Final Challenge

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas!

It is with sadness and relief that I post our final challenge.  Unfortunately, there wasn't enough interest for me to continue spending all the time to create and post these challenges.  So, instead, I resolve to do other challenges next year!  I'm looking forward to having more time to sit and create for both fun and business :)

Here was the challenge:

 

First is Michelle's card.  Isn't this cute?  It definitely looks like the stockings were hung by the chimney with care :)  I love Michelle's use of the color, textured background, and ribbons!  It is the perfect Christmas card!

When in doubt, I go to my beloved DSP :)   I've really come to love the Gumball Green and I'll be sad when it retires.  Some may look at this card and think it is too much for the eyes to handle, but I love the way this turned out.  I've been meaning to use my framelits for a while and this was the perfect opportunity.  

I wish you all a wonderful end to the year and here's to a fun and creative new year!  As always, thanks for looking!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

It's December, we all need Christmas cards, so join us as we use the colors and sketch below to make some Christmas cards!

November Challenge Cards

November's challenge certainly was a challenge!  We all love to stamp, so not being able to use a stamp was difficult.  But, I love how these cards turned out!  Here was the challenge:

Michelle made two cards for this challenge.  I love the bold colors of this card.  It just screams happiness!  I love the different elements she used for this card.  She used a lot of dies, pearls, and metal accents.  The different DSP looks so great together. 

 The second card Michelle made has a totally different feel to it.  I find this card very elegant and beautiful.  I think it is all DSP - gorgeous, Michelle!  The blue is just striking and the butterfly really seems to come alive against the blue - love this card too!

Regina also made two cards for this challenge!  On this card, she said she did cheat and stamp, but I wouldn't have known had she not fessed up ;)  I thought it was on the paper already!  This card is a great male teenager card.   So, nice job, Regina!  I'm sure your son loved it too.

 

You can make some pretty awesome DSP yourself :)  To read more about this awesome 16th birthday card, please visit Regina's blog here:

 Regina's second card also has a totally different feel to it.  It's fund and upbeat!  I love that Max's name is the highlight to this card.  I'm sure it made his day brighter and fun filled!  To check out more about this card, please visit Regina's blog here:

Lastly, here is my card.  I'm not sure why there is a pinkish hue to the card because there is no pink on the paper or embellishments!  Anyway, I saw snowflakes when I looked at the design and decided to use my new DSP.  I also wanted to use my snowflake framelits.  After I cut out the snowflakes, I put them in some different snowflake embossing folders and ran them through the Big Shot.  I like the way they now have texture to them.  I love the new fancy metal embellishments SU! came out with in the holiday catalog and decided to add them to each snowflake.  I popped each snowflake up with dimensionals.  The card still looked like it needed something, so I grabbed some matching ribbons (love the new silver ribbon!), doubled them up, and wrapped them around the card.

I thought this was a difficult challenge, but a good one.  Sometimes, you can create some great cards with just paper and a few embellishments.  It would be fun to make some matching gift bags to these cards.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Little Ducky

Happy Tuesday!

I have a couple friends that will be having baby girls :)  I have a shower this week, so made a baby card this weekend.  I CASEd this card from Julie A.  I just thought the duck was so cute!  I didn't have the same designer paper she used, but found some cute baby feet paper.  So, I matched the colors in the designer paper with my SU! cardstock and got to work.  Since I had my polka dotted embossing folder out, I decided to go crazy and gave the duck's background and hearts some texture too! 

 

 

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

I was a guest designer!

Good Saturday Morning! 

My sister (Debbie Naylor) asked me if I'd be a guest designer for her Sisters in Stamping group/blog.  I was honored and think it is kinda funny since we really are sisters!  She picked the right month for me.  We were to use some new DSP (designer series paper) from the holiday catalog to create something.  Well, anyone that knows me knows I love DSP!  Somehow, I feel more creative with paper.

I started to make snowflake ornaments with the snowflake paper, but they were just not coming out how I'd envisioned.  So, I scrapped (no pun intended!) that idea and decided to use the Season of Style papers instead.

The first project I made was with a shadow box frame.  I covered the mat with DSP and used the SU! Old Olive marker to color in the mat's inner edge.  I then started pulling current stamps, framelits, ribbons, punches, etc.  I had not used the Hearts a Flutter framelits yet and thought a little Christmas banner would be cute.  I used my Big Shot to cut them out in coordinating cardstock.  I then pulled my silver glimmer paper and colored in small areas using SU! markers (old olive, cherry cobbler, and daffodil delight).  I then punched them out with the little Christmas punches that carried over into this year.  I adhered them to the banner pieces and decided to add just a little more bling by adhering some rhinestones to each piece.  I tied some bows and the banners were done.  I had some bakers twine, so thought that would make a good "rope" for the banner.

I have been wanting to make a luminary for a while now.  After pulling the current Christmas items, I decided I had to use my ornament paper piercers!  So, I pulled the vellum out first and cut and scored it to accommodate the ornament's size.  I then pierced each side of the vellum.  I then adhered DSP to the top and bottom on the luminary and added the pearls.  The bottom is open so that you can cover the candle, but the top is completely covered. 

I had a heck of a time trying to get a good picture with the little battery operated candle inside - I see I wasn't straight holding the camera either - LOL!  In hindsight, I should have added some ribbon!

 I wasn't sure I liked how the luminary turned out, so I decided to make a covered cork board.  I had some 6x6 tiles, so I adhered them together to give the project some depth.  I then covered them with this beautiful DSP.  I wrapped the whole thing with the new chevron ribbon, but you can't see it :(  I then used the beautiful seam binding to make the "holding" ribbon and made another bow.  I used the vintage designer buttons, adhered to brads, and put some pearls in the middle of the buttons.  I also put some pearls in the middle of the chevron bow at the top of the board.  But, I know it is hard to see.

 

I had a great time making these projects and it certainly got me in a festive mood!  I really want to start making Christmas cards now :)  Please be sure to check out Debbie's wonderful creations on her blog and also check out the Sisters in Stamping creations as well!

 

Have a wonderful day and thanks for looking!

It's All About the Paper

This month, Michelle and I wanted to challenge ourselves by only using designer paper, no stamping!  Grab your papers and join us!

Rocking the Pink!

As you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  It is very near and dear to our hearts as we have all known loved ones affected by it.  That's why we decided to show our support by rocking the pink for our October challenge.  Here is the challenge:

First we have Regina's card.  I really like how she stamped in the Pink.  It is subtle and really gives meaning to the word Hope.  The lovely stamped rose is also a beautiful touch.  My favorite thing about Regina's card is the way she added the pink ribbon embellishment hanging from the bow.  This card is perfect!  Way to rock the Pink, Regina!  Head on over to Regina's amazing blog here:

 The next card is my card.  I bought the ribbon stamp a while ago and really like it.  I just bought the ribbon punch.  I thought I'd let the ribbons speak for me on this card. 

 And finally, we have Michelle's card.  I think that this card is just beautiful.  I love the butterfly in the DSP.  It just seems to add meaning to the card.  The double layer of ribbons with the bling also makes me smile.  Beautiful card, Michelle!

 

Thank you all for looking and hope you have a wonderful day.  Please join us next month as we use paper exclusively as our challenge!

Seeing Pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Breast cancer is a topic that is very near and dear to us, so we wanted to honor all of those that have been affected by rocking the pink!  Please join us in seeing pink.  Even though I have Pink Pirouette as the color, feel free to use any pink! 

Happy Cards!

Here are two more September challenge cards!  I love that both are "Happy"!

First up is Michelle's card.  I love that her colors are really bold and stand out on this card.  The cupcake liner matching the side DSP is a great touch too!  I also like that Michelle used some white thread to "tie" it all together :)  What a fun and happy card indeed, Michelle!

Next, we have Debbie's card.  I love that she used my favorite In-color (Pistachio Pudding) for the whole back of this card!  The paw print runner up the side is adorable!  Then, as if it couldn't be cuter, she added a cute kitty brad!  Super cute, Debbie!

 

 

Thanks, Michelle and Debbie!  I can't wait to see what you come up this month as we celebrate Breast Cancer awareness.  Let's all rock the pink!

 

Thanks to all for looking and have a great day!

September Challenge Cards

Happy end of September!  I know I'm happy because it means my fiscal year end is about to end at work!  This has been a crazy busy month!

Let's just get to the cards.  Here is the challenge design and colors.  I do love these new In Colors!

First, we have Regina's exciting card!  I love so much about this card, I don't know where to start.  Well, Regina loves stars and I love that she punched them out, then punched out circles around them, and put the In Colors behind to make the stars pop!  I don't know how she did the textured background, but isn't it cool?  It reminds me of sprinkles on a fun birthday cake.  The crazy string reminds me of string confetti you can spray out of a can!  To see more of Regina's amazing creations, please visit her blog here.

I love this card, Regina!  Thanks for joining the challenge.

 

Next is my card.  I don't know what it is about these mosaic shapes, but I love them!  When I was trying to think of what stamp set to use for this challenge, I grabbed another set first.  But, I just couldn't help myself and decided to go with this one instead.  I had other ideas for the long piece, but I just couldn't get it to work with my Stamp-a-majig.  I think I'm just not good with that thing and large or long stamps!  So, I decided to make my own designer paper instead :)  Like I said, I just love these colors!  I did pop up the punched out mosaics using dimensionals and put some pearls on two of the mosaics.  I decided to put pearls on the strip to tie everything together.  This was a hard sketch, but fun in the end :)

 

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Bleach Cards!

Hello!  I'm sorry I'm a day late posting these bleach cards.  I must say, this sure was a challenge for me!  I love the look of the technique, but like my friend Regina states on her blog, the fumes are really strong!  I think we all had fun doing this challenge, but not one we could do often because of the fumes!

So, let's get to the cards!  First up, we have Michelle's card.  This challenge was her idea.  Her card is beautiful, don't you think?  The bleached background is soft and subtle.  I really like how it seems to add texture, without adding texture!  It also gives the card a hint of sophistication.  The cut out border and popped up flowers are also beautiful touches.  I look at this card and it makes me feel like I'm walking into a beautiful blue jungle.  I love it!

 

The next three cards are by Regina.  She's amazing!  Check out her blog here.

 Look at all of these beautiful cards - each different and stunning.  I love the colors of this first card.  The bleached background makes the center images really pop!  The lace and stapled sentiment go perfectly with this card.  Love it, Regina!

 

Next is a wonderful Fall card.  The colors really do make you think of Fall.  I think it is really beautiful the way the bleach made the cardstock change to a golden color under the brown.  The stamped wheat bundle is perfect with this background.  Another great card, Regina!

And here is Regina's third card.  She used the same background image, but with a different colored cardstock, the look and feel of the card is totally different!  There is so much wonderfulness in this card!  Is that even a word???  Anyway, I love the tag, ribbon, twine, and brads that are thoughtfully placed around this card.  It has an antique feel in the background, yet a modern feel with the tag.  This card is brilliant, Regina!

Yay!  Look who is back to join us?  Debbie!!!!!  She made this adorable baby card.  Isn't the background adorable with the images bleached into the cardstock?  The images are so crisp, yet subtle because they are bleached.  I think this is just adorable.  The buggy main image is so cute with the heart - the background, bleached hearts tie right in!  This card makes me think of a baby in the buggy taking a nap and dreaming of the adorable images around the buggy.  Too, too cute, Debbie!

The next two cards are mine.  When Michelle came up with the challenge, I knew I wanted to try to create something that would look like Hawaiian batiks.  I pulled several colors of cardstock and stamped some of my Hawaiian turtle stamps all over.  I have a heavy hand and I think I used too much bleach on the Dusty Durango cardstock.  But, it does remind me of some of their fabrics.  I really liked the images on the Navy cardstock, so I wanted to use it with the Durango.  I used my color coach to see what colors would go with both and Old Olive was a suggestion.  Since the colors are more masculine anyway, I decided to tie them all together with ribbons and metal brads.  I don't love this card, but I think it shows the technique off well.

 

Since I had stamped on Baja Breeze cardstock, I wanted to use it as well.  I had just bought some Hawaiian turtle dies, so it was great timing.  I decided to run the Navy through using the dies and adhered them to the Baja cardstock.  To me, this looks like the Navy turtles are swimming in the ocean with images of other turtles.  It is plain and simple, but I like it!

 

Well, another month done!  Thank you Michelle, Regina, and Debbie.  I love your creations and can't wait to see what you all create next month! 

 

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Welcome New In Colors!

This month, Michelle and I wanted to feature Stampin' Up!'s new In Colors.  We both love them!  I have loved mint green for as long as I can remember, so was so happy to see Pistachio Pudding!   I do love the rest of the colors as well - they are so yummy!   Join us as we challenge ourselves:

June Shoebox Swap - A Little Behind!

I'm playing catch-up.  I've been wanting to post the card I made for the annual SU! Demonstrator shoebox swap my up-line and sister (Debbie Naylor) hosts each year.  I love these events and usually stress over what to make.  This year, I knew the color combo I'd use as soon as SU! announced the new In Colors.  I've been in love with mint green since my middle school days.  Oh, how happy I was to see Pistachio Pudding!  It isn't quite my Mint Melody (retired long ago), but close enough!  I have been seeing a lot of Mint/Navy clothes combos on Pinterest this year and knew a mint color would be coming.  So, I had my colors set in my mind.  Then, this awesome mosaic stamp set and matching punch and embossing folder came out.  That was it - LOVE!  So, this is the card I came up with. 

 

While I was cutting out pieces for the swap, I looked up and saw the Crisp Cantaloupe ink pad.  What a pretty color too!  Well, I thought, why not try the card in this color too.  I liked it!  So, I put both colors in the shoebox and let the others choose which color they wanted to make.  Here's a picture my sister took of me with my cards.

Here's a group picture.  To read more about the day and to see what all of my fellow stampin' demonstrators made, please check out Debbie's blog here.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

A Little Bleach Challenge!

Regina's 2nd Challenge Card for July

Please forgive me, Regina.  I had forgotten that you made two lovely cards for this month's challenge! 

Look at this beautiful card.  I really love the way Regina uses color.  The Pacific Point being the main color of this card really makes the other spots of color pop!  I also love that she used the new hexagon punch - can't wait to get that myself!  The way the ribbon is tied, it almost looks like it is pointing to the sentiment, doesn't it?  How neat!  This card is so cute and I know the recipient will be so happy to get it!

Thanks again, Regina!  Can't wait to see what you come up with for next month ;) 

July Design Challenge Posts

Happy Weekend!  Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend so far. 

This month's challenge was quite a challenge!  I know when I drew the sketch while sitting in an auditorium training, I had some good ideas on how I'd interpret the sketch.  BUT, that was not what happened when it came to create!  I think I was going to do kites for this sketch, but they didn't quite make it onto my card ;)

Here's the sketch:

 First up is my card.  I really like the pendent punch.  I wanted to make a word out of the pendents, but couldn't make it work.  So, I found my little butterfly punch and used it instead :)  I wasn't sure how to use these colors, but the DSP made it easy!  Not much else to say!

Next is Michelle's card.  Wow!  She did a great job with the colors and following the sketch - love the use of the buttons (love buttons!).  The poppy images are beautiful too.  Great card, Michelle; someone will be lucky to receive it!

And finally we have Regina's card.  Isn't this cute? 
She and I must have butterflies on the mind right now with Summer in full swing.  I love how she edged the borders with a marker and used a scallop border and punched holes across the card.  I know she put a lot of work into this card and it is just so bright and summery and makes me smile :)  Thanks, Regina - as always, love your creations!

 

 

I can't believe this month is almost over in a few days.  Where is the time going???  Please join us next month as we challenge ourselves again.  Thanks for looking!

July Challenge

Hello Creative Friends!  Time for another challenge - don't you want to join us?  We sure hope so!  Happy Stamping!

Another June Challenge Card!

I have another June challenge card to share!  My sister joined us in our challenge and I'm late getting this posted.  Check out this adorable card she made.  I love the polka dotted paper she used and she added texture to the back piece by running it through an embossing folder.  The ribbon bow adds just the right touch too!  To find out more about this card and to check out more of her gorgeous creations, please visit her blog here.

Debbie, thanks for joining us and hope you'll join us this month too!

To all - have a great day and thanks for looking!

June Challenge Cards

Happy Saturday!  I know it isn't the end of the month, but since we've finished the challenge early, I wanted to post the cards.  Here was the challenge:

 

First up is Regina's card.  Isn't this beautiful?  Regina has such a talent for color; either coloring an image, or putting colors together.  I really like how she managed to frame the image so that it really stands out on the card.  The flower embellishments in the corners add just the right touch.  I also love the lacy border underneath the sentiment.  Love it, Regina!  Thank you for joining us :)  For more of Regina's lovely creations, please visit her blog here.

 

Next is Michelle's card and it ROCKS!  I love this card - what a great card for a teen.  There are so many things I love about this card:  The way she used the images and colors, the corner images and embellishments, and the speckled white piece - it just works so nicely! 

 

The next image is the inside of her card - not only did she do an amazing job on the front, but look at the work she did on the inside!  Michelle, you rocked this challenge!  I love this card!

 

This next card was the first one I made for this challenge.  My sister (Debbie Naylor) celebrated her birthday at the end of May.  I wanted to use this stamp set for her and decided to use this challenge to help me.  She has two adorable dogs, so I thought she'd get a kick out of this.  

 

This next card is the one I really had in mind to do when I was thinking about the colors, it was close to Memorial Day, and I wanted to thank all those that have and continue to serve.

 

If you decide to join us in the challenge, please do!  I'll be happy to post your creation :)

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful weekend!