colourQ challenge #314

This week's colourQ challenge colors are great (and not just because I have them all!!), especially the Rich Razzleberry, What a great color!! I broke our the vintage SU! stamp sets for my card. Print Pattern has always been a favorite and Batty for You is an old stand-by - so easy and fun to use. I didn't even have to fussy-cut Frankenstein - I used my 1-inch circle punch and it fit perfectly inside the text ring. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you and your little (or big!) goblins have a great Halloween weekend!!

colourQ challenge #313

For my card for this week's colourQ challenge, I used an Amuse Studio's set called Fight Like a Girl and a little birthday set from SU! that my sweet stamping friend, Mary Ann, gave me. I repeatedly stamped the balloons to get a bit of gradation. I don't have Going Gray so I stamped HOPE in Basic Gray and used a strip of silvery gray cardstock to ground the balloons. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!!

'Tis the season for pumpkin EVERYTHING!!

So, I know this little gem won't be seen by anyone except my faithful stamping friend, Mary Ann, but I'm sharing it anyway. I just got this cute little stamp from Neat & Tangled and since I am a major pumpkin fanatic, I had to have it! The inspiration for this card came from the company website and, while it took me forever to make, I like the way it turned out. I stamped the image in SU! Early Espresso ink and heat-embossed with clear embossing powder. Then, I stamped and embossed just the pumpkin, cut it out, and mounted using dimensionals. I used watercolor paper and watercolored rather randomly using Tim Holtz Peacock Feathers, Cracked Pistachio, and Squeezed Lemonade. I used SU! Pumpkin Pie cardstock as the base. Thanks for stopping by, Mary Ann, and have a great week!! :D

colourQ challenge #312

This has been kind of a crazy week, so I had to put my card together rather hastily this afternoon. I hope you like it! The patterned paper is called Pumpkin Patch by Pebbles, and the stamp set is a vintage one from SU! called Batty for You. I added the sequins for a touch of Only Orange and the spider and bat are mounted on Basic Gray circles. Don't you love the googly eyes? They are my favorite! They add just the right amount of movement and dimension. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!!

colourQ challenge #311 (part 2)

I felt like I HAD to make a Halloween card using this week's colourQ challenge colors because they are awesome! I love this jar of eyeballs swimming in Kiwi Kiss liquid. The colors on this paper from We R Memory Keepers match the color palette exactly, which is lucky since I still don't have Wisteria Wonder!! I subbed Concord Crush for it, I think. I've been away from Stampin' Up! so long that I don't know many of the newer In Colors. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!!  

colourQ challenge #311

Sorry my picture is blurry. I mailed the card immediately so there was no re-doing it. I'm hoping to make a Halloween card with these colors later in the week but here's this one in the event I don't get another one made. This week's colourQ challenge colors are wonderful for the season. I've spent the last week putting out fall and Halloween decorations. They are my very favorite, even more so than Christmas!! It's still pretty warm here in East Tennessee, but that doesn't stop me from making soup and drinking pumpkin spice lattes whenever I can! I still don't have Wisteria Wonder so I subbed Lovely Lilac. Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed week!

Captain American Birthday Party

We celebrated our sweet angel baby's 5th birthday a couple of weeks ago with a Captain America party (her choice!). It was surprisingly easy to put together once I narrowed down the list of projects I wanted to complete. Pinterest is both a blessing and a curse. My new philosophy is that I try not to look at the mega over-the-top birthday parties that make me feel defeated before I even start planning. That really helped a couple of years ago when I planned her Very Hungry Caterpillar party. That party could've easily been the death of me because nearly every party I found on-line was huge with elaborate spreads of food representing every single item that darn caterpillar ate!! Let me free you now to actually enjoy your children's birthday parties - YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT ALL!! You only have to do what your kid will really love and you can manage. I PROMISE!! No matter how big or small the parties are, my little one always raves about her friends and family being there. That's what always sticks with her!

 

I have a sweet friend who makes the most delicious cookies so I knew I wanted those. In fact, I planned the date of the party around her availability!! The cake was delicious and made by a local bakery because I once tried my hand at a birthday cake and it was not pretty. I made t-shirts for the little kids, Frisbees as Captain America's shield for everyone, a banner, a wreath, and lots of delicious food! Morgan had a blast and we all enjoyed a wonderfully pleasant afternoon of food and fellowship!

 

colourQ challenge #310

This week's colourQ challenge colors are GORGEOUS, perfect for the get-well card I wanted to make! I love the look of coverplates, but they are expensive and often hard for me to use, so I made this one using my Silhouette. After one false start, I actually have something I can use and I love the way it turned out. Since there was no black in the color palette this week, I used the Splat stamp set from PTI to create a colorful sentiment. I had to substitute Tim Holtz's Festive Berries for Riding Hood Red but the rest of the colors are correct - three out of four!! A banner week!! Thanks for stopping by! If you live on the East Coast, I pray your safe in the wake of the hurricane.

colourQ challenge #309

This week, I am using as my card inspiration a card that Danielle Flanders made for Scrap Expo and Papertrey Ink. It's an amazing technique that is surprisingly simple to duplicate. I had all of this week's colourQ challenge colors, which is a miracle! I stamped a sentiment and flowers from PTI's Mini Blooms stamp set and then cut a cloud shape using a PTI die. I popped up the cloud on 2 layers of dimensionals and that's it. I used Really Rust as the card base and a piece of designer paper to anchor the top (Danielle used washi tape, which is another great idea!). I added a few little pearls and voila! Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

colourQ challenge #308

Last week was a rough one. I was planning my sweet 5yo's birthday party when I got sick with a terrible, awful cough that has kept me awake for many nights and has made my head throb for days. Thankfully, the party came together and was wonderful, and I am now feeling so much better, although I still haven't slept much. I tell you all this to explain why I'm a little tardy to this week's colourQ challenge party (But please check back soon so you can see pics of her fabulous Captain America party.)! I saw the inspiration for this card on Pinterest and just loved the graphic feel an clean lines. The creator of the original used PTI's Circle Scribbles die for her card but since I didn't have that one, I went to the trusty Silhouette store and found a nearly identical file. I love it when a plan comes together (movie reference?!)! Somehow, I do not have Soft Sky cardstock (!!!), so I subbed Pool Party, and I used PTI's Wet Paint stamp set, which is one of my very favorites. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check back soon for lots of party pics!


Edited to add: here's the link for my birthday party post!!

colourQ challenge #307

Big shocker! I had none of this week's colourQ challenge colors! Not a single one, so I subbed SU! Kiwi Kiss and Tim Holtz's Aged Mahogany, Seedless Preserves, and Milled Lavender. I sponged on the Kiwi Kiss and then stamped a floral image in the other colors, stamping several times before re-inking. This simple, one-layer card is great when you need an easy, beautiful card. This Sunday is Grandparents' Day (get on it if you've forgotten!!) so I made this card for Chris's grandmother. There's still time to make something beautiful for the grandparents and great-grandparents in your life so celebrate them this weekend!

colourQ challenge #306

I hate to say this, but some weeks I really don't like the colors in the colourQ combo, but I ALWAYS appreciate the talented people who make the challenge happen every week because I constantly need inspiration!! I took my inspiration from a card I saw on Instagram. I subbed Lovely Lilac for Wisteria Wonder, and I pulled out good ol' Daydreamer from PTI for the little flower bouquet. I used my Silhouette to cut the black stripes, which I LOVE!! It's called Horizontal Stripes Overlay if you want to find it in the Silhouette store. Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great weekend!

colourQ challenge #305 (part 2)

I needed a quick card to send to some friends that we've been missing at church so naturally, I used this week's colourQ challenge colors! I used PTI's Splat set, which I LOVE and is so great for easy cards! The sentiment came from a Paper Smooches set that I recently bought from a friend. Have a great night!!

colourQ challenge #305

Hey, there, friends! For this week's colourQ challenge, I'm trying a batik technique that I saw on Heather Nichols' blog. Hers is GORGEOUS!! Mine, not so much. I'm so timid when I try new ideas that I don't really get in there and experiment, I tried twice to get something I liked and this is the better of the two. I had to sub Bermuda Bay for Taken with Teal and Daffodil Delight for So Saffron (I can't believe I don't have that one!). I used PTI's Daydreamer set and Keep it Simple: Praying for You. I stamped the sentiment on vellum and embossed with clear embossing powder which set and brightened the Bermuda Bay ink. The button was a last-minute addition to anchor the vellum strip. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!!

colourQ challenge #304

I am getting my card in just under the wire this week! I absolutely LOVE the colors in this week's colourQ challenge!! This is such a bright and happy color combo and I am super excited about my card, the inspiration for which I found on Pinterest. I know I would be thrilled to receive this card, and it's simple to make. I used Papertrey Ink's Splat stamp set and their Wonderful Words Birthday stamps and die. Additionally, I used Tim Holtz's Festive Berries distress ink - I had the rest of the colors. Thanks for stopping by - I hope this card brightens your Monday a bit!

Back to School

Here in East Tennessee, most kids have been in school for more than a week, except for the preschool set, who may NEVER start, but I digress! A good friend of mine is starting a new adventure as the school year begins - she is going back to teaching full time and her kids are changing schools to be with her. Wow! Big, exciting changes for her family so, of course, I thought she needed a card to commemorate these events! I found the inspiration for this card on Pinterest and fell in love with the paper pencil! I scored, corrugated, rounded corners, used decorative scissors and almost every other trick in my craft room to make it! I freehanded the doodles and added a few hearts for color. This would be a perfect card for any kid - or teacher - who is heading back to school. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy this rainy day!