It's Been A While....

....since I played along with the CAS(E) This Sketch and ColourQ. I found myself with some free time this week so was excited to create again using their inspiration.

For my CAS(E) This Sketch card, I used the Hero Arts Large Lotus stencil with my favorite colors - Limeade Ice, Aqua Mist, and Hawaiian Shores - along the top part of the card panel. I stamped the large sentiment from MFT and added some matching enamel dots. I added a strip of black at the top to anchor the design at the top of the card. 

Second card is inspired by this week's ColourQ palette. These colors are perfect for Halloween but I rarely use Halloween cards so I wanted to make another type of card. 

Since these colors are so bright and cheerful, I thought they'd be perfect for a birthday card. I stamped my bold sentiment from Mama Elephant in the center in black using my MISTI to get a nice dark image. Then I stamped various sunbursts from MFT around the sentiment. I matted the stamped panel with black and then adhered to the Amethyst Allure card base. I never would have put these colors together myself but love how it turned out. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

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New to Splatters

So here's my story of my splattered card.... 

I was so taken by the pretty colors at ColourQ this week that I had to make a second card. For my card, I stamped various flowers from MFT Sketched Blooms along the bottom of a white card panel in PTI Enchanted Evening, Melon Berry, Sweet Blush, and used New Leaf to color in the petals. I nestled the sentiment from But somehow I ended up with two little black ink dots unintentionally. Hmmmm, what to do? 

I had already stamped these blooms several times and this was the first one that had no stamping smudges on the flowers (this is what happens to me when I craft until 2am!). In the past I've tried using white gel pen to correct stray ink but have never been completely successful with this correction technique. Then I remembered Lizzie Jones' Mastering Drips and Splatters video from last week's Stamp-A-Faire at PTI. The stray ink spots looked like ink splatters so I thought I should add a few more to make it look more artsy and intentional. 

So I created some extra splatters using black watercolor paint and a touch of water using Lizzie's techniques in the video. My problem is that my splatters ended up in the one place I did not want - ON my sentiment. UGH! 

Oh well. I still love how it looks overall but that one splatter on the S is killing me! :) 

I finished the card off with a strip of Melon Berry striped paper on the bottom of the stamped panel to ground the flowers before adding it to the Enchanted Evening card base. 

I'm glad I tried the splatter technique which is so out of my comfort zone and will definitely try again!  So glad PTI gave us an opportunity to try and share our Masters Inspired creations for this SAF remix.  Thanks for popping in! Have a great weekend. 

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ColourQ #353

Sharing a card I made with the pretty color combo at ColourQ this week. For some reason I am always drawn to color combos that have some blue in it... 

My card features a cluster of arrows around the TY sentiment, all from PTI Live Love Life. I used the Tipped Tops dies to add some interest to the two panels on the pink card base. 

Finished another card with this color combo and will post soon. Thanks for stopping by! 

Twas The Day Before....

Hello -

Weekend is here! I'm sharing a few cards I made last night before the madness of Papertrey's StampAFaire tomorrow. So excited for all the inspiration and fun PTI has planned.

First card is using this week's PTI Make It Monday technique Spritzed Stamps. I inked and spritzed the tree image from PTI Through The Trees in one corner of the watercolor paper panel. Sentiment is from KIS:Thinking of You. I added a tilted piece of Spring Moss underneath the stamped panel before adhering to Simply Chartreuse card base.

 I love how the water creates variations in color even though I only used Simply Chartreuse for the leaves.

Second card is inspired by the gorgeous color palette at ColourQ this week - Love the deep colors paired with gold. 

I masked off different sections along the frame and ink blended the challenge colors. Colors so vibrant in real life. Die cut THANKS from MFT. 

My last card was inspired by this week's fun sketch challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch:

I stamped the "arrow" image (don't know what else to call it) from PTI Teach & Inspire in Stormy Sea, Tropical Teal, Mint Julep, and Aqua Mist. I used my MISTI to stamp each color several times so each arrow's color was bold. Instead of a double ended banner like in the sketch, I used one of the Happy One-Liner dies in Stormy Sea on top of the row of arrows. I double mounted the stamped panel to highlight the gorgeous color palette. I contemplated stamping or heat embossing the word 'birthday' under the banner on top of the teal arrow but wasn't sure how it would stand out enough. Will probably add the 'birthday' before I send it out. 

