Three butterflies

The challenge at Less is More is to use the number three - three stamps, three images, three somethings. . . .  I'm sure I'm not the only one to combine this challenge with sketch 199 at Clean and Simple stamping.

I took the sketch literally and used butterfly stamps.  I started out with Hero Arts designer butterflies.  I was trying out different color combinations when my favorite butterfly broke while cleaning it!  Has this ever happened to anyone before?  It was so sad.  I love that butterfly and I wasn't cleaning it that vigorously, merely wiping some ink off!

At any rate, I switched over to Martha Stewart doily lacy butterflies and used just one color, Brilliance Mediterranean blue, for a classic blue and white card.  I cut my card narrower than usual and combined one larger butterfly with two smaller.  I added a PTI sentiment from damask designs and some bling to each butterfly, making this card also fit the One-Layer Wednesday challenge to create a one-layer birthday card with bling.

I've just returned home again from another short trip, this time to the beautiful Oregon Coast with my two daughters, my mom, and my mother-in-law.  It's a lovely tradition for my girls to have these memories with their grandmas.  And so lovely for me to come home to such friendly comments on my blog.  Thank you for your visits and your kind words.

Ann

The Beautiful Oregon Coast:

Sketch 199:

Supplies:
Paper: PTI white
Ink: Brilliance Mediterranean blue
Stamps; Martha Stewart doily lace butterflies, PTI sentiment
Other: bling from stash

Hello Yellow!

Less is More 66 is a color challenge, and we are asked to use the color yellow.  It's such a happy color, but not one I use very often.  I've had some fun with this challenge and made several cards. 

 For this card I used FTL 189 at Clean and Simple.  

The sun has been making an appearance here in Western Washington and we spent much of the weekend working in the garden.  My girls strung jump ropes between several of our fruit trees and hung sheets over them to make tents.  They lounged about all afternoon eating snacks, reading books, playing with the dog, and emerging every now and then to hit some baseballs or play in the woods.  It was a lovely weekend.

Thanks for visiting today!

Ann

FTL 189:

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. :)

CAS-ual Fridays 17

The theme for CAS-ual Fridays Challenge 17 is Stuck on You: use stickers on a clean and simple design. I have lots of stickers that I use on scrapbook layouts, but for some reason I rarely use them on cards. For this card I used some EK Success circle stickers, as well as an old sketch from Clean and Simple Stamping.




Supplies:
Paper: PTI vintage cream, blue from stash
Stickers: EK Success
Stamps: PTI Damask Designs
Ink: Brilliance

Just Because

This card is a combination of three challenges, which must be a record for me! CAS-ual Fridays teamed up with Clean and Simple stamping this week to offer the sketch seen below. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to use sponging to create the panel, and lucky for me my favorite challenge blog, Less is More, asked us to use ink on a one-layer card this week.

I have used masking and sponging on a number of cards in the past, but I tend to sponge one color or a couple of really closely related colors. This time I decided to go for a sunset look and move from one color to the next across the masked area. I started with yellows, moved to oranges, then red, and finally a purple-red at the top.

I stamped a Stampendous flower image a couple of times on my panel, added a few rhinestones that I colored black with a Sharpie, and added a PTI sentiment. I hope to be back with another Less is More card in the next day or so, as I have been experimenting with the ink on acrylic block technique that Susan posted about last week. Thanks so much for visiting!

Supplies:
Paper: PTI
Stamps: Stampendous, PTI sentiment
Ink: Color Box, Brilliance Graphite Black

Clean and Simple Sketch 145

I really like the sketch at Clean and Simple this week, so I decided to give it a try. I used a set of papers I picked up at Michaels a year or so ago that has just been waiting for a layout like this. I also used Floral Frenzy, which was the first PTI set I purchased.

I'm not sure how clean and simple these are, but I really like them. It's a great layout, and I have several more already made with the blocks of color but without the final layer, so they're ready to stamp when an occasion arises. There is also a beautiful blue in this set of papers, which looks so pretty with the other colors.




Supplies:
Paper: PTI vintage cream, Recollections Batiked My Interest
Stamps: PTI Floral Frenzy, Tag-Its #3
Ink: Memento pearlescent rust, cantaloupe, Brilliance rich cocoa, pearlescent ivy

Make It Monday 6 and FTL 132

I finally got around to doing the Make It Monday 6 at Capture the Moment, which focuses this week on partial embossing. I decided to combine it with this sketch from the Clean and Simple Stamping blog.


Instead of using a patterned paper for the bottom of the card, I embossed it with the lower portion of the Cuttlebug Bird Call embossing folder. I used PTI Floral Frenzy for the flowers. One of the reasons I bought this set, besides really liking it of course, is that it can be used with the Cuttlebug flower dies that I already had. Love that!




Supplies:
Paper: PTI white card base
Stamps: PTI Floral Frenzy, Mega Mixed Messages
Ink: ColorBox Paintbox Brights
Other: Cuttlebug flower dies, Cuttlebug Bird Call embossing folder, Offray ribbon

Make It Monday # 3

I should probably call this post "Make-It-Do Monday," as I didn't have the tools needed to try the technique on this week's Make-It Monday challenge at Capture the Moment. I thought it was brilliant to use tape for a glitter strip, so I decided to give it a try with the things I already had on hand.

I don't have scor-tape, and the only glitter I have is the chunky glitter my kids and I use on their craft projects. I decided to try it with my tape-runner and some very old glittery embossing powder. It worked! I don't have an appropriately sized circle punch or a banner die, so I cut my own. Certainly not as neat and tidy, but it had to do.

When I was thinking of how I wanted to use the glitter strip, I remembered a sketch from a few weeks ago on Clean and Simple. I used that to make my card. It is pink and sparkly, and will be perfect for my little girl's sixth birthday which is coming up this spring.

I love the addition of the glitter strip to this card.



Supplies:
Paper: PTI white and pink scraps from my scrap drawer
Other: old embossing glitter, tape runner, Cuttlebug die for the "6"