Sketchy Wednesday!

Recently, I was asked to join the Sketch Challenge Team on Splitcoaststampers, and I am thrilled!  I get the sketches in advance, and post late Tuesday nights.  Deadlines are good for me!  I'll be on the DT April through September.




Today's Sketch #744 came from Cathy (cathymac) and it has lots of layers.  I love layers!  Great way to use designer paper, which I have in seemingly endless supply.  I pulled out SU's "Painted Blooms" dsp which has lots of wonderful colors.  My stamps are from Unity Stamp Company, "...So very Grateful."  My first attempt was watercolor, but the wc paper was too yellow for this designer paper.  At least I have a colored image to use later!  Instead, I stamped with Stazon jet black on whisper white, then colored with markers.  Couldn't find my blushing bride marker, so I used regal rose, along with rich razzleberry, blackberry bliss, daffodil delight, wild wasabi, and marina mist.  The sentiment is punched out and popped up, then adorned with a tiny enamel heart. 









Last week's Sketch was from Diane (DCinkit).  It's very different, with the multiple strips.  First, I started with a card base of sahara sand and SS pattern paper.  I then opted to create a scene, cutting it up.  I used SU's "Wetlands" and my aqua brush for the beach scene in sahara sand, bordering blue, and regal rose. The sentiment is from "Teeny Tiny Wishes," stamped in island indigo. I chose to keep it just on the word window punched piece so the original sketch is not obstructed.  Lots of baker's twine finishes it off. 

It's going to be lots of fun creating these sketch cards over the next 6 months.  Be sure to join in; there are no deadlines to upload on SCS!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}

Kim

Bright Color Throwdown

  I am posting a card I made last Wednesday for the Sketch challenge on SCS, along with  the Color Throwdown for the week.  I am finally posting here; still getting acclimated to my blog again.  The first card I made used vanilla instead of white, and the sketch wasn't quite right.  (It was also combined with a recent SCS Inspiration challenge.)  So I made a second card which I am much happier with.  The colors definitely look brighter on white!  I used very old SU stamps - "Three Little Words" and "Define Your Life." The card base is the thick style of whisper white.  I used daffodil delight pattern paper for the large layer, and a strip of real red pattern paper (from an old hostess 6x6 stack!) for the narrow strip.  Using real red and pear pizzazz markers, I colored the tulip and stamped three times on the oval die cut.  A scrap of certainly celery is finally used up as a matte for the sentiment stamped in pear pizzazz. Red enamel hearts are the finishing elements.  Feels Like spring!  

Here's my other card, which I still haven't uploaded to my gallery yet.  I looked on the Inspiration site, and found this item with lots of red.  That's why I chose it for the color throwdown, but it just didn't work for me.  Not a bad card, just didn't feel like the best fit for the challenges.  The feathers weren't showing up enough, especially in the lighter yellow and green colors.  Great excuse to make that other card!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}

Kim

Spring Virtual Stamp Night!

Hello Friends!

I am finally posting my Mini VSN cards here.  The Mini took place on March 8th, but there is actually still time to play!  Misti, Lee, and I give out "VSN Virtuoso" prizes for people who complete ALL of the challenges.  Since some people come by later, we don't want to punish them for missing the Mini.  But you have to upload your Mini projects by Thursday April 11th.  The Main VSN kicks off Friday April 12, and continues Saturday the 13th.  Our theme is "From Here to There," and you can come and chat about it HERE.

I hosted the first challenge, "Traveling Ink."  I challenged people to use the Rolling Marble Background technique, and I was thrilled to hear how much fun everyone had!  I used regal rose, lovely lilac, and lucky limeade for my backgrounds.  Cutting a full sheet of whisper white in quarters, it took me less than 10 minutes (easily) to make the backgrounds.  Then I had fun picking various stamps to complete four different cards.  The one with the bird features "Elements of Style."  The bicycle card features an image from Stampabilities.  The big prima-like flowers have been in my stash for years, as well as the big yellow brads.  That card will need extra postage! The card with the ruched ribbon is my favorite.  I colored white ribbon with markers and used my heat tool to scrunch it up.  Fun color and texture!  The stamps are from "Just Believe."

 


Next, Misti gave us an inspiration challenge, with photos of travel ready snacks.  Instead of picking ine snack, I just went with the image of compartments and colors.  I used lots of old 6x6 pattern paper from SU!  My elephant is an old SU image, but I don't know the set, since it is in a box of random stamps.

