Color Throwdown Challenge #500

Hello friends.  This week's Color Throwdown challenge is an elegant one, and very fitting considering it's their 500th Challenge!!

I kept my Navy, Blush, Gold, and White card very CAS, just like the inspiration photo.

I started by embossing in gold PTI's Cover Up: Grid on TH water color cs and then water colored with Kuretake Gansai Tambi Deep Blue.  Once dry I layered on a white panel that I die cut with MFT's Peek-A-Boo Rectangle Die, and then added my flower that I embossed in gold and then water colored with Sweet Blush ink.  (The flower is from PTI's Vintage Linens)

I finished by adding my sentiment from PTI's Winter Woods stamp set and also adding a few gold sequins.

Check out all the BEAUTIFUL cards from the DT right HERE, and then play along!

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

Make It Monday #327 - Ombre Watercolor Backgrounds

Hello friends.  This week Betsy has a fun and easy technique to share showing how to make an ombre watercolored background for the Make It Monday challenge.

This technique was so easy and fun that I actually have a "twofer" for you today!  My first card uses one of the leaf stamps from Humming Along.

I followed Betsy's easy instructions and blended my medium color first (Autumn Rose) and then went over it with Scarlet Jewel, followed by dragging my wet (but not too wet!) wide and flat brush down my panel, creating the ombre effect.  Once dry I added my leaves from Humming Along around the edges and then added my sentiment from Year Of Psalms: March.

At this point I stamped the Humming birds from the Humming Along set, but just could not get them to fit on the card.  I think if I had stamped the sentiment lower, then the hummers would have worked on the card, but....  I still felt like it needed something though, so I went to my favorite bird set Brushed Birds and used the same colors and it worked!!

For my 2nd card I finally got out my new Salt Air: Flora and Salt Air: Fauna sets and played...I think these are going to be well loved sets!!

Used the same technique for my background with Ocean Tides, Hawaiian Shores, & Aqua Mist inks, and then flipped it upside down before starting to add my Flora.  I thought Betsy's Year Of Psalms: January set was perfect for this card as all the beautiful creatures of the sea were made by Him too!

I would have liked to add one of everything from the Fauna set, but held myself back so as not to detract from the background and sentiment.  A few Rainstones finished off this card.

This is definitely a technique I will use again!!  Make sure you check out Betsy's video and BEAUTIFUL cards right HERE, and then play along...fun, fun, FUN!!

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

CAS Watercolour July 2018 - SPLASH Watercolouring

Hello friends.  This months challenge at CAS Watercolour is all about using the SPLASH watercolour technique and Loll has a FABULOUS video HERE to show you just how easy it is!

I used one of my favorite color combinations of pink and orange to create my SPLASH water colored backgrounds and came up with this:

I love how soft and pretty this came out!  I actually did 3 layers, drying between each one.  I started with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink, then Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink, and then a very small layer of Picked Raspberry Distress ink.  Once my layers were completely dry, I embossed with white my new PTI stamp called Cover Up: Grid...I love the look it gave my background!  Here's a closer up:

Next I used an AliExpress die to diecut my rectangle frame with the torn look edges, and then added a white flower die cut (also from AliExpress).  I finished with a simple embossed sentiment on a black strip and an enamel dot.

Make sure you check out Loll's video (HERE), and all the inspiration from the DT (HERE), and our special Guest Designer Marcia K.  This challenge is open till the 24th...we can't wait to see YOU in the gallery!!

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

Color Throwdown #499

Hello friends.  Playing along with this week's Color Throwdown challenge with the beautiful colors of Blue, Yellow, & Green.

Here's what I came up with using these lovely colors:

I started by making my background using PTI's Text & Texture: Roses stamp set and two shades of blue from Gina K (Blue Raspberry & Powder Blue), and then die cutting the dotted rectangle with PTI's Mix & Mat: Flourishes die.  I love that little pop of design all those die cut dots give!

I used PTI's The Sweet Life to stamp my roses and leaves and then fussy cut them out and added them to my background.  At first they got lost against all the pattern of the blue background, so I added a plain white rectangle just inside the dotted area, and then my flowers and leaves showed up much better.  I also added a little sprig from PTI's Spruce & Sprigs set and used GA on the blue berries to make them stand out a bit more.  I finished with a simple sentiment banner and a yellow enamel dot.

Check out all the beautiful and fun cards from the DT and then play along right HERE.

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

Make It Monday #326 - Inchie Elements

Hello friends.  Lexi is up with this week's challenge at Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday and she has a super FUN technique using INCHIE ELEMENTS!

