Challenges Galore

Hello everyone,

It sure feels great to get to some blog surfing. There are some pretty spectacular card making blogs out there. I found two new challenges today and used them and two old favourites to craft this card. Monday's Craft Your Passion Challenge asked for a girly girl card. This week's Papertake Weekly Challenge was 'anything goes' and Desert Islands Crafts Challenge was to pick three items from the itinerary. I chose two or more patterned papers, pearls and a birthday theme. Today's 365 Cards challenge was a really interesting Q&A recipe - favourite colour (blue), favourite design technique (smooshed alcohol ink), favourite embellishment (pearls), least favourite colour (yellow) and favourite card size (6 1/2" x 5").


The background paper is BasicGrey Urban Prairie as is the top layer. The blue layer is glossy paper smooshed with Ranger Pearl Mixative and Butterscotch, Cloudy Blue, Cool Perl and Stream alcohol ink. The sentiment is Annabelle Stamps Sentimental Bluebells stamped in Nick Bantock Deep Turquoise on Stampin' Up Whisper White. The embellishments are also from Annabelle Stamps.

I love everything about this card. Using my least favourite colour was a challenge but as soon as I turned to BasicGrey, I was inspired. This card was so much fun to craft. I usually have a hard time when I use a lot of challenges on one card but this one just worked.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Green Christmas

Hello everyone,

Does it ever feel wonderful to be carding again! Today's card uses Sunday's Card Positioning Systems sketch. It also fits today's 365 Cards challenge which is to create an elegant card; the Color Chef Challenge is to craft a tone on tone project; and Ooh La La Creations is looking for bling.

The card base is Recollections Pearlized Gold. The background paper is Debbie Mumm Harvest & Holiday. The vertical strip is DCWV Glitter card stock. The focal image, Stampin' Up Serene Snowflakes, is stamped in Early Espresso on a piece of Old Olive. The sentiment is Papertrey Ink Signature Christmas. The embellishments are Close To My Heart Bitty Sparkles.

I love this card. It is quite elegant and the bling adds the perfect amount of sparkle. I'm not sure I covered tone on tone very well; it seems perhaps more monochromatic but I love it anyway. The Serene Snowflakes set is one that I've loved using from the moment I got it and I love all the stamps in the set.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

365 Favourites

Hello everyone,

Today's card is inspired by Friday's 365 Cards challenge which was to use five favourites. This is always really difficult for me because my favourites often depend upon the card I'm making. I have favourites for Birthday cards, Christmas cards, Wedding cards, and the list goes on. We have a couple of weddings this fall so I decided I would craft a favourites wedding card.

My favourite colour is blue. My favourite wedding sentiment is Penny Black Full of Life. My favourite card shape is a 5" x 6 1/2" rectangle. My favourite tool is my Big Shot. My favourite embellishment is Hero Arts Pearls.

The navy background paper is Recollections which is layered with a piece of BasicGrey Marrakesh textured with Sizzix Pattern 1. The pattern strip is also BasicGrey Marrakesh. The sentiment, on Stampin' Up Whisper White, is layered on another piece of navy Recollections which has been textured with Moroccan Screen.

This is not a traditional wedding card but the couple for which it has been made, has a pretty spectacular collection of elephants so I felt it was emminently suitable. I love this sentiment because it is very heartfelt without being super mushy. I think this couple will love the card!

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Criss Crossed Birthday

Hello again everyone,

I'm on a roll and decided that yesterday's 365 Cards criss cross challenge would be kind of fun.

The background paper is Crafts from the dollar store and is highlighted with Waterfall, Star Dust and Fruit Punch Stickles. The ribbon is Offray. The focal image is from Studio G, stamped in Chocolate Chip on Stampin' Up Whisper White and layered on Bashful Blue.

This paper isn't one that I particularly like but it came in a pack from the dollar store with papers that I really did like. This is a case where Stickles is just what's needed to make a paper palatable.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

1920s Inspired

Hello everyone,

Today's card was a real challenge. Last Monday's 365 Cards asked for a card inspired by the 1920s. Well, my knowledge of the 1920s is limited so I had to do a bit of research. Let me just say, there is a ton of inspiration from the 1920s - Art Deco, Art Nouveau, architecture, fashion, Lalique, Tiffany, the Group of Seven - the list goes on and one. I had in my outline sticker stash some Art Deco flowers that I decided to use on vellum for a stained glass effect.

The red layer is BasicGrey Bittersweet. The bottom layer is Stampin' Up Basic Black. The top layer is Stampin' Up Shimmery White. The image is a Starform outline sticker - Deco Flower Design - placed on a piece of vellum and coloured with Faber-Castell markers. The embellishments are cream mosaic Crystal Stickers.

I love this card. The 1920s are filled with inspiration. The colours are so rich and the card is beautifully simple. I recently discovered these embellishments stickers and they are awesome. You'll see them again.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Butterfly Space

Hello everyone,

This is the last one! I managed to do all of this week's 365 Cards white space challenges. It was a great day of card making and I really wish I could have creative days like this more often.

The card base is from Recollections. The paper is Stampin' Up Dusty Durango textured with Cuttlebug's Floral Fantasy embossing folder. The butterflies were cut with the Sizzix Embosslits Beautiful Wings. The butterflies were cut from leftover DecoArt Glamour Dusted and Ranger alcohol ink smooshed paper.

I am very pleased with this card. I had to go through all of my solid paper stash to find one that actually set off the butterflies. Dusty Durango works wonderfully.

Please enjoy and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Simple One Layer

Hello everyone,

As soon as I saw this 365 Cards white space sketch on Friday, I knew I wanted to combine it with the new one-layer Wednesday at my favourite blog, Susan Raihala's Simplicity.

The card base is --- Recollections. The image is Verve Filigree Fantasy. The pearls are an unknown part of my stash, could be dollar store, could be Multicrafts.

I love this card. I wish I didn't need an excuse to do a one layer card. They are always so wonderful but I feel I'm ripping off the recipient because there isn't enough extra. I guess it will just depend on the recipient. All that being said, I didn't add a sentiment. I felt it would mess up the sketch and put it out of balance. I think this card would be good for a wedding, birthday, Mom's day. I suspect that when I fianlly figure out it's ultimate purpose, then I'll add the sentiment.

Please enjoy and come back for more later.

Gisèle

Stars and Arrows

Hello everyone,

Here's my next 365 Cards sketch card.

The card base is from Recollections. The paper is Close To My Heart You Rock, Gold Rush, Indian Corn Blue, Outdoor Denim. The white piece is a scrap of Stampin' Up Whisper White. The sentiment is Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Birthday Greetings.

One of my favourite paper sets ever is You Rock. I love the blues, greens, oranges and purples. The starts are more versatile that I ever imagined.

Please enjoy and come back to SPI again later!

Gisèle

Another Sketched Sympathy

Hello everyone,

If productive, I'll be making a number of posts today. Last week, 365 Cards was all about white space. They ran a different sketch each day and I aim to do them all. For some reason, this card just came together as a sympathy card. It just happens that way sometimes.

All the paper in this card is Stampin' Up - Sahara Sand, Whisper White and To The Nines. The images and sentiments are Verve Forever In Our Hearts.

I love the simplicity of this card. It is calm and peaceful and beautiful. I love it when a card turns out this nicely.

Please enjoy and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Vanilla Space

Hello everyone,

This is my second post today and my take on Tuesday's 365 Cards white space challenge. All week 365 Cards is doing white space challenges and I'm going to try to do every challenge.


The paper on this card is Stampin' Up Very Vanilla and Bella Bleu. The Very Vanilla was embossed with the Sizzix Damask plate. The image is Verve Thankful Accents. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Well Scripted. The pearls are from Hero Arts.

I fell in love with the Bella Bleu paper at club night when I discovered that that catalogue just didn't do it justice. I may have to get a second pack before it retires. I have to say I also love the Hero Arts pearls and I think they will become a staple. I think this is a beautiful Mother`s day card.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Simple and Shiny

Hello everyone,

Today's card is based on Monday's 365 Cards white space sketch. They did a white space sketch every day this week and I'm hoping over the next couple of days to do each one of them. Fingers crossed anyway.

The card base is from Recollections. The focal paper is Crafts - a dollar store find. The ribbon is also Crafts. The oval is Stampin' Up Whisper White textured with Cuttlebug's D'vine Swirl.

Given the interesting sketch, I wanted to use some really eye catching paper and this certainly does the trick. I also liked texturing the oval. It remains white but relates really well to the paper. I will likely add a sentiment at some point as I think this would make a great wedding card.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Raising A Sketch

Hello everyone,

Today's card is a two-challenge card. It is Wednesday's sketch from 365 Cards and today's Raise the Bar challenge which was to use only a sentiment, no stamped images. I had some Decoart Glamour Dusted images stashed away so I decided it would be a great time to get creative and put together a wedding card.

I used DCWV textured Pastels cardstock for the base. The white element is a piece of Stampin' Up Shimmery White paper textured with the Spellbinders Impressabilities Flourish plate. The ribbon is part of a 'free gift with order' from Scrap 'N Stamp. The focal image is a piece of water colour paper that was coloured with Stampin' Up water colour crayons and spritzed with water. The paper was then covered with Grafix Double Tack mounting film and liberally coated with DecoArt Glamour Dust. A Peel Off's sticker was affixed and cut out. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Small Script.

I just love this card! The colours work beautifully and the ribbon is the perfect compliment to the fancy oval focal point. Most of my close friends are already married but I know that some of my husband's colleagues are getting married over the summer so I'll just put this card in my stash.

I hope you enjoy and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

365 Keeping It Simple

Hello again everyone,

This is my second post for today's 365 Cards challenge which was to keep it simple. The challenge was to stamp an image in one colour and add one embellishment that related to the image. Very fun!

This is another Recollections card base. The image is Inkadinkado Hearts. The heart brad is from Multicrafts. The sentiment is TPC Studio Hugs and Kisses.

This is another great challenge for working out issues with clean and simple cards. I think this is a wonderful Valentine. I love it!

Please enjoy and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

365 White Space

Hello everyone,

This post in one of two for today. The 365 Cards blog had a great challenge yesterday and another today that I just couldn't resist so I was a bit of a card-making fool. The first challenge was to stamp only in the bottom right corner of the card and leave the rest white. The challenge was so irresistible that I made three cards.

I thought I would try some new card bases, these are from Recollections. The images are all Stampin' Up Circle Circus in Dusty Durango, Bermuda Bay and Rich Razzleberry. Each one is highlighted with a coordinating Peggy's Pretties. The sentiment is Gina K. Tag, You're It!

I just love the simplicity of these cards. I really could have kept going and going. This challenge is perfect if you're trying to get comfortable with clean and simple cards. The only problem I have with these cards is photographing them. I suspect it would be easier if I photographed in daylight but that is long gone by the time I get creative. It seemed to work reasonably well photographing the three cards together.

Please enjoy and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Another Four Challenge Valentine

Hello everyone,

Well it is the season and I just can't seem to stop with the Valentines. Goodness knows what I'm going to do with them all. This card is inspired by today's 365 Cards blog which asked for a dominant heart shape, the ABC Challenge was to use something new, Creative Inspirations was looking for pink and cream and Creative Belli was looking for riboons.

The card base is Stampin' Up Very Vanilla. The heart is woven with an assortment of strips of Stampin' Up Sending Love Specialty paper. The ribbon is a dollar store find. The sentiment is TPC Studio Hugs and Kisses.

I just love this card! I'm sure I didn't do the weave properly but it seemed to turn out OK anyway. The paper and ribbon are both new. I also just love the pink and cream combination, it's a classic.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Classy Retirement

Hello everyone,

Today's card was a request from a friend for a colleague's upcoming retirement. The request was for something classy and elegant. I used yesterday's 365 Cards sketch challenge and Saturday's pink and brown Allsorts challenge to help me focus.
The background paper is old stash from Sandylion - Stonewashed Pink and Paisley Pink. I also used some Stampin' Up Very Vanilla and Chocolate Chip. The flowers are Flower Factory stamped in Color Box Velvet and highlighted with cinnamon Stickles. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Warmest Regards. The ribbon is American Crafts Brown Ruffles.

