Butterfly? Moth?

Today's technique on SplitCoast was using paper tole on your card....but it couldn't be a floral image.
I decided to use the butterfly from "Touch of Nature". I stamped the butterfly with VersaMark onto the Bordering Blue background. Then I coloured the butterfly three times using Always Artichoke, Barely Banana, and Mellow Moss Markers. The three look pretty much alike.
I left the first image on the vanilla paper without cutting it out. The other two were cut out carefully with snips and then layered onto of the first using dimensionals.
I've given a side view so you can see the dimension and then also added a photo of the butterfly by itself.
I was going to add a sentiment, but decided not to. That way I could use it for anything in the future.
To see more cards from this challenge click here.

This was fun...Oh, I also sort of used Beate's weekend sketch challenge....shown here also. You can see other cards using this sketch here.


Happy Stampin' - Joan

A couple of Challenges....

Sorry I haven't posted anything for a couple of days....I've been sleeping, reading, eating.....and a bit of stamping. My usual recovery process once I have more than a weekend off of school.

This first card is for the Limited Supply Challenge from Friday. We were suppose to find something we've purchased and then wondered why we ever did. I suppose my item would be the fancy ribbon. I love most of it, but not all of it, and these wide pieces confuse me. The other part of the challenge was to create a floral card. So, with this wide orange ribbon I thought I'd make a Black Eyed Susan (which I enjoy in the fall), but I think it really is more like a sunflower...which I also love. I used mircrobeads to make the "seeds" in the centre.
The gallery for this challenge is here



Saturday's challenge was to find inspiration around your own home. When I asked my daughter, Allison, what she thought I should use, she immediately came up with the idea of the wall in her room. Last summer we re-did her room to be a bit more "grown up" (she's 16). She selected the comforter set...I've included the pillow in the photo. She wanted the design from the comforter put on her longest wall....so you see a bit of what was created.
The card I created has a bit more colour, and I'm sorry that the snips show where I linked the squares, but it's not too bad. The Gallery for this challenge is here

I'm hoping to do more stamping today.....Have to check out today's challenge first!!!
Happy Stamping - Joan

Can you say....Obsessed?????

Okay....
obsessed is...
teaching all day until 3:01pm.......
starting Parent-Teacher interviews at 5:00pm...
leaving school just after 8:00pm...
getting home...
and still doing the sketch challenge....
and posting it on the blog...
(I'll wait until tomorrow morning to put it on SCS)

I started wanting to use the orange Bali Paper, spilled an entire hodgepodge hardware onto the rug, and ended up with black ink all over my fingers from a marker that decided to have a mind of it's own.

This is NOWHERE NEAR as wonderful as the cards which have been made for this sketch challenge in the gallery, however, I'll have all spring break to improve on it...if I so desire.

I can't wait until Friday morning and sleeping in. Interviews again tomorrow night, we'll see if I have enough energy then to do anything.

Happy Stamping - Joan

Blooming with Love

Here is my card for the Colour Challenge today which was Soft Sky, Whisper White and Going Grey. I used the On Board Blossoms and Basic and Soft Sky designer paper. I was going to put little "stitching" marks on the petals but decided the dots went better with the "Doodle This"...this then made me think of all the fantastic cards made by Markie's Mom. This is no where near as vibrant as Faith's are, but I thought of her non-the-less. It was fun to make, I haven't used Doodle this in a very long time.

Well, I'm off to a class tonight....happy stampin'
Joan

Flap Fold Thank You

Today's technique challenge was the Flap Fold Card. I used Groovy Guava and a piece of Afternoon Tea Designer Paper from the Occasions Mini. I used the blossom from "Bloomin' Beautiful".

For a tutorial on how to create this card click here

Too look through the gallery of other Flap Fold cards click here

Hope you're having a good day - Joan

Inspiration and Casing...

Saturday's Inspiration challenge was taken for this great Bracelet from Teka and Zoe Jewelry
I wish that I had my Aunt Shauna's "Seaside" set because I would have been great with this. However I had fun with the Cosmo Glitter, I also
used some of the new HodgePodge Hardware and filled two of the little buckles with Chrystal Effects coloured with some Turquoise Reinker.
I saw the Baroque Motif full of glitter on someone else's Blog. They had used Versa Mark,
Heat and Stick Powder and then the Glitter. It took me a couple of tries before I remembered to reheat everything in the end. Needless to say, I walked out of my stamping room full of glitter. However, my daughter says you just have to step into my room and you'll get glitter on yourself. Oh well!!

To see other cards using this bracelet for inspiration click here.




The Thank you card is made for the Featured Stamper Challenge. This week PickleTree was featured and I selected card of hers called "Thinking of Paris" shown in the thumbnail. I changed the colour scheme and used the Thank You stamp from "Elegant Notes". To see the gallery which has other cards casing Pickletree's work click here.

