Fun Colors and a Farewell with The Card Concept

Hello Everybody!

We have a new challenge at The Card Concept; sadly, it will be my last challenge, but my plate was getting a little bit too full.  I hope you all will continue to play with this amazing team of ladies!

Lesley picked out some beautiful colors for us this week in this color challenge~

When I saw these colors, my first thought was a misty morning meadow, so that is what I created- well, sort of!
My background is stamped with a background stamp from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, Leafy Background Flourish and More, using the Faux watercolor technique.  I matted this piece with soft suede and framed it with white cs.  I added a circle element using a doily and a some Pool Party cs.  One of my all time favorite floral images is from a retired SU set, Elements of Style.  I stamped this in black and fussy cut the flowers out- seriously, I find fussy cutting relaxing!  I layered this onto my circles, then added a butterfly from the Sweet 'n Sassy Set, New Beginnings, and cut it out with its matching die.  A sprig of the Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish was tucked in behind the butterfly and flowers.
I added a tag sentiment, stamped in Soft Suede.  My sketch inspiration is from last week's Freshly Made Sketches~

Thanks so much for stopping by; I hope you can join us this week!  Check out all of the inspiration here! 

Blessings,

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies Used-
Stamps- Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps- New Beginnings, Leafy Flourish Background and More, SU Elements of Style and
Paper- Neenah Solar White, SU Soft Suede, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Mixed media paper
Ink- Lucky Limeade, Memento Tuxedo Black, Soft Suede
Other- MFT Circle Stax and Fish Tail Flag Stax Die-Namics, SU paper doily, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps New Beginnings Butterfly Dies, Spellbinder Rectangle Dies, Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish Die, Wink of Stella Glitter pen

New and Delicate with Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps!

Good Morning, All and Welcome to Day 2 of

 Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps February New Release Blog Hop!

Today the DT is thrilled to share the new Delightfully Delicate Background with you.  This gorgeous image is a seamless background stamp that can be used to make as large a background as you wish!  You'll love the dainty touch it adds to your projects!

The Stampy Details~

•  Image measures approximately 3.75" x 3.75
• Stamp is $11

The DT has shared their gorgeous samples in the thumbnails below.  Stop by each of their blogs and comment for a chance to WIN one of (2) $20 gift codes to our store!

Don't miss these other opportunities to win:

(1) $20 gift code drawn from all comments on Friday's release blog post
(1) $20 gift code drawn from all comments on full reveals in our SCS forum
(1) $20 gift code drawn from all participants in our release challenge hosted on blog

The deadline to comment for a chance to win is midnight EST Friday, February 14th.  The list of winners will be announced on our blog by Monday, February 17th.

Thanks so much for joining us!  Enjoy the hop!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies Used-

Stamps- Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Delightfully Delicate Background, Inspirational Word Art 1

Paper-Stampin' Up Stawberry Slush, Lucky Limeade, Basic Gray, Fourishes white cs

Ink- Ranger Archival Black ink, Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie

Other- Spellbinders Oval dies (small and large), Cheery Lynn Flourish, Prima flowers, Recollections pearl flourish

Going Pink with The Card Concept

Hello Everyone!

It is Wednesday and we have a brand new challenge up at The Card Concept.  Lesley has provided us with a gorgeous inspiration photo and monochromatic pink is our assignment.
 

I was inspired by the overall soft, sweet look of the photo versus focusing in on any one item and designed the card using the Classy and Elegant Style, which is the style I represent at The Card Concept..

 

I started with the image of the little girl, who seems to be looking out into a vast world.  I framed this image with an embossed piece of Crumb Cake cs and matted it with dp in various shades of pink.  The flourish die cut is one of my all time favorite dies and I could use it on every card (but I know some of you would get tired of seeing it).  The seam binding bow, flower and sparkly clear button add to the elegance of the card.
A Classy and Elegant card includes some of the following characteristics

Definition:

• polished
• shiny finish
• sparkling embellishments
• rich colour scheme
• sophisticated sentiments
• regal
• sweeping
• dramatic
• monochromatic
• layered textures
• awe
• impress

The rest of the design team have created some gorgeous examples for you in the CAS, Clean and Layered, Clean and Graphic, Vintage/Shabby Chic, Freestyle Collage and Classy and Elegant styles.  Check out their projects and leave them some love!  Then join us by making your own inspired monochromatic pink card!

Ardyth Percy-Robb

Geri Greening

 Debbie Marcinkiewicz

Kerin Sylvester

Kay Miller

Deanna Dean

Cindy Lovell

 Karen Davis

Lee Ann Barrett

Narelle Farrugi

Cathy Webber

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies Used-

Stamps- Stampin' Up Summer By the Sea, Express Yourself

Paper-SU Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride, Naturals Ivory, Authentique dp, Flourishes white cs

Ink-Memento Tuxedo Black

Other- Copics, SU Vintage Wallpaper ef, dimensionals, Prima flower, Cheery Lynn Flourish Die, SU Faceted Vintage button, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Scalloped Border Die, PTI Mat Stack 3 Die

Our Daily Bread Designs Linky Party

Good Morning!

What a good day to stay inside today- our weather has flipped back to rain. I am grateful I got 3 bags of leaves raked during our afternoon sunshine yesterday!
This month is the 5th Anniversary of Our Daily Bread Designs; ODBD is the first stamp company outside of Stampin' Up that I became familiar with and just "had to have" in large part due to Angie Crockett's SCS uploads! I remember frequently spotting the cards that 'only had spiritual sentiments' stamped on them; I remember thinking how gorgeous they were and wondered why I could never find  a stamp like that in the stores!  Then I realized they were all by the same company!  Finally, I saw this card on SCS and had to investigate!  I found ODBD online and the rest, as they say, is history!
To celebrate, ODBD is having a Linky Party.  Here is the card a created for this-

I inked up the butterflies from the Faith set for the first time, keeping the card fairly clean as the butterflies are pretty 'busy'.  I loosely followed this week's ODBD sketch challenge.  I used a blender pen to color the butterflies with Pool Party, Island Indigo, Midnight Muse and Summer Starfruit, then inked up the butterflies one more time and colored and fussy cut four of them out.  I popped them up on pop dots and adhered them to a Naturals Ivory circle.

 The circle/image is adhered to a Baja Breeze banner and a piece of brown tone dsp die cut with an Apothecary Framelit was added across the top of the card.  I also added bits of my all time favorite die, Fancy Flourish by Cheery Lynn, behind the circle.  The sentiment is from one of their newest sets, Happy Spring.  I highlighted the sentiment with one of the fussy cut butterflies, which is popped up with a dimensional. 
That's it!  Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!

Have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies used-
Stamps-ODBD Faith and Happy Srping
Paper-SU Naturals Ivory, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Soft Suede, Midnight Muse, retired SU dsp
Ink-Stazon Black, Midnight Muse, Pool Party, island Indigo, Summer Starfuit, Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi, Cherry Cobbler
Other-Cheery Lynn Fancy Flourish die, Coordinating Faith/butterflies ODBD die, SU Dazzling Details, Dimensionals, SU Apothecary Framelits, SU Paper Piercing pack, MFT Fishtail Flag Stax

Here we go Again, with SNSS!

Good Morning, Everyone! 

I finished up another card last night for the Sweet N Sassy March VSN on SCS-a color challenge using coral/peach, green, vanilla, and kraft.  I was too tired to post, though, so here it is this morning!  I must admit, I am tickled with this card, as Prismacolor pencils are very new to me; I have only colored one other image with them.  I really just guessed on how to color this peach; I hope the Prisma Police do not come after me!

This was a great challenge; I just love the colors and the vintage'y' look about them.  I used the peach image from Punny Fruits and Veggies, masking off the smiley face for this card.  I colored it with Prismacolor pencils and fussy cut it out, then layered it on panels cut with my WPlus9 Stacker dies.  The card base is SU Calypso Coral with a layer of Whisper White and then Naturals ivory on top.  The strip of cs behind the peach image panel is Naturals Composition dsp from SU.  A few pieces of Cheery Lynn Designs Fancy Flourish die cut are tucked behind the panels.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed Sunday!

