{Embellish Magazine} color challenge with birds

The colors for the {Embellish Magazine}challenge are pink, brown, and green, and we are to incorporate birds.

After I finished my card, and as I was preparing to make this post, I read on the challenge that the winners would have their "hot" projects highlighted.   That made me giggle; hot this isn't, but it made me happy while making it......still humming that lovely old tune.  I used a favorite Inkadinkado bird and a Denami note stamp, and my sentiment is computer generated using the English calligraphy script font, found here.  The background paper has birds and branches in it. 

Heartfelt Wishes

This week the challenge at Flourishes is to use pins of any kind.  I chose to use a decorative pin that Trace sent me.  I threaded it with some pink beads before gluing it to the butterfly body. 

The butterfly and sentiment were stamped and heat embossed in white on vellum before cutting them out.  The butterfly trail was stamped on the pink panel, then sewn to the card, along with the 2 printed panels.  I slit an opening in the card seam to thread the sheer ribbon through, and then tied a bow in the front and slid the pin through it to secure the butterfly.

I'm also entering this into Caardvark's Birthday challenge, and into PaperPlay's challenge: Anything Goes.

Supplies: Hero Arts H5426 Artist Butterfly, CL311 Valentine Flourish, CL272 All Occasion Messages, pink and white cardstock, white vellum, scraps of pink gingham and dotted papers, VersaMark ink and white embossing powder, Making Memories flower pin, unknown pink beads, wide sheer pink ribbon

Play Date Cafe Challenge, take 2

Since I consider myself a stamping cardmaker, and my last try at this challenge was not stamped at all, I decided to make another card and use all stamping.  I haven't played with these Outlines daisies in a long time; they stamp up beautifully!  Then sentiment is from a clear Hero Arts set and the ribbon was a gift from Fika.  I am also entering this into the PaperPlay challenge, "anything goes".

Black and white with a splash of green

That's the challenge this week at the Play Date Cafe.  This Webster's Paper looks celtic to me, and it looks so much like this Hero Arts digital image from the Stone Etchings set that I thought I'd pair them up.  I resized the digital image and chose 2 shades of green, then printed them out, cut out the floral part and popped both layers above the card surface.   Then I just added some black gems and framed the whole thing in green.  Again, this is not something I'd ordinarily make, but that's why I love these challenges.

Going Dotty!

Over at the Simon Says challenge (a new one for me), we are to use as many dotted items as we can.  Since I love dots so much, this was a natural for me. 

I think everything but the punched fence has dots on it, one way or the other!  I used lots of BoBunny dotted papers, plus a few unknown ones and one from Bazill.  Even the flower stamp is already dotted, and I ran my sky background through a dotted embossing folder.

Supplies: Hero Arts S5215 Clouds, CL374 Big and Small Flowers, CL413 Bugs and Kisses, PTI Vintage Picnic Sentiments, Martha Stewart picket fence and butterfly punches

One, Two, Three

The challenge at the Shabby Tea Room is to use 1 ribbon, 2 buttons, and 3 die-cuts or punches - what fun!  I actually dreamed about this one last night.  I wanted to use this wide ribbon and the music background, and the rest evolved overnight.  You might have to look really carefully to find my 2nd button, but it's there.  And since this card is blue and cream, I'm also entering it into the PaperPlay challenge for this week.

Supplies:  Hero Arts K5376 Hydrangea, S4878Old Letter Writing (on cream oval background), AR137 Script Messages, cream and aqua cardstocks, CosmoCricket Material girl and JoAnn's printed papers, Versafine onyx black and tumbled glass distress inks, Prismacolor pencils, Nestabilities oval and scalloped oval dies, Martha Stewart doily punch, ivory and pale blue buttons

Go Fly a Kite!

Paige at the CARDS blog has asked for cards with kites.  Here is mine:

Kites always remind me of my Dad.  I remember when our boys were little his making them kites and taking them to an open area to fly them.  I pieced mine using Cosmo Cricket Material Girl and Garden Variety papers; I thought they showed up nicely against my blue sky with flower clouds (Hero Arts cling CG123 Flower Wallpaper).  The sentiment sticker is from a Susan Branch scrapbook kit from years ago.  I added tiny buttons to the tails of the kites. 

I'm also entering this into the Card Style Fun and Cute Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.

Birthday Card for Caardvarks

August is probably the month with the most birthdays for our family, so I have been getting my cards made ahead of time.  I finally found this October Afternoon  Thrift Shop "Needs Paint" paper, and couldn't wait to try it.  This card uses both coordinating sides, the stripe and the floral.  I thought the Hero Arts flowers were perfect to mimic the little bouquets in the print; I paper-pieced the flowers with some Cosmo Cricket Material Girl paper.    This will be entered into Caardvark's Birthday Card challenge. 

Supplies: HA H3125 Heart Leaf Sketch, CL139 Birthday Messages, cream and red cardstock, October Afternoon and Cosmo Cricket papers, Nesties scalloped circle die, aqua dotted ribbon, flower button, pearls, Martha Stewart doily lace, green colored pencil, fired brick distress ink and Stampology onyx ink

Play Date Cafe Challenge #39

These pictures are from the Russell Court Hotel, in Dublin, Ireland, our next destination in the Play Date Cafe's travels around the world.  And these colors are about as far away from my usual choices as Ireland is from Ohio.  But once I started to play, I really enjoyed working with them, and I'm pleased with the way my card turned out.  Per Sue's suggestion, I'm also entering it into the MFW's Classy and Elegant Challenge. 

Supplies: camel, white, black, mushroom cardstocks, black and white swirl paper, lace and script paper (for flower), Hero Arts CL156 Treasure the Moments, CL401 Speckled Ornaments, S4878 Old Letter Writing, Palette Burnt Umber ink, Stampology onyx ink, camel flower button, black gems

PaperPlay Challenge, week 29

When I saw that the PaperPlay Challenge was to use blue, cream and any other color of choice, I HAD to play, as blue is my favorite color.  I chose my favorite Hydrangea, stamping it twice, once on the blue cardstock that the card is based on, and once on watercolor paper, then coloring in the leaves and stems.  Then I glued the blue flowerhead to the stem.

I also stamped a beautiful lace background in French blue on my cream die-cut label, and added a dotted blue ribbon, a bit of lace, some pearls and the sentiment on some little tags.  And I dry-embossed the card base with a little pattern of flowers to mimic the individual blooms on a hydrangea head. 

Supplies: Hero Arts K5376 Hydrangea, S5341 Lace Background, Flourishes Violet clear set for sentiment, blue and cream cardstocks, watercolor paper, Prismacolor watercolor pencils, Versafine onyx black ink, ColorBox French blue chalk ink, dotted blue grosgrain ribbon, blue pearls, lace, tiny die-cut labels in pale blue, Sizzix Flowers embossing folder

The Shabby Tea Room Challenge, take 2

Who knew I would love these colors so much!  This is a combination I have never tried before.

For my second entry into The Shabby Tea Room's challenge: In the Garden, I concentrated on the circle design of the inspiration wreath:

I just found Cosmo Cricket's Garden Variety and Material Girl mini paper pads, and these colors work perfectly!  With my own addition of cream cardstock and the white doily and heart pearls, I was able to get all of the challenge colors into my card.   I LOVE stamping on printed papers!

Supplies: Hero Arts CL322 Artistic Borders (flowers), CG148 Blossoms (leaf), and LL206 Take Good Care (sentiment), Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety and Material Girl papers, unknown red/cream dotty paper in background, cream cardstock, Versafine onyx black ink, HA heart-shaped pearls, red mettalic decor, unknown pearl cabachon, paper doily

TESC #121

Here is the sketch for this week's Taylored Expressions challenge:

And here is my entry:

Supplies: Hero Arts CG119 Flourish Background, S5152 Scallop Flourish, CK374 Big and Small Flowers, CL129 Anytime Messages, white, various oranges and turquoise cardstocks, TPC Studio mini dot pp, tumbled glass distress ink, versafine onyx black ink., pearl cabochons

July Card Chain

Every month, Deborah puts together a challenge for whoever would like to participate; she gives us 3 options: a color palette, a sketch, or a theme.  Then you just make a card using one of the options, send it off, and wait to receive a card from another participant.  Here is the card I received from Linda in Minnesota:

And she included some lovely embellies in these same colors, and one of her lovely ATC's!  Isn't this card gorgeous?  She used the color palette and the Friendship theme that Deborah suggested.  And here is the card that I made to send to Jan in California, using the same color palette:

For details and supplies, see my Flickr post.

