Colour Me ..... # 30

My goodness .... it's been a while!

It has been silly season dancing-wise and school holidays (which was very much needed).  My daughter has found the step up to Grade 6 work and expectations, a bit daunting.  Add to that friendship complications and you have a turbulent first semester.

Her holidays started with a charity dance concert, then straight into extra practice for ballet exams.  Just before the break she was given the nod to progress to pointe shoes - very exciting.  Parents had to attend the first lesson to get instruction on sewing on ribbons and breaking in the shoes.  Now they have had their second lesson, I think they are wondering what all the fuss was about.  All the girls have pretty sore feet and ankles.

I haven't been idle on the crafting front, just completely lacking in motivation and imagination.  The need for a birthday card for a party my daughter is attending today helped to shrug off the inertia.  My inspiration was the latest Colour Me .... challenge.  

I really wanted to use the negative die space of the flowers, to add a bit of interest, and I have seen this popping up all over the place.

What you need

Cardstock - BB black, white

Patterned paper - SU Brights DSP

Stamps - Casual Fridays Bold Wishes

Ink - Versamark

Embossing Powder - Gold Glitter

Dies - PTI Beautiful Blooms 3

Gems - Kaisercraft

Flowers - SEI?

This is one of the many cards I have been making, but one of the few that isn't a copy (told you there was no imagination).  I love the SEI paper but not sure why I got it.  It was part of a 12 x 12 pad, so tonnes to use up.  I decided to use it up on some sympathy cards and some envelopes to go with them, which I never have when I need them.

Really enjoying the Commonwealth Games.  After the debacle we suffered at the Olympics in the swimming, it is really nice to see them taking a disciplined approach.  We are currently watching the mens and womens marathon -  looks gloomy with the drizzle and looks like the Africans have got it.

Clean and Simple 3 - Part 2

Just a couple more cards with techniques featured in this terrific class.  But one really shouldn't assume that these cards don't take long to execute (I should have learned my lesson from earlier today) just because they are labelled "Clean and Simple".  Both fell under the heading of "Background into Foreground".

I picked out 2 colour palettes from my Pinterest folder. 

 I loved the idea behind Shari Carroll's Graffiti card, overlaying diecuts with stamping.  On reflection, I should have used white cardstock, which would have made the sentiments more striking and I don't think HA Wet Cement ink was the best choice for a beige like colour.  

What you need

Cardstock - PTI Soft Stone;  BB Navy, Mid pink

Stamps - Mama Elephant Party Kit;  various HA sentiment sets

Ink - SU Midnight Muse;  HA Wet Cement

Die - MFT

Sequins - Pretty Pink Posh (sand)

Gems - Kaisercraft

The second card is my first go at Laura Bassen's legendary plaid pattern.  She very simply blended her inks, fairly randomly using masking tape.  I decided to use MFT stripes stamps.  Whilst the stamping is not solid, which sort of looks a bit like Laura's. I do prefer the softness of blending.  I did cheat a bit and use SU markers to get a bit more variation in the lines.

What you need
Cardstock - PTI white
Stamps - MFT Plaid Background Builder, Sending Thanks
Ink - SU Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Pear Pizzazz, Gumball Green;  Versafine Onyx Black
Markers - SU Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose

Case This Sketch #40

Just dropping in with a quick card tonight - when I say quick it really means unexpected but the diecut took forever to get right.  At the risk of boring people with our ongoing orthodontic saga, my daughter had her braces tightened yesterday and all teeth now connected.  It caused her alot of grief overnight and as we can't allow school to give the pain relief that would work, she had to come home at lunchtime.  So that gave me a bit of crafting (and Pinterest) time.

Always one of my favourite sketch challenges and inspired by a card from Maureen Merritt, colour-wise, this is my entry.  It reminds me of SU Urban Garden DSP, one of my all time favourites.  

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white;  SU Bashful Blue, Kiwi Kiss, Night of Navy

Stamps - Cas-ual Fridays Woot Woot

Ink - SU Old Olive

Die - Memory Box Dancing Tulips

The Paper Players #151

Here's a quick one for Friday.  I had to try this very interesting sketch, so had a quick flick through my Pinterest colour palette board, and decided on this combination.

It's a bit hard to see the orange stamping (yes that colour again), and I have loosely interpreted the large diecut with 2 half circles in the reverse paper and a Martha Stewart doily.

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white, black

DSP - SU Brights Collection

Stamps - SU Pocket Silhouettes;  Avery Elle Blossoms and Blooms (sentiment)

Ink - SU Pumpkin Pie

MS doily

Various Punches

Ribbon - SU black satin

Now that's just way too much orange!

But that, at times, isn't a bad thing.  And on the whole, have very much enjoyed getting out all my various oranges.

This first one uses a set that hasn't seen the light of day for quite a while, and don't know why it popped into my head, but very glad it did

What you need

Cardstock - BB Brown/Orange;  PTI white

Patterned paper - SU Brights Collection

Stamps - HA Everyday Sayings;  SU Pocket Silhouettes

Ink - Brilliance Rust, Memento Rich Cocoa

Die - MFT Fishtail Flag Stax

******

Another Cardablities sketch I missed coupled with the Summer Camp challenge 1 colours.  The idea was to use at least 4 of the 5 colours

I think this is my favourite of the last few posts and I don't think I have used grey and orange before but I really like it.

