CAS(E) This Sketch 361

Happy Thursday!  It's time for a new sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch!  I've been in a Mardi Gras mood the last few days so I was inspired to make a colorful card.

The color challenge at Sunday Stamps was all about Mardi Gras so I jumped on board.  I created some subtle texture on the top part of my card with an impression plate, wrapped gold cord a bunch of times around the bottom-ish to make that second horizontal layer, then added a bright spray of colors.  Let's party!

Thanks for stopping by!  We've got some great inspiration for you at CAS(E) This Sketcr4345 so be sure to check us out.

Supplies
Stamps:  USA 1776 (Waltzingmouse); Tiny Words (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Pineapple Punch, Call Me Clover (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Ultraviolet (Altenew)
Accessories:  Guide Lines Grid Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink); Daisy die (La Lal Land Crafts); gold cord (Stampin' Up!); enamel dots (My Mind's Eye)

CAS(E) This Sketch 278

June is almost in the books - can you believe it?  I can't, that's for sure.  But before we march on into July we've got a new challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch.  I used a little artistic liberty with the sketch (haha pun intended)!

Usually when I see three of something on a sketch I run for the hills!  I don't know why - it's just a design element that leaves me stumped most of the time.  So I started poking around blogland for some ideas and found the inspiration challenge at CAS-ual Fridays was about fireworks.  I remembered I had a stamp set that had some fireworks plus the Statue of Liberty so I figured I could somehow make that work. 

The fireworks are the top circle on the sketch and the Statue of Liberty is a combination of the other two!  You can see that, right?  Well, even if you can't that's my story and I'm sticking to it!  I actually love how this came out.  That elegant lady is a perfect foreground for some exciting fireworks!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  My CAS(E) This Sketch teamies did not go rogue with this sketch at all and have some wonderful cards to inspire you to play along with us.  I hope you do!

Supplies
Stamps:  USA 1776 (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah)
Ink:  Caribbean Sky, Sapphire (Altenew); Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink); Nocturne (Versafine Clair)

Tag You're It 48!

All I can say today is TGIF!  It's a long weekend coming up for us in the US and it will be so nice to have three days off in a row!  It's the unofficial start of summer and more importantly, Monday is Memorial Day where we take time to remember and honor those who died while serving in the armed forces.  Our latest inspiration at Tag You're It, designed by Bobby, honors this day.

This is my one and only flag stamp.  It's got a bit of a faded look to it and I love it.  I stamped some firework images in kraft ink behind it to break up all the white space and added a simple, heartfelt sentiment.  There's an Anything Goes challenge going on at Simon Says Stamps so I'll be adding this over there as well!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to pop on over to Tag You're It and check out the tags from my fellow teamies.  You'r going to love them!  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Supplies

Stamps:  Old Glory (Deep Red); USA 1776 (Waltzingmouse)

Paper:  Night of Navy, Real Red, Whisper White (SU)

Ink:  Kraft (Papertrey Ink); Night of Navy, Real Red, Soft Suede (SU)

Accessories:  Tag Sale Quilted die (Papertrey Ink); seam binding ribbon; baker's twine

Land of the Free

Well, hello Monday.  It has been a long time since I've posted anything on my blog that was not made for a design team challenge. And I'm super excited to post this particular card because there's a bit of a story behind it.  I used the sketch at Can You Case It, which was perfect for what I wanted to do.

I flipped the sketch to accommodate the flag and used stars instead of flower shapes.  And now for the story:  My uncle was chosen for the Honor Flight New England which is a program that honors veterans by flying them on a VIP trip to Washington DC.  Before they leave on the trip each veteran is given a mail bag full of letters and cards from family and friends to commemorate the special day.  Since I'm the resident card-maker in the family I just had to make something or my name would be mush!  I'm really pleased with how this turned out (except for the crooked striped paper), so I'm hoping that my uncle doesn't notice that it's crooked!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Old Glory (Deep Red); USA 1776 (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Night of Navy, Real Red (SU)
Ink:  Crumb Cake (SU); Dark Chocolate (Papetrey Ink)
Accessories:  Blueprints 13 die (My Favorite Things)

Freshly Made Sketches 193

Hello!  Wednesday is, of course, Freshly Made Sketches day around here and this week our hostess is Rita.  Her sketch is both a great way to use up some patterned paper scraps and also a great way to think outside the box when contemplating those rectangles!  Here's my card:

I had been thinking about making a 4th of July card for a while and last week attempted one for this very same challenge but failed miserably.  So this week I tried it again and I love how it came out.  I stamped all the images onto a rectangular piece of card stock then cut it vertically and took out a small sliver to make a little void between the pieces.  I love that look but don't ask me to explain why!

Coincidentally the challenge at Retro Rubber is 4th of July too so I'll be adding this over there.  The stamps I used have been in my stash for a while, but maybe not a year as they like to see, so I dug out my crimper for one of the layers.  Nothing says early 21st century like a crimper I like to say!

