Birthday Bonaza

While Jim was stamping my birthday card last night, I worked on Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge #56. I suggested that Jim also try her color challenge, but when he saw how many colors there were, he decided to leave the challenges to me! I was a little overwhelmed by the number of colors (six!) too, but when I sat down to use them, it came together so naturally that I actually made TWO cards!

Card #1:
Supplies: Love Bug (Level 1 Hostess Set), Teeny Tiny Wishes, Jet Black Staz-On ink pad, So Saffron marker, Real Red marker & cardstock, Pumpkin Pie marker, Certainly Celery marker, Ballet Blue marker & cardstock, Scallop Edge Punch, Sherbet Designer Buttons, Tall Tales DSP, Mini Glue Dots

Card #2:
Supplies: Birthday Wish, Ruby Red Craft Ink, So Saffron cardstock, Ballet Blue cardstock, Clear Embossing Powder, Certainly Celery Patterns DSP, Flower Fusion (felt flowers), Button Bouquet, 1/4" Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon, Top Note die for the Big Shot

Blue Bird Thank You

I snuck in some stamping time today, while the kids were stamping birthday cards and thank you notes. I managed to make up this card for Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge #54. These colors are so fun together -- and not a combination I would have put together on my own!

I stamped the bird twice and cut out the body to attach to the card with a dimensionals. I also added some depth to the card with beads in the centers of the flowers. I put them on with just a dab of Tombo Multi Adhesive.

Supplies: Cheep Talk, Taken with Teal ink/marker & cardstock, Soft Sky ink & textured cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Pumpkin Pie ink, Green Galore ink, Basic Black marker, Striped Pumpkin Pie ribbon, Pumpkin Pie Bead Duo, Tombo Multi Adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals

Say It With Scallops Series: Day 6

Today is the last day of my Say It With Scallops Virtual Fundraiser. I hope you have enjoyed all of the projects featuring the Say It With Scallops stamp set. To view them all at once, click here.

Any online orders placed today on my website will count toward the fundraiser and I will donate 20% of your order to our local Ronald McDonald House. Click here to go to my website and "Shop Now".

For my last Say It With Scallops project, I used two of the stamps from Say It With Scallops to create sort of a collage. Can you spot which two?

The "hi" stamp is obvious. But the other one may not be: it's the thank you greeting without the frame. (I inked it up with my black marker) and then stamped the "u" from Jumble Alphabet (on sale 20% off this month; click here for details) in red.

I love making cards, art, or scrapbook pages like this. It's kind of like making a quilt. Each square is different and then you pull it all together with a central theme. In this case, I used Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge #53. These colors are so bring and fun. I'm also working on a scrapbook page with these colors too. I have a perfect picture of Thomas from Touch-a-Truck day last week. Check back tomorrow to see it!

Supplies: Say It With Scallops, Jumble Alphabet, Real Red ink, Pacific Point ink, Basic Black marker & cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Kraft cardstock, Good Morning Sunshine DSP, Pink Flamingo DSP, Rockability DSP, Summer Sun Corduroy Buttons, Bold Brights Brads, Black Gingham Ribbon, 1/2" Circle Punch, Scallop Square Punch, Stampin' Dimesionals

Faux Framed Soft Summer Card

Whew! I realize after making this card that very simple designs need to be executed with perfection! I wouldn't call this perfection, but after many attempts, I'm done trying! Here is my card for Kristina Werner's latest Color Inspiration Challenge #52. She picked great colors this week: Baja Breeze, So Saffron, More Mustard, Sahara Sand, and Whisper White.

I did a reverse masking technique (also called Faux Frame) on this card. I cut an oval using the Coluzzle, laid the negative image on my cardstock and then sponged the inside of the oval. When I removed the mask, the sponged oval remains on the cardstock. I used Sahara Sand for the sponging and to color the stem and leaves of the flower. The outline is in More Mustard and the flowers are colored with So Saffron. I think it's hard to see, but there's some 2-way glue and Dazzling Diamonds to really make this card sparkle.

Supplies: Soft Summer (Occasions Mini), Baja Breeze ink & cardstock, Sahara Sand ink & cardstock, More Mustard ink, So Saffron ink, Whisper White cardstock, Coluzzle, Stampin' Sponges, Blender Pen, 2-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Cutter Kit, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Hi from the Lion Card

Gosh, sometimes I really have a hard time coming up with titles for my posts...ha ha! If I had a pet lion, this would be a great card to send to someone to let them know the lion was saying hi. Right? No, I'm not on crack and contrary to what you might think, I DID sleep last night. Actually, that's why this wasn't posted yesterday like I had planned. Oh well! Here's my card for Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge #51. I'm actually glad I waited a day to post it, because I realized this morning that it needed the ribbon and it looks much better with it.

I really love this layout -- inspired by Becky Carafa's "My Fave" card here. I love her clean and simple style!

Supplies: Wild About You, Say it with Scallops (hi), More Mustard marker & cardstock, Rose Red ink & marker, Chocolate Chip cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Raspberry Tart DSP, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Trio Flower Punch, Vintage Brads, 1/4" White Grosgrain Ribbon, SU Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plates for the Big Shot, Hobby Blade, Stampin' Dimensionals

Retro Tropic Card

I have to say, some of the new Designer Series Papers have really given new life to Summer Sun. When I saw Kristina's Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge #50, it reminded me of the Pink Flamingo DSP and I think using a strip of it at the bottom of this card really ties the card together. It feels very retro to me -- and also very tropical. So I'm calling it Retro Tropic.

I've been working on this card for the last couple days...I was really debating about using the Pretties Kit flower. After all, I've used the same flower in 2 of the last 3 challenges (CI47 and CI49). I hate to over-do it with the flower. But maybe it's like my lucky socks or something because the last two cards with this flower were picked for the Round-Up! That and I really wanted to mirror that aspect of the inspiration piece. So, I'm going with it! What do you think? Will it be another top 10 pick?

I have to show you this close-up. I used the 1/8" hole punch to punch little bitty circles that I glued on the yellow flower to cover up the Cameo Coral color that was originally part of the DSP. Kristina was very clear that we weren't supposed to use ANY other colors for this challenge, so I wanted to make sure I followed the rules!

The finished card is 5" x 5".

Supplies: Garden Greetings, Real Red cardstock, Chocolate Chip cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Pink Flamingo DSP, Tempting Turquoise 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Summer Sun Corduroy Buttons, Texturz Plates for the Big Shot, Circle Scissors Plus, Pretties Kit, 1/8" Hole Punch

KWerner Color Challenge #49

Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge #49 is nice and bright for this dreary and rainy Good Friday. I whipped this up during morning nap time and now we're headed to the pool! Yeah, I know it's 45 degrees outside, but it won't matter inside. Hooray for indoor pools and happy stamping Fridays!

By the way, the one and only stamp I used on this 4-1/4" x 4-1/4" card is "Happy Birthday To You" and is available for FREE this month! Check out all the details on the April promotion by clicking here.

Supplies: Happy Birthday to You, Basic Black marker, Kiwi Kiss textured cardstock, Basic Black cardstock, Taken with Teal cardstock, Raspberry Tart DSP, 1" Circle Punch, Clear Buttons, Vintage Brads, Scallop Edge Punch, Rose Red 1" Double Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Pretties Kit

Botanical Blooms Make & Take

[Edited 4-4-09: This card uses the same colors as Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge #48! I love this combination of Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, and Chocolate Chip. I'll have to try and make another card with this color combo this weekend.]

Last weekend, Rosemary had a "catalog party" that was quite a party! Because I was in Hawaii and couldn't be there in person, I prepared a project ahead of time for Rosemary and her guests and they partied without me. I hear Rosemary had quite a spread of yummy food and got out her other stampin' supplies for guests to use and create with. She ended up with several orders and among other hostess benefits, got a free Sale-a-bration stamp set for hosting a party with over $300 in orders. Here is the card I sent for Rosemary and her guests to make:

Interested in holding your own catalog party? You can collect orders any time and receive hostess benefits when those orders total $150 or more. If you'd like to do a casual stamping get-together like Rosemary, I would be happy to provide a project for you and your friends to make while you peruse the catalog and write up your orders. Send me an email for details!

And if you host a catalog party with $150 or more in orders during the month of April, you'll get a free stamp from the "Under $10" page of the Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog!


Supplies: Botanical Blooms, Chocolate Chip ink & cardstock, Baja Breeze ink & cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Kiwi Kiss ink & cardstock, Corner Rounder, Button Bouquet, Mini Glue Dots

Oops, She Did It Again!

I'm back from Hawaii!! Oh my, we had an incredible trip to paradise. I'll share some photos later when I get them all uploaded and sorted. It was beautiful. The sun was perfect. Elise cooperated. I swam with turtles!! I went to bed early every night. It was a dream vacation. Truly!! So thank you Stampin' Up! and thank you downline and customers for helping me earn it!

When we landed back in Chicago from Hawaii, the pilot said "Welcome back to reality, folks!" Yes, we're back to reality and I've got loads on my plate this month. But I made some time for stamping last night after the kids were in bed and the suitcases were unpacked. It felt good to be home!

