Watercoloring

Hello! 
Well, we have another snow day today, so I took the opportunity to play.  I decided to pull out a set I have not used before and try a little watercoloring with reinkers.

I water colored the image with Lucky Limeade, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Pool Party and Island Indigo inks.  I cut the image out in an oval and backed it with a Deco Label Die Cut that I had sitting on the desk.  It had been stamped in Pool Party with the Canvas Background stamp.  To the background mat, I stamped the grass image and sentiment, Added a banner some leaves and the image panel. 
I used this week's Seize the Sketch  sketch-

I am also entering this card in-
 the Shopping our Stash challenge- Use Something New (green twine and stamp set)
the Great Impressions Challenge, which is also Use Something New
And the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge which is Something New

Thanks so much for stopping by and stay warm!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies Used ( all Stampin' Up unless specified)
Stamps-Simply Sketched, Wetlands, Inspired By, Canvas Background stamp
Paper- Whisper White, Pool Party, Old Olive, Lucky Limeade, watercolor paper, retired dsp
Ink- Stazon black, Old Olive, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede
Other- Linen Thread, Edgelit, :Little Leaves die, square punch, Oval Framelits, Decolabel Framelits, dimensionals, wood grain embossing folder

Lovely and CAS

Hello, friends!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  I got out in the sunshine and did some yard work, did some crafty shopping and enjoyed meals out with friends.  I worked on some crafting as well; I think I may be getting some mojo back!
I wanted to play with new Stampin' Up toys and I also wanted to do another color challenge from the Summer Card Camp Online Class.  I chose gray, pink, white and light blue colors to work with.

I really like this new image from the Hello, Lovely set and used it to stamp a patterned background.  I stamped my flower from Mixed Bunch in Blushing Bride and then stamped my sentiment in Basic Gray on top of the flower and punched it out.  I added a strip of Basic Gray cs across the lower portion of the card and added a piece of Basic Gray satin ribbon (retired) over that.  2 pearls and a white Little Leaves die cut finish off the card. 

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

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies used (Stampin' Up Only)
Stamps-Hello Lovely, Mixed Bunch, One in a Million
Paper-Whisper White, Basic Gray
Ink-Blushing Bride, Soft Sky, Smokey Slate
Other-Blossom punch, Little Leaves Sizzlit, pearls, gray satin ribbon (retired)

The Crew in March

Good Morning and Happy Friday to You!

Can you believe we have already completed the month of February??  Here it is, March 1st, and that means a new SU Creative Crew gallery and challenges at SCS.  So without further ado, here are the challenges and cards I have made for them-

DSP/Color Focus: Fan Fair dsp and island indigo

 For this card, the flowers were stamped twice in Island Indigo and fussy cut; then fussy cut flowers from one the the stamped images were layered on top of the other image and adhered with dimensionals to give them depth.  The pink scalloped oval frame is also adhered with dimensionals.

 The butterfly was stamped in Craft Black and heat embossed with clear ep.  It was colored with Island Indigo and So Saffron reinkers and aquapainter.  Once dry, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint was stippled onto the So Saffron areas of the butterfly, which of course, you cannot see in the photo. 

 Catalog Focus: Check out the Fan Fair Product Suite in the IBC, pp.106-117. Romance us with Elements of Style or Everything Eleanor. Take us away with Postage Due or Papillon Potpourri. Intrigue us with Daydream Medallions or Nature's Price.

 The butterflies were stamped in Island Indigo on Very Vanilla; the larger was punched out and the smaller, fussy cut.  Champagne Mist Shimmer paint was stippled onto the butterflies.  Dazzling Diamonds was piped along a few of the butterfly lines. 
Holiday Focus-
Use a wonderful quote as a focal point in your project. (You may use any quote that SU! has ever produced, even retired, but you must let us know the year of the stamp and the stampset name.)

This card is 5.5 x 5.5 inches square.  The Gumball Green Polka Dot embossed panel is 5.25 x5.25 inches.  The Whisper White panel is 4.75" x 4.75" and stamped in Poppy Parade with the flourish from Elements of Style.  The So Saffron panel is 3.75" x 3.75", die cut in the center with a Window Framelit and the scored around the edges at 1/8".  The Island Indigo panel needs to be small enough that it is not visible behind the So Saffron panel and is die cut with a smaller Window Framelit.  The Indigo and Saffron panels are adhered together.  The sentiment is stamped in Stazon Black on Whisper White and the flourish from Elements of Style is inked up in So Saffron, stamped off once and then stamped over the sentiment.  This panel is adhered to the Poppy Parade stamped panel and the Window Framelit panels are popped up on dimensionals and adhered around the sentiment.  

