Color Hues #27 - ORANGE & GREEN

Hello friends.  Today I am honored to be Guest Designing with the folks over at the Color Hues Challenge, and for this challenge they are looking for the colors ORANGE and GREEN on our cards.

My first thought with these colors was Autumn and leaves, so I pulled out a stamp/stencil set from Taylored Expressions called Fall Foliage Background and came up with this card...

 I started by using the stamp which has all the veins and dots on it in black, and then started the stenciling.  There are three stencils to this set, and I started with Sweet Mango (Gina K) for the lighter orange leaves, then used the 2nd stencil and Spiced Marmalade ink (TH - Distress Ink) for the darker orange, and finished the background with the 3rd stencil and Peeled Paint ink (TH - Distress Ink) for the green leaves.  I almost didn't wanted to add anything to it since it turned out so pretty!!

 I did let my background sit for a couple days while I decided what to do with it, and in the end kept it very simple so the leaves could be the star of the show!  I used SU!'s Pumpkin Pie cardstock to add a layer behind my leaves before attaching to a side folding white card base, and then simply added my sentiment which was die cut 4 times from PTI's Counting My Blessings Die Collection to add a little dimension to my card.  (Because as Laura tells us all...Dimension is life!!)  I ended up cutting out one of the green leaves and attaching it with some twine to the "g" to finish the card.

Are the leaves starting to turn where you live?  They are here and are all so pretty...just wish they stayed on the trees a bit longer for us all to enjoy!  

So what will the colors ORANGE and GREEN inspired YOU to create??  Please join us right HERE to play along, and check out all the BEAUTIFUL cards from the DT if you need more inspiration.  This challenge will be open till Oct. 14th at 9:00AM.  

And a BIG THANK YOU to all the DT at Color Hues for letting me tag along as GD this time...you know I love playing cards with you!!  :0) 

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

Inspired By #189 - All the Peels/Mistletoe 25 Cents

Hello friends.  Has my title intrigued you??!!  My sweet friend Michele has invited me to play along with her this week for the Inspired By Challenge, and they have 2 FABULOUS inspiration photos for you to choose from!  Will the All the Peels photo or the Mistletoe 25 Cents photo inspire you?

I couldn't help myself and as much as I LOVE Fall and apples, I HAD to choose the Christmas option!  No Mistletoe, but see if you can find what inspired me...

Yep, the different shades of green for the greenery, and the tin containers!  I used a new SU! set called Christmas Season for all the beautiful greenery that I stamped in a array of different green inks, and then fussy cut.  The watering can is from The Greetery's Sprinkled with Kindness stamp & die set.  I used The Greetery's Windowpane Plaid Background stamp to mimic the plaid in the inspiration photo and attached it to a Smokey Slate piece of cardstock that I die cut with The Greetery's Postal Frame Dies.

You can't see it in the photo, but I used some WOS on the berries...it satisfied my need to add some shine to the card!!  My tag is from an older MFT tag die set and the sentiment comes from The Greetery's Budding Beauties Winter stamp set (can you tell I love, LOVE using The Greetery products??!!)  I finished this card with a few SU! enamel dots, and now I have another card to add to my Christmas stash!  

So which option will YOU choose...All the Peels or Mistletoe 25 Cents??  There's also a sketch you can follow if you like...

I love that there are so many options to choose from when playing along with the Inspired By Challenge.  Make sure you check out all the BEAUTIFUL inspiration from the DT and then play along...fun, fun, FUN!!  (And thanks for inviting me to play along Michele...I had a blast!!)

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

Inspired By #188 - COLORFUL FALL

Hello friends.  Playing along with the gals over at the Inspired By Challenge, where they have a beautiful Fall photo to inspire us this week.

All you have to do is look at my header here on my blog (and at the bottom too!) to see that I LOVE leaves, so of course seeing this inspiration photo inspired me!!  The leaves and the colors...I mean, what's NOT to love?!!  Here's what I came up with using an older set of Gina Marie Designs leaf dies and some of my DOX inks...

Aren't the leaves prettyful?!  (Our middle daughter always used to say "prettyful" when she liked something, and the word has just always stuck with me, even though I know it's not an actual word!!)  After die cutting my leaves and using DOX inks on them, I realized the colors were pretty muted compared to the inspiration photo, so I sprayed them quite liberally with Sheer Shimmer Sparkle Mist which has a iridescent gold color to it, and really makes these leaves sparkle & shine.  Here's a closer up photo so you can get a better idea of how they really look IRL!

Because of the gold shimmer on the leaves, I decided to add some more gold with a little bit of foiling (really getting hooked on this technique!!).  I used Spellbinders Essential Duo Lines Rectangles for the framing around the base of my card, and then added a dry embossed layer using a FSJ Falling Leaves embossing folder to the inside of the foiled frame.  After adding my leaves to the top left hand corner, I decided to try foiling my sentiment using just a regular die from MB's Just A Note Posh Script and I couldn't believe how perfectly it turned out!!  I die cut 2 more of the background piece of the sentiment die (it's a 2 piece set) for a little more dimension, and then glued all 3 layers to the dry embossed layer.  A little piece of gold twine at the top of the leaf stems, and my CAS card was finished!

Only a couple more days till this challenge ends, but if you're looking for some BEAUTIFUL inspiration for Fall cards, check it all out right HERE.

