moxie fab world citrus color challenge

Now that I've started playing in these color challenges, I'm addicted! This card is for the Moxie Fab Citrus Color Challenge and I designed it with my mom in mind. Look for it in your mailbox soon, Mom!

I started with the large leafy image and figured out a card size from there -- this card is 5" square.

The flower stamp was inked up with the yellow first and rolled in the celery at the base. Then I cut out the stamped image and mounted it on dimensionals.

supplies used:
...............
stamps: brocade basics (SU!); background basics: retro, background basics: text, faux ribbon (PTI)
ink: yo-y0 yellow, wild wasabi, certainly celery (SU!)
paper: white (Georgia Pacific); yo-yo yellow (SU!)

celebrate today

Happy birthday to my wonderful sister-in-law!


For some extra detail, the flowers are scored down the middle of each petal. The flower centers are embossed with small dots. To show that embossing a little more, I swiped some saffron ink over the raised surface to highlight it. The leaves (which are snippets of the 5 petal flower shape), were folded in half and then run through the crimper for texture.


I heat embossed the sentiment on the outside and the inside for a little more oomph.


supplies used:
...............
stamps: mega mixed messages, birthday basics (PTI)
ink: groovy guava, so saffron, versamark (SU!)
paper: white (Georgia Pacific); wild wasabi, groovy guava, so saffron (SU!)
other: 5 petal flower punch, texturz plates, clear embossing powder, 1/2" dia circle punch (SU!); crimper (Fiskars); ribbon (MS); Scor-Pal

monogrammed cards for baby

After I had made this card for our friends to congratulate them on the arrival of their son, I decided to also send along a few cards monogrammed with his first initial (three each of the red and chocolate). I hope they enjoy using them for thank you notes or to send a cute picture to the proud grandparents.


supplies used:
...............
stamps: defining alphabet, cute and curly (SU!)
ink: real red, chocolate chip (SU!)
paper: ivory (my stash); patterned paper from American Crafts Christmas pack
other: curly label punch (SU!); Scor-Pal

raspberry suite color challenge #7

Dawn's color challenge this week was perfect for a card to send to some dear friends who welcomed a little girl into their family a couple of days ago.


To make sure I would have enough room for all the ducks, I started with a 3-3/4" x 6" card base and built up the rest of the card from there. The patterned ducks are popped up on dimensionals as is the sentiment.


supplies used:
...............
stamps: background basics: retro, mega mixed messages (PTI); beautiful baby (SU!); clear pattern (MS)
ink: almost artichoke, pink passion, versamark (SU!); spring moss (PTI)
paper: white (Georgia Pacific); almost artichoke, pink passion (SU!); spring moss (PTI)
other: duck punch, small corner rounders (EK Sucess); ribbon (Michaels); ribbon tag (Spellbinders)

kwerner color inspiration #52

Two posts in one day -- can you believe it?! I'm not getting ambitious, I owe it entirely to the fact that there were two color challenges closing today!

My first inclination when I saw these colors (and this photo) was to create a beach-themed card. Then I realized I do not possess any beach-themed stamps... so that idea was tossed aside. These colors also made me think of a modern palette for a baby card. Here's my resulting creation:



The plaid in the background is all stamped. I love PTI's stamps for this kind of thing! I didn't have a Baja Blue ink, so I improvised and inked up the stamp with Tempting Turquoise, stamped it off on a scrap and then stamped on the plaid. The birdie was from my own little sketch. I didn't want his stamped pattern to compete with the plaid so I used Versamark ink for a watermark effect. The sweet lil' guy is raised up with dimensional tape as is the little sentiment tag. I had a heckuva time getting it to look like he's holding the string for the tag in his little birdie mouth! I'm not really satisfied with it yet, but I didn't want to accidentally ruin anything else on the card by continuing to fuss with it.


supplies used:
...............
stamps: faux ribbon, background basics: retro, mega mixed messages (PTI); fundamental phrases (SU!); clear pattern (MS)
ink: tempting turquoise, so saffron, more mustard, versamark (SU!)
paper: white (Hammermill); sahara sand, so saffron, more mustard (SU!)
other: ticket corner punch (SU!); 1/16" dia hole punch, button hole punch (McGill); embroidery floss (DMC)

raspberry suite color challenge #6

When Dawn McVey started posting her own color challenges a few weeks ago, I was anxious to play along but life somehow got in the way.... until now! Here's my submission for her latest color challenge:


