Lilacs in Pitcher--Color Throwdown #32

It's time for the Color Throwdown Challenge--we're up to #32! Today's colors were chosen by Broni Holcombe and they were a challenge: Barely Banana, Pretty In Pink, and Regal Rose. I really had to give this one some thought, but I like what I finally came up with.



My base card is Whisper White with layer of Pretty In Pink and more Whisper White run through my Cuttlebug with the Textile embossing folder. The next element is Regal Rose and Barely Banana cut/embossed with my large and small Labels dies. A sheer pink ribbon and bow were added at this point. The focal image was stamped with a new Lockhart stamp, Lilacs in Pitcher on Solar White card stock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copic markers (see below for colors used). It was then cut/embossed with an oval Nestabilities die and matted on Pretty In Pink and Regal Rose, also cut/embossed with Nestabilities dies and popped up on 3M foam squares. The sentiment is from a My Favorite Things set called Essential Sentiments and was stamped on Solar White with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and punched with the small oval punch. It was matted with Pretty In Pink and Regal Rose and is also up on foam squares. Dew Drops from the Primary collection add a few accents and finish it off.

C'mon over to the Color Throwdown blog and play along with us this week. If you upload your card to a public forum, please use the keyword CTD32 so we can see your beauty all in one place. And if you play, you *could* be picked as our Featured Stamper and a guest designer! Hope to see you there!

Be sure to check out what the other team members have come up with this week:
Broni Holcombe--Splashes of Watercolor
Cathy Indelicato--Crafty Thoughts
Danielle Kennedy--Wild Dragonfly Designs
LeAnne Pugliese--Wee Inklings
Tammy Hershberger--Stamp Happy

~Recipe~
Stamps: Lilacs in Pitcher (Lockhart); Essential Sentiments (MFT)
Paper: Whisper White, Barely Banana, Pretty In Pink, and Regal Rose (SU!)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Cuttlebug/Nestabilities/Textile folder; ribbon, 3M foam squares (craft store); oval and small oval punches (SU!); Copic markers

Breezy Pacific Gardens Mojo Love

First, just a note to my readers: I got a question yesterday in a comment but I couldn't respond because the reader didn't leave an email address. To remedy this, I've added my email address in the side bar. So, if you have a question for me, please fire it off in an email and I'll answer it to the best of my ability. Thanks!


This card is for three challenges--SCS color challenge 203 (Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, and Garden Green), the very latest hot off the press Stamp Simply--#72, show some LOVE!, and Mojo Monday 70--just a little late, LOL, but I like the sketch so I'm doing it. That's my story, etc., etc. This could be an anniversary card, I think. Or a Valentine's Day card.

My card base is Whisper White with a layer of Garden Green, then Pacific Point, then a layer of Whisper White that I ran through my Cuttlebug with the Love Language embossing folder. The next "element" is two rows of Pacific Point striped ribbon. The half-round element is Baja Breeze stamped with my Posy backgrounder stamp cut/embossed with a circle Nestibilities die and layered on Baja Breeze cut/embossed with a scalloped circle die. The long element is Garden Green, Pacific Point, and Whisper White that was run through the Cuttlebug with the Stylized Flower embossing folder. These elements are up on 3M foam squares. The focal image was stamped on Whisper White with Garden Green using a stamp from Verve's Beautiful You set--you can't see it but the little flower was done in Pacific Point. It was cut/embossed with a Lables One die and layered on Pacific Point which was cut/embossed with a square die--the edges were sponged with Baja Breeze then Pacific Point. This is also up on foam squares. The "Baja Breeze" Prima was once a white one. I colored it with a Twinkling H2O called Tahitian Blue--which was a little too blue so I went over it with Shimmerz in Mint. It's probably closer to Soft Sky but it works and it sure does shimmer.
The flowers are attached with a clear crystal brad. See the green leaves? I bought a miniature ivy garland at Wal*Mart in the floral department for $3.00 and cut the little leaves off. I LOVE how this turned out!! Now I have leaves for, well, let's just say for quite a while for almost nothing, LOL. They're attached with glue dots and match the Garden Green to a "T".

Thanks for dropping in!

