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CAS Colours & Sketches #135

Jul 302015

It’s time for a double challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches! Since it’s the fifth Thursday this month, we’re asking our challenge participants to create a card using the colors and sketch that our hostess, Jane, has provided.

I decided to turn the sketch 90° on its side. The larger present stamp is from a Christmas-themed stamp set, but in this color scheme, it works perfectly well for birthday gifts. The actual stamp also has a smiley face on it (it’s a happy present!), but I wiped the ink off of the smiley before stamping onto the cardstock. All three gifts were stamped onto a scrap piece of cardstock, colored with markers, cut out, and then attached to the card base. That gives them a teeny bit of dimension. I used ribbon for the banner elements of the sketch and added an enamel dot in each of the challenge colors.

Now it’s your turn to show us what you can create with the colors and the sketch! You have until 6:00 p.m. eastern time Wednesday, August 5 to link your work to the challenge post. Be sure to check out the rest of the design team’s creations for more inspiration. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Pa-Rum-Pa-Pum-Pum, Year Three, Year Five (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); ribbon, candy dots (SU)

we belong together

5 Responses »

Jul 242015

Hello! I just have a quick post today to share a card made for the current challenge at the Paper Players and for the Mid-Month Throwdown at the OWH Stars & Stamps blog. It also fits into the current challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More. The stitched square dies fit together easily and perfectly to cut the frame for the focal panel. I discovered the clouds on my desk, leftovers from a previous project that had gotten hidden under an ink pad, so I added them to the scene.

Thanks for stopping by today! Your comments are always read and appreciated.

Edited on July 25, 2015: I’m thrilled and honored that this card was selected as “A Cut Above” at The Paper Players!

Edited on August 4, 2015: What a nice surprise – this card was chosen as an “Honourable Addict” at Addicted to Stamps and More! Thank you!

Supplies:
Stamps: Love Quotes (Mama Elephant)
Cardstock: Sahara Sand textured, Soft Sky (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White and Ivory (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers and multiliner pen (Copic); Love Quotes dies (Mama Elephant); stitched square dies (Lawn Fawn); cloud dies (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)

CAS Colours & Sketches #134

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Jul 232015

Hello! It’s time for another sketch challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches. Our July hostess, Jane, has come up with a very nice and simple sketch. Any shape can be used in place of the heart shape on the sketch graphic. It’s OK to tweak the sketch by turning it on its side or changing it from an A2 sized card. So long as we can see the basic elements of the sketch in your card, it’s all good.

In my last blog post, I told how my son’s girlfriend had housesat for us and watched our cat while we were away. She’s taking classes this summer, so her mom also helped by feeding our cat at lunchtime. Today’s card is the card we gave to her mom. I’ve used a sweet little snoozing cat image in place of the heart on the sketch. I wanted the cat to have a little bit of dimension, so I stamped it onto both the die-cut square and on a scrap of cardstock. I colored the image on the scrap, fussy cut it, and used an embossing stylus around the cat’s head to make that part of the cat a little more prominent. It doesn’t show in the photo, but it’s noticeable in real life. Then I glued the colored image over the one stamped on the square. The square has some scrap cardstock shims beneath it to give it a little bit of lift from the card base.

What will you create with this sketch? For further inspiration, check out what the rest of the design team and our guest designer have made. Share your artwork with us at the CAS Colours & Sketches site by 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, July 29. We’d love to have you join us! Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Furry Friends (Avery Elle); So Much to Say (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Basic Gray (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Stitched Square die (Lawn Fawn); Dimensional Banner die (My Favorite Things); markers (Copic)

kitty thanks

1 Response »

Jul 212015

I’m squeezing in a late, last-minute entry for the Crooked Stamper Sketch Challenge that is ending shortly. I made this card for our older son’s girlfriend because she recently housesat for us and took care of our cat while we went to visit my husband’s family out of state. Her favorite color is purple. I would have liked to have colored the cat to look more like our cat, but he’s solid black, which would be really hard for me to recreate with my markers! The “thanks” stamp was a freebie that was included in one of my orders from Lawn Fawn, and isn’t part of a set. The long yarn strings show off my drawing skills.

Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always appreciated and welcome!

Supplies:
Stamps: Furry Friends (Avery Elle); A Birdie Told Me, thanks freebie stamp (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Lovely Lilac (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers, multiliner pen (Copic); Stitched Circle die (Lawn Fawn); standard circle Nestabilities die (Spellbinders); dimensionals (SU)

Cards in Envy - Christmas in July

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Jul 202015

Hello there! What better way to cool off in the summer heat of mid-July than to think of Christmas? That’s what the Cards in Envy design team has planned for the next couple of weeks. Our current challenge theme is “Christmas in July”.

I have a confession to make about my card for this challenge. It’s the card design that my family sent out to our friends and family last Christmas. Last week when my sample card was due in to the design team, my family was getting ready to go out of town to visit my husband’s parents, so I knew I had to do something quick and easy. I always make a few extra Christmas cards “just in case” and then donate any remaining ones to Operation Write Home. I just happened to have a couple left over, and I looked through both my computer’s database and my blog and realized I never shared the card online. So I did the quickest and easiest thing possible – I snapped a few photos of one of my leftover cards and chose the best photo to use here. My card was heavily inspired by this one at Splitcoaststampers.com. I’ve changed the colors and sentiment, stretched the card into a portrait-oriented rectangle, and used just one little rhinestone as an embellishment.

What kind of Christmas card will you create for this challenge? Just remember that it needs to be A2 sized and it must be flat enough to mail at the standard first class postage rate. Link it to the Cards in Envy challenge post by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, August 2. We’d love to have you join us!

All supplies for this card except the rhinestone are from Stampin’ Up.
Stamps: Festive Flurry, More Merry Messages
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Buckaroo Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Buckaroo Blue
Other: rhinestone (Recollections)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July theme challenge

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Jul 182015

Hello! It’s theme challenge week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. This time it should be a fun and easy one: snowmen. Feature a snowman (or two or more) on your Christmas or wintry card, and share it with us at the 52CCT site!

I’ve used OWH Stars & Stamps sketch #255 for the layout of my card. It called for lots of layers, which isn’t my usual style, so it was fun to do something different. After I stamped and colored the snowman, I added some shimmer paint for the snow on the ground. It was really hard to get the shimmer to show in the photo. The white layer of the snowflake embellishment was punched from cardstock that had also been painted with the shimmer paint.

Go to the 52CCT website to see what the rest of the Design Team has made. Then create your own card and share it with us at the challenge site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, July 24. We’d love to have you join us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Be Jolly (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Poppy Parade, Gumball Green (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); designer paper from Nordic Holiday 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Frost White shimmer paint, enamel dot (Stampin’ Up); Pierced Oval Stax and Dimensional Banner dies (My Favorite Things); snowflake punches (EK Success); markers (Copic)

CAS Colours & Sketches #133

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Jul 162015

It’s time for another color challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches. This one has some bright colors and a dark neutral.

I’ve used OWH Stars & Stamps sketch #78 for the layout of my card. For the hearts, first I scribbled some metallic turquoise and coral Gelatos onto white cardstock. Then I smoothed the color out with a paintbrush that I’d dipped into both water and into reinker in the challenge colors. This gave me two nice, vibrant, shimmery colors of cardstock from which I die cut the hearts. I pierced the top and bottom of the dark brown cardstock to give it a little extra interest before I added the hearts to it. The brown panel is attached to the card with dimensional adhesive.

Be sure to check out the CC&S challenge site to see what the rest of the Design Team made with these colors. Then link your own card to the challenge site by 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 22. We’d love to have you join us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Sophie’s Sentiments (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Naturals White, Early Espresso (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Early Espresso (SU)
Other: Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay reinkers, dimensionals (SU); metallic Gelatos (Faber Castell); heart dies (Lawn Fawn), piercing tool (Making Memories)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July color challenge

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Jul 112015

Hello there! It’s color challenge week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. We have kind of a “pick your own” deal this time – we’d like to see what colors you like pairing with kraft.

I’ve always liked the look of light blues and light browns together, so I’ve put them together for my card. When I saw the current CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge, it made me think of snowflakes, so that worked perfectly for me. I’ve stamped the snowflakes (using two shades of blue) and the sentiment onto shimmery white cardstock. Hopefully the photo shows some of the shimmer. I sponged some pale blue ink around the edges of the white panel. Once I had the card all assembled, it looked like it was lacking something, so I added iridescent rhinestones to the centers of some of the snowflakes for extra sparkle. Honestly, this was one of the quickest cards I’ve made recently! It’ll be going into the box I’ll be sending to Operation Write Home before the end of the month.

I’m also submitting this card into the July CAS challenge at Happy Little Stampers.

What colors will you use with kraft to create a Christmas or wintry card? We’d love to see what you can come up with! Share your card via the linky tool on the 52CCT challenge post no later than 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, July 17. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Critters in the Snow, Sophie’s Sentiments (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Shimmery White (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Baja Breeze, Soft Sky, Crumb Cake (SU)
Other: rhinestones (Recollections); corner rounder punch (EK Success); sponge

CAS Colours & Sketches #132

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Jul 092015

Hello there! It’s time for another sketch challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches. This one has some fun stripes and a trio of elements that can be interpreted in a variety of ways. You’re welcome to flip the sketch or rotate it on its side. So long as we can see the basic idea of the sketch in your interpretation of it, it’s all good.

I’ve taken the liberty of stretching the sketch from a portrait-oriented rectangle to a landscape-oriented one. This allowed me more width for the sentiment and the trio of elements. I’ve chosen to use stars in place of the circles. The die cut letters aren’t quite as bold as I’d like, but they were the ones that fit best on the card. I’m also really disappointed that the texture of the white cardstock isn’t very noticeable. The red, white, and blue color scheme and the “thanks” theme are because this will be one last AnyHero card for me to send to Operation Write Home before the end of the month.

The color scheme and the “thanks” theme also tie this card into the following challenges: Less is More, Addicted to CAS, and the OWH Our Daily Bread Designs challenge.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you’ll check out what the rest of the design team has made, and then join us over at CAS Colours & Sketches with your own take on this sketch! You have until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, July 15 to link your card at the challenge website.

Supplies:
Stamps: none
Cardstock: Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White textured (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: none
Other: Stars die (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps); “Bounce” alphabet dies (Sizzix)

Cards in Envy - Just Beachy

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Jul 062015

Hello there! It’s the first Monday of the month, which means it’s time for a new challenge at Cards in Envy! Our theme for the next two weeks is “Just Beachy”. Make a card depicting whatever says “beach” to you – an ocean scene, beach balls, starfish, anything that you think of when you think of going to the beach. Remember, though, that the main requirement for Cards in Envy challenges is that your card must be A2 sized and not have any lumpy, bumpy embellishments that could push it over the first class postage rate.

I’ve used the current CAS(E) this Sketch! layout for my card. I paired some watery-looking designer paper with a lightly speckled cardstock that reminds me of sand on the beach. I stamped various seashells and a sand dollar on scraps of speckled cardstock, fussy cut them, and arranged them on the front of the card. The largest shell is raised up with cardstock shims to add a little dimension to the card. A simple sentiment finishes off the card and makes it a suitable addition to the cards I’m compiling to send to Operation Write Home by the end of the month. The beachy theme also makes this card suitable for the current Paper Players challenge.

Be sure to check out the Cards in Envy site for all the challenge details and to see what the rest of the design team has created! Then create a beachy card of your own and share it with us using the linky tool on the site. You have until 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, July 19 to play along with us!

Edited on July 12, 2015: Thank you to Joanne of the Paper Players Design Team for choosing this card as “A Cut Above”! It was a wonderful surprise to start my week!

Supplies:
Stamps: Stipple Shells (Stampin’ Up); Year Round Sentiments (Hero Arts)
Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, Naturals White (SU); designer paper (source unknown – I’ve had this stuff for years!)
Ink: Soft Suede (SU)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July sketch challenge

4 Responses »

Jul 042015

Hello there! My American readers may be wondering why I’m posting a non-patriotic card on July 4th, but it’s because at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, we celebrate Christmas all year round! After all, why should the joy and love and magic of Christmas be limited only to December?

Since it’s the first Saturday of the month, we have a sketch challenge this week. I’ve turned the sketch 90° to the left and worked with it sideways in relation to how it was drawn. I’ve been trying to get some more wintry, non-holiday cards made to include in the box I’m preparing for Operation Write Home, so I decided to go with a snowman image and snowy designer paper. I used some ink and blender pens to add a bit of color to the snowman. The enamel dots were a last minute decision, but I’m glad I added them because the card seemed a little plain without them.

I’m going to enter this into the current Addicted to Stamps and More challenge, too.

Now it’s time for you to show us what you can do with this sketch. If you need more inspiration first, be sure to check out the 52CCT site to see what the rest of the design team has made. Then link your card there by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, July 10. We’d love to have you join us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Mini Blueprints (Tim Holtz); Three Little Words (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Pool Party, Whisper White (SU); designer paper from Fa La La petite paper pack (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Smoky Slate, Wild Wasabi, Pool Party, Soft Suede, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie [for coloring the image] (SU)
Other: blender pens, candy dots (SU); white twill ribbon (source unknown)

CAS Colours & Sketches #131

5 Responses »

Jul 022015

Hello! It’s time for a new challenge at CAS – Colours and Sketches. Jane is our challenge hostess for the month of July, and she’s chosen some nice vibrant colors plus a neutral to get us started this week. I’ve combined our challenge colors with the soon-to-close sketch challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch! The sketch was a perfect opportunity to use this sentiment stamp. I didn’t have flowers in the deep raspberry color, and all my flower punches would have been too big, so I dyed some white Prima flowers with reinker.

Go see what the rest of the design team and our July Guest Designer have done with these colors. Then show us what you can create with them! You have until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, July 8 to link your card at the challenge site. We’d love to have you join us! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:
Stamp: Thank You Note (Hero Arts)
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Kraft, Very Vanilla (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Tempting Turquoise (SU)
Other: Rich Razzleberry reinker, pearls, Beautiful Wings die (SU); Scribbles Swirls die (Sizzix); Stitched Rectangle die (Lawn Fawn)

CAS Colours & Sketches #135

we belong together

CAS Colours & Sketches #134

kitty thanks

Cards in Envy - Christmas in July

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July theme challenge

CAS Colours & Sketches #133

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July color challenge

CAS Colours & Sketches #132

Cards in Envy - Just Beachy

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July sketch challenge

CAS Colours & Sketches #131

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