I'm popping in with an extra post today to make up for my lack of one yesterday; my card was all ready, however by the time I returned from the swimming gala that the James Juniors were attending yesterday evening, I was truly good for nothing! This card is made with this week's CAS(E) This Sketch and the challenge over at CASology in mind:

I took a rather less obvious approach to the cue word 'distress' and instead of focusing on a technique went with the emotion - here's my card:

I went with a lighthouse - the beacon of safety for mariners in distress - from the 'From Land to Sea' stamp set as the focal image for my card and paired it with the sentiment from 'Best Thoughts', which seemed appropriate. I masked off a section of my card using post-it notes and using a sponge dauber and So Saffron ink, sponged in some light shining from the windows of the lighthouse too. I kept my card fairly monochromatic, apart from a splash of red on the lighthouse and a thin strip of retired patterned paper down the left side, and the beam of light. Some black and white baker's twine finishes my card.

Here's today's visual summary for easy reference:

That's all from me this evening; back tomorrow with another project. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

From Land To Sea Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Best Thoughts Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Real Red Stampin' Write Marker
So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad	Sponge Daubers	Basic Black Baker's Twine

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a colour challenge for you:

I decided to do a little watercolouring with one of my favourite sets from the new catalogue - a hostess set called 'Best Thoughts':

I went for a simple layout using a base of So Saffron and an offset panel of Lost Lagoon, then stamped the flower image in Versamark and heat embossed it in white. I stamped the sentiment directly in Lost Lagoon, then used my aquapainter and all three colours to ink my flower. I did the same with the butterfly on a separate piece of watercolour paper and when dry, applied some Dazzling Diamonds to his wings using my two-way glue pen then fussy cut him out and popped him up on a dimensional so it looks as if he has landed on the flower.

I wasn't sure if these colours would work for this card, as you don't really see yellow hydrangeas, however I think this flower looks great in any colour and this colour combination, whilst unusual, is really effective. This is such a beautiful set and is exclusive to customers who host a party (or place an individual order of £150 or more). If you would like to host a Stampin' Up! party and earn this set for free, please do get in touch - I would love to share the loveliness of the new catalogue with you and your friends. Or perhaps you would be interested in joining my Stampers 6 Club - I am just about to start another round so if you would like to get on board, this is perfect timing.

I do hope you like today's card; the rest of the team have used these colours in so many different ways, so do pop by their blogs for even more inspiration. I look forward to seeing your work in our gallery this week. I have another busy day today with a couple of functions to attend; back tomorrow with another project. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: