Monday, 11 May 2015

CAS Colours and Sketches 123

I've played at CAS Colours and Sketches quite a few times now and always enjoy their challenges - thank you team! This week, it's colour week and it's an unusual combination to me - not colours I'd have thought of combining.


It's autumn here in New Zealand, so the colours made me think of the earth and leaves, endings and beginnings.  The weekend was glorious autumn weather and the trees are an absolute picture at the moment, although quite a few have lost their leaves so winter is coming.




I have to confess to not owning Tangerine Tango so I've used the closest thing I have, which is Tangelo Twist.

French Foliage was the third SU set I ever got and I still love it. The rain splatter from the set gets a lot of use as it's so versatile. I put in a few tangelo splats in to help lead the eye down to the sentiment.

The centre panel is made the focal point through the frame, the colour, by being raised up and the sponging around the edge. This is echoed with a very light sponging around the edge of the white rectangle, just to add a touch of definition and to help tie the colours together.

In the end, I felt really pleased with the result and could see myself using these colours together again.

Ingredients
Card: Whisper White, Soft Suede
Stamps: SU French Foliage and A Dozen Thoughts
Inks: Soft Suede, Sahara Sand, Tangelo Twist
Other: Dimensionals, sponge dauber

Sunday, 10 May 2015

Case this Sketch 122

Well, since today is Mother's Day I'm not feeling guilt at being in my scrapbooking room while someone else younger than me is cooking dinner. Given this time bonus, I almost didn't know what to do with it!  I settled on working on something for the lovely sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch.


During the weekend I answered a Facebook discussion question about favourite colour combinations. It was a really difficult one to answer because firstly I find colour favourites go in phases and secondly because I think my mood affects what I want to work with. However, in the discussion question I did include that I often seem to go back to purples and that's what's happened with this card.



Update: Delighted to receive an Honourable Mention at Cas(e) this Sketch!

Ingredients
Card: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Vellum
Stamps: Clearly Besotted Fabulous Fuchsias, W&W Big, Bold and Party
Inks: Mossy Meadow, Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Stazon Black
Other: SSS Stitched Rectangles die, Clearly Besotted Fabulous Fuchsias die, dimensionals.

Friday, 8 May 2015

FMS185 and LIM222

It's funny how sometimes an idea just comes to you and you just have to work on it. Really, I should be tucked up in bed fast asleep but I had to get this card done first.... and then I saw that I only have ten hours until the challenge at Less is More finishes. So I really had to stay up to get it done then!

This card is based around the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week.
And also the challenge at Less is More, to use colours from the opposite sides of the colour wheel, in this case I've chosen blue and orange. Ideally, I'd have waited until morning and taken a photo in natural light ,,, but only ten hours (or nine and some minutes) to go to closing... so here it is.




Ingredients
Card: Whisper White, Tangelo Twist, Night of Navy, Marina Mist, Black
Stamps: Clearly Besotted Make A Wish, Winnie and Walter Big, Bold and Party
Ink: Night of Navy, Tangelo Twist, Marina Mist
Dies: MFT Happy Birthday, Couture Classic Chevrons, Clearly Besotted Make a Wish
Other: SU Square Lattice embossing folder, dimensionals

TSSC362

When I saw the sketch at Monday Lunchtime Sketch challenge this week, I really liked it. So when I got home from work tonight, it was straight into my room to begin the weekend with a card.


As soon as I saw the sketch, I knew I wanted to use some washi tape that I've had in my stash for a year or two. Everything else grew around it. I bought it at Typo (I think) and I've used it for a few things because it's so beautiful and so versatile. 

Feeling in a bit of a nostalgic mood, I also wanted to incorporate the very first die I ever bought, which is a Nellie's nesting rectangular set of dies. I've built up the layers a bit, cutting it in white first then two more layers in Elegant Eggplant but cutting out the centre of those layers with the next sized smaller die to create a frame.

Elegant Eggplant and Perfect Plum are such wonderful colours that I often go back to them, and their richness and strength balanced the black and white of the tape well.




There is a black rhinestone in the centre of the vellum flower but in the photo it's not really showing up.

And a peek inside...



Ingredients
Card: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Elegant Eggplant DSP, Garden Green, Vellum, scrap of Wisteria Wonder for the under-butterfly.
Stamps: SU Flower Shoppe, Papillon Potpourri and Petite Petals, Winnie and Walter Big, Bold and Party
Ink: Perfect Plum, Stazon Black, Versamark
Punches and Dies: Nellie's rectangular nesting die, SU Pansy punch and Bitty Butterfly punch, SU Leaf sizzlit.
Other: White embossing powder, washi tape, dimensionals, brad base, black rhinestones, Perfect Plum marker to colour the vellum.


Just Add Ink 261

I'd really like to thank the team at Just Add Ink for a couple of things today. Firstly, for the opportunity to have a spot as a Guest Designer. That's so fabulous that it puts me way at the top end of the happy scale. Secondly, for having such an amazing inspiration board for my first guest spot challenge. If you could see my bedroom, you'd know exactly why I found this board so amazing!


The colours are fantastic and I love the sinuous form of the leaves and lushness of the rounded shapes.





Ingredients  
Card: Whisper White, Island Indigo
Stamps: SU Kinda Eclectic, Clearly Besotted Leafy Accents and Say it in Style.
Ink: Island Indigo, Sahara Sand, Cherry Cobbler
Other: IOS die 152-N, Elegant Butterfly punch, linen twine, brad base and Island Indigo candy dot, dimensional.


Sunday, 3 May 2015

Colour Me 69

This week is a challenge with choice - two options with which to be 'creative'.


Tough choice; they're both delicious. I thought I'd miss out on playing this challenge - it's been a busy weekend - but a spare hour presented itself after an early dinner. So I've played along with option 2.



My ulterior motive was also to use my new stuff. Over the past few months, I've discovered the joy of on-line international shopping. I've been amazed that often stuff arrives from both the UK and USA in about a week. My first ever purchase from Winnie & Walter broke my run of fast deliveries although it was quite entertaining watching the various locations it went through via parcel tracking. But it did arrive yesterday. This lovely die and stamp set The Big, The Bold and Party was sitting there asking to be used. Just beautiful stamps to use - very crisp.

Update: Delighted that this card was picked as a Colour Connoisseur at Colour Me.

Ingredients
Card: Cherry Cobbler, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White
Stamps: SU Gorgeous Grunge and French Foliage. W&W Big, Bold and Party
Inks: Coastal Cabana, Rose Red, Cherry Cobbler
Other: W&W Big, Bold and Party die, Coastal Cabana twine, dimensionals


Friday, 1 May 2015

CAS Colours and Sketches 122

When there is a fifth week, CAS Colours and Sketches runs a double:  a sketch and colour challenge. I've never done one and was determined to do so next time it occurred. So tonight after work, I had to give it a go. I thought it was a bit of a tricky one - the sketch was a hard one and the colours a combination I wouldn't have normally picked.


So, a true challenge then...




It went a bit against the grain to rip the panel into two to get the wiggly line! I went for a "feel better" card because I liked the idea of something beautiful rising up over the cracked line; a sort of visual metaphor.

Ingredients
Card: Calypso Coral, Island Indigo, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White
Stamps: SU Dictionary, Papillon Potpourri, Clearly Besotted Say it in Style.
Ink: Calypso Coral, Island Indigo, Wisteria Wonder, Black
Other: Elegant Butterfly punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch, dimensionals, candy dots, Island Indigo marker pen