Animal Outing for GDP # 143 & Take Two Clean and Simple Sketches

Animal Outing Fun

When I first saw this product suite, I was sold!  I ordered the whole suite on my last order and finally had time to play with it today.  The theme challenge for Global Design Project # 143 is Love it, Live It, Share It.  Well, I love this suite and will be sharing cards from it often.

Earlier this week, I stumbled across the Take Two Clean and Simple Sketch Challenge.  I thought the sketch layout would work with the Animal Outing suite, so I combined both challenges.

Here’s my card:

Here are the challenge sketches:

          

Have to Love a Challenge Sketch 

When I am able to combine a theme challenge with a sketch challenge, I am a happy crafter.  

I used the Smoky Slate light and dark Blendabilities to color in this adorable rhino.  While I knew I wanted some sort of color on the tusk, I didn’t want it to be Smoky Slate.  I first colored in the tusk with the dark Blendability, and then realized my mistake.  Therefore, I pulled out the Color Lifter Blendability and just kept un-coloring (is that even a word?) throughout the whole card making process.  The cute bird is colored with Berry Burst and Lemon Lime Twist Stamping Write markers, highlighting the colors in the DSP.

This Animal Expedition DSP pattern choice was made because I definitely wanted a bold contrast with the Whisper White base.  I trimmed a piece of the DSP for the strip on the left side of the card.  There is a border on the sketch, so I placed the DSP on a Smoky Slate background.  

Accent Colors

I pulled the Lemon Lime Twist color out of the DSP, and used it for the Stitched Sketch die cut and the base of the card.  The Whisper White background was necessary for the clean look, but I didn’t want a plain white background.  Therefore, I embossed it with the Leaf TIEF, which really creates a deep embossed image.

I really think the Stitched Shapes need some dimension, so I used the Lemon Lime Twist marker to “stitch” in the ditch.  This simple stitching adds this finishing touch, so I do it very, very often with these dies.

The sentiment was actually an after-thought because I realized after getting the rhino and the DSP strip on the white background that I had forgotten a sentiment.  I had that exact piece of DSP left from my first cut, so I turned it over and stamped the sentiment on the lighter side.  The sentiment is  popped up on dimensionals, and I used the clear Wink of Stella to highlight just the letters.

Final Touches

Finding a balance on this card proved challenging.  After adding the leaf ribbon, I decided that the card needed something else.  I pulled out the Faceted Dots from the Share What You Love suite and started putting them on the sentiment, then in the upper right corner, then the large one on the bottom left.  I might have gone overboard with the dots when trying to balance out the card.

My card layout matches the sketch challenge.  I covered the GDP theme challenge by using what I love in the Animal Outing suite, and the sharing part from the Share What You Love pre-order.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today.  I appreciate your comments, so please feel free to leave one.

Have a Peachy Day!

Sue

Fab Friday 132: Four color challenge, 3 stamp sets.

Fab Friday 132

I have been looking at this four color challenge for a little more than a week just waiting for inspiration to hit.  I love each of these colors:  Pool Party, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, and Soft Suede.  I’ve looked at the cards from the Design Team a number of times, again waiting for inspiration to hit.  

Tonight I was just browsing through Pinterest (that should be a hobby in and of itself) and saw a card using the Delightful Daisy stamp set and punch, and inspiration hit.  Hard, like someone had literally smacked me up the side of my head.

Here’s the challenge:

My Challenge Card Creation

The three stamp sets I used were Daisy Delight (flowers), Dragonfly Dreams (sentiment), and Painted Harvest (leaves).  All three sets are current photoplymer sets.   When I stamped the daisies in Pool Party on Whisper White, I decided I didn’t want all the white showing, so I used an Aqua Blender to very lightly shade all the petals with Pool Party.  After I shaded, I punched using the coordinating daisy punch.  Two clear faceted gems added bling for the centers of the daisies.

The leaves are stamped in Old Olive on the Old Olive cardstock, then punched with the coordinating leaf punch.

The sentiment is in Rich Razzleberry and matted on Soft Suede.  I decided I wanted just a touch of ribbon, so I made a very tight little knot using Rich Razzleberry ribbon and adhered it to the sentiment using a glue dot.

The background Rich Razzleberry cardstock was run through the Big Shot using the Leaves TIEF.  If you haven’t tried any of the Textured Impressions Embossing Folders, you need to treat yourself to one, or two, or more.  The textures on these folders are deep and detailed.

The Soft Suede DSP panel is out of one of my very favorite In Color stacks.  I absolutely, positively adore these patterns and have been hoarding er, saving, all the scraps so I can continue to love them all.  A mat of Soft Suede cardstock under the DSP adds depth to the panel.

When all was said and done….

While getting all the card elements stamped, punched, embossed, matted, I briefly thought that all the patterns would overwhelm each other.  I don’t think that happened.  The daisies really toned down the pattern on the DSP.  The Rich Razzleberry background and sentiment give your eyes some place to rest.  The softly colored daisies pair well with the leaves  tucked under them so they just peek out.  Mini-dimensionals provided a bit of additional dimension to the daisies and the leaves.  

I wasn’t sure I would be inspired for this challenge, but it all worked out; at least I think so.  What do you think?  Comments are always welcome!

Have a Peachy day!