Apparently inchie elements have been around for awhile, but I had never heard of them until watching Lexi's video HERE.  You're basically stamping on one inch squares and then arranging them like tile mosaics...fun, fun, FUN!!  Here's what I came up with:

I decided to use the Bitty Butterflies stamp set and Cover Plate die because of their perfect size to fit in the one inch squares, and my colors were a given because I still had a few of the solid butterflies already die cut in the Hawaiian Shores and Berry Sorbet from another project...all that was needed was to stamp the other 6 inchies!

After stamping and adhering the solid butterflies to my squares, I arranged them similar to the way the Cover Plate die is lined up, and that left the space for my sentiment.

Once I had stamped my sentiment I added foam tape to the backs of my squares to give the raised and dimensional look, and then finished by adhering to a Hawaiian Shores card base.  Very simple card but I love how it turned out and can't wait to try this technique with some other stamp sets...definitely a FUN challenge!!

You can check out Lexi's video HERE and her FABULOUS card too, and then play along!!

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

Oh Crab...Bad Friend, Bad Friend!!

Oh crab!  I forgot your birthday!!  My dear sweet friend Kara had a birthday LAST month and I forgot!!  Had it written down in my  address book, but never remembered to add it to my planner, so it passed by right over my head...grrrrrr!  Luckily for me I know Kara will forgive me because that's just the kind of sweet, sweet friend that she is, and also lucky for me that I just happened to receive in the mail a new stamp set that was perfect to say how sorry I was that I forgot her birthday!!

My Favorite Things stamp company put out an awesome set last month called Just Beclaws that I had to have...and not even knowing how quickly one of the sentiments was going to be so perfect to use for Kara!!  Take a look:

I apologize in advance for my poor photography skills...I do alright with flat lay photography, but when it comes to 3D, I just can't seem to get rid of those shadows!  But anyway, I used Lawn Fawn's Scalloped Box Card Pop-Up Die to create my pop up card, and just covered it with crabs, crabs, and more crabs!!

The DSP paper I used over the Night Of Navy cs is from My Favorite Things Watercolor Wash 6x6 pad, and reminded me of water, so it was perfect to use for my seaside crabs!

I used kraft cardstock for the strips you use inside the box and stamped the little speckles from SU!'s Glorious Grunge in Vintage Photo Distress ink to look like sand for my crabs to sit on.  I also added a few liitle bits of die cut sea grass from an AliExpress die.

The stamp set also comes with an umbrella, so I die cut that from some Pure Poppy Bitty Big DSP (PTI) and then added a few pop dots behind it to give a little more depth and dimension to the umbrella.  And did you notice the googlie eyes on the larger crab in the center??  This was actually a pretty easy card to put together after I finished coloring all the crabs (Copics) and I really like how it turned out!  Hopefully it brought a smile to Kara's face and she knows I didn't intentionally forget her birthday!  It's just one of the downfalls of having OLD friends Kara!!  Hope it was a FABULOUS birthday my friend!!  :0)

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

Papertrey Ink's Monthly Blog Hop - June 2018

Hello friends.  Happy Monday!  And it is indeed a Happy Monday because it's the 25th, and that means it's time for Papertrey Ink's monthly BLOG HOP!!  And what a FUN inspiration photo they gave us to work with this month!!  Take a look!

Now does this photo scream SUMMER or what?!!  Those popsicles look amazing and with temps about to go into the mid 90's later this week in Michigan, I would definitely LOVE to have a whole box of them!!

I was totally inspired by all the color in this photo and also the blackberries...and what a perfect opportunity to use a couple of my new PTI items!  The new Corner Adorner: June set from Lizzie and the Shape Shifter: Oval 2 die worked perfectly for my Summer-y card!

I started with my background, and at first I was going to use strips of the Bitty Big DSP in ALL the colors that were in the inspiration photo, but then got to thinking that I couldn't use ALL the colors in my stamped part of the card, so limited myself to Green Parakeet, Harvest Gold, Orange Zest, and Scarlett Jewel.  Would have liked to add some Royal Velvet (like I did around the outside shading of my blackberries) but there is no Bitty Big DSP in Royal Velvet available (hint, hint PTI!).  Anyway, I cut my strips in different widths and then added diagonally across my card base.

Next I stamped my leaves, flowers, and berries (Corner Adorner: June) in the coordinating colors to match the Bitty Big DSP and then die cut them out and placed one at the top (with pop dots) of the Shape Shifter: Oval 2 and one at the bottom (with pop dots) with my sentiment in the middle (also on a diagonal).  A simple white bakers twine bow across the top finished off this bright and Summer-y card.

And now it's time to hop along and see how everyone else interpreted this months inspiration photo...I'm sure with this FABULOUS photo there is going to be all kinds of inspiration to see and ahhh and ooooh over!  You can check it all out right HERE.

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