January Cloud9 Blog Hop

Hello!  Boy, am I glad to be back.  We got home from our road trip last weekend just in time for my lingering cold to turn into bronchitis, so I've been taking it easy and trying to catch up on rest for the last few days.  I'm always reluctant to take antibiotics, but last night was the first decent night of sleep I've had for a while, so I guess it's worth it.  :)

Enough about me, who's ready for a new Cloud9 Blog Hop?  This month we're celebrating New Year's with a gorgeous inspiration photo from the blog Whimsy.

Photo from Whimsy

I pulled lots of elements from the photo for my card:  the manilla tag, the Scrabble tiles, silver stars, sheet music, kraft, and black and white accents.  I needed a birthday card for a friend who happens to love Scrabble, too, so I focused on making something I thought she might like.

This card is a bit of a departure from my usual style.  I love cards with an eclectic mix of elements but have a hard time pulling off that look myself.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Kraft), WPlus9 Design Studio (White), Michaels (silver shimmer)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (A Pocketful:  Halloween, Super Star, A Pocketful, Postmarked)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black), white pen, silver glitter pen

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (star die)

Other:  EK Success (Scrabble stickers), manilla tag, vintage sheet music, silver thread, twill ribbon

Okay friends, it's time to link up your take on the photo at the Cloud9 blog!  You'll find more inspiration from the team, including this month's Guest Designer, to help you get started.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!  Have a great day!

ColourQ #117

Hello!  It's ColourQ Tuesday!  Hooray!

Arielle is taking it easy on us this week, as many of us are likely still in Christmas hangover mode.  *heehee*  This week's color palette is black, white, and your choice of any one color.  Fun!

I'm still recovering from hosting my husband's family for Christmas, and now I'm trying to get everything ready for our trip to Indiana to see my family.  So things will continue to be a little quiet around here for the next week or so.

I kept my design fairly simple, using red as my third color to make a Valentine's Day card.  The white cardstock is stamped with music score at the bottom and debossed with the sheet music impression plate at the top.  I die cut 2 heart-shaped windows at the top and placed red cardstock behind them.

The black border was cut with PTI's Photo Finishers die, then stamped and heat embossed with a sentiment from WPlus9's Spring Post.  The largest heart was die cut and wrapped with Maraschino baker's twine.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (True Black, Pure Poppy, white)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Background Basics:  Sheet Music), WPlus9 Design Studio (Spring Post)

Ink:  Inkadinkadoo (Black), Versamark

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Heart Prints, Photo Finishers dies, Sheet Music impression plate), corner rounder

Accessories:  Filigree (embossing powder), The Twinery (Maraschino twine)

I hope you'll find time to play along this week!  I'm looking forward to seeing the rainbow of colors in the gallery.  And one of my New Year's resolutions is to do a better job at making comments on the blogs I visit, so I'll be sure to stop by and leave you some love when you post your creation!

Thanks for your visit, friends!  Have a great day!

Card Ideas for Paper Crafters Vertical Sketch Challenge & CTD #159

Hello there!  I'm happy to say that the worst of my cold is behind me, and hopefully this will be a productive week.  I'm just sneaking in a card for the Vertical Sketch Challenge over in the Moxie Fab World.  I paired it up with the current colors from The Color Throwdown.

I started by cutting a heart from a scrap of paper, then traced it onto Cherry Cobbler cardstock three times and cut out the hearts.  Two are debossed with a music score and the third is stamped with PTI's Background Basics:  Sheet Music.  I sponged the edges of all three hearts with black ink for definition.

The black cardstock panel is also debossed with the Music Score impression plate, with a sentiment from WPlus9's Spring Post heat embossed in white in the bottom corner.

The top panel is white cardstock stamped with Background Basics:  Houndstooth using Pacific Point ink.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Cherry Cobbler, Pacific Point), Papertrey Ink (True Black, white)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Background Basics:  Sheet Music, Background Basics:  Houndstooth), WPlus9 Design Studio (Spring Post)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Pacific Point), Clearsnap (Frost White), Inkadinkadoo (Black)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Music Score impression plate)

Accessories:  Michaels (ribbon), Stampendous (embossing powder)

There you have it:  a not-too-girly love note well ahead of Valentine's Day.  I think the houndstooth helps to tone down the mushiness.

I hope you have a great week ahead of you!  Thanks for spending a little bit of it here with me!