Eggplant Splat

Hey y'all!  My blog post title today doesn't sound very pretty, but I'm rather pleased with how my card turned out :D

And it is, indeed, a splat of Elegant Eggplant ink.  I had this ink smooshing technique on the brain thanks to Brian King...this is my second attempt and at first I didn't think it was going to work, but when it dried it looked a lot better.  Oh, I stamped the inside of this card too but I didn't take a picture; it's got another flower (this time in Lemon Lime Twist) and says Happy Birthday.  My purple-loving sister-in-law's birthday is coming up soon...

I'm entering this at the CASE the Designer challenge on Global Design Project:

I kept the same basic layout, with just a bit of a patterned layer peeking out from under the white card front, and my main image is also watercolory albeit with a totally different effect.  My eggplant splat flower was inspired by Inkspirational:

SU! doesn't have a blue-violet color like that, but I thought the Elegant Eggplant looked pretty good and I LOVE it with Lemon Lime Twist.  This inspiration photo made me think of the giant flower from the retired hostess set Bloom with Hope, so I broke out the retired stamps today.  The Lemon Lime Twist layer has the retired background Bella Toile stamped on it.  Much as I love new schtuff (who doesn't?) it's fun to go back to some older stamps every once in a while.  Need to get back to doing Friday Flashbacks.

That's it for today, y'all.  I'll be back with TWO new cards tomorrow, I've already got them made and sitting on the desk :)  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Bloom with Hope, Bella Toile
Ink:  Elegant Eggplant, Lemon Lime Twist
Paper:  Elegant Eggplant, Lemon Lime Twist, Thick Whisper White
Accessories:  Dimensionals, hexagon punch

Friday Flashback: Bella's Bloom

Happy Friday and welcome to the Friday Flashback!  This week's stamp set is a super-cute little set called Bella's Bloom. 

Also features All Holidays

Here's a quick 5-minute CAS card...

Also features Hugs & Wishes, Bella Toile

And something a little more involved, and then the archives were empty.  So here is my new Bella's Bloom creation:

It's more on the CAS side again but I like it.  I used this week's Color Throwdown:

I interpreted the color swatches as Melon Mambo, Lost Lagoon, and Basic Black.  It reminds me of a lot of the cross stitch patterns I have from Stoney Creek, it seems like their color of choice for the leaves and stems on roses is always more in the blue-green area rather than straight green.

I also used this week's Retro Rubber Challenge:

I got Bella's Bloom when it debuted in the fall of 2008, so it's 7 1/2 years old, and I've had Curly Cute probably since 2010 or 2011, so both of my stamp sets for today are suitably retro for this challenge.

See you here tomorrow for another baby book layout!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Bella's Bloom, Curly Cute
Ink:  Melon Mambo, Lost Lagoon, Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Shimmery White
Accessories:  Brights Candy Dot

Friday Flashback: Holidays & Wishes

Happy Friday, friends!  So the hubs and I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens last night, and despite my best efforts I had to blink at least a half a dozen times during the movie so we're going back tonight so I can catch anything I missed the first time around ;)  But you're here for the Friday Flashback!  Right?  Right!  Today's retired stamp set is Holidays & Wishes, so here we go!

Also features Lovely as a Tree, Bella Toile

I love greens and blues together, I think they make a nice sympathy card when you use more subdued tones.

Also features Heartfelt Thanks, Paisley

Playing with Heartfelt Thanks and inchies.  Also, I miss Almost Amethyst and all the other purples :(

Also features Snow Burst

This was before I learned how to tie pretty knots, but otherwise I like this one.  It's shimmery white cardstock for a bit of shine.

Also features Simply Said, Kindness jumbo wheel

And there's a pink and purple Valentine...

Also features Scandinavian Season

And a Scandinavian Christmas tree.

Also features Lovely as a Tree, French Script

One more sympathy card, and now it's time for today's new creation!  Spoiler alert, it has blue and green on it, but it's not subdued for a sympathy card and it might be one of my favorite cards this year.  Take a look:

I just had to use Joyful Christmas again because that flower is so pretty.  And I was inspired by these colorful poinsettias at my local grocery store:

They have glitter on them in addition to being a wonderful shade of royal blue.  Aren't they pretty?

I also used this week's Pals Paper Arts sketch:

And this week's Color Throwdown is a free-for-all Christmas challenge:

I used Garden Green, Pacific Point, and Blackberry Bliss, and I think I love that combination.  The poinsettia was inked with Versamark, then Blackberry Bliss, and I used Iridescent Ice embossing powder plus it's stamped on shimmery white cardstock.  For the leaves, I just stamped them in Garden Green, so they ran a little bit when I watercolored them.  I waited until the water dried and then used the fine tip of my Garden Green marker to go over the lines again, and I like how that worked out for me.

