Make it Monday #276

Hi everyone! Just a quick post for a challenge...

Happy Monday... if that's possible! :) One of things that I do look forward to at the start of each week is PTI's Make it Monday. This week's was fun and introduced me to a technique that I never would have dreamed up: colored pencils on kraft paper. At first when I watched the MIM #276 video from Melissa, I thought, "Aren't the pencils going to fade out on the paper?" But they don't - yay! It's actually a really nice way to make the colors pop against the brown tones of the paper.

So here's my take on this week's challenge:

I really LOVE the "What the Doodle" series from PTI and thought the feather would be a good way to incorporate a Papertrey product into the card. The details on this feather image are so beautifully designed, and it's great for coloring! Hope you like the final design, and have a great week!

Whoa...

Just a quick note to let you know one of my cards is featured on the Right At Home Stamps Instagram page today... WHOA! (I cannot believe I just wrote that.)

Check out Nicole and her shop. I don't know her, and she didn't ask me to do this... but she has reeeeeeeeally cute products over there! I loved the Happy Mail set and was so happy to add it to my collection!

I'm gonna go once again check out the Right Home Instagram to make sure what I saw is actually reality... for the 100th time today. :)

Have a great week! Be back again soon with some more cards! Thanks again to Nicole and Right at Home today!!

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Ray of Sunshine

Hey everyone! Hope you're having a good weekend. I had a great day having lunch with a friend who just became a mom a few months ago. I'm super lucky to have fantastic friends who are also amazing moms. I've learned from them that it's so important to keep making time for friendship, even with the busyness of children. And, I'm more than happy to be that friend to whisk them away for a little while for lunch, cards, shopping, chatting, and laughter. :)

I made a card earlier in the week that I wanted to share with you this weekend! This is for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Ray of Sunshine. I have to be honest - the Monday challenges are tough for me. The distress look highlighted in these cards are not my style or my forte. But I saw a new technique online that used some mini distress inks, and I also have a friend who is recovering from surgery. So I thought would be a good opportunity to try something that's a little out of my comfort zone and send a card to a friend recovering at home.

As I mentioned, the challenge this week was "Ray of Sunshine." I didn't take this literally, but I hope this happy mail will be a bright spot in a friend's recovery:

So, I will be the first to admit that is is far from a strong distressed look - let's just say I'm taking baby steps! But I did use a new technique with distress inks to stamp the mini ink pads right on the paper for those green and blue blocks. Those tiny blocks are just perfect for making squares on a card, and I found that small envelope stamp to fit juuuuuust right inside!

A sentiment along the bottom, a little circle in the top left, and a couple of gold accents finished off the card.

Any tips for trying out another distress card? The clean look of the SSS Wednesday Challenges come a lot easier to me, but I think this was a good first attempt at distressed style!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend - hope you have fun Super Bowl plans!

Materials

Paper - White card and envelope (Hobby Lobby), light blue card stock and white card stock (Simon Says Stamp)

Stamps - Happy Mail (Right at Home Stamps)

Inks - Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads (crushed olive and tumbled glass), Ranger Dye Ink (black tie)

Other - Gold dots sprinkles (Doodlebug Design Inc,), gold gel pen (Hobby Lobby)