CAS Colours and Sketches #357

It's Tuesday once again so it's time for another sketch at the CAS Colours and Sketches Challenge Blog.  Samantha is our host for the month of February and she's created this fun sketch for us, just in time for Valentines Day.

True confession time.  This is a Clean & Simple challenge blog.  Well over half of the cards I create follow this approach as it is truly my favorite but when I made my card for this challenge it didn't seem CAS enough.  So I made a second one.  And that one seemed rather blah to me.  Too exact to the sketch.  (Can you guess my personality type??? Ha!)  Sooooo yes, I made a third card.  And as I'm typing this I'm debating on which one to show your first.  LOL!

We'll start with what's up on the CC&S blog today.  

(In other words, Card #3)

To me, this one illustrates the versatility of the sketch 

with just the right amount of white space for the eye  

Compare the card above to my first attempt (Card #1) below. 

Same sketch.  More layers.  Less white space.
It just didn't feel CAS enough to me.

Now on to Card #2.   

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this version other than the fact 

that it's exactly like the sketch.  (I think I was feeling pressured for time.) 

I prefer to mix things up and put my own spin on things so when more 

time presented itself I made my third (and official) version of the sketch. 

It's nice when your OCD results in three great cards instead of just one, don't you think?  :-)

I'd love to know which one is your favorite?   

Supply List....
Memory Box Pinpoint Heart Circle die, Heart dies
Impression Obsession Heart Background stamp
The Stamp Market Pattern Paper
Ellen Hutson Totally Random Saying stamp
MFT Pierced Heart Stax
MFT Pattern Paper
Altenew Best Wishes stamp
Reverse Confetti Word Up stamp
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Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers #152

Another "drive-by" post this morning.  I made a super simple card for the current challenge over at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers blog where the theme is Anti-Valentine.

I

Let's get straight to the point with the sentiment, shall we?

Am I right?  You know you feel the same way.  LOL!  I've actually used this sentiment quite a few times and it just never gets old.  :-)

Supplies....

Studio Calico patterned paper

Concord and 9th heart die 

MFT heart pierced heart die

Unity Stamps sentiment

clay hearts 

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Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules

CASe This Sketch #357

This is my second post of the day  so scroll down if you missed my earlier card.  (I know, right?  It's either feast or famine with me. LOL!)

I'm bringing it down to the wire with my entry in the current CASe This Sketch Challenge.  Without further ado, here's the sketch. 

I played around with several ideas before coming up with the one I chose for my card.  I used the trio of horizontal lines as my guide to create some gradient ink blending over a white embossed background.

You may notice that I am using my new favorite ink color combo from Altenew.  (Misty Morning, Nimbus and Dark Night.)  The background diamond stamp, the sentiment and the small heart are all from The Stamp Market.  

I promise that's it for me...for today.  :-)

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Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules

Inspired By Challenge

I'm playing along with Laurel once again at her Inspired By Challenge blog.  This week's prompt is XOXO....

I remembered a black and white paper pack from PaperTrey Ink that I knew I wanted to use for this challenge.  I loved it so much I bought multiple packets of the card sized prints.  (I'm fairly certain that these are discontinued.)   As you can see, the XO was perfect.

I cut it down a bit to give the card a bit of an outer border.  I used a pink Copic marker to color the back of the vellum which I adhered with a full backing of sticky tape.  The die cut floral is from MFT Stamps.  I added some bling but decided against a sentiment to make it more versatile in my stash.  

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Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules

CAS Colours & Sketches #356

I'm not sure where the month of January went but it's the first Tuesday in February already and that means it's time for another color challenge over at the CAS Colours and Sketches Challenge Blog.  Team member Samantha is our hostess for the month and she's chosen this wonderful Valentine inspired color combination for our first challenge.

Remember, you may use any brand of inks, markers, cardstock, paints etc for the

 challenge as long as you stick to this color palette and neutrals.  

I used this opportunity to create a Valentine for my five year old grandson.  It will come as no surprise to those who follow me that I chose a shark as my focal image.  :-)

I had the darnedest time photographing this card.  The reds were throwing it all off.  

It's much brighter in real life but you get the idea.  

A closer view of the coloring.

I used the newest shark set from Avery Elle stamps.  Isn't it so cute? I think I own every.single.one of them.  (With a shark loving grandson named Fin, it's hard not to buy them all.)  I adore this sentiment too. 

I used Copic alcohol markers to color in the image as well as the cardstock that I used to die cut the heart embellishments.  (For those interested, I used R46, R22, T0 and T1 to match up the Stampin Up colors for this challenge.)

I know my little Fin is going to love his Valentine.  Maybe I'll even get it mailed it time.  (Wishful thinking.)

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Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules

Reverse Confetti Stock Your Stash

I recently purchased a really cute and unique set from Reverse Confetti that I was itching to use.  (I'm placing all of the credit/blame on my friend Michele.)   LOL!  I went to the RC blog to see what sort of challenges they had going and lo and behold, they had just the right one for the stamp set I bought. 

Here is their current challenge...

This is the stamp set Michele made me buy *wink* ....

And here is my card made with said stamp set....

I cannot possibly LOVE those huge OMG shadow letters any more than I do.

To create my card, I ink blended the background onto Bristol Smooth cardstock using a new(er) dye ink collection from Altenew.  I can already tell that these ink colors are going to be some favs.  I then cut the background with the Big Stripes Cover Panel Confetti Cuts (also a Reverse Confetti product).  I removed the stripes and inlaid the background with Neenah 110 lb Solar White cardstock.  The sentiment strip is heat embossed in white onto black cardstock.  The matte dots are from Gina Marie designs.  (Love these and they are very affordable.)  

A little closer look.  I debated on whether or not to color 

in the shadow but in the end I liked it in all white.  

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Before I go, a little self-pat.  I just received an email from the Inspired by Laurel blog challenge and was surprised and delighted to see that my recent garden card was chosen as last week's winner for the Clusters challenge.  It's always fun to get a little shout out.  Thanks Laurel!

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Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules

MFT Sketch Challenge #474

Today I'm playing along with the MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge.  I used to be an active participant in their challenges (as well as those put on by Simon Says Stamp, Ellen Hutson and Taylored Expressions) but lately the online card challenge groups have taken precedence.

Here is the sketch for this week....

And here's my take ...

All the stamps and dies are MFT products.  Those Bitty Bears are one of my all time favorite sets. As far as the sentiment goes, I have a feeling I'm going to be making lots of Miss You cards now.  (My son/daughter in law/grandson are going from being 10 minutes away to 10 hours away.)  *insert very sad emoji face here* 

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Thank you for visiting my little crevice of the crafty blogosphere.  Your time, comments and friendship are much appreciated.  

Happy Crafting!

Jules