I Aspire

... to be a Drunken Stamper. :D Seriously, is that not the best name for a challenge blog ever? I've been watching my friend Jessi play for a while (not to mention that she joined the design team!), and decided it was time to jump in. 

This week's movie challenge is Enchanted, or alternatively, you can riff on the theme of fairy tales. I think I've managed to cover both with a card celebrating true love, because isn't that one of the themes of the movie, as well as some (okay, certainly not all) fairy tales? Not to mention cute critters. (Pip's cute!) :D

Simon Says Stamp has been designing some seriously sweet animal stamp sets, and this is one of the ones I had to have. The watercolouring is based on our current cat and her late lamented brother. I hadn't tried just colouring the edges of a calico cat before, but I think it worked rather nicely. The photo may not show this clearly, but the thin blue heart is actually a frame on top of the popped-up patterned paper layer. The sentiment is from the same set (with part masked off), cut with a Simon Says Stamp die. It's a bigger card than I usually do -- 5 1/2" square -- so now I need to make an envelope. 
Speaking of Simon Says Stamp... one more entry for their current Anything Goes challenge! 

Supplies: white & Stampin' Up bashful blue cardstock, Echo Park Little Girl patterned paper, Simon Says Stamp Furry Kisses, Versafine onyx black & Memento rosebud inks, clear embossing powder, Simon Says Stamp small folded banner die, Lifestyle Crafts heart dies, watercolour pencils, pop-dot tape

Pin It Now!

End of School, End of June

The last day of June already! And yet it seems like summer has barely begun. I thought I'd sneak in one last June post for the current Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge. This week it's an inspiration photo. 

I knew pretty much right away I wasn't going for my usual, be inspired by the colours approach. Instead I took inspiration from the row of crayons, and the thought that my first crayons had only one "flesh" colour; it's good to see the figurative rainbow available now. 

Which led me, of course, to a popped-up rainbow of crayons along the bottom of my card. Even more ink colours were used for the variety of school-related objects on the rest of the panel. I doubt I've ever used quite so many inks on one card! I stamped the little stars in gold ink; but when they weren't quite sparkly enough, added gold Smooch paint to bump up the shine. One thing about using so many colours: you can use pretty much any other papers you choose! So I went for a patterned paper celebrating end-of-school phrases and a mauve base. 
Of course this is also going into the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes challenge. 
And thanks to a couple of SPARKS challenges, I have my end of school cards! Happy Canada Day tomorrow; feel free to be an honourary Canadian for a day if you're usually not. ;)

Supplies: white & Stampin' Up almost amethyst cardstock, My Mind's Eye Six by Six Away We Go patterned paper, Paper Smooches Smarty Pants & Studio G alphabet stamps, Stampin' Up real red & lavender lace, Colorbox gold & silver, Memento tangelo, dandelion, pear tart, Paris dusk, elderberry, lulu lavender, teal zeal, cantaloupe, bamboo leaves & tuxedo black inks, gold Smooch paint, silver gel pen, pop-dot tape

Pin It Now!

Birthday SPARKS

Happy Friday, and for anyone in the Northern Hemisphere as I am... HAPPY SUMMER! I thought I'd pop in with a card for this week's Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge. This week it's colour: 

I have to admit, the colours weren't exactly 'speaking' to me at first. So I thought back to the "gallon, quart, pint" design rule, and modified it to include two pints. Or maybe it's closer to a gallon, two quarts and a pint. ;)

This is my first time inking up the Nirvana background stamp. Aren't the clouds fun? I thought it was a perfect backdrop for this Birthday Buddy bird -- still one of my favourite PS sets. Instead of paper-piecing the beak, I simply coloured it solid then added Glossy Accents. Enamel Accents make the eyes just a little beadier. :P I am inordinately proud of myself for managing to make a longer Lil' Inkers banner. And I couldn't resist highlighting one of the clouds. 

You still have the whole weekend to join me in this challenge -- and I'm ready to go back outside and enjoy the summer some more! 

Supplies: white, teal & Stampin' Up bashful blue cardstock, Glitz Designs Cashmere Dame & Pink Paislee Spring Jubilee patterned papers, Paper Smooches Birthday Buddies & Nirvana stamps, Memories black & Colorbox frost white ink, Wow white embossing powder, Lil' Inkers stitched sentiment flag die, watercolour pencil, green Divine twine, Recollections black half-pearl, Glossy Accents, black Enamel Accents, dimensionals

Pin It Now!

Happily Ever After...

If it's Wednesday, it must be time for Crafty Creations Challenges! This week we are looking for a project inspired by your favourite fairy tale. I do seem to have trouble sticking to the letter of a challenge. :P I went for a favourite part of a fairy tale... the happily ever after part! This led me to a wedding card:

As I was pondering what I wanted to create for this challenge, I remembered this cute sentiment from a Unity Kit of the Month. I tried a number of different images to go with it, and settled at last on this bride and groom from PSA Essentials. I played with using different colours to highlight words of the sentiment, but the popped-up heart in red looked best to my eye. I used a clear glitter marker on all the dotted-i hearts as well as the brides bouquet and veil. 
Do you have a favourite fairy tale? show us this week! You could win a great prize from this week's sponsor, Guylou's Inimitability. 

Supplies: white cardstock, Unity & PSA Essentials stamps, Brilliance graphite blac, Memories black & Stampin' Up real red inks, clear embossing powder, circle Nestability, atyou Spica clear glitter marker, pop-dot tape 

Pin It Now!

End of School SPARKS

Happy Sunday! And Happy Father's Day, especially if it didn't make for a ton of extra work today. ;) We did the family thing for lunch, and tonight is grilled burgers-- not my department. 
Anyway... jumping in with yet another last-minute entry for a Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge! Yes, I do get a head start by checking the PS blog on Sundays, and yes, it usually takes me to the last day, if I make it in at all. This week is a sketch challenge. 

Look! I followed the sketch fairly closely! 

I thought I'd get a head start on a couple of end-of-school cards for the kiddlies. In place of the flowers, I made a collage of various stamps from Smarty Pants. And what better school-themed panel than some chalkboard cardstock to stamp the sentiment on? Oversized googly eyes add an element of fun. It was also fun to use white as more of an accent than a main element. I think it will work well as a "boy" card. 

Supplies: white, Martha Stewart Crafts cornflower blue & DCWV black chalkboard cardstock, Basic Grey Oliver patterned paper, Paper Smooches Smarty Pants stamps, Memories black, Colorbox frost white, Memento indigo, teal zeal, Paris dusk & dandelion inks, Wow! white embossing powder, Prismacolor pencils, googly eyes

Pin It Now!

Crafty Creations Challenges: One for the Boys

Here we are, Wednesday again already. That of course means it's time for a Crafty Creations challenge! This week's theme is One for the Boys, perfectly timed with Father's Day on the horizon. Now I don't personally make Father's Day cards, but luckily the theme allows for any masculine creation. Our sponsor this week is Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps and More, and I used one of their images for my card:

The design of my card was actually inspired by the way the image is presented in the Robyn's Fetish shop. I went for minimal colouring; and paired it with a Paper Smooches sentiment. While not specifically a Father's Day card, it would certainly work as one if needed. 
You really should check out what the rest of the design team has to offer this week, and then join us! 

Supplies: white & Stampin' Up Naturals ivory cardstock, unknown patterned paper, Robyn's Fetish Jake in the Country & Paper Smooches Thankful digital stamps, Memento bamboo leaves ink, Chatterbox antique gold snap-on tacks, May Arts jute twine, pop-dot tape

Pin It Now!