Time Began In a Garden--CC228

Can you believe it?! SCS challenges two days in a row!! Yippee!!! Today I have the latest color combination--228--to show you.

I would never have put these colors together but they work and I love 'em: Night Of Navy, Really Rust, and Pink Pirouette! Genius!!
My image is a PSX stamp, the name of which I'm assuming is Time Began In a Garden! It's stamped on Gina K. Pure Luxury 80lb paper with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copic markers. I love the way this colored up! It's another fairly large image so I went with a 5 1/4" square base. The patterned paper I'm using is from the new June Bug 6 x 6 pad by Basic Grey and my card stock is all of the challenge colors. My layout is pretty simple. The middle element has punched borders and I added a little paper piercing to give it a little interest. Little ribbon tabs and buttons add a little somethin' more.

I'm so glad you dropped by today!!!

~Recipe~
Stamps: Time Began In a Garden? (PSX)
Paper: Whisper White, Night Of Navy, Really Rust, Pink Pirouette (SU!); June Bug 6 x 6 pad (Basic Grey); Pure Luxury 80lb (Gina K.)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: ribbon, DMC floss (craft store); Copic markers; pink buttons (PTI); navy buttons (stash); border punch (Martha Stewart)

Lilies--Just Because

Yeah, it's bright. But I love it!!! This is another of my newly collected PSX stamps. And, again, I hate to cut any of the image off, but they're quite large. But I think it works like this, what do you think? My base card is Very Vanilla with layers of Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie, and DP from the Lime Rickey 6 x 6 pad by Basic Grey. The image was stamped on Pure Luxury 80 lb paper by Gina K with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copic markers. I even tried out my new air brush system (that I'd said I'd never need, LOL) to color the background close to Very Vanilla. I think I did pretty well for my first time! I did some distressing and sewing and use my Distressed Stripes Cuttlebug embossing folder on the vertical elements.

That's it! Bright and cheerful! I'm so glad you dropped in today!

~Recipe~
Stamps: Lilies (PSX); Mega Mixed Messages (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Very Vanilla, Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie (SU!); Lime Rickey 6 x 6 pad (Basic Grey); Pure Luxury 80 lb paper (Gina K)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Cuttlebug/Nestabilities/embossing folder; 3M foam squares, brads (craft store)

Happy Birthday Rose--Stamp Simply #89

[Don't forget, there's blogaversary candy waiting for someone to claim! Be sure to check out this post for the details!]

Boohoo! This is my last week as guest designer for the Stamp Simply challenge. I've had a ton of fun and have loved every challenge! This is #89 and we're to use a card/project using our favorite flower. Here's the challenge in Sharon's words:

SPRING HAS SPRUNG! - For some of us, spring is just springing and for others summer may be in full bloom already. But wherever you are, spring and summer are synonymous with flowers -- beautiful flowers. Today's challenge is to pull out your FAVORITE flower stamp and make a beautiful floral creation for us. You ARE allowed to use images or flowers from sources other than stamps (preprinted images, primas, etc.), just as long as some favorite flowers are the main focus of the project. Let us fill cyberland with the fragrance of beautiful flowers this week!!! That's is -- an easy one again!!!

Well, my favorite flower is the rose. I grow lots of them and my favorites are the old garden roses. I'm pulling out another of my "new" PSX stamps--an old garden rose. I absolutely love this card--it's a keeper.

My base card is Very Vanilla with layers of Mellow Moss, Pretty In Pink, and DP from the Madeline paper pad by K & Co., and I ran a piece of pink satin ribbon around top to bottom. The focal image, which reminds me of a Redoute' image, was stamped on Gina K Pure Luxury 80 lb paper with Memento Rich Cocoa ink and colored with Copic markers (see below).

I hate to cut any of the image off but they're so large I sometimes have to. Love the Deckle edge I used on this one--reminds me of a picture that's been torn out of an old book. It was popped up on Pretty In Pink with 3M foam squares which was, in turn, matted with Mellow Moss. Then the whole thing was popped up on foam squares. The sentiment is from PTI's Birthday Basics set and was stamped on Very Vanilla with Memento Rich Cocoa and cut/embossed with a Nestabilities die, matted with Pretty In Pink and Mellow Moss, then popped up on foam squares. Three Dew Drops in the upper right corner provide balance.

Come along and play with us and make something with your favorite flower--we'd love to see what you come up with. If you do, be sure to leave a comment on Sharon's blog telling her where you uploaded. Please use the keyword ssnotime88 if you upload to a public forum. Check out Sharon's fabulous sample and also the great designs from the Stamp Simply team:

Julie Koerber

Jennifer Buck

Janine Orchard

Becky Oehlers

A J Otto

Tammy Hershberger

Deb Saarenen

I'm so glad you dropped by today! Don't forget the candy!

~Recipe~
Stamps: Rosa (PSX); Birthday Basics (PTI)
Paper: Very Vanilla, Mellow Moss, Pretty In Pink (SU!); Madeline paper pad (K & Co.)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Accessories: Cuttlebug/Nestabilities; 3M foam squares, ribbon (craft store); Dew Drops; Copic markers

Lovely Lilacs--Color Throwdown #43

[First of all, I want to thank everyone who has voted for me and helped me get to the Top Four in the MFT Idol contest. Please don't forget to vote for your favorite Idol contestant (hopefully me!) until 10pm EDT tonight, May 20th! There's a lot riding on this contest. Not only will one of the Top Four win the contest and the awesome prize, but someone (maybe the same someone) will be awarded a 6-month term on the MFT design team. I really want that someone to be ME, so I really need your support! There are new rules for voting, which you can find here. If you're looking for my Idol entry, please scroll down to yesterday's post. Thank you! PS: My birthday is today, it would be an awesome birthday present ;-)]

Time for another Color Throwdown Challenge! This one is #43 and Broni Holcombe picked this week's colors: Lavender Lace, Elegant Eggplant, and Old Olive. Aren't these colors just fantastic together?!
So, as soon as I saw them I knew they would be perfect for my "new" PSX Lilac botanical stamp. My base card is 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" Whisper White with layers of Old Olive and Elegant Eggplant. I used a border punch on the Elegant Eggplant layer and also did some paper piercing on it with an Ornare template. Then I tied some of this fabulous lavender silk ribbon that I got from Sharon Johnson's little store. People, this stuff is something else! Soft as can be and ties like a dream! Check it out! OK, back to the card ;-) My focal image was stamped on Gina K Pure Luxury 80lb paper with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copic markers (see below). Then it was popped up on a layer of Lavender Lace with 3M foam squares, which was layered with Old Olive and then the whole thing was popped up on more foam squares. These images are large, which sort of limits your layout options, but I LOVE them and I'm looking for more all the time.

C'mon over to the Color Throwdown blog and play along with us this week. Please use Mr. Linky to post your card and please link directly to your card so we can find it easily. If you upload your card to a public forum, please use the keyword CTD43 so we can see your beauty all in one place. We've changed things a bit, so take a look at this post for an explanation. 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

I'm glad you dropped by today! You know I appreciated it!

~Recipe~
Stamps: Iris (PSX)
Paper: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Lavender Lace (SU!)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: 3M foam squares, brads, ribbon (May Arts); border punch (Martha Stewart); Copic markers; paper piercer, Ornare piercing template

Happy Birthday Irises

The sun is shining today so I thought I'd have a sunny card for you! And this one is *bright* and sunny! I'm using the colors from SCS Color Combinations #218, the layout is SCS Sketch Challenge #228, and it's a birthday card for Flourishes' Timeless Tuesday Challenge #15. Just under the wire for all of them, but especially the color and birthday challenges, LOL!

My base card is Whisper White with layers of Kiwi Kiss and DSP from Good Morning Sunshine DSP with orange gingham ribbon tied 'round. The next element is Summer Sun with more DSP from the same collection, and the next is Only Orange with a layer of Whisper White on which I stamped the Weathered Wood backgrounder from Cornish Heritage Farms. All three of these elements were stitched around with my sewing machine. The focal image is a PSX stamp--I'm having fun collecting these stamps. I just love them!!! It was stamped on Gina K. Pure Luxury 80lb paper with Memento Rich Cocoa and colored with Copic markers (see below). The it was matted with Kiwi Kiss and is popped up on 3M foam squares. The sentiment is from Flourishes' Sweet Violets set and is stamped in the same way, punched out with my oval punch, layered on a Summer Sun oval, and it's also up on foam squares.

I'm glad you dropped by today! Be sure to come back tomorrow--I have a little surprise.

~Recipe~
Stamps: Iris (PSX); Sweet Violets (Flourishes); Weather Wood backgrounder (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Paper: Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun, Only Orange, Good Morning Sunshine DSP (SU!); Pure Luxury 80lb (Gina K.)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Accessories: 3M foam squares, ribbon (craft store); oval punch (SU!); Copic markers; sewing machine

Let the sun shine--Stamp Simply #85

First of all today I have a little announcement: I have the distinct honor of being the guest designer for May for Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply challenges! How cool is that!? I'm beyond excited and am looking forward to each one of them. And May is a long month so I get to do FIVE of them!!

Here's this week's challenge, from Sharon:
LET THE SUN SHINE! -- Today's challenge is all about the color YELLOW. Yellow is a very much underutilized color in my stamp room and it is SO sunny and cheerful. So today let's LET THE SUN SHINE by incorporating as much yellow as we can into our projects. That's it -- no other rules -- let's just see some sunshiny yellow creations!

Okey dokey! I love yellow but, like Sharon, don't use it too often. So I'm meeting Sharon's challenge with this card. I'm using one of my newly discovered PSX stamps--what could be sunnier than a sunflower? And DP from Good Morning Sunshine by SU! Lots of SUN on this card.

My base card is Whisper White with layers of Chocolate Chip and DSP. I distressed the Chocolate Chip paper with the back of my scissors blade and stitched around this element with my sewing machine before tying on a brown gingham ribbon. The focal image was stamped on Gina K. Pure Luxury 80lb paper with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copic markers (see below). Then it was stitched to more distressed Chocolate Chip card stock and attached to the card base with 3M foam squares. Two brown buttons were attached with bright yellow Pearle cotton to continue the "homespun" look I was going after. I think I got it--what do you think?

Check out Sharon's fabulous sample and also the great designs from the Stamp Simply team:

Julie Koerber

Jennifer Buck

Janine Orchard

Becky Oehlers

A J Otto

Tammy Hershberger

Thanks for dropping by today!

~Recipe~
Stamps: Sunflower (PSX)
Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Good Morning Sunshine DSP (SU!); Pure Luxury 80lb (Gina K)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: 3M foam squares, ribbon, Pearle cotton (craft store); buttons (personal stash); sewing machine

Happy Mother's Day--Color Throwdown #40

[Please don't forget to vote for your favorite MFT Idol contestant (hopefully me!) until 10pm EDT tonight, April 29th! You'll find the poll here. And, if you're looking for my Idol post, please scroll down to the next entry. Thanks!]

It's another Color Throwdown Day, folks!! This is CTD # 40!!! And it's my week to choose the colors. I'm going with Pretty In Pink, Sage Shadow, and Chocolate Chip.


Mother's Day is fast approaching and I thought these colors were Mother's Day worthy. This will be the first Mother's Day without my own dear mother, so it's bittersweet for me this year--lots of wonderful memories but I miss her terribly. She loved to garden so I can picture her sitting on this bench under the rose arbor. I can't give this to my mother, but it's fitting that I dedicate it to her memory.

OK, my base card is Whisper White with layers of Sage Shadow and DSP from the Autumn Vines collection by SU!. The next element is simply Pretty in Pink with a pink gingham bow tied around all that. The focal image is a new-to-me stamp made by the now out-of-business PSX stamp company. I'm totally in love with their botanical stamps! Why didn't someone tell me about them, LOL?! But I digress. The image was stamped on Gina K. Pure Luxury 80lb card stock with Memento Rich Cocoa ink, colored with Copic markers (see below), and popped up on 3M foam squares. Green Dew Drops balance out the bow. The sentiment was stamped on Whisper White with Memento Rich Cocoa using a stamp from PTI's "Mother" set, punched out with a 1 3/8" circle punch, accented with another Dew Drop, and tied onto the bow with white Pearle cotton.

C'mon over to the Color Throwdown blog and play along with us this week. Please use Mr. Linky to post your card and please link directly to your card so we can find it easily. If you upload your card to a public forum, please use the keyword CTD40 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

Thanks for dropping by today!

~Recipe~
Stamps: Unknown to me by PSX; Mother (PTI)
Paper: Whisper White, Sage Shadow, Pretty In Pink, Autumn Vine DSP (SU!); Pure Luxury 80lb (Gina K)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Accessories: 3M foam squares, ribbon, Pearle cotton (craft store); Dew Drops; Copic markers; circle punch (EK Success)