July 2018 Inspiration Challenge at Altenew

Hi there,

I've been enjoying my day with the window open and the rain falling softly outside.  I did take a break to meow at the wild cat in the back yard.  He/she was quite perplexed as to the source of the sounds, but didn't move from what appear to be favorite hunting grounds.  Yesterday, the same cat thought about hunting a young doe that came by for some corn. The cat thought better of it once the doe moved towards the cat.

On to the card,  this month Altenew is showing inspiration in blues and gray.

 I took one of the layering stamps from the majestic bloom set and used a very pale blue to stamp the background.  I added some glitter tape in a strong blue and my sentiment in gray.  I think I can get away with sending this one to my Dad even though it is a flower card technically.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Color Throwdown

Hi ... we recently returned from a week in Ohio, visiting hubs family. We had a great time.  Returning home it was time to pay the piper and get caught up with the work waiting for us.

I am rushing through to get this entry for Color Throwdown #503 posted before the linky slams the door!

 

I love those colors, they really grabbed my attention. 

A new set of dies (gift bags) begged to be played with.  A die cut card goes faster when trying to meet a deadline for me.  I used red paper washed with red wink of stella, green glitter paper, a light gray circle and a dark gray card base.  The sentiment is stamped in smokey gray.

Thanks much for stopping by.

H A Dalia

Hi there!

I already posted one card I made with the Hero Arts Dalia stamp and cut set.  I made two more recently.
I also wanted to show you what I do when I get in a new flower stamp.

I get a google image of the flower.  Many times growers have a grid of seed pack flower images that show a variety of colors for that particular flower.  I like having that guide - but that doens't mean there will be no more blue flowers - which for some reason I find fascinating.  That little snippet is stored along with the stamp and die.

I used copics to color, sticking with two color blends as the petals were small.  The coral version was plopped on to a card base embossed with a new SU ef. I colored the little dots with a marker to add just a bit more interest to the base - ok yes- all that white freaked me out.

The yellow version has nuvo drops added.

Thanks much for stopping by~

So Cool

Hi there!

I hit the jackpot when it comes to in-laws. During a recent phone conversation my FIL asked if I had seen the new Frozen Treats stamps yet - and mentioned that they had a scent added to them. He had recently been to the post office and the post mistress had shown them to him.  I replied that I had not but would definitely check them out.

Just days after this conversation, I get a card in the mail from my MIL. Along with a sweet kitten and flower imaged card she had tucked in a package of the new scratch and sniff stamps.  What a thoughtful surprise.

I immediately thought of a card in thanks. I put it in an orange envelope and used the orange/yellow/pink combo stamp to mail it.

I think they'll get a kick out of it.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hydrangea

Hello There -

I love hydrangeas, those beautiful full mop headed blooms are so lush and beautiful. 

My inspiration for this card came from my recently completed class at Altenew Academy and the hydrangea bushes in front of our home.

I used distress oxide inks to water color the stamped mondo hydrangea. I used a combination of salty ocean, faded jeans and wilted violet.

Here is a photo of the first blooming of our plants.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Muse 275

Hi there~

I love playing at Muse, there is always a fun card for inspiration.  Kim's card is below.

I don't have the stamp she used, but I recently got another set from Stampin Up that I think I will have a lot of fun with.  My bestie just had surgery and this card is on its way to her.

Here is Kim's card.  I was inspired by the lady and the general encouragement of the card sentiment.



Thanks for stopping!

Blue Aqua Gray and white

Hi there

When I saw the luscious color combination at Color Throwdown, I had to play along.  The challenge icon is posted below.

I pulled out an older set that hasn't had nearly enough use, WPlus9's Watercolor Anemones. 

The entire stamp image was stamped in gray.  The flowers were then separately stamped in shades of blue and aqua, then cut with the matching die. The MFT sentiment was white heat embossed and mounted over a sliver of silver glitter tape.

The panel was diecut and mounted onto a dark charcoal card base.  

I think gems are making a comeback...at least in my book they are. I sprinkled a few tiny ones around.

I am entering this to two challenges -
Color Throwdown 502 
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Diecut or Punch 

 

Thanks so much for coming by!