Hope you are all having an enjoyable Easter Holiday. Joan

Wonderful

This card is for two things....the Wednesday Tutorial on Splitcoast - which was the Dahlia fold for the flower, and Beate's Weekend Sketch challenge. Because of the circular piece in Beate's challenge the Dahlia worked in very well.

The Dahlia is made from designer paper, and you could have a lot of fun making many different types...you can click here for the tutorial. If you'd like to see more cards using this fancy flower click here.

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge is on her Fresh and Fancy Blog.

Have a wonderful Easter! Joan

Limited Paper and Stamps

Friday's Limited Supply Challenge was to take 3-4 stamps, one neutral colour, 1-2 other colours and a piece of designer paper to make a card. Any tools or embellishments were allowed. The idea was to show how just a few stamps or colours could be used to create different images.

I selected the Cutie Pie paper with all the spots, two stamps from the "Ginormous Flowers" set and one sentiment from "Smarty Pants". The first card I created was the one with the "b" on it. I'm disappointed with how the glitter turned out on the sticky letter...not as vibrant as I would like. Note to self...you can see through the sticky letter if the glitter is not dark. The little green flowers have been embossed with clear powder over top of Craft ink.

For the card with all the spots, I used various punches to add the extra little dots below the designer paper. You can't see it very well, but I added a bead onto each of the spots on the big flower. Also, the little clear button in the corner has "Thank You" rubbed onto, and a tiny piece of blue gingham ribbon.

The third, 6x3, card has the flip side of the dotted paper. I cut out one of the big flowers, added a blue circle in the center and used the build a brad. The Corner rounder punch was used to create the scallop along the edge and then I punched each scallop to create the "eyelet".

It's dreary outside here today, so definitely a day to hunker down in the stamp room and try to create cards for upcoming workshops in April...We also have a Birthday Card Camp in May to prepare for.
Happy Stampin' - Joan

Hello Friend

This card is for the Ways to Use it Challenge this past Wednesday. We were suppose to use tags, make tags...anything with tags. I've got something else on the go...but it hasn't been fully created yet.

For this card I used Certainly Celery, White and one of the Carousel Notes cut in half (or almost in half) I used the crop-a-dile to get the eyelet holes as equally placed as possible and then I tucked a small white circle behind each hole.


Happy Easter to everyone and Happy Stampin'

A Little Birdie Told Me...

The sketch layout for Wednesday's Challenge is shown here. I didn't make piece #4 as large as suggested because once the card was forming in my head I could see the birds holding the message on the twine. Also, I've used two strips of sticky strip for "piece #2 to hold the glitter instead of using paper. I've stamped the birds directly onto the saffron background in order to get their legs and feet on the card without having to cut them out. This is a strategy I've seen on other cards throughout the blog world, and I'm happy to have glommed onto it.

Happy Stampin'! - Joan

Gummy Worms!!

Last Saturday, for the Inspiration Challenge, we were to look at the cool clothing line called, Candy Toss
to gain inspiration for our cards. A lot of the children's clothes were really cute but I loved these pj bottoms. I used up a few of my strips of scrap and used the spritzer with the matching marker on the background. At first I thought that maybe I wasn't keeping to the challenge....but then it hit me when I was writing my post on split coast. Of course these little guys fit.....They're gummy worms!!!!!! Not a card I would usually make, but it's plain, simple and fun. Besides, I'm partial to worms since I have a container of them in my classroom doing our composting!!!
One more day to a long weekend (of course we have to hand out report cards first), Lots of choir singing to do, but that's okay, the break will be good.

Today's Colour Challenge - March 18

Report cards are....almost ready to go for Friday....Concerts are over....bring on the challenges! I can't wait for Spring Break!!!!!

Anyway, today's colour challenge was Kraft, Orchid Opulence and Sage Shadow. Funny that I've been reaching for Sage myself lately. The gallery for other cards done for this challenge is here.

I saw the idea of framing one of the words on this "Tres Chic" stamp on someone's blog a while back and thought that it was a clever idea....thank you to whoever it was and I'm sorry I can't remember who you were.

I used the blender pens to colour the flower. I was going to try watercolouring, but I'm so unsure of myself with them. Amy does a fantastic job....me...not so much. I've also discovered that if the image has shading included in the stamp.....I know where to make the colour darker. I'll have to keep that in mind.

Off to get ready for our Tin Purse workshop tomorrow night. Happy Stampin' - Joan

Finally, some challenges met....

It was an awfully busy weekend what with workshops and concerts so I didn't get a lot of challenge stamping done. But here are two....
The Friendship card is for the Featured Stamper Challenge. You have got to look at her gallery here on Splitcoast. She does fantastic work! The card I picked to case was one called Birthday Blossoms... which is shown first.




