Color Challenge

The color challenge was Real Red, Wild Wasabi, and Cherry Cobbler. I found this challenge easy to put together being that I've been creating alot of Christmas cards lately besides Cherry Cobbler is one of my favorite colors and foods to eat. Too bad it's not on my diet and Zumba plan to loose another 20 pounds. I'm really glad that I joined the Create with Connie and Mary Holiday edition because it's keeping me on track to post on my blog even with me working full time and doing at least 5 hours of Zumba a week. I love all the ideas that are being shared and the instructions are right on. I'm hoping to create most of the ideas while I'm on vacation starting October 31st.

CCM- A I will only make one Christmas Card

I love this kind of challenge mostly because I thrive on over the top wow cards but to be honest I would make more of this card only because it's easier than my pergamano cards. Any card that takes less than 2 or 3 days to make is something I will do again. Crazy I know but making cards like this lets me breath and relax in my life and I love making them!

Since I wanted to keep all the product Stampin'UP! that made me do something other than pergamano so what to do OK I love working with vellum why not pierce it into a frame. Now to find the best fit inside the frame the bells and boughs stamp set was a perfect fit in fact it looked like it was made for this card. Now the problem is how to attach it without making the vellum crinkle from glue. Oh I know some clear rhinestone brads and glue on the back of the vellum where it won't show.

My card need alittle extra so I added layers and hand cut them out attached with dimensionals and for the finishing touches I added the silver glass glitter with crystal effects and a white taffeta ribbon. Even though I'm crazy enough to make several of this card most are not so I believe this will qualify for the challenge. What do you think?

I also added a 3d item

I like the large buttons but I wanted to do something different and magnets where it. I didn't have enough time to sew this week so that limited me on my options but that didn't stop me. I also love to use up my extra bits of ribbon and dsp. I love the falling leaves stamp set and how you can use it for fall or even masculine cards.

Create with Connie and Mary Holiday ed. Color

This week's color challenge was pool part, soft suede, and pear pizzaz. I used the baby wipe stamp pad for getting in the pear pizzaz. I thought I would go for the Thanksgiving and spice cake theme. I hope you like it.

Brad earings

What a great gift for Christmas or a special friend's birthday! I love the matchbox die it really makes this project a wow by making a mini pedestal on top. The brads are the antique and the back of them where cut off and sanded and attached to french hooks. The paper on the matchbox die is from beyond the garden and the mini brads where used in the flower centers.

Hello Doily

This was on display board at the downline meeting I went to. I love the look of black and white and the pink satin ribbon is just the right softness to finish the card off right.

Stamp the doily in veramark and wet emboss with white embossing powder. Cut and mat the pieces in pretty in pink and thread the ribbon through the center.

Unique Corners

Please forgive the picture of a picture but I had to show this. What makes this a wow is looking at your punches in a whole new light instead of just punching shapes why not see what else they can do?

This card is framed with the decorative label punch and it will always match for layering since the card stock can only go in so far on the bottom but not the top of the punch.

Need a Bear Hug?

I really like this bear he looks as if he's ready to give you a great big hug. When making this card you might want to consider making a full sheet of the background and make several cards at once. I find it especially helpful to me to have several cards on hand so they are ready to go when I need to send a card out quickly.

I love the fake brads under the bear it's just 3 hole punches showing the matting. What a great way to save time and money by using what is already in the card's design. The colors are night of navy, crumb cake and soft suede.

Presentation is everything!

You can give a candy bar to your coworkers as a inexpensive gift but unless you dress it up they might not go crazy for the idea and think you don't appreciate them much. This presentation will save the day. My mom has always said that if you don't spend the money spend the time to make a gift special! The water coloring is easy if you remember to slap the color on and forget about staying in the lines and it's made so much easier with the watercolor crayons and the water pen.

Bringing Baby

I love the vintage look and this image is just perfect for that look.

The first edition DSP is torn and aged with sponging and the tag in the new in color of pool party gives it that pop.

The seam binding ribbon is soft and just gives the finishing touch. The other stamp set used is the Elements of style.

A new way to look at a stamp set

If your still trying to decide on a Christmas stamp set might I suggest the most versatile set in the Stamping Up! catalog the Pennant Parade. This is a stamp set that was available to demonstators on the preorder and I almost didn't get it can you believe that! As usual other demonstrators came up with ideas that made me go wow!!

