Color Throwdown #56 with Rubbernecker

Good morning and welcome to Color Throwdown #56! This week our sponsor is the one and only Rubbernecker! They are offering a prize for this weeks random winner!

Our awesome color combo came from our host Broni and inspired by Basic Grey's Marrakech line. These were really fun colors to work with and different than I would normally choose and they are just beautiful!

I chose to use this Olive Jar from the Happy Hour collection by Rubbernecker as my main image. After coloring with Copics, I cut it out and popped it up over the fun sentiment. I also cut out the olive and adhered it to a toothpick which I shortened and added some mica glitter flakes to the end to make it a party pick!


In the picture below I tried to capture the shine of the glass jar I created by painting Diamond Glaze over the image with a paint brush. I didn't want to squeeze it on like I normally do because I didn't really want to give the jar dimension, just shine. I would have used my clear gelly roll pen but it ran out about half way through!

I followed Broni's lead and I used some BG paper from the Marrakech line and some lovely satin ribbon from PTI. I cut out the sentiment with a rectangle Nestability and sponged on some Brushed Cordouroy Distress Ink from Ranger while it was still in the die. I also stamped a small margarita glass on the inside which you can see a bit here. It was much smaller than the olive jar and olive so I thought it would be a fun addition to the inside.

I hope you join us this week and try out these lovely colors! You will also be in the running for Featured Stamper and possibly Guest Designer...and you also might win a prize! Check out all the lovely samples from the ladies below!

LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings
Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits
Broni Holcomb - Splashes of Watercolor
Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy
Cathy Indelicato - Crafty Thoughts

August Guest Designer, Sylvia Nelson - Sylvia's Stamping Corner

Good Monday Morning

Well, Monday's aren't usually good for me but I am trying to be positive!

I tried something new on this Whipper Snapper cutie, Eli and Frogger, I tried to get a glowing halo of color around the image using my Copic markers. I thought if I used yellow and then just softened with my Colorless Blender it would work sort of like it does when I use colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits. Well...it didn't work out exactly like I had envisioned, yet I tried it again on another image (which you'll get to see tomorrow!) with similar results. I don't hate it, just don't like it so much. The fly paper is from K & Company and has adorable frogs on the other side. The ribbon is from PTI and the cardstock is a mix of Bazzill and PTI. The sentiment is from Rubbernecker and goes with a bunch of frog images I have from them.

Have a great day!

Birthday Frog

Just a quick one today...I made this birthday card for my son's friend who turned 6. The frog is from Rubbernecker colored with Copics and I think the dp is Chatterbox. I pulled it from my stash and I don't always remember the maker, oops. The balloons are popped up twice...the blue one on top. They were accented with a Sakura Star Dust pen and Diamond Glaze. The piece of polka dot paper is from Bo Bunny and the solid green cardstock is Prism.



My three year old got sick on Friday and while I nursed him this past weekend he passed it to me and I got sick on Sunday night. I am back at work this morning and hopefully will be back into my regular routine from here on in! Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Check back tomorrow for the Color Throwdown challenge.

Wow, it's been a while-but I have a Tiki!

I haven't posted in like two weeks, yikes! I have hardly read a blog in two weeks either, double yikes! I know I am missing out on tons of great cards and projects and stories but I've been so busy. My 2 1/2 year old came down with coxsackie and was home sick for a whole week. The following week they closed the daycare for a day because the power went out and we were having a heat wave. That same week my dh came down with coxsackie too! It took me all of this week just to catch up and I have spent pretty much all evening packing for a week long trip to Hilton Head SC. I just have to clean the bathrooms now before I go to bed. Crazy right? I can't sleep if they are dirty, knowing I will be having people come in here during the week to care for my animals. And I hate rushing in the morning...worse, I hate when my dh sits in the car because he's ready and is tired of watching me run around doing last minute things he doesn't think are necessary. In the midst of all of this I found that I had a card I never posted so at least

I can show that I am still alive!

If I remember it right, here's what I used:

Image and sentiment from Rubbernecker. All paper is from PTI. Nesties for ovals. Pierced and used white pen on scallops. Colored with Copics. Added flowers and leaves from Prima and tiny gems in the centers. Dew drops on the edges. Ticket corner punched and distressed dp panel. It was for my nephews 12th birthday. He's such a boy but he loves my cards! He just got such a kick out of this guy. Inside of course it says "Have a Freaky Tiki Birthday". I have another great tiki I am going to use soon. Anyway, I will be back next Sunday and I'm sure it will take me another week to catch up before I start posting and blogging again. I hope everyone is having a great summer! Have a great night!

RBC09 and I need to get to bed!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Mother's Day! I woke up to my hubby mulching the flower beds and saw two beautiful baskets of flowers hanging from the porch! Then he came in and made me breakfast. Went back out again with the two boys for more yard work so I could get ready and head off for a pedicure. I relaxed most of the day although I managed to squeeze in two loads of laundry! Then he BBQ'd and my mom and I ate lots of potato chips-ugh, paying for that today!

I really created this card rather quickly...it's amazing what you can get done when you don't have any little rugrats nipping at your heels! My hubby set up the Wii he got me for mother's day and was playing Monster Jam with the boys. I tried it out too, but I felt like I was getting seasick! I really wanted it for the Wiifit which comes out this weekend...maybe it will help motivate me to loose some of my butt! Wait, I don't have one of those, how about the flabby thighs? I DO have those! I'll talk about my butt another day. What? You said oh goody? I knew you'd be excited! Lets get to business-Rubberneck challenge number 9 found here on Jeannes blog:

I used this great stamp image by KK Originals by Rubbernecker. I don't think it qualifies for the drawing...only Rubbernecker and Stamp Oasis, but I hadn't used this one yet and I really love it! I bought several KK Originals and I really need to ink them up. This weeks challenge was to use a circle or circles. I stamped in Palette Noir on PTI and colored with Copics. I sponged the background a bit with Versa Magic in Tea Leaves and Brilliance in Pearlescent Sky Blue. The image was stamped again and colored and the dragonfly and the bottom leaves were cut out and popped up on the main image. The patterned paper is from Lasting Impressions. I used my Fiskars circle cutter to make all the circles. I did a messy double stitch in dark brown on the background panel before I attached it to the Bazzill card base. I used a Fantastix to add some Brilliance Pearlescent Orchid to the tendrils on the plant and Judikins Diamond Glaze on the bubbles. Before I attached the dragonfly panel I sprayed it with Glimmer Mist in Irridescent Gold. I can't stop using these gorgeous hydrangeas from Prima and added some dew drop centers.

It's okay. I can live with it. But I feel like something is missing. I usually ink every panel...maybe that's why it feels naked to me. Happy Monday night anyway!

Proud of my rooster

I must admit that I have been quite envious of Anna Wight and all her chickens. Silly I know, but I would love to have chickens running around and being able to have fresh eggs all the time! I love the fancy varieties too! Check out her blog if you don't know what I am talking about...she really makes you want to live on a farm!

Well, this is as close as I am getting...here's Henry:

I think he's handsome! And I don't have to feed him or have him wake me up early on my days off. Besides, I like my neighbors! All image on this card are from Rubbernecker. The background was stamped with the chickenwire image. Henry and the chicken feed and the corners were stamped on separate cardstock, colored and cut out, and popped up on the main panel where the chicken coop was stamped. I did some sponging on the bg with blue above and green and brown on the ground and gold around the hay. What you can't see is sparkle from the stardust pen on the hay...it's quite nice acutally! Coloring was done with Copics. The colors are much brighter irl and I love the large size of this. Finished it's 6x6. I'll just tuck this one away for an appropriate occasion. Is there one for a rooster? I suppose I could send it to Anna as a congratulations on her new baby chickens!

Stamps: Rubbernecker; Cardstock: Bazzill and PTI white; Ink: Palette Noir, Versa Magic in Tea Leaves, Colorbox in Robins Egg, Creamy Brown and Canary, Ranger Distress ink in Walnut; Tools/Accessories: Copics, Gelly Roll in white and black and Stardust, distress tool, sponges, foam adhesive.

