Friday 27 September 2013

Color My Heart 50 Shades of....Green!



Hello Crafty Friends!
Gotcha with that catchy title, eh?

Truly, it is a reference to this week's color dare at Color My Heart:

Sweet Leaf and Olive
are two shades of yellow-green.

We just moved house and I have been without crafting supplies and internet (at home, anyway) for nine days now (worse than solitary confinement!). Spent the last two days unpacking my many boxes of crafty stuff. And where do you think the stamps were? In the LAST box, of course.
So, a brief little card, to make the posting deadline, using a punny stamp set, some alcohol markers and an embossing folder:

Also not sure where my light-box ended up, but I'm sure it will turn up in time for the next post. Sorry for the odd color & lighting.
*******
I know the other gals over at the Color My Heart blog have some very pretty cards to share. So pop on over, get a little lesson on monochromatic color schemes, then get inky and share your creation with us. We love to see what you come up with!
Remember, your project can be anything (card, scrapbook layout, home decor, etc) as long as it features the specified colors (plus neutrals); Close to My Heart colors are not necessary, but you should try to match the challenge colors. Link closes next Thursday at noon.
Happy crafting,
Caroline

Supplies Used:
Olive and White Daisy card stock (CTMH)
Alcohol markers in Sweet Leaf and Olive (CTMH)
Under the Sea stamp set:  C1500 (CTMH)
Copic Markers BG10, B00
Memento Tuxedo Black inkpad
Sizzix embossing folder (swirls)
Lil'Inker Designs stitched rectangles cutting die
The Twinery's Honeydew twine
3M foam tape

Tuesday 17 September 2013

Atlantic Hearts Sketch #21--Watercolor Ombre

 Goodbye... summer!
The weather has definitely changed up here in Canada, and Day-light Savings Time takes effect this coming weekend! Yikes!
*RELAX* My hubby checked on the DST thing and he got it wrong! not until November...
Time to hunker down in the scrap-room...

Michelle and Darla at Atlantic Hearts have another great sketch challenge for us:
Love that ombre panel and the skeleton-butterfly.
I chose to interpret the ombre-look with water-color pencils, rendering a little scene of  summer colors at the cottage/PEI coast. The sand/soil really is that colour...such a contrast with the blue sky and vivid green foliage.

I used a panel of water-color paper, spritzing it first, to allow greater absorption and spreading of the colors. I overlapped my pencil scribbles for more color-blending, then smoothed it some more with a damp paint brush.
Kind of a nostalgic greeting. I personally hate saying goodbye to summer, but this would make a nice "farewell" card. 
The skeleton leaf is a new die from Paper Wishes. I cut it out twice in two shades of brown (Cocoa and Saddle) and overlapped them slightly for a shadowed look.
Here's the inside:
completing the farewell message. The big ampersand is a Paper Smooches stamp. A retired CTMH sentiment stamp set provided the Goodbye and Good Luck.

How will you interpret this pretty sketch?
Head on over to the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge blog. A new sketch is posted every Monday; Design Team creations are shared on Wednesday, and you have until Sunday night to link up your work. Join us for some creative and challenging fun!

Happy crafting,
Caroline

Supplies:
Water color pencils by Derwent
Card stock in Colonial White, Cocoa and Saddle (CTMH)
Dye ink in Saddle and Sky (CTMH)
Water-color paper from Simon Says Stamp
Corner-rounder (CTMH)

Friday 13 September 2013

The Color Dare turns...#60!!!

It's not as bad as it sounds...I just like nice, round numbers!

Here's the color palate for this week's dare at Color My Heart:

GOLDRUSH
OUTDOOR DENIM
GYPSY
LAGOON
and optional 
COTTON CANDY 
These colours are featured in one of the new paper packs from Close to My Heart, Sarita. The patterns are rich in texture, based on beautiful Ikat fabrics. I chose to cut them into chevrons using a die from The Stamps of Life.

Next, I die-cut a label shape using Outdoor Denim cardstock. The sentiment, embossed with white powder, is from the December Stamp-of-the-Month set, Handle with Care.  It looked a little plain, so I rubbed on some color using Close To My Heart's pigment ink pads:
Neat effect, eh?

 Sarita is also has coordinating actual fabric, so I cut a strip of that for the top of the tag.
A final look at this card:

So! Off you go to the Color My Heart blog, to see some pretty creations by the other Design Team members. Then break out your inks, pens and papers and make something (card, lay-out or 3-D object d'art) in the challenge colours. Upload your creation to the Color My Heart site to share with us. We promise to comment, and you might just be chosen as one of the Color Dare Jewels!

Happy crafting,
Caroline

Monday 2 September 2013

Atlantic Hearts Sketch #19

Happy Labour Day, folks!

The Atlantic Hearts Sketch challenge has a new design for you to try. This one was created by Carrie Wright, one of our DT members.
Those cascading elements down the left side reminded me of the falling leaves I've been seeing the past few days...autumn already! I am NOT quite ready for the change of season, so I searched the web for some summery colour challenge combinations.

Here's a version using colours from the Color Throwdown, interpreted with Close to My Heart colours:
Hollyhock, Sunset, Blush, Sweet Leaf and Buttercup

I made a second version using inspiration from the Colour Q challenge #204:

Similar Color My Heart shades are:
Gypsy, Lagoon, Sorbet and Pear

The stamp set is a retired one from Close to My Heart, with corresponding leaf shapes cut using the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge. The sentiment stamp comes from Paper Wishes. The embossing folder is by Cuttlebug. Here's the inside of the second card:
So, which version do you prefer?



More inspiration for this sketch will be found on the Atlantic Hearts blog on Wednesday of this week. Then you have until Sunday night to show us your interpretation. Lots of scope with this design! Hope you play along!

I'm entering this these cards in the following challenges: 
Happy crafting,
Caroline