Dynamic Duos for the Paper Players

Ugh!  Has anyone else had this ridiculous cold that just WON'T go away?  I don't get sick very often but this year I just can't shake whatever it is that I've got!  So frustrating!!!

Anyhoo, I forced myself to sit down and create a card tonight.  I used the Dynamic Duos and Paper Players challenges for inspiration.  Here's what I had to work from:

I love how simple the sketch is and I'm a sucker for Island Indigo and Pool Party.  I'm going to be really sad to see them go at the end of May! 

I chose to stay VERY simple for the card.  I thought about adding embellishments and paper piercing but just wasn't feeling it tonight.  Here's what I came up with:

Rockin' and Rollin' with Papillion Potpourri

Pretty, eh?  I've been really trying to get back to "basics" with my stamping.  I tend to get bogged down with all of the possibilities and then basically give up and don't do anything at all : )   

I went back to a really cool, easy technique for the butterfly on this card - "rock and roll".  Super simple....just ink up your stamp in the lighter colours (Pool Party here) and then roll the edges of the stamp in the darker ink (Island Indigo).  Then stamp your image.   Simple!

Thanks for stopping by.  Here are the details for my card:

Ink and Paper:  Island Indigo, Pool Party and Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP

Stamp sets: Papillion Potpourri, Made for You

Other:  Corner Rounder Punch, Scallop Punch, Bigz Circles Die #2

Happy Stamping!

Bright Hopes Sparkle

Firstly, I must acknowledge my friend, Leena, over at A la Cards for her inspiration of this card.  She did 2 beautiful examples using these same colours, techniques and stamps that I completely copied for this card.  Please go and check out her blog if you haven't already, she does fabulous work!  Thanks Leena for the inspiration!!!! 

I was looking through a Bay (Hudson's Bay Company) flyer the other day and saw a layout of a house all done up in whites, light blues and light turquoise for Christmas and I thought...."I really would love to do a card using those colours"....and then I read Leena's blog that evening and it all clicked : )

So here is my version of this "Bright Hopes" card:

Bright Hopes Sparkle and Rock and Roll

 Isn't this a great colour combination?!  Pool Party and Island Indigo are quickly becoming a couple of my "go to" colours.  I love them together.  With Whisper White it creates such a nice, clean look.   To get the double colour on the "Bright Hopes" wreath I used the "rock and roll" technique.  First, ink your stamp with Pool Party (or another light) ink.  Second, "roll" the edges in the Island Indigo (or darker) ink.  Super easy and really pretty!

Dazzling Diamonds everywhere!

 I used Dazzling Diamonds (careful, they get EVERYWHERE) as part of some double embossing on the strip of Island Indigo.  I first ran it through the Big Shot in the Snow Burst embossing folder, then applied Versa Mark ink and Heat and Stick powder.  Finally, a touch of Dazzling Diamonds finished it off.  I'm going to try this again but on a piece of Whisper White....looking at it now I don't think there is enough contrast between the "Bright Hopes" wreath and the Island Indigo strip.  Stay tuned for more variations on this theme.

Happy Stamping!