What you need
Cardstock _ SU Basic Grey;  PTI Orange Zest, white
DSP - SU Neutrals Collection
Stamps - HA Everyday Sayings
Ink - Memento Tangelo
Dies - MFT Fishtail Flag Stax

Holidays at last ...... almost

Just one more ballet commitment to go and we will be on holidays officially!  My daughter has her ballet exam tomorrow afternoon, and they are very well prepared.  Yesterday, together with her "adventure" buddy, she did the Spartan Run.  Now you may ask what that is and you may also be asking what sort of mother lets her daughter do this before a ballet exam.  Well, I'll tell you ..... one that certainly wasn't thinking ahead when she cheerfully said, yes, nothing on that day, she is on holidays!!!

The Spartan Run is a an obstacle course cum exercise in lunacy.  Needless to say, the clothes that came home were destroyed with mud (make that 2 sets because my husband did the adults (or idiots) version.  Of course, now it's winter they held it west of Brisbane - absolutely freezing.  

It did give me a day to make cards though ....... YAY

This is the previous sketch from Cardabilities which I missed but really loved and, as you may know, I cannot resist Navy.  There were so many elements to this graphic and would have liked to use them all. 

I don't know that there was any driftwood or any other type of wood in fact, but wanted to use something like that, so cut very thin strips of kraft card.  

What you need

Cardstock - PTI Kraft, white

Patterned paper - MME Lush 2 (Navy Stripe)

Stamps - Cas-ual Fridays Bold Wishes; PTI Star Prints;  SU Ocean Commotion

Ink - Memento Nautical Blue; SU Marina Mist, Midnight Muse

Punch - Fiskars

******

Along with one of my standby challenges, I wanted to get a few birthday cards under my belt.  There are a few coming up in my family, including my best friend who is "enjoying" a significant birthday today.  I have seen a couple of beautiful cards done for this challenge, and I think this will be a very versatile sketch (notice using up more of the patterned paper - yay me!)

Turquoise is a tricky colour for me - not because I don't like it, just that my SU ink pad isn't the best and have no other colour close to it, so I have opted for the paper

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white

Patterned Paper - MME Lush 2 Turquoise stripe

Stamps - Avery Elle Petals and Stems;  PTI Stylish Sentiments: Birthday

Ink - SU Poppy Parade, Gumball Green;  Regal Rose

Corner Rounder

Die - PTI Ribbon Tails

OK, time to work on my PTI blog hop card - the theme is gold.  I have a few ideas but really need to settle on just one, before it looks just plain gaudy.

? Christmas ..... already!

I have had the Festive Friday challenge sitting in my to do list for quite some time, but this is the first time I have attempted it.  So to go with that, the latest WMS Christmas card challenge, hosted by Charmaine Stack and the theme is Glitter.

So, lots of glitter and my favourite Christmas sweet treat - Gingerbread.  I am too lazy to decorate it but love baking and of course eating it (any time of year really).  

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white

Glitter card - Bella! Glitz Rouge

Stamps - WMS Nutcracker Sweet, Candy Jar Christmas Fillers

Ink - SU Early Espresso

Punch - SU scallop

Stickles - Red, Diamond

*****

I missed the dessert option for Dynamic Duos, initially but I was determined to use a bear for this sketch.  Must be telepathic!  

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white; SU Pacific Point

Stamps - PTI Baby Button Basics

Ink - VersafinStame Onyx Black;  Memento Bahama Blue

Copic T1

Various punches - SU

Glossy Accents

Goosebumps - K and Company

*****

And finally for this weekend - 2 colours I don't use much and 1 quite a bit.  And yes, you guessed it, another piece of 12 x 12 bites the dust - very satisfying!  I admit to a bit of recycling too.  The twine around the button came with my first (I anticipate many more) consignments of Cas-ual Fridays Stamps.  I had a very hard time limiting the number of stamp sets.  It's all Susan Raihala's fault, she has created some really great cards with these stamps lately.

I digress.  More baby cards, male or female this time I think

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white;  SU Calypso Coral, Island Indigo

Patterned Paper - Pebbles Inc Ever After (Sparkle)

Stamps - PTI Baby Button Basics

Ink  - Versafine Onyx Black

Die - SB classic scalloped circles

Pen - SU Calypso Coral

Button - PTI

A couple of mid-week cards

It's been a grey old day here today, looks like winter is not far away.  All children in Grades 3, 5, 7, and 9 are completing 3 days of national testing on numeracy and literacy today.  Stress over for another 2 years!  Most parents I have spoken to recently are completely in the dark about what the testing is designed to highlight - where an individual child may need help, or how well the school is teaching the test.  I saw one of my daughter's friends this morning before they headed off to orchestra, and said good luck with Maths today, R said, "Is that what we are doing today, I'll do whatever they put in front of me" . I guess that's how to handle it .

