MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge

A quick post for the My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Challenge! This was a fun layout and led me to this older retired MFT set called Primitive Pumpkins! I've always loved this set though I wish I had used Vintage Cream cardstock rather than Smooth White. I stamped the images with my MISTI and used Carved Pumpkin distress oxide ink and Memento Tuxedo Black. I used SU's Old Olive ink for the tendrils. 

Well, I'm done with babysitting our 3 year old grandson for the past 4 days. While I loved having him, it is a FULL time job to keep up with him!  I've been happy that I saved some of our 3 kids' old toys because now the grands are enjoying these toys (Micromachines, pogs, etc.).  One day was rainy, so raiding nana's closet for toys from the previous generation helped to fill the day. :-) Outdoors he loved collecting acorns and with all our huge oak trees everywhere, there were plenty to be found!

 

Aren't those dimples just the cutest?! His most favorite activity was cruising all over our property with the golf cart with nana at the helm!

 
Thanks so much for stopping by! I                      ~Wanda

Freshly Made Sketches

This whole month, the Freshly Made Sketches challenge blog has been celebrating their 400th challenge and today is the new sketch #400!  It is definitely a keeper! 

I wanted to use these papers from Authentique's 6x6" Bundle Collection: Poised. The colors have that fall transitional feel to me. I also wanted to try out this new Cozy Cup Coaster die from The Greetery which works for more than just their coffee set recently released. It's hard to see the woven design in the background in this photo.  Due to its size, I angled it a wee bit so the fringe detail didn't get lost on the plaid borders. Flowers are from The Greetery's Fleur Impressions set and were stamped with So Saffron, Crushed Curry, More Mustard and Certainly Celery (dye inks by SU). I took a dark green watercolor pencil and added some highlights to the leaves. The sentiment is from Reverse Confetti's So Many Sentiments set. 

So...that's all for now! Thanks so much for stopping by!   ~Wanda

Color Throwdown #558

Another Color Throwdown challenge is up and running with Lynn as our hostess this week! She has some super gorgeous colors - orange, pink, yellow and green...so perfect to create a mason jar filled with daisies! 

I smooshed Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed distress oxide inks onto water color cardstock for the background. I cut out two different crimped panels and layered them with foam tape.

Here are the ink colors I used:
JAR: Mojito, Beanstalk, Last Leaf - dye inks by WPlus9.
DAISIES: Little Piggy, Sweet Gelato - dye inks by WPlus9; Carved Pumpkin, Ripe Persimmon, Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed - distress oxide inks by Ranger; Baked Brown Sugar (Stampin' Up) used for the string; Memento Tuxedo Black used for sentiment.

STAMPS: Oopsie Daisy, Just Mason Around, Sentiment Suite: Thinking of You - all by The Greetery.
DIES: Just Mason Around, Oopsie Daisy, Crimped Frame, Sentiment Suite Basics - by The Greetery. 

Be sure to stop by the blogs of the other team members to see what they've come up with...including our August Guest Designer, LucieG!

Amy Rohl Amy Rysavy
Barbara Anders Broni Holcombe Jodi Collins Lisa Henke Lori Tecler Lynn Put Vickie Zimmer Wanda Cullen (you are here) LucieG – August Guest Designer

Thanks so much for stopping by! We hope to see you in the CTD gallery!                                                             ~Wanda

Sunday Stamps

The Sunday Stamps challenge has an awesome sketch that was too good for me to pass up! I already had these succulents painted with Zigs leftover from an earlier project, so added a Macro Filler die and sentiment tag and I called it complete!  The striped paper is from My Favorite Things Black and White Stripes 6x6" pad.

I had to tweak the placement of the sentiment a bit since I just couldn't work out a successful way to add one over the succulents.
Thanks so much for stopping by!                      ~Wanda

CAS(E) This Sketch

I took a loose interpretation of the sketch for the current CAS(E) This Sketch challenge so I could utilize these branch and bird dies from The Greetery! Lots of ink layering but the stamps are created so that you can easily line them up with a MISTI! TIP: You need to die cut the shapes first before you stamp! So much easier!

I wanted a very subtle hint of blue in the background so went to my neglected chalks and brushed on some blue.  I hadn't used the tiny makeup applicator in so long that the sponge end literally deteriorated as I brushed the chalk onto the cardstock - lol!

STAMPS: Robin and Wren, Blooming Branch, Sentiment Suite: Thinking of You - all by The Greetery.
PAPER: White by Papertrey Ink.
INK: Soft Sky (SU), Baby Blue, Island Blue, Bumblebee Yellow (Reverse Confetti) - used for the bird; Antique Linen distress oxide (Ranger), Crumb Cake and Chocolate Chip (SU) - used for the branch; Pretty in Pink, Strawberry Slush, Certainly Celery, Old Olive (SU) - used for the flowers/leaves; Memento Tuxedo Black.
DIES: Sentiment Suite Basics, Crimped Frame, Robin and Wren, Blooming Branch - all by The Greetery.

