Sunset Birthday

Hello and welcome back!  Inspiration struck once again between the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge and this week's color challenge at Paper Players, which I used to make a card for the upcoming birthday of a nephew.

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge

The Paper Players

When I saw both challenges, a sunset scene immediately came to mind.  I decided to use one of my favorite stamps, Sail Away, which is perfect for the type of scene I was envisioning.

The main image started out with the sail boat stamped in Archival Basic Black.  I punched the sticky part of a Post It Note with a 3/4" circle just short of the full circle for the sun, then masked the horizon and the sails before sponging the sky.  I started with So Saffron, the worked the sponge with Tangelo Twist from the mask line up the sky line, leaving a golden glow at the outer part of the scene.

A mask was then placed over the sky portion and Lost Lagoon was sponged to create the water.  I tried to keep the dark water to the outer parts with the portion in front of the sun lighter then the rest.

The sketch calls for cutting off the left side of the circle but I decided to alter it for this scene and instead kept the full circle and made the card skinnier (3 3/4" x 5 1/2") so it could still keep within the standard A2 size.

Well, that's it then.  So glad you visited and would love to hear from you if you have time to leave a comment.  Do use the links above to enjoy the amazing inspiration and also play along with the challenges, as there's still time.

Thank you for visiting and I hope the remainder of your week is nothing short of fabulous!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details: 
Stamps:  Sail Away, Small Phrases (Verve)
Paper:  Whisper White, Lost Lagoon
Ink:  Lost Lagoon, Tangelo Twist, So Saffron, Archival Basic Black
Other:  Circle Collection framelit, Cloudy Day TIEF, Lost Lagoon Stitched Satin ribbon

Hey, Gorgeous

Hi there!  Thanks for taking the time to visit.  CAS(e) this Sketch has a sketch this week that was perfect for making a card for a teenager, which is perfect as I continue to make cards for the Cards for Kids organization.

CAS(E) this Sketch

While I lean towards making cards with more layers, it is so fun to let loose and minimize with a Clean and Simple (CAS) card as I did with this one.  It was fast, easy and so fun to make with this great layout!

I stamped two different stamps from Gorgeous Grunge on the high and low sides, plus the splatter dots from the same stamp set, then added a piece of Boho Chic Washi Tape in the middle.  The sentiment from the Just Sayin' stamp set finished it off.

Thanks for looking!  As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated.  Be sure to use the link to see all the amazing inspiration.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge, Just Sayin'
Paper:  Whisper White
Ink:  Tangerine Tango, Smoky Slate, Bermuda Bay
Other:  Boho Chic Washi Tape

Wild About You

Hi there again!  This week Just Add Ink has a fun sketch challenge that worked well for another card to donate to the Cards for Kids organization.

Just Add Ink

I decided to stamp then fussy cut the giraffe from the Wild About You stamp set, so her long neck and head would pop up above the circle, then the sentiment was added with a banner to the side.

The Cajun Craze and Blackberry Bliss washi tape is from the 2014 Holiday catalogue, and makes a "wild" color combination with the bright yellow of the giraffe and the designer paper in the background.  The big spot stamp from Gorgeous Grunge was inked up with Cajun Craze, stamped off once, then stamped on the dsp in the background.

Thanks for looking!  As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated.  Be sure to use the link above to enjoy all the wonderful inspiration on the JAI blog.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Wild About You, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze, Blackberry Bliss, Moonlight dsp
Ink:  Blackberry Bliss, Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry
Other:  Color Me Autumn Designer Washi tape, Bitty Banner framelit, 2" Circle & 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punches, Paper Snips

Autumn Thoughts

Hello, again!  I had a productive time in the craft room yesterday afternoon, including finishing up with my card for this week's challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.

Freshly Made Sketches

Because I wanted to use the new Happy Scenes stamp set, the center shape became a window on a fall scene.  I had some retired designer paper with lovely fall colors that became the "wallpaper" around the window.

After stamping the scene in Chocolate Chip I used markers to color the pumpkins, leaves and clumps of grass.  I then used a blender pen to give the grass some texture and movement, plus using the marker directly on the paper would have made the grass color too dark.  The sky was sponged with Soft Sky.

A piece of Crumb Cake was stamped with the Hardwood stamp, then the window frame was cut out with the new Hearth & Home Thinlit.  I lightly sponged a little bit of Crumb Cake ink around the edges just to give it a bit more dimension against the background design.  If I were to replicate this card, I might try a darker brown card stock for the frame but the lighter brown was used because I wanted to make sure the wood grain was visible.  

So glad you made your way to my blog today!  I would love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment. Do be sure to use the link above to check out all the wonderful inspiration plus there's still time to join in.

