It's All About You

Let's play Tic-Tac-Toe using color tiles! Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge #441 has a fun Tic Tac Toe color board ready for you to enjoy. The rules are simple: select three colors in a row, a column, or diagonally from the board shown below. Then you are free to add any additional colors as long as they are included on the board. To add to the fun you are free to use black, white, vanilla, Kraft, or metallic gold. I selected the third column using Nectarine, Candy Apple Red, and Lemonade then added Lagoon, plus black and white.

I used a design called the "Banner Fold" by Tina Zinck from a tutorial found HERE. I started out a little slow but everything quickly fell into place as I created the card. Unlike the tutorial, I matted the banners with bright cardstock for definition. I like the bold design and think it would work for a masculine card quite nicely. I would also consider using patterned paper. A panel of white cardstock was added to the back of the card for a personal message.

This biweekly challenge runs from Friday, April 23, closing on Thursday evening, May 6, 2021. To play along, visit our Challenge Blog for all the details.

Materials

Stamps: Stamp of Approval "All About You" plus numerous others for miscellaneous stamping

Inks: DOX Fossilized Amber, Carved Pumpkin & Peacock Feathers; Memento Tuxedo Black

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Basic Black, Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Peach Parfait (retired)

Dies: Technique Tuesday (awesome), RCD (you + shadow on the inside of the card) & Sizzix #662347 (circles)

Punch: Stampin' Up! (small red heart on the inside of the card)

Misc.: Foam tape

Puddle Jumper

It's time to introduce Try Stampin' on Tuesday's Challenge #503. This biweekly challenge runs from Tuesday, April 20, through Sunday evening, May 2, 2021. The sketch for this challenge follows and the optional twist is "April Showers".

Using a stamp from my stash, the image was stamped, colored with Copic Markers, and then fussy cut. Three ovals were die-cut with the smallest one providing a place to color in a little rainy scene. The scene was created using Copic Markers and a white gel pen. A stencil and sponged ink created the card background, which was added to the card base. In keeping with the sketch elements, a strip of red cardstock was added. I also included a die-cut circle to represent the sun peeking through. A few hand-cut sun rays were added. The stacked ovals with the rainy scene were added to the card base with foam tape along with the colored image.  The sentiment was stamped and added, also using foam tape. The inside was lined with white cardstock and decorated with a red umbrella.

To view my card, "Showers of Love", using the companion stamp set, "Rain or Shine", click HERE.

If you enjoy sketch challenges or if you're new to challenges, you will enjoy playing along with our Challenge #503. 

Materials

Stamps: My Favorite Things "Puddle Jumper"

Inks: DOX Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass & Hickory Smoke; Copic Alcohol Markers

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Cherry Cobbler & Marina Mist

Dies: Spellbinders (circle) & Hero Arts (ovals)

Misc.: Stencil & foam tape from stash

Flowers, Always, and Always

One of my favorite artists, Claude Monet (1840 - 1926), is often quoted as having said, "I must have flowers, always, and always." His work certainly conveys that message. Most of us don't give flowers a second thought but they truly add so much to our world. I think that is why we enjoy creating with them. Here in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, many of the cacti are in bloom and the desert is alive with signs of spring so I am using flowers to celebrate with a birthday card for a friend.

My card was inspired by two specific challenges. The first is Double Trouble #82, running from Monday, April 19, through Sunday evening, May 2, 2021. There are always three "Things" to this challenge. And participating in each Thing gives you additional chances toward winning the random prize.

1. Thing 1 (required) is to include flowers in your project. This is a perfect challenge to create something special for Mother's Day or another special occasion. I chose to create a birthday card.

2. Thing 2 (optional) is to link your card to "Make the Cards #13". This is a fun card challenge with a twist so you may wish to review their guidelines before you create. This challenge begins on Monday, April 19, and ends on Saturday, May 1, 2021, at 7:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time.

3. Thing 3 (optional) is our fun twist. In this case we are presenting a "Candy-Coated" color board below designed by "Make the Cards". 

I decided to go with a Slimline design. Onto a white card base, I added a panel of bright aqua cardstock, followed by a die-cut stitched scalloped panel cut from Kraft. The flourishes, flowers, and sentiment were all die-cut from white cardstock and then colored with Copic markers. I used the two red-violet colors for the flowers and the two blue-green colors for the flourishes. I purposely gave the flourishes a worn look hoping it would resemble verdigris.  To break up the color a bit, I kept the sentiment white. 

