Just A Little Something

Hi and Happy Easter Sunday,

I took my "personal chef" to the airport at 6:00 am for a business trip to Florida for the week, so I'm hanging out with my stamps, paper and ink today since I'm home alone. I was looking through some of my favorite blogs and came across something that looked pretty fun to try. The Inspiration Challenge is hosted on Splitcoast each Saturday. Yesterday's challenge, here, is a watercolor inspiration and is inspired by the work of Kathleen McElwaine from Austin.

After looking through her gallery, I decided to use her sunflower paintings for my inspiration. When you look closely at her work, you can see how she outlines some of the elements in her paintings with black.

This was a pretty fun card to make and I rather like the way it turned out. I figured I'd need to do a few practice panels, but this is the first one I made and I went with it.

I stamped this really old wooden stamp from "Judith, 1993, onto watercolor paper using Memento Desert Sand ink so I could do some "no line" watercoloring. Using Zig Real Brush Markers I colored in the flowers using three different shades of yellow, a dark tan and dark red. The leaves are done using three different shades of green as well. Making sure the flowers were good and dry (I used my heat tool), using my Copic 0.3 black pen I quickly outlined the images trying to be non-precise. I did a blue wash with two shades of blue, then again making sure that was dry, I heat embossed some gold spots using the SU Gorgeous Grunge set. The panel was trimmed to 3.5 by 5.5 inches and layered onto a brushed gold panel. I used fun foam so it's raised up on the Whisper White card base. It took me awhile to figure out what to do with the sentiment, and finally decided on this black banner with gold.

Again, this was a really fun technique to do, so I encourage you to give it a try.

Thanks for looking in. I hope you all have a great week.
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Sunflower stamp by Judith, Gorgeous Grunge set by Stampin' Up, Woodland Gifts by Mama Elephant (sentiment)
Paper: SU Whisper White, Brushed Gold, Basic Black card stocks and cold pressed water color paper
Ink: Memento Desert Sand, Kuretake Zig Real Brush water color markers, VersaMark
Other: Die-namics Fishtail Flag die, gold EP, heat tool, large paintbrush, enamel dots, fun foam, the Big Shot

Bon Voyage

Good Morning and Happy Easter!

It's time for the Paper Players challenge, and this week we are up to number 288. The fabulously talented LeAnne is our hostess and she has a fun sketch for us to use.

I made this card for my bestie. Here's a little story about us:

Beginning with our 40th birthdays, we started a tradition of doing something kind of "big" on the 5s years. (Because she is my BFF, I have to disclose that she is one year younger than I am.) Some years we do something on each of our birthdays, like a spa weekend in the wine country or on the coast, or visit a big city around the U.S. Some years we do something really BIG and for those trips, we pick either her year or mine. So, back to how this relates to my card. This year, because its a REALLY BIG birthday year, we have planned something really BIG, which is a Danube River, Christmas Market cruise, in December. We are spending 3 nights in Amsterdam first before the cruise. The cruise is one week, ending in Budapest, where we'll spend another three nights before flying home. She is coordinating the trip with the travel agency, and I need to send the last of my payment to her. Being a card maker, it should arrive in a fun card, of course. The inside of the card says, "Bon Voyage To Us, I Always Have Fun When I'm With You!"

The background is CASE'd from a card I saw on Jennifer McGuire's blog a long time ago. The cruise ship is stamped on X-Press It Blending card stock and colored with Copics. The portholes and some of the windows I covered with yellow Stickles and the red lifeboats are coated with Glossy Accents.


More awesome inspiration to be found when you visit the rest of the Design Team's blogs:

The Paper Players Design Team

Claire Broadwater

Jaydee

Joanne James

Laurie Schmidt

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

Linda Callahan

Hannelie Bester

Colleen Begley-Me

Have a wonderful Easter Sunday. I hope you are spending it with family and friends and that you find all of those Easter eggs that crafty bunny has hidden.

