Color Throwdown #333 - Guest Designer

Hi everyone!  I'm back with my second card for my guest designer stint over on the Color Throwdown Blog.  This week, Monika is the hostess, and she has picked some gorgeous colors for us to play with.  The colors are lavender, light gray, green, and white.  

I was inspired by the flowers in the inspiration picture so I started by spraying some white cardstock with Lilac Walnut Ink spray.  It was darker than I wanted, so I sprayed over it with some white Picket Fence Distress Spray Stain.  This white spray mutes darker colors very nicely, and after the cardstock dried, it was a lovely shade of lavender.  I cut a bunch of flowers out of this sprayed lavender cardstock with a Cheery Lynn Designs die and assembled them together.

For my card base, I simply folded a white card in half and then I sponged some light gray ink over a stencil directly onto the white card.  I lifted the sponge up as I went toward the right corner so the gray stenciling faded away.  I then stamped this beautiful sentiment from Verses Rubber Stamps onto the white corner.

After I placed my flowers where I wanted them, I needed some green foliage.  So I pulled out two more Cheery Lynn Designs dies and cut a bunch of leaves and vines and then glued them down next to the flowers.  This card is going to a friend whose mother just passed away, and I hope it gives her some comfort.

I loved the colors this week!  I hope you join along in the Color Throwdown with us.  Remember, be sure to add CTD333 to the keywords section when you upload your cards to an online gallery so we can find your creations.

You will find all the challenge details on the Color Throwdown Blog.

Check out what the Color Throwdown DT has created for you today:

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Wanda Cullen - Cullen-ary Creations

Joan Ervin - Stamping With a Passion 

Broni Holcombe - Splashes of Color

Lori Tecler - Inking a Loud

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy

Vickie Zimmer - Smitten With All Things Stamping

Monika Davis - M.A.D Stamper

Jodi Collins - Stamping a Latte

Holly Brown - Glitter, Stamps, and Ink (Oh My!) - March Guest Designer (that's me!)
Betty Wright - Crafting with Betty - Guest Star Stamper

Color Throwdown #332 - Guest Designer

Hi folks!  I have some fun news to share with you today.  I have been asked to be a guest designer for the Color Throwdown Challenge this month!  Each week on Wednesdays, there will be a new color challenge posted and I will share my cards with you both here and on the Color Throwdown blog.

This week, Lori is the hostess and she picked a fabulous inspiration picture for her colors.  The colors are kraft, navy, red, and turquoise.

I loved the bold stripes on that rubber boot, so I used that for my background.  I added a kraft sentiment and a quill and inkpot die cut from kraft cardstock.  Those bold stripes really take command against the kraft card base and it helps the kraft die cuts stand out.

Such fun colors to play with this week!  I hope you join along in the Color Throwdown with us.  Remember, be sure to add CTD332 to the keywords section when you upload your cards to an online gallery so we can find your creations.

You will find all the challenge details on the Color Throwdown Blog.

Check out what the Color Throwdown DT has created for you today:

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Wanda Cullen - Cullen-ary Creations

Joan Ervin - Stamping With a Passion 

Broni Holcombe - Splashes of Color

Lori Tecler - Inking a Loud

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy

Vickie Zimmer - Smitten With All Things Stamping

Monika Davis - M.A.D Stamper

Jodi Collins - Stamping a Latte

Holly Brown - Glitter, Stamps, and Ink (Oh My!) - March Guest Designer (that's me!)

Kevin McDonald - McCrafty's Cards - Guest Star Stamper

Masculine Valentine's Card

Howdy, friends!  Are you ready for Valentine's Day?  It's next Saturday, so I decided I better get a move on and get one made for my sweet hubby.  I just got some stamps from Art Neko, and all of the stamps that I used on today's card came from this sheet:

http://artneko.com/displayItem/A157-FSHT

Did you know that Art Neko has lots of non-Asian themed stamps?  There's literally TONS of stamps in this store!  There are Western cowboy stamps, Victorian girls, Valentine's Day, Christmas, and even US state birds and flowers to name a few.  Go check them out and see the variety of stamps they offer at Art Neko.  All of their stamps are wonderfully deeply etched rubber and you can order them as just plain rubber or with cling mount on them.  I've really been enjoying playing with their stamps.

For this card, I used a kraft card base and I stamped the sentiment with Chocolate Chip ink.  I stamped the heart background with a pale pink ink and cut it out and mounted it onto a Chocolate Chip layer.  After wrapping the top of the pink background piece with some twine, I stamped the larger heart with Chocolate Chip ink and cut it out.  The smaller heart was stamped with kraft ink and then cut out.  I adhered both of the hearts with some foam tape and then adhered the whole piece to the kraft card base.

I wanted to use masculine colors because this will be going to my hubby next weekend.  He's not a pink and red and lace and ruffles kind of guy, so I think this card with the kraft and dark brown colors and the twine will appease his male ego, even though there is just a wee touch of pink on it.  :-)

Enjoy your weekend!

Gelato Drips and Winnie the Pooh

Hi folks!  I was looking this week's colors for the Color Throwdown Challenge #327, and I thought I'd try these colors with the Gelato Drips technique from Technique Junkies (December 2014 issue).  I love these colors together - they work beautifully when they blend together and drip down the cardstock.  

I paired this technique with this sweet quote from Winnie the Pooh.  This stamp is from Verses Rubber Stamps and it can be found here (scroll down near the bottom of the page - QQ0860-D).  This card is so vibrant and alive, I just couldn't think of anything else to add to it.  I did not want to cover up all those gorgeous drips with any ribbon or butterflies or anything else.  Sometimes it's best to keep it very clean and simple!  :-)

Blue Dragonflies

Hi folks!  I was looking through some papers and I found some gorgeous handmade Thai papers from Art Neko in my stash.  These papers are absolutely stunning, and I couldn't bear to cover them up, so I found an Art Neko stamp with lots of open space.  This one is called Dragonflies Framed within a Frame and I stamped it onto a transparency and attached it to the paper with gold brads.

The beauty of the paper really shines through and I kept it simple by adhering it to a black card base.  I wish I knew how to make these papers because the colors are stunning and I love that pop of gold here and there.  You can see all the different colors that Art Neko has here.  You might want to hurry and buy some before I nab them all.  Hee hee hee!!!!!!!

Gelato Drip Feathers

I've been seeing a lot of artwork using the Gelato Drips technique from the last Technique Junkies newsletter (December 2014), so I had to give this technique a try.  It's so fun and easy and you never know what your background will end up like.  Those are the best techniques, aren't they?  :-)

I used the same gelatos to ink up the feather stamp (Peacock Feather, #SD038) several times before I cut them out.  The sentiment is perfect with this peacock feather stamp, and it is called "Hope is the Thing" (#SD371) from Technique Junkies Stamps.  Pat is working on a brand new website for the Technique Junkies Stamps, but for now, you can find all her stamps at http://www.stampcamp.com . 

Don't forget that the Design Team Call is still going on!  If you love techniques and the wide assortment of stamps at Technique Junkies Stamps, get your application in.  You can check out the details HERE.  We would love to play with you!!  :-)

Distressed Daisies

I decided to play with one of my favorite techniques called Watercolor Distress from the February 2007 issue of Technique Junkies.  This technique is so much fun as you never know what you will end up with.  I used four ink colors - Plum, Wisteria, Wasabi (green), and Marina Mist (blue) - and I love this aged, almost vintage look of these colors together.  When you do this particular technique, every single piece will be totally different.

I stamped the gorgeous Vintage Daisy Collage stamp (Palettini Collection from Technique Junkies Stamps) right over the colored background and I colored in the butterfly and bee wings with a shimmery glaze pen.  The sentiment is from the Einstein Quotes set (Technique Junkies Stamps).  I stamped it on white cardstock and then cut the lines apart and glued them down separately for added interest.

Here's hoping you have a great weekend!!