Dare to Get Dirty continuted

A little blast from the past here.  I love cone flowers.  I have them in my garden and I end up with a ton of pictures of them when we go to the arboretum.  I missed getting this set when it was current, but a sweet friend sent me hers because she knew how much I love the flowers.  I thought the silhouette of them would look pretty on a yellow and orange background.  And, remember Tiny Tags? Now that was another favorite of mine and I added some of those too.  That's one set and punch I'll keep for sure.

The other night before I went to bed I made a few backgrounds and left them to dry.  This was one of them.  I was pleasantly surprised when I woke up and saw how it turned out.  Hopefully it reminds you of a beach?  lol  That big huge acrylic block from Stampin' Up! comes in handy for backgrounds sometimes. I tapped on two blues and two browns of distress ink, spritzed it, and laid it on watercolor paper to try.  Doesn't get much easier than that!

Oh look! More cone flowers.  lol  Power Poppy had this beautiful digital stamp, so of course I needed it.  Since I had Tiny Tags on my desk, I used the friends stamp to add a little sentiment. I am really liking digital stamps lately, but my printer gets a bit grumpy about it.  I need to make sure the next one we get has an option to feed the paper differently.

We went school clothes and shoe shopping today.  I can't believe it's so close!  It does start later here on the 28th, so a little while longer at least.

Friday Mashup Flowers

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge:

1. Make a project with the "Sketch".
2. Or Make a project using "Faux Washi Tape".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project using the "Sketch and Faux Washi Tape".

Tara is our hostess this week at The Friday Mashup and she challenged us with a technique and this cool sketch!  I didn't manage to mash mine up as I couldn't find the tape in our house, but if you want to, you can find the tutorial here.  

I had an idea for this card in my head for over a week but couldn't find the stamp set.   I finally found it the other day which was great because I didn't really have any other ideas!   It didn't translate quite how I pictured it, but I guess it's still okay.   

Stamps:  Inspired by Nature

Ink: Versamark

Paper:  Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Basic Gray, First Edition DSP, scraps for the flags

Tools/Accessories:  Heat Tool, black embossing powder, Scallop Edge punch, Neutrals buttons

I am a bit obsessed with cone flowers, so here's some I took a picture of at the arboretum the other day.  :)  

She just keeps growing so fast.  I'm afraid prom is just around the corner!  Ha! 

Tuesday Stampin' on Friday

Isn't this a cool sketch?  When I saw it pop up on the Try Stampin' on Tuesday website I just knew I had to play along!   I can see myself using this one a lot as it has so many possibilities!  My idea didn't totally work out, but I still had a fun time with it.  You might see another card with it as I try to get the idea in my head to come to life!   (This is another of my Dare to Get Dirty cards for the Splitcoast challenges as well.)

Purple with green is a favorite color combination of mine.  I would really have liked to do an all purple card, but I didn't have the Wisteria ribbon that I'd need to do it.  :(   Don't you hate when that happens?  I went with the green but I'm not totally sold on it.   I am glad that I did a bit more stamping today though.  It's been a bad week emotionally and I needed my therapy!  

Stamps:  Inspired by Nature

Ink:  Versamark

Paper:  Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade, 2011-2013 In Color DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Finishing Touches Edgelits, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Lucky Limeade ribbon, Basic Pearls

We took the beautiful quilt that my Mom's friend made to Laila's photo shoot.  I think Jason did a great job picking out the fabric and pattern for it!  It's GORGEOUS!

DD9: Crumb Cake Plus!

Good morning!   Up a little early this morning, so I thought I'd finish and post the card I started working on last night.   My parents left to go back home today so Mom had lots of Laila time yesterday.  I took advantage of that and headed into my craft room for some stamping time.    I had a pretty weepy day on Wednesday so I know it's important for me to try and get my "therapy" started back up.   :)   I wanted to play along with the challenge from Dynamic Duos this week.   I totally missed the deadline to submit it for the challenge, but it was fun to make anyway.   

I used a mix of old and new products on this one.   My sweet friend Marla was kind enough to gift me her Inspired by Nature stamp set and I just had to use it.   It was always a favorite of mine but I never did buy it for some reason.   I don't know why I love cone flowers so much, but I find myself drawn to this stamp set and the actual flowers themselves when we visit the local arboretum.  I also used a new stamp set, the gorgeous Papillon Potpourri.   I just love those butterflies!   What do you think about Crumb Cake paired with Island Indigo?   I like it, but Island Indigo is one of my favorite SU colors.   I also tried out the new piercing products and I have to say, GET IT!   I can see that quickly becoming a favorite set of tools.

Stamps:  Inspired by Nature (retired), Papillon Potpourri, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Island Indigo

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Island Indigo, Whisper White, 2011-2013 In Color DSP stack, Neutrals DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Scallop Circles #2 die (retired), 3-inch circle die, Finishing Touches Edgelit, 2 1/2 circle punch, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, Paper Piercing pack w/ mat, Basic Pearls

You know I can't post without sharing a picture of our new bundle of joy.  :)   

Thursday Challenge: Pals Paper Arts

The Pals Paper Arts challenge this week is to emboss.   I pulled out my embossing folder and got to work.   I had an idea in my head that I had been wanting to do for a while, so I started working on it and found that my mental image was much prettier than the actual end product.   I scrapped the first card and tried again using pinks.   I've been in a mood for pinks lately, so I had hopes that I would be happier with my second attempt.   While I do like it better than the first, I'm a bit let down by it.    I wanted to post it anyway just so you know that you won't always love every card, nor will they always turn out perfect.    You can, however, keep working and improving on an idea and you will be a better result with time.   I'm going to keep this one rolling around in my head and try it one more time next month.   Stay tuned...


Stamps: Inspired by Nature
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Confetti White
Tools: Big Shot, Square Lattice embossing folder
Accessories: Old Olive satin ribbon, linen thread, retired button

APB: Beautiful Wings is MISSING!

This is for this week's clean and simple challenge.

I had a bit of an emergency tonight; I couldn't find my butterfly embosslit. It is still MIA, but I found enough leftover ones to put my card together. I think I want to do this one again and work on my layering. :)   Well, AFTER I tear my room apart and find my butterflies!

Stamps: Inspired by Nature, All Holidays
Ink: Versamark, Early Espresso
Paper: Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Neutrals Designer Series Paper stack
Tools: Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, heat tool
Accessories: basic pearls, clear embossing powder