Retrosketches #17 {Happy Independence Day}

Hello friends!  Its been a while since I have been able to participate in a Retrosketches Challenge - but this week's sketch for Retrosketches #17 looked like fun and I needed to make a 4th of July card with ribbon on it for a card exchange challenge group tomorrow.

I do like this card, but as I'm looking at this I see that this background was not the best choice for my photograph as  you can't really see the cherry cobbler bottom layering very well against the red background.  Here is the great sketch that my card is based on:

And here is an closer look at the saying on the flag:

The fun patterned paper is from a stash I've had for quite a while.  The flag is a retired stamp from Stampin Up.  I stamped the stars section separatelywith whisper white craft ink on a piece of night of navy paper and cut out the rectangle to put on top of the original starred area from the stamp.  The cardstock color is cherry cobbler from Stampin Up.  I used a pair of pinking shears to make the edging on the flag layer (kind of hard to see - sorry).

I'm sure glad you popped by to visit.  Hope you like this card and thanks for letting me share it with you! Hugs.

Freshly Made Sketches #40, 4 Crafty Chicks - By the Sea, & Addicted to Stamps (ATS) #1 - Make Your Mark

Hello friends -  here it is Sunday already.  How does the weekend go by so fast?? 

The card I am sharing with you today is for a darling young girl who reminds me very much of this little mermaid with her long flowing dark hair and aura of sweetness.  I used the sketch from Lesley at the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #40 for my card (see below). 

I am also playing along with the 4 Crafty Chicks Challenge #95 - By the Sea, and the launch of the Addicted to Stamps (ATS) "Make Your Mark" Challenge #1 (thanks Kylie!) where anything goes pretty much as long as markers are used your creation.  The DT at 4 Crafty Chicks want to know what you like about the sea or what it means to you.  For me, ever since I was a little girl I have had this fantasy that mermaids live way down deep in the sea and hoped I would catch one. I have only been to the sea a couple of times in my life. I have found it to be both mysterious and relaxing, and would love to go to the seashore and beach every year if I could.   Maybe someday I'll find a mermaid :o)

This image is from a Stampendous repositionable cling rubber stamp called "Mermaid kiddo".  I colored it with copic and spica markers (a tiny bit of sparkle).  A very talented card designer and copic instructor named Wendy Jordan taught me the trick of using drywall tape on the card to add the netting texture (who would have thunk?!). The small wooden shell is from Close to My Heart. 

Stampin Up! products used are: Cardstock - Crumb Cake (card base), Peach Parfait (sentiment flag layer) and Whisper White. DSP - Comfort Cafe (NEW). Ribbon - Baja Breeze seam binding (doubled and scrunched up to look like water). Sentiment is from Happiest Birthday (stamped in Taken with Teal ink).

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit - I'm sure glad that you did!  Hope you saw something that inspired you :o) Hugs!!

MOJO Monday #246 {Sweet Baby}

Hello friends! The MOJO Monday #246 sketch this week is designed by Mary Fish (see below).  This is such a great sketch and I wanted to follow it as closely as possible, however, I did make a few small creative adjustments to my card in order to use these darling stamps.  Each of the frames are  2'' x 2".  In order to get them all on the card, I adjusted the card size to 5 x7 instead of the standard A2 size (4 1/4" x 5 1/2"), and adjusted the proportions of the panel on the left side of the card.  I also moved the middle frame in just a bit more than the others to call attention to the darling giraffee and the sentiment.

Most weeks of each month the MOJO Monday challenges are just for fun and are a great way to share creativity with lots of people (I get lots of inspiration from so many of the entries).   But, once a month there is a prize offered by the sponsor of the challenge - Verve Stamps - and I was the lucky winner of this darling Verve stamp set  that I used on today's card.  (You are NOT required to use Verve stamps to play along in the MOJO Monday challenges).  I have been itching to use this set for a MOJO Monday challenge since I got it and was excited when I saw this week's sketch.  Isn't it great how those frames work so perfectly for this sketch?!     

I used a NEW Stampin Up!  DSP called Patio Party and a NEW 2012-2014 In-Color called Summer Starfruit ( I think this is a delicious new color). My featured color combo on this card is Summer Starfruit, Baja Breeze and Whisper White.  I started out with brown frames (in a soft suede) which looked fine with the other two colors, but then got the idea to use baja breeze instead and liked it better.  The cute frames and animals are from the Verve clear stamp set called "To the Moon" - I fell in love with this set as soon as I saw it - so precious!!  I colored each animal with copic markers.  The Sentiment is from a NEW Stampin Up set called Bitty Banners. I used the coordinating Sizzix Framelits Bitty Banners dies for all three banner layers.      

