One Page Wonder Challenge: Wrap-up!

I thought this was a great challenge; I was given the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and see what I could do – not to mention I was able to create eight cards for the Ronald McDonald House. Anne must have been inspired to extend this challenge; I enjoyed it very much.

I customized the envelopes as well for each card, but decided to omit them from the pictures. Everyone has favorites, right? Of course they do…it is only normal. These four cards are mine with this challenge; what were yours? I would love to know.

Do you have a sheet of patterned paper (or any paper for that matter) lying around with nothing to do? Try doing what I did: make as many cards as you can with it…it is truly a lot of fun.

One Page Wonder Challenge: Day 5

Back to the norm: adding one more color. I decided to utilize all of the colors I had been using: teal, brown, pink, and yellow to create a couple more cards.

I got a Cuddle Bug for Christmas and am trying to “work it in” to various projects I create; I am not being very successful if you ask me. Honestly, I saw this card (or one similar to it) online and saved a copy of it to my “I need a little help” folder. I thought I would try to see if I could create a card at least as successful as that card. I think this turned out ok, but there is something I don’t really like about it – I am not sure what. I love the layered flowers (one of my favorite things to do) and the ribbon. I like the embossing folder and I like the spotted paper (this is the mystery paper), but I don’t know if I like the two of them together…. I think perhaps the stripe side of the paper would have worked better since it is monochromatic; what do you think?

Recipe: Taken with Teal classic ink, So Saffron, Taken with Teal, Soft Sky, and Regal Rose cardstock, mystery paper, flower/circle embossing folder, 5-point flower punch, Boho Flowers punch, Three Flowers punch, Flirty Ribbon Originals, Chocolate Chip mini library clip, Chocolate Chip corduroy brads, Neutrals buttons, and dimensional spots.

This card came out of necessity for me as opposed to guidance or challenge need. I thought I was just about finished with all of my cards for this One Page Wonder Challenge. I cleaned up my space, put away all my ink and tools, and laid out my cards. It wasn’t until that moment when I realized the “add one color” pattern I created. It was also not until that moment when I realized that I had an odd number…yes, this does bother me. This would just not do…I needed to make one more card, but how? I used just about all of my mystery paper. I dug through the trash and found a sliver of paper 2”x5½”…I had to find a way for this to work. The stripes were in the “wrong” direction, so I had to use the polka-dots. I wanted to use all of the color again and I wanted to use more stamping than I had previously.

It didn’t turn out too shabby, if you ask me. The flower is one of my favorites (it has been retired for years and years, but I cannot part with it…); I love using it in different colors to show it’s versatility…teal leaves…really? Overall, I like it; would I make it again? Probably some version of it, but not exactly.

Recipe: Daisy stamp set, So Saffron, More Mustard, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Soft Sky, Taken with Teal, and Close to Cocoa classic ink, Regal Rose, chocolate Chip, close to Cocoa, So Saffron, and Whisper White card stock, mystery paper, leave motif embossing folder, Neutrals buttons, and dimensional spots.

One Page Wonder Challenge: Day 4

Not wanted to be too predictable, today’s card does not add another color – it substitutes yellow for pink. It is still so amazing to me how changing just one color can change the entire dynamic of a card/project.

Though I love the pink in the combo from previous cards, this yellow takes this card to a more mellow place. This card is a far cry from what I set-out to create when I started – partly because I was particular and partly because I was frugal. I made the center panel too short for my original plan (not by much, but by enough that it drove me crazy to see it “off” at all) and I did not want to redo it, so I set-out trying to redesign the card with this particular feature in mind. I like the way all of the different aspects of this card work together even though they are all so diverse.

Recipe: Oval All stamp set, Close to Cocoa and Taken with Teal classic ink, Close to Cocoa, Taken with Teal, Soft Sky, and So Saffron cardstock, mystery paper, leaf pattern paper, Sherbet Ribbon Originals, large oval punch, scallop oval punch, polka-dot embossing folder, sponges, and dimensional spots.

One Page Wonder Challenge: Day 3

Here we are again with more of my One Page Wonder cards. For this set of cards, I added one more color: pink (Regal Rose and Rose Red). If you know me at all you know that I am not a big “pink” person, but I used it here since it was part of the color scheme on the polka-dot side of my mystery paper.

