I have. "Smoky Slate" -- I have. "White" -- I have. "Sahara Sand" -- I do not own one sheet. So it's off to find a substitute. I finally decided on "Crumb Cake". It is much darker but it was the best choice I had. Now for the inks. "Mint Macaron" -- I do not have. Decided that I could use the color Celadon by VersaColor, a close match. "Smoky Slate" --  I have that one. "Crumb Cake" -- Don't have that color ink but I think that Memento "Peanut Brittle" will work.

Now -- "What stamps will I use?" "What layout will work?" "What, What, What?" So many questions and so many decisions.

 Here is the result. "My Card"

I got some new stamps last week from the "Unity Stamp Co." Found one that I had fallen in love with. It is from the set called "Delightfully Dainty". Stamped it in the three colors and layered the image with the same color. The background paper was made using white card stock, a Tim Holtz stencil and was sponged with Memento Peanut Brittle ink. The sentiment was first stamped with Stampin' Up Pool Party ink. I really didn't like the result. I stamped the sentiment again in VersaFine Onyx Black ink (using the stamp-a-ma-jig for placement) and let the first stamping create a shadow. I really like the result. I want to try this again.

Thanks for your visit today.

A Birthday Wish -- PP252

This is the birthday card that I finished today for a special friend. I have been working on creating watercolor backgrounds so I had to try using one of them. I stamped the image from the SU set "Just Believe" with VersaFine Onyx Black and then used clear embossing powder. The greeting was done the same way with a stamp from SU's Watercolor Trio set. For the card base I used SU Rose Red card stock.

I am going to post this card to the Paper Players challenge for this week -- "The Great Outdoors".

SC546 & PP250 -- Birthday Cake and Ice Cream

This card is for my youngest granddaughter's birthday which is July 4th. It will also be posted to two challenges this week -- the sketch challenge at SCS and the weekly challenge on The Paper Players blog.

I have had this designer paper which is from Stampin' Up for some time. When I saw the challenge at The Paper Players, I immediately thought of it but couldn't come up with a way to use it. Wednesday when I saw the sketch challenge I began to think of ways to use the paper in the sketch.  But I didn't get to work on my card until this morning. Here is the end result.The card base is SU Pool Party accented with Crisp Cantaloupe and Soft Suede.

 After deciding on how I was going to use the paper, I came up with this idea of making my own "happy" paper to go with the other printed paper. Using the computer and Publisher, here is a picture of my "happy" paper. I was able to print it on SU Crisp Cantaloupe card stock which worked perfectly with the color theme.

Here is the inside of the card. . . . 

CAS328--Let The Sunshine In

Today's Clean and Simple challenge at SCS is all about the sunshine. We had rain in Michigan this weekend so it is nice to see the sun some today. I guess there is a chance of showers this afternoon as the sun heats things up.

Wednesday is our 48th wedding anniversary so I was thinking about a card for my husband. The thought "You are my sunshine" came to me after reading about the challenge. I have no stamp anything like that so I went to the computer, created my sentiment and printed it out on natural colored card stock. I meant to make a one layer card but the sentiment got printed on the paper in the wrong spot for that. I masked off the sentiment and sponged the sun's rays with SU So Saffron ink, then used a distress marker to create the lines that makes it look like there is an extra panel. Still have to work on the inside message.

I am also submitting this card to the Paper Players weekly challenge -- PP248. The challenge is to create a masculine card.

A New Day, A New Week, A New Challenge

I missed last week's CAS challenge at Splitcoast Stamps and at The Paper Players. I tried all week to get a card made for each challenge but it did not happen. It's Monday morning and I have a card that will fit both challenges for this week.

First, the challenge at The Paper Players is a tic-tac-toe challenge. Had a little trouble getting the three elements to match one row. I chose the  middle vertical row, but the card also matches the bottom horizontal row.

The CAS challenge at SCS was "A Thank You to Angie". She has decided to step down as one of the CAS hostesses. I have always enjoyed her sweet comments and beautiful cards. We could either make a thank you card or CASE a card from Angie's gallery. I choose to CASE one of her cards and to also make it a thank you card. Here is the link to the card I chose.

