Color Hues #129 - PURPLE & MARIGOLD

Hello friends.  Welcome to another Color Hues Challenge where I am the hostess this time, and I would like to celebrate Spring with the colors of PURPLE & MARIGOLD!

These colors remind me of the first flowers that come up in my front garden...CROCUS!!  I never planted them, but they just showed up one year and have come back every year since!  They were definitely a welcome gift and I so enjoy that first POP of color each Spring!  

I actually have a twofer for you first...both basically the same with the colors reversed.  

I used The Greetery's BotaniCuts: Crocus dies and die cut 4 of the smallest Crocus and 2 of the medium size Crocus from white cs and then ink blended them with Highland Heather & Mango Melody inks from SU!.

Although it's a little hard to see, I stenciled the backgrounds using stencils from PTI's Pro Stamper's Box: March and then embossed the background with Altenew's Organic Linen ef before adding to a Mango Melody card base.  The little frame was die cut 3 times for some dimension and then glued to stenciled background. The 3 Crocus were then added along with a SB's pressplate sentiment and a few gems.

    And here's the reverse one using more Highland Heather.  I love the way these both turned out so CAS and SPRING like!

And because I was on a roll with these colors, I have a 3rd card for you...

 I apologize that my light wasn't so great the day I took this photo, but I think you can get the gist of it.  I had 5 of the small Crocus left over from the first 2 cards and a new die from WF (Basketful Base Die) that I put together and then filled with the Crocus. My white embossed background uses SSS's Springtime Bunnies ef.  The polka dotted dsp for the basket liner is from PTI. 

So there you have my 3 Spring-y cards using PURPLE & MARIGOLD for inspiration and the DT and our Special GD Chris have even more that you can check out right HERE.  We can't wait to see what YOU come up with to brighten up our gallery!! Remember to only use these 2 colors (or hues of these colors), and of course neutrals are acceptable too...most importantly though, just have FUN!!  This challenge is open till Sunday, March 29th @ 9:00AM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #727

Hello friends.  Sweet Michele has a new sketch for us to follow over at the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge...

I may not have hit the CAS mark with this card, but I think I used the sketch pretty well.  Take a look...

Been working on some of my Easter cards this week, and pulled out Tim Holtz Bunny Hop dies and used one of the 3 in the set to start my card.  Next I stenciled a background using PPP's Layered Eggs in a rainbow pattern (from top left to bottom right).  I used a couple smaller arch dies (SB) as per Michele's sketch on the stenciled background (along with a few plain arch die cuts for dimension) so I would have an opening for Mr. Bunny.  I also added a piece of clear acetate behind the arch opening so I could make this a shaker card. 

 

To finish I added a sentiment (The Greetery - Bunny Tales), grass instead of the leaf branches Michele used (Gina Marie Designs dies), some pink & white bakers twine, and added the bunny to the front of the "window" along with a stenciled egg for him to hold.  This will probably be going to one of the older grands as the one- and two-year-old would probably try to take it apart to get to the shaker bits (I've learned a few things over the years in this grandparenting gig!!)!

Lots of different ways to interpret this sketch as you'll see from the DT, so check it all out right HERE and then play along!  This challenge is open till Monday, March 16th @ 3:00PM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Double D Challenge - Books/Bookmark & Postal/Postage

Hello friends. When I saw the new DD Challenge, I knew I had to play!  If you've followed me for any length of time, you know I LOVE postal themed stamps, dies & stencils!  The only real challenge was what one to use...I do have a few!  Haha!

Obviously the bottom two photos inspired me with all the floral postage stamps pictured, and so I went with a stencil set from The Ton called Wildflowers. Here's what I came up with...

The directions on the packaging suggest using 3 shades of pink for ALL the flowers, but I am so hungry for Spring that I used multiple colors...did a bit of easy masking so I could use multiple colors, and it turned out beautifully IMHO.

I added the postage amounts using WF's Postage Collage mini stamp set and then attached the panel to a Highland Heather (SU!) panel and a white card base.  I finished with a die cut sentiment from MB Just A Note Posh Script in black and then finished with a few Disco Ball Sequins from Gina K.

I have a twofer for you today as I actually didn't line my first stencils up too well and only half of the stamps looked good to me.  I cut them apart and used 3 that still looked good and made this card...

I used SSS's Floral Butterfly Bouquets ef for my background and then added the stamps, a vellum butterfly (Poppystamps) and 2 little gold butterflies from SU!. The sentiment is the same as on the first card. Two Spring cards that are totally making me happy!!  Now if only the weather would actually cooperate!  (Although I do have Snowdrops blooming and my Daffodil's are just starting to poke up through the ground!!)

The DT as usual have FABULOUS inspiration for you, so check it all out right HERE and then play along.  This challenge is open till Sunday, March 15th @ 8:00PM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Freshly Made Sketches - #726

Hello friends.  Playing along with the sketch over at the Freshly Made Sketches challenge and DT member Karren has a fun and easy one to follow:

Last year I bought SB's Shipmates dies because, well, I HAD to have it!  First time using it today! Haha!!  Oh well, better late than never and it will make a cute card for my oldest grandson who will be 9 in May.  I followed Karren's sketch to a "t" and here's what I came up with...

