PDCC44 and HB2ME

What is that title?  It is secret code?  No - it's short hand for it's time for another Play Date Cafe Challenge and Happy Birthday to Me!  Yes today is both!!!

Sara Anderson at the PDCC calls this the "colour horribilis" challenge because the colors picked this week are not ones folks would think work together (Navy, Mustard, Hot Pink).

Oh my, I beg to differ!  At first when I saw the colors I might have had a moment of thinking "well we'll see".  But that was short lived because when I pulled out the color cardstock and put them together, my mind raced with ideas of what could be done with this rich color pallette.  I absolutely love these colors together and so thankful for Sara's challenge to bring them to my attention!

I decided to create a summer sunset background using the Mustard and Hot Pink and that's where this card started.  I picked the new set from SU called "Just Believe" as the foliage in the forefront in Navy.  A little bit of light stamping with PaperTrey's Text Style II stamp to add texture and interest to the background and I was set.  The hot pink and navy designer papers are all stamping up - I created the mustard panel using another stamp from the SU "Just Believe" set.  A few buttons and the Daydream Ticket from Invoke Arts and we're set. 

I love this color combination and think its perfect for the end of summer.  Also perfect as a birthday card to myself today : ) - yes my 51st and I've had a grand day. 

Thanks for stopping by!

August Sunflowers for MMSC68

Oh I had so much fun with the sketch this week at Midnight Madness.  The MM team is so creative - in both sketches and the cards they showcase.  This week tops them all I think - thought I might say that each and every week - LOL!!

For the card this week I chose Priscilla's own Sunflowers digital stamp.  I love sunflowers - particularly at the end of summer when the sun and sky late in the day are warm golden yellows.  They just sort of fit this time of year perfectly don't you think? 

I used the single sunflower offered in the set (which is to die for I might add) and resized it three times.  I layered each size as a grouping in my photoshop software to get this image on my card.  The flowers were colored with Copic markers and then lots of glitter was applied in a couple different shades of yellow.  For the sunflower centers, I added Stickles in Cinnamon and Copper colors.  You can see all the sparkles this card has better in the detail photo below.

To frame the sunflowers image, I used Nestibilities Labels 5 die by placing it and tracing the inside line of the die around the image carefully making sure that each one of the flower overlaps the outer edges of the die. It was cut out by hand and layered on one cut with the die in SU Handsome Hunter cardstock.  The background was colored using Pebbles metallic cream chalks and then distressed on the edges with Tim Holtz Tea Dye distress ink.

The background papers were stamped using Papertrey Ink's Damask background stamp on Wild Wasabi paper with Hunter green ink.  The script is also PTI's Background Basics-Text Style and was stamped in Hunter on Kraft cardstock which was also distressed with Tea Dye ink.  The "Lattice" border trim piece was a die from Spellbinders Borderabilities.  I laced shimmery copper twine around it for some extra sparkle.  Matching copper twine was used for the embellishment in the top right corner of the image.  Don't you just love the richness of the Hunter green with the warm golden yellow of the flowers in this card?  It speaks late summer to me and is the perfect August card. 

Thanks so much for stopping by...come back again soon!

Recipe:
Stamps - PriscillaStyles Digital Stamps "Sunflowers"; Papertrey Ink "Damask Design" and Background Basics Text Style
Paper - Stampin Up Handsome Hunter (retired), Wild Wasabi, Whisper White; PTI Kraft
Ink - SU Handsome Hunter (retired)
Accessories - SU Copper twine; Spellbinders Nestabilities Label 5 dies and Borderabilities Lattice die; SU Scallop lace edge punch

Tranquili-Tea - MMSC67

Well I'm finally getting my card for the Midnight Madness sketch challenge posted.  I've had a couple of frustrating days trying to solve a computer problem preventing me from connecting to the internet.  Without the connection, I couldn't download these wonderful digi images from Sugar Creek Hollow or get my card up on my blog.  But alas, I triumph!

Here's the sketch this week - another wonderful sketch from those talented ladies at Midnight Madness.  This week's challenge is sponsored by Sugar Creek Hollow.  Sugar Creek Hollow specializes in vintage, shabby and primitive style digital stamps.  Tracy, the owner, is celebrating SCHs 6th month anniversary on September 1 with a HUGE $50 gift certificate to her store for one lucky winner.  Go HERE to find out the details and enter for your chance to win big.  You'll love SCH digi stamps and right now some of the new fall stamps are starting to show up in her shoppe.

