Varied Vase-Less

Mornin' y'all!  Once again I will be stuck trying to entertain a 3yo while it rains all day.  It's supposed to be intermittent thunderstorms through the weekend.  Ryan had a great time running around in the rain for a little bit yesterday though (just rain is fine, obviously I won't let him play outside in a thunderstorm).

So what we need today is a sunny card.  Does this fit the bill?

When I decided to use the Varied Vases stamp set, I had to use Mary Fish's signature tulip :)  I used this week's Freshly Made Sketch in a slightly modified format:

I had initially planned to do more flowers across the bottom, but it would have been too crowded the way I'd set up the rest of the card.  I used the colors from the As You See It color challenge:

Stampin' Blends made coloring in the flowers pretty quick and easy, and I tried for some color variation and shading on the flowers too.

Last up is the Retro Rubber Challenge:

And this is the reason why I made some design choices that I did.  I did the bottom row: flowers, patterned paper, and bright colors.  I had to add an extra layer in the sketch so I could incorporate the patterned paper, but happily that gave me a place to use Soft Suede for the color challenge.  Almost forgot!  Varied Vases is two years old, so it counts for the retro part of the challenge.

I'm off to watch Paw Patrol with my spawn.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Varied Vases
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends in Lovely Lipstick, Daffodil Delight, & Lovely Lipstick
Paper:  Thick Whisper White, Tropical Oasis DSP
Accessories:  Stitched So Sweetly dies, Dimensionals

Blooming Orchid

Hey, y'all!  Ryan did indeed have a mild case of pinkeye, but the doctor cleared us for our normal activities starting today (I just have to give Ryan eye drops until the end of the week).  I'm SO READY to go back to the gym!  Sadly I won't get to run today because I have to go to a meeting at lunchtime, which means I have to get cleaned up after Pilates and then drop Ryan off at the drop-in daycare for a while.

Anyway!  I made a card yesterday and also finished another scrapbook layout for Ryan's baby book.  I'm going to get that done before he turns three, so #WINNING.

My sentiment is a bit on the nose for the Global Design Project theme challenge:

I loved this color challenge from Just Add Ink:

And I used the sketch from Fusion, rotated 90 degrees:

Their challenge closed last night but that's okay.  Today's card is the maiden voyage for the Woven Threads DSP which I got as part of this month's buy 3, get 1 free special on paper.  I love that sale every year because I'm a paper hoarder.

Have a great day, y'all.  I'm surprised that Ryan has been fairly easy to manage the last couple of days when we couldn't do our regular activities, but he's been a trooper.  He's pretty awesome.

Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Varied Vases
Ink:  Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow, Rococo Rose
Paper:  Blackberry Bliss, Thick Whisper White, Woven Threads DSP
Accessories:  Rectangles Stitched Dies, rhinestones, Dimensionals

Blooming Happiness

Happy Friday, stampers!  As I said on Tuesday, I've been a wee bit totally obsessed with working on my cross stitch project lately, so stamping has taken a temporary back seat while I work on that.  But yesterday I made two cards while Ryan was napping, so I have something to share today and tomorrow!

As it happens, I went with CAS and florals for both my cards.  I used Vibrant Vases for the image on this one, and the sentiment is from the coordinating Varied Vases.

Check out this week's Freshly Made Sketch:

I scored the lines on my cardstock to mimic the strips shown on the sketch; some are a little hard to see, but I promise I scored two parallel lines on each side of the card front.

I also used this week's color combo from Global Design Project:

Two new In Colors in there!  I used Seaside Spray on some scrapbook pages, but this is the first time I've worked with Terracotta Tile and I love it.

Hope y'all have a great weekend.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Varied Vases, Vibrant Vases
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Terracotta Tile, Seaside Spray, Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake
Paper:  Thick Whisper White
Accessories:  bone folder?

Vases of Sunshine

Howdy, y'all!  I just got a big ol' box of SU! goodies late on Tuesday afternoon, so yesterday I got to bust it open and start playing a little.  I used one of my brand new stamp sets--Vibrant Vases--with the coordinating Varied Vases that I already had, and then I just had to use a sunny greeting for my card.