The two other challenges I went for were the "Limited Supplies" where this week we were not to use any tools at all. Scissors yes, punches no. The layout for the card is one set out on Beate's blog for her Weekend Sketch Challenge. This is another woman who does fantastic work inspiring others and helping us through tutorials. Check out her blog here

Wonderful Friend

Today's challenge was to use ONLY designer paper on the card, except for the base. This was a lot of fun. I picked Fall Flowers because I like the colour combinations. I ended up using a piece of soft sky that wasn't too busy from it's own designer package. Cutting out the "vine was fun.....it was all just fun. Oh, and can you say..."I love dimensionals!"?

To see more cards made from mainly designer paper click here.

Two Challenge Cards....

Here is my entry for yesterdays colour challenge. The colours were Basic Black, Purely Pomegranate and Going Grey. I found it a bit difficult to find a stamp set that I could work with these colours. But the little elephants are okay....for the "one of a kind" I used the Faux Cloisnne' technique again from Monday. I don't have the pomegranate ink, so I used Sweet Shapes and versa mark to create the background. If you'd like to see some absolutely fantastic and elegant cards with this colour combination....check out the gallery here.





The thumbnail shows today's sketch challenge. It was requested that the circular area stay an actual circle if possible so that it was different from a previous challenge....of course you can deviate from the sketch if you have limited supplies....that's what's part of the fun. Anyway, I don't have a Coluzzle cutting system yet, but I found a piece of chipboard from the "On Board Lots of Letters that went beyond the borders of the scallop punch. The centre of the "flower" is a Build a Brad with Soft Sky paper.


I want to thank those of you who congratulated my handchime group.....to top things off we have now been asked to perform at the "Gala Festival Concert" on Sunday afternoon. Just when you think the nerves can take a rest....It would be nice to have had Festival any time other than when report cards are due, but what do ya do.....keep slogging away, one day at a time. And praying doesn't hurt either!!!!! Thanks, Joan

Reason to Celebrate...

My reason to celebrate has nothing to do with stamping.....but I must say....I am so very proud of my school handchime group. Today I took them to perform/compete in a local Music Festival. They scored 90% and took home a First Place in their class. Of course, they were the only group IN their class, but the 90% nailed the placement. They did an awesome job representing our school. A great group of kids.

Anyway, first thing this morning I checked out the challenge of the day. I was intrigued by the instructions and came thought about it through the day. The technique is Faux Cloisonne' and you can click here for the instructions. It was fun to do, looking through magazines for pictures to stamp over to get the colours. You use an outline stamp, emboss the image on the magazine page and top off with Crystal Effects. (That's the very very short version of the instructions). For the word "Celebrate" I used a marker technique where you stamp into a versa mark pad first, then colour the image (in this case letters) with marker. I chose three different colours repeated. You then stamp the image on your paper and emboss it with clear embossing powder. I was surprised to see that the letters ended up having the same sort of mottled looks as the flowers. I love this technique and can see in my mind all sorts of different ways to use it. To see other FANTASTIC cards using the Faux Cloisonne' technique, click here.

March 10.

I wanted to share a card that Amy's Mom made. I spotted it on the weekend and felt a bit bad asking if I could take it to take a picture and put on the blog. She used a Simply Sent Kit that she won last year from one of our draws. I love the way she put it together. Thanks for letting me put it on the blog Lin.

Computer Challenge

Oh My Word it took forever for this image to load. This is the final challenge I'm completing from last week. It was Thursday's "Ways to Use it Challenge" where something on the card had to be generated from the computer.

I have always loved this picture of my daughter, Allison, at one of her dance competitions. The image was taken off the computer and so was the quote by Katherine Hepburn who I've always enjoyed.

The centres of the flowers are silver brads with glue dots on top dipped in turquoise glitter. I've done this with the silver glitter at workshops before, so I'm excited about having more colours to work with.

Report cards must be ready by Friday, so I've taken pictures of some cards that Amy has made to post on the blog through this next week whether or not I get a challenge done.

Thanks for visiting. Joan

I got home from a workshop tonight and decided to sit down to try and get some cards done for the challenges that I missed during the week. (I got all my Music report card marks entered this afternoon...so some fun was in order) Although there was a lot of laughing at the workshop tonight which was great. Anyway, I wanted to do the weekend sketch challenge, but apparently for every number of cards you create which you are happy with there comes a flop....and this one of a kind is definitely one of a kind. Allison says it's not so bad, but maybe she's just making me feel better.

