Watercolor Wonder Cards - Round 2

I finished another "set" of Watercolor Wonder cards. 

My favorite is this "Love" card.  This idea started over at Rita Wright's blog.  She made a couple really clever cards using this stamp from Countless Sayings I.

 I still love this Hello, Doily stamp.  I must ink it up more often.  I used the sentiment from Regarding Dahlias, the leaves from the Bird Punch and a retired brad with a tissue paper flower.

A simple get well card using Thoughts and Prayers.  I purposely tried to keep these cards very simple, so they would be easy to replicate.  I used markers and the "thumping" technique to color the leaves.

This is Kenna's favorite.  She loves alligators.  Truth be told.  I had to cover a boo-boo, so I went with the alligator from Wild About You.  The speech bubble is from Valentine Defined, both retired, but I was making lemonade out of lemons KWIM?  Anyway, the sentiment is from the coming Sale-A-Bration set, See Ya Later.

Finally, my least favorite.  I struggled with this patterned card both times I used it.  It's very pretty...it doesn't need much help.  Maybe that's my problem, I tried to do too much with it....it's OK.  The sentiment is from Sassy Salutations.  I love this sentiment set!  I had a friend order it during a sale and I thought to myself, "That's kinda neat, maybe I'll get it, too."  I'm sure glad I did...thanks Crys!

So, I may try one more round of these cards.  Maybe inspiration will strike.

BTW - Kenna got her car!  The one we were negotiating the other day.  It's been to the shop, to get a few things tweaked and it's ready to drive next week!  Oh boy!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Stay warm as we prepare for Polar Vortex...round two!

Friends 24-7 and Multiple Challenges

Today was finally the day I could stamp with no guilt, I couldn't find a single pressing thing to keep me away.  I did have to spend a fair amount of time researching the challenges out there.  Currently I have about 40 saved in my favorites, I would like to add even more, but it's safe to say, going thorough that many sites took awhile.

I ended up with qualifying for three great challenges.

Fall to Layout - Sketch Challenge.

Pink Elephant Challenge - Use Brown.

The Color Cue - Color Challenge.

I find I've been using fewer and fewer embellishments on my cards.  The practical side of me, thinking about them going through the mail.  I could have used ribbon on this card, but I went with crumpled paper.  I just wanted to play with my paper!

So, tomorrow is another golf day, but I am hopeful I won't be too tired once I get home and can get my fingers inky once again!

Bloomin Beautiful - Sympathy

My friend, Pam, called me this morning. She asked if she could come over and make a sympathy card. As fate would have it, I was working on this card for Stacey's challenge at Stacey's Stamping Stage. Instead of using the sentiment I had planned, I decided to go with a sympathy card. When Pam comes over later she can either duplicate this card....or we'll make another. I could stand to have a few on hand myself.I do love this image from Bloomin' Beautiful. I love to color it, too. It is really easy, I promise. I used my Ballet Blue marker and added ink where the shading was already stamped. Then, it was a simple matter of using my Aqua Painter to spread the color out. I used Sahara Sand for the vase, since Stampin' Up! doesn't have a Kraft marker. I used the Sahara Sand again for the shading around the outside of the vase, just a little more concentrated. Of course I stamped my image with Black Stazon onto Watercolor Paper. That's a must!

Remember last week I used my Perfect Details Texturz Plate? Well, this week I used the other side....two for the price of one! A tip for you Big Shot users, if you spritz your paper with water before sending it through on a Texturz Plate, you will get a deeper emboss.

I also have a little tip for the sentiment tag. I used my 1/4" circle punch on each end of my tag so that my Ribbon Slide from the Silver Hodgepodge Kit nestled in nice and tight. A different kind of use for the Ribbon Slides.I like the layering of the White Organza Ribbon under the Night of Navy 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon. It needed that extra width, but I didn't want it totally saturated with color.

I hadn't done much paper piercing lately, so I couldn't resist a few pokes at the top!

Pam is on her way....so I'd better run!

Thoughts & Prayers - Rich Gold Challenge

Hello my stampin' friends! I'm guessing unless you live in Hawaii, you have experienced some cold weather and maybe even some snow! I heard the other day that 49 states have experienced some snow this year. Of course with snow, comes cold weather. No surprise here in Iowa, we've had plenty of both! So, when I saw Stacey's challenge over at Stacey's Stamping Stage I couldn't wait to work with these rich, warm golden colors!
My first thought was to make a card with Autumn Spendor, Lovely As a Tree or Inspired By Nature and any of those would have made a fine card. I wanted to go for a more sophisticated look, to reflect the mood of Stacey's inspiration photo. I think Thoughts and Prayers used along with the ornament punch accomplishes this. Doesn't it have an Asian flair? I really like it. The Happy Birthday from Well Scripted came about because I needed a birthday card for my sister-in-law.I added lots of dimension to my card with the flowers from the Trio Flower Punch. Along with the embossing of my vase with Perfect Details Texturz Plate Die. Finally a technique I love.... sewing down the gathered grosgrain ribbon and button.

To add more sparkle I sprayed my So Saffron cardstock with Champagne Mist paint combined with rubbing alcohol. I've done this before and it is subtle, but very pretty. If you click on the close-up picture it does give you a better look.I wish you sunny days filled with warm sun!