Sunflower Studio

BIRTHDAY COWBOY

I'm now in frantic mode trying to finish up all of my stamping commitments before we leave for vacation this weekend!  Why - Oh why - do I always wait until the last minute?  ACK!
    Anyway, this card is for a challenge on one of my Yahoo groups.  You could only use one stamp but you could use rub-ons and such.  This little cowboy is one of my all time fave Stampin' Up! images - Cowboy Kid.  The fun patterned papers and punch outs are from a K&Company Scrap Pad To Go called Kazoo Kids.  The "Big Boy" words on the tag are also from that same pad and are a rub-on.  (I had a lot of trouble with these...they're a little older...anyone else find that problem with older rub-ons?)  The "Happy Birthday" sentiment is from Making Memories and is also a rub-on.  I colored the little cowpoke with various Copic and Prismacolor Markers and gave him a sparkly bagde with a Spica Glitter Pen.
    Hope my partner likes it...the "D" is for her little guy's name...I'm late so she's probably forgotten that something was even coming from me...sorry Jane!

WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD

    Two new families have recently moved onto our street.  Our neighborhood is still in the building stages but will eventually have 50 homes.  I love that it's a relatively small neighborhood and that many of us will know each other and our kids will have friends to play with that are close by.  So - big shocker here - I'm actually getting some welcome cards out to them before they've been here for a year or more!
    I'm not sure that any of these stamps had ever been inked up before but I've had them for some time.  Karen Lockhart creates some of THE cutest stamp images out there.  And she has amazing stamp artists on her design team to show them off too...Debbie Olson, Michelle Wooderson, Sharon Harnist, Trudee Sauer (all of these ladies are experts with the Copics too!)  The key and sign post images are by Karen.  I love the simplicity of them.
    The other images here are from the Right at Home set from Stampin' Up! (retired).  I turned, again, to a K&Company mat pad for the patterned papers.  This one is called Happy Trails and the map pattern was perfect for this card.  Everything is colored with Prismacolor Markers.

CRABBY

Here's a fairly quick card that I made for a challenge in one of my Yahoo groups.  You had to use glitter.  I cheated and used Stickles.  (I love Stickles!!)  This is the Acetate Sparkle technique from the August/September 2005 Technique Junkie newsletter.  I'm sure that it's available on one of Pat's CDs too if you'd like access to it now.  I think it kind of looks like a fish tank.  Love that crabby!

BLOGGER'S CHALLENGE #33 - COLOR CHALLENGE

    This week's Blogger's Challenge is a color challenge.  We haven't had one of those in a while!  For this one, the required colors were Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, and Taken With Teal.  Lisa didn't specify where this idea came from but I'm thinkin' that she must have been influenced by Stampin' Up!s Bali Breeze designer paper pack that includes just these very colors.  And since I'm working on samples using Cowboy and Indian images that are included in the new Havin' A Pow Wow and It's A Western Thing Clearly Swanky sets from The Cat's Pajamas, you get to see Rootin' Tootin' Ronnie (Lassoed E-7523) in his fancy western gear!  He's either a really colorful cowboy or I guess he could be a rodeo clown too.

    This card also uses Anna Wight's sketch challenge for this week - SMDSC02.  Click here to see oodles of cards over at Splitcoast using the sketch.

    Remember that by clicking on the BLOGGER'S CHALLENGE logo button on the right side of my blog you'll be taken to the full member listing.  You'll definitely want to see what the other girls did with the color combo too.

DAISY BE WELL

    I'm trying to get back into the habit of doing the sketch and/or color challenges at Splitcoast each week.  This week was Sketch Challenge #161 and it's a really fun one.  This week's Color Challenge #151 was a whopper:  Yo Yo Yellow, Going Gray, and Basic Gray.  Woooooweeeeee!  That's definitely a doozie but I took the challenge!  (Click here to go to the Sketch Challenge #161 gallery and here for the Color Challenge #151 gallery.) 
    As you can see, I combined them in this bright and cheery get well card using Anna's Posies For You set.  I'm thrilled with the way this turned out.  See what happens when you step outside of your comfort zone...a happy surprise!
Supplies:  Stamps - Posies For You - Anna Wight for Whipper Snapper, sentiment by My Sentiments Exactly!, SU! Canvas BG; CS - Yo Yo Yellow, Going Gray, Basic Gray, shimmery white from Marco's Paper; Ink - Basic Gray, Onyx Black Versafine; Other - White and Green Sakura Souffle pens, Yellow Prismacolor marker, SU! Slit Punch, 1/16" hole punch, Heidi Swapp flower, Martha Stewart flower punch, white punched flower wedding confetti from Target, Doodlebug Button

