Case This Sketch 194

A thunderstorm struck with a vengeance this afternoon, so what's a girl to do but retreat to the craftroom where the latest sketch from Cas(e) This Sketch was waiting.

I've 'landscaped' the sketch and done something I seldom do - grabbed out the patterned paper. I'm often seduced by lovely paper and then leave it sitting in my drawer so today's wee challenge to myself was to use some!

I'm feeling pretty pleased with the bright and cheerful result.

Ingredients

Card: Basic Black, Melon Mambo, DSP from Pop of Pink suite.

Stamps: Wild About Flowers, Labeler Alphabet

Inks: Old Olive, Melon Mambo

Other: Little Letters thinlits (retired), dimensionals.

Global Design Project 57

The wonderful colour challenge at Global Design Project has stuck with me ever since I saw it earlier in the week.

Over the last few days, I've mentally designed several cards and mentally experimented with three new techniques but when I sat down to actually turn one of these ideas into reality, the colours seemed to have a mind of their own. In the end, I didn't do anything really fancy. I just let those delicious colours speak for themselves in the company of a stamp set I've really under-utilized: Number of Years.

The stamps lend themselves to an impressionistic approach so I've used double strength Blushing Bride in places to give more illusion of depth as single strength pink recedes quickly into the background.

Ingredients

Card: Rich Razzleberry, Mint Macaron, Whisper White

Stamps: Number of Years

Inks: Rich Razzleberry, Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride

Other: Mint Macaron Washi Tape (from Affectionately Yours), Blushing Bride baker's twine, pearls, dimensionals.

AAA Challenge 75

I kept thinking about the challenge graphic at AAA Cards challenge. It was pretty and it was out of my comfort zone somehow. I've never done rainbow colours before.

It turned out to be more difficult that I thought, with a number of false starts finding their way to the bin. I used the dotty background stamp from Timeless Textures and after spending quite a lot of time getting it perfectly lined up, decided that it looked too clinical and then put a couple of random stamps over the top of it. I wanted it to look light and airy, to pick up the polka dots from the inspiration photo but at the same time act like foliage in a tree with dappled light.

I resisted the temptation to add any Wink of Stella, Perfect Pearls or other highlights to the butterflies although I did attach them with glue dots in the centre so that their wings lift ever so slightly off the page.

Ingredients

Card: Wild Wasabi, Whisper White; scraps of Rose Red, Calypso Coral, So Saffron, Marina Mist, Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant

Stamps: Papillon Potpourri, Sunshine Sayings, Timeless Textures

Inks: Wild Wasabi, Tuxedo Black

Other:  Bitty Butterfly punch, pearls, dimensionals

CAS Colours and Sketches 194 CAS(E) 193

I didn't mean to play two challenges at once! There I was putting together my bits and bobs to make something for the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch, as it was one of my favourite sketches ever, when I realised that I was putting out the colours from CAS Colours and Sketches.

So I just went with it. Blogland is currently full of autumn challenges - which I enjoy, as the colours are so rich - but here in New Zealand, it's spring. The colours suggested springtime and flowers and I do have a soft spot for masking and sponging, so here it is. Rather like the spring growth, I seem to have been a little exuberant myself.

Wink of Stella continues to be difficult to photograph!

For such a card that seems so exuberant, it's only one-step removed from being a one-layer card and easily could have been one.

Update: Delighted to be a Weekly Winner at CAS Colours and Sketches.

Ingredients

Card: Whisper White

Stamps: Wild About Flowers, Endless Birthday Wishes, Touches of Texture (dragonfly)

Inks: Melon Mambo, Emerald Envy, Pacific Point (the closest I have to Tempting Turqoise)

Other: Sponges,  Clear Wink of Stella, Metallic enamel shapes, Stamp'n'write marker to partially colour the dragonfly.

PPA 321 and CCMC 427

Despite spring being all around me, there's still something very appealing about the rich colours of autumn and these colours are the challenge at Pals Paper Arts this week.

I've also taken inspiration from the sketch at Create With Connie and Mary this week.

I'm very pleased with the 'DSP' I created using some of the stamps from Totally Trees, stamped in Elegant Eggplant onto the same coloured card. This will be an idea I will play with some more, I think.

Getting the right mix of Elegant Eggplant and Crushed Curry leaves took a bit of experimentation: too close together and the colours blended into an unrecognisable mush, take off too much ink and the yellow was lost altogether, don't take off enough and you get a row of yellow leaves that look like they belong to some other tree... but it worked out in the end.

Ingredients

Card: Elegant Eggplant, Cajun Craze, Whisper White

Stamps: Totally Trees, One Big Meaning

Inks: Cajun Craze, Elegant Eggplant, Crushed Curry

Other: Elegant Eggplant solid baker's twine, dimensionals

Casology - Support

The cue word at Casology this week is 'support'. It's been a while since I played here and I was keen to play this week as I had an idea to explore.

Can bling and layers be clean and simple? I think the answer is yes, as long as the colour scheme is simple and there's still a lot of white space to counterbalance it. So, here's my experiment, in response to that question.

The inside continues the message of support, from Thoughtful Branches.

Update: Incredibly delighted to get an Honourable Mention at CASology.

Ingredients

Card: Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Silver glimmer paper

Stamps: Thoughtful Branches, Sunshine Sayings

Inks: Bermuda Bay classic, Bermuda Bay ombre.

Other: Beautiful Branches thinlit dies, Metallic shapes.

AAA74 and JAI331

Masking is a technique I really enjoy playing around with, so I was very interested in the latest challenge at AAA Cards. This is a site that I always look at but it's been a while since I entered there.

I'd been mulling over several options for this when one of my favourite challenge sites, Just Add Ink, offered up this theme challenge:

Suddenly, the way forward was clear and I came up with this double masked card using one of my most used and oldest sets, Papillon Potpourri.

I first cut a circular mask from photocopy paper and stamped the butterflies in Stazon onto watercolour paper. I water-coloured them using Calypso Coral and Crushed Curry. After they were dry, I added in some highlights with white gel pen before masking them out. Finally, I added in the distressed foliage in Mint Macaron before removing the original circular mask from the watercolour panel.

This is a peek at the inside.

I do like the effect created by this double mask - it looks a bit like a floating bubble. My lovely mother-in-law is turning 84 this week and I think it will be perfect for her.

Ingredients

Card: Mint Macaron, Calypso Coral, watercolour paper, Whisper White (inside)

Stamps: Papillon Potpourri, Timeless Textures, Birthday Blooms (sentiment)

Inks: Black Stazon, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Mint Macaron, Smoky Slate

Other: White gel pen, paintbrush, circle framelits and butterfly punches to make masks.