Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop - Big Cups

Hello there!  Today, I am sharing a card that I made for the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.  Perfect timing, as I've been itching to use these coffee-themed stamps!  I just love the motivation I get from participating in these challenges.

Here is my card:

I began by randomly stamping the coffee cups onto some Canson cold press watercolor paper and then cut out the circle using a circle die.  I colored the cups with Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers and used a water brush to give it that watercolor look.  These markers work like a dream on this paper!

I adhered a small piece of a transparency sheet behind the circle on the back side before placing on my card base, then added the coffee cup die cut onto the transparency circle. 

I embossed the sentiment in white onto brown patterned paper and then cut a fishtail on one end. To finish off the card, some cute, little snowflakes to adorn the cups.

Thank you for stopping by!  Be sure to check out the other entries in the blog hop by clicking HERE.

Supplies Used:
Coffee and Tea - Simon Says Stamp
Coffee Cozy - Li'l Inkers
Sassy Coffee - Technique Tuesday
Snow Flurries - Simon Says Stamp
Large Stitched Circle Stackables - Lawn Fawn
Canson Cold Press Watercolor Paper
Super Fine Detail White Embossing Powder - Ranger
Memento Tuxedo Black ink
Patterned Papers - Doodlebug Design
Zig Clean Color Markers - Orange, Cobalt Blue, Light Carmine, Light Green & Oatmeal

2017 MFT Superstar Entry

Hello there!  Today, I am joining the fun with My Favorite Things by participating in their "Superstar" card design challenge. I am entering my card into the "Clean & Simple" category described below.

Clean & Simple Genius

"Here is your chance to showcase your innate understanding of design. White space, color theory, and design rules are critical components of pulling off a beautifully clean & simple look. You understand that sometimes, less is more, and you aren’t afraid to show it!"

This is right up my alley, as I LOVE all things color.  And white space. And clean and simple! 

Here is my card:

I began my card by embossing the Chevron Grid background with white embossing powder onto white card stock.  Then, I turned on some music, grabbed some Copics and began coloring away!  What is it about coloring that makes it so relaxing and therapeutic?  

Next, I made my card panel using the Wonky Stitch Rectangle Stax on white card stock and adhered it to a top fold kraft card stock base.  I trimmed down the Chevron panel into a rectangle and popped it on the card base using fun foam.

Here is a better look at the dimension...

And finally, for the sentiment, I used the Big Birthday Wishes stamp set and alternated the white text on black card stock and black text on white card stock.   I really like this look.  It adds more interest, yet it still keeps the design clean.  

Click HERE to check out all of the other great entries.

Supplies Used:

MFT Wonky Stitch Rectangle Stax 

MFT Chevron Grid Background

MFT Big Birthday Wishes

Copic Markers:  B28, RV04, R29, Y08, YR68, BG13

Thank you for stopping by today.  Enjoy the rest of your week!

You Color My World

Today, I am sharing a card that I created for the MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge #334.  Here is the sketch:

...and here is my card.

I was in a shaker card kind of mood today!  So fun to make and hearing that shaker sound makes it all worth it.  I know you know what I mean!

Supplies Used:
MFT Watercolor Backdrops
MFT Rainbow of Happiness
MFT Square Peek-a-Boo Window
MFT Stitched Scallop Basic Edges 2
MFT Inks:   Orange Zest, Grape Jelly, Pineapple & Blu Raspberry
MFT Fun & Frolic 6x6 Paper Pack
Pretty Pink Posh Sequins - Amethyst, Ocean Spray, Sunshine Glow, Tangerine & Sparkling Clear
Neenah Solar White card stock

Feeling Good!

Hello!  I have a funny card to share with you today.  At least I think so!  I, pretty much, created this card backwards.  What I mean is... I found the sentiment first.  And THEN created a card to go with it.  Usually, it's the other way around, right?

I found this sentiment stamp at our local rubber stamp show.  A show I look forward to every year.  The stamp is from Two Lips Stamps.  They carry some really funny stamps.  I only bought 3 of them, but trust me, I will me adding to my collection.

...and here comes the funny.  I swear, I laughed out loud when I read this at the stamp show.  And, guess what?  I was all by myself!  LoL.  Literally!

