Pink Polka Dot Birthday

Hi there and welcome back!  I've had some fun making the card I'm sharing with you today, using the sketch from Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge and designing it with choices from the Tic Tac Toe challenge at Paper Players.

 http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

http://www.sweetsundaysketch.blogspot.com/

After choosing to complete the bottom row of the Tic Tac Toe challenge, I settled on using Melon Mambo for my shade of pink.  The flower from Gifts of Kindness covered the other two items in the row.

The Kraft base was stamped with the Chevron background stamp in Versamark ink.  It's a lot more visible in the photo than in real life.  I think it's a fun contrast to the polka dots in the stamped image.

The sentiment from Itty Bitty Banners was colored with Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry markers then cut out with a matching framelit.

Well, that's it my friends.  As always, I so appreciate your visit and comments.  Do be sure and use the links above to enjoy all the great inspiration!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Gifts of Kindness, Itty Bitty Banners, Chevron BG
Paper:  Kraft, Whisper White, Textured Melon Mambo
Ink:  Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Versamark
Other:  Crushed Curry Bakers Twine, Bitty Banner and Circles Collection framelits, Scallop Border punch, Basic Rhinestones, Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo Blendability markers, Paper Snips.

Petal Thoughts

Hi again!  I love that Spring is here, it gives me reason to use all my floral stamps.  Today I've used stamps from the Peaceful Petals stamp set (retired).

The daisy was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black, covered with a mask, then stamped over by the leaf image.  The flower was colored with Calypso Coral Blendability markers, with a bit of Daffodil Delight in the middle and Wild Wasabi for the stem.  The leaves were colored with Old Olive Blendabilities.

The card base was covered with one of the many lovely images from Venetian Romance designer paper.  While the color is Tangerine Tango rather than Calypso Coral, I think it complements the colored image nicely.  A bit of First Edition dsp and Linen Thread finished off the card.

I've used this week's sketch from Freshly Made Sketches for my card.  Be sure to use the link below to check out all the fabulous inspiration!

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

As always your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Enjoy the remainder of your weekend!

Hugs,

Stef

All products from Stampin' Up.

Lacy Wishes

Hi there, hope you're having a good day!  Freshly Made Sketches has yet another fantastic sketch that I just had to make time to play along with.

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

Still charmed by my recently acquired Something Lacy background stamp, I thought the middle panel in the sketch unquestionably invited its use LOL!!

Working with the color combination of Wisteria Wonder and Blackberry Bliss, I decided to include a subtle addition of color with a panel of Soft Sky under the stamped layer.

Stamps from the Endless Wishes set were used to make the sentiment.  Rhinestones colored with a Blendability marker added a bit of sparkle to this very simple card.

As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Please be sure to use the link above to enjoy all the lovely inspiration plus you still have a little bit of time to play along!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Something Lacy, Endless Wishes
Paper:  Whisper White, Blackberry Bliss, Wisteria Wonder, Soft Sky
Ink:  Wisteria Wonder, Blackberry Bliss
Other:  1 3/8" Circle and 1 1/4" Scallop Circle punches, Basic Rhinestones, Rich Razzleberry Blendability marker.

Tiny Thanks

Hi there and welcome back!  The Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge had a fun sketch with a tilted panel, so I thought I would give it a go and see what I could come up with.

http://www.sweetsundaysketch.blogspot.com/ 

The front panel offered the perfect spot to stamp the flower images from my favorite hostess set, I Like You.  I used various Blendability markers to color it.  In complement, I used a large Melon Mambo panel with the embossed Wild Wasabi tilted panel in the middle.

Originally I had a Kraft card base, but after trying to put it all together the bright colors didn't work with it correct..  White was better but looked a little plain, which was remedied by stamping it with the Something Lacy background stamp.  That seemed to pull it all together.

I took a bit of liberty with the sketch by using twine around the main panel, then tying the tiny sentiment onto it with Linen Thread.

Thanks for the visit today and of course I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  You can use the link above to visit the SSSC blog, plus the challenges stay open so you can join in any time.  Be sure to drop by each Sunday when there is a new sketch.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  I Like You, Something Lacy, Tiny Tags
Paper:  Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Wild Wasabi
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Strawberry Slush twine, Linen Thread, Vines TIEF Jewelry Tag punch, Blendability Markers:  Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi

All Your Heart

Welcome back!  Tonight I have a card to show you that I made for CAS(E) this Sketch and Paper Players, where we are to make a clean and simple floral card.  Done and done!

http://casethissketch.blogspot.com/

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

The card itself was truly quick and easy to make, after I settled on which stamp set to use.  I had to hunt around for instructions for making a Triple Time card, and then just kept it to two layers to align with the sketch.  I tried some solid floral stamps but nothing seemed to work the way I had in mind.  Then I remembered a long retired stamp set with a seriously beautiful floral image and settled on using it.

Using an Aquapainter, the flowers were colored in Pink Pirouette and Pretty in Pink, the leaves with Pear Pizazz.  The sentiment and dragon fly were then stamped in the middle.

I love the elegance of those flowers combined with the rustic Kraft paper.  I looked at ways to add embellishments or ribbon, but decided it would only detract from the overall clean and simple look.  You can see where I decorated a corner on the inside as well.

Thanks so much for your visit today.  I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment!  Be sure to use the links above to check out all the fabulous inspiration and join in - there's still time!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Asian Artistry
Paper:  Kraft, Watercolor
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Pear Pizazz, Stazon Timber Brown
Other:  Aquapainter

Happy Dance

Hello again!  The card I'm sharing today uses an adorable stamp I've had for a while but had not yet inked up, but when I saw the color challenge this week at Pals Paper Arts, I knew the time was right to use it.  It's also to help celebrate the 200th challenge at Friday Mashup, where the challenge is to use two "mashup" challenges together.  I chose #151 (shaped card) and #121 (use the word happy).

http://www.palspaperarts.com/

http://www.fridaymashup.com/

After coloring this cute little fellow, Ovals Collection framelits were used to cut out the card base, the stamped image and the slightly larger mat.

The colors in the PPA challenge were perfect for Spring or Easter, but since this is going to my grand kids, one of which is a 12-year old boy, I decided the Kraft card stock would pedal back the cuteness factor a bit for him.  ; - )

The lightest Crumb Cake Blendability marker was used to color the bunny, going over certain parts a second time with the same marker to create a bit of shading.  This exuberant image just makes me smile!

As always your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to use the links above to check out all the fabulous inspiration, plus there is still time to play along with both challenges.  Hope you have a great week ahead!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Happy Easter Bunny
Paper:  Whisper White, Soft Sky, Kraft
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Pistachio Pudding
Other:  Soft Sky Saddle Stitch grosgrain ribbon, Ovals Collection framelits, Pink Pirouette, Soft Sky and Crumb Cake Blendability markers.

Sweet Thoughts

Happy Saturday all!  It's a rainy, cool day, perfect for card making and in this post I'll share one of two cards I made today that uses the lovely sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

I started out by stamping the floral image from Butterfly Basics on the smaller panel of Whisper White, covered it with a mask, then inked up the fern image from the same sketch and stamped over the top.  After pulling off the mask, the flower and leaves were then colored with Blendability markers.

The rest of the card is pretty self-explanatory.  I'm so sad the Blendability markers are being discontinued, but obviously Stampin' Up can't continue to sell something with a critical design flaw that causes the ink to dry out too quickly.  While watercoloring is one of my favorite mediums to work with, using alcohol markers has been a fantastic new way to color.  I hope SU is successful in developing a replacement product sooner rather than later!  In the meantime I'll use my markers as long as they last.

Thanks so much for your visit today!  Please be sure to use the link above to check out all the wonderful inspiration at the FMS blog, plus there's still time to join in.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Butterfly Basics, Sweet Essentials
Paper Whisper White, Soft Sky
Ink:  Garden Green, Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Sahara Sand 7/8" Lace Trim, Painted Blooms Cotton Twine, Spring Flowers TIEF, Corner Rounder and Bitty Butterfly punches, Pink Pirouette, Daffodil Delight and Wild Wasabi Blendability markers, Basic Rhinestones

Breezy Butterfly

Hi there!  Today I'm sharing a card made for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.  Since its inception, Karen Giron has held the weekly challenge on her personal blog, but now she has created a new blog just for the weekly sketch challenge.  For this week's challenge we are to choose one of the previous 258 sketches for our card.  After reviewing them all, it was hard to choose (because they are all fabulous!) but I finally settled on SSSC199.

http://sweetsundaysketch.blogspot.com/

I started with a 5" x 5" square base out of Crumb Cake card stock and layered on top a panel of Parisian Breeze designer series paper.  I have been hoarding (no other way to put it LOL!) this beautiful dsp for years and decided it was time to start using it up.

The next layer has a base of Baja Breeze with one end punched with the Eyelet Border punch.  Before using a Butterflies thinlit to cut out the butterfly, the white rectangle was sprayed with Vanilla Smooch to give it some sparkle, which is a bit hard to see in the photos.  Another pattern from the same dsp was layered under the die cut opening and then the butterfly wings lifted a bit for dimension.

 
Since this is a square card, I decided to make an envelope out of Baja Breeze card stock.  It was decorated with images from Butterfly Basics around the front in the same color ink.

As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to use the link above to check out the new SSSC blog and all the inspiration.  Plus, there's plenty of time to join in.  Have a great week!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Butterfly Basics, Watercolor Trio
Paper:  Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Parisian Breeze dsp
Ink:  Crumb Cake
Other:  Baja Breeze Seam Binding ribbon, Vanilla Smooch, Butterflies Thinlit, Basic Rhinestones, Soft Sky Blendability Marker, Eyelet Border punch, Envelope Punch Board.

What's the Buzz?

Hi there and welcome back!  Unlike most of the rest of the United States, the Pacific Northwest has had unseasonably warm weather, all throughout February and continuing through this first week in March.  So, making an effort to spend some time outside when not at work, combined with joining my husband to shop for items for the planned update to our floors, kitchen and powder room, I haven't had much time for card making.  However, I was absolutely charmed with the sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches and knew I had to make time to create a card.

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

I pulled out a stamp set that literally has not seen the light of day in years, but I thought is would be perfect for a clean and simple card.

One of the first jokes my Dad taught me when I was very young was "What's black, white and "read" all over?" which may actually lose meaning in the next few years as newspapers continue to close, with people using electronic devices to obtain their news.  However, it popped into my mind while creating this card, and it humored me to use red, black and vanilla for the color combination.

After scalloping the front edge of the card, a strip of Real Red card stock was adhered for added contrast.  Because the front of the card is shorter than the back, the strip of First Edition designer series paper layered on the interior of the card shows below the scalloped edge.

Thanks so much for visiting today, and I would love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment!  Be sure to use the link above to visit the FMS blog for amazing inspiration, plus there is still time to join in.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  A Bug's Like (Clear Art Stamps)
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Real Red, First Edition dsp
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Real Red Grosgrain ribbon, Scallop Border punch, Candy Dot

Coastal Thanks

Hello again, I have a quick post tonight with a card I made for CAS(E) this Sketch.  I love how quick this went together. Cutting the die cut words 3 times and gluing them together were definitely the most time consuming part of this.

Here's the fun sketch and link:

http://casethissketch.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for visiting!  Do use the link above to check out all the wonderful inspiration and even join in - there's still time!


Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Crazy About You
Paper:  Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Lullaby designer series paper
Ink:  Hello Honey
Other:  Bitty Banner Framelit, Happy Hello Thinlit, Hello Honey Stitched Satin Ribbon, Word Window punch, Coastal Cabana Blendability Marker, Basic Rhinestones