I think it's the gingham that sells the sunshine here ;) The vases are all from Vibrant Vases, but the plants are from Varied Vases.  Fun, right?

I used this week's Color Throwdown:

I decided to use lighter values of the colors for my card--I tried stamping the lilacs (I'm assuming they're lilacs) with Gorgeous Grape and it was just too dark.  So I went with Highland Heather, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz, and Smoky Slate, plus some Basic Gray and Whisper White.  Paired that with this week's Freshly Made Sketch:

I did slightly change the placement of my sentiment strip just to make it work a little better with the vases.  I've still got several other new stamp sets to play with, not to mention some new patterned paper, so I'll be having some fun for the foreseeable future!

Cheers, y'all!  Hope it's sunny where you are.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Varied Vases, Vibrant Vases, Sunshine Sayings
Ink:  Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, Highland Heather, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz
Paper:  Thick Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz, Gingham Gala DSP
Accessories:  Dimensionals

A Pop of Green

Hey, kids!  How's it going today?  It was rain, rain, rain all yesterday afternoon, and cold to boot, but I got in my craft cave and I made this!

My mother-in-law's birthday is later this month, hence the fall leaf, and her favorite color is green, hence the green leaf.  And a bit of glitter just because why not.  This is, I believe, the first time I've used Merry Merlot too.

I started with this week's CASE the Designer challenge from Global Design Project:

Louise's card is all soft and delicate with pale colors and mine...is not ;)  I kept the basic layout and the idea of leaves/foliage for the main image; my card base and the stripey pattern are pretty light, but I think it balances out with the leaves and the bit of Merry Merlot.

I also used the inspiration photo from Fusion for my colors:

I picked out Sahara Sand because that's what's in the background, some Cajun Craze and Crushed Curry for my fall leaf, and the aforementioned Merry Merlot for the wine bottle.  But I just loved that pop of green on the photo, and that's why I used green on my card.  Plus, MIL's favorite color.

Hope you have a great day!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Colorful Seasons, Varied Vases
Ink:  Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze, Merry Merlot, Granny Apple Green
Paper:  Sahara Sand, Merry Merlot, Thick Whisper White, Tropical Escape DSP
Accessories:  Seasonal Layers Thinlits, Dimensionals, Wink of Stella, glitter enamel shapes

Frosted Autumn Bouquet

Happy Friday, y'all!  The hubs has today off of work so we're going to do what I normally do on Fridays and go to the gym :D  Friday is yoga day!  And also running day.

But guess what.  I have a shiny shimmery birthday card to share today!

I used all Shimmery White cardstock and the Frosted Floral DSP has a lovely pearly sheen to it as well, which is why it reflected the camera flash a little bit.  And the sequins are iridescent, sequins are hard to photograph.

Check out this week's Freshly Made Sketch:

In related and very exciting news, my baby bear card was chosen as a Princess for last week's sketch challenge!  Squee!!

I also used this week's Color Throwdown:

I used Blackberry Bliss, Call Me Clover, Crushed Curry, and Poppy Parade for my colors, plus the aforementioned Shimmery White.  And I'll be sending this card out in the mail today to a friend whose birthday was...yesterday.  Well, I made the card on her birthday, so that counts as sorta on time, right?

Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  First Frost, Varied Vases
Ink:  Blackberry Bliss, Call Me Clover, Crushed Curry, Poppy Parade
Paper:  Shimmery White, Call Me Clover, Frosted Floral DSP
Accessories:  Frosted Bouquet Framelits, Metallic Sequins, Dimensionals

Rustic Hello

Mornin', y'all!  Usually I write my blog posts the night before they go live, but I forgot to do it last night so I'm writing this one with Ryan bouncing all over the place.  So I'd better type fast.

