simply create too 93

It's a Special Occasion over at Simply Create Too, That's the name of the challenge which begins today and runs for two weeks. Welll my card is for a special occasion, just not a happy one. The Big C, ya know?

Now there is one happy factor to this card. I had Trisha Yearwood's "XXXs and OOOs" in mind when I decided to use the pink bow as my main card element. The "X and Os" from Amy Tangerine followed naturally, as did the "pearl".

The bow is my fave of all those out there, MFT Beautiful Bows. I stamped Hero Arts Tiny Ink Spots background in gold before adhering the die cut letters. The sentiment is from CASual Fridays Calm and Loving.

Thanks for looking today.

day 5 STAMPlorations spotlight - Frames and Flowers

Welcome to Day 5 of the STAMPlorations July release Spotlight where it's all about Dee's new set called FRAMES AND FLOWERS.  Soooooooo many possibilities. I chose to start with my sentiment and build the card around it. Literally.

This card began with a white cardbase and black Memento ink for the sentiment. Then I pencilled a heart guideline and stamped various blooms and foliage with my DI along it. Added a couple black flower centers to tie in with the sentiment and this CAS card was born.

Check out what the rest of the team made! You'll find links to all our projects here. Leave your comments by August 23rd for a chance at prizes. Five commenters randomly drawn from the designers' blogs will each win the stamp set featured for the day. And one commenter randomly drawn from the STAMPlorations blog will win a $25 gift certificate!

Happy hopping. See ya tomorrow.

day 4 STAMPlorations spotlight - Houseextras

Welcome to Day 4 of the STAMPlorations July release Spotlight where it's all about Shirley's new set called HOUSESEXTRAS.  What a great way to create fun little scenes with Shirley's previous little houses set. Or stand alone... that trio of trees up top really caught my eye.

Stamped the trees and sentiment with Memento black on cream CS. Colored with Copics, adding some dots in darker colors as leaves. Penned a wonky frame with a black marker and inked the edges of the panel and cardbase with my new Hero Arts Orange Ombre inkpad.

Check out what the rest of the team made! You'll find links to all our projects here. Leave your comments by August 23rd for a chance at prizes. Five commenters randomly drawn from the designers' blogs will each win the stamp set featured for the day. And one commenter randomly drawn from the STAMPlorations blog will win a $25 gift certificate!

Happy hopping. See ya tomorrow.

day 3 STAMPlorations spotlight - Fond Expressions 2

Welcome to Day 3 of the STAMPlorations July release Spotlight where it's all about Shery's wonderful sentiment set called FOND EXPRESSIONS 2.  Don't ya love that mix of handwritten plus typewriter fonts?

Created another card for Mom's stash. Tried out my new Zig Clean Color Brush Pens as a watercolor medium and then colored the tiniest heart confetti images from Frames and Flowers using the pens "undiluted" to add interest to the BG. Stamped the sentiment with Archival black ink and adhered the watercolor paper panel to a cardbase. Voila!

Check out what the rest of the team made! You'll find links to all our projects here. Leave your comments by August 23rd for a chance at prizes. Five commenters randomly drawn from the designers' blogs will each win the stamp set featured for the day. And one commenter randomly drawn from the STAMPlorations blog will win a $25 gift certificate!

Happy hopping. See ya tomorrow.

Freshly Made Sketches #200

Well, the only thing more "blank page" than this sketch for the celebration of Freshly Made Sketches 200th challenge is a blank page! Talk about cool!

There is one huge party going on over there and STAMPlorations is one of the sponsors of some fabby prizes. So I did the best I could with my somewhat limited supplies (I did break down and buy a small pack of gray and yellow PPs at Hobby Lobby :)

Pretty literal here, eh, with the exception of that little strip of yellow PP at the left. That was my nod to the small edge/frame in the sketch. I made it twice as wide, but only on one quarter of my card. Taking liberties.

I used STAMPlorations Floral Bliss for the blooms in yellow and gray as well as my sentiment. Hope you likey. Take a look at the other cards over at FMS... 200, way to go girls! And have a nice day.

day 2 STAMPlorations spotlight - Balloons and Banners

Welcome to Day 2 of the STAMPlorations July release Spotlight where it's all about Deepti's jam-packed party set called  BALLOONS AND BANNERS. Lotsa creative room with this set.

Created another birthday card for Mom's stash. Broke out the tiniest confetti images from the set and that fabulous tassel. Stamped the sentiment then masked the lower portion, grabbed my mini Distress Inks in Fossilized Amber, Mermaid Lagoon, Abandoned Coral and Cracked Pistachio and went on a stamping frenzy to party-pack the top of my card. I chose to use the most of yellow and the least of the blue.

Check out what the rest of the team made! You'll find links to all our projects here. Leave your comments by August 23rd for a chance at prizes. Five commenters randomly drawn from the designers' blogs will each win the stamp set featured for the day. And one commenter randomly drawn from the STAMPlorations blog will win a $25 gift certificate!

Happy hopping. See ya tomorrow.

day 1 STAMPlorations spotlight - World Birthday Cakes

Welcome to Day 1 of the STAMPlorations July release Spotlight where it's all about Shirley's great new birthday cake set called WORLD BIRTHDAY CAKES . Considering I've got friends in all these countries, I'm psyched about this.

You may recall I'm working with limited supplies since I'm at my folks' house. This was really CAS. White CS, white cardbase with a touch of blue along the bottom edge using a Copic marker. Image and sentiment stamped with Memento and colored a bit with Copics. Easy peasy.

Check out what the rest of the team made! You'll find links to all our projects here. Leave your comments by August 23rd for a chance at prizes. Five commenters randomly drawn from the designers' blogs will each win the stamp set featured for the day. And one commenter randomly drawn from the STAMPlorations blog will win a $25 gift certificate!

Happy hopping. See ya tomorrow.