Mojo Throwdown

Hi Stamping Friends!

Today's double challenge card gets the sketch from the Mojo Monday blog MOJO113 and the color combo from the Color Throwdown blog CTD69.  Here are the challenge pieces:

Of course with these colors, I HAD to do another Christmas card!  And I finally cut into my flocked paper from the Christmas Cocoa DSP.  It just needed to be done!  And since Olive was one of the colors, I HAD to use my very favorite Striped Grosgrain ribbon.  Here's my card:

I did tweak the sketch a bit.  I flipped it and had the center strip cover the middle rectangle, instead of go behind it.  I did this simply because I wanted to see my Striped Gorgrain ribbon!  :)  For some of you, this may be considered "cheating".  I used to think the same way.  I'm a rule-follower by nature.  You won't catch me talking on my cell phone while driving!  But I've changed my tune on crafting "rules".  I realized that's what creating is all about.  It's taking an idea and making it your own!  So this is my version of the sketch.  And I hope you enjoy it!

The card base is Chocolate Chip layered with Christmas Cocoa Specialty DSP that is FLOCKED!  This is paper that you just have to touch!  The Old Olive DSP comes from the Cottage Wall pack (another fave!).  The sentiment comes from Four The Holidays which is in the Holiday Mini.  The ornament stamp comes from Delightful Decorations set which is also in the Holiday Mini.  It is stamped in Chocolate Chip Craft ink and embossed with Clear EP.  What I love about this stamp set is the matching punch!  No hand cutting involved.  The Very Vanilla half-pearls come from the Pretties Kit.

Delightful Decorations  #116517  $21.95

Pretties Kit  #109114  $29.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Holiday Gift-Giving Guide

Hi Stamping Friends!

Just want to remind you about the fabulous offer Stampin' Up! has going right now.  Use our Holiday Extravaganza Gift-Giving Guide to find gifts for kids, teens, neighbors, card-makers, scrapbookers, and more-or to find the supplies you need to create special handcrafted gifts.  Plus, from November 1 to January 4, receive a FREE Decor Elements piece (up tp a $16.95 value) when you spend $50 on products from this guide.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR GIFT-GIVING GUIDE

On my last order I didn't even know I had ordered $50 from the guide, but was pleasantly surprised when I was prompted to pick out my FREE Decor Elements.  Well, you know how that goes.  It's always hardest to pick out the freebies for some reason!  I finally decided on Season Of Thanks.  I'm thinking of putting it on a tile, but haven't got to the home improvement store yet to buy one. 

One of the items I did purchase out of the Gift-Giving Guide was the Upsy Daisy Element in Taken With Teal.  Look what we did with it:

Isn't that cool?!  I know the photo stinks, but it was an overcast and cloudy day when I took these pics, so you'll have to excuse the bad lighting and my reflection.  This is the laptop my 11yo DD uses for her Teaching Textbooks math program and also for Rosetta Stone spanish.  She picked out the color of the Upsy Daisy Decor Element.  Her room is decorated with the Ginormous Flowers and Taken With Teal is one of the colors in this set. Here's the wall in her room.  This pic is no better.  It was taken on the same cruddy day:

Her walls are actually a light lime-green color, not yellow.  I still want to get the Decor Element that says Happiness, and put it above the flowers.  I just keep forgetting to order it!

Make sure to shop at my Stampin' Up! website for all your holiday gift-giving!

Ginormous Flowers Decor Elements  #114864  $39.95

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upsy Daisy Decor Elements  #117923  $9.95

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

A Sweet Sketch and an Award!

Hi Stamping Friends!

Today's double challenge card uses a sketch from Karen Giron's blog: The Sweetest Thing SSSC44 and a color challenge from the Colour Create blog CCC31.  The colors were Blue, White and Silver.  Here's the sketch:

I tweaked the sketch a little bit.  I eliminated the rectangle.  And I apologize ahead of time, but I did another snowflake card.  How could I resist with that color combo?!  Here's my card:

The card base is Bashful Blue layered with a scallop circle of Night of Navy.  The scallop was cut with the Scallop #2 die.  The Brushed Silver strip was embossed with the Petals-A-Plenty Impressions Embossing folder.  The sentiment is from Four the Holidays and is stamped in Night of Navy.  After I made this card, my ever faithful man in brown delivered my backordered Platinum Shimmer Paint.  So of course I had to mix a little bit up with some alcohol to make a mist.  Here my card after I made it shimmer:

Can you see all that sparkly goodness?  No?  Well here's a close-up: 

Now can you see it?  IRL it is very shimmery.  It took a couple test runs to figure out how to make a light mist and not a big blotchy mess.  I ended up taking my card and shimmer mist outside.  First I would spray the mist, then I would swoosh my card through the mist.  Kinda like the perfume girls do at the department stores.  I didn't aim it straight at the card, I just swung the card through the mist.  It made a nice sparkly coating.  Now I'll have to buy the Chamagne Mist and Frost White Shimmer Paint out of the Holiday Mini Catalog before it goes away on January 4th!

Now on to my award news.  The ever sweet Cindy over at her blog: Heart's Delight Cards, gave me my very first blog award!!

How cool is that?!

There's a fun little game attached with this award and here are the rules: 

I need to...

**Pass this award on to five people.

**Post on their blog to let them know I left this award.

**Answer this list of questions in ONE word. 

This is going to be the hardest part!  My philosophy is... why use just one word, when there are so many wonderful words to be spoken!!  I'm going to give it a try anyway.  Here goes:

1.  Where is your cell phone?  PURSE

2.  Your hair?  BLECH!

3.  Your mother?  FRUGAL

4.  Your father?  FRIENDLY

5.  Your favorite food?  DESSERT

6.  Your dream last night?  COLORS

7.  Your favorite drink?  WATER

8.  Your dream/goal?  CONTENTMENT 

9.  What room are you in?  OFFICE

10. Your hobby?   STAMPING

11. Your fear?  HEIGHTS

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?  HOME

13. Where were you last night?   POOL

14. Something that you aren't?   PERFECT

15. Muffins?  SPICE

16. Wish list item?   MAID

17. Where did you grow up?   ARTESIA

18. Last thing you did?  DROVE

19. What are you wearing?  SWEATER

20. Your TV?  OLD

21. Your pets?  SIX

22. Friends?  PLENTY

23. Your life?  FABULOUS

24. Your mood?  TIRED

25. Missing someone?  GRANDMA

26. Vehicle?  ODYSSEY

27. Something you're not wearing?  NECKLACE

28. Your favorite store?   MARSHALL'S

29. Your favorite color?  GREEN

30. When was the last time you laughed?  TODAY

31. Last time you cried?  HHMMM?

32. Your best friend?  SCOTT

33. One place that I go to over and over?  POOL

34. Facebook?  NO!!!!

35. Favorite place to eat?  FIGARO'S

You've heard me talk about November being National Blog Posting Month.  Well there is a group of gals at my favorite Stampin' Up! online hangout, Stampin' Addicts, who have all taken up the challenge to blog everyday for the entire month of November.  And because they all have done such a tremendous job of encouraging me in this venture, I want to pass this award on to them.  So the five fabulous bloggers (in no particular order) that I'm going to give this award to are:

1.  Holly at INK PAPER STAMPS

2.  Yapha at RUBBER STAMPING and CARD MAKING

3.  Heather at CANDLE WITH TWO ENDS

4.  Tracey at TRACEY STAMPS

5.  Adriana at ESCAPE 2 STAMP

I hope you guys have a chance to play along!!

CLICK HERE if you want to see a list of everyone who is playing in the NaBloPoMo Challenge.  And stay tuned to see if I can complete the challenge.  I'm over half-way there already!

Four The Holidays  #116921  $13.95

Petals-A-Plenty Impressions Folder  #116824  $7.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

How To Tuesday #2 and Double Challenges!

Hi Stamping Friends!

Well today you are in for double the fun!  All my challenges seem to stack up and then need to be posted ASAP.  So I have two cards today.  And they both are for two challenges.  Imagine that!  Plus, after the second card, I have a photo "how to" of the Faux Leather Technique.  Wow!  Was this fun to do!  I'm not sure how soon I'll be doing this technique again, but my kids were sure impressed with the results.

The first card is a combination of the sketch challenge from Stamping 411 SSC125 and the inspiration challenge from The Play Date Cafe PDCC04.  Here are the challenge photos:

And here is my card:

The card base is kraft layered with Brocade Blue and Christmas Cocoa DSP that has a beautiful shimmer to it.  The large snowflake is cut out with my Big Shot using the Snowflake #2 die.  The center snowflake is from Season of Joy and is stamped in Brocade Blue and has a Ice Circle Rhinestone brad in its center.  The sentiment is from Four The Holidays out of the Holiday Mini Catalog.

This next card combines the Tuesday Technique Challenge from my favorite Stampin' Up! only online hangout, Stampin' Addicts.  This is the Faux Leather Technique Tech33.  The sketch is from the Utah Divas Interenational blog.  They have some fabulous SU! stampers that contribute to their site.  Here is the card, followed by a photo "how to".

Isn't that faux leather cool?!  Here's a close-up:

This is how I did this technique, per Rhonda, the technique hostess at Stampin' Addicts.  Click on any of the photos to make them larger, if you want to see things more close-up.

Gather all your supplies:

Cardstock

Vanilla Craft Ink

Clear Embossing Powder

Masking Tape

Heat Tool

"Leather Color"  Classic Inks

Sponges

Cover your entire piece of cardstock with pieces of masking tape.  I used a Kraft piece of cardstock as the base, but it doesn't really matter, since you'll be covering it up. 

With the Vanilla Craft Ink, cover your entire cardstock with ink.

It should look like this when you are done.  Next pour Clear Embossing powder onto your cardstock.  Be careful not to pour too much on it, because you will not be able to reuse the leftovers, since it will get mixed with the Vanilla Craft Ink.  I use a small baby spoon to spoon my powder out of the jar.

Rub the Clear Embossing Powder into all the cracks and then heat up.  I did this whole process (ink and EP) twice, because I think I rubbed off too much embossing powder the first time.  It really added some fun texture to the piece.

Now start sponging on your "leather" ink colors.  I started out with my lightest color first, Creamy Caramel.  Then I added some Soft Suede and finally, Chocolate Chip.  I kept at it until I had the look I desired.  I also heat set it, to help dry the ink.  I have quite a few inky fingers after this project!

And this is the finished piece of "leather".  This would be so cool for a western-style card, but I have no western stamps!  Here's the finished card again:

Like I said, my family was quite impressed with the results.  Even my husband thought it looked like leather!  This card may have to hang around the house for awhile.  I'm not sure who deserves a card with this much effort.  Maybe I'll surprise hubby and put it in his sock drawer someday, since I'm always grateful for him.  The medallion image comes from the set True Friend and the sentiment comes from Falling Leaves.

Four The Holidays  #116921  $13.95

Falling Leaves  #115368  $21.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Christmas Pals

Hi Stamping Friends!

Well I finally stamped a Christmas card.  It's about time!  I have my family Christmas card all planned out, but it doesn't involve tons of stamping.  It does involve lots of cardstock being cut out with the Big Shot though.  And lots of my favorite Olive Striped Ribbon, but that's all I'm gonna say!  We used to send out about 120 cards each year, but I cut the list down to 100.  As soon as I get our cards mailed out, I'll post pics of them here at the blog.  I wouldn't want anyone to see it too soon!

Today's card combines a fabulous sketch from my favorite Stampin' Up! only online hangout Stampin' Addicts.  They offer a different challenge every day of the week and Thursday is sketch challenge day.  So if you love to play in Stampin' Up! challenges, come join the fun!  We are looking for more players.  This is for challenge SACC35.  The second challenge is a theme challenge from Pals Paper Arts called Christmas Cheer.  Yay!  Christmas!  Here's my card:

The card base is Old Olive layerd with Real Red Textured cardstock.  The DSP panels are from the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit.  The ornament is from Delightful Decorations and is so easy to cut out with the coordinating Ornament Punch!  I added a Circle Fire Rhinestone brad and some silver cord to add a little extra bling.  So fun to finally do Christmas!  I have my club gals coming over Sunday, so I'll be thinking up Christmas projects all week.  Maybe we should just make this card.  Why reinvent the wheel right?!

Delightful Decorations  #116517  $21.95

Ornament Punch  #116794  $15.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Krystal's Weekly Favorites Blog Hop #7

Hi Stamping Friends!

Happy Sunday!  I have a TON of favorites from my blog hopping this week.  I don't know if I'll be able to post them all.  There are just so many talented stampers out there!  I have lots of terrific punch art (which I don't have the patience for!).  Just take a look at all the fabulousness!!!

Big Shot Posie card from Christie Daugherty at her blog: STAMP SHACK

Punch Art Pumpkins by Deb Horst on her blog: SENDABLE SENTIMENTS

Merry Santa from Kay Kalthoff on her blog: STAMPING TO SHARE

Punch Art Puppy from the amazing Jackie Topa on her blog: ADDICTED TO STAMPING

And another one from Jackie SNOW KIDS

And finally, from the ever talented and always humorous Jan Tink on her blog: STAMPS, PAPER, SCISSORS

I am so CASEing this card.  I LOVE it!  So pretty.  I love all the fabulous details.  Well that's it for this week.  I know there's tons more out there that I missed, but these are a few that caught my eye.

Hope your Sunday is peaceful and full of rest.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Mojo Colour

Hi Stamping Friends!

Woo!  Hoo!  It's the weekend!  Tomorrow I have my Christmas Jingle class that I am really looking forward to.  I haven't had a class in ages.  Once a month I have my club gals come over, who are just a hoot and I love to laugh with them.  But I cut back on my monthly classes.  It felt good to take a break for awhile, but now I'm anxious to get started again.  And after previewing the Occasions Mini Catalog and the Sale-A-Bration Catalog, I'm going to need to sell lots and lots of stamps in order to afford all the Stampin' Up! goodness I want!

My card for today is a combination of the Mojo Monday sketch (which I haven't played in forever!) MOJO112.  And the color challenge is from the ColourQ CQ6.  Here are the inspiration pieces:

I really had a hard time with these colors.  Until I finally grabbed a piece of each one of the colors of cardstock and laid them all next to each other.  Once I had the sketch picked out, it all just sorta fell into place.  I like when that happens!  Here's my card:

I didn't have a scallop that was the right size to fit under my circle, so I started looking for something else.  On my desk I had a leftover Big Shot daisy die-cut.  I laid it under the image and BAM!  Perfect!  I cut it out of Brocade Blue and we were set.  The card base is Brocade Blue layered with Really Rust and Bordering Blue, which is embossed with the Perfect Details Impressions Folder.  The DSP and grosgrain ribbon are retired.  Of course before I bring this card to one of my bakery shops, I probably will cover up the rock-a-bye baby sentiment with a happy birthday sentiment, because birthday sells!

Nursery Necessities  #113506  $31.95

Daisies Bigz Die  #114520  $19.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Stamping!

Be Yourself and a Birthday

Hi Stamping Friends!

Well today's double challenge card did not turn out the way I had envisioned it, but I still love the message it conveys.  The sketch today is from Karen Giron's blog: the sweetest thing SSC43.  The color challenge comes from the Cards & Things blog (they're the ones with the super cute blog header!).

Here's the card that I created with these two inspirations:

I hope you can see the message I was trying to convey.  I love this sentiment from the Smarty Pants set.  I love to send these kinds of cards to high school students at church.  It helps to remind them to be the person God created them to be, not what everyone else expects them to be. 

This card just kinda left me blah after I created it.  The orange butterflies look too flat.  There's just too many of them clustered together.  Maybe if they were a little more separated I would like it better.  It must be the claustraphobic in me.  Give me some space!!

The card base is Bashful Blue with a layer of retired Hostess Pattern Pack DSP.  The butterflies are stamped in Pumpkin Pie, except for individual gal.  She's stamped in Real Red and her polka dots are stamped with Real Red Craft, then heated up with some Heat and Stick Powder to help adhere all that glittery goodness.  The sentiment is punched out with the Modern Label Punch.

Today is my MIL's birthday.  And since I doubt she reads my blog, I thought I'd post her gift and her card.  She has always told people that she is 40, but she had to up her age a little when her son turned 42 this year!  :)

The perfume box was my inspiration.  I liked the box so much, I didn't even wrap it!  Just tied it with my favorite Stampin' Up! Olive Striped Grosgrain ribbon and added some daisies cut out with my Big Shot.  The card sketch is from the Clean and Simple blog FTL67.  I hope she likes it!

Smarty Pants  #115070  $18.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!