Friday, January 8, 2010

I've Always Been Game For A Challenge...


...and today I found not one, not two, but FOUR card challenges to participate in today - I'm a machine, I tell ya!

The card on the left is based on a sketch challenge over at Our Creative Corner. Then, over at Color Throwdown (fun name!), the challenge today was to use three colours - 'regal rose', 'chocolate chip', and 'dusty durango'. I just happened to have some papers in my stash with the perfect colours in them. I don't know the paper brand because, oddly, there is no manufacturer name on any of them, but they're all from the same line. They are also some of the oldest papers in my stash, so it was wildly gratifying to be able to use them for the Colour Throwdown challenge. All three cards are made with these papers, plus an old, nay, vintage, hoarded, and coveted piece of 'Chocolate Pinstripe' from Chatterbox. This CB paper is one of my Top 10 all-time favourite patterned papers ever! Goes with everything, and lends just the right touch of sophistication to any project! (Did that sound a lot like a 'plug'? Think maybe I can talk Chatterbox into tossing some free product my way?! What's that you say? Pushing my luck? Yeah. I knew it.)

The third challenge I participated in is from Papertake Weekly. The challenge there was based on 'New Beginnings' and there was room for interpretation according to the criteria, so for this challenge, I used a new corner/slot punch that I got awhile ago and never used. It was one of those purchases where I just had to have it after a demo in a LSS, but once I got it home...well, my time filled with other things, my interest waned, then my memory of what to actually do with it faded...eventually, my shiny new acquisition was tossed in amongst all the rest of the usual suspects, unused and forgotten. For some reason, when I visited Papertake Weekly and read 'New Beginnings', the idea of making myself finally use this punch just jumped into my head! Seems kind of random, but - I was game, so I went with it, and lo and behold - it's my new favorite tool-of-the-moment! So, thank you, Challengemeisters over at PW! I was truly inspired!

Now, onto the fourth and final challenge of the day. Prairie Papercrafts and Stamps is hosting a colour challenge as well, and coincidentally enough, the colours named for this challenge are chocolate and orange - very similar to the colours over at Color Throwdown, so - I stayed with the same paper line and made the card in the above picture on the right. Serendipitous the way it all came together, don'tcha think?!

I added the sentiment 'hello' to both of the larger cards, which keeps them in the 'all occasion' category and allows flexibility in usage. 'Hello' is great just on it's own of course, or you can start with 'Hello' and have the card open to read, 'and Happy Birthday to my best friend!', or, 'Hello', then, 'Thanks for all your help!', or, 'Hello', then, 'You annoy me. It's over.'. See what I mean? Truly 'all-occasion'. I then made up a wee little 3x3 card, sans sentiment, just to round out the photo a bit, in keeping with symmetry and spatial relationship. Huh?! Plus, I needed a card for my mom to say 'thank you' for allowing my husband and I ample usage of her car since we are officially a one-vehicle family but are living at least a two-vehicle lifestyle (AKA hockey/baseball/school/soccer/social life/etc. taxi drivers for our three busy children, as well as, oh, you know, things like going back and forth to work!)

So there you have it - three cards for four challenges. I'm going to call it a night! Happy Crafting, everybody!

10 comments:

LeAnne said...

Wow wow wow! You are on a roll for sure! So glad you found us and we found you...I love your style and so glad you were able to be productive and crank out these cool creations! Thanks for playing CTD! Come back again!
LeAnne

Jennifer Meyer said...

Beautiful cards Jillian, you rocked our sketch!!! LOVE the fun layouts and pretty dp!

Thanks for playing along with us over at OCC! Hugs & Smiles, Jennifer :)

Darsie Bruno said...

What wonderful cards you have created! All beautiful in their own style! Thanks for joining us at Our Creative Corner Sketch Challenge!

Anonymous said...

Hi Jillian . . . thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving me a comment - it's meant I have a chance to visit you too!

Had a look through your blog and LOVE the cards, the chat etc. Hope you enjoy your "new" obsession. I love how challenge sites make you think outside your comfort zone sometimes and get great results!

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa) said...

Oh wow, I love them all - great work!!! Thank you so much for joining us at OCC this week, hope to see you again!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Jillian .. the cards look great - one day perhaps I'll have time to give some of these craft projects a go .. it's not a natural skill for me!

Enjoy - and I love getting home made cards from friends .. make them special
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Kerry'd Away Designs said...

LOVE the cards jillian. Nice colors too.

Rose said...

all are so pretty and luv your take on the sketch. thanks for joining us for the sketch challenge this week on OCC :)

Unknown said...

Hi Jillian, a beautiful set of cards, very creative and perefct for all the challenges you have entered, good luck,take care hun
love emma xxx

Leslie Hanna said...

I love it when stuff like this happens! Congrats on the challenge combo!

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails