Vibrant Vases for Freshly Made Sketches

This Should Have Been a Three-fer.

When I created this card, it was for the What Will You Stamp Challenge, WWYS#211  for the Vibrant Vases, and Freshly Made Sketches FMS380 provided the layout.  I missed the deadline for WWYS#211, but I am going to make the FMS380 deadline.  The color pallette was provided by Color Throwdown, ctd535.

Here are all the challenge banners:

          

Here’s my Vibrant Vases, Freshly Made Sketches, and What Will You Stamp card:

Flower Fun

I first stamped all the flowers in Basic Black, and then used the two-step stamps for the roses and the daisies in Daffodil Delight.  Coloring over the stamped Daffodil Delight ink with my Stamping Up Stamp Write markers allowed me to lightly shade the flowers.

I thoroughly enjoyed coloring these flowers with the Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, and Real Red Stamping Write Markers.  I didn’t dare try to use the Stamping Blends because the flowers were small and I didn’t want it to run.  Coloring relaxes me, and when the SU stamps provide beautiful images, how could I not love the coloring.

The sentiment is also from Vibrant Vases.  I used the Stitched Shapes small rectangle to crop the flowers, and the Rectangle Stitched dies for the sentiment.  All the squares and the sentiment got the popped-up treatment from some dimensionals.  Finally, I placed some of my current fave ribbon, the tulle polka dots, under my greeting and I was done.  

 

 

 

Foil Butterflies for the GDP#181 Color Challenge

Not at the Wire this Week for Global Design Challenge

It’s not Sunday evening yet, so I am ahead of myself for this week’s GDP#181 color challenge.  The color combination Grapefruit Grove, Daffodil Delight, and Lemon Lime Twist just screams “spring” to me, so I ran with it.

Here’s the GDP challenge banner:

Here’s my card:

Watercoloring and Grapefruit Grove Specialty Foil

I started with some SU watercolor paper to create the background and used all three challenge colors.  The background seems much more muted in the picture because the colors really stand out in person.  I started by sprtizing the whole piece and then swished Grapefruit Grove  diagonally across the paper.  Next I started adding both the Lemon Lime Twist (which I think looks prominent in this photo) and Daffodil Delight.  Of course, watercoloring means playing around with the inks until I was semi-happy with it.  Originally, I wanted the Grapefruit Grove to take center stage in the watercoloring but the ink colors decided that wasn’t going to happen.  

I thought the Daffodil Delight really got lost in the end result, so I used the bokeh dots from the Beauty Abounds bundle in the Ocassions catalog and stamped them randomly on the dry watercolor paper.  Mission accomplished.

Layering Pieces 

The Beauty Abounds bundle includes that gorgeous butterfly die, which I cropped from the Grapefruit Grove specialty foil paper from the Holiday catalog.  I chose the sentiment, from the Beautiful You stamp set, mainly because it fit in the space.  I really didn’t want to cover up the gorgeous butterflies at all.  Therefore, I popped the cropped one inch block from the Stitched Shapes framelits, which is another go-to item for me.

Since I didn’t want just plain cardstock for the mat layers, I ran both mats through the Big Shot using the Subtle TIEF.  This textured impression embossing folder has become one of my faves!!  After I finished the whole card, I decided it needed something else.   Therefore, I grabbed the Grapefruit Grove ribbon, which is FREE in the Sale-a-Bration catalog with a $50 order, and tied it at the far left of the card.

I hope the springtime colors inspire you just as much as me, or more.

Thank you for stopping by today.  Comments are always welcome and I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Have a Peachy Day!

Sue

 

 

So Hoppy for the Green Theme on the InKing Royalty Blog Hop

Welcome to InKing Royalty’s March Blog Hop! This year’s Blog Hop themes are inspired by a single word – and this month our projects are centered around GREEN. We are excited to share our creations with you today – there’s a wonderful variety of styles and occasions celebrated in this hop! After you read my post, I hope you’ll hop over to the next person on the list at the base of this post.

March = Irish = Green

It’s March, I’m Irish, so of course, the theme of green is perfect.  My first thought was that it was time to break out the frogs from So Hoppy Together cling stamp set.  After waiting for the corrdinating dies to arrive, they became unorderable.  Therefore, I really needed to demonstrate one way they can be used without fussy cutting.  This fun fold card really developed as I worked, and I enjoyed the process.  After watching Jan B’s W fold tutorial video and tweaked the size so my final project is 4.25 ” by 5.5″.  The learning curve on this turned out to be steep, but wouldn’t have been if I followed more of the directions on the tutorial.  

