Sailing Home ~ A Stampin' Up! Card

Today's card was inspired by Mojo Monday Sketch #520.

Sailing Chevron Birthday

I made today's card to practice up on my sponging technique since I plan on having a sponging class.  Let me tell you this is definitely not how my card started out!  I had actually sponged a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Natural White card stock, but couldn't figure out how to put that size onto a card without it being boring.  So I gave up last night and surprise, surprise I couldn't fall asleep.  That's when I started thinking about the different sketch challenges I went through yesterday and how I could use one of them to put my pic on the card.  So how did I come up with it?  I used the Mojo Monday sketch challenge #318 to layer my sponged picture on, but knew I needed a bit more.  So I used the chevron half of the Friday Mashup challenge #134. I know my daughter will love it because there's no white! lol

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

Stamp  Sets:  The Open Sea & Express Yourself

Card Stock:  Island Indigo, Night of Navy,

Basic Black & Naturals White

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Night of Navy, Island Indigo,

Cherry Cobbler & Crushed Curry

StazOn:  Black

Punch:  1 3/8" Square (for chevrons)

Sponges

French Foliage

Well, I couldn't resist...I had to use a retired fall set.  I love the set French Foliage and used it for a couple of challenges today.  My colors come from the Color Throwdown challenge and the sketch is from Mojo Monday.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Set:  French Foliage

Card Stock:  Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake,

Baja Breeze (retired) & Very Vanilla

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake,

Cajun Craze & Baja Breeze (retired)

Mojo Monday's The Open Sea

  Well I had a very small group turn up for my stamp a stack this month, but I was so tired it was nice to sit and relax a little this time.  I did manage to make two of the five cards while they were stamping too, so that was nice.  This is the only masculine card that we did, but I loved how it turned out.  I used Mojo Monday's sketch challenge here for the design and saw a few cards out there that used similar colors to this that I liked.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Sets:  The Open Sea & Curly Cute

Card Stock:  Basic Black, Island Indigo, Pool Party & Whisper White

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Island Indigo & Pool Party

StazOn Black

Punch:  1 1/4" Square

Thinking of You

Well, today's card is definitely not my norm, but I really wanted to do the Color Me Beautiful challenge...and boy did it take a little thinking for this week's challenge!  I wanted to use all of the colors on my card so I looked for a design that I thought would help me out.  Mojo Monday fit the bill perfectly.  

Here are the colors for the Color Me Beautiful challenge...

and here is the Mojo Monday sketch...

 I really like the simplicity of my card.  Usually I'm all about sponging and using embossing folders to cover up empty space, but this time I just left it alone... 

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Sets:  Field Flowers & Teeny Tiny Wishes

Card Stock: Soft Suede, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, 

Certainly Celery, Old Olive & Lucky Limeade

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Certainly Celery, Old Olive & Lucky Limeade

Punches:  1 1/4", 1 3/8" & 1 3/4" Circles

Ribbon:  3/8" Taffeta in Soft Suede

Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist

Circle cutter

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today's card was created especially for my dad. :)  His birthday isn't today, so that means I'm actually working ahead...amazing!  Too bad I'm behind on other peoples' cards. :(  I'll get there though...

Anyway his card was inspired by two different challenges.  The Paper Players color challenge #117 and Mojo Monday 263.  I really wanted to enter the Paper Players challenge...because to me it was a challenge!  I wanted to see if I could make something with these colors.  Once I looked at the Mojo sketch and starting writing what colors were going where it just came together...

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Set:  The Open Sea

Card Stock:  Night of Navy, Bravo Burgundy, Cajun Craze & Very Vanilla

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Night of Navy, Bravo Burgundy & Cajun Craze

Embossing Folder:  Argyle

Punch:  2 1/2" Circle

Essentials Paper Piercing Pack

Sponges

Bright Field Flowers

Today's card is one I made for my June stamp a stack.  Guess I didn't feel like coming up with my own design and colors for this card so I used Mojo Monday's design from a few weeks ago and Stamping 411's color inspiration from the beginning of April.  

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Set:  Field Flowers
Card Stock:  Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, So Saffron,
 Calypso Coral & Whisper White
Classic Stampin' Pads:  Lucky Limeade, So Saffron & Calypso Coral
Punches:  1 1/4" Square & 1 3/8" Square
Ribbon:  3/8" Taffeta in Whisper White 
Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist

Flower Garden Clematis

Today's card is one I've been thinking about for awhile...the flower part of it at least. :)  I love to take pictures of my flowers.  I get more of the same thing every year, and when I was taking a picture of my clematis flowers I though to myself "Why not try and make one of these to put on a card?"  So I did!  I love the design for this weeks Mojo Monday and thought the flower would go perfectly on it. :)  I also made this card for a fellow stamping friend whose b-day happens to be today.  We'll see if she sees this post before she gets her card later tonight. ;)  So first off is a picture of one the the flowers that gave me my inspiration...