The elements were added to the card base. A few flowers were added directly to the card, a few were added with thin foam tape and a few with regular foam tape to achieve varying heights. To finish, white pearls were added. The inside was decorated with a flower and flourish. With the naked eye, my colors are a good match to the Color Board but my photography seemed to affect the colors. After the photos were taken, I added Wink of Stella to the flowers. I have found it does not photograph well so waited to add it.

We hope you'll join us at the DTC82 Blog and also at the MTC13 Blog for these challenges. You could win that random prize!

Materials

Inks: Copic Alcohol Markers

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Baked Brown Sugar & Tempting Turquoise

Dies: Spellbinders (flowers & sentiment), MFT (flourish)

Misc.: Pearls and foam tape from stash

Be You!

It's wonderful to have spring again in all its glory. In Arizona, certain cacti are in full bloom. Their orange, white, and yellow blossoms abound and the honey bees are everywhere! Many of the Hummingbirds have left for northern climates but we still have plenty of desert fauna remaining. 

I had this pad of patterned paper in my stash and it reminded me of spring. I am submitting this to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #415, a weekly challenge that is running from Monday, April 5, through Sunday evening, April 13, 2021. Here is their inspirational sketch:

I decided to use black cardstock for my card base because of the black and white striped awning on the flower cart and the bodies of the butterflies. I added the butterfly paper to the card base, then added a strip of pink gingham paper, which is the reverse side of the butterfly paper. I used a die to create the small scalloped borders. I matted the sentiment panel with black cardstock. (The sentiment panel comes from the paper pad.) Two butterflies were die-cut from black cardstock. In keeping with the sketch, a smaller one was added to the card front and dressed up using pearls and Glossy Accents. The shine from the Glossy Accents really enhances the dark butterflies but did not photograph well. The inside of the card was lined with a panel of white cardstock and decorated with a die-cut scallop strip. The second larger butterfly was added to the inside. There is sufficient space remaining to write a personal note. 

Give this challenge a try by visiting the AHSC415 Blog!

Materials

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White & Basic Black

Paper: Carta Bella "Flower Garden"

Dies: Mama Elephant (scalloped border) & RCD (Dancing Butterfly Trio)

Misc.: Glossy Accents, pearls & foam tape from stash

Just for You

Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge #439 has begun! This is a biweekly challenge, ending on Thursday evening, April 22, 2021. Below is the inspiration photo to help you with the challenge. I selected a bright pink, called Melon Mambo, as my color of choice.

Mini-slimline cards are beginning to appear on card blogs so I played around with my paper and images to create a mini-slimline card (3" x 6"). But then I decided to adhere the white card base to a black cardstock panel (4.25" x 6"). So now my card is neither mini nor slim and it's too tall to be A2. The front of the white card was dry embossed then decorated with stamped flowers that were fussy cut. I decided to introduce pink with the ribbon. The stamped sentiment on two die-cut ovals was purposely offset when adhered and the inside of the card was decorated with a small flower from the same stamp set and a pearl center. In keeping with the pink theme, I added rhinestones and pearls to the front of the card. Because I don't care for the way Wink of Stella appears in photographs, I waited until after the photos to add it to the two black flowers. 

If you're new to color challenges, this challenge is a great way to start. Visit our Color Dare Blog for ideas and inspiration.

Materials

Stamps: CTMH "Floral Celebration" (flowers) & Stamp of Approval "All About You" (sentiment)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Basic Black & Melon Mambo

Die: Jeanine's (small oval frames)

Embossing Folding: Stampin' Up! ("Parisian Flourish")

Misc.: ZIG Wink of Stella (clear), Stampin' Up! Striped Organdy Ribbon (Melon Mambo); gems & foam tape from stash

Celebrating Your Day

It's time for another biweekly sketch challenge! Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge #501 is up on the blog beginning Tuesday, April 6, and ending on Sunday afternoon, April 18, 2021. This sketch includes an optional twist to create a birthday card.

Using a favorite paper collection from my stash, I adhered panels of coordinating patterns to a green card base to match the sketch design. For the focal point, I fussy cut a flower from the paper, touching it up with Copic markers, and adhered it to a die-cut square. This was added with foam tape to the card front. The bee was also cut from the paper and added. I finished the card by stamping the sentiment and adding it with foam tape. The inside was lined with white cardstock and decorated with patterned paper and another bee.

Visit our TSOT501 Blog to view the Design Team's projects. We hope you'll join in our challenges.

