Colors of Spring Blog Hop! (Plus challenges!)

Is anyone else ready for Winter to be over?

I know I sure am! So creating cute, Spring-themed projects for this month's Blog Hop was a fun "escape" from the fact that it's not quite done being winter yet. Welcome to our Colors of Spring Blog Hop! We've added a few wonderful new ladies to our hop this time, to be sure to check out all the fun posts!

As I've mentioned a few times recently, I'm trying to find ways to use the same elements to create fresh new cards. So today I've put together a mini-showcase of some fabulous Spring cards.

Make sure to stop by the other blogs in our hop to see what Spring inspiration they've created for you, too!

Hop Forward: Kris Kilkenny

I created this simple, one-layer card a while ago to give out with my business card when people asked about my Stampin' Up! business. (Of course, I was too shy to actually talk to people, so I have a lot of these cards hanging around in my apartment!)

Using that first card and a Retro Sketches sketch (for their choose-your-own adventure sketch challenge) as inspiration, I created this second Spring card. I used the same stamp set and same colors, but ended up with a completely different card. I love it! I added some of the Basic Pearls to the center of the Subtles Designer Buttons to give them that extra "something special" (and to tie in with the pearls in the upper right -- remember my whole thing about liking pairs? Yeah. That.)

But two cards just wasn't enough! (Did I mention how sick I am of winter? Cute spring cards help dispel "winter blues" - at least temporarily.) And so I created another card! Same colors, same stamps. But yet another completely different look! This one was inspired by the Create with Connie & Mary sketch -- CCMC241 (down below). And as an added bonus, the fun Silver Glimmer Paper behind the sentiment qualifies this card for CAS-ual Fridays CFC91! I love the sparkle it adds. Here's a close-up so you can fully appreciate its happiness:

So those are my projects! What do you guys think? Ready for Spring yet?? Be sure to check out the rest of the blog hop for even more Spring-themed crafting inspiration! (You can check out our other blog hops here and here and here.)

Hop Forward: Kris Kilkenny

And here's the challenge info:

For the "Choose your own sketch" challenge, I chose RS#3

Isn't this an adorable sketch? Love Create with Connie & Mary!

CFC91: The object of this game? Simple! Add silver to your CAS project.

Patterns & Textures: Layered Birthday Card

In preparation for our "Birthday Bash Blog Hop" coming this Friday, I've had birthday cards on the brain. I found a cute sketch over on Seize the Birthday, but I totally missed the deadline for linking up! Oh, well. I still ended up with a cute, colorful birthday card.

I love the patterns in this Summer Smooches DSP - and the colors!! The colors are just fantastic: Rich Razzleberry and Lucky Limeade. Add a quick cutout from the Labels Collection Framelits stamped with a "Bring on the Cake" phrase, and I was almost done. It just needed .... something. So I grabbed a clear Bitty Button and some Linen Thread, and voila! The card was complete.

Don't forget to come back for more Birthday inspiration during our Birthday Bash Blog Hop on Friday!

Card Details

Paper: Chocolate Chip Textured CS, Whisper White CS, Summer Smooches DSP

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Rich Razzleberry

Tools & Accessories: Labels Collection Framelits dies (Big Shot), Bitty Buttons, Linen Thread

"Hello Baby" Card - Subtles collection colors for FMS #68

It seems like everyone I know is pregnant right now! Seriously, in the last 3 weeks, I've found out at least 9 people are pregnant. Maybe it's just because I'm in that early-to-mid-20's age group in the Provo area, but wow, are there a lot of babies showing up on my Facebook news feed! So chances are, soon enough I'm going to need a lot of "Welcome, Baby!" cards for my friends and neighbors. With this in mind (and kind of being inspired by this week's Dynamic Duo pastel color combo), I decided to start building my stash with this sketch challenge card:

Close-up of the cute details on this card:
Subtles Collection Designer buttons, a "hello baby" banner,
Edgelits design, and a bitty bow on the rattle.

This is possibly the first time I've taken a sketch so literally. No, really, check out the sketch provided by Freshly Made Sketches this week:

With such a great layout, how could I go wrong? As soon as I saw the sketch, I knew that I wanted to use my Button Buddies set to fill that blue space, and some buttons (of course) for the details to the left. So I set to work (again at 11 pm.... that really needs to stop!) and came up with my adorable card a little while later. I love the soft color combo, and the polka-dot background (thanks to the textured embossing folder for the Big Shot) is such a cute addition, too! Overall, I'm very happy with this card -- and it goes back to the bolder, cleaner style that I used to stamp (like this post here).

Now to find out which of my friends is having a girl....

Card Details:
Paper: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, and Whisper White CS
Stamps: Button Buddies, Pennant Parade
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Soft Suede 
Accessories & Tools: Subtles Collection Designer Buttons, 3/16" Corner punch, Finishing Touches Edgelits (Big Shot),
     Perfect Polka Dots Textured Embossing Folder (Big Shot), Linen Thread, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Hello, My Friend -- FM91

Today, I wanted to create. I sat down at my craft space (aka: my coffee table), stared at the blank paper in front of me, and thought, I got nothin'. I'm drawing a total blank! So I took a tip from my friend Julie and found a sketch challenge to get my brain flowing. Enter: The Friday Mashup (check it out here: FM91). Here's the challenge:

Here is the "Mashup" Challenge:

1. Make a project using the "Sketch."
2. Or Make a project featuring "Hearts."
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project using the "Sketch and Hearts."

So, after a brief brainstorming session -- and some fantastic arrangement advice from my husband -- this is what I came up with:

Isn't it adorable? I love how clean and simple this card is. The colors are some of my favorite that SU! has to offer: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, and Melon Mambo (all from the Brights collection). Throw in some great neutrals (Soft Suede and Crumb Cake) and you get a nice, balanced color scheme. I got the main images all laid out following the sketch challenge, then realized that the background was missing something -- especially that upper right-hand corner. So I took the second element of the Mashup -- hearts -- and decided to try a trio of cute little clear, heart-shaped Bitty Buttons to fill it in. Ahh, just what it needed!

I was really happy to get back into this style of design -- bold colors, solid images, clean lines. I've been loving the vintage look lately, but it's always nice to know I can come back to different styles, too. What's your favorite style when it comes to crafting? Are you more vintage? Bright and cutesy? Over-the-top dramatic? Or a little bit of everything?

Card Details

Paper: Crumb Cake (base), Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, and Old Olive CS. Brights Collection DSP.

Stamps: My Friend, Button Buddies

Ink: Melon Mambo, Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry

Accessories: clear Bitty Buttons

Memorable Moments & a color challenge

This week, I decided to try a new kind of challenge: a color challenge! Instead of being given a sketch or an inspiration photo, you're given a set of colors to make your project with. Here's what I came up with!

 I chose the Create with Connie & Mary challenge (CCMC232), and they gave me these gorgeous colors to work with:

Most people in this challenge made wintry, snowflake cards, but I'm pretty much done with snow. (Unfortunately, Utah doesn't agree with me on that! We've gotten SO MUCH SNOW this last week, and it's only the beginning of winter!) So I decided that I wanted to make something beautiful and elegant and not at all winter-related. The numbers on this one are only put on there temporarily, until I decide whose birthday this is for. Then I'll go back and stamp the appropriate number in this gorgeous Pool Party color and attach them.

Card Details:

Stamps: Memorable Moments

Ink: Black StazOn permanent ink, Pool Party

Paper: Pool Party CS, Whisper White CS, Silver Glimmer Paper

Tools & Accessories: Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Labels Collection Framelits, Bitty Banner Framelits, Vintage Faceted Designer buttons