Using Patterned Paper

My friend Virginia is guest designing over at the Lawnscaping Challenge blog, and the challenge is to use patterned paper - a combination I couldn't resist!  Here is my card:

supplies: white cardstock, design papers from Echo Park "Hello Summer" and Lily Bee Design "Head over Heels", Lawn Fawn   "Flutter By" clear set, Die-Namics doily die, aqua ribbon, Martha Stewart punched butterfly, aqua pearl

Apricot, Canary, Latte and Rose....

.....are the colors at the Play Date Cafe challenge this week:

And here's what I came up with using the colors with lots of different design papers and minimal stamping:

supplies: white cardstock, design papers from Crate Paper's "Emma's Shoppe, Basic Grey's "Porcelain"  and DCWV's "Garden Party" pads, floral rub on from Dear Lizzy, Nestabilities Labels twenty, PTI sentiment from Garden Variety, natural twine, beige pearl

And once again, entering this into the Simon Says Stamp "Anything Goes" challenge.

Bling at CAS-ual Fridays

This week at CAS-ual Fridays our assignment is to make a CAS card and "put a bling on it"......I knew immediately what I wanted to do, because I've been enjoying our New Dawn roses which are just blooming on our arbor in the back yard:

So here is my CAS take on that photograph, using some elements given to me by my friends Carol and Clare.  I used my bling for rosebuds:

supplies: white cardstock, Cuttlebug Wicker Weave embossing folder, unknown vining leaf die-cut given to me by my friend Carol, rose from Clare, pink gemstones, The Crafts Meow Simply Delightful sentiment, VersaFine onyx black ink

I'll also enter this into Simon Says Stamp's "Anything Goes" challenge.

Sketches for the Hero Arts June challenge

Happy June!  One of my favorite months!  And also a new set of challenges at the Hero Arts Blog.  One of them is a set of 3 sketches that we may interpret any way you want......they all intrigued me, so I had a go at each one.

Here are the cards I made:

supplies: white cardstock, Hero Arts pool layering paper, S5056 Floating Leaf Pattern, K5175 Houndstooth, CG211 Magical Background, CG118 Stripes Pattern, S5101 Raindrops Background, CG123 Flower Wallpaper, CL338 Be Yourself (sentiment), splash chalk ink, VersaMark ink and Zing white cmbossing powder, lace flower, paper flower, Basic Grey brad

I made this one monochromatic, working with pool layering paper and a variety of Hero Arts background stamps embossed in white.  Then I added an old lace flower centered with a paper one and a Basic Grey brad.

supplies: white cardstock, Hero Arts CL450 Bold Blossoms, CL491 Made with Love (butterfly), CL342 Everyday Sayings, butter bar and bubble gum mid-tone inks, Adirondack Sunset Orange ink, pink, yellow and orange gems

I love these colors - they are often used by Sally Traidman, one of the Hero Arts artists, and that big flower reminds me a bit of a butterfly - it stamped up nicely in the mid-tone inks..

supplies: white cardstock, adhesive paper tapes from Anna Griffin, yellow floral design paper from "Dutch Mustard Soup" by Jillibean Soup, Hero Arts CL489 Yummy Treats (sentiment), CL297 4 Dolls (little flowers),  CL497 Find Joy (little leaves), VersaFine onyx black ink, pink and yellow gems

This one may be my favorite.  This is NOT Washi tape, but some adhesive paper strips on rolls by Anna Griffin; they all came in 1 set and so coordinate nicely.

I'll also enter this last one into the "Anything Goes" challenge at Simon Says Stamp. and also into CAS-ual Fridays "Put a Bling on it" challenge.

"Color Me Pretty" at the Shabby Tea Room

I haven't played at the Shabby Tea Room for quite some time.  I adore shabby cards, but they don't come naturally to me, so I need to keep practicing.  This week's challenge is to use white or cream, pink and blue, plus flowers and a fabric element.  I started with this pretty vintage print of 2 flowers that have so much meaning to me, and then found some papers that would enhance it.

supplies: cream parchment cardstock, design papers from Bazzill Basics Vintage Marketplace" and Authentique's "Delighful" paper pads, BoBunny Mint Dot, Hero Arts LP128 Artistic Windows (script on background), CL564 Friend, You're the Best (sentiment), VersaFine vintage sepia ink, Nesties scalloped rectangles, Hobby Lobby lace, white pearls, Wplus9 Folk Art Florals (leaf diecuts), seam binding dyed with spun sugar distress ink, blue dotted button, all distressed lightly with antique linen distress ink

I roughed up some of the edges and distressed them, randomly stamped the script on the background blue, and dyed my seam binding with spun sugar distress ink, centering it with a blue dotted button.  I also added a few pearls along the leaf stems to simulate more lily of the valley.  

Here's our photo inspiration:

And I'd also like to add this to the "Flowers and Ribbon" challenge at Really Reasonable Ribbon.

Edited to add: This card was published in Create: Vintage Idea Book Magazine, in January 2013.

CR84FN

The colors at CR84FN this time are lavender, celery and gray - a lovely combination!  Here is my card:

supplies: lavender and celery cardstock, grey dot design paper from pinkpaislee's London Market,Tim Holtz birdcage die (Caged Bird set), Martha Stewart doily edge punch, butterfly punches and hydrangea stickers, SRM sentiment sticker

Also entering this into the "Anything Goes" challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

Love

......that's what that Chinese character on my card means.

