I will be participating tomorrow in a hop that is for a great cause! Some amazing designers have created projects that will be auctioned to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Please go to the blog for Skipping Stones Design to see all the details and the links to cards already posted.
I am on day 5 of the hop and I don’t want you to miss all the inspiration that I am seeing!
Make sure you come back tomorrow to see a set of cards I created for this worthwhile cause! Until then…happy Saturday!
Freshly Made Sketches has a great sketch for you today! Just look at what the lovely Cindy Hall dreamed up for us this week! I know, right? I love off centered sketches and this one is going to be fun for you all to use!
I kept it pretty simple for today. I had only a little stamping time yesterday and really wanted to do this sketch justice. After some playing around with shapes and stamp sets, I settled on this butterfly die. I think a layer under him might have been nice but he was was already glued down before I considered it, lol. In any case, I took some Tim Holtz Distress Inks and blended them onto watercolor paper, then cut the butterfly out. I wanted the panel to have some detail but not distract from the butterfly. I inked up Dots for Days (retired) with the same ink colors, stamped off and then stamped onto Thick Whisper White. I cut the panel out with a Stitched Rectangles Die. The sentiment is from a sweet little set by Altenew called One of a Kind. A few sequins from Pretty Pink Posh matched perfectly so I just had to add them on!
So I have been in the midst of a flying blitz (lots of 4 day trips) and then had a soccer-palooza weekend. Tournament play for both of my soccer boys! To top it off, my oldest turned 13 on Sunday too. How can that possibly be?! We had a pretty chilled out family day on Monday topped off with his dinner request: Breakfast for dinner with lots of bacon. Yep, he is 13!!! Oh, and of course cake. Strawberry Applesauce Cake. YUM! So blessed to have been home over this long weekend for all of that so it is worth the rest of the flying schedule that was needed to make that happen! Out again today but a bit of a respite next week where I hope to fit in more stamping!
Just a quick reminder…the new Stampin’ Up Catalog goes live today! Wow it is fun! If you want to see it online, just click here: 2016-17 Catalog. I hope you love the rest of the DTs inspiration as much as I do…fabulous as always! I’ll be back on Friday with some details about an amazing hop I’ll be participating in on June 5th…but you will want the details early! Please stop back in to see what it is all about! Until then, have a great week!
Welcome to this month’s Fancy Friday Blog Hop! Our team is a group of demonstrators who love to make beautiful things. Sometimes they are clean, sometimes they are layered but the one thing I can say for sure is that our projects will be fancy! If you hopped over from the super talented Marisa, welcome to the next stop. For May, our theme is Never Enough Thanks! You may have heard of the hashtag fun going around for birthdays (#imbringingbirthdaysback), well we are bringing thanks yous back! Yep, #imbringingthankyousback !
I think that thank you cards are actually what I make the most but I love them! Faced with the prospect of the theme, somehow I froze. What to make? Who should it be for? Retiring items or new products? Oh the pressure! *smile* Ok, not really but I did kind of go blank. So I decided to go a little artsy. I took some watercolor paper and got it wet where I wanted color and then added some Melon Mambo ink. At first, I was thinking to make it all one color and use a new suite from the catalog but then I thought that it needed something more. So I added Daffodil Delight too. When I say added, I just added a little more water and then smooshed my Aquapainter into the ink and dropped it onto the water. And it spread around and became totally cool. I took the same brush (without more ink) and placed it around the pink to add variety. And then the hardest part, just sit it aside to dry. I worked on another card…..one of yesterday’s to be exact. Once it was dry, I sent it through the Big Shot and cut out the sentiment with Greetings Thinlits. The thick paper had a few of those dots that sometimes happen (from the holes to help free your paper) so I ran it back through the Big Shot between just the two plates to flatten it. Then I cut out some Thick Whisper White that had foam tape attached to the back with the same thinlet. Because I wanted the whole panel to pop up onto my card base, I added a white panel behind the sentiment negative to allow a place to attach the positive. I added a little more detail with a Wonky Stitched Die and then I just stacked the cutouts where the original sentiment had been cut out. A Melon Mambo base to make it even brighter and some sequins leftover from Paper Pumpkin for more fun! Just a quick reminder….this die set is retiring. So make sure you have it before it is gone!! So, I have a confession to make. I haven’t mailed this yet. They may kick me out for not following the rules! But I can tell you that this is going to an awesome mom who has been the team manager for my younger son’s soccer team this year and, truthfully, it will be hand delivered. So I only kind of sort of fail in the month’s instructions — we were to make a card and actually send it! My friend is bright and happy and always keeps the rest of us parents on track. This card makes me think of her!
I hope you will be inspired to make some thank you cards this month and you too can join us with our hashtag! We’ll be watching for it! Now you get to go over to my dear friend Jeanna who I just KNOW will make you smile!
