Bugs and Kisses Color Challenge

It’s been a while since I’ve had time to play along with one of Kristina’s color challenges.  So today, on this gorgeous day outside, the baby and I stayed inside.  Good and bad.  Sure would’ve loved to enjoy the  beautiful weather and watch my hubby do the yard work (yes, watch, I do the flowers and he does the rest) and play with the older kids, but the baby needed me inside and so ‘we’ stamped and it was great fun. 

I have a few little boys birthdays coming up so with that in mind I went to Kristina’s color challenge and began playing.  I decided right away that I wanted to do an unusual layout, use the circle scissors plus, and use the Bugs & Kisses stamp set.  I pulled out the colors of cardstock and inks from the challenge and sat and sat and sat.  I just couldn’t decide where to start with the layout!  I finally decided to just go ahead and cut a circle, which led to stamping the bugs in rows, which led to layering the circles, and then I sat and sat and sat.  Remember that unusual layout I wanted?  Ya, wasn’t feelin’ it.  So I turned my focus onto the background and challenged myself NOT to use Designer Paper (I seriously have an addiction to DSP!) so that left me where?  I wanted to incorporate some kind of round aspect to mimic the bugs circle.  But my go-to fave background stamp (Polka Dot) has retired, so I decided to keep thinking.  That’s when I decided to do the Big Shot texturz plate but knew I wanted more.  That’s when it hit me to make my own DSP with a baby wipe and reinkers and Whisper White CS.  Hence, the stripes.  I grabbed an envelope and striped the bottom inch of that and then grabbed an inside layer for the card and striped that!  Fun!  The rest of the card came together pretty easily and an hour and a half later (yes, I know it doesn’t look like a card that should take an hour and a half but remember all that sitting and thinking I was doing?!?!) I had this simple layout, bright and fun birthday card!  Hope you like it and I hope the recipient and his mom do too.  So T.R. pretend you didn’t see this post! 

The colors for the challenge:

My creation:

Supplies
Stamp Sets:
Bugs & Kisses
Paper:
Real Red
Tempting Turquoise
So Saffron
Chocolate Chip
Whisper White
Inks:
Tempting Turquoise marker,  pad, & refill
Real Red marker, pad, & refill
Chocolate Chip marker, pad, & refill
So Saffron pad & refill
Accessories/ Embellishments:
Tempting Turquoise brads
large oval punch
circle scissors & glass mat
baby wipe
paper snips
Big Shot
Texturz Plate
blender pen
dimensionals
 

Two Challenges, One Card

Two posts for you all today!!  This card covers both the mojomonday challenge and the papercraftplanet challenge I put forth today.  Ultimately, I like the card a lot but it is definitely not a layout or colors I would’ve done on a ‘regular stamping day’! LOL  But that is exactly why I do challenges – to get me out of my comfort zone and really look at all the awesome products SU! has to offer me (that I can never say ‘no’ to!).

First the sketch:

Second, the color challenge:

Third, my cards:
 

I started by stamping a 5 1/4" x 4" sheet of Bashful Blue CS with Pacific Point ink and the dots stamp from the new Trendy Trees stamp set.  I mounted that onto a piece of 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Green Galore CS.  Next I took a piece of 4" x 1 3/4" piece of Pacific Point CS and used the scallop edge punch on it.  I then mounted a piece of 1" x 4" To The Nines Specialty Designer Paper to that piece and mounted on the Bashful Blue layer.  The next layer is Green Galore again – at 3-1/8" x 3-5/8".  On top of this, more To The Nines DSP (2-1/2" x 3") and a piece of Whisper White CS (1" x 3").  I wrapped a piece of Pacific Point striped grosgrain ribbon around the Whisper White piece and added 3 of my new favorite "go to" accessories (5/16" brads).   The next layer up is Pacific Point (2-1/8" x 2-1/8") followed by Whisper White (2" x 2").  On this 2" square of Whisper White I used my blender pen with Gable Green ink to give the look of grass.  Then I used my aquapainter with Bashful Blue ink and Pacific Point ink on the top to make the sky.  I stamped the trees (again from Trendy Trees) in Chocolate Chip, Green Galore, and Gable Green ink and cut them out and mounted them with dimensionals.  I couldn’t decide if I should stop there or not.

So… then i took my Wow Flowers stamp set and inked up the "thank you" with my Chocolate Chip and Green Galore markers, stamped it on Whisper White CS, and punched it out with a 1-1/4" circle punch.  I layered that onto a 1-3/8" Green Galore circle.  I then punched a 1/8" circle of Pacific Point CS and glued it with my 2 way glue pen into the center of the flower and topped it off with a dab of crystal effects.  And finally added this piece to the finished card with a dimensional.

Hope you like it!  Let me know what you think – with or without the sentiment?  LOL

Mixing Old & New

I’m back!  After battling a cold, a busy weekend with the family, school vacation this week and pulling a muscle in my back yesterday, I finally have a minute to post something for you all.    And I thought since it had been a while since my last post I’d show you my favorite creation in the last week (not that there was a ton of creating in the past week unfortunately!).

So here’s one of the two layouts the girls did in my Scrapbook Class last night.  The title of this post is Mixing Old & New – let me explain. 

The Old: Sale-A-Bration rub-ons from last year.
The New: To The Nines Textured Designer paper
                  Flower Brads
                  5/16" brads
                  The Big Shot & Birds & Blooms Sizzlits

I hope you like it!

Page One

Page Two

And for the close-ups:

 
(The white in the middle of the flower brad was added with a white gel pen.)

A Pink Striped Hippo…

So, another place I often look to for inspiration is a website called Mojo Mondays.  This site doesn’t do Color Challenges but rather sketch/layout ones.  It’s a great place to go for inspiration and the Mojo Team gives fabulous samples.  I especially thought Maria’s was super cute so I ran with hers!  

So, that’s where I went today when I needed a second make and take card for my workshop tonight (gotta love the last minute thing, huh?!? not!).  But as usual the Mojo site came in very handy and here’s my creation for Mary and friends tonight – hope they like it!

Supplies
Stamp Sets:
Pun Fun
Wow Flowers
Paper:
Real Red
Candy Lane DSP
Whisper White
Close to Cocoa
Inks:
Black Stazon
Close to Cocoa
Real Red marker
Accessories:
5/16" Neutrals brad
1" circle punch
1-1/4" circle punch
paper snips
2 way glue pen
dazzling diamonds gliter
dimensionals
 

Kristina’s 41st Color Challenge

These are difficult colors for me to work with yet I absolutely love them together and how sharp they look together.  This is my first attempt… I think I’ll play a little longer and make a few tweaks to this card.  What d’ya think?  I loosely followed the sketch challenge 214 on SCS and of course stuck with Kristina’s colors: Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Basic Gray, and Whisper White.