Three sets of Little Leaves are die cut in Gumball Green; flowers are punched from the Itty Bitty Punch pack punch in Poppy Parade.

  

The  humming bird is stamped in So Saffron on Naturals White cs and then fussy cut. To color the bird, you first saturate the cut image in water, folding/squeezing it like a sponge so that it absorbs as much water as possible.  Once soaked, uncrinkle/unfold paper and drop drops on reinker ink onto wet paper and watch ink spread!  To get a ruby colored throat on my hummingbird, I used a paint brush to dab Poppy Parade reinker ink on the spot.  Once inked as desired, put bird in a coffee filter and dry carefully with a heat gun.  Once completely dry, press stamped image onto Versamark pad and then sprinkle with clear ep.  Repeat this process multiple times until desired thickness reached.  To give the bird a golden edge, drag the edges across the Versamark pad and then drag through gold ep; heat. 

That's it for today's Creative Crew projects; hope you can join us!  Have a blessed day!

Lee Ann :)

Products used- All Stampin' Up
Card 1-
Stamps-Elements of Style, Pretty Petites
Paper-Basic Gray, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Fanfair dsp
Ink-Island Indigo, Baja Breeze, Basic Gray
Other-Oval Framelits, Little Leaves die, Petite Curly Label punch, Heart charm(retired), dimensionals, Faceted Vintage button, Very Vanilla Seam Binding, blender pen, Polka Dot ef

Card 2-
Stamps-Swallowtail
Paper-Island Indigo, So Saffron, Basic Black, Whisper White, Natural Composition Specialty dsp
Ink-Versamark, Island Indigo reinker, So Saffron reinker, Black Craft
Other-clear ep, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, paint brush to stipple on Shimmer Paint

Card 3-
Stamps-Easter Blessings, Papillion Potpourri
Paper-Early Espresso, Natural CompositionSpecialty dsp, Very Vanilla
Ink- Versamark, Island Indigo
Other-Pool Party ep, pearls, Butterfly Punch, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Baja Breeze Seam Binding, Island Indigo ribbon, Dazzling Details, Paint brush to stipple on Shimmer Paint

Card 4-
Stamps-Trust God, Elements of Style
Paper-Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, So Saffron, Poppy Parade, Naturals White
Ink-Poppy Parade, So Saffron, Stazon Black, Gumball Green, Island Indigo, Versamark
Other-Clear ep, gold ep, Window Framelits, Simple Scored, Dimensionals, Little Leaves die, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, pearls, white ribbon, Polka Dot ef

China Pattern

Hello All!
It is a beautiful Saturday here and I had an enjoyable morning taking a class with a friend at a local scrapbook store.  It is always a good time when you get a bunch of paper crafting women together! 
Today's Inspiration Challenge at SCS uses a site called Fishs Eddy-strange name, I know!  They do have some cool stuff though, despite their strange name. I have a thing for kitchen stuffs and china.  This vintage restaurant plate caught my eye and gave me my inspiration-

Here is my cas take on this challenge-

This was a simple card to make, but hard to photograph; it may be the person behind the camera as I could not photograph the card I made last night either!  I simply sponged Regal Rose ink over my Little Leaves die cuts, embossed the sentiment in gold, added a bow and added a couple of curly ques made out of thin strips of gold cs, and curled with a quilling tool.

Thanks so much for visiting!  Have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann

Supplies used-
Stamps-Sal-a-bration Elementary Elegance
Paper-Very Vanilla, Brushed Gold
Ink-Regal Rose, Versamark
Other-dimensionals, gold ep, VV seam binding, Apothecary Framelits, Little Leaves die

Colorful Sunday

Happy Sunday to Everyone!  I have a quick post this morning before I get on to other things-sadly, housework.  This is for this week's Color Throwdown 217.

These are some fabulous colors!  Here is my take on the challenge-

 I have not used my set, Everything Eleanor too much, so I thought I would play with that.  I went with a white flower and the Lucky Limeade was perfect for the greenery.  I love the framing affect when using the Framelit Window dies and made mine in Night of Navy.  I hope I have inspired you! 


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

Lee Ann :)

Supplies used-
Stamps-Everything Eleanor
Paper-Whisper White, Night of Navy, Lucky Limeade, Basic Black
Ink-Lucky Limeade, Stazon black
Other-Polka Dot ef, Vintage Wallpaper ef, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Window Framelits, dimensionals 
All Supplies are from Stampin' Up

_________________________________________

Well, so much for housework!!  I couldn't let the weekend get away from me without playing the Featured Stamper challenge at SCS today.  Today's featured stamper has a wonderful gallery and I chose this card to case.  I really enjoy making frames for my images and this card is no exception.  I like how Patty used a die cut as the main focal point in the frame.
This is my take on her card-

Instead of using a die cut as the focal point in the frame, I used a masked image. I ended up blending two colors on the mask as I started out using Buckaroo Blue but quickly realized that the sponge I grabbed had brown on it.  The white frame and sentiment panel are both embossed with the wood grain ef and popped up on dimensionals.  I applied Dazzling Details to the berries, although you really can't see it in the photo and distress Stickles to the pine cone.



Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!


Lee Ann :)

Supplies used-
Stamps-Peaceful Wishes, Gently Falling, Watercolor Winter
Paper-Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Ink-Early Espresso, Always Artichoke, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate chip, Crumb Cake, Buckaroo Blue
Other-Wood grain ef, Window Framelits, dimensionals, Aspen mask (Crafter's Workshop), Stickles, Dazzling Details

Mixing a Little Mojo, Mint and Ribbon

Hello, everyone and welcome to a new week.  It is hard to believe the kids will be trick or treating this week and then we are into November!  Despite the busyness of the upcoming holiday season, it is my favorite time of year.  My card today has a festive winter feel to it.  The sketch is from this week's MOJO Monday challenge-

...And for this week's color challenge at The Play Date Cafe-

...And, at SCS this week, the technique challenge is to weave ribbon.  I have been wanting to do this for some time, so this seemed the perfect opportunity.

Golden Opportunity

The woven ribbon is such a beautiful backdrop, that I left it empty, with the exception, of course, of the floral spray, which I have become obsessed with lately! The soft green color is supposed to be "mint", but the closest I have to mint is Sage Shadow; I hope this counts!

Thanks so much for stopping by and taking a peek!  Have a wonderful day!

Lee Ann

Supplies used Include-

CS-Whisper White, Brushed Gold, Soft Suede, Sage Shadow-Stampin Up

Other-Scalloped Squares die-Spellbinder, Little Leaves Sizzlit-Stampin Up, Rolled Roses die-MFT, Mistletoe die-PTI, ef, white ribbon, pearls, Crystal Snow 

I think I need a Drumroll...

Wow!  I cannot believe it!  This is my 100th post!  Last January, one blog post used to take me around 2 hours; I was so "blog illiterate", if there is such a thing, it was not even funny.  Fast forward, and I have thoroughly enjoyed learning the blogging world-especially when it comes to cards!
Thank you all for your visits and your sweet comments.  I hope to continue to find new challenges, "join" new blogs and meet new people via the internet.  And, I am really hoping to become a part of a challenge team/designer. 
Alright, on to the next project.  I have been waiting for the right color challenge or sketch challenge to try out something new- I came up with a way to make some pretty nifty bittersweet.

Simply Bittersweet

What do you think?  I used the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack and the Little Leaves Sizzlit from Stampin' Up, as well as a standard hole puncher.  As you can see, I cut the leaves off of the die cut to create a vine.  The sketch is courtesy of Less is More .  

The Early Espresso panel is scored, creating 3 rectangles within the panel to follow the sketch. 

To make the bittersweet, both the punched piece from the Punch Pack and the small circle were burnished with the scoring tool, causing the paper to curl.  A tiny bit of dimensional adhesive was placed at the center of the punched paper, and the cupped circle was then placed over that adhesive.  All supplies are Stampin' Up.

I hope you like my project and thanks so much for stopping by!  

Have a blessed week! 

