July 2013 Sketch Challenge #182 Operation Write Home

Happy Sunday everyone!

This card is for Operation Write Home's Sketch Challenge #182. You can find more details about the challenge here:

OWH Sketch Challenge #182

Here is the sketch:

I had to make some little adjustments here and there to make it work, but that is the beauty of sketches, right? Sketches provide a nice base that we can play with depending on the papers & embellishments we are using.   

I wanted to mat everything in black so I adjusted the size of the of the 3.25 x 5" piece down to  3 1/8 x 4 3/8".   I  wanted to use the sentiment from SRM Stickers (that has been in my stash too long)  and thought it would work with these bright yellow papers.  It was too small to work  across those little bars of yellow so I placed it above them.   I decided to add some flowers (cut with Cricut's "Accent Essentials" cartridge)  across the yellow bars and then added some May Arts ribbon below.  The papers are all from Michael's Recollections. 

Thank you for stopping by! 

:)

July 2013 Spectrum Noir Challenge "Friendship"

Hello there! This card is for the July 2013 Spectrum Noir Challenge calling for a "friendship" theme. You can find the details for this challenge here:

Spectrum Noir Challenge

 This originally wood-mounted rubber stamp came from my sister years ago and so sorry, has no company name with it. 

 I colored these two girlies with Spectrum Noir and layered them on scalloped circles cut with my Cricut "Elegant Edges" cartridge. The papers are from Recollections, except the background party- streamer paper which was from a Disney scrapbook pack. 

The sentiment is from Our Daily Bread Designs "Sentiments Collection 2" and you can find it here: Our Daily Bread Designs

Colors for the "apple overalls" little girl:

Hair- GB2, TN2, TN5

Skin- FS3, FS8

Overalls- CR3, PP5, PP6, CR6 (apple)  

Blouse & Cuffs- HB2, HB1, LV2 PL2 (gloves)

Colors for the "heart overalls" little girl:

Hair- BGR2, BGR4, BGR5

Skin- FS1, FS6

Overalls- HB2, HB1, LV2, 

Blouse & Cuffs- CR3, PP5, PP6, CR6 (heart), LV1 (glove)

Shoes for both- IG2, IG6

I distressed the edges with Color Box "Pink" ink, used a Fiskars "Lace" paper punch for the corners (you can find it here: Fiskars Lace Punch), and several ribbons. The white mesh "net" ribbon and the "crochet trim" ribbon are from May Arts.  I also added a little satin ribbon (Offray) for the bow. 

And last, I added a little Viva Pearl Pen in "Ice White" around the circle and in the corners.  This card is going to be packed up tightly for Operation Write Home and I do not want those little pearl pen dots to be sticking to anything, so I will be dusting them with a tiny bit of baby powder to remove any tackiness. 

Thank you for stopping by!

:)

July 2013 OWH Sketch Challenge # 181

Today's card is for Operation Write Home's Sketch Challenge #181. Here is the sketch:

 More details can be found here:

OWH #181

I started off looking for an image that would fit in the 2.25 inch square on the left and that set the tone for the whole card. This pumpkin is a wood mounted rubber stamp possibly from Rubber Stampede. I found it on Ebay as part of a large lot of stamps, so I am thinking it is a bit older. I colored it with Spectrum Noir in OR1, GB5, TN5, CT4 & LY1 for the pumpkin and DG2, DG3, & CG2 for the leaves. 

The sentiment is from Our Daily Bread Designs "Sentiments Collection 2". 

The little buttons were made using my EK Success Button Punch and white card stock. I then used my Spectrum Noir to color them to match the pumpkin's green stem (DG2, DG3, CG2).  I popped them with a little dimensional adhesive and stitched them on with some dark orange DMC thread. 

The orange paper is basic orange card stock and I stamped it with Fun Stampers Journey "Basket Weave" to get that little diamond pattern. You can find it here:

Basket Weave

 I also used the ink color "Orange Slice" from Fun Stampers Journey.  The bottom of the card looked a little plain (even with the basket weave stamped on it) so I cut my 1 1/2 inch mesh ribbon in half (to make it now only .75 inch wide)  to make it fit the lower portion and then used the extra cut piece for a knot. I added a metal brad to keep the knot in place since gluing this mesh is difficult. 

The hardest space to fill was the tiny little .25 x 2.25 inch space between the pumpkin and the sentiment. I found this diagonal orange/white stripe in my scrap box and decided to make the white stripes green (DG2) using Spectrum Noir. 

It really was a fun card to make and I am thinking it has something to do with all the Fall colors I was working with. Fall is my favorite time of year because it means a break from the super hot weather of Southern California. 

Thank you for stopping by! 

Saturated Canary July 2013 "Celebration" Challenge

Hello everyone!  I made this card for the Saturated Canary's July 2013 Challenge for "Celebration" themed projects. You can find details for the challenge here:
                                                     Saturated Canary Challenge


I colored this Saturated Canary image called "Canary Love" with Spectrum Noir and a couple of Copic markers. You can find this image to purchase here:
                                                               Canary Love


Here are the colors I used:
Hair: Spectrum Noir TN3, TN5, EB3
Skin: Spectrum Noir FS1, FS8, FS9
Dress: Spectrum Noir IB3, BT3, BT1, TN2
           Copic: E44, E42
Shoes: Copic: E44, E42

The papers are from My Minds Eye's "Breeze" and "Sunshine" 6x6 paper pads.  I used the Cricut "Elegant Edges" cartridge to cut the decorative ovals and the "Accent Essentials" cartridge for the scrolls.  I added some pearls and gems around the scrolls and some Glossy Accents on her shoes.  I also added a little brown grosgrain ribbon and a little lace.

This challenge came just in time because Operation Write Home is calling for more "Celebration" cards, rather than "Happy Birthday" specific cards.....A "Celebration" sentiment on a card can be used to celebrate anything and has more versatility than a card that has "Happy Birthday" on it.

Thank you for stopping by!  :)

July 2013 Our Daily Bread Designs/OWH Challenge

Each month Our Daily Bread Designs offers a challenge to Operation Write Home card makers. If 50 card makers participate ODBD will cover the cost of shipping two boxes of OWH greeting cards.  This month's challenge is to use "stitching" on a card. You can find details about the challenge here:

July 2013 ODBD Challenge

I love stitching on cards, especially when I am creating patchwork quilt cards. For this card I reached into my scraps for all yellows and reds. The papers are a mix of Bazzill, Claudine Hellmoth's Home Sweet Home, and Recollections. The sentiment is one of the $1 rubber stamps from Michael's (made by Craft Smart), and the buttons were made with a EK Sucess button punch. 

For the stitching I used a red variegated DMC thread. 

Thank you for stopping by! 

:)

OWH Sketch Challenge # 179 & Saturated Canary Nevaeh

Hello everyone! I made this card for the Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge # 179. I love this sketch because it allows me to use up pretty scraps of paper. You can find this sketch and the details here: OWH Sketch # 179

I flipped the sketch so that I could use this image and had to adjust a couple of the measurements to accommodate the paper bits I wanted to use (well, use up actually.)  :)

This beautiful darling is Saturated Canary's "Nevaeh" and I just think she is so pretty.  Another card artist (so sorry I can not remember who) added mini pearls to this dress and I could not wait to try it, although I used pearl pen so it would not have too much dimension for Operation Write Home.  You can purchase this lovely image here:

Nevaeh

I used Spectrum Noir's Coral Reds (my favorites) on her dress, specifically CR5, CR4, & CR3. I used Copics on her hair. E40, E42, & E43  (Spectrum Noir's EB1 matches Copic's E40, however Spectrum Noir does not have anything similar to Copic's E42 & E43.)

The papers were from my scrap pile and I hate to admit, they were rather "mature"......I hate saying old....they have been lovingly preserved in my paper keeper.   So I do not even have paper companies to list. 

I used my Cricut for the fancy scroll (Accent Essentials Cartridge and I cut it on white and then colored it with the same colors I used on her dress) and the scalloped edge was from the Elegant Edges Cartridge.   I added a couple pearls and gems for sparkle and some Glossy Accents on her shoes and eyes.  

The sentiment is a Penny Black Wood Mount stamp dated 2007 and the pearl pen on her dress is my favorite Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Ice White. 

Thank you for stopping by! 

Saturated Canary "Janessa"

I love this image by Saturated Canary called Janessa. The artist, Krista Smith, did such amazing work on this dress and it was so interesting to color.  You can purchase this image here:     Janessa

I was looking for ideas on how to color her and found the Distinctive Touches blog (click here: Distinctive Touches) and loved the colors the artist, Colleen Schaan, used. She used Copic markers so I was not able to completely match her colors with Spectrum Noir, but I came close. The hardest colors to match were for the hair, so my Janessa is more golden brown/blond (I wish Spectrum Noir would make more colors some day....)  rather than a platinum brown/blond.

Coloring this image took more than an hour (closer to two.....), but I learned a lot from trying to get the same look Colleen Schaan created.

After coloring I added a little Stickles to the bottom hem of her dress for a little sparkle.   :)