Fusion Card Challenge

Hi everyone! Check out this beautiful "outdoor room" inspiration photo for the new Fusion Card Challenge! You have all kinds of elements to get your mojo going, but I was primarily inspired by the general pink and green colors and the florals (no surprise there - lol!).  I also used the fun sketch. 

I started out with choosing the patterned papers from the 6x6" "Pretty Posy" pad designed by Linda Wood for FSC.  It's hard to photograph the embossed texture and the sheen of these papers but this closeup gives a little better view.

There are so many adorable critter stamp sets at Reverse Confetti, but this Bear Hugs set is one of my faves!  I colored with Copics on X-Press It Blending Card then added Crystal Effects to the nose and Yellow Stickles to the flower. The circle frame is from RC's Circle Sentiments set. 


Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team has created...

Barb Ghigliotty, Jeanne Jachna, Jen Mitchell, Karren Johnson, Linda Callahan, Lyndal Higgins , Michelle Leone, Michelle Lupton, Wanda Cullen (you are here)

  We'd love to have you join us, so here's the nudge to get inky!  :-)

Color Throwdown #302

The new Color Throwdown Challenge really calls out for a sea theme to me and I knew right away I wanted to play with some distress inks for the background and use this great Reverse Confetti sentiment with the sand dollar die! Barbara is our hostess and has chosen cobalt blue, aqua, gray and white. I used Blueprint Sketch, Peacock Feathers and Pumice Stone inks for the watercolor background - drying each color with a heat gun before adding the next color.  



 
I stippled a light gray Copic marker on the edges/center of the sand dollar.

STAMPS: God is Good (Reverse Confetti).
PAPER: Ranger watercolor CS; Bermuda Bay (SU); Stone (Reverse Confetti).
DIES: Sand Dollar (Reverse Confetti); Stitched Rectangle Die-Namics by My Favorite Things. 

I'm also playing along with Just Us Girls where it's Trend Week and they've chosen one of my favorite trends: watercolor backgrounds!

  

For more inspiration from the rest of the design team, click on their blog links below:

 Amy Rohl  

Amy Rysavy
Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Jodi Collins
Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler
Lynn Put  
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen (you are here)

Kathy Schweinfurth - July Guest Designer

Just Us Girls

It's Trend Week over on the Just Us Girls challenge blog! Watercolor backgrounds is the trend we are to use on a card, so this was a perfect chance to use a background I had on my leftover pile.  I used Peacock Feathers distress to color the background then stenciled some stars using Nuvo glitter paste in Moonstone color.  The images are from a fun stamp set called Greatest Adventure just released this month by Reverse Confetti. 

 

 

I used RC's Pierced Round Top Layers die then adhered the panel to the card base after layering with adhesive-backed foam. Images were colored with Copics.

Thanks so much for stopping by...

Freshly Made Sketches

I decided to go with a new (to me) SU set called Bird Banter for a quick and easy belated birthday card for my stash. I used the sketch for the current Freshly Made Sketches Challenge.

The background was sponged with Peacock Feathers and Twisted Citron distress oxide inks using Tim Holtz' Bubble stencil.  The patterned papers came from the Tropical Life 6x6 pad by Recollections.

My OCD tendency is really struggling as I cannot overlook the stark whiteness of the X-Press It Blending Card panel compared to the Sweet Tooth CS (MFT) which is on the background panel.  Eeekk!  It really clashes!!  There are so many different shades of white out there and I should have known better.  Anyway...I paper pieced the bird image and tucked in a couple of fussy cut leafy branches and it simply wasn't an option for doing it over.

Thanks so much for stopping by...

Color Throwdown

It's time to get your mojo moving with the latest new Color Throwdown Challenge colors! Amy Rysavy has a different but awesome color combo for us: gray, yellow, kraft, white. It stumped me for awhile, then the lightbulb clicked when I knew I wanted to use this great HOPE Label die by Concord and 9th! I'm keeping hope alive in my personal life right now after getting a breast cancer diagnosis in mid-May!  Not exactly how I pictured my first month of retirement plans, but it is what it is, and I'm taking one step at a time and will fight this thing! So...here's my take on it... 

I started by stamping C9's Barnwood Background stamp with Crumb Cake ink over a light gray cardstock scrap.  Patterned papers are from Authentique's Classique: Beauty 6x6 pad. I thought a butterfly was a fitting embellishment for the theme, so used C9's Floral and Flutter Dies set.  Very quick and easy design!

For more inspiration from the rest of the design team, click on their blog links below:

 Amy Rohl  

Amy Rysavy 

Barbara Anders

Broni Holcombe
Jodi Collins
Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler
Lynn Put  
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen (you are here)
Kathy Schweinfurth - Stamps at Play - July Guest Designer

"Whatever you do, hold on to hope. The tiniest thread will twist into an unbreakable cord. Let hope anchor you in the possibility that this is not the end of your story, that change will bring you to peaceful shores."  
~Unknown

 

Love Always Frame

I have had Concord and 9th's Love Always Frame dies for many months and never opened the package (how sad is that?!). I needed a wedding card for later in the month, so it was high time I checked YouTube for directions on how to use this die! After watching the tutorial HERE, it was totally a simple thing to use! 

I created the base panel by stamping florals from C9's Brushed Blossom stamp set with distress oxide inks.  The frame was cut from brushed metallic silver cardstock.  The silver ribbon is by SU and was threaded through a rhinestone "slide" embellishment.  

STAMPS: Brushed Blossom (Concord and 9th).
INK: Shaded Lilac, Twisted Citron, Peeled Paint distress oxide inks by Ranger.
DIES: Love Always Frame (Concord and 9th), Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-Namics by MFT. 

It's another scorcher of a day here in VA.  Have not wanted to venture outside yet until the sun goes down!  Stay cool everyone!

Fusion Card Challenge

Can you believe we're into the month of July already?! I always feel once July 4th holiday is over, we're on the slippery slope downhill with summer getting close to the end.  

The hot temps make it perfect to retreat to your crafty space and there is a really fun inspiration photo on the Fusion Card Challenge blog along with a great sketch that we'd love to have to play along!  Remember, you can choose just one of the options or you can use both on your creation.  I was inspired by the varying shades of blues/greens and, of course, that huge cactus in the foreground and couldn't resist the great sketch as well!

I dug into my archives of loose 12x12" papers and went with My Mind's Eye "Bohemia" collection.  Stamps are from My Favorite Things' Sweet Succulents stamp set with matching dies and were colored with Copics after stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on X-Press It Blending Card. 

Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team has created...

Barb Ghigliotty, Jeanne Jachna, Jen Mitchell, Karren Johnson, Linda Callahan, Lyndal Higgins , Michelle Leone, Michelle Lupton, Wanda Cullen (you are here)

Hope to see you in the gallery!