Here's my card for today:

I hadn't used Gray Granite much yet so that's what the card base is.  The Hardwood background is intentionally not stamped all the way--I laid the cardstock down on the inked stamp and finger-walked on the back of it to get this effect, though somehow I ended up with a pretty stark line at the top.  My inspiration for this card is the Fusion challenge:

As you can see, I did both the sketch and the inspiration photo.  And I managed to sneak in another piece of my favorite Tropical Escape DSP ;) Man I love that stuff.

Okay, time to go chase the kiddo around until we go to the gym.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Varied Vases, Hardwood
Ink:  Gray Granite, Memento Tuxedo Black, Blush Blossom, Mint Macaron, Soft Sea Foam
Paper:  Gray Granite, Thick Whisper White, Tropical Escape DSP
Accessories:  corner rounder punch, Dimensionals, adhesive sequins

Hello Orchids

Mornin' y'all.  Man, kid has been doing his best HULK SMASH this week and I'm worn out.  Here's hoping that today goes better than yesterday.

So let's start the day with a card and new stamps!

I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with the Varied Vases stamp set (and coordinating punch, although I didn't use it for today's card).  I had to use a Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the scalloped "shelf", but other than that I was able to eyeball everything since it's a photopolymer stamp set.  And there's my Magical Mermaid speckles again, which I used here because I've seen (and owned) orchids with freckles.

I used the Fab Friday sketch:

I think my Tranquil Tide ribbon is retired, but oh well.  Everything else is current and I just needed something on that side of my card (I was going to skip the ribbon right up until the end of the creative process).

I also played along with this week's Just Us Girls trend:

I did a quick watercolor wash on watercolor paper and then hit it with my heat gun to dry it because I have no patience and I also have a 1-year-old who wakes up at the least opportune moment while I'm crafting.

Last up is the Sunday Stamps color challenge:

I read it as Basic Black, Tranquil Tide, Crumb Cake, and So Saffron.  I guess the last color would be a cross between Gray Granite and Whisper White but I concentrated on the other colors.  I also added a teeny pop of Berry Burst because my orchids needed it, and I've discovered that my Berry Burst ink pad is succumbing to the Dreaded Gold Sheen.  Dang it.

That's it for me today, y'all.  Have a good 'un!  And also happy birthday to my dad, who doesn't read this blog anyway :p

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Varied Vases, Magical Mermaid
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Tranquil Tide, So Saffron, Crumb Cake, Berry Burst
Paper:  Basic Black, So Saffron, Thick Whisper White, Watercolor paper
Accessories:  Layering Circles Framelits, retired Tranquil Tide ribbon, Dimensionals

Tropical Birthday

Happy Friday, y'all!  And it is a happy day for me as I got my new catalog order (finally!!!) yesterday afternoon.  Part of that order was the stamp set and coordinating paper that I wanted the most...

Tropical Chic and the Tropical Escape DSP.  Oh man I fell in love with these as soon as I saw them, so I'm delighted to have them in my hot little hands to play with.  The leaves and flower are from Tropical Chic; the sentiment is from Varied Vases which I will also have lots of fun playing with.

Unfortunately the colors are a bit off in the photo because I took it so late yesterday afternoon.  The patterned paper is a very light shade of Granny Apple Green, the card base is Pool Party, the leaves are Shaded Spruce (love this color!), and the flower is So Saffron and also highlighted with Wink of Stella.  The sequins match the flower, they're not really as orange as they look in the photo.

I used this week's Fall-To Layout:

Such a classic.  And here's the Fusion challenge:

I loved the soft blues and greens in the inspiration picture, and the hint of yellow on the top of the cactus, so that's what I went with.  My card also features vegetation, but I don't have any cactus stamps :)

I'm also entering this one at the Paper Players, just one more card for their 400th challenge celebration:

I'm celebrating new stamps!  And also I now have another birthday card in my stash for next time I need one, which is always a good thing.

Have a great Friday, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Tropical Chic, Varied Vases
Ink:  Shaded Spruce, So Saffron
Paper:  Pool Party, Thick Whisper White, Tropical Escape DSP
Accessories:  Tropical Thinlits, mini Dimensionals, Iridescent Sequins, Wink of Stella