SPCC Colour Combo #13

Isn't this colour combo just great!!! Please don't forget to check out SPCC for more examples by the talented design team and see what you can win. International entries are also eligible. I found these black and white stickers at the dollar store and decided to use them in this colour combo. I used my stampin' write markers to colour them in. Then I ran the white cardstock through the big shot with the top note die, and then again with the curly cuttlebug embossing folder. I then trimmed it and mounted it on Regal Rose cardstock die cut with the top note die. Then I stamped Old Olive paper with an image in Old Olive ink for the tone on tone background.

A New Nephew and 52 Sketches

I went back through 52 sketches past sketches and I decided to do a layout based on this sketch. I had this paper from Imaginisce and it matched perfectly with the retired In Color Soft Sky. The white paper was run through the big shot using the finial press textured impressions die. Then I The chipboard filigrees were from the dollar store and I sponged on Whisper White Kraft Ink. The title is from a retired simply scrappin' kit and mounted on going grey paper. The ribbon is Basic Grey taffeta ribbon. The Journaling stamp was stamped in White Kraft ink on Soft Sky cardstock and then cut out and mounted on going grey and then whisper white.

Another U-Stamp Swap

Here is another beautiful swap card from Donna Schneidtmiller from Kentucky. This image was made by using a stencil from the Definitely Decorative line from Stampin' Up! She layered several different colours to give the image a soft texture.

Bride to be...

I made this card for a customer who was looking for a wedding shower card. I decided to combine it with this weeks Color Throwdown challenge. I used my textured impressions die - yes I'm addicted to it. And I used my labels 4 nesties and mounted it on the pink and then carefully cut it out to make the border.

Supplies: Paper: Pink Passion, W White, Bash Blue. Ink: P Pass, B Blue, C Celery, Pixie Pink. Stamps: Big on Spring (ret). Accessories; Textured Impressions Folder - Finial Press, Bashful Blue taffeta ribbon, Nesties Labels 4, 2 way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

Friend to Friend

Here's a card I whipped up this past week. What's unique (to me) about this card is that when I used the scallop oval nestabilities to cut out the chocolate chip, I then left the nesty on it and used it as a stencil. I sponged choc chip ink over the stencil so if you look closesly you will see that the two tones of brown.
Supplies: Ink: Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Certainly Celery. Stamps: Merci, Teeny Tiny Wishes. Paper: Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Certainly Celery, Whisper white cardstock, Green DSP from crate paper. Accessories: Large scallop oval nestabilities, Eyelet border punch, Aqua painter, Pretties Kit, Modern Label Punch, Movers & Shapers die for Big Shot.

Inkspiration #12

Time for another Inkspiration challenge from Makeesha. This week its a sketch challenge. I added a bit of non SU stuff to this card because I absolutely love my nesties and I didn't have time to dye some flowers to match but I have these cute flowers from the dollar store and matching brad's. I used my new Textured Impressions folder and let me tell you I'm addicted. You will see MANY projects with this texture folder in the next little while. I've already made a ton of projects using it.

Supplies: Stamps: Live your Dream (ret). Ink: Rich Razz. Paper: Rich Razz, W White. Accessories: Flowers & Brads from Dollar store. Nesties Labels 4 die, Clear Rhinestone Brads, Textured Impressions folder - Finial Press.

Tuesday Tutorial #16

As August comes to a close, so does Tuesday Tutorials, well at least for now. I have decided to take a break from them as I have been taking to much time for my other design duties. I don't want to take away from the other important things in life like family, children, swimming lessons, cooking, gardening...you get the idea.
This layout was done using this sketch from 52 sketches.

After deciding on a sketch, I picked out my photos and trimmed them to fit the layout.

The next step was to find a palette. I like to layer the papers on top of each other and put the picture on top to see which colour makes the picture pop the most. This is the palette I settled on. Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Bashful Blue, and Pacific Point.

The best colour for matting the photos was Pacific Point. Now I'm going to show you a trick I use for matting multiple photos. First you trim out your photos on a grid. I like to use the grid paper from Stampin' Up! Next you glue them all down as straight as you can. Line the pictures up with the corner of the paper so that when you are done the only colour you see is between the photos. When you line them up with a corner of the paper you ensure that they will lie straight. Then you need to trip off the other side of the paper so that your matting looks like the photo below.

As you can see the photos cover the matting. The trimming makes sure that the edges line up. Next you matte the whole thing on another piece of pacific point. You need to adhere the edges very carefully and ensure that it looks like only one piece of blue, not two.

Next I'd like to show you how to make your own sky DSP. First I punched out a whole bunch of circles of various sizes. Next I glued them together to make a mask. Then I got out bashful blue ink, whisper white paper, and a sponge. I started at the top of the page and carefully sponged around the top of the mask. I lowered the mask at various intervals and moved it around the page to create variation.

This is the final result. You need to use a very light blue like bashful blue, and you need to sponge very lightly and sparesly in order to make the effect realistic.