And one more bit of exciting news that I've been waiting to share.... I made the design team at Sugar Creek Hollow!  Yes, my first experience and I'm so honored.  I love vintage style and the digital stamps offered at Sugar Creek Hollow suit me to a "tea".  Things kick off for the design team when the fall digi stamps are officially released in a blog hop at the Sugar Creek Hollow blog on September 4th.  Stay tuned here on that day - you'll love what you're going to see! 

For the MMSC67 challenge, I used Sugar Creek Hollow's Teapot, Teacup and Tea Tags digital stamps.  I sized then printed the stamps on DP for that paper piecing look.  To try and add some dimension, I distressed the images and the background DP with Tim Holtz distress ink "Old Paper".  I've used Papertrey Ink's "Everyday Blessings" patterned paper collection.  The wonderful thing about digi stamps is that you can size them to your needs - its like getting an infinite amount of stamps in one purchase!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!

About My Kitchen....TSG67

This is my first entry in the There's She Goes weekly challenge although I'm a big fan of TSG stamps.  Especially this set which is fairly appropriate for me and my household.  Unlike my sister, I never quite got the cooking thing down.  Creative in many other ways except that - no matter how much I've tried!

I liked this sketch and wanted to use a TGS stamp set that has been out for a while - figuring most folks would opt for the newer sets.  Just wanted mine to stand out a bit I guess.  I've used coordinating paper from K&Company that I picked up yesterday and was dying to put to good use. 

The stamps used here are from the "A Woman's Place" set.  I stamped the images using Palette Noir Black ink on SU whisper white cardstock.  I colored the images using Prismacolor pencils and then blended them with Gamsol.  I did a bit of paper piecing using one of the coordinating papers on the sink cabinet, kitchen towel and the oven doors.

This stamp set comes with a mass of witty sayings - it was hard to decide which one to use.  I opted for this one which is my favorite of all of them and sort of reflects my whole feeling about my kitchen!!!

Thanks for peeking in today!

Recipe:

Stamps - There She Goes "A Woman's Place"

Ink - Palette Noir Black, Prismacolor Pencils

Paper - K & Company

Accessories - Spellbinder circle and scallop circle Nestabilities dies

Vintage Girl - MMSC66

I have to just start by saying I love this sketch that Priscilla did for the Midnight Madness sketch challenge this week.  It's unusual and challenging and it provides for a very interesting card. 

You don't often see triangles, but I've come to expect the most creative sketches at Midnight Madness which is I why I play week after week!  Well I absolutely love this sketch and was very excited to see what I could do with it. 

I decided to use a set of coordinating papers from Deja Views' Sweet Romance line.  The patterns are Lipstick Floral (background), Kiss Lace (bottom triangle) and Kiss Dots (top triangle).  The base cardstock is Pomagranite from Stampin Up.  I edged the triangles with the Fleur de Lis edge punch from EK Success. 

The stamped image is a wonderful new stamp I purchased at a local stamp show last weekend.  It's from Sweet Stamps called "Cherie".  I colored her with my Copic markers matching the DP colors. Thanks to the sketch, the image stands out in an interesting way positioned like it is on the triangle duo.  Then, a little bit of sheer black ribbon and some rhinestone stickers from Recollections and my card was complete.

Why don't you join in on the fun - you'll love the sketches at the Midnight Madness, the design team there is talented and oh so friendly.  Beyond the challenge though, I know I'll be returning to this sketch many times to come.  Thanks Priscilla!

Recipe:

Stamps - Sweet Stamps "Cherie"

Ink - Palette Noir Black, Copic markers

Paper - Deja Views Sweet Romance line - Kiss Dots, Kiss Lace, Lipstick Floral; Stampin Up Pomagranite, Whisper White

Accessories - Black Sheer ribbon and Recollections rhinestone stickers both from Michaels craft store

Edited August 16 to add:

Hooray!  This card won the Remarkables award at the Midnight Madness sketch challenge MMSC66!  Thanks Ladies - you've made my day!!!!

Italian Shoes - PDCC41

This week at the Play Date Cafe the challenge is all about "Italian Style" and I love the warm Tuscany colors. For this challenge, I took the Italian theme literally and with some humor! I was feeling a bit quirky tonight and thought I'd have some fun with it this week!

I created my own background paper by first brushing ink onto SU Vanilla cardstock with my color dusters and masking tape - just repositioning it several times to get the colors overlapping.  I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Scattered Straw, Rusty Hinge and Barn Door. 

The images stamped in a collage fashion are from a new set that I got this past weekend at the annual Heirloom Stamp Show near me.  They are TJ Designs Rubber Stamps "Italian Artist" collection.  (I told you I took this Italian Style challenge literally-LOL!)  I love these stamps and I really like doing these collage-type backgrounds.  The images are stamped in Vintage Photo distress ink and the same ink was used to distress the edges of the paper.  The background was then embossed using a flourish-type folder from Cuttlebug (name unknown).  You can see the additional texture it provides on the background panel in the close-up photo below.

The spaghetti shoe image and saying are from Lockhart Stamp Co. (2038 and 10015) and colored using my Copic markers.  I masked it off and stamped a starburst stamp from Just For Fun rubber stamps in the Scattered Straw and Rusty Hinge ink to tone down the brightness of the cardstock and help in blending it in with the intense colors of the background.  It was die cut with a Spellbinders Label 5 die and mounted on a traced image of the same die but cut with my scissors.  The base cardstock was SU Ruby Red and Peach Parfait.  I tried the scrunched up ribbon technique (yes, scrunched up is the technical term !!) for the first time and added a PTI vintage button to the bow to finish things off.  

I like the warm colors and how this card turned out - especially the background paper.  Tell me what you think.....?  Thanks for stopping by : )

Ciao!

 

Recipe:

Stamps- Lockhart Stamp Co., TJ Designs Rubber Stamps "Italian Artist" collection, Just For Fun Rubber Stamps

Ink - Tim Holtz Distress Inks Scattered Straw, Vintage Photo, Rusty Hinge, Barn Door

Cardstock - SU Ruby Red, Peach Parfait, Vanilla, Whisper White

Accessories - Cuttlebug embossing folder, Fiskars Heritage corner punch, Spellbinders Label 5 dies, ScorTape, PTI Ribbon and Button

I am Cup of the Week at Play Date Cafe!

I just had to do a quick post this morning because I'm just so giddy over winning the Cup of the Week at the Play Date Cafe! I'm doing my happy dance to the max today! Here's the card and what I won (of course the special part of winning is being able to put the PDCC Cup of the Week badge on my blog and getting to be a guest designer! Thanks to Julie Ranae and the entire Play Date Cafe design team! I look forward to your challenges every week : )

for this card:

winning this prize in addition to the honor of putting the Cup of the Week badge on my blog sidebar:

Gorgeous stamps aren't they? Plus I will have the opportunity to be the guest designer for an upcoming Play Date Cafe challenge! Isn't that amazing! Now you see why I'm doing my happy dance today!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Christmas in July-Mo's Digital Challenge #42

Hello stampers and followers!  This card is my contribution at the Mo's Digital Challenge #42 this week which is Christmas in July.  I love Mo's digital images but this is my first entry into one of her challenges. I've made it a goal to participate in a lot more online challenges because they're fun, you meet lots more fun gals and I get inspired by the challenge and all the creations from the other participants. 

For Mo's challenge, I used my favorite Christmas image that I got last year.  This little penguin was fun to color with my Copics and it was pretty cool (no pun intended!) to do a Christmas card when it's 90 humid degrees outside!  Ok, now you know I'm not organized enough to do my Christmas cards way ahead (usually procrastinate to the last possible minute!)

Unfortunately the DP is unknown - from my holiday stash.  I've sparkled up the snowflakes, added some die cut flourishes and a few buttons for fun.  Let me know what you think.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Owl-ways Green-PDCC40-RRR5

This darling owl card is for three challenges!  First, the Play Date Cafe challenge which is a colorsplash - meaning most of the card is black and white with a splash of color and this time the color is green.  This was a fun one - when I first saw the challenge I instantly thought of this so darn cute set from Stampin' Up called "Aviary".  I just love this with the owl peeking out from the birdcage!  But I've also used the sketch from the Sweet Stampin Challenge  #37.  This is my first time participating in this weekly challenge - it looked like a fun challenge blog to play in and I liked the sketch this week.  It is also my first time participating in the Really Reasonable Ribbon challenge RRR5!  You have to see this blog - some great creative ideas on how to use ribbon on your projects.  Thanks to Trudy Sjolander of the Really Reasonable Ribbon's design team for guiding me to this wonderful site!  You MUST go to her blog too and see the incredibly beautiful cards she's made!  The RRR5 challenge is to use black and white on your project - and obviously black and/or white ribbon : ) so this card fits in just fine!

I've been trying to play in more challenges lately - for the fun and for meeting new folks online.  Each challenge group is different and consequently you pick up different design styles and techniques that you can learn from others. 

So I've used a number of different stamps on this card besides the Aviary set - I just thought it would be fun with a combination of different patterns in the black and white.  I like how the card turned out - especially that owl-ways green owl!

Thanks for looking in today.  Have a wonderful day!

Recipe:

Stamps - Stampin Up's Aviary, Medallion; Papertrey Ink's Polka Dot Basics, Simply Stationary, Flourish

Ink - Stampin Up Pear Pizazz; Palette Noir Black

Paper - SU Black, Pear Pizazz; PTI Stampers select white

Accessories - Ribbon from Michaels, half black pearls, Fiskars corner punches, Spellbinders dies

Playtime in the Shabby Tea Room

Well the weekend is fast coming to an end and I've enjoyed every minute.  Made a load of cards this weekend for several challenges and this card is one of them.  I put this together for the Shabby Tea Room challenge this week which is "One, Two, Three" - one ribbon, two buttons, three diecuts or punches.  I've never played in the Shabby Tea Room before - I've wanted to but seem to always run out of time.  Shabby Tea Room  challenges have always peaked my interest because it isn't always about sketches or colors. Well, this challenge intrigued me so I jumped right in.

I've had this wonderful paper from The Girls' Paperie called "Paper Girl" sitting there just ready to be used.  I sewed around each of the patches to make it look quilted in effect.  I thought the stamp from Rachelle Ann Miller called "Playtime" would be perfect because of the turtle's patchwork shell.  I colored the image with my Prismacolor pencils and then blended the colors with Gamsol.  I hadn't used my pencils in a while but I wanted the softer effect you get with them vs. Copics this time. 

For the challenge, you can see my one ribbon - the kiwi and cream striped ribbon from Stampin' Up.  My two buttons form the centers of the flowers peaking up from behind the turtle and the three die cuts include the main stamped image panel and the Kiwi Kiss panel (both die cut with Spellbinders Labels 10 dies) and the pink with black polka-dot layer cut with Spellbinders Labels 13 dies).

This card will be for my niece, Olivia, for her birthday that is coming up in about a week.  I know she'll love this one. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. 

Recipe:

Stamps - Rachelle Anne Miller for Stampavie called "Playtime"; Papertrey Ink Polka Dot Basics 2

Ink - Palette Noir Black; Antique Linen distress ink from Tim Holtz; Prismacolor Pencils with Gamsol blending

Paper - The Girls' Paperie "Paper Girl" collection; Stampin Up Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White

Accessories - Spellbinders Labels 10 and 13 dies, SU Ribbon, PTI vintage buttons

Bella Bella - MMSC64

Let me start by saying I absolutely love this Midnight Madness sketch this week!  What fun - it's definitely a sketch I'll use over and over again.  (I think I say this every week about the MMSC!) 

Seriously - this is a great group of folks... that run the challenge and an even better group that participates each week.  Lots of talent over there that will inspire you.  Join in on the fun - new sketches are posted each Monday.

For the challenge, I used My Mind's Eye Bella Bella collection papers "French Flea Market" and "Simply Plaid".  You might never think to combine a damask with a plaid, but they're in the same collection and the colors coordinate beautifully.  I especially love the damask pattern.

To add some vintage flair, I distressed the papers with Antique Linen distress ink from Tim Holtz and roughed up the edges of my card stock.  I also thought sewing along the edges of the triangles and the main image panel would add a bit of an antique look as well.  And then the lace does that too.  I just can't seem to get enough of lace lately!

For the image panel I used Penny Black "Mixed Media" - a newer stamp I  picked up a couple weeks ago and fell in love with at first sight!  It's a collage in one stamp and I had a  million ideas of what could be done with it.  For this card I inked it up in Stampin Up Baja Breeze and then went over the center music section with my Soft Suede marker before stamping on Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream cardstock.  I stamped the image again using only Soft Suede ink.  The Soft Suede only version was used to color just the flowers, using a Dove blender pen and Baja Breeze and River Rock ink.  I cut out the flowers and stems and then glued them on the original stamped image, popping up the flowers with dimensionals.  I added glitter in the flower centers with my Sakura stardust gel pen.  The panel was distressed with ink, edges roughed up, lace added and then sewn onto Baja Breeze cardstock.  Pretty easy actually but everything goes easy when you have such a great sketch as this.

Let me know what you think.  Thanks for stopping by to vist!

Recipe:
Stamps - Penny Black "Mixed Media-4037K"
Ink - Stampin Up Baja Breeze, Soft Suede, River Rock
Cardstock - Stampin Up River Rock, Baja Breeze; Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream; My Mind's Eye, Bella Bella Collection "French Flea Market" and "Simply Plaid"
Accessories - Lace ribbon from Stampin Up; Sakura glitter gel pen