Maybe, it's just me, but I still crack up when I read this.

As for the making of this card... I bought the sentiment, now what?  I really had no idea how I was going to use it.  I just liked it!  When I came home from the show, I started brainstorming on how I could turn this sentiment into a card.  My brain went to car, traffic and voila, a traffic light!  A simple search on SSS led me to this traffic light by Neat & Tangled.

The front of the card is pretty simple.  To me, it's all about the sentiment on this one.  I just stamped and colored the image with Copics and added some Glossy Accent for a nice finish.  I used the Radiating Rays stencil to symbolize the light glowing from the traffic light.  I used the same traffic light on the inside of the card and just randomly stamped it using Versamark for a watermark effect.  Finished off both panels with the Wonky die from MFT.

Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
Stop & Go stamp set - Neat & Tangled
Sentiment - Two Lips Stamps
Radiating Rays stencil - MFT
Small Stitched Rectangle - Lawn Fawn
Wonky Stitched Rectangle Stax - MFT
Smoke card stock - MFT
Neenah Solar White card stock
Copics
Glossy Accents

Color Throwdown #444

Happy Hump Day!  It's a nasty, rainy day, so I am all cozy in my craft room today.  I have a card to share for this week's Color Throwdown Challenge.  Here are the colors for this week:

...and here is my card.

I had fun with this one.  I believe I used products from  about 6 different companies!  I guess that's just my way of sharing the love!  Know what I mean?  This came together pretty easily once I dusted off my good 'ole Xyron!

Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
SSS - Mod Circle Die
Paper - Dots & Stripes Neutral (MFT), Hip Hip Hooray (Doodlebug), Smoke card stock (SSS) & Neenah Solar White
Sentiment - Fun & Flirty (Paper Smooches)
Crystal Droplets (Pretty Pink Posh)

Color Throwdown #443

Today, I am joining the the fun with latest Color Throwdown challenge.  I really  love this color combo!

...and here is my card

Yep, another card using the MFT Circle Scribble Flowers stamp set!  This set is so versatile!

Supplies Used:

Inks - MFT Lemon Drop, Hero Arts Cornflower and Green Apple, VersaFine Onyx Black

MFT Circle Scribble Flowers

MFT Delicious Birthday

Neenah Solar White card stock

Black card stock

Misc gems

Totally Awesome

Hello! I'm back with a new card today!  Isn't funny how your creative juices just exude when there are more pressing matters to be taken care of?  I have such a BIG to do list right now, but crafting just seems to be such a better alternative!  Am I right?

I really like the idea of "stretching your stamps", so i decided to think outside the box a bit. I used, what is supposed to be, the background of a flower to create a different look.  I chose 4 different colors of ink and randomly stamped the background, then stamped a daisy onto each shape.  I really enjoyed watching this background come alive.  This was such an easy and fun card to create, that I am definitely planning to create more like this using different colors and images.  As a matter of fact, I will be needing a baby shower card soon, so my wheels are already turning!

The "thanks" was die cute 3x out of black card stock, then stacked together and coated with Glossy Accents.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a great rest of your week!

Supplies Used:
Inks:  MFT Pineapple, Red Hot and Orange Zest,  Hero Arts Green Apple, VersaFine Onyx Black
MFT - Circle Scribble Flowers
MFT - Springtime Blooms
Simon Says Stamp - Frames die
Lawn Fawn - Scripty Thanks
Glossy Accents
Neenah Solar White 80 and 110 lb.

Color Throwdown #431

Happy Hump Day!

I am thrilled to say that I have been selected as the "featured stamper" for this week's Color Throwdown.  Such a thrill!

Below are this week's colors:

Mint Green, Green, Plum and Light Brown

Here is my card:

I chose to create a background using the challenge colors.  I wanted to create a fun and playful card, and what's more fun than colorful dots?  I think I could easily have polka dots or stripes on every card that I make.  The "hello" stamp is from the Sending Happy Thoughts set by Simon Says Stamp.  I stamped the image randomly over the card panel mixing the four different colors and then placed the panel onto a brown card base.

