Stippled Blossoms - Birthday

Hello, all my stamping friends!  Despite the crummy weather here, I'm in a very cheerful mood.  In the past couple of weeks I was chosen as a card challenge winner a couple times!  Last week the anniversary card I made for my brother and sister in-law was chosen by the ladies at Just Add Ink as their inspiration challenge winner!  So, I will be adding their badge here shortly!

I little further back, I made Headlines with my one layer card over at the Paper Players!

I haven't been making a lot of cards...but I have been enjoying the ones I do choose to make, and the challenges I have chose to participate in.  Today is another example of that.  I chose the color challenge over at Just Add Ink.  

Along with the sketch challenge at Techno Stamper!  It's Mary Jo's 300th sketch!  Can you believe it?  I think that's amazing she's kept it up so long!

 

So, here's the card .....

This is for my other sister in-law, who's birthday is coming up in about 10 days.  Some of my favorite things about this card?  The double stamping of the sentiment...it kinda gives it a 3D effect.  The embossing on the rose that gives it more dimension and depth.  Then, the combination of the wood stamp background (on an unusual color, no less) with the softness of the flower.  I hope she likes it!


As I said, the weather here has been cold and snowy and I'm about done with it!  Hubby was gone last week and yours truly had to shovel and snowblow!  I'm still a little sore...although not as bad I was expecting!  We got another 3 inches of the white stuff today.  I think we are right at our annual average and we still have plenty of opportunity to go above that!  The weatherman says we usually get another 12"-17" in February, March and April....oh, boy!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Just Add Ink 200th Challenge Celebration

I was very lucky last week.  I happened to check my Feedly just about the same time Just Add Ink added their weekly challenge.  It's their 200th challenge!  It was lucky for me because they were looking for their 500th "like" on Facebook and their 800th blog follower and sending a little surprise to those readers.  I was the 500th "like!"  So, I just had to find time to do this challenge.  It's a great inspiration photo.

A scene like this would be so welcomed now.  I am so tired of the relentless snow and cold!  As luck would have it, I needed to make an anniversary card for my husband's brother and his wife, so this was a great jumping off point.

I used the sentiment from Petite Pairs along with Gingham Garden paper and washi tape.  I adhered the washi to a strip of paper to make my banner and stamped the washi with Stazon ink.  The leaves are wings from the Bird Punch.  The flowers and rhinestones are dollar bin finds.

It felt sooo good to make a card after a week off!  It's snowing again tonight...maybe no school tomorrow.  So, you never know, I may be home bound and making cards again tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Countless Sayings ...One Layer Card

I found some time to play today during the football games.  It's not what you're thinking...I was watching the games and stamping.  Mostly doodling, trying to get some ideas out of my head and generally "playing around."  When the second game ended I was ready to put my plans to paper!

I really wanted to play with The Paper Players again.  Love them so much! They have such good graphics for their challenge pictures, too.  I save them on my computer and sometimes print them off, 4 challenges per page.  A good graphic helps remind me of the requirements of each challenge.

Today's requirement?  A one-layer card.

Lots and lots of masking on this card, but I think it was worth it.

The spray I used is the retired Blushing Bride Smooch.  The set, a new photopolymer set called, Countless Sayings I.  I improvised with the arrow fletchings (that's the feather parts...I had to look it up) and used the "X" in the set.  All the stamps came from this one set.  I had to add a little more and settled for a few rhinestones.

Thanks for stopping today!

Chalkboard Card For The Paper Players

Are you surviving the Polar Votex?  It's affecting so much of the United States and Iowa is in the thick of it.  My daughter didn't have school the last two days because of the frigid temperatures.  Today we woke and I noticed the thermometer had rose to a balmy .5°... notice the decimal?  That's a half of a degree.  We had 41 consecutive hours of temperatures at 0° or below.  Our lowest temperature was -17° and lowest with a wind chill was -47°.  Sounds like good card making weather!  So that's just what I did!

