Make a Splash (DTC #188)

Double Trouble Challenge #188 is now open for paper crafting fun. This biweekly challenge runs through Sunday, April 13, 2025.

Here are Trouble Maker's 3-2-1 Recipe requirements for "April Showers."

Ingredients

     3  Colors of the Rainbow

A rainbow has been included.

     2  Die-Cuts, Ephemera, or Punched Items

More than two die-cut items have been used. 

     1  Scene

The background scene was created using

 stencils and muted colors.        

Twisted Sister's option is to enhance your scene by adding a representative of April showers or water. I included a puddle made with Glossy Accents. The child, colored with Copics, is wearing a slicker and rainboots, and carrying an umbrella. She is splashing in the puddle with a yellow duckling.

Double Dare hopes you will use the TSOT #667 sketch. The sketch inspired my card.

The inside of the card was decorated with three tiny die-cut ducks, clouds, and a sun, all colored with Copics.

It seems that sometimes my blog posts sound like "True Confessions," and this post is no different. As I was placing the elements onto the card front, I dropped the black ink pad lid onto the card, leaving black lines. The elements above the image had not yet been adhered. Determined not to destroy the card, I resorted to rearranging the clouds, rainbow, sun, and sentiment to cover the mess and called it done.

Please note that TSOT #667 starts on Tuesday, April 1st. 

 

Don't forget to stop by the DTC#188 Blog for details on the "April Showers" challenge. Thank you.

Melanie

Materials

Stamps:  MFT "Rain or Shine" & Reverse Confetti "Sealiously" (sentiment)

Inks: Stampin' Up! Smoky Slate, Evening Evergreen, Misty Moonlight & Azure Afternoon; Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic Alcohol Markers

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White, Smoky Slate, Basic Gray & Misty Moonlight

Dies: MFT "Rain or Shine"; Hero Arts Infinity (ovals)

Stencils: MFT (cloud background), Newton's Nook (Evergreens)

Other: SBC foam tape, Glossy Accents, PPP clear droplets

Size: A6

Thanks a Lot (CD #645)

This Color Dare Challenge #645 begins on Friday, March 28, 2025, and ends on Thursday, April 10, 2025. The color board below gives four colors, of which three must be used, but four may be used. Except for the "free to add" colors, no additional colors may be included.

I saw these colors as yellow, sage, pink, and dark green. I chose to use all of them. The striped paper was adhered to a panel of dark green cardstock. The sentiment was stamped, colored with markers, and die-cut. The die-cut elements were added directly to the panel. The tags were added using foam tape. The card panel was added to a white card base. The inside of the card was decorated with coordinating leafy branches.

Discover what our Design Team did with these spring colors at the CD 645 Blog. The Team hopes you will be inspired to create a project for our challenge.

Thanks for stopping by.

Melanie

Materials

Stamp: Paper Smooches

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic Alcohol Markers

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White & Blushing Bride; LUX dark green

Patterned Paper: CTMH "Postcard Perfect" (sage), and Apple Blossom Designs "Firework Flowers" (yellow)

Dies: Birch Press "Fun Floral," UNB Floral Leaves, Paper Smooches (banner), Lil' Inker (tags) 

Misc.: SBC foam tape

Hexagon Hello (TSOT #666)

The time changed from Standard to Daylight time last weekend (except in Arizona and Hawaii), and I figure we all lost an hour that could have been spent making a card. Now we will have to wait until Autumn to find that hour.

Let's find time to take on another fun sketch at Try a Sketch on Tuesday #666. This challenge runs through Sunday, March 30, 2025, at noon Eastern Daylight Time. I liked this sketch and considered many possibilities, but then I landed back at the starting point and went with hexagons. I think the hexagon is my favorite shape. It is interesting in many ways in nature, science, industry, and more.

Knowing I had patterned paper with hexagons, I went through my stash of scraps and found just enough to use for this card. On a panel of coordinating floral paper, the fussy-cut hexagons were arranged following the sketch design. For dimension, one hexagon was added using foam tape. To create the required sentiment, the word "hello" was die-cut. 

To add interest, the sentiment was adhered to slender cardstock strips mounted on foam tape. The inside was decorated with coordinating paper. 

To view the Design Team's cards and join the challenge, visit the TSOT 666 Blog and be sure to look at our sister challenge, Double Trouble #187, too. 

Melanie 

Materials

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White, Basic Black & Crushed Curry

Patterned Paper: Panalisa "Honey Flower" Collection

Dies: Paper Rose Stitched Rectangles & Paper Smooches (sentiment)

Other: SBC foam tape (1 mm.)

Tweets Just for You (DTC #187)

It's been two weeks, and we're back today to introduce our next challenge. This is Double Trouble Challenge #187, ending on Sunday, March 30, 2025.

Following is a summary of the challenge:

Here is what I did to create an Anything Goes project using our 3-2-1 recipe below. 

Servings

Unlimited Portions of Fun

Ingredients 

You must pick at least:  

     3   of SomeThing from your stash. 

(I used four die-cut birds.)

     2   of AnyThing from your stash.

(Three branches were included on the card.)

     1   of EveryThing else from your stash.

(One sentiment was added.)

 

Thing 3: Twisted Sister 

says, "Use the following sketch for inspiration and enter your card at TSOT #666." This challenge is effective on Tuesday, March 18. (I used the sketch below as inspiration for Double Trouble.)

 

Thing 2: Double Dare is joining with Twisted Sister to remind you to join in the sketch-inspired project at TSOT or find another challenge to use as an alternative. 