Freaky Tiki

Happy Saturday! Ok, short and sweet today:
Tiki and sentiment from Rubbernecker Stamps. Paper is from Papertrey. All stamped in Palette Noir and colored with Copics. The hibiscus image on the cardbase is from Inkadinkadoo and stamped in Versa Mark and chalked with I Kan Dee pearlescent chalks. I added piece of twill with a brad on the sentiment and used some stardust pen on the flower centers. I wanted it to be a bit masculine, even though there are flowers! I love this image. I have another tiki too...Rubbernecker has a few and some other great images that go along this theme. I love the bright colors of the orange and yellow...not usually my preference but I think it works on the tropical! Have a great weekend!

Rubbernecker Challenge and an award! And a mini vacation...

Rubbernecker Challenge number 4

This card I created for this weeks Rubbernecker Challenge posted on Jeanne's blog here. The challenge is to use dark blue, light blue, and a neutral. I used dark and light blue cardstock from Bazzill and the parchment as my neutral...but I don't know where I got it! This stamp is from Stamp Oasis, which I bought from Rubbernecker, and this is the first time I have used it. It's stamped in Palette Noir and painted with Art Quest Pearlescent watercolors. Her face is colored with a Copic marker. It really has a beautiful shimmer to it which I also carried to the sentiment.

You can't really see it in the picture but I stamped flourishes from Autumn Leaves on the parchment in Versa Magic Aegean Blue . Lightly sponged that panel and the white cardstock from PTI with both Aegean Blue and Night Sky. The sentiment is also stamped in Night Sky and sponged.

Lastly I added some details with a stardust pen, gems in the flower centers, and a ribbon. Oh, there is also some Stickles in Waterfall on the tiny stars in her hair...again difficult to photograph! I have a close up version also so you can see some of the sparkle.



You know, I really had a hard time deciding how to color this...there is tons of detail in her hair. This is okay, but I will have to try a different technique next time.



You Make My Day Award!

I was so pleasantly surprised to find that Joan from AJCreations gave me this award!



Here are the rules: In order to display this 'You Make My Day Award' proudly on your blog you must re-present it to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blog land. Let them know through email or by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware, you may get the award several times yourself, and if you do, consider yourself really, really loved.

Joan, this was soooo nice of you, thank you!!! Ok so now I have to pick 10...only 10?! Everyday I find more great blogs...so hard to choose! I will have to work on this one and come back to it, unfortunately it's time to get to work!

Mini Vacation!

But lastly before I go, my DH and I are taking a well deserved weekend getaway to Washington DC. I wanted to go the the Smithsonian to see the Nature's Best Photography exhibit that is only there until the end of the month. Of course this isn't exactly what he had in mind, but it's almost four whole days without children! And now the Cherry Blossom Festival is going on too so I'm sure we can find lots of fun things to do. Besides, we won't have any kids fighting, food flying, or 2 years olds poking us in eye at 4 am to see if we're awake...now that's exciting! I hope that this exhibit renews my inspiration to get my photography website up! I got my domain and host and now I just have to create it. I bought a book to help me out but I just need time to actually read it! This is probably my last post until next week. I will be back on Tuesday! Have a great weekend everyone!!

One more Easter Card

EDIT TO ADD: Here is the additional view I have of this card. The angle lets you see some of the dimension.





I made several St. Patricks Day cards and I am going to post them next, but I wanted to get this last Easter card I made up first. I will be making more but I needed a break.

I got this image free from Rubbernecker on a Treasure Hunt Tuesday! I love searching for the treasure...almost as fun as stamping with it! These little chicks are so whimsical. I colored the entire image with Copic markers and added some stickles to the bow. A few of the chicks were stamped and colored again on white cs and popped up on the main image. They really don't show in the photo so I will have to add another one so you can see the dimension. I turned the striped design paper from Reminisce on an angle when I cut it for some interest. The polka dot is the reverse of the dp which I also used as a mat for the image. It is all layered on Bazzill dp and I added a bit of ribbon and a button for trim. I used a corner punch and adorned that with Sugared Brads from Doodlebugs. Some of the chicks were decked out with a bit of Sakura Star Dust pen to fancy them up!

I have been disappointed with my lighting and I think although I am using a light box the two lights it came with are not powerful enough. I need to buy an additional one and have it lit from the top. You just don't see the bright crisp colors or the detail that you do IRL. I'll have to work on this!

Bottoms Up!

This is such a fun image from Rubbernecker. I stamped it with Distress Ink Black Soot and colored with Copics. The tails are made with Marvy Liquid Applique and sprinkled with Winter Glitter before drying. You can see this in the close up below (really hard to see the sparkle but you can see the texture). The background was sponged with Distress Inks in Broken China and Peeled Paint. I drew in the grass with an Adirondack marker and dotted with different colored markers for the hint of flowers. The eggs and sentiment are from Studio G. The eggs are glittered and popped up on the background. The paper is Basic Grey Two Scoops. Two of the panels are trimmed with scallop scissors. Finished with brads, ribbon, a tag, and a flower. I love this paper! It reminds me of sherbert!

Materials Used:

Stamps: Grand Bunny Bottoms by Rubbernecker and sentiments and egg by Studio G

Paper: PTI white, Basic Grey Two Scoops

Ink: Ranger Distress in Black Soot, Broken China, Peeled Paint, Adirondack Marker, Copics

Embellishments: Tag punch, ribbon, Sugar Brads by Doodlebug, other brads by Making Memories, scallop scissors, Prima flower

Cupid Bunny

Valentines is approaching and I am feeling the love! I really love making valentine cards. I haven't used this bunny from Uptown Rubber Stamps in a while and I am so glad I pulled him out! I can't even remember where I bought him I have had him so long. I used a heart background stamp that I got for free during Treasure Hunt Tuesdays at Rubbernecker
with the resist technique. I stamped the bg with versa mark on white cardstock and embossed clear. Then I brayered on two different inks in pink (Versa Color Lilac and Raspberry) and wiped with a paper towel. The bunny is colored with prismas and blended with odorless mineral spirits. I used my nestabilities to layer the image onto the background. I sponged additional ink around the edges of the image. I love my new nestabilities! I stamped some swirls on corner punches with Autumn Leaves Swirls v2 by Rhonna Farrar and added these cute black brads from Making Memories. The pink paper I used for the scallop rectangle and the corners is a really pretty irridescent pink but I don't know who makes it. I bought it from my LSS a while ago which has since closed. Hope you enjoyed this card. Thanks for looking.

My Newest Frog

I really do have a frog, but this new one is made of rubber! I absolutely adore the frog images from Rubbernecker. This is the first one I am posting but I have several more to come! I had to have them once I saw the cards Jeanne Streiff made. She is so talented! Check out Jeanne's blog to see her fabulous image with this frog and this one too. This was my first attempt at the gamsol blending technique. You can find a .pdf to download on this thread. I actually used odorless mineral spirits instead of gamsol with my prisma pencils. I really like how it works but I definitely need more practice. The image was stamped a second time and just the flowers colored, cut out, and popped up on the main image. The centers I added a little sparkle to with Stickles in Copper and Cinnamon. I stippled lightly around the rock with Distress Ink in Faded Jeans to "resemble" water...but it doesn't really show up so I might go back and add more color now that I am really dissecting this card...anyway, I added ribbon pulled through eyelets and some prima flowers and brads in an antique copper and the photo corner to finish it up. The patterned paper is from Deja View and I love it! I wish I had more! I will have to check my LSS, where I think I bought it, to see if they have it. About my frog though, come to think of it, looks more like he has an attitude! I'll post a picture some day!

I Skipped Right Over Valentines...

Not really, I just couldn't resist using this guy I got in the mail today from Rubbernecker. It is freezing here today in the teens but we haven't had any real snow. It's a bummer because I really like the snow and this cold is just depressing without it. This card was fun to make even though Easter is a bit away...

I stamped Chip twice, once on watercolor paper and once on designer paper, all from Imaginisce, which I used to piece his shell. The entire image was cut out and placed onto the green dp layered with turquoise more dp and more turquoise. I added some ribbon and prima flowers with these great brads from Making Memories. There is also a "sugared" brad in the top left corner. I bought a whole package in all the pastels...they are gorgeous! I also added a bit of dimension to the flowers on the shell and where there would be natural highlights on the shell also with a clear gelly roll pen which really shines in the picture. I think he's just adorable and really helps to cheer up these dreary days!

Here's what I used:

Rubbernecker Stamps "Chip", Sentiment by Printworks

Design Paper by Imaginisce "for Peeps Sake", cardstock by Bazzill

Prima flowers, and all brads by Making Memories, ribbon from Michaels

Markers and waterbrush for watercoloring