March {Fishy} Madness

Its time for the March Madness challenge at Dreamweaver Stencils and that means anything goes!  But its also the more out of the box or just more is more!  For today I have a summery card for you, cause I'm itching to be rid of the snowy weather!

I used the Letterpress technique for the background using the Large Scales stencil, Blue Martini Memory Mist , and my cuttlebug.  Papers are from Graphic 45.

My Open Fish was stenciled with versamark ink and then I added Metallic f/x  mica powders.  I then cut this out and adhered it to my tag on the card base.

Have a fabulous day and thanks for topping in!

Skipping Stones Design Challenge #149

Its challenge day again at Skipping Stones Design, won't you join us?  This week is another retro sketch for you and here's what I came up with:

Couldn't resist the cat and halloween together now could I?  This cute kitty comes from the set Holiday Cats.  I colored him with my speccies of course.  The background paper is from Graphic 45 Happy Haunting pad and the Victorian Picket Fence diecut is by Cherry Lynn Designs.  I also added a bit of texture for grass using Leaf Green Color Fragments from Stampendous!

Spectrum Noir colors used:

OR3, OR2, OR1, GB4

IG9, IG7, IG6, IG5, CR1

And here's  sketch #149 if you want to play along with us:

Challenge List:

Skipping Stones Design : sketch (DT)

Cheery Lynn Designs: Black and Orange

Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge- dies or punches

Card Makin Mamas- fall

Simply Create Too- fall

Inspire me Friday: anything goes

Holiday Gift Blog Hop

The Stampendous Designers  are finishing our Handmade Gifts  week with a Blog Hop today and Gifts Galore! You'll be all ready to start sorting through your craft stuff tomorrow and start on some amazing projects! Please visit all the blogs and comment...we'll be choosing random bloggers to choose random comments for the prizes...so the more comments the better your chance!

Its also an Embossing Challenge this month at Stampendous and whats more fun to emboss than chipboard shapes?  My friend Betty at The Stamping and Scrapbooking Room  got in a slew of these fun albums and shapes from Gina's Designs and I went to town with my Stampendous! Aged Embossing Enamels!

I started with a Pocket Watch album and covered all the pages with Graphic 45 papers using Fast Finish Decoupage from Beacon Adhesives.  I then embossed all the tops of the watch parts with Aged Spice and Aged Teal Embossing Enamels.

I added some stamping for interest to a few of the pages including this one.  I used the Tin Panel background stamp from Stampendous, inked it with Versamark ink then rolled it onto my surface to get a partial impression.  This was then embossed with Aged Black enamel.  The fun gears are a shape from Gina's and this one was embosse with Aged Taupe Enamel.  The Fast Finish Decoupage from Beacon worked equally well for adhering the chipboard pieces and FAST it is!

This page has a photo mat that has gears from the Stampendous! Jumbo Steampunk Balloon embossed in Aged Spice.  I added some more gears in Aged Teal.

On this page I couldn't resist adding the Stampendous! Steampunk Owl because of his little pocket watch.  He's stamped in Black Soot distress ink and embossed with clear EP.

This page has more chipboard pieces from various kits from Gina's also embossed in Aged Teal.

And one last look at the cover with the book fanned out a bit.  The clock hands are embossed in Aged Gold Enamel as was the brad in the center of the hands.

Be sure to hop around to all the Stampendous! gals' blogs below and leave comments for more chances to win a prize!

Cyndi Bundy

Janelle Stollfus

Krissy Fossmeyer

Kristine Reynolds

Melinda Gleissner

Pam Hornschu

Tenia Nelson

Wendy Jordan

Wendy Price

Jennifer Ingle (Jingle)

Taylor Usry

Lea Kimmel

AND don't forget our Saturday Challenge continues - We're sharing embossing techniques all month! Here's what we've been working on (most recent inspiration first):

Melinda Gleissner	Kristine Reynolds	Melinda Gleissner	Kristine Reynolds
Rhea Weigand	Jan Garber	Kristine Reynolds	Taylor Usry
Cyndi Bundy	Lea Kimmel	Taylor Usry	Tenia Nelson
Melinda Gleissner	Asia King

InLinkz.com

You can link your creations here until Thursday, October 4th -

Embossing Challenge with Stampendous!

This month is all about embossing at Stampendous!  We want to see all the creative ways that you can use all your embossing powders. 

This is a project that I created for Summer CHA using two new stamps and a beloved older one.  I started with a mini canvas and sprayed that with Squeezed Orange and Pure Sunshine Dylusions ink sprays.  I then stamped the gears from Stampendous Gears Kiddo in Versamark ink and embossed that in Aged Wine Embossing Enamel.

I then went back and added Aged Black Embossing Enamel around the edges of the canvas and decoupaged some pieces of Graphic 45 Halloween paper.

I stamped Halloween Magic in Memento ink and colored her with my Spectrum Noir markers then cut her out and added her to the canvas.

For the tag I first sprayed it with Pure Sunshine Dylusions ink then stamped Follow Art and embossed that in more of the Aged Wine enamel.  I also added a Globecraft Memories gear behind the tag embossed in the wine and some May ARts ribbon.

We hope that you'l play along with us this month for a chance to win!  Stampendous will pick 3 winners: one each for some new Essentials powders and glitters:

Some Odd Girl July Sketch Challenge

Is it July already?  I'm not ready for the heat, but then again I'm ready to hurry up and get summer and the heat done with!  Just sayin.  Heat is so not my thing.  BUT I do love making summery cards and I just had to pull Beach Mae back out from Some Odd Girl to play along with this month's SOG sketch challenge.

I started out by printing Beach Mae on Neenah Solar white cs and then coloring her with my Spectrum Noir markers, pulling color inspiration from the paper line that I picked...Tropical Travelogue from Graphic 45.  All my papers were distressed with Tim Holtz inks (Scattered Straw, Antique Linen, and Tumbled Glass).  The wave and Honu (Sea Turtle) die cuts are by Memory Box.

Here's a closer shot of Mae and her adorable yellow polka-dot (not) bikini!  OK, so if I'm too old fr a bikini she doesn't get one either, right? Fair is fair.

And here's the sentiment panel stamped in Versafine Onyx ink with Feel Sand stamp by Stampendous!  The piece was cut using a Frame die from QuicKutz.  Here's my torn sand border above the waves :)

And if you're feeling crafty here's this months sketch challenge...you have all month!

Challenge List:

Some Odd Girl: sketch

Chocolate, Coffee, Cards: anything goes

Totally Papercrafts: use a digi

Paper Crafting Journey: Feeling Krafty

Make It Monday: linky party

Spectrum Noir Blog Hop!

                                                   

Welcome to the First Spectrum Noir blog hop – Yellow The Color of Summer!

If you have landed here from Suzanne's Blog then you are hopping in the right direction. If not, you will need to pop over to SpectrumNoir Blog to begin.

I have 2 cards to share with you today because I couldn't decide on just one!  My first up uses Summer Merkid digi stamp by Simply B Stamps.  When I found this lemonade paper from Little Yellow Bicycle in my stash I just knew this would be a perfect yellow card!  I kept my yellows very bright to contrast with the turquoise in the paper by using GB4, CT4, and CT2.  Yellow is never my go to color, but I do love it with another bright color!  And I will say that the SN yellows blend absolutely beautifully!  There are also so many yellow families that the blending options are endless!

I added some Glossy accents to the ice cubes (which were colored with the lightest colors of this family: CT2 and CT1) and her sunglasses.

Here's the colors I used for the image:

I also colored up this adorable little Rhubarb the Honey Bee digi stamp from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  I started with my yellows and blacks (I used brown grays) for his Bee costume then instead of making him really brown, I furthered the yellow challenge using Golden Browns for his fur!

Here he is a bit closer.  Look how beautifully those colors blend!  I have been so lucky to have been picked to be on this fabulous team with these talented colorerers! (my new word)

Here's the colors used on Rhubarb:

                                     

We are excited to announce that our new Spectrum Noir website and blog is up and running. If you have not had a chance to check out all of the great tutorials, tips, suggestions and samples our design team has posted, today is a great day to take a peek.  Before we get to the rest of the blog hop, how about we add a bit more excitement?  Spectrum Noir is going to award one lucky winnerwith a full set of 72 Basic Spectrum Noir Pens!  Yes, that's right...all twelve sets of six pens each.

Entering to win is easy.   Leave a comment on the Spectrum Noir Blog Hop Post telling us one fun new thing (tip, trick, interesting combination of colors, etc) you learned about the Spectrum Noir markers while hopping with us this week.  A random winner will be drawn using random.org and posted on our blog at 9:00 AM GMT, Saturday, June 23, 2012 so be sure to check back with us to see if you have won!  The lucky winner will have one week to claim their prize or a second winner will be chosen.  

How about a bonus chance to win?  If you add our blinkie to your blog and mention in your comment that you've done so, you will be entered into a second contest to win a $25.00 or £25.00 gift certificate to be used on any Spectrum Noir product at Crafter's Companion  US or UK site.  To add the Blinkie, simply download the code from the downloads section on the Spectrum Noir Blog and place it prominently in the sidebar of your blog. Do not forget to let us know in your comment on the Spectrum Noir Blog Hop Post  that you have added the blinkie to your blog!

You know need to pop over to Wendy's Blog!

Hope you enjoy the blog hop and pick up some tips on coloring with Yellows, best of luck to you all!!

Haunting Hannah and Hoot

Its day 2 of peeks for the new Spunky Spooks line from Simply B Stamps and today we are introducing Haunting Hannah and Hoot!  My ghostly gal just couldn't wear ordinary ghost white so I gave her a lime green dress for spooking!  And, best yet, she is complete with chains for rattling!

I cut Hannah out with a Nesting Circle die then a gray mat with Nesting Doily circle die, both from QuicKutz for Lifestyle Crafts.  Papers are from Graphic 45, Bo Bunny, and 3 Bugs in a Rug.  Hannah's chains were colored with a silver spica pen from copic, the rest of her in copic markers.

I used this weeks Deconstructed Sketch for my layout:

And this weeks color combo from Color Throwdown:

Be sure to head to the Simply B Stamps blog to check out what the rest of the DT has created :)

Challenge List:

Color Throwdown: colors

Deconstructed Sketch: sketch

Party Time Tuesday: anything goes

Simon says Stamp: anything Goes

Make It Monday; Linky party

Marks' Finest Papers: Make it Square

I won last week's challenge from Mark's Finest Papers, how cool!!  Thanks!