Color Dare #7

Alright!  I am officially back in the swing of things after summer vacation.  I feel so accomplished after surviving the 109 degree heat in Nashville.  ;)

On to this week's Color Dare!  This one is a great color combo--we are to use the secondary colors of orange, green, and purple in any shades we choose.  I chose Sunset, Sweet Leaf, Topiary, and Petal, along with the neutrals Colonial White and Chocolate.

This is seriously another case of hand-hitting-forehead inspiration because it came to me as I was designing card layouts for my next workshop.  I quit the cards and went right to work.  You see, while I was cutting, I ended up with a leftover strip from the Victory Paper Pack that I took one look at and just HAD to make it into a bookmark.  This one will be for my niece's baptism birthday this Saturday, so the timing was phenomenal, and definitely from above!  In fact, most of the pieces I used were in my leftover drawer with cuts that I had not used on other projects--the only ones I did especially for this one were the Petal colored flowers.  Reheated leftovers--yummo!   ;)

Here is the original version:

Now here is the Glitzy version!

I realized while threading the ribbon that the paper would be better with a little more thickness here where it ties in.  I easily reinforced it by making two flower cuts with the AP Cart on our cardstock, punching a hole through the center, and adhering one to each side of the bookmark.  Walla!

Here is the recipe for my reheated leftovers:
Art Philosophy Cartridge
Victory Paper Pack
Colonial White, Sweet Leaf, and Petal Cardstock
Colonial White and Topiary Inks
My Acrylix Rock the Block Stamp Set
My Acrylix Card Word Puzzle Stamp Set
Ribbon and brads from the Sunset Mini Medley Assortment
Glitter Glitz in Stardust

Chevron Inspiration

Serious readers may have the day off, because this is sort of silly.  ;)

I was really wanting to use chevrons in a card for my next workshop since they are all the rage right now.  While I didn't get inspired that direction, I WAS inspired to make another card.  Many of you will get the connection right away, lol...so here it is!

I haven't thought of Charlie Brown's shirt in ages, so the fact that this popped into my head just helps me believe that I really haven't forgotten as much as I thought.  I hope you have a good laugh with me over this one!   So fun!

I also learned a valuable lesson while making this card--don't delete pics too quickly!  You see, I wasn't crazy about the way I wrote the words, "Good Grief," at first.  I decided to use a little trick to cover it up by placing a piece of cardstock right on top of the mistake.  I used to have a picture of what it looked like before, but erased it too quickly--could have used it as a before/after mistake picture.  Oh well, you still get the idea.  That is really just one of the many ways you can correct a mistake on a card you are making.  Maybe I can do a series of posts on how to cover up mistakes?   Hmmmmm....

Cricut Imagine Playdate Continued...

Just a few other creations from my Cricut Imagine playdate left to show you.  These two both started off as the same cuts, but I used them in completely different ways in the end.

 

I used a wonderful little set called Notice the Details on this one.  LOVE the little binder clip stamp!  The torn notebook paper edge if fabulous as well.  I just used a hole punch to make the hole--it isn't really notebook paper, lol.  ;)  These images were taken from the Imagine More Cards Cartridge.

 This card turned out amazing with all the details that developed.  I just kept adding things as they popped into my head.  The sentiment, Thanks, is from one of my cricut carts, not sure which though since it is a leftover cut from months ago, sorry!  It really ended up tying in well with this one though! 

I used the June Stamp of the Month, Life is Tweet, on this card as well.  I really do like how the tag embellished with the baker's twine sits in the background.

Added some bitty sparkles for some shine!

This last card is a bit different than I am used to doing, so kind of out-of-the-box for me.  It is a tag in it's own little pocket.  I really ad a lot of fun putting the different elements together on this one!  It can double as a bookmark!  :)  I used my CTMH ruler and poking tool to make evenly spaced holes along the sides.  Then I hand sewed two threads of white embroidery floss through them with a needle. 

Here is the tag/card taken out of the pocket:

I added my own little note on the back of the tag as if I were writing on the inside of a card.  I wanted to put something on the front of the pocket, but didn't want to clutter it up or take away from the tag inside, so I settled on stamping a simple sentiment with my White Daisy ink.  This was my first attempt with the light ink, so it was a little sparse in the middle, but I was hesitant to get too much ink because it has a different consistency than the other inks.  Our light inks are pigment based dyeds instead of the water based dye that the other colors are.  Someone said to think of it like you were stamping peanut butter--gentle on the ink pad and lightly on the paper so it doesn't smoosh out the sides.  It was a great description for sure!  Won't forget that one...

One Down!

It is totally Tuesday!  Did anyone happen to catch Monday?  Anyone?  Yep, me neither.

Anyhow, I had a fantastic time at my very first card workshop this past Friday.  It is really some feeling to be able to share a hobby that you love with your friends, but for me to be able to attempt to make a career out of it is a dream come true for sure!  Here are a couple of pics of my set-up--and kudos to Bethie for thinking of taking them!  ;)

Here is my new table!  I think I might be asking for another for Christmas...

Table #2...hope it wasn't wobbly, girls!
  

Here are the name tags for the containers that held the card supplies...wouldn't want your hard work to go home with someone else!  :)

My next workshop will be in August, and I am busy designing and working out the kinks as I type! 

OK, so we have this little issue of my sneak peak last week.  Yes, I remember!  I had printed out a bunch of paper pieces from my Cricut Imagine--and I actually got it calibrated the BEST I have managed yet.  I used them to make some awesome cards with my Close to My Heart embellies and stamps and such.  It was great to get back to my Imagine to play, and I love the results!  Hopefully all the recipients have seen their cards by now! 

Love the bear's little twine collar.  Makes him less scary, don't you think?   ;)

Whew, that was pretty picture heavy.  I will save the rest for tomorrow! 

Color Dare Challenge #6

Alright, so the sneak peak is just going to have to wait...I already finished my project for the Color Dare Challenge this week!  I had purchased the Footloose Workshop Kit to use with many of my beach pictures, and this was the perfect opportunity to start! 

EDIT:  I am linking this oldie but goodie up to Heart 2 Heart's National Scrapbooking Month Challenge!  This is one of my favorite layouts because of not only the subject, but also the way the elements were MADE for these pics!  :)

The challenge this week is to add a color to one of the current paper packs in your project.  I chose to add an analagous color.  Footloose features the CTMH colors of Creme Brulee, Lagoon, New England Ivy, Pear, Smoothie, Sweet Leaf, and White Daisy.  I added Sunset, which would be next to Creme Brulee and Smoothie on the color wheel, making it analagous to them for a pleasing effect.  Here is my layout:

It is definitely difficult to photograph a double-page layout, so here are the individual pics to see the details a bit better.

I wanted it to feel clean and crisp, so there are no inked edges on this layout.  I did, however try a new technique to me from a video tutorial made by Gloria Rogers that you can see HERE.  Thanks, Gloria!  Love how it turned out:

 Needed some bling, of course!

 This is one stamp that is so super-easy to trim out.  Popped it up with a little foam tape.

 More bling!  The bitty sparkles are easy to get carried away with--be careful!  ;)

 Here is a list of the CTMH products that I used for this layout:

Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge
Footloose Workshop on the Go Kit
Footloose Compliments
White Daisy and Sunset Cardstock
Smoothie and Creme Brulee Ink Pads
Sunset Mini Medley
Bitty Sparkles
Sparkles Blue/Green Assortment
Clear Sparkles
Imagine layout: Double Take (my interpretation of it, anyway!)

I LOVE these pics and the way it turned out.  Thanks for taking a look!

Card Workshop Night!

It is finally here!  My first "official" card workshop is tonight, and let me tell you--I AM STOKED!!!  Is that a word anymore?  Well, now it is the word of the day!  When I first started my blog I would post a "Word of the Day," and it has somehow been drowned out by crafts, go figure.  ;)  Well, it is back, and the Word of the Day is STOKED! 

We will be making the Stella Trio tonight with one of my favorite paper packs.  You can see this adorable card set in this post from a while back. 

Now, here is a sneak peak at my next blog post:

I wonder what I can do with these awesome prints made from my Cricut Imagine?  Tune in next time to find out! 

Close to My Heart Color Dare Challenge #5

I am back from vacation, YEEEEHAW!  And just in the nick of time for another Color Dare!  This week, we are supposed to pick six shades of the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

 The colors I chose to work with are Tulip, Sunset, Honey, Topiary, Pacifica, and Pansy Purple.  These are the most "true" to the rainbow that I wanted to use.  I also used white and black as my neutrals.

 I cut out a french fry box at 9 inches from the Art Philosophy Cartridge on black cardstock.  I also cut out the flower shape x 3 to use with the June Stamp of the Month, Life is Tweet.  I had really wanted to use my Eclectic Edges Stamp Set, so decided to make a rainbow of layers on the outside of the box, keeping the inside nice and dark for the flower to really POP!

 A bit of the black polka-dot ribbon round finished off the edge nicely.  I could really think of nothing better to complete the rainbow effect than some Fruity Tootsie Roll midets!  One of my faves!  Love how this turned out, and really enjoying the challenges each week too.

Today was really productive thank goodness and I made tons of thank you cards for birthday gifts.  Can't wait to share them with you!  In the meantime...remember...Stampaganza is over when June is gone, so get your buy 2 get one free stamps while you can!

Oh wow!!!  I just realized I have 60 followers now!  Thanks you guys, and always feel free to leave some love!