Playing with Challenging Sketches

As I mentioned in my last post, I made five cards on Wednesday. I'm not sharing two of them--they're SO bad!!--but I'll share these two. 

I was playing along with The Paper Players sketch for challenge number 501 and really struggled with it. The diagonal element in particular stymied me quite a bit. 

I finally settled on the card above, but it still felt a little too busy to my CAS loving heart. 

So, I made card number four:

Same stamps, same sentiment, but with fewer layers. I think the card above this is lovely, no question, and I really do like the combination of Granny Apple Green with Gorgeous Grape (which is such a rich color). My life is so cluttered and busy lately, this simpler card appeals more. :shrug:

Here's to less time on screens, less time scrolling, and more time being creative. It feeds my soul in a way electronics just don't. 

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Stamp Sets: Sweet Essentials, Summer Silhouettes, Branch Out (butterflies)

Paper: Heavy Whisper White, Gorgeous Grape

Ink: Granny Apple Green, Gorgeous Grape, Pool Party

Branching Out My Creative Muscles (see what I did there??)

I've not been as good about crafting as I had hoped to be, getting distracted by my tiny handheld computer screen (I'm looking at you, iPhone old friend). After a quick day trip to the mountains failed to remove the weight of anxiety and bluh I was feeling, I put my phone down.

Not completely. It's a bad habit, you see. I pick it up when I need a quick distraction (because IG is just so darn FUN!) and then get sucked in. This week, when I find myself starting to scroll, I've been doing something crafty instead.

I've done a lot of coloring (SU! Blends are so delightful to color with!), and today (after Lissie once again poked and prodded ;oP) I decided to see what I could do with this week's challenge over at The Paper Players.

When I used to play along, I found color and theme challenges fairly easy to do while sketches often stymied me.

This week was this sketch:

*GULP*

A sketch.

Of course it would be a sketch. 

:insert laughing face here:

I made five cards. Three of them were okay and two were awful. 

But, wait, I made FIVE cards! When was the last time I sat down and did that?!? And, you know what? Even with the two horrible duds, I had FUN!! :oD When was the last time I said I really had fun scrolling on IG? 

So, once again, thank you, Paper Players, for inspiring me to stretch my creative muscles and have fun getting inky and messy. :o)  

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Stamp Sets: Branch Out, Sweet Essentials

Paper: Heavy Whisper White

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Granny Apple Green, Lemon Lime Twist, Poppy Parade, Mango Melody, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Memento Tuxedo Black

Miscellaneous: dimensionals

How To:

*I inked up my D block with Coastal Cabana, stamped off twice and then used it to create the background

*The sentiment is a mashup of two in the Sweet Essentials set. I covered the words I didn't want to stamp with washi tape, inked the word I wanted, and then peeled the tape off. I had to use the Stamp-A-Majig because there was NO WAY I was positioning those words where I wanted them otherwise!

More Summer Silhouettes

So, have you ever made a card, been pleased with how it's going and then get a smudge of ink where you REALLY don't want it? 

Yup, that's what happened with this card.  I had stamped the focal square using Gumball Green, masked it off using some washi tape, and stamped the leaves from "Summer Silhouettes" and I'll be darned if the mask wasn't big enough and I didn't wind up with ink in the upper right hand corner.  ARGH!!

I had stamped these flowers in Raspberry Ripple (stamped off first) and fussy cut them out, and figured I could use them somehow to cover my mistake.  Perfect!

I made a second version placing the sentiment in a different location. 

I think both cards work, and like the white space in the one on the left, while the one on the right seems a bit more balanced.  Hm. 

Some other details.  While I stamped off to get the lighter colored flowers, I used the Raspberry Ripple again to add the centers to the flowers.  That's also RR on the small blossoms on the leaves.  I stamped them without using my Stamp-a-ma-jig and am thinking I would have been better off doing so.  Oh well.  Live and learn. 

--Rach

This card uses:

*Stamp Sets: "Sweet Essentials", "Summer Silhouettes"
*Papers: PTI's white card card stock, Raspberry Ripple
*Inks: Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green
*Accessories: dimensionals

Another Challenge Card for PP158

I cannot get enough of these colors!  This is the most fun I have had with a color challenge in a long time!  I had scraps and bits of flotsam littering my desk and decided to use them to create yet another card for The Paper Players color challenge. 

I love the "Secret Garden" stamp set and coordinating framelits and thought they would make a lovely birthday card for my friend. 

I stamped them in Strawberry Slush and Crisp Cantaloupe and then colored them using the same colors and blender pens. 

I ran a piece Pear Pizzazz card stock through the Big Shot using the Woodgrain embossing folder and created a banner using it.  It just needed a bit of texture and I wanted to mimic the more natural element of the flowers.

