Dotty Flowers

The colour scheme for Play Date Cafe this week is:

Cobalt...Goldenrod...Peony

And the challenge at Less Is More is this sketch:

If you look closely you'll see that the gems in the centre of the flowers are Peony. And this time I've put the sentiment in the right place for the sketch ;-)

The flower stamp is Hero Arts E3132 Dots in a Flower.  Happy Birthday is from Woodware FRCL069 Large & Small Greetings.  Martha Stewart punch for the frilly bit.

Fabulous!!

The challenge at ColourQ this week is to use the following colours:

I quite often this Fabulous stamp (Heidi Swapp) and the dressform stamp (Kanban) together, and I almost always paper-piece the dress.  Fortunately I had some paper that contained three of the four colours required!  A flower and some bling, and hey presto.

Talking of fabulous, what did you think of the Olympics Opening Ceremony?  The stand-out moments for me were the industrial landscape (those chimneys rising from the ground!), the forging of the fifth Olympic ring and raising it to the skies, the Queen parachuting in (what a hoot!!), Mr Bean (genius), passing the torch to the next generation, and the lighting and raising of the cauldron.  How on earth they managed to keep it all secret is a mystery.  The other mystery to most of Britain is the tribute to the NHS (goodness knows what the rest of the world thought!).  One thing about Britain, we can always be relied upon for ingenuity.  And eccentricity.

Strawberry Summer

For me, strawberries are the ultimate summer fruit.  Even though we can buy them virtually all year round now, they still taste better eaten in summer (hopefully with sunshine), with cream.  Or in champagne :-)

I was lucky enough to go to Wimbledon a couple of years ago, and I told my husband in no uncertain terms that I would be having my Pimms and I would be having my strawberries, regardless of cost!  I got both (of course) and was pleased that the prices were reasonable (so was he!  Pleased, I mean.  Although he is also reasonable.  Usually.)

This week's challenge at One Layer Wednesday hosted by Cheryl is summer, and the challenge at CASology is fruit.  Summer + fruit = strawberries.

The strawberry stamp is PSX.  I tried colouring the stamp directly but it just didn't look right. It looks stronger and much more dramatic stamped in black and coloured in.  Enjoy stamp is Hero Arts.

Black and Red Christmas

Well, I've gone and done it.  Made my first Christmas card this year.  The theme at Dynamic Duos is

And the Belli Challenge 148 theme is Christmas in July.  Belli challenge is all about using old or forgotten embellishments.  I had a bag of punched folk hearts lying around (more body parts lying around in bags...) so I made them into a Christmas tree and topped it with a punched star.

The stamp is from Hero Arts, stamped in Brilliance Rocket Red.

Baby Baby 2

This is my second post for RIC and Lawnscaping today, as I realised I can't link the same post twice, so I've separated the cards out.  Scroll down or click here for the first post.

Over at Runway Inspired Challenge, DT member Sarah gave birth to Evelyn.  I used the yellow dress from the Lawnscaping inspiration photo and the frilly D&G dress to create this card:

Cardigan is Stampendous E172 Baby Sweater

Lemon ribbon, gathered

Checked ribbon is Stampendous SSC057 Ribbon Sliders

Sweetie is Blonde Moments Sweet Something

Card Candi is Craftwork Cards

Aah, sweet! Congratulations to both mums.

Baby Baby 1

The challenge at Lawnscaping is to use this photo as inspiration:

Now, there's a lot going on in this photo, so nobody should be stuck for inspiration, right?  Maybe because there is so much to go for, I couldn't decide on anything, and thought I might give this one a miss.  Then along came a little extra Runway Inspired Challenge in honour of Cristina's new baby, with this designer inspiration photo.

 

So now I had double inspiration!!  I had the checked bow-tie from Lawnscaping and the checked jacket from RIC.

Baby Behind is Rubber Stampede 2730C by David Walker, paper pieced with some checked background paper.
Checked ribbon is Stampendous SSC057 Ribbon Sliders
Twinkle Toes is Blonde Moments Sweet Somethings

See my other post for the card for Sarah's baby.

Hugs

This was the card that I had in mind for this week's OLW97 Line Up, when I realised that a card I was making for other challenges also fitted the OLW criteria so I posted that.  And this one was still in my head at that point.

The inspiration for this card is from this photo at Runway Inspired Challenge #16:

The challenge at Less is More this week is sewing - machine or hand, fax or stamped, or sewing-related images.  I've pierced the stitched line that runs from top left to enhance the faux stitching, which you can just about make out.  

The lines stamp is from Paper Artsy, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black and coloured with dirty lemon Tombow (my description, not theirs).  The pink dots and the blue dot are teeny dome stickers - nice and shiny to reflect the shoes and shades in the RIC photo.  Hugs is from Woodware FRCL069 Large and Small Greetings.

