ColourQ #339....Happy Birthday

If you are looking for my CASology post, please click here.

Happy Tuesday and welcome to a new challenge at ColourQ.

We have a new set of colors this week.  Rich and deep, and perfect for a masculine card, I thought.

I used PTI Circle Scribbles, an Impression Obsession die and an impression plate for a bit of texture.

I am also entering this card at Seize the Birthday Anything Goes.

Please head on over to the ColourQ challenge blog to see more inspiration from the design team. I hope you will join in the fun and play along this week.

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Birthday Cards and More

I am playing along with CAS(E) this Sketch and Tag You're it, who have joined forces this week.  How fun is that? 

I made a card with a tag, and then a coordinating tag to wrap up a little parcel of cards as a birthday gift.

The challenge at this week's Make it Monday is all about creative card borders.  I used Topiary Trio stamps and dies for my card.

I loved the colors of this week's ColourQ cQc #253 and immediately rushed to make a card inspired by these cards by Lisa of Lisa's Life Lines.  She called them "split cards" and I just thought they were so cool.  Lisa used patterned paper, but I decided to stamp my own patterned paper using Circle Scribbles.

Part of the front is cut away, and the pattern is actually on the base.

4 layers of Wet Paint die cut word 'happy'.

Here is what it looks like opened up.

Fun, right?  I could see making a set of these with a bunch of the Wet Paint die cut words.

I am going to enter all three of these cards into this week's Seize the Birthday--anything goes without toppings.  I sure hope I have a chance to make a yellow birthday card before the linky ends on this challenge.

Last is a card I made using a Cottage stamp from Serendipity.  I thought that the theme was CAS, but when I looked again (after I already made the card), I realized that the theme is actually I Miss You.  I think this card could  probably work for that theme--I miss you and want you home sweet home.  I stamped the Cottage Image on water color paper cut with a stitched rectangle, and then water colored it.

That's it for me today.

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Four Assorted Cards

I've got an assortment of cards I've managed to make this week, in between getting ready for yet another trip back east with my daughter.  My first two cards are inspired by this card by Laura Bassen.  I am entering the first one at Simon Says Wednesday You Gotta Have Friends, Simply Create Too Your Sentiment is the Highlight and Simon Says Monday Anything Goes.  I used the same stamping technique as I used in this card, where I stamped in black and then overstamped slightly offset in another color.

I am entering this next card at Simply Create Too Your Sentiment is the Highlight and Simon Says Monday Anything Goes.  I stamped the 'thanks' sentiment repeatedly in Versa Mark ink, and then heat embossed the entire card at once in white.

This next card is another card I made out of a failed embossed and water colored background.  You can see the first card I made here.  There was more salvageable area on this card stock, so I was able to cut two butterflies, with a little bit left over to make a border at the bottom of the card.

I will enter this card at Simon Says Monday Anything Goes and Seize the Birthday Anything Goes.

My final card is already in the mail to a friend--she has just become a US Citizen.  I finally found an opportunity to use my Ranger Antiquities Verdigris embossing powder.  I am also entering this card at Simon Says Monday Anything Goes.

That's it for me today.  

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A Mini Notebook and Two Cards

Hello friends.  I've got a couple of things to post today.  First up is a little mini notebook I made for this week's Make it Monday #167:  DIY Notebooks.  I am also entering my little notebook at Simon Says Monday Magic challenge, as I think a bit of magic is required to get these notebooks to stay together. 

Here is my mini notebook.  It is 2 3/4 by 4 1/2--that means that it is 1/8 of a sheet of paper.  I used a partial sentiment from Desktop Design and wrote the word 'NOTE' using Headline Alpha stamps.   I used Circle Scribbles to decorate the front.

The pages inside are all stamped in Versamark with assorted little images from the Tag-it's series, and I alternated the colored pages.  The magic here---the notepad is held together with Scor Tape.  And, it is magic because it didn't work on every page, and I have no idea why some pages are staying in and some are falling out.  I am going to keep this one for myself, and try again.  Perhaps if I say Abra Cadabra or something, my next one will stay together better.  Anyhow, I think I am going to coat the front and back with Modge Podge to make it sturdier.

