CAS Colours & Sketches - Challenge #253

Our CC&S Challenge this week is to choose a sketch from 2017 and create a seasonal card.   I used sketch #214 and brought out the wreath embossing folder I used for my "Joy" card again.  Last year I was lucky enough to win a card challenge sponsored by DRS Designs and picked up this cute pinecone stamp.  I used Copics and colored pencils for coloring (including the pinecone tips with E41) along with some Stickles for a little extra sparkle and then fussy cut the pinecone.  It's the first time I've inked it up and am so pleased with how it turned out!!





















This will be our last challenge for 2017; you have two weeks to enter.   We'll be back on January 9th with a sketch challenge featuring our new DT members.  Hope you will join us in the new year!


Challenges Entered:
Colouring in Scrapland/December /- Christmas
Crafty Cardmakers #202 /-  Christmas
Simon Monday Challenge/ - Christmas
Use Your Stuff #292/ - Christmas is Coming
Penny Black & More/ - December/CAS
Christmas Card Throwdown/ - Pick a previous challenge from 2012 or 2013  (Challenge #9/Sept. 2012 red, brown, white)

CAS Colours & Sketches - Challenge #252

CAS Colours and Sketches will have two challenges this month.  The first is a colour challenge.  We'd like you to choose one of our colour challenges from 2017 and use it in a seasonal card.

My card uses Challenge #233 from May 16th, using Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand, and Sweet Sugarplum, which are the colors in this Christmas card.   The stamp is called Believe in Magic from Mama Elephant.  The globe is die cut out of the white card back, stamped on panel of Sahara Sand and mounted behind the white card back. I used white embossing powder for the globe outline, stars, moon and bubbles at the top if the globe and then added extra dots with a white paint pen.










The base of the globe is stamped in Rich Razzleberry on the card back and the sentiment is stamped in Rich Razzleberry and white embossing powder, then mounted on Sweet Sugarplum.  A few sequins finished off the card, while maintaining lots of white space.
The rest of the DT's cards can be seen here.  Take a look and then play along with us!

Challenges Entered:
Dream Valley #169/ - Christmas
Make My Monday Nov. 27/ - Christmas
Path of Positivity #54/ - Festivities
AAA Cards #104/ - Christmas
Come and Get It December /- Christmas
Penny Black and More December/ - CAS
Pile it on #137/- Non-Traditional Christmas Colors

My Time to Craft #360 - Sketch Challenge

Meena created the sketch for  My Time to Craft Blog's Challenge #360.   My newest stamp purchase from PTI came to mind right away for my card- which uses masking and lots of layers.

The birch background is stamped using Fine Linen on white paper to create a background behind the the red vase from PTI's Flower Power Stamp Set.  I used the daisy-like flower as a poinsettias to make a seasonal design. The darker greenery and the vase are stamped directly on the same paper layer as the birch background.   I stamped the red poinsettias, white ball flower stems, and the round green leaves on separate paper, fussy cut them, and glued them onto the image panel.  The white poinsettia was stamped on kraft, treated with white heat embossing and popped out along with the center to add extra dimension.   An older PTI set was used for the sentiment as well.

I have a feeling I will get lots of use out of both of these new PTI stamp purchases!!

I hope you will find inspiration from the other MTTC DT members and play along with our challenge.  You have until December 15th to enter!

Challenges Entered:
PTI Make It Monday #305/ - Lots of Layers
Aud Sentiments #194/ - Christmas + a Sentiment
Through the Purple Haze #139- Layers/ (more than 3)
The Merry Christmas Challenge #45/ - AG

CAS Colours & Sketches #251 - Sketch Challenge

Hope you had fun with our 5th Birthday Celebration Challenge last week.   The prize winners will be announced on the CC&S Blog on November 30th.

Samantha has a fun design for Challenge #251.  True to the sketch, I kept the sentiment the focal point and used some of my stash of patterned paper for the background.  Looking through my collection of sentiments, I found this one from MFT.  A die cut word "you" replaced the one in the sentiment.  I sampled around with lots of colors of stamps and embossing powders to find the right combination with the tangerine tango and ended up creating an aqua color by blending some Wild Wasabi with Tempting Turquoise.