 I found a small piece of the designer paper which was retired many years ago along with a sheet of SU Bordering Blue card stock (also retired). I think these papers were some of the first that I bought when I began my card making journey. I just followed Angie's layout and used the elements from the Tic-Tac-Toe challenge -- any shade of blue, embossing and patterned paper. The "Thank You" sentiment is from Our Daily Bread Designs Mini Tags, stamped with VersaFine Black Onyx ink and embossed with clear embossing powder.

One card -- Two Challenges

Sometimes creating a card can be a challenge. Challenges can be a creative way to get started.

 

This is the card that resulted for both challenges. It needed to be a "girly" thank you card for The Paper Players challenge, and it needed to follow the design for the sketch challenge. I used SU Pretty in Pink card stock for the base, a light pink for layer 1 and white for all the other layers. The lacey edges were made from a new die that I recently purchased, cut down the center and glued to the back of the white card stock. The image is from an old stamp set from Stampin' Up called "Summer By The Sea" which was colored with Prisma colored pencils. I used heart shaped enamel dots for the ribbon (layers 5 and 6) because of the small space available. As I was assembling the card, there was not enough contrast between the pinks so I sponged "worn lipstick" distress ink around the edges of the card base. I love the resulting color.

 

 

 

I wish everyone a safe and fun "Memorial Day Weekend".

May 25, 2015

This card was in the  Favorites for the week ending May 24, 2015 in the General Stamping forum at Splitcoast Stampers.



New Week -- New Challenges

This afternoon I made one card for two challenges. That does not happen often. I seem to go one at a time. The challenge this week at The Paper Players is a color challenge. The colors of choice are: Lost Lagoon, Pistachio Pudding and Sahara Sand. I have the first two colors but not the Sahara Sand. I tried my best to find a good match in all my papers but really did not come up with a good one. I did the best I could. I chose a sheet of Bazzill card stock in the color "Taffy". It is much lighter than Sahara Sand but seemed to be the best match.

The second challenge was the CAS challenge at SplitCoast Stampers which was to make a "thank you" card. I need one of these so the challenge was a perfect fit.

 

I was able to attend the Michigan Scrapbooker's Mega Meet on Saturday in Novi, Michigan. It was fun to shop with several of my favorite vendors and see all the new things on the market. One stop was "The Stamps of Life" booth. I purchased a set of dies with two coordinating stamp sets. The stamps I used today were from the set called "chalk sayings 2 stamp". The card base is the Bazzill Taffy card stock. I used the hexagon hive die cut from Pistachio Pudding for the second layer. I cut the die a second time using Lost Lagoon. I layered some of the Lost Lagoon cut outs onto the Pistachio Pudding layer. Then I added three little flowers which were stamped with the SU "Pictogram Punches" set. They were stamped with Lost Lagoon ink onto Lost Lagoon card stock and punched out using the coordinating punch.

 

Thank you for stopping by my blog.

 

May 16,2015 -- Listed in the Paper Players Cut Above List.

PP239

This week's Paper Player challenge--

 

 My card for this challenge--

I had seen this layout on Pinterest a number of times and have wanted to try it for several weeks. I made the background paper some time ago using distress inks and then flicking water onto it to create the water spots. Of course, it was just waiting to be used. The black flower stem is a new Memory Box die called "Chandra Stem". The "hello" was also cut using a die from Cuttlebug. Now I wished I had used a stamp instead so that the hello would have been smaller. I think that would have made the flower stem and background stand out more.

Update:
This card was listed in "Favorites of the Week ending April 12" at SCS.

SC534 and PP238

My week continues to be filled with challenges and not all related to making cards. I finally finished the card I was working on for these two challenges. The first being the one from The Paper Players this past Sunday and the second was the sketch challenge at SCS on Wednesday.

I chose the first vertical column -- any shade of yellow, die-cut and flowers.

I chose to combine these two challenges for this card. I used SU So Saffron card stock for the card base and the flowers. The flower's edges were sponged with SU Crushed Curry. My new Memory Box Die was used to cut the leaves. The natural card stock was embossed using the new SU Spring Flowers folder. The sentiment was from the SU set called "Sheltering Tree".

 

 

CAS317 and PP237 -- Field of Tulips

My card today ended up being for two challenges. First I printed off a copy of the sketch challenge for this week at The Paper Players. As I was looking at it and thinking about the CAS challenge to use "flowers from bulbs", this idea came to me. I have always loved seeing pictures of the fields of tulips in Holland. About sixteen years ago when I really got into flower gardening, I planted lots of bulbs. After all these years many are still coming up every spring. I wanted to try an create an image that looked like a field of tulips. I then used the sketch challenge as a guide to finishing my card.

 

The flowers were created using the Stampin' Up set called "Painted Petals".  The stems were stamped using three inks -- Memento New Sprout and Bamboo Leaves and Stampin' Up's Pear Pizzazz. For the flowers, I used SU Primrose Petals and So Saffron. I tried to stamp two or three times before reinking. I sponged a little tumbled glass distress ink at the top and a little Memento Bamboo Leaves over the stems. The sentiment is from SU's Petite Pairs stamped in Primrose Petals, layered with Primrose Petals and Certainly Celery card stock. The banners were made from bits of paper I found in my scrap box.

 

March 29, 2015 -- This card was in the weekly favorites at Splitcoast Stampers and "A Cut Above" at The paper Players.

 

PP236 -- Florals

This afternoon I made a card for this week's challenge at The Paper Players. I love their CAS challenges and I love seeing everyone's pretty cards.

 

First, this is a card that I made last night. It was a card that I case'd from a card that I had seen on Pinterest. When I first saw the card, I immediately fell in love with it. Here is a link to the cards. I used four colors of pink/red to made the flowers -- Blushing Bride, Pretty in Pink, Primrose Petals and Cherry Cobbler. I used two different flower punches, did a little shaping and added a pearl to the center.

 

After the card was completed, I kept making flowers with the scraps that I had out. I love to see them take shape. So when I saw this week's challenge, they were there just waiting to be used. I added a sentiment from Stampin' Up's set called "Thoughts and Prayers".

The Paper Players Color Challenge

I also wanted in make a card to enter into this week's color challenge on The Paper Players Blog.

 

Here is my card--

I used SU crumb cake card stock for the base, wild wasabi for the leaves and crisp cantaloupe and so saffron for the flowers. The black frame and white insert were cut on my Cricut. I am not sure which way I like the card best -- portrait  or landscape. Right now it could be used either way.

March 14, 2015-- My card made "A Cut Above".

SC530 -- Pink Tulips

Love today's sketch. I have made cards in the past with a similar layout. I also wanted to make a card for this week's challenge at The Paper Players blog. Their challenge was "spring". Sooooo -- here is my card. When I think of spring, I think of all the pretty flowers that are soon to bloom. I am always amazed at the early spring blubs. After weeks of being covered with snow, they always seem to know when it is time to start growing. I have been tempted to go outside and dig in the snow. I bet that under that layer of white, the crocuses, early tulips and daffodils are already poking their heads up through the frozen ground.

Today's sketch --

 

*March 8, 2015 -- This card was one of many "CAS Favorites" for the week.

 

 

Two Challenges Today

After traveling to Chicago this past weekend, I am way behind in so many things. I finally got a card made this afternoon for two challenges.

 I needed a birthday card for my cousin's husband so that played a big roll in my choices. I wanted to use a piece of designer paper from a new 6x6-inch pad I got last week so that determined the colors I was going to use. I ended up using basic gray for the card base, a light gray for the band and black as my accent color. For a February birthday, I think the colors work especially with all the ice and snow they are having in Middle Tennessee right now. The greeting is from the Stampin' Up set called "Wetlands". The branch die is from Memory Box and the bird is a die from Impression Obsession.  

Two Challenges

My card today is for two challenges. The first was from The Paper Players.

The second challenge was at Splitcoast Stampers. It was this weeks Clean and Simple challenge to create a card with the theme "Love".

The little hedgehog is from a clear set by Penny Black colored with Copic markers. The heart outline stamp is from SU's "I {heart} Hearts" set and the sentiment is from SU's "Filled With Love" set. I cut the image out using a Spellbinders pierced rectangle die. The image was then layered with black and red card stock (both from my scrap box). To add a little bling I used three little heart rain dots.

 

February 8, 2015  My card was chosen for "A Cut Above" at The Paper Players.