Freshly Made Challenge #31

Today, my husband asked if I would make a sympathy card for a man at work whose father passed away.  I don't know about you, but I don't like making sympathy cards.  I guess no one does really - usually the recipient is sad.  I always feel like the sympathy card has to be somber and peaceful at the same time.  And truthfully, I like happy cards with lots of ribbon and color and flowers.  Anyway, to add to the difficulty, this had to be a masculine card.  I decided to use the sketch from this week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches (click HERE to visit their site) as a starting point. 

Here's the sketch:

And here's my card:



I kept pretty true to the sketch.  In fact, I like this sketch way more than I thought I would at first glance and I can picture myself using it again. However, I hope that next time it will be a bright, cheery card for a fun and festive occasion. 

Recipe:
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Retired DSP from SU, Crumb Cake CS
Stamps:  Just Believe, Close as a Memory (retired)
Other:  Linen Thread

Have a great day,

Linda

Finally, a challenge or two

I carved out a little stamping time tonight.  I have been a bit lapse on entering some of my favorite challenges, so I made that my goal.  Although I only managed to get a few cards done, I was thrilled to be back to challenges.  I combined two this evening - a color challenge and a sketch.  The colors came courtesy of Pals Paper Arts:

The sketch is from Freshly Made Sketches:

Now for my card:

 
My son needed a "girly" card for a friend's Sweet 16 party this weekend.  The invitation was pink and green with flowers and a ribbon.  I decided to incorporate those elements in the card and the color challenge was obviously perfect.  At first, I tried using SU's wide pink ribbon for the horizontal component, but despite SEVERAL attempts,  I just couldn't make it work.  So I ruffled the edge of the circle element and got the "girly" effect I was after.

I hope you get a chance to play with both of these fabulous challenges.  Click on the links above to visit their sites.  Even if you don't play along, you'll find tons of inspiration.

It's nice to be back.

Have a nice night!

Linda

Shamelessy Stolen Easter Treats!

That title says it all........

I have shamelessy stolen cased two fabulous ideas and made them my own.  Take a peek at Easter Treat Case #1:

Oh my - I got this idea from a very talented stamper, Sarah Wills.  She used the Mixed Bunch stamp set and Blossoms punch for hers.  However, I don't have those, so I improvised!  I was happy with the result.  For some of the "flowers" I set the stamped image right over the card stock piece (popped with a dimensional for a 3-D effect) and others were offset from the cardstock adding a bit more color.  Here's a close-up:

Also, Sarah used "Rolo" candies on her flowers, but my family is big into "Peanut Butter Cups," so I made the switch for my flower bunch.

And now for Easter Treat #2:

How stinkin' cute is this?!?! This gem came from Michelle Last who had a fabulous video tutorial that helped me case this project.   I loved the idea, but again, changed the colors and stamp to suit my taste.  If you look carefully, you will see that the jelly beans are all red, pink and purple with one apple green tucked in there.  These are Starburst Jelly Beans and I put my favorite colors in this sample as I plan to eat it myself!!  Shhhh.....

Here is a close-up of the chubby chick...

So there you have it.  My cased Easter crafts.  Courtesy of Sarah and Michelle. 

Shameless, I know.

Have a good weekend!

Linda