If you are interested in joining next month's card chain, look for Deborah's discussion thread to appear on the Hero Arts Flickr discussions on the last Friday of each month. 

In the Garden

Isn't this a gorgeous wreath?  It is the inspiration for this week's Shabby Tea Room Challenge: "In the Garden".  I love wreaths and so I decided to make one of my own, using fabric flowers and lots of buttons. 

                               

I started with the fabric flowers (sent to me by Cheryl), centered each one with a contrasting button, and spaced them fairly evenly around the ferns stamped on the creamy parchment cardstock.  Then I filled in with interesting buttons, one of which is Jane's handmade rose.  The sentiment seemed perfect, as daisy-like flowers always seem so happy to me.  And finally I added a few punched ferns/leaves for more dimension.  Here is a detail picture.

These are not colors I use often, but I'm really pleased with how this card turned out. 

Supplies: Hero Arts LL040 Woodland Ferns, peeled paint and shabby shutters distress inks, CL129 Anytime Messages, assorted buttons, embroidery floss, fern punch, green and parchment cardstock

Flash your Freebies, part 2

Isn't this digital image adorable?  I got it for free for entering a challenge over at Tales from Pollycraft.   Now the next part of the challenge is to make something out of this image, and then we get to choose another one - FREE!!  How generous is that!  Paula asked for something green, but as soon as I saw this image I thought "Mommy and baby", and so I went that route, paper piecing with dotty papers.  I stitched the gingham borders to the card, popped up the cute image, added the cloud sentiment and butterflies,and done!  Hope you still like it, Paula!  I know I will use this lots!  Thanks so much for your kindness! 

Supplies: green and white cardstock, hot pink gingham and dotted designer papers (scraps), digital design from Pollycraft Digi Stamps, Hero Arts CL264 Precious Baby

Shabby and Vintage, take 2

I love this style, and need to practice more, so here is take 2 for the Moxie Fab World's Card Style challenges:

The main image is a download from Antique Images, called Summer, by Kate Greenaway, from an 1883 Almanack.  I pullled the aqua and pink from the picture for my background papers, then added some lace, buttons, twine, ribbon and this crocheted flower from my friend Carol.  The sentiment is from a little Hero Arts clear set. 

Flo

Paula at Tales from Pollycraft has challenged us to Flash our Freebies!  That woke you up, didn't it?!  We are to use one of her freebies to make a card, and by posting it, she will send us another Freebie!!  How cool is that?   This little Flo is just adorable - I dressed her up in her denim jumper and hat.  Love her slouchy socks, and I really enjoyed coloring her!  I embossed the card front with lots of little flowers to mimic her sweet bouquet. 

Inspired by Michelle and a mystery

This morning I logged into the Hero Arts Flickr group and saw this gorgeous card by Michelle.  I love the way stamping on bookprint looks!  I immediately dropped everything and started playing.  I tore out a page from a French textbook (I think) that I found at a Florida flea market this spring.  Here is my resulting card:

Supplies: HA S5362 Dogwood, AR130 Handwritten Sentiments, peeled paint distress ink, Prismacolor pencils, green cardstock

Now to the mystery part........This book has a copyright of 1924, could it really be that old?  It is called Contes des Provinces, by Suzanne Roth, published by American Book Company.  It consists of various chapters titled by province in France, but also includes a map of France, a Hymne a la France, Questionnaire et Exercises, and at the very back, a French to English dictionary (vocabulaire).  Two interesting things (at least to me):  in the chapters on each province, EACH page is numbered 5, 10, 15, etc. down the margin at the end of each 5th, 10th, etc line (if you enlarge my card you can see the 20 and 25 down towards the bottom right).  Is that a teaching tool?  And secondly, there are several pictures included in this book.   I've scanned 4 of them and made them into a collage for you to see.  Click on it and hopefully it will get bigger for you:

So, Michelle, look what you have started: a whole essay on this little book!  For any of you out there who speak French, I'd love to know what the page that I selected says!

Edited to add: look down in the comments below and see the translation from Carole!  After going back to see where in the book I got this page, it is indeed in the chapter titled "La Bretagne", and the picture above in the top right is part of the story!  Thank you so much, Carole, for solving the mystery!  I'm thinking that each chapter must be a little fairy tale or story from each of the provinces in France. 

