90th Birthday Celebration

It's a day of unknowns as we wait to see how Hurricane Sandy will affect our area.  Our daughter just texted that her power is out across the mountain in Nelson County.  So far, so good at our house.  Fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies are made and supper is on the stove.  Winds haven't gotten bad at all for which I'm very thankful!  I needed to make a card for a 90th birthday celebration we are invited to this Saturday.  I decided to use Chupa's sketch for her Sketchbook Saturday Challenge and as you can see, I flipped it to the side.  I found some retired Autumn Vine DP by SU that I thought would be great for both fall and for a masculine card. The leaves were die cut then sponged with matching inks.

Here's what else I used:
STAMPS: Flags and Tags Stamps by Lil Inker Designs
PAPER: Autumn Vine (SU), Early Espresso, White
INK: More Mustard, Sage Shadow, Cajun Craze, Chocolate Chip
ACCESSORIES: Flags and Tags dies by Lil Inker Designs, Fishtail Die-Namics by MFT, By the Numbers Die-Namics by MFT, Circle Nesties, Rhinestones.

Mojo Monday

Good morning friends! It's time to rev up your mojo with another Mojo Monday Challenge! With it being the last Monday of the month, it's a square or circle challenge. I went with a 4 1/4" square card with simple layering and a 3-D tree for the focal point. I die cut 6 trees (three trees in 2 different DP patterns).  I scored and folded them in half and glued them together.  Just think...in two more months, Christmas will be over! :-)  It feels too early to be making Christmas cards, but it will be here far too quickly, so I'm adding to my stash of cards every chance I get!

Want some more inspiration?  Hop on over to the Mojo Monday blog to see what the other mojomakers have created!  

STAMPS: Glad Tidings (Verve)
PAPER: Christmas Eve Chowder pad by Jillibean Soup, Simply Chartreuse, Vintage Cream and Kraft by PTI.
INK: Chocolate Chip
ACCESSORIES: Square and Fleur de Lis Square Nesties, Vintage buttons by PTI, Jute twine, Winter Fun die by Verve.

Think Pink/Sketch Card

The bartenders couldn't let October pass by without remembering that it's breast cancer awareness month, so Joni has a "Think Pink" challenge with a sketch at Raise the Bar.  I colored this fun digi by Birdie Brown using Copics, then fussy cut it and added some Diamond Stickles to the flower centers.  This is also for Lori Craig's HYCCT For Kids Sake challenge to make a card for the kids in the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center in TX.  What kid doesn't like a cuddly puppy?! :-)  I'm also entering this into the Copic Oz challenge to use pink and to use Copics.  For more details, please check out their guidelines HERE.  For every card that is entered, they will donate $5 to the McGrath Foundation...a worthy charity that is working to help eradicate breast cancer.  You can enter more than once and there are prizes up for grabs!

What else did I use?
STAMPS: Tiny Tags by PTI, Pocketable Puppy digi by Birdie Brown
PAPER: The Sweetest Thing "Lavender" pad by MME, Going Gray, Vintage Cream
INK: Versafine Onyx Black, Going Gray
ACCESSORIES: Doily Die-Namic by MFT, Circle Nestie, Copper brads, Border punch by MS, Blushing Bride ribbon by SU, Tiny tag die by PTI, Copics.

Color Throwdown #215

Another Wednesday has rolled around and that means another Color Throwdown Challenge! Lori found this super fun photo of these adorable monster cupcakes to inspire our colors, so I knew I wanted to use this digi image from Birdie Brown!

I colored with Copics then added some Stickles and Crystal Effects to the monster eyeballs and added googlie eyes to the spider.  I die cut three grass strips and layered them to "ground" the image.  I'm also playing along with Judy's Monster Mash HYCCT challenge and thought this might bring a smile to a young cancer victim at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX - the destination for the cards in this month's series of Hope You Can Cling To challenges!

Here's hoping you'll play along with us! For more details about the CTD challenge, please check out the Color Throwdown blog or you can stop by each of the DT members' blogs and leave them some love. 

 Barbara Anders   
 Broni Holcombe
Denise Marzec
Joan Ervin
Kerri Michaud
Lori Tecler  
Lynn Put  
Tammy Hershberger
Wanda Cullen  (<--- you are here)
Dawn Easton (October Guest Designer)  

STAMPS: Monster Trio digi image by Birdie Brown; Boo sentiment by Craftsmart (Michael's $1 bin), Spider by Hampton Art

PAPER: Jen Yanok pad by K&Co, Black, White

INK: Versafine Onyx Black

ACCESSORIES: Oval and Oval Scallop Nesties, Copics, Crystal Effects, Googlie eyes, Diamond and Yellow Stickles, Grass border Die-Namics by MFT.

Clearly Hopeful

Peggy has some great colors for the SCS Color Challenge (Vanilla, Pretty in Pink, Primrose Petals, neutrals of choice with dessert option to use lace) which combine well with the series of HYCCT challenges! I chose to go with TexasGrammy's Clearly Hopeful challenge to use clear elements on a card - in this case...a ghost flower shape.  A great Verve sentiment and some yummy papers and another card for the UT Cancer Center in Texas!

STAMPS: Wonderfully Made (Verve)
PAPER: The Lake House DP by Kaisercraft, Vintage Cream (PTI), Primrose Petals (SU)
INK: Versamark Onyx Black
ACCESSORIES: Heidi Swapp flower ghost shape, Hand-crocheted flower by my late mother, Button by SU, Doily Die-Namic by MFT, Circle Nesties, Lace from Flourishes.

Mojo Monday & HYCCT

It's time to get your mojo flowing by joining us for another great sketch on the Mojo Monday blog! This time, Teresa is the designer and it's a great one! I combined this with Bridget Finlay's "Hope is the Thing" HYCCT challenge to be inspired by words by Emily Dickinson. Thought this Verve Plain Jane was the perfect sentiment to highlight!  I paper pieced the sweet birdie and loved forming the floral spray in the opposite corner!

For more inspiration, you'll want to check out the creations by the other mojomakers HERE.

STAMPS: With Love (Verve)-bird; Hope Perches (Verve)-sentiment.
PAPER: Lost and Found "Madison Avenue" by MME, Vintage Cream (PTI).
INK: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive (to sponge leaves).
ACCESSORIES: Blossom Nestie, Olive branches die by Cheery Lynn Designs, Rose leaf punch by MS, Mini rolled roses Die-Namics by MFT, Chocolate pearls. Small heart border punch by MS, Satin ribbon.

Friday Mashup Challenge & HYCCT

I'm playing along with the Friday Mashup Challenge... 

1. Make a project with a "Christmas Ornament".
2. Or make a project with some "Sparkle".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Christmas Project with some Sparkle" 

And...I'm playing along with BevMom's HYCCT challenge to "Shine it Out"and use lots of sparkle!

I used Chupa's Sketchbook Saturday layout and tweaked it a bit. The layered flags on the top left of the sketch were not balanced with my larger ornament, so I moved the ribbon flag to the right.

STAMPS: Vintage Ornaments (Waltzingmouse Stamps), Tiny Tags (PTI), Delightful Dahlias (PTI) - leaves
PAPER: Carta Bella "Christmas Day" pad, Vintage Cream
INK: Versamark, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive
ACCESSORIES: Glitter dots, Poinsettia die by SB, Tiny Tags die by PTI, Brad, Ribbon.

HYCCT Vital Signs

Another quick card...this one for Ardyth's fun Vital Signs challenge for the HYCCT challenge yesterday!  The chevron border reminds me of an EKG rhythm strip and the snowflakes are a reminder of subnormal temperatures.  The layout is for the current Retro Sketch #33.

STAMPS: Winter Mittens (Verve)
PAPER: Real Red, Black, White, Text Styles Distressed Dots by PTI
INK: Versafine Onyx Black
ACCESSORIES: Tim Holtz' Ornate die, Snowflake punches, Fishtail Die-Namics, Snowflake EF, Silver brads, Chevron Die-Namics by MFT.

A Pink Birthday

I'm just now getting around to playing in the HYCCT challenges...yes...I'm embarrassed to admit that! I won't bore you with busy excuses, but hope to play "catch up" when I'm off the next 2 days.  Cindy (aka Mothermark) has a pink birthday card challenge for us today.  I can't believe I stuck the vertical flag down before I embossed it...Grrr!  I used the layout for Jen's Deconstructed Sketch #74.

