ColourQ #36

Hi Stamping Friends!

Just a quick post today.  I've got lots of stuff on my to-do list.  Don't we all?!  Arielle found another fabulous color combo for us to play with this week.  I hope you will join the challenge over at the COLOURQ.  I combined the color challenge with the sketch challenge over at Taylored Expressions.  However, I did notice that I forgot a layer of the sketch.  Too late to change it now!

ELEMENTS OF STYLE

I forgot the extra layer of paper that should be under the flowers.  What a bummer!  I still like how this card turned out.  Not my typical style.  I really think you cannot make an ugly card when you use Elements Of Style.  It is such a gorgeous stamp set.

I hope you will join us this week at the COLOURQ.  It's always fun to do something "out-of-the-box". 

Stop back by on Thursday, when I will show off our next Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge.  Then on Friday I will be particpating in the Stampin' Addicts (my FAVE SU! online hangout!) blog hop featuring retiring sets from the SU! catalog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

One ColourQ

Hi Stamping Friends!

It's Tuesday!  Must be time for another COLOURQ color challenge!  Can you believe that I only have one card for you today?!  I know!  Shame on me.  It's not that I didn't have fun playing with these colors, I really did.  And it has nothing to do with the fact that I don't own the Bravo Burgandy OR the Sage Shadow ink pads.  It's just that I had such a crazy, busy weekend.  If you have kids that are involved in "stuff", you know what I mean!  I didn't have time to stamp any extra cards for this week's challenge.  So I hope one is enough!

Here's my card:

I thought the colors had a fun, vintage look to them.  One of my favorite vintage style stamp sets is Friends 24-7.  I use this set all the time!  The card base is Always Artichoke (so glad this color is staying!).  The panels are Bravo Burgandy stamped with the damask stamp from Friends 24-7, using Versamark.  Then a Very Vanilla panel that is embossed with the Damask Texturz Plate.  Then a Cameo Coral panel (so sad to see this color go!) that is stamped with the En Francais BG stamp in Always Artichoke.  The bird is stamped in Cameo Coral and the Little Leaves are punched out of Sage Shadow.  The taffeta ribbon is tied with a Chocolate Chip Button Latte.  Doesn't it look just like Bravo Burgandy when you set it by that color?!  This layout comes from the weekly sketch challenge at my favorite online SU! community, STAMPIN' ADDICTS.

I hope you have a chance to play along with us at the COLOURQ this week.  You only have to make ONE card!  Be sure to stop by the other members of the cQc Royal Court and see what stampin' goodnes they have come up with.  You can click on the links on my sidebar.

Be sure to stop by on Thursday when I reveal the Design Team members of my new inspiration challenge blog: STAMPIN' CELEBRATION.  Candance Lawlor and I have teamed up to start another (YES... ANOTHER!) challenge blog.  Then check back on Thursday, May 6th when we will post our first ever Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge!

And then be sure to come back on Friday, when I will be participating in the STAMPIN' ADDICTS Summer Mini Blog Hop.  You'll get to see lots of great projects using the stamp sets from the upcoming Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalog.  You won't want to miss it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

ColourQ #29

Hi Stamping Friends!

Arielle really decided to challenge me this week!  I think this challenge pic is so bright and cheerful, but when I got out these colors to play with... oh my!  I didn't quite know where to begin.  It didn't help that I don't even own a Bravo Burgandy stamp pad!  I've been a demo for four years and have never bought it.  That's how often I use that color... never!  I do have a Bravo Burgandy marker, so that's what I used.  So I guess what I'm saying is, I really struggled with these colors.  I guess that's why it's called a challenge!

Here's the card I ultimately sent to Arielle:

Can you see the Bravo Burgandy?  I didn't think so!  The sentiment is the only thing on this card that is BB.  This card uses the Cheep Talk stamp set.  This sketch comes from Amy Rysavy's blog: PRARIE, PAPER, & INK.

Of course I wanted to create a couple more samples for you.  Too bad I didn't remember to take pictures of them when the sun was still shining.  Bad cards + bad lighting = awful blog post.  I almost don't want to post these, but I guess everyone deserves a bad stamping day every now and then!

Here's my second card:

I love this layout!  The block panels are very fun.  This sketch comes from my favorite Stampin' Up! online community hangout, STAMPIN' ADDICTS.  They have different challenges everyday.  Come hang out with us!  This is Sketch Challenge 50.  I flipped it on it's side.  This card uses Upsy Daisy, Dot, Dot, Dot, and Oval All stamp sets.

And my third card:

This sketch comes from the SKETCH GIRL blog.  This is sketch #16.  Another fabulous sketch.  This card uses the Petal Pizzazz and Stem Sayings stamp set.  It also has more Flower Fusion Sizzlet flowers on it.  I just can't get enough of those cute blooms!

Be sure to check out the rest of the creations from the CoulourQ Royal Court.  You can click on the links to their blogs in my sidebar.  And be sure to play along with us at the COLOURQ this week.  You can't do any worse than I did!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Extreme ColourQ

Hi Stamping Friends!

Well it's Tuesday!  Time for another color challenge over at the COLOURQ blog.  This week Arielle has picked some awesome boy colors to play with.  And when I think of boy stamp sets, I always pull our my Extreme Elements set.

Here's the card I sent to Arielle to post on the ColourQ blog:

It's all boy!  I love to do grungy boy cards.  You would think I would be great at vintage cards too, which are kind of like grungy girl cards, but I really struggle with vintage.  I think I try too hard.  With a boy card, you just can't mess up!  The stamp sets I used are Extreme Elements, Extreme Skateboard, and All Holidays for the sentiment. 

The sketch comes from the UNSCRIPTED SKETCHES blog:

 This week they are celebrating their one year blogiversary with a Treasure Hunt.  Go check it our and you could win a prize!

This is the second card I made:

This sketch comes from the TAYLORED EXPRESSIONS blog:

Who knew a guy card could have so many circles on it and still look cool?  The surfer image is called Extreme Surfboard and the sentiment comes from A Little Birthday Cheer.  The Rope Twine is only available on the Clearance Rack online.  Your demo cannot order it for you.

And finally my last card:

This card uses the sketch from Amy Rysavy's blog, PRARIE, PAPER, & INK

The stamp sets I used were Extreme Elements, Extreme Dirt Bike, and the sentiment comes from Just Jawing.

I hope you have a chance to play along with the COLOURQ color challenge this week!

EXTREME ELEMENTS   #115181   $26.95

Thanks for stopping by!

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!