I received a request for some brightly colored cards.  We need some bright and cheery things these days.  My friend was thinking like I have been - that everything should be springy.  And of course we woke this morning to SNOW!!  What happened to spring??! 
Anyway, I have had fun these last couple of weeks with Breathtaking Bouquet and Daisy Lane, so I pulled them out.  Since I had already designed some projects with them, I was able to create more cards very quickly.  I made 9 cards in about an hour.

I wanted to just stamp the daisy directly over the birch background, but it did not show up well (in my opinion).  So I punched them out.  You can do only one punch, but I prefer the fuller flower.  I did try a different color combination - Delightful Daffodil and Mango Melody.  I think its super cheery.

Since I had already experimented with Bouquet, I knew that watercoloring would show off the colors more so than embossing and sponging.  I again tried some different color combinations.  As you can see, changing the color of the focal flower changes the look.  When you mount the mat to the corresponding color cardstock, the focal flower just pops.

To give my friend a non-floral option, I tweaked a previous design I made with High Tide.  The background is sponged through a mask (or stencil, not sure what to call it really!).  I thought this scene was also colorful and cheery. 

I hope my projects bring some sunshine to you today.

Please don't forget to drop me a line or post your own creations.

What will you make today?

To break up our isolation, I'm going to start some contests. The first one is a layout challenge. These 3 cards use the same pattern - strip of paper off to the left (any size can work) with the sentiment towards the right. As you can see from the last photo, I have accumulated many left-overs from other projects. This layout is perfect for left-overs! I also wanted to show you that you can choose any shape to put your sentiment in.

So, here's the contest: copy this layout and then post your creations on my facebook page. I will randomly draw a winner in 2 weeks. Winner will get an ink pad.

Check back often for another contest as well as to see what else I make from these left-overs!

What will you make today?

I hope you are all well and healthy!  The craziness of the world just makes me want to curl up in a blanket.  But, that will not help.  The best we can do is to try to stay positive, motivated and productive.  I do find it hard to be inspired to create some days, but sitting down at my table, surrounded by my "stuff" usually gets me motivated. 
So I am trying to play with items I had recently bought for upcoming classes.  Instead of making a sample for you all to follow, I have been trying to see how many different projects I can make with one stamp set or bundle.  I shared before all the different looks I came up with for the Breathtaking Bouquet background stamp.  Last night, I opened my Daisy Lane bundle.  This is a stamp set and coordinating  small daisy punch.  It also coordinates with the (larger) daisy punch and Delightful Daisy stamp set.  I copied a sample from the catalog (did you know that Stampin' Up! wants you to use the catalog for inspiration?!).  I paired it with the Birch background stamp.  Yes, I love background stamps!!  I did not make different looks last night but did try different color combinations.  So I have purple, pink and yellow cards.

In this time of social isolation, a handmade card is a thoughtful way to brighten someone's day.  SU has a campaign to share your projects.  Post a picture (on your social media or on mine) with #sharesunshine  

I will be announcing a share the sunshine contest shortly.  Check back for details!

What will you make today?