Sending Some Summer Love

 

Challenge #322 has just gone live has just gone live at Time Out Challenges and this Inspired By challenge celebrates Seasonal Colours. 

We want you to create a project inspired by the Colours of the Season Where you Live!

Our challenge is generously being sponsored by Gina K and they are offering our Top Pick as chosen by the design teams $25 credit to their store!  

The Top Pick will also be invited to join Time Out as a guest designer in a future challenge.  Speaking of guest designers, our guest designer this fortnight is Donna Phelan of Crafting by the Beach, our winner of Challenge #317.  Be sure to check out the Time Out Blog to see how how Donna and my talented team mates were inspired by the season in their parts of the world!  

I wasn't sure how colours are supposed to categorised by season - I just know what I like and what suits me (and more often than not what most definitely does not)!  But I had to start somewhere, so I turned to my old friend Google and found this site https://colorhunt.co/palettes/ and picked a palette from the ones it suggested for Summer since until September 21st, Europe is technically still in Summer! 

Then I chose Distress Inks that I felt closely resembled these colours and took out my as yet NBUS Waffle Flowers Postage Collage Envelope die and started applying those colours into the apertures of a die cut made with the Waffle Flowers Postage Collage Block die - yes I thought (erroneously) that I could get away with not buying the matching stencil set for the Envelopes die but it was very difficult to line up properly!  

I started with Squeezed Lemonade, Carved Pumpkin, Mermaid Lagoon and Peacock Feathers - which didn't work out too well for me - at least they didn't make me feel like Summer!  

First I realised that my choice of Mermaid Lagoon was too blue and too dark but I didn't want to abandon my (2nd) attempt at stencilling so I pushed on!  Next, I realised the Squeezed Lemonade wasn't warm enough so I added Mustard Seed mmm much better!  I wanted to tone down the carved pumpkin so I added Spun Sugar to the Carved Pumpkin!   

I cut an envelope from a snippet that was close enough to the Carved Pumpkin/Spun Sugar and some foliage (unbranded and NBUS die which I thought resembled Eucalyptus leaves) from a snippet I used Peacock Feather DI to colour.  I stamped this sentiment (Poppystamps Diamond Sentiments) and used a deckle-edged die to cut it down to size so it fitted inside the envelope.  I blended some of the Mustard Seed DI onto another piece of scrap and cut the seal (Waffle Flowers Wax Seal Trio) - I have been wanting to play with this NBUS die since I bought it earlier in the year and it didn't disappoint!

I still wasn't happy with the end result - that Mermaid Lagoon was really bugging me - so I decided to to hide it with a snippet of light blue instead.  Thus changing the original colour scheme I'd been aiming for and replacing the stencilled envelope with a die-cut one (I consoled myself with the knowledge that it would be mostly hidden anyway)!  

The design still lacked something so I used the snippet of blue and cut some tiny hearts placing them on the stencilled envelopes and the notecard in an attempt to pull the colour scheme together.  

The Wax Seal (Waffle Flowers Wax Seal Trio) - cut from a snippet of card I'd coloured with the Mustard Seed DI - really brought everything together I thought.  I had waited so long to find this die at a retailer in Europe and I was so happy to use it at last ... and with just a touch of Glossy Accents, it did not disappoint!

I must say I'm looking forward to the various seasonal colours being on display in the gallery - I hope you can take some Time Out and come play cards with us this challenge!

I am grateful for and would like to enter the following challenges

Snippets Playground Challenge #541 - loads of snippets used;

Die Cut Divas September Challenge - loads of snippets used (rare for me to cut into a new piece of card these days except for a card base);

NBUS Challenge #90 - NBUS Postage Collage Envelope and Wax Seal Trio dies;

Stencil Fun September Challenge - the different envelopes were stencilled (even though it was a home made one)!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you go away a little inspired!   Your visits and comments are always a joy and always appreciated!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you!

Kate

Movie Star

 

Challenge #321 has just gone live at Time Out Challenges and this fortnight we have a theme challenge and it's 

The Movies

Challenge #321 is generously being sponsored by STAMPlorations and they are offering our Top Pick as chosen by the design teams $25 credit to their store!  

The Top Pick will also be invited to join Time Out as a guest designer in a future challenge!  Speaking of guest designers, our guest designer this fortnight is the very talented Kim Higgins, our winner of Challenge #316!   You can check out how Kim and my talented team mates have interpreted our The Movies theme over on the Time Out Blog!