For this week's CASE Study, Aga's last, here is her card:

I knew immediately that I wanted to use this new (to me) Hero Arts stamp and my new shaded lilac distress ink, one of the spring limited colors.  I did not attempt the paint splattering, but I used a tiny bit of an old, old paper (just above my scallops) which looks kind of splotchy.......

supplies: white cardstock, dps from an ancient pad from Michael's called "Windswept", Hero Arts CG434 Floral Blossoms, shaded lilac distress ink and Stampology onyx for sentiment, Martha Stewart doily border punch

The lilac ink and punched edge paper are photographing more blue than lavender, but I like this periwinkle effect just as well.

I'd like to enter this into the Simon Says Stamp "Anything Goes" challenge.

Yes, Virginia.....I'm Inspired.......

My friend Virginia is having a fun challenge over on her blog "Yes, Virginia".  Her daughter Stephanie recently took some fun pictures of her brother David and his cello choir and Virginia shared them with us and challenged us to make a card based on them.  Here are the photos:

And here 's the card I made:

supplies: white and green cardstock, Hero Arts LP140 Just a Note Bird, CL341 Thank You Sayings, barn door, spiced marmalade, peacock feathers distress inks, and Hero Arts grass chalk ink and Adirondack denim ink, DeNami Designs note stamp, VersaFind onyx black ink

Sorry to the grey cello - I couldn't fit in another bird!

Also entering this into the Simon Says Stamp challenge "Anything Goes".

Papertrey May Blog Hop Challenge

If you're here to see my card for the Lily Pad Cards star challenge, please go HERE or scroll down one post.

I absolutely fell in love with this photo inspiration for the May Blog Hop at Papertrey Ink:

Isn't it stunning?!  I don't have too many PTI stamps yet, but I HAD to play.  Here's my card:

supplies: white cardstock, Darice Damask embossing folder, A Muse black dot dp, Nesties Labels Eighteen die, PTI Friendship Jar Spring Fillers, VersaFine onyx black ink, Letraset bright green marker and Tombow N89 (light grey) marker, white baby ric-rac, Scrapbook Adhesives 3D foam squares

I left off a sentiment for now; I just didn't want to mess up the symmetry :))  I think this would work for a sympathy card, though.....

Ohio Star quilt block

It's time for another Simon Says Stamp challenge at Lily Pad Cards!  Our theme is "Stars" - can you believe I didn't have one single star, other than a wooden button one?  So I decided to paper-piece this Ohio Star pattern. using the traditional red and white.  I made it into a thank you card.

supplies: ivory parchment cardstock, design papers from October Afternoon, Paper Shapers 1 1/4" square punch, Sizzix little flowers embossing folder, Hero Arts CL499 Special Note of Thanks, VersaFine onyx black ink

Now let's see what you can do with our Star theme - you might win a gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp!  Don't forget to visit Lily Pad Cards to get some ideas from the rest of the Design Team.  

Dust 'Em Off!

That's our instructions for the challenge this time at A Blog Named Hero: to use a stamp that's been sitting on the shelf for awhile......I chose this Garden Silhouette, and did it in yellow.

supplies: white cardstock, dps from MME Howdy Doody and Echo Park Hello Summer pads, A Muse green dot dp, Hero Arts  K5370 Garden Silhouette, VersaMark ink, white embossing powder, Memento green and yellow markers, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, yellow dotted ribbon, green button

CAS-ual Fridays

This week our challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is to use a punch or die to make our clean and simple project.  I had a chance to borrow my friend Yvonne's Cheery Lynn stamps awhile back and die-cut a whole bunch of them in different colors, and I've been hoarding them ever since.  I thought I'd combine this challenge with Cath's Doilies and Lace challenge at Moxie Fab World, too.   Here's my card:

supplies: Hero Arts tide layering paper, CG168 Circle Doily, VersaMark ink and white embossing powder, Cheery Lynn butterfly design, tiny rose from my sweet friend Clare, Technique Tuesday Simply You by Ali Edwards, VersaFine onyx black ink

Edited to add: This card was published in CARDS magazine, March, 2013 on page 140. 

Another "just because" card......

I'll be out of the loop for a few days, so I thought I'd post another card that I made just for me.  I saw a card recently on Pinterest that used this 2009 paper from October Afternoon, and fell in love with it all over again.....there's just something so appealing about that blue with the dots and the creamy flowers. I added another October Afternoon paper, too - love florals and stripes together!

supplies: cream and green cardstock, dps from October Afternoon "Report Card" and "Thrift Shop", Spellbinders Rose Creation die-cut flowers, orange and gold buttons, Martha Stewart doily lace punch, leaves from Wplus9 Folk Art Florals die, Penny Black "To You" stamp, VersaFine onyx black ink

I tried various kinds of flowers, but I liked these single diecuts from Spellbinders; they're meant to be stacked into one flower, but I like them on their own, too!

Aga's butterflies

At CASE Study, our May muse is Aga and here is her lovely card for us this week:

A true masterpiece........I couldn't get it out of my mind.  Here is my take on it:

supplies: white cardstock, white tag, A Muse green gingham dp, green scrapbook paper for banner,Martha Stewart eyelet edge punch, Hero Arts digital flutterby, E5388 Traditional Butterfly, B3938 Butterfly, CL173 SparkleClear Simple Messages, VersaFine onyx black ink, Memento markers, green dotted organdy ribbon

And since gingham plays a big part in my card, I'd like to add this to the Card Creations Gingham Challenge at Moxie Fab World..