Hope you are having a great beginning to the week! I'm loving the non-humid temps only going into the 70's! Woohoo!     ~Wanda

More Concord & 9th Cards

I'm adding two more entries into the Concord and 9th celebration contest for their 4th birthday! You can see more details on my post HERE.  My first card uses tiny stamps from C9's Love You Mean It stamp set. I used a wreath builder template to space out the stamps evenly. The background - Plaid Background - was stamped several times with a MISTI. Inks used were all distress oxide inks.

My second card is a clean and simple design using both stamps and dies from C9's Give Thanks set.

The cardstock is from my leftover pile so I'm not 100% sure of the color names. Inks used were Peacock Feathers, Blueprint Sketch, and Wilted Violet distress oxide inks.

The sentiment was embossed with SU Silver detail embossing powder on heavy weight vellum paper. I used the largest Crimped Frame die from The Greetery.

So, now I cross my fingers and toes that my name gets randomly chosen to win the $40 gift card from Concord and 9th! :-)
                                                                             ~Wanda 

Paper Players Sketch

Good Sunday everyone! We hope you'll have some time to play along with us at the Paper Players Challenge where Laurie has this awesome new sketch to get your mojo going! My starting point was to raid my leftover pile where I picked out this gelly plate printed panel from WAY back! I matched some teal and gray cardstock and colored this sweet bear with Copics.

 

STAMPS: Bear Hugs by Reverse Confetti.

PAPER: Smoky Slate (SU), Tropical Teal (PTI), White (PTI), X-Press It Blending Card.

INK: Memento Tuxedo Black.

DIES: Bear Hugs (Reverse Confetti); Stitched Rectangle and Stitched Circle STAX Die-Namics (My Favorite Things). 

For more inspiration from the rest of the talented design team, please check out their creations HERE.  Hope to see you in the gallery! Have a blessed day!                         ~Wanda   

 

Concord and 9th Turns Four!

Concord and 9th is celebrating their 4th year in business and they are giving away a $40 gift card to their store for one lucky recipient! You can enter multiple times but you need to use C9 products.  My first entry uses my fave set - Lace Leaf - and it matches their Grateful Leaf die set.

I smooshed and splattered the background with distress oxide inks: Fossilized Amber, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Crushed Olive and Walnut Stain. I also splattered some yellow gold ink from the Gansai Tambi Starry Color set (water based pigment).
The leaf was gold embossed then dabbed lightly with some amber and olive inks. The sentiment was cut 3 times and adhered together to give it more of a chipboard feel. Because it's such a delicate font, it also makes it easier to adhere to your card if you have more layers. I seldom use my crimper but used it with some kraft CS then sponged white pigment ink on the edges. It adds a great textural element, so I need to remember to do this more often. The base was die cut using a Crimped Frame die by The Greetery.

Remember...if you enter Concord and 9th's contest, you must post your card on social media and use the following tags: 

#c9turns4 and #concordand9th

Deadline is September 2. Winners will be picked randomly. 

That's all for now...maybe another C9 entry will get made this evening.  Have a great weekend!                         ~Wanda

Twofer CAS Designs

I've got two cards today for two different challenges and both are CAS designs. Card #1 is for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge which is a redo of their 300th sketch. My starting point was an ink blended panel of 3 distress oxide inks: Fired Brick, Ripe Persimmon, Dried Marigold.  It had fallish vibes to it but I chose to go with this sunburst stamp/die set (My Sunshine by Reverse Confetti). The background was made with RC's Stitched Rays Cover Panel die.

 

Card #2 is for Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge which is to create a clean and simple design.  Since CAS-ual Fridays is their sponsor this week, I went with their fun birthday sentiment set called Whole Shebang. I lightly stenciled with Daffodil Delight using the Hero Arts Tweed Pattern stencil.

 

Here's what else I used...

STAMPS: Whole Shebang (CAS-ual Fridays); Polka Dot Parade #12 by Papertrey Ink.

INK: Memento Tuxedo Black; Summer Sunrise, Tropical Teal, Pure Poppy dye inks by PTI; Parakeet and Bumblebee Yellow dye inks by Reverse Confetti. 

DIES: Crimped Frame (The Greetery); Blueprint 27 (My Favorite Things); Polka Dot Parade #12 (Papertrey Ink).

It's an overcast day with rain showers predicted.  I'm ready for the lower temps they say are coming! Yay!

                                                                              ~Wanda

MFTWSC

Another humid scorching day means no outdoor work for me! Bring on more card making instead! I created this card for the MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge. I didn't have the exact dies to mimic the four squares, so went with the closest option and that was to use my Blueprints #27 set.

I cut out multiple sets of leaves late last night and watercolored with distress oxide inks. After they dried, they were much paler than I wanted so I dabbed on some paints from my

Mijello Mission palette and then I was happy! I splattered some Vintage Photo ink after I completed the main colors.
I found this photo on Pinterest that helped me mimic the colors in my leaves. I had a messy and grand old time adding colors and splattering!  TIP: Wear old clothes for this project! I got a "nice" red spot of paint on my pants which then turned into a larger pink spot after trying to remove it.  :-(

I wanted to try a subtle script background, so broke out a new 3D embossing folder by SU called Scripty. After embossing on Vintage Cream CS, I lightly sponged Sahara Sand (SU) ink over it.  The sentiment was gold embossed on dark brown CS.

STAMPS: Anything But Basic Encouragement (MFT).
PAPER: Vintage Cream (PTI); Early Espresso (SU); Watercolor (Ranger).
INK: Many shades of distress oxide inks!
DIES: Blueprint 27 (MFT); Falling Leaves (MFT).

Thanks for stopping by and commenting!          ~Wanda

Fusion Card Challenge

There's another Fusion Card Challenge happening today and I used both the sketch and the photo for inspiration for my card! I already had these florals leftover from a previous project, so all I had to stamp was the sentiment which is part of a new Simple Strips set by Taylored Expressions called Friendship. Love that you get 18 different sentiments in one stamping time which is so handy to have on hand!

STAMPS: Fleur Impressions (The Greetery); Simple Strips: Friendship (Taylored Expressions).
PAPER: Seaglass 6x6" pad by Recollections; True Black and White by Papertrey Ink.
DIES: Crimped Frame, Fleur Impressions (The Greetery); Simple Strips (Taylored Expressions).

We'd love to see how you are inspired by the new Fusion Card Challenge! Hope to see you in the gallery.
                                                                            ~Wanda

Sketch Saturday

I love the layout that is currently up for the Sketch Saturday challenge! I vary in my "starting points" for creating a card but this one was totally the new paper pad - Authentique's "Poised" 6x6" pad. I love yellow and black together, so this one spoke to me when I recently sent in an order to Simon Says Stamp.

If you haven't noticed by now, you'll see I've become a big fan of Betsy Veldman's new company "The Greetery"!  Her fonts are fabulous and her layering stamps and dies are so easy to work with! She has a new release for August that will be available Friday and I'll just say that my budget will be taking another hit - lol!  

I wanted the sentiment to be the focal point and paired it with this awesome sunflower die. I watercolored with Zigs but the bottom layer was way too yellow, so I re-cut that layer and sponged with So Saffron and More Mustard (SU) inks and that blended better with the paper colors. I also lightly sponged some Mustard ink on the middle layer of petals. 

STAMPS: Comforting Commands (The Greetery).
PAPER: Poised 6x6 pad by Authentique; True Black, White by PTI; Water color paper by Ranger.
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black. 
DIES: Sentiment Suite Basics and Sunflower by The Greetery; Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-Namics by My Favorite Things.

This would be a great card of encouragement and I have the perfect recipient in mind for it! Stay cool everyone...         ~Wanda

Color Throwdown #557

Happy hump day everyone! That means it's time for another Color Throwdown challenge and Lori is our hostess this week. Our colors are purple, blue, turquoise and yellow...perfect to color up these adorable birthday critters! 

I lightly sponged the sky using MFT's cloud stencil and Tumbled Glass distress oxide ink. The images were colored with Copics.

I added a doodled frame using a white gel pen. Glossy Accents were added to the cupcake icing and some coarse glitter was added to the bunny tail. The pom poms have added sparkle from a Clear Star gelly pen.

STAMPS: Sending Sweet Birthday Celebration Wishes (MFT).

Be sure to stop by the blogs of the other team members to see what they've come up with...including our August Guest Designer, LucieG!

Amy Rohl Amy Rysavy
Barbara Anders Broni Holcombe Jodi Collins Lisa Henke Lori Tecler Lynn Put Vickie Zimmer Wanda Cullen (you are here) LucieG – August Guest Designer

Thanks so much for stopping by! We hope to see you in the CTD gallery!                                                             ~Wanda                                                                                             

CAS(E) This Sketch

I hope you are having a good Monday! This heat is very oppressive and I hate to wish the summer away, but these temps in the 90's are getting old!  I've been transitioning my home decor to fall, so that gives me some reassurance that cooler temps will soon be here.

I made this card yesterday but never got it posted to my blog. I get better photographs during daylight, so that's another reason I procrastinated.

 

I'm playing along with the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge. I'm truly sticking with my goal to whittle away at my leftover pile and this gelly roll background is a great example of something I created probably two years ago or more with some acrylic paint. It reminds me of an abstract plaid and the green is a fave shade of mine.  I had this extra sunflower (dies by The Greetery) already water colored, so it was a quick and easy way to get a needed sympathy card put together. The zig zag border dies are by My Favorite Things and the sentiment is from Taylored Expressions Simple Strips Background set.

Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting...      ~Wanda

Paper Players CAS

Are you ready for another great challenge at Paper Players? This week, Joanne has a CAS challenge with a kid's theme! I thought I'd go with a card that would fit for a young boy...something that isn't easy for me to accomplish! Die cutting the stars was a great way to use small pieces of card stock on my leftover pile - my ongoing goal to whittle away at the pile.

The sentiment was white embossed and is part of MFT's Boss Babe stamp set. I cut it apart since I wanted one straight sentiment line rather than the squarish version (a big advantage to polymer stamps!). The striped paper is from MFT's Black and White Basics 6x6" pad. A very quick and easy one layer card!

For more inspiration from the rest of the talented design team, please check out their creations HERE.  Hope to see you in the gallery! Have a blessed day!                         ~Wanda