Cooking up a cowboy image

I spent part of Saturday playing in the Virtual Stamp Night challenges at SCS.  One challenge called for using a technique to create faux leather with masking tape and clear embossing. It's a technique I've done before and, while the results are fun, tearing up little bits of masking tape can get tedious.  So, the two small diamonds on this week's Card Patterns sketch (#130) were the perfect size -- big enough to have impact, small enough not to take too long -- for me to use this technique.
The VSN theme this time was rodeo, and paired with the leather technique, a masculine card seemed appropriate. The image is one I simply found through a yahoo image search.  A little plaid paper, a few eyelets and lots of piercing sponging around the edges completed the look.

Goodbye to OTWC challenge

     This week is your last chance to take part in the Off The Wall Craftiness Challenge. Kim is stopping the challenge, which I have participated in regularly since the start.  We'll miss you Kim -- good luck with your future plans.

     The color combo for OTWC#58 is navy and coral (see inspiration photo to the right).  I combined the colors with the sketch for this week's CardPatterns sketch (Card patterns #129) to create this card. 

     The image is from Inkadinkadoo, stamped in SU Night of Navy ink.  The squarish panel and the coral panel are both stamped with the same flourish background stamp to tie the pieces together and add a little depth and interest-- I used versamark on the coral and looks quite subtle on the photo.

     I went punch crazy as well, adding punched corners to the square panel and using a new border punch on the white strip  (it's a new punch for me, and it appears I'll have a bit of a learning curve getting things to line up on it.)

     Hope everyone is having a great week.

Wish I were here

     Victorine Originals new challenge (challenge 15) is to use the theme "summer."  Where I live, there's plenty of summer left. Unfortunately, there is no beach around, so I can only wish I was here.

     I used the current CPS sketch, (CPS323) for the card.

    The challenge this week at Magical Monday (There's Magic in the Air) is to use a scene, and this beach scene says "summer" all the way.  The image is a new one from Purple Onion Designs, colored in pencils and OMS.  
    Clean and simple seems appropriate for summer.

CAS and pink and brown

     I rarely do one layer cards -- years of stamping have ingrained a desire to do some matting on every card into my brain.  Today, however, I'm sharing a one-layer card. It's about as clean and simple as possible -- two stamps, one ink, a little Flower Soft and some ribbon.

     What has me keeping it so simple?  Really Reasonable Ribbon's current challenge (#30) is to keep it clean. The colors -- white, pink and brown -- are for the Magical Monday Challenge at There's Magic in the Air. Those colors made me think of spring, so even tho fall is (hopefully) coming our way, I went with a spring-like card.

     The tree stamp is from Posh Impressions. The images are stamped in Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink, Chestnut Roan is the color.  The Flower Soft Mix is called Sweet Pea, and I found a ribbon that picked up pinks and greens like in the Flower Soft.

     I usually agonize over cards and where to place things, and it was kind of freeing to keep it to one layer.

Quick and Easy Birthday card.

     I have a personal, ongoing challenge  called "look what I found in my stash"  where I'll go thru my stash of paper or embellies and see what comes up for air. Today, I found this super-cute, shimmery birthday-themed paper from Heidi Grace.  And it worked perfectly with the theme for the current Victorine Challenge (#14), to create a birthday card. 
     I used the current sketch for Card Patterns (Sketch 128) to create the card, but I simplified the layout a little to take advantage of the sparkly paper.
     Stamp is from Clearly Defined. Cupcake is stamped in Ranger Stream ink, colored with pencils and OMS, and I used a spica pen to add a little glitter to the candle and flame. My stash also coughed up some ribbon that sort of coordinates with the paper.  The blue layer has been thru the Swiss Dot folder to give it a little texture and match the dots on the other elements on this card.
     As a member of one of the online stamping groups I'm in always signs off her posts -- May we live long enough to use up all our stash.