Singin’ the Blues with PPA

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In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been cruising through a lot of different challenge blogs and forums recently.  It’s a great way to shake up my projects a little and keep things fresh.  It’s easy to use familiar color combinations and card layouts, but after a while it gets boring.

I haven’t settled on any particular favorites but if I do I promise I’ll share.  The layout for this card is from Sketch Girl, and it appeals to my sense of orderliness.  Today’s colors are courtesy of the Paper Pal Arts Monochromatic Blues Challenge (PPA40) and I knew the moment I saw the challenge that it would make me happy.  I don’t think there’s a shade of blue I dislike, and the clean look of blue and white is one of my favorites.  I had a lot of fun with this card:

5th Avenue Floral Paper Arts Pals Challenge

  • Fifth Avenue Floral, Well Scripted and French Script stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Night of Navy and Pacific Point card stock
  • Not Quite Navy Classic ink pad; Craft White ink pad
  • Crushed Curry Stampin’ Write Marker; Bashful Blue Ink refill and the Aquapainter
  • Bashful Blue Satin ribbon, Large oval punch, white embossing powder and the heat tool

And yes, I blurred the French Script lettering with the AQP on purpose!  Lately I can’t seem to make a card without using the Aquapainter for something.  For the past couple of days, I’ve only been able to find the small-brush AQP – the large-brush one is AWOL.  It’s driving me crazy (admittedly, a very short drive) because I’m somewhat OCD (or as my daughter likes to point out, CDO – alphabetical order).  I Do Not Like To Lose Things.  And I use that AQP a lot!  (deep breath…another one…it’s going to be okay…really.)

Ahem.  I had a marvelous time with this card.  The concept was clear in my head before I started, and although I made a few adjustments as I went along the process was very enjoyable.  This is not always the case, as evidenced by the card in the trash can in my craft room.  When I finished this lovely Ode to the Blues I thought my mojo was firmly in place and started in on another sketch challenge I’d seen.  I spent way more time than I’d planned trying to make it work, changing focal points and orientation and struggling mightily.  I finally finished it and set it aside to look at this morning, which is often the perfect solution.  Sometimes looking over a not-quite-there project after a good night’s sleep will produce that Ah-ha! moment that fixes everything.  But this card was immune to Good-Sleep-Therapy.  I ripped off the salvageable bits and threw the rest away.  It’s only paper, after all.

And now for something completely different…

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OK, first things first:

This is normally a family friendly site, but today’s card incorporates language that may not fit that classification.  Surely it’s not the worst thing you’ve ever heard, but it’s not language I like to use.  Of course there’s a story.

Last month, the Hostess for my stamp club brought fabulous treats – a gorgeous cheese and fruit platter, delicious crackers, and a special champagne.  No, this wasn’t Auntie’s fabulous home-made Cherry and Lilikoi wine – Auntie might have blushed.  This was a special bubbly and we laughed and laughed over the label.  Not to disparage the product, but let’s just say I’ve tasted better champagne.  The label was, well, quite unusual.  This week I finally got the card made:

Queen Bee Bubbly

  • Just Buzzin’ By, Amazing to Zany (retired)  and Contempo Alphabet stamp sets
  • Dotted jumbo Wheel
  • Blush Blossom, Ruby Red, Basic Black and Whisper White card stock
  • Basic Black and Ruby Red Classic Ink pads; Versamark ink
  • Ruby Red and Blush Blossom Classic ink refills; Champagne Mist shimmer paint; Aquapainter
  • Scallop Trim Border punch, black Gingham ribbon, Stamp-a-ma-jig
  • Stampin’ Dimensionals

As you can see, the label was, well, it was a B****!  Didn’t want to come off that bottle now, did it?  The retired wheel I Versamarked onto the Blush Blossom card stock seemed a perfect accompaniment to the Bubbles.

Couldn’t leave well enough along, though, and had to finish off the inside:

Just Buzzin By Beautiful Bees

I just love those craxy bees!  Especially the one who dances on the head of a pin.  They’re kinda Outer-Spacey lookin’, which suits me just fine.

A Fond Farewell to Sage Shadow

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A lovely color, Sage Shadow, but somewhat out of style.  It’s not usually quite this difficult to work with, but there were three of us stamping together and we all thought Arielle’s Colour Q Challenge 30 looked interesting.  Interesting?  More like INSANE!!

Cheep Talk Stampin Up Colour Q Challenge 30

  • Cheep Talk and A Note of Thanks stamp sets
  • Sage Shadow, Cameo Coral, Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke and Whisper White card stock
  • Bravo Burgundy and Always Artichoke Classic ink pads
  • Stamp-a-ma-jig, Big Shot and Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plate, Piercing tool and mat
  • Linen Thread, Bitty Buttons and Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (Summer Mini preview); 1/4″ circle punch

This color challenge was tough – the three of us sat at my kitchen table shuffling cardstock around trying to figure out what to do for a long time.  The colors work together, but I’ll confess I would never think of putting them together on my own.  It took a lot of shuffling to come up with this card.

