Challenge Cards

Today's cards are my takes on a couple of weekly challenges. My first one is for Weekend Sketch Challenge #90, hosted this week on Laurie's Just Give Me Stamps blog.

I stayed pretty true to the sketch. Notable is the fact that I used Papertrey Ink's Berry Sorbet ink for the flowers. The Dew Drop-like acrylic discs are clear, backed with tiny Juniper circles cut with a hole punch. Three of the flowers were attached with foam tape to add a little dimension, and I used Liquid Pearls paint to accent the center of the flowers.

Materials & Tools: Vanilla Cream and Cocoa cardstock; Unforgettable paper packet; Bamboo, Cocoa, and PPI Berry Sorbet ink pads; Aspirations and PPI Out on a Limb stamp sets; Acrylic Disks from Michael's; Sorbet Designer Ribbon Rounds; White Opal Liquid Pearls; Piercing tool; Stampin' Up Piercing Guide & Mat; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Ovals set; 3M foam mounting tape.

This second card is my "official" card for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #75. I've made a couple other cards with this sketch already this weekend. Why this is the "one," I dunno. It's not like it makes any difference. LOL. Not much to say about this one. The flowers were colored with markers, and I used a blending pen and Juniper ink to go around the outside and shade them a bit. I also tied a successful satin bow. A big deal for one who usually struggles with the stuff. Oh, and I painted over my flowers with what I originally thought was Shimmerz paint. Turns out, it was Shimmering Pearls, something I bought eons ago that had actually dried up. I spritzed a little water in the container and was able to come up with enough paint on my brush to go over the flowers. The affect is sparkly - the same, most likely, as I would have achieved with Shimmerz.

Materials & Tools: Vanilla Cream, Tulip, and Cocoa cardstock; That's Amore paper packet; Black, Cocoa, Bamboo, and Juniper ink pads; Hollyhock, Tulip, Garden Green, and Olive markers; Clear Dollar Stamps Little Blooms and PTI Mixed Messages stamp sets; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Kaiser Krafts pearl accents; McGill Multi-tag punch; Dove blending pen; Sponge dauber; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Martha Stewart Doily Lace Edger punch.

It's Sunday evening already. Another weekend is almost over. Sigh. Today was a fun day though. This afternoon, Marv, Cameron, the boys, and I went to the annual VFW picnic with Marv's mom. The food was great. There were games with prizes for the kids. A good time. Back at our house, we hung out until it was time for the boys to go to their mom's house.

This evening, I'm going to get my clothes ready for the week and maybe stamp a little before turning in early. I hope yours was a wonderful weekend and that the week ahead is a good one, too. Thank you for all your sweet comments about my simple cards and ordinary life. Your visits are greatly appreciated. Later, friends ...