Lee Ann :)

Supplies used-
Stamps-Punny Fruits and Vegetables from SNSS
Paper-Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Naturals Ivory, Natural Composition dsp (SU)
Ink-Stazon Black, Memento Black
Other-Prisma color Pencils, Cheery Lynn Fancy Flourish, Polka Dot ef (SU), WPlus9 Clear Cut Stackers Pinking Squares, dimensionals,  MFT hemp cord

Elements of Style

Good Morning, Everyone and Happy Saturday! 

It is a beautiful, sunny day here and hopefully much of our ice and snow mixture will melt.  I hit the craft room early this morning and made a card for 2 challenges at SCS- for the inspiration challenge and for the Lovefest challenge, sponsored by MFT. 

I decided to go with the colors blue and yellow, based on my inspiration piece, but then I added in Cajun craze to define the embossed bricks a bit more.  I inked up the embossing folder with the Cajun Craze pad and embossed.  I stamped the flower in More Mustard two times.  I colored the images with More Mustard and So Saffron using a blender pen.  I fussy cut flowers that I wanted to pop up on dimensions.  I cut an Island Indigo vine using my favorite flourish die.  The bow was made using Becca's Bow Maker.  'Friends' is from the Tiny Tags set and is punched out with the jewelry tag punch. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

Lee Ann:)

Supplies Used-
Stamps-Stampin' Up Elements of Style and Tiny Tags
Paper-Whisper White, Island Indigo, Midnight Muse, Naturals White
Ink-More Mustard, So Saffron, Island Indigo, Cajun Craze
Other-Cheery Lynn Fancy Flourish, Jewelry Tag Punch -SU, Baja Breeze seam binding, Island Indigo ribbon, dimensionals, Tim Holtz ef

Vintage Resist

It's Friday and time to play the second Mixed Media, or Mix-Ability Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  I love trying new things for the sake of trying, not necessarily for the sake of the end result.  And it is kind of fun getting messy!

Today's challenge is to use the emboss resist technique. I started by clear embossing my Mixed Bunch image.  I then diluted some Island Indigo re-inker and spritzed it on the paper.  I wiped off the embossed areas and then sponged Daffodil Delight to the bottom portion of the card.  Following, I spritzed the card with Mister Huey's spray ink in Warm Calico, and again wiped the embossed areas.  Once the paper was dry, I spritzed with gold Tattered Angels.  I set this aside to dry.
I then made my border out of Brushed Gold cs using the edgelits from Stampin' Up.  My flowers are made using felt from MFT.  The flourish was cut in both gray and green felts.  The yellow felt flowers were made using the MFT Royal Rolled Roses dies-small, medium and large.  The flower centers were lightly sponged with Pumpkin Pie ink.
I wanted a bow on the card, but nothing looked right.  I ended up using white tulle, which helps to highlight the embossed flowers.  The sentiment is from the Field Flowers set and is stamped in Craft Black.  The card was assembled and when it was complete, got one last spritz (OK, maybe 2 or 3!) of Tattered Angels gold mist.  

This challenge made for a fun evening!  Now to get busy finishing cards for this month's Dirty Dozen Gallery!
Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies used-
Stamps-Stampin Up Mixed Bunch and Field Flowers
Paper-Whisper White, Basic Gray and Brushed Gold CS
Ink-Daffodil Delight, Versamark, Craft Black
Other Stuff-clear ep, Mister Huey's Warm Calico Spray ink, spritzer bottle, Island Indigo re-inker, Tattered Angels Gold mist, felt (from MFT), Cheery Lynn Fancy Flourish, MFT Royal Rolled Roses dies in small, medium and large, tulle, pearls, Stampin' Up edgelit

Shabby Autumn?

It is late Thursday night, and I am adding my second post for the day, having tried my hand at "Shabby Chic" style.  I admire those who create such beautiful shabby chic work; I think it must come natural to them.  I decided to give The Shabby Tea Room Challenge a whirl.

Isn't this just a beautiful picture?  The colors and textures just seemed to call my name.  I really like the shutters, the dark gray autumn sign and the metal tub. 

Here is my take on this inspiration photo-

So now I am calling on all shabby chic experts to help me know what is  or isn't shabby chic about this card.  All suggestions are welcome!  As you can see by my clean and simple post from earlier this evening, I try my hand at a wide variety of styles.  I have yet to figure out what "my style" is.  I wish someone would just tell me! :)
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog-I so appreciate your visit and any comments.  Have a blessed weekend.  For those on the East Coast, know that I am praying for you after this last round of bad weather.

Lee Ann :)

Supplies used for this card-
Stamps-Inkadinkadoo; canvas bg-Stampin Up
Paper-Naturals White, Cajun Craze, Basic Gray, So Saffron, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso-all Stampin' Up
Ink-Buckaroo Blue, Stazon Black, distress ink
Other-Cheery Lynn Fancy Flourish die, Stampin' Up Top Note die, Simply Scored (SU), woodgrain and polka dot ef (SU), Little Leaves die(SU),  tulle, burlap, lace, leaf punch, pearls, dimensionals, Spellbinders large ovals

Keepin' it Simple

Today's card is for two different challenges- ColourQ and a new challenge for me, Retrosketches. I decided to do two things with this card; first, to go for another clean and simple design and two, to use scoring on the card, my new favorite technique.
Here are the Colour Q colors-

And here is the card-

 The card base is Daffodil Delight and Whisper White.  The white has a strip on it which is scored from top to bottom with the Simply Scored tool.  The flower is Melon Mambo Patterns dsp and is made with the Blossoms punch.  The center of the flower is stamped with the Mixed Bunch stamp in Daffodil Delight and sponged in Barely Banana then punched with a 1" circle punch and popped up on a dimensional.  The greenery is Certainly Celery and is made with the Fancy Flourish Cheery Lynn die.  The butterflies are in Tempting Turquoise and made with the Beautiful Wings embosslit.  Lastly,  the tag is stamped in Basic gray with a sentiment from the Tiny Tags set and punched with the jewelry tag punch.  All items are Stampin' Up unless otherwise mentioned.
This is a very springy card but without a lot of fuss.  I hope you like it!

Thanks so much for stopping by and, as always, your comments are greatly appreciated!
 Have a blessed day!    

Giving Roses

Last night, several people from the district I work in were honored for their servant hearts.  My supervisor was one honored and this card is for her.  I chose yellow roses because the honorees received yellow rose corsages.

This was a very fun card to make- I had not made a specialty fold card until now.  The base of the card is Wild Wasabi.  The roses are Barely Banana.  The dp is DCWV.  Once again, I used one of my favorite dies, the Fancy Flourish by Cheery Lynn Designs from Our Daily Bread Designs.  The wonderful sentiment is from ODBD's Mother Theresa stamp set.
This card is entered in the Our Daily Bread Designs challenge 98- to make a card that is not a square or rectangle and at in Stampin Sisters in Christ, where the challenge is to use a flower on our card.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Your comments are greatly appreciated.  Have a blessed day!

Blue Cake Mojo

This week's Color Challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers is Night of Navy, Bashful Blue and Crumb Cake.  Refreshing after all of the red, pink and white of Valentine's!  The sketch is from the Mojo Monday team- MOJO228. 

Supplies include-
Stampin' Up cardstock-Whisper White, Night of Navy, Bashful Blue and Crumb Cake
Stampin' Up ink- Night of Navy, Crumb Cake, Versamark
Stampin' Up stamps- Hello Doily, Elementary Elegance; music notes-unknown
Acessories-Stampin' Up Blossom punch, adhesive pearl, Edgelit dies and embossing folders, Simply Scored, embossing powder, square punch, dimensionals; Cheery Lynn Flourish die, Sizzix snowflake embossing folder






____________________________________________________________________
...AND A LITTLE PINK MOJO...
I revised the above card to fit into my plans for my FIRST workshop at the end of the month.  We will be learning techniques with ink (I know that could potentially cover alot, but we are going over basics).

 I have used ALL Stampin' Up products.  Here is what I used:
Cardstock-Whisper White, Regal Rose, Basic Gray, Patterns Designer Series Paper
Ink-Basic Gray, Regal Rose, Blush Blossom
Accessories-Blossom punch, Edgelit and embossing folder, Square punch, Simply Scored, blender pen, adhesive pearls...

and of course the stamps-Greeting Card Kids, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Thanks for visiting!  Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for your comments!