Best Birthday Fishes

Hello -

Today's card is going to be visiting a lot of challenges!

The backdrop is watercolored using a ziplock bag and the smooshing technique with Distress Markers.  I liked that I could flip it over and move the color around some more.  I'll be doing this again.

The stamps are Best Fishes from Simon Says Stamp, the die is from Avery Elle.

I am entering this to these challenges :

Muse   -  image is below
Just Us Girls - Trend Week Watercolor Background
Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenge - Summer Time
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Summer Fun
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Fun in the Sun
Simon Says Stamp - Work it Wednesday




Thanks so much for stopping by!

July Bizzare and Unique Day

Hi there!

Well its not so bizzare nor unique -  Its Ice Cream Day July 15th.  There are several versions of cool treat days in July - no wonder for many of us in the northern hemisphere it is the hottest month of the year.
 

I made a little card, its 3.75" square, and had fun with it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Muse 273

Hi there  ~

It always bugs me when I miss out on playing with Muse.  I woke up this morning and knew I had a couple of hours before the link closed.

I pretty much cased Anita's lovely card, but I inverted the black and white.  It was an experiment and I wanted to see how those distress oxide inks would work on black cardstock.

I thought the colors did well on the black cardstock.  Its a bit dramatic, and I have to confess that I like the Muse much better - its cleaner, brighter and more summery.   I do not regret testing my idea though!

Anita's Card is below.



Thanks for stopping by!

Coral and Gold

Hi there -

When I saw the challenge graphic at The Card Concept I knew I had to play along.  Then life got in the way of my crafty time - but thankfully there is still time to get this in.  And while it took some time to get this done, I am also able to enter it to Seize the Birthday Anything Goes - I am adding the toppings of sequins as well.

My clean and simple card was inspired by those large blooms, the gold, and the watercolor wash from The Card Concept for the design and colors, and it needed to be a nice girly birthday card with sequins for Seize the Birthday. Both the flower and the sentiment are embossed with gold ep.




Thanks for taking the time to pop in!

Last of the Summer School Homework

Hi there~

I have my last two cards for MFT's summer school session. The first card is using:

Complementary colors are those opposite one another on the color wheel.  I chose blue and orange.

Our last lesson:

A centering ruler helped with placement on this card. Its very simple - which I prefer for sympathy cards.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I am happy to post my completion badge.

Case This Sketch Guest Designer

Hi Everyone !

I was a top pick on Case this Sketch in February, and as part of that honor, Chrissy asked if I would like to join in as a guest designer.  I jumped at the chance.  Thanks so much Chrissy!

Here is this week's  Cas(e) this sketch - They are going retro.

 

I don't have any airplanes...but I thought this might do.

Can you see the sketch in my card?  Come play along, hope to see you in the gallery.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Primary Colors

Hi there!

The next lesson for MFT's Summer School is to use primary colors.

I love the boldness of traditional primary colors and I enjoyed making this card for my Dad.

I cut out the holes  with the small peek a boo circle, then colored the spaces with copics.  Next I cut out my kitties and stamped them on the cut pieces. I left them black and white so the only colors are primary colors on the card.  Now I am caught up with the homework!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Repetition

Hello.

Another bit of homework for MFT's Summer School series going on this week.  This lesson was about:

 Samples included words repeated and images repeated. 

Here is my card:

I repeated the sentiment, covered it with vellum found the same sentiment in a smaller font and repeated it on top of my stacked heart embellishment.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

White Space

Hi there ~

I am playing along at MFT's Summer school this week.  Lesson one was about white space - leaving some.

I recently acquired a new embossing folder that adds a subtle linen like texture.  Its perfect to give me comforts while still maintaining a lot of "White Space".

I really loved the example provided by MFT, which used a very light gray sentiment strip. I included that design element on my card.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hey Friend

Hey Friend ~

After taking the Altenew class, I found myself at a bit of a low point creativity wise.  I think because those classes are so intense for me, I need a bit of a break afterwards. My vampire hours don't help either.

Here is my card:

I started with the prompt from Double D Challenges - Butterflies, and then used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches for the basic design, I added a frame element for AAA Cards as well.  My colors were inspired by Muse.

   



Thanks so much for stopping by!