I've been really itching to color a larger image lately. So itching. Sweet little Lulu to the rescue. There are quite a few challenges right now that helped me come up with the colors and the concept (I'm thinking thanks for hosting type card 50s style). Love it when it all comes together.
You see the button? I tried a flower brad there but hated it and then had a gaping hole--and I do mean gaping. Crevasse comes to mind. Thank goodness for that button and its color coordinated concealing ways! For a touch of glam, I added shimmery gold Smooch to her buttons and flower centers but it's hard to tell in the pic. I also used a gel silver pen to color the pie tins.
Check out these challenge pics--are they not fabulous and inspiring?
Been sorting through my patterned papers for inspiration and to encourage myself to use it (how did I collect so many?!). The soft colors of this 12x12 pack are really soothing to me and reminded me of the photo for the current Cure for the Monday Blues--particularly the plate in the upper right corner and the pops of red throughout. Bold yet soothing. I used the current HOC sketch for the layout. Totally differently look from my GDT Eek! card, huh?
More office birthday mini cards. These are like the card world equivalent of knitting baby booties--small and quick to make with lots of variations possible.
I'm guest designing over at House of Cards' April Challenge Part 2 which is a sketch in either CAS or Classic/Elegant styles. I created the plain white version originally and made many iterations of the color scheme. Notice how I placed the "eek!" beneath the larger monster to draw the eye; this allowed me to one-layer the sketch rather than use a mat or something like that. I love the punny sentiment; puns always make me smile.
Anyway, I had the card on my desk the other day and promptly dropped the lid of my inkpad smack dab on it. @#*$%! No way to cover that up so I did it a few more times to create my own background. I rather like the second version better. What do you think?
A couple of mini birthday cards for people at the office. I don't usually mention the birthday on the card because I sometimes forget to secret office gnome them before their birthdays. I had run out last week so rushed to make these for this coming week. So cute and fun and destashy.
Another Arrested Development card for the archives. I CASed a card I found online (FS blog plus another I don't recall) using the same Fresh Squeezed stamp.
I love how the various sequins sparkle and shine, don't you? So does Frankie apparently. I left out a pile of sequins and came back to my craft space to see him munching away. Seriously, cat?
I'm particularly fond of the jellybean paper bunny which reminds me of a cute Japanese version. For this card I stamped the hopping stitches thrice then the bunny and sentiment. I then ran the white panel through for the embossing. I stamped the bunny again on designer paper and fussy cut it out, adhering it with foam tape. I took a scrap of yellow cardstock and added it between the white and rainbow panels. It's rather like faux piping.
Hopping by . . .
I'm guest-designing over at House of Cards this month. It's an interesting challenge concept where you're given an element (a sketch in this case) and then you make a card using one of the styles listed. I so had to go with Cute and Fun. My little bunny is on a wobble which rachets up the cuteness factor by like a million.
I finally found a use for the vellum I had embossed ages and ages ago.
It draws on the sketch but isn't a slave to it.
The scallops on the curved border mirror the scallops on the flower mat; plus, dots everywhere.
A friend asked about Cinco de Cuatro cards the other day. Estás loco?! Don't you mean Cinco de Mayo? Apparently not--check it out!
I just had to make a card with that theme. OMG--the possibilities! With this one I colored the image using Spectrum Noirs. The sentiment I printed using Word (CK Oddball font). For the shaker I cut out the frame using 2 nested dies twice in yellow. I did this so I could glue the acetate to the frame then add another frame for greater depth. The candy balls (oh, yes, those really are Xmas sprinkles which are also conveniently the colors of the Mexican flag) needed just a touch more room than one layer would have given.
I originally tried music notes instead of paw prints but they seemed too busy and took your eye away from the image. The paw prints are more subtle and still convey a sense of movement. I swear it looks like that dog is going to have a heart attack!
I had so very much fun with this design. I hope the ice cream cone reminds you of a bullhorn!
I took my PTI cloud dies and cut them out of pink then embossed them to create the ice cream (mmm, strawberry). Then I hand cut the cone from scrap and embossed with a chicken wire folder. The sentiment is from Riley & Company which has a bunch of funny ones. I'm going to keep this card in my stash and use it for a birthday, just because or apology. Versatile!
Um, self, you have 3 nephews and 1 niece of Easter card age plus a commission for 3 more kiddy Easter cards. Hello? I could just die with the cuteness possibilities!
For this card I sponged the bunny with desert sand then applied just a bit of rich cocoa, well, richness along the edges. I added black Enamel Accents for the eye. I hand cut the daffodil stems from scrap and used leftover Spellbinder die bits to construct the daffodil--I was flipping through my dies and noticed I hadn't removed all the tiny bits from a couple of them--fortuitous. And honestly I don't think there's anything that says Easter more to me than Swiss dots. Plus the Cadbury cat-bunny: bwak meow!
I've been tossing (get it? ha!) this idea around for a while. Finally inked it up this weekend in the moments between coats of paint. Guest bedroom almost done--yay!
I'm entering this in CAS(E) this Sketch! #70, CAS on Sunday #30 Stitched Faux or Real, Charisma Cardz #7 CAS, The Sisterhood of Crafters Animals, Alphabet Challenge D for Diecuts, Allsorts #252 Use Those Dies, Sweet Stamps #163 Dies, Inkspirational #53 CASE Inspiration and Penny Black So Sweet.