Daring and Colorful Week!

Hello Stamping Friends!

It has been a long time since I have been here. Thanks to the Dare to Get Dirty challenges on Splitcoaststampers, I am rediscovering some mojo!  I made all 5 of Saturday's challenges that day, but didn't stamp at all Sunday.  I have made a few cards each day since.  I am hoping to complete all of the challenges; something I have never done before.  In addition to DTGD challenges, I am using this week to catch up on a boatload of (late) birthday cards and color palettes from The Color Throwdown (my personal 2017 blog challenge).  I will also be working on sympathy and praying for you cards.  My stash needs a boost!  I had started this post on Saturday, with last week's challenge, but forgot to finish the post before the Monday challenge.  So, I decided to do this week's throwdown and add a big batch of other ones!  Now, in case you don't know, the DTGD challenges are just for Fan Club members, so I can't say what those challenges were.

This week's Color Throwdown is a subtle palette, perfect for a get well card. A friend of mine had surgery, and is having complications.  I thought  she could use a boost.  I used crumb cake, whisper white, and kiwi kiss, plus a touch of basic black.  The stamps used are SU's  "French Foliage" and a sentiment from Stampabilities.  Striped ribbon, enamel dots and the SU Urban Vine embossing folder add  texture.  

Next, the card for last week's Throwdown has yummy summer colors.  I pulled out one of my oldest stamp sets, SU "Fanciful Flowers."  After clear embossing, I sponged with rose red, pear pizzazz, and daffodil delight ink.The butterfly was in my stash of die cuts, in strawberry slush.  The sentiment is from "On Your Birthday."  An enamel dot and polka dot ribbon finish it off.

This card uses a mystery stamp.  One of my nieces gave it to me for Christmas. I had not used it, but my grand-daughters did back in February.  The package is gone; I only have the acetate cover.  Any way, I don't do fine detail coloring well, so I did a watercolor wash.  I just loved this palette for a summer bouquet!  My ink colors are real red, daffodil delight, pear pizzazz, and bermuda bay.  I added texture with dry embossing on the daffodil layer.  I(f I wasn't so busy making  so many cards, I think I would have heat embossed the image in black to make it crisper.  But that idea will wait for another day. The sentiment is from SU's "Wetlands," stamped on a decorative label.  Seam binding and enamel dots add the final touch.  

Now I have a fun card for my oldest great-niece.  She had her sweet 16 birthday recently.  Each year during DTGD and VSN week's, I always look through old supplies that I sadly ignore.  This Stamping Bella image was in a swap baggie with this luscious, shimmery pink paper and the textured paper I used with my scallop punch.  The chipboard numbers are years old; I coated them with versamark and melon mambo embossing powder.  Gumball green ribbon goes with the ink colors: gumball green, blushing bride, pink pirouette, and melon mambo.  The sentiment is from SU's "So Very" on a small oval.

Many people have this crazy bird set from Tim Holtz; I just bought it last month at the local Jo-Ann's.  It finally came out of the package!  I colored it very simply with markers in crushed curry, pacific point, and cherry cobbler.  The background is made with the accompanying Tim Holtz stencil.  I wanted my bird to say something, so I used a word bubble (reversed, so it faces his beak) with a greeting from SU's "Just Sayin'."  Enamel dots wrap it up.










Now for a non-birthday card.  I need cards to send to my guy friends, and this palette works well.  I used baja breeze, not quite navy, and whisper white card stock.  NQN, baja breeze, crumb cake, and kiwi kiss ink were used with SU's "Clockworks" to make my own dp, plus a greeting from "Whimsical Words."  Some striped ribbon and burlap trim add finishing texture.





Sometimes, a card design gets carried away.  This would be one of them!  Too many shapes, in my opinion!  Any way, on a night of navy base, I have a vintage wallpaper embossed layer of white.  I created a background with navy, blushing bride, and both gold ink and gold (messy!) glitter.  I cut it out with a SU framelit.  The image is colored with markers; a favorite from SU's "Forever Friends" and the sentiment is from "Sincere Salutations."  Various punches, pleated satin ribbon, and an enamel heart add to the busy design.





Another messy card is next...this one was fun!  I made my background on watercolor paper, using real reed, elegant eggplant, and daffodil delight inks.  My sentiment is from SU's "Happiest Birthday Wishes," colored with those same colors, plus pumpkin pie.  My purple flower is from an old swap.  I added non-SU gems, plus scrunched daffodil satin ribbon.

Finally, since I had my gold glitter out, I decided to complete this other Color Throwdown challenge.  I think I will be cleaning up glitter for months!  I made my background using tissue with gumball green and basic black, plus some gold.  The sentiment is from "Delightful Dozen" stamped over a blob from "Extreme Elements."  A touch of gold cord finishes it off.

Whew!  I have a few other DTGD cards completed. but they don't incorporate any color throwdowns.  I have quite a few more to do if I am going to catch up with my goal.  Could be fun to see how far I get!  Thanks for stopping by!


Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

Challenging Friday

Hello, and Happy Friday!!

Once again, it has been a while since I have been here.  Still trying to get out of a rut.  I had a good friend visit last weekend who gave me some encouragement.  While I may be far behind in many projects for home and church, I just need to take small steps in order to catch up.  (That's my free advice for the day!  Haha!)

Today, I have cards for a couple of challenges.  One is the sketch challenge from The Paper Players.  A while back, I was going through a box of supplies.  I quickly realized they were items I received in a swap.  Among them was a small stack of positively luscious pattern  paper in earthy tones that are right up my alley.  I must have set them aside to plan a big project.  Alas, that didn't happen, so I finally put them to use this week.  Because the patters are so pretty, I thought they would be perfect with this clean sketch.  My card base is crumb cake; the sentiment is from SU's "So Sorry," stamped in early espresso and baja breeze on a large scallop circle.  Espresso satin ribbon is used for the horizontal layer.  I have 3 friends from my diocesan group who each lost a brother in the last few weeks.  This was a quick way to get sympathy cards done.  I hope to make more this weekend, so I have them on hand.

The other card is for today's Free4All challenge, Machines and Tools, on SCS.  It works well for a masculine card, and I needed something for my dear hubby.  As I mentioned, I have been going through a rough phase, and my husband has been so wonderful and patient!  Add to that, he is a mechanic for the local Quaker oats plant...fixing machines that make and package Chewy granola bars, Honey O's cereal, and Aunt Jemima pancake mix.  Today's theme has his name written all over it!  Somewhere in my mess, I have some gears to add to my cards, but I couldn't find them.  Fortunately, I had this small Tim Holtz embossing folder, and sponging with early espreso and indigo island inks helps to accent the gears.  I used early espresso, very vanilla card stock, and SU "Soho" dsp.  The sentiment is computer generated using RGB codes I found online. Memory Box brads and Tim Holtz thick twine finish it off.




It feels good to create again; hopefully I will do some more this weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

Throwing Down some Color, Baby!

Happy Monday, everyone!

I have a couple of cards today for The Color Throwdown blog.  I needed some baby cards, and these soft palettes were a great jumping off point.   I actually set up this post LAST week, thinking I'd get several cards done.  Nope, just one.  But today, I am adding the current challenge just barely before the link-up deadline.  A friend of mine is due to deliver a baby boy by c-section at the end of the month.  The fact that her card is already done is either very funny or downright scary!  I have been behind All. Stinkin'. Year!  Any way, I chose SU's set "Fox and Friends" to make some patterned paper.  The sentiment is long-retired "So Very," also from SU.  I used soft sky, so saffron, smokey slate, and baked brown sugar inks.  A very simple layout with the challenge colors made this a quick card.  Some enamel dots and bakers twine wrap it all up.

This is the first card I made for this post.  I am working on past challenges from The Color Throwdown, and #427 is from the end of January!  I opted for a stamp set that isn't typically my go-to for baby cards:  "Vintage Vogue."  My nephew and his wife just had a baby girl...this card was NOT made in advance!  They actually did not find out the baby's gender until birth.  Rare these days, but I love it!  I chose blushing bride, pool party, and peaar pizzazz inks. The focal point is made with SU's "Baby Prints," outlined with my pear pizzazz marker.  The ribbon is left over from a recent gift (I never throw ribbon away!) and the shimmer enamel dots are from The Paper Studio.  I popped up a sentiment from "Teeny Tiny Wishes" as the final detail.

That's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by!!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

Colorful Birthdays

Hello Stamping Friends!

Today is a Monday, and very rainy, but I am not feeling down!  That's because it's the first "slow" day I have had in a while.  I've had recent days when I got very little done, but I had so much hanging over my head.  Not today.  

Unless you look at my long list of family members who STILL haven't received their birthday cards!  And so, I am returning to my goal to complete all of the 2017 challenges at The Color Throwdown to help spark my creativity.  (I'm going to post quickly for this week's deadline, then add details later.)  My picture stinks, but I managed to get this linked up on time!  I wish we had more sunshine to go with these pretty spring colors!  My card base is so saffron.  I embossed some certainly celery with the Cuttlebug stylized flower embossing folder.The flowers are from SU's long-retired "Beautiful Life" set, in certainly celery and sweet sugarplum.  I added saffron brads and suede cord I bought in the jewelry making aisle at the local Jo-Ann's. The sentiment is from "On Your Birthday" using a scalloped oval.

This next card is for the very first Color Throwdown of 2017.  I figured I better get a few more done, if I am ever going to catch up!  This is a very simple design:  basic black, whisper white, and melon mambo card stock.  The dsp was on my scrap table; something "Tea"  LOL.  It was from the kiwi kiss days!  I used my butterfly framelits to cut this beauty out, and added SU enamel dots and twine from Jo-Ann's.  The sentiment is from SU's "God's Blessings."   