This close up shows what you might expect from mixing the two colors, but the eye takes it in as one color - a little along the lines of Pool Party.


I am looking forward to seeing your creations in the CAS Colours & Sketches gallery this week.  Take a peek at the DT's inspiration cards here!

Challenges Entered:
Always Fun Challenges #34/ - AG
Cards in Envy/ - Only Paper (Nov. 20)
Use Your Stuff #290/ - Heat Embossing
Pile It On #136/ - Large Sentiment

CAS Colours and Sketches - 5th Birthday Celebration!! & Challenge #250

Hello!  It’s an exciting time at CAS Colours & Sketches this week!  We’re celebrating our challenge blog’s 5th birthday with challenge #250!

To thank our challenge participants for helping us to reach this amazing milestone, five lucky players in this week's challenge will be chosen to win an in-stock clear stamp set of their choice from Uniko!   In addition, five of our design team members are giving away prizes - but you'll need to leave a comment on the DT members' blog to be eligible to win.   You won’t want to miss out on this event!  All of the details are on the CC&S Blog, so pop by the blog and play along.  Don't forget to leave a comment here and on the CC&S Blog (with a way for us to contact you).  You just might be one of the winners of the Uniko stamp set or one of the DT's prizes!

Stick It Down - November Card Sketch

This month's sketch for Stick It Down was fun to play with.  When I was making my "Let It Snow" card for last week's CC&S challenge, I decided to use the negative space from the glittery paper from one of the sentiment die cuts for this challenge.   Embossing the top portion of the card back, adding the ribbon with a bow, and putting a border on the bottom of the card finished it off.












Hope you will add your card to the Stick It Down gallery!  I can't wait to see how you interpret the sketch!

Challenges Entered:
Paper Players #371/ - Warm & Cozy
Addicted to CAS #124/ - Bows
Crafty Catz #393/ - AG
Simply Create Too November/ - CAS

My Time to Craft #359 - Winter Birthday

Amy is the creative mind behind the Winter Birthday theme of the newest challenge on the My Time to Craft Challenge Blog.  I am featuring a digi from the talents of artist Sandra Caldwell for my card.  You can find the image (and hundreds more!) in her Babycakes Design and Digis Etsy Shop; it's called 1018 Reindeer Child.  I love Sandra's quirky eye and her unique illustrative style.

MTTC challenges run for a fortnight, so you have plenty of time to check out the DT creations and then enter a card in the gallery!  We'd love to visit you blog and leave you some love!

Challenges Entered:
Crafty Catz #393 - AG
Pattie's Creations #140 - Birthdays

CAS Colours & Sketches #249 - Sketch Challenge

 Samantha has a unique sketch challenge for us to play with this week on the CC&S Challenge Blog.  I decided to use a die cut I've had since last winter and since it is a sentiment, I used a snowflake behind it where Samantha's sketch suggested a sentiment.  The card back came already embossed with snowflakes and was an after Christmas sale purchases I picked up at Michaels.  I think a pack of 10 cards and envelopes were less than two dollars.  Too good of a sale for me to resist!  You can't tell by the photo, but all of the white paper is glittery.

I hope you will try your hand at our sketch challenge.  I can't wait to see the creativity in the CAS Colours and Sketches gallery!

Challenges Entered:
Make My Monday #59- Snow Fun
Glitter N' Sparkle #265 - AG

CAS Colours & Sketches - Challenge 248

Samantha is the mastermind behind November's CC&S challenges and she has a colour challenge for us this week using Emerald Envy, Metallic Silver, and Tranquil Tide.  Without any of the inks, no silver paper, and only Tranquil Tide in my paper stash, this color combination had me stumped.  As I went through my collection of supplies, I spotted the wreath embossing folder and then settled on making a Christmas card.  I hunted through my embossing powders and found pewter to pair with the Technique Tuesday sentiment, used my G16 Copic on the leaves to highlight the dimension.  Three sequins and some silver and white twine finished off the card.


Take a peek at the DT inspiration HERE and then play along with us this week.  Can't wait to see where this combination takes you!

Challenges Entered:
Get Creative Challenge #64 - Holidays
Christmas Card Challenge #25 - Christmas
Craft Rockets #43 - Christmas is Coming!
As You Like It - Christmas/non Christmas  - Christmas (right now) because I only use the stamps during the season, so they stay new and fresh!
Use Your Stuff #285 - Take 5 (twine, sequins, embossing folder, Copics, pewter embossing powder)

My Time to Craft Challenge #358 - Paper Piecing

Back again with Monika's challenge from on the  My Time to Craft Blog.  It's all about paper piecing.  I went to my stamp collection and found this sweet fairy and teacup from A Day for Daisies.   I paper pieced the dress, wings, and teacup and colored her hair, body, and the teabag.  The sentiment is from Little Inker's Coffee Cozy Stamp Set, but is perfect for a cup of tea, too!

Hope you will pull out your scissors and join us with some fun paper pieced cards and share them in the My Time to Craft gallery.

Challenges Entered:
Jo's Scrap Shack FFC#213/ - AG
Really Reasonable Ribbon #175/ - AG
Cute Card Thursday #502/ - AG
Aud Sentiments #192/ - Bingo (middle column)

CAS Colours & Sketches - Challenge #247

The fifth Tuesday of the month means the CAS Colours and Sketches Blog has a double challenge for you!  Emily has a lovely color combination and a very simple sketch!  I knew what I wanted to do from the beginning, but had trouble executing my vision.  I wanted to stamp the PTI sentiment directly on white paper, but I had trouble with the stamp and my Mini-Misty (and then there was the lining it up multiple times!!).  I had more success with strips of paper and then decided to heat emboss with white.  It's definitely a CAS looking card!

Hope you will play along with us this week.  I can't wait to see what you do with Emily's sketch!

CAS Colours & Sketches Challenge #246 - Sketch Challenge

It's a sketch challenge week on the CAS Colours & Sketches blog.  At first, I thought I would use balloons for this sketch, but Right At Home's Abstract Floral stamp set called to me instead.  I pulled out my Distress Inks, watercolor paper, and my spray bottle and went to work! After stamping the first layer and letting it dry over night, the outlines and details were stamped with SU! inks.  The sentiment was on my desktop from a different card (because I sampled different colors of embossing powder and the orange was a reject for that card, but perfect for this one!).  I'm not so crazy about all of the dots in the background - there are too many of them, but once they're stamped you can't take them back!  Lesson learned!

The color combination makes for a lovely fall birthday card and I have just the person in mind to give it to!  Last week, the leaves on the trees in my neighborhood had these colors in them.  After some rain this weekend, most are off the trees - and out weather folks are predicting snow next weekend . . . brrrr!  I'm not ready for that!

Hope to see your card in the CC&S gallery this week.  Pop over and check out the DT's inspiration!



Challenges Entered:
A2Z Scrapbooking October Challenge/ - Watercolor
A Bit More Time to Craft #54/ - AG
Penny Black & More October /- Close to Nature
Stamping Sensations October/ - Autumn Glory
Inspired By All the Little Things #69/ - photo challenge

Stick It Down - October Card Sketch

Today is reveal day for the card sketch team on the Stick It Down Challenge Blog.  Birthday cards are always great to have in your card collection.  I loved using letter dies for this card.  The colors make it great for a fall birthday as well as give it a male feel.

The candle stamp is Concord Plus 9th's Eat Cake and Celebrate and the letter dies are PTI's Modern Alphabet, which have been in my stash for years!  The photo doesn't show it well, but I used Wink of Stella on the candles and in the letters of the word birthday.

You can see what the rest of the DT did with this month's sketch here.  Hope you have time to play along with us this month!

