Inspiration Challenge 164

When it rains it pours! I haven't been able to post all week and then I post three times in one day! It may have something to do with the fact that my husband is gone this weekend and the kids have been feeding themselves all day. Mom's just been busy stamping! I wanted to play at least one of the SCS challenges on the day that it was posted and I always enjoy the Inspiration Challenge IC164. So I made sure I did that today. I also used another one of the sketches from Taylor Expressions Cupcake Challenge year anniversary. This time I used a sketch from Ana Wolfhart TECC52AW. This is the image that I was inspired by. I loved the soft, pretty colors and fun looking textures. My card however, went a little "wild". Instead of cutting into any new DSP, I decided to use scraps. The scraps I chose to use are from the retired SU! paper Bali Breeze. As much as I love this DSP, it doesn't have the same feel as this pretty image from Lang Calendars. So my flowers are a bit more bright and a bit more funky. Here's my card:

Definitely not "soft and pretty". More like "wild and funky"! You can see my three flowers coming out of the vase. That much is similar. Speaking of my vase... I'm so proud of that little bugger! I made him using my SU! Top Note die! Best investment any crafter could make is to purchase the Top Note Die. I can't wait to get my hands on the new SU! Butterfly die. If I already had it, there would be a butterfly on this card! But I'm waiting until Sale-A-Bration to place a BIG SU! order. Here's some of the supplies I used:

CARDSTOCK: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whipser White, Bali Breeze DSP (retired)

STAMPS: Petal Pizzazz, Wow Flowers

INK: Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Purely Pomegranate (retired)

ACCESSORIES: SU! Old Olive Brads, SU! Top Note Die

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

A Year of Cupcake Challenges!

Here's another card for another one of Taylor's Cupcake Challenges. This one is for Taylor's Sketch Challenge TECC52TV. I also used a few of the challenges over at SCS, since I didn't have a chance to participate in them at all this week. I used the Color Challenge CC202 to use Regal Rose, Kiwi Kiss, and Bravo Burgandy. Not 3 colors I would choose on my own, but I made it work. I did add black and vanilla as neutrals. Because I used black as my main background, this card also fits the Limited Supply Challenge LSC204. Here's my card:















CARDSTOCK: Bravo Burgandy, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black, Very Vanilla
STAMPS: A Rose Is A Rose (sentiment is a rub-on)
ACCESSORIES: SU! Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon, SU! Black Brads, SU! Scallop Edge Pinch, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder
When I stamped the Bravo Burgandy onto the Regal Rose flower base, I first stamped off, so I would get a lighter color. I do not have Bravo Burgandy Classic Ink, so I had to use my Craft Spot. It was a little too dark. Stamping off helped to lighten it a little. I didn't think I would like these colors together, but they're kind of growing on me!
Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Stamping!

Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration 39

Isn't this a fun picture! I love the three bubblegum machines in a row like that. When I first saw Kristina's Color Inspiration Challenge KWCI39 for this week I instantly thought the colors looked very Mary Engelbright-like. I thought I wanted to do something with cherries. While I did use a fruit stamp, I changed from cherries to strawberries. I also used a sketch challenge from Stephanie Hargis TECC52SH. Talyored Expressions is celebrating a year of Cupcake Challenges. She has 9 sketch challenges and you have the opportunity to win with every card you make. Very fun! I don't know if I'll get all nine done, but I've already finished two, so expect to see more posts from me this weekend! Here's my card:

CARDSTOCK: Basic Black, So Saffron, Green Galore, Whisper White, Real Red DSP

STAMPS: Tart and Tangy (the sentiment is a rub-on)

ACCESSORIES: SU! Apple Green Grosgrain (retired) Black Grosgrain unknown, Cuttlebug Dots

I used some Crystal Effects on my strawberry, which made it nice and shiny, but it sort of muddied it too. You can't quite see the "seeds" as well. I also poked holes in the Scallop Circle, but it doesn't show up in the photo at all. Sorry!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

His Holy Name '09 Sovereign

This 12x12 scrapbook page is for a challenge called His Holy Name. You can click on the blinkie on the left side of my blog to get more info. The attribute of God we were to study this week was Sovereign. A big word that has a simple meaning: God is in control. Which has been a huge comfort for me this week, as I had to attend the funeral of a dear friend who passed away from cancer. She battled it bravely for 4 years and God finally took away her pain a week ago today. Barb and I worked together for over four years. She was one of the church secretaries and I was the Children's Ministry Director. We were more than just co-workers, we were friends. Barb leaves behind her husband, two sons, two daughter-in-laws, a grandson and a grandaughter on the way. She was 52 years old. It at times like these that we need to be reminded that God is in control of all things. He has a plan for all of us, no matter how long or short it may be. Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I pray our Sovereign Lord will bless you mightily.