This stamp set can make an ice cream cone, a Christmas tree, a banner and as you can see a sail boat too! I'm sure I'll find other ideas as the year goes on. Of course I found this idea out after I bought a baby stamp set that I'll feature next oh well more toys to play with and to keep my creativity going.

Simple and elegant wedding

I've seen tux cards before but the details in this one just make it a wow. The button is done with the big shot die sweet buttons so you never run out of the color and the size of button you choose.

The lapel flower is made with the bird builder and the bitty shapes punch pack. The hardest thing on this card is the hand cut bow tie but I would change it to the black satin ribbon if I had to make several of these besides I can't draw at all which is why I love rubber stamping.

Back to School already

It's almost time to let the kids go back to class are you ready? I love the greeting card kids stamp set they are too cute and can be used throughout the year. These kids look like they can't wait to go back to school I know it was my favorite time of the year!

Out West

This card is an example of why you need stamping friends to trade ideas with. I never would have thought to put these colors together and the focal point is amazing! To make it just take a scalloped circle punch and some baker's twine and tape the end to the back of the card and wrap it around until you have covered all the scallops. The antique brad in the center gives it a finished look as well as a western flair. It reminds me of a spur and really fills in the card without being too busy.

Christmas Pedestal

This is a standard pedestal card with a twist instead of a rectangle easel look you get a unique look with the big shot's large scallop circle die. The poinsettias are made with the 5 petal flower punch and the centers are the circle rhinestone brads that have been taken out of the brad. The brad ribbon on the bottom is what holds it up in the display mode. The finishing touch is the smooch spritz in gold glow.

Don't throw away those container!

I love the reuse of something that I always have on hand and this fits the bill to a tee.

You will need a big shot to make the scalloped circles and the embellishment container is wrapped with ribon. The top is decorated with the triple layer punch and the bling is the rhinestones.

You can fill the container with candy and have a great gift that is quick and easy got to love that!

Snowman Christmas

This card is all about the details. The ribbon with a glitter brad and the tag pull with the baker's twine.

I love the added color on the embossing folder petals a plenty to achieve the open center for your snowman you could cut your embossing folder or make a frame with some chipboard.

To make the ribbon brad make a loop like the breast cancer sign and use the open brad to make the wings of your bow. This works great if I'm not around to make your bows :)

OMG it's almost time for Christmas

First I want to say I'm sorry that I haven't posted in awhile due to the heat and my workout schedule I thought I had more postings set up. Can you believe that it's the last day of July and I had to already select my mini catalog mailings!

I love this card it was shown to me at Sherri's down line meeting I will be featuring cards from her swaps at convention this month all of them beautifully done.

This card shows our new set so much fun and the triple layer punch and my new favorite border punch Lace ribbon. The simple colors and traditional Christmas just calls to me. The most common question I have had about this card is the Lace ribbon How do I attach it you can use any glue but I find the liquid glue pen is great with the least amount of clean up.

Dsp and punches

Need a card in under 5 min. I know I do more often than I want to admit. This is the card for you all you need is a piece of dsp and a strip of cardstock punched with the eyelet border. I added the words from the happy greetings and punched them with the scalloped oval and adhered it to the large decorative label punch. The bow was added to make it look like the card took more time than it really did and gives it that finishing touch. You can use this template for any card and change the words for any occasion. You could even turn the card for a whole different look. Got to love that!!

Wet embossing

The stamp set is flower fest and I'm liking it more and more as I see what you can do with it. I especially like that the images match my punches and make it so easy to put a card or scrapbook together. Want a glittery embossed image without the glitter falling off mix a spoonful of white embossing powder and a spoonful of glitter and you to can have this look. After the image was embossed and punched out with the matching punch I added chalk with a cotton ball to give the flower 2 colors. For that added bling I added a rhinestone circle brad. To fill the card up since I only used 1 flower I stamped the background with the same image in old olive and used the top note die and the embossing folder perfect polka dots in rich razzleberry card stock. the ribbon is the Old Olive 1 1/4" grosgrain and adds that extra texture.

Blender pens

I had to wait to post this card since I'm giving it to a new Eagle Scout. I used blender pens on the ship to add the flags in cherry cobbler and the waves in not quite navy. To add dimension I used dimensionals to make the ship look as if it was out to sea. The stamp sets used are the open sea and matching dsp and the happy greetings. My embellishment was the baker's twine white and cherry cobbler. The inks used are early espresso, cherry cobbler and basic grey.

Wet embossing

There's more going on this card than you would think at first glance and it's more than I would normally show. I wanted to feature the new embossing colors found on page 23 of the mini you can also find the dsp on the same page. The hello image is stamped with versamark and the colors are added with the embossing powders. The background is using the plenty of petals embossing folder and ran through the big shot. The punch is the new triple layer punch called the blossom bouquet and yes all 3 punches are in one punch! How cool is that?

A Free Stamp Set

Poppy Parade is such a bright and happy summer color. I used the level 2 hostess stamp set from the mini as well as the Happy Greetings stamp set. I used markers on the stamp set with a bit of a twist I misted the stamp before I stamped it onto the cardstock and then I stamped it again right away. I used the paper flowers and colored it with the aqua painter and the ink from the marker and added a rhinestone into the center. The green was pear pizzaz and was used in the same way as the flower and added to the large decorative lable with a finger dauber. I love a card that makes me smile don't you?

Sand and Surf

The stamp set is summer splash and has wonderful images of summer. I love the different colors on the surf boards and it's easy to do just color with your markers with as many colors as you would like. After your done coloring don't forget to breath on your stamp before stamping your image. This will moisten the ink so you'll have even coloring. The sand was made with the crumb cake cardstock and sponged with early espresso ink.

Polished Stone

You need glossy paper a cotton ball and rubbing alcohol and reinker of your choice and to get that silver look use the pearlized silver fox accent ink. Douse your cotton ball in the rubbing alcohol and place 1 or 2 drops of a reinker and a drop or 2 of the accent ink and pounce onto the glossy cardstock. To keep the ink from your hands use a cloths pen for this process. You must allow this to dry and yes in MI it will depend on the weather as to how long it will take to dry. The marina mist card stock use the flower garden embossing folder and was rubbed with a cotton ball that had white craft ink on it. I like to use the black staz on ink for the butterfly image from the Strength and hope stamp set. I love this set since Stampin'Up! is giving $2 for each stamp set sold to the breast cancer reasearch foundation.

Crimper Diamonds

This is an easy tecnique but hard to explain in just words. The diamond is created by folding the cardstock into the center and then running it through the crimper. The boat image is from the new mini (big surprise) the stamp set is called the Open Sea. To add some color the matching dsp was placed behind the ship and a finger dauber was used on the edges of the ship image and attached with dimensionals. I have found that when I attach textured background I prefer to use the liquid mono adhesive.

Textured Magic

I love this look and it's so easy with the Big Shot. On this one I used a white card stock base and puched out the flowers with the itty bitty shapes punch pack. I glued them to the cardstock base and ran the whole piece through the big shot with the square lattice embossing folder. The stamp set is from the new mini called pretty postage and the image was colored with markers to get more than 1 color. Su has a new punch called the pstage stamp punch and that was used on this card to. The ribbon is the peach parfait stitched poly ribbon and matches the cardstock and ink. The other color was blushing bride one of our in colors that will be available next year. I can't wait to see what the new in colors will be in the next catalog.

H2O crayons and embossing folders

This is a newer technique that I love embossing folders are great by themselves but adding color adds so much to the image. The embossing folder can be found in the new mini on page 24 called Flower Garden. I used tangerine tango and basic black. Save yourself some cardstock and just punch a black square for the corner. The scallop trim corner was used to balance the card. I found that starting with the yellow centers of the flowers worked best then I added the stems and layered the orange on last. Remember with the watercolor crayons you can always add more color but taking away color is harder.

Sail Away

This month I'm going to focus on techniques. This card was a swap from my upline's group stampy wackers. I picked this card because it's using the crayon resist and paper piecing as well as masking. The white sails are stamped and cut out to give them a stark white look. The moon is done with masking by punching out a circle with a post it note. The waves are accented with a crayon to give white caps to the waves. A brayer was used to make the background sky and water. Please note when doing a crayon resist you should use glossy cardstock. The baker's twine is the early espresso/white and gives your card a great finishing touch along with the so saffron card stock to add more texture.

A bird on a Trellis

This card is great for using some of those scraps that you have been collecting. This is one of those cards that only take 10 minutes to put together if you use a liquid glue pen and dimensionals. The DSP is from the woodland walk collection. You could also make your own wood by using a direct to paper with a ink pad drag it across the card stock to make a wood like grain. The other option is to use a woodgrain background stamp.

April Showers brings May's flowers

Just alittle hand cutting the wagon but mostly punches for the flowers. The wagon is from the sock monkey accesories and the buttons make such great wheels. What makes this card a wow is the detail of the pearls on some of the flowers and the greeting can be changed to suit what ever the occasion calls for. This is such a bright and cheerful card that makes me smile and go wow you don't need to use the sock monkey if you don't want to.

Lots of Bots

I love this card and how it's all put together and yes the texture is calling me as always. I love the cogs punches and the ruler is just too cool. Not alot of coloring in just a wash of color with blender pens to make the robot look metalic and a touch of glass glitter to brighten up the card.

Boy's & Trucks

I love this masculine card especially since it's taking a stamp set I look at as girly girl with the shoes, shopping and chocolate and giving it a whole new twist. Masking is used to stamp the truck behind the bear. If you would like to have me show you how to do this call for a class in my home or yours.

Masculine Swaps

If you are anything like me coming up with masculine cards can be a challenge. So I joined a swap and will be showing off some of my favorites this one caught my eye with the details of the skateboarder having a ramp in one corner and the photocorner punch in the other to balance the focal point. I also liked the newsprint dsp in black on one side and vanilla on the other to keep it from being too dark. This is a standard sized card using 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" scored on each of the long side at 2 1/4". Just make sure you only use adhesive on one side of your focal point.

Morning Cup

O.K. you don't want to make a box why not a card with the tea included. I love this color combination it's so eye catching and the details of the the scallops and paper clip add so much. I think you are "tea"rific too. I like how this card achieves texture by using the stamps and the layers to draw your eye to all the elements of this card. Every time I look at this card I'm drawn to a different layer and detail.

Gotta love your mom

What a cute little gift for a tea loving mom or a sick friend or even someone having a bad day. I always find a cup of tea to be soothing no matter what else is going on in my life. I love using the big shots bitty box die since so little adhesive is needed in fact I didn't use any for this box at all! I find my biggest expense of paper crafting is in adhesive I'm always amazed on how much I go through in any given week. I did need a glue dot for the ribbon and some adhesive for the scallop rectangle and matting but this project used less than I normally use for little gifts. The stamp set used is one I have passed up many times in the main catalog called Morning cup.

Spring time card

I must have been in the mood to see warmer weather and needed a smile. I achieved the marbleized look on the flower with the solid flower image stamp set of flowers awash by first inking the stamp with pretty in pink and rubbing some regal rose on some plastic and bouncing on top of the stamp before stamping the image onto my white card stock. This card was copied from my monthly magazine from Stampin'Up! which is sent to all active demonstrators. It's a great resource full of business and creative ideas.

DSP Tote

This is such a cute tote made with the hostess dsp and decorative label punch. I found while making this it was much easier to use the tombow liquild glue since I can let it dry and then attach them for a strong hold. Just remmember the top layer only gets folded on 3 sides. Add a little chocolate and you have a great little gift for that someone special in your life.

Simply Adorned Bracelet

I learned how to make this on Create with Connie and Mary and finally made it. I was amazed on how much I love this bracelet and never would have thought to use the beveled windowpanes on it. Most of the items used to make this are in the occasions mini so if you want to make one of these be sure to order before the end of this month! The stamp set clearly for you and the beveled window panes and the trinket crowns and keys are all in mini catalog that will end on the 30th of April. I'm thinking this will make a great mother's day gift.

Inspired by Andrea Walford

I made this box a week ago when I really needed to be inspired and Andrea never fails me any time I need a push to create. Thank you for that Andrea. I never thought that pumpkin pie would go with concord crush. I couldn't find a pearl large enough for the flower that wasn't over-powered so I made my own with the shimmery white card stock and build a brad. What makes this box so amazing is the details like the black sponging on the dsp and the white gel pen on the scalloped circle and of course the glitter on the butterfly. What is hard to get in the picture is the details of the Fun flowers die which was sponged on the edges and spritzed with water and crumbled till dry and then smooch spritzed in gold glow. I'm thinking of adding some amazing chocolate and giving this away I just love to share whatever I create. I just have to find that special someone for this box.

Got Chickens?

I love this chicken that I saw somewhere on a blog don't know which one since I forgot to write it down. I just had to make him since he's so cute! I used several punches the bird, 5 petal flower, 1" circle and 3/4" circle, small oval . I also made the box from scratch using a 5 x 10 1/2 piece of card stock the 5" side scored at 2" and the 10 1/2" side scored at 2,5,7,10. Please remmember to use sticky strip to hold boxes together. I put a bag of corn chips in the box just in case he needed a snack.