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Happy Scenes, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Hardwood

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Pool Party, Early Espresso, Spice Cake designer series paper

Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Old Olive.  Markers:  Pumpkin Pie, Delightful Dijon, Old Olive, More Mustard, Early Espresso

Other:  Hearth & Home Thinlit, Brights Candy Dots, Blender pen

Soaring By

Hi there and welcome back!  Hope your weekend is going well.  The sketch at Mojo Monday this week had so many fun layers I just had to join in!  The card I made with it is another to be donated to the Cards for Kids organization.

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

I decided to use an old Papertrey Ink stamp set with sentiments that are fun and have great fonts.  The balloons were cut from Tempting Turquoise card stock with 3 different sizes of punches for the balloons, which were then stamped with the stars and dots from the Celebrate Today stamp set.  They were then popped up on dimensionals over the balloon baskets. The PTI stamp set calls for buttons to be used as the balloons but I wanted to avoid the bulk of that by using card stock.

The cloud embossing folder seemed perfect to go with the stamped images, and with the horizontal piece across the middle, I was able to have the bottom part of the panel remain unembossed so the sentiment could be stamped in the bottom right corner.

Thanks for taking a look today.  As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to use the link above to enjoy all the inspiration plus there's still time to play along.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Celebrate Today, Everyday Button Bits (PTI)
Paper:  Whisper White, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Tempting Turquoise, Polka Dot Parade dsp
Ink:  Pear Pizazz, Rich Razzleberry, Tempting Turquoise
Other:  Scallop Border punch, 1" and 3/4" Circle punches, Itty Bitty Accent Punch Pack (smallest circle), Banner framelit, Cloudy Day TIEF, Whisper White Baker's Twine

Zooming By and Sayin' Hi!

Hi there and welcome back!  Tonight I've got a couple of cards to show you using a stamp set from The Craft's Meow (no longer in business) that I purchased a few years ago and are perfect for kids.  I used this week's sketch challenge at Splitcoaststampers for the second card.

SC556

The stamp set is Vintage Rides and these two are my favorites images.  Both were colored with Blendability markers, the airplane in Coastal Cabana and the scooter in Melon Mambo.

I made three cards with each stamp.  For the airplane, it was stamped twice, once on the designer series paper (no you are not seeing things, two different dsp backgrounds were used), then on Whisper White card stock.  The plane stamped on card stock was colored with the Blendability markers then cut out with paper snips and adhered to the dsp.  I think it looks so cute cruising above the clouds and trees!

The super cute scooter stamp (love those flames!) was stamped on a rectangle of Whisper White and colored with Melon Mambo Blendability markers and Encore Silver ink with a blender pen for all the chrome pieces.  The background is divided between Whisper White card stock embossed with the Large Polka Dot embossing folder and a piece of the retired Welcome Neighbor designer series paper.

Thanks for looking!  As always your visit and comments are so appreciated.  Be sure to use the link above to check out all the wonderful inspiration for the sketch challenge at SCS.

Hugs,

Stef

Hello Goose

Hello again!  I have a card to share that is one of several I've created for Cards for Kids, an organization that sends cards to sick children in various hospitals.  I used this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge for my card layout.

Freshly Made Sketches

I decided that the goose image from Storybook Friends would work perfectly in that small rectangle in the sketch.  The colors Cucumber Crush and Pumpkin Pie made this a bright and cheerful card.

The goose was stamped on watercolor paper, then the image was colored with an Aqua Painter and reinkers.  After that dried (using a heat tool), this was a quick card to assemble, even with making the matching envelope.

Thank you so much for taking time to visit today and of course I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  Be sure to use the link above to enjoy all the great inspiration plus there's still time to join in.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Storybook Friends
Paper:  Whisper White (interior), Cucumber Crush, Pumpkin Pie, Watercolor, 2015-2017 In Color Envelope paper
Ink:  Archival Basic Black, Cucumber Crush, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Sky
Other:  Envelope Punch Board, Tangelo Twist button (from 2015 Saleabration), Linen Thread, Aqua Painter

Whole Lot of Wonderful

Welcome back!  I had time to make a couple cards this weekend, one of which I shared last night, so I thought I would share the 2nd with you tonight.  This card was made with the sketch for this week's challenge at Pals Paper Arts.

Pals Paper Arts

It is such a great sketch, because it's wide open to interpretation.  The cute Vivid Vases stamp set immediately popped into my mind as it would fill the space perfectly.

