Just Us Girls - A Color Challenge

Hi all! It seems like ages ago that I posted, but it was only Tuesday. I've started Spring break today, and I'm a happy girl! One week to do as I please! You may see more of me this week! ;-)

Today I have color challenge from Just Us Girls that Maria came up with. It's a great one too!

Such a pretty combination, don't you think? So Spring! I used all the colors in my card.

I started with this paper from Doodlebug Designs and toned it down a little with some distress ink. The lavendar pieces are from Basic Grey Kioshi paper pack. The sentiment, from Paper Makeup Stamps, was stamped in chocolate chip and cut and embossed with a nestie. I sponged some green ink on it while it was still in the die. This was all mounted on a piece of barely banana. I tied some pink satin ribbon around it and added a prima rose at the knot. I added two more on the other side for balance and more dimension. I also punched a MS punch for the piece on top. I've seen this done a lot and decided to give it a try on my card. Like it! This was all mounted on a piece of pink pirourette base.

The sketch is from the Very Vintage sketch challenge at SCS. I thought I'd play since my JUGs friend, Mona, is now a Dirty Girl on SCS!

I also used this week's PMS challenge issued by my PMS DT friend, Tina. She challenged us to use 5 embellishments on our card. I checked with her and this qualifies! I used the punch, the ribbon, and 3 flowers....5 embellishments!

We'd love for you to join both challenges. You can find the JUGs challenge here and the PMS challenge here. Thanks for stopping in today and enjoy your weekend! I'm off to a little weekend getaway with the girls! Time for some fun and dancing! See you soon!
Recipe
Stamps: Wordart by Paper Makeup Stamps
Paper: Vintage Cream (PTI), barely banana, pink pirouette, Kioshi (Basic Grey), Doodlebug Designs dp
Ink: Chocolate chip, distress ink
Accessories: Nesties, satin ribbon, Prina roses, dimensionals, MS punch

Just Us Girls Color Challenge

Hi everyone! I'm here with another challenge from Just Us Girls, and let me tell you we were blown away by all the participants from our sewing technique challenge last week! It was amazing! All the girls were so happy to see so many of you participating!

It's the second week of the month, so that means a color challenge. Kristin is our hostess this week and she chose some amazing colors. Here they are. We all had lots of fun with these colors and we hope you will too. It's perfect for this time of the year with Valentine's Day right around the corner or for a birthday card, which is what I made. I used SU's stamp from Thoughts and Prayers. It's been a long time since I've used my SU stamps! I've always loved this stamp, and I've seen it colored in so many different colors, beautiful each time. It's colored with blush, gray, and burgundy SU markers, stamped on a piece of very vanilla, and then I cut and embossed it with a nestie. While still in the nestie, I swirled some basic gray ink around the perimeter of the image. I love that technique...you don't have to use a mat. The sentiment is from a set just released on Thursday from Paper Makeup Stamps, called Birthday Cheer.

You can see what the other JUGs DT have done by going to the JUGs blog. That's where you can link your direct post if you are planning on playing. You can also leave some nice comments for the JUGs girls on their peronal blogs.

Kristin Bueter

Pam Imholz

Alicia Weiman

Dana Gustafson

Maria Levine

Mona Pendleton

Tracey Cuccia
Gabby Arriaza, guest designer

Thanks for stopping in today. Happy Stamping!

Recipe

Stamps: Thoughts and Prayers (SU), Birthday Cheer (PMS)

Paper: Very vanilla, bravo burgundy, blush blossom, basic gray, Parisian Summer dp (SU)

Ink: Blush blossom bravo burgundy, basic gray SU markers, basic gray ink

Accessories: Nesties, MS scallop border punch, basic gray tafetta ribbon, stickles, Kaiser blush pearls, dimensionals

Just Us Girls Birthday Wish Blog Hop for Kristin!

Hi all! I hope you are enjoying our Just Us Girls challenge this week. Make sure you see it here if you haven't already.

Well, today is fellow JUGs DT Kristin Bueter's birthday, and we thought we'd honor her with a birthday blog hop for all the hard work she's done getting the blog up and running and creating that beautiful digital set she's giving away this week! You should have arrived from Dana's blog. If not, please go to the JUGs blog and start there so you can see all the cards the DT has made for Kristin. So let's begin!

Happy Birthday Kristin!!!!

I used one of the beautiful day fairies from Paper Makeup Stamps called Birthday Lauren. I used the colors from last week's SCS color challenge of melon mambo, black, and kraft as well as a SCS sketch from a few weeks ago (I thought it was this week's sketch!). The dp is SU's Razzleberry Lemonade and the ribbon is actually the color river rock (which is very close to a kraft color). The sentiment is from SU's Fresh Cuts set. I ran the black piece through a floral cuttlebug folder and added the pink crystal flowers in the corner.

You can now hop over to Maria's blog and see the beautiful card that she made for Kristin. Follow the hop and you'll end up at Kristin's blog where we'd love for you to leave some birthday wishes for her! Thanks for celebrating her birthday with us today!

PS: While I have you here, I thought I'd also mention that Paper Makeup Stamps is having another Countdown to Christmas sale. Each week up until Christmas, there is a different sale going on, so check back weekly. This week, all Spellbinder dies are 31% off! There is no need for a code, as they've all been marked down already. They've been restocked and I believe more are coming in, so hurry and get the ones you've been eyeing for a while! Thanks!
Recipe
Stamps: Birthday Lauren (PMS), Fresh Cuts (SU)
Paper: PTI white, melon mambol, black, kraft, Razzleberry Leomonade dp (SU)
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, copic markers (I didn't write them down!)
Accessories: Nesties, crystals, river rock ribbon, cuttlebug folder, star dust stickles, dimensionals

PMS Sneak Peek Day 1 - Fairies

Let the sneaks begin, everyone! Today is Day One of the Paper Makeup Stamps sneak peeks. Today we are featuring the fairies...almost everyone's favorite! I have Melody fairy to share with you today.Isn't she beautiful? She's colored with copic markers that I matched to the color challenge on SCS this week...sage shadow, pretty in pink, and going gray (except that I used a basic grey colored ribbon). The dp is SU's Autumn Vine (sage shadow) and Parisian Summer (floral), both retired. The sentiment is an oldie but a goodie from Nature's Song. I thought it went really well with this image. The sketch is Jen del Muro's Sketch for You to Try from last Saturday.

There are three other fairies being released this month, including a boy and a holiday themed fairy. You can see cards made by the PMS DT girls using them on the PMS blog. And don't forget to stop by there for the next four days to see more sneaks! Release day is Wednesday, October 7 and we will be having our monthly blog hop all day and release party in the evening. Don't miss it! Loads of fun to be had!

Thanks for stopping in today! Have a great weekend!
Recipe
Stamps: Melody and sentiment (PMS)
Paper: Neenah white, sage shadow, pretty in pink, Autumn Vine and Parisian Summer dp (SU retired)
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, pretty in pink
Copic Markers: RV0000, 000,21, 23; R32; Y15, 18, 38; G12, 21; E00, 02; B02, 04; W-3
Accessories: Nesties, swiss dots folder, scallop corner punch, taffeta ribbon, key tag punch, star dust stickles, dimensionals

PMS Monday Challenge on Friday!

I'm doing the Paper Makeup Stamps Monday Challenge on Friday! The challenge was issued by Jamie Morris and she wanted us to make a flap card. The directions in the SCS Resources gallery are so easy to follow and they are really fun to make!I used PMS stamps from two sets: Dream Big (the swirls) and Nature's Song (the bird). The wordart on the outside and sentiment inside are separate stamps. I got my color combo from the SCS color challenge: soft suede, pink pirouette (it was supposed to be pretty in pink, but I liked pink pirouette better), and white. I distressed all the layers with soft suede. The bird was colored with watercolor crayons, spritzed with water, and stamped on watercolor paper. I used one of the newer nesties for the flap of the card and mounted the pink paper on top of it using the same nestie. I used the swirls from the Dream Big set stamped in pink pirouette on the wordart and on the inside. I added the brown pearls on the bottom. The flap is held shut with a Basic Grey magnet. These are so fun to make and a nice change from the normal card.

If you play, you can post your direct link to Mr. Linky on the PMS blog. If you post to SCS/PCP, please use the keyword PMSMC27.

Also, today is Friday, so it's also Freebie Friday at PMS. You can snag a free digital wordart for a week, then it's gone. So stop by the PMS blog for your free gift! Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!
Recipe
Stamps: Dream Big, Nature's Song, wordart and sentiment (PMS)
Paper: White, pink pirouette, soft suede, watercolor paper, Bella Rose (retired SU)
Ink: soft suede, pink pirouette
Accessories: Nesties, pearls, Basic Grey magnets, watercolor crayons, dimensionals

My Heartsssssss for You

ETA: I can't believe what I did! The color challenge I did today was from 12 WEEKS AGO!!! I thought it was today's! LOL!! What a loser! Well, I hope you enjoy my post anyway!

When I saw the color challenge on SCS today, I knew I had to play. The colors are old olive, real red, and black! Love these rich colors! So I went to my Paper Makeup Stamps, and decided that this Smitten Snake (which has never seen ink...ack!) would be perfect for the green and his little tail is making a heart (red!)...perfect! Here's what I came up with.
Cute, huh? I decided I needed a big red heart, cut with my nestie, and then I gave it some texture by running it though the cuttlebug folder (not sure of the name of it right now) that looked sort of "scaley" to me! The sentiment (and another one) actually comes with this snake in a set. I cut it out, rounded the edges, and then sponged some real red ink around it. I originally had started to put red buttons in the corner, then remembered these red crystal hearts I had from a Valentine's project and liked them much better! The dp is from Basic Grey's Lemonade. I like the olive and the yellowish green in it...it really pops off the red and black.

So what do you think? I really like this! I now have a card to give to dh for Valentine's Day next year! (Do you think I'll remember I have it? Not!! LOL!!) Maybe I'll give it to him today. He has a project to do for my mom who keeps changing her mind and it's driving him (and me) crazy! Moms!! Gotta love 'em! LOL! Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great one!
Recipe
Stamps: Smitten Snake (PMS)
Paper: Neenah white, black, real red, Lemonade dp (Basic Grey)
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, real red
Copic Markers: YG23, 95, 99; R24, 27, 29; W-3
Accessories: Heart and rectangle nesties, crystal hearts, cuttlebug folder, corner rounder

Two Challenges, One Card!

Did you see the great sketch over on SCS today? I love sketches, and this one is particularly nice because it's a simple one that you can really dress up. I also looked at today's Color Throwdown Challenge and really liked the colors they chose (lavender lace, so saffron, and garden green), so I decided to incorporate both challenges into one card. This is what I came up with.

This is a Rachelle Anne Miller stamp from Stampavie called Peek-a-Boo. I purchased this a while back and never inked it up! It was just sitting there waiting for today. When I saw the CTD colors, I knew I had a SU dp that would work with these colors. I found a retired one, Uptown, and also a current one, Tea Party, that both fit the bill. Uptown, however, had this great garden green piece that I fell in love with, so I chose to use it. I kept mostly to the saffron and green because my image had so much purple in it. (I'm not a real big fan of purple, but I can tolerate it in small doses!) I colored the little guy with copics that I matched up pretty closely, and only used those three colors. I didn't want to introduce any other colors because it is a color challenge! I'm not real crazy about my coloring on this...the dark colors are difficult for me to shade! I gave it a little bit of dimension by putting the butterfly up on dimensionals, and I added star dust stickles for that special sparkle I love!

Thanks for stopping in today. Hope you've had a great hump day! Not much longer until the weekend! :-)

Recipe
Stamps: Peek-a-Boo (Rachelle Anne Miller/Stampavie); Simple Little Things (PTI)
Paper: PTI white, so saffron, garden green, Uptown (retired SU)
Ink: Memento tuxedo black
Copic Markers: BV02, 04, 13; YR23, 31; YG17, 45; R32
Accessories: Retangular nesties, moder label punch, eyelet border punch, BG pearls, star dust stickles, dimensionals

PMS Dino Peek

Are you ready for the PMS June peeks to begin? The PMS DT is all ready to show off the brand new June release! We will be having peeks all week and a blog hop and release party on Sunday, so be sure to check in here and the PMS blog for more details!

Today we are previewing the dinosaurs illustrated by Dustin Pike. Mine is called Iguanadon...Iggy for short!

I think he is just the cutest! I was so happy to be given this dino to work with! I love his markings and his plume thing on the top (sorry, don't know much about dinos...I should ask a five year old!). The sentiment is also new this month. It's one of seven sentiments in a set called Monster Sentiments. Wait til you see the other sentiments in that set...super cute!

I made this card last night and got my color inspiration from the color challenge going on yesterday at SCS...kiwi kiss, riding hood red, and tangerine tango. I didn't have any of the kiwi or red left, but I did have it in the textured cardstock. It took longer to decide on a layout than it did to color the little guy! Once I found the tangerine tango dp (that I didn't know I had), it all fell into place! The green and orange buttons are PTI and the red is something I picked up at JoAnn's. I added some kiwi and red cardstock behind the sentiment and some piercing around the image and dp and I was all set to go! Oh, I also added some crystal effects to his eyes. I did this at very last minute and was so afraid I was going to get that stuff all over the place and have to start over! That ever happen to you? I managed to pull it off with messing it up!

The DT has been hard at work getting their sneaks done too, so please stop by their blogs to see what they have in store for you.

Christi
Dawn B.
Dawn K.
Jamie
Katie
Kim
Lisa M.
Mindy
Shaela
Tangii

Thanks for stopping by today, and please stop by all week to see what the DT and I have for you!

Recipe
Stamps: Iggy, Monster Sentiments (PMS)
Paper: PTI white, Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss textured, Tangerine Tango, Tangerine Tango dp
Ink: Memento tuxedo black
Copic Markers: YG13, 25; YR12, 14; R24, 27; W-3
Accessories: Wide oval, circle, and label punches; paper piercer; buttons; floss; crystal effects; dimensionals

Brilliant Pumpkin Gardens

What? What kind of title is that? I know, crazy huh? Well that's what Emily, the host of the color challenges on SCS, came up with today. Brilliant blue, pumpkin pie, and garden green. (You can find the challenge here.)I didn't think it was that unusual when I first saw the combo this morning. When I came home from work, I had no intention of making a card. But I went to my stamp room for something, and pulled out a piece of cardstock in each of these colors and kind of liked it! Then I remembered SU's Jersey Shore retired dp had these colors in it. The green in the dp is actually wild wasabi, but it's very close to garden green. Then the wheels started turning! I just received this Happiness is a Journey stamp set yesterday and it was calling me! I saw a lot of stampers use this for Christmas cards, and just had to have it! I started my card first by choosing the colors and dp. Then I looked through my sketches that I collect and came across one from Our Creative Corner that worked perfectly. I then inked up the image in brilliant blue and mounted it on the pumpkin and green. My base is PTI white, then the blue and a strip of the dp with a skinny piece of pumpkin that I scalloped with SU's punch. I'm not crazy about the sentiment...I don't think it "goes" with the card, but it was round and worked with the sketch. If I had more time I would have searched for something else, but at the moment I was happy with it! It's backed with a piece of pumpkin punched with a marvy scallop punch. When it was all put together, the top corners looked bare. Well, as luck would have it, I just went to my stamp store on Friday and bought these Candy Dots in orange, dark blue and light blue. Remember those candy dots on paper we used to eat as a kid? They look just like them! My aunt used to have a corner store and sold all sorts of candy. When we would go there to visit, she would give me a small brown paper bag to fill with whatever candy I wanted! Those candy dots alway made it into the bag! Memories! Ok, back to the card. I'm pleased with the card and this really only took about 45 minutes to make! I'm getting better at making them faster! (Big smile on my face!) Well, have a great week, and thanks for stopping by!











Recipe
Stamps: Happiness is a Journey, Riveting
Paper: PTI white, brilliant blue, pumpkin pie, garden green, Jersey Shore dp
Ink: Brilliant blue
Accessories: Circle, Marvy scallop and scallop border punches, candy dots, dimensionals

Dreams du Jour

This is for today's color challenge of soft sky, river rock, and vanilla. I started this card this morning and worked on it intermittenly throughout the day because I had some important things to do today (go to the gym, get hair done, and go to a baseball game!). I started by pulling out all the colors and the patterned paper that went with these colors. I loved the way they looked together. I chose to use this stamp from the new SU Dreams du Jour set. I stamped it in river rock, then colored the flowers with a copic marker and colored the leaves with river rock and a blender pen. I then cut it out and mounted it on two circles cut and embossed with Nestabilities. I was only going to use one of the ribbons, but couldn't decide which one so I used both. Why not, right? After it was all done, I didn't like the way the two ribbons intersected in the corner, so I added the flowers and put a crystal brad in the middle to bling it up. The flower centers on the main image needed some bling too, so I used a dab of crystal stickles. I really like the way this turned out. The sentiment is from PTI's Limitless Labels. Here is the inside of the card. The sentiment on the inside is from Gina K's Friendship Blooms. It says "Friendship isn't a big thing, it's a million little things". I think that's such a beautiful sentiment. I'm giving this to my friend Maria for her birthday tomorrow, but she won't get it until I see her on Friday. I hope she doesn't see it before then! Thanks for stopping by and see you tomorrow!
Recipe
Stamps: Dreams du Jour (SU), Limitless Labels (PTI), Friendship Blooms (Gina K Designs)
Paper: River rock, soft sky, vanilla, soft sky and ginger blossom dp
Ink: River rock, copic marker
Accessories: River rock and soft sky ribbon, prima flowers, crystal brad, crystal stickles, small and large oval punches, nestabilities, blender pen

Almost Wild Bananas?

Crazy title, huh? Making you think? Well, think no more. That is the color challenge (my version). It was supposed to be Almost Wild Saffron, but I goofed and used Barely Banana instead of So Saffron. I don't think the SCS Color Challenge police will be handing out tickets! (LOL!)

As I was sitting there watching TV, I was pondering how I was going to do this color challenge and combine it with today's sketch challenge. I was watching an old episode of Two and a Half Men. It's the one with Denise Richards in it (the then Mrs. Charlie Sheen). They even had their actual daughter, Sam, in the episode as well. In the bedroom scene, I noticed the room was painted in an amethyst color and guess what the accents were? You got it...yellow and green! I couldn't believe it! The curtains were sort of a chintz pattern in a cream color with yellow and amethyst flowers with green leaves! So there you have it! My inspiration! And here is my card.

I tried to find a flower that was soft and resembled a chintz pattern. I came up with a retired SU set called Simple Sketches. It's actually a 3-step stamp and I used the middle stamp for this. It was just soft and "sketchy" enough to give me the look I wanted. The base of the card looked bare, so I took the same stamp and used Versamark to give the background some life. I did the same to the wasabi strip. The yellow scallop piece was run through the cuttlebug using the Distressed Stripes folder. The main image is on dimensionals. The pearls on the wasabi stripe are from Hero Arts, and the larger one in the middle of the prima flower is from Martha Stewart's collection. I left off a sentiment...this could be used for pretty much any occasion. Thanks for stopping by! I noticed I have over 5,000 hits on my blog so far! Thanks so much for looking!
Recipe
Stamps: Simple Sketches
Paper: Almost amethyst, wild wasabi, barely banana, vintage cream (PTI)
Ink: Almost amethyst, wild wasabi, barely banana, Versamark
Accessories: Pearls, dimensionals, cuttlebug and Distressed Stripes folder, nestabilities, Prima flower

Sew Happy!

I'm "sew happy" that I cut up this set and about 20 others that I've had for a very long time. On Sunday, my DH and I took my mom to our cabin in the country. I took the Sunday paper, a new People magazine, and some of my new uncut and unmounted stamps. I did about four sets there while we were sitting on the porch watching my DH work! On Monday, I decided to do the rest of them. I did not realize that I had that many! I have blisters on my fingers (Ringo Starr says that at the end of one of the Beatles songs!) from cutting all of them! It literally took hours to do. Never again will I leave them uncut. I promised myself I would cut and mount them as soon as I get them. With SU's new stamps, it will be easy because they will already be die cut!

Anyway, onto this card. One of the teachers on my 5th grade team retired this year. Carol will be greatly missed by all of us! She is very crafty, and one of her passions is sewing. She altered all the wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses of our staff and their families, along with other miscellaneous alterations. I purchased this set, Happy Re-turns, from Gina K designs because of the sewing machine image! I started out with today's color challenge CC174 which was groovy guava, barely banana, and chocolate chip. It took a while to figure out which combination I was going to use and changed along the way. I stamped the image in black on the banana and colored it with my white Prismacolor pencil and accented parts with a silver pen. I got the idea for this card from this card by Julie Koerber. I couldn't find my container of old buttons (I found it after I finished the card, of course!), so I used prima flowers. I just happened to have the right colors, and I mentioned in a previous post that I wanted to use more of them, so it worked out. The centers of the flowers are something I picked up at Michael's called "Bangle Bling". They were with the jewelry making items and were on sale. They sort of looked like buttons to me. I attached them with a mini glue dot. I said before that this card changed along the way...I was originally going to use the opposite side of the dp (it has lines that look like stiches). But when I decided to use this diamond cuttlebug folder, I had to use the argyle side of the dp to match! The last thing I did was color in the spool of thread on the sewing machine with a blender pen and the ink from the lid. I colored outside the lines on one side. It seems I always do something at the end to mess something up! Oh well, please ignore that mess! I'm not 100% in love with this card. I was very restricted because of the colors, but I think it came out ok. It really does look better IRL (don't they all?). Well, thanks for stopping by and let me know what you think.
Recipe
Stamps: Happy Re-turns
Paper: Barely banana, groovy guava, chocolate chip, chocolate chip dp
Ink: Adirondack pitch black
Accessories: Mavy oval scallop punches, ribbon, prima flowers, bling, glue dots, dimensionals, Prismacolor pencils, silver pen, cuttlebug folder, decorative scissors, daubers for sponging

Enjoy the Moment

This is for today's color challenge, basic gray, groovy guava, and blush blossom. I love anything with this basic gray. If you don't have it, you need it! It's a great neutral and pairs up with pretty much any color. This is not one of my favorite cards, but I think it will do. The picture is very dark. The card is much lighter IRL. When I had my photoshop automatically fix the colors, it came out way too bright, so I left it alone. (Edited: I added stickles to the flower centers and butterflies and re-took the picture. It's still a little too dark, but better than the first one!) The layout is from Julee Tilman's Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge #33. I love sketch challenges! The layout of a card is really half the battle when I make a card. There are many sketch challenges out there in blogland that the girls are hosting, so surf around the blogs I have listed on the left sidebar of my blog and join in!
This card is a 5 1/4" square. The base is basic gray and I layered groovy guava and blush blossom next. The blush looked too pale when I started to put it together, so I stamped the open circles from PTI's Polka Dot Basics in blush ink. It just gave it that extra texture. The flower was colored with using the guava and my blender pen (the In Colors don't come in markers...bummer). The centers were done the same way with the gray. I snuck in some garden green because I didn't want my stems and leaves in gray. I used my large rectangle nestibilities and also embossed the frame around it (I don't know if it shows up in the picture very well). I then sponged the gray around the edges to give it more definition. I chose a circle theme for this card. The dp is Groovy Guava designer prints and Charbon (retired). I added the taffeta gray ribbon, per the sketch. The sentiment is PTI's Mixed Messages in gray. It just filled in that blank spot nicely. My girlfriend is turning 50 on Sunday, and this may be the card I send to her. Thanks for stopping by!
Recipe
Stamps: SU: Live Your Dream; PTI: Polka Dot Basics, Mixed Messages
Paper: Basic gray, groovy guava, blush blossom, very vanilla, Charbon and Groovy Guava designer paper
Ink: Basic gray, groovy guava, garden green marker
Accessories: Basic gray taffeta ribbon, blender pen, slot punch, dauber, dimensionals, Crystal stickles

Challenges, Challenges, Challenges!

I've missed my beloved challenges because I went back to work (teaching) after a week-long vacation. So on Thursday evening, I had one of my stamp club meetings and had some time before they came to make a quick card. I really liked the color and sketch challenges this week, and then when I saw the ways to use it challenge (use music as your inspiration), I remembered this bg stamp and it all came together (quickly)!

The bg stamp is sheet music from Rubber Stampede. I've had this stamp for a very long time and it's never seen ink! Oh the shock, the horror of it all! Come on, I know you have some of those, too! We all do! Anyway, I stamped it in black and mounted it on black (I decided to mount all my layers on black). I pulled out this patterend paper from SU's Ginger Blossom. Since I couldn't use any other colors, I took a piece of river rock and mounted it on black also. This bird was already stamped and waiting to be mounted on something. I stamped him when I cut and mounted the stamps and put him in the box for future use. I cut him out, but didn't like the way his feet looked, so off they came! I used river rock for the oval and black for the mat. They were both punched out with the marvy punches. The oval and rectangular river rock pieces looked too bare, so I stamped them with Itty Bitty Backgounds. I also pierced a hole in each of the scallops, but it's hard to see in the picture. If I had had more time, I would have found another pattern paper to use or even the cuttlebug, but like I said, I was pressed for time. The bird has diamond stickles on him. I'm ok with this card, but I think it could be better. What do you think? Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe
Stamps: Always, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Rubber Stampede music sheet
Paper: River rock, black, whisper white
Ink: Black
Accessories: Diamond stickles, marvy punches, dimensionals, paper piercer

Blooms in Crazy Colors!

This was a crazy color challenge, and believe me it was a challenge! The CC154 colors to use were pumpkin pie, orchid opulence, and certainly celery. Who would have thunk it? It's sort of growing on me, but I would have changed a few things on this card. This layout is from Toy's Friday sketch challenge. I tried to stay true to the sketch, but I should have moved the big bloom up higher instead of centering it on the white cs. I probably could have used a narrower ribbon. I had one with white dots on it which would have looked good and we know dots are in! Other than that, I think it's ok. The background is stamped in Canvas, the big bloom is Friendship Blooms, which is from the Sale-a-bration catalog. You can get this for FREE with a $50 SU purchase! I stamped the flower in black and then again in pumpkin pie just for the little flower in the middle. I cut that out, put a black metal dot in the middle, and put it on the big flower with a dimensional. The sentiment is from A Little Birdie Told me, and the circle is from PTI's Borders and Corners {circles}. I used the Spellbinder's nestabilites for the scalloped rectangles and then used them again to emboss. This is a great tool! I need more shapes! The black metal dots I purchased at JoAnn's for a $1. Need more of those too! I can see a multitude of uses for them and they are self-adhesive, which is awesome! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!

Recipe

Stamps: Friendship Blooms, Canvas, A Little Birdie Told Me, PTI Borders and Corners

Paper: Certainly celery, pumpkin pie, orchid opulence, whisper white

Ink: Certainly celery, pumpkin pie, orchid opulence, black

Accessories: Nestabilities, circle punches, ribbon, black metal dots, dimensionals, dauber for sponging