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: Cure for the Monday Blues

I stumbled across another card challenge this week and decided to participate. This involved taking inspiration from an image provided in the blog post. Apparently, this is a regular feature on this blog, and I thought it would be fun to play along. Here's the image:

The colors alone are enough to cure Monday blues! I knew right away that I wanted to incorporate a lot of white space with the yellow stripe at the top. I also wanted to include the pink and turquoise and somehow use circles. Here's what I did:

I started with watercolor paper, and used Distress Ink in Squeezed Lemonade with a little water to paint the yellow stripe across the top. I roughed up the edges of the paper with my Tim Holtz distresser. The flower image was stamped on a piece of white cardstock and colored with pencils. The dots are stamped with some old-school Stampin' Up! inks. I mounted the stamped panel on some matching turquoise cardstock, then adhered it to the watercolor panel. That was then mounted on a pink cardstock base. The sentiment was stamped on a scrap of white cardstock with the ends notched to make a banner. That was mounted on yellow and put on top of the card with some dimensional adhesive dots to make it stand up a little from the card base.

I am quite happy with the way it turned out - I love the bright colors! It was also an interesting experience for me to look for inspiration in an image that had nothing to do with stamping. I enjoyed the whole thing, from beginning to end!

Happy crafting!

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

Mission: Stash Reduction

Here are a few more cards I've made recently, trying to find ways to use some of my "stuff". These aren't going to win any awards, but they are still fun to do. I've also enjoyed using stamps that have been gathering dust for a while.

The stamp of the little boy splashing in the rain (from Stampin' Up!) makes me smile. This stamp is part of a set that I've had for a loooong time. I pulled out my colored pencils and had some good old-fashioned coloring fun with it.

Next is a card with very little stamping (just the thx), but several layers - an excellent way to use up that paper! I also pulled out some washi tape and a button to add some interest.

This last card has a similar look to the last one, with layers, washi tape and a button. I created my own patterned paper (the blue) by stamping with a very similar color to the background.

All these cards will go to Operation Write Home. I hope they are enjoyed by someone else!

Happy Crafting!

Immi