Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge #27

Hi Stamping Friends!

It's time for another Stampin' Celebration Inpsiration challenge!!  Don't you just love the colors of autumn?!  I have been to numerous fall weddings and they are so gorgeous.  We just attended a wedding in October and the colors were Kiwi Kiss, Concord Crush, and Early Espresso.  It was beautiful!!  I just fell in love with these photos when I saw them.  All the different shades of orange and green, with a hint of chocolate.  Fabulous! 

FIFTH AVENUE FLORAL  $24.95

I chose to use Tangerine Tango, Peach Parfait, and Pear Pizzazz, with a touch of Old Olive.  I stamped the Fifth Avenue Floral images in Early Espresso and then cut them out.  For the leaves, I embossed a piece of Pear Pizzazz with the Square Lattice Impression Folder.  Then I sponged some Old Olive onto the raised impression.  Next, I cut them out using the Little Leaves Sizzlet die.  Adds some fun texture instead of plain old leaves, don't ya think?! 

Of course I had to add some Basic Pearls.  I just love those and the Basic Rhinestones.  Since they are self stick, they are soooo easy to use.  Plus, I love that they come in different sizes.  This tiny size is perfect for these flowers. 

The sentiment comes form the Oval All set.  The DSP is from the Pattern Paper Stack.  It is Tangerine Tango.  Also, this awesome sketch comes from the gals over at the Just Add Ink blog.  So glad there are so many talented sketch artists out there for me to "borrow" from.  :)

I hope you can play along with us this week at the SCIC!!  Even if you can't join us, make sure you stop by and check out the other gorgeous creations from our super talented desgin team.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

ColourQ Tuesday #44

Hi Stamping Friends! Tuesday means it's time for another one of Arielle's fabulous ColourQ Challenges!!  When I first saw these colors I really wanted to to do a modern looking card.  I went searching for a suitable sketch challenge (heaven forbid I should come up with my own sketch!!).  I found one I liked at the Clean and Simple blog.  It's their Fall To Layout #101.

FIFTH AVENUE FLORAL

I used the Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder on the black layer.  I altered the Saffron Top Note slightly.  I cut it in half, then layered it on top of itself.  This made it alot smaller.  I didn't want it to cover up my pretty embossed layer!  The rest is pretty self explanatory.  This was my first time playing with Poppy Parade and I have to say that I LOVE it!  Such a fun shade of red.  I was pretty happy with how this card turned out.  Kind of modern and funky.  But when I saw the cards that the other DT gals were uploading for this challenge, I realized that these are the perfect "Mary Engelbreit" colors!  So I just "had" to make another card ala Mary style!

WORD PLAY

I went to the Mary Engelbreit website and looked at a few things they have for sale.  I was inspired to create this!  I just love those lollipop style flowers and have been wanting to make them forever.  This was the perfect reason to finally do it!  I punched out three circles and then distressed the edges.  I then sponged the edges with matching ink.  After adhering the layers with Glue Dots, I then distressed and lifted the edges even more.  I knew I wanted buttons in the center, but I haven't gotten any of the new buttons... yet (they are on the order I just placed!).  So I dug into my retired stash and found these really old ones.  They are actually Very Vanilla, but I colored them with the Daffodil Delight marker.  If you touch them, the ink may still rub off.  I must have colored them five times, because everytime I messed with them, I would rub more ink off!  The sentiment comes from a new set called Word Play.

I hope you can play along with us at the ColourQ this week.  Make sure and stop by the other Royal Court DT members.  You can click on their links on my sidebar.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Stamp Club Sunday

Hi Stamping Friends!

Instead of doing my Sunday Blog Picks, I thought I'd show you what my stamp club ladies (a.k.a. The Card Ladies, as my family refers to them!) will be making this afternoon.  All of these projects were CASEd from other fabulous stampers.

You can learn how to do The Watercolor Rose technique at PATTY'S STAMPING SPOT.  This is a super fun technique and I can't wait for my gals to try it.  I need to play with my colors a little more.  I didn't have a Cameo Coral reinker, so I used Pumpkin Pie, but now I'm thinking I should have used Regal Rose.  The other colors I used were Pretty In Pink and Melon Mambo.

Super cute Milk Carton birdhouse that I've seen EVERYWHERE!  DO STAMPING WITH DAWN has a video tutorial.  I love the Two-Step Bird Punch.  It's just too cute!

