Hello Froggy Inspiration Challenge

It’s Saturday, time for another Inspiration Challenge on Splitcoaststampers!  The inspiration site for today’s challenge IC343 is Denizmom’s Etsy Store, which sells Amigurumi patterns and dolls.  For my inspiration piece, I chose this darling little frog.  It reminded me of the little tree frog that lives in our front yard.  Most days you can find him on the ceiling of our front porch.  In the evening, I often see him on the palm frond outside my studio window.

Hello Froggy

I don’t have a frog stamp that I liked for this challenge, so I searched for tree frog coloring pages. When I found this one, I decided to combine this challenge with yesterday’s Splitcoaststampers Free for All Challenge F4A123 What a Load of Scrap!  The challenge was to use paper scraps from your desk to create an interesting background.  I gathered up all my green scraps and cut strips to represent the palm frond.  I glued them to a scrap of cardstock and then used a ruler and Wild Wasabi marker to draw the lines.  I colored my frog by first using a Real Red and Basic Black marker for the eye and Barely Banana for the belly.  I then sponged Tangerine Tango on his toes and Lucky Limeade on the body.  I meant to leave the belly Barely Banana, but got Lucky Limeade on it, so that was it for that idea.  Next, I cut the frog out, covered it in VersaMark and heat embossed with clear embossing power.  I stamped Hello from Stampin’ Up! Pendant Park in Tangerine Tango on a scrap of Whisper White.  I used Old Olive and Tangerine Tango for the mats.  I mounted the background on an Old Olive card base, added the sentiment and then mounted the frog with Stampin’ Up! Dimensionals.  I think he is cute, but not as cute as the inspiration froggy!

 

Sleeping Sweet Child of Mine, just the way I like them!

Sweet Sleeping Baby

Today’s challenge on Splitcoaststampers is Ways to Use It WT381 – Sweet Child of Mine, make something for a child, inspired by a child or with a child on it.  I love this PSX baby image, so  the challenge was a good excuse to pull it out.  I stamped the image on vellum and embossed with black embossing powder.  I used Stampin’ Up! markers to color the image on the reverse side.  I cut the image and a Whisper white mat with Nestabilities Ovals and Scallop mat in Blushing Bride.  I used Blushing Bride Designer Series Paper for the background and created the large scallop border with a Stampin’ Up! Edgelit die.  I added a Blushing Bride and Whisper White Border and mounted on a Blushing Bride card base.  I stamped the sentiment from Stampin’ Up! Teeny Tiny Wishes in black on Whisper white and punched along with mats in Basic Black and Blushing Bride with Stampin’ Up! Ovals and Scallop Oval Punches.

Need for Speed Birthday Card

Cropped Porsche Birthday

Today’s challenge on Splitcoaststamper is Sketch Challenge SC391.  I really like this sketch and since I needed to get working on birthday cards for the men in my life, both my husband and son both have birthdays coming up, I decided to give this sketch a shot.  I’ve been trying to come up with something to top my husband’s birthday card from last, which was a big hit.  You can see that card below.

For this year’s card, I knew I wanted to use my new Stampin’ Up! set Need for Speed.  This fall, my husband got a Porsche and he and my son spent months restoring it, so I knew the car from this set would be  perfect for his card. I started with a 5.5 x 4.25 card base in Basic Gray.  For the horizontal background panel,  I adhered a piece of aluminum foil to a piece of cardstock and embossed.  I sponged on a bit of Black Soot Distress Ink to tone down the foil a bit and matted it in black.  For the Vertical panel, I stamped the Stampin’ Up! Background stamp Netting in Black on Basic Gray and matted in black.  I stamped the car in Memento Tuxedo Black, embossed with black embossing powder and cut it and the mat with Nestabilities Circle dies.  I colored the headlights with a Barely Banana Marker and added Crystal Effects to the lights, windshield and windows.  I masked the car and top half and sponged the upper lane in Going Gray.  I shifted the mask down and added a mask to the bottom to create the lane lines, sponged in Summer Sun and added the black line with a thin Sharpie Marker.  I shifted the mask down and sponged the bottom in Going Gray, shifted again and sponged the top in Soft Sky.  For the sentiment, I used an old Stampin’ Up! Banner stamp.  I used a Stamp-a-ma-jig to position the words from Stampin’ Up! Fabulous Phrases and stamped in black.  I cut the banner out, sponged with Soft Sky and mounted with a little poof in the middle.

Last year’s birthday card.

Direct the Wind, Words of Encouragement

Direct the Wind

One of my favorite quotes is, “We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”  This quote is appropriate for so many different situations and something we can all learn from.  When I saw the color combo for today’s  Color Challenge CC381 Whisper Island Party on Splitcoaststampers, I immediately thought of this PSX Yacht and quote and I thought it might work with this week’s sketch challenge #101 at The Paper Players.  I don’t have Island Indigo or Pool Party cardstock, so I used Not Quite Navy and a scrap fro my stash for Pool Party.  For the background panel, I stamped the Stampin’ Up! Canvas background stamp in Pool Party and the Stampin’ Up! Weathered background stamp in Island Indigo on Not Quite Navy.  I stamped the boat in Island Indigo on Whisper White and matted in Not Quite Navy cut with Nestabilities Circle dies.  I stamped half of the sentiment for the outside and stamped the other half on the inside of the card.  I matted the sentiment in Not Quite Navy, mounted all the pieces  on a Whisper White background panel and mounted on a Not Quite Navy Textured cardstock card base.

Friends on the Hill, a Silhouette Technique Challenge

Friends on the Hill

Today’s Technique Lovers Challenge on Splitcoaststampers is to create a silhouette by stamping on dark cardstock.  You can also use a die or cut an image out.  For my card, I started with a piece of Cool Caribbean cardstock.  I cut two pieces of green Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper for the hills, using a French Curve as a guide and glued them to the base.  I cut the Memory Box Cloud, outlined them with a Copics Cool Gray marker and gued them down.  I used the Memory Box Orchard Frame die for my tree silhouette, cut it in dark brown Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper and trimmed away the frame and some of the ends of the branches to shape it up.  I glued it to the background, then mounted the background on a Certainly Celery card base.  For the bunnies, I stamped the bunny from Stampin’ Up! Forest Friends on the wrong side of a piece of scrap Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper.  I cut the bunny out, flipped him over, traced him on the back of the paper and cut him out again.  I mounted my little bunny friends with Stampin’ Up! Dimensionals.  I stamped the sentiment from Stampin’ Up! Garden Greetings in Old Olive on Whisper White and matted it in Old Olive.  I punched both with Stampin’ Up!  Oval Punches and mounted with Dimensionals for a quick little card!

Inspired Boston Terrier

Backpack Inspired Boston Terrier

When I saw this adorable backpack on today’s Splitcoaststampers Inspiration Challenge site, I just had to make a card with him!  My daughter is an athlete at Boston University and their mascot is a Boston Terrier, how could I not!  I paper pieced my Boston using the Stampin’ Up! Sizzix Top Note die for the base.  I cut one in black and one in white and did a little trimming.  I used Stampin’ Up Wide Oval and Large Oval for the bottom and Stampin’ Up Sizzix Ovals die which I trimmed for the ears.  I had these XL googly eyes in my stash and they were a perfect fit!  I used a Signo White Gel Pen for the accents under the eyes and mounted him to a Real Red card base cut tent style.  Isn’t he cute!

Hello Friends Inspiration Challenge

Hello Friends

It’s Saturday, Inspiration Challenge Day on Splitcoaststampers!  Todays inspiration site is My Sweet Muffin and my inspiration is this cute Hide and Seek Poster.  For my  card, I cut the Orchard Frame die in Dusty Durango and glued it on Whisper White.  I stamped the animals from Stampin’ Up! Forest Friends in Early Espresso and used the matching marker to add the accents to the tree.  I trimmed away the white outside the frame and mounted on an Old Olive card base.  I stamped the sentiment from Stampin’ Up! Pendant Park in Old Olive.  Normally if I were creating this cute little scene, I would have stamped the deer first before layering the Memory Box Orchard Tree die cut and cut out the owl, but in the inspiration poster, the images were layered, so I tried it that way.  I think I would like it better the other way, but my little nephew will love it just like this.

Cape Cod Highland Lighthouse, the creative process

I made this card for The Paper Players 100th challenge.  I am really enjoying the challenges over there and can’t wait to see what they come up with for the next 100 challenges.  I had the idea for this card in my head, but boy did I have a hard time getting it on paper!  It took five tries to get something close to what I had in mind.  I am not 100% satisfied with the results, but I do like it.  The Paper Players challenge I chose was a #90, a color challenge to use Not Quite Navy, Pool Party and Certainly Celery.  These colors are so pretty together!  I chose the PSX Cape Cod Highland Lighthouse for my image and wanted to water color  it.  I stamped the image in Night of Navy and heat set it with my heat gun, but when I started to color with the water brush, the color bled.  I decided to brayer the three colors on the background and then stamp the image, but I didn’t like it, the Night of Navy was too dark.  Then I decided to sponge the background and stamp the image in Night of Navy, but I still didn’t like it and decided not too use Night of Navy in the Background.  For number four, I sponged the background in Certainly Celery and Pool Party and stamped in Night of Navy.  I liked this one much better, but I still thought it needed something more.

For number five, I decided to emboss the image with VersaMark, Night of Navy and clear embossing powder and sponged the background with Certainly Celery and Pool Party.  I matted the image in Night of Navy and Certainly Celery cut with a Nestabilities die.  For the background, I used a textured cardstock from a DCWV Mat Stack that matches Pool Party.  I added a layer of Night of Navy Designer Series Paper matted in Night of Navy and mounted on a Night of Navy card base.  I cased the layout from Roberta, this week’s Stamping Queen on Splitcoaststampers.  Here is her lovely card, Vintage Spring.

PSX Christmas Door

Christmas Door

Today’s challenge on Splitcoaststampers is Ways to Use It Challenge Doors & Windows which I combined with yesterday’s Sketch Challenge for my card today.  I think this PSX Colonial Christmas stamp is the only door or window stamp I have, but I do love it.  I usually stamp it in Brown, but today I decided to emboss it in gold on Very Vanilla cardstock.  I used a water brush and Garden Green to color the wreath and a Real Red marker to color the bow and berries.  The background papers are scraps from a DCWV Christmas stack that I mounted on a Real Red card base.  I cut the banner in Real Red and layered it in top.  I stamped the sentiment from Stampin’ Up! Teeny Tiny Wishes in Real Red on Very Vanilla and punched with a Stampin’ Up! Word Window Punch. I cut the mat with the Memory Box Bistro Label Punch and a scrap piece of textured green cardstock.  I like this layout but I wish I had gold cardstock to layer under the banner and background panel.

Warm Wishes Mug Cocoa Packet Holder

Warm Wishes Mug

Today I want to share this cute little hot cocoa packet holder with you.  These mugs show up every winter and I think they are adorable!  A quick Google search will give you several tutorials for different styles mugs, but I drew my pattern freehand, using a French Curve for the top and handle.  The base of the mug is Chocolate Chip and I used a Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper for the background.  I stamped the sentiment, also from Stampin’ Up!, in Chocolate Chip on Whisper White and cut with a Stampin’ Up! Wide Oval Punch.  The Chocolate Chip mat is from the Stampin’ Up! Sizzlets Lots of Tags set.  I stamped the snowflake first in VersaMark, then in Baja Blue and clear embossed.  I cut the mat in Baja Blue with Stampin’ Up! Circle punches.  This mug will hold regular cocoa packets, but I like to use the long thin ones, they look a bit more festive!