And here's a picture of the card

...and the flower up close.  I know...flowers don't have all the sparkles like that, but I love the look of it and couldn't resist putting it on. :)

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Set:  Vintage Labels

Card Stock:  Rich Razzleberry, Pretty in Pink, Pink Piroutte, Wild Wasabi & Whisper White

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Rich Razzleberry & Garden Green

Punches:  Blossom Petals (Used large leaf for petals), 1" Circle Punch & 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval

Embossing Folder:  Elegant Bouquet

Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist

Instructions on how to make the flower...will be coming in a day or two. ;)  I have another card I'll be making with a similar flower.  Plus, I learned what to do, and what not to do on this flower and "perfected" it on my second one. ;)

The Open Sea ~ Father's Day Card #4

Can you tell I'm really loving this stamp set?!  And, yes, I've made another Father's Day card with it.  This one is for my dad, and I'm hoping I remember right and that he likes green.  I'm sure he does...the sailboat he's been working on for the last eight or nine years has a green stripe on it.  He's been restoring a boat very similar to the one he sailed around the world in and he's hoping to have it in the water mid July.  How cool is that?!  Those of you who follow challenges probably know exactly where this design came from.  If not, this cool design is from Mojo Monday Challenge 193.  

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Set:  The Open Sea & Old World Map (retired long ago!)

Card Stock:  Always Artichoke, Early Espresso & Crumb Cake

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Early Espresso

And, of course, I did some sponging. :)

The Open Sea ~ Father's Day Card #2

On my last post I said I was getting an idea going when I was looking at a couple of challenges.  I was checking out The Friday Mashup challenge Monochromatic Man and Mojo Monday Challenge 191.  I decided to combine the two challenges and came up with this card.  I really like how it turned out and will be using it as my Father's Day card for a Stamp a Stack I'm doing this month. 

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Set:  The Open Sea & Old World Map (long retired!)

Card Stock:  Early Espresso, Soft Suede & Very Vanilla

Classic Stamping Pad:  Soft Suede

Versa Mark

Ribbon:  5/8" Grosgrain in Early Espresso

White on White

Today's card is something I've always wanted to try and didn't think I could do it.  Well, at Less Is More their challenge is White on White...and it's possible!  Check out the cards that so many ladies have posted already.  They are absolutely beautiful!  As I had all these ideas running through my head, I was pulling all sorts of things out for my Big Shot.  Then I remembered Mojo Monday's challenge and decided to use their design for my card...it helped me focus.  I really like how it turned out!    

Here are a few close-ups of different areas on the card.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Card Stock:  Whisper White

Punches:  Scallop Trim & Boho Blossoms

Embossing Folder:  Perfect Polka Dots

 Texturz Plates:  Backgrounds 1

 Embosslits Die:  Beautiful Wings

Sizzlets Die:  Little Leaves

Ribbon:  3/8" Taffeta in Whisper White

Jewels:  Basic Pearls

Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist

Inspired by Nature

I wasn't sure how today's card would turn out, but I wanted to give it a try even though I wasn't sure about the colors. The Paper Players challenge this week was to use Baja Breeze, Poppy Parade and So Saffron.  I didn't have Poppy Parade so I substituted it with Real Red.  I'm glad I gave it a try because I really like how it turned out. :)  I used Mojo Monday's sketch challenge 186 for my design.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Sets:  Inspired by Nature & On Your Birthday

Card Stock:  Baja Breeze, Real Red, So Saffron & Whisper White

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Real Read, So Saffron & Certainly Celery

Versa Mark

Big Shot Embossing Folder:  Perfect Polka Dots

Punches:  Modern Label, 1 3/4" Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" Circle & 1 1/4" Circle

Ribbon:  1/4" Taffeta in Daffodil Delight

Elements of Style

Yesterday as I was going through the blogs I follow I saw the Stamping 411 Color Inspirations Challenge.  I really liked the colors they had for this week's challenge, and thought why not combine it with this week's Mojo Monday challenge.  So I did, and this is the card I came up with.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Set:  Elements of Style

Card Stock:  Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Rose Red & Crumb Cake

Classic Stampin' Pad:  Rose Red

Versa Mark Pad

Big Shot Embossing Folder:  Vintage Wallpaper

Punches:  1/2" Circle & 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval

Circle Cutter for larger circles

Ribbon:  1/2" Grosgrain in Chocolate Chip (retired)

Metallic Brads

Mojo Monday Challenge 180

Today I made a card for Mojo Monday Challenge 180.  I don't think I've ever made a round card before, so I figured it was time I give it a try!  I wasn't sure what to do at first because I've made so many fancy, feminine cards lately I wanted to take a short break from them.   After taking a minute to look at the sample, the idea of using the smaller circle as the moon popped into my mind...and of course, I had to use my sponges to create that effect.  So, I got busy, sponged away and this is what I came up with.  Hope you like it.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

 

Stamp Sets:  Lovely as a Tree & On Your Birthday

Card Stock:  Night of Navy, Marina Mist & Whisper White

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Garden Green, Marina Mist, Perfect Plum, 

Rose Red, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie & Daffodil Delight

Punch:  Word Window & 1 1/4" Circle

Big Shot:  Scallop Circle Bigz Die

To create the sponging effect, just start lightly sponging and keep doing it until it's as dark as you would like.  Then start with the next color making sure they overlap to create the blended effect.  I do have one stripe that stands out, but I did that on purpose to try and follow the Mojo sketch having two circles and one rectangle.  

