Flowers For You

I'm playing along with ColourQ where the colour palette is this mouthwatering selection:

I have (very) loosely based the design on the sketch for STAMPlorations Sketch Challenge #3.  What do you think?  A step too far???

And as it's a one layer card, I'm adding it to the runaway success that is One Layer Simplicity Challenge.  It seems everyone's loving it being in one place, and monthly.

All stamps by STAMPlorations:  Vignette Eclectic Florals, Patchwork Frenzy Graphic Squares (sentiment), Vignette Retro Mod Shapes (small leaf)
Inks: Memento Rhubarb Stalk, London Fog, Distress Inks Scattered Straw, Ripe Persimmon

Natural Tonic

Time for a little remedy after all the excesses of Christmas and New Year.  The challenge at The Paper Players is to feature the chalkboard technique on your card:

While I was browsing Paper Playful's site for any other challenges I could enter this card into, I found this one, The Male Room, which is new to me:

And this week their challenge happens to be to make a GET WELL SOON CARD.

All the stamps I used come from the Andy Skinner Retro set.  For the background I stamped the images in Distress Ink (can't remember now whether it was Antique Linen or Scattered Straw) and smudged over it straight away to blur the images, then stencilled some Tim Holtz stars over the top using Brushed Corduroy.  For the centre panel I stamped the image with Versamark and white embossed, then smudged some white pigment ink over, and mounted the piece onto kraft card, then added some twine.

Starry Birthday

I was lucky enough to win a prize from Keren Baker's blog recently.  The prize was a set of stamps that she had designed herself and had made, and these are some of the stamps from the set.  Keren was the mastermind behind the Mega Moxie Fab blog hop to honour its departing Queen of Moxie herself, Cath Edvalson.  Appropriately, the first post-Cath Moxie Fab World challenge is all about constellations and/or stars.

This week's Less is More challenge is all about:

Winter Blues

We would like to see cards with shades of blue 

And this week's Simon Says Monday Challenge is also about blue:

A Word for the Year

The challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is to create a project using a word that represents what you hope for the new year.

Instead of a resolution, choose a word that describes what you hope for the new year.

maybe it's LOVE if you want to work on your relationships, or DO if you want to challenge yourself to something, or LAUGH if you want to lighten up, etc.

Use that word as the inspiration for your card, and keep it Clean And Simple

Have you guessed what my word is?  Thought so.  So why hello?  It's about communicating.  Keeping in touch with those you already know, saying hello to new people you'll meet through the year, and saying hello to new opportunities.

Coincidentally, the challenge at Little Tangles is Saying Hello ;)

I tend to buy inks a couple at a time, but today I went a bit mad and bought ten.  As I was playing with them on my desk, making pretty patterns with them, my card design suddenly came to me.  I would do ombré.  Or rainbow.  Or maybe combo.  Ombrow?

If the labels actually matched the ink colours, it might have been more ombré than rainbow.  (Starting at New Sprout, I used them in order anti-clockwise.)

The square blue sequin is part of my winnings from years ago for runner up in a cardmaker of the year competition.  There were a couple of tubes of large Gutterman sequins - these square ones and some large purple flat ones.  I could never foresee a use for them in my card making, and even tried to sell them twice, but no takers.  But the blue one was just the right size to cover up a mark on the card panel.

Because I've used new inks I'm entering it into Simon Says Wednesday Challenge, something new.

Stamps: Neat & Tangled On The Strip
Sequins: blue - Gutterman; others - Neat & Tangled

STAMPlorations Sketch Challenge #3

Hi guys, it's time for the STAMPlorations bi-monthly Sketch Challenge.  Don't tell the rest of the design team, but I'm sketch-challenged.  I find sketches very, very challenging.  Still, nothing like stepping out of your comfort zone and, er, challenging yourself (especially when you've only just joined the design team!).  I flipped the sketch so that I could use the new release Vignette Retro Mod Shapes (which should be just about ready to ship) to make a little flower garden.

The sentiment is from Vignette Chevrons and Arrows and the stitched border is from the new release Patchwork Frenzy Graphic Pentagons.  

PRIZE

The sketch challenges are sponsored by our sister shop, All About Scrapping. The winner gets to pick 3 DIGITAL products from the shop -- any combination of printable sheets, Photoshop templates, and digital paper packs. The winner will also be invited as a Guest Designer in next month's sketch challenge.

Have a look here at what the rest of the team have created, and join in by 17 January.   Don't forget, if you enter the monthly challenge and the two sketch challenges for that month, you'll be in with an extra chance of a prize from All About Scrapping.

I'm entering this into Seize The Birthday where the theme is Anything Goes (with numbers).  Or in my case, without the numbers :)

Also Keep It Simple Anything Goes

And Simon Says Wednesday Challenge, Something New.  In my case, new design team and new stamps.

STAMPlorations Challenge #3 - Stamps and Feathers

Hello, and welcome to my first post as a Design Team member for STAMPlorations!  This month's challenge is all about using stamps and feathers.  I've used the Vignette set Trendy Feathers.

I swooshed some card through Evergreen Bough and Worn Lipstick Distress Inks, then stamped the feathers in Versafine Onyx Black and cut them out.  I stencilled some Distress Ink through a masked portion of a Tim Holtz Dot Fade stencil, stamped the sentiment over the top, then added some cotton and a button.

Head on over to the STAMPlorations blog to see what my Design Team buddies have created and I hope you'll be inspired to join in.  Here's the deal:

PRIZE

The winner will receive 2 Vignette or Patchwork Frenzy clear stamp sets of her choice. (Visit the shop to see the available stamp sets.) Also, the winner will be invited to be the Guest Designer in next month's challenge.

A TWIST IN OUR CHALLENGES

Each month, we host 3 challenges: 1 monthly challenge that starts on the 1st Friday and 2 bi-weekly sketch challenges that start on the 1st and 3rd Monday. Those who participate in all 3 challenges for the month will be in the running to receive a prize package from our sister shop, All About Scrapping. We'll randomly pick one winner and announce who that is the following month before the next monthly challenge starts. Remember, you must participate in all 3 challenges that month for a chance to win a prize.

Year in Review. Not.

I was going to do a year in review, but instead I thought I would show you some cards I made with encaustic wax and an iron.

Happy New Year!