~Recipe~

Stamps: Beautiful You (Verve); Posy Backgrounder (SU!)
Paper: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, and Garden Green (SU!)
Ink: Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, and Garden Green
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, embossing folders; Primas; 3M foam squares, crystal brad (craft store); ivy leaves (Wal*Mart); Twinkling H2Os; Shimmerz (Jacksonbelle Embellishments)

Flower of the Month--January

This card is for the last Viva la Verve January challenge. It's a sketch with a twist of flowers. I'm always ready to do flowers, and since I just got this retired SU! set called Flower of the Month, I was ready. I really love this set.

My base card is Very Vanilla with three layers of cardstock from a K & Co Cardstock Pad called K-ology Hannah, and I added a Dew Drop from the Primary Color bottle in each of the corners.The next element is also all from that cardstock pad and is up on 3M foam squares with a little paper piercing in each corner. The third element is two pieces of satin ribbon that match the card stock. The focal image is the flower for January--Carnation. It was stamped on Stamper's Select cardstock with Palette Hybrid Noir Black ink. I colored it with Copic markers (see picture below for the ones I used), sponged the edges with Creamy Caramel ink and cut/embosed it with a Lables One Nestabilities die. Then it was matted with card stock from the pad that was cut/embossed as well. The sentiment is from Verve's Wonderful Wishes set and was stamped on patterned cardstock with Basic Black, punched with the small oval punch and matted on more cardstock punched with the medium punch. Both the focal image and the sentiment are up on 3M foam squares.

I like the way this card turned out. Each month I'll use the stamp for that month for a birthday card. And I have another project in mind for this set, too.

Thanks for dropping in!

~Recipe~
Stamps: Flower of the Month (SU!); Wonderful Wishes (Verve)
Paper: Very Vanilla (SU!); K-ology Hannah Cardstock Pad (K & Co); Stamper's Select (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir Black; Basic Black, Creamy Caramel (SU!)
Accessories: Copics; Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Lable One; 3M foam squares, ribbon, sponge (craft store); Dew Drops (Robin's Nest); paper piercer/mat/template; small and medium oval punches (SU!)

More Christmas decor items

Are you getting sick of seeing these, LOL? OK, three more projects in this post and that's the last of them for now--I think ;-)

The first project is more letters--these are for the fake mantle in our library/media room. We have a free-standing gas log stove in there and no mantle so we mounted a mantle on the wall behind the stove. It works! These letter are NOEL and done in a woodland tone to match the other Christmas decorations in this room.

Here's the overall look of the "mantle":


















And here are the letters close-up:
















The next project is for a cute little metal "envelope" I found a couple of years ago. I thought it needed a "letter" in it so I typed out the "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" letter, embellished it slightly with some holly leaves punched with a Martha Stewart punch and some red "berry" stickers, and put it in the "envelope". I have it hanging on the door knob to DH's Man Cave. Here's the overall look:





















And here's a closer view showing the embellishments:
















OK, the last one. I have a couple of white feather trees sitting on the step to our whirlpool tub with purple ornaments on them. I wanted a little something else to group with the trees, so I took a white pillar candle and embellished it a bit. I stamped a snowflake border and a greeting from the Just Rite Christmas set with Versamark and heat embossed with silver embossing powder. It's matted with Lavender Lace and silver metallic card stock, as is the band that wraps around the candle. Here's the overall look:




















And here's a closer look:

















I think most of these are pretty self-explanatory so I won't do the recipe thing. But if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Thanks for bearing with me, LOL. On the next post I'll be back to cards!! Woohoo!!

Making Christmas sweeter.

Yep, another post today. Hey! I've got some catchin' up to do, LOL!

I wanted to have a little favor for my open house guests, so this is what I did. On some candy canes, I attached a tag that read: Open House 2008 Thank you for making our Christmas a little sweeter. John and Barbara. I printed these from my computer, using a label template, punched them out with my SU! oval punch, and tied them on with red crochet cotton. I then put them in a basket with a large tag, using my Just Rite Christmas collection and large round Harmony stamper. I'm not totally pleased with how this part came out--I'll have to work on that since I'm planning on this becoming a traditional part of my open house.

Here's the candy cane label:
















And here's the basket label:
















Thanks for looking again! One more post for today and I'll quit. I promise, LOL!

~Recipe~
Stamps: Just Rite Christmas
Paper: White GP card stock
Ink: Real Red (SU!)
Accessories: oval punch (SU!), 1/16" hole punch, red crochet cotton

Just Chicken Up On You

This card is for Day 3 of Paper Craft Planet's Twelve Days Of Christmas contest, which requires one to use a hen, or a rooster, or an owl. Well, since I used an owl *last* night, I had to use the only chicken stamp I have. MFT Punny Farm to the rescue! This baby is BRIGHT!

My base card is Yoyo Yellow with a layer of Basic Black then Whisper White. Then I added a layer of DP from Basic Grey's Offbeat collection. My focal image is stamped with StazOn Jet Black on Whisper White and colored with my Stampin' markers in Yoyo Yellow, Only Orange, and Ruby Red, with a little shadow of Baja Breeze. It's layered on Baja Breeze and then Basic Black. I sewed two yellow buttons on the black and white checked ribbon with DMC embroidery floss (Black #310) and tied it around the card. For the Sentiment, I used only half at a time and curved it to fit the oval. I like how it turned out! Thanks for stopping by!

~Recipe~
Stamps: Punny Farm (MFT)
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Baja Breeze, Yoyo Yellow, Offbeat DP (Basic Grey)
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Yoyo Yellow, Only Orange, Ruby Red, and Baja Breeze
Accessories: black and white ribbon, buttons (craft store), Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, DMC floss #310

Winter Owl

This card is for Paper Craft Planet's second day of their 12 Days of Christmas contest and the third sketch challenge. Hey! You can't blame a girl for trying to win more stamps, can you, LOL??? I'm still excited about winning those Kitchen Sink stamps for day one!

Anyway, my base card is Whisper White, then a layer of Almost Artichoke, then a layer of Baja Breeze. I sponged the two top layers with Almost Artichoke before adhering to the card base. The focal image is stamped on Whisper White with Baja Breeze and a stamp from Inkadinkado's Winter Birds set. I highlighted the snowflakes and swirls with my gold Sakura glitter pen and cut/embossed it with a small oval nestabilities die. Then it was layered on Baja Breeze cut/embossed with a small scalloped oval die. The DP layer under the focal image is Basic Grey's Dasher collection and is called Snowbank and is sponged with Almost Artichoke, too. Snowflake brads are from K & Company. The sentiment is stamped on Whisper White with Baja Breeze with a sentiment from Verve's Ornamental Christmas set. It was then cut/embossed with a Nestabilities ribbon slider die and attached with a gold ribbon. Thanks for stopping by!

~Recipe~
Stamps: Winter Birds (Inkadinkado), Ornamental Christmas (Verve)
Paper: Whisper White, Always Artichoke, Baja Breeze (SU!), Dasher (Basic Grey)
Ink: Baja Breeze (SU!)
Accessories: snowflake brads (K & Company), ribbon (Michaels), Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Sakura glitter pen, sponge

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

This card is for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 43. This is the first time I've done this challenge and I love this sketch. I'll be using it more, I'm sure.

You know, when you have a great layout and you have great paper, you can't mess up. Well, your chances are lessened, anyway, LOL. I really love this card. I think it's the vintage feel and I love the colors.

My base card is Bravo Burgundy with a layer of DP from Cosmo Cricket's Oh Joy collection called Frosty. I love this collection! I got it from Jacksonbelle Embellishments and every design in the collection is gorgeous! The focal element is first Bravo Burgundy, then Mellow Moss, then the focal image is stamped on Very Vanilla with Mellow Moss and this layer is sponged with Creamy Caramel (naturally). The snowflake stamp is from The Paper Studio's set called Snowflakes (as is the small snowflake, as well). Three burgundy brads accent this element. The next element is first Bravo Burgundy, then more DP, then Very Vanilla with the sentiment from Verve's Ornamental Christmas set in Bravo Burgundy. This is also sponged. The accent element is stamped on Very Vanilla, sponged, and layered on Mellow Moss. Each of the elements are up on dimensionals. I really love this card--it may be a keeper. Thanks for taking a look today!

~Recipe!
Stamps: Snowflakes (The Paper Studio), Ornamental Christmas (Verve)
Paper: Bravo Burgundy, Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla (SU!), Oh Joy: Frosty (Cosmo Cricket)
Ink: Mellow Moss, Bravo Burgundy, Creamy Caramel (SU!)
Accessories: brads (craft store), Cuttlebug, small and large circle Nestabilities, sponge, dimensionals

Happy Holidays To You--Bling-style

I got this funky (good funky) paper recently. I think it calls for bling, so here goes. It "sorta" follows Beate's weekend sketch challenge.

My base card is shimmery white card stock I got from Office Max. I'm using it because the DP shimmers. Then there's a layer of Kiwi Kiss and then a layer of DP from KI Memories called Secret Santa. The next element is Pixie Pink with faux stitching done with my Sakura glitter pen. The focal image is from the SU! set Big On Christmas stamped on Whisper White with StazOn Onyx black ink. I colored it with Stampin' Markers, colored Sakura glitter pens, and the tree is done with my blender pen and Kiwi Kiss ink pad. A few pink faceted rhinestones decorate the tree. I punched out a Kiwi Kiss tree with a Martha Stewart punch and added it to the focal image. It's a girlie card, for sure! Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

~Recipe~
Stamps: Big On Christmas (SU!)
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Pixie Pink, Whisper White (SU!), Secret Santa DP (KI Memories)
Ink: StazOn Onyx, Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Ruby Red, Old Olive, Pixie Pink (SU!)
Accessories: Martha Stewart tree punch, pink rhinestones (craft store), Sakura glitter pens, Cuttlebug, long rectangles Nestabilities

Run, run reindeer!

This card is for Paper Craft Planet's third sketch challenge. I love this paper and the stamp and I've been wanting to use them for a while. I think it also qualifies for Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply challenge for this week. I'm going to give it a try, anyway :)

My base card is Chocolate Chip. This sketch called for a square card which is not my favorite, but that's why it's a challenge, right? It also called for an oval focal image but the stamp I wanted to use worked with a circle better. The top element is Soft Sky with a layer of DP from My Mind's Eye Signature Christmas collection called Flying Friends and is attached with Soft Sky look-alike brads. The focal image is a Basic Grey stamp set called Winterland. It's stamped on Whisper White with Chocolate Chip, then cut out with a Nestabilities circle die. The edges are sponged with Soft Sky. It's layered on Soft Sky that was cut with a Petite Circle die--each scallop was accented with a Chocolate Chip SU! marker. The sentiment was stamped on Soft Sky with Chocolate chip using a Martha Stewart stamp from a clear stamp set called Christmas Phrases. The focal image and the sentiment are up on dimensionals. I really like the look of this card and it's going into my sloooooowly growing Christmas card stash. Thanks for taking a look!

~Recipe~
Stamps: Winterland (Basic Grey), Christmas Phrases (Martha Stewart)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky (SU!), Flying Friends (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky (SU!)
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilites, brads (craft store)

Anniversary Birds

This card is for, obviously, an anniversary. The first card I made with this set was not blog-worthy, LOL, but I'm liking this one much better.

My base card is Whisper White, with a layer of Basic Black, then a layer of DP from Papertrey Ink's Father Knows Best collection called Retro Zig Zag Blocks. The focal image is stamped Verve's Anniversary Birds with Basic Black and the edges sponged (of course!!) with Creamy Caramel. It was layered on another pattern from the same collection called Summer Sunrise Retro Circles. I think it adds just the right amount of contrast. The bottom layer is Basic Black and the whole thing is up on dimensionals. Some black brads and black and white grosgrain ribbon add accents. The sentiment is stamped on Whisper White with Basic Black ink, cut with a Petite Oval Nestibilities die, sponged, and layered on Basic Black cut with a Petite Oval Scalloped die. It, too, is up on dimensionals. I think it works. Thanks for stopping by!

~Recipe~
Stamps: Anniversary Birds (Verve)
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black (SU!), Father Knows Best Collection (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Basic Black, Creamy Caramel (SU!)
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Petite Oval and Petite Oval Scalloped Nestibilities, brads and ribbon (craft store), sponge, dimensionals