Spring Flowers

We're thinking about autumn colours down here in New Zealand, but it's still lovely to imagine spring. Retro Rubber helped me do that with their challenge #134: Spring Flowers.

I used an old favourite - Beautiful Bouquet,, from the 2017 Annual Catalogue - and a little of a new one - Ornate Frames. My mother-in-law liked the card, so that's the main thing!

Ingredients: Stampin' Up! card (Balmy Blue, Whisper White, Pear Pizzaz), ink, (Calypso Coral, Balmy Blue, Highland Heather), dies (Bouquet Bunch framelits, Ornate Frames dies, stamps (Beautiful Bouquet, Dressed to Impress  - sentiment), Calypso Coral ribbon.

Other - pearls/dots I don't know the origin of, sorry!

Bright Bunch

After a minimalist couple of cards last week, this week I went maximalist (if that's not a word, it should be). Retro Rubber's Challenge 86 'Beautiful flowers' was an invitation to use lots of colour, and Freshly Made sketch's Challenge 336 provided me with a great frame. The main stampset I used was 'Beautiful Bouquet', which first appeared in the 2017 - 2018 catalogue.
The card:

Card Ingredients:
Stampin' Up ink,(Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, Basic Black), card (Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Lemon Lime Twist), stamps (Beautiful Bouquet, Big on Birthdays for sentiment), dies (Bouquet Bunch), Brights enamel dots.
Other Products: Kaisercraft Paper (Oh So Lovely), francheville diamantes, Sizzix Thinlits (Jim Holtz Small Tattered Florals)

Retro Rainbow

I love rainbows, and rainbow cards, so I was pleased to see this challenge from Retro Rubber:

I experimented with a technique I learnt in a class a couple of months ago: Joseph's Coat. I'd tried it with flower outline stamps, but wondered if it would work with something a bit more 'filled in' - like the 'I think you're great' stamp set from the 2015-2016 catalogue. Here's the result:

If I did this again, I'd probably use a lighter purple, since the Rich Razzleberry is a little lost against the Night of Navy. To frame the sentiment, I used a rectangle die that's a bit counter-intuitive, since it 'stitches' the outside of the frame - meaning that the frame becomes what you cut the rectangle out of (if you see what I mean). I liked the result:

For the inside, I tried using two of the rainbow colours together on the stamp:

Made using: 

Stampin' Up Ink: Watermelon Wonder, Daffodil Delight, Cucumber Crush, Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry, Night of Navy.

Stampin' Up paper: Shimmery White, Daffodil Delight

Stampin' Up Stamps: I think you're great (from the 2015-2016 catalogue) and Big on Birthdays

Other: Die-namics Stitched Rectangle Dies

Guest design for Retro Rubber

I was extremely excited to be chosen as a guest designer by Retro Rubber - and this emotion quickly morphed into extreme nervousness!
However, the sketch was inviting and beautiful in its simplicity:

... and I do love going back to stamps that have languished a little while I'm playing with new toys. Here's the result:

For this card, I started by reverse embossing a piece of Whisper White card, using 'Falling Flowers' stamps from the 2016 - 2017 Stampin' Up catalogue, and then sponging on Marina Mist and Lost Lagoon ink. The upper card is stamped with one of the 'Petite Petals' stamps from Stampin' Up's 2015 - 2016 catalogue, in Marina Mist. The sentiment is from 'Crazy about You' stampset, also from the 2015 - 2016 catalogue. The ribbon looks like it has to be Island Indigo in colour, but I won it as a spot prize at a demonstration, so I don't know catalogue details, sorry. The matt and base card are Island Indigo and Lost Lagoon, respectively. Teh only non- Stampin' Up product I used is the little Francheville pearls.

Say it with flowers

This card is a response to three challenges: Retro Rubber's 'Colour My World Challenge 63: 

Fab Friday's sketch challenge 113:

and Just Add Ink's #361 to choose two from flowers, washi and watercolour.
The flowers are from the Stampin' Up set 'Awesomely Artistic', which satisfies the Retro Rubber requirement of a stamp older than a year, because it appears in the 2105/16 catalogue (it may be older, but that's when I got converted to making cards!) I loved the sketch's invitation to put the flowers front and centre, and the lines behind the circle just begged for washi tape, which meant that JAI's challenge fitted beautifully.
Anyway - here's the final result:

Made Using:
Stampin' Up: Awesomely Artistic stampset, Banners for you stampset, Bunch of Banners framelits, Stitched Shapes framelits, Whisper White and Pool Party card, washi tape from Affectionately Yours suite, Basic Black Ink, Cucumber Crush and Elegant Eggplant marker pens.
Other Products: Fiskar small butterfly punch, American Craft Pow! glitter paper, Faber Castell water colour pencils, Wink of Stella (clear)