My Favorite from VSN

Tada! (as my daughter, Bella Rose, always says for everything she does). This is my last and favorite card that I made for the VSN Challenge. I used the Card Sketch Layout for the week...but I had to reverse it because I stamped the script the wrong way...and time was ticking.

The challenge was Monochromatic Flowers. Use Flowers but stick to one color scheme...I picked blue.

The background is The Paper Company Pastel Blue cardstock, embossed with the Cuttlebug Flowers embossing folder then distressed with Palette Starry Night ink pad. The script letting layer was stamped with TAC Beauty of a Woman using Palette Starry Night ink. It was matted with The Paper Company Heritage Blue cardstock. The main flower image is from the TAC Spring Flowers set, stamped in Palette Noir and water colored with Lyra Watercolor crayons. I highlighted the flower centers with Icicle Stickles (blue tint) for an extra bit of sparkle! Although it doesn't show up in the photo :-( I double matted the main image and was pretty impressed with myself because I actually accomplished a really thin mat!

So does anyone see the mistake?

To Quill or Not!!!

I participated in the VSN Challenge (yeah I know...already). But one of the challenges was something I've been wanting to try for a while...so I got a kick in the butt to actually try it...QUILLING!!

And you know what...it isn't that hard! And despite looking fragile is pretty darn tough. Here is my quilling effort (very simplistic as I only had 45 minutes...and those little rolls take a while to make). This incredibly nuclear green is currently my favorite! I call it Springtime after Nuclear Holocaust. Anyway, Not much to say about this card except, twirl 1/8" strips of paper (yes I even cut my own) around a toothpick, then glue the end and squash to form a petal. I tried a black spiral in the middle but it didn't work so I used this fun large brad from Oriental Trader.

I also used my 4 in 1 Fiskars Lace Corner puncher to make the design on the black background. The sentiment is from TAC Keep your Chin Up.

Preakness Inpired VSN Challenge

This was another VSN challenge, something with Black Eyed Susan flowers...but the twist was seeing as real Black Eyed Susan flowers don't bloom around the Preakness and the officials use substitutes...see what you could substitute.

I substituted a Yellow Sunflower from TAC Earth Laughs Stamp set and a wonderfully high tech pencil eraser to change the yellow center to be dark brown! The neatest part of all though is the scalloped yellow background...I made it out of punches from my Word Window punch...yep I punched each scallop separately and glued them side by side! Finally I stamped "Thinking of You" from the TAC More One Liners stamp set in the bottom right corner. The brown background is from the ProvoCraft Slab 5 collection...I didn't think I liked this set but find I use it more and more! And I also stamped an envelope to match...I'm really liking doing that!

Virtual Stamp Night

Last night I participated in a Virtual Stamp Night on SCS, it was my first ever. The theme was May Flowers...they give you a challenge each hour and you MUST finish the card within 45 minutes. I had a blast and was really impressed with the results. It really made me execute an idea quickly...usually I agonize over designs. I'll be posting my creations over the next few days!

The first challenge I did was "Flower...NOT!!!". The idea was to create a flower without using a flower stamp or a flower punch. I used a Heart punch to make this card.

I punched 5 hearts using my Super (Blue) Marvy Uchida Clever Lever punch and cut them in half. I then layered them onto the black 1" circle and flipped. I used a 1" strip of striped paper from the DCWV Stack 3 papers.

Finally I stamped "hello friend" in the bottom right corner with the TAC Tag Tidbits stamp. I thought I would keep it simple so as to not take away from the big flower! Ha, who am I kidding...once I got the flower assembled I had to rush to finish the card in the time limit.



Stamps: TAC Tag Tidbits
Paper: DCWV Stack 3; Paper Company Brights Green; TAC Black Cardstock
Ink: Palette Noir
Accessories: Super (blue) Heart Punch; 1" circle punch

Good Ole' Dad

Yesterday while trolling around SCS for ideas I happened upon the challenge, Warm it Up! It was an idea on how to keep your stamping karma in shape...make quick and easy 3X3 cards to try out layouts and ideas.

Well that is just what I did, I made this 3X3 card in like 5 minutes flat...completely not like me! I liked it so much I went back and made a full size card.

The full size card is made using white cardstock, a 3/4" X4.25" strip of black cardstock, blue striped paper from the DCWV Stack 3 and brown paper (reminded me of bulletin board...wood look) from the ProvoCraft Slab 5. The little screw brads are from Oriental Trader.

The little 3X3 card is made with the same materials...this is a super easy card. However I really liked the results.