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

Winged Hello

Hello once again!  I'm back with a card made for the color challenge at Pals Paper Arts, with the lovely, soft colors of Pool Party and Mint Macaron teamed up with Tip Top Taupe.  I'm also using this week's fabulous sketch challenge at Splitcoaststampers and entering this in the current SUO Challenge to use butterflies (SUO Challenges).

Pals Paper Arts

SC552

I fell in love with this sketch and these colors and I was so happy when this card came together almost by itself.  It did help that I had the butterfly left over from another card and I simply sprayed it with Vanilla Smooch.  By the time I got to deciding on a sentiment, the wood "Hello" from the retired Hooray It's Your Day Project Kit seemed to fit perfectly.

The Tip Top Taupe base was topped with a layer of the same card stock that had been run through the Big Shot with the new Woodland embossing folder.  A sponge dauber with a bit of Craft Whisper White was applied around the edges to help is stand out from the base.  A bit of the new corrugated paper was used for one of the rectangle layers. I love the texture it adds to the card.

Thanks for looking!  As always, your visit and comments are sooo appreciated!  Be sure you use the links above to visit all three challenges - there is some amazing inspiration to gaze at!  Also, there's still time to join in, so don't delay!

I'll be back tomorrow with a card to share for CAS(E) this Sketch, so please be sure to swing by then.  Have a great evening!

Hugs,

Stef



Product details:
Stamps:  None
Paper:  Whisper White, White Corrugated, Mint Macaron, Tip Taupe Taupe, Tea Time Simply Scrappin' designer series paper (retired)
Ink:  Craft Whisper White
Other:  Woodland TIEF, Butterflies Thinlit, 2 1/2" Circle and 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punches, Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz, Hooray It's Your Day Project Kit (wood sentiment), Delicate Details Lace Tape, Large Scallop Edgelit.

Le Jardin Wishes

Happy Wednesday!  It's a lovely evening here in Sherwood, with the temps around 80 degrees, clear skies, birds entertaining us out the sliding glass door, plus I finished a card for the color challenge at Splitcoaststampers using this week's sketch from the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.

SCS Color Challenge 542

The colors for this week's color challenge - Elegant Eggplant, Delightful Dijon, Cajun Craze and Mossy Meadow - are perfect for a fall card.  At first I thought about using leaves, but then decided to use a long retired stamp set with a beautiful tree image.

Using markers, the tree was first colored in Delightful Dijon, then Cajun Craze was randomly inked over it.  Finally I added a bit of brown for the tree trunk and Mossy Meadow for the grass.  The sentiment, in eggplant, was stamped with the aid of a Stampamajig.  The panel was then layered on a larger Elegant Eggplant rectangle and topped with a strip of card stock covered with Cajun Craze Washi tape.

The base is Mossy Meadow covered with the same card stock embossed with the Woodgrain embossing folder.  The twine and button, free during the last Saleabration, tie the colors altogether.

Thanks for looking today!  As always your visit and comments are so appreciated.  Please be sure to use the links above to see all the wonderful inspiration and join in the challenges.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Le Jardin Botanique, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Elegant Eggplant, Mossy Meadow, Delightful Dijon
Ink:  Elegant Eggplant, Cajun Craze, Delightful Dijon, Tip Top Taupe
Other:  Mossy Meadow twine and button, Linen Thread, Color Me Autumn Designer Washi Tape (from last year's Holiday catalogue, Stampamajig

Stacked Thoughts

Hi there!  Hope your weekend is going well!  We've been getting the house ready for my husband's sister and brother-in-law to arrive tomorrow, but I did manage to sneak in some time to finish a card for Mojo Monday that I started last night. It's time for Tall and Skinny this week - love it!

Mojo Monday

I started by using a piece of Stacked with Love designer paper (those little hearts are so cute!) that was adhered on top of a slightly smaller piece of card stock, then layered on top a horizontal piece of embossed Smoky Slate.  I found a piece of long-retired Stampin' Up! black velveteen ribbon to anchor the white rectangle.

The flower was stamped three times, with the base punched out then the next two smaller layers hand cut with my paper snips. Because of the tail of the "y", I had to shift the flower to the side opposite of the sketch.

Since the card is skinny (3.75"), the flower and sentiment banner could hang off their respective edges and still fit into a regular A2 envelope.  The card base is the new thick Whisper White card stock, which I find wonderfully sturdy and perfect for the bottom layer.

Thanks for looking today!  Be sure to use the link above to check out all the great inspiration and join in too - there's still time.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Crazy About You
Paper:  Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Smoky Slate, Stacked with Love designer series paper stack
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Melon Mambo
Other:  Hello You Thinlit, Boho Chic TIEF, retired ribbon, Flower Medallion punch, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Paper Snips

Sweet Blossoms for Paper Players

Hello!  A quick post for this week's challenge at The Paper Players.  This week Sandy has a great sketch with a tag - I love tags, so I knew I wanted to try to fit in time to play along.

The Paper Players

I pulled out the sweet Birthday Blossoms stamp set, planning to pop up a couple flowers on the tag along with the sentiment.  I found a scrap of retired Sweet Sorbet designer series paper that I used as my color inspiration for this very summery card.

The flowers were stamped in Calypso Coral, then colored lightly with a Blender Pen in Crisp Cantaloupe and some coral for shading, then punched with the Pansy punch.  The leaves, stamped in Wild Wasabi and colored with Pistachio Pudding, were hand cut with my Paper Snips.  The top of the tag was punched with the Scallop Tag Topper punch then decorated in retired Pool Party, Crisp Cantaloupe and White Twine.  Very quick and easy!

Thanks for dropping by today, as always your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to use the link above to check out all the amazing design team inspiration plus there's still time to join in!