Materials

Stamp: Stampin' Up! "Gorgeous Posies" (sentiment)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black & Copic Alcohol Markers

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Smoky Slate & Just Jade

Paper: Dare 2 B Artzy " "Honey Bloomz" Collection

Die: Rubbernecker (stitched squares)

Misc.: Foam tape & SU! Rhinestones (champagne)

Fish and whales and sea turtles, oh, my!

Double Trouble Challenge #81 is up on the blog beginning Monday, April 5, and ending Sunday evening, April 18, 2021. This is a biweekly challenge with a prize for a random winner. There are always three "Things" with Double Trouble challenges:

Thing 1 (required): Trouble Maker has asked to see your favorite summer getaway spot or vacation destination.

Thing 2 (optional): Double Dare is challenging you to create a project that will also fit the requirements for Challenge #516 at Cupcake Inspirations, Dreaming of Summer.

Thing 3 (optional): Twisted Sister has added her twist by suggesting you place your sentiment in a cloud or speech bubble and earn another chance at the random draw prize.

My favorite place is the seashore. I love everything about it. I grew up in a military family and we lived on the Florida coast plus a few occasions living in the New England and the Mid-Atlantic states but always near the water. I have been enjoying water activities much of my life. While living in Kansas, we retired and my husband wanted to give desert living a try. So we landed in Phoenix, AZ, rather than returning to Florida. While the desert climate is much to my liking, I still miss the beaches. Vacations see me on my way to Florida to visit family and friends and take in the seascapes.

I was inspired to make my vacation destination card for a family member who also loves the sea. I have made this fun fold design in a portrait orientation before but never landscape. I followed a newly posted tutorial for a tri-fold card but as I cut out my pieces, I realized the tutorial had an error in the measurements. After checking measurements several times, the final product is slightly larger than A2 and the tutorial is incorrect. As card makers and paper crafters, we just roll with it, right? I used patterned papers and cardstock as listed below and assembled the card. The intended greeting from my stamp set was too large for the card so I created a smaller computer-generated sentiment using the same message as the stamp set. The speech bubble was simply hand-cut. Wink of Stella was added to the sea turtles. The inside of my card was decorated with another whale image and another sentiment from the set.

I hope you will view the Design Team cards at both the DTC81 Blog and the Cupcake Inspirations #516 Blog and join our challenges.

Materials

Stamp set: Stampin' Up! "Whale Done"

Inks: Stampin' Up! Pacific Point

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White & Pacific Point

DSP: Stampin' Up! "Whale of a Time"

Punch: Stampin' Up! (whale punched from DSP)

Dies: Mama Elephant (zigzag border), Lawn Fawn (zigzag rectangle)

Misc.: Foam tape

Birthday Fishes

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge is a weekly challenge. Challenge #414 began on Monday, March 29, and is scheduled to end on Sunday evening, April 4, 2021. Their sketches provide inspiration for card designs. I stuck with the window concept but shaped it a bit differently than the sketch suggests, and, instead of flowers, I used a school of fish.

Hoping to give the look of a ship's interior (aka shiplap), I cut a panel of wood grain patterned paper and enhanced it by sponging it unevenly with gray ink. This toned down the brown hues and weathered the wood. It now coordinates nicely with the silver hexagon frame and the blue cardstock. I added this woodgrain panel along with a white panel to a blue card base. To create the porthole, I die-cut a hexagon frame from silver foiled cardstock, adding six brads that look like screws. The ocean view was cut from patterned paper along with the sea turtle. I like the way the turtle is looking directly at the window. I used thin foam tape for the turtle to add dimension. Next, I adhered the porthole to the card, also using thin foam tape. The sentiment was stamped, matted, and added to the card with foam tape. 

The inside was lined with a white cardstock panel and decorated with patterned paper and an additional sentiment, "My love for you is bigger than the ocean." Can you guess why I added the fussy-cut sea turtle to the inside? Yep. A blue thumbprint. I stamped some tiny fish around the sentiment and on the inside of the card. I thought the water needed some sparkle so I added very tiny silver discs to the scene and clear Wink of Stella to the sea turtle.

See the great cards made by the Design Team by visiting the AHSC414 Blog. 

Materials

Stamps: Stampin' Up! "Whale Done" (both sentiments)

Inks: Stampin' Up! Pacific Point; DOX Hickory Smoke & Spiced Marmalade

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Pacific Point, Silver Foiled Card

Paper: Stampin' Up! "Whale of a Time" & "In Good Taste" (woodgrain)

Dies: Spellbinders Classic Hexagons

Misc.: Brads from stash, ZIG Wink of Stella (clear) & CTMH thin foam tape