It's pretty self-explanatory, so I'll just list what I used:
STAMPS: Flags and Tags Stamps by Lil Inker Designs, Borderlines by Verve (cross-stitch border)
PAPER: Text Style In Blossom DP by PTI, Raspberry Fizz and New Leaf (PTI), White
INK: Versafine Onyx Black
ACCESSORIES: Fishtail Die-Namics (MFT), Flags and Tags dies by Lil Inker Designs, Mini rolled roses Die-Namics by MFT, Olive Branches die by Cheery Lynn Designs, Black pearls, Vintage Floral border punch by MS.

Which is Witch?

It's time for another Raise the Bar challenge and this week we have a witchy theme.  Whimsie Doodles has this adorable Flying Lizzie Witch digi available HERE.  I colored with Copics and used the sketch (in a flipped version) from the Tuesday Morning Sketches  blog - my first time playing along with this challenge.
DP is from the Jen Yanok pad by K&Co. The sentiment is computer generated, punched with SU's word window punch and layered over a black circle.  Black seam binding finish off this Halloween creation.  Thanks for stopping by! 

Color Throwdown

Happy Wednesday friends! It's time for another Color Throwdown Challenge and you're going to love this great combo by Joan!!  I discovered that Whimsie Doodles, a fun site for digital images, has this image as a freebie up until midnight on Friday the 19th.

I used Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge for the layout...a fun one!  I colored with Copics and embossed the Summer Sun panel with the Pumpkin Harvest EF.  The green plaid paper is from the Simply Autumn 12x12 pad by Recollections.  The button is a brilliant blue IRL, but for some reason it looks black in the photo. :-(

Here's hoping you'll play along with us! For more details about the CTD challenge and for more inspiration by the design team, please check out the Color Throwdown blog or you can stop by each of the DT members' blogs and leave them some love.  You'll also want to check out the talented Dawn Easton's card (our guest designer this month).

 Barbara Anders   
 Broni Holcombe
Denise Marzec
Joan Ervin
Kerri Michaud
Lori Tecler  
Lynn Put  
Tammy Hershberger
Wanda Cullen  (<--- you are here)
Dawn Easton (October Guest Designer) 

COPICS:
     Hair - Y11, Y26, Y28, Y32
     Skin - E000, E00, R20 (blush), BV02 (shadow under hair)
     Overalls - B91, B95, B97
     Rake - C2, C4, C6, E29
     Shoes - E23, E27, E29
     Bag/Grass - YG61, YG63, YG67, G40, G43
     Shirt - Y15, Y18
     Leaves - Y19, YR21, YR23, YG93
     Shadowing - B0000

CAS Acrylic Block Collage

Judy Rozema has a fun new Technique Lovers Challenge on SCS: Acrylic Block Collage.  Here are the steps she gave us:
1. Using markers or stamp pads, ink up an acrylic block (your choice in size - we used straight edged blocks as well as wavy edged) with 2-4 colors, beginning with the lightest color and moving to the darkest.
2. Spritz the block with water and immediately stamp onto cardstock (we used white most of the time - or kraft occasionally). Let dry (a few minutes at most).
3. Mask the rest of the cardstock so only the stamped block area is showing (we used 2 post it notes thick around the whole block area so the ink didn't bleed through to the rest of the card).
4. Stamp several other images using light and/or darker colors (your choice), filling as much or as little of your block area as you wish.
5. Remove the masks and stamp another image and/or sentiment in the darkest color (most of the time we used black ink for a good contrast).

I dabbed 3 different distress stains on a square acrylic block, then masked off the square and stamped a variety of leaf images over the BG.  I didn't have a suitable bare tree image to stamp over the collage BG, so I opted to use a die instead.  Have to admit, there were a half dozen botched tries before I got to one that was decent.

Here's what I used:
STAMPS: Autumn Splendor (Verve).
PAPER: More Mustard, White, Chocolate Chip.
INK: Tim Holtz distress stains: Peeled Paint, Vintage Photo, Wild Honey; Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Old Olive, Cajun Craze.
ACCESSORIES: Arboscello Tree die by Memory Box.

Mojo Monday

It's time for another Mojo Monday sketch and Julee never fails! This is such a fun one to play with and hope you can join us! I knew I wanted to use some of the beautiful papers from MME's Traveler pad that I found at Michael's.  I used stamps from three different Verve sets which is one reason I love that company so much.  You can mix and match forever and ever and come up with endless combinations!  My temperamental sewing machine even decided to cooperate with this card! :-)  This week will be the 2 year anniversary of my mom's death, so I'll be sending this to my dad.