Because I wanted to create dimension and staggered height, I adhered the bottom flower flat, the next one using one dimensional, and then stacked two dimensionals high on the top flower. 

I then ran a piece of white card stock through my Fancy Fan embossing folder and hit it with vanilla Smooch Spritz.  Can you see the shimmer in the photo?  It's hard to capture it's so subtle--yet beautiful. 

I added a banner backed by Crisp Cantaloupe and the sentiment stamped in Pear Pizzazz and finished it off with a small pearl.  Boy I've been running through pearls of late...;o)

Now to address it and get it mailed off. 

--Rach

This card uses:

*Stamp Sets: "Secret Garden", "Sweet Essentials"
*Papers: PTI's white card stock, Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe
*Inks: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pear Pizzazz, Strawberry Slush
*Accessories: blender pens, pearls, Secret Garden framelits, vanilla smooch spritz, Woodgrain embossing folder, Fancy Fan embossing folder, dimensionals

A Flourishing Color Challenge

Do you ever sit and look at color challenges and think, "What in the world am I going to do with this?!?" 

This was NOT the case when I saw Sandy's color challenge over at The Paper Players.  I saw those gorgeous colors (Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush, Pear Pizzazz) and knew at once it was time to get out a set that had yet to see ink.

I pulled out my markers, inked it up and stamped it a couple of times on the paper and then sat and looked at it.

And looked at it.

And looked at it. 

It was gorgeous, but what in the world was I going to do with it now that I had created it?? I HATE that!

Hm.  Maybe a bit of shimmering Smooch Spritz would help inspire me...

Nope.  Now it was extra beautiful and feminine, but I was still clueless.  I really hate that!

Then, I decided, why not just leave it be, let it stand on its own?

Perfect!

I mounted it on a piece of Strawberry Slush, added the sentiment from "Sweet Essentials" (LOVE this set!), backed that with a piece of Crisp Cantaloupe, and finished the whole thing off by adding some pearls.  

Sometimes, I guess you just need to sit and look at something for a couple of days and then inspiration will strike.  :oP

--Rach

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This card uses:

*Inks: Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush, Pear Pizzazz
*Papers: Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe
*Stamp Sets: "Flowering Flourishes", "Sweet Essentials"
*Accessories: pearls, Smooch Spritz

Of Crafting with DSP

Sometimes when I'm making cards, the Designer Series Paper (DSP) calls to me more than a stamp.  There is a stamp that coordinates with this gorgeous DSP, but I was more interested in using the paper. 

Okay, time for the truth here: Lissie and I had been crafting all day and into the evening and we were both fatiguing.  However, we knew our time to make cards together was dwindling, so we were determined to keep going.  When we get together, I ask what she wants to work on/with, and we had a list a mile long.  We were both utterly in love with the "Eastern Elegance" DSP and decided we wanted to make cards showcasing it.  Since we were both on overload at this point in the evening, and since the paper really is so beautiful, I decided we would let the paper do all the work for us.  I created three cards using the DSP and am so happy every time I look at them. :o)

There are so many different ways to use DSP and to highlight it.   With this last card, I very carefully used my 3/4" square punch, centering the parts of the paper I wanted.  I assure, this was NOT a random punching. ;o)

(Obviously I must have been in a hurry when I snapped the photos since they aren't even straight...:sigh:)

There are so many different ways to us DSP, I'm so glad we were tired that evening that I couldn't think of anything else to do.  ;o)
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These cards use:

*Papers: "Eastern Elegance" DSP, Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Coastal Cabana
*Inks: Smoky Slate, Coastal Cabana
*Stamp Sets: "Sweet Essentials", "Curly Cute"
*Accessories: pearls, square punch, scalloped edge punch

--Rach

CAS Butterfly of Hope

The sketch over at The Paper Players has been rolling around in my head and I keep thinking of ways I can play with it. And, because I played with it, I just had to enter it...

Yesterday afternoon I was determined to use this butterfly--this utterly gorgeous butterfly I've never been able to use well--and make a lovely card.

I'm not sure where the inspiration came from, but I decided instead of using a paper circle behind the butterfly, I would sponge a sky for her.

I cut my paper sized to match my card face (3 7/8"x 5 1/8"), and placed my circle Nestie where I wanted my circle to be on my card.  I then taped the mask I made to my card face and sponged the circle using Pool Party. 

Now, I tried Soft Sky first, but it just wasn't bright enough.  However, sponging the Pool Party straight up was too intense.  Sooooo, I got some ink on the sponge (straight from the stamp pad), stamped off a couple of times and then hit my card face with the ink.  It made for a softer, subtler sky--like a really hot intense humid sky...not that I would know anything about those around these parts...:oP

I decided the best way to use the butterfly would be with her fussy cut out.  However, I knew I only wanted her partially popped up, so I stamped her once on the circle (with her right wing hanging outside the space), and then adhered her, using squishy dimensionals under her wings.