Once again the design team at Freshly Made Sketches will knock your socks off with their interpretations of this sketch.  I hope you check them out and join us in the gallery!  We love to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps:  USA 1776 (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Paper:  Pure Luxury White (Gina K); Night of Navy, Whisper White (SU)
Ink:  Night of Navy, Real Red (SU); Silvery Shimmer (Delicata)
Accessories:  Real Red button (SU); baker's twine; enamel dots (My Mind's Eye)

colourQ 275

I don't know about you, but I find it hard to believe that it is January 13th already.  It's so cliche but time really does fly!  And speaking of time flying, it's now time for a brand new color palette over at colourQ.  This week the colors are inspired by this beautiful tapestry.

I had a grandiose idea that I could make a card that echoed the patterns and colors of the tapestry, but then I woke up from that dream and realized I'd never be able to pull that off!  LOL!

Instead I focused on the colors and combined them in a way that is familiar to me.  A few splatters, some card stock in the colors of the challenge and a big ol' flower.  Of course, I got some help from the layout at retro sketches.

We're off to a crafty good start this year at colourQ so I hope you'll join us!  The design team has, as usual, outdone themselves this week so there's lots of inspiration to be had there!  See you in the gallery!

And thanks so much for stopping by.

Supplies:

Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge (SU); Funky Flowers (Waltzingmouse Stamps); Strictly Sentiments 5 (WPlus9)

Paper:  Classic White (Flourishes); Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White (SU)

Ink:  Wisteria Wonder (SU); Enchanted Evening (Papertrey Ink)

Accessories:  Blueprints 13 die, Pierced Rectangle STAX (My Favorite Things); enamel dots (My Mind's Eye)

Thank You CTD319 TYIC11

I've discovered that vacations tend to be busy times.  Since I'm off from work I thought I'd have tons of time to spend in my stamp room creating to my heart's content.  Not so.  I've been busy the last couple of days getting things done that don't normally get done while I'm working so last night was the first chance I had to break out the stamps and ink.

The colors at Color Throwdown were too pretty to resist, especially since colors celebrating autumn and Christmas are what we normally see this time of year, and the challenge at Tag You're It was a good fit for what I had in mind for those colors.  So a tag on a card is what I made.

I got some new stamps from Waltzingmouse because I never seem to have the "right" floral stamps.  I used them on this card and the two-step nature of the stamps ensure that you get just the right amount of depth with the flowers and leaves.  I added some embossing paste in a chevron pattern to the tag which was inspired by the chevron embossing on the inspiration card.  Then I added some splatters to my card base just to break up all that white.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge (SU); Two Step Floral Sprig (Waltzingmouse Stamps); Celebration of Thanks (Verve)

Paper:  Midnight Muse (SU); White (Spectrum Noir)

Ink:  Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Midnight Muse (SU); Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, True Black (Papertrey Ink)

Accessories:  Tag Sale #5 die (Papertrey Ink); Chevron stencil (Heidi Swapp); white embossing paste (Dreamweaver); Midnight Muse ribbon (SU); crochet thread

The Paper Players 102 and MOJO248

It's Christmas in July over at The Paper Players and I had a hankering to participate.  And since I think it's been ages since I've done a MOJO sketch I added that in too.

The awesome DSP you see is from the ancient Holiday Thyme.  This is one of the classic collections of DSP that I own and almost never cut into because it's just too pretty.  I know it's ridiculous but there you have it.  But as you can see I used some of it here along with some equally ancient Cranberry Crisp cardstock and ribbon (which was from the first-ever collection of In Colors).

Now what I really want to talk about is the snowflake.  What I wanted was a glittery snowflake cut from the Silver Glimmer Paper, but the paper proved too thick for my snowflake punch.  I even tried putting the punch on the floor so that I could press on it with my foot, but I couldn't get the snowflake out of the punch without ripping it.  I tried punching a snowflake with some super-sticky paper and adhering glass glitter to it, but that glitter is too chunky and it made my snowflake a big unrecognizable mess.  So what I ended up doing was punching the snowflake, rubbing some 2 way glue on it, and adhering Dazzling Diamonds to it.  It's not as glittery as I wanted but the real problem is the MESS!  I've got shiny glitter everywhere.  Surely there's a better solution when I want to add some shimmery goodness to a card!  Any suggestions?

Thanks for stopping by and sticking through my glitter rant!

Growing Green Water Coloring

I thought I'd try my hand at watercoloring again.  There is something about the technique that continues to elude me, but I will keep trying until I get it right.  And for some reason the colors this week at the Just Add Ink challenge reminded me that I hadn't tried it in a while.

For some reason when I saw the Rose Red, I thought of the rose in the Growing Green stamp set.  I'm not sure what the reason is behind that connection, but there you have it!  The Waltzingmouse sketch provided my layout.

One thing I love about the Waltzingmouse sketch is how it is interpreted by everyone.  I see this sketch and see a clean and simple one.  And others take this layout and use it as a jumping point to create beautiful layered designs with ribbons, and bows, and flowers and whatever else they could possibly think of.  I find it an endless source of inspiration!

