random reflections

Altenew's Pair a Flower Contest

The time frame for Altenew's Pair-a-Flower contest is narrowing, and I've had an idea for it for several weeks. Here are the details about the contest:  Challenge: Create a project with any Altenew floral design. Pair it with the same flower in real life or a similar floral design and photograph the two side-by-side. My initial idea was to take a photo of a coneflower at the garden center since none of mine came back this year, but when I was there on Saturday, I found this bright orange coneflower and brought it home. Hopefully, it will thrive along our new fence.

There are actually multiple blooms, but I focused this photo on just one bloom as a reference for coloring the Altenew: "Build-a-Flower: Coneflower." Here's the card by itself. It was colored with Copic markers and detail added using my Lyra Rembrandt colored pencils. I've had this set for years and years and rarely think to use it. Today neither the Polychromos or the Prisma colored pencils sets had a dark enough orange pencil. I do have a more extensive set of the Lyra's and should remember to use it more often.

I added some dimension between each of the layers, using dimensional tape for some and extra layers of cardstock under the patterned paper square..

Here's the photo of the card and the flower together which I'll be posting on the Altenew Contest site.

 

Tic-Tac-Toe

There is at least one card challenge out there that does a different Tic-Tac-Toe challenge each time. I'm alway curious about them, but somehow rarely participate. One of my favorite challenge sites, The Paper Players, has a Tic-Tac-Toe challenge this week. This is a weekly challenge, and I frequently miss those too. This time I was determined to play along.

When I recently went through and purged nearly half of my 6X6 papers, I found some old favorites. One pack was a My Mind's Eye set with gold accents which I loved when it came out. I found this blue and bronze combination which I thought would make a good masculine birthday card. I need two of them in September, and I chose the row across the middle: birthday/die-cut/masculine. 

The 6X6 paper gave me two 3" pieces. I adhered it to the left side of the card, and used another piece of paper from the pack to die cut the word "celebrate" and cut a narrow strip of bronze metallic paper along the side. 

The die cut sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's "Wet Paint II" set.

Thanks for visiting. I hope you have a great week!

 

The Paper Players Sketch

When thinking about creating a card, I rarely think to use a sketch. I'm usually more inspired by a photograph, a set of colors, a theme, or a design element. This time, however, when I saw the sketch on The Paper Players, I knew it would be perfect for a piece I colored as part of the 30 Day Coloring Challenge. Here's the sketch:

In a recent reorganization project (more on that to come later) I found some patterned papers I thought would go well with the small stamped piece I had created earlier. 

The paint brushes come from a very old Papertrey Ink set, "Friendship Jar Fillers." The Friendship Jar sets have long been a favorite, and I come back to them over and over. This card is for my nine year old grandson who gave me two handmade gifts when he came to visit. He's a budding artist, so the paintbrushes seemed appropriate. The patterned papers come from an older 6X6 pad by Sunny Studio, "Gingham Jewel Tones."

The paintbrushes were partially stamped to fit on the PTI die, "Spiral Notebook Page," and colored with Copic markers. I used some Glossy Accents to add some dimension on the paint. The sentiment is from The Stamp Market. I embossed it on black and added a narrow cardstock strip to the bottom of it. 

My crafting time seems to get divided between my reorganization efforts and card making. Hoping to get more of both done this weekend.

 

 

Smile!

Thanks to a friend who cut and shared some of her daisies from the Altenew "Daisy Layering Set," I have a card for the current The Flower Challenge---use a die. The entire card was created with dies.

The first step was to create an ink blended background for these pretty daisies. I added that to a Dark Chocolate (PTI) cardbase and then set about creating the daisies. 

Getting the daisies and leaves arranged on the card took a bit longer than I expected. I wasn't sure what to do about a sentiment, but found this "Smile Circle" from Simon Says which worked out perfectly. It was die cut from Dark Chocolate cardstock as well. 

It's good to be back in the craft room. I'm in another purge and organize phase. Sometimes I think that's as much a hobby as card making! But, in fact, I found a few things which inspired some cards. Off to link up with The Flower Challenge which ends this afternoon.

Pretty in Pink

The pretty pink geraniums on today's card were created for a blogging friend, but I wanted to be sure she received the card before I posted it. She's a huge fan of pink so there was no choice about what color these geraniums would be. Luckily, the photo inspiration for AAA Birthday also features pink flowers.

When The Greetery introduced this most recent BotaniCut, I knew I would have lots of opportunities to use it. Geraniums come in so many colors, and they are a favorite of mine.

I added a soft ink blended background to one of The Greetery's "Postal Frames" that matches the blue pot in the photograph, but my blue pot and the card base are a much brighter hue. I grounded the pot on some ink blended "Shiplap Builder" dies, also from The Greetery.

The geraniums and the "Pretty Pot" die were all cut from Bristol Smooth cardstock and colored with Distress Oxide Inks. I added some details to the dies with Polychromos pencils. The cute sentiment and label is from an earlier set by The Greetery, "Market Baskets." Betsy Veldman definitely excels in designing the most beautiful floral dies and containers. 

I always hope I'll get some crafting done while we're away. I managed to do a little watercoloring one morning, but it's a bigger piece so I don't think it will get finished until we get home. I do have a couple pieces I colored for the current 30 Day Coloring Challenge before I left, so hopefully I'll get those posted in the next couple of days. Thanks for visiting!

Color Hues #24

It's a very vibrant color combo this time around at Color Hues:

Coral is a tricky color. I "Googled" it to see what shades might come up--some look pretty orange, and my husband thought my choice was definitely orange. I, however, chose a Gina K cardstock called "Coral Reef" so I was able to defend my choice without question! For the turquoise, I chose two papers: Papertrey Ink's "Hawaiian Shores" and Concord & 9th's "Oceanside." I have to thank Kristie Goulet, one of my DT teammates for the inspiration for this card. After seeing several different designs she created with the "Mosaic Tiles" die from Catherine Pooler, I had to order it. 

There must be hundreds of possibilities with this die set, and I love that it's easily customized for males or females.

I dry embossed the background with an Alexandra Renke embossing folder, and die cut three sets of the Mosaic Tiles--one with each color. Then I had to decide which triangles I would use. The one above is one of my favorites, but you're sure to see this die show up here again and again with different designs. 

The sentiment is a Simon Says die that arrived with a kit. I die cut it twice, cutting the coral piece in half to create the half-and-half look. Amazingly, I found three enamel dots--one matching each three of the cardstocks I used to finish the card off.  

I hope you'll take a look at the fantastic designs the DT and our Guest Designer, Linda Snodgrass, have created:

Nancy

Hannelie

Cindy

Julie

 Sheri

Kristie

Lindsey

And come join the fun!

 

Shades of Blue

I have another card I've colored for Kathy Racoosin's 30 Day Coloring Challenge. 

And, for me, this is a late night post, but one of the two challenges looking for blues ends in just a few hours. First up is the Less Is More Challenge looking for Shades of Blue. The second challenge is Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Summertime Blues. I'm also popping this in the CAS on Friday Challenge to use a Favorite Stamp.

This is one of my favorite florals. It's from Pinkfresh Studios--"Keep Going." When I was fussy cutting it once again, I realized that investing in the die might be an appropriate purchase. I chose to color it with Copic Markers in soft blues and greens, adding some shadows with my Polychromos pencils.

After fussy cutting it, I added it to an embossed polka-dot white panel that was in my box of panels and die cuts that I've stashed away. I die cut a thin green layer with the Gina K Master Layout dies and added it to a light blue card base. 

Once again the "Easy Expressions: Birthday" stamp from The Ton worked out perfectly. I tucked it under one of the leaves, and then added some gold gems from The Paper Studio. 

I'm just managing to keep up with the 30 Day Coloring Challenge, although I need to do a major catch-up post for Instagram. Today was the first day since Sarah and her family arrived that I managed to get in a full hour of crafting time. Tomorrow looks much less likely. If the weather's good we're headed to the zoo, then the beach for a picnic and a ride on the carousel, and finally pizza with friends for dinner. 

 

 

Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt: Round 2

It's the mid-summer check-in for the Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt hosted by the lovely Mary-Lou at Patio Postcards. I have six more to share, which (by my count) leaves me with eight on the master list and one of the alternates to find before the end of September. 

The first is the Art of the Fold. I take no credit for these folded stars. Sarah used to fold them while she watched a television show. At one point I thought she wanted to put them in a lamp base, but for now, this is a pretty cool decoration in her sewing room.

The Shape of Round:  I have three photos of two circular finds. The first is the inside dome in the Heinens Grocery Store in Cleveland. I have two views of it.

Next up is a very cool plaque in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Finding something that was a cause for celebration was an easy one. Tracy's mom turned 92 on the fifth of July. Dessert was six Nothing Bundt Cakes in a variety of flavors.

Inside Your Fridge or Cupboard. It's a constant battle to keep our pantry organized. A few years ago we invested in some metal racks and baskets and some plastic boxesthat have really helped. This was our latest reorganization done last week.

These Black-Handed Spider Monkeys at the Racine Zoo did exactly as I hoped they would do for the Upside Down, Right Side Up prompt.

Next up is Steps, But Who's Counting-also found at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

And lastly, one from the Alternates list---all the masks for COVID safety hanging on hooks at Sarah's house. We have a few in our kitchen as well, although not quite the collection seen here. We're back to wearing them almost everywhere again, even outside yesterday visiting family with a new baby. It's hard to see an end in sight, although once the grandchildren are able to be vaccinated it will be a bit easier. We had hoped that might be available by September, but it's looking more like November or December. It's discouraging, to say the least.

Thanks again to Mary-Lou for hosting and creating the fun lists each summer.

 

 

 

Grateful

I'm participating in Kathy Racoosin's 30 Coloring Challenge by doing just a little bit each day.

I'm focusing on watercoloring and adding new layers each day to deepen the colors. Patience is not always my virtue--especially when approaching watercolors. And that is a mistake. Letting each layer dry completely makes a huge difference. This card represents three days of coloring. I posted each day's progress on Instagram, but after posting the finished card there, decided to add three raindrops to the card which I like. 

To expedite matters, I used a page from Altenew's Watercolor Coloring Book. I also used Altenew's 36 pan watercolors. 

The images in the coloring book are larger than I'd like them to be, but I was able to die cut the floral and then a narrow frame with Hero Arts "Rounded Rectangles Infinity" dies. The frame is one of my favorite greens from Gina K called "Asparagus." The card base is a "Pale Pink" from Memory Box which has a white interior--great for writing a thank you note. The sentiment strip was in my "already stamped and die cut" basket, and I'm not sure which of the many sentiment stamps I used for this one.

I've watercolored the past two days as well, but probably won't share any of it here or on Instagram as I'm hoping to use it for a future Color Hues post. 

Need to get back to the cleaning and organizing I want completed before Sarah and her family arrive this weekend. We're having absolutely perfect summer weather here. I hope it continues.

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

Sarah turns 41 today, and that fact is almost as perplexing as celebrating our 48th wedding anniversary. Sarah will get this card when she arrives here on Saturday with Adam, Caleb, and Hannah. They'll be here a week, and then we're all headed to a cottage on a lake in Michigan for a week. She doesn't read my blog, so I'm not worried about her seeing the card online before she receives it. Even if she did, her day is so busy that's it's unlikely that she'd have time for blog reading anyway. Shortly after they return home, they're moving to a "new" house. Actually, it's a much older home in a lovely area in downtown Racine. It's a much friendlier neighborhood with sidewalks, lots of kids nearby, and just a block and a half to Lake Michigan. It's a good move for the kids---and for the adults who already have friends in the neighborhood. Getting ready for a move before a two-week vacation was not what they planned for when their vacation dates were set.

This card was inspired by (and is a very close CASe) of one by Carissa Wiley. It was created when Ellen Hutson released two new die sets--"Abstract Sunset" (which I used here) and "Abstract Mountain." Most of the cardstock used is from Concord and 9th.

I'm hoping it will remind Sarah of her two summers working at The Ghost Ranch. She absolutely love it there, and we were lucky enough to visit her for a few days the first year she was there. If you click through to the link, be sure to click around so you can see some of the beautiful landscapes. Georgia O'Keefe lived at The Ghost Ranch for part of many years, and painted some of the landscapes.

I love these colors together and chose a gold metallic paper for the moon (or sun depending on your inclination). Both the gold embossed sentiment and the die cut "you" are from Simon Says.

I did some ink blending on the top die cut pieces but decided not to to any on the other layers. I made several of these cards, and they are all just a bit different. 

My blogging was erratic in July, and likely to be again in August as most of my time for the next two weeks will be spent with family and friends. I'm working on Kathy Racoosin's 3o Day Coloring Challenge, so there's likely to be a few new cards--as well as some for challenges if I can get some time in the craft room. The day to day posts for the challenge are beinf posted in my Instagram account. One of the options for the challenge is to do a little bit each day. So far I've done some watercoloring on a floral for the past two days, and expect to finish it tonight.