random reflections

Color Hues #16

I'm the hostess at Color Hues this round, and chose Yellow and Gray for the colors. It's always been a favorite combination, and as it turns out, it's the Pantone Color(s) of the Year. Pantone decided to chose a duo rather than a single color this year. 

I CASED myself this round, using a design I've previously used. 

I started with this Memory Box card with subtle gray stripes. I've had these in my stash for so long I have no idea where I purchased them originally. Then I die cut a white "Shape Shifter Oval 2" by Papertrey Ink.

The floral is a favorite of mine from Pinkfresh Studio's "Keep Going" set. I watercolored it on Altenew Watercolor paper which I like very much. It's a nice clean white and the watercolors move nicely on it. This time I used my Karin watercolor markers.

I don't own the accompanying dies, so fussy cut the image and added it to the fancy oval. The sentiment is from Taylored Expressions. 

I hope this color combo appeals to you as well, and that you'll join us at the Color Hues Challenge. Be sure to check out the great designs by my Design Team members, and our Guest Designer, Amy.

Nancy

Hannelie

Cindy

Julie

Sheri

Kristie

Lindsey

 

Color Hues #15

No matter the weather, by April 1, I'm ready for spring. This year we've been treated to very early signs of spring and I'm hoping a greener landscape is not far away. Today's new challenge at Color Hues is sure to brighten your day, regardless of where you are in welcoming the new season.

If you've followed me for very long, you know I'm partial to Clean and Simple designs. This card totally falls in that category. I'm not sure if I've ever created anything that was more Clean and Simple. This card more or less created itself. I die cut the floral from The Stamp Market's "Fresh Floral Layering" die in Concord and 9th's Ballet Slippers. Although this was made for inlaying the pieces of the floral, I knew as soon as I laid down the outline, that was all I was going to need.

I then die cut the two leaves from a pieces green cardstock in my bits and pieces folder and added them to the floral on a piece of white cardstock. 

I cut a narrow border from the Ballet Slippers cardstock, and added dimensional tape to the back of the focal piece before adding it to a white card base. The sentiment, embossed in white on black cardstock is from Reverse Confetti's "So Many Sentiments" set. 

After I had created this card, I started playing around with the new-to-me coloring stencils by Pinkfresh Studios for their stamp set "Friendship Blooms." And although I do like this card, it is definitely not CAS!

After die cutting the florals with the accompanying dies, I die cut two panels, one in black and one in gold, with Gina K's Layering dies. I love the narrow border these dies create. The sentiment, embossed in gold, is also from "Friendship Blooms." I layered everything onto a bright pink card base.

The final touch was the addition of some gold sequins.

Hop over to the Color Hues blog to see what the rest of the Design Team and our Guest Designer, Tenia, have come up with . . . and join in the fun!

 Nancy

Hannelie

Cindy

Julie

Sheri

Kristie

Lindsey

 

 

Color Hues #14

The new challenge at Color Hues is really versatile. Neutrals can be added as well as gold or silver.

This is one of those cards that just "came to be." I had a card completed for this challenge, but about a week or so ago, I was in another organize and purge mood. In the process I came upon the card front which was embossed with a beautiful embossing folder by Alexandra Renke.

As soon as I saw it I knew it would make a perfect CAS card for this challenge. I added it to a black card base and used a sentiment strip from my stash.

I debated for a bit about embellishments, but finally decided on some small black pearls from AMuse which have been in my stash forever. I'm pretty sure I'll use this design again. It's very versatile. I can see it as a birthday card, an anniversary card, a thank you note, and even a sympathy 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 Guest Designer, Shawna.

Nancy

Hannelie

Cindy

Julie

Sheri

Kristie

Lindsey

 

 

 

Color Hues #13

It's March first, and time for a new challenge at Color Hues. I have to admit March is one of my least favorite months. When travel is safe again, I expect to spend the month of March in a location much warmer and sunnier than Rochester! Here are the new colors:

These bright and cheery colors gave me permission to create a card that celebrates sunshine.

This is actually the second card I made. Both cards started with The Stamp Market's " Color Block" die. For this card I chose two hues of yellow and two of blue. Each piece is popped up with dimensional tape on a white card base. Then I searched through my stamps looking for a sunshine die, and ended up with Reverse Confetti's set "Over the Rainbow." I added a bit of ink blending to the edges of the sun to set it apart from the yellow panels.

I added a white puffy die cut cloud (from Papertrey Ink), and a sentiment from a new stamp set from My Favorite Things, "Bitty Hugs and Kisses." 

Here's a look at the first card I created. For this card I used four hues of yellow and blue.

I do like this card as well, but doesn't meet the I. need. spring. requirement. I inlaid the panels from the "Color Block" die this time, and added a die cut sentiment from Simon Says, "Bold Hello," that was included in one of the monthly card kits. 

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!

 Nancy

Hannelie

Cindy

Julie

Sheri

Kristie

Lindsey

 

Color Hues #12

The new Color Hues Challenge offers a chance to craft for Spring. By mid-February, I'm always thinking about Spring even though I know it's probably a good two months away here in western New York. 

Not surprisingly, I headed for a floral stamp, and chose a new one from Simon Says: "Best Friend Ever." It has four lovely floral arrangements so I'm sure you'll see another image from this set in the near future. 

I kept this card very clean and simple. I embossed the florals in white on Tim Holtz watercolor paper, and used my Daniel Smith watercolors to mix a pretty peach hue. After watercoloring, I added the sentiment from Papertrey Ink's "Signature Greetings"--an old favorite.

I added some detail to the flowers and the leaves with my Polychromos pencils. Although it's hard to see in the photos, it does add some depth.

Then I die cut the piece with Hero Arts "Rounded Rectangles," adding it to a piece of Concord & 9th's Grapefruit cardstock (also cut with the next largest rounded rectangle), and added it to a white card base. Five Champagne Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh finished it off.

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 Guest Designer, Chick:

 

   Nancy

Hannelie

Cindy

Julie

Sheri

Kristie

Lindsey

And then, come join us in the fun!

Color Hues #11

It's time for the next Color Hues Challenge! It's a perfect one for Valentine's Day which is just a couple of weeks away.

Initially, I thought I had the perfect set of dies to create a card for this challenge. I made it; I gave it away as an anniversary card. But I decided I didn't love it, so went back to the drawing board. This card uses one of my all-time favorite Simon Says stamp sets, "Center Cut Heart." I've used it again and again for anniversary cards and valentines, but this time I decided to use only the center cut heart, making it clearly a CAS card.

I also own the somewhat coordinating die, "Deco Heart," so after I embossed the heart in black and colored the hearts with a red Copic marker, I used the die to create the perfect red border for the heart. 

I used an Ellen Hutson "Color the Strips" die to cut the three wider strips, and used my paper cutter for the thin strips at top and bottom. I added the center heart with some dimensional tape, and embossed the small sentiment in white on black cardstock with a sentiment from The Stamp Market's "Tons of Type." I like this sentiment because it works for Valentine's Day as well as an anniversary card.

Hop over to the Color Hues blog to see what the rest of the Design Team and our Guest Designer, Julie, have come up with . . . and join in the fun!

 Nancy

Hannelie

Cindy

Julie

Sheri

Kristie

Lindsey

 

Color Hues #10

Times flies, and here we are with the tenth Color Hues challenge:

One of my intentions for this year, is to make sure I'm using all the stamps and dies I have accumulated since the pandemic started! One of the dies is the "Altenew Circled Greetings." I have all four of them, but today I used "Thanks." I'll start with the card I posted on the Color Hues Challenge post.

You can see that the die creates a wonderful focal point for an A2 card. I backed the open circle with a piece of cream cardstock on which I'd stamped with another new purchase, My Favorite Things "Peacock Pattern Background" in Dark Indigo ink.

I used a stamp from W+9's "Hand Lettered Thanks" for the small sentiment strip, and bordered it with a bit of the dark navy cardstock. The front panel was then added to a cream colored card base which is perfect for writing a thank you note.

The second card is very similar, but I chose to dry emboss a series of narrow score lines on the cream card base before adding the navy panel which I trimmed down to expose a narrow cream border.