Anyway a chic card for a very chic ensemble.  I didn't want to do black and white stripes necessarily, then remembered this DSP.  The other details I wanted to highlight were the belt and buckle and the model walking away from camera, just over her shoulder.  The stamping didn't work quite as well as hoped so I went over it with the Molotow paint pen.

What you need

Cardstock - PTI black; Canson shimmer gold

DSP - SU Neutrals Collection

Stamps - PTI Think Big Favourites

Ink - Memories Unicorn white

Molotow paint pen

Buckle

***

Next up is one of my favourite challenges which I have missed the passed few weeks.  So this being a birthday celebration, we got to choose a favourite colour palette from the past year.  This is one from the last couple of weeks and while we are on the theme of slightly masculine cards, I think this one could be used for a young boy.

I had thought to stamp stripes but knew that would end up in too much wasted cardstock, so went with strips of card.  Not much stamping I admit, but love the effect.

What you need
Cardstock - Gina K white;  SU Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie
Stamps - HA Year Round Sentiments, Many Birthday Messages; PTI Star Prints
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black; SU Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie
Die - MFT Star Stax

Where does time go .....

We have had quite a restful Easter, which is good as there was alot of running around in the 2 days before with my daughter - a trip to the orthodontist, decided that braces were happening MUCH sooner than anticipated, like in the next 2 weeks.  Before that she has to have 3 baby teeth removed under general anaesthetic.  Apparently, these days braces are a source of great excitement and she really hopes they will be on before she goes back to school in 2 weeks.  Obviously she isn't paying for them and I will remind her of this time when cleaning her teeth becomes a chore.  The hope is that if they go on now, they will be off in 18 months time.

Anyway, enough of our goings on - a card.  I have been doing alot of kit card making recently, hence the silence over here.  The downside of a kit is that sometimes the patterned paper chosen, is one that I would not have picked in 1000 years, yet that is the challenge.  Also I have been doing alot of Copic colouring - something that tends to happen in fits and starts,  but a technique I am always trying to improve on.

    

 So we have my perfectly polished young lady.  For the Paper Players challenge I settled on

Pink and Green - Birthday - Pearls

What you need

Cardstock - SU white, Gumball Green, Primrose Petals

Stamps - MFT Polished to Perfection;  PTI Quilled Elegance (sentiment), Embroidered Blooms

Ink - SU Primrose Petals, Gumball Green; Memento Tuxedo Black

Copics - as above

Pearls - SU

I will also enter this into the latest Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes

****

Another task undertaken this weekend was a complete clean up of my craft room, and believe me, it needed it.  I have had this recent edition of Better Homes and Gardens (Aust. Ed) sitting on my desk, well, since it came out.  It is hard to see but the main picture uses orange and grey as its main theme.  Just crying out as inspiration for a card.  

Unfortunately I was too late for the CASology challenge this week but went ahead with it anyway.  In my cleaning frenzy, there were some new PTI stamp sets to put away.  As they aren't designed to fit CD cases anymore, I find it a chore to make them fit into the cases I have.  But I found this set and had to use it.

I was about to throw the magazine away (minus recipes and DIY stuff), but I think I will keep it for future reference as there are a few more very interesting colour palettes

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white

Stamps - PTI Quilled Elegance, Think Big Favourites

Ink - Memento Grey Flannel, London Fog, Tangelo, Morocco

Gems - Kaisercraft

Right I am off to do some cooking, apart from dinner, there are a couple of biscuit recipes dying to be baked.  Oh and trying some of the baked cheesecake I made earlier.

*****

Thought I would just sneak one more in.  Difficult colours but enjoyed the challenge of pulling it together and very happy with the result.

What you need

Cardstock - SU Always Artichoke, white, Lucky Limeade

Patterned Paper - PTI 2008 Bitty Dot Basics (Ripe Avocado)

Stamps - PTI Birds and Blooms, Think Big Favourites

Ink - SU Lucky Limeade, Pool Party

Die - MFT Retro Squares (?)

Copic - BV25

Gems - Kaisercraft

Lazy Sunday Afternoons

Scroll down for my earlier post for Runway Inspired and Cloud 9 challenges.

There is nothing like it .... 3 kids (one of them mine) right outside my window, re-enacting Harry Potter (no idea which book, possibly never entered JK Rowlings head, this storyline).  Lovely to hear but hard to think.  

My card is based on Karen's sketch, I completely forgot to add the tags at the bottom.  I may have another go at it if there is time.  

What you need

Cardstock - PTI Kraft;  SU Cherry Cobbler, white

DSP - SU Neutrals Collection

Stamps - SU Friends Never Fade;  PTI Mega Mixed Messages

Ink - SU Early Espresso;  Memento Morocco

Copic - Y38

Dies - MFT

Twine - The Twinery (buttercream)

Pearls - SU

For my second card, I wanted to stay with the darker colours, so while  the Neutrals papers were still out they got another go.

Again, my card is inspired by this past Sketchbook Saturday challenge.  

What you need

Cardstock - SU Black, Early Espresso, cream

DSP - SU Neutrals Collection

Stamps - PTI - Stylish Sentiments: Birthday

Ink - SU Early Espresso

Die - Spellbinders Labels ?

Pearls - Kaisercraft

Ribbon