Garden Variety - SC286

I haven't played in the Splitcoast sketch challenge in a long time until this card.  I had some extra time this weekend to stamp and make several cards - experimenting with some stamps that haven't seen ink before!  I saw the sketch at SCS and thought it would be perfect for this image I had just finished coloring with my Copic markers.

I didn't color the image to coordinate with the papers I used but I think they work just fine.  The papers are Cosmo Cricket "Garden Variety" and I just love every one of them.  And I love this sketch.  What do you think?

Thanks for visiting today!

Recipe:

Stamps:  Great Impressions, Stampin' Up "On Your Birthday" (Sentiment)

Paper:  Cosmo Cricket "Garden Variety", Papertrey Ink Terracotta cardstock

Ink:  Pallette Noir Black, Copic Markers

Friendship in a Jar

The last stamp release at Papertrey Ink was fabulous.  When I saw this set revealed during the countdown my heart jumped a beat.  From there the release date couldn't come fast enough and then the snail mail couldn't be slower it seemed.  Well I got the "Friendship Jar" set this week and I've been itching to get going with it.  This is my first project using this wonderful set.

My vision from the moment it was revealed was to use real fabric for the jar lid - so that's what I did here.  I pulled this blue and turqoise fabric from my fat quarters stash because I thought it would coordinate so well with the coloring I did on the jar.  My vision for that was the old aqua glass canning jars of yesteryear.

I started by using the coordinating jar and lid die from Papertrey to cut out the images - one die cuts the jar and the lid.  The image was then stamped with Pallette Noir Black and colored with my Copic markers, using BG10 for the glass.  Colors C1, C3, C5 were used for he lid.  I also used the coordinating dies to cut out the fabric.  I did it in the same manner as you would for cardstock.  The dies cut well through just about anything.  I adherred the fabric to the jar with Scor-Tape and did the same with lid on top of the fabric.  The jar label was done in a similar manner, again using the coordinating label die for this set.  I stamped the outline in PTI Smokey Shadow and then the "my friend" image in SU Brilliant Blue - this color worked best with the fabric.

For the background panels I used my Nesties Label 1 dies.  I left the die attached with the white cardstock and then stamped the polka-dots, also in Brilliant Blue, with it still in the die.  The result is the white border edge on that panel.  And then the best of all, I used the same Nesties to die cut my fabric for the other layer and it worked great!  Yes that is fabric, not designer paper!

The base panel is SU Cool Carribean cardstock that I sponged the edges with Night of Navy ink and stamped with Cool Carribean the floral image from Stampin Up's "Charming" stamp set.  Night of Navy is the base card color.  I embellished with a few PTI vintage buttons (Hawaiian Shores) on the fabric panel to finish it off.

I like this color combination and of course I love the stamp set.  Lots of other projects in works with these stamps - stay tuned! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Gordon - High Hopes Challenge #81

This is one of my favorite High Hopes stamps. The little critter's name is Gordon.  Doesn't he just crack you up?!  I had decided to use Gordon on the Dad's Day card I made for my son to give to my hubby since their bellies look about the same!!!!  This also meets the High Hopes Challenge #81 which is "anything goes". 

I started by coloring my friend Gordon with my Copic markers and he is a fun one to color (most of the High Hopes stamps are).  I used my Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 6 dies to cut out the image and sponged the edges with Tim Holtz' "Old Paper" distress ink. 

The Terracotta layer (Papertrey Ink cardstock) was also created using the Nesties Label 6 dies and then distressed using Papertrey Ink's impression plate "linen and canvas".  The sentiments are from Amuse stamps.  I used Stamping Up's Bordering Blue paper for the back panel, embossed the texture from a Cuttlebug "diamond plate" embossing folder and sponged the edges with the same color ink. The card base is SU River Rock cardstock.

You just can't help but smile at Gordon and his teeth and belly.  Hope you like this stamp and card as much as I do.  Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Dad's Day

Here's hoping that all the Dads out there had a wonderful Father's Day and were appropriately pampered and adored by their kids.  Unfortunately, my dad was up north for the weekend and I wasn't able to join my folks at the lake.  It was a busy weekend at home with baseball playoffs (successful I might add) and other odds 'n ends!

This is the card I made for my Dad using the new "Guiding Light" and "Antique Map" stamp sets from Flourishes.  These are wonderful sets - perfect for the nautically inclined!

I started by stamping the map with Cocoa ink on Kraft cardstock from Papertrey Ink.  I tore the edges to get the shape and size (this card is about 5x7 inches) and then distressed using Tim Holz Tea Dye, Old Paper and Antique Linen distressing inks.  I curled the edges by rolling them up around a pencil.  The Blue Bayou layer was embossed using the newer Stampin Up' embossing folder and then the edges were distressed. 

