Sunday, September 30, 2012

Monday, September 24, 2012

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Halloween Card with Dynamic Duos, Sponge Grunge and MOJO

Boo!  :) How is it that I'm already making cards for Halloween and Christmas?  I guess it's because the challenges made me do it.  First, I blame the fab gals at Dynamic Duos, who encouraged us with their Black Tie combo this week to use Basic Black and Lucky Limeade.  


Next, I blame 365 Cards for the Sponge Grunge challenge, for which we were to add accents of color with our sponges...  You can see I added some to every shape on the card... 


...including the opening edge.


Of all my weekend's "toil," I'd say this project is one of my favorites (I hear MacBeth in my head now -- a witch's caldron project is sure to follow!).


Finally, I give blame credit to Mojo Monday (specifically MOJO258) for this great sketch...

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Googly Ghouls (W128060, C128063)

Papers:  Lucky Limeade (2011-13 In Color -- 122926), Basic Black (121045) and Whisper White (100730)

Inks:  Lucky Limeade (2011-13 In Color -- 122984) and Basic Black (126980) Classics

Accessories:  Chevron Textured Impressions embossing folder (127749), Big Shot (113439), Finishing Touches Edgelits (127010), 2 1/2-inch Circle (120906), 1 3/4-inch Circle (119850) and 1-inch Circle (119868) Punches, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (for the eye -- 118309), 1 1/4-inch Square Punch (for the flagged ends -- 119865), Stamping Sponges (101610), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Sketch-Inspired Christmas Card



I know fall is just barely in the air, but there have been a lot of Christmas-themed challenges out there and I couldn't resist!

This card was inspired by the great sketch provided by Pam and the gals at 365 Cards for the Super Sketchy Sunday challenge.  


The fun challenge blog, Cute Card Thursday, challenged us to make this week's project Christmas-themed, so here we are!

I used my Scallop Trim Border punch to mimic the scalloped sides in the sketch.

**STUDIO SUGGESTION**:  I added a quarter-sheet of Very Vanilla Card stock to the inside of this card to make the scalloped border of the front half stand out more.  With darker card stocks (or recipients who might have trouble reading), it's often a good idea to use a lighter card stock inside on which to write your message.



Ribbon scraps are kept in a glass candy jar at my work station and I was thrilled to find this combination (I especially love the texture).

The pretty medallion in the upper right corner was created using the Hostess Set found in the 2012 Holiday Catalog, Mixed Medley. I stamped tone-on-tone with Cherry Cobbler for the big circle and again on Very Vanilla.

Paper Snips make cutting the flagged edges on my ribbon scraps super-easy.

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Mixed Medley (W128054, C128057)

Papers:  Soft Suede (115318), Very Vanilla (101650), and Cherry Cobbler (119685)

Inks:  Cherry Cobbler Classic (126966)

Accessories:  Scallop Trim Border (118402), Crochet Trim (118481), So Saffron 3/8-inch Taffeta (122982), and Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding (120992), 1-1/4 (119861) and 3/4-inch (119873) Circle Punches, and Stampin' Dimensionals (104430).

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Starburst for Fall-Themed and Sketch Challenges


With the beginning of fall just a few days away, I found that a lot of the challenges in which I've been participating are inspired by this change of seasons.  This card is based in part upon a theme and sketch challenge offered by the fine folks at The Friday Mashup.  With Friday Mashup, we get to choose to follow one of the challenge ideas or mash them both up and create a project using both.  In this case, we were offered this sketch:    

We could "mash" it up by adding a fall theme to our project.  Speaking of fall, the lovely challenge blog, 365 Cards, of which I so often write, challenged us to use five of something and to make it fall-themed in the Five for Fall challenge.  I chose five colors:  So Saffron, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede and Early Espresso.

This card was thus inspired.  I *LOVE* the French script (it's very subtle in this picture), which I inked with So Saffron and stamped on So Saffron card stock.  

**STUDIO SUGGESTION**:  A dusting with my sponge and some Early Espresso makes the punched piece stand out a bit more.


I chose So Saffron Taffeta Ribbon to clean up my edges and I used my Paper Snips to carefully clip out the leaf that I'd inked in Cajun Craze.

**STUDIO SUGGESTION**:  Paper Snips have smaller blades that are super-sharp, so cutting with precision is a snip snap!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  French Foliage (W120845, C121166)

Papers:  So Saffron (105118), More Mustard (100946), Cajun Craze (119684), Soft Suede (115318) and Early Espresso (119686)

Inks:  So Saffron (126957), Cajun Craze (126965), and Early Espresso (126974) Classics

Accessories:  Decorative Label Punch (120907), So Saffron Taffeta Ribbon (122982), Stamping Sponges (101610), Paper Snips (103579), and Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Monday, September 17, 2012

Weekly {Sneak Peek}

Fall is in the air and it was in the challenges that I participated in, as well (Christmas was, too, but I'm not going to write about that yet).  :)

A "quiet" card to send to a friend who had a death in the family:


I'm not "feeling" Christmasy yet, but I have enjoyed dabbling in a few Christmas card challenges lately:


I love an ad-inspired challenge and here's my card:


This card is probably my "favorite" this week:


I'm *LOVING* this set:


A fun color scheme challenge that was different for a Christmas card:


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Feeling the Card Challenge Love...

The kind folks at 365 Cards have granted me two honors this week that I thought I'd share.  First, I was selected as a Spotlight Designer for this card, which I entered in the DIY challenge *here*.  Our assignment was to make a card that used a straight pin, safety pin or paper clip accent.
I *LOVE* tying a snippet of ribbon on to a paper clip.  That's one of my favorite embellies!


The second honor I received this week was to be called a Weekly Challenge All-Star, which means I completed all of the week's challenges.  I often strive to achieve this honor, because the challenges are so imaginative, inspiring and fun.  The only times when I don't try to complete all seven challenges for a week are when we're out-of-town (or CrazyBusy with soccer or sports over the weekend).


If you've never participated in one of the 365 Cards challenges, I heartily suggest you do so...  It's a terrific community of designers and participants and I'm always inspired by what I see there (and by what we're asked to create)!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Mixed Medley (W128054, C128057) *From the 2012 Holiday Catalog*

Papers:  Early Espresso (119686), Whisper White (100730), Pretty in Pink (100459), and Rich Razzleberry (115316) card stocks

Inks:  Early Espresso (126974) and Rich Razzleberry (126950) Classics

Accessories:  Big Shot (113439), Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (119976), 1-1/4" Circle (119861) and 3/4" Circle (119873) punches, Whisper White Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon (126877) and Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Monday, September 10, 2012

Back to School and Back on Track!

Patient Readers!  I return triumphant to the Studio!  I'm thrilled that we're back in school, I'm getting caught up on housey projects and I've had some time to stamp (and post!)!

Here's what I was up to this weekend:

Day of Gratitude:
It's a Wrap Occasions (for the teachers):
My daughter's Thank You notes for her birthday: 
 For the Birds:
 Storybook Friends (these guys live in the Hundred Acre Wood, I'm sure of it):
Perfectly Preserved (I bought the Bundle from the Holiday Catalog):
 Mixed Medley (Hostess set from the aforementioned Holiday Catalog):
Now that I've got some time to post, I'll be writing about these projects in more detail...  Make yourself a cuppa and enjoy!