The stamp set is from the new Occasions catalog.  It's called So Very Grateful.  It's no secret I am a sucker for flower sets, and I do try to restrain myself, but I really like the possibilities of this set.  The artwork lines are less formal and perfect for a chalkboard card.  The background paper is from the upcoming Sale-A-Bration catalog.  It's called Sweet Sorbet and there are lots of great prints that pair up well with black.

I'm linking this card to The Paper Players challenge:

I will admit...I kinda CASE'd myself.  This card from last year was my inspiration. I received a lot of "Pins" last year on that card, so I thought it would be a fun one to recreate.

Stay warm...and thanks for stopping today!

Kismet....

What is Kismet?

Kismet in regards to language, is known as fate, fortune or luck. It is actually derived from Turkey, which was spelled qismet, which meant he divided.

That's the way I feel today.  I had no real intentions of making a card.  Even so, I decided to check out the newest challenges posted.  Over at Mojo Monday, a very interesting sketch.

It happened to be along the lines of a card I began last night.  A new technique (to me) that I thought I could incorporate in the latest Stampin' Royalty challenge.

I will say, brights scare me!  Not in my comfort zone at all!  So, I wanted to try this new technique and maybe do a little something to conquer my fear of brights.
                                     

The sketch and the color combination came together so well!  It one of the rare cards I didn't torture myself over every excruciating detail.  AND...I love it!

This technique with the DMC floss is called "spirelli."  If you search for it on Pinterest, you'll find TONS of examples.  In case you are wondering, these are the colors I used:
                            

Now I will say, I was remembering the Stampin' Royalty challenge incorrectly.  I thought it was Pacific Point, when actually it was Tempting Turquoise.  I know with most color challenges the idea is to get close to the color, so I hope I'm not breaking any rules here!

OK, now I have some catching up to...no more cards today!  See ya tomorrow?

Pick A Petal ....Again

Here I am, ready to give it another go!  I'm not one to give up.  Another card using Pick A Petal.  I haven't used this set in so long, it's great to get reacquainted with an old friend.  I guess I'll be keeping this one a while longer!

The sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches presented the perfect opportunity to ink this set.

Paired with this pretty color combination over at the Colour Q....

This card came together very quickly.  Well, except I spent waaaay too much contemplating which ribbon to use.  I kinda like the tone-on-tone.  I do wish it were a tad wider, but I can be happy with this result.  I really like the masking with sponging around the perimeter.  That was happy accident, trying to incorporate a bit more Calypso Coral.

I think that's it for tonight...I think!  I do have other things to do!  Thanks for stopping by!

On The Green - Colour Q & Mojo

I needed to make a card today.  A card for a dear uncle that has to be in the mail tomorrow!  Lucky for me, I had a few friends to help me out!  I saw Arielle's color combo for the latest Colour Q and knew I'd be on the right track.

Isn't this a gorgeous scarf?  Really this would be easy enough with a Big Shot, some wool felt and a few flower dies.

With the color combo in place, all I needed was a sketch to lend a hand.  Julee's @ Mojo Monday was perfect!

I think my uncle will love it!

Oh Happy Day! A Card I Am Pleased With!

I was beginning to think it would never happen.  I've spent the better part of days...distracted...unable to create anything GOOD!  Today was different.  Funny how a looming deadline can either bring brilliance or disaster.  I decided to start with the same basic design as I used for my Redwork card.  Love that card!  Same, embossing folder.  Then, switch it up with Frosty.

What a great color combo, the Baja Breeze and Real Red.  I finally got the chance to play with the Glass Glitter and Waffle Paper.  Both are wonderful!  I'm so happy they are both carrying over beyond the mini catalog.  The ribbon came from a box lot at a recent auction.

We've all seen this kind of ribbon before.  Not too impressive, but put it through the Big Shot with the Square Tile embossing folder and wow!  That's pretty!  Even the kinks in the ribbon (see them) came out, going through the Big Shot.