Anyway, I've got to get moving.  Have a great weekend, peeps, and if you haven't seen the new Star Wars movie yet I won't spoil any plot points for you.  May the Force be with you!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Holidays & Wishes, Joyful Christmas
Ink:  Versamark, Pacific Point, Garden Green, Blackberry Bliss, Crushed Curry
Paper:  Pacific Point, Garden Green, Blackberry Bliss, Shimmery White
Accessories:  Iridescent Ice EP, rhinestones, Decorative Label punch, Ovals Framelits, Dimensionals

Friday Flashback: Eastern Influences

Welcome to this week's Friday Flashback!  Today's featured stamp set is another one of my very favorites:  Eastern Influences.  Let's flash back!

Also features Bella Toile and Cardinal Christmas

This was our Christmas card one year when we lived in Okinawa.

Also features Floral

This one was a swap card I made when Eastern Influences debuted in the catalog.

A red rose this time with what is possibly my favorite-ever DSP, Bella Rose.

Also features Full of Life

And another Bella Rose for good measure : )

Also features Bella Toile and Thank You Kindly

I think this was an after-Christmas thank you card.

Also features Bella Toile and Cardinal Christmas

I tried out a few color combos for my Christmas cards that one year :)

The Baja Breeze one at the top won out because I love that color.  I had fun playing with the other colors though.

So that's it for the Flashback part, and for the brand-new project I have a scrapbook layout!

The pictures are of the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto, Japan.  I had to have all my photos reprinted because the first time they came out too dark...they looked so much better the second time around!  And I'm kind of in love with the color combo:  Baja Breeze, Crushed Curry, Garden Green and Chocolate Chip.  The stamping is done in Lost Lagoon, which is like a slightly darker version of Baja Breeze.  LOVE IT.

There you can see Lost Lagoon in action on Baja Breeze.

And one more time.  I was lucky on this; when I punched the patterned paper, the place where I wanted the birds was pretty much as far down as the punch would go on the paper so it was easy peasy.  I just punched half the shape out, adhered the DSP to my page base, and stamped the birds in the negative space.  I think this is one of my favorite scrapbook layouts ever :)

So that's it for me today!  Thanks for joining me for the Friday Flashback.

Supplies, scrapbook layout only:
Stamps:  Eastern Influences
Ink:  Lost Lagoon, Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Baja Breeze, Crushed Curry, Chocolate Chip, Garden Green, Eastern Elegance DSP
Accessories:  Curly Label & Decorative Label punches

Friday Flashback: Eastern Blooms

Wow, today is already the last Friday in April.  Time is just speeding by and it's time for another Friday Flashback!  Today's featured stamp set is one of my favorites (ok, I have a lot of favorites), Eastern Blooms.  So let's go!

Also features Best Yet and Bella Toile

Let's start off with a baby card.  Hey, baby cards don't always have to have baby-specific images, right?

Also also features Best Yet :)

And here's another one for good measure, this time in purple because not all baby girls (or their mamas) love pink.

Also features Thank You Kindly

And now for something very bright!  I love these flowers with bold colors.

Also features Bring on the Cake

And maybe a lot of rhinestones.

Also features Full of Life, Sprinkles, and Itty Bitty Backgrounds

I think this one would have been better had I moved down the three flowers just a tiny bit more toward the middle of the card.

And last up, here's a scrapbook layout from our time in Japan.  So yep, I've used Eastern Blooms quite a bit I think.  So here's today's brand new card:

Again with the bright colors, they were this week's Splitcoast color challenge.  The sentiment is from Happy Day, which is on the retirement list.  I'm a little sad about that one actually; I think it's a great little stamp set.  Oh well, it will always have a permanent place in my stamp collection!

The layout is courtesy of Retro Sketches:

When I copied down the sketch I didn't make the top panel scooch over to the right like on the original sketch, so my card is a little bit different.  But hey, I got the banner and the button right!

That's it for me this week.  Have a great weekend and cheers, peeps!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Eastern Blooms, Happy Day
Ink:  Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red
Paper:  Pacific Point, Whisper White, retired Pumpkin Pie DSP, Ski Slope DSP (I think?  It was in my scrap box)
Accessories:  Banner punch, retired Playground button, Whisper White baker's twine

Friday Flashback: Watercolor Trio

Friday again and time for another Friday Flashback!  This week it's another short Flashback, this time with the stamp set Watercolor Trio which is beautiful and deserves more love.  Here's my one older card which doesn't really do these stamps justice:

Yeah, I don't think this one is my best work.  I think the sketch is kind of fun, but there's something about this one I just don't like.  Oh, if you squint and tilt your head to the right, you might be able to see the Bella Toile background stamped on the card base...not that I think that's what's wrong with the card, just sayin' it's there.  I hope that today's all-new card is better:

Yesterday I ran out to a lunch date for a friend's birthday and totally *forgot* to grab a birthday card before I went, so I made this one when I got home and will be giving it to the birthday girl a teensy bit late.  I kinda wonder if I should have gone for some Chocolate Chip ribbon instead of the Real Red, but too late now.  The colors are from the Color Throwdown:

They'd make a good Valentine, but I needed that birthday card :)

Thanks for stopping by today, have a lovely weekend!

