The Play Date Cafe Challenge #PDCC81

So, do you ever start playing with colors and find you just can't stop?  That's what happened to me with this week's The Play Date Cafe Challenge #81.  Look at this gorgeous inspiration wallpaper in hues of deep purple, chartreuse, and silvery gray.  I started out wanting to play with glimmer mists and masks on canvas.  Then I had this wet mask on my hands, so had to stamp with it.... and on it went.  I'll start with the card first (you can click on the pictures to enlarge them if you'd like).

The card started with some hand stamped and misted patterned papers.  Behind the fairy is a paper that was made by stamping the wet, purple glimmer-misted Prima mask onto ivory cardstock.  I added some Stampington swirls in green, and some green distress ink.  I wanted the fairy to seemingly float over the patterned paper, so I stamped her in black on vellum, then turned it around and colored with Copics on the side opposite the stamping.  I cut her out and adhered her to the background paper (Copic side up), along with a fun little sentiment that was stamped on scraps that had various mists on them already.

Now for the background paper that is the main panel of the card.  Had fun with another item that's been sitting in my closet for a while: metallic silver tissue paper. 

First, I took a panel of very old Basic Grey paper that was, um, light grey, and stamped the script randomly in purple. I ran several layers of tissue paper through Tim Holtz's flourish alterations die, and adhered them to the panel using Golden soft gel medium.  After that was dry, I spritzed it with olive green glimmer mist.  I love how it turned out!  There's texture, shimmer, pattern.... my faves.  Here's a really bad photo that at least shows the shimmer:

Next up, that pennant (or bunting, if you prefer).  This was actually what I started with, stamping the violets in the center and coloring them with Copics.  I went over just the image with gel medium to protect it from the mists. 

 

After it was dry, I placed the mask over the bunting and sprayed it with purple glimmer mist, then dabbed the mist off of the image (the gel medium acted as a resist).  When that was dry, I stamped a green swirl randomly, added some chartreuse trims, the silvery word "Fleur" (stamped and silver embossed), some shimmery gray seam binding, and a few pewter brads at the top with a design that reminded me of the violet motif.  

I'm thinking it might be fun to do a whole series of these canvas buntings, each with a different flower. Then tie them all together - probably with that same gray seam binding.  Thanks for sticking with me for this very long post!!! Oh, almost forgot... the majority of the stamps used were from Oxford Impressions' Fairy Sweets plate. The swirl is Stampington, the script is Hero Arts, and the "fleur" is Rogue Redhead Designs.

Snow Hugs!

I am so excited to be working with a brand new, hot-off-the-rubber-presses stamp plate from Rogue Redhead Designs called Snow Hugs!  As soon as I saw these images, I started thinking about using them in a pink/cream/kraft color scheme, and wouldn't you know, that's the color challenge this week over at The Play Date Cafe!  Sometimes the stars align, and I seriously needed this little twist of fortune to jump start my mojo, LOL!

The inspiration photo for PDCC68 makes my fingers itch to craft.  Have a look at this yummy image to the right:

So here are the how-to's for this card:  I first stamped the snuggling couple from Snow Hugs in gray ink on white cardstock.  I only wanted a hint of color, so I outlined only parts of the image with Copics in R81 (Rose Pink), YG91 (Putty), and E31 (Brick Beige).  I thought the background looked a bit too white, so it was E50 (Egg Shell) to the rescue.  A little tip I picked up over at Ellen Hutson's The CLASSroom.  I love that color - so warm and yummy.  I added a little dimension to the whole thing with Warm Grays W0 and W1.  (I also gave the guy's sweater a little pattern by masking and stamping the snowflake background motif just on his sweater.)

I cut the image out using Nestabilities' Curved Rectangles, and distressed the edges with Antique Linen, Tattered Rose, and Victorian Velvet.  It's layered on some vintage sheet music, and a coffee filter panel that I misted with Pink Bubblegum and Creme de Rouge from Tattered Angels.  The next background panel is made by stamping two of the background images from the set onto linen textured cardstock.  

The tag is stamped with more distress inks, then run through my Xyron sticker maker and glittered with Stampin' Ups' Diamond Dust - like icy, frosty new snow.  A little crinkled seam binding snuggles everything together.

Sharon has lots of gorgeous examples using this new plate over at Rogue Redhead Designs blog, and there's tons of inspiration to be had using this color scheme over at The Play Date Cafe.  I'm feelin' it.... comin' back.... gonna go play some more in my little crafty space.  Have a great weekend! :)  

Play Date Cafe Challenge 50

So, the trickiest thing about the Play Date Cafe Challenge for me this week was photographing my project!  This week the DT challenges us to use a color palette of Green, White, and Melon.  (The melon part was the second trickiest thing... I finally went to the craft store and purchased some cardstock called "Watermelon" to be sure I had the color right, LOL!)  We can use any theme, but it just so happens that the entire team created projects for the holidays, and the sponsor this week, Elusive Images, is donating some gorgeous holiday stamps as prizes.  That totally put me in the holiday spirit!

I've had this idea rattling around in my head for a while - to take vellum, stamp on it, color it on the back, and make a candle surround.  So that's what I did, finally, with this holiday-themed challenge.  I stamped the angel image (from Crafty Individuals) in black on vellum, flipped it over, and colored the image with Copics.  I used very bright colors of melon, green, yellow, and sienna, so that they could shine through the vellum.  I did this twice (for the front and back).  For the sides, I simply took two vellum panels and ran them through a Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder.  Here's a better view of the side:

And here's a close-up of the image in brighter light.  The middle angel's dress is colored green, but with the votive burning behind it, it's a bit hard to tell. The music border is from a Hero Arts stamp.

The overall size of the piece is a 5" cube.  I wanted to be able to put my large 3-wick pine scented candle inside.  Unfortunately, the light from said candle was so bright it wrecked havoc with my photos!  I switched it out for a smaller votive, and that worked better.  Whew - photography is definitely not my forte!

There's still time to play along over at the Cafe (until midnight tonight).  Check out the beautiful prizes up for grabs this week, as well as a design team call. ;)

Play Date Cafe Challenge #47

It's time to play over at the Play Date Cafe again.... this time with a delightfully whimsical color combo of true red, leaf green, turquoise, and black/white.

I had actually colored this beautiful image from Artistic Outpost's Bluebird plate some time ago, but the birds were more blue than turquoise.  No problem!  I just pulled out my trusty Copics and went over the blue with a rather bright turquoise (brighter than I would normally have picked), but the combo of the previous blue with the new turquoise ended up making the perfect color for the challenge.

As long as I had my Copics out, I decided to stamp the image a few more times, and used the "Level Up" technique from this month's Technique Junkies newsletter. I raised the flying bird and the turquoise trim up one level, and the rose up two levels.  You might be able to see the effect in this next picture (eeeek, I'm terrible at close-ups!).

The paper is my new fave-of-the-moment, Crate Paper's Restoration line.  Love, love, love the way they've brought bright colors and vintage styles together.  And did you notice, the patterns on the trims are all to scale, so that the ups and downs and scallops all line up perfectly.  A little tip for us obsessive compulsive type A's, LOL!!  I finished it all off with some bright vintage buttons tied up in Martha Stewart and Papertrey baker's twine.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you're looking at a sweet and happy weekend coming up!  We'll be chauffeuring and cheering for ice hockey and volleyball - love it! :)

'Colour Horribilis' Challenge!

Hot pink and navy blue and mustard, OH MY!  I almost ditched this card, but my daughter said she would use it, so here it is.  Yikes.  Over at the Play Date Cafe this week they were all sitting around with their voodoo dolls, which clearly weren't working to their satisfaction, when someone said, "Bwwwaaahaahaahaaa, I've got the perfect, most horrible, awful idea. If we can't get them with voodoo, we'll get them with colors that will make them cry like babies."  Okay, maybe it's not so very awful, but it was challenging, and I must concede, that is the whole point. ;)

I used a bunch of old K and Company on this card, some of which I tweaked with some Scattered Straw and Mustard Seed distress inks to make sure my yellows were the proper "mustard" color.  That ribbon really is navy, I swear, it just looks black in the photo.  I didn't have any papers with all three colors, so I did a little stamping on some to give everybody at least two.  To make it "come together."  Ha!

All this nonsense being said, there are some truly awesome cards over at the Cafe that the design team created for our inspiration.  If they hadn't done such a wonderful and inspiring job, I doubt I would have tried this myself.  (See, I'm trying to suck up after that voodoo comment.... just kidding, ladies! LOL!). Hope ya'll have time to play!

Play Date Cafe Challenge 43

Coming in at the eleventh hour (literally) with a little Play Date Cafe entry.  The inspiration colors this week are supposed to be a tribute to the last days of summer, but I couldn't help myself from thinking cold and frosty!  Actually, it's not totally my fault this time.... I was completely inspired by a gorgeous card by Pam Hooten on her blog HERE, using this fabulous color combo for a beautiful version of Old St. Nick with brand new stamps by Our Craft Lounge.  Many thanks to Pam for the inspiration - I know I'll be using this color palette for holiday cards again this season!  (BTW - I was so excited to win their brand new Ol' St. Nick set as blog candy - thanks Pam!!!)

So my little card uses lots of scraps of holiday papers from last year, along with a now-retired pine tree stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms, and a focal image from Melissa Frances.  I was once again trying to keep the card flat for mailing, but I don't know how that little pine tree pin will fare..... ah well, the best laid plans, LOL!

Hope you're having a great week.  It was seriously humiding here again today (along with some bona fide downpours, all with never-ending heat).... I am sooooo ready for fall!

PDCC #42 Vintage Christmas in Green

Well, it's 94 degrees, sunny, and humid.... perfect time to start Christmas cards, don'tcha think?  Over at the Play Date Cafe this week, there is a color challenge with a most interesting and unusual photo, as you see here.  Camels, as far as the eye can see.  Never thought I'd type that sentence.  Anyway, the colors are dark brown, green, and beige.  So those camels and those colors got me to thinking of the three wise men, Christmas..... okay, maybe it's a stretch, but it *is* an inspiration challenge after all, LOL!

All of my images are from Artistic Outpost's  Snowy Woods plate.  I stamped using only Rich Cocoa and Cottage Ivy (Memento) and distressed with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.  For the image, I got out my aqua pen and blended a little of the ivy ink only onto Santa's attire, just as a little accent.  I added a little Rock Candy Distress Stickles to the boughs to give them a bit of frosty shimmer (which of course does not photograph).  I did a little "messy stitching" (Yep, it's a look, I was going for that... LOL!) to add a ticking fabric panel behind the Santa.  Vintage, rustic, and mostly *flat* - my main goal this year with Christmas cards. ;)

Have a little look over at the Cafe..... you can still play along through midnight tonight.  And maybe get a jump on those Christmas cards. :)

Play Date Cafe - Postcards from Italy

The Play Date Cafe Challenge has another destination theme this week, and this time it's Italy.  Here is the gorgeous inspiration photo, with the challenge colors of rust, ochre, and white.  At first I thought I only had one stamp with Italian imagery, but as I looked through my stash, I actually came up with a bunch of stamps, along with some vintage Italian text!  Does that happen to anyone else...... you buy things, you store things, you forget about things... LOL!?!?  Shameful, really.  But hey, I got them out, dusted them off, and used them for this card.  The main images are from Stampingon, and I also added an Italian poem script stamp in the background and a tiny Italian postmark.  I adhered it all to a cardbase of white watercolor paper - just loved the texture it lent to the whole thing, plus I was particularly inspired by DT member Sarah's card HERE, where she left a lot of white space surrounding her images. 

This was a fun, quick little card to make - I'm thinking I'll be using the watercolor paper more often.  The student-grade paper pad is relatively inexpensive, and I can get two large cards per sheet.  Maybe for those snowy Christmas cards......  But for now, it's in the high 90s and humid here.... ugh.  Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

PDCC #38 with Artistic Outpost

It's been ages since I've had a chance to play in the Play Date Cafe Challenge, but this one was simply too fun to miss!  This week, Play Date Cafe has challenged us to use this gorgeous color inspiration, *and* they are sponsored by one of my very favorite stamp companies, Artistic Outpost.

The images are from two Artistic Outpost sets that work beautifully together - Bluebird and Birds of a Feather.  I got out lots of inks - alcohol, distress, dye, Brilliance - and simply got inky, trying out different techniques and color combos. The green background is alcohol inks on glossy paper, run through one of Tim's new Alterations texture plates. I stamped the egg text in a dark dye ink, then went over the top of it with some distress inks and a little of the light purple Brilliance ink, to give it a shimmer.  The strip with the text and birdies was stamped in Brilliance ink (text) and dye ink (Memento).  Finally, for the main image, I stamped in the dark purple dye ink, then went over it with distress inks.  My fingers are purple and likely to stay that way for a while!

The little music charm is actually one of Tim's typewriter charms with a little punched out piece of vintage sheet music in it (a 1/2 inch hole punch does the trick).  A little twine ties it together.

Hope you get a chance to get inky today!

Play Date Cafe Challenge #28

Squeaking in just under the wire, with a Play Date Cafe Color Challenge #28 entry.  I always space, and think that the deadline is Wednesday, when it's really Tuesday.  Anyway, it's so good to be back playing again at this wonderful challenge.  Take a look at this gorgeous inspiration photo!  I simply couldn't resist. 

For my card, I've used lots of images from Oxford Impressions' The Fairest Flower plate.  I was recently blessed with blog candy *and* a discount from Suzanne Melvin, founding femme of Oxford Impressions, and believe me I took full advantage, LOL!! Thanks so much, Suzanne!  I know this will be one of my all-time favorites.  I also used the Vintage Chintz backgrounder from Cornish Heritage Farms, and an old music image from Anna Griffin for All Night Media.  And of course, I had to add some crinkly ribbon from Bluebird Lane etsy shop (the perfect vintage pink).

Sorry for the double post today (after spacing for a bit last week, LOL!).  We have a slight lull in our schedule, so I'm hoping to do lots of crafting this week, since next week isn't looking so good, time-wise. :(  Have a great evening. 

Play Date Cafe Challenge #25

The challenge this week over at The Play Date Cafe is another color splash challenge - we are to use black and white with a splash of orange.  Aahhh, that makes a mind like mine turn to thoughts of Halloween... but I didn't want to rush the season, at least not that much, LOL!  So I turned to Marie's Freebies to find a lovely vintage black and white photo that I could colorize.  I colored only her costume with orangey Copics.  I used my new favorite edge punch, "Swirl" from EK Success, to give some detail to an orange border, and added a few orange rhinestones for accent.  The butterfly is from Graphic 45's Bontanicabella paper, and the lovely silk ribbon is May Arts from Ellen Hutson's shop.  My background stamp is Bella Toile from Stampin! Up.

We have lots of kids' sporting events to attend this weekend (after a week of sports practices and chorus concerts... I'm running on fumes - but it's ALL GOOD!).  Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Play Date Cafe Challenge #24

Great minds, as they say, think alike, LOL! :)  I was just finishing up this card and decided to check out The Play Date Cafe before bedtime.... and wouldn't you know, it fit the color challenge perfectly!!  The gorgeous inspiration photo for this week's challenge has colors of plum, lavender, and cream.  Simply luscious!  For this card, I used Cornish Heritage Farms' Botanical Bliss set from the All Things Considered line.  I colored the poppy with Copics, and added a little 7 Gypsies chipboard flourish under the focal point.  I cut the clock from the stamp set into quarters to use as "photo corners."  The patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye's "Carefree" line... I've been hoarding it, I love it so much!  And, there's something a little sneaky about this card, but I can't tell you what for another week or so. ;)  Stay tuned.....

Play Date Cafe Challenge #23

Coming in just under the wire with this one!  The challenge at The Play Date Cafe this week is to work with this gorgeous inspiration picture of wonderful blues.  I decided to BOA - bring out the ancient!  The papers are from K and Co. and Laura Ashley (the printed vellum).  Seriously old - using up that stash!  The stamps are from Cornish Heritage Farms - Vintage Chintz backgrounder and Beautiful.  I added a little Rock Candy Stickles and Diamond Dust to the butterfly to bring some sparkle, and scrunched up some blue ribbon by pulling and gathering it along the twine that ran down its center.  Nothing too complicated, really.  A very fun challenge, since it's my favorite color! :)  Take a look at all the wonderful creations this week at The Play Date Cafe... the design team have really outdone themselves with their beautiful blues.

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #22

I have the privilege once again this week of being a guest designer for The Play Date Cafe.  This week's Creativity Challenge #22 uses the colors of sky blue, rosy burgundy, and taupe.  Now I have to admit, when I first saw this challenge, I thought," Taupe?  I don't know that I have any taupe."  Ah, but once I started digging through my stash of stuff, I found lots of it!!  It is very common in vintage and shabby chic styles of paper and ephemera.  This first card is a tri-fold type of card.  I found two little bits that had all three challenge colors in them.... a little German scrap bluebird, and a little reproduction birthday postcard from one of the Making Memories Vintage Findings kits.  I went from there, using patterned papers from Basic Grey's Wisteria collection (the blue/taupe) and Die Cuts with a View's Mariposa mat stack (from which I cut the curvy taupe part).  The posy is from Prima, and the words are cut from Crafty Secrets' Altered Fairy scrap.  The stamps are from PSX and Stampin' Up.  Here's another picture with the card opened up on one side.

So in my initial hunt for taupe, I had gathered so many colorful little pieces that fit the challenge, I went ahead and made another card.  For this one I wanted to try to stick with the travel theme that is suggested in the challenge photo.  

Once again, I used some patterned paper from the Mariposa stack from Die Cuts With A View.  The center bluebird piece (all three colors again!) is from Melody Ross's Urban Chic collection, and on the right-hand side is a tag from 7 Gypsies that I punched and stamped.  On the left is a little piece of ephemera from one of the Making Memories Vintage Findings kits.  The red and blue weren't exactly the right colors for the challenge, so I scanned the piece, reduced it in size, and fussed around with the color until I got what I wanted.  I know very little about this sort of color alteration in Paint Shop Pro.... I just play!!  I added a few more little bits and a little stamping.

I hope you'll give the challenge a try.... the design team has once again created some awesome inspiration pieces.  You can check it all out at The Play Date Cafe.  Thanks again to Julie, for giving me the privilege of guest designing this month!!  I've had tons of fun!

Play Date Cafe Challenge #21

This is a big week at The Play Date Cafe - it's the first week of challenges with their new design team!! Congrats to all the fabulous artists joining the Cafe!  Each and every one of these ladies is wonderfully talented, and will be offering us tons of inspiration in the coming months.  I am also extra excited about the challenge this week because I get to be a guest designer!  Julie asked me to play along with them for this beautiful color combo: medium pink, pale pink, and pale yellow.  These colors are absolutely perfect for spring cards and projects.  For my card, I used K and Company's Cut and Paste paper pad, along with a butterfly transparency from Melody Ross's Homespun Chic collection.  The flowers are Prima, the sentiment is from Stampin' Up!, and the pleated trim is a vintage find.  I added a little Distress Ink here and there, a Stampington vintage label image in the background, and some Dazzling Diamonds on the butterfly. 

Here's a little tip you may want to think about, should you ever find yourself without the right color of cardstock.  I didn't have the perfect color pink cardstock for this card - none of my pinks was right with the K and Co. paper.  So I took a Copic marker and added color to the edges of a paler pink cardstock panel that I used to frame the images.  I often use my colored cardstock as a frame only, and adhere the layers to an ivory or white card base, which is what I did here.  So the only areas I needed to color were the very edges (1/8 inch all around).  The color isn't perfectly uniform, but that's okay, since my card has a vintage look to it anyway.  It's a good little trick to use if you're in a pinch.

You'll want to be sure and check out all of the new design team's creations, and try your own hand at this fun color scheme.  Be sure to link up your art at The Play Date Cafe.  Thanks for stopping by!

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #20

There's lots happening over at The Play Date Cafe this week.  They have announced the new design team members (congrats, Ladies!) and they are saying farewell to senior designer Julie Campbell, who is on to new pursuits.  Before she goes, however, she is giving us a wonderful challenge photo to inspire us this week.  I think this is my favorite yet!!  I pulled out more of my Basic Grey Kioshi paper (run, don't walk, to get this.... it's fabulous, IMHO) and a reeeeaaaally old Rubber Stampede lavender stamp.  Notice how the font for "lavender" is the same as in "The Play Date Cafe" on the picture?  *snort!* happy coincidence, tee hee....  Anyway, I colored the image with Copics, then finished off the card with some hardware from SU! to echo the enameled soap dish and the numbered wire basket, and also added some to-die-for trim from Prima.  To give the patterned papers a little more pop (since I didn't want to border them with cardstock), I went along the edges with coordinating colors of Distress Inks.  This technique just separates them from each other a little better I think, and eliminates the white edges.  It's all mounted on an ivory cardstock base.

Hope you're having a great weekend.  I'm playing around with this color combo some more, for a fun challenge going on now at the Artistic Outpost.  Hopefully I'll get that posted tomorrow with more details.  BBFN!

A Moonbeam Card for Play Date Cafe Challenge #19

 

This week's Play Date Cafe color challenge was a true challenge for me (and I can't say that about many colors - I love them all).  Yellow is a color I don't often use as the main focus of a card; however, once I found my main image, things came together a little more easily.  The colors for the challenge were deep yellow, pale yellow, and white.  My little moon-sitter is from the new Heartwarming Vintage "Altered Fairies" Creative Scraps..... loooooove them!  I knew I wanted to pair her with Cornish Heritage Farms' Astronomy Scrapblock, to give her a proper background.  The celestial image is stamped on some old Stampin' Up! patterned paper that had a yellow and white floral motif.  Then, since she was looking off to the side and smiling at something.... I needed to give her something to look at!  So I decided to go with yellow clip art butterflies, flying out of the flowers beneath her.  A bit of diamond Stickles touched everything with moonbeams.  Can you tell I ended up having fun with this challenge after all, LOL?  

A little reminder before you go..... if you'd like to try out for the Gingersnap Creations Design Team.... there's still time!!  Click on the Design Team Call badge in the column to the right for all the details.  I can tell you, it is soooo much fun to be on this team.  The gals are fabulous to work with, and I am in total awe of their work every day.  You'll know about the challenges well in advance, so there's no time pressure to get your projects completed (unless of course you're like me, and need two days to find your desktop before you start working, then lose the product you want to use, then stamp crooked, and then.... well, I still usually manage to get stuff done on time anyway, LOL!!).  Try it.  You'll like it.  :)

Play Date Cafe Challenge 18 - A Splash of Color

 

I was so excited to open my email this morning and see that I'd won a spot on Play Date Cafe's Fab 4 for last week's challenge! Thanks so much to Julie Ranae, Julie, Sarah, and Mona for the honor and especially for the inspiration!  This week's 'Color Splash' challenge is to use black and white with a splash of teal - isn't this inspiration photo gorgeous?  For my card, I went with this vintage bluebird image from Artistic Outpost's Blue Bird plate for the focal image.  All of the background stamps are from Cornish Heritage Farms (Beautiful and Vintage Chintz), and the little "Fragile" label is from Stampington.  This color combo is so fun to play with for spring.  You can check out the designers' wonderful creations HERE, and play along, too.  Thanks for stopping by!

Play Date Cafe Color Challenge 17

 

My ATC group is swapping cards this month, using supplies that we swapped at our Christmas meeting.  We all have to incorporate some of our swapped goodies into the cards in some way, and I wanted to make sure these cards are mailable, too. 

I decided to turn to the Play Date Cafe for inspiration, so I'm playing along with the PDCC17 color challenge to use red, brown, and linen.  This is one of my favorite color combos, so it was fun to do, and I got to use some of those scraps that I'm vowing to make use of!  All images are from Cornish Heritage Farms (Bicycle Life, Beautiful, and Haute Couture sets). The linen-textured cardstock is also from CHF.  Thanks to the Playdate gals for all of their inspiration!

Hope you had a great weekend!