Color Throwdown #24

Today is the first Color Throwdown Challenge for 2009!   There were a few changes made at the CTD - we had to say goodbye to Kim, as she had other obligations, but we brought on Danielle and Barbara!  They are both wonderfully creative stampers, so you will really enjoy their projects!

It is my turn for the color challenge, and this color combo came from a suggestion from my friend Beth:

Aren't these soothing colors?!   I used Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch #68, which I love, but I used some HPH which I think made it a tad bit busy.  I also added another half circle on the right side as it seemed a little off-balance.

Ah well.  Sometimes you have works of art, and sometimes you don't!!!  Here are the deets:

• Stamps:  Pocket Silhouettes, Eastern Blooms
• Paper:  Very Vanilla, Mellow Moss, Baja Breeze, Urban Garden
• Ink:  Baja Breeze, Mellow Moss, Not Quite Navy
• Acc:  Grosgrain, Cropadile, Designer Label Punch, Vanilla HPH, Swiss Dots CB folder, Pearls from Mike's, Circle Punches, Dimensionals

We would love to have you play with us!  Upload your submission to your blog or an online gallery, and use the keyword CTD24.  If you don't have the exact colors, you can use something close.  Now, why don't you check out what the others have come up with:

• Broni - Splashes of Watercolor
• Tammy - Stamp Happy
• Cathy - Crafty Thoughts
• Barbara - Paper Pursuits
• Danielle – Wild Dragonfly Designs

Recycling Your Christmas Cards

I just came across this in one of my magazines:  St Jude's Hospital takes Christmas card fronts and recycles them into new cards!  Send your holiday card fronts to:

St. Jude's Ranch for Children

100 St Jude's Street

PO Box 60100

Boulder City, NV  89006

 

If you need more info, click here.

On A Vintage Kick

Another vintage card....this style just seems to appeal to me!  This is also for  Verve challenge VLVJan01, which is a sketch as well as to use hardware on your card.  I had the whole thing finished and realized I forgot the hardware!!!  Ack!

I "vintaged" the brad by mixing some crystal effects and Creamy Caramel ink together and  dipping a Silver HPH brad into it.  I am not sure brads & pearls go together, but I kind of like it!  The CB'd panel was also "vintaged" by rubbing a Distress Ink pad over top.  Gotta go!  TFL!

• Stamps:  Wonderful Wishes, Verve; Mixed Messages, PTI, Linen
• Paper:  K&Co Hannah DP; Kraft, VV
• Ink:  Creamy Caramel, Pink Pirouette, Distress Linen
• Acc:  CB folder,  Taffeta ribbon, Pearls, Silver HPH, Crystal Effects, Nesties, Dimensionals, Sponge Dauber

Vintage Birthday

I was playing around with some Crafty Secrets "Earthy" DP yesterday, hopefully matching it up with my Delft tile card, but the colors just didn't work.  I threw it aside, then when I saw the OCC challenge today:

I realized I could use my "scrap" on the challenge!  I had already adhered a piece of lace along the DP, so I just added the image and a little embellishment and I had my card:

 

This uses a retired SU set called Feathered Friends, one of my old standby favorites.  I stamped over the image with my Linen stamp to coordinate with the DP, which looks like fabric.  The panel was stamped with CHF's Leaves 3 backgrounder.   I had a little calico yoyo sitting around and I sewed on a punched heart and button, and adhered that to the panel.  Everything is "antiqued" with daubers and Creamy Caramel ink.  I think you can click on it for a closer look!  Thanks for visiting today!

• Stamps:  Feathered Friends, Linen, Leaves #3, CHF
• Paper:  Kraft, Confetti White, Not Quite Navy, Earthy DP, Crafty Secrets
• Ink:  Basic Brown, Not Quite Navy, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Always Artichoke
• Acc:  Marker, lace, fabric, button & thread, Heart punch (ret SU), dimensionals, daubers

Delft Tile Card

During my tiny little bit of stamping time today, I wanted to make a card using the Crafty Secrets set I WON (Yahoo!) called Home Sweet Home. I had an idea in my head to use one of the images and make it into a Delft Blue tile using the Cracked Glass technique.

I brayered some Sahara Sand ink on Shimmery White cardstock to begin with, to get the "tile" color. I then stamped the image in Brilliant Blue craft ink and embossed it in clear EP. I colored in my images with Brocade Blue ink, then did the CG technique. I love the tile, but I really struggled with what to use for a background on the card and finally decided on a neutral, Kraft, along with some Kraft Patterns DP. The sentiment is stamped in Brilliant Blue as well and I added some antique brads on the corners. It really is rather plain and I would have loved to have "jazzed" it up a bit, but just did not want to detract from the tile. It's been a long day!

You can click on this for a closer view.

This sweet little image was stamped on the inside at the bottom of the card.

Although this technique is a bit time consuming, today it took me longer to make the card itself than the image!

• Stamps: Home Sweet Home, Crafty Secrets
• Paper: Kraft, Brilliant Blue, Confetti White, Shimmery White, Patterns DP
• Ink: Sahara Sand, Brilliant Blue Craft, Brocade Blue
• Acc: Aquapainter, Heat Tool, Clear DP, Glassy Glaze EP, Brads & punch, Brayer

My next card was a struggle, too! (Is anyone else having trouble getting back into their stampin' groove?) This is for a wonderful friend and fellow stamper, and her favorite color is purple. I pulled out a set I hadn't used in a while, Fresh Cuts, and stamped the image in Lovely Lilac craft ink, heat set it, and colored it in "quickly" with markers:

I added some Twinkling H2Os on the bold flowers, mounted the panel on Mellow Moss and added some accents along the edge. I added a flower & oval, some bling and then mounted the whole card on another Mellow Moss panel. That made it a little larger than would fit in a standard envelope, so I pulled out a CD envelope, stamped a couple little flowers on it and now it's done:

• Stamps: Fresh Cuts, All Holidays, IBBG, Flight of the Butterfly
• Paper: Lovely Lilac, Mellow Moss, Shimmery White
• Ink: Lovely Lilac Craft; Lovely Lilac, Mellow Moss, Almost Amethyst
• Acc: Markers, Twinklings H20s, Piercer, Grosgrain Ribbon, K&Co Rhinestone, CD Envelope

Happy New Year's Day!

What did you do today?  I always take down my Christmas decorations on New Year's Day--a tradition I started during my many years of working, and it has always stuck.  So we did that, a little cleaning, a little watching of the Mummer's Parade (if you aren't from Philly, click here to see/hear what they're all about!  You gotta be there to understand.) A little stamping, a lot of blurfing, mostly a quiet day.  Here is what Pumpkin did:

Kind of what I wanted to do too!  But I did sleep in, so that was my consolation!

 

 

I also wanted to show you what I made for my brother-in-law for Christmas.  Last year he lamented that everyone in his family (my sister, niece & nephew) all had cross-stitched Christmas stockings I had made for them. These are quite elaborate and they take me almost a year to make.  The only reason I had made my sister one is that her childhood stocking had been lost in a fire a few years ago, and before my mom died, she asked me to make her one.  Normally I would just make them for the children, as my siblings and I have stockings already.  Here is hers:

My BIL felt left out (who would think a GUY would care about a Christmas stocking!!!) and offered to pay me to make him one.  Of course I would not ever accept money, but right after Christmas last year, I began stitching.  I never said a word and was hoping he forgot all about it.  I didn't even send it to their home in South Carolina for Christmas eve, so imagine his surprise when he had a gift from "Santa" when he came up the day after Christmas:

This photo was taken on my front door, so the fabric looks a bit lighter, but they are actually both the same.  Gail's portrays a little girls' vintage bedroom; Russ's is a workshop.   He was flabbergasted and just couldn't believe that he now had a stocking!  My sister was now the one lamenting, because now she will have to fill it!  My eyes definitely have changed over the last few years, and I think this is the last one I'll be making!  I think I could have ironed it a little better too!  LOL!  Here are some details:

The doll house, apron and stool.

 

 

 

 

 

Noah's ark & workbench.

 

 

 

 

Tools & Santa toy.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for humoring me while I shared some non-stamping things!  Tomorrow I hope to pass on an award I got from my Color Throwdown friend, Broni!  Happy New Year's to everyone!

A Little Round Challenge

I was doing a lot of blog-visiting today and noticed some cute things using Kristina Werner's Color Challenge #36.  I haven't played one of these for ages, so I thought I'd give it a try.  Isn't this a cute pincushion?  I needed a thank-you for a late Christmas gift I got, and I thought a round card would be fun:

The base of the card is two scallops cut from my largest Nestability; the circular card is Old Olive and there is just the tiniest little fold at the top; you can barely see it!  I added some Haiku paper and a flower from Always.  I need to use this set more, it has lots of possibilities and I "always" forget I have it!  Some rub-ons, a die-cut Pretty in Pink button and some Rose Red grosgrain finish it off.

• Stamps:  Always
• Paper:  WW, Rose Red, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Haiku
• Ink:  Rose Red
• Acc:  Nesties, Circle Punches; Button Die Cut; Rub-ons (retired SU); Grosgrain Ribbon, dimensional, thread