Finally, Lee had us use Arrows on our cards.  I only have one stamp with an arrow (from SU's Word Play), so I added some by using the photo corner punch.  A local high school has blue and gold for its colors, so this will make a nice graduation card.

I am looking forward to the big event in April!  Hope to get started on samples this weekend.  Mark your calendars for April 12 & 13!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}

Kim

Natural Touch

  Hello Stamping Friends!

Check it out...my second post this week!  Ha!  I made THREE cards yesterday, already uploaded to my SCS gallery, and now I am here.  What's up?  Well, yesterday was Ash Wednesday, and as part of my Lenten commitments I am reducing my time on Facebook and cutting out silly computer games.  I want to create more cards, and stamp more consistently.  I am also going to read more, and pray more.  Whether or not I'll blog more is yet to be seen!



My first card is for the Clean & Simple challenge over at SCS, to use an element three times in a row.  Using a beloved and long-retired SU set, "Touch of Nature," I stamped three butterflies using smoky slate, wisteria wonder and elegant eggplant.  I stamped the foliage around the edge in crumb cake.  The greeting is from "On Your Birthday."  I never would have considered these colors together, but The Color Throwdown couldn't be ignore!  The stamped panel is on a dry embossed whisper white layer; I can't remember the name of the embossing folder.  I added gingham ribbon, but I really should stay away from bows!  I couldn't get it to lay right, especially for a picture.  LOL  All of this is on an elegant eggplant card base.












My next card is for Tuesday's Color Challenge at SCS, using granny apple green, so saffron, pool party, and melon mambo.  I don't have the new green, but used lucky limeade.  The flower is from "Touch of Nature" and the sentiment is from "Sincere Salutations"  I originally planned this for the # in a Row CAS challenge, but it's not very CAS.  I doodled and sponged the grass.  The butterfly was in my little bag of die cuts, and the enamel dots and seam binding are where I added the pool party.

Finally, yesterday's Sketch at SCS is great for using coordinating pattern paper.  My card features Venetian Romance dsp, which has a lot of pistachio pudding & crisp cantaloupe.  I am purging about half of my SU inks, and those two are on the cutting block.  Before they go, I am trying to use up card stock, ribbon, and dsp.  By the time I'm done, I'll either be thrilled I'm getting rid of it, or I'll decide to keep it anyway!  LOL  Once again, I used "Touch of Nature" and "On your Birthday" stamps.  Ruffled ribbon and enamel dots pull it all together.

That's it for today.  Tomorrow night is the SCS Mini Virtual Stamp Night, and I am hosting the first challenge!  I made samples for my cards, but I need to finish samples for Misti & Lee's challenges.  Hopefully, I'll post them all tomorrow night or Saturday.  Less Facebook, more stamping...this will be great!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

Hello Spring?

Quick post today, because I almost forgot to post this card, and the blog deadline is looming upon me! 

Friday's Free 4 All Challenge on Splitcoaststampers was all about spring.  Many of us are longing for it, especially as we get ore snow!  I decided to check out the palette for the week on The Color Throwdown, and it is perfect for a springtime card! 








I chose crumb cake for my card base.  The main panel is some specialty paper from SU; white with embossed patterns, ready for sponging or brayering.  I sponged calypso coral ink all over it, then added wild wasabi to the edges which, of course, turned brown.  I wasn't thrilled, but I kept it.  The stamped images are from SU's "Hello Again" using calypso coral, wild wasabi, crumb cake, and marina mist ink on whisper white, matted in wasabi.  Marina mist satin ribbon and enamel dots finish it off.

It's a bit drab for spring, but as I said in my SCS gallery, early March is usually quite drab in central Illinois!  I'll probably use this palette again, though it won't be on time for the Link-Up.  It's just too pretty not to give it a second shot! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

First Blog Challenge Card of 2019

Hi Stamping Friends!

Like many in the blogosphere, I let my blog go into hibernation.  I looked at y list of posts, and there are 5 in the drafts.  I had a bit of a rough 2018, so many projects suffered a bit.

But I was stamping a fair amount, just not posting here.  In fact, last fall I was asked to join the Dirty Dozen on Splitcoaststampers!!  My term began in November and completes in April.  Because the Dirty Dozen projects are only available to Fan Club members, I can not post them here until months after my term.  By then, I might forget about it!  LOL

I also kept busy with Virtual Stamp Night duties; in fact we are prepping for the spring event now.