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

Color Hues #26 - PURPLE & PINK

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Color Hues Challenge today where they are looking for PURPLE and PINK on our cards.

I used an older Pinkfresh Studios die set called Floral Squares and came up with this CAS card...

I started by blending Passionate Pink and Wild Wisteria inks (Gina K) onto a piece of white cardstock and then used the Floral Squares dies to cut out the images, and then die cut again using just white cardstock.  This allowed me to use the ink blended pieces for the background of the squares, and the solid white for the outline images.  

I used SU!'s Subtle embossing folder for my background layer that I attached to a top folding white card base, and then added the die cut squares...the middle square has a piece of fun foam behind it to add a little dimension.  I stamped my sentiment (SSS - Tiny Words) onto the side of the bottom pink square, and then finished by adding a few PFS pink & purple gems.  Pretty CAS, but I love how it turned out!!

Check out all the FABULOUS cards from the DT and then play along right HERE.  This challenge is open till September 29th. 

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

CAS Mix Up September Watercolor Challenge

Hello friends.  I'm playing along with the ladies over at the CAS Mix Up Challenge where they're looking for WATER COLORING and AUTUMN COLORS.

I have two cards to share with you today because I couldn't decide which one I liked better!!  Let's start with my easy peasy one first...

This technique is SO easy but I love how it looks!  You simply ink up an acrylic block (any shape or size) with your ink cubes, and then spritz with water before pressing (gently) into your cardstock.  I used Red Velvet, Tangerine Twist, & Wild Dandelion inks (Gina K), and I just love the way the colors blended into each other after adding the water.  Here's a closer up:

My red almost looks pink after being watered down a bit and I love how it blends so beautifully into the orange, and then how the orange blends into the yellow!  Once it was dry, I used a leaf stamp (Gina K's Autumn Silhouettes) and black ink to stamp the image, and also stamped the sentiment in the black ink (Gina K's The Best Flowers).  I matted this layer to a piece of black and then adhered both to a piece of white card embossed with a SSS Fall Foliage EF.  A white top folding card base and a bit of black & white bakers twine finished up this simple card that definitely says AUTUMN to me!

My 2nd card uses a MFT image from Fall Friends and a background using Lindy's Magicals.  Take a look...

  I started with a heavy piece of cardstock and used Red Hot Poker Orange and Screamin' Banshee Black Lindy's Magicals and water to create my background and then set it aside to dry.  Next I stamped my MFT image in black and then heat embossed in clear, and then water colored using an Aqua Painter brush and SU! ink pads.  Don't have the die for this sweet little gal sitting on her pumpkin, so had to fussy cut her out.  I used a couple oval dies to create my opening for my background, and also used SU!'s Subtle EF for my top layer.  Here's a close up so you can see the background and my water coloring a bit better:

I think water coloring is a perfect medium for Autumn, and definitely need to do more of it!!  My dad was so talented with water colors, and I so wish he were still around to see what I'm up to now...he would have loved it!!  I finished my card by pop dotting the little girl over the Magicals background, and then added a sentiment from the Fall Friends stamp set that I heat embossed in white on a black strip.  

Lots of BEAUTIFUL cards from the DT if you need more inspiration...you can check it all out and play along right HERE.  This challenge is open till the 24th 

 

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

Christmas Kickstart #54 - Funny Ho, Ho!

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where they are looking for FUNNY, HO, HO!

I don't have a very big inventory of funny or snarky Christmas stamps, but I do LOVE this image from MFT's Christmas sELFies stamp set.  

The one snowman with his tongue sticking out just cracks me up!  I stamped the image in black and then clear heat embossed so I could water color my image.  (used an Aqua Painter and SU! inks)  Once it was dry I die cut the image out and added to a rectangle that I stamped the sentiment on, to make it look like a Polaroid picture.

I added foam strips to the back of this layer and added it to a layer that I embossed using an older Cuttlebug dotted embossing folder, and then attached both to a top folding white card base.  I added a few silver pearls (PFS) and some black & white bakers twine, and then last minute decided to add some glitter to the snowman who has his tongue sticking out...he just looks like the kind of character who would be sticking his tongue to something he shouldn't!  Haha!!

If you need help getting a head start on those Christmas cards, this is a great challenge to play along with!  You can check out Jo's and her guest elf's cards and then play along right HERE.

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

CAS Christmas Reminder - PLAID

Hello friends.  Just a friendly little reminder that there's still time to play along with us at the CAS Christmas Challenge where this month our sweet hostess Colleen is looking for PLAID on our Christmas cards.

I had a small piece of plaid leftover from my card HERE that I used for my card today...

I had used PTI's Pierced Feature Frames dies on my original card and saved the small inside piece, and then cut another frame using plain white to frame the plaid piece.  Then I added a Poppystamps die called Holly Merry Christmas that I die cut multiple times using Old Olive and Mossy Meadow cardstocks.

  Do you know what the hardest part of this simple little card was??  I kept losing those little red glitter dots for the berries!!  I had no punches that size, so I had to die cut the whole sentiment from the red glitter cardstock, and then when I'd go to punch it out of the die, the little berries would go flying...grrrrr!  Had to die cut the sentiment 3 times just to get the 4 little dots for the berries!  I do like that tiny pop of color though, so it was worth it in the end!!

The DT has some great PLAID cards to share with you for inspiration, so check them all out right HERE and then play along with us!  This challenge is open till the 24th.  

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