Sketch4You January 2010

My goal was to work on this sketch over the weekend, but then I was very sick this weekend. Not sure what I have but my head is still so congested. It is NOT fun! So I mustered up enough strength tonight to get this sketch done and hopefully made the deadline in time. I pulled out a few older Stampin' Up stamps for this one. I have so many old stamps that I plan to use this year. They haven't seen ink in years. So this is the year. :o)  I used some NEW paper from K&Company. I love the vintage patterns. The card stock is all Pure Luxury from Gina K Designs.




Hoping I feel better soon so I can get back to my stamp room and get creative. :o) Have a great week everyone!

CSS Alumni January 2011 Sketch Challenge

This time we have a sketch provided by one of the CSS Alumni, Melissa Cash. You just came from her blog. If you did not arrive from her blog, I highly recommend starting from the beginning of this hop over at StampTV, so you can be inspired by all of the CSS Alumni Participants.

The sketch:

My Elegant Coffee Card:

I pulled out Mugs and Kisses for this one. I found some gorgeous K&Company paper the other weekend and had to use it on this card. I stamped the mug and saucer on the chocolate flourish paper and cut it out. I also cut out the beverage part of the mug and put some Tan Leather card stock underneath to simulate a nice cup of coffee with a little sugar and cream mixed in. Yum!

Next hop is to see what Miesje Flach has to inspire you.

And make sure you are leaving comments for all of the hop participants because one lucky person will be chosen at random to win a free Gina K Designs set. Woohoo, FREE stamps!  Tuesday morning (February 1st), we will randomly choose one of the comments from all the blogs who will get a stamp set of their choice valued up to $24.95!

Peace Out!

Have you seen the adorably cute A La Mode images from My Favorite Things. I fell in love with the girl holding the big honkin' coffee cups and the cutie patootie with the big peace sign. I made some fun cards last week with some really old Stampin Up pattern paper and the Groovy Girl a la mode set.

By the way, I was so delighted to see I am up to 41 followers. I want to thank everyone that takes the time to stop in to read my posts. I appreciate the comments as well, but understand that not everyone has time to leave comments on all the blogs they follow. I just hope I am not talking to myself when I post. LOL! Have a great week!

CSS Alumni Color Challenge Hop

Welcome to another CSS Alumni Color Challenge Hop. This time we are using the current Spotlight Color Challenge over at StampTV. Since Gina kind of made a little oops and used the wrong color combo in her video, the card I am sharing contains the other color combo option.

If you are hopping along by starting at StampTV then you should have just been inspired by Melissa Cash. If not, then you will want to start at StampTV and hop through the entire group's blog posts to be completely inspired for a weekend of stamping.

Here are the colors for the color challenge card I made

and here is my card

I've been in the Valentine's Day/Love mood lately. So I pulled two older fun sets, Heartily Yours and Heartily Yours Additions to make this card.

Next on the hopping list is Miesje Flach. I know you will be completely inspired at your next stop. After you finish the hop please make sure to create something for the color challenge and upload it to StampTV. A FREE stamp set is given away to a random participant for each challenge over at StampTV.

Coffee, Coffee and more Coffee

I have few coffee themed cards to share with you today. Anyone who really knows me, knows I LOVE coffee. And in particular, I LOVE Starbucks coffee. My love of all things coffee has spilled over into my paper crafting hobby and I have a small collection of coffee themed stamps and paper. Now I need to find someone to send these coffee creations to. :o) So without further ado, here are a few cards with a coffee theme.

A few notes: I stamped the coffee and bean image on the twill ribbon with Dark Brown Chalk Ink and then sponged the ribbon with Wild Honey Distress ink.  I also used the Distressing Inks to sponge around the stamped image after coloring it in. I put the circle die over the image before sponging to leave the white border that gives the illusion of an extra layer without the bulk.



Stamps: Table and Chairs (Unknown), Coffee and Bean on ribbon from Sparkle Clear Coffee (Hero Arts)

Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko), Copic markers, Tim Holtz Distressed Tea Dye, Frayed Burlap and Wild Honey, Dark Brown Chalk Ink (Colorbox)

Paper: Blue Bayou and So Saffron (Stampin Up), Pure Luxury Ivory and Grass Green (Gina K Designs)

Other: Diamonds and Snowcap embossing folders (Sizzix), adhesive backed silver brads & small white paper (Recollections), twill ribbon (unknown), Circle and Labels Three dies (Spellbinders)



A few notes: I rubbed the Aspen Mist ink over the embossed snowflake layer to define the embossing better. I used the same sponging technique as above on the main image here using the Barely Banana ink.

Stamps: Cosette Digi Stamp (Paper Makeup Stamps)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and VersaMagic Aspen Mist (Tsukineko), Copic markers, Barely Banana and Vintage Violet (Stampin Up)

Paper: Perfect Plum and Kiwi Kiss (Stampin Up), Pure Luxury White (Gina K Designs)

Other: Snowflake #6 embossing folder (Sizzix), Swiss Dot embossing folder (Provocraft/Cuttlebug), white satin ribbon (unknown), Oval, Circle, Labels Three dies (Spellbinders)

Moxie Fab Bright & Bold Colors

I typically prefer sketch over color challenges, but whenever I look at the posts over at the Moxie Fab blog I am always so inspired by the colors in the photos that Cath shares. They are just so, well... Moxie Fab! ;o)

So this week the a different color combo from the latest special issue, Color Inspiration, is being featured. We asked to play along and create a card with the four colors in each group. The card I am sharing tonight is for the Bright and Bold Color Challenge for Color Inspiration for Card Makers Week in the Moxie Fab World. I have always adored pink and orange together. Such a fun cheerful color combination. And mixing in the two neutrals of white and black only make them better.

Here is an image of the colors:

And here is my card using those colors

I am tickled "pink" with how it turned out. If you would like to play along check out the post here. You have until January 31st to submit.

Stamps: Heartily Yours and Heartily Yours Additions (Gina K Designs)
Paper: Pure Luxury White, Bubblegum Pink and Sweet Mango (Gina K Designs); Basic Grey Sugar Rush
Ink: Pretty In Pink (Stampin' Up), Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Other: Black stitched ribbon, small white safety pin, silver flower charm and jump ring, Snow Flowers & Scallops embossing folders (Sizzix)

Inkin' for the Weekend

Seems like the only time I can stamp is the weekend. And since it was cold here and I had no where I had to be, that is just what I did. I had a chance to do a couple challenges and here are the results.

First up, the Mojo Monday Challenge (my first)

I used a brand new digi image that I purchased from Paper Makeup Stamps called Moody for Reading. I love the Moody line of images from that company. This image is just my style. I love the big scarf, the cute casual bag and her adorable hat. I printed her out with a laser printer and colored her in with Copic markers. The sentiment is from the Life is Good set. The sketch is from the Mojo Monday challenge.

Next up is a combination of two challenges: JUGS 66 and StampTV Release Challenge #3



 The JUGS challenge was to make a card and matching envelope with a liner. Above is the card with matching envelope and below is the envelope with the embossed liner to match.  I used my favorite Mugs and Kisses set to make the fun embossed turquoise mug. The sentiment is from Grand Damask. The StampTV challenge was to use something new. I used the cute little flower charm that I purchased recently in a set with some other cute little charms.

My next card is for the Unscripted Sketch Challenge 88 and the StampTV Release Challenge #1

The StampTV challenge was to use the color combination of Turquoise, Chocolate and Kraft. I stamped the main panel with Vivid Aqua on Kraft using the large stamp from Wild at Heart. I did some stitching on this one too. I love sewing on cards and don't do it nearly enough. I sponged the embossed panels to bring out the design and make a bit more aged looking. There is also a lot of pearly bling on this one. A strip of white on the ribbon, a strip of brown on the sentiment panel and lots of small white and brown pearls in the center of the flowers.

My final card to share in this post is for the Card Patterns sketch 97

Again, I used my favorite set Mugs and Kisses. I added some clear glaze over the coffee to make it a bit more realistic. I was inspired by some of the images over on the Moxie Fab blog with gray and decided to play around with some old Going Gray from my stash (I wish Stampin' Up had not discontinued that color). It's mixed with Turquoise and Green Apple.

Well, that's it for tonight. I may stamp a bit more before heading to bed. I found out earlier today our apartment building does not have hot water and they have to wait until tomorrow morning to fix it. So I am hoping I can get a shower before going to work tomorrow.