This time I chose a brighter hue of navy cardstock that has a subtle texture to it.

I added a few sequins and pearls from Lucy's Cards: "Pearl Necklace" collection.

Hop over to the Color Hues blog to see what the rest of the Design Team and our Guest Designer, Julie,  have come up with . . . and join in the fun!

 Nancy

Hannelie

Cindy

Julie

Sheri

Kristie

Lindsey

 

Color Hues #9

Happy New Year and Welcome 2021! I imagine most of us are more than happy to put 2020 behind us, and hoping for a much better year ahead despite knowing that we still have some dark days ahead. For me, crafting has been the one way I can put aside all the fears and anxieties of the times for a few hours. I hope it does the same for you.  And the Color Hues Challenge is here to help. I love this round's color choices:

I'm a fan of Laura Bassen's graphic cards, and when she designed and released some graphic dies for Simon Says this winter, I picked up the "Geometric Builders: Squares." Putting the squares together is a bit like doing a jigsaw puzzle. It's not something I do quickly, but I enjoyed the challenge. And I have a lot of pieces left to play with to make one or more additional cards.

I used three shade of gray from Simon Says: Fog, Smoke, and Slate, and my favorite red from Papertrey Ink: Pure Poppy. I love the clean and simple design of the card, and think it will make a great masculine birthday greeting.

The sentiment from The Stamp Market, "Tons of Type," was embossed in white on black cardstock, and bumped up with some dimensional tape.

You may well see a similar design in a future Color Hues Challenge as this set is perfect for a two color challenge. Now check what our Design Team and Guest Designer have for you at the Color Hues Challenge.

Marcia, Guest Designer

Nancy

Hannelie

Cindy

Julie

Sheri

Kristie

Lindsey

Pull out some reds and grays, and join in the fun! I'll be back tomorrow to share my One Little Word for 2021.

 

Color Hues #7

It's time for the next Color Hues Challenge: Blue and Magenta.

Since it's now December (yikes!) I thought a Christmas card was in order so I pulled out another stamp set that's been in my stash for a couple of years, and never used! Honestly, it's embarrassing. But it proved to be just what I wanted.

I die cut the three ornaments and stamped them with Pinkfresh Studio inks (Sapphire and Bubble Gum) and then added a layer of Spectrum Noir glitter. I embossed the background with the Papertrey Ink Herringbone Impression Plate and "hung" the ornament with some silver cord. That was then layered onto a piece of magenta cardstock to create a thin frame, and finally to a bright blue card base.

I embossed the greeting from Altenew's "Holiday Tag Sentiments" with Black Opal embossing powder which has a wonderful glittery appearance which didn't show up well in either photograph. The final touch was to add some clear sequins. 

Hop over to the Color Hues site and check out the creations from the Design Team and our fabulous Guest Designer, Vikki:

  Nancy

Hannelie

Cindy

Julie

Sheri

Kristie

Lindsey

And please join us for the new challenge!

Color Hues #6

It seems like time just flies by, despite the restrictions. Already Color Hues is up with the sixth challenge; this time Pink and Brown.

The design of this card is based on several cards I've seen in blog land, and it turned out better than I expected! I think it might be called a spotlight design.

I started by stamping one of the outline flowers from Simon Says "Delicate Flowers" set in brown on white cardstock. Then I stamped one of them on another piece of paper, and colored it with Copic markers. 

To assemble the card, I pulled out two favorite dies: Essentials By Ellen: Squares, and the Gina K Master Layouts: 1. The square dies cut the interior and also a narrow frame, so I die cut the floral image, and cut a second one from Lovely Lady (PTI) cardstock. I used the Master Layout dies to cut out the larger floral image and a narrow frame for that as well.

The sentiment from Sugar Pea's "Everyday Sentiments" was embossed in white on brown cardstock. These were all layered as you see above, and then finally added to a Dark Chocolate (PTI) card base. No embellishment needed!

Hop over to the Color Hues site and check out the creations from the Design Team and our Guest Designer, Susie:

Susie

  Nancy

Hannelie

Cindy

Julie

Sheri

Kristie

Lindsey

And then join us!!!