Bitty Button Linen Thread Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack

I hope you noticed that Bitty Button…you’ll be able to purchase buttons and matching little punches starting on May 1 when the Summer Mini catalog debuts.  Stampin’ Up! has done it again – lots of very cool new products to keep our designs fresh and interesting.  These clear buttons come in an assortment of four shapes, and there are coordinating punches for all four shapes.  Let your inspiration run wild!

New products available in a new Summer Mini should be our cue to review the Occasions Mini catalog.   Some items from the Occasions mini – punches and Big Shot dies – will continue to be offered, but stamps, paper and accessories will not be available after April 30 – that’s Friday!  Check the Online Store and place your order if there’s something you know you’ll need.  There are a number of products that are already sold out – including the Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Stack and Stitched Felt.  Don’t miss out!

Welcome back, Baja Breeze!

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Color is such a subjective thing.  What makes one person’s heart soar leaves another person squarely in the dust.  I don’t know about you, but Baja Breeze makes my heart soar and I am thrilled beyond words that it is returning to the Stampin’ Up! color palette in July.  I have carefully guarded my stash of Baja Breeze cardstock and grudgingly doled out bits and pieces of my Baja Breeze Designer Series Papers over the past year, but no more!  I can’t wait to see what the Design Geniuses at Stampin’ Up! have in store for us in the new 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalog.  In the meantime, I offer you this:

Awash with Flowers Circa Notebook insert

  • Awash with Flowers Stamp Set, Very Vintage Stampin’ Around Wheel
  • Whisper White, Real Red, Wild Wasabi and So Saffron card stock
  • Baja Breeze Designer Series Paper (retired – don’t remember the name)
  • Wild Wasabi and So Saffron Classic ink pads
  • Baja Breeze, Wild Wasabi, and Real Red Classic ink refills
  • Aquapainter, Wheel Guide and White Taffeta ribbon
  • Circa Notebook from Levenger Catalog

Don’t you love this color combination?  Wild Wasabi has been retired two years and Baja Breeze for only one year.  I’ll be using these colors together again and again!  And I love the options for two-step stamping and/or watercoloring with the new Awash With Flowers stamp set – don’t forget that it’s a 2010-2011 Sneak Peak and will be available only through April 30 (that’s Friday!!)  Go to my Online Store and place your order now, or you’ll be waiting until July 1 and wishing you’d placed your order now.

Someday I will take a watercolor class, but in the meantime I play around and make messes.  I love to work with color saturation and layering different colors, and even when it doesn’t turn out as I planned I find the process enjoyable.  I’ll warn you, though,  when you watercolor with Real Red ink refills, it can look positively magenta!  That was a bit startling, to say the least.

Have you heard of Circa notebooks?  I am addicted to this system.  Infinitely customizable in a variety of sizes, I love the specially punched papers, covers and rings.  They are available through the Levenger Catalog (stores in Boston, Chicago, and I think Florida) and the concept is absolutely brilliant.  Circa provides a very pedestrian cover for the notebooks, but because of the way the system works you can easily remove their dull-as-dirt cover and create one of your own – and that’s what I’ve done here.  This is a Junior sized notebook, and the cover is 5 1/2″ x 8″.   It’s my To-Do list notebook, and it keeps me on track  on the days when I want to follow an agenda.  Some days – like this weekend – I jettisoned the To-Do list in favor of the spirit of  What-Do-I-Want-To-Do-Now?  Needless to say, it was a lovely weekend.

A Fond Farewell to Green Galore

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Didn’t think I’d give Green Galore it’s own day, did you?  Not after yesterday’s bashing…that wasn’t very nice of me.  Poor Green Galore.  {snort}

Colour Q Challenge Green Galore Eastern Elegance

  • Wonderful Favorites, Eastern Blooms and Embrace Life Stamp sets
  • Whisper White card stock
  • Bravo Burgundy, Green Galore, YoYo Yellow and Tangerine Tango Classic ink pads
  • Aquapainter

I had to try that Colour Q challenge again…can’t really explain why.  That’s the mystery of playing challenges, I guess.  This time I chose to make the card a single layer to avoid the dilemma of balancing colors.  I did a fair amount of masking and used both solid and line art images to keep the sense of lightness that a white card provides.  As you can see, I couldn’t resist using the Aquapainter to blend some of the color.

There’s so much color and so many images that I’m not convinced this card is truly Clean and Simple, but with no layers OR embellishments I think it comes close.  The style is growing on me…one of these days I’m going to take it to another level.  Just not today.

