Inspired by a book

I have been reading "Z," which is about Zelda Fitzgerald, wife of F.Scott Fitzgerald. She was sort of the quintessential flapper, so I went looking for a flapper image.

The image is colored with pencils and mounted on a silver Nestabilities frame.  That really fascinating bit of tinselly ribbon is something I got on clearance at one of the big box craft stores a year or two ago when they were clearing out holiday merchandise. I love scouring the holiday sales for items that could work at any time of year.  I pulled some fibers off the ribbon and used it in the die-cut button, also made from metallic card stock.

I don't know of anyone running a "flapper image challenge," so this lady is going into several "anything goes" challenges, listed below:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #104,  anything goes
Creative Inspirations Paints, anything goes
Tammy's Scrapping Corner #86, anything goes

Embossed flowers

This is a quick and easy card I made using the current Feeling Sketchy sketch #72.

The flowers (Stampin Up) are black embossed, with  gel dots at the centers. A bow of dotted ribbon is set where the two flowers cross. The flower panel is mounted on a piece of printed vellum cut with scalloped edges. The sentiment (Hero Arts) is popped up for a little dimension,  and I used a matching red dot to tie it in with the flower panel.

I'm entering this in these challenges:

Feeling Sketch #72
Challenges 4 Everybody #32, Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday #102, Anything Goes

Blue Santa

This card went through a tremendous amount of changes from idea to completion. I changed sketches, backgrounds and sentiments. But I'm pretty happy with it.  I like doing Father Christmas in something beyond the typical red. Why not blue, it's my favorite color.


The details:
Santa (an old Hobby Lobby stamp) is colored in pencils, and Creamy Caramel is sponged around the edges of the oval.
Both blue and brown layers are embossed with a music score folder. I sanded the blue embossed piece of Coredinations paper to better reveal the design.
The awesome crocheted lace is a yard sale find.
Believe stamp is stamped in Night of Navy, sponged with caramel ink and layered on an offset bit of blue paper.  There is also caramel ink sponged around the edges.

The sketch for this is the 365 Card's weekly sketch (day 293, if you are keeping up. Gosh, less than 70 days left this year). 
This card is also for these challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge -- Christmas
CRAFT Challenge 229 -- Christmas
Word Art Wednesday 102-- Anything Goes

Nautical story

This card might be a little more abstract than is typical for me, and it has kind of a long story.  It started on Saturday when I got this really large (about 4 by 5 inch) stamp of a nautilus shell at a craft consignment sale.  I think it's from StampZia, a company that's probably no longer around. (At least I haven't seen Zia at the stamp shows in a few years).

I was trying this stamp with a technique I'd seen in the latest Technique Junkies Newsletter called reverse background.  The stamp turned out not to be good for the technique -- you need something busier -- but I really liked how it looked embossed in white with a color wash over it. So I was really happy to see Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge is to create something with a nautical theme. Yippee, an excuse to use my new stamp.

I used Sketch Saturday #280 for the layout.

The large stamp is white embossed on white paper.  I mixed some Creamy Caramel ink with a little water and applied with a watercolor brush.  I then white embossed some smaller shell stamps (Impression

Obsession and Sunday International) and cut them out.  Some are applied with pop dots, so the card has some good dimension on it.

Not my typical card, but it's good to change things up every once in a while, right?

I'm also entering in Word Art Wednesday  #102, anything goes.

Double yard sale inspired

We're having a yard sale this weekend, clearing out an accumulation of items we don't use anymore. And yes, that includes some craft supplies (not many, but there are some things I know I'll never use).  While going through a box of craft items, I came across a flocked flower embellishment that I got at a yard or consignment sale awhile ago.  There were several in the package, actually, but the orangish-brown one with the polka-dot center really attracted my eye. I knew right away I had to design a card around it.

I decided a giraffe would work with the coloring of the flower, and that led to this card.  The giraffe is an old Rubber Stampede image, stamped in Chestnut Roan ink and colored with pencils.  I pierced in opposite corners, and matted the image on coordinating card stock. The other papers are from the scrap file. The sketch is Feeling Sketchy #71, along with their bonus option to do a monochromatic card.

I'm entering the card in these challenges:

Feeling Sketchy #71, sketch and monochromatic
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Going Dotty (dots on flower and pierced dots)
CRAFT Challenge #227, animals
Papertake Challenge, Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday, Anything Goes
Loves Rubberstamps Challenge #72, Anything Goes

Quickie Card

This little masking and sponging technique was featured in the Technique Junkies Newsletter about a year ago. It's such an easy way to work color into a clean and simple card.

Colors used were SU Creamy Caramel, Summer Sun and Cameo Coral.  The images were stamped in Memento Black.

Images are from Impression-Obsession.  Sentiment from Mark's Finest Papers.

I'm entering the card in these challenges:
CASology #64, Harvest
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, Say it With Stamps
Papertake Challenge, Anything Goes
Loves Rubber #72, Antything Goes
Word Art Wednesday #100, Anything Goes