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit - I'm sure glad that you did!  Hope you saw something today that inspired you.  Hugs!

Merry Monday #25 {A Shaker Card}

Hello friends and Happy Friday!! This week Lesley at Always Playing with Paper has come up with a fun sketch that I couldn't pass up for the Merry Monday Challenge #25 (see below):

I chose to make my topper card a shaker card.  This fun sketch helped me do two new things: 1) make a topper card and 2) finally use the mica flakes and shaker forms that I had purchased quite a while ago.  I'm so glad I tried this as I really like how it turned out.  I hope you do too!  

The finished card size is still the standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  I  used some Dazzling details glitter glue on the image first and let it dry before putting the snowflakes in and sealing it up with a circle of clear window sheet.  Here is an up-close look at the inside of the shaker frame:

Supplies (all from Stampin Up! except the paper doily): Cardstock - Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red and Whisper White.  Patterned paper - Be of Good Cheer (NEW). Image from a retired set called Gift Givers and is colored with a blender pen and Baja Breeze and Riding Hood Red inks.  Sentiment is from a set called Snow Much Fun.  Shaker frame is made with some self adhesive circles and a clear transparency sheet punched in a circle.  The snow is made from a product called Mica flakes.  I used a scallop oval, large oval and word window punch for the sentiment.  Other products used - doily from stash of supplies, basic rhinestones and Dazzling Details glitter glue. 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit - I'm sure glad that you did!  If you want to get a head start on your Christmas cards for this year this is a great way to do it.  Hope my card and this great sketch might also inspire you to try something new.  Hugs! :o)

Paper Players 100th , DP2 Masculine and PPA137

Hi again!  I think I was having serious withdrawals while I was away from my cardmaking because I'm feeling like I just want to lock myself in my craft room ALLLLLL day and play!  But the sunshine is calling so I finished up one more card to submit in three great challenges today and then I'm out the door.  I'm really excited to share with you that this is my first attempt at paper piecing (used on the chair)! I have been wanting to try this for quite some time and finally found the perfect image to use as a newbie (not too much fussy cutting to mess up).  I really am tickled with how it turned out :o)

The Paper Players 100th Challenge is to use any past challenge to make a card.  I didn't start playing with the Paper Players until the challenges were in the 80s (and I started following this challenge when it was in the 50s) so I wanted to do an earlier one and what better place to start than the very 1st (see below)!

I also love to particpate in the weekly Mo Manning DP2 Challenges so I can practice with my copic markers with super cute and fun digital images.  The DP2Challenge #140 is "Masculine"  how perfect is that?  I grabbed this great Mo digital image as soon as I saw it because it fits my husband to a "T" - this would be one of the ways he would be happiest - in his comfy chair with remote and Diet Coke in hand.  Doesn't this fella look like he is having his best day too? You can find this digital image at Mo's Digital Pencil Store and its called "King for a Day".  I was traveling for Father's day this year so this is a late gift to my husband.

And last but not certainly not least I am also entering the Pals Paper Arts #137 Sketch challenge by Margaret Moody.  After all it's hard to make a great card without a great sketch to inspire you and this sketch certainly inspired me.    

Thanks for stopping by to visit - I'm sure glad you did!  Hugs!

Suppies:  Cardstock - Midnight Muse (NEW In-color for 2012-2014) and Very Vanilla.  DSP - Comfort Cafe (NEW!).  Image from Mo Mannings Digital Pencil Shop "King for A Day" and colored with various Copic markers.  Sentiment is from a retired Stampin Up! set called "Its Your Day" stamped with Early Espresso ink.  Self adhesive brads that look like rivelets are from Close to My Heart (don't they kind of look like the fabric nails you would find on a piece of furniture?)

52CCT - Theme Challenge #6 "Snowmen" and CCCC13 Easy as 1-2-3

Hello friends!  Just returned from a business trip in Orlando so I have been silent for about a week and boy did I miss making cards and sharing with you all.  I did have some fun while I was gone though too.  I got to see some friends from Texas whom I so enjoy spending time with, got some Florida Sunshine vitamin D and got to see Harry Potter World at Universal Studios. I've been thankful to have such opportunities.  I admit though that as soon as I got back to my hotel room each night I'd quickly get on the internet and check out my favorite challenges (I think I have a slight sickness  and may need counseling LOL). 