I ran the top note diecut (cut out of copy paper, not cardstock) through the crimper to get the herringbone pattern. I've been itching to try that technique and a challenge card seemed like the perfect time to attempt something new. The chocolate portions of the flowers were punched from cardstock that had been embossed with the small dot Texturz plate. To make the embossing more apparent (and to add a little shabby chic to the card), I lightly brushed a chocolate chip inkspot over the cardstock. I also altered some the brads in my stash with a brown Sharpie to meet the color restrictions for this challenge. (Note: if you attempt this kind of alteration, be patient... it takes a few coats to get solid coverage).

Here's a peek at the inside of the card:


supplies used:
...............
stamps: polka dot basics (PTI)
ink: chocolate chip (SU!)
paper: white (Hammermill); chocolate chip (SU!); berry sorbet, aqua mist (PTI)
other: boho blossoms punch, scalloped circle punch, texturz plates, top note die, rub-on sentiment (SU!); 1/8" dia hole punch (my stash); brads (Michaels); paper crimper (Fiskars); white gel pen (Uniball); brown permanent marker (Sharpie)

textures galore

I really liked all the textures I used on one of the cards that I designed for my "crafting night with friends", so I adapted it for a birthday card for my father-in-law. I added texture to the cupcakes by using a crimper for the bottom half and the piercing tool for the frosting. Note: I "texturized" the paper first and then used the punch on the paper. The inside of the card had the sentiment:



supplies used
...............
stamps: birthday basics (PTI)
ink: chocolate chip, sage shadow, really rust (SU!)
paper: river rock, really rust, sage shadow, chocolate chip, very vanilla (SU!)
other: 1-3/8" dia circle punch , 1-1/4" dia circle punch, texturz plates (SU!); cupcake punch (MS); piercing tool (Cutter Bee); medium corner rounder (EK Sucess); crimper (Fiskars)

plans change

This design had not been the one I intended to use for Mother's Day this year, but the two cards I had set aside for the occasion had not been safely put away and they were accidentally damaged (confession: I am not a tidy crafter). Oops. I didn't discover the offending damage until I was getting ready to drop the cards in the mailbox. Double oops! I immediately went into panic crafting mode and wracked my brain for a quick but elegant design (we were leaving early the next morning for a long weekend trip and I still had to pack!). Remembering how in love I was with this card by Heather Pulvirenti, I pulled out my punches and got to work.


The butterflies were scored on either side of their bodies (where the wings connect to the abdomen) and then I slightly bent the wings up to give the butterflies more dimension. Then I decided they needed some little antennae so I trimmed little slices off of a scrap of the guava paper. I gently bent the trimmings to give them a little bit of a curve at the top and then adhered them to the backs of the butterflies. Once the butterflies were adhered to the circles, I bent the top tips of the wings so that they lifted off of the card.

And I even remembered to photograph the inside of the card this time! I love this sentiment!


supplies used
...............
stamps: mother, polka dot basics (PTI)
ink: wild wasabi, certainly celery, chocolate chip (SU!)
paper: white (Hammermill); chocolate chip, wild wasabi, certainly celery, groovy guava (SU!)
other: 1-3/8" dia circle punch, 1-1/4" dia circle punch, 1" dia circle punch (SU!); butterfly punch (Martha Stewart); medium corner rounder (EK Success); Scor-Pal

Kristina's CI#50

This is Kristina Werner's 50th Color Inspiration challenge -- and the first time I've completed a card before the deadline. Here's the inspiration picture with the colors:


And here's my creation:

Sometimes cards come together quickly, but this was definitely not one of those cards! I think I worked on this one for almost 4 hours before I finally got a combination that I liked. I think my husband thought he had lost me to the crafting dungeon forever!


I'm still not sure about the focal point being off-center, though. The engineer in me really likes symmetry, so I challenged myself to try out a different layout in addition to using all those colors. I'd love to hear what you think...


supplies used (SU! unless noted otherwise):
...............
stamps: defining alphabet, eastern blooms
ink: whisper white craft ink, so saffron marker, real red marker, chocolate chip marker
paper: whisper white, so saffron, real red, tempting turquoise, chocolate chip
other: medium corner rounder (EK Success); texture plate (Fiskars); yellow seam binding (MS)