Inspired by Kelly

I had a chance to play along in the SCS featured stamper challenge Sunday. The challenge is to take inspiration from the selected stamper's gallery. Kelly/schirmcat is our inspiration this week; I love Kelly's clean and simple/folk art style! I used this card of hers for my inspiration: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ga...;ppuser=146898
I used different stamps and different shades of color, but overall, kept the same layout and design. I stamped the large circle images from Unity's Fanciful Dots set in Colorbox white, then added the smaller circles, from a CTMH set, using regal rose ink.
Supplies:
Stamps: Unity, CTMH, SU All Year Cheer
Ink: Colorbox white, regal rose
Paper: regal rose, neenah classic crest white
Accessories: scallop punch, ribbon

Going Greek!

Some SCS friends are taking a Virtual Vacation this summer, complete with challenges! You can join us and play along here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/fo...d.php?t=445307
Our second stop was in Greece, so Jean/naturecoastcrafter asked us to use our "souvenirs" for inspiration. I used gold and pottery as my inspiration - the stamps reminded me of the geometric patterns found in Greek pottery. I used the stamps to make a background paper, then misted the whole thing with gold Glimmer mist. It's hard to see in the photo but adds a little touch of sparkle in real life. I also added some dots of gold with my Spica gold glitter pen. My posting will be sporadic the next few weeks as I'm planning the next leg of the virtual vacation and getting ready for a real one! One week from today I'll be on a cruise ship, headed to Alaska!
Supplies:
Stamps: Polka dot punches, all holidays
Ink: brilliant blue
Paper: brilliant blue, whisper white, brushed gold
Accessories: ribbon, spica glitter pen, Glimmer mist

Delft tulips

Sorry my stamping and blogging have been in short supply lately; I have been busy, busy, busy! I am getting ready for a big trip - a cruise to Alaska with my mom and sister! We decided to go just a short time ago, so there's been lots to do to get ready! I've also been gearing up for and going on a virtual vacation. Some Splitcoast friends and I are taking a virtual vacation through Europe and beyond this summer, complete with corresponding challenges. Pat/casep was our tour guide on our first destination, the Netherlands. She asked us to create cards inspired by the country. I chose to use the colors of Delft pottery and the tulips found so prolificly in the Netherlands as my inspiration. I kept the card simple and left it without a sentiment until I know what I'll use it for!
Supplies:
Stamps: Flower for all seasons
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copic markers
Paper: night of navy, ballet blue, whisper white, neenah white
Accessories: ticket punch, nestabilities, cuttlebug, ribbon

Res-Q #14: Where's the bug?

Once again, it's taken me all week, but I finally managed to get a card made for this week's Res-Q Challenge. Robyn asked us to make a card featuring a bug, but not to use that bug as a focal point of the card. You can see all the details of the challenge, and play along HERE!
My card was inspired by Sharon Johnson of No Time To Stamp. I love her beautiful wide ribbons and pretty bows, so I picked up some wide gingham ribbon at a nearby scrapbook store awhile back and decided to build a card around it! I embossed the Upsy Daisy image with white EP, then sponged several shades of blue over it for the background. My bugs are the pair of little butterflies from Tagger's Dozen. They are highlighted with a clear spica glitter pen.
The Res-Q girls are taking a summer break from the challenges, so there won't be any new ones for awhile. But if you're like me, you haven't had a chance to play them all yet, so please feel free to go back and play along with past challenges when you have a chance!
Supplies:
Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Tagger's Dozen
Ink: Versamark, night of navy, brocade blue, ballet blue, bashful blue
Paper: Neenah classic crest white, bashful blue, Chatterbox dp
Accessories: ticket punch, ribbon, embossing powder, spica glitter pen, sponges

Retro pink and brown for Lee

My friend Lee is hosting a challenge in the Gina K Designs forum on SCS for the Gina K release party, so I thought I would play along. She chose a color challenge, using pink and brown, which are her favorite colors. I like them, too, so this was right up my alley. I stamped the image from Retro Boutique, then stamped it again on patterned paper and paper-pieced the dress. The image and its under layer were cut out using my Nestabilities. I added some Kaisercraft pearls, some ribbon using my horizontal slot punch from SU and some cuttlebugging on the background. Thanks for a fun challenge, Lee.
Supplies:
Stamps: Retro boutique, Gina K Designs
Ink: Memento rich cocoa
Paper: chocolate chip, neenah classic crest white, patterned paper from Me and My Big Ideas
Accessories: cuttlebug, Nestabilities, pearls, slot punch

