The Gingham Challenge

Hello again!

There are deadlines everywhere, but this is one I don't want to miss.  Gingham is one of my favorite patterns (second only to polka dots).  Consequently, I fell in love with every one of the cards submitted to Moxie Fab World Gingham Challenge!  The deadline that I missed, over at PTI for the May 2012 Papertrey Blog Hop, was actually the inspiration for this card.  

I'm keeping this brief today, so here's the card:

Hope you like!

Thanks for stopping by, 

Suzanne

supplies:  All Papertrey Ink unless noted

Cardstocks:  Simply Chartreuse, Spring Moss, White

Patterned Paper:  Gingham from Smokey Shadow Pattern Pack

Inks:  Simply Chartreuse, Memento Tuxedo Black

Stamps:  On the Farm

Other:  Ribbon from Hobby Lobby, Sizzix Embossing Folder, Beautiful Blooms #1 dies, Source unknown for the following: tiny flower punch, dew drops, dimensional foam adhesive

Make It Monday #68

Hi there!  Happy Wednesday to you.  I hope this holiday weekend was a time of rest and relaxation for you and your family as well as a celebration of the lives of the men and women who have died in the cause of peace and democracy around the world.  Yes, it is an American holiday, one of which I am extremely proud.  One that we still observe with respect and reverence as we remember the cost of our freedoms.  My father was in the battle of Okinawa toward the end of WWII.  He was on a battleship a mere 100 miles from the shore when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.  He returned home with only a small piece of shrapnel in his face to remind him forever of the many days and nights in that ship on the rolling Pacific Ocean under many attacks of the Japanese Kami-Kazi pilots.  I spent many nights around the dinner table rolling my eyes as he would recall over and over again the stories of that time in his life.  Sorry, Daddy, that I wasn't more respectful at the time.  Thank you for doing your part in changing the world.

Ok,  now that I'm off my soapbox, would you like to see the pocket card I made for this week's MIM challenge by Heather Nichols?

I just can't seem to make a pocket card that doesn't contain a gift card.  I love the simple design of Heather's card and used the same dimensions and orientation as she, but added the gift card inside. I marked the corners of the card and made diagonal cuts with a craft knife across those corners to hold the gift card in place.  

I had lots of fun combining stamp sets to create the sentiment I was looking for.  I hope you get the pun!  

The striped Washi tape is custom made using the Candy Cane Christmas stamp set with Hibiscus Burst Ink.  I am fascinated with the phenomenon of Washi tape, but just can't bring myself to start another "micro-addiction", so I have decided to ride out the trend making my own-small batch style.  I was first introduced to this idea by Nichole Heady in this MIM last October.  I will be sharing this technique with my stamp club at our June meeting.

I have added a complete list of supplies at the bottom of the post.  I've missed being around most of the month and look forward to catching up with you!

Thanks for stopping by,

Suzanne

Supplies:  All Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted

Cardstock:  bulk purchase from Sam's Club

Stamp sets:  Heart-2-Heart #4, Happy Day, Birthday Basics, Little Bitty Bird, Fillable Frames #5,            Candy Cane Christmas

Dies:  Heart-2-Heart #4

Inks:  Simply Chartreuse, Hibiscus Burst, Memento Tuxedo Black

Other:  Hibiscus Brust Ribbon, "Worn Lipstick" Distress Marker, corner rounder punch

Make It Monday #65

Good Morning and Happy Friday!  

The challenge from Dawn McVey this week is called "Background Patterns from Patterned Paper Scraps".  Check out her video HERE.  It took two days for me to work through an idea I had in my head and another two days for me to muster the courage to post it here, today.  I hardly ever use patterned papers so I don't have a big supply of scraps.  This challenge really revealed how difficult it is for me to coordinate patterns and colors.  I actually have three different projects-two I am happy with, the other...well let's just say it could still end up in the trash.  

Here's my submission for the challenge:

  I had this small pile of 1/4" strips and quite by accident, found that I could line up the dots giving the impression of multi-colored stripes.  Voila!  I had a background made from five different patterned papers!  For the focal image, I chose to work with felt, I used an assortment of Flower Fusion Dies, hand trimmed the leaves, and used 1/4" and 1/8" hole punches for two of the flower centers to embellish the mat stack #3 frame.  This sentiment is going to get quite a work out as I make LOTS of birthday cards and love to use the word "FABULOUS"! This large dot pattern is truly a new favorite for me-in all of the colors.  I am delighted that I will have the opportunity to have it in such a large assortment of colors as these pattern packs continue to be released.

Here is the source of the 1/4" scraps that inspired my design:

                                     

This is a Mother's Day gift for my daughter, which includes 8 cards with white envelopes lined with coordinating colors.  I actually forgot that I had the same pattern in Melon Berry until I was creating the challenge card.  She will receive two more cards in the additional color!

Finally, my first attempt at coordinating patterns for this challenge:

There is just too much going on in this card for me-It feels forced and I was not very satisfied.  I had this image in my head of a rather CAS card, vertical orientation with the large focal image and a small white strip across the bottom to carry the sentiment but it didn't work.  I really like the bright Summer Sunrise "hello" against the large dots so the orientation changed and this is how it ended up.  

So, that's what I've been up to in card-making this week.  Hope your weekend is full of sunshine and you get to enjoy a little time off from the weekly routine.  Ta-ta for now!

Thanks for stopping by, 

Suzanne

Supplies:  All PTI unless noted

Cardstock:  (1) Soft Stone, Raspberry Fizz

                   (2) Soft Stone, Smokey Shadow, Raspberry Fizz

                   (3) Soft Stone, White, Summer Sunrise

Pattern Paper:  Pattern Packs in Smokey Shadow, Melon Berry, Simply Chartreuse, Aqua Mist, Raspberry Fizz

Ink:  VersaFine Onyx black

Stamp set:  Tagged Sentiments

Dies: (1) Mat Stack #3, Layerz #3, Flower Fusion #1, #3, #12

         (2) Block Alphabet, lower case

         (3) Notched Flowers, Rosie Posie, Block Alphabet

Other:  Polka Dot Brad, 1/4" and 1/8" hole punches

Make It Monday #64: Using Color Inspiration

Hi Friends!  Happy Tuesday to you.  Things are really poppin' at PTI, aren't they?  Not only is there a dynamite choice of color inspiration photos to choose from for this week's Make it Monday, but the REALLY BIG NEWS is that we can pre-order Stamp-A-Faire supplies!  I can hardly wait for July 21st.  To get the scoop, click HERE.

Ok.  Now that I have stopped hyperventilating, I want to share with you the card I made using this color inspiration:

I think color challenges are the most difficult for me.  This was no exception.  First of all, I had trouble choosing one to work off of.  Each one is so pretty.  (Maybe I'll try another one or two before the week is over.)  Secondly, there were five colors in each inspiration photo!  I rarely use more than three.  To make it even more challenging, Nichole encouraged us to use "the rule of three" for visual balance and continuity.  I think I fulfilled the requirements and I am pleased with the results of my card.  I really enjoyed combining and arranging the elements.  I only managed to use "Fine Linen" as a mat layer-just could not effectively incorporate it into this design. I even tried it as the card base, which looked good, but this was just better, you know? The actual colors are much softer than the photo...sorry I couldn't get better lighting.

I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week.  I woulds love to hear any thoughts you would like to share about this project before you go.

Thanks for stopping by,
Suzanne


Supplies:  All Papertrey Ink unless noted
Card Stocks:  Kraft, Fine Linen, Terra Cotta Tile, Aqua Mist, Vintage Cream
Inks:  Palette Haystack, Aqua Mist, Classic Kraft, Dark Chocolate
Stamps:  Take Note, Sending You, Half & Half, BB:Postmarks
Dies:  Sending You, Half & Half, Notched Flowers
Other: 1/2" and 3/4" circle punches by EK Success