A Fond Farewell to YoYo Yellow

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Fond may be stretching it!  I think I am still working from my original package of YoYo Yellow, and my stamp pad looks brand new.  In my opinion, it’s time to go – but Arielle decided to push my buttons with this week’s Colour Q challenge.   I’ll admit that the dinnerware she used for her inspiration looks pretty cool, but honestly – Whisper White with Bravo Burgundy, Tangerine Tango, Yoyo Yellow and Green Galore???  Aaack!!

Colour Q Challenge 29 Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge 277

  • Sense of Time and Define Your Life Stamp sets; Texture Jumbo Wheel
  • Whisper White, Bravo Burgundy, Tangerine Tango and Yoyo Yellow card stock
  • Bravo Burgundy, Tangerine Tango, Yoyo Yellow and Green Galore Classic ink pads
  • Aquapainter;  Piercing tool, template and mat;  and Vintage Brads

To add a little more challenge, I used the Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge 277 for the layout of this card.  The white balance on this card seems off, but with this color combination I couldn’t bear to add any more solids!  I compromised by using the Aquapainter to blur the Bravo Burgundy ink in the background of the card base.  I’m not too crazy about Yoyo Yellow (can you tell??) but Green Galore positively gives me fits.

Ah, but enough complaining.  These colors are Bold Brights and bright they are.  There are lots of crafters that love them and will lament their retirement, and I understand that feeling.   The world would be a dreary place if we all loved the same colors.  Farewell, Triple Y and Double G.

Fond Farewell to Summer Sun

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You know, I’m actually going to miss Summer Sun.  I didn’t use it a lot, but its deep, rich color was sometimes just the shade I needed.   When I saw Riley’s choices for this week’s Color Dare Challenge I started thinking about that yellow.  For me, the key to using bold color is getting the Goldilocks dose – not too little, not too much, but just right:

Mojo135 Awash with Flowers Color Dare Challenge Stampin Up!

  • Awash with Flowers, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Flight of the Butterfly, Wings of Friendship and Linen (retired) stamp sets
  • Very Vanilla, Summer Sun, Certainly Celery and Old Olive card stock
  • Summer Sun and Olive Olive Classic ink pads
  • Summer Sun and Certainly Celery Classic ink refills and the Aquapainter
  • Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder and the Beautiful Wings Embosslit
  • Scallop Border and Corner Rounder punches, White Gel pen, and Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon

This sketch is number 135 from Mojo Monday (yes, I am aware it is Thursday – sometimes life gets in the way.)  I wasn’t sure if I would like it but once I decided to skip the fancy shape for the focal point it was an easy sketch to use.  I stamped the larger flowers first and then made a mask to cover them before stamping the smaller stemmed flowers.  Masking is an under-rated technique!

As if two challenges weren’t enough for one post, I’ve also been given a Sunshine Award from my blogging friend Lisa.  The rules of the award state that I need to pass it on, and that’s a tough choice for me.  Lisa awarded one of the people I regularly follow – Melissa Huie – so in no particular order, here are a few other stamping bloggers whose work I admire:

I hope you’ll enjoy the work of these talented artists as much as I do.  They each have a different perspective, but the one thing they have in common is uncommon creativity.

And thanks, Lisa!  You made my day.

A Manly Tree

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The tree from Thoughts and Prayers is just right for a masculine card.  It lends itself to earth tones and has such a balanced, solid feeling that makes it so suitable for special occasions:

Stampin' Up! Thoughts and Prayers Masculine Tree

  • Thoughts and Prayers, Woodgrain, Vintage Vogue and Inspired by Nature Stamp sets
  • Very Vanilla, Old Olive and Not Quite Navy card stock
  • Old Olive, Soft Suede and Not Quite Navy Classic ink pads
  • Soft Suede and Not Quite Navy Stampin’ Write markers and Blender pen
  • Aquapainter, Stampin’ Sponge, SAMJ and Ribbon Originals Elementary ribbbon

And now the very astute of you are thinking “Ha!  The abundant sea air has finally driven this woman bonkers!  There’s no Vintage Vogue here – she is so obsessed with that stamp set that she’s hallucinating!”  Ah, my friends, behold the inside of the card:

Vintage Vogue Stampin' Up! interior

And here you have your Vintage Vogue, ever so slightly crooked despite multiple attempts AND the Stamp-a-ma-jig.  I decided it was meant to be this way.

To create the multiple colored effect with the tree and the border for the inside, I inked the stamp in Old Olive and used a blender pen to selectively remove the Old Olive ink.  It’s very simple to go back and add in the color that you want with a Stampin’ Write marker (Soft Suede for the tree trunk, Not Quite Navy as flowers on the border).  This has the advantage of being faster than inking the entire stamp with markers, and it also helps avoid the dreaded “skipped rubber” when you are using only markers and miss a spot entirely.

This card was made for my son, who was Confirmed over the weekend.  We are quite proud of him, and I thought you might enjoy one final photo:

Dad, Matt and Mom

True confession:  I made him stand on the step below us.  He’s as tall as his dad  (or perhaps even taller, I haven’t measured today).

Sweet home for a cardinal

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Cardinals are nest builders, not house dwellers, but if your imagination can tolerate a little stretching  I think you’ll enjoy this:

Stampin' Up! milk carton die Two Step Bird punch Bird House

  • Vintage Vogue and I {Heart Hearts} stamp sets
  • Naturals White, Soft Suede, Real Red, Mellow Moss, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie and Always Artichoke card stock
  • Real Red, Soft Suede and Always Artichoke Classic ink pads
  • Black Stampin’ Write Journaler and White Gel pen
  • Big Shot and Bigz L Milk Carton die
  • Two Step Bird, Heart to Heart and Scallop Edge punches
  • Stampin Sponges, Sponge Daubers, Tombo adhesive and Stampin’ Dimensionals

I need to send you to see two special ladies to thank them for their part in this project.  The first is the Amazing Kim Bolzenthal, who generously sent me a RAK of pre-cut milk cartons.  If you know Kim at all, you’ll know she is a thoughtful, giving person who has a passion for stamping and stampers.  Please leave her a comment and tell her how fabulous she is!

The second person I’d like you to visit is Marie whose charming Goldfinch Birdhouses were my direct inspiration for this project.  I loved her concept and tweaked it just a little to suit my purposes, but she’s the genius behind the design and she deserves the credit.  Please leave her a comment and let her know how brilliant she is!

The cardinal and the little heart are both attached with Stampin’ Dimensionals, but the heart is so small I snipped off a little piece from the strip around the edge of the dimensionals.

Here’s the 411 on the cardinal’s face:  It’s a pain in the, um, tailfeathers but I think it makes a big difference.  After you punch the bird’s body in Real Red, go back and insert a right angle corner of black cardstock into the face portion of the punch at the beak.  The farther in you insert that black corner, the bigger your mask will be.  Punch it and set it someplace you can find it, because it’s not very big.  Do the same thing with a piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock, but only insert that corner in to the point where it makes a tiny diamond shape with the beak.  Punch this very carefully, because as soon as you punch it is so small it will disappear into the litter on your workspace.  Take a pair of tweezers (yep, I really did that) and use a teeny tiny dot of Tombo to put the Pumpkin Pie beak on the Black mask.  Use a tiny dot of Tombo to attach the mask to the cardinal’s face and use a white gel pen to add an eye.

Go ahead – give it a try – you can do it!

Fond Farewell to Blush Blossom

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When I look at the list of colors retiring in June, I feel ambiguous about Blush Blossom.  It’s not a very trendy color.  It doesn’t inspired me on its own.   But Blush Blossom plays well with others.

Stampin' Up! Awash with Flowers Splitcoaststampers challenge

  • Awash with Flowers and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • French Script, Inspired by Nature, and Flight of the Butterfly stamp sets
  • Blush Blossom, Ruby Red, Cameo Coral and Whisper White card stock
  • Ruby Red, Blush Blossom and Mellow Moss Classic ink pads
  • Cameo Coral and Ruby Red Stampin’ Write markers
  • Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, and SU Backgrounds 1 Texturz plate
  • Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel, Stampin’ Pastels, and Mellow Moss taffeta ribbon

The new Awash with Flowers stamp set is a winner, my stampin’ friends.  I inked the solid stamps in Blush Blossom and used the Cameo Coral and Ruby Red markers to add a little extra color to the rubber before I stamped the images.  If you want to see a mind-boggling beauty of a card with this set, peek at Lisa’s Add Ink and Stamp.  She is one amazing artist.

This card was a project for my stamp club last night.  I’m not sure if it was the profusion of stamps or all of the steps or just the fact that we were crazy enough to schedule stamp club on Tax Day, but it was a wild and crazy kind of club!  Lots of hootin’ and hollerin’  and crazy farmin’ talk, especially when we were finished stamping.  Teresa brought some of her Auntie’s home made wine – a bottle of cherry and a bottle of lilikoi.  Yes, I was wrong – there ARE cherry trees on Maui!  The cherry wine was sweet and refreshing and and the lilikoi was tropical and somewhat mystical and both were absolutely delicious.  I think it’s fair to say a good time was had by all!

One last thought:  If you haven’t tried a challenge card yet, I enthusiastically recommend that you do.  This card uses Color and Sketch Challenges from Splitcoaststampers and there are loads of other challenges out there to try.  Find one that inspires you and give it a shot!