CTD #124 & CPS #200--A Card for Katie

Happy Friday, friends!  I have a special card to share with you today.  The current challenge at The Color Throwdown features not only an awesome color combo, but this week we are being asked to make a card for fellow crafter Katie Renz, who was recently diagnosed with gastric cancer.  I don't know Katie personally, but I was very moved by her story and the overwhelming number of stampers who have rallied behind her.  In addition to the CTD card drive, this site is collecting donations for Katie, and in return you will receive a fantastic collection of digital stamps.  Click on over and check them out if you're interested--there are some really wonderful images!

Here is the color combo from CTD and the sketch I used, CPS #200.

I decided to use PTI's gorgeous YOF:  Mums again, this time heat embossed with Versamark and Melon Mambo ink.  My only complaint about this stamp so far is that I have a very hard time getting the center of the flower to stamp (you can see it's a little fuzzy here).  It took me 5 tries to get this image!  Other than that, I love the detail and shape of the flower.  The sentiment is from Fiskars, stamped with Dark Chocolate and heat embossed with clear powder.

The Spring Rain panel is debossed with text from PTI's Book Print impression plate, then stitched around the edges.  I added a Melon Mambo punched border and two pink gems to finish it off.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Dark Chocolate, Spring Rain, white), Stampin' Up! (Melon Mambo)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Year of Flowers:  Mums), Fiskars (All Year Greetings)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Melon Mambo), Papertrey Ink (Dark Chocolate), Versamark

Tools:  Spellbinders (Labels Three), Papertrey Ink (Book Print impression plate), Martha Stewart (border punch), We R Memory Keepers (Corner Chomper)

Accessories:  Stampendous (clear embossing powder), Me & My Big Ideas (rhinestones), thread

The inside of the card is very simple, leaving room for me to write a personal message to Katie.

I appreciate your visit today!  I hope your weekend gets off to a great start.  Enjoy!

CR84FN10 & Card Patterns #97

Hello, friends!  I managed to find some crafty time today despite having to shovel over two feet of snow.  The kids had fun trying to climb the snow banks!  I hope you're staying warm and cozy wherever you are!

I just learned about a new-to-me color challenge blog run by Mona Pendleton, and those of you who have been following me for a while probably know how much I love a good color challenge!  And what could be better than finding inspiration in some gorgeous images from A Creative Mint?  If you haven't checked out the color stories on this blog, you absolutely must!

I paired up these sweet pastels with the current sketch at Card Patterns.  I saw this as my chance to dive into the current doily trend.

I thought these colors would be the perfect opportunity to use PTI's Baby Button Bits.  I stamped the flower image onto white cardstock and colored the blooms with an RV34 Copic marker, which happens to look more pink than lavender, but it is the one that is *supposed* to be a match to Lavender Moon.  I stamped the image again onto Spring Moss Bitty Dots to paper piece the leaves, then matted the image on a Spring Moss scalloped circle and added two Lemon Tart buttons to the flower centers.

The Aqua Mist Bitty Dots paper is actually cut into 4 squares like in the sketch, but the doily covered up the seams so it looks like one piece.  I added a strip of Spring Moss dotty satin ribbon to ground the focal panel.  Love all those polka dots!

All supplies from Papertrey Ink unless noted

Cardstock:  Lavender Moon, Aqua Mist, Spring Moss, white

Patterned paper:  2008 Bitty Dot Basics

Stamps:  Baby Button Bits

Ink:  Inkadinkadoo (Black), Copic markers (RV34, Y21)

Tools:  Spellbinders (circle, scallop circle, scallop square dies), We R Memory Keepers (Corner Chomper)

Accessories:  Spring Moss satin ribbon, Lemon Tart buttons, Wilton (doily), DMC floss, thread

I haven't shared the inside of a card for a while, so I thought I'd show you this one.  The sentiment is also from Baby Button Bits, colored with a Y21 Copic marker.  

I don't actually know anyone expecting a baby at the moment, so this card will be going in my Etsy shop later tonight along with a few other cards, so you're welcome to go check them out!

That's all for me today!  Thanks for all of your encouraging comments on my card yesterday, and every day!  See you back here soon.