You may be inspired by a specific movie (perhaps a favourite of yours) or a camera, film strip or any of the many other icons often associated with The Movies

I thought this one would be a quick and easy project - I already had an NBUS die set (Decotime ) that I'd bought a few years earlier!  I made up a bucket of popcorn, some 3D glasses and a large film strip frame from the set ... and I hated it!  I tried a little background stamping ... still hated it!  

 I was really annoyed with myself when I finally folded and had a peek on Amazon for yet more schtuff that would end up joining my already mounting supply of NBUS!  All I found was this (unbranded) die set but it did look like it might give me some other options and was cheap, quickly deliverable, and didn't seem to be a knockoff of another company's set (at least not a company that I could find)!  

I already knew this lovely panel (Memory Box Matinee Rectangle Layers) would be perfect to frame my card and I did like this curved piece of film strip from the unbranded set.  I thought I'd add the word "MOVIE" but as there were 6 apertures on the filmstrip I wondered what I could add in the 6th, when in a face palm moment the song  Movie Star by Harpo popped into my head and finally I had an idea I could run with!  

The letters from this alphabet set (Tim Holtz World Travels set) fitted perfectly in the apertures I love its Art Deco / Golden Age of Cinema vibe but I'm not gonna lie, I really struggled to fit enough onto the card so that it depicted "The Movies" but not look too crowded ... and the bucket of popcorn I had my carefully constructed had no place!  Eventually I found a way to fit the bucket of popcorn (enough of it anyway) and everything else I'd already cut onto the card - they just had to hang off the edge or be carefully placed so that they overhung the film strip (strategically placed foam tape) without obscuring the "sentiment" 

Movie ⭐️

I still wasn't 100% satisfied - the 3D glasses looked out of place among the movie making elements!  So I carefully removed which left a bit of a hole in the upper right corner that I filled with a pair of sunglasses (PTI Beach Bag) that an up and coming starlet might wear!  I couldn't find a place for the 3D glasses and was going to leave them off entirely when I had the idea to place them on the popcorn ... as if they're in the front row at the cinema looking up at the big screen!

And there's room on that clapboard for some personalisation if I want to add it with a 

white marker or a very small alphabet at a later date!

I hope you can find some Time Out and come join us this fortnight at The Movies!

I am grateful for and would like to enter the following challenges

NBUS Challenge #90 - NBUS Decotime and unbranded sets;

Die Cut Divas September Challenge - Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose - everything except the panel and base were cut from snippets left over from previous projects;

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you go away a little inspired!  Your visits and comments are always a joy and always appreciated!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you!

Kate

Bake Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 187 has just gone live and it was my turn to pick a theme and I chose 

"How Sweet it is!"

 Think hot cocoa, cookies, candy canes ...

I had a lot of fun with this card though it was a lot of work!  I didn't mind though as it's for my daughter-in-law (a pastry chef) - I think she'll get a kick out of it!  Will I be making this particular design again - probably not!  But perhaps that adorable little plate of cookies in a more CAS design ...

The cookies, plate, tray, rolling pin, candy canes and hot chocolate with marshmallows (Papertrey Ink Cookie Swap) were cut from loads of snippets.  

I cut "BAKE" (The Greetery Bake it Merry) from red and green card stock and generated some computer text (Are you Freakin'Serious font) so that it would fit on the rolling pin.  

It still need something in the upper corners so I added some foliage (Sizzix Winter Foliage) 

... and I nibbled on one of one the cookies with a scalloped circle punch.

Here are some closeups

I hope you can find time to join us this month at the Sparkles Christmas Challenge - this year has gone so fast and Christmas is getting close now!

I am grateful for and would like to enter the following challenges:

NBUS Challenge #90 - Both baking sets are NBUS;

Inspired by Challenge #IB404 - Inspired by this lovely red and green Kitchen scene;

Snippets Challenge #540 - many, many snippets used for this card;

Die Cut Divas September Challenge - Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose (Almost everything apart from the base and front panel were from leftover pieces from previous projects - Waste not, Want not!);

ABC Christmas Challenge P,Q,R - R is for rectangle (the shape of the baking tray) and Q (there are 4 biscuits on that tray);

Christmas Crafts All Year Long September Challenge - R is for Rolling Pin;

The Outlawz September Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas goes;

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you go away a little inspired!  Your visits and comments are always a joy and always appreciated!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and should be able to find you!

Kate