Sunflower Studio

CHEERS POLLY!

I just love all of Anna Wight's images for Whipper Snapper.  That gal is soooo talented!  I bought "Polly" here a few months back.  She reminds me of my sister.  She used to have those pigtails when she was a little girl.

This card is for a challenge swap with one of my Yahoo groups.  The inspiration was this fancy shmancy cake.  THAT CAKE looks so yummy.  I'm not sure where the original photo came from by it makes me think of the ACE of CAKES.  I love that show and the fact that it's filmed right down the road in Baltimore.  Who knew they could do all of that with CAKE!

Supplies:  Stamps - Polly by Anna Wight for Whipper Snapper, flower by Stampendous, sentiment from A Muse; CS - Basic Black, Pink Passion, Only Orange, Green Galore by SU!, watercolor paper; Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, various for watercoloring Polly; Other - Copic markers, orange Stickles, black brads, waterbrush.

BLOGGER'S CHALLENGE #52 - MANLY CARDS

WOW!  52 weeks of Blogger's Challenge's already!  How can it be that we've been doing this every week for a year already?!  Big, big thanks to Lisa Somerville for keeping the group going.

This week we'll all be featuring MANLY cards.  I bought this stamp before Father's Day.  It's so 'classic'...I just loved it.  However, I never got around to using it for Father's day.  There's always next year!  The stamp is by Printworks.  I had a great source for Printworks stamps when I was in Illinois but haven't found another since we moved back to MD.  Their stamps are lovely though and they have some really nice quotes.  You can go directly to the Printworks site and check them out.

This card also uses the colors in this week's Splitcoast Color Challenge #171 - Kraft, Black, and Soft Sky.  What a great color combo!  The patterned paper is from the Archaic 6x6 pad by Basic Grey and it matched perfectly.  The sentiment is by A Muse.  It's all watercolored with SU! reinkers and a waterbrush.  The ribbon is by SU! (Kraft taffetta) and black striped from Michael's.  I even broke out my Making Memories Distressing tool.

FOR A SPECIAL TEACHER

Finally...the last day of school!  I can't believe the kids are getting out so late this year.  Could it be because we had 3 "snow" days?  And I use that term very loosely since we didn't ACTUALLY have any SNOW on any of our 3 SNOW days?  We did have some minor icing...and some threats of ice.  I know, I know...they're trying to keep the kids safe.  All I have to say is - we NEVER even had ONE snow day in the four years that we lived in Chicago!  They just don't know what to do with the white stuff here in MD like they do in the Midwest.

Okay, enough complaining.   We've been crazy busy around here and all of our events converged into this one week...end of school, end of baseball, in-laws coming, Father's Day activities.  I woke up at 4:00 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep.  I decided to use that time to get some cards made for the teachers.  This being the last day and all, I knew that we'd be running up to the store for some gift cards and flowers before school.  Nothing like waiting 'til the last minute.

This image is Peter.  He's another Anna Wight illustrated stamp from Whipper Snapper Designs.  Could he be any cuter?!  And I dressed him up like my little guy...the camo pants (camos are cool), orange t-shirt (orange IS his favorite color), Star Wars on the t-shirt (Star Wars is his favorite subject), and I even added Tom (Tom is his favorite cat!).  Fairly quick and easy using Stampin' Up! inks and a watercolor brush on Fabriano Mediovalis note cards.  The cat and sentiment stamps are by A Muse Artstamps.

AND I'M OFF....

We are leaving the house at 4:30 this morning and that means I have to get up at 4:00 and I haven't even packed yet....ARRRGGGGGHHHHH!  I had to share my last two projects for the day before I left though...

I somehow managed to squeak out two sets of ATCs between last night and today.  I had a whole list of stamping projects to finish this week before I could cross everything off of my "to do" list.  So glad to be done with it all.

KING OF THE GRILL   
This one features some new Cat's Pajamas stamps that I bought recently.  I mean, who wouldn't want the grill stamp and the dancing burger, hot dog, and mustard are too snazzy to pass up!  I cut out just the hot dog on this one and put her inside of the Weber.  Open the lid and there you have it...

Supplies:  (F-7451) Smokin’ Barbecue, (G-7455)  Dancing Food, and (C-7449) King of the Grill - all from The Cat's Pajamas; CS - Basic Gray, Basic Black, Silver, Real Red, Wild Wasabi, and Shimmery White from SU!; Ink - Palette Noir, Versamark; Other - Nestabilities die, Silver EP, SU! Silver cord, MM silver eyelets, green Souffle pen, green Spica glitter pen, various Copics, SU! gingham ribbon.

CUCKOO FOR YOU!
And this one shows off some newer A Muse stamps that I just had to have.  I really like the simplicity of this one and this is some of my fave patterned paper right now - Dill Blossom by SEI.

Supplies:  Stamps - Cuckoo Clock (2-7147D) and Cuckoo for you (8-8466B) from A Muse Artstamps; CS - textured CS from DCWV, chartreuse CS - unknown, watercolor paper; Dill Blossom designer paper from SEI; Ink - Palette Noir and various SU! inks for watercoloring; Other - DCWV brad, SU! River Rock and Groovy Guava ribbon, turquoise ribbon from Michael's, SU! oval punch, waterbrush.

YOU ROCK!

    This one might be a little out there but I like the overall finished product!  This is another card form one of my Yahoo groups.  On this one, you were to make a card using this fun rug from the Pottery Barn Teen catalog.  It's so cute.  One look at this rug and I knew that it would be the perfect inspiration for a card made with SU!s Time Well Spent set.  I went on the search for the set on my shelves and remembered that I gave it to my mom for Christmas.  Oh well...back to the stash...   
    I bought this new Stamping Bella image a few weeks ago.  She's called "All Punked Up With No Place To Go."  I couldn't resist.  So, basically, the color scheme is coming from the inspiration rug and the rest is just craziness.  I added lots of sparkle to her with a Sakura Stardust Glitter Pen and a few touches of Spica Glitter pen too.  I colored the image with various Prismacolor and Copic markers and then popped up her clothes and boots.  I was pretty much finished when I decided that she needed an "edge"...but I didn't want it too edgy so I stuck with SU!s silver cording wrapped around the image layer with a bow at the bottom.  The gorgeous patterned paper is by Imaginesce.  Oh, and I also masked the girl and over stamped A Muse's "You Rock" sentiment with Jumbo Java VersaMagic chalk ink.  I love it! 
    I'm only slightly late on this one so my partner should have this in her hands shortly!

TECHNIQUE JUNKIE - COTM MAY - FAUX BRICK

It's time again to try a new technique!  For the subscribers to the Technique Junkie newsletter, it's time for another Card of the Month challenge.  The May Card of the Month challenge is the FAUX BRICK technique.  I love techniques that are simple but give your eye-catching results.  You can't go wrong with this one!

As for the details...each month we will be encouraging subscribers to try out a new technique and then to enter their creations in the Card Of The Month challenge.  Entries will be voted upon by the members of the group and three artists will be chosen to have their cards featured on the TJ Yahoo Group homepages.  It's fun...it's easy...and it encourages you to break out the supplies and get to work!  Subscribe now and give it a try.

SURPRISE COLOR CHALLENGE

    I finally pulled this card together for a 1-on-1 swap with one of my Yahoo groups.  I really liked the idea of this one...you go to this site:  http://www.scraptitude.com/colorcombo/ - click on "surprise me" and the computer comes up with a Stampin' Up! color combo for you.  My combo is there at the top of this post, obviously.  It's so fun...addicting!  Thankfully, my partner isn't a stickler for all SU! so I could use whatever supplies and stamps that I wanted. 
    This little Easter Parade stamp is from A Muse.  Isn't it adorable?!  Of course, I didn't get to it before Easter so I cropped out the 'Easter' part of it that is under the doggie and stamped part of a happy birthday stamp from Kolette Hall.  I colored the image with a combination of Copics and Prismacolor Markers and then cut it out with circle Nestabilities.  The patterned paper is from Basic Grey's Urban Couture collection and was really close to the exact colors that computer chose for me.  The ribbon is Martha Stewart seam binding ribbon from Mike's.
    It's kinda funky...kinda cute...it kinda took on a life of it's own...oh well...I still kinda like it!

BEATE'S WEEKEND SKETCH CHALLENGE #42

    I wanted to at least stamp one thing this weekend...it's hard to squeeze it in sometimes with family stuff going on.  So in between baseball practice, dinner with neighbors, a trip to Home Depot, a little straightening here, a little straightening there, and a whole lotta laundry, I tried Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge...she's up to #42 now!
    This card uses SU!'s Ginger Blossom designer paper.  I think it's just gorgeous.  I've had it forever but I think it's the first time that I've actually cut into it.  I bought this little bird stamp at AC Moore the other day.  It's not a store that I frequent because it's a little bit away from me and I think they're stamps are usually overpriced, but this little guy was on sale and I fell in love with him.  I also had some new Memory Box stamps that I used here:  the thicker branch is called Bird Branch (E1035), the branch with leaves is called Leaf Branch (D1034), and the thin swirly branch is called Verdi Flourish (C987).  I used a few different inks on top of each other so it's hard to make out each branch clearly.  The sentiment stamp is from A Muse.  This is the first time that I've broken out the Primas in a while...maybe the first time this year!  At this rate, when I die they'll have to scatter Primas over me instead of real flowers...I've got a ton of them.  I also splurged and used these tiny little pearls from Kaiser Scrapbook that I bought in Florida.  Pearls seem to be the thing right now.

TECHNIQUE JUNKIE - CARD OF THE MONTH - APRIL - WAXY CUTTLEBUG

It's time again to try a new technique!  For the subscribers to the Technique Junkie newsletter, it's time for another Card of the Month challenge.  And look at how vibrant and colorful these backgrounds are...so fun! The April Card of the Month challenge will be the WAXY CUTTLEBUG technique.  As for the details...each month we will be encouraging subscribers to try out a new technique and then to enter their creations in the Card Of The Month challenge.  Entries will be voted upon by the members of the group and three artists will be chosen to have their cards featured on the TJ Yahoo Group homepages.  It's fun...it's easy...and it forces you to break out the supplies and get to work!  Subscribe now and give it a try.

BLOGGER'S CHALLENGE #39 - COLOR COMBO

    I'm future posting my Blogger's Challenge card for week 39.  (As you read this I'm relaxing by the pool in Florida...I'm thinking about stamping, though...that counts for something!)
    This week's challenge was to create a card using SU! colors - Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Real Red, and Chocolate Chip.  Perfect...especially since I have this Marcella by K (K&Company) textured paper pad in those exact colors!  The pad is called 'Remix Pattern Mat Deck' in case you decide to look for it and I bought it at Target. 
    The stamp featured here is by Lockhart Stamp Company.  The berries are yummy enough to eat!  I stamped the image on watercolor paper and used various SU! reinkers to paint it.  I then cut it out using a square Nestabilities die and layered it to cardstock in the featured colors.  I also cut a larger scalloped Nestabilities square for the bottom layer.  I used SU!'s Word Window punch - extended to fit the sentiment (A Muse) - at the bottom of the patterned paper.  I love how it allows the sentiment to be a subtle part of the card front.  The chocolate brown ribbon is, again, from the Martha Stewart seam binding collection at Michael's.