colourQ challenge #352

Hello friends.  Just a quick post with a card for the colourQ challenge.

Had to improvise with 2 of the colors, as I don't have Only Orange and Rose Red...I used Tangelo Twist and Primrose Petals instead.  I also did some stamping off and created some lighter shades.  I used MFT's Large Desert Blooms for my flowers and leaves, a SSS Wavy Scalloped Stitched die, a piece of Harvest Gold DSP (PTI), and a sentiment from PTI's Choose Joy stamp set.  The clear dots over a few of the flower centers are from SU!.

This challenge closes tomorrow, but if you're quick, you can still play along with these fun and bright colors!  You can see all the great inspiration from the DT and other players all right HERE.  

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

Birgit & Marcia's July 2016 Challenge - In Bloom: Eva's Favorite Flowers

Hello friends.  It's that time of month again where BIRGIT and I challenge ourselves, and this month we are using Winnie & Walter's In Bloom: Eva's Favorite Flowers.  In order to stir up a bit more commenting on our blogs during these challenges, BIRGIT and I have both decided to offer a giveaway, so make sure you read to the end!  :0)

So let's get started!  I got this stamp set as part of the 1st Stamp of Approval (SOA) box set over a year ago, and am ashamed to admit I had never even opened the package.  Then last month BIRGIT posted a couple cards on her blog using this set, and saying how much she loved it and how versatile it was...ok, then I felt like even more of a slacker!  It seemed like a good idea to ask if this might be a good choice for our next challenge, and BIRGIT readily agreed.  And of course once I got started, I ended up loving the set too!

I used the Curtis background stamp (Casual Fridays) in shades of blue, and then added a couple of the flowers that I fussy cut, along with a few leaves, sequins, and a Casual Fridays die cut sentiment.

I used a SSS Gingham background stamp and Real Red ink to stamp the lower third of this card, and then added the leaves and tulips (my favorite flower in the set!) that I also fussy cut.  My sentiment is from WPlus9 Hand Lettered Hello.

I think this is my favorite of the 5 cards I made.  I used Smoky Slate and black inks to stamp the different flowers, and then added a simple die cut frame that Birgit had sent me (I believe it's from an IO die?).  I love the way the simple pop of color sets this card off.  The die cut "You" and sentiment are both from Casual Fridays.

I have to admit I kinda like the way this card turned out too!  My photograph doesn't really do it justice, but I love the look of stamping with white (pigment ink) on kraft and then stamping over it with color when the white dries.  The banner is a die cut from Catherine Pooler with a SU! Think Big Favorites sentiment embossed in white.

My last card is just a very simple collage of some of the flowers in the set using some brighter colored inks.  The sentiment is from SU!'s Rose Wonder set.

Make sure you stop by BIRGIT's blog to check out what she has done with these same stamps...I know she will blow you away with her creativity!  Make sure you leave her some love too and you could win!

We would both LOVE to hear from you in our comment section...let us know what you think of our monthly challenges, if you'd like to play along with us, and if you have any ideas to challenge us with too!  We are both giving away a little collection of die cuts to one random lucky winner from each of our blogs, so make sure you comment to win!  Here is a photo of the die cuts I'm planning to give away:

I have been going crazy over these Gina Marie Designs (www.WHOLESALECRAFTINGSUPPLIES.COM), so here is a small sampling of some of my recent die purchases from them.  If you'd like to win these, just leave a comment...easy peasy!!  We'll each choose a winner next Monday morning (August 8).  :0)

EDITED TO ADD WINNER:  Because I couldn't figure out how to use Random Generator I did this the old fashioned way and put all the names on a slip of paper, folded them up, added them to a bag, and had my daughter pick a slip of paper from the bag.  And the name she chose was: (Add drumroll please!)  Loll Thompson  Congrats Loll!  I'll be sending out your die cuts this week!  A BIG thank you to all who commented on Birgit and my blogs for this challenge...we loved hearing your thoughts and hope you'll all stop by the end of this month when we play again!

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

Double D Challenge - Shades of Purple



Hello friends.  The latest challenge over at the Double D is to use shades of purple, which is no hardship for me as I LOVE purple!



 

 



Here is what I came up with:

I'm still on a bit of a gingham kick, so I used my SSS Gingham background stamp and Lovely Lilac ink (SU! - retired) to create the background of my small notecard from PTI's Don't Forget to Write kit.  The background circle is also from the Don't Forget to Write kit, and is stamped with Royal Velvet ink.  The tea cup is also PTI (Fancy Tea Cup die) and is shaded with Amethyst Allure ink and edged with a bit of gold embossing.  The flowers were stamped and die cut using the Don't Forget to Write kit with Amethyst Allure, Royal Velvet, Simply Chartreuse, & Spring Moss inks.  A small tag (PTI's Tiny Tags) and a few gold nailheads (Gina K) finished off my card.

There's still 4 days to play along with this challenge, so if you love purple, play along!  There is some absolutely beautiful inspiration from Diane and Darlene (and their teams!), and from the other players, and you can check it all out right HERE. 

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

SAF 2016 - Impressionistic Flowers with Melissa Phillips

Hello friends.  Found time to play with one last challenge over at Papertrey Ink's Stamp A Faire with Melissa Phillips and her Impressionistic flowers!  This was such a fun challenge for me, and I loved playing with the Floral Sketches stamp set for the first time.  I used basically all Melissa's same elements in my card, but changed up my colors a little and switched my jar and flowers to the left side of the card instead of the right like Melissa's.  Here's what I came up with:

There were a lot of steps to making these flowers, but again, a lot of fun!  I wasn't sure about the double embossing because it was hard to see where I was placing my stamp the 2nd time, but Melissa was right in that it doesn't matter and that this is kind of a messy technique...the end result looks so cool though! 

Check out Melissa's video and gorgeous card, and all the other lovely cards in the gallery right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!  :0)

July 2016 Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

Hello friends.  It's the 25th and that means it's time for Papertrey Ink's monthly blog hop!  The inspiration photo this month was lovely, and I was inspired by the quatrefoil design of the rug and of course the colors...Soft Stone, Berry Sorbet, Melon Berry, & Aqua Mist.  (There was a hint of Blueberry Sky in the photo too, but I just couldn't seem to add that color in and have it look right.)

And here's what I came up with:

I used a Soft Stone background with the Cover Plate: Quatrefoil die in white to mimic the rug in the inspiration photo, and then used the flowers from Vintage Linens to decorate my card.  The bird is from Winter Woods along with the sentiment.  A few sequins and bakers twine finished off my card.

Make sure you check out all the cards in the gallery inspired by this lovely photo right HERE.

And I know this has nothing to do with the blog hop, but I was so tickled with how my Tiny Town: Sweet Shoppe turned out, I just had to add a photo!

I thought the little church was going to be my favorite, but I have to admit that this little sweet shoppe is just as fun to make and oh so cute!  I've got lots of ideas spinning around in my head for these little houses and upcoming holidays!!  :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have fun blog hopping!!

SAF 2016 - Water Color Like A Master With Kay Miller

Hello again.  I just watched Kay Miller's Water Color Like A Master video twice (mostly because I loved listening to her Southern accent!!) to make sure I didn't miss anything as I have been in awe of Kay's water coloring skills since she joined the Papertrey Ink team!  Decided to stick with Kay's basic layout and just change up my flower (Mum's The Word) colors a tiny bit...substituting Scarlet Jewel ink for the Summer Sunrise ink that she used, and came up with this:

It really looks kind of like I know what I'm doing right?  I loved this technique and will definitely be practicing again and again! 

Make sure you check out Kay's fabulous video and card right HERE, and then play along!

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

SAF 2016 - Starry Night with Amy Sheffer

Hello friends.  Was out of town yesterday when all the Stamp A Faire celebrations and challenges were going on, but figured I'd pick a couple today to play along with, and the Starry Night with Amy Sheffer was one of them that really intrigued me!  It looks like a lot of other people thought so too...SO many beautiful cards in this gallery!  I kept mine very simple because of time, but totally love how this background came out...thank you, thank you Amy for all the tips and techniques for achieving this look!

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My background was blended (and water colored) with Blueberry Sky, Enchanted Evening, Amethyst Allure, and Hibiscus Burst inks.  Acrylic white and gold paint spattered made up my stars, and my sentiment was embossed in gold using the O Holy Night stamp set.  My two black trees and hill were die cut using In The Meadow dies.  Very simple, but didn't want to distract from that beautiful background!  :0)

Make sure you check out Amy's video and beautiful card, and all the rest of the lovely starry sky cards right HERE.

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