Sunday, March 29, 2009

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge 2

Woot!  Woot!  Dawn McVey is doing another color challenge! 
I love the colors but was totally inspired by the leaf pattern on the pillow in the picture, so my goal was to represent that in ink and paper.

I paper pieced the leaves using some SU! patterned paper, and some regular cardstock I stamped randomly on.  I stamped the leaves on Linen Vellum from PTI to continue the fabric-y look.  I made the stitched "quilt" part using Background Basics:Retro from PTI.  I used craft ink and clear embossing powder (mostly because I wanted to heat set it so I didn't have to wait to finish the card :o) ) 
The medallion uses PTI's Guidelines Two and Around and About Sentiments.  I wondered if the words would fit around the outside of the circles and they did!  Since I didn't cut in around the leaves, I made a larger border (1/4" all the way around) to allow the brown to be showed off more.
Thanks for stopping by!
{Happy Birthday supplies}
Stamps:Background Basics:Retro, Around and About Sentiments, Guidelines Two (PTI), Wonderful You (SU!)
Paper:Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, Taken with Teal (SU!) Stampers Select White (PTI), Patterned Paper (SU!)
Ink: White craft, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Taken with Teal (SU!)
Accessories: clear embossing powder
Tools: Corner rounder, circle punches, Heat gun

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Stamps & Smiles Sketch Challenge

Wow - There are a LOT of challenges that go on out on the 'net. I'm just stumbling across so many. I like the sketch & color challenges the best because I think that's where my biggest weaknesses are in paper crafting (that and bold patterns and mixing patterns, and ... I guess the list is not exactly short :o)

This week I found the Stamps and Smiles weekly sketch challenge.

I really was intrigued by the sketch so I grabbed my supplies and my 16 yr old daughter and we got to play together (I'm supposed to be hanging out with the girls for spring break so if I can get them to do stuff I want that counts, right?)


I really like the background piece on the upper right. Nicole said she thought it would be cool to do the circles then dots inside, but it might be "too much work" ... BAH - its stamping not work and is there such a thing as too much stamping!? I think not. I added the little dots in between the circles. I thought they just added a nice touch.

Nicole & I struggled with the sentiment layer, but after much messing around, I think it works.

Thanks for looking. Have a great day!

{One of a Kind Friend Supplies}
Stamps:Friends til the End, Background Basics: Retro, Polka Dot Basics (PTI)
Paper: Raspberry Fizz, Raspberry FIzz Bitty Dots, True Black, White (PTI), Gable Green (SU!)
Ink: Basic Black, Pink Passion (SU!)
Accessories: Black Dotted Swiss ribbon (PTI)
Tools: Square and Scalloped Square Nestabilities

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop - March

OK, so since I've got a blog now I just had to participate in the Papertrey Ink monthly blog hop. I've looked before but never actually submitted anything.

This month the contest theme is backgrounds. PTI has some awesome background building sets, which I just received in my latest PTI package (love getting those goodies in the mail!)

I have been playing around with these and decided to share one with the new Guidelines 2 set. I went for a masculine theme so I can use it for my brother-in-law's birthday coming up later this month.


I started with a kraft card base and stamped the dots from Polka Dot Basics (another great background building set from PTI) using chocolate chip ink from SU!. I sponged Old Olive ink on the edges.

The Guide Lines 2 layer is on white card stock. I stamped the grid using chocolate chip. The "tiles" I stamped in chocolate chip and old olive. I used 2 different tile stamps, plus the "halo" for around the circles. I don't know what else to call it, but if you look at the set they are the ones that just have 4 little images at the 4 cardinal compass points (aviation engineer here remember - everything relates to a compass/airplane somehow). I also sponged the edges of this layer with a little old olive too, before I adhered it.

Anyhoo - I used some of PTI's luscious satin ribbon in ripe avocado to hide where the card stock strips meet. The medallion is punches from SU! - scalloped circle and various sizes of circles - punched out of old olive, chocolate chip and white CS. The sentiment is from another PTI set called Around & About Sentiments (designed by another PTI Fave - Heather Nichols). I put a little vintage brad in the middle just to break up the view a little.


{Happy Birthday Supplies}
Stamps:Around & About Sentiments, Polka Dots Basics, Guidelines 2 (PTI)
Paper:Kraft, White, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Ink:Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (SU!P)
Accessories:Vintage metal eyelet (SU!), ripe avocado satin ribbon (PTI)
Tools: Scallaoped circle punch, circle punches (SU!)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Holy Cats - Honorable Mention

This month for the first time I entered the Papertrey Ink Guest Star Stamper contest. I've just so fallen in love with clear stamps and PTI's designers rock the house with their talent.

So I thought what the heck, I'll give it a go (kinda like my foray into blogging here). I really liked my card that I submitted for the Friends 'til the End category


But I also know that there is a boat load of talent out there, so I wasn't setting my expectations too high. 

I didn't get selected as winner, but I was pleasantly surprised to see my card in the list of some of Nichole's favorites. She liked the pop of color on the raised focal image :) ... I wish I had those dancing smileys I see all over.  Thats how I felt when I was scrolling through her blog

I really was just glad I tried - its that comfort zone thing again. Stepping out and seeing what I can do thats a little outside my normal. I tend to go for quick, easy, and simple. Clean lines, simple color palette.

The next "outside the comfort zone" thing on the agenda is coloring with Copics. We'll see how that goes - my box should be here by the end of the week.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Blog Kickoff - Raspberry Suite Color Challenge

I've been seeing so many contests and such lately that ask for a blog that I thought I'd just go ahead and jump in with both feet. There are so many talented people out there that if you stumble across this site, just know I'm a simple engineer, trying to escape the high stress world of aviation flight electronics by hiding out in my basement and making stuff out of paper. I've got a list of those that inspire me over on the right ... I'm sure I'll add to it as time goes on. But just know that these ladies ROCK!

So for my first blog project I wanted to do a card for Dawn McVey's first Raspberry Suite Color Challenge:

Dawn is one of those gals on My Fave list. My take on Dawn's colors are Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron (SU!) Raspberry Fizz (PTI) and white. I'm digging the raspberry and chocolate, but those other colors take me right out of my comfort zone. But you don't grow if you don't try ... so here goes

The card base is a 6x6 piece of textured Tangerine Tango CS. I used the Quilter's Sampler stamp set from Papertrey Ink (PTI) and colored in the quilt squares with my markers. The raspberry fizz saddle stitched ribbon and button are also from PTI. There is also a "for you" rubon in the lower right corner, hidden a little by the stand.

Its going to be a mothers day card so on the inside I stamped a sentiment from the Quilter's Sampler along with a strip of quilt squares.


Thanks for stopping by to take a look.