Adventure Awaits with Louise!

Hello Quick Quotes readers! Louise here with a card I made using PowderPuff Chalk Inks and the Far and Away paper collection.

This time of year, many northerners head south to escape the cold. My Mom will be traveling solo for a month to warmer climates. This is the first time she has ever done that and I made this card  to wish her luck on her trip.

I have several large stamps, and I'm always experimenting with different ways to use them. One of my favorite techniques is to add a colorful background using PowderPuff Chalk Inks and my Ink blending tool:

• I stamped the image onto white cardstock and trimmed it down without borders. 
• I assembled a pallet of PowderPuff Chalk Inks that look nice together: Bermuda, Cactus, Deep Sea, Key Largo, and Sandy Shore
• Starting with Bermuda, I used my ink blending tool to apply ink to several areas of the stamped image. I used light pressure and a round motion so I didn't create heavy lines.
• I repeated this technique with each color until the image was entirely colored.
• Note that I change the pad on my blending tool for colors that are very different, but use the same pad for colors that are close to each other.

After I colored the image, I cut a card-base slightly larger than it.

• I used scraps leftover from the Far and Away paper collection to cover the front of the card.
• I stamped my sentiment onto another scrap from the collection using PowderPuff Chalk Ink in Deep Sea and trimmed the sentiment into a strip. I was going to trim it down to the width of the card, but then I decided that I like the ends sticking out. 
• I added a little banner from the Far and Away Quotes and Phrases sheet. 
• Before assembling the card, I inked all edges with powderPuff Chalk Ink in Deep Sea.

This coloring technique is one of my favorites. I hope I have inspired you to try it!

Quick Quotes Products:
Far and Away Paper Pack
Far and Away Quotes and Phrases
PowderPuff Chalk Ink: Bermuda, Cactus, Deep Sea, Key Largo, Sandy Shore

Other Products:
Stamps from Heartfelt Creations and Hero Arts
Dye ink from Memento
Generic White Cardstock
Ink blending tool from Ranger

I wish you and yours a Happy New Year! Thanks for stopping by!
~Louise

Life Is Grape!

I received a bottle of Frog's Leap wine from a person whose favorite color is purple, which inspired me to make this thank you card for her. The papers, flower, and grape stamps are from Heartfelt Creations and colored with comics. The sentiment stamp is from Your Next Stamp!

This is my entry to the YNS Challenge #104 which can be found here.

Thanks for looking!

Family Tradition with Louise!

Hello Quick Quotes readers!  Louise here on the blog today playing along with this month's challenge, Holiday Celebrations. You can find more information about the challenge here.

I love the colors in the Very Merry Digital Collection and thought they would be perfect for these Hanukkah photos. I prefer to scrap with paper so I printed some of the papers and embellishments in the collection onto white cardstock.

I chose Very Merry 4 as my base because I liked the "light spots" for the Festival lights and because the brown background matched well with my photos.

• I double matted my photos with Very Merry 12 edged with PowderPuff Chalk Ink in Bermuda and Very Merry 7 edged with PowderPuff Chalk Ink in Kokomo. 
• My small photos weren't quite big enough to span the width of the larger photo so I decided to poke holes and add some stitching with a simple needle and thread as shown below.
• I layered the double-matted photos over a couple of ribbons leftover from my November Club Q. I didn't have enough of one ribbon, so I left a gap where it wouldn't be seen.
• For the title, I printed a couple of words from the Heritage Quotes Digital Collection, hand-trimmed them into a rounded shape, and inked with edge with PowderPuff Chalk Ink in Kokomo. 
• I added 3 gems leftover from my November Club Q onto 3 of the "light spots" on the background paper to form a visual triangle and add some sparkle. 

Hanukkah embellishments are very hard to find, so I made them myself using Very Merry papers 4 and 12 and PowderPuff Chalk Inks.

• The candles were die-cut from Very Merry 12 and PowderPuff Chalk Ink in Sandy Shore was applied directly to the ends to make the flames. 
• The base of the menorah was die-cut from Very Merry 4 and the top is edged with PowderPuff Chalk Ink in Capri Blue.
• The Jewish Star and smaller menorah were stamped onto Very Merry 12 with PowderPuff Chalk Ink in Kokomo. The star was fussy cut and the menorah cut with a circle punch, then both were edged with PowderPuff Chalk Ink in Kokomo. 

Whether you are a paper, hybrid, or digital scrapper, I hope I have inspired you to try some of the new Quick Quotes Digital Collections. Happy Holidays!

Quick Quotes Products:
Very Merry Digital Collection
Heritage Quotes Digital Collection
PowderPuff Chalk Ink: Bermuda, Capri Blue, Kokomo, Sandy Shore
November Club Q

Other Products:
Generic cardstock
Stamps from CTMH
Metal dies from Quickutz
Punches from CM
Thread

Thanks for stopping by!
~Louise

Holiday Party with Louise!

Happy Thursday Quick Quotes readers! I'm on the Quick Quotes blog today with a few items I made for our family holiday party using the Very Merry Digital Collection.

This first photo shows my favorite holiday craft,  the candy guessing jars that I put out every year. We host an annual family holiday party for about 20 relatives. The cousins are all different ages and it's difficult to find holiday games and activities that appeal to everyone. One game that works for everyone is the candy guessing game.

Everyone guesses how many candies are in the jar and the person with the closest guess wins the jar. I make multiple jars so we get multiple winners which I award at the end of the party. 

These are really easy to make:

• Save and wash food jars or buy little inexpensive candy jars
• Print Very Merry papers 3 and 6 onto white cardstock 
• Die-cut or punch circles in various sizes to fit on the lids
• Die-cut numbers to identify the jars
• Cut long strips to wrap around larger jars
• Ink all edges with PowderPuff Chalk Ink in Kokomo
• Adhere all the pieces to the jars (I used regular 2-sided tape and glue dots)
• Fill the jars with small candies, and close the lids!

Make sure you count the candies before you put them in the jars and keep the answers hidden in a safe place!

Obviously with many guests, we need gift tags to know which gift goes to whom. Here is one of the tags that I made:

• Print Very Merry papers 3 and 6  onto white cardstock (I used the leftovers from the project above)
• Stamp greetings onto Very Merry 6 using PowderPuff Chalk Ink in Kokomo
• Ink all edges with PowderPuff Chalk Ink in Kokomo
• Mount pieces on Autumn Brilliance 105 trimmed to 5" by 3"
• Assemble the tag, punch a hole, and add twine and embellishments (I added jewels leftover from my November Club Q and a wooden heart which I inked with PowderPuff Chalk Ink in Kokomo).

I hope I have inspired you to create a few crafts for your holiday gatherings!

Quick Quotes Products:

Very Merry Digital Collection

Autumn Brilliance Paper Pack

PowderPuff Chalk Ink: Kokomo

November Club Q

Other Products:

White cardstock

Assorted jars

Button from Basic grey

Hershey Kisses and M&M's

Metal dies from Quickutz

Circle punches from CM

Wooden heart from Studio Calico

Stamps from Technique Tuesday and Studio 6

Twine from Martha Stewart

Thanks for stopping by!

~Louise