BLOGGER'S CHALLENGE #31 - LAYOUT CHALLENGE

   

    Can you believe it's that time again?  Another week gone by and we're at Blogger's Challenge #31.  This week the challenge for everyone was to create a card using the "welcome baby" card layout on page 141 of the Stampin' Up! Spring/Summer 2008 catalog.  It's a very simple layout...you might have figured out by now that I don't really do 'simple'.  My cards seem to take on a life of their own and then I must enforce the 'no mo' rule.  (That's explained in another of my posts too far back for me to look for...it is as it sounds.)
    This didn't necessarily have to be a baby card but I did need one and it hit me that I had yet to use this adorable Peek-A-Boo Baby set from Stampendous.  I'm not even sure that I knew anyone who was having a baby when I bought this.  All I know is that it was the cutest set that I had seen in a long time.  How could I resist?!  He's soooooo cute!!  (I think it looks like a 'he' but he could be a 'she' too.)

     What doesn't really show up in the photo is that after I stamped the 'family' words in Cloud White VersaMagic chalk ink, I then over-stamped the word 'wonderful' in Wheat VersaMagic chalk ink.  It's a subtle detail that's much better in person.

Supplies:  Stamps - Peek-A-Boo Baby set by Stampendous, Absolutely Fabulous and Wonderful Favorites sets by Stampin' Up!; CS - Kraft, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Papertrey White, patterned paper by K&Company; Ink - Brilliance Graphite Black, Versafine Onyx, VersaMagic chalk inks in Wheat and Cloud White; Other - Prismacolor Markers, brads, ribbon from JoAnn's, glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, sponge. 

A GIFT OF TAGS

I signed up for a challenge where you had to make a set of gift tags for your partner.  My set is going to Jane Bosi and, in turn, I'm receiving a set of really great tags from Vicki Garrett.  How fun!

Supplies:  Stamps - snowman by Memory Box, 'a gift...' sentiment from Wordsworth, SU! Big Deal Alphabet, 'merry christmas' sentiment by A Muse; Ink - Black Versafine, Versamark, Aspen Mist VersaMagic chalk ink, Ranger Walnut Distress ink; CS - Bravo Burgundy, Soft Sky, Always Artichoke, White from SU!, textured cardstock by DCWV; Other - Basic Grey Figgy Pudding patterned papers, brads, SU! slit punch, Nestabilities die, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, glue pen, Twinkling H2Os, SU! brown EP, SU! CD tin.

SNOW PENGUIN

      I've kinda had this background piece bouncing around in my head for a few days.  I'm sure that it's not hard to tell that I'm head over heels for the Stampin' Up! Big Deal Alphabet.  I use it all the time.  On this, I used the letters to spell out 'SNOW' with four different chalk inks.  Of course, then I covered the words up with my snowy penguin....still like it though.  I also can't say enough about these Memory Box penguins.  Look how 'puffy' he is!  HA HA  That just cracks me up!
Supplies:  Stamps - Big Deal Alphabet from SU!, Bundled Penguin (C955) from Memory Box Co, sentiment (9-8098B) from A Muse, and a dotted swirly stamp from the Polar Holiday set (N-7477) by The Cat's Pajamas; CS - Buckaroo Blue, White, Not Quite Navy and Taken w/Teal from SU!, watercolor paper; Ink - Black Versafine, various for watercoloring, Color Box Fluid Chalks in Azurite, Ice Blue, and French Blue, TAC chalk ink in Squash Blossom, Colorbox pigment ink in Whisper Grey; Other - white Sharpie paint pen, glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds, brads, waterbrush, velvet ribbon, Irridescent Ice EP, Nestabilities scalloped rectangle die, thin black pen, Twinkling H2Os.