That's it for tonight.  Now I have to clean up my mess so I can make a new one tomorrow!  

  

Inky {{{HUGS}}}

Kim

Fresh Binge of Sketches

Hello Stamping Friends!

Today, I have several thank you cards to post.  Over the last couple of months, I have been busy prepping for a diocesan volunteer appreciation event.  It was held last week, and I finally feel like I can breathe!  So many things filled my calendar in March & April, so my stamping suffered a bit.  This weekend, I had fun creating again. Even though these cards are all related to last week's event, it felt like fun, not work.  Since I needed a lot of thank you cards, I decided to use one pack of designer series paper.  With that, I thought it would be fun to binge on some sketches...actually LOTS of sketches!  The clean and simple designs from Freshly Made Sketches provided the perfect solution!  I went to their page of past sketches, and printed off badges for #270-#285!  Since #285 is still current, I am posting that first.   A few of the sketches are off a bit, but that happens when you are trying to make lots of cards in a sitting. Hopefully, I'll finish the other cards tomorrow while hubby is at work. For simplicity, I'll post supplies here, then I'll add photos...

Paper:  SU thick & regular whisper white, SU night of navy, SU Floral Boutique dsp
Ink:  SU night of navy
Stamps:  sentiments from SU "Wetlands," "Very Versatile," "God's Blessings," "So Very Much"
Tools:  word window, decorative label, modern label, heart, scallop trim, flower punches, doily die, dimensionals
Embellies:  SU enamel dots, ribbon from Offray

It's been dark and rainy all weekend, so some of the navy details are hard to see.  All of the cards have a white base, except one.  I goofed, had to cut off the front, then mounted it to a navy base.

I love the hearts on this sketch!

The ribbon cuts off some of this huge sentiment, but with some tweaking, I'll probably make more of these.

It's tough to see the layers with the monochrome, but this is one of my favorites.

I made 2 of these, because I messed up (blurred) my sentiment...twice!  LOL

Another card where the layers are hard to distinguish, but I love this CAS sketch!

















Here's the card that ended up on a navy card base.  "One of these things
is not like the other..."

Plus, another blurred sentiment meant I had to pull out my punch for an extra element.  But it's close, right?













Finally, this sketch was turned...for fun!




Whew!   I hope I didn't bore you!  Kudos if you made it all the way through!







Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim

Throwing Down Some Color

It has been MONTHS since I have blogged here!  No need to go into the reasons why, but I am happy to get things posted again!    Today I made a card using the most recent Color Throwdown blog challenge, along with a sketch from SCS.  I have other cards to post, but I want to hurry to make the ctd deadline...I'll edit soon!

For several years, I have set a goal to complete all of the challenges from a blog in that particular year, along with one of the weekly SCS challenges.  I decided on The Color Throwdown in January, but I did almost no stamping until March.  And then, it was largely in preparation for Virtual Stamp Night.  Well, today I am doing a bit of catching up...in the stamping and blogging departments.  I needed a sympathy card for a friend, and I really like these soft spring colors.  I paired them with the sketch posted last Wednesday on SCS.  My stamps are from SU's "Bliss" plus "Teeny Tiny Wishes."  I used crisp cantaloupe, so saffron, and pear pizzazz inks along with coordinating card stock.  Twill ribbon, an "Everyday Enchantment" SU brad and SU punches add the details.









Now, to some previous challenges.  I figure if I do 3 or 4 per week, I'll eventually catch up!  This is one of the first CTD challenges of the year.  I actually made this card last month...even mailed it then!  I didn't post, because I was wrapped up in VSN.  I really like the fact that these colors could work for feminine or masculine designs.  My grandson had a birthday last month, and I thought these SU "Extreme Elements" would work for his card.   The drum image and You Rock sentiment are from an old Inkadinkado set; can't remember the name of the set.  I used basic black, marina mist, and daffodil delight card stock and ink.  My diagonal stripe embossing folder goes with the sketch.  An "On Your Birthday" greeting stamped on an oval adds some contrast and enamel dots finish it off.




Here is another early challenge; but I just made this card yesterday!  I needed a (very) belated birthday card for my brother.  I threw this together quickly and started putting it in an envelope when I realized I needed a picture so I could post it.  My husband took the pic with the envelope! Ha!  I gave the card to my brother yesterday and just saw the pic today, so I'm stuck with it.  Good thing I used a vanilla envelope!  I used the very last of my riding hood red card stock, along with very vanilla and basic gray, then added crumb cake with ink.  The images are from SU's "Clockworks" and more "On Your Birthday" words show up today.  The embossing folder is from Darice, and the heavy twine was in the miscellaneous bin last weekend at Jo-Ann's.  Yay for bargains!

Well, it will take me a long time to catch up, and I'm going to be on the road when the new challenge is posted this week.  Nevertheless, I am ready to get back in the groove!  I may just start with posting cards I've already made...like those VSN  cards I mentioned.  We shall see!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}
Kim