WMS Sketch Challenge #40

It's time to upload another WMS sketch challenge...I'll (try to) keep my post short so that I can go make hot chocolate for my little sweetie pie who has been waiting so patiently for me to finish on the computer...

Here's the sketch: (very open this week)



Et voila my card:



I wanted to use some wonderful spring-y/summer-y papers from 3 Bugs in a Rug that I stocked up on recently...their designs are so cute & whimsical...even though I'm big into the vintage look right now, I also love these cute little happy papers. The patterned papers I used are from their Lazy Summer and Chloe collections. From Lazy Summer, I used the back side of the Picnic paper as a mat for my bouquet of flowers. From the Chloe line I used the Mini-floral paper, both front & back. (I LOVE double-sided papers! They give you such easy, coordinating options)

Since we don't have much but grey & rain right now in Washington, these sunny bright papers make me smile. Hopefully they will brighten your day too! :) The picture below shows the detail of the interior paper showing through the punched border. That paper is also from the Chloe line, simply called Strip. The cute little coordinating banners & borders are from the coordinating die cut sheet from Lazy Summer.



Have a bright & sunny day, even if it's only in your mind! That's what I'm going to try to do... ;)

Supplies used:

Cardstock: Textured blue (DCWV), Hollyhock (CTMH); Certainly Celery (SU)
Patterned Paper: Chloe & Lazy Summer collections (3 Bugs in a Rug)
Stamp Set(s): Spring Baskets (Waltzingmouse)
Ink/Colorants: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Hollyhock (CTMH); Copic markers: E13, E15, E29, YG06, YG63, YG97, Y11, Y15, Y17
Embellishments: Die cut banners & borders (3 Bugs in a Rug); Paper flowers, glitter brads (OT); Pink buttons (PTI); Waxy flax, Yellow organdy ribbon (CTMH); Pink & white organdy ribbon (stash)
Tools: Arches border punch (EK Success)

H2H Sketch Challenge #49 & PDCC74

Hello, blog land...(or to the 2 or 3 people who happen to stumble across my blog.. ;)
I had a great weekend and now it's back to challenges!

Today's is the H2H Challenge as well as the Play Date Cafe color challenge. My cards today began with the PDC colors...they reminded me of a peacock...so bright & cheerful & spring-y... :)

Here's the inspiration photo:



And here's one of my cards of the day with these beautiful colors:



(The gradation of the sentiment is a little hard to capture in a photo...it's more visible than it appears)

When I saw the colors I immediately thought of some Bo Bunny paper that I recently got called Peacock Lane. It showcases these colors perfectly. I used Flowers, Tweet & Plumes.

H2H was a sketch challenge this week:



This is my take!



In case it's not terribly clear from the photo, the front has an open window. You can see a little better how it works out from the inside:



It's a little bit "free floating"...! A little different than I've done before. The stamps are all from CTMH stamp sets...For the little vase of flowers, I stamped then colored is with Copics. It created kind of an "impressionistic" effect which I kind of like.

Well I guess that's about it! I'm glad spring is here...I'm inspired to create fresh & pretty projects!

Supplies used:

Cardstock: Pacific Point (SU)
Patterned Paper: Bo Bunny Peacock Lane
Stamp Set(s): Thank You, Buttoned Together, Just Because (CTMH)
Ink/Colorants: White Daisy, Grey Wool (CTMH); Copic Markers: V12, V17, B24, C1, YG63
Embellishments: Paper flowers (stash); Brads (CTMH)
Tools: Scallop Circle/Circle dies (Spellbinders); Plus Label die (Cuttlebug)

Papertrey March Blog Hop -->> Using embroidery floss

Well, I'm heading out to the Creating Keepsakes convention for a little sister girl time for the next couple days...it's late and I've got to get to bed so I can get up in the AM and pack!

But I've got to get this post online or it won't go up and then I won't be able to participate in Papertrey's blog hop on Friday. So I'll try to keep it short...

The challenge for this month's blog hop was to use embroidery floss. I'm pretty new to doing a lot of hand stitching on my cards, though I've been stocking up on tools & products to do it for years, just never got the time. Therefore, this challenge was a perfect excuse to get out some of my stockpiled tools and try them out for the first time. I made the sunbursts on this card using the new We R Memory Makers Sew Easy piercer. I'm still perfecting its use, but I think that this one turned out pretty okay!

The size of this card is pretty non-standard...it's kind of huge, actually! 4" x 9-1/4"...I've made one other card this size recently (I chose this size because I have some pretty envelopes in this size!) though it was in landscape format...I must say that this size in a portrait format is a bit unwieldy and difficult to photograph...but all in all, I like how it turned out. I'm loving the warm & Mediterranean summer colors. Spring has just barely sprung and I'm prepping for summer already! ;)



Detail of stitching, Copic coloring, which, incidentally, is more of the same cool technique from this week's Make It Monday...coloring on colored cardstock! I just LOVE the results...such rich color.




Supplies used:

Cardstock: Ruby Red (SU); Sunny Yellow (CTMH)
Patterned Paper: from Sweet Slumber DSP (SU); my own homemade "serendipity" paper (multi-colored orange squares)
Stamp Set(s): Mat Stack 3 Collection, Autumn Abundance
Ink/Colorants: Black Memento; Autumn Terracotta (CTMH); Copic markers - BG10, YG63, YG97, Y13, Y19, YR12, YR31, E33, E18; Cherry Cobbler marker (SU)
Embellishments: Yellow polka dot organdy ribbon (stash); Red pearls (OT); Variegated floss (DMC)
Tools: Take 3 die (PTI); 1-3/4" Circle punch (EK Success); Sew Easy paper piercer (We R Memory Keepers)

Make It Monday #7: Copic coloring on colored cardstock

This week's technique is coloring with Copics on colored cardstock (instead of neutrals)...since I'm pretty new to Copic coloring, and want to jump right in, I was all over this week's challenge...and I must say, I'm completely HOOKED!!! Whether it be on colored cardstock or white or whatever, coloring with Copics is the BOMB! ;)

This card is pretty basic, but I love the simple elegance of it. I love this new flower stamp from a Stampin' Up Hostess set, Because I Care. It was the perfect image to use for the Copic coloring on colored cardstock. It made this flower look so fabulous, so easily!



Supplies used:

Cardstock: Kraft (PTI); Real Red (SU); Colonial White, Spring Iris (CTMH)
Patterned Paper:
Stamp Set(s): Because I Care (SU)
Ink/Colorants: Memento Black; Copic Markers: B04, B93, B95, YG63, YG97, C1; Chocolate Chip marker (SU) for splatter background on Colonial White cardstock
Embellishments: Glitter Brads (OT); Twilight Organdy ribbon (CTMH)
Tools: Small Polka dots Texturz plate (Sizzix)

WMS Sketch Challenge #36 & PDCC73

I had a lot of fun combining the Waltzingmouse Sketch from this week with the colors from the Play Date Cafe Challenge (both seen below):

I finally have some Waltzingmouse stamps to use on the WMS sketch...I just got some new ones in the mail last week and I love using them! I used Pic-Nic Patterns for the background, and Spring Baskets for the basket, eggs & sentiment. Love this set!

For the PDCC colors I chose Creme Brulee, Hollyhock & Petal cardstock. Then I distressed everything up quite a bit because I was going for a more muted, vintage look. Gotta love those Distress Inks to achieve this goal. The final touch was a couple spritzes of some shimmer spray in "Treasured Hymn" (that's the color name...cool, huh?) It's a light creamy beige with lots of shine. I added a detail shot so the shimmer can be seen a little better.



In this shot the double layer of the basket & eggs can be seen a little better.