Quick birthday card

I went over to a friend's house to stamp the other day, which is quite challenge for me since I like to have all my "stuff" right there when I'm stamping! She's a relatively new stamper, so going to her house is little like a entering a limited-supply challenge. But that, to me, is part of the fun! She has different stamps and different tools to play with, and it gives me a chance to stretch my skills or try different things. Anyway, when I was visiting her, I needed to make a birthday card for a co-worker. I had brought along some paper and a few tools and accessories, but no birthday images. So I borrowed this cute image (not sure who makes it) and the sentiment (from Hero Arts, I think) and got to work. I colored the image with my friend's Creative Memories markers and then added some sparkle from an atyou Spica glitter pen. It probably needed a little something more, but I kind of like it as it is!
Supplies:
Stamps: unknown
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, CM markers
Paper: regal rose, gable green, basic black, neenah classic crest white
Accessories: Atyou spica clear glitter pen

polka dots and potatoes!

Robyn posted a fun challenge for the VSN kick-off this weekend; she asked us to take inspiration from potato skins and use the colors brown, white, green, yellow and a splash of red on our card. I had a hard time thinking of something to do, then found my Patterns pack of paper while I was cleaning up my stamp space and an idea formed! The image is inked in more mustard, then the edges rolled in real red. The card probably needs a sentiment, but I'm not sure what I'll use it for yet, so I left it off.
Supplies:
Stamps: Polka dot punches
Ink: real red, more mustard
Paper: sahara sand, more mustard, real red whisper white, Patterns pack
Accessories: scallop circle punch, nestabilities, circle punch, ribbon

Fun with paint

I'd seen a few cards on blogs recently where the artist had used paint as a background, so the other night I painted a few scraps of paper with some of my Making Memories paints and figured I'd try the technique sometime. Tonight on SCS there were some fun challenges to celebrate the launch of a new Virtual Stamp Night round. The theme this time is "Paper Chef" so all the challenges have food connections. This challenge was to take inspiration from herbs and use green on your card, and make it masculine since men seem to gather around the herb-flavored dip at parties. I grabbed one of my painted pieces, stamped some leaves in chocolate chip, added some distressed layers and a piece of hemp twine, and called it good! It was a fun, fast and simple card - my favorite! You can find out more about VSN and play along with all the challenges HERE.
Supplies:
Stamps: Gratitude=Joy, Unity; Short and sweet, SU
Ink: chocolate chip
Paper: artichoke, chocolate chip, vanilla
Accessories: paint, twine, Tonic distresser

Trashy Tuesday #6

It's taken me all week to get this week's Trashy Tuesday challenge done! This week's challenge was inspired by Oscar the Grouch's favorite song. Jacqueline asked us to take inspiration from the lyrics. I used the chorus as my guide:

Oh, I love trash!
Anything dirty or dingy or dusty
Anything ragged or rotten or rusty

Yes, I love trash
My card uses really rust ink and cardstock, ragged edges, lots of sponging for a "dirty" look, crumpled designer paper and an overall distressed look. You can see the complete challenge, and play along HERE. Along with the distressing, I used rock and roll on main image, inking first in mustard and then rolling in really rust.
Supplies:
Stamps: Upsy daisy
Ink: really rust, more mustard, chocolate chip
Paper: really rust, chocolate chip, vanilla, more mustard, mustard prints dp
Accessories: twill, sponges, Tonic edge distresser

CPS #119

A serious lack of mojo and a need to get several cards in the mail led me to Card Positioning Systems and this sketch challenge this week! I needed to get a card in the mail to my sister who is having some health issues. She loves bright colors and this little truck is fun to color, so I paired the truck with the Euphoria paper from Basic Grey, some Nestabilities and some jumbo eyelets from SU. Thanks for a mojo boost, CPS!
Supplies:
Stamps: Loads of Love
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copic markers
Paper: tempting turquoise, pink pirhouette, neenah white, Euphoria Basic Grey
Accessories: Nestabilities, jumbo eyelets, Spica clear glitter pen