Cure for the Monday Blues Challenge #18

I'm back with my take on the challenge issued this past Monday based on this image:

I drew inspiration from the dots on the pegboard, the colors orange and turquoise, and the black circle with white text on the jar. There is a lot to look at here, so I needed to whittle it down a little bit! Here's what I did:

I used a white card base, adding some orange textured paper as my background. I was excited to find some black dotted tape in my stash, which seemed like the perfect nod to the dots on the pegboard in the photo. I used a small alphabet stamp set to stamp the word "hello" in Ranger's white pigment ink on some black cardstock. I embossed the letters with white embossing powder. (I was careful to brush powder with my EK Success Powder Tool to keep the embossing powder from sticking all over the paper - just to my stamped letters.) After stamping and heat embossing, I used a circle punch to get that perfect circle. Believe me, there's no way I can cut anything as nice as a punch can do in no time! 

After mounting the circle on the card front, I wanted to include a little of the turquoise (seen in the stack of washi tape in the original photo). I pulled out some tiny buttons I have, and used three - groups of odd numbers are more pleasing to the eye than even numbers. I attached the buttons with Glossy Accents, which holds so well.

This is much more clean cut and graphic than what I usually do, but I enjoyed the challenge.

Happy crafting!

Immi

Challenge: Botanical

The Monday Challenge Team over at Simon Says Stamp issued a challenge today with a botanical theme. There are some really nice samples of artwork created by the team members. I decided to make a card to answer the challenge.

I started with the Watercolor Garden set from Stampin' Up. I wanted to try to create a garden scene or a bouquet of flowers, but I've never had success at that type of stamping. I ended up creating a background, though, that I really liked. I used  Distress Inks on my stamps and lightly misted them with water before stamping on the paper, creating a slightly watercolored effect. It really didn't look like much until I added a script stamp, also from Stampin' Up! on top of the flowers. I used Distress Ink in Vintage Photo which is quite dark, also spritzing with water before stamping. I am very happy with the way the water blurred the script - I just think it's a cool look.

I cut a couple of very thin strips of brown to "frame" the stamped paper, and mounted everything on a green cardstock base. The sentiment is from a Tim Holtz set, called Simple Sayings. After cutting my strip of cardstock with notched ends, I added Distress Ink in Worn Lipstick using a foam blender, I also used a little Tea Dye Distress Ink over that. I mounted the sentiment strip on a piece of mustard colored cardstock and notched the ends. I glued it to the card front at an angle, and then added the punched bird, using a tiny bead for the eye. I will admit that I'm not too thrilled with the bird, but what's done is done!

Till next time,

Immi

Challenge: M

I enjoy following several blogs to learn from what others are doing. It's a great way to find out about techniques or new products (although that can be dangerous to the pocketbook!).

Simon Says Stamp issues a new challenge every Monday. Today's challenge is to create something inspired by the letter "M". I thought it would be fun to participate, and decided to work with a favorite ink/paper color from my Stampin' Up! days called "More Mustard". I don't know if it's even currently being produced any more, but I still have my ink pad and some of the paper left. It's a great color that plays well with other colors or stands alone, too.

I decided to make a card, using More Mustard card stock as the base. I used a Tim Holtz stencil, aptly named "Honeycomb" with his Distress Ink in Scattered Straw to create an interesting design on the card front. I stamped a sunflower in black Archival ink by Ranger, then used Stampin' Up! reinkers in More Mustard, Summer Sun, Cameo Coral, Garden Green, Mellow Moss & Lovely Lilac with a water brush to create a watercolor look. I added some additional depth with colored pencils once that was dry. And, just for fun, I used my Wink of Stella glitter pen on the butterfly and flower center for a little sparkle. The watercolored panel was mounted on some pink card stock and then I added the sentiment from a Tim Holtz stamp set.

This was a fun card to do, and I enjoyed having a starting place with the challenge.

Happy crafting!

Immi