Lee Ann

Supplies used for this card-

Stamps-Trust God

CS-Whisper White, Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze

Ink-Early Espresso

Other-Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Simply Scored, Dimensionals, standard paper punch

More Inspiration

This week's inspiration at Inspired By is this wonderful retro image-

Boy, I new this one was going to be fun.  I tried the featured technique at SCS this week, which is faux tarnished silver.  I thought it worked perfectly for mimicking the silver accents on the typewriter.

The faux silver technique was fun and easy to do.  I will definitely be using this technique again.
Supplies used include:
CS-Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
Ink-Soft Suede, Daffodil Delight, Versamark
Stamps-Everything Eleanor
Other-Little Leaves die, Window framelits, Chevron ef, silver ep, utee, mask, Mr. Huey spray, scroll work die MFT, Royal Roses dies MFT, ribbon

Thanks so much for stopping by; I hope you like this project!

Lee Ann  :)

Window on a Fabulous Color Combo!

I know that many will not feel as I do, but I love the color Starfruit!  I have seen many great color combos including Starfruit, but I happened upon Summer Starfruit, Black and Poppy Parade today.  LOVE it!  I played around with another inspiration challenge at SCS this afternoon and also played The Paper Player's challenge this week-to incorporate a frame in our projects.

Engelbreit Window Frame

I titled this "Engelbreit Window Frame" because it has a bit of a "Mary Engelbreitesque" look to it with the color scheme, polka dots and rolled rose. While last week was a bit of a struggle,  I feel like I have gotten my MOJO back with this card. 

Products used include-

Paper-Whisper White, Summer Starfruit, Poppy Parade, Basic Gray, dsp (Patio Party and Designer pack-neutrals)

Stamp Set-Trust God

Ink-Stazon Black

Other-Window Framelits, large scallop circle punch (to make the flower), Little Leaves die, White Baker's twine, polka dot ef, dimensionals

I had so much fun making this card and it is easy to reproduce as will as change up the color scheme.  

Thanks so much for checking out my project and have a Blessed week!

Lee Ann :)

Inspirational Challenge

I love the Inspiration Challenges at SCS.  They tend to take you where you would normally not go and inspire creativity.  This week was no exception.  When I first saw the inspiration web site, I was hesitant.  But, ith an open mind, I found a photo that I liked, and created.  My inspiration photo is below-

                                 


                                    

Here is the card that came from this botanical print, above-

Most of this is punches; only the sentiment is stamped in white craft ink.  The sentiment is from the Word Play set.  The card base is Basic Black and the Wild Wasabi leaves are cut with the Little Leaves die.  The white flowers are punched from the Bitty Punch Pack and a yellow-colored pearl sits in the center of each flower.  The card is scored around the edge and has 3 score lines to the black layer at the top of the card.  Daffodil Delight ribbon finishes off the card. 

Other supplies used-
Simply Scored, Chocolate Chip CS, Scalloped Edge Punch

Woo Hoo! It's Spring Break!

I am so excited that it is spring break and I anticipate having LOTS of time to craft!  Today I tried out 2 punch art cards.  I CASEd the bunny punch art and redesigned the card itself.  The other, the wreath, I designed myself and made it for the challenge at ColourQ this week. 

I absolutely love greens.  This color challenge was made for me!  I do not have Going Gray, so I had to substitute with an unknown gray from my cardstock stash. 

This card uses Stampin' Up's Little Leaves die and the 4 petal punch from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack punch set.  I have used the greens in the challenge- Stampin' Up Glorious Green, Certainly Celery and Wild Wasabi.  The sentiment is from the Trendy Trees Stampin' Up set.  The bow is white Baker's Twine.  The flower centers are made by coloring with a Daffodil Delight marker and then adding a tiny white pearl to the center. 

 This Easter bunny was made using Stampin' Up's ornament punch, large oval punch, 1/2 inch circle punch, hearts punch, circle from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack, and the tiny circles from the hole punch on the Crop-A-Dile.  The Bunny Body is a 1 3/4 inch scallop circle punch. 
The cardstock used is Calypso Coral and Whisper White and the dsp is from the Sale-a-bration pack from Stampin' Up.  The grass is stamped in Lucky Limeade (Inspired by Nature stamp set) and the butterfly was made with the Beautiful Wings embosslit from Stampin' Up. 

Thanks so much for looking and, as always, your comments are greatly appreciated!