BLOGGER'S CHALLENGE #17 - INSPIRED BY...

The Blogger's Challenge for this week is another 'inspired by' challenge.  I'm not sure what the deal is but these are always the hardest ones for me.  I think it would be easier if I actually received some home or fashion mags to get my inspiration from.  And although I love those magazines, I spend all of my periodical  money on stamping and scrapbooking magazines, of course!
    We're in the middle of painting our master bedroom - and I do mean 'middle' because only some walls are partially painted and it's been that way for a few weeks now.  We're goin' nowhere fast!  It's sort of a good thing because we're still dealing with warranty issues on the house and the drywall guys came this week to fix holes and such.  They really couldn't do much with anywhere that we had already painted a color - almost all of the downstairs falls under that category.
    Oh my...how do I get so off course!  Anyway, I purchased this wonderful bedding - duvet cover and shams - from Target that matches the bedroom paint color perfectly.  I would consider it a salmon/coral/terra cotta mix.  Target calls it 'coral'...the paint cans say 'terra cotta'.  The duvet is mainly that coral color but it has a subtle floral pattern in a tan.  AND...that all inspired this fall card design.  
    I used SU!s Baroque background stamp as my central image.  I sponged the Really Rust CS with a sponge dauber and Really Rust ink to darken that layer a bit.  I then stamped in Versamark ink and used Ranger/Tim Holtz Antique Linen distress EP to complete the look.  The sentiment is from Savvy stamps.  And while I 'pooh-poohed' that new wide grosgrain ribbon that SU! came out with I've decided that you CAN actually use wide ribbon on a card.  This dark brown is from my old stash but I'm gonna have to get some of the SU! stuff soon!
    Be sure to check out the other BC gals this week to see what inspired them.  The list hasn't moved...it's over ------->>>>> here on the right.

CRISS CROSS CHALLENGE

    Here's another Criss Cross card using Beate's instructions from SCS.  These are really fun and are such a unique way to add visual interest to your card. 
    Since this is for one of my Yahoo groups that focuses on Stampin' Up! supplies I had to push away all of my contraband and come up with something within the guidelines.  I chose the Autumn Harvest stamp set from the SU! Holiday Mini Collection catalog.  I love the 'sketchy' look of the images.  I paired the set with the Apple Cider designer paper - also from the mini catalog.  I have to admit that I wasn't thrilled with this paper when I received it.  It wasn't as colorful and bright as I had hoped.  I'll also admit, though, that is does come together when used adjacent to other pieces from the pack.  That is one nice thing about the SU! designer papers...they really do coordinate well and I can't say enough about the Simply Scrappin' kits...textured 12x12 paper in SU! colors, tons of cardstock stickers, and designer paper...all very yummy!
    I seem to be on a little watercolor kick but I'm not completely happy with my overall results on any kind of regular basis.  I've played around with inks, Twinkling H2Os, colored pencils, cardstock, cold press papers, different brushes...you name it.  I found a pack of watercolor paper from the Marco's Paper booth at the Heirloom stamp show in York last weekend.  It was thinner than the paper that I had been using and I was very hopeful that this would be the key to getting my 'look' just right.  Unfortunately, I'm not there yet.  The tag does say '100% Cotton Cardstock Watercolor Paper'.  That's a dead giveaway, right?  It soaked EVERYTHING right up!  In this case, it kinda works for the watercolor effect on the pumpkin image.  I used Pallette Noir Hybrid ink and SU! dye inks with a waterbrush.  The ink just ran all over the place and the black stamped image feathered as well.  The really strange part was that after all was dry I stamped the sentiment in Versamark and added black detail EP.  THAT also soaked completely into the paper...no raised image at all.  Fortunately, like I said, it works for this card.  I'm not sure what I'll do with the other 49 sheets in the pack! 
    If you have a favorite brand of watercolor paper I'd love to know about it.  You can comment here.  Thanks for checking me out!