Today’s challenges over at The Card Concept is going to make you jump for joy! The inspiration image is so pretty!! It won’t take long for you to see how I got to this card, for sure!
So first, I knew that I had to use a peony. This pretty one from You’ve Got This is perfect for the job! I simply stamped in Versamark and then embossed using Gold embossing powder to mimic the gold in the image. The flower was colored using Zig Markers. Next I decided to use my Clarity Stencil Brushes to apply some Soft Sky ink to a Thick Whisper White panel. The brushes make the ink go on so beautifully!! I cut that colored panel plus a sentiment panel using Stitched Rectangle Dies and then added a gold embossed sentiment from the Flower Patch set. Some sequins from an old Paper Pumpkin went so perfectly with this that I had to use them!
Ok, this is my Clean and Graphic take on the inspiration piece this week! If you missed it, I also have a Freshly Made Sketches card up today in the post below. (A reminder that every other Wednesday I will have two posts) The team over at The Card Concept has a widely varied and gorgeous set of cards to get you on your way! I hope you will join us!
Back on Friday with this month’s Fancy Friday! Until then, thanks for stopping in!
Supplies:
Stamps: You’ve Got This, Flower Patch; Ink: Versamark, Soft Sky ; Paper: Thick Whisper White (SU), Tim Holtz Watercolor; Accessories: Clarity Stamps Stencil Brushes, Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder, Zig Clean Color Markers, Sequins, Heat Tool, Stitched Rectangles Dies (SSS)
I have to admit that this weeks sketch at Freshly Made Sketches made me think. Kim Singdahlsen always has the coolest cards and her groupings are one of the reasons. And this week she gave us a challenge that allows us to try the same idea. Once I narrowed down that I wanted to used a stamp set (and which one) things got a bit easier for me.
I stamped these pretty images from Altenew’s Botanical Garden set onto watercolor paper and then colored them with my Zig Markers. These markers allow for such pretty shading super fast! Then I cut them by hand and started playing around with the arrangement. I realized that a doily (these are retiring so stock up) was perfect for the sketch and to help ground the flowers a bit. I used the sentiment from another Altenew set because it seems perfect for many occasions. I played a little more with the placement and finally got things how I wanted them. The butterfly is popped up on a Dimensional to add even more emphasis on him. Finally I added some Basic Pearls. These seem to be the right touch for the elegant images.
As a reminder, every other week I will have two posts on Wednesday. This is one of those. In just a little bit, I’ll be back with my card for The Card Concept this week. See you in a bit!
Know what puts a smile on my face?? Yep, Wednesdays! Especially when we have a sketch at Freshly Made Sketches as awesome as this one from Linda. I felt like I needed a bit of a sunny card for today because we have had rain, lots and lots and lots and lots…of rain. I thought a happy little bird might brighten things up!
Ok, he really is a Happy Bird from that set by WPlus9. I had colored this fellow a while ago and he was sitting there begging to be put on a card. I finally found just the right one. This striped background comes from the It’s My Party DSP pack…yes, I may have a little bit of a problem putting it down but I’m sure you’ll forgive me. It matched the bird. It just had to happen! I stamped the wire and the sentiment in Versafine ink onto Thick Whisper White paper and just popped up my little friend on a dimensional. He was colored with Zig Clean Color Markers and cut out with the coordinating dies. I found that Pacific Point card stock was a good match with the blue and added it as a layer behind the image. Finally a few sequins from Pretty Pink Posh. Love these!
Ok, ready, set, stamp! I just know the gallery will be full with a sketch this open for interpretation! Make sure you take a minute to visit the team’s blogs for all their awesome inspiration!
Back to lots of flying this week (and next) but I have a few things I’m working on. Ok, really I’m just sketching and hoping to work on when I get home! Until next time, have a great day!
So guess what?!! I have a fun announcement to make! Yes, I have been holding out on you but I can finally share. I am one of two new additions to the design team at The Card Concept! Now try to contain your shock but I’m one of the clean designers….. Clean and Graphic to be exact. The definition: Clean lines, simple treatment of text, no frills, bare boned, message communicated quickly. Yep….I think Lesley (the challenge creator) knows me pretty well!
Our inspiration for this challenge spoke to me right away. I knew right away that I was going to pull out this sentiment from Paper Pumpkin. This one makes me smile every single time!! I’ll share why a little further on. For the background, I pulled out the Dots & Stripes stencil (to mimic the graphic) and my new Clarity Stencil Brushes. Yes, they really are ALL that. You can blend and no lines or unevenness shows. I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks and they blended so well! To keep it clean, I simply added the sentiment to an offset panel and a few sequins.
