Holly Robin

These are the colors for the Play Date Cafe Challenge #50, the red described as "melon". Well, I guess I'm not a melon kind of girl, as I had an awful time finding ANYTHING in my stash that resembeled this orangey red. It finally dawned on me that the color I was looking for was the Prismacolor called Poppy Red, so I switched gears, chose a digital image, brand new from Suze at Die Cuts and Doodles, and here is my card for this challenge:

I love the hearts!  I just printed it out, colored it with Prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits, stamped the sentiment and divided the 2 with this ric-rac velvet ribbon sent to me by Sue.  The red frame is a glossy cardstock courtesy of my friend Carol.

You have no idea how hard it is for me to leave all that white space there :)

Supplies: white, green, and glossy red cardstock, Holly Robin from Die Cuts & Doodles, Hero Arts CL460 Joy to All, Prismacolor pencils Poppy Red, crimson red, Apple Green, and Spring Green, Versafine onyx black ink, red velvet zig-zag ribbon

Joyous Christmas

We have a new muse for October at CASE Study; she is Barbara Anders and the challenge is to case this lovely card.  I love, love flowers using text or music, so tht's where I started.  Here is my take:

I substituted some old sheet music that I found at a flea market last spring, centering my flower with a metallic gold button, to pick up on the gold trim of the ribbon.  I used kraft cardstock and a camel color in addition to the red accents. 

Supplies:  camel, kraft and red cardstocks, vintage music paper, Hero Arts S5247 Flourish Pine, F4864 Wishing You Flourish, Adirondack Cranberry ink, Martha Stewart doily lace punch, cranberry ribbon with gold edging, gold button, cranberry floss

Plant Hope

I fell in love with this folk art painting by Catherine Horvath Buchanan, the Trigger chosen this week for MFW's Tuesday Trigger.......those pink trees are just amazing, and so are the rest of the colors!  I went literal, of course, and had a ball making my entry:

I think this sentiment is perfect: "He who plants a tree, plants a hope." (Lucy Larcom). 

Supplies: kraft and white cardstocks, various scraps of printed papers, Hero Arts K5255 Three Winter Trees, See-D's 50194 Nature Print (sentiment), Memories Artprint Brown ink, Martha Stewart picket fence punch, orange button, twine

Caardvarks scraplift challenge

The challenge at Caardvarks this time is to choose one of the dt cards and scraplift it.  I chose Ashley Cannon Newell's card:

I liked the striped background, the doily lace, the flowers and the buttons.  Here is my scraplift of it:

I started with this beautiful the girls' paperie "paper girl" dp, then made a flower from BoBunny passion fruit dot dp, and placed it in an old tussy-mussy holder.  Then I cut my labels one diecuts, stamped the sentiment and added 3 buttons using the colors in the background paper.

Supplies: green notecard, the girls' paperie "paper girl" dp, BoBunny passion fruit dot dp, dull aqua and lime green cardstock scraps, Hero Arts CL434 Just Find Me, assorted buttons, twine, paper tussie mussie holder

Penny Black Circle

Penny Black has a new blog! There is a current monthly challenge and this time it's to use stamps from the 2010 Christmas catalog. I was so happy to have won some Penny Black stamps from a random giveaway at Shanna Vineyards blog, so now I can play!  Here are my first 2 submissions for this challenge:

Supplies: white, red,, pale blue, kraft cardstocks, versafine onyx black, Adirondack cranberry, and broken china distress inks, Penny Black stamps 30-055 Xmas Snapshots, 4097J Christmas Note, Hero Arts stamps CL460 Joy to All, CL371 Essential Messages, CG222 Music Background cling, Prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits, glue pen and glitter, punched snowflakes, twine, heart button, nesties labels one

Autumn Leaves

Made using sketch #5  for Verve Stamps World Card Making Day Release Week challenge.  This one was very challenging!  I started out using designer paper for all of the blocks but the tree, but nothing would come together, so I stamped each panel instead.  The tree is a digitalstamp from Hero Arts.  I sized it down and colored it with colored pencils, then did a little sponging around the edges with scattered straw distress ink.    All of the other stamped panels were distressed using vintage photo distress ink

I'm also entering this into the Simon Says Challenge: "it's Autumn", Really Reasonable Ribbon challenge #9, Fall, and Stampin for the Weekend: Autumn Inspiration.

Supplies: various oranges, rusts, cream cardstock, Hero Arts Basic Tree digitalstamp, S5101 Raindrop Background, K5175 Houndstooth, H5261 Flourish Trio, F3342 Stitched Ribbon, CL119 Happy Thanksgiving, CL361 Season of Giving, The Paper Company Studio Autumn Stamp Kit (sentiment), scattered straw, mustard seed, spiced marmalade, wild honey, fired brick, and vintage photo distress inks, Hobby Lobby orange dotted organza ribbon

Verve Stamps WCMD challenge, sketch 4

Made for Verve Stamp's World Card Making Day Release Week challenge, sketch 4. 
I just won this Penny Black clear set and couldn't wait to try it out, so I used the teddy and bird for my main panel, coloring them with Prismacolor pencils and blending with mineral spirits, then distressing the edges before framing it in red.    I followed the sketch as exactly as I could. 