I didn't want to miss the current theme challenge at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - Theme Challenge #6 "Snowmen".  I LOVE snowmen even though I'm not particulary fond of winter - sort of odd isn't it? 

I also saw another challenge that I can play along with the same time from Creative Card Crew Challenge #13 Easy as 1-2-3 which is to  use 1 of something, 2 of something and 3 of something.  My card uses 1 snowman, 2 different patterned papers and 3 circles and birds. 

Here is the inspiration for the 52CCT challenge:

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit - I'm glad to be home hugging my kids and puppies and creating cards to share with you. Hugs!

Supplies (all from Stampin Up!):  Cardstock - Whisper White, Poppy Parade and Pool Party. Stamps - Petite Pairs (sentiment) and Snow Much Fun. DSP - Attic Boutique and Pocketful of Posies (both retired). I colored the images with a blender pen and Pool Party, Poppy Parade and Basic Black inks. 

Merry Monday #24 {The Stocking is Hung by the Chimney...}

Hello friends!  I had recently dug out some of my Tim Holtz stamps and dies for a couple other challenges that I have entered (purchased ages ago and not yet used) and came across the brick wall and wood embossing folders.  I was thinking that I needed to find a reason to use these soon and lo' and behold the sketch for the Merry Monday Challenge #24 came out yesterday and I just knew as I saw it exactly what I wanted to do. 

I immediately saw a wooden mantle across an old brick fireplace with a stocking hung and waiting for Santa to come fill up.  We had an old brick fireplace when I was growing up and each year my sisters and I got to hang our stockings from one of the shelves on the mantel.  The stocking was always my favorite part of the Christmas gifts. My Dad and Uncle would take me, my sisters and our cousins for a ride when it got dark on Christmas Eve to see if we could catch Santa flying around the neighborhood.  Many times one of them spotted Santa and we ensued on a wild chase to try and find him again - but to no avail (imagine that!).  When we would come home to report that we had lost Santa we would discover that he had already been there and filled our stockings quite full.  We could hardly wait to see what tiny treasures awaited us.  I loved all the little trinkets, and makeup,  jewelry and candy. Such fun memories!

Fast forward to today... my son is more interested in the food and the big gifts :o)  but my daughter really loves the stocking part like me.  So I designed this stocking with her sweet self in mind.  Santa doesn't make it to our house though until Christmas morning and there have been no fun rides in the car to try to find him - hmmm I might have to change that this year...

I used the retired stocking builder punch and coordinating stamp set from last Christmas season's mini catalog.  The colors of the stocking are two of the NEW In-colors called Gumball Green and Raspberry Ripple.  I sponged some Soft Suede ink over the two embossed pieces give them some more definition.  The sentiment stamped in Raspberry Ripple from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set which coordinates quite nicely with the NEW Bitty Banners framelits dies.

I debated with myself about adding a bough of branches across the top of the mantel - but utlimately decided to keep it very clean and simple.   Hope you like this card - thanks so much for stopping by, I'm sure glad that you did!  Hugs!

Mo's DP2 Challenge #138 - Anything Goes w/a Mo's Image

Hello Friends - Happy Monday to you!  Monday's can be happy right?  Today I am entering this card in the DP2 Challenge #138 - Anything Goes w/a Mo's Image. I like to participate in the Mo Manning DP2 Challenges because I love the darling images and I get to color them with my copic markers.  This darling image is called "Done" from Mo's digital shop and she just  makes me smile.  I printed her twice and cut out the front part of her skirt to layer it on top of the original one.  It doesn't show up at all in this picture (darn!) but in real life it has an almost 3D effect. The sentiment is from Stampin Up.  By keeping this card quite simple the cutie on the front is the first thing you notice. It wasn't my original intent to keep it that simple - I had all kinds of great ideas but... I printed her too big and wasn't up to the task last night of fussy cutting around her - LOL.  I also started out going for a monochromatic theme but then decided that a pink star just wouldn't do :o).  I do like this card though - sometimes Plan B is just as wonderful if we are willing to adapt.

Hope this card makes you smile too!  Thanks for stopping by to visit - I'm sure glad you did.  Happy Monday to you - Hugs!

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown #6 - A White Card

A very Merry Hello to you my friends!  Color Challenge #6 at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwndown is to make a card using White - preferably all white, but a small touch of color is acceptable.   I have to tell you that when I first saw what the challenge was I was completely freaked out!  Although I very much admire the beautiful all white cards I have seen, I personally haven't had a great lot of sucess with mine turning out.  But... I am so excited to share this Christmas card with you today because I really, really love how it turned out!!! Is it okay to say that about your own card?? I sure hope so - LOL! Please click on the picture to see it better and I have also put a couple more views in for you too.  Not only is it very challenging to make a White on White card - it is incredibly difficult to photograph it!

After a couple days of intense thinking over how I was going to make this card, I decided the best way would be to add lots of detail and layers.  So I sponged a little Sahara Sand ink around the outer edge of my snowman to help him stand out a bit against the rest of the white snowflake embossed background and then popped him up with dimension dots. The white scarf was scrunched up to add some depth and movement and the corregated cardboard #s also add some more dimension to the main image.  I used a retired Stampin Up color called Going Grey for the sentiment so that it didn't appear too harsh against the rest of the background, but it seemed to just float out there until I added the glittery snowflakes behind each word to help pull it all together. I do feel like I cheated a tiny bit on the challenge with my touch of silver in the snowflakes, but Mynnette did say we could use just a touch of color and it just really helped the sentiment to pop so I had to keep it on there.  Hope you like this card and that it has inspired you in some way!

Thanks for stopping by to visit - and thanks so much Mynnette, Jacqueline and Ruth at 52CCT for this challenge that has helped me to stretch creatively yet again. Here is the inspiration photo for the challenge.  Pop into this site and check out the amazing samples the Design Team has put together for us. Jacqueline's embossed trees are awesome.  Mynnette's embossed background and bow are gorgeous and Ruth's card is truly all white and WOW! 

Supplies:  Whisper White cardstock from Stampin Up!. Snowman is a Tim Holtz Sizzix called Winder Wonder.  The 25 is from Jilly Bean Soup - white corregated cardboard.  The snowflake embossed background is a retired Stampin Up Sizzix texture embossing folder (first time I have ever used it).  The glitter snowflakes were cut using the Northern Frost Sizzlit die from Stampin Up (retired) on the Silver Glitter paper.  The sentiment is from the Pennant Parade Stamp set and each word is punched out using the 3/4" circle punch.  The White tafetta ribbon is also from Stampin Up.

FMS#38 and Dynamic Duos #6 {Praying for You}

Hello once again.  I am combining two fun challenges for this card today.  The colors for the card are from the Dynamic Duos #6 challenge (Regal Rose and Basic Grey) and the layout (which I flipped on its side) is courtesy of Freshly Made Sketches #38. 

I chose to make a sympathy card for these challenges (or it could also be an encouragement or hope card too with this sentiment). Thankfully I don't need sympathy cards very often - but I also don't make very many so I don't usually have on on hand when I do need one.  This card could just as easily be a Happy Birthday, Mother's Day, Friend or Thank you card by changing the sentiment.  The colors and layout would work perfectly with those themes as well.

A trend that I've come across recently is sending your handmade cards with the option for your recipient to pass it forward one more time.    How this works is that you put your own personal sentiment on an insert inside the card (with a note on the back that the card can by recycled and shared again) and leave the inside base blank for the next use.  If you provided a couple extra sentiments (like I mentioned above) then the recipient could then pop their new sentiment on top of the original one and add their message inside to forward to the next lucky, and loved, recipient.  I'm not completely on board with this for myself as I keep every handmade card I am given. However, I do know that not everyone is a saver like me and I do like the idea that someone might like the card I made so much that they would want to pass it forward and share with someone else (sharing the love is nice too).

Hope you enjoyed today's card.  Thanks so much for stopping by to visit - I'm sure glad you did!  The design team samples for both of these challenges are amazing and full of inspiration - I highly recommend that you go visit there as well.  Have a most wonderful day won't you?! Hugs!

Supplies (all from Stampin Up!): Cardstock - Regal Rose,Whisper White and Basic Grey.  Stamps - Thoughts and Prayers.  Ink - Basic Grey and Regal Rose (to get the two colors on the image I used my Stampin Write markers).  The tiny punched flowers are from one of the punches in the Bitty Punch Pack.  Patterned paper is from the Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack in the Neutrals collection.

MOJO 244 and Flourishes Colors of the Rainbow (BBB23)

Happy Sunday friends!  Time to enter the fun MOJO Monday #244 challenge (on a Sunday for me - talk about wait til the last minute) based on this great sketch.