I have made this card many times in the past; there is something about the blocking and the front panel and the layers and the cutting that just drives me crazy for it. This card is the only card in the OPWChallenge where I used both sides of the mystery paper: the polka-dot and the stripe. I was able to add some interest to the dark teal panel by layering on some smaller flowers with my Versamark ink. With all that is “happening” with this card, I love the way the light teal panel’s sparcity keeps it from being overwhelming. Don’t be surprised if you get a card from me which looks like this…I love it!

Recipe: With All My Heart and Flower Fancy stamp sets, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Soft Sky, and Taken with Teal classic ink, Versamark craft ink, Taken with Teal, Regal Rose, and Whisper White cardstock, mystery paper, Flirty Ribbon Originals, Chocolate Chic corduroy bottons, Boho Flowers punch, scissors, and dimensional spots.

How much is too much when it comes to spots? This card utilizes many of my favorite techniques: layering, dimension, ribbon, embossing, and (this last one is not really a technique) Circle Circus. I am not sure if this card “works” or not, but regardless of the result, there is something about it that makes me smile.

I am going to take a moment to digress for a little (so if you aren’t up for a story, then thanks for stopping by and hopefully you will come back tomorrow…no story tomorrow). This color combo (pink, teal, and white), though it is a bit drastic for my personal liking, is pretty dear to me. When I was in high school I had to complete a project for my business marketing class. In it, we needed to create a restaurant from the ground up (the building, the décor, the embiance, the food…you name it, we needed to think of it). I decided to create a 50’s style diner decorated in pink and teal neon (checkerboard floors, nostalgic memorabilia, car-hop type uniforms, shakes, burgers, etc.). When completed, I thought I had a pretty good concept for a successful business. Years later, I moved to Albuquerque and was invited to the Route 66 Diner with a group of friends – it was like a page out of the Twilight Zone: the Route 66 Diner was my restaurant. I was both shocked and delighted to know that this place had been around “forever” and that it was still highly successful. Anyway, I think of the Route 66 Diner and my class project each time I see this color combo…just thought I would share a little insight into my catty-wompus mind with you.

Recipe: Circle Circus and Whimsical Words stamp sets, Taken with Teal classic ink, Versamark craft ink, Regal Rose, Taken with Teal, and Close to Cocoa cardstock, mystery paper, Spotted Teal pattern paper, 1¼” 1½” and Scallop circle punches, Flirty Ribbon, Winter White embossing powder, heat tool, and dimensional spots.

One Page Wonder Challenge: Day 2

So, stepping up my monochromatic card a notch, I added a color (it is actually two colors, but since one is a lighter shade of the other…I am counting them as one): teal – Taken with Teal and Soft Sky, to be exact. With these two cards, I wanted to show that you didn’t need many embellishments to make a beautiful card; on these, I didn’t use any (it was hard…real hard for me)…just paper and ink – and a whole lot of restraint.

I really like the way this card turned out. I wasn’t so sure that I would like it when I was conceptualizing it, but it is actually one of my favorites of all the cards made for this challenge. I kept it real simple: split-page design, tone-on-tone pattern (both in the mystery paper and in the teal paper), and put the greeting right in the center.

Recipe: Petal Prints and Heard from the Heart stamp sets, Taken with Teal and Close to Cocoa classic ink, Taken with Teal, Soft Sky, and Close to Cocoa card stock, and that mystery paper of which I don’t know the name.

Like the first card, I used only paper and ink in this card. I wanted to manipulate the striped paper to create a frame; I wanted to have the short ends of the stripes all around (instead of having two sides which show only a single stripe) and I wanted them to line up at the corners, so I mitered the corners and was pleasantly relieved when the fourth side lined up. I didn’t want to detract from the simplicity of the saying or the mat I made for it (since it did take a little bit of time), so I kept the layout pretty basic.

Recipe: Sidekick Sayings stamp set (All Natural stamp set for the envelope), Close to Cocoa and Taken with Teal classic ink, Taken with Teal, Close to Cocoa, and Soft Sky cardstock, the mystery paper, Blue Leopard patterned paper, sponges, and dimensional spots.