Catching Up with Fresh Colours

Hello, and Happy Wednesday!

Last Wednesday, there was a new challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches and Colour Me...! so I decided to combine them.  I also took the opportunity to catch  up on a previous challenge from the same blogs.  There are a gazillion challenge blogs out there, and there is no way to participate in them all.  But these two are among my favorites!

Here is my first card.  I love the girly palette from Colour Me...!, and the clean Freshly Made sketch from Jen M..

I actually made one card for these challenges last night.  It started out great, but I wanted to add more of the perfect plum.  Oh, what a mistake that was!  Then my choice of embellishments went awry. I finished it, but REFUSE to post a picture!  LOL  I had to walk away, then re-do the challenges this morning.  I am much happier with the results!  My card base is pink pirouette.  I used a floral pattern from the Irresistibly Yours dp, and sponged the challenge colors generously.  I took this large flower from "Mixed Bunch" and colored it with markers.  After punching it out, I sponged the edges that were a bit too white.   The sentiment is from "You're a Gem," punched out and popped up.  I used a non-SU gem, and 3 different SU strips of taffeta ribbon.  Kinda looks like a ribbon for a County Fair, doesn't it?

And here is a card for last week's challenges.  I made this card Monday, but not in time to upload.  Still, I wanted to post.  I absolutely love the colors at CMCC#76 (elegant eggplant, old olive, and coastal cabana.)  The sketch was a bit tricky for me, because it is SO clean!  Even more than the one above!


I am not completely thrilled with  this, but here it is.  I actually made it LAST Monday, but missed the upload deadline.  Any who...the card base is eggplant, and I added two strips of coastal cabana.  On whisper white, I stamped the greeting from "All Holidays" and the flower from "Friends Never Fade" using my markers to color both.  Then things went bad!  I didn't like the blank space, so I added thick bakers twine.  I started with bows...yuck.  So I added some butterflies made with an embosslit, then stuck tiny pearls on the poor things..  I kept them because I had hoped to finish before the deadline.  Nope.  The eggplant butterflies look like they got stuck or something.  Oh well.  (And yes, I see the extra tiny hole.  Another oops.)  I could have redone this, but life is too short.  There are other challenges to complete!  LOL

I hope you like these cards and are inspired to jump into your favorite blog challenges too!  My advise...start them earlier so you can create a card with fewer mistakes.  *wink*



Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

Yes, I'm Still Here!

Hello again.  I haven't stamped much this week, as I had house guests over.  Two college-aged women stayed at our home (2 young men at a different home).  They facilitated a wonderful youth program at our church.  I thought I might get some stamping done while they were gone, but I ended up doing other things, plus I spent more time over at the church myself!  I made one card Monday which will go with some other challenge cards on tomorrow's post, and one on Friday, which I failed to get a picture of before I stuck it in the envelope.

So, I am going to post two cards which were for Virtual Stamp Night a couple of weeks ago.  I posted them to the SCS gallery, now finally here.  As a reminder, the VSN theme was "Happy!"

Lisa (Shoe Girl) gave us a challenge to make a 50's themed card, inspired by the TV show "Happy Days."  I was stumped!  I have no specifically 50's images.  But I do have this motorcycle and tire tread from SU's "Rev Up the Fun."  It made me think of Fonzie!  I used turquoise, bla ck, and slate markers to color the image.  The greeting is a fave of mine from "Polka Dot Party."  I used basic black, whisper white, and smoky slate card stock, along with turquoise pattern paper.  Silver brads are the final detail.

The last VSN card I made was for Ann's challenge.  She loves to bake, and baked goods make a lot of us happy!  We needed to incorporate a cake or other baked item.  Surprisingly, I had almost nothing in the stamp department for this.  I did find this small image, in a tag shape, from "Happiest Birthday Wishes."  The image is colored with markers:  summer starfruit, midnight muse, raspberry ripple, and primrose petals.  My small tag punch was used for the image; the large tag for the primrose petals matting.  I used "Patio Party" dsp on the raspberry ripple card base, some midnight muse ribbon, and a touch of cherry cobbler twine.  

I hope to get back in the groove this week.  The good news is that I had to clean up my craft space so it could be used for a guest room.  Time for a freshly made mess!  LOL

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

Virtual Stamp Night...Happy!!

