Tuesday, May 29, 2012

PDCC #133 (Baby Blue, Denim, Cherry) and Moxie Fab World Gingham Challenge (Again!)

Ended up being a very busy Memorial Day weekend so I'm just squeaking in my entry for the current Play Date Cafe Color Challenge #133:


I immediately knew what I wanted to do when I saw this color story.  One of the girls in the Penny Black set "Hello Gorgeous" kinda reminds me of "girl next door" Marianne from the old TV series "Gilligan's Island".  I did a combination of paper piecing and coloring with chalks.  I even stamped her "cropped jeans" on some sticky backed canvas and colored them in with a Faded Jeans distress marker:



And since I think every "Marianne" deserves a little bit of "Ginger" glamour I added the blingy sunglasses from the same PB set :)
Other Materials Used:  MSE sentiment, Amuse gingham pp, Making Memories ribbon, Spellbinder Nestie, Stampin' Up cs, Hero Arts clear gems

And I knew once I started using gingham I wouldn't be able to stop!  So I'm also entering this in the Moxie Fab World Gingham Challenge.

Have a great week everyone :)

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Simon Says Stamp CAS and Moxie Fab World Gingham Challenges

I don't normally post twice in one day but the current challenge ending tonight at Simon Says Stamp is to create a CAS card and one of the stamp companies they're featuring is Lawn Fawn.  I recently acquired the cutest Lawn Fawn set called On The Mend and really couldn't wait to use it :)


I embossed the tissue box image on both A Muse gingham pp and a coffee filter.  I think it really looks like a bit of tissue coming out of the box!  Sentiment is from the same set.  The heart border embossing folder and heart pp are from Stampin' Up.
Other Materials Used:  Spellbinder Nestie, Hero Arts snow layering paper, Papertrey Ink lemon tart cs, googly eyes from stash, Marvy Uchida corner rounder

I'm also going to enter this in the Moxie Fab World Gingham Challenge.



Thanks for taking a peek and for all your lovely comments!

P.S.  Thanks to Anita's suggestion below I'm also going to enter this in the Lawnscaping Challenge #34: Embossing :


PDCC#132 and Moxie Fab World Gingham Challenges

This is the current color story at The Play Date Cafe Color Challenge blog:



This is my first time participating in one of their Color Splash challenges - Fun!!!  I decided to use an image from one of my new Hero Arts stamp sets called CG434 Floral Blossoms:



Just some simple stamping and paper piecing.  I used an older sentiment stamp from Stampendous.  I could have left it as is but I really liked the sweetness the gingham butterfly added:)
Other Materials Used:  Bo Bunny pp, A Muse gingham pp, Michael's black cs and pearls, Hero Arts snow layering paper, Stampin' Up butterfly die, Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink

I'm also going to enter this in the Moxie Fab World Gingham challenge:


Just wanted to share some sad news :(  Many of you commented on the bird's nest photo in my blog header.  This is a pic I took of an actual nest some industrious robins built during the course of one day on our garage windowsill!!  Mom and Dad faithfully took turns protecting the eggs and had kinda gotten used to the comings and goings of my hubby and me.  I had SO hoped I would be sharing a photo of the babies here on my blog.  But about a week ago we noticed both the robins and the eggs were gone :(  We scoured the ground underneath the nest and saw no sign of the eggs.  Not sure what happened to them - some friends told us it's not uncommon for snakes or even crows to carry the eggs away.....

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Hero Arts Birthday and Moxie Fab World Doilies & Lace Challenges

One of this month's challenges on the Hero Arts Blog is Birthdays:

contest_banner_500a2

I also used some of this month's challenge colors (pool, orange and chocolate) on my card:


When I acquired this fun cupcake pp from Stampin' Up I knew I wanted to pair it with this older cupcake stamp from Hero Arts LL247 Birthday Cupcakes set.  The die cut cake stand is from Cricut "From My Kitchen" cart.  I covered the whole stand with Ranger Glossy Accents - wish I had been able to capture how much this made it look like glass in the pic!  The sentiment is a clear stamp I cut apart from Hero Arts CL576 Wish Big.
Other Materials Used:  Stampin' Up cs and twine, Hero Arts Snow layering paper, American Crafts button, Cuttlebug Happy Birthday embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestie

I'm also going to enter this in the Moxie Fab World Doilies & Lace Challenge   .  I did use a bit of a paper doily I "rescued" from under a recent dessert I enjoyed at Olive Garden!

