life is beautiful

 Hey there!

Today I'm sharing a card made for the latest Color Throwdown challenge #776

This is what I came up with...

I die cut the flower parts from white cardstock and gave them color by ink blending with distress oxide inks using the challenge color hues (blush, dusty blue, pink). The card background panel was inspired by the dark shadows in the photo prompt.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

xoxo ~ rae

Supply List:

Distress Oxide Inks: tattered rose, spun sugar, stormy sky

Spellbinders Dies: four petal thank you floral

Spellbinders Embossing Folder: dazzling dots

Pinkfresh Studio Stamp/Die: beyond happy

Pinkfresh Studio Die: ornate rectangle frame

This Calls for Confetti: sequins

Techniques: ink blending, die cutting, stamping, embossing

thank you - Color Throwdown #767

 Playing along with the latest Color Throwdown challenge #767!

Confession time..... when I saw the flower pillows in the photo prompt I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do with this card! Yes, it's very 'old school' of me, but once I get an idea in my head, well, I see it through! :)

So basically, I dug out some VERY old white Prima flowers (ca. 2009?! lol) that resembled the flower pillows and inked them with distress inks from the color challenge. Additional ancient products include patterned papers, that to me resembled upholstery.... did I mention that I took a rather literal interpretation of the inspiration photo as well?! lol

Sometimes it is refreshing to just dig through the years of collected products and just let your creativity flow...

Supply List:

Spellbinders four petal thank you floral dies

Waffle Flower Essential Sentiments stamp and die

Distress Oxide Inks - spun sugar, mustard seed, rusty hinge, bundled sage

Prima flowers - white

May Arts jute twine

Other supplies: patterned papers from stash; Tsukineko black onyx ink; burlap scraps

Thanks for stopping by!!

xoxo - rae

color throwdown 743

hello there!

Playing along with the latest Color Throwdown Challenge #743

I totally fell in love with the inspiration photo and was so inspired.... until I went to create.... then I drew a complete blank! LOL I think my crafty mojo has taken a vacation! But alas, I persevered and saw the challenged through. 

Supply List:

PinkFresh Studio With Sympathy stamp & die

PinkFresh Studio Nested Arches die

Spellbinders Sealed Birds die

PinkFresh Studio Inks: ballet slipper, sparkling rose, raspberry bliss, peach fuzz, fresh pear, grassy knoll, key lime, olive

PinkFresh Studio Glitter Drops: champagne

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

rae

color throwdown 729

Playing along with the latest challenge over at The Color Throwdown | CTD 729

Here is my take on the color challenge:

I was inspired by the flowers and colors in the inspiration prompt so I turned to my new Altenew Statement Flowers stamp and did some ink blending in reds and pinks. For the gold color, I heat embossed the sentiment in gold and also used an embossing pen to emboss the flower center in gold, and then added some gold pearl accents as well. 

Supply List:

Pink Fresh: Sparkling Diamonds cover plate die

Pink Fresh: Scalloped rectangle die

Pink Fresh: Perfect Sentiments stamp and die

Pink Fresh: metallic pearls - matte gold

Altenew: Statement Flowers stamp

Distress Oxide Inks: spun sugar, kitsch flamingo, festive berries, candied apple

Brutus Monroe: gilded embossing powder

Other: white cardstock, foam tape

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo - rae

let's celebrate | Color Throwdown 728

Played along with the delicious new color challenge at the Color Throwdown | #728 red, brown, pink, green

This color challenge gave me the perfect excuse to use some of my new supplies!

I inked up my yummy new Pink Fresh Studio's Wonderful in Every Way stamps with the pinks, reds, and greens, die cut the floral image and adhered it to an embossed panel and layers of frame die cuts.  The sentiment is from Pink Fresh Studio's new Wonderful Sentiments set. 

Love how this one turned out! I have a feeling I will be using this set a lot!! :)

And since I used my new Pink Fresh Studio 'Wonderful in Every Way' stamp and die, I'm also submitting this card for the latest Flower Challenge #77 | Use Your Latest Stamps/Dies

Supply List:

Pink Fresh Studio Wonderful in Every Way stamps, stencils, dies

Pink Fresh Studio Wonderful sentiments - sentiment and die

Pink Fresh Studio stitched scallop rectangles

Pink Fresh Studio fancy oval frame

Pink Fresh Studio inks: ballet slipper, berrylicious, candy apple, grassy knoll, key lime

Spellbinders dazzling dots embossing folder

Tsukineko onyx black ink

Other: woodgrain patterned paper, white cardstock, foam tape

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

xoxo

rae

happy birthday | color throwdown #727

 hello hello!

Back with another great Color Throwdown challenge - Color Throwdown #727 - mustard, pink, green

I took inspiration from the challenge photo prompt when designing my card....

I chose the plaid embossed background as a nod to the texture of the gloves - athough, I will admit, I was a little disappointed that my mustard color turned out looking more 'French's yellow mustard' than the 'Grey Poupon' I was aiming for.... lol.... but I went with it anyway!

I knew I wanted to use a flower in my design as well, so I turned to one of my favorites, the Altenew/Pink Fresh 'celebrate us' flower/die combo, and I chose pink inks to mimic the colors in the photo prompt. 

A few gold accents for added interest, and voilà, finished card!

Also entering this card in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge | beautiful blooms

Supply List:

Altenew/PinkFresh Studios: Celebrate Us stamp and die

Waffle Flower: Essential Sentiments stamp and die

PinkFresh Studio: stitched scallop rectangle dies

Spellbinders: diamond plaid embossing folder

PinkFresh Studios: Inks: sweet mustard, sunshine

Altenew: Inks: pink diamond, pinkalicious, fresh leaf

Brutus Monroe: gilded embossing powder

Spellinders: gold sequins

Tsukineko: onyx black ink

Other: white cardstock, gold washi tape

Thanks so much for stopping by today, appreciate it!!

xoxo

rae

always & forever

 Hello there!

