Spring will come.....

We may have a fair number of Sunday Stamp days until we get there - but Spring will Come!

This week we have a fun sketchy at Sunday Stamps from Tara.  I should have thought more about the sketch before I started stamping though.  When I went to put my little flags on the card - and I tried a number of sizes - I decided that I had to adjust where they were on the card so that they didn't take away from the flowers.

I took the colours for my card from the Colour Throwdown this week - Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White and Crumb Cake.

I'd love to see what you come up with for our sketch challenge this week - Here are some things to keep in mind...

1. Please provide a Link back to us in your Post.

2. Please link directly to your blog post for the challenge.

3. Feel free to use any Brand of product.

4. Deadline is Friday January 25th @12pm EST.

5. Have FUN!!

Have a Super Sunday!  Thanks for visiting.

Joan

Ducks, Dinosaurs and Butterflies

I must say, my opinion of Summer Starfruit is beginning to change a bit.  I wasn't enamoured with it when I first saw it, but as I'm working with it, it's growing on me! 

The sketch for the duck card is from Create with Connie and Mary.  I decided I wanted to use the "Cherish Friendship" set because it's been neglected - and then I wanted to find an idea for colouring the duck.  Stampin' Connection (a website available to Stampin'Up! Demonstrators with loads of ideas and inspiration) came to the rescue and I took some inspiration from Sandy Mathis who had bleached the duck last June.  

So - I used the same Crumb Cake paper, stamped the image with Black Staz-On and then took an aqua painter dipped in bleach to colour in the duck.  Once I die cut the image with one of the Apothecary Accents Framelits, I took a sponge dauber with bleach to go around the edges and added some Cajun Craze after that.

The "gingham" piece is Very Vanilla put through the Stripes embossing folder in two directions - the embossing folder was brayered with Crumb Cake first each time.

Since I had the brayer out, I decided it was time for me to try out one of Michelle Zindorf's tutorials.  

I've cased her card pretty much exactly as she created it - except I need a WHOLE BUNCH of practice using the brayer so that I don't end up with straight lines.  

I learned two things making this card - 

1 - if you're real quick, you can add (clear) embossing powder to Classic Ink.

2 - In order to keep the dinosaurs' "true" colours while you brayer the background, you colour him with VersaMark Pen and add clear embossing powder so that he becomes a embossing resist.  Duh!!!  Fantastic idea.

Since I was on a role, I cased another of Michelle's cards.  I saw this card a couple of weeks ago, and thought it would be a good tutorial to start with.  She gives such fantastic, step by step, instructions.  The images were coloured with the AquaPainter using ink from the lid of the Ink Pad.  I think what I learned most - which I need more practise with - is the use of different colours to produce shading.  Next I'll have to create something of my own using the new things I've learned.

So - it was a productive afternoon - on top of doing 3 loads of laundry - and folding it....on the SAME day...WOW!

Hope your day has been filled with inspiration.  Thanks for stopping by!

Joan

Masculine Balloon MashUp!

I'm really enjoying this "Up Up & Away" set - I only recently got it, and I'm having fun with these balloons.  Today would be a wonderful day to go soaring too; it's absolutely beautiful outside.

Yesterday's Friday Mashup! was:

1. Make a project for " That special Man in your life ".
2. Or Make a project with the " Sketch ".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a " Masculine card using the above Sketch ".

The card I created has my husband in mind.....the reason for the addition of the music on the lower layer.  Father's day is coming up and his birthday is at the beginning of July - so I'm all set for either occasion.

I've got a lot to do over the next week to get ready for my Open House next Saturday - and I'd like to putter around in the garden a bit too.  So....of I go...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.  I enjoy reading the comments that people leave.  Ta ta for now.

Joan

ROAR

I do love these little dinosaurs!  They got to play in the grass today, while we all played in the snow.

I've used the colours from The Color Throwdown - Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Pear Pizzazz and I used Cajun Craze instead of Dusty Durango;  The sketch is from Create with Connie and Mary.  The Pterodactyl is flying in the place of a ribbon or such.   And I created some grass rather than using ribbon across the bottom.

Everyone got to and from work today relatively safely.  My husband ended up in the ditch, but was out in 20 minutes and didn't end up being late for his meeting in the city.  Truth be told, I asked for the deployment of my two Car Angels this morning - so I knew all would be well!!!!

Hope all is well on your home front as we go into the Easter Weekend.  Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings, Joan

Life's a Bowl of Cherries - Enjoy!

I wasn't sure I would use this little bowl of cherries from the new "Cherish Friendship" set, but when I saw the Color Challenge from Splitcoast this past week: Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy  and Crumb Cake, it just seemed to make sense to use it.  So I pulled out the water colour paper and gave them a try.

The clean and simple look is what the  4 Crafty Chicks  are looking for this week.  I seem to be able to keep it simple as long as the main piece has texture.  I just have this strong aversion to flat paper on my cards - maybe that's why I like dimensionals so much too.  I have raised the square with the cherries and the small vanilla oval with "Enjoy".

Well, I'm off to sort cards today, and do some hemming.  I going to do the hemming first so I that it actually gets done!

Have a great day!  Thanks for the visit!
Joan

Sock Monkey in the Flowers

I'm pretty sure that if Sock Monkey didn't insist on coming out to play today, I wouldn't have taken so long to get this card put together. I had to walk away from it for a while!

The sketch is this week's challenge from Stampin' Royalty. I was surprised and honored to have my Sailboat Imagining picked as one of three "Stampin' Royalty Goddess Picks". Thank you Ladies!

Sock Monkey was coloured and cut out before I put her through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. Gives her a bit of texture that I may use again.

Tomorrow is the last school day of the week - the kids got off easy this week with only three days because of Easter Monday and our "Professional Development" day on Friday. Then there's another Extravaganza on Saturday - Wooooo Hooo!!!!! Livin' for the weekend.

Hope you have good plans on the horizon of your week - thanks for stopping by! Joan

Mojo Throwdown...

WooHoo, It's the weekend. I know that matters to a lot of people....Grey Cup, American Thanksgiving. I'm sort of on a perpetual weekend with this rehab....just about had enough at this point, so I'm glad that I'm managing to spend a bit more time in my stamp room!

I finally got a couple of challenges done rather than other personal stuff...gotta get back into the groove!!!!

Today's challenges.....
Mojo Monday - Sketch
Color Throwdown - So Saffron, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry. (It's nice to get away from the fall and Christmas colors for a bit!)

We're in for some balmy weather this weekend. I've been able to get out a bit more this week into the fresh air and sunshine thanks to a wonderful friend who's agreed to be my chauffeur. I've been told by my physiotherapist that I need to wait until I have at least 90* of bend in my knee before I think about driving. Thirteen degrees to go.....gotta keep doing those exercises!!! Ughhhhh!!!!!

Anyway - thanks for stopping by - hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Stamp Set/s - Priceless, Perfect Punches
Paper - So Saffron, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Inks - So Saffron, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Versa Mark
Other - White Embossing Powder, Large Oval Punch, Rich Razzleberry Taffeta Ribbon, Pearls, Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Big Shot

Trio of Owls

Played around with this one a bit. Couldn't decide what to put in the central section of the "Lord Have Mercy" sketch challenge....decided on the owls.

The colors are from over at the Color Chef...(Kelly Jo's Stamp Pad). The colours are bright green, black and cream.

I just also happen to fall into the category set out by Crafty Creations this week to use Owls in your projects. Whooooo, Whooooo!!!!

Yesterday I commented at a couple of blogs on the way buttons were attached to bows....so I decided to give it a try.

Hope you are having a wonderful beginning to the tail end of the week. Thanks for stopping by.
Joan