Hello and Happy Monday!
I'm back today, after a brief absence as unfortunately my body is an "equal opportunity employer" and thus it has "hired" a viral and bacterial infection over the past week...which has left me with laryngitis, fatigue and a bad case of 'blog-o-phobia'. Haha, all is true other than the 'blogophobia' though I think it has quite a ring to it! ;-) But I digress...
Here's a card that was created with inspiration from many different challenges/blogs! The colors were culled from this gorgeous combination from last week's (#298)
Colour Q Challenge, which will be open for only a few more hours!
My use of twine, and my color scheme was also heavily influenced by this gorgeous photo provided by the
Creative Color Challenge :
I was then inspired by this month's
Virginia's View Challenge challenge, which focuses on stamping:
I stamped the butterflies from PTI's You're A Masterpiece Make-It-Market kit on watercolor paper, using Tsukineko's Onyx black ink and by doing
a ton of masking. There is no companion die for the butterfly, so I stamped a few on post-it notes, fussy cut them and used them as masks. After each individual butterfly was stamped, I heat embossed them with clear embossing powder. Doing so gave such beautiful texture and really helped "contain" the watercolors. I was especially concerned with that because of the purple and yellow, which are complementary colors. I like to think of complementary colors as friends that get along splendidly...but then if they decide to be roommates and live together...well things get murky. hehe ;-)
I finally pulled out my new "toys", namely my Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens and the Akashiya Sais. I purchased the 36 pen set of Zigs and the 20 pen set of Akashiyas and have actually found that there is virtually no overlap in colors, in fact they complement one another! I am into calligraphy and brush lettering and so I purchased both to see which I liked best. I also
wanted needed to get my hands on them, as I wanted to know what all the fuss was about! hehe. Well, I'm here to tell you that they are as beautiful, amazing, convenient (etc,. ad infinitum) as you've probably already heard! ;) The butterflies and the coloring was heavily inspired by this beauty by Julia Alterman from
Just One More Card. I used the following colors, for your reference:
- Purple Butterflies: Zig No. 80 (violet) and No. 81 (light violet). I added in color 81 so I could get the pale plum color in the Color Q challenge photo and because it added such a beautiful warmth to the cooler toned violet.
- Yellow Butterflies: Zig No. 50 and Akashiya Sai yellow and brownish-ochre color. Unfortunately, at the moment, I cannot locate my box to see if there is a specific color name and/or number, but I'll do some research and update this list. I actually went tip-to-tip with the brownish-ochre (yep, that's my technical term for it haha) and the Zig No. 50, as I wanted a darker/deeper yellow and didn't have one that was exactly what I was looking for. And then I colored the darkest part of the butterfly, being sure to flick out and going back for darker color as needed. Then, I followed with a fairly "juicy" paint brush and my lightest yellow, blending the darkest color outward until satisfied.
- Aqua Butterflies: The dark and light aqua colors found in the Akashiya Sai set.
One of the many things I love about these pens, is that you truly can do wet-on-wet techniques and they are forgiving, as you can go back (even hours later) re-wet and therefore reactivate the color, until you get it just right. Which is wonderful for a perfectionist like me. ;-)
For some interest, I used my white gel pen to add some dots/details and I also liberally lathered the butterflies with my Wink of Stella clear glitter pen...if only you could see the shine and sparkle in real life!
My card layout was inspired by Joni Andaya's gorgeous sketch over at the
WPlus9 Design Blog
Once I was done coloring, I die cut my card panel using my favorite Lawn Fawn Large Rectangle stitching die.Then, I pulled out my WPlus 9 black cardstock and PTI's Wet Paint III "sending" die and made numerous cuts, which I then stacked upon one another for dimension.
I then cut the two double ended banners from yellow and purple carstock using the companion die from PTI's Happy Notes stamp set. It actually has a pointed end, but I simply snipped that and then attached the two together, but slightly offset. At this point I had to get clever, as I struggled to find a sympathy set that was just right for the given situation. Unfortunately, over the course of the past couple of months, we've had multiple deaths within our family and circle of close friends... so I've had to make quite a few sympathy cards. For me, these are the most difficult to make and thus the sentiment, the message I'm trying to convey has to be just right (in my personal opinion, of course). So, I ended dong quite a bit of masking-- I took the "prayers" from PTI's Meadow Greens set and the "sympathy" from Lawn Fawn's Scripty Borders set, stamping and then embossing like the butterflies. Then, I felt there needed to be a space between the two and a "nesting" place for the "g" in "sending" so I used a small circle die, which is from PTI's Bold Bouquet anniversary set (it's supposed to be a floral center!) and adhered it to the banners. I then adhered all of the pieces onto my card panel and wrapped the twine at a slant and then added an enamel dot for the "i". Once all of this was done, I cut a card base sized 5.75 inches by 4.50 inches, slightly larger than an A2 standard sized card, so that I could have a bit of the aqua color peeking out.
and....I'm done! Thanks for stopping by and my apologies for the lengthy post!
As always, many hugs and...craft on!