Supplies:  green, dark red, white cardstocks, graphic 45 Christmas Past Collection The Holly and the Ivy, unknown scrap of music paper, Penny Black  xmas snapshots 30-055, versafine onyx black, scattered straw and vintage photo distress inks, Prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits, dotted red organza ribbon, red gems

Cabin in the Woods

Made for the Verve Stamps World CardMaking Day challenge, using sketch #3.  These sketches have really been fun to work with!  I'm also entering this into the Hero Arts World CardMaking Day challenge and also the monthly challenge for October, and into the Jolly Holiday Greetings Challenge at Moxie Fab World. 
The background is a designer paper from October Afternoon (the words to "Twas the Night Before Christmas"), overstamped in red with the flourish background.  My little scene is made by paper-piecing the cabin using kraft and red cardstocks and colored pencils and glitter.  The trees and snowflakes are from the same stamp set. 
Supplies:  kraft, red and white cardstocks, October Afternoon Very Merry Trim the Tree design paper, versafine onyx black, adirondack cranberry, , Brilliance sky blue, and  pine needles distress inks, Hero Arts CL464 Sending Holiday Cheer, CL343 Holiday Sayings, CG119 Flourish Background,  Hobby Lobby ribbon, glue pen and glitter

Verve Stamps: World Card Making Day sketch 2

Here is my entry for Verve Stamps' current World Card Making Day challenge.  This is sketch #2:

I love using pink and green!  For this card I used a Basic Grey clear stamp and designer paper from their Porcelain collection.  I stamped the rose using peeled paint distress ink and a peachy-pink Marvy marker, then distressed the panel lightly with worn lipstick distress ink.  That panel was framed in a mossy green, wrapped in organza ribbon, and added to the designer paper mounted on a peachy-pink cardstock.  I used my oval and scalloped oval nesties to cut out the sentiment, and lastly added some stamped and punched butterflies to finish.

Supplies: white, pink, olive cardstocks, Basic Grey Porcelain paper pad, and gracious stamp, #1633, Hero Arts CL434 Just Find Me (sentiment) and S4878 Old Letter Writing (on butterflies), worn lipstick and peeled paint distress inks, Versafine onyx black ink, Really Reasonable Ribbon Old Willow organza ribbon, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Nesties oval and scalloped oval dies, pearls

CASE Study #8

This is our card this week by Mariana Grigsby that we are to CASE.  I love the flowers in the pitcher; it's something I do IRL when our gardens are blooming.  I also really like the lace below the ribbon and the button attached with twine.  Here is my submission this week:

Supplies: white and kraft cardstocks, designer papers from Cosmo Cricket Togetherness (thanks, Tif!)and My Little Shoebox, Versafine onyx black ink, Prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits, PTI Vintage Picnic, Hero Arts CL307 Sparkle Clear Mini Messages, scrap of loopy trim, pink gingham ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon, button, twine

I used a basket of tulips, colored in pink and yellow, a combination I saw in a local garden a few springs ago.  I carried these colors throughout the card, adding some pink gingham ribbon and a bit of loopy trim.  I really like how this one turned out!

OTWC #27

The Off the Wall Craftiness challenge is a new one for me, but I was drawn to it this week because of the gorgeous colors:

They are so elegant!  So I started with a piece of cream cardstock, printed an excerpt in brown from "The Secret Garden", then overstamped it in this brocade design with Versamark ink and clear embossed it.  Next I sponged on tumbled glass distress ink, then framed the panel in dark brown.  Because the excerpt is talking about the robin that Mary meets, I stamped this pretty little bird in brown ink on aqua cardstock, then cut it out and popped it above my panel.  The sentiment seemed just right for finishing. 

Supplies: cream, aqua, and dark brown cardstocks, Versamark ink and clear embossing powder, tumbled glass distress ink,  Memories Artprint Brown ink, Hero Arts CG102 Antique Brocade, CL380 Truly Appreciated, Inkadinkado #97894

World CardMaking Day

Made for the Verve Stamps World Card Making Day Fall Release Week Challenge, following their sketch #1.  I'm also entering this into Hero Arts World Card Making Day challenge, to make a card using my favorite colors. Mine is obviously blue!  This was a great sketch for me right now; I've been away a week, and seem to have forgotten how to do anything, so having this sketch was a wonderful help to get me back into creating mode!  I don't own a single Verve stamp, so hopefully entering this challenge will win me some!  Thank you, Verve, for not requiring them this time. 

Supplies:  blue, dark blue, and cream cardstocks, vellum, unknown striped dp, Versafine onyx black and clear embossing powder, Adirondack stonewashed ink, peeled paint distress ink, blue and green markers for details, Hero Arts K5376 Hydrangea, S4878 Old Letter Writing, CL131 SparkleClear Messages, dark blue fringed ribbon

Happy World Cardmaking Day!!

I've been away last week, but got home just in time to participate in all the fun this weekend!  Do you think my bags will unpack themselves while I'm playing?  ;))

Over at the Hero Arts Blog today, there is a fun giveaway and also a contest, both based on your favorite color.  I'm all about color, so I can't wait to get creating.!  You can win 3 of your choice stamps or a prize package of your favorite color in all the Hero Hues products!!  What are you waiting for?  Ready, set, STAMP!!

It's October 1 and the WINNER of the Hero stamp and one of my flower pins is............

#8, Anita Rex!  I used the Random .Org Random Number Generator, and after taking out a few double comments, there were 48 in total.  Lucky #8 is Anita.   I will be emailing you, Anita, hopefully this evening.  We have been away for the week and are just getting home. 

Thanks, everyone, for the sweet comments you all made.  Now, don't be a stranger!