SIP49 - Once is Enough

This week's Stamp, Ink, Paper Challenge is all about flowers.

What fun it is to use flowers when you've just gotten a new embossing folder!  I chose to emboss my image on a piece of Whisper White and then I used sponge daubers to add ink to the raised portions.  The result is a pretty, lightly coloured bouquet in the top left which I complimented with a sentiment in the bottom right.  A few splatters here and there and my card was complete.  

Stamps:  Fifth Avenue Floral

Papers:  Heavy Whisper White, Emerald Envy, Whisper White, Peekaboo Peach

Inks:  Basic Black, Emerald Envy, Flirty Flamingo, Peekaboo Peach, Basic Gray

Embellishments:  Basic Pearl Jewels

I hope you'll check out the other cards at the Stamp, Ink, Paper Challenge.

The Male Room Challenge #35 - Happy Father's Day!

The norm seems to be to create more "girly cards" with flowers and butterflies and the like.  Don't get me wrong, I love making cards like that but I have a lot of men in my life as well and so really embrace the chance to create a masculine card. That's where The Male Room Challenge comes in.  And this challenge is all about transport.  There are so many types of transport.  This should be fun.

One of the types of transport used a fair bit around this area is the tractor.  Of course when one is travelling down the highway, slowing traffic, they're not much fun.  But in their proper environment, the farm, they are invaluable.  

I got this stamp set with the tractor and corn a few years ago to stamp in my Scrapbook.  The boys had gone into a corn maze and I thought the set was perfect to include as additional images on my pages.  How handy that I had it at my fingertips for this challenge.

I decided to make my tractor red (although I will admit that most of the tractors that I have seen here in Canada have been green or grey).  I wanted it to "pop" against the more natural colours of the soil and the corn.  All of the colouring is with my Aqua Painter and inks.  I love the watercolour effect and found it easier, that way, to give an illusion of the tilled soil.  

I'm also entering my card for the Design Team.  Those who have followed my blogs know that this is the one which I created to use for the cards and other creations that include products and stamps other than Stampin' Up!  My other blog, Stampin' Along With Heidi, has a great many more posts because they focus on my Stampin' Up! projects.  If I were to be chosen to join the Design Team, I would prefer to link up with this blog, Reaching Deep Within.

FMS237 - Today Belongs to You

I love clean and simple sketches.  For me the challenge is to put across an idea or tell a story with the least number of images (or words).  The sketch at the Freshly Made Sketches challenge allows me to do that.

I love the clean lines of the sketch.  For my base I chose the Night of Navy.  I added a layer of Whisper White for my stamping and also a border to the right side of the Whisper White from the Affectionately Yours Washi tape.  I've had the sentiment forever and the tiny flower came with that stamp set, echoing the flowers in that Washi tape border.  Just for fun I added the butterfly from my retired Best Thoughts stamp set and a few splatters thanks to the wonderful Gorgeous Grunge set.  For my colours I used Watermelon Wonder, Cucumber Crush, Daffodil Delight, Blushing Bride, Night of Navy and, of course, Basic Black.

I hope you'll check out the other cards at the Freshly Made Sketches challenges.

PP295 - Little Moments

I bought this Local King Rubber stamp set originally because one of the images was perfect for my sister-in-law's baby shower.  She and her husband spent some time in Africa and giraffes were one of their passions.  How nice that I can use the set again for the Paper Players Challenge!  It is all about wild animals.

I decided to keep the card very clean and simple, using only four colours:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Tip Top Taupe and the very new Peekaboo Peach.  For my background I used the retiring Go Wild Designer paper stack since it echoes those colours as well as the markings on the giraffes.  My sentiment is from the Watercolor Wings set.

I hope you'll check out the other cards linked for this challenge at the Paper Players.

When white is another colour - Less is More #270

One of the things that I love about CAS cards is the amount of white space.  But what if the white can't be white?  Then you're looking at leaving as much of the coloured background space as clean as possible, right?  Yes, I know the concept, but it still felt odd thinking of Blackberry Bliss as my "white".

I've used Blackberry Bliss as my base cardstock and then added a layer of Whisper White just for the framing and then another layer of Blackberry Bliss.  On that final layer of Blackberry Bliss, I've heat embossed both the images and the sentiment using my White embossing powder.  The image of the floral silhouette is from the Serene Silhouettes set while the bee is from the retired Springtime Hello set.  The sentiment is from the Rose Wonder set.

I hope you'll play along with the "Less is More" challenge this week.

Catching up to the new year!

It's 2016.  I remember when everyone was terrified that all computerized things would stop working and that chaos would result with the coming of the year 2000.  Remember the Y2K scaremongering that went on?  And now we are sixteen years into the new Millenium.  Yes, there are scary things out there but not the type that they warned would come as we entered the 21st century.

I didn't make any formal resolutions this year.  I'm trying to make changes in my life but those have been ongoing anyway, so making those resolutions wasn't necessary.  I usually wind up making some great sounding ones which are almost sure to be broken, so why bother?

For some reason the cold and snow, even though we haven't had that much snow, are bothering me more than usual this year.  I think I'm ready for a new, more temperate climate and, if it wasn't for the stronger, more compelling wish to be close to my daughter and grandsons, I would embrace a move.  But I'll put up with the cold and snow forever to stay close to those I love.

While I love going out and having winter fun

I'd rather be having fun without all those extra layers.

Yes, the sun makes the snow sparkle like diamonds.  I think it's breathtakingly beautiful.  But then, today, for example, just going outside takes my breath away (in a completely different and more unpleasant way).  

I'm still on the fence about staying with Stampin' Up!  I love many of their products but have come to the conclusion that I'm just not "into" running a business, no matter how casually I run it.  It's the creating aspect I love.  And I look around and see so many other ways to use my creativity that I question whether I want to put all my efforts into the paper-crafting "basket".  We'll see what happens.  

For the moment, my immediate task is to continue the ongoing effort to de-clutter and stop hoarding my supplies.  We'll see how that goes, too.

Hope you enjoy your journey through this year.  Keep safe and be kind.