Next up is a thank you card for my daughter's art teacher.  I think I found the perfect stamp set for an art teacher--Paper Smooches I Heart Art.  I'm entering this card at Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes, ColourQ #244, and Addicted to CAS #39: Texture.

I stamped my focal point on a piece of white that was cut with the Tipped Tops Die.  My second layer was also cut with Tipped Tops and then impressed with the Picnic Plaid IP.  I stamped a random pattern of paint splotches on my card base, then fussy cut a paintbrush.  I used Fantastix to color in the tip of the paintbrush with the same Tangerine Tango ink that I used on the card and then coated it with Glossy Accents.  My card is hanging off the front of a gift bag, using Laurie's Card Hanger Die.  Next post, I will show you what I made to go inside the bag.

Last up is my card for this month's One Layer Simplicity Challenge:  I've Been Framed.  I used a variety of Tiny Tags frames stamped along the bottom edge of my card.  Before stamping, I scored a diagonal line that was to divide my card between stamped area and white space.  I filled in a random number of my frames with tiny birthday-related sentiments from Tiny Tags and Mixed Messages, and then stamped 'Happy Birthday' above the score line.

That's it for me today.  Have a great Wednesday.

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ColourQ and Stamplorations

What would you do if you found almost 2 hours?  I was lucky enough to find about that much time when my oldest daughter did not need to be picked up from school early, as we had planned.  I'll bet you can guess where this is going....I used some of my extra time to make a quick card--my second for this week's ColourQ cQc #230, where I just loved the colors--and my first time playing in a new challenge for me, Stamplorations Challenge #7.  This week's Stamplorations challenge is a sketch, one of my favorite challenges.  I rotated the sketch 90 degrees.  I was inspired to use Circle Scribbles by this gorgeous card by Kim.

I do have just a couple of Stamplorations sets coming my way, but the gals at Stamplorations were nice enough to point out to me that I did not need to wait for my package, as any stamps are welcome in their challenge.

So, if you are looking for another sketch challenge, why not check out Stamplorations?  This sketch is going for the next couple of weeks, and it's a really versatile sketch.  I'm sure I'll be back to try it again once my new stamps arrive.

And, the rest of my 'found time' is now going to be spent taking Sherlock on a nice long walk.  Gotta wake up that lazy puppy first.


Also linking up to Simply Create Too, where their challenge is to shop your stash.  I've had those MME enamel dots for quite a while, and this is the first time I've used them.  And, The Paper Players #185, where the theme is Thank You cards.

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4 Cards for Saturday

We had a fabulously rainy day today (we needed it so badly) and I got to play for a bit in my craft room.  I was inspired by this card by Nicole in the Papertrey March newsletter--I used my Sweet Speech stamps to make a pair of thank you cards my daughter's speech and debate team to sign and give to their coaches.  I hope that they 'get' how clever I was to use speech bubbles on their card (because they are coaches for speech...).  The first card uses this week's colors from ColourQ #230,  and it is going to the female coach.

I used the colors from Colour Me Playful CMCC#9 for the card thanking the male coach.   This is the first time I am playing in this challenge.  I've been trying to get to it, but this is the first time I have not missed the deadline.  I substituted little die cut stars for the flowers in the speech bubbles, and then coated all the stars with Glossy Accents.

My next card uses the sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch CTS#66 and the colors from Dynamic Duos DD#92.  I have been meaning to break out my new Circle Scribbles stamps.  I used the backs of the stamps in HA Pale Tomato and PTI Enchanted Evening to stamp over the black scribbles.  I added kraft as an additional neutral--it just seemed to look better to me that way, and I impressed the stamped panel with the Burlap Impression Plate.  

I have to show a close up of that sentiment, from Neat & Tangled Across the Card--it was my first time using Memento Luxe Tuxedo Black, and I am in love with that ink--incredible coverage on that solid image.  I read on some blogs that the ink takes a while to dry, and I am not a patient crafter, so I heat set it for a moment, and had no problems with smudging.

I stamped a quarter sheet of card stock with that pattern and wanted to do something with the leftover piece.  I made a second card, using a sentiment from Doodlie Do, and am entering that card at Simply Create Too #56 where their challenge is to Shop in Your Stash.

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