Thanks for looking in today,

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Bon Voyage set by Taylored Expressions

Paper: TE Light blue and Bright green card stock, X-Press It Blending card stock, Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid patterned papers

Ink: Memento tuxedo black and Copics

Other: Lawn Fawn Puffy Cloud die, TE Medium Scalloped border die, Die-namics Fishtail Flags die, yellow Stickles, Glossy Effects, enamel dots, the Big Shot, dimensionals

You're Out of This World

Happy Weekend!

It's been gorgeous weather wise here in SoCal this past week and this weekend looks like it will be more of the same. I have some shopping to do later this morning, then I'm meeting some former co-workers for dinner tonight. Should be fun to catch up.

I picked up this new Mama Elephant set a few weeks ago at a shop down in San Diego. When I saw the new CAS(E) This Sketch sketch I thought it would work well with the set. When I purchased the stamp set, I received the little star border die free due a promotion that Mama Elephant was having at the time. You can't beat that!

All of the stamped images and sentiment are from the set. I used the matching Space Bear dies to cut out the bear and popped it up with dimensional tape over the stars. I picked up some of the punched out stars and placed them randomly around the "sky" over the moon. The bear is colored with Copics and the smaller images are colored with pencils. The bear's space bubble is coated with Crystal Effects.

Don't forget to check in with the Paper Players blog tomorrow. LeAnne has a fun sketch challenge coming your way.

Wishing you many Easter Blessings.
Thanks for looking in today,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Space Bears set by Mama Elephant
Paper: SU Bordering Blue, Night of Navy and Daffodil Delight card stock, X-Press It Blending card stock
Ink: SU Night of Navy, Memento tuxedo black, Copics, colored pencils
Other: Mama Elephant Space Bear and Star border dies, Crystal Effects, Wink of Stella, the Big Shot, dimensional tape

Happy Spring!

Hello stamping friends,

We're celebrating three things today. Spring, a new Paper Players challenge and, Jaydee's birthday. Wishing you a very happy day, Jaydee!

Yes, it's time for another Paper Players challenge, and it's all about the Vernal Equinox. Our birthday girl is our hostess, and her challenge is "clean and simple" Spring.

Using the photo for inspiration, here's what I came up with for today's challenge.

The flowers were stamped at the top and bottom of the white panel with Memento tuxedo black and colored with Copics. I trimmed the panel down from 4.25 to 3.75 inches wide and then layered it over  a plaid paper strip with fun foam to raise it up. I kept the embellishments very simple, adding just 3 enamel dots.

You'll find more awesome inspiration when you visit the rest of the DT's blogs:

The Paper Players Design Team

Claire Broadwater

Jaydee

Joanne James

Laurie Schmidt

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

Linda Callahan

Hannelie Bester

Colleen Begley-Me

I can't wait to see your Spring creations. 

Have a great Sunday and I hope the first day of Spring brings you lots of sunshine.

Thanks for stopping by,

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Sending Smiles set by Taylored Expressions and Abby's Spring Showers by Simon Says Stamp

Paper: X-Press It Blending card stock and Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid patterned paper

Ink: Memento tuxedo black and Copics

Other: enamel dots, Wink of Stella, fun foam

Birthday Wishes

Good morning,

It's Sunday and time for a new Paper Players challenge. This week for challenge #286, Nance has a bright and bold color palette for us.

I have drawers full of single, wood mounted stamps that I rarely use any more. Sometimes, I get ambitious and pull them out to see what's there. Last weekend, I got in my head to do some organization in my craft room, and of course, I had to pull out a few drawers of stamps and look through them. It's almost like shopping, going through them. I decided that I'm going to try to start using some of these stamps and did just that for my card today. I think it looks good in these bold colors.