I tackled some color challenges. Here's the first card, for Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge #47. Hopefully my mom's not reading this yet because I'm sending her this card. I used the Sale-a-bration stamp set "Congrats" for the greeting: "you've outdone yourself again". I really like this little set. It has lots of possibilities! And better yet, it's FREE with any $50 purchase -- but you have to "Shop Now" because the sale ends tomorrow (Tuesday, March 31)! Click here for all the details.

I keep getting distracted. Ok, so "Oops, She Did It Again!" -- my mother. She's ROCKIN' this year and even with watching my children while I was in Hawaii, she still managed to break her monthly personal sales record yet again with March sales of over $4,500! Dang! You've truly outdone yourself, Mom! I'm so proud of you!!

Supplies: Congrats, So Saffron cardstock, Chocolate Chip Patterns DSP & ink, Whisper White cardstock, Tangerine Tango cardstock, Pretties Kit, Curly Label Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Crafters' Tool Kit (paper piercing around circle), Tangerine Tango Ribbon, Mini Glue Dots

A Card Without Color

I suppose gray is a color though, so technically this isn't a card without color. Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge #45 was especially challenging this week because gray, black, and white are the only three colors!

I love the way my card turned out -- very classic and elegant in the monochromatic tone. I think it would be perfect for a wedding or anniversary. I used some brand new products from the Occasions Mini catalog (Walk in the Park DSP & Whisper White Satin Ribbon) and the Little Leaves sizzlit from the big catalog.

Supplies: Warm Words, Going Gray cardstock, White cardstock, Basic Black ink, Walk in the Park DSP, Whisper White Satin Ribbon, Little Leaves die for the Big Shot

Great Friend Card

While working on this card for Kristina's Werner's Color Inspiration #44 last night, I couldn't quite find the right greeting to put in the circle. Since I express shipped my Occasions Mini preorder, I decided to break out my brand new "Great Friend" stamp set today to finish it up. I just love the look of greetings with a combination of script and text fonts. (Kristina -- is that your handwriting on this stamp?)

Supplies: Great Friend, Pink Pirouette cardstock, Close to Cocoa cardstock, Chocolate Chip ink & cardstock, Metal Edge Tags, Scallop Edge Punch, Flower Fusion Too (felt flowers), Clear Rhinestone Brads, Stampin' Up! Backgrounds I Texturz plates for the Big Shot

Spring Tulips Card

At first, I was a little overwhelmed by the number of colors in Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge #43, but I decided the best way to incorporate them all without any of them being too overpowering was to use a line-art image. I choose the spring tulips from Flowers for All Seasons for this 3-1/2" x 5" card.

I used Classic ink pads and a blender pen to color the image. It's hard to tell in the photo, but I used a Stampin' Dimensional under the bird to pop it out. I felt like it got lost again the brown basket otherwise.

I punched the image with the 1-3/4" Circle Punch. I wanted to add a scallop layer behind it and since my punch was too small, I cut it into pieces and adhered it to the back of my circle. Worked like a charm!

Supplies: Flowers for All Seasons, Short & Sweet, Chocolate Chip ink & cardstock, Pumpkin Pie ink & cardstock, Ruby Red ink, Old Olive marker, Brocade Blue ink, Versamark, Blender Pen, Winter White embossing powder, 5/8" Olive Grosgrain ribbon, Sweet Slumber Textured DSP, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

Quiet Time Card

What a difference an hour makes! During lunch, I was ready to pull my hair out. The baby hadn't slept a wink all morning and was screaming, my 3-1/2 year old wouldn't eat lunch, and I was trying to get my 5 year old out the door to catch the bus. Oh yeah, and I was still in my PJ's! But an hour later, the house was quiet, the girls were sleeping, I was dressed and STAMPING! I sat down with Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge #42 and came up with this card:

I'm not terribly fond of this greeting, but I don't have any others this size. Most of my greeting stamps are small. Guess it's time to get some new ones. (wink!)

Supplies: Best Wishes & More, All Holidays, Really Rust ink & cardstock, More Mustard ink & cardstock, Kiwi Kiss ink, Whisper White cardstock, Good Morning Sunshine DSP, 1/4" More Mustard grosgrain ribbon

Stinky Sweet Card

I pulled this card out of the archives to post this week anyway and it just so happens to work perfectly for Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge! I love the combination of black, white, and red! For this card, I stamped the skunk in Whisper White ink on Basic Black cardstock and colored in his stripe with a white gel pen.

