PPC Specialty Challenge - "Christmas"

Welcome to the last Monday before Christmas everyone!!!  Are you all ready to go?  I *think* I'm pretty close - I just have to wrap and buy a couple more gifts and I'm done.  :)  Whew...  what a busy holiday season it has been and it's not quite over yet!

This week's challenge at Picture Perfect Creations is *not* our usual color challenge - instead Megan has given us the theme of "Anything Christmas Related."  Easy peasy, right?

I found this week's challenge over at the Play Date Cafe and the first thought that popped into my head was definitely NOT a Christmas card - not with that yellow in there but I thought I'd give it a try anyways:

I started out with the Diva Coffee Break Design Challenge sketch as my inspiration but my card ended up evolving into something {a bit different} from the sketch:

Stamps: Warm Words (SU!)  Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight  Ink: Basic Black, Versamark Dazzle Frost  Accessories: Daffodil Delight sating ribbon, Oval scallop punch, oval punch, eyelet, Cropodile, silver cord, Baubles embossing folder (Crafts Too), adhesive pearls, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Iridescent Ice embossing powder

I started out with some Daffodil DSP as the main back panel but decided that it was *too much* yellow - it's just supposed to be a {splash}, right?  So I cut a new piece of white and tried to decide what to do with it because it was too boring for me!  HA!  I initially thoguht about embossing it but that would have been too much embossing.  Hmmmm...what to do?  I finally decided to ink the entire surface with Versamark and heat emboss Iridescent Ice onto it... I LOVE how it turned out!  Here's a close-up of the sparkly-ness:

If you have a few spare minutes this week, we'd love it if you'd play along with us at Picture Perfect Creations and if you need some more inspiration make sure to stop and see what the other PPC Creators did with these colors!  See you on Wednesday with a Color Dare combination that would be the PERFECT complement to this PPC Christmas challenge ~~~ I'm just saying... :)  Later, gators!

My Sentimental Sunday DT Debut!

WOW - what a fabulous group of ladies Ann put together for her "renovated" Sentimental Sundays design team and I am lucky enough to be included amongst them all.  :)  There are some names familiar to me and some new ones so it will be fun getting to know everyone.

This week's challenge is to create a Birthday Card...with a sentiment, of course.  I wanted to use one of Ann's Raindrop Echo Designs Digital Collection but couldn't really find any sentiments that screamed "BIRTHDAY!" to me.  I used the Diva Coffee Break Designs Color Challenge and the clean&simple stamping sketch layout from last week:

Recipe - Stamp: Small Script (SU!)  Paper: Poppy Parade, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, SU! DSP  Ink: Poppy Parade  Accessories: Buttons, twine, square punches, paper piercer, Elegant Bouquet embossing folder

Thanks for stopping by today - who's got fun plans for Halloween tonight?  We're not really big into Halloween so nothing going on here.  I hope you all enjoy spooking with your little ghosts and goblins - see you tomorrow for a new PPC challenge!

Diva Coffee Break Designs Meets The Sweet Sunday Sketch

Hello again!

It is C-O-L-D and rainy here in Central Alberta today - the perfect combination for staying inside and CRAFTING!!  I knew you'd agree...  :)  So, I combined the Diva Coffee Break Designs color challenge with Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch.

At first, the colors screamed fall, but when I looked through my stamps, I didn't find anything that screamed "Use ME!" so I went in a completely different direction and made a boy-ish card:

Recipe: Stamps - Dog-Gone Cute (MFT)  Paper: Kraft, Cajun Craze, Peach Parfait, Very Vanilla,
Wild Wasabi, Woodland Garden DSP  Ink: Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories: Nesties, Seeing Spots EF, Gridlock EF, clear embossing powder, twine, Copics
 

I had so much fun paper-piecing his clothes - isn't he cute?  The colors are very fall-ish so this card also qualifies for Paper Sundaes' challenge this week to use fall or Halloween colors.

Thanks for stopping by - I hope the weather is much nicer wherever you are!  Send some this way if you can.  :)  See you tomorrow!

It's Time For a Totally Stampalicious New Release Blog Hop!

Welcome, welcome, welcome!  If you landed here via Lynnor's blog, then you're on the right track.  If you didn't, I'd STRONGLY suggest that you start back at the Totally Stampalicious blog in order to experience everything in it's most awesomeness,  :)  In case you get lost along the way, here's the Blog Hop list for you:

Totally Stampalicious

Cindy Haffner's Corner

Monique - For The Love of Paper

Lynnor - Just Add Glitter

Melissa - My Paper Obsession  <<<<---- You are here.

Laurie - On the Bright Side

Becky - Stampin' For Fun

Patricia - Stamping With Kokirose

Joycelyn - Stamps 'n' Coffee

Vicki - Summerthyme Studio

Stacy - Twinshappy

Sue - Coffeestamper (SCS Gallery)

So, let's get down to business - - - Oh MY!  I am SOOOO excited about this month's new releases!  They are ALL so cute!  Let me tell you, Jodie does a FABULOUS job designing these images - I want them ALL!  I decided to use one of the images from the "Angel Bears" set and the sketch from the Diva Coffee Break Designs challenge:

Recipe - Stamp: Angel Bears (Totally Stampalicious)  Ink: Versafine Onyx Black  Paper: Coredinations textured CS, Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Basic Grey "Oliver" DSP  Accessories: Hemp twine, paper piercer, Nestabilities, oval punches, Copics, star eyelet, Spica glitter pens

Isn't he adorable???  I had so much fun coloring this little guy - his wings and halo are colored with my Copic Spica atyou Glitter pens.

Prizes will be selected randomly from 3 different DT Blogs (also randomly
selected) so be sure to stop in and comment on all of them!  Wanna know what we're givin' away?

3rd Prize - $10 Gift Certificate
2nd Prize - $15 Gift Certificate
1st Prize - ALL FOUR New Release Stamp Sets!!

All of the New Releases are AVAILABLE NOW at the Totally Stampalicious Store!  If you are interested in the Digi Files of these stamps, head on over to Bugaboo Digi Stamps to find these and many, many more fun images by the fabulous artist, Jodie Mackrell!

Okie dokie - thanks for stopping by - off you go to Laurie's blog!  Enjoy!

The Shabby Tea Room Meets the King of the Grill...

Happy Monday!

It's time for another challenge over at The Shabby Tea Room and this week's challenge was a challenge for me: "Just For Dad" - create a card or project with a Father's Day and/or masculine theme.  I always have trouble making masculine cards because they just can't be as "involved" as I like my cards to be... no ribbon, few or no embellies, no bling... what is a card without BLING, my friends???

So, in addition to having difficulty with making masculine cards, I was under the weather all of last week, DS#2 had *issues* at school on Friday and I had to leave work to pick him up - it was one of those weeks I wish I could have just stayed in bed with the covers pulled up over my head.  I finally sat down to make my card on Friday night and, with my sincere apologies to you all, what I came up with is the best I could do...

I used the super-simple sketch from the gals over at the Diva Coffee Break Designs Challenge:

Make sure you stop by and see what the rest of the design team created:

Debbie Marcinkiewicz - {TSTR Creator} - Simple Treasures

Audrey Pettit - Audrey Pettit's Weblog

Jill Hilliard - Jill's Card Creations

Nicole Segnere - My Craft Room Creations

See you in a bit with the new Picture Perfect Creations Color Challenge!

Take Three!

Here we go - another fairly simple (for me) card that took MUCH longer than it should have!  LOL  I used the Diva Coffee Break Designs Challenge colors and The Pink Elephant's sketch:

 

  

And the final result:

Recipe - Stamp: Sidekick Sayings (SU!)  Paper: Pale Plum, Rich Razzleberry, Certainly Celery, Mind's Eye DP  Ink: Rich Razzleberry  Accessories: Victoria EF, buttons, twine, adhesive pearls, scallop border punch, Rich Razzleberry grosgrain ribbon, buttons, paper piercer, sponge dauber

Okie dokie, will I have time to do one more today?  We'll see.  Supper hasn't been started yet so I better think of something....FAST.  :)  

Thanks for stopping by! 

Finally - Something I can WORK With! :)

 

THANK YOU COLOR THROWDOWN!!!  First of all, thanks for picking me to be the Featured Stamper for last week's CTD - I am super grateful and have posted my blinkie proudly in the sidebar.  Secondly, thanks for a  calm color combo - I think if I had to use anymore Bold Brights this week I would have thrown in the towel.

Here's what made me so happy:

 

I decided to use Certainly Celery, Dusty Durango and Bravo Burgundy and went in search of a sketch.  The challenge over at Diva Coffee Break Designs this week is a very simple sketch and after the last couple of color challenges I didn't really want to have to use my brain too much!  :)

 

 I *did* have to move the center shape over a bit because after I stamped the sentiment I realized that it was a bit too long and the shape would cover half of it.  I wasn't interested in redoing the whole thing so I made it work:

I LOVE how this card turned out.  The butterflies, the embossed and sponged leaves, the scallop border punch with the pearls... The sentiment set (Well Scripted) from Stampin' Up is my new favorite SU set.  What do you think? 

I did get to the gym this morning and I'm feeling a bit hungry.  I guess it's time to eat some lunch and then get an Olympic update before I try another challenge.  Riley's Color Dare looks interesting:

She used Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum, Basic Black and Tempting Turqouise (ACK!  Another Bold Bright!!) so we'll see if the mojo keeps flowing.  Later gators!

I'm in the Zone...

 

...and I can't wait to start the next card! I finished this one this morning before I left for an appointment but didn't have time to post it.  I used the Diva Coffee Break Designs Challenge Color Combo for this week...

... and Jen's Sketch for You to Try (glad you're back, Jen!)...

 

... and came up with this:

Thanks for stopping by - I'm going to take a stab at Riley's Color Dare.  How're these for spring-inspired colors??? 

Check back to see what trouble I can get myself into - later!