I futzed around with the sentiment and that horizontal piece for quite some time before settling on the subtlety of vellum.  I finished the card off with a few pearls--she needed a body!

It's definitely a softer, more delicate card, but the more I look at it, the more it grows on me.  :o)

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This card uses:

*Ink: Cameo Coral (retired--oh how I LOVE this color)
*Papers: Cameo Coral, Whisper White, PTI's white card stock for the base and mask, vellum
*Stamp Sets: "Sweet Essentials", "Strength and Hope"
*Accessories: dimensionals, pearls, glue dots (for adhering the vellum)

Beautifully Baroque Heat Embossing

I don't know about you, but when a new box of product arrives I can't wait to dive into it headfirst! :o)  Well, a shipment arrived Tuesday--as did Lissie--and I savored each new item I discovered. 

When I first saw the new SU! catty, I fell in love with the "Beautifully Baroque" stamp and embossing folder (and the Eastern Elegance DSP while we're on the subject--last night many cards were made using that DSP).  When I found the embossing folder, I knew I wanted to try out something a little different and fun. 

I inked one side of the folder with VersaMark and then ran it (and the paper) through my Big Shot (I finally have one!!!).  I decided I wanted a summery, airy feel to the card so I covered it in Pool Party embossing powder and this was the result.  :o)

I added the sentiment on a banner and backed both the paper and the sentiment with Coastal Cabana.  I'm a sucker for bling and knew pearls would be the perfect touch for finishing off the card.

Here you can see a close-up of the heat embossing.  There was residual embossing powder left on the high points, but I left it, thinking it would give the image a softer feel and a touch of definition. 

This was an incredibly easy card to make, and yet it packs a BIG punch. I'm definitely adding this to my list of go-to's when I need to make a card in a hurry!

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This card uses:

*Inks: Coastal Cabana, VersaMark
*Papers: Coastal Cabana, PTI's white card stock (I feel it dry embosses better since it's slightly thicker than SU!'s Whisper White.)
*Stamp Set: Sweet Essentials
*Accessories: Pool Party embossing powder, heat gun, pearls

CASEing Another Card

So...Lissie was putzing around on the 'net the other evening, looking around for ideas for a card using "Mosaic Madness".  She came across this card and fell in love.  It was decided we had to make it (oh, and let it be known she will be making a card using the colors from that card at some point!), but somehow make it our own.

Earlier in the day we were talking about retired SU! colors and which ones I was sad had gone.  I mentioned I held onto Only Orange because it was such a true orange and that I loved pairing it with Melon Mambo.  That decided it, and we needed one more color and I determined the new Strawberry Slush would be perfect with them. 

Having settled all that, we got to work. 

The card is a teeny bit labor intensive because we spent time fussy-cutting the centers for some of the images. 

I think the original card (I'll admit I didn't read the post--shame on me) used VersaMark for the image across the bottom and the sentiment.  I went ahead and used the same ink as the paper. 

We also used pearls in the place of the rhinestones, and I couldn't resist dotting the "i's" with them either. :o) 

I thought a card that labor intensive should have a lovely inside as well so we stamped the corners. 

I love the bright cheeriness of this card and am really pleased with how it turned out. :o) (Of course, would I post a card I thought was a clunker?  ;oP Well, knowing me, I just might...:oP)

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This card uses:

*Inks: Melon Mambo, Strawberry Slush, Only Orange (long retired)
*Papers: Strawberry Slush, Whisper White
*Stamp Sets: "Mosaic Madness", "Sweet Essentials"
*Accessories: dimensionals, pearls

--Rach

Secret Garden DSP for Paper Players

This week's challenge over at The Paper Players was so wonderful I simply had to join the fun.  I typically find sketch challenges to be particularly well, challenging, and this was no exception--especially when I looked at the gorgeous DT cards!

I've been playing with this faux DSP I created using the "Secret Garden" stamp set and some lovely warm colors, slicing and punching and adhering and making some truly wonderful CAS cards.

I knew the paper would be perfect for this challenge and went right to work. I punched various flower centers from the paper trying to locate the centers in corners instead of the center of the square (and boy howdy that's a lot of "centers" in that sentence! ;oP) and adhered them using Stampin' Dimensionals.  I wanted them to "pop", but not too high and those were perfect.

I stamped the sentiment from "Sweet Essentials" in Poppy Parade (I still adore the color and desperately wish I had thought to purchase the stamp pad...foolish foolish Rachael...) and wanted to draw the eye to it so added some bling I colored using a couple Copics.  I finished it off with a piece of white baker's twine and mounted it on some taller dimensionals and adhered that to a white base.  I scored three lines across the bottom of the base but they didn't photograph well at all.  Oh well. 

It's been so drab and dreary for it to be spring I know Grandfather will be delighted to receive something so bright and cheery in the mail. :o)

--Rach

This card uses:

*Stamp Sets: "Secret Garden", "Sweet Essentials"
*Paper: White card stock from PTI for the base, Whisper White for the "DSP"
*Inks: Real Red, Poppy Parade, Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Kiwi Kiss, red Copics (Prawn and Lipstick--I have no idea of the numbers and I'm too lazy to go check into it)
*Accessories: dimensionals, rhinestones, baker's twine

Secret Garden DSP

As I may have mentioned, it was cold, grey and dreary and I was craving bright and sunny.  I picked up one of my new stamp sets and set to work creating my own DSP.  I used bright, bold colors and selected a set with both solid and line stamps. 

Then, I cut it apart and used it to make cards. :o)

In this card, I used a Copic marker to color the bling so it would match the stamped images.

And, this card uses a variation on the stamped paper I used for the rest of the cards since I used Pumpkin Pie for the orange flower instead of Calypso Coral.

This card was made when I saw all the scraps lying on the desktop.  I fiddled with them a bit and this was the result.  :o)

This was truly a fun bunch of cards to make and I'm already thinking of how I could use that same stamp set with a different color scheme.  :o)

These cards us:

*Stamp Sets: "Secret Garden", "Friendly Phrases", "Sweet Essentials", "Bloomin' Marvelous"

*Inks: Calypso Coral, Real Red, Poppy Parade, Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Kiwi Kiss

*Paper: Whisper White

Poppies for Catherine

 As I've been working towards getting back in the stamping groove (and sticking to that New Year's goal!), I've been searching out challenge blogs to help me stretch my creative wings. 

I found Freshly Made Sketches (okay, so I've been lurking there for a while now) and decided to play along this week. 

 And, here's what I came up with. 

This beautiful stamp set arrived last week and I couldn't wait to play with it.  Of course, to me, the poppies were crying out for Poppy Parade.  I know it's an intense color, but I do so love it, and it does indeed work beautifully with the poppies. :o)

I stamped the image on a piece of watercolor paper using Staz-On.  I then used markers and water pens to color the image.  I added a lacy boarder to one edge, popped the image up on dimensionals and finished it off by adding the sentiment stamped on vellum. 

I've a friend who's been going through a difficult time and this will be perfect for her and her family to let them know we're here. 

--Rach

This card uses:
*Stamp Sets: Pleasant Poppies, Sweet Essentials
*Inks: Poppy Parade, Old Olive, black Staz-On
*Papers: Watercolor, Poppy Parade, Old Olive, vellum, Very Vanilla (inside)
*Accessories: pearls, dimensionals

A Challenging Color Challenge

Since my card making mojo has been slowly returning, I've had fun playing along with the Paper Players.  This week's challenge was a color challenge, and well, it pretty much stumped me for most of the week. 

Each of these colors is pretty intense in their own right, and to combine them would take some careful planning.  Typically color challenges are the easier challenge for me--not so this week.  :oS  I'm about to make a confession here that I know will have me whipped with wet noodles--I really don't like Summer Starfruit.  *ducks and covers and runs away*

I know so many folks who are absolutely enamored of the color, and I just can't get into it.  It just looks like a dingy, dirty yellow to me and typically I adore yellows.  This one just doesn't do it for me.  :oS  So when I saw it was one of the challenge colors, I knew I had to do this challenge since I've avoided this color like the plague.  

Finally, last night, inspiration struck and I managed to pull this together.  :o)

I just love my "Season of Friendship" stamp, and I have to say it doesn't see ink nearly often enough.  It's such a versatile set I don't know why I haven't.  Hm...Thinking out loud here, I can see doing a set of seasonal cards using this set...yes, yes, that's a plan...

At any rate, I'm happy with how this turned out.

And, here's the inside. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig. Looooooooooooove it! I use it with practically every card I make these days.  I drew a light line across the bottom of the card and then another to mark the middle and used the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig (as much as I love to use it, it's a pain to type it out ;oP) to position the flowers and birds and then erased the line, leaving me with straight, (pretty much) evenly spaced elements. :o)

Now to add a sweet message and send some springtime greetings on to Sister Berenice.  :o)

--Rach

This card uses:
*Stamp Sets: "Season of Friendship", "Sweet Essentials"
*Inks: Chocolate Chip, Primrose Petals, Midnight Muse
*Papers: Whisper White, Summer Starfruit, vellum