Play Date Cafe Challenge #38, take 2

The colors that the Play Date Cafe chose for its challenge this week are really appealing to me, so here's a 2nd entry.  Warning - put on your sunglasses - this is bright!

All stamps are from PTI's Year of Flowers: Violets, and all the papers are dotted, Bazzill for the purples and BoBunny for the greens. 

Cards for Paula and family

Back in late spring, some ladies from the Hero Arts Flickr group organized a card campaign for one of our members, Paula, who was expecting her second child.  We all made cards and sent them off.  Here are the cards I sent, one for Paula and her family and one for little sister Em.  Since I couldn't make quilts, I made quilt cards, and added Teddies to them:

and inside Em's card:

Paula had a sweet little girl who she named Lilly.  Today we are having a little blog hop to wish her and her family well.  We're supposed to give some advice.  Mine is short and simple: be consistent.   

If you'd like to see what some others have made, start here at Deborah's blog.   Welcome , little Lilly - you are a real cutie!

Supplies: Hero Arts F5170 Bouquet Bear, "lots of hugs" from LL206 Take Good Care Greetings, H3786 Tiny Heart Pattern, BoBunny pink and purple dotted papers, D'vine swirl embossing folder

PaperPlay Challenge week 28

This is the sketch from Paper Play - I love panel cards like this! Choosing what will go in each of the areas is a bit like choosing material to piece a quilt - almost as much fun as making it! 

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So first I decided to use this Hero Arts stamp Bird in Circle, and cut out around the circle and flowers after coloring it with pencils. Then I chose my designer papers. Moving from the back forward, they are BoBunny passion fruit dot, doodlebug design sundae stripe, Imagnisce Lucy Bird Daisy May, and doodlebug design sprinkles.  Each block was framed with a coordinating solid, as in the sketch.  Then all I had to do was add the sentiment and some tiny golden gems to the centers of the flowers.

Supplies: HA CG181 Bird in Circle, Papertrey Ink Vintage Picnic Sentiments, white, turquise, hot pink and yellow cardstocks, designer papers above, Versafine onyx black ink, Prismacolor pencils

Play Date Cafe Challenge #38

Isn't this a pretty picture?  I love lupines, probably because I cannot for the life of me get them to grow in my garden.   I remember seeing a whole field of them growing wild in Maine - gorgeous!   Here is my take on the challenge at the Play Date Cafe:

I stamped this beautiful Garden Bouquet using purple and lime markers, then paper-pieced the big butterfly, adding lilac pearls to the edge, and punched the smaller ones. 

Supplies: white and purple cardstock, green dotted paper for butterflies, Hero Arts stamps CG172 Garden Bouquet, CG130 Butterflies, CL371 Essential Messages, Marvy markers, Martha Stewart butterfly punch

{Embellish} color challenge with ric-rac

Are these colors not scrumptious together?  These are the colors chosen for the latest {Embellish} challenge, with the added element of ric-rac.  I dialed the colors up to the max; here is my entry:

I used Bazzill and BoBunny dotted papers for my orange and turquoise, and brown cardstock to frame everything.  The butterfly is a dimensional K&Co Grand Adhesion by Susan Winget.  I'm sorry it doesn't show up better, but it has a layer of acetate and turquoise glitter, really pretty.  I added the flight pattern with a Hero Arts stamp and studded it here and there with orange gems.  The ric-rac is also a stamp (on the reverse of the dotted paper) which was trimmed out.  I love this sentiment, a PSX stamp from 1999 I just found this spring at a stamp swap. 

Supplies: turquoise, orange, brown and kraft papers, Memories Artprint Brown ink, K&Company Grand Adhesions butterfly sticker, PSX G-1889, HA CL377 Be Happy (butterfly flight), F3351 Rickrack Ribbon, orange gems

Card Style Clean and Graphic

This card was made for the Card Style Clean and Graphic challenge.  I stamped the Screen Shadow in Mustard Seed distress ink, and then looked through my scrap basket for something to add to it.  I was looking for a butterfly, but I found this leafy branch, and then looked around for a flower to go with it.   Once they were placed, this sentiment seemed just right. 

