One Layer Wednesday 80

I've been avoiding One-Layer Wednesday 80, but this morning I sat down and kept at it until I was relatively happy.  Susan asked us to use two images, two colors, and masking on a one-layer card.  I chose to use two hearts as my images and for my colors I used Memento London fog and Color Box robin's egg.  I masked one of the hearts before stamping the second one.

This was a hard challenge (Susan used the word diabolical), and I still don't know if I did it right.  I used the same image twice for my two images. Was that cheating? 

I didn't get things centered correctly on this one, so I cut it down and made a square card.  

I was also inspired by FTL 179 at Clean and Simple Stamping.  I did originally place the images and sentiment in the bottom left corner, but they just wanted to be up higher and more central.  So I moved them. :)

Less is More 56 and ColourQ 125

Just squeaking in before the close of ColourQ 125 with a card for the current color challenge, as well as for the Less is More scrap challenge.  I pulled these scraps of color from my scrap box and used them to create a pattern of stripes in varying widths, which I used to ground the bicycle images from Hero Arts Joy Ride.

My Scrap Storage

Color Inspiration:

Card Patterns Sketch 153

Last weekend I did quite a bit of scrapbooking, so I had a lot of my patterned papers out and about.  When I saw the sketch at Card Patterns I thought it would be a great way to actually use some of those papers instead of just hoard them.  

I made this first card last Sunday, and then life got busy and I didn't post it.  I used one sheet of Recollections paper that had all of these beautiful patterns on it.  I cut out the squares, pieced them together, and then stitched with my sewing  machine.  

Some of you may remember that my old sewing machine met an unfortunate end last summer in a run-in with my youngest daughter and dog.  Sweet hubby bought me a new one for Christmas, and this was my first time using it to sew on paper.  I added a little ribbon and a few pearls.   No sentiment for now, but I may hang a little sentiment tag from the bow when I decide how this card will be used.

I made this card with last week's color splash at Play Date Cafe in mind.  Of course I've missed the deadline by now.  Oh well! :)  I didn't stitch this one, as it didn't seem to lend itself to stitching like the first one did.

Less is More 55

The challenge at Less is More is to use punches or die cuts.  I chose to use the fabulous "Sweet as Can Be" stamp and die set from PTI.  For my first card I also used a Fiskars edge punch to frame the main image.

I wanted to see if I could get a similar look on a less layered card, so I made another card using scoring to frame the image.  I didn't think I would like it as well, but I actually do.  Happy surprise. :)

Busy week, so I haven't had a chance to check out the other creations at Less is More.  Hopefully I'll be able to hop around on Thursday or Friday.

Supplies:
Paper: PTI
Stamps: PTI sweet as can be
Ink: Color Box pink & chestnut roan, Memento desert sand

One-Layer Wednesday 79

One-Layer Wednesday 79 is hosted by Jennifer at Styles Ink this week, and the challenge is to use as many different stamps as possible (at least three) on a one-layer card.  This was the perfect opportunity to use SU baby blossoms.  I used NINE stamps from the set to make this card.  I stamped the frame first and then masked it before stamping the floral images.  I'm looking forward to exploring different color combinations with this wonderful set.

Supplies:

Paper: PTI white

Stamps: SU baby blossoms

Ink: Memento, Versamagic, Color Box

CAS-ual Fridays 39

The theme at CAS-ual Fridays is "Love Ya to Pieces," and they are asking for a CAS paper piecing project.  I used PTI lily of the valley and two pieces of patterned paper from my scrap box to paper piece the flowers, stems, and leaves.  A lot of fussy cutting, but worth it in the end, I think.

I am also linking up to the patterned paper challenge  at Lily Pad Cards.

Supplies:

Paper PTI plum pudding, lavender and pattererned paper from scrap box

Stamps: PTI

Ink: Memories

Less is More 54

Ack!  The Less is More challenge is a toughie this week: one layer card and stripes.  I love one-layer cards, but the stripe part threw me.  Not having lots of stripes in my stash, I used a stamp from PTI Round and Round to create rainbow stripes.  I'm linking this one up to One-Layer Wednesday, as well, since it definitely has more than five circles.

