OLW #63 - Baby card

For my For Your Inspiration post, scroll down

Hello!

One Layer Wednesday is back! Yay! If you haven't looked at Jennifer and Susan's challenge, you should pop over to Jennifer's blog this week and have a go. If you haven't tried one layer yet, you should definitely have a go! For me, it is extra challenging.  This week there is the added bonus of a giveaway up for grabs - A Muse products, LOVELY!

This week's challenge is to create a one layer BABY card.  I have a few cards sitting on the table right now after spending last night trying to create SOMETHING that looked good on one layer.

I'm still playing with Jane's Doodles "Noah's Ark", because I adore the image, and I know I haven't explored everything I can do with it yet. This time, instead of paper-piecing (because of the one-layer rule), I coloured. Yes, ME, I coloured. Another of my personal challenges. I used SU! inks with a blender pen.  It turned out okay. I was using pale colours and attempting to make a gender-neutral card. I tried to anchor with the blue sponging, but I think I need something more. Maybe that is just because I have been anchoring this image with "water" in all my other cards, I feel it is a bit NUDE this time.  This was quick to create, which is always a bonus. I must be getting better at one layer.

What I used:
Card: SU! Whisper White
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! various colours
Stamps: Jane's Doodles "Noah's Ark"

What do you think? Do you like my simplified Ark?

Michelle
xxx

Nicely Neutral Baby!

For my FYI post, please scroll down, or click HERE.

Hello!

It's Fathers Day! I probably should be spending some time with my family instead of blogging. . . but my hubby and kids are having fun between basketball and Playstation, so I'm having some time out to myself.  I've been having stamping withdrawals these past two, very busy, weeks.

Today I decided to respond to the Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World, which this week really, really appeals to me. . . all those neutral colours, yum! 

I needed to make another baby card. It seems that there are babies arriving left, right, and centre at the moment. I loved the idea of making a baby card in neutrals, something different to the usual pinks and blues. And I ABSOLUTELY love how this card turned out.

In real life this is so soft and warm looking. The frilled ribbon is the first time I have done anything like that for a card. I ended up having to sew the ribbon down on small strips of card to keep it in place. I do like how my "ribbon water" turned out.  The ribbon treatment was to reflect the frills on the cushions. Because of the ribbons, I had to double-pop the ark to get it to fit over the water! I added the bunting to Noah's Ark to reflect the bunting on the headboard above the bed. I luckily had a bunting stamp from Pink Paislee that fit across Noah's Ark perfectly.

What I used:
Card (SU!): Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Paper: retired SU! paper which I forget the name of
Ribbon: Chocolate Chip Taffeta, kitchen twine
Stamps: Jane's Doodles "Noahs Ark", Pink Paislee "Soiree"

Sigh! I just LOVE this card.  What do YOU think?

Michelle
xxx

Noahs' Ark - CAS#150 and JAI#78

Hello!

Well, news since I last blogged: I received an Honorable Mention (Cream in Our Coffee) over at the Playdate Cafe Challenge for this card. I was so excited. The entries were all beautiful. It amazes me sometimes, the depth of the talent out there, and I'm so grateful for all that inspiration that comes with looking at other people's work in these challenges.

This week I got some new stamps. . . and you know what that means. . . I had to get working straight away to test them out!  Back in June I came across a Blog Hop for Jane's Doodles which demonstrated Noah's Ark and Garden Friends stamp sets. Of course, I at once fell in love with both sets, and after a month of thinking about it, I couldn't hold out any longer. I have a new baby nephew arriving in the next six weeks or so, so I want to get the card prepared. . .  I might have a few prototypes along the way, LOL!  One of the great things about Jane's Doodles (apart from the fabulous stamps) is that they ship from Australia, so postage for me is reasonable, yippee! Oh, and the order arrived within two working days, and I love great service.

Today's inspiration for colour came from Just Add Ink #78:

Today's layout inspiration came from Clean & Simple FTL#150:

Unusually for me, I added some extra colours in.  I had to.  My animals needed them. LOL.  But the basic colours used stuck to the formula.  Also unusually for me, I got a bit creative with the layout.  I think it is still recognisable as FTL#150, though, don't you?

Here is my card:

Lots of paper-piecing here. Looking at my cards, you'd think I like cutting out, but I don't really.  Sometimes though, it is needed.  This stamp works beautifully with colouring, but I don't have any colouring pens, so paper-piecing it was.  I did use a blender pen to colour my monkey's nose, LOL!

What I used: Not Quite Navy sentiment, waves, and circles in the water. Sahara Sand card base, elephant and monkey's patches. Chocolate Chip monkey, giraffe spots, and all of the outlines. Certainly Celery Ark.  (I also added Pale Plum hippo, Apricot giraffe and lion face, and Pumpkin lion mane, and the Bashful Blue background because I needed sea and sky).



I actually did another card before this one, outside of any challenges, but when it was finished, I decided that I'd used too strong a blue for the sea compared to the rest of the colours, so my sea stands out and the rest of the muted papers disappear, including my animals!  I'll show you anyway, because it is still cute, and I will probably use the layout again, just with different colours. I do love my elephant's ears and my spotty giraffe on this one.  Oh, and the bird fits on this layout, I had to cut him off for the other one.

So what do you think? Isn't this image just the cutest?

Oh, I forgot to mention, I have noticed my follower count rising again. You ladies make me feel wonderful, adding me to your blog list, I feel very honoured, thank-you!

Michelle

xxx