Supplies, all SU, last card:
Stamps:  Watercolor Trio
Ink:  Pistachio Pudding, Pink Pirouette, Real Red, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Pink Pirouette, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Pistachio Pudding DSP
Accessories:  Labels Collection Framelits, Lacy Brocade EF, Dimensionals, Rhinestone, retired Real Red taffeta

Friday Flashback: Best Yet

Happy Friday and welcome to this week's Friday Flashback!  Today's featured stamp set du jour is Best Yet, a cute little set of six greeting stamps that was a hostess set back in 2008.  I thought the Splitcoast gallery for this set would be pretty small since usually cards get filed under the name of the image (i.e. flowers or whatever) rather than the name of the sentiment set, but if you click that link, the Best Yet gallery is huge!  So let's flash back.

Made this for hubs for our anniversary one year : )  The grass is from Inspired By Nature.

That was a weird sketch challenge, lemme tell ya, and it was before circle Framelits but I tried to get it to look right.  I love this sentiment stamp to make cards for babies or little kids.  The flowers are from Eastern Blooms, and the background is my favorite Bella Toile.

Eastern Blooms again and another baby card.  And every color on this card is retired except for the white.  Harrumph.

And this was a first birthday card for the daughter of a friend.  It matched the colors in the outfit I got her, which included a tutu because what one-year-old girl doesn't need a tutu?

How about a cool blue and white Christmas card?  The Scandinavian Season Christmas tree was stamped with Bashful Blue craft ink (retired, wah!) and embossed with Iridescent Ice for some sparkle.

Ooookay so that "little someone" stamp definitely wins for most used in this set, right?  The bear is from Bundle of Joy, awesome baby set.

And here's today's card:

Lemme just pat myself on the back for coming up with that color combo:  Strawberry Slush, Coastal Cabana, Rich Razzleberry, and a bit of Midnight Muse (I tend to use any really dark color kinda like a neutral).  The flowers are from Bodacious Bouquet (another longtime fave) and I lightly sponged the flower panel with some Pink Pirouette ink to make the bit with the sentiment stand out a little bit more.

The sketch is from Retro Sketches:

I LOVE this sketch.

So that's it for me today, I kinda want to go start on another scrapbook layout.  I've already got probably four or five layouts done that I haven't even shared here yet, I'm on a roll!  Thanks for stopping by today and have a great weekend!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Best Yet, Bodacious Bouquet
Ink:  Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirouette
Paper:  Coastal Cabana, Midnight Muse, Whisper White, Strawberry Slush DSP
Accessories:  Curly Label punch, Dimensionals

Friday Flashback: Inspired by Nature

Happy Friday and welcome to the Friday Flashback!  This week's randomly chosen stamp set is Inspired by Nature.  Let's take a look back at some previous cards I made with this set, shall we?

Ok, so, I love these giant flowers but I just noticed that I *always* do them in pink!  Had I looked back at these older photos before I did today's card, I woulda picked different colors :)

I suppose you could just stamp them all in one color like a silhouette, but I always want to do different colors with markers.

And here is the only non-flower and non-pink card in today's lineup!  I made this for my sweet hubs for our anniversary one year.  Hey, we're coming up on our tenth this October!

So I thought this look was kind of cool, with the darker shading on the edges done with markers.  So far as I know, I thought of that all by my onesies, I don't recall seeing it anywhere else.  And that's the Flashback, so here's today's card:

Again with the pink, but what can ya do :)  This was a recent SCS color challenge and perhaps I could have done the flowers in Bermuda Bay with just the centers in Regal Rose, but again I didn't realize how pink this Flashback was going to be when I made this.  And this is the first stamping I've done in over a week!  I have a LOT of catching up to do and I'm sad about all the great challenges I missed out on, but there's always new challenges popping up so I shan't be sad for long.

Thanks for joining me for today's Friday Flashback, and have a wonderful weekend!  OH, another thing to make today fun--we can order from the new Stampin' Up! catalog!!  I know I've got my wish list ready...

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Inspired by Nature, Happy Greetings (both retired)
Ink:  Certainly Celery, Bermuda Bay, Regal Rose, Creamy Caramel
Paper:  Certainly Celery, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, retired Regal Rose DSP
Accessories:  none, but I did use sponges on the card :)