Played along with a new challenge today.... As You See It Challenge #291

I was intrigued by this color combination, so I pulled together some inks and went to work, and this is what I came up with...

For my design, I opted to go with highlighting the bold colors and added different shapes and textures to give the card interest and dimension (lots of foam tape action going on here too!).

Supply List:

Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks: kitsch flamingo, festive berries, broken china, faded jeans

Pink Fresh: nested hexagon dies; stitched scallop rectangles

Hero Arts: nested hearts dies

Simon Says Stamp: etched linear heart die

Waffle Flower: love thanks sentiment and die

Spellbinders: diamond plaid embossing folder

Tsukineko: onyx black ink

Other: white cardstock; black/white striped ribbon; foam tape

Really enjoyed this challenge! Thanks so much for stopping by!

xoxo

rae

happy birthday | CTD 726

Back today with a card made for Color Throwdown challenge 726 | grey, navy, white

I was excited about this challenge for several reasons - for one, it's a color combination that I don't think I have ever worked with, and secondly, I was inspired by the photo prompt itself - the minimalism, the single image on a solid background. 

So here is what I designed...

Although I did experiment with embossed/pierced backgrounds, I felt that the simple, solid grey background helped the line drawn flowers embossed in white on navy cardstock pop and serve as the focal point of the card. The sentiment was stamped in grey and I die cut an extra sentiment shadow in navy to serve as a shadow behind the sentiment to create a visually pleasing navy 'triangle' on my card front.... interesting what the eye sees when you're creating, right? 

I just love the look of the white embossed line drawn flowers on the navy..... yum!

Supply List:

Simon Says Stamp: Sketch Lotus Flowers stamps and dies; XL Birthday Greetings stamps and dies

Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink hickory smoke

Misc: Cardstock: grey, navy, white; grey/white bakers twine; white embossing powder; foam tape

Thanks for stopping by today, appreciate your visit!

xoxo

rae

hugs | Color Throwdown 725

hello hello!

I played along with the latest color challenge at The Color Throwdown - challenge 725 colors: red, green brown...

Talk about a challenge... lol! This card took waayyyyy too long to make, lots of trial and error with miscellaneous stamps and supplies, but I am glad that I stuck with it as I truly enjoyed getting out of my comfort zone and working with a color combination that I don't normally work with.

Here is what I came up with....

I started by die cutting the hexagon from brown cardstock and then die cut a white hexagon for the center. I adhered that piece to an embossed white cardstock panel. Then came hours of playing around with random supplies until I ended up using some stamps and dies from The Greetery to create a little foliage collage. I die cut the hearts from red cardstock, and heat embossed the 'hugs' sentiment on the smaller heart. I wrapped twine around the panel before adhering the smaller heart to the card. All layers were adhered with foam tape to add dimension.

So glad this challenge truly 'challenged' me today, it feels so good when you come out on the other side with a card that you like!

Supply List:

Altenew: 3D embossing folder - Deck Planks

PinkFresh Studio: hexagon dies

Hero Arts: heart dies

The Greetery: Pine & Berry stamps and dies

Simon Says Stamp: Greeting Mix 2

Ranger: Distress oxide inks - peeled paint, candied apple

Other supplies: cardstock (white, brown, red), brown twine, white embossing powder, foam tape

Thanks for stopping by today, appreciate your visit!

xoxo

rae

sending hugs | color throwdown 724

 hello hello & happy new year!!

I was inspired by the latest color challenge over at The Color Throwdown

There's nothing better than a bright color pop with neutrals... here's my take on the challenge:

I stamped the flower and leaves with black ink, then used the coordinating solid stamps to add the color - I chose Altenew's magenta for the flower and new silver sage for the leaves - I LOVE this subtle sage ink color! The flower/leaves were adhered with foam tape over a Pinkfresh die cut panel matted with black cardstock. The card base is a yummy (very old) piece of gray patterned paper. The sentiment was stamped in black ink and adhered with foam tape, and I added a few light grey enamel dots for embellishment. 

I also tapped into my new Altenew metallic watercolors - I painted over the flower with rose quartz and added a little prasiolite on the leaves - hard to capture in a photo, but you can see the shimmer here

Another fabulous Color Throwdown color inspiration, loved it!

Supply List:

Altenew: Beautiful Day stamps & dies; metallic watercolors - rose quartz, prasiolite; mini ink cubes - magenta, silver sage

Pinkfresh: Ornate medallions coverplate die; Perfect Sentiments stamp 

Tsukineko Versafine onyx black ink

cardstock - white, black

patterned paper - 'vintage' (read: very old!) gray patterned paper, maybe Basic Grey

enamel dots - light grey

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

rae

miss you

Hello! Back with a new challenge card..

I played along with a challenge over at Color Hues - Challenge #52 Turquoise and Mustard

This was a fun one to tackle... here is my card:

I gave an ombre inking to the Pinkfresh Studio Ornate Medallion die cut panel with mustard seed Distress Oxide Ink. I stamped the Altenew flower vine set in black ink over a panel also inked with mustard seed Distress Oxide Ink for a tone on tone effect, fussy cut around the image and adhered it to the card base with foam tape for dimension. The Concord & 9th (Big on You set) sentiment was stamped with black ink over a panel blended with salvaged patina Distress Oxide Ink, die cut, and adhered to the card front with foam tape. Enamel dots in shades of turquoise were added to the floral panel. 

Love the simplicity of this card and how that turquoise color jumps right off the mustard background.

Thanks for stopping by, appreciate it!

xoxo

rae