Fusion - Christmas Chalkboard

Due to some technical difficulties I am ages late in posting my card for our last Fusion challenge.  But at least I made it.  After 9 1/2 years Fusion is ending.  Started by Lesley Croghan and Jackie Rockwell,  and for the last (nearly) six years helmed by the amazing Karren Johnson, Fusion was a great way to mix and match a sketch or an inspiration photo, or both!  It's always sad to see an old favorite challenge end, but the inspiration provided by Fusion is invaluable and I think that sticks with us in our card-making journey well into the future. 

Our last challenge features a chalkboard design and a sketch with a big half-circle on it.  I did a little combination of both on my card.

I opted to go with the sketch and incorporated some of the elements of the inspiration photo.  I had some patterned paper in my stash that was chalkboard-y like so I used that for my background.  The circle ended up being a complete disaster!  I initially wanted to do a shaker with the circle but that involved lining up several circle dies precisely in order to create a blank circle in the center to feature the acetate window and my dancing sequins.  After four, and I do mean four, attempts at lining up the dies and having them shift at the last minute as they were feeding through my die cut machine I gave up and went with a boring white circle with a sentiment stamped on it.  I jazzed it up a bit by stamping some of the words in different colors and popping them up with some foam tape.  Fun!

Thanks for stopping by!  And thanks to everyone who played along with our Fusion challenge over the years.  And a special thanks to Karren who invited me on to the design team and then had to put up with me!

Supplies
Stamps:  Christmas Feeling (Kaiser Craft)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Real Red (Stampin' Up); Heidi Swapp
Ink:  Nocturne (Versafine Clair); Wild Wasabi, Real Red, Baja Breeze (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Circles die (Little B); Festive Mix (Studio Katia)

Fusion - Gingerbread

I'm super behind this week in my posting, but I'm finally here with my card for the latest Fusion challenge.  I decided to go with the sketch and incorporated some of the colors from the inspiration photo.

I love the combination of a kraft background with red and black on a Christmas card.  And the plaid makes me smile too! 😊.  And I added another favorite element, the poinsettia.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to check out the amazing creations from the Fusion design team too!

Supplies
Stamps:  Joy (Concord & 9th); Sending Joy (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Desert Storm (Neenah); Real Red (Stampin' Up!); vellum (Graphix)
Ink:  Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  Poinsettia die (Paper Smooches)

Fusion - Kitchen

I love the colors of the Fusion challenge this week.  The pops of color against the all-white background got me thinking about a clean and simple card!  I chose a favorite turnabout stamp and stamped it against an all-white background in those colors.

I ended up layering the white focal point layer against a couple of green background layers just because.  It looked a bit plain to me otherwise!  And that turnabout wreath needed a bold sentiment so I picked a nice script word and stamped it in black smack-dab in the center.  

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Fusion teammates have made some great cards so be sure to check them out.  Remember you can play with the sketch, the inspiration photo, or create some Fusion and combine the two!

Supplies
Stamps:  Harvest Wreath (Concord & 9th); Scripted Bold Sentiments 2 (PinkFresh Studio)
Paper:  Certainly Celery, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!); Pinefeather (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Apricot Appeal (Stampin' Up!); Orange Cream, Frayed Leaf, Evergreen (Altenew); Nocturne (Versfine Clair)

Fusion - Autumn Leaves

My calendar says "autumn" but the weather says "I don't want summer to end!"  It's been lovely here and although I don't want to admit that summer is over, I know that the leaves will be changing soon.  As luck would have it, our challenge at Fusion embraces those autumn-colored leaves  so I jumped on the bandwagon1

I combined these gorgeous Fusion colors with the sketch at The Paper Players.  I stamped a bunch of leaves in these beautiful colors and arranged then haphazardly horizontally to mimic the sketch.  Then I added a simple sentiment at the bottom.

Thanks for stopping by!  Remember at Fusion you can use the sketch, the inspiration, or both! It's up to you!

Supplies
Stamps:  Leaf Prints (Papertrey Ink); Always There (Altenew)
Paper:  Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!); Ocean Tides (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Pumpkin Pie (Stampin' Up!); Honey Drizzle, Burnt Red (Altenew); Ocean Tides (Papertrey Ink); Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accessories:  enamel dots (Freckled Fawn)

Fusion - Front Porch

Hi all.  I don't know where my brain is lately because not only did I forget to schedule this post for Thursday morning, but I also forgot to upload a picture of my card on the Fusion  DT blog.  😕  Here is my card, all the same.

I opted to go for the sketch this week and made a Christmas card.  But in a nod to the inspiration photo I used a brick embossing folder for the background.  The right side of the card is a long vertical layer in shimmery white, which is pretty in real life, but difficult to see in the photo.  I added one of my favorite poinsettia die cuts with a bit of gold cord behind it.  A couple of layered pieces of ribbon became the flag on the top of the sketch.  I was undecided about where and what I wanted the sentiment to be so I left it off for now.

Thanks for stopping by!  Remember, at Fusion you can play with the sketch, the inspiration photo, or combine them both!

Supplies
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Shimmery White, Poppy Parade, Mossy Meadow, Gold Foil (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Layered Poinsettia die (Penny Black); Poinsettia die (Paper Smooches); Bricked embossing folder, Tiny Attacher (Tim Holtz); gold cord, gingham ribbon (Stampin' Up!); white seam binding ribbon

Fusion - Pinwheels

Hi everyone!  We've got a great new challenge for you at Fusion.  The colors are awesome, the sketch was fun, and I couldn't resist those pinwheels.  Here's what I made!

I went deep into my crafty stash for this card.  I have no idea who made the background paper that I used, the pinwheel flowers are from a long-unused die, and the gray paper was a total surprise when I stumbled on it.  But somehow this collection of supplies combined into a fun card that incorporates the colors and sketch of the Fusion challenge!  

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you can create some Fusion along with us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Tiny Words (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Smoky Slate, Patterns Stack Neutrals (Stampin' Up!); Enchanted Evening, Harvest Gold (Papertrey Ink)
Accesssories:  Mini Paper Rosettes die (Tim Holtz)

Fusion - Color Palette

We've got a beautiful color palette for you at Fusion!  The sketch scared me too much so I chose to use another layout for my card!  I went old-school and filled the background of my card with some colorful patterned paper, accented with fun shapes in solid colors.

I dug through my stash and found this great "thank you" stamp that features the sentiment in various languages.  I knew it would be perfect for this layout.  To add some interest I stamped the center "thanks" in a different color, cut it out, and popped it up over the original stamped image.  The challenge at Sketch Saturday provided my layout.

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Fusion teammates have made some amazing cards with both the sketch and the inspiration so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  So Many Thanks (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Whisper White, True Thyme, Pretty in Pink, Pool Party, Welcome Neighbor DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  True Thyme, Pool Party (Stampin' Up!)

Fusion - Wine and Cheese

Our Fusion challenge this week is about wine and cheese.  I don't have any wine or cheese images in my stash but I do have the colors in the inspiration photo so that's the direction I decided to go in.

I combined the sketch with the colors in the inspiration photo and make a Christmas card using some natural leafy images paired with a festive plaid.  I layered greenery, some berries, a pinecone and added a holiday sentiment.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Check out out our Fusion challenge where you can play with the sketch, the photo, or both!

Supplies
Stamps:  Christmas Season (Stampin' Up!); Holiday Cheer (Paper Smooches)
Paper:  Desert Storm (Neenah); Whisper White, Vellum, Wrapped in Plaid (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Forest Glades, Evergreen, Almond Butter, Milk Chocolate (Altenew); Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!); Fallen Leaves (Versafine Clair)

Fusion - Beach Tiers

We've got a great new challenge for you at Fusion.  I decided to go with an eclectic version of the sketch combined with the colors at Global Design Project.

I wasn't sure what direction I wanted to go with this sketch but then I stumbled on the CASE the designer challenge at Global Design Project.  I loved the colors and the different shapes and thought I could translate those to the Fusion sketch.  It's not perfect but it's inventive!  An outline rectangle, hexagons, and some string are what I used to make this card.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you can join us at Fusion!

Stamps:  Simple Sentiments (Avery Elle)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Bumblebee, Magenta Madness, Basic Gray (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Hexagon Die Cover Plate (Papertrey Ink); Pink Party Couture Mix (The Ton); white thread

Fusion - Hello Hat

We've got a fun new challenge for you at Fusion!  This time around I created a little fusion myself by combining the inspiration photo with the sketch.

By embossing some cardstock with burlap texture and cutting a couple of circles I made myself a little "hat" and topped it with some flowers just like the photo.  I used some woodgrain patterned paper to mimic the door.  The sentiment was stamped in black onto vellum and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder so that it wouldn't smear.

Thanks for stopping by!  There's some great inspiration at Fusion so be sure to check out the design team cards and play along with us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Kinda Eclectic (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Naturals White (Neenah); Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi, Marigold Morning, Woodland Walk DSP (Stampin' Up!); Blueberry Sky, vellum (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Fine Linen (Papertrey Ink); Onyx Black (Versfine)
Accessories:  Burlap embossing folder (Taylored Expressions)

Fusion - Color Palette Flowers

We've got great new challenge at Fusion featuring some lovely shades of blue, a pop of red, and a fun sketch.  I decided to go with the colors and design a square Christmas card.  When I was choosing the blues I thought they looked pretty good vis-a-vis the challenge graphic, but now I'm not so sure!  😳

I ❤️ these turnabout stamps from Concord & 9th.  And this wreath one is on my fave list.  I wanted the wreath to be the focal point of the card so I stamped it right smack dab in the middle then put a slim sentiment across the middle.  To break up the white space around it, and give the card some additional color, I layered a couple of shades of blue cardstock under the main panel.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Remember at Fusion you can play along with the colors, the sketch, or create some Fusion of your own by combining the two.  It's up to you!

Supplies
Stamps:  Wreath Turnabout (Concord & 9th); Fa La La (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Whisper White (Stampin' Up!); Blueberry Sky, Enchanted Evening (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Polar Bear, Icy Water, Arctic Mountain, Crimson (Altenew); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Fusion - Wheel Wreath

We've got a great new challenge for you at Fusion this week!  I was so excited when I saw the inspiration photo for this week for reasons that had nothing to do with a card!  More on that later!

So, the inspiration photo was a ship-lap background, a cluster of wheels and some greenery.  Well, it just so happens that I have an accent wall on my front porch that has some wheels on it very reminiscent of these wheels.  (I think mine are vintage baby carriage wheels).  I painted the porch last summer but recently began to think about adding some faux brick wallpaper to the accent wall.  This challenge has made me think that faux ship-lap would look just as good!  

But on to the card.  I cut strips of white cardstock that were 1/2-inch wide and lightly sponged a pale gray on the edges before adhering them to my card base.  Then I stamped a few circles and added some greenery to them to mimic the inspiration photo.  I added some white "berries" using Nuvo drops.  At the last minute I added a sentiment in red.

Thanks for stopping by!  Come and join us at Fusion!  Play with the sketch or the inspiration photo or both!

Supplies
Stamps:  Bokeh Dots (Essentials); Joy Stamp (The Stamp Market
Paper:  Whisper White, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!) Pinefeather (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Limestone, Crimson (Altenew); Nocturne (Versamark Clare)
Accessories:  Branch punch (Martha Stewart); Gloss White Nuvo Drops

Fusion - Rainbow Plates

We've got another great challenge for you at Fusion.  The inspiration photo features "rainbow plates" but since I made a rainbow card yesterday I decided to follow the sketch this time around.

Ok, work with me here.  I know the sketch has a couple of circles but I opted for a bit of creative license on my card.  The top of the sketch has a partial circle.  On my card that became a leaf that has a circular shape.  The other circle on the sketch became a flower on my card.  Ta da!  My colors were inspired by the colors of the Global Design Project.

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Fusion teammates have made some great cards to inspire you to create along with us so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Strength Blooms (Altenew); Simple Sentiments 02 (Simon Says Stamps)
Paper:  Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Forest Glades, Rose Quartz, Puffy Heart, Purple Wine, Cosmic Berry (Altenew); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Bricked embossing folder (Tim Holtz)

Fusion - At the Movies

Hi all!  I'm a bit late to share my Fusion card with you but here we go!  The theme is at the movies, but it was the sketch and the colors from the photo that caught my eye.  The red couch prompted me to incorporate red in my card and the movie theme got me digging around in my stash for this film strip stamp.

I stamped the flowers on this card first then stamped the film strip over them.  I was not happy with how it looked so I stamped the flowers again on some vellum, added some clear embossing powder over those images (a trick I learned because ink and vellum = wet) and then fussy cut the flowers.  I placed them over the original stamped images and I liked this so much better! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Our Fusion challenge is going on now.  You can play with the sketch, the inspiration photo, or combine the two.  It's your choice!

Supplies
Stamps:  Film Strip I (Creative Embellishments); Zig Zag Floral (Altenew); Celebration of Thanks (Verve)
Paper:  Whisper White (Stampin' Up!); Vellum (Graphix)
Ink:  Crimson (Altenew); Nocturne (Versafine Clair); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  clear embossing powder

Fusion - Blue Butterfly

We've got a great new challenge for you at Fusion.  I'm a big lover of butterflies so you would think this challenge would be easy for me, but I'm here to tell you that I made at least three iterations of this card before I decided this was the one!  In the end I opted to create some fusion of my own by combining the butterfly theme with the sketch.

I loved the varying shades of blue and green in the inspiration pic so I sponged some similar colors onto my background.   (The color on the right looks purple but it's called "chipped sapphire" so I promise in real life that it looks blue).  I randomly stamped butterflies onto the background and then I added the big banner die cut in vellum so the colors and butterflies below would show through.  I topped the banner with a couple of die cut butterflies and a sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by!  Check out our Fusion challenge and play along with the sketch the inspiration photo or both!

Supplies
Stamps:  Butterfllies (7Gypsies); Keep It Simple Just a Note (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Bristol Smooth; Island Indigo, Whisper White, Vellum (Stampin' Up!); Hawaiian Shores (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Chipped Sapphire, Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers (Distress Oxide); Nocturne (Versafine Clair)
Accesories:  Jumbo Fishtail Banner STAX (My Favorite Things); Delaney Butterfly die (Poppystamps)

Fusion - Tulips

Hi all!  We've got a great new challenge for you at Fusion.  I chose to use the sketch while picking up the floral theme and some of the colors from the inspiration photo.

I don't have tulip stamps in my stash so I chose to use this lovely dahlia stamp instead.  It's a layering-style stamp and was a good choice for showing of the range of pinks that are in the inspiration photo.  It usually takes me forever to line up the layers on that stamp correctly but luck was shining on me because I figured it out on the first try!  I picked up the bright green from the inspiration for my leaves and continued the pink with the long vertical layer.  The horizontal layer is a piece of shimmery vellum.  My sister's birthday is on the 19th so this card will go to her.  She's hosting Easter dinner so I'll be able to give it to her in person!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you can play along with us at Fusion!

Supplies
Stamps:  Delightful Dahlia Additions (Papertrey Ink); Simple Sentiments 02 (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Soft Stone (Papertrey Ink); Whisper White, Twitterpated (Stampin' Up!); vellum (Graphix); 
Ink:  Frosty Pink, Coral Berry, Ruby Red, Olive (Altnew); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Fusion - Cloth Bunnies

We've got a fun new challenge for you at Fusion!  I was inspired to use the colors in the photo along with the sketch to create a birthday card.

I love these little bunnies with their rustic colors and fabrics.  But alas I didn't have any suitable bunnies in my stash so I borrowed the colors from the photo and incorporated them into the sketch to make a birthday card!

I used a dotted border circle die for my half-circle layer because I thought it was much more interesting than a plain-old-boring-regular-circle.  Then I took a little dive into my stash and found something called "naturals ivory" from SU.  I used it to die cut the flowers.  It's a little more earthy version of ivory and went perfectly with the kraft colors.

Thanks for stopping by!  Our Fusion design team has got some fabulous cards to inspire you to play along with us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Simple Sentiments 02 (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Desert Storm (Neenah); Night of Navy, Naturals Ivory (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Night of Navy (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Daisy die (La-La Land Crafts); Circles die (Little B); matte sprinkles (Doodlebug Designs)

Fusion - Bookshelf (or Cats)

For some reason daylight savings time really messed me up this year.  Before I knew it, Sunday was coming to an end and I hadn't accomplished much besides vacuuming up cat fur.  Not for nothing, but sometimes I manage to vacuum up enough fur to make my own cat. 😹  So when it came time to make my card for the latest Fusion challenge, there wasn't a whole lot of gas in the tank, so to speak.

I was pretty sure that I didn't own any book stamps but I rooted around in my stash to see if I could find something book-related just in case.  I stumbled on this cat-on-a-line die and thought that it would mimic the horizontal layer on the sketch.  Well, I guess it does but once I put it together I was very under-whelmed.  However, by now it was Monday night and I had no time to go back to square one so this had to do!  And wouldn't you know, the challenge at Addicted to CAS is feline.  That's serendipity!

Thanks for sticking around this long to make it to the end of the post.  I appreciate it!  And head on over to the Fusion challenge to see the beautiful cards cooked up by our design team.  

Supplies
Stamps:  You Crazy Cat (Concord & 9th)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  FeLine die (Penny Black)

Fusion - Turquoise Rose Bouquet

Sorry I'm late with my Fusion card post.  Apparently I forgot to hit Publish 😕  

The challenge inspiration has these beautiful roses in a lovely turquoise color with little bits of gold thrown in for good measure.  Using that as my first clue, I opted to use a die-cut flower (definitely not a rose) in the shades of blue as I saw them along with a bit of gold.  I incorporated that into the sketch and used some lovely corrugated kraft paper for the panel on the left side of the sketch.  I stuck some clear droplets in the center of the flowers then sprinkled a few sequins around to take up some of the blank space and add a little interest.  The script sentiment sits perfectly in the right bottom corner.

Thanks for stopping by!  Don't forget at Fusion you can use the sketch, use the inspiration photo, or create a little fusion of your own by combining the two!

Supplies
Stamps:  Painted Sayings (Whimsy Stamps)
Paper:  Naturals Ivory, Gold Foil (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Daisy die (La-La Land Crafts); Winter Wonderland sequins (Neat & Tangled); Clear Droplets (Pretty Pink Posh)

Fusion - Colour Palette: Birds

Hi all!  It's time for a new challenge at Fusion!  And just look at these gorgeous colors!  I didn't have any bird stamps or dies so I chose to create a little fusion by using the colors from the photo and combining them with the sketch for my card.

I've recently embarked on a project to organize my craft room and in the process of moving things around (and throwing things out) I've found some supplies that I have completely forgotten about.  One of those things was some cardstock that I think may have been one of the first "in colors" that SU came out with.  I used one of them as the base of my card and it is a lovely shade with just a tinge of green to it.  I added another layer with some patterned paper to create some "texture" and in place of the circles on the sketch I layered some flowers.  A fun, bold sentiment in the corner finished this off perfectly.

Thanks for stopping by!  My Fusion teammates have some fantastic designs to inspire you so be sure to check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Birthday Bash Sentiments (Papertrey Ink); Canvas (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Blue Bayou, Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Starfruit, True Thyme (Stampin' Up!)

Ink:  Blue Bayou, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!); Onyx Black (Versafine)