That's all for now. Hope to be back tomorrow with more cards. Thanks for popping in! 

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Happy Friday!

Hello friends! Happy Friday! Feels like its been a LONG week but I ended it with some crafty time so all is good.

First up is a card inspired by this week's ColourQ challenge. These colors are happy and bright so a birthday card was in order.

I used a Tim Holtz flower stencil and placed it on an angle on white cardstock and sponged the various ink colors onto the flower areas. I cut it off and added it to an Aqua Mist card base. Finishing touch was one of the  Everyday Happiness dies and sentiment. So bright and cheerful and perfect for my aunt's birthday. 

I've also been watching the videos in the Heat Wave online class this week. So many great projects but I'm finding the tips each teacher gives in the videos are so valuable. 

This first card was inspired by Kristina Werner's Basics video for an partially embossed one layer card. I used my favorite go-to PTI Snowflake Flurries set to form a sunburst border in Aqua Mist, Dark Chocolate, and Hawaiian Shores. I embossed in gold some smaller and partial sunbursts as well as the sentiment. Love the look of regular inked images with the gold embossing. Forgot all about this design trick until I saw Kristina's video and sample project (which I can't seem to link here) which is so gorgeous and CAS. 

And since I'm on an embossing roll, I made another card inspired by Kathy Racoosin's embossed resist lesson and Laurie Willison's PTI release gorgeous project below. 

Unfortunately I've been using a few sympathy cards lately so I made another one to add to my stash. 

I didn't have the Outline stamp set she used so I heat embossed the frame from PTI Fillable Frames Additions 2 in white on watercolor paper. I wanted them to overlap a little for a more organic look to the background. I feel like purples are appropriate for sympathy cards so I added water to smears of Royal Velvet, Winter Wisteria, and Amethyst Allure on my craft mat and painted over the embossed watercolor paper. I added a layer butterfly to the center like Laurie's pineapple but didn't have a small diecut sentiment to use so I stamped it in one of the frames and added rainstones in a diagonal from the sentiment to butterfly and up - kinda like Laurie did. But in hindsight it might have looked better if the sentiment and rainstones were in the same direction as the paintstrokes. Didn't really think of it until now. Oh well. 

OK, that's it for me. I've got to pack as I am headed out for the weekend to meet up with my sister and her family at an amusement park. Hope you have a great weekend and stay cool. Thanks for popping in. 

ColourQ #349

Checking in with a quick card I made late last night. Hubby away in CA and I never sleep well while he's gone so I spend my late night hours cleaning or crafting until I'm so exhausted I can't help but fall asleep!

I used a paisley from new PTI Woodblock Prints stamps and created a background inspired by this week's ColourQ palette. I cut a split in the background to make room for a die cut sentiment from PTI.

Here's another card made with a simpler design. 

Thanks for popping in! Have a great weekend. 

Another ColourQ # 348

Popping in with a quick birthday card inspired by the ColourQ challenge this week. I used the fun banner from PTI Choose Joy to stamp within a stitched panel and matted it with Green Parakeet to make it pop against the dark blue.

Thanks for stopping by! Long weekend here because of Independence Day so excited to spend some time with my family. Have a good weekend too! 

CAS(E) & ColourQ

Happy Wednesday! So happy I got some crafty time in today while the girls were at camp. Wanted to share a card I made inspired by this week's CAS(E) This Sketch and ColourQ challenges.

I'm building up my stash of Thank You cards. For my card I used a swirlie and butterfly from the Catherine Pooler Beautiful World collection. I added an extra butterfly from PTI Beautiful Butterflies, some enamel dots, and sentiment from PTI Thank You Kindly. 

Thanks for popping in! Have a great week. 

ColourQ #343 Take 2

Hope everyone in the US is enjoying this long weekend. Quick share of another card for this week's ColourQ challenge. Love the elegance of this color combination. 

I had an extra gold embossed panel from my creating my last card so thought I'd put it good use by making another card. This time I created a thanks card using my lovely new MFT thanks die. I added a few black enamel dots because, well, I love them. 

Be sure to come back on Tuesday for the new CASology challenge - lots of fun this coming week!

ColourQ #343

Happy Hump Day! I'm playing along with the ColourQ challenge this week using some of my new goodies. I'm loving the elegance of this color combination!

