Happy For You

I was surprised to see that after 259 sketches the Unscripted Sketches challenge was calling it quits.  Although now that I think of it 259 sketches is quite an accomplishment and I'd probably be pretty tired after all that too!  Well, I wanted to play along with their last challenge so I made a card and combined it with the colors at Color Throwdown.

I think it's tough to see in the photo but one of my "layers" is a line of some translucent embossing paste done in a concentric circle pattern.  I wish it showed up better but I've hung my photography hat up and have decided to quit obsessing about getting the perfect picture.  I'm a banker, not a photographer, so I have conceded defeat to the lens.

Oh and incidentally, if you are wondering why my Sahara Sand (as suggested in the Color Throwdown challenge) looks suspiciously like kraft, that's because it is.  I started making the card after looking at the challenge graphic once and was sure it said Crumb Cake and not Sahara Sand.  By the time I realized my mistake it was too late to turn back so I kept going.  (Apologies to the Color Throwdown ladies).

Thanks for stopping by and "so long" to Unscripted Sketches!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Doodlie-Do (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:  Kraft (Avery Elle); Coastal Cabana, Watercolor Paper (SU)

Ink:  Jet Black (Stazon); Crumb Cake, Strawberry Slush, Coastal Cabana (SU)

Accessories:  Jute Button Twine (Papertrey Ink); Modern Radio Waves stencil (Memory Box); Translucent embossing paste (Dreamweaver)

Thank You for Fusion and Unscripted Sketches

The colors in the inspiration photo at Fusion were too good for this girl to pass up but I wasn't sure that I would have time to play along.  Well along came the sketch from Unscripted Sketches and it was like a light bulb went off in my head and I knew exactly how to combine the two thereby ensuring that I would set aside some crafting time to create a little something.

I love any color combo that features black, white and a pop of one other color.  And shades of yellow always seem to be high up on the list of my faves.  For this card, in addition to the requisite black and white I chose Crushed Curry.  That is a yellow with some serious depth!

Regular visitors may note that this card was photographed while sitting on top of a vintage frog.  I've been wanting one for ages because sometimes my cards just won't cooperate when I try to stand them up for photographing.  On Saturday I went to the antique show in Brimfield Massachusetts and lo and behold I found a dealer that carried bunches of them in all shapes and sizes.  I picked up a round one in a nice pewter color and away I went.  I love how easily it holds the card and doesn't look too fussy.  I'm so glad I bought it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Summer Silhouettes (SU); Simple Sayings (Tim Holtz)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah), Basic Black, Crushed Curry, Whisper White (SU)

Ink:  Smoky Slate, Crushed Curry, (SU), Pitch Black (Adirondack)

Accessories:  Banner Trio die (WPlus9); washi tape

colourQ 226

I've been taking an online class for the last few days on how to use stencils on cards and I've learned a lot of new techniques.  I've been a little slow to incorporate some of these new details for my "homework" but I'll get there eventually.  For my colourQ card this week I used a stencil and some embossing paste.

Pink Pirouette and Blushing Bride never looked so similar as they do here!  But I promise you that the sentiment is stamped (and die cut) from Pink Pirouette while the little flowers are accented with Blushing Bride.  The layout is from Unscripted Sketches which I thought was perfect for using some of the new things I learned about stencils and embossing paste in my class.

As always my teamies at colourQ have created some beautiful cards to inspire you with these colors.  I sure hope that you'll pop on over there to check them out!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Happy (Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:  Kraft (Avery Elle); Primrose Petals, Pink Pirouette, Blushing Bride (SU)

Ink:  Primrose Petals

Accessories:  Happy die, Diagonal Stripe stencil (Simon Says Stamps); Boho Blossoms punch (SU); embossing  paste (Dreamweaver); Basic Pearls (SU)

Let it Be

Fusion Card Challenge is back with some old friends and new faces (YAY) and I just had to play along.  I usually go for the sketch but today I decided to make a card inspired by the colors.  The sketch came to me from Unscripted Sketches.

Sometimes the inspiration for a card comes to me by accident.  I had decided early on that I wanted to use a butterfly on my card and as I was flipping through my dies to find the one that matched the butterfly stamp, I found this flower outline and I thought it would make an interesting layer under the butterfly.  This made me realize that it's probably a good idea to periodically check out what I've got in my stash because it's easy to forget what I have.  Hmmm, I think this might be a good crafting resolution for the new year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Beautiful Butterflies (Papertrey Ink); Let it Be (Verve)

Paper:  Smoky Slate, Groovy Guava, Basic Gray, Ginger Blossom DSP, Urban Oasis DSP (SU)

Ink:  Groovy Guava (SU); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Beautiful Butterflies die (Papertrey Ink); Tilth Floral die (Memory Box); black rhinestones (KaiserCraft); washi tape

Best Friends

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Today I've got a card to show you using a couple of cute guys from Meltdown and a sentiment from Tag-Alongs.

I used the colors from Sunday Stamps and the layout from Unscripted Sketches for this card.  I've got to confess that I'm done with Christmas and all the colors that go along with it, so it was a real treat to make.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Hi for US231 and SSC63

As soon as I saw the latest sketch at Unscripted Sketches I knew I wanted to play along.  All those cool rectangles are just so darn fun!  Then I saw the color challenge at Sunday Stamps and thought the two together would be perfect.

I used some old scraps of DSP in Basic Gray, Kiwi Kiss and Taken With Teal to create the background then added the super adorable "hi" speech bubble from Spell Check.  I love how it looks against the patterned paper.

