Fine Feathers

I have a quick morning post to share a retirement card that I needed for a former coworker. I struggled with what sentiment I should use and finally went with this one from Dylusions' clear stamp set by Dyan Reaveley.  The feathers were white embossed using Altenew's Pure White embossing powder.

I smooshed Peacock Feathers distress ink over the images and edged the panel with Reverse Confetti's Double Edge Scallop Border die.  Feathers are from the Fine Feathers stamp set by Waltzingmouse Stamps (a company no longer in existence).

The sun is out and is a welcome sight after a rather cloudy and periodically rainy few days!  Thanks for stopping by...

Color Throwdown

Hello everyone! Are you ready for another Color Throwdown Challenge? Amy Rysavy is our hostess and was inspired by the colors in this lovely home decor: light purple, dark purple, off white and brown.  I'm also playing along with a flipped version of the current Sketch Saturday Challenge #501.  

I used 3 different patterned papers from the Paper House

"ColorWays" 6x6 pad and white embossed 3 feathers from Waltzingmouse Stamps' Fine Feathers retired stamp set.  The Small Hello die (a stack of three die cuts) is by Simon Says Stamp and the tiny Stitched Rounded Rectangle STAX dies are by My Favorite Things. The card base is Rustic Cream cardstock by PTI.

To play along with us, please go to the Color Throwdown Challenge blog for all the details!  For more inspiration from the rest of the design team, click on their links below:
Amy Rohl 
Amy Rysavy
Barbara Anders   
Broni Holcombe
Jodi Collins 
Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler
Lynn Put  
Vickie Zimmer 
Wanda Cullen (you are here)  
Claire Apostoloff  - February Guest Designer 

Quote from 365 Days of Wonder: 

FEB 21 - "Don't tell me not to fly, I've simply got to."

          --Bob Merrill and Jule Styne, "Don't Rain on My Parade".

Color Throwdown & Freshly Made Sketches

It's a new year with a new Color Throwdown Challenge brought to us by Amy Rohl - our hostess for the week! I used the current sketch that's up on the Freshly Made Sketches blog. Sadly, a dear lady from our church passed away, so instead of a celebratory new year's design...I'm needing a sympathy card.  The colors worked out perfectly!  The patterned papers are from Reverse Confetti's Free Spirit 6x6 pad and the sentiment die is by Simon Says Stamp.  The stamp set - Fine Feathers - is an oldie but goody from Waltzingmouse Stamps...a company that is no longer in

business.  I used the following inks for the feathers: Antique Linen distress oxide ink by Ranger, Silver Lining dye ink by WPlus9, and Versafine Onyx Black.

We're happy to have Debra James continue to join us as a guest designer in January since December was a short month with only two challenges!  Be sure to stop by her blog HERE and say hello. 

For more inspiration from the rest of the design team, click on their links below:
Amy Rohl 
Amy Rysavy
Barbara Anders   
Broni Holcombe
Jodi Collins 
Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler
Lynn Put  
Vickie Zimmer 
Wanda Cullen (you are here)  
Debra James - January Guest Designer

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge

I decided to make a quick CAS card for the current Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge which has a dreamcatcher theme.  I still had a wee bit of energy left after working a 2:15 to 10:45 PM shift and stamping is one of my favorite wind-down options after I get home! 

 I went with an oldie but goody stamp set by Waltzingmouse Stamps called Fine Feathers.  I've always loved this Dickinson quote!  Patterned paper is from Recollections' Blush and Mint 6x6 pad.  The feathers were white embossed on a solid sage green paper from the same pad.  The tiny scallop die is Edge Essentials by Reverse Confetti.

So, that's all folks!  Thanks so much for stopping by...

Deconstructed Sketch

For the current Deconstructed Sketch Challenge. I had the Melon Mambo panel with silver embossing paste using a herringbone stencil in my scrap pile for months. I decided to layer up a paper doily, some white embossed vellum feathers, a horizontal banner flag die and a decorative brad to accent one of my fave sentiments.

STAMPS: Fine Feathers (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
PAPER: Melon Mambo, Smoky Slate, Neenah Solar White, Vellum
INK: Black Licorice hybrid ink by MFT
ACCESSORIES: Wilton paper doily, Brad by SU, Banner flag die by Lil Inker Designs, Stitched circle die by Lil Inker Designs, Silver embossing paste by Wendi Vecchi, Fine detail white embossing powder by Stampendous.

Seize the Sketch

This card is for the following challenges...
Seize the Sketch #22 - fabulous layout by Lori Tecler!
SCS Ways to Use It - incorporate twine/rope on a card.

I adhered a vellum rectangle (hard to see in photo) below the die cut sentiment using spray adhesive.  I sponged some Cool Caribbean ink on the sentiment panel before removing it from the die.  The vellum feathers were heat embossed using Stampendous' Detail White fine EP and adhered using clear Kool Tak foam adhesive squares.  I shaved a tropical gelato color and mixed the bits of color with some light modeling paste, then added it to the card base using a Tim Holtz' Bubble stencil.

PAPER: Cool Caribbean, White, Vellum
STAMPS: Fine Feathers by Waltzingmouse Stamps
ACCESSORIES: Labels Three Nestabilities, Modeling Paste, Bubble stencil by TH, Feather dies by Waltzingmouse Stamps.

Thanks for stopping by...

Hope and Feathers

It's so great to finally be able to have a bit of time to create just for fun and not for a specific design team commitment! This card is for 3 different challenges: Ways to Use It (feathers), Deconstructed Sketch and Colour Q.  Isn't this shower curtain in the inspiration photo so gorgeous?!  I also couldn't resist Jen's awesome layout this week! 

I created the background using Bermuda Bay, Orchid Opulence, Certainly Celery and Tangerine Tango inks and stamps from WPlus9's Spring Blooms set.  This set gives you a gazillion options with all the floral designs! The sentiment and feathers are from Waltzingmouse Stamps from a set called Fine Feathers.  I love embossing them using Stampendous detail white embossing powder.  

Thanks so much for stopping by...always love to hear from you!

Color Throwdown

Check out these yummy colors for this week's Color Throwdown Challenge!  Broni has this fabulous beach scene to inspire us, however, I decided to go with a feather theme (from seagulls, of course)!

I'm also playing along with Chupa's Sketchbook Saturday Challenge which is a real classic and simple layout.  I die cut then stamped and white embossed the feathers.  To color them, I squished the ink pads (Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush and Sahara Sand) and picked up the colors in the lids with an Aquapainter brush and painted on the back side of each feather. I discovered that adhering vellum to a card is easy and doesn't show through when I use clear Kool Tak foam pads (found mine at Simon Says Stamp).  I die cut two sentiments - one in black and the second in Sahara Sand then off set them slightly for a shadow effect. 

Our guest star stamper this week is Christy Stanford of Snapdragon Stamps, so be sure and check out her gallery HERE!  Play along with us this week and you just might be in the spotlight next week!  You don't have to have exact colors to play along, but you do need to have a close resemblance.  Be sure and link your creation to the linky tool at the bottom of the current challenge post on the Color Throwdown blog.

Want some more inspiration from the rest of the design team?  Check them out below...

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe 
Cindy Lawrence  

Joan Ervin  
Lori Tecler 
   Monika Davis  
Tammy Hershberger  
Vickie Zimmer  
Wanda Cullen (you are here)
Annette Allen - May Guest Designer

STAMPS: Fine Feathers (Waltzingmouse Stamps).
PAPER: Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Sahara Sand, White, Vellum, Retrofresh DP by SU.
INK: Strawberry Slush, Coastal Cabana, Sahara Sand.
ACCESSORIES: Stitched quilted BG die by Lil Inker Designs, Fine Feathers die set by Waltzingmouse Stamps, Baker's twine, Embellishment by SU, Hello die by Simon Says Stamp.

Watercolor Class Day 1

I'm so excited to be taking the online watercolor class taught by a number of ultra talented stampers!  Day 1 was all about backgrounds and this card features the use of distress inks based on the technique taught by Laura Bassen.   I used 3 Tim Holtz distress ink pads: Spiced Marmalade, Peacock Feathers and Picked Raspberry to created the color wash.  I can see where watercoloring is going to take LOTS of practice for me!  There were several "epic fails" before this one was considered eligible for posting - lol!  I didn't want to cover up much of the background, so used a single feather that was white embossed on vellum and adhered to the card using clear Kool Tak Foam which doesn't show through the vellum.  A "hello" die cut sentiment by Memory Box and a trio of Lemonade Blend sequins by Avery Elle finished it off. 

STAMPS: Fine Feathers by Waltzingmouse Stamps.
PAPER: Melon Mambo, Black, Tim Holtz watercolor CS by Ranger.

This class is coming at an unusally busy time of the year, so not sure how much "homework" time I'll have.  But...I'm going to try to incorporate the techniques in upcoming cards, so brace yourself for lots of watercolor techniques!

Hope

I'm finally getting to play with my new Fine Feathers stamp set! This Waltzingmouse set has been sold out for some time, but finally it arrived on my doorstep! I'm a big fan of Cardabilities sketches and decided to play along this week.  I die cut the feathers, stamped with Versamark and then heat embossed with Stampendous Detail White embossing powder.  The doily coordinates with the designer paper by Recollections.  I clear embossed the sentiment after stamping with Versafine Onyx Black ink.  Some Avery Elle sequins and a SU button and I was done - so quick and easy!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Shape Up!