At the top you will see the final layout. In case you can't read the Journaling, I'll explain the title to you. On our recent vacation, my son and I went down to the beach for a few hours. He likes to make up songs and was tossing rocks and sticks into the water. He made a few sticks float, so as he was singing he came up with the line, "the water floats the rocks". He sang this same line over and over and over and over. It was hilarious. I took tons of photos and above you see the result.

SPCC #12

I immediately loved these colours and decided to try a scrapbook page as these colours were very close to the print on my daughter's new swimsuit. I followed a sketch from scrapbooksetc.com and let me say that it was a very busy layout. But although this has bold colours and a busy layout, I really like the finished product. Why don't you go to SPCC and check out the other examples from the design team and see what you can WIN!!!

2 Sketches for me

This is based on this weeks 2 sketches 4 u.

Supplies: Ink: Old Olive, Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry. Paper: same as Ink Colour, plus Whisper White. Stamps: Petal Pizzaz, Key Tag Punch, Scallop Rectangle and Labels 4 Nesties, Rich Razzleberry 1/2" polka dot grosgrain, rhinestone brads, stampin' dimensionals. All Supplies Stampin' Up except for Nestabilities.

Inkspiration Challenge #11

So I was checking out Makeesha's blog for the latest challenge and found this picture for Inkspiration Inspriation Challenge #11. I was really stumped as to what to make and started searching blogs for ideas. I found this layout at 52 Sketches.
The stripes kinda reminded me of the cupboard doors in the photo. So I decided to follow this layout. The Colours are Soft Suede, Kraft, Whisper White and Sage Shadow. I wasn't clear on the colour of the coffee cups in the photo, but finally decided they were closest to Sage. I sponged sage shadow around the image although it doesn't show up very well in this photograph. I also sponged colour around the edges of the rectangles, and again this doesn't show up very well in the photo.

Best Wishes & In Colours

This card was made based on this week's Splitcoast sketch challenge. I agonized over the colours on this card for far too long, but in the end, I think it worked out ok. I used the Best Wishes & More stamp set because I felt that the big bold images worked best with the bright colours. Everything is Stampin' Up! except fopr the nestabilities label 4 die. I hand cut out the stamped images and the white border around the nesties die cut. I made this at the cabin, but we're finally back home now so I can have regular internet use - yay!

U-Stamp Swap

This beautiful card was a swap I received from Donna Schneidtmiller from Kentucky, through this summer's U-Stamp. She used the Friends 24-7 stamp set and Very Vanilla, Not Quite Navy and Kraft cardstock. I especially love how she lined up the two images inside the card.

Mojomaria

This adorable card was made for tuesday's Mojo 100 sketch. I used the Simply Sweet retired Simply Scrappin kit for most of this card. I used one of my labels 4 nesties and after cutting it out I sponged around the die, using it as a template. It gives the die cut a nice white border. Most of the images are stickers popped up on dimensionals. I plan to give this card to my daughter who turns 2 next week.

Colour Throwdown Success

This card was created for this week's Color Throwdown challenge. I have to say that when I first looked at this combo I had absolutely no idea where to start. But I now feel pleased with the final result.

Tuesday Tutorial #15

This is another page made using a sketch. I wanted to show how you can change a sketch to suit your subject. I looked at last weeks' 52 sketches for U and decided that I really liked the simplicity of this layout. However, because I'm at the cabin I really only brought a lot of In Color cardstock and that restricted my colour choices. Also, I went into town and developed some photos, but found that the only ones that fit a 2 picture layout, were ones of my son and hubby ( and daughter) so the flowers on this sketch were not really appropriate. I went for a more masculine feel with this earthy tone colour palette. I had to handwrite the journalling and I'll probably redo it on the computer when I'm back at home because I hate my printing but I digress. What I chose to do was replace the flowers with circles. I used the Circle Circus stamp set as it works perfectly with this sketch (and I brought it with me) and I then flipped the sketch because I felt the layout had more balance with the journaling on the left (for the most part).

Mojo Monday Celebrates 100!!

Well not 100 years but 100 sketches. This week is going to be a real challenge for me because the mojo makers will be offering up a different sketch every day. I get the sketch sent to my blackberry, but I haven't figured out how to post on my blog from there, so here I sit at an internet cafe in town, but who says we'll get to town every day this week. Anyway, I digress...Here's my attempt at today's sketch. I was really inspired by this sketch but limited by the supplies I brought to the cabin. So what you see here is put together from scraps from my paper stash and flowers from the dollar store.Supplies: Ink: Soft Suede, More Mustard, Crushed Curry, Old Olive. Paper: Bashful blue DSP, More Mustard, Whisper White. Stamps: Bountiful Blooms Accessories: Filigree Brads, Label 4 Nesties, Satin Organza Ribbon, Flowers from Dollarama.

SPCC Color Combo #11

If you've been following my blog for some time now you will recognize the layout of this card. I cased it from a layout from Jenn Picard. When I saw this colour combo I really wanted to make a birthday card for my nephew's third birthday. So I combined the layout from Jenn and then played around with the colours to come out with this combo. I used versamark and white embossing powder with the heat gun to make the tracks. The white background was run through the Big Shot with the circle/dots cuttlebug folder. The number sticker was from my stash.

Stamps: Choo Choo, Train Tracks Wheel. Ink: Green Galore, VersaMark. Paper: Whisper White, Soft Suede, Green Galore. Accessories: Silver Brads, 1 3/8" circle punch, cuttlebug folder, white embossing powder and heat gun, 1/2" polka dot grosgrain ribbon.

I Want To Fly!!!

Isn't this picture absolutely adorable??? My 3 year old son has recently overcome his fear of jumping into the pool. He still can't really swim, but now he's starting to enjoy himself. I'll post later a 2 page layout I did about this, but for now, this is for one of my shadowboxes.

Paper: Ballet Blue, Going Grey, Soft Suede. Accesories: It's a loop thing rub ons, Silver brads, 1/2' polka dot grosgrain ribbon, whisper white craft ink, on board letters, white signo pen

Baby Anouncement

These are baby anouncements I made for my sister-in-law. Isn't my newest nephew adorable? Above you see the card in its pocket and below you can see the insert.

Stamps: Holiday Blitz. Ink: Bashful Blue. Paper: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, So Saffron. Accessories: 1/2" So Saffron Grosgrain and Bashful blue DSP from Sale-a-bration. Scallop circle punch, various SU circle punches, scallop edge punch, small white eyelets

Fall Colour Throwdown

This card came about by combining the colour challenge from Color Throwdown and the layout challenge at Stamping 411 this week. When I first looked at the colours I was completely stumped. How to combine the earthy brown tones with skin colour and dark grey? Well I switched Really Rust for Dusty Durango (it's just a richer tone). The leaf was inked up using the rock 'n roll technique with Pumpkin Pie and Dusty Durango. Then after I stamped the leaf twice I sponged on the Blush Blossom to add some dimension to the image. Next I mounted it on Basic Black and then finished it up on Basic Grey Cardstock. I stamped the flower from Razzle Dazzle in Basic Grey Ink on Basic Grey Cardstock for a tone on tone effect. The ribbon is Dusty Durango 1/2" polka dot grosgrain.

Mojo Time Again

What to do when you are at the cabin with no DSP? Well I actually had one piece of this foiled paper which is similar to the Bride DSP sold by Stampin up. I left the piece in the middle plain, and the "ribbon" strip was inked up with Bermuda Bay. The nice thing about this DSP is that the ink only sticks where there is no foil. Thus the pattern really stands out. With this card I also tried to create my own DSP. I hand stamped tone on tone to make the patterned paper on each side of the card. I found this sketch to be extremely complex and I find the final card to be very busy. But I tried to tone it down a bit by only using 3 colours. Sorry for the uninspiring picture. It's hard to find a place to take a nice picture at the cabin. I finally just went out on the lawn and lay the card down and took the photo from above.

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes, Itty Bitty Buds. Ink: Bermuda Bay. Paper: Bermuda Bay, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Foiled DSP. Accessories: Modern Label Punch, Silver Brads, 1" circle punch.

Finally Wednesday???

I haven't mentioned this before, but over at SPCC, Fridays are also special. Finally Friday is a challenge brought to you by a guest designer every week. I'm a little slow at posting this week, but we're at the cabin, and getting time to myself to creat is a real challenge. This week's challenge is to made a monochromatic card. I decided to combine this challenge with this weeks Clean & Simple Challenge. (Fall to Layout #54). First I cut 2 pieces of cardstock to get the proportions right with the middle rectangle. Next I stamped the bubbles around the edge using Rich Razzleberry ink on the same colour cardstock. Then I rounded the corners of the smaller piece and attached it on top. Next I used my white Signo pen and traced around the rectangle. I wrote the sentiment by hand. The flowers were stamped on Whisper White and then watercoloured in with an Aqua painter.

Ink: Rich Razzleberry. Paper: Rich Razz, Whisper White. Stamps: Itty Bitty Buds, Merci. Accessories: Aqua Painter, White Signo pen.

Tuesday tutorial #14

Welcome to Tuesday Tutorial. This week's tutorial combines a sketch challenge from Sketchy Thursdays and an inspiration challenge from Inkspirations.
STEP 1 - COLOUR
I pulled the colour from the Inkspirations photo above. I used Bermuda Bay, So Saffron, Basic Gray and Whisper White. Because I was using the photo as inspiration, I decided that I needed to dig out some DSP. Plus in the sketch there was patterned paper in the circle. I lay the colours over each other in different ways and decided that I liked having Gray as the main colour and Bermuda Bay as the main accent colour.
STEP 2 - LAYOUT
This was easy as I absolutely loved this sketch. The only real change I made was to use 3 pictures instead of 2. The circles were cut out using my Cricut expressions. I used ink to sponge around the DSP circle to add some intrest.
STEP 3 - EMBELISHMENTS
Once I put the core of the layout together, I decided it looked too plain. I added the title which I printed off my computer and punched out with punches and movers and shapers big shot dies. Then I added the butterflies and "Palm Springs" with White signo pen. And finally I used a two way glue pen to add the glitter.