Inspired By... quilt

Happy Thursday friends, it's time for another Inspired By challenge!

This week we are being Inspired By.... a beautiful quilt!

Inspired By Challenge #IB276

Ok, confession time. 

Many, many moons ago (ahem.. 20+ years ago!) before I took up paper crafting, I was a quilter! My mom has always sewn and is a fabulous quilter, so growing up I was always surrounded by beautiful fabric.... guess I know where my love of pattern and color came from :)

When I saw this challenge, I knew I would be 'quilting with paper' in some way ;)

To say I was inspired is an understatement... I made three cards!

•••••••

Card #1... inspired by the colors, quilt theme, sketch (or 9 patch quilt block!), pattern

Supplies used:

Concord & 9th XO Quilt Top Dies; Big on You stamp set

The Stamp Market patterned papers; simple scripty thanks die

Spellbinders diamond plaid embossing folder

•••••••

Card #2... inspired by the colors, sketch, pattern

Supplies used:

Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms dies

The Stamp Market patterned papers; A fall hello dies; cardstock

Pinkfresh Studio diagonal stitched plaid coverplate die

•••••••

Card #3... inspired by the colors, pattern, sketch (loosely - flipped and used 9 base elements)

Supplies used:

The Stamp Market patterned papers; Birthday cover die; Balloon Birthday die; gold glitter star confetti

This was a fun one!! Hope that you will also be inspired to play along. Be sure to check out the rest of the design team's creations on the Inspired By blog and over on Instagram too!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

xoxo ~ rae

 

Cheerio!

Cheerio!

It's Inspired By day!! This week we are being inspired by London!

Inspired by... London #IB274

A little preface before I share my card.....

If you know my crafting style, you know I really enjoy taking somewhat 'literal' interpretations of photo prompts/inspirations. So of course to me that would mean stamping/using a red British telephone box or even some sort of window....

Ha! Easier said that done... even with, what, 20+ years of 'accumulated' supplies I have

• ZERO travel products

• ZERO window-ish products ?!?! 

So that leads to this card and a little 'peek' inside my brain and the creative process as to why I chose the elements I did :)

When I saw the inspiration photo, I knew I wanted to replicate the brick of the building (yay, I could do that with a brick stencil and grit paste!!), and the 'lines' I saw in the corner of the building architecture (which were achieved with black/white patterned paper). 

As for a nod to the telephone box, red patterned paper and a die cut frame (inked black) to the rescue! 

The branch idea was pulled from the upper right corner of the inspiration photo.

I chose to die cut the birds and crown in gold glitter cardstock, as a nod to 'royalty' :)

And of course the sentiment seemed fitting to a London theme....

Aren't you glad you don't live inside my brain?! Waaayyyyy too literal/detail-oriented!!! LOL

But alas, that's where I find my creative joy! :)

I hope you will check out the Inspired By Challenges blog for this week's challenge and check out the rest of the design team's amazing creations and feel inspired to play along!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by, appreciate you!!

xoxo ~ rae

Supply List:

Cardstock: Concord and 9th (pebble - for the brick background); The Stamp Market (reds); Neenah (white)

Patterned Paper: The Stamp Market (red plaid); My Mind's Eye (black/white)

Dies: Pinkfresh Studio (Ornate frame); Spellbinders (Sealed Birds); The Stamp Market (crown; hearts)

Distress Oxide Inks: (hickory smoke, black soot, bundled sage, peeled paint, forest moss, gathered twigs)

Other: gold glitter cardstock; Tim Holtz idea-ology label letters; foam tape

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

Not a Day Over Fabulous

 Hello hello!

A clean and simple card from me today... 

I was inspired by sketch #256 at AAA Cards 

and the theme "Cheers to the Years" (PP671) at The Paper Players

Here is my card...

I started by stamping the candles with embossing ink, then heat embossing with gold embossing powder. The stars and sparkles were also heat embossed in gold.

The candles were watercolored with Distress Oxide Inks.

The sentiment was stamped and heat embossed with white embossing powder.

I really enjoyed challenging myself to keep the card CAS, as my design style is typically more layered and embellished.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

xoxo ~ rae 

Supply List:

Stamps: Spellbinders 'Awesome Birthday'

Distress Oxide Inks: wild honey, spun sugar, kitsch flamingo, picked raspberry, saltwater taffy

Other: white and black cardstock; foam tape

Embossing powder: Brutus Monroe gilded, alabaster

Freshly Made Sketches #610

 Playing along with Freshly Made Sketches #610!

I took a little liberty with the sketch by flipping it and staggering the position of the shapes....

Although hard to capture in a photo, the snowflakes are a pretty white glitter :)

I started with the embossed background, inked the folk art frame in pale pink and adhered to the card front, then added the layered inked cardstock/glitter strips and snowflakes, then added the heat embossed sentiment and some clear sequins (that also did not photograph well!).

Supply List:

Spellbinders diamond plaid embossing folder

Pinkfresh Studios folk edge rectangle die; ink - ballet slipper

Simon Says Stamp snowflake dies

Waffle Flower Essential Sentiments stamp and die

Other supplies: silver embossing powder; clear sequins; white cardstock; white, silver glitter cardstock; foam tape

Thanks for stopping by!!

xoxo - rae

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

Recipe for Holiday Spirit - As You See It Challenge #311

 Getting in the holiday spirit with the latest As You See It Challenge #311

Here is my card...