So...head on over to the Mojo Monday blog and see what the other mojomakers have created! 

What did I use?
STAMPS: Lean on Me (flower), Dream Big (leaves), Borderline (sentiment)
PAPER: Traveler 6x6 pad by MME, Black, Vintage Cream
INK: Versafine Onyx Black, Old Olive
ACCESSORIES: Tim Holtz medallion die, Dreamy Leaves die and Pointed Flowers die by Verve, Crystal center by Prima Marketing, Picot Edge Circle die by SB, Satin ribbon, Die-Namics Mini Tabs Quartet, Black lace.

Hey Pumpkin!

Hello friends! The bartenders are bringing you cards with pumpkins for the challenge this week at Raise the Bar! It's one of my fave fall images to color!  I used this stamp from Our Daily Bread Designs that has a coordinating die (which is a must with all the curly tendrils).  The layout is another wonderful design for the Deconstructed Sketch Challenge.

Here's what I used:
STAMPS: Pumpkin (ODBD), Tiny Tags (PTI)
PAPER: Haunted pad by MME, Black, X-Press It Blending Card
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black
ACCESSORIES: Rick Rack Die-Namics (MFT), Rhinestones, Tiny tags die by PTI, Jute twine
COPICS: YR12, YR16, YR18, YG11, YG13, YG17, E35, E57.

ColourQ Meets SC

Korin has a great Sketch Challenge this week (although I flipped it so I could create a vertical card), and I combined this with the ColourQ challenge to create a different (for me) Thanksgiving card. I'll have to admit, Orchid Opulence is one of my least liked SU colors, but I dug into my archives and found I still had some CS.  I loved coloring this fall bouquet of posies with Copics and thought they would really pop against the black wonky rectangle!

Here's what I used:
STAMPS: Autumn Blossoms (Flourishes)
PAPER: Jen Yanok pad by K&Co, Orchid Opulence, Black, White (PTI) for card base, X-Press It Blending Card, More Mustard
ACCESSORIES: Wonky Rectangle Nesties, Oval punch by SU, Border punch by EK Success, Copics.

Color Throwdown

It's time for another Color Throwdown Challenge and Broni has a gorgeous floral bouquet to inspire us this week!  

I thought this Rosy Posy set by PTI would be perfect to showcase these vivid colors.  The layout is based on the sketch for the Deconstructed Sketch Challenge #72...a fun one with loads of layers!

So, here's hoping you'll play along with us! For more details about the CTD challenge and for more inspiration by the design team, please check out the Color Throwdown blog or you can stop by each of the DT members' blogs and leave them some love.  You'll also want to check out the talented Dawn Easton's card (our guest designer this month).

 Barbara Anders   
 Broni Holcombe
Denise Marzec
Joan Ervin
Kerri Michaud
Lori Tecler  
Lynn Put  
Tammy Hershberger
Wanda Cullen  (<--- you are here)
Dawn Easton (October Guest Designer) 

STAMPS: Rosy Posy (PTI), Kind Words (Verve) - sentiment.
PAPER: Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, White, The Sweetest Thing "Tangerine" pad by MME.
INK: Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Lucky Limeade, Versafine Onyx Black.
ACCESSORIES: Mat Stack die by PTI, Rosy Posy flowers/leaves dies by PTI, Square Lattice EF by SU, Fishtail Flags Die-Namics by MFT.

Grab Life by the Handlebars!

Love this sentiment and thought it was a great message of hope during this month that highlights breast cancer awareness!  My card is for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge to use treats as our focal point (hopefully the basket full of goodies will be OK) and also for the Copic Oz blog's monthly challenge to "Think Pink".  For every card that is entered, they will donate $5 to the McGrath Foundation!  Stampers...this is our chance to help out a worthy cause while we are playing with paper at the same time!

Here's what I used:
STAMPS: Bike Ride (Flourishes)
PAPER: The Sweetest Thing "Lavender" pad by MME, White, X-Press It Blending Card
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black
ACCESSORIES: Blushing Bride pleated ribbon by SU, Persian Motifs die by SB, Adhesive pearls
COPICS: E42, E43, E44, N0, N2, N3, N5, R20, R21, R22, E31, E31, E33, G40, G43, G46, R24, R27.