Glossy Posies

I made it to the CK Scrapbook convention at Valley Forge yesterday and picked up a few new goodies, so you're seeing some of them on this card that I made for 2 challenges over on SCS. This week's QFTD20 is FrancieG, and in tribute to her being chosen our new queen this week, I chose her Showers bring Flowers card to case. The 2nd challenge I entered was the Technique Tuesday TTSC1 to use any of their stamps to make a card. I found this cute Pocket Full of Posies set at their booth yesterday and had to have it! I stamped the flowers and leaves, embossed them, colored with reinkers, cut them out, and finally added Glossy Accents and pearls. I just bought the Spellbinders Labels 10 yesterday too, so this card is pretty much the same design as Francie's card with only a few minor changes. I also got my stampers 10 order last night too, so I'll probably be playing with all these new goodies today instead of doing something sensible:)
On another note..........if you have time, be sure to check out this new blog I just added to my blog list. You won't be disappointed!! Tell her Carol sent ya :)
Have a wonderful Saturday and I might be back with more later today!

Carol

stamps - Technique Tuesday (Pocket Full of Posies), MSE (sentiment)
paper - SU Blushing Bride, PTI white
inks - Versafine Onyx Black, CTMH grey wool, SU blushing bride & pear pizazz reinkers
accessories - Blender pen for coloring, Spellbinders Labels 10, Sizzix Scribble Swirls, CB Victorian ef, clear detail ep, Kaiser pearls, dimensionals, Glossy accents

Stampin B's Birthday WIshes

I just finished this card yesterday and since today's StampinB's challenge #69 is to make a birthday card, I decided to enter it into that challenge. My husband's sister is turning 60 next month, so this card is going to her. I was going for a soft look and I think I achieved it with this card. I think the Fifth Avenue Florals stamp by SU! is my favorite go-to set for feminine cards because I love the flower images. I hope she'll like this card as much as I enjoyed making it for her.
Wishing you all a wonderful Thursday!

Carol

stamps - SU! Fifth Avenue Florals, Sincere Salutations, Wonderful Wishes
papers- Memory Box Gossamer and Sprout collections, PTI vintage cream
inks - Versamark, Memento Bamboo Leaves & Angel Pink
accessories - white ep, paper crimper, PTI vintage cream ribbon, SU square lattice ef, stickles for flower stamens, stamp-a-ma-jig for sentiment placement, dimensionals

Care for Some Snow.......anyone??

This card meets both the SC291 sketch challenge as well as the Technique Tuesday challenge TTSC1 to use TT stamps. I'm fortunate to have several TT sets so I decided to play along.
For this card I used the "No Two Alike" set, stamping in bashful blue. After stamping, I embossed the whole panel with a CB snowflakes ef. I created the bashful blue snowflake with a MS snowflake punch, and layered it with white and enchanted evening cardstocks using my Cricut. {George cartridge} The shape is supposed to be a sun, but it perfectly matched my snowflake, so I officially turned it into a snowflake for this card. The snowflake brad is from my stash. The sentiment is by G Studio and was stamped in PTI's enchanted evening. This was a quick and simple sketch and a fun way to revisit some stamps I haven't used in a while. It's also my first Christmas card this year!! Woot!!
Stay cool out there!!!!

Carol

Anything Goes!

I recently got this great MFP Southwest Cowboy stamp set in my hands and could hardly wait to create something with it since I just love horse images! "Anything goes" for the challenge at Cowgirl's Sunday Stamp'en challenge, so I thought this card would work! I stamped the black background with the SU weathered backgrounder in Versamark and then embossed with clear detail ep. I also stamped the PTI Soft Stone ATC mat with Ranger Pumice Stone ink using the same weathered backgrounder, but I didn't emboss that panel. I stamped the images in Versamark and embossed them with white ep, then chalked and sponged to try to create a dusty scene since the horses are all running. I added some tan hemp and frayed the ends to give it a rustic look, and embossed the sentiment with silver ep. Those faux brads are made from a cereal box, embossed with silver ep and punched with the larger hole of my Cropodile. They go through the mail without extra postage or bulk, and they're a wee bit cheaper too :D
Happy Stampin' and thanks for comin'!

Carol

S&S Sketch Challenge #27

In this dreadful heat we've been having lately, I've been spending lots of time indoors stamping, so this week I have 2 cards for the S&S Sketch challenge #27. First up is a belated birthday card made using Prisma papers in the Birchtone light, medium and dark colors. I also used a Tim Holtz Texture Fades embossing folder that looks like woodgrain. The little nuts were cut with a Spellbinders die from a cereal box and embossed with gold ep.
Next is a fairy image, compliments of Dolores who sent me 5 sheets of some beautiful fairies to color. I thought this would make a fun birthday card for a little girl, so this one is going into my next OWH box. The sentiment is a silver sticker that says "Happy Birthday" and the button was from my Mom's button box. I really like the fun sketch this week and might even make a few more cards before the week is over.
Thanks for stopping by and I wish you all a fabulous Monday!

Carol

Card 1
stamps - KSS Autumn Squirrel
paper - PTI soft stone, Prisma Birchtone, lt, med, dk
inks - Ranger Pumice Stone, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo
accessories - Tim Holtz Texture Fades woodgrain ef, Spellbinders die, SU word window punch, piercing tool, gold cording

Card 2
stamps - unknown digi image
paper - white, SU ruby red cardstock and DP
accessories - Stampendous sticker, word window punch, platinum stickles, geo sparkler, Tombows, SU ribbon, tan hemp, button

MFP Speedy the Cat's Friends #13

The challenge over at MFP Speedy the Cat's Friends challenge #13 is to make a masculine card. That worked out perfectly for me since a friend recently asked me to make her a masculine get well card!
I thought this image of a cabin tucked in the woods looked like a peaceful way to wish someone well. I stamped the image on white with Pumice Stone Distress ink and embossed it with clear detail ep. The sentiment came from a masked off portion of the SU! Wellness Wishes set. All the sponging was done using Pumice Stone ink and don't tell anyone, but I used that SU! lattice square embossing folder AGAIN! LOL It just works with everything!!
Thanks for stopping by today and I wish you a cool weekend. Our heat index for today is 110!! Whew!!

Carol

stamps - SU! Wellness Wishes, Stampscapes
ink - Pumice Stone Distress ink
papers - white, cool caribbean, BG kraft paper pad
accessories - lg brads, clear detail ep, lattice square ef SU!

July's Tiger Lily

I sent this card to a sweet blogging friend who celebrated her birthday earlier this month, and since the Tiger Lily is the official flower for the month of July, I thought I'd post this before the month is over. I used the Flourishes Year in Flowers set for the image, stamping in Versafine Onyx black and coloring with Tombows. After coloring, I covered the whole image with versamark and embossed it with clear detail embossing powder. I cut the image out with the Spellbinders Blossom die, and added a mat of Dusty Durango cut with a larger Blossom. The DP is from the K&Co Que Sera Sera paper pad. The sentiment panel was cut with a Spellbinders labels die and layered with another die cut of Dusty Durango that's split lengthwise, and layered underneath the white. The sentiment is by Inkadinkado, and the ribbon is from my stash. I had a piece of dp left over that was just the right size for lining the envelope, so there you have it!
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a fabulous Friday!

Carol

CTD#102 & SC290

These colors look great together don't they?! LeAnne gave us this color combination for the CTD102 this week and even though I don't have any Marina Mist yet, I played along anyway. I combined this with the SCS290 sketch challenge too.
Someone left a comment yesterday suggesting that I'm addicted to this SU! Square Lattice embossing folder. I had to laugh because she's absolutely right on the money!! LOL!! With every card I make lately, I find myself reaching for that folder!!! I assembled this entire card without using it, and it looked a little "blah" so I embossed the Wasabi panel and I was immediately happy! Someone needs to hide that folder from me for a while now :)
I punched the flowers using the SU! Boho Blossoms 3-flower punch, using Wasabi and Not Quite Navy and glued on 3 tiny blue buttons that are as close to Marina Mist as I can get! The white squares were embossed with a small CB embossing folder that looks like cross stitching. You can click the picture to see that detail better. The sentiment is by SU!'s Sincere Salutations stamped in Not Quite Navy. As much as I like white space, it needed something more on the bottom. It was too late for piercing, the card was already glued together. I had an "aha!" moment while looking for something to add. I grabbed a ball point pen and added a few dots on either side of the sentiment just for interest. Now I'm happy with the result :)
Thanks for stopping by and leaving your thoughts with me. I always enjoy reading your comments. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Carol

House Mouse & Friends Challenge #74

The House Mouse & Friends Challenge #74 is to create anything that represents the letter "B", so I'm using this image with the "brush" as my inspiration. I made this card for a sick little boy I read about on SCS and I hope it brings a little smile to his face when he opens it.
I stamped the image in Versafine Onyx Black ink on water color paper, then embossed it with clear detail ep and colored with Tombows and an aqua brush. I added some green and red stickles to his body and mouth for a little sparkle. I used a set of those $1 wooden stamps to create the silly sentiment, and then used a Just-Rite stamp set to create the fancy border. The border was stamped with Versamark and embossed with silver ep, and those punched corners were done with a retired SU! punch.
Have a terrific Tuesday and thanks for stopping by :)

Carol

S&S Sketch Challenge #26

I had time today to play along with the Stars & Stamps Sketch Challenge #26 found here. I used this adorable free digi image that Sandy revealed during the S&S July 4th blog hop. Isn't this just the cutest puppy? You can't help but say "awwww" when you see this sweet image.
I kept this one simple because it's going into my box for OWH, and I think the less embellished those cards are the easier they'll be to handle and ship. It's extremely difficult for me not to add ribbon or layers with dimensionals, but I'm learning! LOL
I used 2 different Cuttlebug embossing folders for this one and pulled out a couple scraps of cranberry and royal blue from my overflowing bin. I printed the digi on GP paper and colored it with Copics. I bought just a few of those pricey markers for starters, but I'm learning quickly that there's a real learning curve to using them. I used my Quikutz for the corner, and a small paper punch for the 3 hearts.
I hope you're staying cool where you are. I had to run errands today and AACK!! It's HOT out there! LOL! Thanks for stopping by :)

Carol

MFP Speedy the Cat's Friends #12

The challenge over at the Speedy the Cat's Friends blog today is to create a card using the colors of yellow, orange and red. I pulled out the K&Co. Que Sera Sera paper pack and stamped the floral images from Scrappy Cat onto 3 different colors of paper using Versafine Onyx Black. I embossed them with clear detail ep. I cut them out and popped them up, along with some hand cut leaves. I added brads to the centers and some red grosgrain ribbon. Again, I had to use this fun square lattice ef from SU! and added a sentiment from Sincere Salutations.
That's it for me today..........time to get dinner started! Have a great weekend everybody and thanks for stopping by!

{I'm doing the happy dance after finding out earlier today that I won a stamp set from Mark's Finest Papers during their recent blog hop! Woot!!}

Carol

Crazy4Challenges#46 - It's all about the buttons!

Today's challenge over on the Crazy4Challenges blog is to show your buttons! This image looks amazing IRL but unfortunately it's difficult to capture the image well in a photograph. I used an ATC from the Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby Idea-ology paper stack that has a beautiful bird swooping in on the top right. It's a beautiful print all by itself, but I stamped some flowers from the SU! Echoes of Kindness in Close to Cocoa on the side and bottom for extra interest. After stamping, I embossed the whole panel with the SU! square lattice embossing folder (I told you I can't put this folder down!) and mounted it on a panel of soft suede. I layered the image with Pink Pirouette and Rose Red and stamped the white card base with the linen backgrounder using Close to Cocoa Ink. Sadly, I have no more Close to Cocoa card stock which is why I had to use Soft Suede, but it's close enough in color to work well. I added some Soft Suede ribbon, and tied a little pink button to the ribbon with tan hemp. I used the word window and fancy label punches to create the sentiment from SU!'s So Many Sayings. For the final touch, I sponged all the edges with Close to Cocoa ink.
Thanks for stopping by today and I wish you a great weekend!

Carol

Follow your Heart

I just love love love this new square lattice embossing folder I got from SU! I can't seem to put it down, so you'll probably see a lot of cards using it in the future. This is one I made for my OWH box, using a cute House Mouse image. I colored the image with Tombows and layered it on Green Galore and Black, using Nestabilities to cut the circles. The ribbon came from the flower and craft warehouse and the sentiment is by SU!
I wish you all a wonderful weekend and a happy Friday!

Carol

The CTD 100th challenge winner!

The day has finally arrived to announce the winner of the Victoria Case 7-pc stamp set that Susana's Custom Art & Card Design has generously donated to the CTD 100th challenge.

The randomly chosen winner from my blog comments is Julie Smith!!
Julie posted card #252 in the challenge! Congratulations Julie!

Here's what you need to do to claim your prize.

You have until Monday, July 19th at 11:59 PM to send an email to ............

colorthrowdown@yahoo.com

to claim your prize.

You need to put my name CAROL along with

Victoria Case 7-image stamp set in the subject line of your email.

A complete list of all winners will be posted on the CTD blog on Friday!!

Thanks again to everyone for playing along
and leaving so many nice comments! You're the greatest!!

A Special Thank-You Card

I needed to make a special masculine thank-you card for someone and this card came together around this Inkadinkado lighthouse image. This card is huge, made from a sheet of PTI rustic cream cardstock folded in half. I used the recessed diamonds technique found here for the PTI kraft panel, and the distressed newsprint technique found here for the piece of old roadmap I used. I used a piece of mahogany cardstock for the mats. The image was stamped with Close to Cocoa ink and lightly colored in a few areas with Tombows. There is a lightly stamped image in the top right hand corner that reminded me of a compass, so I added that by stamping off once using Versacolor sand beige ink. I used some craft yarn to make the sailors knots, using 4 strands for the horizontal accent and 8 for the vertical. I found the directions for making those here. The Verve sentiment tag was cut with my Cricut, sponged and attached with an eyelet and some dark brown hemp. I distressed the yarn by sponging to add a little age.

I wanted to leave you with a reminder that tomorrow the winner who commented on my CTD card will be announced, so stay tuned!!

Have a wonderful Thursday everyone and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Hey There Lady!

My best friend saw this card that I made last year and asked if I'd make something similar for her sister in purple; since that happens to be her favorite color. She asked if there was a way to add some flip-flops to the card since that was also a favorite item of her sister's. Flip-flops completely deflate the concept of the high fashion lady image, but I found a way to add them anyway. LOL I had a tiny flip flop image, so I stamped it, colored it, cut it out, and added the image to the front of her shopping bag! I colored the main image with Tombows and added silver stickles to embellish the hat, bodice, necklace, buttons, cuffs, hemline, purse and shoes. The shopping bags and purse were stamped, colored, cut out, and popped up on dimensionals. One piece of that stickles on the hemline caught the sunlight and showed up as a white blotch, but IRL it's all silver. I used the Kioshi DP by BG for the background and the stamp set is by There She Goes. The purple cardstock, flowers, and brad were all from my stash. The sentiment panel was created with SU word window and fancy labels punches. The ovals were cut with Spellbinders petite ovals and the sponging was done with PTI pale plum.
I wanted to take a minute to thank everyone for the overwhelming response to my CTD 100th challenge blog tour card! I wish everyone could win a prize but unfortunately that isn't possible. Stay tuned for the announcement of the winners coming up soon!
Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a fabulous day!

Carol

Punch It!

My card was made for the Speedy the Cat's Friends challenge#11 over at the MFP blog. The challenge this week is to get out those punches and use them. For this I used 2 SU! punches, including the bird and circle punch. The scalloped layer was cut with Nesties. The sentiment was done in Versafine Onyx Black ink with a G Studio stamp. The DP and turquoise cardstock are by SU!. The card base is PTI Vintage Cream with a mat of Kraft. The grosgrain ribbon is by SU! and the gemstones are by Kaiser.
I hope you're winding down from a fabulous weekend and staying cool! Thanks for spending a little of your day here with me :) See you again soon :)

Carol

QFTD17 for Sabrina

I posted this card over on Splitcoast Stampers today in honor of Sabrina aka Cook22 being chosen as Queen for the Day. We were to case a card from her gallery and I chose this beauty for my inspiration. She must have spent hours creating her card after measuring and cutting out all those bricks, but I just took a big shortcut and used the Tim Holtz Texture Fades embossing folder for my bricks and improvised :) After embossing a scrap of reddish brown card stock, I swiped my ColorBox white ink pad all over it lightly, to give it an aged look. Next I stamped the Inque Boutique silhouette images in Versafine Onyx Black ink. I cut the window out with a stylus and stamped the sentiment from SU!'s Trendy Trees set, then added some punched ferns from a MS punch and a couple of flowers from my stash. The brad looks like a teeny tiny button and I love that! I matted the panel with black and added some white grosgrain ribbon and voila!
I wish every one of you a wonderful weekend and happy times. Thanks for stopping by :)

Carol

Color Throwdown 100

Hello and a very happy Wednesday to you! Today the CTD is celebrating 100 color challenges with a blog hop and a huge giveaway of some sensational prizes! As a former guest designer, I've been asked to participate in this amazing challenge and of course I couldn't say no! Stay tuned and be sure to read the details below, but first things first - here are the colors for this week's color challenge.


I started my card by using Baja Breeze for the base and adding a layer of Certainly Celery for a mat underneath the Certainly Celery DP background. I cut 3 larger squares of Regal Rose, 1 larger square of Real Red, and 4 smaller squares of Baja Breeze. The squares with pink primas have clear gemstone brads, while the red prima has a red gemstone brad. The sentiment was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink using a G Studio stamp and the ribbon is Regal Rose grosgrain by SU!.

Now for the exciting details!! There is going to be a HUGE giveaway of over $1600 in prizes for playing along with the CTD100!! Everyone has a chance to win a great prize by doing the following.

Play along with the CTD100 by using the above colors and creating a card. Use any stamps or supplies you want. If you don't have the exact colors, use something similar.

Link your card on the CTD blog HERE by using the Inlinx tool at the bottom of the post. Use only a direct link to your card, as those who don't will be disqualified.

Visit each of the designers listed below and leave them some love. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning, but please just one comment per blog!

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy
Broni Holcombe - Splashes of Watercolor
Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits
Danielle Kennedy - Wild Dragonfly Designs
LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings
Laura Pryor - Lil' Inker
Kisa Peters - Kisa's Paper Cuts
Carol Longacre - Our Little Inspirations (you're here)
Deb Horst - Sendable Sentiments
Debi Southard - Debi's Crazy Life
Elise Durenberger - MamaCow Creations
Juliana Swanson - Stampin With Inky Fingers
Lisa Kind - Kind Creations
Makiko Jones - Makink Studios
Maria Gurnsey - Scraps By M
Pam Speidel - Stamping With Serendipity
Sylvia Nelson - Sylvia's Stamp Corner
Teresa Kline - Enjoy the VA Sunshine
Wanda Cullen - Cullen-ary Creations

Each designer is going to be giving away a fabulous prize (or prizes) so be sure to visit them all to see what you could win and don't forget to leave them a comment! The prize you could win from my blog is a 7-image Victoria Case set of stamps which are being generously offered by Susana's Custom Card and Art Design. You can see the Hugs and Hearts Spring collection stamps right here. Aren't they just the cutest?! All winners on all blogs will be chosen randomly by the CTD team.

There you have it, now go forth and create something! I'll be waiting to see your beautiful creations. Remember the deadline is July 12th at 11:59 PM, so you have plenty of time to leave comments and make a card! Good luck everyone, and have fun!

Carol

S&S Sketch Challenge #24

I think the gremlins have taken over my camera. The white panels all look yellow or green lately, regardless of the lighting I use. This picture was taken outside, and the image panel looks green, and the green trees in the background look yellow?! The colors of the DP are true to life, so go figure:)
Anyhoo.......I made this card following the Stars and Stamps sketch challenge #24 found here.
I used some long-retired SU! dp that I just love but for the life of me I can't remember the name, sorry. It's sage, close to cocoa, chocolate, & rust and 3 of those great colors are retiring, so there's no reason to continue hoarding the paper :) I used my new SU! motorcycle stamp and colored it with a Sage marker and a silver deco pen. I added a piece of dark brown ribbon from my stash and created the faux brads by punching 3 pieces of sage cardstock with a mini circle punch, and dotted them with CTMH liquid glass. I think the striped panel will eventually get a small sentiment, but for the time being I'm leaving it as a generic card.
I hope your July 4th weekend was a great one!!

Carol

Happy Birthday America!

I made this card from a free digi I found on the Stars and Stamps blog recently. Her name is Poetic Audrey and she's from the Stamping Boutique. She's colored with glitter gel pens in red and blue and layered on some red, white and blue card stock, all in honor of America's birthday today!
I wish you all a wonderful July 4th celebration today, and thanks for taking time from your busy day to come say hello :)

Carol

Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #10

I made this card for MFP's Speedy the Cat's Friend's challenge #10 to use a die cut. I used the Spellbinders Labels four and the SU! top note dies for this card. I stamped the Impression Obsession image with Versafine Onyx Black ink and embossed it with clear detail ep, then colored it with Tombow markers and an aqua brush. I sponged the main image with bashful blue before removing the die, and added stickles to the umbrellas and stamen of the flower. The photo doesn't show it at all, but I added some MS yellow tinsel glitter to the lemon slices for some dazzle. The cherry was coated with CTMH liquid glass for interest. The dp is from the Memory Box Enchanted collection and the top note die cut is a piece of cool caribbean. The bottom mat is a piece of dark purple cardstock and the ribbon is from my stash.
I had lunch with two friends yesterday at Crackerbarrel while we were on a shopping trip in Lancaster. I ordered raspberry lemonade which was served in a frosted mug and all I can say is YUM-OH-MY!! I guess I still had that refreshing drink in mind when I made this card!
Thanks for stopping by and I wish you all a very happy and festive July 4th holiday weekend!

Carol