FM206 --- A Rainy Day

So far this April our "rainy" days have been rather white instead of wet.  Thankfully that white stuff only lasts a day or two before it melts but it's almost the end of April and all I can say is "Enough already!"  The rainy day theme from the Friday Mashup really appealed to me.

A couple of years ago we had the prettiest Designer Paper with little umbrellas all over it.  The colours really made me think of Spring and those umbrellas---perfect for this challenge.  Of course I used it for the background of my card.  For the stamping inside my shaker window (I'm going to miss those Windows framelits) I simply inked up the umbrella from the Life's Adventure Hostess stamp set along with its sentiment.  Since April is usually a windy month, I've also got that stamped umbrella flying through the air.

The polka dot edge along each side?  I used my 1/16 inch hole punch.  I love the simple but elegant finish it gives, don't you?  

For more great rainy day cards, check out the Friday Mashup.

Happy Mother's Day -- Two Challenges

I haven't been entering as many challenges lately.  Life gets busy and some things have to give.  When I saw the picture inspiration over at the Stampin' Royalty Challenges, however, I knew I would be making a card for it.  The colours are, after all, my mother's favourites.  She may be gone but she will never be forgotten.

Mum loved flowers and the soft tones similar to Coastal Cabana.  For my base, therefore, I used the Coastal Cabana cardstock.  I added a layer of Gold Foil and then a layer of Shimmery White which I had first heat-embossed in gold using the Corner Garden background stamp.  I coloured some of the flowers and leaves with a light wash of Coastal Cabana and Pistachio Pudding ink using my Aqua Painter.  For the sentiment I cut out the "happy" from more Gold Foil and then stamped the "Mother's Day" using Coastal Cabana.

A few sequins scattered around with rhinestones in their centre, a double butterfly made from Coastal Cabana and Gold Foil, more rhinestones, and  my card was complete.

One thing that isn't visible in the photo is the Shimmery White paper on which I've stamped my images.  In real life there is a shimmery "sparkle" to the paper that makes the soft colours simply beautiful.

For more cards using this photo inspiration, check out the Stampin' Royalty Challenge.

And of course I had to enter my card into the Just Add Ink Challenge since I've used so many sequins.  For more of their wonderful cards, check out their site here.

FM203 -- Critters and colours!

I really enjoy the challenges at the Friday Mashup.  They're inventive and lots of fun, especially when one decides to do both parts of the challenge.  That would be option three.  It really adds to the challenge.

Create a project using " So Saffron, Calypso Coral & Pool Party*"

Create a project using "Easter Critters"

or Mash it Up! and create a project with "Easter critters and the colors above"

Right from the start I knew I wanted my card to be whimsical.  What could be more whimsical than an owl wearing bunny ears?  Luckily I could use the owl stamp that I carved and then, after hunting through my stamps, stamp the bunny ears from the Happy Easter Bunny stamp and cut them out.  Of course I decided to colour my owl and those ears with the Pool Party and Calypso Coral.   If you're going to be whimsical, you may as well go all the way, right?

I've used two retired stamp sets for this card:  Easter Blossoms for the eggs and Take Care for the branch and nest.  The Happy Easter sentiment is from the current Indescribable Gift stamp set.  The owl, as I mentioned before, is my own carved creation.

I began with a base of Naturals White and then added a layer of Pool Party.  Then I added a layer of Calypso Coral after embossing it using my Spring Flowers embossing folder.  I stamped the branch and the nest on a piece of Whisper White using Soft Suede and coloured the nest with my So Saffron Stampin' Marker.  Then I used my second to largest Ovals Collection framelit  to cut out the image.  After that I used a sponge to add So Saffron to the perimeter of the oval.  It added some nice dimension to the shape.

After stamping my owl on a piece of Whisper White using Memento black ink and the eggs on the same piece using Calypso Coral ink and Pool Party ink,  I cut out the images with my Paper Snips.  After cutting out the bunny ears, I coloured them using my Calypso Coral and Pool Party Stampin' Markers and mounted them on Calypso Coral cardstock.  I cut around them, leaving a narrow border.  To that border I added a layer of Dazzling Details and also to the little "head-band" that connected the bunny ears.

You can see all the details in my card.  The final touch of the Rhinestone in the middle of the Pool Party egg finishes off my creation.

I've also entered my card in the Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge for their special Holiday Challenge as well as the Paper Plunge for their Easter projects.