The big "hello"sentiment was die cut two times out of white card stock and once with brown card stock.  I stacked the three of them together with the brown one on the top and then I coated it with a Wink of Stella pen for a little sparkle and shine.  To prevent the sentiment from getting lost on the busy background, I placed it on vellum to soften the background a bit.  This makes it much easier to read, but still be able to see the dots underneath.  Lastly, I placed the sentiment over a postage stamp frame that I cut out of white card stock and then used an ink dauber to color it the same plum as on the hellos.  At first, I thought the postage frame was too small, but I ended up liking the look of the "hello" overlapping the frame on each side. That also helped to separate the sentiment from the busy background and give it a little more pop.

You can check out more samples for Color Throwdown 431 HERE.

Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
Sending Happy Thoughts (Simon Says Stamp)
Big Hello (Simon Says Stamp)
Postage Stamp Die (Avery Elle)
Inks: Latte (Hero Arts chalk ink), Iris (Hero Arts chalk ink), New Leaf (Papertrey Ink), Aqua Mist (Papertrey Ink)
Wink of Stella
Vellum
Neenah Solar White 80lb.
Brown Card Stock (Hobby Lobby)

Hello!

Welcome!  Another week, another Throwdown Challenge!  :o)  Below are the colors for this week's challenge:

...and here is my card:

When I saw these colors for the challenge, I thought PLAID!  I've always wanted to try my hand at creating a plaid background, but never gave it a whirl, so this was my opportunity.   And guess what?  Next time, I won't wait so long!  This was definitely fun.  I have several different stamp sets for creating plaid, but I decided to go with this one from SSS.  Next time, I think I might get a little wild and combine sets.

The only part that was a little tricky was the length of the stamps.  When you stamp on a diagonal, you cannot cover the entire card panel.  That's why the plaid on the card front is trimmed.  (I think I like it better this way anyway).  The bottom of the card is patterned paper from MFT, which just so happened to match perfectly.  I've always loved mixing patterns together, especially when creating scrapbook pages.

On the Throwdown website, the challenge suggests to use turquoise, sage green, gold or kraft and dark brown.  Instead of using gold OR kraft, I went with BOTH.  (I'm such a rebel!)  The thin gold stripes on the card are actually done with a gold Uni-ball pen.  I really like how the gold gave it a nice, finishing touch.

I added the sentiment and popped up the card panel with fun foam, added a twine bow and some Ocean Spray sequins to complete the card.

Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
Basic Stripes (Simon Says Stamp)
Hello die (Impression Obsession)
Inks - Audrey Blue (SSS), Chocolate Brown (MFT), Natural (MFT), Green Hills (Hero Arts)
Gold lines -  Uni-ball Gold Gel Pen
Polka Dot paper (MFT, Dots and Stripes)
Ocean Spray sequins (PPP)
Fun Foam
Twine
Turquoise Card Stock (Hobby Lobby)

Hooray!!!

Hello!  I am sharing a card today for this week's Color Throwdown #429.  Here is the color palette for this week.

...and here is my card:

I started by embossing one of my favorite background stamps of all time (Bundles of Blossoms) onto a card panel of Neenah Solar White cardstock with white embossing powder.   I blended Mermaid Lagoon distress ink onto the bottom of the panel and Carved Pumpkin on the top.  I cut it in half and placed it onto a card base.  I used a die to cut the "hooray" out of black cardstock and then heat embossed it with Iridescent Sparkle embossing powder, added the sentiment, some sequins and voila!

Supplies Used:
Bundles of Blossoms (My Favorite Things)
From Us (Simon Says Stamp)
Hooray (Mama Elephant)
Distress Inks (Carved Pumpkin, Mermaid Lagoon)
Black Lavender Cardstock ( My Favorite Things)
Iridescent Sparkle Embossing Powder (Judikins)
White Embossing Powder (Hero Arts)
Sequins (4mm, 6mm, 8mm Pretty Pink Posh)

Shake Your Ba-donkey-donk!

Here is my card for this week's Wednesday Challenge at Simon Says Stamp.  The theme for this challenge is "CUTE".  I think I succeeded... How flipping cute is this donkey?

I began my card by embossing the background with white embossing powder on watercolor paper.  I used distress inks with water to color in all the circles.  The donkey is stamped, then masked also on watercolor paper.  I used distress inks with an ink blender for the grass and sky, then I used a distress sprayer to spray some water on it, then blotted with a paper towel.

Supplies Used:
Circle Doodle Background (Simon Says Stamp)
Funny Farm Crew (Your Next Stamp)
Funny Farm Sentiments (Your Next Stamp)
Large Stitched Circle Stackables (Lawn Fawn)
Distress Inks
Limelight Cardstock (My Favorite Things)
Tim Holtz Watercolor Paper
Ocean Spray Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

Sending You Strength

Hello!  Here is my card for the Monday Challenge at Simon Says Stamp.  The theme is Young at Heart and can be interpreted in any way that inspires!  I decided to go the "heart route" and have lots of hearts on my card.

My background was done by repeatedly stamping the "always thinking of you" circle stamp with embossing ink using my Misti.  I heat embossed each circle with white embossing powder.  Next, I used 3 different distress inks for a blended, colorful background.  The sentiment was stamped on orange cardstock with black ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder for a little more clarity. For the finishing touch, a glittery heart and some Hero Arts gemstones.

Supplies Used:
Very Special (Simon Says Stamp)
Essential Sentiments (My Favorite Things)
Large Heart Set (Simon Says Stamp)
Distress Inks: Fossilized Amber, Ripe Persimmon & Picked Raspberry
Black ink (VersaFine Onyx Black)
Neenah Solar White 80 & 110 lb.
Silver Sparkle Cardstock (My Favorite Things)
Colored Cardstock (Hobby Lobby)
Clear Embossing Powder (Hero Arts)
Gemstones (Hero Arts)
Glossy Accents

I Love You

Today, I have a card for the "Color of Love" Challenge at Simon Says Stamp.  The challenge asks to showcase Reverse Confetti products, along with a Love Theme.

Here is my card:

It was perfect timing for this challenge as I just got some new products from Reverse Confetti's latest release.  I used a die from the XOXO Hearts set and cut out 5 heart strips from 5 different cheery colors of cardstock.  I also used the interior hearts from the strips and decided to inlay them in a different color to get the quirky, fun look that I was going for.  The card base was stamped using the Diagonal Stripe background stamp from Simon Says Stamp in a hot pink color.

The sentiment is heat embossed in white on black cardstock and cut in to a fish tail banner.  I added the pink heart (from a different SSS set) to replace the original heart on the sentiment and I coated it with Glossy Accents.

Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
XOXO Hearts - Reverse Confetti
Diagonal Stripes BG - Simon Says Stamp
Stripe Greetings - Simon Says Stamp
Pink Heart - Tic Tac Toe Hearts - Simon Says Stamp
Cotton Candy ink - My Favorite Things
Colored cardstock - Hobby Lobby
Neenah Solar White 80 & 110 lb.
Hero Arts white  embossing powder
Glossy Accents

Sweet Valentine - IC583

Today I have a card for the latest Inspiration Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers.  The inspiration is to come from the Pandora jewelry website.  After browsing through the website, I was inspired by this charm:

 ...and here is my card:

I began by randomly stamping 3 different sized hearts with embossing ink on watercolor paper and then embossed them with silver embossing powder.  I wet each one with plain water and them water colored them using Festive Berries distress ink.  For the areas in between the hearts, I loosely water colored them with Pumice Stone distress ink just to break up the stark background.  When everything was dry, I spritzed the entire panel using a distress sprayer, let it sit for about 20 seconds and then blotted with a paper towel.

I used a word bubble die from PTI for the front panel and also cut a second one from white cardstock to use the negative piece for the sentiment.  The front panel is popped up using foam tape onto black cardstock.  For the finishing touch, a scattering of flat, 6mm silver circles from PPP.

Here is a closeup to better see the shine from the silver circles...

Supplies Used:
Tons of Hearts - Simon Says Stamp
Figure of Speech Frame - Papertrey Ink
Sentiment - Craftsmart Stamps (Michaels)
VersaFine Onyx Black, Festive Berries & Pumice Stone distress inks
Silver Circles - Pretty Pink Posh
Neenah Solar White, Tim Holtz watercolor paper, Black cardstock
Silver embossing powder - Hero Arts
Foam Tape

Wishing You Brighter Days - CC620

Hello!  I am back with a card for this week's Color Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers (CC620).  Below are the colors for this week's challenge.

...and here is my card:

I've been wanting to use this stamp set from Altenew and when I saw this challenge, I knew that this set would be perfect.  I had an idea in my head and I ran with it!  For some reason, I have been into making my own backgrounds lately.  In fact, that's the easy part for me.  The hard part is what to put on top of it and how! 

I started by selecting the inks to best match the challenge palette.  After a bit of "testing", I finally found the right colors.  I picked out 3 stamps from this set and then matched each one with a specific color and then randomly stamped my background.  Once the stamping part was done, I felt it was still lacking something.  It needed just a "little something" to bring it all together.  Well, that "little something" was black Nuvo Drops.  I was a bit nervous to just start scattering them on my paper, so I practiced a bit first on some scrap paper.  Once I started adding the drops to the card, I loved how it all started coming together.

I chose a sentiment from PTI and stamped it on vellum with black ink and then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  The vellum sentiment is framed with a postage stamp die from Avery Elle cut from white cardstock and then  I used an ink dauber with the same blue ink to color it the same blue as the flowers.

Supplies Used:
Simple Flowers (Altenew)
Think Big Favorites #10 (Papertrey Ink)
Postage Stamp die (Avery Elle)
Inks: Soft Pool and Orchid (Hero Arts), Gumdrop Green (MFT), VersaFine Onyx Black
Nuvo Crystal Drops
Neenah Solar White cardstock
Vellum

Thank you for stopping by!

I Love You - CTD428 and SC630

Happy Hump Day, everyone!  Today I am playing along with Color Throwdown #428 and Sketch Challenge #630 at Splitcoast Stampers..  Below is this week's color palette for the Color Throwdown.

Red, Pink and Chocolate Brown

...and here is the sketch from Splitcoast Stampers:

Here is my card:

I really like these colors together.  I would never have thought that brown would look good on a Valentines card, but I actually dig it here, LoL.  I used a retired stamp set from SSS for the hearts.  I randomly stamped them in different colors to create my background.  I used a circle die to cut the circle out of the top panel and then used foam tape to pop the top panel off of the card base.  The sentiment if from a CTMH set and heat embossed on brown cardstock with white embossing powder and then a few sequins for the finishing touch!

You can check out the other cards for challenge #428 HERE.

Thank you for visiting!

Supplies Used:
Hearts - Lots of Hearts (SSS)
Sentiment - Dream Big (CTMH)
Scalloped Heart - Heart Doily (SSS)
Brown Heart - Stitched Heart Stax (MFT)
Circle cut out - Circle Stax 1 (MFT)
Patterned Papers - Sweet Cakes (Doodlebug)
Cardstock - Heenah Solar White, Kraft
Inks - Razzleberry (MFT), Milk Chocolate (MFT), Strawberry and MMH Pink (Hero Arts)
Sequins - Sparkling Clear 4mm & 6mm (PPP)

Monster Love - CAS414

Here is my card for the Clean and Simple Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers (CAS414).  The theme for this week is Peek-a-Boo.

"This week we are looking for your CAS take on the theme Peek-a-boo! How will you interpret it?"

I started my card by die cutting the frame from black polka dotted paper and again with Neenah Solar White using an MFT die.  The 2 negative pieces that were left, I blended on some blue and green distress inks for some background color.  The cute, little monsters were water colored using distress inks.  I must have used almost every color!

I stamped the sentiment and added the hearts and finished them off with Glossy Accents.

Supplies Used:
Stitched Cover-Up Companion-Horizontal - MFT
Silly Monsters and Silly Monsters Two - Your Next Stamp
Monster Love - MFT
Holiday Shapes - SSS
Paper - Kraft in Color - Doodlebug, Neenah Solar White
Distress Inks
Glossy Accents

A Tail-Waggin' Day! - F4A362

Today I am playing along with Splitcoast Stampers Free For All Challenge - F4A362.  The theme is Cuddly/Snuggly.

"Design a card that makes you think of cuddling or snuggling...It could be a cuddly animal, kids cuddling something, couples together, a warm sweater/coat/mittens...whatever it means to you, cuddle or snuggle".


Well, for me, it doesn't get much better than snuggling with my dogs. (other than my hubby, of course!)  I have 2 dogs and they love to snuggle too, so it's definitely a win-win!


Here is my card:

I was drinking my coffee this morning while watching some videos on YouTube.  I watched THIS ONE (again) from Jennifer McGuire and wanted to try out this technique.  It involves using a stencil with white pigment ink and then slightly shifting the stencil and then applying a dye ink.  I like the way it gives a shadow, creating just a little bit of a look of dimension.  The rest of the card went along as hers did!  Thank you Jennifer for the inspiration and a great, new technique!

Supplies Used:
Neenah Kraft cardstock, Neenah Solar White cardstock
Brown Cardstock
Vellum
Dog Stencil - Echo Park
Hero Arts Unicorn pigment ink
MFT Milk Chocolate ink
Sentiment - Inky Antics
Paw print - Stamps by Judith
SSS Stitched Circles
Fun Foam
Thread

Thank you for stopping by!  Have a great weekend!

Always and Forever - CC618 and CTD426

Hello!  Today I am sharing my card for the COLOR Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers (CC618) and Color Throwdown #426.  Below are the colors for these challenges.

Basic Gray, Very Vanilla and Rose Red

These colors are definitely out of my comfort zone.  I am always one to gravitate toward intense, bright colors.  That's why I am really liking these challenges, they totally make me think outside the box!

When I say, "out of my comfort zone", I was not kidding.... I don't even own any vanilla cardstock!  So I had to make my own, thanks to Antique Linen distress ink.  I used some watercolor paper and applied the distress ink, then I squirted it with water and blotted it with a paper towel.  When it was dry, I stamped the background using the Bundles of Blossoms stamp from MFT using Gravel Gray ink.  I stamped it twice with my Misti and then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I cut out the hearts with the Tic Tac Toe Hearts die from SSS and then strategically placed some red cardstock onto the card base. The sentiment is stamped on Cement Gray cardstock with a few sequins for a little bling.  I finished off the card front with the twine bow and then popped it up on my card base with foam tape.

Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Bundles of Blossoms background stamp - MFT

Sentiment - Lots to Say - Reverse Confetti

Hearts - Tic Tac Toe Hearts - SSS

Cardstock - Neenah Solar White, MFT Cement Gray, Tim Holtz Watercolor Paper

Inks - VersaFine Black Onyx, MFT Gravel Gray, Antique Linen Distress Ink
Sequins - Pretty Pink Posh
Twine

Snowflakes & Friends - CAS412

Here is my card for today's Clean and Simple Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers.   The inspiration is as follows:

"Your CAS challenge this week is to use a product, image, etc. that looks frozen!  Stickles, glitter, ice skating, igloos, etc."

So I opted for snowflakes!

I used a snowflake stamp from Hero Arts for the background and embossed it on the card panel using white embossing powder.  I blended 3 different colors of distress inks randomly over the snowflakes and then cut out the panel using the Snow Drifts Cover Up die from MFT. I kept the white frame and placed the distressed images inside.  I glued the panel on fun foam and then onto a sheet of green polka dot paper.   I embossed the sentiment in white onto black cardstock and popped that up too with foam tape.

Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
Hand Drawn Snowflakes Bold Prints - Hero Arts
Distress Inks:  Mermaid Lagoon, Blueprint Sketch & Twisted Citron
Snow Drifts Cover Up - MFT
Sentiment - Cooler With You - MFT
Green polka dot paper - Kraft in Color - Doodlebug Designs
Snowflake Die - Let it Snowflake - MFT
Snowflake Glitter Paper - Doodlebug Designs 
Snowflake Center - Doodlebug Sprinkles
White embossing powder
Fun foam, Foam tape
Misc Cardstock
 

You Make My Heart Smile

Today, I am playing along with Splitcoast Stampers Inspiration Challenge (IC580.  The challenge for this week was to find inspiration from the listings on the Altered Diaries' Etsy site HERE.

I was drawn to this book cover.

Well, I gotta be honest... I think I was more inspired by this one because I knew that I had a stencil just like the pattern on the book!  But that's okay, because inspiration is inspiration, right?

Here is my card:

I started by taping down my stencil onto a Neenah Solar White card panel.  I used 5 different distress inks over the stencil.  I was pretty pleased with how nicely the colors blended with hardly any effort at all.  Starting from the bottom, I used Festive Berries, Picked Raspberry, Abandoned Coral, Spiced Marmalade and Candied Apple.  I, then, added the red strip on the left side just like the book, but it looked a little too plain, so I added the sequins.  A simple remedy.  (the sequins look silver in the photo, but they are actually clear).

I used Simon Says Stamp's Love Loop die from their latest release and created a die-cut inlay using orange and yellow cardstock.  Finding a sentiment to fit just right in the yellow heart was a little tricky, but with a little patience, I struck the jackpot!  And the sentiment even has the word "heart" in it, like it was just meant to be!  Don't you just love when that happens?

I am pretty new to participating in card-making challenges, but I've found that they definitely help me in creating cards.  I feel like I have some direction and I am not overwhelmed with a ton of supplies at my fingertips to cause me stress!  I know that may seem odd, but it sort of streamlines my thinking having a theme, a sketch or even a color palette to inspire me.

Thank you for stopping by.  Have a great weekend!

To check out the other cards created for this challenge, click HERE.

Supplies Used:
Stencil - Asanoha (Judikins)
Sentiment - Framed out (PTI)
Die - Love Loop (SSS)
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Inks:Festive Berries, Picked Raspberry, Abandoned Coral, Spiced Marmalade & Candied Apple
Sequins - 4mm & 6mm Sparkling Clear (PPP)
Neenah Solar White 80 and 110 lb.
Yellow, red and orange cardstock

Happy Mail

Good morning!  I was feeling inspired and thought I would do another card for this week's Color Throwdown.  A big thank you to the ever-so-talentented Laura Bassen for the inspiration!

I started by stamping the cute, little envelope randomly on the card panel with Hero Arts Intense Black ink and watercolored over them using the "challenge colors".  Sun a fun way to make a background.  I can see a lot of this technique in my future!  I embossed the sentiment on black cardstock using white embossing powder and popped it up on the card panel using foam tape.  I used a rectangle die from SSS to cut a rectangle out of black cardstock to get a little more black into the card.  I think it needed it to balance with the black background of the sentiment.  For the finishing touch, some PPP Clear Droplets.

You can check out all the other cards for Color Throwdown 425 HERE.

Thank you for stopping by!
Donna


Supplies Used:
Envelope - Hero Arts CL981
Sentiment - Right at Home Happy Mail
Inks - Hero Arts Intense Black, Distress inks: Fossilized Amber, Mermaild Lagoon & Pumice Stone
Pretty Pink Posh 4mm and 6mm Clear Droplets
Rectangle Frame - SSS Frames
Neenah Solar white 80lb and 110 lb.
Black Cardstock - MFT Black Licorice
Foam Tape

Color Throwdown #425

Happy Hump Day!  Here is my card for this week's Color Throwdown #425.  Here is the inspiration...

...and here is my card:

I used an MFT Circle Burst stencil and applied Hero Arts Butter Bar ink with a sponge dauber and then adhered the top panel to a tourquoise card base.  I added the back & white washi tape strip on the left side and still thought it needed a little something, so I also added the teal glitter tape next to it.  Next, I added the sentiment using black ink and then embossed it with clear embossing powder for a little extra shine.  To finish the card, I added the small hearts cut from the same glitter tape.  And voila, there's my card for today!

Supplies Used:

Stencil - MFT Circle Bust
Ink - Hero Arts Butter Bar, Hero Arts Intense Black
Embossing Powder - Hero Arts Ultra Fine Clear
Washi Tape
Glitter Tape - Skotch C514-blu
Sentiments - SSS Sending and Wishing
Hearts - SSS Mini Hearts Set
Turquoise Cardstock - Hobby Lobby

Thank you for stopping by!