I'm so behind the times with this one, but I've never done it with my stampers, so I think they will enjoy it.  There's a tutorial on STEPHANIE LUMAN'S blog.  Which I messed up, because I cut my flower pot wrong.  Oh well!  It will still hold flowers.  :)  The colors on this card were inspired by a card that was done by Lynn Put at THE QUEEN'S SCENE.  I have no idea where the direct link is to the card that Lynn made, but you can just drool at all the other gorgeous stamping on her blog.  She is amazing!

Remember!  Only a few more days to take advantage of the fabulous 2-Step promotion Stampin' Up! is offering.  Click on the SHOP NOW button to order yours today!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a blessed Sunday!

Happy Stamping!

2 Step Into Spring

Hi Stamping Friends!

Springtime is in full swing in my neck of the woods.  Just ask my kids who are suffering with horrible allergies this week!  Stampin' Up! has decided to celebrate spring with a special promotion on some of their Two Step Stampin' sets.  This special only lasts through the end of April, so be sure to order soon!  Today's card features one of the sets that are on sale, Fifth Avenue Floral.

This card fits three different challenges.  The sketch comes from my favorite Stampin' Up! online hangout STAMPIN' ADDICTS.  This is sketch SASC49.  Stampin' Addictsis  a great little community where everything is postively Stampin' Up!  If you are looking for fun ideas for certain SU! stamp sets, check out the Stampin' Addicts online gallery.  It is filled with lots of beautiful samples and it is organized by stamp set, so it is very user-friendly. 

The colors come from the COLOR THROWDOWN blog CTD87.  The colors are Pink, Gray, and Soft Olive.  The last challenges is for the PALS PAPER ARTS challenge blog PPA37.  This weeks challenge is a theme challenge and the theme is Flowers.  I have a feeling I'm going to more cards to post for that challenge!

The card base is Basic Gray, layered with Pretty In Pink and then layered with Certainly Celery.  The Celery layer is embossed with a NEW Impressions Folder that will be available May 1st from the Summer Mini Catalog.  It is called Square Lattice.  The stamp set is Fifth Avenue Floral and the sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  The bottom flower that is attached to the Basic Gray Satin ribbon is the Flower Burst Embosslit.

FIFTH AVENUE FLORAL   #113734   SALE PRICE $19.96

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Easter Club Card

Hi Stamping Friends!

This is a card we made at my hostess club last Sunday afternoon:

I saw this technique on a card in the gallery at my favorite online Stampin' Up! hangout, STAMPIN' ADDICTS.  If you love SU! products and ideas, you should really go check out their gallery.  They have some fabulous stuff in there!  And while you're there, why don't you upload a few photos yourself, we love to see everyone's creations!

Sorry about the sidetrack!  Now back to the cars.  The card base is Elegant Eggplant layered with Whisper White.  The "DSP" is a piece of Whisper WHite that was embossed with the Finail Press Impressions Folder.  Then we flipped it to the back side and using Elegant Eggplant ink on the brayer, we brayered over the embossing.  I love how it really "pops" the pattern of the impression by leaving the white space!  The flower image is from Fifth Avenue Floral, which is 20% off during the month of April!!  We heat embossed it using black craft ink and black embossing powder.  The stamens were colored with the Summer Sun marker.  The butterfly comes from the Beautiful Wings Embosslit.  The sentiment comes from the All Holidays set.

FIFTH AVENUE FLORAL   #113734   SALE PRICE $19.96

Thanks for stopping by!

I hope you have a very blessed Easter!

Happy Stamping!

The Royal Court

Hi Stamping Friends!

Well today's the day you've all been waiting for!  It's the most exciting stamping news I've had in forever.  Drumroll please...  Arielle Gordon of the COLOUR Q  color challenge blog has asked me to be on her Design Team called The Royal Court!  How fun is that?!  I was so completely shocked and honored when she emailed me.  And of course I said YES!!  I've always dreamed of being on a DT but never thought it would actually happen.  And then I was even more amazed when I saw the awesomely talented ladies who are on the team with me.  Let me tell you, I was quite a wreck trying to come up with my first DT challenge card.  Just ask my hubby!  This is a fabulous group of stampers.  And I'm still in awe that I was asked to be a part of all this wonderful stamping goodness!

Now on to the good stuff... stamping!  One thing I've always loved about Arielle's color challenges is her choice of inspiration pieces.  She picks out the most fantastic, colorful pictures.  Here's this week's challenge cQc #26

Aren't those shoes just the cutest?!  So soft and girlie.  I really wanted to do an Easter card with these fun colors, but I just couldn't get that peacock image out of my mind.








So here's the FIRST card I came up with, the one I finally emailed to Arielle:

You know how much I love to combine my challenges, so this uses the Fall To Layout FTL84 from the CLEAN & SIMPLE blog.  The peacock image comes from the Very Thankful set.  When you buy this set from your SU! demonstrator, Stampin' Up! will donate $2 to the Ronald Mc Donald's Charities.  SU! has contributed nearly $800,000 to RMHC over the years.  I wasn't really thrilled with this card, so I went blog hunting for another sketch challenge and this is the SECOND card that I made:

This card uses the sketch from Amy Rysavy's blog PRARIE, PAPER & INK  AMYRS77.  While it is a very fun sketch, this card was a bit too busy for me.  Too many flowers and scallops and polka dots or something.  I dyed my Lavendar Lace Corduroy Button by using my Craft Ink Spots.  So again, I went back to blog hunting and found another sketch.  (Aren't you glad there are so many sketches to choose from?!)  And this is the THIRD card I came up with:

I finally got that Easter card in there!  This card uses the SFYTT sketch from Jen del Muro's blog I{HEART}2STAMP.  Again, another fabulous sketch, but for some reason it just wasn't working for me.  I think it's the DSP, just a little too busy.  The lily image comes from the Fifth Avenue Floral set.  That's when I decided to send Arielle the FIRST card and just roll with.  I've got quite a few more weeks to figure out this design team stuff.  BUT... I still thought I had to improve my original card, so I took a few things off and added a few things and now it looks like this:

Now I know what you're thinking (probably the same thing as my hubby!)... really lady?!  It's just a color challenge!  Why all the fuss?!  But man!  Have you seen the other talent on this team?!  I've got to make par, give it my all, earn my bread and butter, or something like that.  I need perfection people!  And yet, after FOUR tries, I'm still not satisified.  I think this time I just simply tried too hard.  I hope (and so does my family!) that next week isn't near as taxing as this week was.  Even if it is, I'm just happy to be doing some "fun" stamping again.  The "stamping for no reason" kind of stamping.  Not for a stamp camp or hostess club or a customer, but just for creativities sake.  Woo!  Hoo!

Well, thanks for sticking around for this awfully long and involved post.  I promise they won't all be like this.  And I'm really not that much of an over acheiver.  But I am a first born, so I do have my issues!  I hope you can play along with us this week.  I'm sure it won't take you near as many tries as it did me.  :)  And be sure to visit the other members of The Royal Court.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Fifth Ave. Color Challenge

Hi Stamping Friends!

Today's card uses the Friday Color Challenge over at my favorite place to hang out, Stamping Addicts.  If you love all things Stampin' Up!, then you really need to come hang out with us!  The gallery is filling up everyday with more Stampin' Up! goodness.  And you know I'm trying my best to do my part!  These colors are from last weeks color challenge SACC34.  They are Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, So Saffron, and Not Quite Navy.  Here's my card:

I really like how this turned out.  I used the card in the Stampin' Up! catalog for my inspiration.  I would have liked to have added a Not Quite Navy strip of cardstock right above the So Saffron layer, but I couldn't find a scrap of it.  And I could not justify cutting into a whole sheet of cardstock for one lousy inch!  Some may call me cheap... I prefer to refer to myself as frugal!  The Saffron and Olive flowers were heat embossed using White EP.  The Saffron layer was embossed with the Manhattan Flower Impressions Folder.  And I'm still in love with this Striped Grosgrain Ribbon!  It was the Ribbon of the Month for October and I sold all the packs I had... because it's so gorgeous!  The half-backed pearl comes from the Pretties Kit.

Fifth Avenue Floral  #113734  $24.95

Manhattan Flower Impressions Embossing Folder  #114517  $7.95

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Don't forget to take advantage of the Deal Of The Week.  I'll be placing an order this evening, so contact me today!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Diva Jingle!

Hi Stamping Friends!

I have two cards for you today. The first is for a fun Stampin' Up! only blog challenge at the Diva Coffe Break Design BLOG. It's been quite a while since I've done one of their challenges, so I decided to combine this week's color challenge DCBD144 with last week's sketch challenge DCBD143. The colors to use this week were: Soft Suede, Pale Plum, Bermuda Bay, and Rich Razzleberry. Quite an interesting combo. But I like it! This is what the sketch from the previous week's challenge looked like: And here's my card:
























I flipped the sketch on it's side. I used the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set, because I thought the colors had a funky, modern feel to them and it made me think of this set. Plus I needed to dust it off as it hasn't gotten enough love lately! The "Thank You" sentiment comes from the Enjoy Every Moment Set. I'm still trying to make enough thank you cards from my birthday!



My second card for today is the 6th card from my Christmas Jingle Stamp Camp. Can't wait to see all of you in November!























Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!