Now I'm a Stampin' Machine!!

Goodness gracious, I've actually completed 3 whole cards today!! Wow, I'm just sitting here staring at them in shock. It's hard for me to make enough time for one card, let alone 3!!! So the first one I showed you in the previous post, so here are the next two:

Splitcoaststampers is having a week of challenges right now for anyone who belongs to their Fan Club. There are 4 challenges per day (starting today), and 8 on Saturday and Sunday. I've completed two challenges so far today, so we'll see if I go for another one or two. You just never know...

The first challenge was to make any card with an animal theme. It could be a card with a animal stamp, a card given to an animal (as if anyone really does that?!?!? Seriously?!??!) or a card about an animal (yep, I'd probably do this one...my puppy is my little baby boy!!). Well, I have a few stamps that I have picked up over the last few months and haven't had an opportunity to ink up. This elephant just makes me giggle every time I see him!!

A goal I've had recently has been to start using up some of my patterned paper. I've accumulated quite a bit of it over the past year...including a big pack that I must have gotten from Michael's a few years ago and just found in the back of a closet. :-) Ironically, this patterned paper is from Stampin' Up, and I think it might be in the current catalog...so it's not helping me to clean up the old stuff. But at least I'm using it!

Stampin' Supplies:

Stamps: Image and sentiment by Penny Black

Paper: Ballet Blue and Petals and Paisleys DS Paper by Stampin' Up, White Select Cardstock by PaperTrey

Ink: Black Stazon

Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Blending Stumps, Stampin' Up Ticket Corner Punch, Silver Brads, Pink Dotted Organdy Ribbon by May Arts

The elephant was inked in Black Stazon ink and then colored with Prismacolor Pencils. This is my 3rd try at Prismacolors, and I'm finally starting to get the hang of them. I see these wonderful artists who can color so brilliantly (go check out two of my favorite blogs to see some fantastic coloring: Prairie Paper & Ink and Confessions of a Naptime Stamper), and I'm so not there yet!! Anyway, I'm starting to understand how to use blending stumps to get shading...so that's why the elephant looks a little "bare" in places. Just me trying to figure out how to shade him! But I love how bright the flowers look, and the colors worked so well with the designer paper. So I of course had to top it off with May Arts dotted organdy ribbon, which is now my "staple of choice" for an embellishment on a card.

The second challenge was a sketch challenge with the following sketch:

I switched it up just a tad because I really wanted to use my Marvy punches. My goal for this card was to use lots of things I haven't used recently. So I pulled out my PaperTrey Little Lady set and the Scalloped Borders set from GinaK Designs...and look! I used more patterned paper!! Woo hoo!!

So here's my take on the sketch.

I seriously get in major color ditches. Could this have more purple?? (seriously, say that in your best Chandler Bing impression!!) But I really like how it turned out. There were a few minor fender benders along the way (I could not get that doggone ladybug stamped the way I wanted her...then I stamped her with the doodle and forgot to punch her out first, then I adhered her to the back of the doodle as opposed to the front...it was an ongoing saga!!). I like how it turned out for the most part, but I wish I had cut the patterned paper a bit shorter on the long side. Oh well, it gets the job done!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps: Little Lady by PaperTrey, Scalloped Borders by GinaK Designs, Bodacious Jumbo Wheel by Stampin' Up

Paper: Perfect Plum by Stampin' Up, White Select Cardstock by PaperTrey, and I really don't know about the designer paper, although I think the bottom layer that has been cuttlebugged is from Basic Grey

Accessories: Purple Dotted Organdy Ribbon by May Arts, Tag Maker and circle tag by Making Memories, Cuttlebug and Tiny Bubbles Embossing Folder, Giga Scalloped and Mega Punch by Marvy, Cutter Kit by Stampin' Up

Phew! I think it actually takes me longer to type these posts up than it does to actually create the cards!!! Now I'm off to try for another challenge today...goodness, what if I can actually create 4 cards in one day!??!?! That will be a record for 2007!!! :-)