Only two more family birthday cards needed for next month:)


Tuesday, May 15, 2012

The Play Date Cafe Color Challenge #131

This is the current color story for The Play Date Cafe Color Challenge that ends today:


It's an understatement when I say using these colors was a challenge for me!  Here's what I came up with:


Decided to use color blocks in my design and these layering papers from Hero Arts (Mandarin, Celadon and Pine) were the closest I had to the challenge colors.  The outline flower is from Hero Arts CL495 Blossom Art set and the sentiment is from Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler (I love how this font goes with the flowers!).  White base card was embossed with a Lifestyle Crafts embossing folder.  I decided I needed to carry the white forward in my design so I used a white gel pen to accent the flower.
Other Materials Used:  Hero Arts Snow layering paper, Michael's black pearls and black cs

I'm off to check out some of the real flowers blooming in my garden and to get some Vitamin D from the sun :) 

Friday, May 11, 2012

Moxie Fab World TT: Vintage Vogue

This is the current Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger inspiration:



I have to admit I struggled a bit with this one until I decided to go with my gut reaction.  When I initially saw this pic the first thing that came to mind for me was this was a shot of the bottoms of some finished dresses made by a French seamstress!  I found a piece of patterned paper in the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Two Sunshine pad that contained some elements of sewing - an old fashioned sewing machine and a faint image of lace - and went from there:

At first I was going to use a dress form image in the design and then I decided to not go that literal.  Instead I stamped Hero Arts K5376 Hydrangea and colored the flowers only with copics.  I overstamped Hero Arts K5344 La Letter twice with SU So Saffron ink.  The butterflies from Hero Arts CL383 Antique Engravings were stamped, colored with copics and accented with Ranger stickles.  Sentiment is from Hero Arts CL498 Celebrate Everyday.  I finished the card off with a strip of measuring tape pp from the Crate Paper Farmhouse pad and some organdy ribbon, lace and a vintage-inspired button from my stash. 
Other Materials Used:  Stampin' Up pool party cs, Michael's black pearls,  Ranger antique linen and walnut stain distress inks

And although my mom prefers simpler things she does adore all things yellow or gold so I plan to give her this card for Mother's Day:)  I hope all the moms out there (including moms of furbabies!) have a wonderful Mother's Day full of love and laughter!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

CFC51 - Happy 1st Birthday!

The CAS-ual Fridays Challenge blog is celebrating its 1st birthday!


Thankfully more time was given to submit for the challenge and I'm squeaking in my entry in the nick of time!


After embossing this fun image from Hero Arts G5596 For You Gifts I did a combination of coloring and paper piecing.  Papertrey ink's Background Basics Gingham was stamped with Hero Arts Green Hills shadow ink to create the "grass".  The "sun" was created by sponging Hero Arts Butter Bar shadow ink in the negative piece of a circle die cut.  The "rays" of the sun are actually the birthday cake candle from Hero Arts CL576 Wish Big set.  Sentiment is from that same set.  Finally, Hero Arts CG422 Zig Zag was white embossed on the base card.
Other Materials Used:  Hero Arts snow layering paper, My Mind's Eye pp, W R Memory Keepers corner rounder, Ranger stickles, Copic markers

Hope your week is going well and thanks for all the sweet comments!


Thursday, May 3, 2012

A Blog Named Hero Challenge #3 and SSS 3rd Birthday Challenge

At A Blog Named Hero the current challenge is to use a sentiment as something other than a sentiment:

Not the most creative idea but I randomly white embossed 2 sentiments from Hero Arts CG275 Birthday on the white panel to create a subtle background for my flower:


I die cut the flower stem using Cricut cart Kate's ABC's from Hero Arts Celadon layering paper.  Flower from Hero Arts CL495 Blossom Art was brown embossed three times on solid cs and pp and layered for dimension.  Banner was stamped with image from Hero Arts/Studio Calico ST508 My Happy in Ranger spiced marmalade distress ink and overstamped with one of the birthday sentiments used in the bg in SU chocolate chip ink.  Finished card off with Hero Arts clear gems.
Other Materials Used:  SU cs, ink and pp, My Mind's eye pp, W R Memory Keepers corner rounder, Signo white pigment ink pen

I'm also going to link this up to the Simon Says Stamp's 3rd Birthday Challenge and this month's Hero Arts Birthday and Color Challenge.

TFL and for all your comments! 

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

CFC50 - April Showers Bring May Flowers!

The current challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is April Showers Bring May Flowers:

I've had this Memory Box Gorgeous Bloom stamp (E1760) for awhile and decided it was high time to ink it up!



Did a little partial debossing at the top of the stamped panel with a Lifestyle Craft's embossing folder (another technique I learned in the on-line class A Cut Above).  After stamping the bloom with Stampin' Up old olive ink I also embossed it on Hero Arts Iris layering paper and created a layered flower with foam tape.  Sentiment is from Hero Arts CL498 Celebrate Everyday. 
Other Materials Used:  Hero Arts Floral Dot CH267 (flower center), Stampin' Up cs and ink, Papertrey ink pp, W R Memory Keepers corner rounder, Martha Stewart score board

I apologize for the dark pic - the sun decided to suddenly disappear :(  Thanks for all your comments!!