 
I started out really liking this card.  But it's definitely missing something.  I'm not sure if it's a bow, or a ribbon, or just another flower.  I actually thought about doing another flower, but I was too lazy!  The watercoloring is nice, but it takes quite a bit of time and I just couldn't bring myself to do another flower!  So I decided to go with what I had.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

A Waltzingmouse Inkspiration Valentine

I have recently discovered that I am sorely lacking in Valentine's stamps.  Today I sat at my desk and tried to think of a cute Valentine's Day stamp set that I could use with the latest Waltzingmouse sketch challenge.  I thought I'd incorporate the Inkspiration color challenge as well.

The colors are somewhat unusual for Valentine's Day, but I figured I could make it work with the Blushing Bride.  I thought the nice, big heart from the Love You Much stamp set would be perfect for the large shape on the sketch.  So, onward I went!

I stamped the big heart with Versamark and embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I thought the pattern would show up better that way.  After I embossed it, I cut it out and sponged the edges with Blushing Bride.  Once I was done with my layers and my oh-so cute heart, I realized I needed some kind of sentiment.  This is when I realized that I had no decent Valentine's Day stamps.  So I was forced to resort to one of those bargain clear stamps that you get in the dollar bin at the local craft store.  Although, the sentiment is appropriate, the quality of the stamp is horrible!  The edges are blurry and the rest is splotchy.  Hopefully, the recipient of this card can overlook this!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Just Add Ink 50 & Waltzingmouse 29

I think I'm definitely addicted to challenges.  I feel lost without them.  When I first started my cardmaking journey, I spent hours and hours scouring Splitcoast Stampers for ideas, but I pretty much CASED everything I saw.  (And I saw some beautiful stuff).  But then I decided to try my hand at making my own cards.  Looking back, it was a very scary decision to make because I had no idea if I actually had any ideas of my own!

Turns out I did, and although I don't love everything I create, I keep plugging away at it.  And I'm extremely grateful for all the wonderful card-makers out there that inspire me with their sketch challenges and color challenges.  Not to mention all the card-makers out there that participate in the challenges.  The creativity that I see never ceases to amaze me!

That being said, today I've decided to make a card using the very challenging Just Add Ink color challenge which I paired with the equally challenging Waltzingmouse sketch challenge.

Sometimes a clean and simple layout is not so simple after all!  I almost started out making a wine bottle tag, but then decided to make a card using one of my favorite layouts.  And what about those colors?  Never, in my wildest dreams would I have imagined putting elegant eggplant with the other colors, but it works!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Christmas Tag Card

Happy Halloween everyone!  It is a beautiful, crisp, fall day for all the little trick-or-treaters.  It's a little too chilly for my liking, so I am very glad that I don't have to go outside parading from door to door!  Nope, I'm going to stay right here in my stamp room, watch the Patriots play football, and hopefully catch up on my stamping.

I was very intrigued by the Waltzingmouse sketch this week.  Check it out:

Cool, huh?  First I was going to do a Halloween card, then I realized that Halloween was almost over and that would be foolish!  So, I did Christmas instead.

I think it's a pretty cool Christmas card.  The colors are unusual and non-traditional, but still festive.  I think I know just who to send it to!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

A Waltzingmouse and Pals Paper Arts Birthday

I love combining challenges when I can.  I saw the Pals Paper Arts challenge to use Basic Gray, So Saffron, and Chocolate Chip first.  Then I saw the Walztingmouse sketch challenge and immediately knew that they should go together.  I decided to give the rock-and-roll technique a go on the butterfly.  I don't think it looks too bad, but I think I got a little too much chocolate on my peanut butter so saffron.  All in all a good day since I was able to use up some more retired dsp.  And, I was able to use a chocolate chip button that I've been hoarding.  I think I've come to the conclusion that my hoarding tendencies have got to come to and end.  What's the point really?  Why in the world should I buy this stuff if all I'm going to do is stare at it?  And I think that if I start using this stuff I've got sitting around, maybe I'll become more creative.  Time will tell...

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

A Razzleberry Thank You

Earlier this year, I made a new year's resolution to try and use my designer paper more often.  I think I've made some headway, but I still have an awful lot left.  One of these days, I'm just going to take it all and have a big card-making fest so that I can use it all up!  On the other hand, some of it is just so darn cute, that I can hardly bring myself to cut it!  What a dilemma.

So in this vein, I determined to use the Cottage Wall paper I had in my stash.  I absolutely love old olive, so it was no trouble at all!  For this card, I used the new Waltzingmouse sketch challenge and in the same spirit of using things already in my stash, I used some old olive ribbon from several years ago and a button that I forgot I had!  (I think I need to clean organize my stamp room).

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Tropical Party Invitation

Oh, how I wish this invitation was real!  Who wouldn't love to be invited to a tropical destination for a party with pretty flowers and pina coladas served in hollowed out coconut shells?  Alas, I must content myself with just the invitation (and a fake one at that), since there are no tropical parties in my future.

I decided at the last minute to try and squeeze in a challenge for Waltzingmouse Stamps.  I simply couldn't resist the opportunity to win some stamps from the amazing and talented Claire Brennan.

Thanks for taking a peek and I hope you have time to stamp today!