Color Me Creative - Fall Colors Challenge

"Fall Colors" is the theme for the latest Color Me Creative challenge.  It's apple orchard time around here and the orchards are full of my favorite ripe, juicy apples.  It motivates me to make apple rhubarb crisps and homemade vanilla ice cream . . . yum!

I decided to stay in the deep reds, rust, orange and brown colors for my card.  I've been using digis an awfully lot lately, but for this card I pulled out an old red rubber stamp!  It's from my collection of Karen Lockhart stamps.  The photo doesn't really pick up some of the variation on my apples.  Up along the stem, you can see a hint of YG03 under the red.  The reds are R20, 24, 27 & 59 in the shadows.  I pulled out my white gel pen to add some highlights.

Just a few more days until the OWH Blog Hop.  I'll be waiting for you to hop on back!

Challenges Entered:
Paper Playtime - apples
Cute Card Thursday - ribbon
A.R.T. Card Challenge - anything goes
Friday Mashup - colors and fruit
Crazy 4 Challenges - use a bow
Marker POP! - fall theme
Oozak Blog - fall

Sketch Saturday #278

It's already the last Saturday of September - where does the time go?!?  There's a new sketch for you to play with that leaves lots of room for interpretation.

Talk about sweet - isn't this digi  (My Baby Brother) from A Day for Daisies precious?  This week's sketch was a perfect choice for the image,  I added a die cut star and used a swirl die cut  to add a little something extra to the upper right corner.  The digi is a freebie, so you could pop on over to the site and download one for yourself!



I can't wait to see what you have in store for us at Sketch Saturday!  Wings and Willows is sponsoring this week's challenge.


October 2nd is the first day of a month long blog hop that benefits Operation Write Home.  Hope you will stop back on the 2nd and play along with the Hop.


Challenges Entered:
Party Time Tuesdays - anything goes
Shopping Our Stash - something for a child  (this one is going to a new Big brother)
Creative Inspirations - your favorite stamp brands - A Day for Daisies
Simon Says Stamp - anything goes
Cute Card Thursday - ribbon
A Day for Daisies - use buttons and/or bows

Sister Act Challenge # 26

Another Friday, which means a new anything goes challenge at the Sister Act Challenge Blog.  We have two sponsors  Digi Darla Designs and QKR Stampede and that means two winners will be chosen!

I'm using a Dilly Beans image for my card this week.  This one is called Candy Witch Framed (#241).  I actually had a hard time coloring her hat.  I think it was because I had to jump from a C5 to a C9.  I tried to create the mid-color by inking my C5 with the C9. I was working on fast drying paper, and the hat is a bit big for that technique.

The black patterned papers are oldies from My Mind's Eye.  There are lots of details that my camera didn't pick up.  I used Crystal Effects on the candy to give it dimension and make it shine.  Sequins are in the center of each of the circles on the orange paper. Stickles adorn the white circles behind the witch as well as her hat band and eye lids.  The words are printer generated using the Courier New font and doodled around to create rectangles.  The idea is a CASE from Dilly Bean's artist, Megan Suarez.

I created three different versions, trying a little something different with the shading on each.  This one has the light coming from the upper left.  I ended up using my white gel pen to create highlights.  Keep an eye out for me to post one of the other versions in the coming weeks.

I'll have two extra posts this week - one is for Color Me Creative on the 29th and another post on October 2nd.  I'm part of a Blog Hop for Operation Write Home.  Hope you'll stop back.

Challenges Entered:
Silly Dilly Beans - Jewels/glitter
Sketch and Stash - sketch
Use It Tuesday - use 2 hoarded items (paper & crystal effects)
Party Time Tuesdays - anything goes
Simon Says Stamp - anything goes
A.R.T. Card Challenge - anything goes
Oozak Blog - fall

Sketch Saturday - Sketch #277

This week's Sketch Saturday card features another sweet Lili of the Valley fairy from my black and white sketch pad purchase.  A new 6 x 6 pad of My Mind's Eye papers from Michaels provided my color palette.  I wanted to bring a pop of color into the card, so I chose coral and colored her hair garland and brought the color into the wand and a strip of paper on the diagonal line of the sketch.