Supplies used:

Cardstock: Creme Brulee, Petal, Hollyhock (CTMH)
Patterned Paper: none
Stamp Set(s): Spring Baskets, Pic-Nic Patterns (WMS); Banner Builder (PTI)
Ink/Colorants: Hollyhock, Creme Brulee, Petal, Blush (CTMH); Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo (Distress Inks); Watercolor Pencils (SU); Treasured Hymn Shimmerz Spritz
Embellishments:
Tools: Decorative Label punch (SU); Banner Builder dies (PTI)

My Mind's Eye Challenge #21 & Get Your Diva On!

I am again combining two challenges...the first, from the My Mind's Eye blog which is to use this sketch:



I have recently fallen head over heels in love with My Mind's Eye papers, almost all their lines, but especially the Lost & Found line. When I went to their blog and saw that they do a monthly challenge, I just had to be involved! The "Get Your Diva On" challenge from Verve was to use all neutrals with just a splash of color...when I saw this paper from Lost & Found - Union Square - Beautiful Day...it seemed perfect. I'm so into the distressed, old, vintage look lately.

(I was supposed to use the theme "Celebrate Today" also, but didn't notice that until after I made the card..whoops...hopefully it won't be too big of a deal!) In any case, I just jumped at the chance to dive into my new MME papers. And of course, I LOVE my Verve stamps...I also tried something new here: Distressing Embossing Powder. I used it on the swirly frame. I do like the results:



Supplies used:

Cardstock: Kraft (SU)
Patterned Paper: Lost & Found line -->> Union Square -> Beautiful Day Paris, Home Sweet Home Collage (MME)
Stamp Set(s): Thankful Accents, Thankful Hearts (Verve Stamps)
Ink/Colorants: Distress Embossing Powder, Walnut Stain & Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)
Embellishments: Dark Chocolate buttons (Papertrey); Crochet Lace trim (SU)
Tools: Abstract Flower Border Punch (EK Success); Labels Sixteen dies (Spellbinders)

With Sympathy

Just wanted to share a sympathy card I made today. A dear colleague of my husband's passed away a couple days ago and I was thinking of his wife.

I really wanted something special, something touching, a moment of beauty & possibly a little comfort during such a difficult time. I prayed for inspiration. When I went to my craft room, I pulled out some of the many new papers I have from My Mind's Eye, this one called Ooh La La for Him. I usually lean toward more girly papers...I have two girls and I love girly color schemes, but I was drawn to this paper because I always have trouble when it comes to needing a masculine card. As it turns out, this paper ended up being absolutely perfect for my sympathy card.

I started flipping through the sheets, and this beautiful 12x12 sunrise jumped out at me. (if you click through the link above, you'll see the paper collections with all the papers lined up. Click on the one of the sun to get the full view). The sun just spoke to me of hope & joy, without being too cheery at an otherwise dark time. I have some really pretty silver "invitation" envelopes that are quite large: 4" x 9-1/4"...so I wanted to make a large card to go with it...as it turns out, this large card format is perfect for using this sun paper. An answer to prayer all the way around! I love the way this card turned out...simple, yet beautiful, I think. I hope it has the intended effect, what I prayed for.



I'm LOVING this paper line...I was able to use more of the same paper on the inside, just turned it over for the top of the inside (love double sided paper), and more of the sun's rays below. The die cut on the front is also from that paper kit! Perfect! I bought a set from Waltzingmouse Stamps a few months ago called Words of Wisdom. I remembered this sentiment and wanted to use it...turns out it fit PERFECTLY on the die cut. God does care about the little moments of our lives, and He uses us in small ways to bless others! This is always my prayer for my card making.

Here's the inside:



Supplies used:

Cardstock: So Saffron (SU)
Patterned Paper: from Ooh La La for Him paper collection (My Mind's Eye)
Stamp Set(s): Words of Wisdom (WMS); Simple Sentiments (PTI); Isaiah 61:3 Plain Jane stamp, Notes of Prayer (Verve Stamps)
Ink/Colorants: Juniper, Ponderosa Pine, Creme Brulee (CTMH);
Embellishments: all die cuts are from the Ooh La La for Him paper kit
Tools: