Category: Challenges

Art Inspiration, Cards, Challenges

Hello & Updates

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

It’s been a minute. Hopefully life will begin to fall into a more normal routine now that we’ve completed our anniversary trip, enjoyed our granddaughters visiting for a week and I’ve navigated another round of knee injections.

I only completed 51 days of my faith challenge but that’s okay. My asthma & allergies had me down for awhile but I will be finishing up my Beatitude journal & posting more faith art soon. I’ll also work on a bit of Christmas in July and some classes I need to finish and share.

I’ll be backtracking this week and off and on to share some of the art I have made and haven’t posted yet.

While we were on retreat in April, for fun we listed challenges for most days. I have some art challenge cards, so each of us pulled one out everyday or so and wrote them on a board. The idea was to see if we could incorporate them into the projects we were working on. It got us thinking outside of the box. We have retreat coming up again in just about 8 weeks & will probably play again.

This is one of the cards I created. We could use one or more of the elements listed that day. This one was a challenge to use One Word.

Do you have a favorite way to challenge yourself when creating?

Have a fabulous week!

Art Inspiration, Cards, Challenges, Lavinia Stamps

Butterfly Blessings

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

I started this challenge card on Thursday when it was posted before we attended Riverdance’s 25th Anniversary show. Finished it on Friday & then ended up with no internet because while laying our new fiber line, they chopped through our existing cable line. Add in a couple of migraines & I think I’m stuck with off & on posting for awhile.

Thursday’s challenge was 2 colors, I chose my favorite combo of purple & green but decided while splattering to add in some gold. For challenges like this, I just start poking through my supplies & playing to come up with a design. It’s actually fun & inspiring.

I had finally picked up a couple of the Lavinia Sticker Stencil sets but hadn’t had a chance to play with them. I used both the positive & negative butterfly to create this card. Partially inspired by Riverdance, I pulled out my Judikins background stamp of the Book of Kells & stamped it into the butterfly center after inking & splattering. The diecut butterflies feature alcohol ink & I opted for a diecut sentiment.

Hopefully I can catch up on Friday’s & yesterday’s challenges tomorrow.

Thanks for popping by.

Blessings!

Art Inspiration, Cards, Challenges, Lavinia Stamps

Whisper Fragile Truth

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

It’s been a minute. Allergies are still trying to win the war here. I have been doing some creating but can’t share just yet.

Eileen Godwin issued a challenge this morning on her group & I love a good challenge & it was just the inspiration I needed after a long day of errands to grab some supplies & create. The challenge was very basic – start with a stencil then add in a stamp or two.

I only have a handful of Lavinia stencils & I picked out Feather Leaf and grabbed some blending brushes that still had ink on them from another project to blend the background. I stamped Mooch in Versafine Clair, the neat part is because I used Distress Oxides, you can see the stencil pattern under the black ink. I decided the Fairy Orb needed color too & blended 3 different colors onto the stamp. The sentiment is an old Post Modern design stamp from my stash that is probably around 15 years old now.

It was so much fun just to grab a couple things, play & design as I went.

I hope you are having a great week!

Blessings!

Art Inspiration, Cards, Challenges, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps

Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps Stamp-a-thon – Deer Scene

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

I hope you are having a great weekend!

I’ve been doing more sorting & organizing & just a bit of creating this week in the studio. Today I spent some time playing with the challenges during the Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps Stamp-a-thon event.

The 1st challenge was to Create a Scene and here is what I came up with.

This would make a great guy card. I used Sweet ‘n Sassy Scene Silhouette sets Trees & Woodland and the sentiment is from SNSS Beautiful Birds. The gold splatter is Gansai Tambi watercolor. You will notice my blends aren’t quite as smooth. That’s because the bottom 2 greens are Distress Oxides and the top 2 colors are Distress Inks. I will mix them if that’s what I happen to own in the colors I plan to use.

Have a Blessed Sunday!

Art Inspiration, Challenges, Simon Says Stamp

Simon Says Stamp 5 Ways in 5 Days Day 3 Distress Oxides Play

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

I actually didn’t get a card done today for the 5 Ways in 5 Days but I did try 2 of the techniques in Kristina Werner’s video and hopefully I can play with the rest soon.

After being out in the 100+ heat index for appointments & errands, this play time was perfect & so much fun. I can spend hours making backgrounds sometimes. I got these done in about an hour. I worked in another look from the Card Makers Summit too.

I can’t wait to play with the other couple of techniques Kristina shared in her video. I’ve played with the Gel press before but it’s been awhile & playing with the Ranger Distress Resist should be fun too.

I hope you have a great Thursday. I’ll be getting my 3rd knee injection, the knee already feels much better with some extra fluid.

Art Inspiration, Cards, Challenges, Simon Says Stamp, Taylored Expressions

Simon Says Stamp 5 Ways in 5 Days- Day 2 Sparkle

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

Busy day & I’m tired. I got more sorting done in the studio, the new carpet was put in & the bedroom is almost back together and I got one of the 2 cards I started done for Simon Says Stamp 5 Ways in 5 Days.

Today Yana Smakula shared different ways to add sparkle to a card and I managed to get 3 different sparkles from my supplies on this card.

It’s very glittery so it’s hard to photograph. I didn’t have the medium Yana used but I did have Taylored Expressions new Glitter Grab that I hadn’t tried yet. I applied it through Taylored’s Winter’s Beauty Stencil then I grabbed some glitter I’ve had forever and tried for a striped effect. The outside edges are a light lavender glitter but just looks like a different white in the picture. The center is a mixture of white & silver glitter. Not perfect but very cool. I added a glitter rhinestone in the center & die cut peace out of glitter paper.

I will try & get my second card I started done soon but it may be after this week. I’d like to try & get something done for tomorrows 5 Ways and it’s an errand day so time will be short.

Have a Great Wednesday!

Cards, Challenges, Penny Black, Simon Says Stamp, Taylored Expressions

Simon Says Stamp 5 Ways in 5 Days – Day 1 Ink Blending

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

I hope your week is off to a great start!

No art sorting done today because we were clearing the master bedroom for new carpet tomorrow. But I did get a little more sorting done there.

I popped in on Simon Says Stamp new Summer Crafty Series 5 Ways in 5 Days today & decided to play along as the week allows. I didn’t have the Simon Says Stamp products that Laura Bassen used in today’s video so I challenged myself to use what I have.

I love clean & simple graphics. I used Taylored Expressions Masking Stencils Rectangle & just shifted it a bit to get the layers for the first card along with Pink Fresh Studio’s Happy Birthday. For the 2nd card, I created circle layers with my Hero Arts Infinity Dies Nesting Circle set & Yupo paper. Yupo makes great reusable stencils with your diecuts. The celebrate is from Penny Black.

So much fun but it’s off to bed, the carpet guys will be here bright & early in the morning.

Have a Terrific Tuesday!

Bash That Stash, Budget & Stash Stretchers, Cards, Challenges

Bash That Stash Polka Dots

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

It’s Monday and that means my heavy cleaning day so not as much time for art, which is why I am working on trying to manage my days a bit better.

Over on the Caffeine Fueled Chaos and Card Making Group they started the year with a “Bash That Stash” challenge. The premise is to use what you already have on hand. Some of us have bigger stashes than others, LOL! I certainly do.

Today’s challenge was Polka Dots and since I wanted to still do some quick creating, I dug into my infamous Bits & Pieces box.

I often test my embossing folders on plain old white cardstock so have a stack of them on hand. This one happened to have a swiss dot background, instant polka dots. I didn’t even have to dig in the patterned scraps for polka dot paper, the red was within reach. A quick sentiment, a little Stickles & instant card flat enough to mail easily. Which is important with rising postage costs.

I will probably only participate in the challenges now & then but I am definitely working on using more of my stash this year all around.

Have a Fantastic Week!

Cards, Challenges

Snowy Town

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

There are days I can be the queen of fast, simple, & elegant.

I am going to be working hard the next couple of weeks to get a better schedule in place. It was nice to have a breather from the faster pace of life but I’ve been moseying along a little too long I think. Plus with my guys working at home, I need a new routine that works for me without disturbing their work days.

Tonight’s card is another red, white & blue Holiday in July Extravaganza Card for the Troops. I have a couple of town or house border dies but I picked up the Little House Border by Paper Rose recently & decided it would make a great quick card.

I think the most work on this card was splattering the blue background with white paint. I die cut the border die, layered it on the card, stamped the sentiment & completed in about 15 minutes. Clean, simple & elegant.

I have always loved clean & simple design. I am just not an over the top person. I can do lots of layers, 3-D & fussy but simple & elegant is my signature style.

Do you have a signature style you prefer?

Thanks for popping in!