Non-Cheesy Valentine

Hi! This is for today's Limited Supply Challenge LSC203 at SCS. THe challenge was to make a "non-cheesy" valentine for a child to give his classmates. You had to use traditional Valentine colors: red, pinks, whites, black and/or craft. I now see that it was supposed to be "postcard style", but this is so easy to make, I don't think it matters.

Isn't this too cute! And it's super easy! Just use your SU! Top Note die, some circle punches, the new SU! Heart to Heart punch and the Love You Much stamps set. Quick and easy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Krystal

Samples for Kristin

Hi Kristin! Here are two Baby Shower invite samples for you. I prurposefully erased your personal info, 'cause I didn't think you'd want everyone in blogland to give you a call! I didn't have anything with stripes, so I went with the polka dots. My fave is the one with the star, but I think I like the font and verse on the other card. Just let me know what you think. I have enough supplies on habd to get started right away.



















Thanks!
Krystal

A Double Challenge!

Today's card is for two challenges that I enjoy participating in. One is Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration and the other is the Mojo Monday sketch challenge.








The colors are Ruby Red, Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie, and Whisper White. I love these colors together! Very girly. And this was a fabulous sketch to create with. I wanted to use my new Petal Pizzazz set that will be in the SU! Spring/Summer catalog next week! Here's my card:
I tried to use some natural light, but it was coming more as a spotlight than a nice flood of light. Doesn't look real pretty. Looks much better IRL! Of course there are lots of textures on this card: Cuttlebug Polka Dot Embossing Folder, SU! Felt Flowers, SU! Brads and Flower Brad. Next week I won't have to use any more "contraband" Cuttlebug stuff because Stampin' Up! is coming out with Texture Plates!! I'm so excited! I can't wait to place my first order!
Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Stamping!
Krystal

Love Banner

I have a "Thankful" banner that I hang up during the fall I made it a couple of years ago with a kit from Stampin' Up! I thought I needed a banner for more holidays, so I made a "Love" banner for Valentine's day. I used Chipboard with my Top Note die to make the base pieces. I then covered some SU! Sticky Die-cut letters with the Pink Bead Duo, also from Stampin' Up! I decorated it with Stampin' Up! ribbon and goodies from the SU! Pretties Kit.








Thanks for stopping by!
I hope your day is full of all kinds of love!
Krystal

Two Cards For Two Challenges!

Hi! I wanted to post these two cards yesterday, but had computer issues and then had to get ready for my class. I had 16 wonderful ladies come and stamp. The last gal left around 11:00 pm. I do not make my cards easy I guess! I have such a fabulous time with all of these women. My kids lovingly refer to them as "the card ladies".


This first card was for the Color Challenge CC201 over at SCS. The color combo was Night Quite Navy, Baja Breeze and Kraft. I've never used these three colors together, but I love it! I CASEd this card from page 202 of the new Stampin' Up! Spring/Summer Idea Book and Catalog that will be available to purchase from on Jan. 19th. Here's what I came up with:

Here's some of what I used:
STAMPS: Season of Friendship, Always, Seeing Spots, Upsy Daisy
CARDSTOCK: Kraft, Baja Breeze, Night of Navy, Whisper White
ACCESSORIES: Circle Punches, Button Bouquet, Brads, Baja Striped Grosgrain, Oval Punch, Key Tag Punch
If you haven't bought Season of Friendship yet, you better do it now. 'Cause after Jan. 18th, it's gonna be gone!




The other card I did was for a Sketch Challenge at Our Daily Bread ODBDSC01.
I started buying these beautiful stamps for a card ministry I'm starting at church. I didn't want to use Stampin' Up! stamps, not because I don't LOVE them (because everyone know s I do!) but because I didn't want people to think I was trying to promote or sell my products through this ministry. I wanted to keep the two separate, even though all the other supplies are SU! Here's my card for the sketch challenge:



















I tried (quite unsuccessfully) watercoloring this lovely image. I will continue trying to watercolor until I master it. Or at least get a little better! I was telling my husband how unhappy I was with the results. As soon as I was done complaining, my 10 YO daughter walked into the room and exclaimed, "Oh! That bird looks beautiful!" She totally made my day! I love the soft feel of this card. I don't use the pieces out of my SU! Pretties kit near enough. I dyed one of the flowers using my Pink Pirouette re-inker. I love the results.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek!
Krystal

Love You Much

I have four of my five cards ready for my class on Tuesday. Now if I could just get my house clean I'll be all ready for my guests! And be prepared ladies... you will need a paper snips if you have one. I know you're gonna hate to hear this, but you're going to have some cutting to do! Looking forward to seeing you all! The Scallop Envelope card and the Feb. 14 were CASEd from Jenn D over at SCS. The Love You Much card was CASEd from irvinehouse. The Always card was CASEd from alystamps.

A Year of Inspiration!

It was one year ago yesterday that I posted my first card on Splitcoast Stampers. I have since uploaded almost 300 cards and/or projects. That either means that I have nothing better to do, or I really love this hobby of mine! You can click on the link to my SCS gallery and check out my very first card. I actually still like it!

Today I played along with two challenges over at SCS. The first was the Inspiration Challenge IC162. Here's the piece I chose for inspiration:
I love the colors in this piece (it's green!) and I also love the clean, modern look. Not to mention that I love florals and leave patterns! I also made my card for the Divine Design '09 Challenge BVC09. This is a monthly Bible verse challenge that I played along with a coupke of times last year. I think the reason that I stopped playing along is that I don't have many Bible verse stamps. A lot of the partcipants write up their verse and print them on the computer, but that takes alot more time than just grabbin' and inkin' up a stamp! Well I remedied by lack of Bible verse stamps by purchasing my first ever acrylic stamps from Verve! The jury is still out on acrylic versus rubber, but at least I have nine new scripture stamps to use! I love how they combines different fonts in their stamps. So here is the card I created:




















Some supplies that I used:
STAMPS: Serenity, Philippians 4:13
PAPER: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Whisper White, Summer Picnic DSP
ACCESSORIES: SU! Felt Flowers, SU! Brads, SU! White EP, SU! Grosgrain, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I need to finish putting my Christmas tree in its box.
Krystal

Color Inspiration 37

Today's card is for Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge on her blog. Aren't these great colors! So fresh. Reminds me of spring. Of course they contain two of my fave colors, green and brown, so maybe that's why I love it so much! I really love all the cards I've seen at Splitcoast with the buttons on the tree. I know I'm behind the curve ball on this one, but I'm always a little late with the trends. Hey! At least I used all current Stampin' Up! supplies! So here's my card:






















Isn't it cute?! I know the buttons are considered Kiwi Kiss, but they look pretty darn close to Old Olive to me. I used a clear button over the sentiment (from Wow Flowers) to continue the button theme and it helps to highlight it. I didn't want the holes in the button to show, so I covered it with a little flower punch. I really love this Season of Friendship stamp set from the Holiday Mini Catalog. Word from Leadership is that it is NOT in the new Spring/ Summer catty. So if you want this set, you better hurry and buy it before Jan. 19th. I think this is my favorite set out of the Holiday Mini.

I totally forgot my friends birthday (it was on New Year's Eve!) so I think I'll be mailing this to her. I hope she doesn't read this!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Krystal

His Holy Name '09 Holy

While blog surfing last night, I stumbled across a wonderful blog: Triple the Scraps by Patter Cross. She has a weekly Bible study/stamping challenge this year called His Holy Name 09. You can click on the link on the right side of my blog to get more info. The challenge this year will be a weekly Bible study based on an attribute of God. There's also a forum over at Splitcoast dedicated to this challenge. This week's attribute is Holy.


Last night I sat down with my NIV Bible and a chapter-by-chapter Bible Commentary. It was so great to read the Bible with a purpose, instead of just reading it randomly! I used my Bible's Concordance to find verses that talked about God's holiness. When I found a verse I liked, I would look it up in my commentary. It's amazing to think about God's holiness in comparison to our sinfulness. That fact that he still loves us is truly incredible!


The verse I chose is 1 Samuel 2:2 "There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God." This is from Hannah's prayer, after she gives Samuel, the child she prayed for, to the temple to serve God. The fact that a mother could rejoice in a holy God at a time when most people would be mourning at this incredible loss is amazing. Here is the page that I created:

I had so much fun making this scrapbook page! It's one of my most favorite creations to date! One reson I love it so much is the colors combo. I love anything with green and brown. Any shades. Today I used Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, and River Rock. I also got to use some of my favorite retired DSP from SU!, Brocade Background. I'm almost out of this paper and I will be sad when it is all gone. I also love how much texture there is on this page: felt flowers, grosgrain ribbon, poly twill ribbon, brads and buttons. All the things required to make a fabulous page! I totally CASEd the layout from the SU! Fall/Winter Idea Book and Catalog. Page 91 I think. I just changed the paper and stamp set. The layout is pretty much the same. I hope to find a nice 12x12 frame and hang it in my hallway for awhile.
When I was finally done making this page, (with all the stops of housecleaning and homeschooling, it took the better part of the day!) I felt completely satisfied. Kind of like how an author must feel after writing a book. It's so exciting to create!

Thanks for stopping by!

Triple Threat Challenge!

Hi! Today's card is a combination of three challenges:


Technique Lover's Challenge TLC202 over at Splitcoast
Color Challenge CC200 also at Splitcoast
Mojo Monday Mojo68 at the all new Mojo Monday blog


*The first challenge was to use glitter (I used micro beads) on tacky tape.
*The second challenge was to use the color combo of Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie and Garden Green. This was the biggest challenge of all!
*The third challenge was a sketch challenge.
Here's the sketch:









And here's my card:

















I'm not in love with these colors, but it is a nice break from all the Valentine cards I've been working on for my class next week. I have three of them designed and hope to post all five by Friday. It was also fun to use a new stamp set. This set, Petal Pizazz, will be in the Stampin' Up! Spring/Summer 2009 catalog that will be appearing sometime next week. I can't wait! I always love new catalog time. I love to just sit and flip through it and plan my next six months of classes. Of course there never seems to be enough time to do all the things I want and to use all the great products.


Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Stamping!
Krystal

Featured Stamper 100

These two cards are for today's Featured Stamper Challenge FS100 over at SplitCoast Stampers. The featured stamper is Julie Ebersole (aka JulieHRR) who is a "famous" crafter in the stamping world. You can check out her fabulous creations on her blog Paper Trufflez.
My first card is a CASE of Julie's Victorian Love.


















It kind of has an old-fashioned, romantic feel. Not my normal style, but that's what's fun about CASEing someone else!
All supplies are from Stampin' Up!
CARDSTOCK: Riding Hood Red, Creamy Caramel, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
STAMPS: Always, Bella Toile BG
INK: Riding Hood Red, Creamy Caramel
ACCESORIES: Riding Hood Red Taffetta Ribbon, Halfback Pearl



My second card is a CASE of Julie's Plum Pink Bday. It's a little overexposed, but I kind of like it that way! Be prepared, it's pink and orange... AGAIN!


















Isn't it cute?! I really love these colors together. I'll be using the Sweet Always DSP for my next class on the 13th and I can't wait! I stamped the birds on the Pretty In Pink CS and then on Whisper White CS and then paper pieced them. All the supplies are from Stampin' Up!

CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Pretty In Pink, Pumpkin Pie
STAMPS: Always, Love You Much, Polka Dot BG
INK: Regal Rose, Pretty In Pink, Pumpkin Pie
ACCESSORIES: Curly Label Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, 1/4" Pumpkin Grosgrain Ribbon, Soft Subtle Brads

Thanks for stopping by!
Have a wonderful week.
Krystal

Inspiration Challenge 161

The card I made today is for the Inspiration Challenge IC161 over at SplitcoastStampers. The inspiration piece is a very fun website with specialty cakes, called Cake Noveau. I chose this cake, because I love the colors pink and orange together, and because I love polka dots!! Here's my card:



















The sketch I used is from the blog Card Sketch A Day. It's #124. This is the first time I've used one of their sketches. I tried to use some brighter pinks in my color combo, but it just wasn't working for me.

Most of the supplies I used are from Stampin' Up! Here's a list some of them:
CARDSTOCK: Pretty In Pink, Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, Pink Pirouette
STAMPS: Love You Much, Stem Sayings
ACCESSORIES: Brads, Dimensionals, 3/4" Circle punch, Scallop Edge punch



Thanks for stopping by!
Have a great weekend!

Ways To Use It 199

This card was for yesterday's Ways To Use It Challenge WT199 over at SCS. The challenge was to use SILVER on your card. Weel, it just so happened that I was playing around, trying to design a thank you card for my husband, who graduated with his Bachelor's Degree on December 16th. His nickname is "Skully" because of the tattoo souvenirs he obtained while he was in the army. So I decided to use my yet uninked "Just Jawing" set from SU! Here's the card I came up with:













Isn't it hilarious?! It's perfect for my hubby. I'm going to make a "less" version, since I need to make 10 of them. Here's some of the supplies I used:
CARDSTOCK: Basic Black, Basic Gray, Going Gray, Brushed Silver Metallic, Whisper White
STAMPS: Just Jawing
ACCESSORIES: Star Punch, Silver Brads, Cuttlebug EF, Dimensionsals


Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Friday!
Krystal