ColourQ #67 & FTL #122

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Hawaiian Shores, Simply Chartreuse, white), Stampin' Up! (Melon Mambo)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Year of Flowers:  Mums, Mat Stack 2 Collection, Background Basics:  Retro)

Ink:  Clearsnap (Frost White, Black), Stampin' Up! (Tangerine Tango)

Accessories:  Me & My Big Ideas (rhinestones), Stampendous (embossing powder), Michaels (ribbon), The Twinery (baker's twine)

Coloring medium:  Prismacolor Premier pencils, OMS

Hi there, friends!  Are you up for a challenge today?  I don't know about you, but the ColourQ colors for this week made me want to run and hide!  Seriously, that inspiration photo is so adorable, but putting these shades together on a card really stumped me.  I finally had an idea to use clean&simple FTL #122, but I admit I don't love the result.  Oh well, sometimes that's just the way it goes!

I stamped the large flower from PTI's Year of Flowers:  Mums onto Melon Mambo, Hawaiian Shores, and Simply Chartreuse cardstock, then heat embossed with white detail powder.  I do love the way these turned out.  This is my first YOF set, a gift from my sweet hubby for Christmas, and the detail of the images is incredible.  For the last square, I heat embossed the same image onto white cardstock with black ink, then colored it with my Prismas.  It was harder to color because of the raised embossing, so I don't think I would do that again.  As a result, the orange is not as vibrant as I would like, so the flower looks a little washed out in comparison to the other bright colors.

To balance out the orange, I added a strip of stamped scallops from PTI's Background Basics:  Retro, then tied some white grosgrain ribbon and baker's twine around the card front.

I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things, crafting-wise.  It's amazing how just a couple of weeks away from my craft table can squash my mojo.  I hope to get back to playing some challenges this week and leaving more comments for you, my friends!

I hope you'll have time to play along with us at ColourQ this week!  Be sure to see the colorful creations from the rest of the team, including some new faces who are ready to inspire you with fabulous scrapbook layouts.

Have a great Tuesday, and thanks for stopping by!

Curtain Call Act 64

Happy Sunday, friends!  It's the beginning of a new week, which means it's Curtain Call time.  Check out this week's inspiration:

These would be great colors for a masculine card, don't you think?  I'm still trying to get back into a crafty state of mind after being on vacation, so I stuck with a CAS design for a Valentine's Day/love card.

The stamped dragonfly is from PTI's Masculine Motifs, the leaf is from Leaf Prints, and the sentiment is from Fillable Frames #11.  I simply punched a heart from Cherry Cobbler cardstock, adhered a button, and popped it onto the card with foam adhesive.  A bit of stitching around the edges adds the finishing touch.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler), Papertrey Ink (white)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Masculine Motifs, Leaf Prints, Fillable Frames #11)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Pacific Point, Always Artichoke), Clearsnap (Chianti)

Tools:  Marvy Uchida (heart punch)

Accessories:  Papertrey Ink (button), DMC floss, thread

You know the rest of the Curtain Call Crew will have amazing samples to share, so be sure to leave them some love!

Jean Martin at Stampin' Scrapper
Julie Lacey at Stamps & Taxes
Laurel Seabrook at Seabrook Designs
Makiko Jones at MakInk Studio
Monika Davis at M.A.D. Stamper
Piali Biswas at Touch of Creation
Silke Ledlow at My Life



and January Guest Designer, Danielle Daws.

And since I missed last week's challenge, I want to send out a belated warm welcome to Danielle, our Guest Designer this month!  She's a regular contributer to the Curtain Call Challenge and always inspires with her fabulous entries, so it's great to have her on the Crew for January!

Thanks for stopping by today, and for your always wonderful comments!  Happy stamping, friends!

Curtain Call Act 63 & Tiffany Doodles Sketch Challenge

Hello!  I'm finally back from vacation and starting to get settled in to the old routine.  I had hoped to have my card posted for the most recent Curtain Call Color Challenge before it ended last night, but it just didn't happen.  Still, I thought I'd share it with you today before the next challenge goes live tomorrow.  I needed a no-frills masculine birthday card for my FIL, so I loosely based my design on this simple sketch at Tiffany Doodles.

The lighthouse is from WPlus9's Guiding Light set.  After stamping, I added some additional coloring and shadows with my Prisma pencils.  I decided to mimic the look of water by debossing Bashful Blue cardstock with PTI's Woodgrain impression plate.  I tried very hard to add a sailboat to this panel, but it just wasn't working out, so I decided to leave it as is, and I like the simplicity.

The sentiment is from PTI's Mat Stack 1 Collection, and the Always Artichoke panel has a bit of texture from the Linen & Canvas impression plate.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Always Artichoke, Bashful Blue), Papertrey Ink (white)

Stamps:  WPlus9 (Guiding Light), Papertrey Ink (Mat Stack 1 Collection)

Ink:  Clearsnap (Terracotta, Cape Cod), Papertrey Ink (Dark Chocolate)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Linen & Canvas, Woodgrain impression plates)

Coloring medium:  Prismacolor Premier pencils, OMS

A flat, masculine card, perfect for mailing.  I hope you had a chance to play with these colors this week. Don't forget to stop by tomorrow morning for the newest Curtain Call Color Challenge!  Have a great day!

Happy Birthday Wishes

Hello, bloggie friends!  By the time you read this, I will be on the first leg of my journey home, stopping tonight to visit some dear friends in Ohio before flying back to Boston on Wednesday.  I have had a lovely visit with family, but I must admit I am itching to get back to my crafting room!

Today I would normally be sharing a card for the latest ColourQ Challenge, but I was unable to complete it before I left home.  I hope to have it ready to share with you later in the week!  For today, I thought I would share a card I made a while back for a gift set that is based on an earlier ColourQ combination, #22.  It is similar to this card that I made for ColourQ's anniversary back in October.

The card itself is fairly straightforward, but I will point out one interesting tidbit about the sentiment.  It is from an upcoming release from Mark's Finest Papers, a stamp set which I was fortunate enough to win a few months ago.  I hope they don't mind me sharing a peek at it here!  It really is a gorgeous sentiment, don't you think?

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Sahara Sand, Night of Navy, Certainly Celery), Papertrey Ink (white)

Patterned paper:  Stampin' Up! (Elegant Soiree)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Turning a New Leaf), Mark's Finest Papers (unreleased set)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Certainly Celery), Papertrey Ink (Enchanted Evening), Copic marker

Tools:  Spellbinders (circle, scallop circle dies), ProvoCraft (embossing folder), EK Success (corner rounder)

Accessories:  Michaels (pearls)

I hope you'll stop by the ColourQ blog to see what the rest of the Royal Court DT has created this week, and submit your creation to be in the running for the title of Colour Queen!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a fabulous day!

With Thanks

Hi everyone!  Before I get to today's card, I just wanted to remind you that a new Curtain Call Color Challenge is up over at Stacey's Stamping Stage!  I wasn't able to make a sample for this week, but I plan to post my contribution later in the week when I get back home.  In the meantime, be sure to hop over and see what the rest of the DT has created this week!

Today I have a thank you card to share that I made a while back for a set of cards I made as a gift.  It uses the same color combo that I used on this card, and it's loosely based on a previous Sweet Sunday Sketch.

I used PTI's Pure Poppy and Rustic White for the base, debossing the top half with the Polka Dots impression plate and stamping the bottom half with a favorite pattern from Background Basics:  Retro.  I layered on some Aqua Mist Bitty Dots patterned paper, a Pure Poppy Mat Stack 1 label, and a scalloped circle die cut with Limitless Layers.  The sentiment and frame stamp on the label are from 2009 Autumn Tags.  I finished it off with Aqua Mist ribbon, buttons, and a few pearls colored with a Copic marker.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy, Rustic White)

Patterned paper:  Papertrey Ink (2008 Bitty Dot Basics)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Background Basics:  Retro, 2009 Autumn Tags)

Ink:  Clearsnap (Cranberry, Seaglass), Papertrey Ink (Chai tea dye), Copic BG13

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Mat Stack #1 die, Limitless Layers die, Polka Dot impression plate)

Accessories:  Papertrey Ink (ribbon, buttons), Queen & Co. (pearls), thread, DMC floss

So glad you stopped by today, friends!  Enjoy your Sunday!