Supplies: Pun Fun, Friend by Definition background, Real Red cardstock, Basic Black ink & cardstock, Whisper White ink & cardstock, My Way (arrow) Punch, White Gel Pen, Bold Brights Brads

Blue Bird Card

Kristina Werner's latest Color Inspiration Challenge inspired me to get out my Good Friend stamp set. That's the one with the big bird. It's a fun stamp set, but I find it hard to use the entire bird without taking up a whole card. So for this 3" x 6" card, I ended up cutting off his tail end.

I still feel like the card needs something, but I can't figure out what. Maybe it's because his tail is cut off and I feel like the cardstock should be moved over...hmmm. What do you think?

Supplies: Good Friend, Taken with Teal ink & cardstock, More Mustard ink, So Saffron cardstock, Old Olive cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Scallop Edge Punch, More Mustard grosgrain ribbon

Puzzle Card

I went to Michael's last Friday to do some post-holiday shopping. I don't go there often because I buy all my paper crafting supplies from Stampin' Up! But they had Sizzix dies for 50% off and I couldn't resist buying the Puzzle Maker #2 die. How fun to make a card that you have to put together!

Kristina's Color Inspiration Challenge was the perfect opportunity to make my first puzzle card. And this week's colors (Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, and Olive Olive) lended themselves well to my new Petal Pizazz stamp set. This new flower set will be available in the Spring-Summer Catalog -- which starts in three short weeks on Monday, January 19!

Here's the front of the card:

I also used the Big Shot to cut the mini scallop envelope, which holds the puzzle pieces. The envelope flap tucks under the flower circle, which is adhered to the envelope with a brad. So the flower stays put and the envelope flap tucks under that to stay closed. (Side note: Sticky Strip is a MUST for adhering the envelope together! I also used it to adhere the envelope to the card.)

For the puzzle itself, I used a piece of the white cardboard that comes with the DSP so that my puzzle would be extra sturdy.

Supplies: Petal Pizazz, Thank You Kindly, Basic Black ink pad, Rose Red ink & cardstock, Pretty in Pink ink & cardstock, Old Olive ink, Whisper White cardstock, Flower Fusion felt flowers, Earth Elements brads, 1/4" Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon, Blueberry Maine DSP, Puzzle Maker #2 and Scallop Envelope dies for the Big Shot

P.S. Thank You Kindly is on sale for 20% off with a $20 purchase as part of the Catalog Sampler promotion until January 18. Click here for details.

Snowy Day

It's snowing today here in East Central Illinois, so I thought a penguin and some snowflakes would be an appropriate theme for today's card using colors from KWerner's latest Color Inspiration Challenge. I love finding "non-traditional" colors to use on holiday cards and this combination was perfect: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, and Very Vanilla.


Here's a close-up of that cutie patootie penguin! If you're wondering, the penguin is from the Wild About You stamp set. I think he often gets overlooked in there with the other jungle animals.

Supplies: Wild About You, Many Merry Messages, Close to Cocoa cardstock, Chocolate Chip marker & cardstock, Baja Breeze ink & cardstock, So Saffron ink & cardstock, Very Vanilla cardstock, 1-1/4" & 1-3/8" Circle Punches, Scallop Circle Punch, Bold Snowflake Jumbo Wheel, 1/4" Chocolate grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Ginormous Flowers Cards

I broke out several soon-to-be-retired stamp sets for KWerner's latest Color Inspiration Challenge. What pretty colors she chose this week: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Sage Shadow, and Bordering Blue. I never would have put these colors together myself, but I love the way they look.

For my first card, I use the Dots are Hot set to make background paper. I love the way the paper turned out, but I wasn't happy with the final card. This square card measures 5-1/4" x 5-1/4".

So, I took another shot at the colors with my original idea and did an Emerging Color card.

"Emerging Color" is a technique based on an emboss resist. I stamped a white sheet of paper with lots of little flowers in different colors. I used flowers from Ginormous flowers and the tiny flower from Flight of the Butterfly. Make sure to keep the pattern really tight and close together. The next step is to clear emboss a larger, bold image over the paper. (I chose a larger flower from Ginormous flowers.) Finally, use a Brayer to cover the cardstock with a darker ink (I used Perfect Plum). Use a cotton ball or tissue to burnish over the embossed images and clear away excess ink. The colors from the flowers stamped underneath with show through.

Supplies (both cards): Ginormous Flowers, Flight of the Butterfly, Dots are Hot, Wonderful Words, Bordering Blue ink/marker & cardstock, Certainly Celery ink/marker, Sage Shadow ink/marker, Pale Plue ink/marker & cardstock, Perfect Plum ink/marker & cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Coluzzle, Versamark ink pad, Clear Embossing Powder, Winter White Embossing Powder, 2-way Glue, Dazzling Diamonds, 5/8" Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals