Autumn Colors!

Hello Everyone!

I am so excited to announce that The Male Room asked me to be their guest designer for this week! What joy to be a part of this first-rate challenge blog. I was also thrilled to discover I was asked to develop a card using the word:

  Autumn!

So I am going to ask, are y'all ready for fall? For me, that would be a resounding 'YES'. The air is crisper, American football is now in full swing (Go Bills!), leaves will soon be ready to rake only to be debunked by our children jumping in them! The explosion of color and texture makes Autumn one of the most beautiful seasons. The ingredient list for a card has the potential to be full of color, texture, and shine! So here is my interpretation of the best season on planet Earth:

The material I used for the leaves was autumn blaze foil flakes by IndigoBlu.
(click here for more product info), a glue pad, leaf stamp, and stippling brush.

What I really like about these flakes is how they interact in different light. You will see in the images above the same card in light and without light.. So pretty either way.

There were lots of elements on this card to project the texture of Fall. First, the twine was used to add a bit of texture and divide the space between the colors. The panel with the leaves was made (hopefully) to look like leather or to look visually heavier then paper by using an ombre effect and droplets of water for an aged appearance. The gold leaf by the sentiment was used as an experiment to see what would happen when using foil on a wood embellishment. When finished, I thought it would be a perfect addition to this card!

Linking up to the following challenges:
Less is More: Week 243- Something Shiny
PINspirational: Challenge #150- photo inspiration
Cards in Envy: Colors of Fall



  

  Well that is all for me!! I want to thank The Male Room again for this amazing opportunity to be their guest designer this week.. And also I want to thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to join me at TheGrandStampede. If you are new to my blog, please consider following me and get all my new postings. And if you are so inclined leave a comment and let me know how I am doing! Take care everyone and see you soon.

All the best,
Shawna

Peacock Card

Hello Everyone!!

I am entering the Fusion Challenge for this week. I chose to go with the peacock theme for my card. Peacocks are spectacularly beautiful and graceful. Conversely, they are so fancy only to make little peacocks. Nature loves vanity but why fix it if it isn't broken. All the same they are magnificent creatures and with this card I hope to capture their beauty; at least a little bit..

The color of peacocks is what captivates me the most. Here I used blue pearlescent embossing
powder with the background image from Peddler Pack.

This shows the shine of the embossing powder.
I had to paint the center of the feather using acrylic paint  

Side view showing the variegated browns in the background.
This detail also shows the sentiment and peacock image. The same color scheme was used in the thank you peacock as the background image. I feel this touch of color allows the peacock to be part of the design.

Entering Challenge:

Fusion: Peacock Dynasty 

It is late and I am going to bed.. Thank you so much for stopping by and please leave a comment good, great, or otherwise.. Take care and see you soon!

All the best,

Shawna 

Happy Fall Y'all

Hello Y'all!!

For today I would like to share a card for the Make My Monday challenge blog. This weeks challenge is all about Autumn Colors! My favorite color combinations come from this spectacular season. Here is my card for tonight; enjoy!

All those beautiful colors!
The abstract tree seems to be ideal for Autumn.

Come on over and link up with us.
We are all looking forward to see what you create!

This card came from this image. I am not going to say it was easy-peasy but with a little patience it all worked out. So how did I do it? Well first I printed the tree image on computer paper then took a pencil and scribbled all over the back of the tree printout (You can also use carbon paper). Then traced the branches I wanted on my CS. Then using my craft knife I carefully cut out the negative space between the branches. I selected my colored papers and pieced them on the back of the branch CS. Time consuming; Yes! Worth it? Definitely! The papers I picked out were selected because of their color and texture. They work together to form a wonderful Autumn tree! So as the sentiment says 'Happy Fall Y'all!'

I hope this card will inspire you to hop on over to Make My Monday and link up so we can see your ideas about Autumn Color.

Entering Challenges:
If You Give a Crafter a Cookie: Challenge #28 
Colour Q: Challenge cQc #310

   

That is it for me tonight. I want to thank you so much for joining me tonight/today. I really do appreciate your time and if you would like to leave a comment please do. It seems to make my day a bit brighter when I read what you have to say.. So don't be shy! Take care everyone and we will see you soon.

All the best,

Shawna 

EEK!!! Monsters!

Hello Readers!

When I made this card last night my daughter took one look at it and said 'Why did you make this card so scary?'. Really? Hopefully Technique Tuesday will not take offense, but I thought they were kind cute. This card is a similar design to my last post in the fact that I am using the Simon Says Stamp cover plate with the colors orange and green.

This design is using the same die as my last post 'A Bold Hi'
but it has a completely different look.

I opted for a smaller sentiment so it wouldn't upstage
the circular design or my cute little monsters.

Okay now you are the judge. These little monsters aren't so scary, are they? Well it is Halloween time and maybe a bit of scare is good for the soul. For my daughter it will build character! 

Playing along with:

CAS-ology: Cue Word- Circles
Inkspirational: Colour Challenge- Orange and Green
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: No Designer Paper

     

Happy 10th Birthday to my nephew James

&

Happy 23rd Birthday to my ice cream niece Katie!

That is it for me right now. Keep checking back to my blog for a crafty announcement!! Take care all and feel free to leave a comment good, great, or otherwise. Thank you for stopping by and we will see you soon!

All the best,

Shawna 

A Bold Hi

Hello Everyone,

Today I am playing along with CAS-ology and Inkspirational challenges blogs. CAS-ology's cue word this week are circles. My absolute favorite shape to work with and Inkspirational's challenge are to use the colors orange and green..  I hope you like what I created.

This cover plate is from Simon Says Stamp. It is very graphic and full of
circles. The  color palette is vivid and full of life.

This shows the color the color that was used. The oranges are
work so well with white.. Who knew?

The larger then life dot of the 'i' was done by cutting the line that divided the dot for the 'i'.
(see graphic below)

Playing along with:
CAS-ology: Cue Word- Circles
Inkspirational: Colour Challenge- Orange and Green
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: No Designer Paper

     

My friend Monika from Creative with Monika called me out. She mentioned that a lot of my work has, in some shape or form, circles. Well thanks to CAS-ology I can now own it!!  The color combo from Inkspirational was very broad really. The shade and hue are up to you.  So I chose happy orange with subdued green both working together to form a pleasing composition. It is so alive and the white lines move your eye all around only to be interrupted by this gigantic sentiment. I love the way this card turned out and I hope you do too!

That is it for me right now! I hope you have a great day and we will see you sooner then later.. Please leave a comment as I enjoy what you have to say. 

All the Best,

Shawna

Blessed, Grateful, Thankful

Hello Everyone,

For today I five cards that were derived by the the same sketch. Freshly Made Sketches made for the perfect card idea! So why did I make an insane amount of cards? Well, my church was honoring the teachers in our congregation and I was asked to make the cards to say thank you for all they do. So I went to work and here is the result.

Very colorful for fall and the sentiment fits right in with the fall design.
Notice the shine on the main panel. I also die cut the leaves metallic for just a bit of shimmer.

The main panel on this card has a velvet texture and the
dragonfly has a sheen of pearl-essence. 

As you can see the main panel of this card has gold
details and an embossed banner.

This panel is full of movement and not too much color.
The flower blends into its surrounding.

Entering Challenge:
Freshly Made Sketches- FMS204

 Below you will find the entire set of cards I made. The elder of the church loved how they turned out. I would like to ask you, which one is your favorite? Mine would be the 'thankful' card and that will be one I am submitting for this challenge.

That is all for now.. I hope you enjoyed your stay and please leave a comment as I really like to hear what you have to say.. Take care and see you sooner then later.

All the best,
Shawna 

The color of nature

Hello All!

For today I am submitting a card to Color Throwdown.  There color scheme is very pretty and wanted to show you what I created.

Words of thanks surround the image and
punctuates the main sentiment.

Detail of the flower scene and sunset.
I imagine cresting a hill to see the last bits of sun for the day

Torn paper adds a bit of dimension.

This vivid color combination seems to be very serene because the subject matter of the image is very calming.  Plus it seems that the black simmers the other colors down. The image shape is a bit unusual but I think it works and is very pretty.

Entering Challenge:
Color Throwdown: ctd360

That is all from me for now.. I have a lot to post so you will be hearing a lot from me today.. Thank you for hopping on over here I really do appreciate it.. Leave a comment if you'd like good, great, or otherwise. Take care and see you sooner then later.

All the best,

Shawna

Natures Grace

Hello Again!

For tonight I am posting on behalf of Make My Monday challenge blog. The theme this week is one of my favorites: Nature.

Nature. It is all around us and can be a wealth of creative inspiration. For me, I am concentrating on dragonflies. I grew up by a lake so these little flying miracles are very familiar to me. Our docks were always worn and needing repair but the dragonflies didn't care they just loved hanging out around the barrels that kept the dock afloat.

I would always somehow obtain a hitchhiker on my kayak as I was paddling down the river in college. These little guys have always reminded me of contentment, relaxation, and calm; perfect for a 'thinking of you' card. Here is my inspiration card, enjoy!

Soft tranquil colors adds to the calm of this gentle 'thinking of you' card

Detail showing the dragonfly panel. The wood vertical panel
brings texture to this design.

I encourage you to hop on over to Make My Monday and link up with us and see what is it about nature that inspires you to create? 

Thank you so much for stopping by to join me tonight! I really do appreciate your precious time with me. If you are so inclined please leave a comment and let me know what you think. Take care all and have a great night.

All the best,

Shawna