Sunday Stamps Sketch 236

Lots of layers and sizes for this Sunday Stamps sketch; it provides so many opportunities for designer papers, too.  (The "gingham" photographs blue, but is actually hunter green, like the leaves of the sunflowers.)

Freshly Made Sketch 439

I can't identify the patterned paper I used on this card for Freshly Made Sketches.  It's from a 6x6 paper pad, but the cover is gone.  The "happy" die is from Mama Elephant. I discovered that I have only one set of square dies. 

Metallic Hearts after V-Day

I seriously considered NOT using hearts, but I found myself just wanting to make the card and the heart dies were out because of Valentine's Day.  So, I made hearts for Challenge #357 of CAS Colours & Sketches.  The hearts were cut from Tim Holtz's new "metallic confections" cardstock and dry-embossed. The background layers are pieces of patterned paper from the 6x6 pad "Watercolors" of Craft Consortium.  If I had a "happy anniversary" stamp, it would work perfectly, too!

Tuesday Cards

Scrolling through my files of "favorites" and Pinterest cards, I saw one featuring a dictionary page or some other print.  So I dug out my pad of "Dear Jane" patterned paper (text from Jane Austen novels) and the Hero Arts Classic Bloom image.  SU markers provided the color to coordinate with the ribbon and some gold "Dazzling Details" and black Enamel Accents embellished the flower centers. 

Less is More with Paper Piecing

Less is More Week 248 is featuring paper piecing this week.  As I dug through my hundreds and hundreds of stamps, I realized that I don't have many "open" designs, but I found this great dress image...one I have no identity for because it was a piece of rubber in a grab bag.  Although it looks a bit lavender on my monitor, it's really a pale blue.  "Happy" is a die from Simon Says Stamp.

Three is the Magic Number

"Three of something" is the key to this week's Less Is More Challenge.  Three of something on the card and a visit to at least three other blog posts.

Pink Paislee's "Color Wash" paper pad, Stampotique image, Prima flower

Another Freshly Made Sketch

Freshly Made Sketches.....  check out all the cards!

Jane Austen Freshly Made

Freshly Made Sketches features a simple layout this week, on that's suited well to "Dearest Jane" patterned paper and a Hero Arts sentiment.

Back in the card-making mood and mode...

A busy week left me little time for either photography or card-making, so Saturday seems a good time to get back on the wagon!  (Hubby has gone golfing for the first time this season....a harbinger of Saturdays to come!)  I like the design of this card because it uses simple circles of coordinating patterned papers...and I'm trying to use some of the many patterned paper packs in my stash.

Papers from the "Honey" 6x6 pad by The Sweetest Thing;  sentiment from Penny Black's "Eloquence" clear set

{au} Natural... PDCC

Just jumping in to take part in PDCC's current challenge: cappuccino, slate, burlap.

My card is a CASE of one of Jennifer McGuire's designs for her "scrappy" cards on the final day of  "Pattern Play," a recent online card course.  I used four patterned pieces from the "Classic Calico Collection Vol. 3" of Studio Calico to make a new patterned piece.  The sentiment is from Wordsworth and the flowers are from Prima. 

Pattern Play Wrap-Up

I would NEVER have thought of gluing (British is "glueing," I believe) strips of patterned papers into a new piece to work with---until I learned it from Jennifer McGuire on the wrap-up day of "Pattern Play."  And even more exciting was to imitate her idea of die-cutting the piece for a focal image.

The photo below shows the piece made of paper strips and the die cut of a Memory Box tree on my card.

Pattern Play Day #5

I've enjoyed this class!  I'm looking at my huge stash of patterned papers in a whole new light.  Today's technique was almost like therapy....laying those strips of paper in the criss-cross pattern.   I chose Authentique's "Fresh" collection for the first card, using one of the images from a sheet in the pad as the focal image.  I added Glossy Accents on the woman and her parasol.   The second card is made with paper from one of my favorite Basic Grey's "Porcelain" collection.  The floral stamp is from I Brake For Stamps and I inked it with two SU markers.   The sentiment is from Hero Arts.  Both card fronts were dry-embossed in Sizzix folders.

Pattern Play Day #4

No big heart dies here, so I improvised on Jennifer's heart card with a Bigz stars die and a tiny star punch.  All the papers are from Basic Grey's "Sultry" pad.   The bottom center star was "whitewashed" with Picket Fence Distress Stain. One tiny star is covered in White Enamel Accents and one in Rock Candy Stickles.  The sentiment is from Penny Black, one I find myself using often.

Pattern Play Day #3

Using some of those 12x12 bold patterns just became easier with Kristina Werner's lesson on Day 3.

 This beautiful bold floral paper is from K&Company's Spring Blossom pad by Susan Winget

I've created a card that would work well for a man.  Debby Hughes demonstrated cards with a chevron pattern, but I chose a busy piece from Authentique's "Blissful" 6x6 pad.   This is the very first time I've tried a negative die cut on a card front, too!  The pattern at the bottom is washi tape and the dot accents are Liquid Pearls.

Pattern Play Day #2 -- Part 2

Paper piecing with patterned paper is another Day 2 technique.  I enjoy doing it, but don't seem to have many stamps that work well with it.  I chose a new poppy image from Penny Black's Blooming Garden clear set and some heavy patterned paper that I really can't see myself using on cards, except in this instance.  The paper's designs are all glittered.    The sentiment is a Penny Black wood-mount called "special treasures."

Pattern Play Day #2

Learning new techniques is always a real test for me; what I have in my mind and what happens are two different things.  Such is the case for today's homework.  I chose the "resist on patterned paper" first, and ended up with two cards that I really don't care for at all.   However, I did practice the technique---several times.

The clear embossing resulted in the bluish pattern; no inking was necessary.

This card has both rose and green ink over the resist.

A Quartet of Sympathy Cards

I'm not sure why I don't make sympathy cards ahead of time so I can have them when I need them.  Today, I spent all afternoon making four cards for the wife and three grown daughters of a man who was killed two days ago. It was a terrible accident involving a careless driver who hit the truck of a county road crew, crushing one of the workers against another truck.    Johnny was 60, a native of our little town with a large extended family and even larger circle of friends.  

 

The Color Throwdown

It's a Color Throwdown again.   And I missed the deadline!   Have to think about time zones!  

K&Co designer paper, woman image from ERA graphics, sentiment from Wordsworth

Still in a blue mood???

Until I prepared this card for the post, I didn't realize that it was the third card in the same basic color combination.    Totally unintentional!   I enjoy using this big Hero Arts flower for paper piecing.  All of the papers  are from the 6x6 pad "Paris & Co" by My Mind's Eye. (The next card will be a different color combo!)

Brown and Blue

Patterned paper, Distress Inks over background stamping, white-embossed flower images, tied up with a blue bow.