The stamp consists of two rows of circles and dots.  I inked each dot separately and the Memento teardrop shape sure came in handy for that.  It also helped that I finally cleaned my gridded acrylic block.  It was so inky I could hardly see the grid lines. :) 

I also made a quick Valentine using a striped bee from the Hero Arts be happy set.  I made the sentiment on the computer.  Not much to say about this one, except that the wings are colored with a Sakura sparkle pen, so they have a nice sparkle to them.

Supplies:
Paper: PTI white
Stamps: PTI round and round, Hero Arts be happy
Ink: Memento

One Layer Wednesday 78

The One-Layer Wednesday challenge at Simplicity is to make a one-layer card with more than five circles on it.  I pulled out Stampin' Up polka dots and petals, which I bought at a garage sale last summer and hadn't used yet.  I had fun playing around with different color combinations and settled on these three to make a simple set of cards.

My favorite of the three is the last card in green. I love the Memento pear tart with black and gray.   I tried photographing it multiple times with multiple background colors.  In every picture it looked more like vomit than the lovely lime green that it is.  Oh well.  It's still my fave.

Supplies:

Paper: PTI white

Stamps: Stampin' Up polka dots and petals, PTI communique curves sentiments

Ink: Memento pear tart, London fog, Memories black, Color Box robin's egg and pink

PTI Anniversary Sketch Challenge

I haven't been able to play along with any of the PTI anniversary challenges this week, but I was determined to make one card for today's sketch challenge.

I needed a masculine thank you for a firefighter friend who met with both of my Girl Scout troops to help the girls earn their safety award pins.  I chose masculine colors and the new thank you stamp set that I received with a recent PTI order.  I'm not entirely sure about the buttons on a masculine card, but I do like the way this turned out. :) 

Supplies:

Paper: PTI rustic white and dark chocolate, yellow from scrap bin

Stamps: PTI

Ink: Color Box chalk chestnut roan

Less is More 53 & ric#5

Challenge 53 at Less is More is a color challenge to use aqua. Aqua is not a color I use a lot and I actually had to Google it to make sure I had the right color! :)  I typically use Memento inks, but there didn't seem to be a good choice and I ended up using ColorBox Robin's Egg.  It's such a pretty color; I think I'll be using it a lot more in the future.  The only problem was I couldn't find a single piece of cardstock that matched.  Everything was either too blue or too green.

I actually made this first card a few days ago, but I felt it might be a little bit fussy for Less is More. I decided I had to make another card with more white space.  I love the card, though.  It's an Inkadinkado stamp that's about 2 inches square which I stamped it repeatedly to create a background of sorts.  While I have no paper to match this color, I did happen to have some matching ribbon.

For my second card I cut an aperture from a piece of square card stock to frame the circle image which is stamped on the card base.  This is my first time cutting an aperture on a card and I love it.  I'll definitely be using this technique again.  I had a very difficult time photographing this card.  It's a dreary day, so that didn't help.  The card is definitely softer than the first, but it appears much more washed out than it really is.

I'm also linking up with the Runway Inspired Challenge, where the skirt and top are a beautiful, soft bluish color surrounded by the white space of the runway.   I think the medallion image captures the soft pleating of the skirt and the pearl adds the shimmer.

  

Thanks for visiting.

Supplies:

Paper: PTI white

Stamps: Inkadinkado spring assortment, PTI sentiments

Ink: ColorBox Robin's Egg

OLW 77 and CF84FN 47

I finally found a little bit of time to play along with the One Layer Wednesday at Styles Ink, and just in the nick of time!  The challenge is to make a one layer birthday card featuring birds.  I used these sweet birds on a branch from the Hero Arts Kiss From the Sun set.

To color the birds, I decided to use this week's colors from CR84FN 47, which are are red, pink, and light blue.  Love this combination!  For three of the birds, I colored the belly red and the rest of the body pink.  Then I blended with a blender pencil.  I used a light blue for the fourth bird.

I ended up coloring several images, so after making my one-layer card for the one-layer challenge, I decided to cut the others down and mat them.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts Kiss For the Sun, PTI sentiment
Ink: Memories black
Paper: PTI white, kraft
Other: Prismacolor pencils.