Hugs,

Stef

Just Add Ink - Butterflies

Hello and welcome back!  This week at Just Add Ink (Just Add Ink blog) the theme is butterflies.  I was very excited to make my version of what I think of as an "emerging" butterfly.  I've seen this on several blogs and I think it's a pretty look.

Since I kind of spoke unkindly of Mint Macaron in my last post, I thought I should give it another chance with this card. The pretty designer series paper is from Pretty Petals paper stack.  It was adhered to a panel of Mint Macaron then run through the big shot with the middle sized Butterflies Thinlet, the butterfly die cuts removed and then it was popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals.  Earlier I had sprayed a piece of Very Vanilla with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz, which was then cut with the same butterfly thinlet once the spray dried. Unfortunately the sparkle doesn't show in the photos, but really adds some nice shimmer IRL.

Gold became the accent color, including the button, baker's twine, sequins and embossed sentiment.  Although Mint Macaron is still not my favorite color, I do like how this card turned out.  ; - )

Thanks for stopping and taking a look today!  I would love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment. Also, be sure to use the link above to check out all the design team's beautiful inspiration, plus there's still time to play along!  Take care and have a great week!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Butterfly Basics
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Mint Macaron, Vellum, Pretty Petals designer series paper pack
Ink:  Versamark
Other:  Butterflies Thinlet, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Gold Basic Metal Button, Metallics Sequin Assortment, Pearl Basic Jewels, Gold Metallic Baker's Twine, Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz.

Artistic Wishes

Hello again!  Julee Tilman gave us a fun sketch over at Mojo Monday this week.  It proved a bit of a challenge for me - I think I went through 3 iterations before ending up with the final version.  But I like what I ended up with.

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

Initially I started out with the idea of using the colors of gold, black and Mint Macaron but the colors just didn't look good together to me, so I ditched the Mint for Bermuda Bay.  I know a lot of people love this new In Color but I'm having a hard time warming up to it.  Anyway, after I settled on the colors, here's what I ended up with.

The medallion and dragonfly were both stamped in Versamark, then heat embossed with black and gold embossing powders, respectively.  The dragonfly was then trimmed with paper snips.  The Bermuda Bay flowers beneath the sentiment were stamped off once before stamping on Whisper White, then the sentiment was added in Memento Tuxedo Black.

The embossing, the gold striped vellum and the rhinestones all made this a bit fancy, so I think it would be well used for an anniversary or wedding card.

Thanks for your visit today!  I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  Use the link above to check out all the fabulous inspiration on the Mojo Monday blog.

Hugs,

Stef



Product details:
Stamps:  Awesomely Artistic, Petite Pairs
Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Bermuda Bay, Gold Foil, Gold Striped Vellum
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Bermuda Bay, Versamark
Other:  Stampin' Emboss Gold and Basic Black embossing powders, Gold 1/8" ribbon, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Lacy Brocade embossing folder, 1", 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" Circle punches, Circle Collection framelit, Paper Snips

Boho Kindness

Hello once again! I've created a card to share with you that was made using the current color challenge at Splitcoaststampers and this week's sketch from the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.  I'm also entering it in the current challenge at Stampin' Up Only Challenges (SUO Challenges), where we are to use either a new stamp set from the 2015-2016 Stampin' Up! catalogue or a set that is new to us.  While the stamp set used for this card came out in last year's catalogue, I only recently bought it.

SCS CC540

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge

I started with a panel of Tempting Turquoise embossed with the new Boho Chic embossing folder, then adhered to a base of the new thick Whisper White card stock, which I LOVE because it is so nice and sturdy!

The color challenge of Tempting Turquoise, Crushed Curry and Smoky Slate are so pretty together, it just looks like summer doesn't it?  That's why I thought the Kinda Eclectic stamp set was perfect for both the color challenge and the sketch, with the bright sun image peeking out from behind the horizontal panel.

The leaves were fussy cut with my paper snips, the edges curled up a bit with a stylus, then adhered to the panel and topped with the button.  A Banner framelit was the perfect size to create the Crushed Curry banner.  All in all a very clean, simple and easy card.  Love it!

Thanks for looking today!  As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated.  Be sure to use the links above for fabulous inspiration, plus there's still plenty of time to join the challenges.

Have a great day!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Kinda Eclectic
Paper:  Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Crushed Curry, Smoky Slate
Ink:  Tempting Turquoise, Crushed Curry, Smoky Slate
Other:  Boho Chic TIEF, 2 1/2" Circle punch, Banners framelit, retired Brights Button, Crushed Curry Baker's Twine

Dahlia Happy Birthday

Happy Tuesday!  Fab Friday has a great CAS sketch for their current challenge, so I thought I would join in with this quick and easy card.  It was especially quick and easy because the stamped panel was a left over from a card made a couple of weeks ago.

The Soft Sky card base was stamped with Distress Dots in the same ink color.  For the main image, the dahlia was also stamped in Soft Sky with the sentiment stamped over the top in Blackberry Bliss, then the panel was trimmed down to just a partial image of the flower.

Once layered on the larger square of blackberry card stock, it was wrapped in twine that was offered at Saleabration this year and topped with a retired silver button.  Here's the sketch.

Fab Friday

Thanks for visiting today!  I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  Also, there's still time to join in the Fab Friday challenge or if your not able to, at least use the link to view all the great design team inspiration!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Definitely Dahlia, Happy Birthday, Everyone, Distress Dots
Paper:  Whisper White, Soft Sky, Blackberry Bliss
Ink:  Soft Sky, Blackberry Bliss
Other:  Squares framelit, Blackberry Bliss twine, retired silver button