My second attempt was with the inspiration challenge which was centered around a wonderful green and white Double Irish Chain Shamrock Quilt. (Shown in a thumbnail here) It made me think of my grandmother and the quilts she used to make and so that is why I chose to put the "memories" rub-on on the ribbon. I realized later that the only stamping on this card is the canvas stamped on Wasabi in the white craft pad.

That's all for today....I'll enter more marks tomorrow so that I can play some more in my stamp room.

Time Spent With Friends

I wanted to accomplish one more challenge before the weekend officially begins, so decided the easiest to do before I went to bed after doing a workshop would be the sketch challenge from Wednesday. The colours look a bit better together in real life. I've promised myself I can work on some of the other challenges that I missed this week....but I MUST do some report card entries first!!!!! I'll consider stamping the reward......not the same as chocolate, but close. Maybe I could have both....hmmmm

Massive Migraine Meltdown....

Pretty creepy that even with a migraine pounding and my eyes squinting I can still lay down the alliteration. A bit sickening actually. Anyway, nothing new has been made due to last night's meeting and tonight's migraine...however, I finished making this booklet on the weekend for a family who has had to do a lot of traveling due to a family members' recovering from a stroke. I made up three CD's of my favorite Christian....sing it in the car at the top of your lungs, music and put together this book/journal. It's made from the On Board Journal; I have included the three pockets for the CD's and also within the pages included the lyrics for the songs and a note or two from me explaining why the songs are important to me. They've already listened to the CD's and enjoyed them. I usually have trouble putting journal fronts together but I'm happy with the way this one turned out.

Sketch Challenge for Wednesday

Here is the sketch challenge from Splitcoast for Wednesday. Have fun

We've been Tagged

I was spending some time going to the blogs I visit each day and noticed that Nardi in Australia had been tagged, read along and discovered that our blog was one that she tagged...Then I clicked on Bronwyn's blog (also in Australia) and she had tagged us too. So I'm all for playing ladies....
Here are the rules

The rules of the game:
• Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, we all want to know them.
• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I LOVE chocolate
2. I've been married for 21 years and have two teenagers
3. I love doing jigsaw puzzles
4. I've grown used to having my son's friend's snake in our house...who is getting ready to shed his skin....again.
5. I have driven to school in a car pool for the past 10 years. "What's said in the car, stays in the car!" This year I teach Grade 4, Music K-6 and I'm the "librarian".
6. I love singing in the car....when I'm alone
7. I prefer to never mature and act my age...not unless the situation dictates that I have to.

Now to tag people:
1. Dawn
2. Charmaine
3. Penny
4. Heather
5. Mary
6. Karen
7. Julie

I probably won't be able to post anything tomorrow night because of a SU team meeting, so I'll add another one tonight. I made this last week because I wanted to try using the petals from On Board Blossoms and Basics to make the shamrock....then of course I had to use the chunky glitter. It's early for St. Patty's day...but that's okay. Luck to you all.

Pomegranate Bonjour

Today's colour challenge was Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate and So Saffron. This morning I closed my eyes, stuck my hand into my stamp cupboard and....pulled out a set with the months of the year. Yuck, so I stuck my hand in once more and pulled out Carte Postale. I used a piece of saffron dp (designer paper), but you notice it more in person than in the photo. I didn't think I would like these colours together, but they're not bad. That's the great thing about the challenges....they push you beyond your comfort.

Debossing Velum

Monday's "Try a New Technique" challenge was Debossing Vellum....sort of similar to dry embossing. I used the "Infinite Goodness" stamp set. The berries were stamped on plain vellum with black Staz-On ink. Once the ink is dry, you turn the piece over and, using a stylus, mark in the areas you want accented in white, or the parts you want raised on the front side. I debossed the dragonfly on velum cardstock. Not too much difference but because of the thickness of the paper, I think the white shows up better.

Click here for Linda's tutorial on Debossing

Click here for Beate's tutorial on dry embossing

Link the gallery of cards in this challenge

Featured Stamper Challenge

On Sundays on Splitcoast it's Featured Stamper day....you are suppose to "case" (copy) a card from a specified stamper...you can change 2 or more things about the card. Today's featured stamper's name is Mary and I picked her card called Denim Blues.
I used a different stamp set, and only used blues. It was fun to create...and I'm getting to love my pretties kit.
Joan

Link here to see other cards that are cased off of Mary's gallery.

Blue Inspiration

Saturday's challenge is being inspired by a photograph....todays photo is shown with my take on it. I love blue and was excited about doing this challege. Then it turned into just that...a challenge. The chipboard flower has three different blues sponged onto it with Craft ink, together they ended up not blending very well with the blue paper I wanted to use. However, in the end I'm happy. I coated and coated the flower with clear embossing powder and then sank the flowers from Blooming with Love into it while it was wet. I've also clear embossed those flowers onto the white piece of glossy paper. I've also entered this one for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. Joan