I stamped the image in Memento tuxedo black and colored it with Copics then cut it out with a Die-namics square die. I used my SU hexagon EF because the black patterned paper has a hexagon pattern in it. The patterned paper is from a large 12 x 12 piece that I picked up in a local store and I have no idea the manufacturer. I used yellow Stickles in the center of the flower and some black enamel dots for embellishments.

The DT ladies have some awesome cards, so be sure to stop by their blogs today.

The Paper Players Design Team

Claire Broadwater

Jaydee

Joanne James

Laurie Schmidt

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

Linda Callahan

Hannelie Bester

Colleen Begley-Me

I'm looking forward to seeing what you create with Nance's color palette. Enjoy your Sunday and thanks for stopping by,

Colleen

Stamps: Zinnia stamp by Stampassions and Endless Birthday Wishes set by Stampin' Up

Paper: SU Bermuda Bay and Calypso Coral card stock, X-Press It Blending card stock, ???patterned paper

Ink: Memento tuxedo black and Copics

Other: SU Hexagon embossing folder, Die-namics Double Stitched square die, the Big Shot, Stickles, enamel dots

Hello

Happy Saturday stamping friends,

We decided yesterday afternoon to spend the weekend with friends in Riverside, about 2 hours away from home. We drove through the rain on a Friday evening and anyone who knows what Friday afternoon-evening traffic is like in SoCal knows that is saying something, LOL. It was actually not too bad and took less time than we expected. We arrived, had a yummy dinner and played some games before going to bed. Today is starting out fairly lazy and everyone is relaxing in their own way.

I made this card earlier in the week, but just got around to taking pictures Thursday evening. I received new release goodies from MFT and couldn't wait to put them to use.

I love these new frame Die-namics, and this new PI image is one of my favorites already. She was sure fun to color with Copics.

Don't know what we will be doing later, but I know we'll have fun doing it.

Enjoy your Saturday. Don't forget to check in tomorrow for The Paper Players.

Thanks,
Colleen

Supplies:
Stamps: Pure Innocence Spring Friends by My Favorite Things
Paper: SU Pretty In Pink and X-Press It Blending card stock and Pebbles Garden Party patterned paper
Ink: Memento tuxedo black and Copics
Other: Die-namics Oval and Rectangle Stitched Scalloped Frame dies, The Big Shot, Wink of Stella,

Rain, Rain Go Away

Hello,

That is not a statement that you hear in SoCal, especially after last month being the warmest February recorded. The weather folks are saying we'll have some rain in March. One can hope.

It's Sunday and time for another The Paper Players challenge and this week, Sandy has a theme challenge for us.

I have several stamps that would be perfect for this, but I was kind of stuck on what to do. When that happens, I always look to a sketch for inspiration. I had saved this week's Freshly Made Sketch to my desktop earlier in the week and it did the trick. I wanted to stick petty close to the simple design of the sketch while incorporating Sandy's theme. Here is what I came up with:

I found this patterned paper from Pebbles that just seemed perfect for the "rain or shine" theme. I knew that I had the LF stitched cloud dies to use as the horizontal element, and I knew that I wanted to use a sun for the focal point element in the sketch. But stamped or die? I tried it both ways and liked the stamped image best, plus it gave me a great place to put the sentiment. A few sequin and an enamel heart as embellishments and I deemed it done.

You're in for a treat when you visit the rest of the design team's blogs. 

The Paper Players Design Team

Claire Broadwater

Jaydee

Joanne James

Laurie Schmidt

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

Linda Callahan

Hannelie Bester

Colleen Begley-Me

I can't wait to see what you choose, rain or shine for your project. Or do like me and use both.

Have fun, and have a relaxing Sunday. Thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Over the Rainbow set by Stampin' Up
Paper: SU Whisper white and Summer Sun card stock, Pebbles "garden party" patterned paper
Ink: SU Summer Sun and Tangerine Tango, Memento tuxedo black
Other: Lawn Fawn stitched cloud dies, Die-namics stitched circle die, sequin, enamel heart, the Big Shot, dimensionals