I actually managed to qualify for a few challenges, too!

Stampin' Royalty is hosting a Bring on The Bling Challenge!  Yahoo!
The Pink Elelphant is hosting a Winter Wonderland challenge!  Yipee!

PLUS....
Today's "Ways to Use It" challenge on SCS is GLITTER!

So I hope you like what I finally had to show you!  I'm headin' back to the craft room now!

Happy Birthday with Fifth Avenue Floral - Curtain Call #27

Inspiration met desperation this week when Wednesday came along and I needed a card for my good friend Cathy's birthday.  So, I took my inspiration from this week's Curtain Call Challenge and this great color combo!

I also took a little a little inspiration from fellow blogger, Tracey Old and the card she made a few weeks ago using the Fifth Avenue Floral set.  I love this set and I'm always looking for great new ways to use it!

Isn't the dimension on this flower just spectacular?  My third bit of inspiration came from the girls over at Stampin' Royalty and a simple sketch challenge.

In addition, I fulfilled this weeks requirements for the Our Creative Corner challenge of "blossoms." 

This is one of those cards that the more I added the better it looked.  That usually doesn't happen.  The best part?  Cathy loved it, so my mission was accomplished!

So, you know you wanna check out the rest of the Curtain Call Crew.....

Amy White @ Devlinwhite Designs
Andrea Roose @ Andrea's Scrap - und Stempel-Blog
Iwona Palamountain (Chupa) @ Random Acts of Creativity
Julie Smith @ Paper and Such
Lea Lawson @ Lea's Cupcakes & Sunshine
Marisa Ritzen @ Rosemary Reflections
Melissa Hubert@ My Paper Obsession
Sue Kohler@ My Inner Reflection

And our leader, of course....Stacey @ Stacey's Stamping Stage

And make sure to join us!  Work your magic with this color combo and share it with us over at Stacey's using Mr. Linky.

Sneaky Little Love Bandit

As promised, new goodies to share today. My UPS man came about 10:00 a.m! Thankfully it wasn't a day he came late. Once in a while he doesn't come 'til the afternoon.

I went right to the challenges for the week and decided to start with:

Mojo Monday:

Stacey's Stamping Stage:
I really tried to come up with an original idea. I've seen quite a few cards out there with these stamps and paper. From what I have looked at, no one has stamped the sneaky little raccoon from Love Bandit in this way.Except for the solid cardstocks, the DSP are from the new Sending Love Specialty paper. The base of my flower is the one retired item, it's from Flower Fusion. I didn't have anything remotely close to Rose Red wool or wool felt. The Very Vanilla portion of the flower was cut with the Big Shot die Blossom Party and some wool I had on hand.

I am super happy with the new cling cushion mount stamps. I guess I'm a convert. It didn't take but using them once! I hate to give up my wood, but it looks like that's where I'm heading!

So, check back tomorrow. My project is done except for filling it! Hint, hint!

Ornament Punch.....Priceless

It took me a month or so to warm up to the Ornament Punch. I couldn't see buying a punch that I could only use at one time of the year. Well, all it took to change my mind was seeing a card using the punch out as a vase and that thought was out the window. I started to think of all the different ways I could decorate my ornaments and next thing I know, it's on my next order!Here's my first card using it. I didn't have a great branch to hang my ornaments from so I used the swirls from Priceless. The berries were added from Berry Christmas. It seemed a little bare and that's when I added the crimped, scalloped top. I always like to put a sentiment on the outside of the card, but it just didn't seem appropriate here, so I stopped.

Now I'm off to have a little leftover turkey dinner! It's me, my daughter and my mother-in-law tonight. The guys took a little jaunt to the Mississippi today to fish for walleye. They haven't returned yet, so they'll be picking up dinner on their way home. I guess they did OK, though. So, it was a good day for everybody. I hope it was the same for you!