I just love pink and brown together. I think it is a very timeless combination that works very well for my friend's colleague. I also found this sketch very appealing as the inverted triangle at the top was so unusual.

Please enjoy and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Five Challenge Card

Hello everyone,

I didn't plan to one-up yesterday's four challenge card, it just happened that I came across five challenges today that fit together beautifully on one card. Today's 365 Cards wanted to see metal. The ABC challenge was looking for layers. Crafty Creations called for black and white with a splash of color. Flutter By Wednesdays, in addition to angels, fairies or butterflies, wanted us to use something new. The Diva Coffee Break Design Team provided the overall sketch.

I started with a Halcraft card base on which I layered Stampin' Up Basic Black and Shimmery White. The white layer was textured with the Spellbinder Impressabilities Butterfly plate. I used a new piece of paper, gcd Studios Tinted Flowers designer paper. The metal flower brads are from Multicrafts. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Short & Sweet.

I really love this card. Considering how many challenges have been used on this one card, it should be busy, but it isn't. I did add a sentiment to the sketch because I felt it was needed. I also used dimensionals on everything and it certainly provided great depth. Maybe that's why it appeals to me so much. I figure this card will easily pass for a Valentine even with nary a heart in sight.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Five For Friday

Happy New Year!

It was a spectacular lazy day today and frankly, much needed. Amidst all the laziness, I still found some time to make up a card. I turned to the 365 Cards blog which has called for a five for five challenge. Five elements, five times on one card.

The card base is my standard Halcraft. The five turquoise strips are DCWV textured card stock. The five brads are from Multicraft. The five flowers and five flourishes are Stampin' Up Itty Bitty Bits in Bermuda Bay. The flowers are highlighted with Star Dust Stickles. The bows are Holiday Ribbon Bow-tique from Michaels.

I'm not sure how I would use this card. It would be good for a wedding, birthday, thank you. I'll figure it out at some point. It was very easy to put together once I figured out the five elements I wanted to use. It is a more graphic card than I usually make but I like it none-the-less.

I hope you had a wonderful new year and I wish you all the best in 2010. Enjoy this card and please come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Three Flourishes

Hello everyone,

Today's card is inspired by the 365 Cards blog which has called for a card with three flourishes. I choose to make a clean and simple card using three different hearts because tomorrow is my wedding anniversary and this is the card I'll give to my ever-loving and well-deserving husband.

I started with a Halcraft card base. The heart brad is from Multicrafts. The DecoArt Glamour dusted heart was cut with the Sizzix Hearts, Paisley Sizzlit. The stamped heart is a peg stamp from Rubber Stamp Tapestry. The sentiment is Gina K. Designs Tag Lines. All the ink is Stampin' Up Real Red.

This was a super quick and easy card and I think it will be just perfect for our anniversary.

I hope you like this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Daring Circles

Hello everyone,

Today's card is not, I repeat not, a Christmas card. I'm not ill, I'm not uninspired, I just found a couple of challenges that inspired a birthday card. This card was made for today's 365 Cards challenge - to use ten circles on a card and the Color Dare challenge - to use Stampin' Up Soft Suede, Pretty in Pink and Old Olive.

The card base is Halcraft. The images are all Stampin' Up Circle Circus. The sentiment is from Waltzingmouse. The squares are outlined with Crystal Ice Stickles.
This was a pretty easy card once I got the elements figured out. As I was stickling though, I thought that I should have textured the three squares for more dimension. It would have looked pretty nice textured with circles. I could have stickled each of the circles too. Maybe I'll try a second card when I've an extra moment. Oh well, regardless, I still like this card.
I hope you enjoy these circles and come back to SPI again soon.
Gisèle