Because I Care ~ Mojo Monday

If you checked out my blog post yesterday, you can see that I used the same stamp set and colors for my Mojo Monday card as I did for Stamping 411.  I always like to make at least two cards when I'm stamping.  I either make them identical or similar...it's just easier to do that.  After all, you already have the beginning of a card started for a second one once you've cut the first!



Lately as I've been checking out other ladies' cards on sketch challenges, I found I was coming across one lady's cards/blog quite a bit...Kasey, from Kasey's Craft Corner.  I guess I just really like her style of cards! :) Anyway, one of her cards showed instructions on putting a scalloped border under ovals and circles.  I was seeing that quite a bit and wondering how it was done.  Now that I figured out how to do it I figured Mojo Monday's card sketch challenge was the perfect time to give it a try.  Maybe a lot of you already know this trick, but I didn't.  If not and you would like to see how it's done click here, check out her card, scroll down and it will bring you to her instructions.  Thanks Kasey! 

Stamp Set:  Because I Care

Card Stock:  Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery & Very Vanilla

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Perfect Plum & Certainly Celery

Punch:  Scallop Trim Border

Big Shot Embossing Folder:  Vintage Wallpaper

Ribbon:  5/8" Satin in Certainly Celery

Jewels:  Basic Rhinestones

Valentine Card - Take Two

As I am writing this I'm sitting by my wood stove in the basement and listening to the wind howl outside.  I guess we are getting some blizzard like weather here in Michigan!  Yes, I am definitely thankful for the warmth down here while I work on my cards...which brings me to my second attempt at a Valentine's Day card.  I used the Mojo Monday 176 Sketch Challenge to help me out with this card.  I know...I didn't do square or round.  Instead I tried to make part of it appear square by adding the ribbon on the card.   I've been looking around at a few more blogs for sketch challenges and came across SUO Challenges and decided to enter this in the SUO challenges 11 too because it's all about Valentines this week!

Card Stock:  Pretty in Pink & Whisper White
Classic Ink Pad:  Pretty in Pink
Ribbon:  5/8" grosgrain Pretty in Pink
Texture Plates:  Backgrounds 1
Sizzlets Die:  Birds & Blooms
Punches:  Decorative Label, Modern Label & Small Heart

Butterfly Pansy

I'm back at it again...making one of my favorite flowers ~ pansies.  I'd say I'm in the mood for some warmer weather. :)  Here is another Mojo Monday skectch ~ #175.  I love how they help me put cards together!  Hope you enjoy the card and have a wonderful day!

Card Stock:  Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi & Whisper White
Classic Ink Pads:  Daffodil Delight & Melon Mambo
Punches:  1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval & Butterfly
Embossing Folder:  Elegant Bouquet
Ribbon:  1/4" grosgrain ribbon in Whipser White
Jewel Accents:  Pearls
Crimper

Mojo Monday 174

I'm finally back and ready to post a few things, but only one for now...it's late!  Wow, I didn't realize how much work it would be to change my blog around.  I wanted to customize my header and that took FOREVER to 
figure out!  But I did it! :)
The next few cards I'll be posting are "Oldies, but Goodies"  meaning I used a few stamp sets that have been around for awhile.  This first set is Antique Autos.  I actually started this card as a sample for my sister and used Mojo Monday 174 for the layout.  I did have to change my card from vertical to horizontal to fit the car on.  



Card stock:  Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Night of Navy, Always Artichoke & Bravo Burgundy
Classic Stampin' Pad:  Early Espresso
Versa Mark Pad
Ribbon:  Bravo Burgundy (retired)
Embossing Folder:  Square Lattice


Thanks for looking.  Have a great day!

Mojo Monday 172 Sketch ~ Lovely as a Tree

To become a little more creative and challenge myself, I decided to follow a couple of blogs and do their "sketch challenges".  I posted my first card a couple of days ago and now here's my second one. Yup, I'm already starting to love this...guess it's a good thing, because I'm going to be getting a challenge once a week from my upline...hope I can keep up!  For this card I am using the Mojo Monday 172 Sketch.  

I thought I'd show the inside of this card too.  I like to add just a little bit of something that coordinates with the front of the card. 

Stamped with Lovely As a Tree

Card Stock:  Very Vanilla, Night of Navy, Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy & Early Espresso
Classic Stampin' Pads:  Always Artichoke & Early Espresso
Embossing Folder:  Square Lattice

Texture Plates:  Backgrounds 1

Punch:  Modern Label