Challenges Entered:
A Bit More Time to Craft #54/ - AG
Connie Can Crop #63/ - To Die For
Happy Little Stampers October /- AG with Dies
Dream Valley Challenges #166/ - Birthdays
613 Avenue Create #202/ - AG/Optional Twist - Masculine Card

My Time to Craft Challenge #357- Halloween or Cats

Suzanne is this week's My Time To Craft theme designer and she has chosen Halloween or Cats for us to play with.  I've used a digi stamp from QKR Stampede called Autumn Breeze for my Halloween image.  I paired her with some textured paper I found on clearance at Micheals a year ago - which was perfect with this scarecrow image!  The sentiment is from PTI's Keep It Simple Birthday III Mini stamp set.

I had fun coloring this image.  I've been taking a self-paced online class called, Marker Painting Foundations  from Amy Shulke at Vanilla Arts and am trying to practice using what I have learned on all of the images I color.  One of the things Amy teaches is using colored pencil on top of  Copics to add additional depth and highlights.  I've also changed my technique to coloring from dark to light - which has been a big adjustment.  The other secret trick is using N0 or N2 to shade under the colors.  I've been learning a lot and recommend the class if you want to work on your shading and blending.

Hope you will join us this week.  Before you get started, take a peek at the DT creations on the MTTC Challenge Blog!

Challenges Entered:
Alphabet Challenge/ - P is for Pumpkin
Crafty Catz #389/ - AG with Autumn Colors
QKR Stampede #266/ - AG
Aud Sentiments #191/ - Halloween + Sentiment
Moving Along with the Times #56/ - Autumn/Fall
Seize the Birthday 10/12/ - AG
Time Out Challenge #94/ - Photo Inspiration

CAS Colours & Sketches #245 - Colour Challenge

Happy Tuesday, CC&S Fans!

The third Tuesday of the month means a color challenge and Emily has a great combination for us this week.  I used two stamps from Altenew's Bamboo Rose set and Scripty Sayings 2 Gina K Designs' for my card.  My fellow DT member Samantha uses watercolors so beautifully on her cards, I was inspired to give them a try this week and combined pulled out some gold embossing powder for the line work.  It's a beautiful combination!  Thanks for the inspiration, Samantha!

Check out the rest of the DT work here and then share your creation in the CAS Colours and Sketches gallery this week!  We're announcing a DT call; read more about it on the CC&S Blog.

Challenges Entered:
Addicted to Stamps #155/- AG with Flowers
Glitter 'N' Sparkle #261/ - AG
Penny Black October - Close to Nature
Sweet Stampin' Oct 14/ - Sparkle & Shine
Colour Crazy Challenge #41/ - AG
Creative Knockouts #215/ - CAS

CAS Colours & Sketches #244 - Sketch Challenge

We have a sketch challenge for you this week on the CAS Colours and Sketches Challenge Blog.  The sketch inspired a sympathy card for a collegue, using a simple branch and leaf die set I have had in my collect for a while.  I don't even remember which company they came from.  Since it's fall here in the midwestern US, I started with kraft paper and colored the leaves and branch to reflect what I see out my window.

Emily's sketch has so many possible interpretations!  I hope you will join us and look forward to seeing what you post in the CC&S gallery!

Challenges Entered:
Cards In Envy/ Oct. 2 - Fall Leaves
Ooh La La Creations #239/ - Die cuts
A Bit More Time to Craft #53/ - AG
Aud Sentiments #190/ - Die Cut + Sentiment

My Time To Craft Challenge #356 - Sympathy

I'm delighted to announce my debut as part of the My Time to Craft Challenge Blog DT.  I was so excited when Shell asked me to join the group.  One of the things that appealed to me about the MTTC Blog is using my stash to create cards for you, so I'm happy to share this sympathy card using an "oldie but goodie" stamp from PTI - Harvest Berries and a newer sentiment from PTI's Ways to Say Collection - With Sympathy.

I colored the branch and trimmed around the rectangle of white paper and mounted another rectangle of brown behind it as a frame.  My original idea was to use a Bravo Burgundy card base.  There was enough room on the white rectangle to mask the sentiment on two lines.  Well,  I was using a Cherry Cobbler stamp pad that was seven or eight year old (and noticed the tell-tale gold sheen on top of the stamp pad).  The red smeared when I mounted the panel on the card base!!  I was faced with the decision to either recolor the card or create Plan B - which you see here!  Stampin' Dimensionals are behind the branch - and my Cherry Cobbler ink pad is in the trash!!