Oh, So Many Greens

Here’s the front and back of my card:

 

     

I used the Light and Dark Granny Apple Green Stamping Blends to color all the frogs on this card.  The dragonflies and cute little bugs were colored using Stamping Write Markers in Granny Apple Green and Shaded Spruce.  All of these markers coordinate with the Tropical Escape DSP, from which all the patterns came that I used in this card.  This DSP coordinate fabulously with the Frogs!  I tried to use really fun patterns, especially since the frogs are nothing by fun!  

The base of the card is Granny Apple Green, with a thin Basic Black mat under the DSP on both the front and back.  I really felt that something else needed to be added to the front of the card, so I used 3 of the smallest black faceted dots.   I used the Sale-a-Bration Granny Apple Green ribbon and the Dotted Tulle ribbon (LOVE!) layered and knotted on the front.   The sentiment on the back of the card is from the Vibrant Vases stamp set from the Ocassions catalog.

The inside of this card was a product of love and patience.  I could see what I the final card that wanted in my head, but it wasn’t easy.  You know when you get ink where you didn’t want it and have adhesive seep out of the layers all adds up to walking away for a bit and coming back.  That’s exactly what I did.  

Here’s three different views of the inside:

                                                                 

Inside, I took a chance on the busy DSP, but since the frog panels are clean, I think it works.  

Things I Learned:

I should have paid more attention to Jan B. when she explained about needing the ribbons to tie the card shut.  Since I didn’t follow her directions, I had to put the ribbon between the Basic Black 1.5″ x 11″ strip and the DSP.  Then I had to quickly move the ribbons’ positions to line up with the ribbon on the front.  The sentiment on the front and the inside are both from So Hoppy stamp set, while the back sentiment is from Vibrant Vases in the Ocassions  catalog, yet another wonderful stamp set!

It was very helpful to do all the cropping in the Big Shot as soon as I stamped the frogs, even before I colored them.  I used the new Rectangle Stitched Framelits (in the Ocassions catalog) and my very well loved Stitched Shapes framelits.  

When taking pictures of my card, I figured out that I need to practice using my iPad.  The first set didn’t come out well at all, so I went back to what I know, using my iPhone.  

Through the whole process, which took more than one night, I happily colored, relaxed, created, and enjoyed my time.  Isn’t that part of the reason we do what we do?  

Enjoy the Remainder of the Hop!

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you’ll hop along to the next stop on the blog hop, Candy Ford at Stamp Candy. You don’t want to miss all the inspiration found in this group!  

Have a Peachy day! 

Sue

  1. Brian King at Stamp with Brian
  2. Shawn de Oliveira at Shawn Stamps
  3. Jackie Beers at Blue Line Stamping
  4. Sue Jackson at Just Peachy Stamping
  5. Candy Ford at Stamp Candy
  6. Jennifer Spiller at Westside Paper Creations
  7. Pam Morris at Tap Tap Stamp
  8. Julie DiMatteo at The Paper Pixie
  9. Robin Myren at Songbird Designs by Robin
  10. Robbye Hamilton at Miss Hammie’s Crafts
  11. Denise Hoepfner at The Mountain Magpie
  12. Lynn Kolcun at Avery’s Owlery

Two Challenges, One Card

Have to Love a Two-fer!

Stamp, ink, Paper # 188 challenge is to use a favorite stamp set, ink, and paper.  Easy choice – Animal Expedition Suite, which I absolutely love.   Paper Players # 430 is a sketch challenge, and it really fit this suite.

Here are the challenge icons:

   

So much fun to create this card! Here it is:

How could you not love this suite?

The colors in this suite are just as wonderful as the stamp and die bundle.  The pattern on the background DSP includes Lemon Lime Twist and Pool Party, which impacted the colors I featured on this card.  The Pool Party cardstock was run through the Big Shot using the Subtle TIEF.  Crossing my fingers and toes that this TIEF carries over!  A different patter of the DSP was layered on the cardstock.  I used a third DSP pattern for the horizontal strip of paper.  

Now, the fun and relaxing coloring part.  I stamped a rhino on a piece of Whisper White and  then used the Stitched Shapes square to crop it out.  As usual, I used a marker to enhance the stitches in the ditch, in this case I used Lemon Lime Twist.

Next, I stamped another rhino and cropped it using the Animal Outing thinlits.  I originally colored the rhino with the Basic Black light and dark blends.  I also colored the bird, but used Stamping Write markers along with the Lemon Lime Twist blends.  After adhering mini-dimensionals to the back of the rhino, I layered it directly on top of the originally stamped rhino.  Then I added the sentiment and had to just use my trimmer to get a size that would fit on the already layered card.  