Special Note: When using the TSOT sketch and/or the Alternate Challenge, enter your project(s) and include TSOT's name and/or your preferred Alternate's name next to the DTC link in your post to be eligible for the extra chances in our random drawing.

I had fun creating this card while playing outside of the box. I also added another card to the sketch challenge. The card can be viewed HERE, effective on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

Take a look at the DTC #187 Blog to see complete guidelines for this challenge and to view the cards created by the Design Team. Thank you for visiting my blog.

Melanie

Materials

Stamp: Stampin' Up! "Rooted in Nature" (sentiment)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White, Basic Black & Island Indigo.

DSP: Stampin' Up! "Thoughtful Journey"

Dies: CAS-ual Fridays (frame), Kokorosa "Bird Family"

Misc.: SBC foam tape & Honey Bee gems

Hello with a Fun Fold (CD #643)

Welcome to my blog and to Challenge #643 at Color Dare. This biweekly challenge is now active and runs until Thursday evening, March 27, 2025.

The color board is simple — just two colors — but you are free to add black, white, other neutrals, and metallics. Your colors should be a close match to ours, and you may not add any additional colors.  

 

Lately, I have been spring cleaning and decluttering, so when I discovered this unused 6" x 6" pad of pretty paper, I thought it was just right for this challenge. In fact, I added none of the free colors and stuck with using only the colors indicated; however, two of the patterned papers do have a wee bit of white and black in their designs.

I selected a very simple fun fold design known as a "Flip-back Fold," also known as a Five-Minute Card. The front right edge of the card is scored at 1.25", folded back, and adhered. The patterned columns do not need to be matted, but I preferred to do that. The paper on the inside of the card provides the color for the "third" column of paper.

The die-cut sentiment was adhered to a die-cut oval and then placed on the card front. Three blue gems were added for some sparkle.

We invite you to visit the CD643 Blog to look at the cards by the Design Team. I hope you'll be inspired to create a project and join the challenge. Thank you for visiting my blog.

Melanie

Materials

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Perfect Plum & Boho Blue

Patterned Paper: Kathy Davis "Scatter Joy"

Dies: Momenta "Words" (sentiment) & Tutti (x-stitch oval)

Other: Honey Bee (gem stickers)

It's Your Day (TSOT #665)

 

Try a Sketch on Tuesday Challenge #665 is underway! This biweekly challenge runs through Sunday, March 16, 2025. You are only required to use our sketch for inspiration and not required to create a St. Patrick's Day card.

I have heard crafty friends say, "Let your paper do the work for you." That's exactly what I did. As I was browsing through a 6" x 6" paper pad, I found this background design where leaves swept along one side in a curve, so I used that to emulate the clover in the sketch. 

The other elements were added, including the two floral images. These were fussy-cut from coordinating paper, a bit of ink was brushed onto the petals and they were adhered with foam tape. The sentiment was stamped and adhered with foam tape as well. The inside was lined with a panel of white cardstock and decorated with another fussy-cut flower.

If you've never used a sketch to create a card, visit the TSOT665 Blog and join in the fun. Additionally, try TSOT's sister challenge, Double Trouble Challenge #186, and you could win a prize.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I enjoy reading your comments.

Melanie

Materials

Stamp: Honey Bee S7-228 (sentiment)

Inks: Stampin' Up! Island Indigo & Granny Apple Green

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White, Daffodil Delight, & Island Indigo

Patterned Paper: Kathy Davis "Scatter Joy" Collection

Misc.: SBC Foam Tape (1 mm. & 2 mm.)

Size: A2

Pinch Proof (DTC #186)

Did you know that leprechauns will pinch you if you don't wear green on St. Patrick's Day? Your project does not have to be a St. Patrick's Day theme, but even if you aren't Irish, nobody likes to be pinched, so I decided to make myself "pinch-proof" by playing along at Double Trouble Challenge #186. This is a biweekly challenge beginning on Monday, March 3, 2025, and ending on Sunday, March 16, 2025.

Even though I am only a wee bit Irish, I have always enjoyed making a card for St. Pat's Day. My mother had some distant ancient Irish connection with King William III [of Orange]. Mom thought it was fun to receive a card as long as it had the color orange on it. I won't bore you with that history, but the Irish flag has green and orange in it for a reason.

Below is a summary of this card challenge:

Here is what I did to create a project for any occasion using our 3-2-1 recipe below. 

3-2-1 Recipe "Pinch Proof "

Servings - Unlimited Portions of Fun

Ingredients  

     3   Include green, gold + one color of your choice. 

(Green, gold, and orange were used.)

     2   Use stand-alone or layered stencils.

(There are two stenciled designs - plaid on the background of the shamrock, and the grid design on the white butterflies.)

     1   Sentiment. (Sentiment added.)

Thing 3:  Twisted Sister 

says, "Well, shake my shamrocks... my optional twist is to use shamrock(s) in your project." (One shamrock included.)

THING 2: Double Dare
says, "Check out the current sketch at our Sister Challenge, Try a Sketch On Tuesday #665." This is effective on Tuesday, March 4. (I used the sketch for inspiration.)

Take a look at the DTC #186 Blog to see complete guidelines for this challenge and to view the cards created by the Design Team. Thank you for visiting my blog.

Melanie

Materials

Stamp: Uniko "Organic Wishes"

Ink: Stampin' Up! Pumpkin Pie, CTMH Sweet Leaf

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White, Garden Green, Foiled Gold; Tonic Mirror (orange)

Punch: Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Butterfly

Dies: UNB Looped Rectangles & Fancy Shamrocks

Stencils: CP Designs (plaid) & Stampers Anonymous (grid)

Other: SBC foam tape (1 mm.)

Size: A2