Can you see why I HAD to have him??  I think he's ADORABLE and was quite easy to put together too.  I used scraps to die cut all the pieces and then glued him together before adding him to a MFT's tag die that I stamped lightly with SU!'s En Francais background stamp and also ink blended around the tag too.

For my background, I used a scrap of lighter blue cs that I embossed with SB's Cast Away ef and then ink blended over it with Misty Moonlight (SU!) ink. I attached the skinny red strip next to the blue and then attached the tag and Mr. Wally with foam tape on an angle to the card base.  A small greeting from The Greetery was added at the bottom. Finished and I'm ahead of the game for his May birthday...YAY!!!

This challenge is only open till this afternoon (March 9th @ 3:00PM), so be quick and play along.  You can find the DT's inspiration right HERE to play along.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Color Hues Challenge #128 - GREEN & GOLD

Hello friends.  It's a new month and a new challenge here at Color Hues, and our sweet hostess Karen would like to see cards with hues of GREEN & GOLD.

I'll admit I was a little stumped at first with this one and wished I had a Leprechaun stamp or a pot of gold stamp, but then had a thought and went in a completely different direction!  You all know I love making flower cards, and why couldn't I make a card with flowers done in light to dark hues of green?!  I had a new PFS stamp set and figured I'd give it a try, and here's what I came up with...

The stamp set is called Petal Poise and I first embossed it in gold, and then used the coordinating stencils with different shades of green inks (Gina K).  I used the die to cut out the 5 floral pieces and then arranged them around a white circle that I edged with Versamark and gold embossing powder.  The sentiment that is also from the set was embossed in gold too.

For my background I did a white on white with PFS's Trellis die and the Stitched Scallop Rectangle die and attached them both to a white card base.  I finished with 3 gold metallic pearls and called it good!  GREEN & GOLD and I love how it turned out...thanks Karen for such a fun color pairing!!

And because I still had all the supplies out, I made a 2nd card exactly like the first one, except in pinks and greens...

Definitely doesn't work for this color challenge, but I still thought it turned out pretty and will help me rebuild my birthday stash!  

The DT and our Special GD's Darnell & Donna all have awesome inspiration for you with these colors, and you can check them out right HERE.  This challenge is open till Saturday, March 14th @ 9:00AM, and we hope to see YOU in the gallery! 

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Freshly Made Sketches #725

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge where DT member Cecile has a FUN sketch for us to play with.

I wasn't too sure what the middle gray piece was in the photo, but after looking at all the DT inspiration, I figured it was "anything goes"...so that's what I did!  I used a PTI stencil called Watercolor Wonderful Stencil Collection and came up with this card...

Looks a little bit like the gray part in the sketch, right?  RIGHT?!! I used the first two stencils in the set with pink and orange inks that were left on my brushes...there is a 3rd stencil that adds splattering but they're too big and I wasn't thrilled about the look of my first card, so this is actually my 2nd attempt and I did my own splattering.  I'll show you the 1st card down below as it isn't a terrible card, I just liked this one better!  The cascade of flowers are from Gina K's Thoughtful Flowers bundle and I embossed them in gold and then stenciled them with the same colors as the water colored background. 

 I die cut the floral spray and added foam tape on the backside for a bit of dimension and then added to the water colored panel, along a with a black matte and white card base.  My sentiment strip is from Gina's All At Once Greetings.

      This was the first card, and you can see that the splatters that are stenciled are quite a bit bigger than the ones that I did with a paint brush.  I added a silhouette stamp (Gina K - Better Together), and while I really like the silhouette against the water colored background, I'm just not thrilled with the larger splatters!  Do you like one better than the other?  Let me know.

The DT has some beautiful cards to inspire you to play along and you can find them all right HERE.  This challenge is open till Monday, March 2nd @ 3:00PM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge #106

Hello friends.  Playing along with the gals over at the Peace on Earth Christmas challenge where they're looking for deer and basically "Anything Goes Christmas".

I have LOTS of deer stamps and dies, but for today I chose to use a sweet NBUS moose die from Cottage Cutz.  They have BIG sales a couple times a year and I can't resist filling up my cart when they do...the trouble starts then as my Mount NBUS pile grows and it takes some time to get to them all!  But anyway, Moose-mas Moose is making his debut today, and here he is all ready to play with friends out in the snow.

  Isn't he a cutie?!!  Because Cottage Cutz dies come as one main die, there is a bit of cutting to do, but I just cut twice...once from kraft cs and once from white and then Copic colored the white pieces. I did a bit of ink blending on the actual moose (Walnut Stain - DI) before assembling him with his hat, scarf, eyes, hair, hoofs & birdie friend.  My background was done with Boho Blue (SU!) and embossed with SSS's Snowflake Visions and then rubbed white pigment ink over the raised snowflakes.

 I did die cut a hole in the background before I embossed it, and then placed a die cut circle from PB's stitched square & circles behind the embossed layer.  Added the moose at this point and then added 2 snowflakes (one cut in half) and a Tiny Tag (PTI) for my sentiment hung from one of his antlers.  

Because this moose is making his debut today, I'm going to add him to Darnell's NBUS challenge.

The DT over at the Peace On Earth challenge have some fabulous inspiration for you, so check it out and play along...you'll be glad you did when December rolls around!  This challenge is open till Thursday, Feb. 26th @ 8:00PM.

 

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!