The sail boat was stamped on PTI white cardstock and colored using my Copic markers and then cut out using Spellbinder's Label 4 dies.  Again, the brown cardstock underneath the image was just torn to get the size and shape.  The message panel was punched out after stamping in SU white craft ink with an EK Success label punch.  I used a heavy gauge twine around the card, strategically secured with glue dots.

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out for my Dad.  I'm sure he'll love it too.

Let me know what you think!  Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Just Peachy - PDCC32

There are challenges and then there are real challenges where you really rack your brain as to how to make a card with the given parameters.  Well this was one that really threw me for a loop.  It's the Play Day Cafe Challenge 32 where the colors are Lemon, Light Peach and Peach. 

 I would probably never put these colors together if it weren't for this challenge.  But now that I see the card in photos the colors look pretty good together - it belies the effort I put in to make it work for the PDCC!

To start I used Papertrey Ink's Lemon Tart and Melon Berry and Stampin' Up's Blush Blossom card stock.  I also looked through my stash of DP and found a half sheet of the SU DP that I used.  It's retired paper and I have no idea what the pattern name is but it happened to work perfectly to tie in the peach colors.

I had the idea that the colors might look good as gradient colors in the background of something - kind of like a summer sunset would look.  So that was my inspiration to kick it off.  To achieve that look, I decided to use my new dotted postage stamp image from Just For Fun rubber stamps. 

 I have several of these collage type stamps but I chose the "honeycomb" one since it was in harmony with the background DP that I picked.  I used inks that matched the cardstock and brushed them on with a stipple brush, starting with the Lemon Tart and ending with the Melon Berry, until it looked like a sunset.  The Just For Fun stamps like this come with a vinyl template that perfectly fits over the dotted lines which explains how you get the white borders.

With the background complete, I used a bit of Mellow Moss ink with a french  script stamp (also from Just For Fun) and ever so lightly stamped it in the background of each opening.  Then I used Stampin' Up's "Inspired by Nature" stamp set in Chocolate Brown to stamp the coneflowers - a couple of them were stamped off first for some variation.  When complete, I cut out the image using my Fiskars postage stamp decorative scissors.  The image and the background DP were distressed using tim Holz Tea Dye distress ink.  I added some half pearls in yellow and Lemon Tart grosgrain ribbon.  The words in the bottom right corner are from SU's "Great Friend" stamp set and stamped in Chocolate Brown ink.

Though I wouldn't have put these colors together on my own, this was a great challenge and I really like how the colors work together.  I just might have to try this again!  Let me know what you think...

Thanks for stopping by my blog....why don't you visit the Play Date Cafe Challenge site by clicking on the link here!

 

Whimsical Birthday

I enjoyed my Saturday in my craft room - first cleaning it up and reorganizing my stamps and supplies, then trying my hand at some techniques that I learned at a local stamp show several weeks ago.  This card is one of those.

To start, I pulled out my new stamps from Art Gone Wild..."Birthday & Sweets" and the "Square Clear Set".  The images are about 1 inch square and colored with my Stampin' Up markers.  I sponged the edges a bit with Regal Rose ink.  I stamped the dotted squares on SU "Tea Party" paper and then punched them out using my SU scallop circle punch - centering the square within the outer edges of the punch.  I then scored on the lines and folded up the edges to frame the images.  In another version of the same DP paper set, I punched 2" scallop circles with a Paper Shapers punch and then mounted the centers on them.  I just used a little 1/4-inch celery grosgrain ribbbon to act like flower stems and leaves.  The card base and background panels are in Pretty in Pink, Celery and Tea Party DP. 

Pretty easy and a whimsical look I like.  What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by today.

Sharon

Dad's Birthday

Well I've squeezed out about as much as I can from the holiday weekend and a couple days of vacation.  It's back to work for me tomorrow so I'll do this quick post before I call it a day. 

I did this simple card for my Dad using Papertrey Ink's "Enjoy the Ride" stamp set.  These stamps are perfect for paper piecing and I thought it would be fun to do a plaid car for a change!  Years ago, there was a plaid car shown by GM in a charity event where the company partnered with the fashion industry.  Top line designers took GM vehicles and redesigned them in their style.  Cynthia Rowley was one of the designers and her car design included a plaid paint finish very close to this plaid actually.  I thought about that as I was making this card!

In this case, however, the coordinating plaid and abstract papers were designed by A2Z Essentials called "What's New Club".  The cardstock used is Papertrey's Spring Moss.  I used Palette Noir Black ink for the stamped image on the cardstock and on the plaid paper for the piecing.  I also used a gelly roll glitter pen to accent the bumper and headlamp rings.

That's it - simple but colorful and fun.  Dad liked it and my story about the real plaid car by Cynthia Rowley!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon