With Love and Vines

The challenge at TGIF Challenge! this week is clean and simple.  I wanted to create a vibrant card with a lot of white space.  As I perused my shelves of stamps and eliminated this and that, I came on this vine image and knew that was it.  Simple yet graphic and Cucumber Crush would work perfect for the vibrant color palette I was looking for. I had to stamp it multiple times along the left length of the card.  Next up, selecting a color to compliment the Cucumber Crush.  I didn't have to look far as the Watermelon Wonder stamp pad calls it's home right next to the Cucumber Crush.  I heat embossed the sentiment in white on a bit of Watermelon Wonder paper and cut it into an irregular rectangle.  I added it with foam tape and mounted the whole thing to a base of Watermelon Wonder, only exposing thin strips on the right and left sides of the card.  It is just what I was looking for; vibrant, graphic, fun and has lots of white space.

Happy Stamping,

Dana

A Masculine Journey

I am so very excited to be this week's guest designer over at City Crafter Challenge Blog - what a huge honor!  This week's challenge is "Create a Masculine Birthday Card".

I admit, I felt a bit of pressure to create a card worthy of a guest designer.  I played around with a number of ideas considering what direction to go; clean and simple, something unexpected for a masculine card, bright vs. muted colors, etc.  Ahh, what's a girl to do?  In the end I went with a neutral main color and added splashes of brown and retired Bravo Burgundy from Stampin' Up (still one of my favorite colors).  The patterned paper flagged on the bottom is actually from a Christmas paper pack, but I love the pattern for a masculine card.  I used a number of single stamps and elements from a few stamp sets to create both backgrounds and focal images.  To bring some texture to the card, I included some layering, raised some elements with foam squares and heat embossed the "Journey".  To top it all off, I used some waxed twine that I've had kicking around in my craft room for years for the tag, leaving the tails extra long for more texture.

Week 272 ~ Create a Masculine Birthday Card

City Crafter Challenge Blog

For more fabulous masculine card inspiration, swing by the City Crafter Challenge.  We all seem to need more masculine cards for our stashes, so why not play along?  

Happy Stamping,

Dana

Tree of Thanks

Today I am playing along with the Happy Little Stampers sketch challenge. I really can't take much credit for this card as it's success is due to a fabulous sketch and great tools.  Although I couldn't get the colors to show well in the photo, the thanks and the border are Blackberry Bliss and the tree is Mossy Meadow.  I love both of these colors, they are two of my favorites!  Quick and easy, but a very nice way to say thanks.

Check out Happy Little Stampers for some wonderful inspiration!

Happy Stamping, 

Dana

Big Thanks!

I am so excited to be playing along with the Stamp, Ink, Paper Challenge!  It is a fairly new challenge blog led by Justin Krieger and a very talented design team.  I have been a fan of Justin's for some time now and check his blog daily for his latest creation.  He is a very talented paper crafter and very generously shares bits about his life, family and friends.  I'll stop now before I'm accused of stalking him :) .

I've wanted to play along since the first challenge but it just didn't work out.  This week's challenge is a Tic-Tac-Toe challenge and I selected the vertical line of  ribbon or twine, thanks and blue.  I decided to include twine in my project as I have been on a bit of a twine kick lately.  I wanted to feature the twine in an interesting way as it was the "tic" in my project.  I remembered a cute technique I came across a while back to secure a 4 hole button with twine.  I selected a large brushed copper button and thought that Island Indigo was a bold enough color to balance and coordinate with the button and it is the blue my project.  I wanted to go with a patterned paper so I took a small diversion into the "free" space.  Again, it had to be bold enough to support the button so I went with a strong diagonal pattern.  With all of these strong elements my "thanks" had to make a statement, so I went with a bold thanks layered on some Island Indigo and Early Espresso die cut frames.

Well here it is, my big bold card!  It's a bit of a diversion from all of the CAS cards I've been having fun with lately.

Swing by the Stamp, Ink, Paper challenge to check out the great inspiration or why not play along.

Happy Stamping,

Dana

Pink Zebra

The challenge at Uniko Sudio is to use black, white and a splash of color.  I really liked that challenge and wanted to be sure to play along.  I knew I wanted to create a cut out on the left side of the card with an inset of patterned paper. I wanted something a bit more interesting than a rectangle.  I fished through my drafting supplies and pulled out my s-curve and the wave cut was born.  I sponged a little pink on the zebra print for that splash of color.  I considered raising the white panels with dimensionals but decided against that to keep it very clean.  I heat embossed the sentiment and then studied the card for a very long time.  I wanted something in lower left of the card.  I considered a small pink element or black rhinestones in a splatter or even in a row.  In the end, I chose to stick to my clean guns and left the corner blank so the pink zebra wave would be the star of the show.  So the result is a very simple card.

Uniko Challenge #23

Happy Stamping,

Dana

Snippets from "Didn't Make the Cut" Basket

Today my card will be submitted on Pixie's Crafty Workshop for the snippet challenge.  I made this background quite a while back for another project and it just did not make me happy.  In the "didn't make the cut" basket it went.  As I was contemplating my next card this piece caught my eye so out it came again.  The card came together very quickly and used some bits from my scraps for the banners.  Do you ever have elements that don't make the cut but later you find you really like it?  Well, I did today.

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 186

Happy Stamping,

Dana

2 by the Sea

I have really enjoyed playing along with challenges.  It has been a boost to my creativity.  Today I'm playing along with the "Life's a Beach" challenge over at Less is More.  I just couldn't seem to get a good picture of the first card, even after having the opportunity to photograph it in sunlight and tweaking in an editing program.  Oh well, it is really quite lovely in person.  I started by stamping the sand dollar from a very old Stampin' Up set.  I masked the sand dollar and did a watercolor wash in light blue.  I randomly inked up a script background stamp to create a weathered look.  The sentiment was added and the sand dollar given a little Wink of Stella.

I recently participated in another beach challenge and still had the Fun in the Sun Stampin' Up set on my desk.  The little pail and shovel caught my eye and inspired card #2.  I wanted to create the suggestion of a beach scene.  I sponged a little without much detail.  The pail and shovel were heat embossed and the sentiment added.  Done.

There are tons of amazing beach themed cards over at Less is More.  Check it out for a little inspiration!

Happy Stamping,

Dana

Bee and Flower

I think I may have come across the Fab Friday challenge as I was making my rounds through my favorite blogs.  I immediately knew that I would play along.  This was one of those cards that you formulate in your head for a while.  Here is the sketch:

I decided that I wanted to score the lines around the main image rather than create a layer, pierce or draw the lines.  As I contemplated the main image I wanted to use, I worried over the what to use for the embellishment in the upper left.  I knew I didn't want a bow, button or flower.  Maybe some kind of punched shape with a sentiment?  Finally it hit me!  I would use a large flower image as the main image and a bee as the embellishment.

When I sat down to make the card I mulled over the best way to create the deeply scored square around the main image.  I usually use the scoring blade on my paper cutter but it doesn't always give a deep impression.  I thought watercolor paper might be a good choice as the paper fiber is a little more flexible and might score better plus I like the texture of the paper.  I glanced at my Thinlits dies and had an eureka moment.  I have a great little set of square nesting dies with rounded corners - perfect!  I ran the die through my big shot with the cutting blade away from the paper with an impression pad.  I got the wonderfully deep scored impression I was looking for with the added bonus that my flower image could be cut with the next smaller die.  I added a sentiment from a new Paper Smooches set and a little Wink of Stella on the bee's wings.  Done!

Here is a close up of the bee.  I hope you can see the shimmer.  Ahh Wink of Stella, where have you been all of my life?  I just picked this up a few days ago and I think I have used it 3-4 times already.  Shimmer with no mess - LOVE it!

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Thanks for Stopping by!

Happy Stamping,

Dana

Sweet Cupcake

The challenge at CASology this week is "Cupcake".  I knew I had the perfect stamp to use, a cute set by Gina K Designs has the sweetest cupcake image.  As I contemplated what to do with my cupcake I thought the sketch challenge at Paper Pal Arts would be perfect!

It's a pretty straight forward card with lots of white space.  I did add a little Wink of Stella to the icing to give it a little shine. 

Wow, it's a little scary to do a close up of my coloring skills :)

Happy Stamping,
Dana

Little Moments

The challenge at TGIF Challenge this week is "Brand New".  Hmm, what haven't I played with yet?  I just picked up a great little painting stencil by Plaid with a fun circle design.  Check, that will be the feature of the main panel.  I've never been much of a heart and butterfly gal, but Stampin' Up's Butterfly Basics stamp set and Thinlits changed that.  I love that set and have made some of my favorite projects with it.  Given that, how could I not get the Watercolor Wings and Thinlits that coordinate so nicely with it?  I received the set a little bit ago but haven't yet inked it up.

Rather than going with the butterflies in the set, I chose to use one of the sentiments and create a masculine card.  I started by sponging the stencil with some So Saffron and then spritzed a little Daffodil Delight around the edges.  I mounted that to a thin border of Mossy Meadow.  (Let me just take a second to tell you that Mossy Meadow is my absolute favorite green, it's not too blue and not too yellow - love it!)  I stamped some of the accent dots in Daffodil Delight and Mossy Meadow. The sentiment was also stamped in Mossy Meadow and layers off kilter on Daffodil Delight and Mossy Meadow circles to mimic the off kilter circles in the background.  I clipped the right side and added it to the base with dimensionals.  A little ribbon flag and scattering of rhinestones finish off the card.

Check out the TGIF Challenges blog for fabulous inspiration, play along with this week's challenge or the latest Throw Down Challenge.

Happy Stamping,

Dana

Just Beachy for Cards in Envy

The challenge at Cards in Envy this week is Just Beachy.  I pulled out an old Stampin' Up set called Fun in the Sun, perfect for this challenge.  I absolutely love the little flip flops so that was my jumping off point.  I used lime green to letter press the striped band across the center, it adds a very subtle texture.  A little sunshine, sun glasses and a greeting round out the card.

Happy Stamping!
Dana

2 for The Paper Players

I immediately fell in love with the color challenge at The Paper Players.  I never would have thought to combine Sahara Sand and Smoky Slate (they look great together by the way) but toss in Mint Macaron and you have a fabulously soft stunning combination.  I had a hundred stunning card designs in my head, but I just couldn't seem to grab those threads when I sat down to make my card.  In the end, I made two cards.  Neither one is the most innovative as they are very simple in design but I love them both due to the fabulous colors.

For the first card I quickly water colored the flower image in the 3 challenge colors.  I didn't want detailed shading, just a blush of color.  I layered the image with a thin border of Mint Macaron on a dry embossed piece of Smoky Slate.  I wrapped a few turns of white twine around the panel and then mounted it to a Whisper White card base.

Most of the designs in my head included the use of Stampin' Up's Something Borrowed DSP as it includes lovely designs in Whisper White and Sahara Sand.  I just couldn't seem to get it to work in my first go, so I thought I would revisit it with a second card.  Again, I wasn't able to recreate what was in my head.  I went with a background of the DSP and topped it with a sentiment in Mint Macaron with the border image in Smoky Slate.  I added a little white ribbon and bow then attached it to a Smoky Slate card base.

There are so many lovely cards using this color combination over at The Paper Players.  I encourage you to take a peek.

Happy Stamping,

Dana

Fanciful Flowers

I have a little time to play along with some of the challenges I've been itching to participate in.  This week Retro Rubber has a sketch challenge.  I knew I wanted to create a floral background and the Stampin' Up Fanciful flower set fit the bill, plus it is very retro as it is from 1999.

Check out this super fun sketch and swing by Retro Rubber for lots of fabulous inspiration.

Happy Stamping,

Dana

Ford Fairlane

I needed a birthday card for Glen's brother-in-law and by happy coincidence, the challenge at Less is More this week is to create a one layer birthday card.  I started out with a great little stamp set I got through Amazon.  We have a number of car enthusiasts in the family and this set by Flonz has 10 car images from the 1950's.  I use it quite often.  The tire marks are from the Jim Holtz Road Trip set and the sentiment is from Stampin' Up.  It's a pretty straight forward card, but I like the texture the tire tracks bring to the party.

Check out the other great cards over at Less is More Week 232 Challenge.  I love to see the inventive solutions card makers come up with when limited to strict rules, such as one layer, Just one more way of expanding my own creativity.

Happy Stamping,

Dana

In Color Tag Card

I've really missed playing along with challenges.  I stalled out a little bit with the 4th of July and haven't gotten my groove back but hopefully that is changing as I have had so much fun playing along with all of the great challenges out there.  Today I'm playing along with the sketch challenge over at TGIF Challenge!  I have dabbled with a few of the new Stampin' Up in-colors but really wanted to dive in with this card.  I used all 5 of the colors in some way.  I think that Watermelon Wonder may be my favorite, but I sure do love Tip Top Taupe.  Neutrals are always tops on my list and I see myself using it quite a bit.

And here is the TGIF Challenge sketch

Well, a short and sweet post today.  

Happy Stamping,

Dana

Hello in Blue

Today I'm playing along with the challenge at CASology.  This week the cue is "repeat". I chose to repeat color and design elements.  The ombre technique was really hot a while back so maybe I'm behind the times but I thought it was a perfect fit with the cue of "repeat".  I repeated the die cut "Hello" in light to dark shades of blue as well as the polka dots along the left.  I couldn't resist a thin blue border around the main panel to tie it all together.  I didn't leave much white space as in a true CAS card, but focused on the theme of repeat in a simple design.

There are a ton of fabulous cards featuring the theme of "repeat" over at CASology, swing by and take a peek if you get a change.

Happy Stamping,

Dana

Love Card for OWH

I'm working on my final batch of cards to send to Operation Write Home as they are shutting down and will no longer accept cards after August 1st.  Fortunately for the brave Americans serving overseas, the draw down of troops means they are able to return safe and sound to their loved ones.  Selfishly, I will miss the opportunity to do my part to show my patriotism and deep gratitude for those that sacrifice so much for the freedom we all enjoy.

One of the most requested card themes is "love" so that was my starting point with this card.  The sketch at Can You Case It? rounded out my design.  Although I replaced the twine in the sketch with the die cut "love", my layout was definitely inspired by the sketch.  I seem to have a hard time photographing purple, it often looks black, but I did use purple and hot pink on this card.

Happy Stamping,

Dana

Textured Anniversary

I promised more anniversary cards and am here to deliver another one.  I am playing along at TGIF Challenges! and this week is a remix challenge which requires that you combine at least 2 of the last three challenges on your project.  I chose the sketch and the together forever theme.

To create the background, I cut strips of heavy cardboard in various widths and spaced them out on my big shot platform creating larger, more angled spaces as I moved to the bottom.  I then embossed a piece of watercolor paper with these strips.  I wanted the extra texture that water color paper would add to the card.  My stamped images are from a retired Stampin' Up set, Valentine Defined.  I used a variety of punches and dies to create the embellishment adding a few Sharpie colored pearls. 

Happy Stamping,

Dana