CQC89 & TESC140

Happy Tuesday—which means it’s ColourQ time! I was sweating bullets when I saw this color combo:

What in the world was I going to do with these? I already had my Father’s Day cards done, so I didn’t want to make another one. The colors had a subdued feel to me, so I opted to make a sympathy card, which although I hate having to make, are helpful to have on hand:

The card base is Bravo Burgundy with a layer of Cajun Craze; I did some shadow stamping again (I love this effect) with the images from Pocket Silhouettes, stamping them first in Basic Gray, then again in Bordering Blue on textured Whisper White. I added a little embossed border:

and a layered sentiment, anchored with silver Glimmer brads:

Using Taylor’s Sketch #140 was helpful:

Hope this whets your appetite to play along with us! Check out all the other samples at the CQC blog and share your creativity with us!

Paper Players #50

Hi everyone!  Happy Sunday and that means another Paper Players challenge!  I am the hostess today and I have chosen “Kind Thanks” as the challenge for the week---make a card or project as a way to thank someone!

My card will be going out to a special blog friend who is always encouraging me and makes me laugh with each and every comment!  I started with Taylor’s sketch (even though I am sure I missed the deadline):

and pulled out a set that will be retiring from this catalog, Fresh Cuts.  I chose a “fresh” color combo, too, of Pumpkin Pie and Baja Breeze:

There are lots of fun details here!  An extra couple of elements:

and some white embossing, pearls and baker’s twine:

And you can’t tell from the photo, but this Sweet & Sour DP has a beautiful swirl already embossed on it…just gorgeous! 

So let’s see what kind thank you creation you can make this week and share it with us at the Paper Players blog!  YOU could be chosen as a Cut Above or even the Headliner of the week!

• Stamps:  Fresh Cuts
• Paper:  WW, Baja Breeze, Pumpkin Pie & Baja Breeze Patterns DP, Sweet & Sour DP
• Ink:  Pumpkin Pie, Craft White
• Acc:  Corner Rounder, Circle Punches, Nesties, White EP, Bakers Twine, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Pearls, Modern Label Punch, Dimensionals

Thanks for visiting today!

ALCM Funny Card Challenge

I wasn’t going to play the A La Card Monkey challenge this week, which was to make a humorous card!  I just couldn’t think of anything to stamp---too busy, too many other things on my mind.  But I did remember, (just before the deadline), that I had a cute stamp from CHF that I thought would be perfect for my weight-watching, Curves-going friends.  It’s a big image so I made a monochromatic card, keeping it easy:

Unfortunately, I did not realize it was a SKETCH CHALLENGE also, as I used Taylor’s sketch #136

What an idiot I am!  So sorry! 

It takes a few seconds for the “story” of this image to sink in……but I just think the expression on this lady’s face is priceless—what must she be thinking as she is stepping on the scale!  Her purse is flying, her hands are up in the air and the dog just thinks he’s having a great time! 

Here’s the inside sentiment:

So that’s the extent of my humorous stamps!!!  Thanks for visiting!

• Stamps:  Weighty Matters, CHF
• Paper:  VV, Bravo Burgundy, Botanical Gazette DP
• Ink:  Bravo Burgundy
• Acc:  Twill, Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, Small, Large & Scallop Oval Punches

And a photo from my DD:  kids start using technology earlier & earlier these days!! 

 

Two Pups, Two Sketches

Unfortunately, I had to make a pet sympathy card; my niece had to put her beloved Sully to sleep Sunday night due to a heat stroke.  She had gotten him when she was a senior in high school; her senior project was to train him for Canine Partners for Life, but early in training, it was discovered that he had diabetes, so rather than have him put down, my sister’s family adopted him.  So for the last six years, he led a wonderful life with the other menagerie at my sister’s house, running through the woods and fields and living a dog’s life.  Kelly spoiled him rotten!  Lately though, he had been having seizures, and Sunday was just too hot for him; the vet said it was best to put him down.  It was so sudden, no one had time to prepare, so it has been a sad week.  I pulled out Anna Wight’s Good Dog set and made this card, using Taylor’s sketch:

 

I flipped the sketch in order to face the dog inward; this really does NOT look like Sully (he was a Black lab) but I didn’t necessarily want it to remind her of him, but perhaps a doggie friend!! (Silly, I know!).  I chose to make a “frame” of SU’s new Poppy Parade, which matched the Max & Whiskers paper perfectly.  I really wanted that fun print to show through!  I distressed it using the direct-to-paper technique, just rubbing my Crumb Cake ink pad over the paper in a random pattern.  The scallops are in Close to Cocoa and Not Quite Navy.  I added some piercing and a couple little silver embellishments.

Since I had my Max & Whiskers paper already out, I decided to make another card; I must admit, this one went more quickly!  I used Mercy’s sketch:

and since I already had this dog image stamped from my last card (too big) I went ahead and used it on this one:

Really simple & easy!!  Aren’t those papers adorable?  It will be hard not to hoard these, they are so cute!  So thanks for visiting and don’t forget to stop back tomorrow for the CTD!

• Stamps:  Good Dog, Whippersnapper
• Paper:  Sahara Sand, Close to Cocoa, Not Quite Navy, Poppy Parade, WW, More Mustard, Max & Whiskers, Basic Grey
• Ink:  Memento Black, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
• Acc:  Copics, Grosgrain & Satin ribbon, Scallop Trim Punch, Nesties, Paper Piercer, Silver Embellishments, Jumbo Scallop Punch, EK Success, Copics

Act 35 Daisy

I haven’t played Stacey’s Curtain Call Challenge for a while, so I thought I would squeeze in some time last night…although I am thinking that my DP is probably not quite Green Galore! Here is her fun challenge inspiration:

and my card:

I used up some DP that will be retiring from the Flock Together and Kaleidescope series, along with the Flower Daisies #2 die cut and a little lady bug from Bugs & Wishes. Sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes. My little stem was stitched with some embroidery floss and the brad is from MME. I am not real happy with my ribbon & bow treatment; it looks odd and out of place to me, but it’s on there and that’s where it’s staying! I used Taylor’s sketch for my layout:

Thanks for the visit today!

• Stamps: Bugs & Kisses, Teeny Tiny Wishes
• Paper: WW, Cameo Coral, Tempting Turquoise, Flock Together DP
• Ink: Cameo Coral
• Acc: Jumbo Brad, Flower Daisies 2 Diecut, Small Oval Punch, Scallop Trim Punch, Taffeta Ribbon, Piercing Tool, Embroidery Floss & Needle

2 AM Cards

Okay, we’ve all had those nights where we toss and turn….last night was one of them, so I just got up and made some cards.  I am paying for it now…but at least I was productive at some point in my day!

I made two get well cards for my stash, since I already had all the supplies out; this uses a sketch from Taylor’s site a few weeks ago, which I flipped around a little:

and here they are:

                                                       
They use different card base colors, a different DP at the top and I changed the brad…..not much else!  And if you’d like to see a cool way to attach ribbon so it doesn’t slide off, you can check out this post here.  Thanks for visiting today and blessings to you all!

• Stamps:  Sweet Stems, Teeny Tiny Wishes
• Paper:  Pretty in Pink, Barely Banana, Almost Artichoke, WW, Sweet Pea DP
• Ink:  Stazon, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss
• Acc:  Birds & Bloom Diecut, Taffeta Ribbon, Brads, Circle Punch, Blender Pens, Scallop Trim punch

Pastel Birthday

Another birthday card for my stash….I used the CAS challenge again for today, although based on the mess on my desk, I would say that it is NOT CAS!!!  Although the only stamping is a sentiment…..which is what the challenge was!!  Anyway, this is a very pastel card, so it was rather difficult to photograph:

I used some Basic Grey papers, some punched-out flowers strung along a line of rickrack and some sweet little pearls for their centers; the sketch is Taylor’s TESC107:

That’s it for now!  Oh, here’s a picture of my sweetie Pumpkin, sitting in the basket on my porch, enjoying the fine weather.  I usually have a plant in there!

Stacey’s Curtain Call Act#23

I haven’t played Stacey’s Color Challenge for a while, so I thought I would take a few minutes today to play!  These are such elegant colors, and the designers’ samples are so nice!  I had seen some punched tulips (I believe on LeeAnn Greff’s blog) so I thought I would try them here to make another Easter card for my stash.  I also used Taylor’s sketch.  Here are the details:

and here is my card:

 

Dots & sentiment are from PTI; the tulip is sort of 3D; you can see it here:

it is made from the wing of the large bird punch that is in the current SU mini catalog---how versatile & cool is that!  Thanks for visiting again today!

Wish Big

I had so much fun yesterday with combining challenges, I decided to do a few more today!

The JUGS Challenge #15, to use sewing on your card:

For the sketch, I used Taylor's Sketch Challenge #97:

And a challenge from a new blog, Stampin' Royalty, to make a birthday card! So here is my take on the three:

I can never have too many birthday cards! I used some of the new Sweet Pea DP from SU, which has so many fun colors and mix-and-match patterns, it is a breeze to coordinate everything. The cupcakes from the hostess set The More the Merrier were colored with markers as well as paper-pieced and glittered, of course! I did some faux stitching (I realize I wasn't 100% true to the sketch here as I look at it--oops!) along the sides, "sewing" down the little hearts as I went along. A couple grosgrain ribbons added the final touch. I can't wait to give this to someone!! Thanks for visiting today!!!

• Stamps: The More the Merrier, Short & Sweet
• Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Taken with Teal, WW, Sweet Pea DP
• Ink: Stazon, Taken with Teal
• Acc: Nesties, Piercing Tool & Mat, White Gel Pen, Grosgrain Ribbons, 3-Heart Punch, Dimensionals