Here's a close up of this Dandelion Fairy.  I used Perfect Pearls for the flower centers and Stickles on the wings.  Surprisingly, the photo caught the shimmer of the Stickles.  I wasn't sure about the diagonal paper strip.  It's got many of the other colors in the papers.  Overall, I think the coral works - don't you?

Bunny Zoe Crafts is our sponsor this week.  I hope you will play along with this fun sketch!  

Challenges entered:

Make it Monday:  Anything Goes

Tuesday Throwdown - Things with Wings

Party Time Tuesday #138 - Color Challenge

Simon Says Stamp - STAMPtender Challenge - using Stickles and Perfect Pearls from SSS

Divas by Design - anything goes

Flutterby Wednesday

Cute Card Thursday - anything with a fairy

Crafty Little Fairies - birthday

Designed to Color - anything goes

MarkerPOP! - anything goes

Desert Island Crafts - itinerary: #1, 3, 4, 5, 6

Sister Act Challenge #25

Friday means another anything goes challenge over at the Sister Act Challenge Blog.  My image is a digi from Stamp Fairy.    I love the rich tones of the papers and tried to pick those colors up in my owls.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but the eyes are popped out with foam pieces.

The base is kraft cardstock.  I brought out my SU! French script stamp for the background and layered papers on top of it,  The buttons with twine were just right in creating the finishing touch.

Hope you will link one of your cards up at Sister Act this week.  The webstore Stamp and Create is our sponsor.





Challenges Entered:
Designed to Color - anything goes
Friday Mash Up - Fall
Use it Tuesday - Friendship  (used my stash of buttons)

Sketch Saturday #276

A Day for Daisies has so many fun images to color.  I went shopping and picked up a few new digis.  This one is called Picked Flowers.  She has such a vintage feel to her.  I've seen some beautiful vintage cards as I have visited blogs, and was inspired to make some ribbon flowers. My attempts were abysmal, so I settled for rhinestones.  I think the papers are perfect, but the card feels a little plain (compared to the idea I had in my head).  

Our new Sketch Saturday sketch presented a problem solving opportunity for me this week. I don't have any tall, thin ovals, so I ended up creating one by using the long curve of a Taylored Expressions pennant die and part of the Papertrey Birthday die from for the top and bottom parts of the oval! Take a look at the other DT cards.  I know they came up with some fabulous interpretations of the sketch.  This week is a Simon Says Stamp sponsor week with a $25 prize.  Hope you enter!

Sister Act Challenge #24

Sympathy cards always provide a unique challenge for me.  I try to create something that matches the occasion, while at the same time communicates an elegant simplicity. Colors always run through my mind - something that is quiet,  yet isn't too solemn.  I think both of these cards fit the bill.

Unfortunately,  I needed two cards recently; one for a male and the other for a female.  I pulled out a stamp I had on my shelf and with some simple coloring, let the flowers do the talking.  The border and rhinestones on the bottom card really tied everything on the card together.


Taking a beautiful stamp and keeping the card simple is the way to go for me when it comes to these kinds of cards.  I don't typically have sympathy cards in my stash, but I think I will make a couple more similar to these to have on hand.

Stop by the Sister Act Challenge Blog to see what the other DT members have created.  Digital Delights by Louby Loo is sponsoring this week's challenge.  There are some fun September new releases to check out!

Sketch Saturday #275

Deb created this week's Sketch Saturday sketch and the challenge sponsor is the etsy shop Whimsy and Stars Studio.  I am using one of their fall digis called Alex's Pumpkin.  Isn't he just darling? Maybelle (the artist) has so many sweet-faced children to choose from!

I dug into my scrap drawer for the papers. (Something I am trying to develop a habit of doing lately!)  I stippled the ground to make it look like fall leaves under his feet.

True confessions  - I started out trying to make khaki-colored pants, but couldn't find the right colors so I settled for brown!  If anyone has a Copic color combo for a nice khaki, please feel free to leave your ideas in a comment!

Be sure to see what the DT members have come up with to inspire you this week.  Can't wait to see what you do with the sketch!


Challenges entered:

Make it Monday - anything goes
Paper Playtime - 3 different papers
Party Time Tuesdays - grandparents day card