But last Friday, while looking at the MIXability challenge on SCS (be inspired by tin tile ceilings), I decided to search for an interesting color combo.  I have The Color Throwdown bookmarked, and saw a very tough palette staring me in the face! Of all the weeks to decide to look for a challenge not on SCS!  I needed a masculine birthday card, so I gave it a go.  This took forever!  Ha! 

My card base is basic gray.  I covered a card front-sized piece with aluminum foil, and ran it through my Big Shot with the chevron embossing folder.  I coated some portions with versamark, and heat embossed with copper powder.  I also added some gold pigment ink and embossed with clear powder.  Grabbing a Spectrum Noir alcohol ink purple marker (hey, it is a MIXED media challenge!)  I started coloring a portion of the card front, and thought Yuck.  That's when I decided to cut 4 tiles out of the card front so the purple would be random.  The chevrons were set up in alternating directions.  There wasn't enough purple, so I added the center circle.  All of the purple was coated with the gold pigment ink (which doesn't show) and heated with clear embossing powder.  As you can see, I also have a strip of cajun craze which is partially coated in copper embossing.  The sentiment is from SU's "Epic Celebration."

It was hard to photograph, so I took 2 angles.  I think this took me 2 hours to finish, compared to 15 minutes for the Free4All challenge to use our birthstone color!  I definitely need to get more comfortable with mixed media projects!  But at least, it inspired me to wake up my blog!  Hope to see you again soon!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

Random Cards

Hello Stamping Friends!

In an attempt to catch up a bit, I am going to post some random cards here.  I went through photo files on my laptop, and thought, Good grief!  I am so far behind!  Here goes!


This was for a nephew and his new bride.  I love this die from Stampin' Up!  It makes fancy cards so quick and easy!  The glimmer paper is sweet sugar plum, and I think I had sparkles on my floor for weeks!






I have another nephew in the US Navy, stationed in Japan.  The Open Sea stamp set goes perfectly with this paper stack, also from SU, though I forget the name.  Plus, I think lost lagoon is a perfect color for ocean themed cards!




Now, a card for a niece.  I had to take the photo quickly before I stuck it in the mail.  Her sorority recently took group photos with everyone wearing burgundy, holding sunflowers.  I had a stamp set in mind; turns out I gave it away!  So I chose this Itty Bitty set from Unity Stamp Company. It's hard to tell, but the crown is gold embossed.  I brushed more mustard and delightful dijon ink around the bees, and sponged my embossed background.  And I love the lace as an added detail!

Another nephew (I have 12, not to mention nephews-in-law!) was in a musical recently.  It was put on by a group called The Penguin Project, and the entire cast is made if children with developmental or sensory disabilities.  I am so proud of Ethan being on stage, even doing a few dance steps and having a few spoken lines.  The "Broadway Bound" dsp from SU was perfect.  My penguin is from an unknown dollar bin source.

Finally, this card was made months ago for a friend in ministry who completed her term in leadership.  She was SO supportive of me, as I grew to understand my own role.  I am blessed to have worked with her.

I have lots of "get organized" goals for the coming months.  Not just here, but in reading more books, getting more exercise.  I better not wait until the New Year...no time like the present!

Thanks for stopping by!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim  

Virtual Stamp Night...Mini Time!

Hi Stamping Friends!

Last night was the Mini version of our winter Virtual Stamp Night over at Splitcoaststampers.  Our theme this time is "Holiday Stories," with challenges inspired by some off our favorite books!

For the Mini, the three VSN moderators (Lee, Misti & I) each hosted a challenge.  The full, VSN event will be Friday December 14 & Saturday December 15.

Misti started us off with "A Charlie Brown Christmas."  We were to use a Christmas tree on our  project - full or tiny like Charlie Brown's.  I couldn't believe my lack of Christmas tree images!  Fortunately, I had this one from SU's "Snow Much Fun."  I used my aqua brush and markers to color it.The upper portion is dry embossed and sponged, and I added ribbon that I have had for years (ballet blue!).  Mica flakes were glued on for snow, and a few rhinestones were added for even more bling.

I hosted the next challenge, inspired by "Little Women."  It isn't specifically a holiday novel, but many chapters take place during various holidays.  I challenged everyone to use vintage elements.  My card has an embossed background that looks like hand written script, much like Jo's letters in the book.  My stamps are from Our Daily Bread Designs, colored with a blender pen and heavily sponged after I tore the edges.  Crochet trim is paired with seam binding.


