Tonight's card combines three challenges. The sketch is #140 from Operation Write Home. The StampTV Free-for-all-Friday challenge is to use flowers. And the challenge at Joan's Gardens is to use a piece of designer paper for the background, include a dimensional flower, a flourish, and a sentiment.
The paper is from my stash - something I bought at Jo-ann's Fabric & Crafts a few years ago. The narrow striped paper is from a 6x6 pack by Stampin' Up!, and the flourish is from a Stampin' Up! jumbo wheel. The flourish is embossed in a sparkly green powder I've had (and used a lot) for at least a decade. The dimensional flower was hand-made from a satin ribbon and a heat gun. The sentiment I've also had for years, and don't know who made it. The card just didn't look finished yet, so I tried the 'hand-drawn lines' like Darlene DeVries does, but I'm not very good at it. I fixed a goof by covering the outer section of the lined area with a blue Permapaque marker by Sakura.
Today's card is a combination of a few challenges. The layout is the current Viva la Verve sketch. The current challenge at Our Daily Bread is to include some musical element, and over at Cupcake Inspirations the picture has yummy autumn colored cupcakes with leaves decorating them.
The Verve sketch had a large circle behind the vertical piece, but I didn't want to cover too much of the background. Using Nestabilites leaf die cuts instead of the circle worked well, and fit for the Cupcake Inspirations challenge.
For a musical element, the background was done with the "Allegro" Cuttlebug embossing folder. I inked the folder with the "Cappuccino Delight" Kaleidacolor rainbow ink pad, before adding the paper and putting it thru the Big Shot to get an autumn look.
The sentiment also has a musical theme, but to cover the flowers that are part of the stamped image, I added tiny leaves. These leaves are the extra (cut out) bits from the Nestabilities "Leafy Squares" die cut (second to the largest). The papers used were not particularly bright (one batch was white!), so I used a selection of Copic Markers to color each little leaf for bright autumn look.
One last bit of "leafy autumn" is the orange vertical mat. I used "Tea Dye" Distress Ink and the Nestabilities oak leaf die to stencil a barely discernible background.
I just heard about this blog yesterday: 365 Days. A card challenge for EVERY DAY of the YEAR. This card was made for Day 210, a "recipe"challenge to use: 1 image, 5 buttons, 3 different ribbons, 1 patterned paper, and a Sentiment. It also fits for two other challenges currently running - Cute Card Thursday #236 and Just Us Girls #156.
The card has one designer paper with lots of dice (each representing a number!), two dark blue brads, three ribbons, four bronze gems, and five buttons. There is one "popped" dice image above the red ribbon, with a sentiment is from Ginger's House that fits the theme. The paper is a vellum I've had in my stash for several years. I'm SO GLAD I've finally gotten "into" doing challenges. They're making me use stuff I was saving for that "special day" that never seems to come.
Oozak is a Website I found out about thru Sandy Allnock and Operation Write Home. It has a monthly challenge, and today is the last day for September. This month the theme is "Sparkle" and they even have a little extra for folks who sparkle their names.
The card is also for the CAS-ual Friday challenge #72 "Toot Your Own Horn" where the idea is to do a card that is inspired by your own blog header. Well, my blog header is pretty plain, but I used it to choose the color for the card-stock and designer paper (by Stampin' Up!).
My card uses a rainbow image I've had for decades (yes, decades!). It was made by a home-party company called D.O.T.S., which closed down over a decade ago. The sparkle comes from Elmers glitter glues for the rainbow colors, and Stickles for the clouds. Had to let it dry/harden all night. I also used Diamond Glaze to attach some small crystal beads for added bling, but they don't really sparkle. After I put on the sentiment and the rainbow, I called it done - - - but - - - Sandy Alnock is a ribbon nut and I realized I had to add the ribbon. That definitely improved the finished product. Thanks Sandy, for being that 'voice' in my head when I'm making cards! LOL!
The current Live Chat challenge at StampTV is to "Make it Simple" - so here is the most Clean and Simple (CAS) card that I've ever done!
