Autumn Leaves

The new challenge at Ruby's Rainbow Challenges is Autumn Leaves.  I used a pretty foiled leaf paper for my card base.  I water colored the oak leaf image with Twinkling H2o's.  These paints are easy to use and so shimmery.  I distressed the paper edges and added a little distress ink.  I intended to include a little lace or maybe some gem stickers, but I decided the blended colors on the image was just enough.  Be sure to stop by Ruby's and show us your creation for autumn.

Mr. Snowman

The new theme at Sparkles Christmas Challenges is For a Child.  I chose a snowman shaker sticker that is filled with glitter that moves.  I layered the snowman on a diecut over a doily that I inked.  The sentiment is a K & Co. chipboard sticker and I just had to add a little vintage lace.  Our sponsor this month is Marianne Designs.  Show us your creation for a chance to win 2 dies.

September Color Design Challenge Card

This is my entry for the Dry Gulch September Color Design Challenge.  I enjoyed working with such a pretty palette of colors.  I layered flower paper over embossed metallic paper.  The card base is glittered.  The flowers are all diecuts from K & Co. and the leaves are all from Dry Gulch.  I patinaed and sanded them.  I love these versatile findings.  They make great earrings too.  I found the perfect shade of green lace, so I just had to use it.  We would love to see your entry in the contest - click the Challenge link and show us your design for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Dry Gulch Beads.

Anything Goes at Ruby's Rainbow

 

The new challenge at Ruby's Rainbow Challenges is Anything Goes!  It will be fun to see all of the entries we get from this challenge.  I started with a lace doily that I cut on my CraftRobo.  I found the file at Monica's Creative Room.  She has an amazing assortment of free, intricate cutter files in several formats.  I added a Happy Birthday plaque and a sparkly butterfly.  As much as I wanted to add a piece of vintage lace, I couldn't fit it in.  Be sure to stop by Ruby's and show us what you've been working on.  Don't forget the Dry Gulch Color Design Challenge too!

September Color Design Challenge

Dry Gulch Beads & Jewelry is hosting another Color Design Challenge.  This month, the colors are a cool blend of lavenders and greens.  I plan to create a card as well as a necklace in this color palette. 

Anything can be created for this challenge, including; finished jewelry pieces, headbands, wearable pendants and pins, handmade cards, lampwork beads, cuffs, etc. All creative techniques may also be used to create your projects, like seed-beading, sewing, metal-smithing, paper crafting, leather work, painting, etc. The sky is the limit! Show us how creative you are with our color palette.

For this challenge, Dry Gulch is offering a $25 gift certificate prize to the winner. The judges will be looking for adherence to the color palette, creativity of the project’s design and effort. You may purchase and use Dry Gulch components in your project, but that is not a requirement to win.

Your judges will be the 3 generations of women who create at Dry Gulch Beads and Jewelry. The judges may create and post their own visions of the monthly color palette also, but for inspiration and presentation only.

We’ll publish each created work on Facebook and here on this challenge page. Add your photo in the comments on our Color Design Challenge Facebook post or email us your photo to custserv@drygulch.com. When uploading, you may add a description of your work. If also Facebooking and/or blogging your Dry Gulch Color Design project, please add a link to the Challenge on your page.

Entries for the Dry Gulch Color Design Challenge may be turned in from now until midnight CST, Tuesday, September 30, 2014. 

 

An InLinkz Link-up

Fall Diecut Card Challenge

 

The new challenge at Die Cuttin' Divas is fall themed.  I chose an intricate doily that I cut on my CraftRobo to be a sunflower.  I also cut some pretty leaves with the machine, but I cut the stem by hand.  A tiny piece of lace and a few crystal gems give the piece a little dimension.  Here is the inspiration photo collage.

 

Magazine Challenge #11

The next challenge in the magazine 75 Creative Card Challenges is Doll up a Diecut.  I chose a lacy looking medallion that I inked and embellished with a crocheted flower.  I added a pearl and gem center and a row of pearl gems.  This one is simple, but I like the pretty colors.

Going Round in Circles

The latest challenge at Craft Your Passion is Going Round in Circles.  I cut an ornate round doily from Monica's Creative Room on my CraftRobo.  Monica has incredible patterns and they are free.  Since this was a border file,  I had to remove the center circle in Inkscape.   I cut a circle shaped card and adhered it to the back of the doily to form the card.  The patterned paper I chose was a little busy so it was a challenge to decorate it.  I used a K & Co. butterfly diecut, a swirl and gem swirls.  I'm off to find more amazing cutter files!

Things with Wings Challenge

Live & Love Crafts is hosting a Things with Wings challenge for September.  The design team has made some pretty fabulous cards for inspiration.  I made mine a little over the top.  I started with Tim Holtz paper for my background and then added vintage nest and bird pictures.  Vintage lace was a must for this one.  I punched a lace strip with a Martha Stewart punch for the bottom and added an inked doily at the top.  I embossed grunge board filigrees with embossing enamel from Stampendous.  The feathers are real ones from our Guineas.  I painted the birdcage to soften and age it a little.  I embellished with pearl gems, flowers and an embossed metal filigree from our store, Dry Gulch.  It was a lot of fun to make such an extravagant card.

Pretty Petals

The new challenge at Alphabet Challenges is Pretty Petals for "P".  I have chosen a pretty green flower surrounded by soft pink colors.  I found a vintage ephemera piece that went with the theme beautifully.  I embossed the background paper with my Vagabond.  The ribbon flower ribbon is layered over a piece of vintage lace.  This card is a little less complicated than my usual work, but it just didn't need anything else.  Sometimes you have to know when to stop.  Be sure to visit Alphabet Challenges and check out the other design team members' creations.  We would love to see what you make too.

Mojo Monday Sketch Card

I was inspired to create this card by Mojo Monday's latest sketch challenge.  I made a green watercolor background with distress stains and shimmer spray ink.  The flower print is from Lili of the Valley and they come already colored.  I added a little ink around the edges and a shimmer spray.  I decorated a little ribbon and lace with a pearl gem as well.  Here is their sketch.

Yellow and Black Card

 

I created this card for the Pink Elephant's challenge this week.  I used bold black and yellow colors and added a piece of vintage lace decorated with black faux rhinestone ribbon.  I spray inked the butterfies and finished it off with crystal gems.  Simple, yet striking.  I love color challenges.  Here is the inspiration picture.

Color Challenge Bird

I created this card for the color challenge #5 at Cosmic Strawberry.  I started with a patterned card and added a glittered, colorful background.  The lace section at the bottom is made with a Martha Stewart punch.  I inked a chipboard bird and placed it over a flourish that I cut on my CraftRobo.  Since fall is just around the corner, I decided to add a few leaves that I diecut from a Tim Holtz die.  The Vagabond cuts materials like burlap and thick cardstock easily.

Sketch with Color Blocking

I created this card for a sketch challenge at Die Cuttin Divas.  It was tough not making a vintage style card, but this one didn't need lace.  I used corrugated cardstock for texture and the patterned papers came from a 6x6in pad of paper called Fabrications from Teresa Collins.  I layered my cloud shaped diecuts and added a K & Co. dimensional sticker.  I love being challenged by sketches.

Key Challenge

We have a new challenge at Ruby's Rainbow Challenges this week.  This challenge is sponsored by me and it is to create something with keys.  I love the look of vintage keys and I think they work well with old fashioned embellishments.  I started by embossing my background with a key pattern and then I inked the design to make the keys pop.  I added vintage lace and an antique brass buckle.  I used some Tim Holtz stickers and a clock covered bottlecap.  I hope you will be inspired to create something with a key for this fun challenge.

Spiffy Snowman

Our new challenge at Sparkles Christmas Challenges is to create something with a snowman.  I chose a K & Co. diecut that I altered with a little snowy embossing powder and glitter.  My favorite part of the card is the watercolor background.  I started by stamping snowflakes with Staz-On ink onto watercolor paper.  Then I added Distress Stain and added lots of water.  I love the soft look of the blended colors.  I also embossed the edges and corners with a little snowy embossing powder.  The bottom punched border was super hard to photograph because it is holographic cardstock.  Be sure and show us your snowman creation and check out our sponsor Crafty Ribbons.  You could win a $10 voucher.

American Made Martha Stewart Contest

 

To all of my talented card making friends and teamies, my family and I are nominees in the Martha Stewart American Made contest.  We need FB shares to be chosen as a finalist.  I would love it if you all could click this link and choose share to help us advance to the finals.

 

We are excited to be part of this contest.  Thanks for "sharing" for us!

Colorful Metal Flowers

 

I have been busy making colorful metal flowers today.  I started with a plain, antique brass metal flower component.  I used Perfect Medium ink that I added with a paintbrush.  I sprinkled on embossing powder and melted.  You can add layer after layer.  Be careful because the metal gets very hot.  I will use Ice Resin to seal the flowers that I plan to use for jewelry.  You can find the brass flowers at Dry Gulch.

 

Watercolor Challenge

 

I have been playing around with a little watercolor because I finally got some of the Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Cardstock.  I am so glad I did because it is the best watercolor paper ever.  It really stands up to lots of water and repeated drying cycles.  This card is very simple compared to most of my designs, but sometimes simple is best.  My daughter Alex watercolored the saying.  I am entering this card in the watercolor challenge at Party Time Tuesdays.

 

The kids all tried their hands at watercoloring with distress inks tonight.  I think they did a great job!

Back to School

Our new challenge theme at Ruby's Rainbow Challenges is "Back to School".  School started today for lots of students including my son, Joey.  It was his first day of college.  I wanted to stick with my usual vintage theme, so I found several studious ephemera pieces and layered them.  I distressed and inked edges and added a piece of a ruler as well as a pen nib.  Be sure to stop by Ruby's and see what the other design team members created.  Of course, we want to see what you create as well.

"N" for Natural Challenge

The new challenge at Alphabet Challenges is "N" for Natural.  This project has to use something natural like a pressed flower or a seed pod.  I chose chicken feathers from our very own chickens.  We have very colorful birds that lay beautifully colored eggs including green, blue and chocolate brown.  I added layers of vintage lace with a Martha Stewart paper punched border.  The antique brass filigree is from Dry Gulch.  Be sure to stop by and see what the other design team members created.  We would love to see your natural element card.

Birthday Card for Joey

 

My son Joey is turning 18 years old so I created this old-world style card for him.  I used a sketch as my inspiration and focused on vintage elements.  The vintage buttons all came from my grandmother in Illinois.  I added twine to the map tag and a metal hand to the clock.  I hope he likes it!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Crafty Chicks - Anything Goes
Sister Act - Anything Goes
Fan-Tastic Tuesday - Anything Goes - Square