Hello Stamping Friends!

So... I set up this post to go live on Friday. That's when Virtual Stamp Night started, and I hosted a challenge. I wanted to include other cards in my post, but timing the post with the challenge times wasn't working out. All that to say, I see this aside.  Here it is, Tuesday afternoon!  But the GOOD news is that you can STILL play along!  The VSN moderators know that it is tough for a lot of stampers to make 10 cards in one weekend.   That means the deadline to upload to your Splitcoaststampers gallery is Saturday, June 20th at 10 pm Eastern.  So, stamp away!  I made my challenge card in advance of the weekend.  I made 2 cards Friday, 2 on Saturday.  I have been busy with a non-stamp project the last couple of days.  I hope to make more cards VSN tomorrow.


The overarching theme of this VSN is "Happy"...and we have seen lots of Happy cards!  The first challenge was about a Happy Dance.  I don't have any dance images, but this silhouette from SU's long-retired "Thankful Thoughts" comes pretty darn close!  I stamped in bravo burgundy,  and sponged sahara sand and pink pirouette.  I used Parisian Summer dsp on a so saffron card base.  Two types of grosgrain ribbon and silver brads finish it off.



The next card is for my challenge:  Clap Along.  I was inspired by the words in Pharrell's song "Happy."  The challenge is to use some hands on your card...praying hands, baby hands, any hands.  I needed a card for a friend who recently had twins.  The stamps used are "Baby Prints" and "Text and Texture" (just the ampersand).  The colors are blushing bride, marina mist, and pear pizzazz.  I  used some Nursery Nest dsp, and coordinating markers to color my organza ribbon.





Next, I have a large card.  It is a full sheet of card stock, so twice the size I normally make.  That is because this sentiment, from Inkadinkado is rather large.  The card is rather basic; blackberry bliss card base and ink.  Lost lagoon and whisper white card stock, and Painted Blooms dsp.  I added daffodil taffeta ribbon and buttons, along with razzleberry enamel dots.  After doodling a line of daffodil over the greeting, I added my punched butterfly.  The challenge was to make a card for someone who really makes you happy.


Now, I have another full size card.  This time I was motivated by this large botanical image from the "Nature Walk" dsp.  I just could not cut it, and I don't scrapbook.  (Maybe someday...)  The challenge was "Bee Happy" so I stamped the bee image from the coordinating Nature Walk stamps, and added a bit of color with my markers.  The greeting is from "Wetlands" and it is sponged, as well as the image panel.  The card features a pear pizzazz base and marina mist layer.  I added striped early espresso ribbon and a wood button with a bit of twine.  The two horizontal strips are from the same dsp pack, and have enamel dots from Avery Elle.  Both of these large cards will work for longer letters.



Finally, I have my card for the "Bluebird of Happiness" challenge.  The card features this great image from "Wings of Friendship" colored with markers: island indigo, lucky limeade, blushing bride, and cherry cobbler.  I used "Twitterpated" dsp on a basic gray base.  The greeting is from "On Your Birthday" punched out with a scallop oval.  My accessories are pleated satin ribbon, enamel dots, a white button, and indigo bakers twine.

 Phew!  That's enough for now.  I have a church meeting tonight, and maybe I will stamp after that.  Thanks for stopping by!

Hope to see you in the Virtual Stamp Night gallery!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

Colours for a Hero

Happy Monday!

Sort of...I overslept!  I must have been exhausted, because i also went to bed earlier than usual.  Could make for an interesting day!  And this means that I completely RUSHED to make this card.   I uploaded my card here, posted to the Colour Me...! challenge blog, and now I am filling in the details.  I nearly decided to just skip this, but I haven't finished a CMCC card for a while, plus I combined it with the Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  I just wanted to start my Monday off right!  *wink*

This card is nearly flat, because I am going to put it in a box of Hero mail for Operation Write Home.  They are wrapping up their organization, and will only be receiving cards until August 1, 2015.  I have a lot of space in my box, so I need to hurry up and get cards made!  This is very self-explanatory.  Night of Navy card base, real red patterned paper, Sizzix oval die, and SU's "Words of Courage" stamp set, using real red and navy ink.  The star buttons were in a drawer...I have had them for years.  I bought them at a big box store, but I don't have the original packaging.  I wish I had put twine in them but I had to RUSH!  LOL  I even tried to cut the horizontal strip like a banner at fist; it was messy.  I think I *need* the new punch from SU!

I really need to tweak this card before I duplicate it and mail to our military heroes.  But at least I had my adrenaline rush to kick off my day!  Thanks for stopping by!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}

Kim

Let's Hear it for the Boys

Hello, and Happy Friday!

I have a VERY quick card today for The Paper Players challenge to create a masculine card.  I needed a card for my oldest brother.  It needed to be quick, because it is late!  Oh, and because the deadline to link this up is in 10 minutes!  LOL

I actually had different dsp sitting out for a WEEK, but just couldn't get inspired.  So I pulled out this stuff from SU's "Well Worn," which is one of my favorites.  I used one side for the vertical panel, then the flip side to mat my sentiment.  The stamp is from SU's "Delightful Dozen," stamped in not quite navy on very vanilla.  After adding 2 NQN brads, I popped the panel up with dimensionals. The final touch is the kite string.  Easy-peasy!

The other reason I wanted to get this post in is to let you know that TONIGHT is Virtual Stamp Night!  It starts at 6 pm  Eastern time.  I am hosting a challenge at 7 pm Eastern.  The overall theme is "Happy"...hope you can come and play!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

Mashin' Up with Some Embellishments

Hello, and Happy Wednesday!

Here is my card for the Friday Mashup challenge.  I finished it earlier today, but nearly forgot to upload.  Sometimes, my brain is on overload!  The challenge was to use the Ombre technique and/or a cluster of embellishments.  I just had to Mash things up!

Recently, one of my aunt's fell and broke her wrist.  I wanted a bright card to cheer her up.  I used some "Irresistibly Yours" specialty paper, and brayered ink in certainly celery, pear pizzazz, and wild wasabi, then placed it on a garden green card base.  I LOVE green, especially in the summer! I added a strip of pear pizzazz twill ribbon (which is almost completely covered up!) The sentiment is from Stampabilities, mounted on basic black so it pops.  I had these Prima flowers from a swap years ago, and added some SU flower brads.  The design was heavy in the lower half, so I added lucky limeade bakers twine on top.





Next, I am going to quickly add 2 cards.

The first is for THREE challenges on SCS:  color, sketch, and Free4All, which was to make a graduation project. My sketch is slightly varied, wit circles instead of squares. The colors are blackberry bliss, wisteria wonder, and pool party.  LOVE!  I love nearly anything with purple tones, second only to green.  Sometimes, it's a tie!  LOL

My card base is blackberry bliss.  I added some wisteria wonder plus more Irresistibly Yours specialty paper, where I brayered colors again.  Some seam binding is used at the dividing line.  I used 4 stamp sets on this card:  "Tassel Time" (for the books,) "Pure Gumption" for the cap (the other was too large,) "Just Sayin'" for the woohoo word bubble, and "Word Perfect" for the greeting.

Finally, a Clean and Simple card for a sad occasion.  The card is simply in pool party, basic black, and whisper white.  I used SU's "Little Angel" and "So Sorry" stamps, plus a non-SU baby hands stamp.  A young couple here in town recently lost their baby.  He was born prematurely after a difficult pregnancy.  He lived outside the womb for 5 weeks.  I know how hard it is to bury your own child. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.  But this couple has tremendous faith, and has already given witness to the gift that their son is to them.  Very inspiring.  If you  are the praying  type, please keep this family in your prayers.

Sorry to end on a sad note.  But I guess as card makers, we know sometimes our craft is used to bring comfort to someone.  That is a blessing and a privilege, isn't it?  Thanks for stopping by!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

A Collection of Fresh Sketches

Hello, and Happy Monday!

This is a long post with LOTS of cards!  I actually won't give too many details on the separate cards, because this is a gift set.  I made 3 cards last Thursday, 2 on Friday, and 3 yesterday.  I intended to post yesterday, but we had a major thunderstorm, at least 7 inches of rain, and a tornado warning.  I stayed off my computer!  Fortunately our home is okay; some of our friends did not fare as well.

