Sweet Baby

Today's post is my card for this week's Less is More week 5 challenge, to use pastel colors.  I finally used my Itty Bitty Bits set that has been sitting in my New Stamp basket for months.  This card also qualifies for the Ways to Use It challenge (WT312), polka dots.

I wasn't planning on making a baby card, but that is what this evolved to be.  Anyone having a girl soon?

The colors are a lot more vivid IRL; it was hard to get a good photo of this card.  The popped up images looked a little nekked, so I added a few half pearls and balanced them with a couple more by the sentiment, and the celery and daffodil images were stamped off once to make them more pastel-y.

Supplies:
Stamps - Itty Bitty Bits, Short & Sweet, Spunky Spots jumbo wheel
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Pink pirouette, celery, daffodil, Memento lavendar
Accessories - Scor-pal, mini pop dots, half pearls, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack


Now that I've used my Itty Bitty set, I'm not so afraid of it anymore.  Have you ever been afraid to try or use something?  Please share.

K

Another Challenge

I was happy to take a break from my painting this morning so I could make a card for this week's Less is More 4 challenge.  I was thrilled when I read the challenge  -  a recipe to use 3 squares - because I had the perfect sets for it...the newly released Bitty Background Blocks by PTI and Quilter's Sampler that were still in my New Stamp basket.

I absolutely love how this ended up.  It evokes such a warm feeling.  The 3 squares were stamped on scrap paper and cut out with pinking deco scissors.  I used a real needle and thread to embellish.

Supplies:
Stamps - PTI Bitty Background Blocks, Quilter's Sampler
Paper - So Saffron, GKD PL ivory
Ink - Baja Breeze, Cajun Craze, Old Olive
Accessories - deco scissors, needle, thread

I've had a few requests from my readers to subscribe to my blog by email, and that suprises and flatters me!  Since I am severely computer and blog design challenged, I didn't know how to set it up.  So after about an hour or more of searching, reading 'help' topics that were no help, reading chat threads and such, I figured it out and now have it all set up.  I would love to have you subscribe.  And thanks to those who prompted me to figure it out!  I appreciate you!

K

Catching Up on Challenges

I really missed participating in some of the challenges out there, so I got caught up with some of them today.

My first card is for this week's CAS107 challenge to create your own background.  I sponged mine, and used a stamp out of my new stamp basket.  Woohoo!

I tried spritzing the background with water to get a watercolor effect, but it didn't work and just ended up warping my card.  It isn't bad now that it has completely dried.  Maybe I needed more ink to get the effect I was after.  ??

I off-set the sentiment to the left to balance the image placement on the right.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts Leaf  Cluster and sentiment
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - various Memento dew drops for sponging and the image
Accessories - Nestabilities circle (to make mask for sponging), sponge, SAMJ

Next is a card for the Less is More week 3 theme challenge where the theme is spring.  Spring makes me think of planting pots of flowers, so that's what I made on my card.

Last year, I bought all new planters for our patio, and they were all blue.  I love how the blue makes the flowers seem so much brighter, so I colored my flower pot blue.

Supplies:
Stamps - Blooming with Love
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Copic markers, Star Dust Stickles for flower centers

And my last challenge card for now, this time for OLW42 hosted by Jennifer Styles.  The theme is music.

Another (lame) attempt at a collage card, but I guess it's ok.  My practice scraps were much worse!  I off-
stamped the gray once so it wasn't so dark.

Supplies:
Stamps - Extreme Elements, Extreme Guitar, Hampton Art sentiment
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento Rhubarb Stalk, Paris Dusk, London Fog

I'm glad there are so many challenges to choose from.  They help keep my mojo flowing!

K

A Very Large Flower and a Prize

Here is a card I made for the Less is More week 2 challenge.  This time it was to use trees or flowers for the theme on a one layer card.

I stamped the flower in eggplant, then used my aquapainter to pull the color from the image to color the flower.  It was hard to do on regular cardstock for such a large image, and I think using watercolor paper would have been a better option.  I'll make a note of that for the next time I want to try this technique.

It's amazing what a little bling will do to 'make' a card.  All the flower needed was just a touch of Stickles.  Coloring the entire center of the flower would have been too much, but just a little bit gave it just what it needed.

I even managed to use two of my new stamps, so they won't be living in my new basket anymore. Yippee!

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts large flower, PTI Simple Sentiments
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Elegant Eggplant
Accessories - Daffodil marker, aquapainter, Stickles


Our basement is almost entirely cleaned out now.  I still have a few odds and ends to get packed up, and the crew will be here first thing in the morning. 

I have a question for you.  What color would you paint a basement?  Our entire house is Shaker Beige with the exception of the bedrooms, and I don't think I want to do the same color in the basement.  I want more color, but nothing green.  Tell me what you think, and I may just have a prize for you if I use what you suggest!

Toodles,

K

Less is More Challenge

This is my second post for today.  Please scroll down for my first post.

When I was posting my OLW card to Jennifer's blog, I came across her post about a new CAS challenge blog, Less is More.  I love challenges, so thought I'd check it out.  Chrissie and Mandi will post a new CAS challenge every Saturday.  Sounds like fun to me!

Their first challenge is to use black, white, and pink on a CAS card.  I have made a few cards with the set I used for this challenge, but haven't posted them yet.  I am working on different looks using the same stamp, so I came up with yet another look, and used that for my card today.  I will post all of the cards I came up with in the near future.

I just got the typewriter alphabet stamps on sale at Hobby Lobby yesterday, and they worked perfect on this card.  I omitted the "hello" on the sentiment stamp so I could stamp it below the typewriter with my new stamps.  The ellipsis was made with a marker.  I cut a slit in the typewriter so I could slip the white paper into it.  The top of the paper is popped up on dimensionals.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts My Type, EK Success Antique Typewriter Upper and Lower Alphabet sets
Paper - Pretty in Pink, GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - craft knife, dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by!

Now I must really get going on the basement.  Hubby is giving me looks because I still haven't packed anything today.

But I have to eat lunch first!

K