Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration ~ June Color Challenge

It's color challenge time over at Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration! These challenges are usually the toughest for me. I have no idea why. You'd think it would be easier not having to come up with your own color scheme. I think it's difficult because I usually take things so literally. Luckily with this color scheme, it was fairly easy. 

I instantly thought of flowers when I saw this color combination. Since Happy Watercolor has the BEST flower, I decided to go that route. I really love this flower. It is so fun to make it three dimensional. Which is one of my favorite things to do to a card. I like things that stand out!

My take:

Supplies

Cardstock ~ Blushing Bride, Soft Suede, Whisper Whtie

DSP ~ Lullaby

Ink ~ Blushing Bride, Daffodil Delight, Baked Brown Sugar, Soft Suede, Black StazOn, Basic Black

Stamp Sets ~ Happy Watercolor, Something to Say

Tools ~ Paper Trimmer, Paper Snips, Oval Framelits Collection, Decorative Dots Embossing Folder, Sponges, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Sticky Strip, Dimensionals, Anywhere Glue Stick, All Purpose Liquid Glue, Crystal Effects, Blender Pen

Embellishments ~ Pearls Basic Jewels, Satin Ribbon (not SU)

Fascinating Feathers ~ My infactuation

Today has been a long day. Shuttling kids to and from school, doctors appointments, moving hay, cleaning house, feeding critters, homework and dinner. To say the least, this week is catching up to me in a hurry. Come on Friday! Despite being totally exhausted, I decided to sneak to my She-Cave. I was only going to tidy things up, but I got sidetracked and fell into some stamps and ink. Oops! I don't know how that happened!

I think I am on a new kick. After making yesterday's card, I am hooked on a Southwestern theme. What better to show that off than wood, arrows, and feathers? I wanted to go with softer, more subtle colors, so I chose Sahara Sand and Soft Sky. I know that the Soda Pop Tops are retired, but I stockpiled them and need to use them. Besides, they're pretty amazing! I really like how this turned out. It is masculine enough for the manly man in my life, but it's also soft enough for any occasion. SCORE!

Supplies

Cardstock > Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand, Whisper White

Ink > Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Soft Sky, Basic Gray

Stamp Sets > Hardwood, Perfect Pennants, That's the Ticket, Peachy Keen, Off the Grid, Chalk Talk

Tools > Distress tool, paper snips, paper trimmer, Ticket Duo Builder punch, 1" circle punch, Dimensionals, adhesive, sponge daubers

Embellishments > Soda Pop Tops (retired), thread, Natural Chevron Ribbon

Finished Size: 4" x 5 1/2"

With Sympathy

The reason for a sympathy card is always sad, but I did enjoy making this one. 

Supplies:

Cardstock ~ Soft Suede, Very Vanilla

Ink ~ Baked Brown Sugar, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake Crisp Cantaloupe, Rose Red, Lucky Limeade

Stamp Sets ~ Ex Libris, So Sorry, Stippled Blossoms

Other Supplies ~ misc. ribbon

Thinking of You

This card was created for Mojo Monday's latest challenge, but I missed the deadline by one  hour. Really? Such is my luck, he he he! Oh well, I still have a purdy card to show for my effort. Here is what I came up with. This is the first time I've used this stamp, even though I've had it for quite a while. I really liked how it turned out. Love the colors. I swear, that Calypso Coral speaks to me. I also love the DSP. Unfortunately it's retired {pout}. 

Supplies

Paper ~ Everyday Enchantment DSP, Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Soft Suede

Ink ~ Calypso Coral, Baked Brown Sugar, Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Pear Pizzaz

Stamp Sets ~ Thinking of You

Embellishments ~ Antique Brads, Burlap

Toil & Trouble... with a little Poison on the Side.

Woo Hoo! My Stampin' order came! I am finally getting my hands on Toil and Trouble. I am obsessed with skulls. I don't know why, but I love them. So, when the Holiday catalog came out, Toil and Trouble was the first on my wish list.

I had a lot of fun playing with it today. I have so many more ideas burning in my head. I created it for Try Stampin' on Tuesday's weekly challenge but I'm not sure it really fits with the sketch. I got a little off track. Oops! I decided to make my own paper. I think I'm going to call it MCP instead of DSP. Don't get me wrong, I love Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper... BUT, everyone else has it too. I want to be different. Go figure. Here is what I came up with. I think it came together nicely.