It all started with the floral patterned paper that I found in my stash (hoard??lol) - I just love the non-traditional Christmas floral pattern! I added some berry die cuts over the embossed white cardstock, tied a little gold ribbon around the card front, and added a scripty sentiment... et voilà, my first Christmas card of the season was made :)

Supply List:

Spellbinders diamond plaid embossing folder

Simon Says Stamp pepper berry dies

Waffle Flower Essential Sentiments stamp and die

Pinkfresh Studios matte gold metallic pearls

The Paper Studio patterned paper

Other supplies: cardstock (black, white); gold metallic ribbon; Tsukineko onyx black ink; foam tape

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

good things will find you

Hello hello!

Playing along with the latest challenge at As You See It Challenge #293 | pinks & pearls

And here is my card.....

I used Pinkfresh Studio’s Wonderful in Every way stamp/stencil/die and some of my favorite pink Altenew inks (Pink Diamond and Rubellite) to create the floral focal point. 

Challenge requirements met by:

• Embossing: I used Spellbinders diamond plaid embossing folder

• Pearls: I added some mango colored pearls to the flower center

• Blossoms: I just LOVE this new Pinkfresh flower stamp set and find I turn to it often :)

• Shades of Pink: I created different shades of the two pink inks through ink blending - shaded some areas lighter and some darker using the same color and then ink blended the two pinks to alter the pink shades even more.

• Distressed Paper: I dug out my very, very old Heidi Swapp paper distressing tool to distress the edges of the paper panel

This was a great challenge, LOVED it!! :)

Thanks for stopping by!!

xoxo- rae

let's celebrate | freshly made sketches

Hi there! Got some crafty time in this weekend, and decided to play along with some of my favorite challenges to keep the creative juices flowing ;)

First challenge I worked on was Freshly Made Sketches #574

Here is the card design I came up with....

I started with a white card base and added some cardstock strips from Altenew's Sea Shore gradient cardstock set. Then I ran the panel through Spellbinders diamond plaid embossing folder, taking special care to align the stripes of the panel with the plaid pattern of the embossing folder.

Next I stamped the sentiments and adhered them to the card base, the larger sentiment was adhered with foam tape for dimension/interest. I'm not much of an 'embellisher', so I just added some die cut hearts and a few dew drops.

This was a good challenge for me, since I don't typically put sentiments on the diagonal - I felt that the small sub-sentiment strip worked well diagonally with the focal sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo - rae

Supplies:

Altenew: Sea Shore gradient cardstock set

Spellbinders: diamond plaid embossing folder

Simon Says Stamp: XL Birthday Greetings stamp & die

the Greetery: Sentiment Suite: birthday stamp & die

Concord & 9th: Big on You heart die

Other: Tsukineko onyx black ink; white cardstock; Studio katia dew drops; white heart puffy sticker; foam tape

hello

 Playing along with the latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches #572

Here is my take on the sketch

I used Altenew's Statement Flower stamp set for this one - I watercolored the flowers and leaves with Altenew watercolors. I fussy cut the flower, then layered and adhered them with foam tape to an embossed leaf paper strip edged with a piece of metallic gold cardstock. The card base is an embossed plaid. The sentiment was embossed in gold, and some gold sequins were added for interest. 

I don't watercolor much, I really enjoyed it, but definitely need some practice LOL.

Supply List

Altenew: Statement Flowers stamp; watercolors; brushed gold metallic cardstock

Pink Fresh: Perfect Sentiments stamp and die

Spellbinders: leafy and diamond plaid embossing folders; gold sequins

Brutus Monroe: gilded embossing powder

Other: black, 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

hello | Altenew January 2023 Inspiration Challenge

hey there!

Time for another awesome Altenew Inspiration Challenge

Altenew's January 2023 Inspiration Challenge | spring inspired card

Who wouldn't be inspired by these colors?! This is one of my all-time favorite color combinations, so I was eager to get creating! Since I don't own any stargazer lily stamps... note to self, get some!!... I chose a flower that had a similar petal shape... can't help my literal interpretation of photo prompts sometimes! LOL

I chose Altenew ink colors that I thought most resembled those in the lily, and kept one of the flowers solid light pink as a nod to the pretty rose in the inspiration photo. 

The card layout is courtesy of the latest sketch at Freshly Made Sketches #570 - love the sketch, it made the card design come together easily!

I finished the card off with a bold black embossed sentiment - I'm always a sucker for bright, bold colors paired with crisp white and bold black... I'm all about that color pop ;)

Also entering this card in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes :)

Altenew Supplies:

Stamps/Dies: Fabulous Florets stamps; Hello & Hugs stamp and die

3D Embossing Folder: checkered diamonds

Inks: baby pink, pinkalicious, rubellite, limeaid, lime, chamomile, marigold

Other Supplies:

PinkFresh Studios: stitched scallop rectangles

Brutus Monroe: raven ultra fine embossing powder

Spellbinders: gold sequins

Tsukineko: onyx black ink

Other: white cardstock, foam tape

Thanks so much for stopping by today, appreciate your visit!!

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