Wednesday, March 18

This is it...Paper Players is my last Challenge this week...

I forgot I did this card before dinner 
so all I needed to do was post it.

  The challenge was "Clean and Simple Floral". I knew right away which stamp I would use. It's my favorite for florals. Then using my Derwent Inktense Watercolor Pencils with their vivid colors for spring.
Simple, clean and floral.

The marathon card challenge, for me anyway, is officially done. 

Good night everyone and try some challenges. 
They really are fun.

This will have to be the last (I'm exhausted)...

This was the easiest though.


You can tell by the title. Even more so the challenge itself is the "One layer Week" Challenge.
That means one easy card with lots of "white" space.

I was dying to use an Art Impressions set I have had for about a year and decided this would be the best for a "simple" card.

 I haven't stopped my coloring even though this isn't the cutesy birds I did on the weekend, I still think it works for a fun and simple card.

Well that's it for this weeks challenges. I should continue but I'm so tired...wait a minute I did do one more.

On to the definite last this time...

Mojo Monday's Challenge...

I love when the challenge is a sketch!


This gives you so many options. 
I looked through my pre-colored images from the weekend and found one I thought would work great.

 This one was such fun to put together. I started with my pre-stamped bird (check previous posting), dug through my patterned paper for a matching color, did some quick cutting and stamping. But it needed something for the embellishment. Pulled out my Tim Holtz ribbon die and it was perfect.

Can't wait to give this to a friend.

On to the next...

The House Mouse Challenge (NEW CHALLENGE, HMFMC190)...

You have a choice with this challenge to "case" the card they show or do whatever you like. 


I decided to case...ironically it's a card idea I did years ago. Yes, I'm very old.

Here is my take on the card to "case"...

I had to use three different house mouse stamps, die cutting from different parts of them for the images. 
The saying is from a sewing set by Jillian.
I love the way the background paper has stitching on it.

On to the next...
 

Simon Says is challenging me twice this Wednesday...

I started this tour of Challenges with Simon Says, but it was the Wednesday Challenge.

Now for the Monday Challenge...

This was actually a bit easy as this past weekend I stamped up a BUNCH of images and played with different coloring tools.
(I have already shown you an unfinished card in a previous post and I will probably use more of my images for more challenges to come)

 The bird on the flower image is from Unity Stamp Company and the saying is from Darcie's. Seem like I rarely use the same company's stamps together? I wonder why that is?
Anyway... I used my Inktense Water Color Pencils by Derwent for the bird image. They are the richest colors. I also used my Dove Blender instead of my wtarecolor brush, just felt better.
The large flower die is a Sissix set and the small flower is a punch, not sure where I got that one.
 I had to put this image up to show you the other part of the saying!

Now on to another...

Mod Squad Challenging...

I know this card doesn't look that difficult but there was a part that needed extra attention...the rounded corners.
Okay, stop laughing. I know you're thinking, seriously, how hard can it be with a corner rounder to round a corner.

However this challenge...
provided a real challenge.
Go ahead try and corner round a piece of magazine...I dare you!

Not so easy, huh!

He's my hint to help you out...


Place a piece of card stock under the corner you want to round. Making sure you line them up as in the picture below.


 Just place it there, no gluing needed. It will give the punch something to chomp and the magazine piece will get chomped right along with it.


Now you are ready to put it into a card. The saying is from a Stampin' Up set and the thimble is from a Sissix Sewing Die set.

On to the next ...

The Magenta Challenge was so much fun...

I have this friend, you know who you are, who purchases stamping items and forgets she has one already. Lucky me I usually get them as a giftie!
When this challenge was announced I knew I had to play with the bestest Magenta stamp I have received in a long time.
 The funny thing was we had just talked about watercolor crayons and how I was thinking of getting rid of mine. Especially because I hated the way it looked when you color on the image first, spritz with water and then stamp.
 Oh, how wrong I was! 
This stamp works perfect for it. I played with multiple shades of color and loved the result.
 The crayons are definitely staying in my closet!
 I shaded with Distress Ink, Walnut Stain and stamped the saying with the same ink. The saying is from a Tim Holtz set.

Thank you friend!

Magenta Challenge

On to the next...

My first challenge of challenges, Simon Wednesday Spring Pinterest Inspiration...

I will be trying for the rest of today to place a card and posting for each of the challenges I have on the left side of my blog. 
 We'll see how well I do.
 
My first is...
 
This may look odd but when I think of Spring I think of Chocolate bunnies.




The chocolate bunny is from Stampin' Up and the saying is from a one dollar set I picked up a couple years ago at Michael's in the dollar bin. (Lost the packaging with the company name.)
I know the colors aren't pastel but I thought the contrast of the elegant background paper with the partially chomped bunny worked well together.

On to number 2...

Sunday, March 15

Okay...so it's not a completed card...

But it IS a reminder to forage your cupboards for something from the past to use again.
My friend is doing a wonderful 30 day coloring challenge. Feel free to check it out at...


I decided to color for a day! I pulled out three stamps that require coloring in. I stamped them up using Staz on black and pulled out as many things as I could to color with. What a ball...Prismacolor pencils, chalks with Dove blender, chalk pencils, Inktense pencils, watercolor pencils and deep in the back of the closet my watercolor crayons.

The first card I did using the crayons...blech. No I won't even show you. It was a small image and they just looked awful. Then I found some summer images from Stampin' Up that needed background and were really large and open!


I used my fine brush for the couple and the wide brush for the background of sand and sky.

 
 So I didn't put it into a card, however I now have a bunch of colored images to make multiple cards in the future.

Dig through that closet of "antique" supplies and play.
Remember everything old is new again!
 
 

Thursday, March 12

I love sketches...

I have a dear friend who challenges me every  now and then with a blog challenge. This time I challenged her!
I got an email from:


Their blog had a sketch challenge and I loved the sketch. 


So off to the stamping room I went. I found one of their sayings that I had purchased quite a while ago and I knew I had to use it.


I found some two sided Martha Stewart patterned paper in my stash and went to work. If you could get up close you could see that the paper looks quilted. (My other passion!)

Have a wonderful month of March!

Monday, March 2

I thought I was going to sew today... MOJO387

Woke up this morning with my craft room all cleaned up from the card making I had been doing for the past two weeks.
While having my coffee and watching TV with my hubby, before going into the craft room, I received  a message from a friend.
It was to check out Mojo Monday.


I did and figured she wanted me to be a part of their card sketch 387. Before I could sew I thought I could make a card without too much mess.

Wrong!



This doesn't even show where I set up my Cuttlebug and all my folders to sort through to make the card using the sketch.

I had found in my searching last week a piece of patterned paper that I wanted to use but couldn't find something to make with it. I dug it out and created around it!


I used a Stampin' Up folder, Spellbinders die and Verve stamps and butterfly dies to create my submission.

Now I'm off to clean up again so I can get some, much needed, quilting done.