Easter Blossoms

This is an Easter card featuring the Easter Blossoms stamp set in the Occasions mini catalog. I love the use of the big shot to make a partial cut out of the scallop oval. The rose red seam binding was used to add a soft touch and give the card a finished look. I'm finding it hard not to use ribbon or the big shot for most of my cards. IMO the big shot saves so much time and makes the design so much easier to give the card a well put together look.

Easy Easter Card ideas

I love a card I can make in less than 10 minutes from start to finish. The stamp set used is Because I care in the hostess level 1. I used the perfect plum and old olive markers on the flower and then spritzed it very lightly with water to add color varations in the flower and leaves. I'm such a big fan of texture that I had to use the square lattice embossing folder on the so saffron. Add your Easter wishes or any other saying to use this card all spring and summer. Got to love that!

A good egg

I really love the in color Peach Parfait especially since the dsp is free with any workshop over $150. The card base is wild wasabi which makes the peach pop. To add alittle more to the card I added a daffodil delight satin bow and glitter to the bottom of the egg.

Connie and Mary challenge Sewing

I decided for this challenge to go with fabric coasters. I used muslin and scraps of quilting batting in a standard 4 x 4 square size. I used a glue stick to hold the butterfly down before I used a Zig Zag stitch to adhere the butterfly down. I not much into applique mostly since I'm not that good at it but the zig zag stitch hides a lot and lets you fudge more than hand stitching. I then added the batting and the back layer of muslin and used a straight stitch to complete my project I trimmed the edges as needed. These would make a great house warming gift and take very little time just tie a ribbon around them for that finished look.

CCMC-OM4 Sketch challenge

This was this week's sketch challenge on Create with Connie and Mary's on line class. I love how I'm being challenged and all the inspiration I have gotten.

I used Studio Sketches, bliss, and You're a Gem stamp sets. Ink pads versamark, concord crush and black staz on. I also used the 6 x 6 hostess paper pack, watercolor crayons and twill tape, and dimensionals.

I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do with this sketch but I did know I wanted to make a card and I wanted it to not be girly girly since I seemed to be in that rut and wanted to do something different. I haven't figured out yet why I have such a hard time when I'm told which direction to go it's seems that I fight the design more than ever.

CCMC-OM3 Tea bag box

This was this week's challenge to use Rose red, Baja breeze, Pear Pizazz, and very vanilla. Originally I was going to make a totally different box but I got an email with the directions to make this from Andrea Walford and I just had to make it! I love the fact that this tea bag holder holds more than 1 or 2 bags which is a waste of time IMO.

The most challenging was making the roses out of card stock verses using fabric. I know if I don't tell you how I made them I will not hear the anything else so here I go. I'll try to explain in a way that makes sense but email me any questions.

I punched out a scalloped circle and cut out the center. I then folded down the scallops and broke the fibers of the cardstock to make it more movable. I then ran a thin line of liquid glue (tombow) and let it dry for about 10 min. I then used my reverse tweezers and rolled it up and held the flower for a min to set it. To make it open I forced it with my finger nail and used the piercing tool to place the pearl in the center. I attached it to my project with a glue dot.

The leaves are from the 2 step bird punch and I sponged them with crumb cake and pinched the leaves to give them more depth. You can add more tea bags from the bottom but it is easier to place them inside the box before attaching the lid.

The Changable Memory Board

The template for this memory board was from Connie and Mary's challenge this week. I decided to make something other than a card go figure. I used a clipboard I had on hand and drilled 2 holes in the bottom and put two 6" bolts through the holes and secured them with nuts.
I used the newsprint dsp and the big shot for the large scalloped circle in always artichoke and the next size smaller for the cherry cobbler on the flower the inside of the flower is black cs punched with the scalloped circle. I then got them wet and crunched them up and used a antique brad in the center.
The words are from hope happens and they are my personal goal to live by. The chocolate chip ribbon was rucked the old fashion way with a running stitch and attached to the back with a dimensional and the bottom with a glue dot. I did a lot of sponging to give dimension and even a little bling with the shimmery paint and the pearl on the humming bird.
This project is great to hold your recipes while you cook, your favorite picture or card you either made or received.