An Out of This World Birthday

I tweaked this card from an earlier one I did this week for Operation Write Home.  Once I got the layout down I decided to "amp it up" a bit.  I really liked this stamp set, Little Boys Toys from Sweet N Sassy Stamps, when I spotted it, knowing it would be great for paper piecing.

The card base is SU Night of Navy; the edge is cut with an SU edgelit and embossed with their new embosslit.  The other 3 edges of the card are scored with the Simply Scored from SU.  I improved my clouds from the first card, making them whispy and ethereal, rather than "day time" fluffy.  After all, this is space!  They are lightly inked around the edges.  The moon is Barely Banana and embossed with a CB ef.  The edges are sponged with So Saffron.

The spacecraft is scrap dp and parts of it are layered on pop dots.  This makes such a difference from the original flat, single layer card. 
Thanks for stopping by!  As always, your comments and constructive criticisms are welcome and appreciated.

Back again, this time with the latest challenge from the OWH blog skip.  The challenge is to make a Clean and Simple (or CAS) card.  I took my inspiration from Sheila on the blog skip.   This CAS technique is to cut mulitples of a single die or punch and glue the layers together, creating what I call a faux chipboard piece. 

 In this case, I cut 2 flourishes in white followed by the top layer in Very Vanilla.  For the "flower", or Spellbinder scalloped circle die, I cut 5 in white and the top layer in Very Vanilla.  The edges of the card are scored. The sentiment is stamped in an old SU stamp from All Year Cheer.
I love this technique- it is easy and fun, albeit time-intensive.  Using this technique gives you a great monochromatic card.


Thanks for stopping by!  As usual comments are greatly appreciated!

OWH Midweek Throwdown

Where is the time going??  My son is back at college and into the spring semester, it is February (can you believe it??) and it is already Wednesday- 2 more days 'til the weekend.  Woo Hoo!!  If it is Wednesday it is time for the Midweek Throwdown over at Operation Write Home.  This week's challenge is to use die cuts and/or punches on a card.

Although I really love the shabby chic look, it is definitely not my style.  I decided to give it a try anyway on this challenge.  The card base is Pretty in Pink (SU).  The dp is ??? The beautiful stamp, Elizabeth (SU),  is stamped in Crumb Cake (SU) on Whisper White.  The image is colored with Pretty in Pink and Mellow Moss ink.  It is cut out with an oval Spellbinder and sponged around the distressed edges with Pretty in Pink.  The Flourish die (Cheery Lynn Fancy Flourish from Our Daily Bread Designs) is in Whisper White (SU).  The flowers are punched with a MS punch and Recollections pearls are used as flower centers.  A bit of lace and a small spray of pearls finishes this card off. 
So what do you think?  Does this pass as the "Shabby Chic" style?  Thanks so much for your opinions and suggestions and for stopping by.  Happy Stamping!

Great Sketch + Soft Colors= Yes

These cards are based on this month's sketch over at Sketch For You To Try.  This was a fun, fun sketch and I am sure I will use it again.  It worked great with these beautiful papers from K and Co (Elegance).

SFYTT Sketch Challenge

Stampin Up cardstock- Whisper White, Pool Party, Basic Gray and River Rock are used for both cards. 
Happy I Do Day" is from SU's Word Play set.  The oval is cut with a Spellbinder and the oval edges are inked with SU's Soft Sky.  The sentiment is stamped in SU's Basic Gray.  The flourish is a die from Our Daily Bread designs(Cheery Lynn Designs) and the flower(Recollections) is sponged with Soft Sky. Crystal Snow White glitter on the "diamond" finishes this card off.




The second card uses the same papers and flourish.  The sentiment is one of my favs from Our Daily Bread Designs-"Full of Grace-Pray".  The pearl flourishes are from Recollections.  This card is entered in the SFYYT challenge as well as the Word Art Wednesday Challenge- to use scripture or encouraging words on your card-, and the Sentimental Sundays Challenge- to use die cuts.

Thanks so much for stopping by-your thoughts are greatly appreciated!