Onions three ways

The Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge was to use one stamp in multiple way. I've used this one three ways -- to make my own background paper, as the central image, and paper pieced. For the background, I stamped multiple images on the diagonal in a Colorbox Chalk ink called Amber Clay. I then stamped the image in Memento black on white card stock  and on orange vellum.  I fussy cut the onions from the vellum (which reminded me of the color of onion skin) and paperpieced the main image.
Yay me, I also found a way to use vellum and mulberry paper on the same card. (Let's bring back vellum and mulberry paper everyone!)
The image of Vidalia onion seeds is from a set by TPC Studio.


I'm entering these challenges
Simon Says Stamp Monday -- one image, many ways
Papertake Weekly-- A cut above (border punch and fussy cutting)
Loves Rubberstamps #144 -- make your own background paper
Catch the Bug Bingo challenge (border, free space, no DP, which I take to mean pre-printed DP)
Word Art Wednesday #176  anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- Anything Goes.

March Rudolph Days

Check the calendar. It's already March 25; another month almost gone and another Rudolph Days challenge here.

I got this cute little stamp called Little Carolers by The Artful Stamper at the company's booth at the Stamp show at the end of January.  This is the first time I've used it, so this qualifies for Darnell's "never-before-used schtuff" challenge, also referred to as NBUS. The sketch is the current one at Sketch Saturday.

The image is colored with pencils, and the edges of the top panel are specked with distress ink. The brown strip is embossed with the Cuttlebug folder that shows a musical score, then sanded down to reveal the white core. I got the cute little musical notes die at the same stamp show I got the carolers.

I'm entering these challenges:
Sketch Saturday: Sketch 353
Rudolph Days March -- Christmas card
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #221--Christmas  singing
NBUS#4 -- Stamp never used before
Crafty Sentiments -- Inspired by a song (Deck the Halls)

Wisteria time

The first house we had had a backyard full of wisteria, which is amazing every spring when it blooms. You might know there are two forms of wisteria -- one is a well-behaved tree form, the other is an aggressive vine form. Guess which one we had?  As beautiful as it was in bloom, the vines were strangling everything else in the yard.  I spend many an hour out there chopping vines and unwrapping them from tree trunks, trying to get the wisteria under control.

I still enjoy seeing wisteria in bloom however (some of the aggressive vines grow along various highways and it's always a pleasure to see it.) To me, it's a sure sign spring is here (and no, it's not in bloom yet).

The stamps are from Victorine Originals.  I stamped both first and second generations of SU Lavender Lace to form the wisteria bloom, and second generation Distress Mowed grass on the leaves.

The mulberry paper is a snippet I came across when looking for colors to match the ink (actually everything on this card is a snippet).  I love the softness the mulberry paper adds to a card -- it's another thing I'd like to see come back in style, along with vellum.

The card is for these challenges:
Inky Imperssions #201: pastel colors
the Paper Shelter #195: Spring delights
Crafting for All Seasons #98: Pastel hues
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- spring photo inspirations (colors from Easter basket)
CRAFT challenge #303: Mother's day
PapertakeWeekly: Happy anything
Word Art Wednesday #175: Anything Goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground #168: use snippets

Quickie Christmas card

I'm trying to make Christmas card as the mood strikes.  I found this image (an RAK from someone) and colored it with pencils.  The silver on the lantern is a gel pen.
I'm entering this in a couple of challenges:
CHCN Christmas #220: use some black
CRAFT Challenges #302: Christmas
CHCN Christmas extra, March: anything Christmas
CHCN patterned paper Challenge, March -- use patterned paper

Green Butterfly

Saw my first butterfly of the season yesterday. No, it was not green. 

However, lots of challenges asking for green in recognition of St. Patrick's Day (I assume), so I made a monochromatic green card, but the shades are not your typical shamrock green. I took the colors from the harlequin patterned paper I used. There's a brownish moss green (or that's the name of the ink I used which turned out to be a good match), a grassy green, and a minty green.  

The sentiment (pretty sure that's Impression-Obsession) is clear embossed; the circle and strip are pierced. The butterfly topper (which might look bluish in the photo but is quite green and yellow in real life) is from Kanban.

I am entering the following challenges:

Loves Rubberstamps #142: 3 shades of Green

Butterfly Challenge #26 -- patterned paper

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: things that fly

Ribbon Girl: Green

CAS on Sunday: #54 sketch

CHCN patterned paper challenge -- March

 

CAS birthday

Happy Pi Day everyone. (OOps, Judy is right, Pi Day is March 14. Bad info from the DH.)
This card was inspired by the inspiration photo for the Time Out challenge.  The lineup of frames led me to the lineup of vases in this card.
This is as straightforward as a card can be.  Image is from Paper Cupcakes, colored in pencils. Matted and wrapped with ribbon.  The sentiment is from SmARTworks. 
I'm entering these challenge:


Time Out #26-- Inspiration photo
Really Reasonable Ribbons #113 -- flowers
Crafty Sentiments -- Birthday
Ribbon Girl -- Birthday
Word Art Wednesday #174-- Anything goes.

B is for Beetle

The hardest thing about making this card was convincing myself it was OK to cut up the old map book (that no one has used since they invented MapQuest.)
The sentiment is white embossed and is from The Alley Way Stamps. It's supposed to suggest a line down the highway.
The Beetle is from Pattie's Creations, fussy cut and popped up.

This card is for these challenges:

Sketch Saturday -- sketch # 351
Simon Says Stamp Monday -- B is for
Word Art Wednesday #174-- anything goes.
Catch the Bug -- Anything Goes
Just us Girls #283 -- masculine 

All the girly elements

I don't do super girly too often, but this one has all the elements -- pink, fairies, ribbons, charms, pearls....
The image is from Fairie Song Art Stamps. She is colored in pencils, with her skirt paper-pieced.  There's some Spica glitter pen o her wins and stars, and the wings are tipped with teeny pearls. Ii used an out-of-the-box cut to fit her in the oval.
The sentiment is from The Alley Way Stamps, stamped on vellum. I used pearls to hide the adhesive.
I've bee want to try a "junk bow" for a while and had all the elements for this card.  It's snippets of four different ribbons, secured with some embroidery floss, with a charm hanging from it.

I'm entering these challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- girly
Inky Impressions #199 -- dots or stripes (how about both)
The Paper Shelter #193-- fairies
Crafting for All Seasons #97 -- girly girls
Crafty Ribbons 114-- ribbon, pearls, charm
Loves Rubberstamps 141 -- anything goes
Word Art Wednesday 173 -- anything goes
CHCN patterned paper March -- patterned paper

Keep thinking spring

Yesterday we got a serious hint of spring. Today it's dreary winter again. But I'm going to keep crafting like it's spring.
This card is all about spring -- you can tell, because I broke out the Flower Soft. As I've mentioned before, the only jar of the stuff I have is this white/pink/green mix that looks like cherry trees in bloom, so every spring I use it to make a few blooming tree cards. (At my current rate of usage, this jar will last into the next century).
I used the current Mojo Monday sketch for this. The trees are stamped in Sepia. Before adding the Flower Soft, I die-cut the circle, sponged in sky and colored in grass. The color of the die-cut sentiment picks up the blue from paper, which is from an old Cosmos Cricket pack.
I found a blue button in a similar color, and added embroidery floss to that before adhering.

I'm entering these challenges:
Mojo Monday #387 -- sketch
Divas that Die Cut -- spring
Crafty Sentiments -- Spring colors
Creative Inspiration #303-- use something old (Flower Soft has been sitting around for 6 or 7 years, I'd say)
Papertake Weekly -- anything goes
Loves Rubberstamps #141-- anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #173 -- anything goews
CHCN patterned paper challenge -- Cover your card with patterned paper

Let's green this place up

We finally got a hint of spring yesterday. the temperatures were the warmest they have been in months, and a few of my crocuses are blooming.  It seemed like it was time to starting thinking about spring, which brings me to green.

This card was inspired by Deepti's card on the Stamplorations blog site. I've used this technique before of cutting strips in various shades of a color, stamping an image on them, them mounting them.  The fabulous image is from Impression-Obsession; I walked by their booth at a stamp show and this image just jumped out at me. I knew there was no way I could leave the hall without buying it.

The musical notes are from die I got at the same show -- the brand is Poppy. (The packaging looks the same as Memory Box, not sure why they would change the name.)

I'm entering these challenges
Simon Says Stamp Monday -- green
Stamplorations -- CASE a card
Cuttlebug Mania -- monochromatic Green
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday #172 -- anything goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground #166  -- Anything Goes