So now the sentiment. When I first graduated from Air Force Pilot Training, I became an instructor in the T-38, the secondary training jet at the time (and a beautiful, fast, pointy nosed jet it is!!). My students were more advanced so we could give them a little more latitude as they learned. Instead of direct intervention, we could give verbal hints and suggestions. Well, apparently over time I started calling my students “sunshine”. As in “What is the plan, Sunshine” or “Where are you going, Sunshine”. They learned that when I called them Sunshine that they might need to reconsider what they were doing, lol. Fast forward almost 20 years…. My husband finds that another instructor that I flew with is in his Guard unit. I had totally forgotten about the Sunshine thing until he was telling my husband about it. Needless to say, the reminder brought back some good laughs and stories!! And yes, the military is remarkably small sometimes. My friend who works with my husband is also a pilot at United with me. So there it is….Hello Sunshine! And really, no corrections needed. Hmmm….I think I might need to send this one in to my friend, don’t you think?
So if you stuck with me, thanks for humoring me. Sometimes cards just have a bigger story! So now you need to jump over and see the rest of the inspiration from the design team. Make sure you add in a welcome to the lovely Ilina Crouse too. How amazing to be a part of this fabulous group! Thanks for stopping in. See you soon! (and a reminder that my Freshly Made Sketches post is down one…went up a little earlier today)
Supplies (affiliate links included):
Stamps: Paper Pumpkin (SU); Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink ; Paper: Thick Whisper White (SU), Basic Black; Accessories: Clarity Stamps Stencil Brushes, Dots & Stripes Stencil (SU), Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh and SU)
Yay it is Freshly Made Sketches day!! And the talented Rita Wright is our sketch hostess today. She has given us one that really made me think. So many options!! Took me a bit to figure out which way to go but I finally narrowed it down.
The It’s My Party DSP from SU was my starting place. Love the fun colors. Then I pulled out the Funny Coffee Vol 1 stamp set from Skipping Stones Design. I stamped the cup a few times on the DSP and on Whisper White, then cut them out and pieced them together. Fun, right? The sentiment is perfect….they are actually two sentiments from the set that you can use separately or together. But knowing me, best to just add the second part in. *smile*
Now this is my first post of the day and I have another to follow shortly behind with a fun announcement. See you in a few!
Supplies:
Stamps: Funny Coffee Vol 1 (Skipping Stones Design); Ink: Versafine Onyx Black ; Paper: It’s My Party DSP (SU), Whisper White; Accessories: Dimensionals
Another fun week in store over at Freshly Made Sketches! Our sketch hostess this week is the fabulous Jen Mitchell and, no surprise, she has a clean and modern sketch for us this week. Love it!
I thought it would be fun to color an image on the big panel of the sketch and then add a die as the sentiment. I went with this pretty flower from Mama Elephant out of the Butterfly Kisses set. I wanted to work on my coloring for white flowers. I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink to color. I think the effect is pretty and I look forward to playing some more with this concept. The sentiment comes from the retiring Greetings Thinlits from SU and was cut from the same watercolor paper as the image.
Short post today. Working this week! I hope you have fun with the sketch. Make sure you go tell Jen and the team how much you love their inspiration! See you soon.
I am so excited to be a part of this amazing group of Stampin’ Up demonstrators! If you haven’t heard of “The Crew” yet, you are going to be so thrilled with this. We are here to show you the versatility of one stamp set every time we hop (the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month). We have a whole team of people and different stampers participate each time. Like you, we look to find ways to maximize our investments and the single focus on one set allows you to see all the possibilities! This week, our featured stamp is Blended Bloom. I have loved this flower from the moment I first saw it…such fun to color! And it is retiring so make sure you get it before it is gone.
If you just came over from Bruno Bertucci, I’m so glad you are here! If you want to see everyone who is hopping or if you get lost along the way, just click over to The Stamp Review Crew blog.
Did I mention that I love coloring this flower! Love it! *smile* Today I pulled out Chameleon Pens to see how they would be on this image and they did not disappoint! Only two pens for all the coloring! Love that. The colors were inspired by The Card Concept 54. I did stamp another flower on the side of this one to practice on first. Once I decided how I wanted to do the shading, the rest was just a little bit of patience, coloring each petal separately. I find that coloring makes me really happy so I was thrilled to just take a bit of time on the flower. Once I was done, I cut it out. I colored this yellow ink onto watercolor paper in order to follow the sketch from Fusion Card Challenge. I added a sentiment from Watercolor Wishes and some sequins to complete the sketch.
Well, I know this hop is full flowery goodness so I hope you will enjoy it. Up next, the lovely and talented Martha Inchley! Thanks for hopping through….see you soon!!
Supplies (Click HERE to purchase Stampin’ Up products)
Stamp: Blended Bloom, Watercolor Wishes; Paper: Thick Whisper White, Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Paper; Ink: WPlus9 Black Dye Ink, Momento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Squeezed Lemonade), Chameleon Pens ( Purple Grape PR4, Warm Sunset YO3); Accessories: Sequins (Paper Pumpkin and Pretty Pink Posh)
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