Dahlia Bouquet

I've been enjoying the challenges on SCS this month. There's a new one every day; of course I can't keep up with all of them (and often times I've been a few days late), but I've done a few of them. 

If you've missed some and would like to see all of the cards I've made for SCS Challenges, you'll find them HERE.

Today's card is for this week's Color Combination Challenge (#CC827) - Cajun Craze Call Me Clover, and Whisper White.  The colors just seemed to say "flowers" to me... so I used the Picket Fence Dahlia Bouquet stamp set, which was previously uninked in my collection of stamps.

I substituted Cougar 110# White CS for the SU Whisper White - I wanted to color with Copic Markers and they don't like SU Whisper White paper.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp/Die Sets: Picket Fence Dahlia Bouquet and Taylored Expressions Simple Strips Background stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Cougar 110# White and SU Cajun Craze and Call Me Clover CS

Die: Rubbernecker Nested Rectangle Stitch

Embellishments: Eyelet Outlet Enamel Dots

Crocus Flowers

I've been a member of the Technique Tuesday Greenhouse Society for a long time now... receiving the club flower stamp set each month. I hoarded them for a while, then started a series on my blog, committing to using them. 

I've thoroughly enjoyed this series because flowers are my favorite thing to color. This month's Crocus Flowers is no exception.

I tried and tried to get a decent picture, but failed. I always have a hard time photographing mostly white cards. UGH!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: Technique Tuesday Crocus Flowers stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Cougar 110# White and SU Bashful Blue CS

Die: Rubbernecker Nested Rectangle Stitch

Embellishments: Michael's Rhinestones

Double Duty - Simon Says Stamps

I'm super excited about today's post because it's the maiden voyage, if you will, of a new series. This one was created by Barb and I am honored to be part of it.

Here's Barb's words describing the series...

Here we go—another challenge for the trio of stampers—Barb, Jeanette and Kelly!  This is our 7^th challenge that the three of us are doing together! This was a thought that Barb had in the middle of the night, similar to what Kelly has had in the past.  Plus, it is a bit of offshoot of our Stamp What Challenge! This one is called Double Duty!

Each month, we get to pick a stamp set from a predetermined company. Then, we will use that one stamp set and make two cards from the set.  Different images and sentiments from the same set can be used, or use the same image two different ways—Double Duty either way!  But, as an added challenge, one item must be used on both cards—same color cardstock, same ribbon, same stencil, same something.  Double Duty Again!  Post both cards on your blog on the same day—the 22^nd of each month.  See-Double Duty again!  Have fun getting doubly inky each month with a different stamp company.  Let’s have fun!

Thanks Barb! I know this is going to be a great series! 

This month's predetermined company is Simon Says Stamps. I had quite a few stamp sets to choose from in my collection and pondered long and hard before finally choosing Mandy's Flowers. I love flowers - and this set had multiple floral images to choose from.

I actually used two different images for the two cards, but there are also many things that are the same about both of them, such as the dies I used, the overall design, the embellishments, even the color schemes.

Card #1

Card #2

This is the inside of Card #1, but the inside of Card #2 is the same, only the papers match that card instead...

Be sure to check out Barb's blog and Kelly's blog to see their Double Duty posts, too.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today!

Supplies Used

Stamp Set: Simon Says Mandy's flowers stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Cougar 110# White and SU Cameo Coral and Certainly Celery CS and DP from my scrap file

Dies/Punch: MFT Stitched Mini Scallop Rectangle Die, Rubbernecker Nested Rectangle Stitch Die, Spellbinders A2 Matting Basics Die, and SU Word Window Punch

Embellishments: Recollections Rhinestones

May Your Wishes Come True

This week's Clean and Simple card challenge (#CAS621) is all about stocking our stash with the kinds of cards we need/use most. I mail a lot of cards for a variety of reasons but often times just to bring some joy to the recipient. 

I decided the best kind of card to stock my stash with is one that is versatile so I created this card that could be used for many occasions - birthday, graduation, new job, promotion at work, engagement, marriage, etc.

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Sentiment: from the Raisin Boat Flourishes stamp set stamped with Memento Paris Dusk Ink

Papers: Cougar 110# White and SU Night of Navy CS and Paper Studio Stargazer DP

Dies: Hero Arts Rolling Hills Window and Rubbernecker Nested Rectangle Stitch

Embellishments: Recollections Rhinestones

It's a Wrap

This is the third Wednesday of January, which means it is the day that Kelly, Barb, and I reveal our Ready, Set, Go cards. 

Not sure what Ready, Set, Go is? Well, it's a lot of fun! And a bit of creativity. And an extreme challenge theme.

Ready, Set, Go is an idea that Kelly came up with and she invited Barb and I to join her on the adventure. We take turns choosing the theme (this month it's Kelly's turn), but the idea is for it to be a bit more challenging than just the average theme.

This is Kelly's theme...

Typically in January, it's out with the old, in with the new! For the RSG challenges, that would be too easy.

This month, we will Ring in the OLD, out with the NEW! 

I'd like for you to take a scrap or leftover sheet of your Christmas paper - any design you like - and use it as the 'designer paper' for your card. But wait! When we wrap our gifts, we use tape! So your second required element is to use clear scotch tape. Be creative in the way you use it!

You may use a small stamp/sentiment if you like but let your recycled Christmas paper and scotch tape be the star of this new yer's show!

Thanks for a great challenge, Kelly!

I'm a little fearful that I might not have exactly followed the theme. My use of the wrapping paper looks more like an image that designer paper. I hope Kelly doesn't put me in the naughty corner - or if she does, I at least hope she'll let me take my Copics and some images to color while I'm there so I won't get too bored.

This picture shows my card laying on top of the wrapping paper. This is actually a piece of paper that was on a gift my husband received from a good friend. The gift is a book of the man's original poems. My husband was THRILLED to receive it... and I thought the wrapping paper was gorgeous!

I tried die-cutting a piece of it (you can see a bit of it in the lower right corner of the picture) but it cheapened the look, making it wrinkle and look flimsy. I nixed that idea and fussy cut a bit of it for my card.

The white stripes are strips of clear scotch tape. I then used a blending brush to color the rest of the piece with Lawn Fawn Lemonade Ink.

I also used a piece of scotch tape on black cardstock to die-cut the Thanks, giving it a lovely shine.

I hope Kelly and Barb like my card. Be sure to check out Barb's blog and Kelly's blog to see what they did with this Ready Set Go theme!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Papers: Cougar 110# White, Recollections Black, and SU Shaded Spruce CS and a piece of Wrapping Paper 

Dies: My Favorite Things Stitched Mod Rectangle and Taylored Expressions Thanks

Embellishments: Michael's Rhinestones

2021 Travel the World - Week 3

I started a 50-week series in 2019 that I called Travel the World. Each week of the series I visited a randomly-selected country, sharing bits of information about that country. I then chose one tidbit of information about that week's country as inspiration for a card. As I explored those 50 countries in 2019, I knew I would continue on until I've visited every one of the 195 countries in the world, so I continued the series in 2020 and here I am in 2021, the third year of traveling the world. 

This week's country is...

Indonesia

With five major islands and thousands of smaller islands situated between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world! Officially, there are over 17,500 islands that comprise Indonesia, but only 6000 of those islands are inhabited.

Indonesia lies between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

The island of Java is home to over half of the country's population but is the size of New York state.

It’s an understatement to say Indonesia has a lot of people. With a population of over 264 million, Indonesia ranks fourth as the most densely populated nation in the world following sizeable countries such as China, the United States and India.

Indonesia has over 600 ethnic groups.

Indonesia has a coastline of nearly 34,000 miles.

Indonesia is known for its many beautiful islands, diving, and snorkeling.

More than 50% of the country of Indonesia is covered by forests.

After Brazil, Indonesia has the world’s second-largest number of tropical forests.

Indonesia takes credit for being home to the world’s largest volcanic lake – Lake Toba.

On December 26, 2004, the world’s second largest recorded earthquake, a 9.3+ magnitude quake, struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The resulting tsunami hit more than a dozen countries around the Indian Ocean, leaving more than 300,000 dead or missing and millions displaced. 

There are 100 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The country experiences at least one volcano explosion each year.

Indonesia is the only place in the world to see Komodo dragons in the wild. The world's largest lizard lives on just five Indonesian islands: Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Montag, and Padar

In the 1650s and 1660s, the country decreed that all men aged 16 or over must plant 500 pepper plants.

Indonesia contains hotels where there are “ladies-only floors.” Ladies can book a room on such floors where all the caretakers and staff are women.

Indonesia is one of the largest social media markets in the world, with over 80 per cent of the population accessing platforms like YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter.

Adult male orangutans, found in the wild only on the Indonesian islands of Borneo and Sumatra, are said to be eight times stronger than a human.

The Javan rhinoceros is one species that is found only in Indonesia. It is estimated that there are less than 50 of these in existence, making them nearly extinct.

Indonesia is the world’s leading exporter of frog legs. During the last decade, Europe alone imported 4,600 tons annually, with France, Belgium, and the Netherlands being the main importers.

One of Indonesia’s most interesting critters is the tiny nocturnal primate called the tarsier. These creatures, found on Sulawesi Island, are recognizable by their eyes, which are literally as big as their stomachs, so big they cannot rotate them in their sockets. Luckily, their heads can rotate 360° to compensate.

Indonesian children on Bali are traditionally always given at least four names.

With its rich variety of flora and fauna, Indonesia is second in the world after Brazil with the highest level of biodiversity in the world.

The country has the most odorous flower on Earth, Amorphophallus titanium, available on Sumatra Island. The flower, also known as “the devil’s tongue,” can grow up to an average height of two meters.

Indonesia is also home to the Rafflesia arnoldii, the world’s largest flower.

Indonesia is one of the world’s largest producers of nutmeg, which is native to its Banda Islands.

The word “ketchup” in English comes from the Indonesian word kecap, which is a sweet soy sauce.

After China, Indonesia is the world’s second-largest producer of instant noodles. The country is also home to the world’s largest instant noodle producer – Indofood.

Pepper was introduced to Indonesia’s Sumatra and Java from south India around 600 B.C. Black pepper is the result of picking unripened fruits and drying them in the sun, while white pepper comes from larger fruits left on the vine until ripe.

Almost everyone in Bali has had their teeth filed down. This practice is rooted in the belief that the six main vices—anger, confusion, jealousy, drunkenness, desire, and greed—all enter the body through the top six teeth. By filing away the teeth, the vices are thwarted.

Arguably one of Indonesia’s stranger exports is Kopi Luwak (Cat Poop Coffee), which is the world’s most expensive beverage, costing around US$1,000 per pound. Kopi Luwak is made by feeding small, catlike civets coffee berries. After they defecate, the berries are collected, washed, and ground into coffee, which supposedly has an unrivaled richness and little bitterness

My inspiration for this week's card is based on this fact about Indonesia... Java has become a slang term for the word coffee, after the coffee beans grown on the island of Java. 

Here's the inside:

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: My Favorite Things Grande Sized Love stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Paper: Cougar 110# White and SU Poppy Parade CS and DP from my scrap file

Dies: My Favorite Things Wonky Stitch Rectangle

Embellishments: Brads and Ribbon from unknown vendors

Daisies in Black and Yellow

I always dread it when someone asks me what my favorite color is because I truly don't have one. I tend to wear a lot of brighter or dark colors and very little in the brown family. My home is decorated more in earth tones, though my Play Room has a lot of bright pink in it. Hot Sauce, my car, is red, which is the color I chose. My cards, well... you see them here on my blog. They tend to be any and every color.

See, I don't have a favorite color... so I had to think a bit about this week's Free For All Challenge (#F4A569) on SCS. Dawn, the host, asked us to make cards using our favorite color combination... and then she said "easy peasy". Sure it is. Not!

I knew I would use black because I use a lot of black for matting, layering, and accent colors. I'm getting low on black CS (I haven't been in a store in nearly a year) so I've tried to cut back on my black matting the past few weeks, but I would still say black is my go-to color. I've also noticed I tend to use a lot of yellow on my cards so I decided to go with a black, yellow and white color scheme, with just a tad bit of green, since I chose a flower stamp for my focal image and flower stems are green.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp: Flourishes Gerba Daisies stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Accent Opaque 120# White and Recollections 110# Black CS and Authentique Yellow Gingham and MFT Black/White Striped DP

Dies: MFT Stitched Mod Rectangle and Rubbernecker Nested Rectangle Stitch

Embellishments: Eyelet Outlet Enamel Dots and Ribbon from an unknown vendor