Supplies: HA K5107 Screen Shadow, CL338 Be Yourself (branch), Digital Poetic Prints (poppy), PSX D-3400 All Things Grow, white cardstock, mustard seed distress ink, Versafine onyx black ink, VersaFine Olympia green ink on green cardstock, colored pencils.

Card Style Classy and Elegant

Here is my elegant card for Cath's Classy and Elegant Card Style challenge.  I used 3 of my all-time favorite Hero Arts stamps, Antique Brocade for the background, stamped in my favorite Stonewashed (Adirondack ink), Heart-Winged Butterfly, special to me because of the many hearts on its wings, and my favorite sentiment from the All Occasion Messages clear set.  I stamped the background and sentiment on some ivory parchment cardstock, edging the bottom in doily lace, then just added a ribbon and some pearls.  The blue cardstocks are 2 in a monochromatic set by Core'dinations called indigo.  The butterfly was stamped in denim Adirondack ink and Versamark and clear embossed. 

Card Style Shabby and Vintage

Made for a challenge at Moxie Fab World: Shabby and Vintage Style.  Here's how Cath describes these styles:

"Shabby chic is a style characterized by layering. It is soft, utilizing ribbon, lace, and techniques such as inking and distressing. The final product looks comfortable, weathered, and worn.  Vintage goes a step further by adding old images, found items, and antique trinkets to the mix."

I adore this style, but always struggle with it.   I started with this bird image, and my card evolved around his coloring.  I added the floral Brenda Walton paper, some of my favorite music paper, lace and buttons, the little brass birdhouse charm, and stamped some haphazard script here and there.  I also distressed the music paper, the lace, and all around the edges.   I like my result, but I don't think I'm there yet.  But I'll keep trying!

Christmas in July

Made for The Shabby Tea Room's challenge #18 "Christmas in July".  I must admit working on this actually made me feel cooler!  I used markers instead of inks to stamp all of the images and distressed with inks.  All stamps are Hero Arts. 

Supplies: S5247 Flourish Pine, K5256 Winter Pine, LL956 Three Holiday Messages

Card Style Fun and Cute Challenge

At Moxie Fab World, Cath has challenged us to make a fun and cute card, which she defines as: "a happy color scheme, a sweet sentiment, and an uncomplicated design."  This Hero Arts clear set of stamps called Be Happy is the cutest thing I have.....I love this bumblebee with the eyelashes!  So I kept my card as simple as I could, used my happy colors of pink and yellow and green, and also some dots and gingham.   It isn't my usual style, but I like the result.

Supplies: CL377 Be Happy, BoBunny dotted papers: Tutu, Mellow Yellow, and Mint, pink gingham, white and gold cardtock, Verafine onyx black and peeled paint distress inks

What's Cookin' Challenge......

The challenge at Flourishes is to share a favorite recipe in a stamped creation.  That's easy - Key Lime Pie!  It's easy to make, and so refreshing!  Add a dollop of whipped cream and everyone is in heaven!  Here's my card:

I wrote my recipe out, using an alphabet set to title it, then stamped some limes using distress inks and attached the recipe to the lime ribbon with those adorable tiny clothespins.  Just about as fast and easy as the pie itself! 

Supplies: My Time Made Easy "A Spot of Tea" set (limes), Hero Arts CG113 Write Your Own ("recipe" card), CL137 Small Variety Alphabet, CL153 Cupcakes ("yum!" and "delicious"), CH114 Little Clothes Pins, white cardstock, Dollar Tree lime printed paper, peeled paint and shabby distress inks, Versafine onyx black ink

Summer flowers and purple cards

Yesterday our heat finally broke, and I went outside and picked a little bouquet.

Daisies, purple bee balm, Salvia and annual hollyhocks (which only last a few hours cut).  These colors  also show up in these cards I just finished, using Flourishes Lilac stamp.

      

       

I stamped the lilacs on watercolor paper, colored them with watercolor pencils, then with a wet paintbrush to blend.  Then I masked the flower and overstamped the script background and added the sentiment.  I also did a little distressing on the background to make it look old.

Supplies: Flourishes Lilac Set #24, HA S4878 Old Letter Writing, CL173 Simple Messages, CL380 Truly Appreciated, iris and lavender blue cardstock, watercolor paper, Prismacolor watercolor pencils, Nestabilities labels eight, twine, blue pearls