Project 173: CAS silhouette stamp challenge

When I saw the colors at Color Throwdown this week I had to give it a go. These are the colors this week:

 
I have been harbouring this elephant stamp from Little Claire for a few months now and every time I've gone to use it I've been stumped and not sure what to do. This week, a friend asked if I would make her a bunch of cards and she likes things fresh, fun and modern and so I decided to shake off the cobwebs and give this little stamp another go.

Gosh was I glad I did.

I was inspired by the DT at Color Throwdown and how some of them use big block colors in their cards. So I decided to try the stamp against three plain color strips. It's a bit faint but I really like the output and will definitely try it agin.

I framed the three colors on black to give it a stronger base and then stamped directly on the panels.

I added minimal embellishment, just three yellow stars on the gold panel and three blue stars on the blue one. I then centred the sentiment and added a small green bling either side.

Clean, simple and super modern.

Project 172: A stitch in time at MAWTT

This week at Moving Along with the Times Hazel has set us a fun challenge with "a stitch in time theme." I decided to use both fake and real stitching for the challenge to make this cheerful and summery card.

The whole card came together around the stitched banner greeting, as this is the element with the real stitching:

I then found images, papers and details to suport this. Not my usual way of working but it was a bit of fun!

The backing paper is from Michaels, part of the last craft kit exchange that Claire and I did when I saw her for all of 5 minutes in Chicago in June. I love gingham and tartan and pastel so this was a great summery choice.

The image is part of a new home Fiskars set and this is the first time I've used it - I love how Fiskars stamps come out, they are a joy to work with. I colored it with ProMarkers and then die cut the circle. I managed to find a button in the same pastel yellow - score!

Finally I added a layer of pink and some sparkly ricrac ribbon that I've struggled to use but somehow it works pretty easily here, tying into the sewing elements.

I really enjoyed the stitch challenge and can't wait to see what you all do with Hazel's theme.

Project 171: Purple and red foxy girl double challenge

I'm off for a work trip for a few days and so I needed to get a creative fix before I go!

I really wanted to use this Gorjuss foxy girl stamp and when I saw the challenge at Freshly Made Sketches this week featuring a big central image I thought it would be perfect.

The team over at I <3 ProMarkers were doing an anything goes challenge this week so I wanted to enter there as well.

The central image is colored with the following ProMarkers:

• Violet
• Burgundy
• Blush
• Tan 
• Cinnamon

The little cherry paper is from a Family Ties pack and the graph paper was from Claire, which I punched using a Knock-Outs heart scallop punch.

The button is from a collectin and I tied it with purple baker's string to connect it to the color scheme. Finally I added some glitter to the stars on the girl's dress and added a few candies.

It looks fairly clean but it actually took longer than I thought so now I need to run to catch my flight!

Project 170: A London card duo

colleague Michelle mentioned that she likes to give people London cards and so I thought I woud give her a couple of London card options to add to her collection.

I have two stamps that work well - the headline is a Penny Black and the second is actually from a museum gift set (I think for children!).

The first card I colored using ProMarkers, I wanted a slightly watercolor effect so kept the variety to a minimum. I diecut the image and then diecut a red circle to give it more standout. The background paper is Papermania Apple & Cranberry set. I added a single candi and then left it at that. I decided not to add a greeting because I think it can work for any occasion.

Next I went more geographical and CAS. The stamp is a stylized Big Ben so I decided to go bold and geometric. I used a big greeting stamp that Claire gave me (i htink it's Papermania?) and then the border punch is Martha Stewart. I think the blue and yellow are both Hippie Chic by DCWV and the green is a basic stack from Michael's. Just a silver candi that looks like a brad - I kept the glitter and bling off as I think it has a more masculine feel.

Hoping my colleague likes them!

Project 169: Double challenge grey blue and red birthday card

Claire and I had a (very mini) Skype play date today and decided to do a double challenge. We looked to Color Throwdown for their weekly color scheme and both loved it:

We then hopped over to Freshly Made Sketches for a layout to give us a bit more structure:

And voila! A double challenge completed.

Claire had embossed me a few papers from folders in her collection and when I saw the color scheme I wanted to use this red embossed daisy paper from that set she gave me.

I decided to focus on texture over pattern, as the grey and white striped paper is really bold and other patterns would be overwhelmed. The blue paper is slightly metalic, with a subtle lace pattern and then the little bauble ribbon was a fun little addition.

I decided to use a script peel off for the greeting to keep it silver. All it needed was a candi and I decided to down tools. I love the modern CAS feel and was happy to spend the afternoon playing with Claire. Check out her card here!