Sweet Friend - Color Challenge (CCMC197)

I made this card this morning for this week's color challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary.  I'm very drawn to greens, purples & blues so I had to jump in with this color combo... Certainly Celery, Marina Mist and Concord Crush.

I've not done very much with the soon-to-be-retiring 2010-2012 In Colors so I was glad this one included one of the retirees in it... Concord Crush.  I have very little in that color which I think actually made it easier to incorporate it.  And... look at that it's the dominant color.  :)  It's a little hard to see in the photo but I tucked 2 tiny scalloped borders below the Concord Crush scallop to tie in the Certainly Celery & Marina Mist buttons. 

Sometimes I have the hardest time coming up with which phrase to put on the front of a card.  But then it hit me to give this card to a friend at work who innocently came into my office to fill me in on all the details of her fun vacation and our conversation morphed (as it always does) into all different topics.  And I wound up unloading details of a really difficult time I'm having with something in my life that has me very frightened and lost.  I wound up sobbing and she was there to listen, offer encouragement and just simply be my sweet friend.  So, the phrase on the front was easy to choose this time. 

Thanks, Connie & Mary, for another fun one!   And my Concord Crush thanks you, too.

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp sets: Four Frames, Fabulous Phrases;  

Cardstock: Whisper White, Concord Crush, Certainly Celery, Marina Mist;

Patterned Paper:  Concord Crush DSP Stack;  Inks: Certainly Celery, Marina Mist;   

Punches: Decorative Label, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border;  

  Ribbon: White Baker's Twine;  Sizzix:  Tasteful Trim Die;  

Embellishments:  Subtles Designer Buttons;  

Other: Pop Dots (American Crafts), Glue Dots, Scotch ATG.

Thanks for stopping by!  

Colleen

Bird on a Branch

This is pretty much a lift from a card on the cover of the current SU! Catalog.  Now that this catalog is nearing it's end, I feel anxious to (finally!) get some of my favorites made before the new catalog is unveiled.  (You should see the list of my favorites that I want to make.. yikes!).

Anyway... he's a cute little fella and he was fun to make.  Hopefully, the card buffet girls will like him, too!

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp sets: Best of Everything; Cardstock: Peach Parfait, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede;

Inks: Tangerine Tango, Melon Mambo, Soft Suede, Old Ollive;  

Punches: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border, Itty Bitty Shapes;  Ribbon: Hemp Twine;  

Sizzix:  Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder;  

Embellishments:  Brights Brads;  

Other: Pop Dots (Recollections), Scotch ATG.

A close-up...

I used the Soft Suede & Old Olive markers to color the tree branch & leaves.  I like the uneven look that I got with the leaves by using the markers.  I crumpled up the flowers a bit before I layered them to give them a little more dimension.  I made a  of these using different colors for the centers of the flowers.. green, blue, yellow, etc would all look good.  The final size of this card is 4¼ x 4¼. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Colleen

February Card Buffet - a new venture!

Last weekend, I introduced a new type of card class called a Card Buffet.  In a nutshell, I created 10 different cards (well... actually 9 cards and 1 little treat box seen here) and let the attendees choose which ones they wanted to make.  I got the idea from some fellow SU! Demonstrators and decided to give it a whirl.  It took me a few months to work out all of the details on how I wanted to run mine.  And then I had to come up with all of the different designs and then pull it off.   I did re-use a few of the card ideas I had from club for this first round (one very similar to the one posted here.  For each buffet, I'll rotate out some of these cards and rotate in some new ones.  Which ones will depend upon the current catalogs, who is attending, upcoming holidays, etc.  I was pretty happy with how it went and got some good feedback.  So, I'll definitely be doing it all again very soon.  

Here are some pictures of the set-up (oops... didn't get any pictures of the work tables where everyone made their cards).

And here are some details on a few of the cards....

This Orange Butterfly card was inspired by one by Cassie D'Ambrosio that I found on Pinterest.  I loved the butterflies showing through the window and how simple the card was.  Before I cut the smaller butterfly with the embosslit, I stamped the cardstock with the En Francais stamp using Versamark to give it a little more character.  The left side of the card front is also stamped using Versamark with the same stamp.  A little hemp twine gives the butterfly its body & antennas. 

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp sets: En Francais; Cardstock: Crumb Cake;

Patterned Paper:  Pumpkin Pie DSP Paper Stack;

Inks: Versamark;  Punches: 2 1/2" Circle;  

Sizzix Dies:  Beautiful Butterflies, Beautiful Wings Embosslit; 

Ribbon: 1/4" Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain, Hemp Twine; 
Other: Big Shot, Sponge Daubers, Pop Dots (American Crafts), Scotch ATG.

Next up is the Field Flower card inspired by a project that's on the cover of the current SU! IB&C.  I've stared at it since last summer and thought it was about time I made one.  I'm really drawn to these colors together.... Calypso Coral and Soft Suede.  

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp sets: Field Flowers;  

Cardstock: Soft Suede, Calypso Coral, Very Vanilla;  Patterned Paper:  First Edition DSP;

Inks: Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake;   

Ribbon: Victoria Crochet Trim;  

Embellishments:  Old Olive Button
Other: Sponge Daubers, Distress Tool (Tim Holtz), Pop Dots (American Crafts), thread (DMC), Scotch ATG.

The Elephant Celebrate Card is one I stumbled upon while blog hopping.  It's by Brenda Anderson; I thought hers was adorable.

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp sets: Under The Big Top; 

Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Read;  Patterned Paper:  Big Top Birthday DSP;

Inks: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray, Basic Black;  

Punches: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border, 3/4" Circle;  

Other:  Sponge Dauber, Blender Pen, Pop Dots (American Crafts), Scotch ATG.

I'll post details on some of the other cards later this week.  Thanks for taking a peek!  And a special thanks to those who blindly jumped into the first buffet and gave me their feedback!  It's GREATLY appreciated.  :0)

Have a great week everyone!  

Colleen

SU! Club - July '11 - part 2

Moving right along...

Hello You Card:

This card was fun because we got to put the Blender Pen to use with the ink pad to color the image.  

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Punches: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border;  
Stamp sets: Morning Cup, Hello, You; 
Inks: Early Espresso, Melon Mambo; 

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Melon Mambo, Early Espresso;  
 Patterned Paper: First Edition DSP;
Other: Blender Pen, Pop Dots, Scotch ATG.

Open Sea Card:

I got the idea for this one from a card I saw on-line.  But I'm going to have to go back & try to find who to credit.  Bad Colleen.

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp set: The Open Sea;
Inks: Soft Suede, Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler;
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Basic Gray, Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy; 

Sizzix Texturz Plates:  Perfect Details;  
Ribbon:  Baker's Twine (Cherry Cobbler/White)
 Patterned Paper: Nautical Expedition DSP;
Other: Big Shot, Spellbinders Circle Die, Blender Pen, Pop Dots, Scotch ATG.

Thanks for stopping by!

Colleen