For my card, I cut a smaller panel of  PTI Berry Sorbet and embossed it with MFT Abstract Background in gold and tilted it on the black card base. I'm loving the MFT FABULOUS die - such a great font. I added a little banner embossed with You Are (part of a sentiment from an MFT coffee stamp set).

Really love how this card turned out! Might try it in other colors. 

Thanks for taking a peek and enjoy the rest of your week!

MFT Flashy Florals

So excited to get the new MFT Flashy Florals kit. This is my first ever kit from MFT and I love that ink, paper, dies, and stamps are all packaged together so nicely. I was inspired to make a card using this set by my friend Tracey's pretty MUSE challenge card this week and the fun colors at ColourQ.

I was inspired Tracey's simple design and placement of her flowers and sentiment. To make it my own, I used a die cut THANKS instead of heat embossing in gold and added a few dry embossed lines on the upper left and bottom right for interest. 

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend. 

Three on Thursday

Checking in finally with some non-DT cards. Been crazy these past couple of weeks with family, Mother's Day and my birthday. Both days within a week of each other so my kids are extra nice to me. Got a FitBit so I've been a little obsessed with getting my steps and workouts in. :)

First card was inspired by this week's ColourQ challenge. I used the Catherine Pooler's Enchanted Garden and the All About You sets from her last Stamp of Approval kit. I masked off a diagonal line and stamped a flower image in the challenge colors. I added two thin strips of matching cardstock and the die cut You. 

Second card was inspired by the One Layer Simplicity Fruit Smoothie Challenge. My stamp stash is limited to apples. I again masked off a section of the card and stamped a pattern of apples from PTI Back to School, added a stitched line from PTI Sew Simple Borders and the sentiment from Catherine Pooler All About You. Gonna use this card for my end of year thank you gift for one of my daughters' teacher. 

Last card was inspired by both this week's CAS(E) This Sketch and Inspired By All The Little Things challenges. Love the colors in the Inspired challenge. 

I embossed the front of a cardbase made from Simon Says Stamp Smoke cardstock (my favorite grey!) with a small triangle pattern embossing folder from Lifestyle Crafts. I cut out a few triangles from PTI Smokey Shadow, Orange Zest, Soft Stone, and October Afternoon patterned paper and arranged them in a cluster inspired by the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge. Added a die cut HAPPY and stamped birthday. 

So much fun creating...I'm due happy mail package from PTI and MFT soon so more to play with (not that I really need more!!). Thanks for popping in! Have a great day. 

ColourQ Duo

Happy Saturday! Sharing two cards inspired by the gorgeous ColourQ palette this week.

I used the tiny dotted lines stamp from PTI Ombre Builders to stamp a background which I matted with black to make the colors stand out. I added the sentiment from Simon Says Stamp in black and added a few coordinating enamel dots to the panel as if they were cascading down. 

My second card was for last week's ColourQ challenge which I completely forgot to post. I had left the card on my craft table and completely forgot about it! Totally late for the challenge but loved the result so much I wanted to share it. 

I used PTI Friendly Flowers stamped on kraft cardstock and sentiment from PTI Thank You Kindly. Before I adhered the stamped panel on the card base with foam tape, I wrapped some red jute string around for texture. 

Hope you are having a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by! 

Spring Has Sprung!

Hi friends! Spring has finally come here in NJ and its all of a sudden hard to stay inside. Did get a chance to make two cards yesterday.

First card is for a new challenge blog called Inspired by All The Little Things. Such a pretty inspiration photo no? Just the kind of tea party I'd love to attend!

I was inspired by the golden edge on the tea cups and as well as the pretty decorated cookies. 

I stamped PTI Circle Scribbles in Gold Delicata ink. I layered die cut butterflies - bottom in Sweet Blush pink and the top in PTI bitty dot vellum (so sturdy and thick!). Added a few pearls to the center to cover up the foam tape. 

Second card is inspired by the bright colors at ColourQ this week. I decided to use the bright colors in small doses. I masked a circle and sponged in Heidi Swapp Mint in for a background. Stamped a flower from PTI Be in Melon Berry and Simply Chartreuse. Sentiment is from Thank You Kindly in Memento Danube Blue. I added some striped Melon Berry patterned paper on both sides for some added color. 

Hope Spring has reached your neck of the woods! Thanks for popping in!