Too Dark

After finishing the card, I let it sit overnight.  When I came back the following night, I decided I colored the rhino using the wrong blends.  So, I again stamped and cropped it and started coloring again but used the Basic Grey blends.  What a difference!  Then I carefully layered the new rhino directly over the too dark rhino.

Here’s a close-up of the dimension I achieved with the mini-dimensionals and the two layers of rhinos:

I especially like the shadows created by the popped up rhinos and am glad I stamped a rhino on the underlying mat.  

Finally, I used yet another DSP pattern to decorate the envelope flap.  For the front of the envelope, which you can’t see, I stamped the giraffe from this adorable stamp set.

Now, I am happy.

Thank you for stopping by today.  This two-fer was fun to create.

Have a Peachy day!

Sue

 

 

#GDP145 is completed and it feels pretty good

Global Design Project Challenge # 145

This week’s color challenge contains the trio of Grapefruit Grove, Fresh Fig, and Mint Macaron.  Until this very second, I thought my card matched what I finally figured out in my head.   Now, I am pretty bummed because I just realized I used Rich Razzleberry.  UGH!  I don’t know if I should go ahead and post it anyway or make another one using the correct colors.  Decisions, decisions.

Anyway, when I first saw the colors I thought that it was an interesting combination, to say the least.  But then again, I usually react that way to their combinations.  It truly is a challenge, but it widens my color world, so it’s all good.  Admit it, you wouldn’t have put these three colors together if not for a challenge. But look how gorgeous they are together.

A Couple of Firsts

First, I couldn’t stand knowing/thinking that I used the wrong color so I just finished another card for this challenge.  In the original I actually used half Fresh Fig and half Rich Razzleberry.   There are a couple of differences, and I will post my original card at the end of this blog post.

The original couple of firsts mentioned in the subheading refers to the first time I used two new stamp sets:  the Bokeh Dots clear mount set and the Calligraphy Essentials set.  Both are fabulous, but there are some tips I’d like to share regarding each set. 

I’ve been participating in a couple of threads with demos on facebook regarding the Bokeh dots stamp.  I have tried some of the tips and have found that the best results are achieved when the ink is rolled on the stamp using a brayer.  I have a rubber brayer and it worked fabulously!  Without the brayer, I was getting blotches instead of dots.  Evidently, the stars stamp in this set doesn’t have an issue with ink.   

For the Calligraphy Essentials, which really goes with the current lettering trend, I found the coloring really needs a light hand for the ink.  I also practiced coloring in the letters a few times on my grid paper before coloring on the Bokeh Dots.  I used the Fresh Fig Stamping Write Marker, but have also seen cards where the Blends were used.

Here’s the second card I created:

Here’s the challenge post:

The Elements

I used the DSP from Share What You Love, which I love, love, love.  There are so many different colors leading to seemingly endless combinations.  Some of the papers almost able to be printed on Shiny Whisper White cardstock because they have a beautiful shine.   For this card, I chose the words in this on point font in Grapefruit Grove and Basic Black.  Just a little side not about the DSP.  While I was working on the first card I found the word “florida” included in the various other words.  I just kind of thought that was interesting since I live in Florida.  Oh well.

I mounted the DSP on Fresh Fig cardstock and used the retired Fresh Fig ribbon as well.  Since I am completely square knot challenged right now, I used a tip I saw somewhere; if it’s your idea, please let me know so I can give you credit.  I’m including three photos to illustrate this tip.  

First, tie your ribbon around a TomBow liquid glue container.  When you slide the ribbon off, you have a loop, which you cut in half.  Now you have your square knot, and then just play with it until you get what knot you wanted.  Easy Peasy.  Also, does the word “florida” pop out at you in the third picture.  

For this card, I cropped two circles using the Stitched Shape framelits.  Here’s one of the differences from the first card because I used an inner circle of Mint Macaron.  You’ll see there’s no inner circle on the original card.

Stitching in the Ditch

One of my favorite things to do with the crops shapes from the Stitched Shapes framelits is to color in the ditch.  I usually use the same marker as the color of cardstock.  If I am coloring the ditch on DSP, I pull a coordinating color.  I also used the Mint Macaron Stamping Write Marker to outline the sentiment piece, including the corners punched with the trio punch.  After I added three Share What You Love Mint Macaron pearls, I popped the sentiment up on mini-dimensionals. 

While the first card was definitely an evolution, I knew what I was doing for the second.  Well, except for cutting the DSP in the landscape instead of portrait orientation.  

Here’s my first card:

Thanks so much for stopping by my little piece of the internet blog world.  I completely enjoy hearing your thoughts and comments, so please feel free to leave one.

Have a Peachy day!

Sue