random reflections

Color Hues #4

It's time for the fourth Color Hues Challenge, and the colors this week are:

This is a favorite color combination for me, and I actually made two cards. The first one is the one you'll find on the Color Hues Challenge blog.

I started by ink blending two pieces of cardstock with Distress Inks---Salty Ocean and Blueprint---for the blues, and Carved Pumpkin and Spiced Marmalade for the oranges. I used the darker colors toward the center. Then I die cut both pieces with Pinkfresh Studio's "Pop-out Sunburst" die, and pieced the card together.

I did a bit of ombré ink blending on a scrap of cardstock, and die cut the greeting from Simon Says "Bold Hello," adding it to a circle of orange die cut with the Pinkfresh Studio die. A few Rainstones from Papertrey Ink finished off the card.

The card above was not the card I started to make. Originally, I planned for a floral image but after coloring it with Copic markers I couldn't decide on a design for the card. That came somewhat later.

In the end, I liked this card as well, so decided I'd share it as an alternative. It also points out that you may choose any number of hues of a given color for the challenge. The image is from Altenew's "Needlework Motifs" which I colored with Copic markers. 

I finally wondered what it would look like if I added a thin frame over the focal image, and die cut one from Orange Peel cardstock (Simon Says) with the Simon Says A2 Thin Frames. It wasn't as difficult to adhere as I thought it might be, and I'm quite happy with the overall look. The sentiment is one from Taylored Expressions "Sentiment Strips."

Lucie is our fabulous guest designer this week. Hop over to the Color Hues blog to see what she and the rest of the Design Team have come up with . . . and join in the fun!

Color Hues #3

It's time for the third Color Hues Challenge, and the colors this week are:

I went fairly glizty on this one. When I was reorganizing I came upon a folder with gold and silver adhesive papers from Papertrey Ink. I thought I'd give them a try.

After die cutting this beautiful and ornate "Arabesque Border" from Papertrey, I wondered if I'd be able to adhere onto the cream colored cardstock without wrinkling or tearing. Amazingly, it went on without any difficulty at all.

The sentiment was also a die cut from Simon Says and the stamped sentiment comes from the same set (purchased separately), appropriately titled "Love." 

The stamped sentiment was gold embossed on a banner from Neat and Tangled and adhered with some foam tape adding just a bit of dimension to the card. 

I hope you'll hop over to the Color Hues Challenge and join in the fun, checking out the cards made by my awesome Design Team members and our first guest designer, Ashwini.

Color Hues #2

The new colors for the Color Hues Challenge are Navy and Turquoise.

Navy is one of my favorite colors, and I had several different ink pads to choose from. It was rather amazing to me to see how dark a couple of them were---almost black, so I chose to go with a more medium tone, using Pinkfresh Sapphire ink with the new Concord and 9th's Oceanside. 

I thought it would be fun to play with Altenew's "Sohcahtoa" stamp set since I'm always needing a graphic card that can be used for a guy as well as a woman. Lining up the images down the center of the card was made possible by using the MISTI stamping tool. I rarely make a card without using it, and in this case it was essential. 

The open triangle was the perfect spot for the sentiment which is also from Altenew--"Sentiment Strips 2."

The final touch was to add three clear droplets from The Stamp Market. Hop over to the Color Hues blog to see what the rest of the Design Team has come up with . . . and join in the fun!

Color Hues #1

The very first Color Hues Challenge has been posted! Every two weeks there will be a new challenge focusing on two colors. Any gradient or hue of those colors along with a neutral can be used in creating your project. The first colors are yellow and green:

Since I chose two simple flowers for the focal point of the card, I decided to start with a stenciled background, using Pinkfresh Studio Sunshine ink with a Hero Arts stencil, "Tweed." 

I stamped the two doodle-style flowers and leaves from My Favorite Things, "Buildable Bouquet" over the top of the stencil, and watercolored them using Altenew's 36 pan watercolors. 

I played around for awhile trying to decide whether to add some embellishmentsm, sequins, clear drops . . . but decided in the end they were too distracting and left the card very clean and simple. I die cut a very narrow frame with Gina K's "Master Layouts 1" from The Stamp Market's Leafy green cardstock which was a perfect match for the watercolored leaves.

The sentiment strip and die are from Taylored Expressions "Simple Strips."  I hope you'll hop over to the Color Hues blog to see what the rest of the Design Team has come up with . . . and join in the fun!