After stamping in Memento Tuxedo Black, I used some of my retired Blendability markers to color the flowers and vases, and add a little shading at the bottom.  Even though the alcohol markers are not available anymore, this is a super great sketch for water coloring too, especially with the new Archival Basic Black and Basic Gray inks that will be available in the new Holiday catalogue beginning tomorrow.

Because there are multiple vases and flower types, I had to plan the color combinations, plus I didn't want all the vases to be the same color.  So I chose Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive for the vases colors, then matched up the flower colors with what I thought would look best, using Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Wisteria Wonder, and Calypso Coral.  Very bright and cheerful! 

After the coloring was complete, it was easy to finish up with a few layers of card stock, designer series paper, ribbon and adhering the sentiment.

Thanks for taking time to drop by!  As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated.  Be sure to use the link above and enjoy all the wonderful inspiration!  

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Vivid Vases

Paper:  Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Welcome Neighbor designer series paper (retired)

Ink:  Rich Razzleberry, Memento Tuxedo Black

Other:  Blendabilities:  Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral, Melon Mambo, Wisteria Wonder, Old Olive, Smoky Slate; Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon (retired), 

Calypso Thoughts

Hello and welcome back!  A quick post this Sunday evening as my card slides in under the deadline for this week's challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  In conjunction with that sketch, I used the color challenge this week at Just add Ink.

Freshly Made Sketches

Just add Ink

So, I really struggled with this color challenge, not so much in terms of the stamps I wanted to use but the background, what the horizontal piece should be, too much Saffron, not enough....okay you get the picture, I don't want to bore you too much with my issues.  ; - )  But here's what I ended up making...

I wanted to keep it relatively flat with secure embellies because it will be joining a number of cards I have made for a couple of charities that share cards with people with illness and their families.

The rounded corner was created with the new Curvy Corner Trio punch, available on Tuesday in the new Holiday catalogue. It's a very versatile punch, two corner designs and a slit for using on a tag.

Thanks for taking time to take a look, as always your visit and comments are so appreciated.  Be sure to use the links above to check out the wonderful inspiration!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Flower Patch, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper:  Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Calypso Coral, Tea for Two designer series paper
Ink:  Calypso Coral, So Saffron. Mint Macaron
Other:  Subtles Candy Dots, Burlap Ribbon, Flower Fair framelits, 2" Circle, Word Window and Curvy Corner Trio punches, Boho Chic TIEF

Fluttering Thoughts

Hi there!  It's been a while since I posted, as Kevin and I went on a wonderful trip to Canada, then back to work after just one day home.  Sigh.  But finally I had a chance to put together a card for this week's sketch challenge at Paper Players and the color challenge at Splitcoaststampers.

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

SC Color Challenge

The weekly color challenge always has "dessert" and this week it is to add a butterfly.  No problem!  Butterflies abound on my card this week.  (Actually, I completed my post and was ready to hit publish when I realized the color challenge is VANILLA and gold, not WHITE and gold.  Oops!)

I started with a skinny card 3.5" x 5" so the circle and butterfly could hang off the edge and still fit in an A2 envelope.  The next layer of Whisper White was embossed with the Fluttering TIEF.

The gold butterfly tops of two layers of vellum butterflies.  The scallop circle underneath consists of a layer of Gold Vellum with a layer of white card stock underneath.  The sentiment was stamped with Encore Gold and heat embossed with Gold Stampin' Embossing Powder.  The button is a Gold Basic Metal button tied with a bit of white and gold twine that came on a present from a friend.  It was so pretty I had to reuse it!

Thanks so much for visiting today!  I'd love to hear from you if you have a time to leave a comment.  Please be sure to use the links above to check out all the wonderful inspiration at both The Paper Players and Splitcoaststampers.

Hugs,

Stef

Just Add...Blue!

Welcome back!  I hope you've had a great weekend thus far.  I managed to sneak in time today to make a card for the challenges at Just Add Ink and Color Throwdown.

Just Add Ink

Color Throwdown

I love the Pacific Point color, so I pulled out a treasured piece of retired textured card stock to use for the base of this card, which measures 6" x 4" folded.  With the overhanging circle on the right side of the sketch, I decided to incorporate the floral image from Awesomely Artistic.

The image was stamped in the new Archival Basic Gray on Whisper White.  I am so happy that Stampin' Up! came out with this new ink (available when the new Holiday catalogue goes live)!  It works perfectly when water coloring with an Aqua Painter or using a blender pen, as I did here.  The flowers were colored in Tempting Turquoise and Marina Mist, and the leaves in Smoky Slate.  Silver Dazzling Details was then added to the center of the blue flowers after it was hand cut and attached to the Smoky Slate circle.

The dragonfly from the same stamp set was heat embossed with Pewter embossing powder, also hand cut and then popped up on dimensionals.

I have miles (or so it seems!) of retired Chevron ribbon, so I was very happy that the Marina Mist piece worked well with the other blues. The Jewelery Tag punch was used for both the stamped sentiment and piece of Silver Foil paper underneath, then attached with a safety pin.

Thanks for looking and as always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to use the links above to check out all the amazing inspiration and join it, there's still time.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Awesomely Artistic, Tiny Tags
Paper:  Whisper White, Smoke Slate, Textured Pacific Point, Silver Foil
Ink:  Archival Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, Tempting Turquoise, Marina Mist, Pacific Point
Other:  Marina Mist Chevron ribbon, 2 1/2" and Jewelery Tag punches, Vintage Trinket safety pin, Silver Dazzling Details, Paper Snips

Sky Dahlia

They say the third time is the charm, but this time the third time is the last time I'll bore you with this color combination with this stamp, at least for a long, long time LOL!!  I made a gift set of cards for my dear friend's birthday to match her birthday card made back in early July (Blackberry Sky) .  A tutorial for making the box can be found on Splitcoaststampers here (A2 Card Box).

My friend is an avid card and letter writer, so the cards had to be fairly flat for mailing.  I decided to make them without the sentiments attached, so she could choose to have no sentiment or one of three included in the gift set that she could easily attached with a spot of adhesive.

I used some repositional adhesive to show the card with the sentiment attached.  The little flags to the right were made using the Bitty Banner framelit, then cutting it in half and layering one ablve the other.  You can see in the picture below that the vertical strip of Blackberry card stock was embossed with the Fluttering TIEF.  I had to play around in photoshop in order to get the contrast so the butterflies were visible.

An older sketch from the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge was used for the card layout.  You can see the original sketch by following this link (SSSC 250).

Thanks for taking a look today!  I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment!  I hope the remainder of your weekend is enjoyable!

Hugs,

Stef



Product details:
Stamps:  Definitely Dahlia, Circle of Spring
Paper:  Whisper White, Blackberry Bliss, Soft Sky, Silver Foil
Ink:  Soft Sky
Other:  1" Circle and 1 1/4" Scallop Circle punches, Bitty Banners Framelit, Fluttering TIEF

Hey There!

Hi there!  Today's card is one for the color challenge at The Paper Players, using this week's sketch from the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.

The Paper Players

I decided to have some fun with these two challenges by making a card for a child using the retired Make A Monster stamp set.  Nothing like a bright blue monster saying "Hey", right?  Hee hee.

After building the monster (all sorts of eye and mouth choices) and stamping in Memento Tuxedo Black, I used Blendability markers to color this fun guy with the challenge colors.  The embossed card stock and the awesome new Kraft Corrugated paper provide lots of texture.  The button is from the Brights collection and I'm not sure it's Old Olive but it looks pretty close.

Thanks for taking a look today.  As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to use the links above to check out all the amazing inspiration plus there's still plenty of time to join in.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Make A Monster, Just Sayin'
Paper:  Whisper White, Old Olive, Bermuda Bay, Kraft Corrugated Paper, Sweet Pea designer series paper
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Word Bubble and Starburst framelits, Chevron TIEF, Brights button, Linen Thread, Blendability markers:  Old Olive, Bermuda Bay and Crumb Cake

Hope for CTS and SUOC

Welcome back and happy Sunday!  My card today is for this week's challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch and for the SUO Challenge to use butterflies (SUO Challenges).

When I saw the circle on the side, I knew I wanted to create negative space with the circle then fill it with the butterfly from Strength & Hope.  It was stamped twice in Crisp Cantaloupe, once on the base and once on a separate piece of paper which I then fussy cut.  Once the top panel was in place, and the butterfly decorated with a row of pearls, it was adhered with dimensionals.

After attaching the ribbon to the panel, I used some of Gold Cord that will be available September 1 in the Stampin' Up Holiday catalogue.  It is wonderful cord and ties beautifully, unlike other versions from prior years.

The final touches were sequins and a decorative corner in the upper right.  Yup, also a sneak peek from the upcoming Holiday catalogue, a new corner punch with two designs and a slot punch for tags.  I've been hoping for something like this for a while and was glad Stampin' Up finally delivered!

Thanks for the visit today!  I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  I hope you have a great week ahead!  Take care!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Strength & Hope, Express Yourself
Paper:  Whisper White, Lullaby designer series paper
Ink:  Crisp Cantaloupe
Other:  Curvy Corner Trio Punch, Hello Honey Stitched Satin ribbon, Gold Cording, Metallic Sequins, Pearls Basic Jewels, 1 3/4" Circle punch, Paper Snips