Finally, Lee asked us to be inspired by "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," using the classic color palette of green, red, and white (black in limited use.)  I opted for this Tim Holtz "Crazy Bird" topped with a hand drawn Santa hat.  The sentiment is from SU's "Tags til Christmas."  I know a few people who are eligible for this card!  LOL

I am looking forward to the Main VSN next month.  Be sure to check out the VSN Forum here and mark your calendars!  There are even a few prizes to be won! 


Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

2018 Dare To Get Dirty!

Hi Stamping Friends!

Lots of cards today, as I am posting this WAY after the week of DTGD Challenges on SCS.  I had started with high hopes of completing all of the challenges, but I didn't.  No good reason.  I was home, Bruce was working.  Good grief.  Guess I just need to get my mojo flowing better next time around!  Here are the first 6 cards I completed.

I almost described the first challenge...but I can't!  It's a secret!  Even though DTGD is done, the details are kept just for Fan Club members.  Most of the info on SCS is free to the public, but some perks come with a paid Fan Club subscription.  Seriously, it's a great deal, so worth it!


This first card uses an image from Inkadinkado, with a watercolored background panel.  I also submitted it for a Free4All challenge, inspired by vacations.  We went to Glacier National Park this year, and the blues and greens in the mountains were amazing!










Next a card for Dina's challenge, featuring a Paper Smooches image & SU greeting.  I colored the ribbon with markers to match the rest of the card.


This Christmas card is for Jeanne's challenge.  I finally opened this SU dsp that's at least 8 years old!  I hope to make about a dozen more, but I haven't started yet.  It will be a great way to use up the rest of my Taken with Teal card stock!












Next, a card for Mary's DTGD challenge, combined with a recent color challenge.  I will never tire of this adorable image from SU, "Summer by the Sea.".  I color it differently, depending on who will receive it.  One of my nieces has two little boys with dark hair; this reminds me of her youngest.


Some spring time colors are up next for Stacy's challenge.  Lots of sponging on specialty embossed paper and versamark-stamped image.  I actually used pastels for this one...fun!












Finally for today, this fun card for Julie's challenge,, featuring this sentiment from SU's "Suite Sayings."  I literally bought the set just for this one stamp!  I have used some of the others too, but this is my favorite!  I also used more enamel glitter dots, like on the kitty card above...love those things!

I hope to post my other cards later this week.  I'd rather do that than clean up my mess!  LOL

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

I'm Back!

Hey there, Stamping Friends!

I am dusting off this blog!  I have been stamping fairly often this year, helping to moderate Virtual Stamp Night events on Splitcoaststampers, and always having fun with family birthday cards.  I actually have 4 or 5 posts in my drafts...clearly I thought I would be back sooner!

For several years, I chose a blog challenge and a SCS weekly challenge to focus on throughout the year.  Well, I have nearly ignored 2018 blog challenges so it is too late for that.  But I have been doing the Free 4 All challenges, which are posted on SCS every Friday.

So today, I am just going to post a few F4A cards just so this blog wakes up!  It is also a waay for me to warm up before the huge Dare to Get Dirty week of challenges which start this coming Saturday!

 This first card is for the most recent F4A, "Winged Things," along with last week's color challenge (smoky slate, berry burst, granny apple green.)  I don't have any granny apple green, so I used kiwi kiss.  The bird is from "Elements of Style," and the sentiment is from a new set, "Just Add Text." I am almost out of kiwi kiss card stock...after how many years??














The next card is for the challenge "Ride the Waves."  I literally had the card base and dsp (Sunshine & Sprinkles) together for weeks, but set this aside.  Then I had vacation and a busy VSN week.  I was happy to finish with this fun stamp my sister-in-law found for me at a thrift store.  It is SU's "Aquaria" or something like that.  I colored it with blender pens.  The sentiment is from "Whimsical Words."















Now, this card was made in June while I was on dawnmercedes team to make F4A samples.  The challenge was to make something inspired by a neighboring state.  I live in Illinois, and neighboring Missouri is home to the St Louis Cardinals.  My hubby is a HUGE cardinals fan, so I made this for his July birthday.  I used "Good Sport" and "Happiest Birthday Wishes" stamp sets.  I added a tiny bit of an imitation feather to top off the bird.  I chose yellow for the sentiment,. similar to the yellow bat in the St Louis team logo.












