Color splash

I've been enjoying participating in the Play Date Cafe challenges, and this card certainly provided me plenty of play! This week's challenge is a color-splash of lilac on black-and-white, and although I deviated a bit with the blue teacups, I'm really taken with the bright result!

My favorite part of this card is the sentiment, that I stamped on two pieces of paper and aligned. O how I love white embossing powder! It says Enjoy the Little Things. I was a little reluctant to use this wild, two-sided paper, but it kept calling to me. I was also "called" to incorporate a swatch of pre-embossed, vine-themed white cardstock, to pop the teacups a bit.

I colored the teacups with watercolor pencils on watercolor paper, which was a breeze to cut out. I stamped an extra flower to pop-out. For me, vintage flower teacups have to be blue, or maybe pink. But usually blue. The little flowers (orchids?) on the side remind me of the flowers my favorite sushi bar used to put on everything...I remember wishing they would keep the flowers and cut $5 off my bill!

Inspiration: The Play Date Cafe Challenge #66: Lilac Color Splash

Supplies: Stacked Teacups rubber stamp from Stampendous!, sentiment stamp by Hero Arts, Making Memories, K&Company, and Recollections cardstocks, StazOn ink, Fiskars papercutter, Offray ribbon, pop-dots, MS detailing scissors, Stampendous! embossing powder, Marvy heat tool, emery board and nail file, Loew-Cornell watercolor pencils, BV04 & V17 Copic Ciao markers (for inside flower and pop-dot coverage)

Arrows & Eros

I received a card from a designer friend (well, she's a midwife now) the other day, and was really taken with the envelope design: Like a postcard mailer, it folds out to reveal a third part; but in this case it includes a pocket for a card. I can do that! I exclaimed, and proceed to make a template in SCAL. I can fit the envelope and the card on one piece of 12x12 paper, which I love! I haven't used this technique for a challenge yet, so I chose Speedy the Cat's Friends' Valentine challenge at Mark's Finest Papers.

The decorative paper pack I've been using like crazy this Valentine's season has a couple of pieces that are obviously made for a 12x12 scrapbook layout, so I chose one to try to make a card from. I can't believe I managed to line this up on my Cricut! Most of it was pure luck, let me tell you.

There was already a Vintage-y look to the paper, but I further aged it, the embellishments, and the ribbon with Antique Linen distress ink. The flowers are heat-embossed red on distressed, pearlized cardstock. Don't you just love that little Cupid with the Valentine‽​ It's from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Hearts & Flowers stamp set, and works so well with this paper. I used another for the message section in the card (which is the reverse side of the same cardstock).

Inspiration:
Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #40: Valentine Card

Supplies: K&Company Valentine's Designer double-sided paper pack, Core'dinations cardstock, Marvy punches & heat tool, Tim Holtz distress ink, StazOn ink, ZipDry glue, Martha Stewart embossing powder & detailing scissors, stash brad, paper towel, emery board, Sakura gel pen, Cricut Expression, SCAL, Target ribbon, flower stamp by gstudio, sentiment stamp by Hero Arts, rubber stamp (Flying Valentine detail from An Alphabet of Old Friends, Walter Crane, 1874) from Metropolitan Museum of Art Hearts & Flowers collection

Vintagelicious

I've been having tons of fun with my new set of watercolor pencils; I really love how the images turn out, especially the "vintage" ones. I've become really intrigued by the vintage style long-loved by cardmakers, but I don't tend to use enough embellishments... But I've gained enough confidence to really enjoy "distressing" paper, so I tried my hand at a few of vintage-y cards.

There are a ton of stripes and/or dots challenges out there right now, but my first stop had to be Delicious Doodles' Challenge #10, sponsored by TLC Creations. I totally heart TLC Creations' vintage images and wordart, so I decided to use one of each for this challenge. [Skip to more about this card]

This week's "Theme" challenge at CDAC is "to make a birthday card suitable for one friend to give another, looking like it was made at least 100 years ago, in other words, really old." Hmm, quite the challenge! I made a card with the gorgeous freebie from Nicecrane Designs, but it didn't look very old, so I made another.

Using the Color Throwdown combo for guidance, I colored the image with watercolor pencils (not easy with a digi image...I had a lot of issues with the printer ink spreading), aged a brown mat that I had around, and dry-embossed a lace pattern onto some light green ("kiwi".) I also wrapped a piece of diamond-patterned paper over the card crease. Everything's sanded, and aged with Antique Linen distress ink. The ribbon and button were things I was saving for a special project.

Theme: CDAC Holiday/Special Occasion Challenge #cdachsoc16
Color: Color Throwdown #126: Early Espresso, Kiwi Kiss, Marina Mist, Old Olive
Digi stamp: Incredible Friends DS2 by Ignacio for Nicecrane Designs
Supplies: decorative papers by Paper Studio, Recollections cardstocks, Tim Holtz Antique Linen distress ink, StazOn ink, HP printer & ink, Cricut + SCAL, Fiskars papercutter, scallop scissors, circle punch, and texture plate + tool, found ribbon & button, emery board and nail file, Loew-Cornell watercolor pencils

I had printed out a couple of these Butterfly Fairy digi stamps by TLC Creations, to color at my leisure. Between the Spots & Stripes challenge and the sweet color combo at Color Dare, I knew I had the project for them. I sprayed one of the copies with a light spritz-and-a-half of yellow spray ink, which has a nice glimmer as well. I cut the details out of the second copy, and again used watercolor pencils. I especially like how using yellow for the wings makes them look almost translucent.

I just couldn't resist colorizing the lovely sentiment digi, which was a snap in Photoshop (Layers/Layer Style/Color Overlay). And I can't tell you how tickled I was to find these striped "plum" brads! There's a lot going on here, but I find it all comes together in a sweet, sunny way. Thanks for the inspiration, everyone!

Update 2/4/11: This card was featured, in incredible company, on Create with TLC.

Theme: Delicious Doodles Challenge #10: Spots and/or Stripes
Color: Color Dare #94: Pretty in Pink, Pear Pizazz, Perfect Plum
Digi stamps: Vintage Butterfly Fairy and Nothing is Impossible by TLC Creations
Supplies: decorative papers by Paper Studio, MS detailing scissors, ZipDry glue, Recollections cardstocks, HP printer & ink, Cricut + SCAL, Fiskars papercutter, deckle scissors, Offray ribbon, Kurio brads, Loew-Cornell watercolor pencils, Inkadinkado spray ink

Color Flake

I was so taken with the Vintage challenge with freebie digi at CDAC this week that I just had to try it out. Despite how happy I am with the result, challenge-wise I really flaked. Somehow I didn't read all the instructions (that's my M.O.!), so I didn't so much make a "100-year-old Birthday card". I could easily "age" this with a little distress ink, but I think I'll just try this challenge again. I did manage to stick to the Curtain Call color challenge over at Stacey's Stamping Stage: Lavender Lace, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler & Bravo Burgundy. Sadly, I'm 10 hours past the deadline. Sigh. Well, thank goodness fun was the point! At least it works for, and is in time for, the sketch I was following from Stamping 411!

I was pleasantly surprised to find this lavender-on-lavender, striped paper in my stash, and was especially surprised by how thick it is: slightly thicker even than Core'dinations cardstock! So it was perfect for the base of the card. I stamped some burgundy flourishes onto a cherry-colored cardstock, for the border strips and the "Friends" tag. I sanded them all with a nail file, after edging...I love how well StazOn works for this.

I also used this project as an excuse to try making some 9-hole, monogram buttons. Design Sponge has a super tutorial on how to make them, and when I realized that the whole point is being able to stitch in any letter, I knew this would be my new favorite thing. I used to use polymer clay all the time, but am just getting back into it...I had to sand down the buttons a bit after baking, but I can live with their homemade-ness for now. They remained just soft enough for a needle to get through.

Honestly, I wasn't sure how I'd like all the elements together, but the colors were chosen so well that it all seems to work. Thanks, Curtain Call!
Incredible Friends DS2 digi stamp by Ignacio for Nicecrane Designs

Supplies: Paper Studio (?), Recollections and Core'dinations cardstocks, StazOn and Memento inks, Fiskars papercutter and corner punch, Crop-O-DileII, stash eyelet, Offray ribbon, emery board and nail file, Sculpey polymer clay (and necessary materials), Michaels craft thread, Copic Ciao markers, sentiment & flourish stamps from stash

Hedgehog, Freshly Brewed

I decided that today was a Hedgehog-coloring kind of day, and I just had to use the color inspiration at Freshly Brewed (even though I know it's a mostly-digi site; sorry!). Instead of specific colors, they're asking us to create cards inspired by the picture on the right. Check out all of those shams! It reminds me of the conversation I had years ago with my husband, about whether we should get pillow shams for our bed. Wait, you take the pillows off the bed at night‽ he exclaimed. We do not own pillow shams!

For extra fun, I used this lovely sketch by Friday Sketchers, a site I just discovered. It's just the level of complexity and simplicity that I like. I was pleased to be able to use my heart-flourish stamps for the little butterfly call-out. I stamped the sentiment in the same green as the flourishes, on Core'dinations cardstock that I then tore prettily with my tear edger. I had sanded the middle of the cardstock piece first, to give it some extra dimension.
Inspiration:
Freshly Brewed Challenge #32
Friday Sketchers Challenge #139

Supplies: Decorative paper by the Paper Studio, Recollections and Core'dinations cardstocks, CraftSmart, ColorBox and Memento inks, Fiskars papercutter, tear edger, and corner punch, Offray ribbon, emery board, Copic Ciao markers, sentiment stamp by Hero Arts, silicon flourish stamps from stash, Bountiful rubber stamp by Penny Black

Update 2/2/11: This card won the Freshly Brewed Challenge #32! Color me honored!

Simple-ish

After a post-snow morning of cleaning off the bushes, salting the earth (well, the sidewalk, but it still seems counterintuitive), and watching my husband shovel, I was pretty exhausted but oddly exhilarated (Snow Madness).

This stamp really lends itself to coloring and/or decoupage, but a little stamping, embossing, and cutting is all it really needed, thanks to this week's colourQ combo. They use Stampin' Up colors, which all have wonderful names like Cajun Craze and Rich Razzleberry. I tried my best to match them off the screen, but am saving my pennies to get the real thing. I wonder if there's a Poor Razzleberry‽


Inspiration: colourQ challenge #69: Kraft, Cajun Craze, Peach Parfait, Rich Razzleberry + white

Foldover layer card (tutorial at Extreme Cards & Papercrafting)

Supplies: Core'dinations & Recollections cardstocks, ColorBox & InkItUp! inks, ZipDry glue, Martha Stewart detailing scissors, Fiskars papercutter and scallop scissors, Stampendous! and Melt Art embossing powders, sentiment stamp by Hero Arts, rubber stamp by Holly Berry House

Sending Hugs

Since I stay at home every day is kinda a snow day, but today certainly felt like a snow day. And, at this rate, we're going to have a couple more. So to brighten myself up I decided to make a couple of cards for the current Card Cupids Cuties.
I had lots of fun making this for Ashlie; as you can see, I was super-inspired by the current Color Challenge at CDAC, with this free digi by Fairy Knoll. Aren't the colors wild?! I love how it turned out. I printed the digi stamp the usual way, but imported it into SCAL to grab the heart shape. As you can see, I had tons of fun cutting hearts!

Digi stamp: I Love My Teddy by Fairy Knoll
Inspiration: CDAC Color Challenge cdaccc15: Hot Pink, Lime Green, and Bright Blue
Supplies: Recollections, Paper Studio, and Core'dinations cardstocks, Cricut Expression, SCAL software, HP printer & ink, ZipDry glue, MS detailing scissors and border punch, CraftSmart ink, sentiment stamp by Hero Arts, Elmer's and Sakura gel pens, Copic Ciao markers


Update: This card was awarded this badge from the CDAC Dream Team. Thanks ladies!



For Jonathan's card, I pulled out this adorable Teddy with Teddy rubber stamp from my stash. I love the details on his overalls, so I decided to use those patterns for the backing papers. I had a really tough time getting a good photo because of my heavy use of reflective gel pens, but the blue paper is cross-hatched in blue and cherry.

I pulled out my heat-and-puff snow marker for the big teddy's "fur". It's not as pretty as flock would be, but it's a lot less messy and feels really neat.

Inspiration:
Color: Picture Perfect Creations Color Combo #46: Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Very Vanilla
Sketch: Paper Craft Planet Sketch Challenge #sk012211
Supplies: Recollections, Paper Studio, and Core'dinations cardstocks, Tattered Angels glimmer mist, Fiskars papercutter and scallop scissors, ZipDry glue, Tim Holtz scissors, emery board, ruler, Memento and StazOn inks, Marvy heat tool and snow marker, Elmer's and Sakura gel pens, Copic Ciao markers, sentiment stamp by Hero Arts, rubber stamp by SonLight Impressions

These cards will be in the mail first thing, weather permitting. Hope you'll support Card Cupids as well!

And it's one for my Baby...

So the other evening I held up a delicate, pink-and-blue card and asked my husband if it needed "something". He looked at it with his critical eye, and then said, How about a big, florescent orange-and-green yin-yang? He said this with total seriousness. Now, I was doing sketch and color challenges with that particular card, neither of which lent itself to florescent yin-yangs. But I've learned from experience to always listen to my husband when he comes up with ideas like this, so I made this card for him. This photo just doesn't do the orange marker justice; it's WILD.

Inspiration: Mojo Monday Sketch #175

Supplies: Recollections, Paper Studio, and Core'dinations cardstocks, Crop-O-Dile II punch, Fiskars papercutter and texturing plate & tool, ZipDry glue, MS detailing scissors, emery board, ColorBox and CraftSmart inks, MeltArt clear embossing powder, Marvy heat tool and circle punch, sentiment stamp by Hero Arts, paisley stamp by gstudios, Elmer's and Sakura gel pens, Copic Ciao markers

Easy Chair Polka

Being Polish-American, I have a soft spot for Polka. Sadly, I barely have the coordination for a slow waltz, so my Polkas are usually kept to the dot variety. I had an extra chair digi stamp that I printed on the opposite side of the paper for my Easy Chair Bookmark, which happened to be polka-dotted. As was the plan, this card is for the "two patterned papers" challenge at Craft Your Passion.

I found this great sketch at the There She Goes blog, and had a lot of fun with it. The plum and blue/green papers are Core'dinations, my favorite for dry embossing and tearing. This is certainly an I Heart Fiskars project, in that I pulled out both my texturing plates and tear edger (ruler with a deckle edge). I worked the paper a but with an emery board, and used deckle scissors for the edges I didn't want to tear. I used a glitter marker to edge the callout and the faux ribbon, and a gel pen for the "stitching". The sentiment is stamped in green and clear-embossed.

Digi stamp: Easy Chair by Crafty Ann's

Inspiration:
There She Goes Sketch Challenge #91
Craft Your Passion Challenge #42: Use two patterned papers

Supplies: Stampin' Up! paper (Subtles Patterns 2010), Recollections and Core'dinations cardstocks, ProvoCraft deckle scissors, Fiskars papercutter, deckle Tear Edger, and texturing plate & tool, ZipDry glue, MS detailing scissors and border punch, Xyron sticker machine, emery board, ColorBox liquid chalks, MeltArt clear embossing powder, Marvy heat tool, sentiment stamp by Hero Arts, Smirk glitter marker, Sakura gel pen

Valentine's Paisleys

I've decided to send Valentines to the Family this year, and, surprisingly, find myself in need of more cards. Instead of just making a bunch of cards, I like the individuality that making them for challenges brings. So here's a little number, possibly for Dad, inspired by a sketch, a color combo, and a sentiment theme. The emboss-resist technique was invaluable in making the "Beloved" sentiment with the background paisleys.

Inspiration:
Color Dare #93: Regal Rose, Pacific Point, Pink Pirouette
CPS Sketch #202
Aud Sentiments Challenge #20: Love theme

Supplies: Recollections & Core'dinations cardstocks, ColorBox liquid chalks, Fiskars papercutter & corner punch, ZipDry glue, MS detailing scissors & border punch, Xyron sticker machine, MeltArt clear embossing powder, Marvy heat tool, sentiment silicon stamp from stash, single paisley rubber stamp by Stampabilities, triple paisley rubber stamp by All Night Media

Wintertime, and the sittin's easy

I've been inspired to print-and-cut digi stamps ever since I read Jeannie's excellent technique post at the Polka Cabana; I haven't done it the old-fashioned way since I got my Cricut and SCAL. Jeannie shows you how to use digital papers, but I decided to be really old-fashioned and use some of my Stampin' Up! paper. I printed Crafty Ann's adorable Easy Chair digi stamp onto pink-on-pink and green-on-green, text-patterned SU paper, and then cut out details from the pink, ran them through my sticker machine, and adhered them to the green. Isn't this a funky chair?! I want it!

Mom took a corner-bookmark class and brought me the directions. I was really impressed with how cute they are! I've been wanting to try it again, so I was pleased to see the Bookmark challenge at Crafter's Digital Art Center (CDAC). SU paper is perfect for this, because of it's weight, size, and silky texture. I scalloped some scraps for the frills. For the sentiment, I used this sweet one from my new Hero Arts set. I've recently discovered that my ColorBox liquid chalks, which usually are poor for stamping because they don't dry well, really pop when I clear-emboss over them. This also multiplies my stamp-color choices!
Digi stamp: Easy Chair by Crafty Ann's

Inspiration:
SP Color Combo #84: Pale Plum, Rose Red, Wild Wasabi
CDAC Other Theme Challenge (cdacotc15): Bookmark

Supplies: Stampin' Up! paper (Subtles Patterns 2010), ColorBox liquid chalk, HP printer & ink, Fiskars papercutter and scalloped scissors, ZipDry glue, MS detailing scissors, Xyron sticker machine, MeltArt clear embossing powder, Marvy heat tool, Hero Arts polymer stamp

My favorite use of this bookmark (top right photo): Keeping Time, Passager Books

Emboss? Resist!

Ever since I saw Chupa's typically incredible card (with great instructions) for AnnaBelle Stamps' Emboss Resist challenge, I haven't been able to think of much else. Apparently, I've been doing this for some time without knowing the name, but I've never used the emboss-resist method to create a scene. It took some thought to find stamps in my stash that would work, and finally settled on a panda-hiding theme. Who doesn't like pandas‽

First, I stamped the leafy branches in green on off-white cardstock, and heat-embossed them with clear embossing powder. Then I stamped the pandas in black. Then, just for funsies, I made masks for the pandas and gave the whole thing a light spray with blue glimmer mist. One trick I discovered was that, if any ink did stay on the embossed portions, I could easily wipe it off with a paper towel. Did the same thing for the cutout branch, I just used yellow spray ink instead.

For extra inspiration, I looked to the Cards for Men Let's Party and Paperworks Co. Sunday Sketch challenges. I've been meaning to make cards that I can grab when I need them, and this seemed like a good potential birthday card. I cut the scalloped oval by hand, used a silicon stamp for the frame, and clear-embossed the sentiment. This card is pretty simple, but it's cute. And I will definitely use the emboss-resist method (with great instructions) for a lot!Inspiration:
AnnaBelle Stamps "Say it With..." Challenge: Emboss Resist
Cards for Men Challenge #2: Let's Party!
Paperworks Co. Sunday Sketch #66

Supplies: Core'dinations, Paper Studio & Recollections cardstocks, StazOn, Memento & CraftSmart inks, ZipDry glue, Xyron sticker machine, Martha Stewart detailing scissors, Marvy heat tool, MeltArt embossing powder, Fiskars papercutter, corner punch & scalloped scissors, Tattered Angels glimmer mist, Inkadinkado spray ink & stamp mask paper, stash silicon stamp (leaves), rubber stamp by Stampin' Up! (panda), polymer stamp by Hero Arts (sentiment)

Cock (er, Hen) of the Walk

I recently discovered the Paperworks Co. blog, which is lovely and informative and has lots of fun challenges. I was intrigued by this week's Recipe Tuesday challenge, which calls for one circle, one bow, and two flowers. I was so excited that I made the card right away...and then realized that I had used three flowers. Dang. The final layout really needed all three, so I put it aside.

Last night I was organizing my craft piles and found a few stamp-scraps that I had made for projects that never materialized: a peacock with a sun background I had colored and decoupaged; a medallion, stamped with Antique Linen distress ink; "hello" stamped blue on light blue cardstock; the other half of a deep blue cardstock I used for my dad's birthday card. Happily, I had the perfect flower stamp: a lotus, that I haven't had a chance to use yet. I stamped them on a small scrap of metallic-blue paper and embossed them in white. Ooo, I'm going to have to do that again!
I really love this peacock digi stamp; what couldn't you do with it‽ One of my favorite parts about coloring it is that it reminds me of actual peacocks, and the heavy sound their tails make on the ground when their feathers aren't up. It's a soulful sound, and I like that this image sort of conveys that gorgeous weight.


Inspiration: PaperWorks Co. Recipe Tuesday #6: circle, bow + 2 flowers

Supplies: Core'dinations & Recollections cardstocks, Tim Holtz distress ink, HP Printer & ink, ZipDry glue, Martha Stewart detailing scissors, Stampendous! embossing powder, Offray ribbon, Copic Ciao markers, Too gel pen, Smirk glitter pen (for edging), stash silicon stamp (lotus), rubber stamp by Holly Berry House (background), digi stamp by TLC Creations (Peacock)

Two more Valentines...

There's a woman in my mom's crafting group who's working on her PhD and she breaks up her study/doctorate-writing time by coloring digi stamps that Mom provides for cards. This woman never did "crafty stuff" before, but she's so enjoying it that she bought her own set of colored pencils. Her work is gorgeous. This is just another story of how creativity, in the form of cardmaking in particular, can enrich lives. I feel it everyday!

I especially appreciate crafting when I have actual work to do, like the data entry I put off until today. It was very nice to be able to stand up occasionally and glue something! I managed to make two cards while procrastinating, and then actually achieving, my work. Both are for Card Cupids' challenges; I'm looking forward sending more cards to them and their sweeties.

Card Cupids Challenge #8: Multi-fold
Foldover layer card (tutorial at Extreme Cards & Papercrafting)

Card Cupids Challenge #9: Sketch

Digi stamp: Friends I Heart U by Therese Travis for paperfacesdesigns
Rubber stamps: Metropolitan Museum of Art Hearts & Flowers collection

Supplies: K&Company Valentine's Designer double-sided paper pack, Core'dinations, Recollections & Paper Co. cardstocks, Marvy punches & heat tool, Tim Holtz distress ink, StazOn & Memento inks, ZipDry glue, Martha Stewart embossing powder & detailing scissors, stash brad & heart gemstones, paper towel, emery board, Sakura gel pen, HP printer & ink, Offray ribbon, Fiskars papercutter & scalloped scissors

Spider-Mouse, Spider-Mouse, Does whatever he wants in your house

As I was flipping through one of my husband's awesome graphic novels this morning, I started thinking about how some of the newer ones are colored. It looks like Copics are used, but the shadows aren't blended over, so there's a real line to the rich color. Thinking I should try this, I Googled "superhero digi stamps" and found this adorable SpiderMan mouse (Spider Henry by Alison Acton for Whiff of Joy). It was super-fun to color, and I can't believe it's a freebie!
This is a Happy Weekend card for my husband, and I hope it will make him smile more than grimace. See, we live with super-mice. It's an old house and apparently if you can slide a piece of paper under it, a mice can waltz through it. I'm about ready to put up an altar to Hunca Munca. So, the thought of a mouse that has spider-powers is actually fairly chilling. But it's so cute as a card. Maybe it's swinging down to grab the cheese off the traps...

This is also my take on Midnight Madness Sketch #87. I know they get a kick out of my creations, and hope they will forgive my using rubber stamps for the background and sentiment. They just worked so perfectly with this digi stamp, even if they are so last century!


Supplies: Spider Henry digi stamp from Whiff of Joy, Beatrix Potter rubber stamps from Crafter's Companion, Memento & StazOn inks, Recollections and Core'dinations cardstocks, emery board, Cricut personal cutter, SCAL software, Offray ribbon, Stickles, stash brad, ZipDry glue, MS scissors, Fiskars papercutter and deckle scissors, Copic Ciao markers

Flowerfall

Recently, while at Stamping 411, I saw this waterfall card by Craftyhazelnut and just had to try one. As with many fancy folds, it's pretty pie-easy once you get the hang of it. The tutorials by Splitcoaststampers and Susan Quinn were excellent and very helpful, but I really had trouble visualizing this particular concept.

This is only the second waterfall card I've made (excluding a couple of tries last year that we won't discuss), and I really like the mix of simplicity and detail.

You may be thinking, I love the little surprise images, but wouldn't the extra layers inhibit the mechanism? Well, yeah. But they're so cute!

I used the Color Throwdown combo of kraft, pink & pear, and ended up using two tones of each. I could not get enough of the pink embossing powder! I really fought buying detailing scissors, but they made this much easier...and tons of fun.


Inspiration:
Color Throwdown Callenge #125: kraft, pink & pear

Supplies: Colorbök & Recollections cardstocks, Fiskars papercutter, scallop scissors, and punches, ZipDry glue, Martha Stewart detailing scissors and embossing powder, InkItUp! ink, Marvy heat tool, stamps by gstudios, Eyelet Outlet brads, Michaels eyelet, Crop-O-Dile II, Offray ribbon, Copic Ciao markers for edging

Go Spin

So last night I'm showing my wiseacre husband the funky card I made yesterday and he says, "I saw it on your blog & was going to post a comment, What, it doesn't spin or anything?!" Ha ha ha.

Not being one to turn down a challenge, a made the same card again (sort of; this time I used this colourQ combo and flipped the sketch). This time, the flower pieces and the sentiment move, thanks to tiny brads.

I couldn't help but whip out my new white embossing powder for the card itself, and that went so well that I made cherry-on-poppy and white-on-white flowers for a little something extra.

click on image to see details

Inspiration:
colourQ Challenge #68: Cherry Cobbler, Poppy Parade, So Saffron, Always Artichoke + white
Mojo Monday Sketch #174

Supplies: silicon stamp by gstudios, Copic Ciao markers, Memento and Stampendous inks, Stampendous and Martha Stewart embossing powders, Recollections and The Paper Studio cardstocks, ZipDry glue, Cricut Expression, SCAL, 09 KutUps dingbat font, Offray ribbon, pop-dots, Fiskars papercutter and corner punch, mini brads by Gary M. Burlin & Co.

Copic Mojo

Here's a simple, bright card for another gray morning...
Thanks to SCAL and my Cricut, I was able to whip it up before 10AM! Go me! Now what?!

Update 1/19: I made moving-parts of version of this card.

Inspiration:
Mojo Monday Sketch #174
iCopic Color Challenge #13: Purple, Green, Orange

Supplies: silicon stamp by gstudios, Copic Ciao markers, Memento ink, Recollections and The Paper Studio cardstocks, ZipDry glue, Cricut Expression, SCAL, 09 KutUps dingbat font, Offray ribbon, pop-dots, mini brads by Gary M. Burlin & Co.

New Year Grapes

Although I've been too lazy to break out the plastic grape holders the past few years, my family traditionally rings in the New Year by eating 12 grapes during the 12 bells of midnight; apparently, this was started by Spanish farmers to get rid of their surplus grapes. Brilliant! Let me tell you, the development of seedless grapes has helped this tradition greatly!

This was brought to mind as I made this card, inspired by this week's Card Positioning Systems and Curtain Call challenges. I decided to step back from the copic markers for a minute, and colored this lovely TLC digi stamp with watercolor pencils. I do like how the quiet front of the card complements the loud colors of the inside.


Inspiration:
Curtain Call Act 65: Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Pacific Point
Card Positioning Systems Sketch #201

Supplies: Digi stamp by TLC Creations, Royal watercolor pencils & brush, StazOn ink, Recollections and The Paper Studio cardstocks, clear acetate, ZipDry glue, Fiskars papercutter, ZipDry glue, HP printer & ink, Adobe InDesign, Cricut Expression, SCAL, 09 KutUps dingbat font (for frames)

Pretty in pink, covered in crumbcake

O my it's been a gray day, so I've enjoyed playing with the SP Color Combo of Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink & Crumb Cake. I've been saving up my pink embossing powder and was tickled rose to see the Embossing challenge at Picture Perfect Creations.

I've been wanting find something I could use the text-heavy decorative paper I have, and using it for the back of this trifold card worked nicely. I couldn't help but cut out one of the phrases for the front. The embossed sentiment reads You make my heart flutter.


Inspiration:
SPCC #83: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink & Crumb Cake
Picture Perfect Creations Specialty Challenge: Embossing

Supplies: K&Company Valentine's Designer double-sided paper pack, Staples cardstock, Copic Ciao markers, Fiskars papercutter and corner punch, ZipDry glue, Martha Stewart detailing scissors, Cricut Expression,, SCAL, stamps by gstudios