Inspired By...

Another post from me today.  Click here or scroll down for my CASE Study 100 post.

Challenge #8 at A Blog Named Hero is to create a card which has been inspired by one of those very talented Hero Arts Artists.  I loved this card by Tami Hartley when I saw it.  I thought it was perfect for a teenager, or a man who isn't into football, fishing or golfing.  I loved the grunginess of it, and I do like black on a card - much to my mother's disgust; she thinks black cards are morbid.

Here's my take on it:

The circles are H2871 Holiday Baubles stamped with Versamark and embossed with white powder, then covered with Black Soot Distress ink which is then polished off the embossed surfaces.  It's Your Birthday is CG275.

Sundress

We've had some sunshine today, with the promise of more warm weather, so I've got out my sundress and sunhat.

Challenge 141 at The Play Date Cafe is to use these colours:

Mint

Soft Yellow

Coral

Tulip

The stamps are from Woodware FRCL023 Fashion Style, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black and coloured with Tombows.  The background paper is from Papermania, as are the glittery mount and the mulberry paper daisy chain.  I've added mint pearls to the open centres of the daisies.

Goodtime Girl

Not me; her!

So there was I, thinking that I might use a black card base for the ColourQ challenge

when along came the CASual Fridays challenge to use black as a card base.  Sorted!

I desperately didn't want to make a Christmas card (although they are the perfect colours) because I am still clinging to the hope that we will get a summer.  I had this pack of legs lying around (unknown supplier) so I added some Suze Weinberg Pure Glitz Ruby Slippers (how apt!) and made a mini skirt from some Anita's sticky ribbon.  The Tallulah Bankhead quote is Inkadinkado.

Neon Happy Wishes

Sunglasses on, girls! One of the themes of this month's Hero Arts competition is to use neon yellow, pink and orange.  On the same card.

The second challenge at CASology is to make a card using the word Happy as inspiration.

Heather's challenge for One Layer Wednesday is to use lines, so this card fits pretty neatly into all three categories.  In fact, it was only while I was typing this the I realised the card fits OLW, because I had another card and other lines in mind for that.  I may well still do the other card.

Happy Wishes is from Hero Arts CL125 Border and Swirl Messages, coloured with Tombows.

Textured Thank You

The challenge at Dynamic Duos this week is to use these subtle colours:

And the challenge at The Paper Players is:

The sentiment is Hero Arts H4373 Textured Thank You, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black, then coloured with the nearest shade of Tombow I could get to Pink Pirouette.  Because the sentiment is so bold and chunky I made the layering chunky as well.

Cake and Chillililli

I made this card for the OLW96 challenge - Birthday Blings (add glitter, rhinestones or other shiny things to a one layer card),

the CAS-ual Fridays CFC61 challenge to use strips of colour or pattern in your Clean and Simple creation

the Play Date Cafe colour challenge (probably the closest match I've managed to date)

and Less is More challenge to make a one layer card with three of anything - images, colours, stamps, etc

That's it.  Reached my combination limit, otherwise I would have entered it into another challenge that I'd found.

My three was three colours/shapes to make a birthday cake.  I used the Penny Black Best Wishes stamp for the topping and candle, and finished it off with a punched teardrop of glittered mulberry paper as the candle flame.  Does it look like a cake?  It does to me.

So that's the cake, what about the chillililli?  It's a weird word to say, but it's even weirder in print.  Spellcheck doesn't like it.  But I do, it's piccalilli with added chilli, and it's delicious.  I bought it from a Bastille Day fair yesterday, along with some beetroot chutney which I have yet to sample, and some French red wine, which I have sampled :-)

Vive la France et bon appetit!

Retro Flowers

I made this card for the colourQ challenge #145 using this colour scheme:

My strip of more mustard card is a bit more than their more mustard, but still not quite as dark as it appears in the photo.  The brown ink is Memories Art Print Brown, and it has stained my clear happy birthday stamp quite badly.  I can live with stained stamps, but even though I've cleaned this one several times with every stamp cleaning product I can find, and I can't get any more ink off the stamp, it is still stamping brown onto scrap paper.  I've just bought a new stamp cleaner and will try that.

Hero Arts H1460 Flowers with Vase
Happy Birthday - Person Impressions PICS033 Mixed Sentiments

Fruity Colours

I hesitated to make a card using a pear stamp, after reading Susan's post, and I'm trying not to think tattoos.  But I do like this stamp and don't get the opportunity to use it much.  I made the card for The Paper Players Challenge #103:

and for Simon Says:

LET'S GET FRUITY !

Pear stamp is by Aspects of Design
Wording is from Marion Emberson Designs PICSA6183

A Little Sunshine

There's a brand new weekly challenge at CASology where the challenge is to make a clean and simple card based on a single word.  Challenge #1 is:

Now I had a little sunshine, and I had a big sentiment, but how to get them both on a card and make them look like they belonged to each other, and also incorporate the colours from CR84FN #58?

I decided the best way was to put them next to each other across the centre of the card, and wrap a length of jute round the card to underline them.

Sun - Woodware FRCL059 On the Move
Sentiment - Stampassions stamped in Brilliance Rocket Red

RIC#15 - Lacoste

The inspiration photo for Runway Inspired Challenge #15 is this plaid creation from Lacoste.  Just the thing for doing the weekly trolley dash.

When I first made this card I added the card candi on the ribbon bands, but contrasting the colours (red dot on blue band, blue dot on butterscotch band, butterscotch dot on red band) but the balance of the card wasn't quite right.  So, after days of staring at it (not all the time you understand, just now and again) to get inspiration, I peeled the dots off and replaced them above the bands, replicating the order, and now I'm happy with it.  Happy everything!

Ribbon stamp - Stampendous SSC057 Ribbon Sliders
Happy Everything - Paper Smooches Simply Said
Card Candi - Craftwork Cards

Razzleberry and Olive Tag Card

Challenge #10 at Dynamic Duos is bold and sassy colours, and this month's choice is

And the challenge over at Simon Says is

TAGS or ATCs 

you can add a tag or an ATC to a card or project too :-)

I cut a tag from some raspberry Bo Bunny card, and added a strip of Botanical Pearlescent Paper, and coloured in with Tombows. I added some knotted cord around the wording section of the paper, and tied some olive sheer ribbon through the tag. Oh, and I added a pearl to the centre of the middle flower.

The shaped card (and the Botanical paper) is from Craftwork Cards. I stamped a flower from the Papermania Hampstead Sketch Flower Collection, and coloured that in and added a tiny pearl in the centre, which you can just about make out. The Happy Birthday stamp is from PSX stamped in ColorBox pigment inks. The olive is much more olive on the ink pad than it inks up on the stamp.

Thanks for looking :)

Best Foot Forward

The challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays is

CFC60  Use text in your Clean And Simple design

and the challenge at Less is More is to use 'Gold'

The shoe stamp is by My Sentiments Exactly and stamped in Encore Metallic Gold. Birthday Wishes is by Ladybug Crafts, also stamped in Encore Metallic Gold onto a strip of white card then mounted onto a wider strip of black card.  The flower is from Prima, with a bit of bling added.

Seeing Stars (and Hearts)

This card is for two challenges - One Layer Wednesday 95 over at Susan's blog, which is to make a one-layer card using at least one heart and one stripe (my stripe being the scoreline), and Creative Belli Challenge #147 - Stars.

Now the theme of One Layer Wednesdays is to produce a one-layer card with no or minimum embellishments, whereas the theme of Creative Belli challenges is to use old or forgotten embellishments.  The more eagle-eyed among you may notice that there are no embellishments on this card, but I've stretched the rules a bit for the Belli challenge, because it was the stamp that was old and definitely forgotten - I'd forgotten where I'd stored it!  It took two rounds of searching before I finally found it in a box that I'd already checked.  Hmm.

If I get disqualified for not using embellishments, maybe someone should start a challenge for old and/or forgotten stamps.  Not me though.  Maybe there's one already?  Ever counted up how many stamps you just had to have that have yet to see an inkpad?  Frightening.

Balloons stamp by Image Tree, stamped in Versafine Smokey Gray and coloured with Tombows
Happy Birthday stamp by Rubber Stampede stamped in Versafine Smokey Gray
White gel pen

Beach Huts

This beach hut stamp came in a free cover set on a magazine.  On the first card I've stamped it three times in Memento Paris Dusk then drawn the boards with watercolour pencils, and filled in the roofs, hinges etc.  Birthday Wishes is also stamped in Memento Paris Dusk.

I've used the colour scheme from ColourQ Challenge 144

and I'm submitting both of these cards for the Stre-e-tch Your Stamps challenge at A Blog Named Hero.

For this second card I stamped the hut onto spare card in Versafine Onyx Black, drew on the boards then coloured and cut it out and cut the doors so that they would open. On the card, I stamped the sun and seagull in Versafine Onyx Black, then coloured and masked them.  I marked out the area where the open doors would be and coloured in some boards, then masked that area off while I used my Inkylicious Duster brushes and masking to create sand and sky.  I removed the masking and stamped the sentiment so that it would appear in the open doorway, then fixed the beach hut on with foam pads.

I'm also submitting this second card in the Lawnscaping Challenge #37 to use dimension.

I'm also linking this to Virginia's feature on stretching your stamps.

The seagull is from the free stamp set

The sun is from Woodware FRCL059 On the Move

Sentiment is from Paper SmoochesA15096 Simply Said