Saturday Sketch Challenge 201 with CCMC148 Color Challenge

I needed a birthday card for my Mother-in-Law, so I decided to kill 3 birds with one stone, and use it for 2 different challenges (I love doing that!) I used this color challenge...

With this sketch...

And came up with this...

I stuck with the official colors from the challenge, (except for the Elegant Eggplant on the sentiment). The Saffron DSP is from the Tall Tales pack. I used the Bliss flourish as the background for my sentiment, and for the flower section, I used the Sizzlets Build a Flower set #2, for the scallop flower and the 1/2" punch for the centers, and then ran the whole thing through the Perfect Polka Dots folder. Then just some simple accents, with the ribbon, stitching and rhinestones to give it some bling!

Card Patterns Sketch 112

Here's the sketch I used for a friend's baby shower card...

I really didn't use my SU! stuff for this, since I had some beautiful embellishments I needed to use up, now that I'm sure I'll never be scrapbooking for a baby girl of my own... the only thing I REALLY don't like about this card, is that the sentiment embellishment went on slightly crooked, and it was STUCK instantly... other than that though, I think it turned out to be a very sweet card for a baby girl.

CCMC146 Color Challenge

I'm having SO much fun searching for more sketch and color challenges, and being inspired by what I see... I'll have my display board filled up with my own creations, (instead of things I made at stamp club, designed by my mentors Andrea and Christina), in NO time :)

Last night I did the CCMC146 Color Challenge

And this is what I came up with...

The base was pretty basic, but I'm particularly proud of the center. I used The Sweetest Thing's gumball machine, and cut out the base and the lid, and pierced the white dots on the base. For the glass bowl, I used Versamark to stamp the circle, so I had a border to stamp the gumballs inside. Then, I cut the circle out, leaving just a tab to hold it with tweezers. After stamping the gumballs, I covered the whole circle with clear embossing powder (after rubbing the Versamark pad over the whole surface), to give it a glassy look, cut off my tweezer tab (for the heat tool), and pieced it all together on my Whisper White CS. I added the ribbon, button and sentiment, and I was done.

Color Throwdown #137

I don't have a lot of Certainly Celery stuff, so instead I used Old Olive, with Tempting Turquoise and So Saffron. The DSP is from the Island Oasis pack, and I used the Scallop die and the Scallop Trim Edge. The flowers are both from the Office Accoutrement and the sentiment is from the SAB So Happy for You. I stamped the large flower in So Saffron, and clear embossed it, and then sponged Old Olive on top. The small flower was also clear embossed, and then I just used a q-tip to fill the circles in with Saffron.

Mojo Monday 185 and Color Inspiration Challenge #154

I have mixed feelings about this one... I really love it, but I wish I had embossed the Crumb Cake layer for a little more pop. Anyways, all in all, I'm pretty happy with this dual challenge :)

I used Chocolate Chip, Whisper White and Crumb Cake CS, First Edition DSP, Rose Red, Always Artichoke and Chocolate Chip inks, Always Artichoke seam binding ribbon, Silver Glass Glitter, Pewter brads, Scallop Trim border punch, Chocolate Chip corduroy brad, and Matchbox Messages and Slice of Life stamps.

My April Make 'n Takes

You can see the details on this one in an older post below... I just had to make a new one, since I gave the original to a sweet little boy today :) I also just pierced the red dot layer this time, since it was an afterthought on the first draft, and I had to pierce through all 4 layers ;)

I wanted to do an Easter/spring card, but don't have any Easter sentiments yet, so I used this one from the Afterthoughts hostess set, so it could be given with an Easter basket, or for any other gift. I used Marina Mist, So Saffron and Whisper White CS, Pear Pizzaz DSP from the Nursery set, So Saffron ribbon, Scallop edge and Scallop Trim border punches, Forest Friends, Loads of Love and Matchbox Messages stamps, Marina Mist and Chocolate Chip ink, and Watercolor Crayons for the flowers. I used Versamark, and Clear embossing powder, tinted with a mixture of Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa pastels for the bunny, and colored his belly and ears with Close to Cocoa and Pixie Pink pastels. I realized when I was done, that the flowers "pop" too much for the rest of the card, so when we do it in class, I'm going to have them stamp off the flowers a couple times, so they match the bunny's soft brown better.

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 111

I used this sketch to make a fun birthday card for a 5 year old boy... I used Chocolate Chip, Whisper White and Crumb Cake CS, Red Riding Hood striped grosgrain, Extreme Elements and Grunge Rock stamps, Circle brad, and Cherry Cobler, Delightful Daffodil and Night of Navy inks.

Sketch ChallengeTESC135 - Kid's Graduation card

I've been looking at this sketch for a week, and trying to figure out what to do with it... then today I realized I should do a congrats card of sorts for my 6 year old's Wee College graduation (for the year). All of a sudden, I had inspiration, and with a bit of picking through my stash, this fell together VERY quickly and easily! And I'm so pleased with how well a simple, easy card turned out... not to mention the fact that Wyatt's eyes lit up when he saw it... the best payoff of all :)

Stampin' Up! products used were Bermuda Bay textured CS and ink, the Big Shot for the texture plates, the Sanded block and the A+ stamp from the First Day set. Oh, and a dimensional and WW CS, but those hardly count ;)

Clean and Simple Sketch Challenge 134

Since this was such a basic sketch, I decided I needed a theme to punch it up a bit... the flowers and circle combo turned out fun, but still simple. I used the Fun Flowers die to cut the circles and flowers from chipboard, the Ice Cream Parlor buttons, Thankful Thinking stamps, and Delightful Daffodil and Glorious Green inks, with a Concord Grape card.

Saturday Sketch Challenge 197

I used this week's sketch to make my niece's 10th birthday card. SU products used for this one are Whisper White and Melon Mango CS, Bigz Clear Flower Sizzix die, Lattice embossing folder, Ice Cream Parlor button, Bring on the Cake and Thankful Thinking stamps, and Melon Mambo and So Saffron inks.

I've been a busy bee...

This one was a congrats card for my friend's pregnancy... I LOVE the sweet sleeper in the Slice of Life set... I might have to use it again for her shower ;)

I stuck a Decorative Element on the glass of a frame, so that I can change the background, with my moods, decor, and new paper lines, without ever losing my vinyl.

This is the first of the two I'll be doing at my April Workshop. The piercing will be different, since that was an afterthought (it'll just be on the red layer, but right across the bottom). Also, the number will be customizable, with any single digit age my guests would like to use this card for. It is a very easy, basic card, since the other one will be more time consuming and technique heavy than usual. I can't make the sample for that one until Thursday/Friday though, when my order comes in with my Marina Mist CS and my clear embossing powder.

A birthday card for my WONDERFUL mother... I love the (unfortunately retired) Razzleberry Lemonade DSPs!!! I might have to grab a bit more from the Clearance Rack before it's all gone!

This is one of my favorite projects so far! I used My Digital Studio (which just got a wonderful upgrade yesterday, btw), to create the adorable, personalized image. Then used my Silhouette software and cutter to reverse it, print it on iron transfer ink jet paper, and cut the outline perfectly. Then ironed it on, and sewed on the Itty Bitty button for a finishing touch... can't wait till it fits her :)

My other big project was creating a display board for my workshops, and finally jumping back into paper scrapbooking. Digital, is so much fun,not to mention fast and easy, but I need to remember to do some hands on stuff too...

(Disclaimer: Since most of the cards I've made have been for the purpose of giving away, to fill my board, I had to use a LOT of cards from Stamp Club, that were designed by either my fabulous upline Andrea Munroe, or my equally talented sister Christina Cook. But I'm going to gradually give those away, and replace them with more of my own original designs.)