Feeling Fresh

I know I haven't been around much - life has been hectic, and unfortunately I haven't much time to stamp (waaaaaahh!). I did want to share this card I made for this month's smART-word challenge - fresh!

I love all the "blocky silhouette" images that I've been seeing lately, but the last thing I need is to buy more stamps... I have plenty already, so I can improvise, right?! Anyway, I pulled out these gorgeous flowers (from the Botanicals sheet), masked off a rectangle with sticky notes, stamped & embossed the image, then sponged the color on (a long-neglected SU ink)before removing the sticky notes. I love the final result, and it definitely feels fresh to me. The phrase is from the "Blessings" set (which can be found on the first sheet here, along with a lot of other great sentiments).

I also want to share my first run at this design, which didn't work out quite as I had envisioned. I sponged on Palette ink... and well, the resist didn't exactly work. I love using the hybrid ink, and had overlooked the fact that it can be used on non-porous surfaces! Oops! It's still a nice result, just much softer. I went ahead and finished the card out with a sentiment (from the same Botanicals sheet), but didn't like the way the phrase fell (which is also why I shifted the image portion to the right on the final card).

Well, I'm off and running again - hopefully you're now feeling reFRESHed and wanting to make a card of your own! You have until April 27 to post a link for a chance to win some lovely mother-themed images.

Happy Spring!

As I was emptying the memory stick this weekend, I came across a few images that I had yet to share... and this seemed like a good springtime card :)

I pieced together some scraps of pale cardstock (just glued them down to some lightweight copy paper), then stamped the silhouette repeatedly to create the sense of movement. Isn't that a great image?! I was thinking about how kids can make virtually any situation fun, which is why I paired it up with this sentiment (also from smARTworks). It really is all about attitude!

Have a great day!

Fannie Mae

No, I'm not talking about mortgages - today is the reveal for the challenge from smARTworks featuring the Victorian lady herself!

The images in this set are elegant and exquisitely detailed. As I was playing around with it, I often felt my ideas came off looking too busy due to those details... and then inspiration struck! She has a strong profile, and I decided to create a silhouette by simply coloring her in. I think I've finally discovered a coloring technique I'm good at :) Anyway, with the blacked-out image, the card came together much more easily, and I finished it off with the sentiment (partially inked, from Together).

I used gray Versafine ink and a black Prismacolor pencil on this - and I think it's kind of neat that when you tilt the card just right you can actually still see the details underneath.

So would you like to see what the other smART cookies made? You can see all the creations here. And be sure to click over to Susan's blog, too, for a chance to win a set of your very own.

Small Pleasures

It's been a few days since I posted - we (meaning me and my not-quite-so-enthusiastic-but-loves-me-very-much hubby) decided to tackle the laundry hallway. Let's just say things didn't go quite as we'd anticipated... but then do home improvement projects ever work out that way?! :)

I managed to get this little card done earlier this week, and am finally getting it posted. I wanted to make something for the Moxie Fab Plum challenge using the sketch from Card Patterns - and, well, it didn't turn out quite as I planned, but I still like the result! I stamped the sweet image (from Happy Silhouettes) with versamark eggplant ink, and also used that for the sentiment (partially inked image from the same set). I paired it with the cute Crate Papers, but ended up leaving the top right panel from the sketch off completely, as it just looked too choppy... and well, when I dove into my ribbon box, the dark purple grosgrain that I'm absolutely certain I own was nowhere to be found, so I resorted to the sheer white stuff. I did add the 3 brads - but again, not according to the sketch. Do you see a trend here?

Hoo boy -- off to see what else I can "improvise" on today!