A cute and easy card!  Just how I like 'em!  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Spell Check (The Alley Way Stamps)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Basic Gray, Sweet Pea DSP, Walk in the Park DSP, Urban Oasis DSP (SU)

Ink:  Basic Gray (SU)

Monster Crossing

I am in full-on Halloween mode it seems and lots of the challenges I check out have got some kind of Halloween theme or other.  Today I've got a card using the fab colors at Fab Friday (pun intended!) and the sketch from Unscripted Sketches.

This monster is from Ghoul Friend and he makes such an adorable Halloween fellow, don't you think?  It's so fun to make Halloween cards that are on the less scary side sometimes and the images from this stamp set are perfect!  And you know what else is fun?  Using Christmas patterned paper on a Halloween card!  Yep, that paper is from an old SU set of Christmas paper.  Eek - so fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Ghoul Friend (The Alley Way Stamps)

Paper:  Basic Black, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Holiday Treasures DSP (SU); X-Press It Blending Card; Neenah Solar White (inside card)

Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento); Onyx Black (Versafine); Copics

Accessories:  Pierced Rectangle STAX, Pierced Square STAX (My Favorite Things); Halloween sequins (American Crafts); washi (inside card)

Hey There for DD#71, and Unscripted Sketches 223

I think it's been a dog's age since I played along with the ladies at Unscripted Sketches.  And this week as soon as I saw that row of chevrons the old wheels started turning and I knew exactly what stamp sets to use on my card.  I combined the sketch with the colors at Dynamic Duos because Crumb Cake and Basic Black are a dynamic duo indeed!

I started by stamping one of the polka dotted stamps from Pointers (FREE with a $40 purchase in September) on a Whisper White background, then I stamped some flowers from Awesome Blossom and a sentiment from Calypso.  I added a few sequins because I have discovered there is practically no better way to take up white space!  The chevrons are from Good Point.

Be sure to come back tomorrow because I've got a card for the October release sneak peeks from The Alley Way Stamps that I want to show you!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Awesome Blossom, Pointers, Calypso, Good Point (The Alley Way Stamps)

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink:  Crumb Cake; Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Kraft Blend sequins, Midnight Blend sequins (Avery Elle)

colourQ 192

It's time for a new palette from colourQ!  This week are some pretty colors that, despite the inspiration photo, made me think of flowers.

It's been a while since my Soft Sky ink pad saw the light of day, so after giving it a few drops of reinker I was pleasantly surprised to see that it still made a decent impression.  I thought the layered flowers would look nice in the lighter blue and added the Island Indigo flower as a center accent.  (And my eyes were pretty well crossed once I got done with all that fussy cutting)!

I used the latest challenge at Unscripted Sketch for my layout and couldn't decide what to do for the small rectangle at the top.  So I decided a little poetic license was in order and used some Island Indigo ribbon and a button that matches the color exactly.  And I meant to dry emboss the white layer behind the flower but had it all taped down before I remembered.  I think it would have looked so much more interesting with a little texture.  

Be sure to stop by colourQ and check out the inspiration from the design team.  All the cards and scrapbook layouts are pretty amazing!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Bloom & Grow (Verve)

Accessories:  Island Indigo ribbon (SU); Witch Hazel button (October Afternoon); Elegant Leaves die (Verve); pewter brad (American Crafts); crochet thread

TAWS May Sneek Peaks Day 3

It's almost time for the May release at The Alley Way Stamps and this morning I've got a sneak peek to show you using some fun stamps from Bird Brain.  Don't you just love that name?

That big wide-open stare from the larger bird says to me that he can't believe that sweet, pretty girl-bird loves him!  But she definitely does!

I got a little inspiration for my card from the sketch at Unscripted Sketches and the colors at Color Throwdown, but the love birds are inspiration all on their own!

So, would you like to win this stamp set?  Well if you do, then head on over to The Alley Way Stamps blog and comment on the sneak peek post you'll find there that showcases this fun stamp set.  Then, share that post on Facebook (and leave a comment that you did so).  Then guess what?  You'll have two entries for a random drawing that will leave one lucky stamper one stamp set richer!

Thanks for stopping by!

It's the Little Things

I loved the sweet color challenge at Dynamic Duos as soon as I saw it.  I'm a sucker for Lucky Limeade and when it gets paired with Pool Party - oo la la!  Then when I saw the latest sketch at Unscripted Sketches my creative juices really started flowing!

I used some DSP from the Everyday Enchantment pack and used a zig-zag stitch to adhere it to the cardstock.  Then I added this fun sentiment from Words to Live By.  After I put it all together I thought it was missing something so I stamped and fussy cut the butterfly from Awesome Blossom, embellished it with some Basic Pearls and adhered it with it's wings up so it looks like it just landed there on the card front.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Words to Live By, Awesome Blossom (The Alley Way Stamps)

Accessories:  Everyday Enchantment DSP (SU), Basic Pearls (SU)

TAWS with Unscripted Sketches 199 and Fab Fri 12

I've been having issues with my telephone lately and yesterday my Internet connection decided to join in the fun.  All day I kept sporadically losing connection to the Internet and it's unbelievable how frustrating that is!  We all rely so heavily on the Internet to get things done, that it is practically crippling when you don't have it!

But I was able to get down to business in the old stamping room so I made a little card for someone who might be in a spot of trouble!

I used the sketch from Unscripted Sketches and the colors from Fab Fri.  I hunted around for some pretty Perfect Plum paper and all I could find was this from an old Halloween set.  I love re-purposing that way!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Gotta Bug? (The Alley Way Stamps)

Accessories:  Cast-A-Spell DSP, Twitterpated DSP, Sentiment Strips die (My Favorite Things)