SUO Challenges Goes CAS

Hey y'all!  It's time for a new challenge at SUO Challenges!

This time around, the challenge is to make a Clean and Simple (CAS) card, which means limiting layers and embellishments and leaving white space.  A lot of times, CAS cards start with a white card base, but since I like to be different, I wanted to make a card with a different color for the base that's still CAS.  So here is my CAS mermaid:

I sponged Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, and Night of Navy ink on the card base, stamped some of the splatter dots in Night of Navy, then heat embossed the mermaid with Shimmer White embossing powder (that stuff is SO COOL!).  After I embossed, I decided the background needed to be a little darker, so I sponged on more Night of Navy ink...yeah, I'd recommend you do that *before* you emboss with the shimmer powder because now I've got a bunch of glitter stuck to my ink pad.  Learn from my mistakes, y'all!

Anyway, I stamped the sentiment on a scrap piece of Coastal Cabana, die cut it and added some rhinestones before adhering it to the card with some Dimensionals.  Voila!  A CAS card with a Coastal Cabana base and just two layers.  Three stamps, three colors of ink, and some embossing powder.

Your turn now!  Share your CAS creation on the SUO Challenges blog.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Magical Mermaid
Ink:  Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Night of Navy, Versamark
Paper:  Coastal Cabana
Accessories:  Stitched Shapes Framelits, Shimmer White embossing powder, rhinestones, Dimensionals

Germany, Part 5: Neuschwanstein

Heyyy, we made it to Germany Part 5!

See the pictures here.  Is it weird that I bought the Swan Lake stamp set specifically for this layout?  The swan motif is very strong in this castle and Hohenschwangau.  I also used the stamp set for my Bruges layout.

Today's color palette includes Gray Granite, Mossy Meadow, Soft Sea Foam, Night of Navy, and Whisper White.

We're running late this morning so I'm not going to make it to my gym class, but I can still go running on the track.  Have a great day, peeps!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Swan Lake, Tim Holtz Christmas Alphabet
Ink:  Mossy Meadow, Balmy Blue, Gray Granite, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede, Whisper White, Memento Tuxedo Black, Night of Navy marker
Paper:  Gray Granite, Mossy Meadow, Night of Navy, Thick Whisper White, Garden Lane DSP
Accessories:  None

Dino Baby

Happy Friday, y'all!  We had some excitement of the bad sort last night--Ryan was running and fell down, hitting his face on the way, and split his lip pretty good.  Apparently he's been taking lessons from his mama; I split my lip last Friday!  Mine is pretty much healed, so I hope his heals up even faster.

Anyway, I do have a card to share today.

I made this for the Just Add Ink challenge:

I used both sides of a single sheet of patterned paper, die cut the word and the oval, and then added some rhinestones for fun.  I have a friend who unexpectedly got pregnant at the age of 43, so I think I'll send this to her.  She's made jokes on Facebook about mistakenly thinking her body had expired, so I think she'll have a good sense of humor about me implying that she's a dinosaur.

I also used this week's sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch:

And I had this card done in under 10 minutes.  Whee!

Have a good weekend, peeps.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  None
Ink:  None
Paper:  Flirty Flamingo, Pretty Peacock, Thick Whisper White, Dinoroar DSP
Accessories:  Well Written Dies, Stitched Shapes Dies, Dimensionals, Noble Peacock Rhinestones

Hydrangeas for a Friend

Hey kids!  How's your day going?  I managed to injure my left wrist yesterday and you'll never believe how--I was swatting a mosquito!  I mean, that's pretty silly, and yet here I sit, typing with a wrist brace on.

At least I'm right-handed so it didn't stop me from stamping!

If you don't have it yet, run and buy Beautiful Friendship right now!  I love this stamp set, it's so pretty.  This is a real KISS card--Keep It Simple, Stamper ;)  I stamped the flowers, added in a few leaves and some yellow sprigs, and then added a bit of sponging--Balmy Blue to fill in the flowers a little, and So Saffron around the outside to give the little bouquet a warm glow.  The sentiment is stamped in Night of Navy, even though it looks black in the picture.  Then a bit of linen thread, some sequins, and boom!  DONE.

Love this retro sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

Just for funsies, I looked up the card I made with this sketch the first time around and you can see it here :)

This time around, I paired the sketch with the Color Throwdown palette of the week and planned the card out in my head while I was at the gym yesterday.

I used Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron, Balmy Blue, and Crumb Cake for my colors.  Rather a springy palette in my opinion, but so pretty.

That's it for now, peeps.  Have a great Thursday!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Beautiful Friendship
Ink:  Balmy Blue, So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz, Night of Navy
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Balmy Blue, Thick Whisper White
Accessories:  linen thread, Iridescent Sequin Assortment, Dimensionals

Happy Fox

Hey y'all!  Once again I've been playing with new stamps :D  Apparently I was in a rustic mood the last time I ordered, because I got Rustic Retreat from the main catty and Nature's Beauty, which is in the holiday catalog and has some beautiful animal images in it.  Of course I had to ink up the fox first!

I'm planning to sneak this into my husband's truck one morning before he goes to work :)  Isn't that a GORGEOUS fox?!  I stamped him in Versamark + Early Espresso on watercolor paper and heat embossed him so I could watercolor.  I also did a light wash of Mint Macaron on the whole panel, but it didn't show up too well in the picture.

I used the sketch challenge from the Global Design Project:

I just picked my own combo of colors and I need to play with Shaded Spruce more often, it's beautiful.

Time to get moving, y'all.  Have a great day!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Nature's Beauty, Rustic Retreat, Country Home
Ink:  Shaded Spruce, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Mint Macaron, Versamark
Paper:  Shaded Spruce, Mint Macaron, Soft Suede, watercolor paper
Accessories:  Clear EP, linen thread, Dimensionals

First Halloween Card of the Year

Mornin', y'all!  If I made the first autumn card of the year, you know the year's first Halloween card can't be far behind :D  I got a SUPER cute Halloween stamp set and I have to show it off today!

The "wicked" is a die cut that coordinates with the Wonderfully Wicked stamp set, which has more words (I stamped "Happy Halloween" on the inside) and a spider in it.  I cut out three of the "wicked", adhered one to the card front and stamped around it, and then I embossed one with Shimmery Black embossing powder (which looks really cool IRL, the picture doesn't show the sparkle) and adhered the other two die cut words directly on top of the first one so it's dimensional.  I added some Old Olive rhinestones from the Noble Peacock Rhinestones pack.

Check out the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch:

I had to make my card landscape since the "wicked" die is juuuust over 4 1/4" wide, so portrait orientation wouldn't work quite right.  Looking forward to making lots more wicked creations with this stuff, and I got another Halloween stamp set too!  And Halloween paper :)  I love me some Halloween stuff!

Hope your week is off to a great start.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Wonderfully Wicked
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Gorgeous Grape, Pumpkin Pie
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Basic Black
Accessories:  Wicked dies, Noble Peacock Rhinestones, Shimmery Black EP

Germany, Part 4: Hohenschwangau

Scrappy Monday, y'all!  We're up to Germany layout #4, which was our tour of Hohenschwangau.

See the pics here.  I have to say, I would never ever put Mossy Meadow and Mint Macaron together on my own, but somehow the Garden Lane paper makes it work.  There's tiny little dots of Pear Pizzazz on the patterned paper as well, but they're so small and Pear Pizzazz has enough yellow in it that they read more yellow with the addition of Delightful Dijon photo mats.

As discussed above, today's color palette includes Mossy Meadow, Delightful Dijon, Mint Macaron, Night of Navy, and Whisper White.  Next Monday will be the final Germany layout...for now ;)  Auf wiedersehen, y'all!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Hello Lovely, Tim Holtz Christmas Alphabet
Ink:  Night of Navy
Paper:  Mossy Meadow, Delightful Dijon, Night of Navy, Whisper White, Garden Lane DSP
Accessories:  7/8" square punch