Here's another view of my card:

I am using several NEW products from Stampin Up on this card.  The NEW Floral District DSP has lots of bright happy colors and interesting patterns on several of these papers.  I chose today's papers because I am also combining this with another challenge at Flourishes - Bring Back Beautiful #23 - The Beauty of the Rainbow (BBB23) where the challenge is to use some (or all) of the colors of the rainbow.  This card uses Yellow, Green and Purple (violet).  I really like the combo of purple and greens together and then when you add yellow it just feels happier - kind of like adding sunshine :o)

Another NEW SU product is a stamp set called Betsy's Blossoms that I used the large flower from and then I punched out the middle of it with a 1 3/8" circle punch to layer on a 1 3/4" circle that I first ran through the Polka Dot textured embossing folder.  I used the 2 1/4" scallop circle punch and added some scoring lines to mimi the green flower on the DSP. A final touch to the flower comes from the largest eye of the Owl Builder punch and an In-color brad in Lucky Limeade for the center.  I added some hand drawn stitching with my white Signo pen to copy the stitching in this beautiful daffodil delight ribbon (also NEW from Stampin Up).  The sentiment and the banner die cut are also NEW from SU (Bitty Banners Framelits dies and Bitty Banners stamp set that coordinates with those shapes).  I used the scallop edge border punch for the bottoms of the top two layers.  Colors used are Rich Razzleberry, Lucky Limeade and Daffodil Delight. 

This card has lots of layers but is actually pretty quick to make.  It took me a little less than 10 minutes to put together (although the idea of what I wanted to do took me much longer than that as I pondered - LOL).

Thanks so much for stopping by - hope you like this bright and cheery card today.  If you need some additional inspiration, pop into these fun challenges and take a peek at all the amazing ideas and samples that people have put together.  Maybe you will be inspired to make one of your own too - that would be wonderful!  Hugs!

cQc #140, C4C140, CFC56 & Retrosketches #16

Hello Friends! With the less than summery weather today I had an excuse to stay inside and craft to my heart's content and was able to get several cards done today - Whoo Hoo!  It's been a while since I have participated in the ColourQ and Retrosketches challenges but today I am able to enter this card in both of these fun challenges and two others.  I am entering the following challenges:

Colour Q Challenge #140 - Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade and White

Retrosketches #15 (see sketch inspiration below)

Crazy 4 Challenges #140 - Circles, Lots of circles

CAS-Fridays 56 - Polka Dots

I used some retired DSP from Stampin Up which is appropriately called "Celebrations".  You may have noticed that I like to use punches and die cuts on my cards, and this card is no exception.  I used the Petite Penant Builder punch for the hat, the Owl Builder punch for the two smallest sized circles, and the 1/2", 3/" and 1" circle punches.  I also used the Sweet Buttons Embosslit and the Top Note Sizzix die (I love when I have a chance to use this one) - all punches are from Stampin Up!.  The sentiment is from a SU set called Fabulous Phrases.  Of course no birthday party celebration is complete without a little sparkle so I added some red rhinestones here and there also.  Hope you enjoyed this card and thanks so much for stopping by to visit. Hugs!

Inspired By #7 {Limes and Margaritas}

Hello and Happy Weekend to all of you!  I have been watching this fun challenge called Inspired By that uses different photos for the challenges.  There have been a lot of photo inspiration challenges from this site that have caught my eye (like the apron one recently) but I haven't been able to play along at the time.  I am happy to finally be able to participate for the first time with this week's photo inspiration (see below):

This card uses a stamp set that I purchased because it made me laugh out loud as it seemed to fit my life situation right now (AND I love margaritas - on the rocks please, not blended - LOL). This fun photo for the Inspired By #27 challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to use it once again. I was so excited, I'm mean it's just too perfect - and I just had to play along! As my daughter would say "I know...right?"

I stamped the lime background with a retired Stampin Up set in Lucky Limeade.  The margarita glasses are first embossed in black and then were colored in with a blender pen and Pool Party ink.  Then I gave those yummy looking blue margaritas a salty (or it could be sugary) rim using Dazzling Details glitter glue (note: I used colors from a previous Dynamic Duos challenge - aren't they fun together?).  Hope you like this card and thanks so much for stopping by to visit!  If this photo inspires you too please play along, I'm sure the hostess would love to have you do so.

Supplies: Cardstock - Lucky Limead, Pool Party and Whisper White (all Stampin Up!). Ink: Pool Party and Lucky Limeade (both Stampin Up!). Stamps - Unity Stamp Co. & Jilly Bean Soup "When Life Gives you Limes" (sentiment and glasses) and Tart & Tangy (retired Stampin Up!) for the limes on the background.  Salted rim - Dazzling Details glitter glue (SU).  Perfect Polka Dots Textured embossing folder (SU). 

Our Creative Corner - Embellished Frame

Hello again friends!  I just couldn't resist the opportunity to enter the Our Creative Corner Challenge - Embellished Frame as I have been wanting a reason to use this new stamp set from Stampin Up. This frame and DSP from Stampin Up! just seems to be made to go with the Tim Holtz inks and stamps.  This is a very different style for me which is why I wanted to give it a try. 

I'll be brief tonight with my post as I only have 20 minutes left to enter this challenge and this card took my way longer than I thought it would to make (LOL). The essence of the challenge is to make sure that the frame takes center stage and really stands out as the first thing you notice.  To achieve this I embossed the frame first in gold (for a vintage feel) and then layered it twice to give it some additional depth (almost 3D).  The bird and sentiment are from Tim Holtz stamps sets (first time I have used either of them) called "Just Thoughts" (sentiment) and "Urban Tapestry" (bird on branch).  I used the Ranger Distress inks in antique linen, iced spruce and tumbled glass. The DSP is from Stampin Up called Attic Boutique (now retired but was one of my favorites).  The frame is from a NEW Stampin Up set called Papaya Collage. 

Hope you like my first attempt at this type of card.  Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs.

The Paper Players #98 - Summertime and CCC12 - Song Inspired

Happy Friday friends!  We had sun this morning for awhile but now is cloudy and overcast :o(  I'm soooo ready for lots of sunshine, flip flops and the lake.  How about you? 

The Paper Players Challenge #98 is to make a card with a Summertime theme.  How could I pass that up when I'm craving summer and all the fun things it brings with it?  I am also entering the Creative Card Crew Challenge #12 - Song Inspired - my song inspiration is "Soak up the Sun". 

I got this fun stamp set right at the end of a SU mini catalog and didn't get a chance to use it til now.  I colored it in with my copics and hand cut the sun rays.  I used lots of shiny, sunny, yellow bling to simulate the sunshine effect.  Hope you like today's card and see some sunshine this weekend!  Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs.

Supplies: Cardstock - Whisper White, Daffodil Delight and Calypso Coral.  Stamps - Sunny Fun (retired) and Delicate Doilies.  Punches - Lg Scallop Circle and 1 3/4" circle.

Merry Monday #23 - 3 for 3

Hello friends - in an earlier post I told you that I was so excited to be chosen as the guest designer for the Merry Monday Challenge #23 that I made 3 cards!  I have shared two of them with you and this is the 3rd and final one that I made based on the great sketch from Lesley below:

I was going with a fun take on this Christmas card for some friends and family of mine that live for Christmas shopping (especially the black Friday sales - which this year started at midnight - crazy!).  The packages are were made using a 1" square punch out of coordinating pieces of the Be of Good Cheer DSP (NEW from Stampin Up!) and the bows on the packages are made using the retired Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch.  I am love, love, lovin' this Christmas paper with its great reds and greens! It can be used in a fun, whimsical manner or a more traditional manner.   The fun sentiment is from a hostess only stamp set and the snowflake is from the retired Northern Frost snowflake Sizzlit Strip. 

As you can see, I really like the versatility of this sketch.  I will be using it time and time again, I'm sure.  Thank for stopping by and for letting me share my 3 cards with you - hope you like this one too.  Hugs!



52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown #6

Hello friends - hope you are having a most wonderful day.  Today's card is based on the sketch below for a fun Christmas card challenge that I have been  participating in called 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown (52CCT#6).  I am using some of the NEW DSP from Stampin Up! called Be of Good Cheer and when paired with these two cute little fellas how can you not feel cheerful when you look at them.  The tree actually is part of an image of three trees on the stamp but I taped off the other two images so I could stamp just the middle one with Staz On and then color in with my blender pen and inks.  Then I placed the cute little penguins next to the tree.  I also used another NEW product - the stitched gumball green ribbon.  It has great feel to it and is quite cooperative about being tied in a bow.   See below for the great sketch I used for this card.  I made a regular size card (5 1/2" x 4 1/4") rather than a square, but I'm definitely going to have to use this sketch again as I love square cards.

Mynette is having a design team call during the month of June.  If you love making Christmas cards (as I'm finding that I really do) this might be a great opportunity for you to showcase your work and love of Chirstmas Cheer.  I am putting my hat in the ring - wish me luck!  Thanks for stopping by to visit, I'm sure glad that you did. Hugs!

Supplies (all from Stampin Up!):  Cardstock - Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green (NEW In-Color for 2012-2014) and Whisper White.  DSP - Be of Good Cheer.  Ribbon - 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon in Gumball Green (NEW). Stamps - Polar Party and Teeny Tiny Wishes (sentiment).  The sentiment is punched out with the Word Window punch and layered on.  Images were stamped on with Staz On  black ink and colored in with a blender pen and classic ink.

Another Card for Merry Monday #23

Happy Monday friends!  This is one of 3 cards I made this week using the sketch above from Lesley at the Merry Monday Challenge #23.  If you popped into my previous post today you saw that I was asked to be a guest designer this week for the Merry Monday Challenge #23 (my punchy snowman was chosen as Lesley's top pick from the MM#21 Challenge!!).  I was so excited to be chosen, and I must admit very, very nervous about being spotlighted this week.  As a first time guest designer, the thought that more people will be seeing my card, and wanting it to be extra special was - well...yikes (LOL)!  So... with my heart beating with excitement and a tiny touch of fear (still LOL),  I immediately went to work with the sketch and created 3 different cards (all quite different in style).  I couldn't decide which one to submit as my guest designer card, so I put the cards to a family vote and they helped me pick and the polar bear with the slight interpretation of the sketch as my guest designer card. 

I still really liked this card too so I decided to still play along as a participant in the challenge and share with you :o).  I tried this paper bow technique for the first time.  It's really pretty simple to do - but I did find that it is easier to work with the patterned paper instead of cardstock though as it is a bit more pliable. I definitely will do it again as I liked how it turned out and can think of lots more ways to use this.  I stamped the trees first on the Very Vanilla cardstock and then again on gumball green cardstock, then I snipped them out to highlight on the original stamped image.  The middle tree got some extra bling in the form of ornaments by using one of the sets of eyes from the Owl Builder Punch.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope you liked what you saw - and maybe was a bit inspired to go create something fun.  The Merry Monday challenge is a great way to get a jump start on your Christmas cards and stretch your creativity at the same time.  Hugs!

Supplies (all from Stampin Up!):  Cardstock - Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Riding Hood Red (ornaments) and Gumball Green (NEW In-color for 2012-2014). Stamps - Polar Party (trees), Jolly Bingo Bits (snowflake) and Petite Pairs (sentiment).  Ink - Gumball Green (NEW), Riding Hood Red and Basic Grey.  DSP - Be of Good Cheer (NEW and now available in the new SU Idea Book and Catalog - you can order by clicking on my link at the top of the blog).   I used the 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches for the sentiment. I used a retired snowflake embossing texture folder for the layer behind the trees (you can see just a little bit of it peeking out).

Guest Designer for Merry Monday #23 and Some Bling for CFC55

Hello and Merry Monday to you!  I'm so excited to have been asked to be a guest designer for this week's Merry Monday #23 challenge!!!  I have been participating in this great challenge for many weeks now and have quite a stash of neat Christmas cards for this next season.  I am always so impressed with the design team's creations and have gotten lots of inspiration from many of the others who are also participating in this challenge.  So its really and honor and priviledge to have had my card chosen as the Top Honor for Merry Monday #21 and to be able to share my card this week with you as a guest designer.  Today's card is based on yet another great sketch from our hostess Leslie (see below).  I chose to make my any shape a small rectangle and to move it down toward the bottom of the card instead of at the top. I am also participating for the first time in the CAS-Fridays Challenge CFC55 - Put a Bling on It!  My bling is all the pearls.

I designed this card with several of my friends and family members in mind who absolutely live for the day after Thanksgiving shopping to get their Christmas shopping started or done.  Me... not so much, the crowds really flip me out.  I remember one year (several years ago) I got brave and was out with a friend.   I was really checking out a big Christmas wreath and was about to pick it up to put in my cart and this lady swooped in an literally snatched it right out from under my nose!  Can you believe that??? LOL.   I do love shopping though for gifts for my loved ones and if I keep this advise in mind it will be even more fun :o) 

Thanks for stopping by today and sharing in my good news of being the guest designer!  I know the design team would love for you to play along too.  It's a great way to get your Christmas cards done early so you have more time for shopping.  Hugs!

Supplies (all from Stampin UP!):  Cardstock - Melon Mambo, Gumball Green (NEW) and Whisper White.  Stamps - sentiment is from a NEW hostess set called Carry On and the polar bear is from a set called Polar Party.  I used Gumball Green ink (a NEW 2012-2014 In-Color) for the sentiment and colored the Polar Bear and her package with blender pens and Melon Mambo, Pool Party, Gumball Green (NEW) and Raspberry Ripple (NEW) inks.  I used lots of pretty pearls from the Basic Pearls and the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch.

Freshly Made Sketches #37

Hello everyone, hope you are having (or maybe had) a wonderful weekend!  Today I am entering this card in the Freshly Made Sketches #37 Challenge - a blog hop for Rita who is expecting a little girl soon.  I loosely interpretted the sketch by Rita (see below) - by using a banner instead of the strip down the left side of the sketch to mimic the shape of the party hat and to accent the slightly topsy turvy feel of the darling image, but otherwise I followed the sketch pretty closely.  I felt that I had just a little too much pink (although I LOVE pink) and wanted to add a second color, so I consulted my Stampin Up! Color Coach which told me that Melon Mambo and Tempting Turquoise go well together.  This is not normally a combo I would have put together - and I still haven't made up my mind as to whether or not I love this combo enough to keep using it, but I do think it helped create a bright, happy card that a little girl might love to receive. And... it helped me to try something new, which is one of the reasons I have been entering these great challenges.  As a final touch, I added some bling to her party hat with basic rhinestones.  Looks like it really is too heavy for her head doesn't it?  Here's the sketch my card is based on:

Thanks so much for stopping by - I'm sure glad you did.  I hope you saw something that inspired you :o) please come back to visit again.  Congratulations to Rita - what a wonderful, precious time ahead. Hugs!

Supplies:  Cardstock - Pretty in Pink, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White.  DSP - Melon Mambo from the Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack. Banner was made using the Petite Penants Builder Punch.  Stamps - Party Had Kiddo from Stampendous (stamped with Memento black and colored with copics), Petite Pairs (sentiment).  Large Scalloped Ovals and Large Ovals (Spellbinders), 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches (Stampin Up!). Sentiment is stamped with Melon Mambo classic ink (SU).

MOJO Monday #243 and Dynamic Duos #5

Hello friends!  Here it is Sunday already and I'm barely making the deadline for MOJO Monday #243.  Where does the time go and How does it go by so quickly? I am using the Square card option for MOJO243 and the color combo of Real Red and Island Indigo from Dynamic Duos #5 - Bold and Sassy for this card. 

I used a fun new set from Stampin Up! called Betsy's Blossoms on this card (the red flower and the bird) and some new DSP called Summer Smooches. I snipped out the bird and then stamped it once more so I could snip another wing out and pop it on top of the first one for more depth (this doesn't show up very well in the photo but looks cool in real life).   Hope you like this card and saw something that inspired you.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Sorry to be so brief today - but I'm nearly late for a very important date :o) AND my family is complaining that they are hungry - LOL.  Hugs.

Supplies (all from Stampin Up!): Cardstock - Island Indigo, Real Read and Whisper White.  Stamps - Betsy's Blossoms, Petite Pairs (sentiment).  I also used the 2 1/2 " circle punch, the Scallop Circles #2 Sizzix die (recently retired) and the Finial Press embossing folder (also recently retired - darn!).  The ink is Real Red and Island Indigo.

Merry Monday #22

Hello friends - here is another card using one of my favorite Snow Buddies for the Merry Monday Challenge #22 based on the sketch from Lesley (see below).  This card uses some of the new Christmas DSP from Stampin Up that is now available.  It is such fun paper with its traditional reds and greens - but then I also had to add in a little of the Primrose Petal as an accent color (its ever so slightly in the striped paper too) which is a NEW In-Color for 2012-2014.  I love how this all coordinates so beautifully.  I've been having a lot of fun with my pre-order and the sneak peeks I have been giving you with the NEW products.  Now you can get them too.  It's as easy as clicking on my shop now link at the top of my blog - and you are on your way to making some beautiful Christmas creations.  You might even be inspired to play along with the Merry Monday challenge and get a head start on your Christmas cards for this season :o). 

Supplies (all from Stampin Up!): Cardstock - Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green (NEW), Primrose Petal (NEW) and Whisper White.  DSP - Be of Good Cheer.  Ink colors used -Staz On Black, Gumball Green (NEW), Riding Hood Red, Basic Grey and Peach Parfait. Stamps - Snow Much Fun (snowman) and Bitty Banners - NEW (for the area around the sentiment) and Teeny Tiny Wishes.  The NEW Bitty Banner Framelit was used to cut out my sentiment - I cut one in green to layer behind the top (white) one, and the Scallop Circles Sizzix Die is what I used behind the 2 1/2" circle cut out for my snowman. I used a retired textured embossing folder on the Cherry Cobbler strip that looks like snowflakes.  As a last touch, I added just a few Basic Pearls to make it appear as if my darling fella is juggling the snowballs.   

Hope you enjoyed todays card!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Happy Weekend to you.