I hope you will play along with our challenge this fortnight.  Sympathy cards are a little sobering to make, but they are always good to have on hand.  Before you get started, take a peek at the rest of the MTTC DT inspiration here.  You just might get bragging rights as one of our Top 3 and post the badge on your blog!  Hope to see you in the gallery!

Challenges Entered:
Crafty Catz #387/ - AG/optional CAS
Pattie's Creations #139 - Shades of Autumn
Creative Knockouts #214/ - AG
Addicted to Stamps #262/ - Make Your Mark

CAS Colours and Sketches #243 - Colour Challenge

Back with this week's color challenge.  Emily is hosting the CC&S challenges this month and she's got three fun colors for us to play with - Pumpkin Pie, Crumb Cake and Pear Pizzaz.  I know this colored image isn't exactly simple, so I left that for the card design.  The oval shape has been sitting on my desk since last fall, so it was wonderful to use it over the image and then adhere both to a Crumb Cake card back.  The image is called Tiny Townie Fay Loves Fall from Stamping Bella.

Hope you will join our CAS Colours and Sketches challenge this week.  Hope to see your card in the gallery!

Challenges Entered:
Cards In Envy 10/2/ - Fall leaves
Color Inspiration Monthly Challenge - October
Dream Valley #164/ - One for the Girls
Oh-La-La Creations #238/ - Harvest Time
Dare 2 B Artzy October - Fall Colors
Dragonfly Journeys #102/ - Pumpkin Spice
Stamping Sensations October - Autumn Glory

CAS Colours & Sketches #242 - Sketch Challenge

I bet I am not the only person who loves using things that have been in my stash for several years.  Today's CC&S Challenge #242 card is one of those stash moments.  Anyone who is a Stampin' Up! fan will remember both the felt flowers and the corduroy covered brads and buttons from more than seven years ago.  When I saw Fiona's sketch, I immediately thought of the felt flower as the middle circle - and I happily created a card.  As I uploaded it, I realized the card didn't really match the sketch - so back to the drawing board making a card with the idea, but one more true to the sketch.

Even the pink polka dot paper is old stash supply from a PTI purchase.  The sentiment is from their Keep It Simple:  Happy Birthday  mini stamp set.  The card has a clunky feel in this photo, but looks better in real life.  I actually like the first version better (scroll down and you can see it below).  Both are super CAS, plus there's the satisfaction of digging into my drawers of stash and using supplies!!

Thanks for a great month of challenges, Fiona.  I hope you will join us this week.  Looking forward to seeing your card in the CAS Colours and Sketches Gallery!

CAS Colours & Sketches #241 - Colour Challenge

Hi CAS Fans,
Fiona has a colour sketch for us this week.  I decided to go very simple and used pewter embossing powder to outline my stamped image from Stamping Bella -  Mason Jar of Flowers.  I then used my blender pen and Perfect Plum ink to color the flowers and ribbon.  I came back with a little Not Quite Navy on top for shading and a hint of green colored pencil.  The sentiment is from Little Inkers and is cut from Dapper Denim paper.

Hope you will join us for the CAS Colours and Sketches challenge this week.  Take a look at what the DT did with Fiona's colour choices HERE.

Making Memories September Challenge - Team B

Challenge #9 on the Making Memories Crafting Blog is a color challenge.  I used the color palette for the image, Growing A Flower from A Day for Daisies.  I wanted to keep the background simple, so I popped on a strip of patterned paper and kept lots of white visible.

You have the rest of the month to play along with the challenge.  Take a peer at the Making Memories Blog to see Team B's makes using the colors.

Di's Digis is this month's challenge sponsor. The prize is a $12 store credit!  Hope to see you in the gallery!












Challenges Entered:
Copic Spain September Challenge/ - AG
Craft-Dee Bowz - September Challenge/ - AG/handmade bow
Crafty Hazelnt's Patterned Paper Challenge/Sept /- AG
Aud Sentiments #188 /- AG + sentiment
Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge #15/ - Top left Column