My next card was created way back in May on the weekend of the Kentucky Derby.  I have quite a bit of this "To the Nines" dsp, and this particular pattern goes well with this horse image from "Horse Frontier."  The greeting is from "Wetlands."  The only non-SU element is the thick twine, which I looped like a lasso.  I really like how this turned out!















Now, the last card I am posting is for a F4A challenge posted months ago, but I just did it in July, combining it with a VSN challenge.  VSN was "Going to the Zoo," and the F4A was specifically about zebras.  Easy combo!  I used melon mambo and lemon lime twist with the black and white paper from S.E.I. called "Black Orchid."  The zebra is from "Zoo Friends," and the greeting is from "Just Sayin'" on a word bubble framelit.  I sent this to my "tween" grand-daughter.


I have made many other cards, but posting them all would be silly!  I am just happy to get back on this platform.  I'll be checking out other blogs too to see what YOU have been creating!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

Throwing Down some Fall Challenges

Hey Stamping friends...I'm back!

I had another lull in my stamping life, but was re-awakened by the recent "Falliday Fest" over at Splitcoaststampers.  I decided rather quickly not to worry about completing all of the challenges, so I could concentrate on making multiples.  I had hoped to combine with more palettes from The Color Throwdown, but I have just these two today.  I looked at the clock and thought, Yikes!  I better get these posted!

So, this week's palette is gorgeous!  I hope to make some additional cards using the new SU color, fresh fig.  But the purple in this card is mostly from old tissue paper.  One if the Falliday Fest challenges, hosted by my cyber friend Jeanette, asked us to recycle something in our project.  Crumbled tissue adds nice texture.  The stamped & embossed image, from SU's "Embrace Life," was actually found in my packet of very vanilla scraps...Yay!  All of this is on a cajun craze card base with a strip of always artichoke pattern paper.  The sentiment is from SU's "Tea Shoppe," stamped in fresh fig, punched with the modern label and adorned with cajun enamel dots.

Next, a Color Throwdown from a couple of week's ago combined with Ceal's FF challenge to use our acrylic blocks for stamping a background.  Super fun!  My card base is sahara sand, with a layer of pumpkin pie that has been embossed with the houndstooth folder.  After using my blocks to add sahara sand and pumpkin pie ink to my very vanilla piece, I added flowers from SU's "Of the Earth" in basic black, then mounted it on black and added thick twine.  My sentiment is from the same set, heat embossed with white on black.  I rarely do that, but I love the look!  I hope to create more similar cards with neutrals and one pop of color.

That's it for today, but I have a few posts started with completed Falliday Fest projects that I hope to share later this week.  Thanks for stopping by!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}

Kim

Traditions of Fresh Sketches

Hello Stamping Friends!

I am still trying to catch up with some specific card needs, but sometimes it is good to just make a bunch of cards for my general stash.  The best way to do this?  Grab a pack of designer series paper and a bunch of sketches.  Over the last 3 days, I have been working on the remnants of a long-retired package:  SU's Autumn Traditions.  (I think it came out when soft suede was an In-color.)  I really need to use my supplies, so I dug in with several past Freshly Made Sketches, then peeked in yesterday to grab the current one.  Two of the sketches are squares, but I don't have any square envelopes, and just wanted to keep things simple, so all of these are A2 cards.  Here goes!

Instead of giving a play-by-play, I will list supplies here at the top, since all of the cards are similar.  I used SU card stock in more mustard, soft suede, always artichoke, elegant eggplant, and whisper white.  Along with the Autumn Traditions dsp, I used some eggplant paper and a bit of ruby red from my scraps.  The ink is more mustard, always artichoke, and elegant eggplant.  Punches and dies include circles, scallop circles, ovals, Sizzix leaves, SU banners and word bubbles.  Stamps used are all SU:  "Hello Again," "Happiest Birthday Wishes," "On Your Birthday," "Just Sayin'," "Wetlands," and "Blessings from Heaven."  Some seam binding, brads, and enamel dots are the finishing details.  Now, to get all of these pictures in place!

  

Whew!  I think these look pretty as a set.  I'd like to say all of this DSP is gone, but alas, I still have some scraps left.  I plan on throwing some cards together today with the rest, instead of putting them away to gather dust again.  Wish me luck!

Thanks for coming by!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim