Get Sketchy Challenge

Made for the Get Sketchy challenge #36.  I followed it pretty closely.  I started by looking for a small stamped image for the main focus.  (I believe it's from Stampin Up.)  I colored it with Prismacolor pencils, and then matched my printed papers and cardstocks to the colors.  Many of the embellishments are gifts from friends.  The focal image is even one that I stamped off from a borrowed stamp.   

Play Date Cafe Challenge #27

Here is the inspiration showing the colors for this week's Play Date Cafe Challenge.  I love the soft blue and green!

I loved these cute birdhouses, and my brain went right to my Tim Holtz birdcage diecut.  I used a blue paper with subtle ivory dots. 

                  

I wanted it to hang from a branch, so the Hero Arts branch was clear stamped and embossed, then cut out.  The background of the ivory parchment card was first stamped here and there with a script stamp in broken china distress ink, then I layered the branch and the birdcage.  I had these pretty buttons which seemed to fit; they were strung together with twine first, then glued to the bottom of the birdcage. I tried several different printed papers for my bird, a template from my friend Mary Anne, with a punched heart wing, but none of them did the trick until I tried putting this subtle green check through a cuttlebug Victoria folder, then sanding.  I thought it gave just the right texture I needed.  To finish, I added the sentiment, a little twine bow at the top of the cage, and distressed lightly around the edges of the card in broken china.

Supplies: Tim Holtz birdcage die cut, assorted blue and ivory buttons, twine, Hero Arts LP123 Artistic Windows (script), CL338 Be Yourself (branch), CL177 SparkleClear Hello Birdie, parchment, green, blue cardstock, unknown printed cardstock, blue gem for bird's eye, broken china distress and versafine onyx black inks

Bleeding Hearts

One of my favorite plants at this time of year is the bleeding heart.  Mine doesn't get quite enough light, but it is so delicate I don't want to move it.  This year was a good year for it, and it is blooming now.  It inspired me to dig out this old stamp and make a card.

After I stamped it over the script background and colored it, I decided to use this sentiment, and then added one of Jane's hand-made heart buttons. 

Supplies: Rubber Stampede Bleeding Heart, Hero Arts S4878 Old Letter Writing, CL272 All Occasion Messages, Core'dinations 'In the Pink' cardstock, ivory parchment cardstock, Memories Artprint brown and Ranger Archival Sepia inks, Jane's button, twine

Two-step stamps

Thought I'd share this card I made yesterday.  My friend Carol lent me this Stampin' Up set called Terrific Tulips (now discontinued), and I have been having so much fun playing with it.  Each of the images comes in 2 parts, the background and a coordinating detail stamp.  I used 2 shades of each color in Distress Inks: spun sugar and worn lipstick, and shabby shutters and peeled paint.  Love the effect these stamps give!  I followed a sketch Carol had included with the stamps, but I'm hoping to come up with something of my own next.  The sentiment is from a Hero Arts clear set called Thank You Sayings, from Hannah.

More Core'dinations for Caardvarks

For the Caardvarks challenge to make a card using Core'dinations and a monochromatic design. I chose a color called In the Pink, and dry embossed the background, adding a layer of stamped lace that was heat embossed with white embossing powder, and a third layer also heat embossed with the sentiment.

Here is a close-up of the flower I made.  I first embossed the Swiss Dots onto the core'dinations, sanding the dots and the edges, then used my cuttlebug to diecut 6 scalloped circles, and secured them together, adding a pearl cabochon to the center.

Supplies: "In the Pink" Core'dinations and white cardstock, Cuttlebug "Victoria" and "Swiss Dots" embossing folders, Hero Arts K5329 Lace Frame and CL380 Truly Appreciated, VersaMark ink and white embossing powder, Nestabilities scalloped circles, pearl cabochon

Caardvark's Core'dinations challenge

The challenge at Caardvarks this time is to use Core'dinations cardstocks in a monochromatic design.   My friend Yvonne found a package of Core'dinations called All in the Family in Indigo.  It contains 4 different coordinating cardstocks in the grey-blue family.  The very darkest color is the little frame around the sentiment.  The second darkest is the card body, the third is the darker nesties frame, that was embossed with the Swiss Dots folder and sanded.  And the very lightest color was used for the sentiment and the inner frame, stamped with faded jeans distress ink.  The Hero Arts Hydrangea stamp was colored with prismacolor pencils in the same blue tones.

Supplies: Core'dinations Indigo All in the Family cardstock pack, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder, Hero Arts stamps CG119 Flourish Background, K5376 Hydrangea, Northwoods sentiment, faded jeans distress ink, prismacolor pencils

Vintage Lilacs

This card uses a digital panel, one of 9 beauties that I found at the Vintage Catnip blog.  I simply isolated this one, enlarged it to card size and then embellished it with the scroll medallion (a gift from Jacqueline), the sentiment,  a ribbon and some pearls.  I mounted it to my card base stamped with a lace background. 

Supplies: Hero Arts products S5341 Lace Background, AR130 Handwritten Sentiments, Iris layering paper and Iris chalk ink, unknown scroll medallion clear stamp, sheer ribbon, pearls

Inspired by Kath

Kath posted a card on her blog this morning that I immediately fell in love with and this is my take on it.  I loved that she overstamped her flowers with various designs; I followed suit and also used her color choices.  Why mess with perfection?  Her card really made me smile, so I thought this sentiment was perfect.  The background is an excerpt from The Secret Garden, courtesy of Lucy.

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps CL322 Artistic Flowers, CG118 Stripes Pattern, S5101 Raindrop Background, S5213 Dots and Flowers, CL267 Card Messages, Vintage Photo, Faded Jeans, Peeled Paint distress inks, various buttons, yarn

For my Dad

Each winter we spend almost 3 months in Florida, and see my parents every week while we are there, as they usually spend the same time in an adjacent town to ours. (Here at home, we are separated by about 3 hours driving time.) This picture was taken of my Dad last year, when he was almost 89. Twice a day he'd put little Max in his bicycle basket and ride around the neighborhood; his mini dachshund was a natural icebreaker, and by the end of his time in Florida, he is always a fixture in whatever neighborhood he lives. Sadly, Max was killed last summer. But my parents now have a little black dachshund named Heidi, and she went with them to Florida this year, too. I'm sorry I didn't get an updated picture of her this year.
Here is the card I made to send to Dad "just because". The minute I saw this bicycle stamp, I had to have it, just because of him. I put 2 dogs in the basket, the red one for Max, the black one for Heidi.

Pink spring

Lacy new pale green leaves on the trees .... pink and white flowering bushes ..... blue skies ..... brilliant green grass .... my favorite time of year! Here is a collage of our little crabtree in the back yard, just starting to open. It's at its prettiest right now; once it opens fully it fades to a very pale pink, almost white.
I was inspired to make a card reflecting the season.

The Hero Arts stamp I used is called Winter Trees, but I made them springy by punching out pink circles to make my own flowering trees. For supplies, see my flickr photostream.

Another new stamp set

Here is another new Hero Arts set called Watercolor Petals, from the Artists Proof supplement. It contains a long-stemmed flower, used above, another short-stemmed one, a fern, see below, a butterfly and a leaf. The stamps are all designed to give an indefinite watercolor look to them. I unearthed my old shadow stamps to use with them, and added little bits and pieces of script to give the feel of an old botanical print. For details, see my flickr photostream.

New Hero Stamp: Rose Background

This new beautiful rose background stamp is part of the new Hero Arts Artists Proof release. I couldn't wait for it to arrive and it does not disappoint! This first version is just inked in a soft pink background ink on ivory parchment paper, then sponged along the edges in the same ink.

Supplies: CG179 Rose Background, LL206 Take Good Care Greetings, Nestabilities Labels One, ivory, pink and Bazzill Celtic Green dotted cardstocks, twine, fabric flower and leaves

And this one was stamped twice, once on a soft pink parchment in a brown ink, and again on a soft pink cardstock, cutting that apart and paper-piecing it to the first. I colored the leaves with colored pencils.

Supplies: CG179 Rose Background, CL380 Truly Appreciated, Memories ArtPrint Brown ink, pale pink parchment and pink cardstock, Prismacolor pencils, unknown ribbon, pink pearls

Spring bouquet

Here is a little bouquet I just picked, using the tiny flowers blooming in our gardens.
There are 2 kinds of violets, the darker "wild" kind, and "Freckles", the white ones with purple freckles. The very smallest sky blue clusters are my perennial forget-me-nots, Brunnera macrophylla, and the medium sized ones, which have pink and blue on the same stem, are lungwort, Pulmonaria "Mrs. Moon".

This whole tiny bouquet is only 5 inches tall!! Aren't these miniature works of art?

This little cream pitcher is from a set by Villeroy and Boch called "Vieux Luxembourg". We bought some assorted pieces from the V&B factory in Luxembourg about 30 years ago. The pattern is still available through Villeroy and Boch here in the states. I love this pattern because of the blue, and because of the memories it brings back.

Mother's Day Hydrangeas

Here's a card I think my Mom will like; she loves anything purple.

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps K5376 Hydrangeas, S5341 Lace Background, S4878 Old Letter Writing, Versamark ink and white embossing powder, peeled paint distress ink, Prismacolor pencils, twine

A Mother's Day Card

For the challenge over at the Hero Arts Blog. The base background is a digital download from Shari Carroll. I changed up the colors a bit and then added some stamped and floral embellishments.

Supplies: Shari's digital background, S5317 Starburst Lace, LP123 Artistic Windows (script), Anita's stamp (Mother's Day), Martha Stewart hydrangea stickers from Judy, broken china distress ink (script), VersaMark ink and white embossing powder

Sweet Violets

For this week's Get Sketchy challenge #32. I used Flourishes gorgeous set called Sweet Violets...I love coloring these! I was inspired to make this card after a walk in my garden today.

Heart Flowers

Made for the CPS Sketch 161 Challenge, sponsored this week by Hero Arts. I followed the sketch almost to the t.

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps K5185 Wallpaper Flowers, CL272 All Occasion Messages

Bird on a doily

Hero Arts is bringing out a new collection of stamps called Artist's Proofs in just a few weeks. One of them is a cling stamp called "Bird in a Circle". This is my version of it.

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps LP169 Bird Trio, K5185 Wallpaper Flowers, S4878 Old Letter Writing, AR130 Handwritten Sentiments, fern punch, yellow pearls

Blue Hydrangea

Just playing with my newest stamp! We can't seem to grow these gorgeous blue plants here in Ohio, but I always enjoy seeing them along the East Coast when we're on vacation. I love this color of blue. I guess stamping them is the next best thing to growing them! The idea for this design came from Carole.

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps K5376 Hydrangea, S4878 Old Letter Writing, CL380 Truly Appreciated

Spring Birds

Made for the current Hero Arts challenge: home. Details on my Flickr photostream.

Play Date Cafe Challenge #23

I was really drawn to the inspiration picture for this week's Play Date Cafe Challenge because of the color blue and the lace. The images were stamped with VersaMark ink and then white embossed on a pale blue glossy cardstock. I added more blue to the flower by sponging it with Adirondack Stonewash ink and also went around the edges of the lace panel for more definition.

Supplies: Hero Arts S5341 Lace Background, CL272 All Occasion Messages, Stampendous Q131 Ruffled Bloom
Here is the inspiration picture.

Spring!!

We arrived home yesterday to spring in full throttle here in Ohio!! We broke temperature records here yesterday - highs in the 80's. This weather is better than anything we had in the 2 1/2 months we just spent in Florida - what a homecoming! I should NOT be making cards, but I wanted to get at least one made before this deadline at Hero Arts disappears. So this is my card inspired by one of our Win -A-Day girls this week, Kathy. Details on my Flickr photostream.

Now that I've got that out of my system, back to doing laundry!