-O
I began by cutting a card panel from white cardstock with a stitched die from My Favorite Things. Then using the Party Pops kit dies, I cut out the top portion of the cupcake that flips up. Then I started my stamping, using various stamps from the set in Raspberry Fizz, Summer Sunrise, New Leaf and Tropical Teal PTI inks. 
Though you unfortunately cannot see it in the photograph, I also went ahead and added some clear Wink of Stella to the various party elements to add interest. I then backed the panel with Raspberry Fizz cardstock that was cut using my Lawn Fawn Large Stitched Rectangles. 
And finally using Versafine black ink and clear embossing powder, I heat embossed "Surprise" under the cupcake flap! I hope you enjoy and until next time... Craft on! 
I then pulled out my eclectic collection of alcohol markers (refer to supply list below) and colored them in with various cheerful and bright colors. Lawn Fawn, Coffee and these colors make me happy, so I thought it appropriate! Once done, I die cut the panel using my PTI Tag Sale #4. Oh and I also die cut a saucer, mug and spoon and colored those in with the intent of using dimensional adhesive to super-impose them on the already stamped ones, to add interest and direct the eye to the focal point. . I then stamped the super cute, girly happy face (using Lawn Fawn's Black Licorice dye ink) on the focal mug and then VERY liberally applied my beloved Zig Wink of Stella Clear on top. This was my best attempt to capture the Wink of Stella sparkles, but alas this picture still does not quite capture it... if only you could see it in real life!
I strongly believe that the technique truly shines when the card is upright. It allows for immediately spotting the concept of "Bringing the Inside Out" and "Wow Factor". 
I included this photo as I wanted to show that this technique is marvelous, especially if you shall be mailing the card, as I did. It provides such depth and dimension without adding bulk!
Above and to the left, are detailed shots of the coloring. The stamp set used for the banners/tassels is from Mama Elephant and is new to me. I absolutely love it, but unfortunately I simply couldn't budget for the companion dies, so these were fussy cut (and rather imperfectly, I might add)! 
What a lovely inspiration photo, is it not?! I pulled the color scheme from the bottom right photo, as I thought it fitting for a masculine card. I also knew I wanted to use my new PTI Enclosed Star die set, which I believe makes for a very aesthetically pleasing shape for shaker AND masculine cards! I started with a white cardstock, which I cut using my favorite Lawn Fawn Large Stitched Rectangle. Then I pulled out my Tim Holtz mini ink blending tool as well as distress inks in Chipped Sapphire, Stormy Sky and Broken China. I started with my darkest color first and then actually followed with my lightest. I thought it would allow me to make a more continuous and seamless blend. Then, I went back in and between the two colors, used my medium shade...and used lots of "elbow grease" ;)!
I then cut out at the top and at a slant the star shape. I created my shaker, using an array of sequins, confetti, seed beads, etc,...pretty much anything that was a shade of blue! Once that was done, I proceeded to cut from white cardstock the same shape but this time with the nesting "Super" star. I wanted the white to create contrast and to 'break up' the shades of blue. I snipped the end off of a double ended banner from PTI Tag Sale #10 and stamped "Dad" from Papertrey Ink's Polka Dot Parade #3 in Memento's Nautical Blue dye ink. 
I finished it off with navy blue baker's twine and...I'm done! 
Woo hoo!!! I've wanted to play along for quite some time now but I didn't own any Paper Smooches Stamps....until now! I've been eyeing their lovely set, Blossoming Buds for some time now and finally "took the plunge". Here's a (nearly) one layer, fairly clean and simple card I made with my NBUS:
Gorgeous, isn't it? And with wedding season upon us, also incredibly relevant! Here's my interpretation:
My apologies for the quality (or rather lack thereof) of the photo...alas, I took this picture after sundown and so I had to rely on inside lighting. I'll be back tomorrow with an updated photograph and supply list. I may also include some step-by-step instructions as to how I created this card, and in particular the ombre effect. Just a final note-- the white spots you see are actually luscious glitter particles from my Wink of Stella and the die cut flowers at the top left corner are cut from PTI's white polka dot vellum and teal vellum I picked up at paperandmore.com!
Yes, this card is very similar to the last but have you ever come across this popular saying circa 2002 "Same, same but different."? Yep, that's the case here. I started with a top folding white card base, and adhered a thin 2-inch strip of striped patterned paper. I then cut, using Lawn Fawn's Large Stitched Rectangles dies, a panel from PTI's Hawaiian Shores cardstock. On one edge, I then cut a scalloped border using Pretty Pink Posh's Stitched Borders 1 die set. I cut a smaller stitched panel (also using Lawn Fawn's Large Stitched Rectangles) from white cardstock, upon which I stamped my sentiment from PTI's Swoosh set. I die cut various floral images from PTI's Quilted: Spring, Painted Poinsettias and Happy Notes. I wrapped the Hawaiian Shores panels with aqua baker's twine from We R Memory Keepers, added some enamel dots from My Mind's Eye Necessities collection, adhered this to the card base with the striped patterned paper using dimensional adhesive (for added depth and yes, you guessed it...dimension! ha) and I'm done. Here's a close-up of the card: 