Supplies:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla

Ink ~ More Mustard, Pear Pizzaz, Rich Razzleberry, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze

Stamp Sets ~ Off the Grid, Gorgeous Grunge, Toil and Trouble, misc. alphabet stamp set

***I did not use any SU embellisments for this card. 

I used the Brayer tool to make the More Mustard and Pear Pizzaz paper. I like the effect better than using SU cardstock.

Woo Hoo!!! This card received a special mention over at Try Stampin' on Tuesday!!!

Oh Thank You

I'm about to get my Mojo on! Here is Monday Mojo's new challenge for the week. I have so many ideas floating in my head. I hope they stay there. I hate it when I sit in my crafting cave and my mind goes blank. I'm thinking this card will have some fabric on it. Hmmm.....

Here is what I came up with. It's a little out of my comfort zone, but that's the point of a challenge right?

Supplies used:

Paper ~ Soft Suede, Summer Starfruit, Riding Hood Red, Pool Party, Whisper White

Ink ~ Midnight Muse, Riding Hood Red, Soft Suede, Early Espresso

Stamp Sets: Oh Hello, Apothecary Art

Other supplies used: Pearl Basic Jewels, Stampin' Up! fabric, Soda Pop Tops, hemp twine

*This card was entered in Mojo Monday's #294 challenge

A new Challenge!

Time for a new Challenge! This one is from Mojo Monday. It's a fun blog with lots of sketch ideas. The theme, and color scheme are open. I'm headed downstairs to my craft cave right NOW to work on it! What will I come up with? What would you do? I'd love to see your designs. Send me an email with a pic!

Here's what I came up with. It turned out so much better than what I had pictured in my head. I just LOVE it when that happens!

Supplies used for this card

Paper ~ Specialty DSP (unfortunately retired), Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Pretty in Pink, Crumb Cake

Ink ~ Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose

Stamp Sets ~ French Foliage, Blue Ribbon, Family Reunion

Other Supplies ~ Designer Builder Brads, Crochet Trim, Pearl Basic Jewels, Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons, misc brads, misc string

Monthly Card Swap {MAY} Challenge

So, a while back I joined a monthly card swap hosted by one of my best gals. She is a fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. There are 8 of us in the group. Each lady gets to choose a design idea for one month. I got to choose this month's challenge. Here is the criteria... 

Colors

The Layout

And here is what I came up with...

I had so much fun with this card. The colors went together so well {I thought}. I was even able to use one of the BRAND SPANKIN' NEW stamp sets from the new 2013-2014 catalog! There were many stages to this card. To be honest, it took a L-O-N-G time to complete. Probably a little more elaborate than I should have done, but I just LOVE this look!

Supplies Used for this card {Where do I start...}

Paper ~ Soft Suede, Specialty DSP, Whisper White

Ink ~ Soft Suede, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Pretty in Pink

Stamp Sets ~ Fresh Vintage, Oh Hello, Label Love

Other Supplies Used ~ Paper Doilies, Antique Brads, Vintage Trinkets

This Too Shall Pass

I created this card today for a stamping challenge from MojoMonday. 

The sketch template:

Supplies Used for this card:

Paper ~ Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Tea for Two DSP, First Edition DSP

Ink ~ Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral

Stamp Sets ~ From My Heart

Other supplies used ~ Crochet ribbon, Labels Collection Framelits

Happy Day!

The photo doesn't do this card any justice. I really need to figure out a better way to photograph my cards. I have a lightbox, I just haven't had time to set it up yet. Truthfully, I don't have the room!

This card was created around some floral patterned paper that I had leftover from an old project. It's not Stampin' Up! paper so I rarely use it. However, it caught my eye as I was looking for inspiration. It just so happened that it went perfectly with River Rock, Soft Suede, Sahara Sand, and Very Vanilla. 

Of course I had to create a card that had a vintage feel. I antiqued the edges of almost every piece of paper. In fact, I think I did EVERY piece. I did the texture on the base color (River Rock) with a stylus and my Simply Scored plate. I went every 3/4" on the diagonal. I added pearls at every cross section. 

A few different layers of different shapes, a designer builder brad and a stamp from the "Ciao, Baby!" set completed this card. It was such a simple design. It went together so smoothly! I'll definitely be making a few more of these!

 I kept the inside of the card fairly simple. Antiqued the edges. Added a sentiment from the "Vintage Verses" stamp set and a "Happy Birthday" stamp on a banner of River Rock paper.