This month's Diva Dare challenge on the Verve blog is to use a common shape  on a card. I chose to use an ornament shape as my card outline and used a 2010 Heirloom Ornament Spellbinders die (the largest in the set) to cut two shapes...attaching them with a brad to allow them to "swing" open. The poinsettias were stamped with Cranberry Crisp ink, fussy cut and layered over the leaves stamped in Always Artichoke ink.  The ornament base was stamped with Old Olive ink. 

STAMPS: Vintage Ornaments by Waltzingmouse Stamps; Joyous Noel (poinsettias) and Unto Us (sentiment) - both by Verve.
PAPER: Tis the Season (K&Co).

Dynamic Duos

There's a new design team making their debut on the Dynamic Duos blog and they have a fabulous spring combo of colors to play with! My daughter is in nursing school and is frequently in need of thank you cards for her clinical team, so this is another creation to add to her stash.

A very simple card starting with a Baja Breeze base, then layering with a white panel that has half of it embossed with the square lattice EF.  A couple of strips of washi tape from Mike's, a rick rack border border and a die cut butterfly with rhinestones finished it off.

STAMPS: Say it Loud by Waltzingmouse Stamps

PAPER: Baja Breeze, Daffodil Delight, White

INK: Versafine Onyx Black

ACCESSORIES: Corner chomper, Square lattice EF (SU), Crafting tape by Recollections, Rick Rack Die-Namics by MFT, Medium butterfly die by Cheery Lynn Designs, Rhinestones by K&Co.

To You and Yours

A quick post here before heading out to vote this morning! I used Jen's Deconstructed Sketch for the layout and chose one of Betty Wright's retro color challenges to honor her many years of faithful leadership in the Color Challenge on SCS!  She is stepping down from that responsibility and so I chose her CC306 - Bravo Burgundy, Pear Pizzazz, Baja Breeze.

I thought this DP from MME's "Merry" paper pad would be perfect.  Stamps are from the "Christmas Cottage" set by Waltzingmouse Stamps...colored with Copics and sparkling with Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

ACCESSORIES: Postage stamp edge Die-Namics by MFT, Doily lace punch by MS, Baja Breeze seam binding by SU, Vintage button by PTI, Dazzling Diamonds glitter by SU.

Christmas Cottage

Good Thursday morning! Using the sketch for this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge, I added another Christmas card to my stash.  I colored with Copics and added glitter to the snowy areas.  I wanted a sentiment on the front, so tweaked the 3 circles and went with a fancy label instead.  Earlier in the year, I won a blog candy gift from Verve diva Tosh, and this paper pad from Little Yellow Bicycle was in that prize.  All the blues in that pad are perfect for snowy winter scenes!  That's a clue...stay tuned for tomorrow's Raise the Bar card that involves snow again. :-)

STAMPS: Christmas Cottage (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
ACCESSORIES: Labels Four Nesties, Sheer ribbon, Fancy Framed Tags Two by SB, Pearls, MS fine glitter, Copics.

Color Throwdown 207

Lori has some some fun, summery colors for this week's Color Throwdown Challenge!

The chevron border and blossom die layer are papers from the "Citronella" 12x12 pad by K&Co.  They will definitely wake you up - lol!  I used Melon Mambo CS for the rosette.  The CAS design is following Mona Pendleton's sketch for this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge.  I popped the leaves and flower on foam dots to give more dimension.

Remember...to play along, you don't have to have the exact colors.  You can choose something that's close in color.  Please use the keyword CTD207 if you upload to a public gallery and be sure to add your card to the link service at the bottom of the CTD blog post.  You'll want to stop by and visit the rest of the design team's blogs, as well as our talented guestie, Vickie Zimmer:

Barbara Anders, Broni Holcombe, Denise Marzec, Joan Ervin, Kerri Michaud, Lori Tecler, Lynn Put, Tammy Hershberger, Vickie Zimmer (August Guest Designer).  

I want to say THANK YOU to Vickie for agreeing to be our guest this month!  I love her work and know she was an inspiration to many of you as she was to me!  Play along with us and who knows...YOU might just be a future guest designer! :-)

STAMPS: Say It Loud by Waltzingmouse Stamps

PAPER: Citronella DP by K&Co., Melon Mambo, White, Textured green from my scrap pile (?Bazzill)

INK: Versafine Onyx Black

ACCESSORIES: English Ivy border stamp by EK Success, Blossom Nestie, Rosette die by Tim Holtz, Leaves die by Sizzix, Button, Satin ribbon.