As I have mentioned before, one of my 2015 stamping goals is to complete all of the 2015 Freshly Made Sketches challenges.  Well, I did almost no stamping in April, and that put me very far behind.  I may have even been a bit behind already!  At any rate, I decided to use a bunch of sketches for this gift set.  It also gave me a great excuse to use most of the remaining pieces of some retired dsp. Most.  I still have a little bit left!

The cards feature kiwi kiss, baja breeze, basic gray, and crumb cake card stock and ink.  The dsp is SU's "Urban Oasis." Usually, I keep my creases on top of my cards, so I should have had half of my cards oriented horizontally and half vertically.  But for whatever reason, all of my cards are vertical.  No biggie, I suppose, but it is driving me a bit nuts!  LOL  

I'll start with the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge, then go through the rest quickly.  I used the decorative dots embossing folder, and sponged lightly.  The sentiments are from "Happiest Birthday Wishes" and "Perfect Words."  I used my Sizzix circle die, large oval punch,and decorative label punch.  The last detail is the gray stitched ribbon.  I love the polka dotted paper, and used it on several cards for this set.

This next card could easily have gone horizontal, but I flipped the sketch.  I used this wonderful floral
pattern which coordinates with the "Fifth Avenue Floral Stamps."  I surely can make my own pattern paper in the future!  I stamped two sentiments; one from "Because I Care" and the other from "Whimsical Words."  I used my baja breeze marker to outline the dsp.  This ribbon is reversible, so I used it for both strips.  More enamel hearts finish it off.

The next card uses more of that floral pattern, plus I used the Manhattan Floral embossing folder to add a layer for a tone-on-tone look.  The sentiment is from "Whimsical Words" cut out with the decorative label punch.  After sponging, I added some lucky limeade bakers twine.

This next card features the 2-step set "Awash with Flowers," "Well Scripted" and green gems from...hmmm. I have forgotten!  The outer package is gone!

Now I have a simple sympathy card.  I used the decorative label and scallop trim punches.  The sentiment is from "Thoughts & Prayers" and I added one enamel dot to keep the clean and simple look.  

Next, I used some of the more neutral patterns from the dsp pack, but did add kiwi when I stamped the sentiment from "All Holidays" and in the smaller horizontal strip.  I added some enamel hearts from Anna marie, and retired corduroy brads.  I wish I had not added those big brads.  This card will be the hardest to mail, of the entire bunch.

Here's a quick, nearly flat card.  It's still quite fun, I believe, because of the polka dot pattern.  The sentiment is from "Blessings from Heaven" punched with the scallop circle. The layered circle was made with my Sizzix die.  I added some striped ribbon to finish off the sketch.

The last card may be my favorite, because of the large floral pattern, and the soft seam binding I used. I also used the Manhattan floral embossing folder again, plus a few of the green rhinestones.  The sentiment is from "You're a Gem" punched out with a small circle.  

Here are all of the cards together.  You might think with 8 sketches here that I am all caught up.  Not. Quite.  But hopefully I will be before the end of this month.  It's the halfway point...gotta reach my goal!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

Mashin' Up By the Tide

Hello, and Happy Wednesday!

I have had a busy day...but in a good way.  Fortunately, between meetings and phone calls I was able to make a card.  Now I can finally upload it, just in time for the Friday Mashup deadline.  We were challenged to use some water coloring with this great open sketch.  I also pulled out a past ColourQ challenge that I missed.  I really like these colors! 

I felt the colors and water coloring technique were perfect for an underwater scene.  My card base is bermuda bay, and I added some basic black for contrast.  On a sheet of watercolor paper, I started by stamping the images from SU's "By the Tide" in Stazon jet black.  I used crumb cake to color the seahorse, and the bermuda and kiwi kiss on the fish.  I also stamped the coral in kiwi kiss, on top of the black. Then I used the aqua brush to randomly add color for the water.  The sentiment is from "On Your Birthday."  I felt the wavy nature of the text also works with a water scene.  The final detail is the addition of glimmer dots from Hampton Art.

This was lots of fun to create...makes me want to travel to Florida!  Thanks for stopping by.

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim