I Think I Hit Jackpot!!

Oh-My-Goodness!  I made another easel card ~ have I mentioned how much I LOVE this card technique???  I said earlier that I wasn't "feeling" the Color Dare colors but I think that was temporary because I knocked this card out speedy-quick.   I used the same sketch from Splitcoast so this card is going to be very similar the one I posted earlier today.  This week's challenge over at The Pink Elephant was a theme challenge - birthday - so this card does triple duty.

 

 

Here ya go - three different views so you can see a bit of the detail better:

 

 

 

 

Recipe - Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Teeny Tiny Wishes  Ink: Melon Mambo  Paper: Garden Green, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Barely Banana  Accessories: Nestabilities (Ovals, Labels Four), Martha Stewart border punch, Herringbone EF, Swiss Dots EF, oval punches, paper piercer, Barely Banana grosgrain ribbon, unknown pink ribbon, buttons, twine

If you haven't made one of these easel cards, PLEASE take some time to try one.  The tutorial is VERY simple to follow ~ run, don't walk, over to Splitcoast Stampers and check it out.  I had so much fun making these two cards today - I hope you enjoyed seeing them as much as I enjoyed making them.  See you tomorrow!

Colour Q #15, a Splitcoast Sketch and a Tutorial...

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I have been so busy the last few days I haven't had time to sit and create - thankfully I was able to do just that this morning when I went to visit my friend Leanne.  Leanne *normally* lives about 3 hours away from us but she is at Lori's being "mom and dad" while Lori and her DH are enjoying some much-needed vacation time.  I went to the gym first thing this morning and then popped over for a visit.

We browsed the blogs to see what trouble we could get ourselves into and I introduced her to Arielle's Colour Q Challenge.  Arielle ALWAYS comes up with some amazing colour combos and this week was no exception:

I LOVE this purse!  I wish I had the big medallion stamp because I could *so* see a fabulous card coming outta that.  LOL  Leanne and I hopped over to Splitcoast and found this week's Sketch Challenge and a fabulous tutorial about how to make an Easel Card and decided to combine all three ideas into one card. 

She did hers and I did mine - I don't have any pics of Leanne's card...sorry.  It is awesome, though, just FYI!  I L-O-V-E how this card turned out and am going to do MANY more of these easel cards - so easy and beautiful!  We had so much fun raiding Lori's craft room - she's got so much more *stuff* than either one of us!  LOL

Recipe - Stamps: Trendy Trees (SU!)  Ink: Basic Grey, Pumpkin Pie  Paper: Barely Banana, Going Grey, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Sweet Pea DP  Accessories: Nestabilities (Ovals and Scalloped Ovals), paper piercer, Scallop Trim border punch, Swiss Dots EF, Herringbone EF, Grey Taffeta ribbon, button, silver cord, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, brads, Birds and Blooms Sizzlit, Sweetest Stem Embosslit

I think I may try the Color Dare tonight but I'm not sure...the colors are not "speaking" to me.  But, what do I know?  Remember last week's catastrophe with this card?  Well, apparently *someone* over at the Color Dare liked it enough to pick it as one of the Top Three - I'm wondering if she needs glasses or something???  *giggle*  Thanks again, ladies - that's two weeks in a row, do you think I can make it three?  Maybe I can grab that elusive "Top Spot"...

'Til later...  Thanks for stopping in!

I Think I've Redeemed Myself

I *think.*

Today's episode was inspired by Amber over at the Viva la Verve Sketch Challenge at Splitcoast.  Remember last week's card inspired by a room in your home - the entryway, more specifically?  Well, we're still in the entry and Amber gave us some more wonderful inspiration pictures to get the mojo flowing.  I chose this one:

I like the country look with all the mouldings and the big mirror.  My eye was immediately drawn to the metal basket on the wall with the flower and leaves on it and I decided to use those colors as well as the light grey of the coat-rack/bench/mirror as the inspiration for my card.

Here's Amber's sketch:

And my card:

Recipe - Stamps:  Thankful Accents (Verve)  Ink: Rich Razzleberry  Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, light grey Bazzill textured, Night and Day DP  Accessories: Nestabilities, Swiss Dots embossing folder, Rich Razzleberry grosgrain ribbon, slot punch, button, silver cord, paper piercer, adhesive pearls

It might be a *bit* dark but I like these colors together and it was fun to get back at it this morning.  Now I suppose I should do some laundry and tidy up since I've been slacking in that department this week.  Thanks for stopping by - see you tomorrow!

I'm on a Roll!

Back again but no time for idle chit-chat this post - supper's on the go and I've spent way too much time crafting today!  LOL

Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge is another new, and I mean NEW challenge.  So new, in fact, that this is their FIRST challenge!  The challenge this week: "Because we are a new challenge blog, and this is a new year, our first challenge theme is--NEW! We decided it would be fun to use our Fussy and Fancy blog colors in our creations, but you may use any colors."  I decided to follow their lead and use their blog colors - looks a lot like Pink Passion, Basic Black, and a teeny bit of Certainly Celery to me.  :)

I hadn't done Taylor's Sketch from Friday yet so I clicked over to find...

 ...and came up with...

 

Recipe: Stamps - Treasure Life (CTMH), Thankful Accents, sentiment (Verve)  Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Pink Passion, Certainly Celery, Night and Day DP  Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Pink Passion, Certainly Celery  Accessories: Nestabilities, paper piercer, ribbon, fuzzy fiber, circle punches, adhesive pearls, sponge dauber, Swirls Embossing folder, Swiss Dots embossing folder

Only two more days until the kids go back to school and I can have some peace and quiet again!  They are actually pretty good but I think they are at the end of their patience with each other - every little thing seems to instigate a "discussion."   Thanks for stopping by!

HaPpY NeW yEaR!!!

Welcome to 2010!  I have a feeling it's going to be a good year.  :)

I spent yesterday chillin' out and I didn't get a chance to craft so I woke up this morning and got right to it.  I was able to combine 3 challenges with this card:

1. Viva la Verve - The first sketch of the year is a great one and Amber has added a {twist} this year: "Every month this year we'll walk through a different room and every week I'll bring you some inspiration pictures of different rooms."  She gave us some pictures for inspiration but you could use inspiration from your own home if you wanted to.  I was drawn to the clean, crisp lines of this picture:

 

Surprised?  This picture is SO not my house, nor is it how I would decorate if given a bazillion dollars but I LOVE the colors and look - for someone else.  ;)  Here's the sketch:

2.  Crazy 4 Challenges - This week's challenge: "Let's have some Polka Dot Fun! Design a card/project using polka dots."  Easy.  :)

3. Our Creative Corner Challenge - "A new month brings a NEW hostess, Joycelyn will start off the new year with a new year's resolution "Clean and Simple". We will leave it to all of you to decide what clean and simple means to you...whether you go with less layers, or maybe no embellishments... whatever you decide."  I think this card is about as clean and simple as I've done for awhile...no bow, no buttons, no adhesive pearls (GASP!)  Yes, I do still have layers but, for me, if a card can fit in an envelope and NOT need extra postage, it's "clean and simple."  *grin*

Without further ado:

Recipe - Stamps: Give Thanks Plain Jane (Verve), Flower Lines (SU!)  Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red, Night and Day DP  Ink: Real Red, Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories: Nestabilities, paper piercer, Swiss Dots embossing folder, clear embossing powder, circle punches, ribbon

I really like how this turned out.  And for all you "sketch purists" out there: yes, I turned the sketch and yes, I realize it is supposed to be a square and yes, I know the sketch doesn't call for ribbon but I was really struggling with the "space" at the bottom and thought the ribbon was perfect for the "feel" of this card: clean, classic and a bit retro.  It's a girl's creative license to change it up a bit, right?

It's another chilly one here today so I'm guessing we will be sticking close to home today - which means more crafting!  YAY!  I need a coffee or something - my fingers are chilly.  :)

Catch ya in a bit!

Tick Tock, Tick Tock...

...is it 2010 yet?  For some of you 'round the world, it is indeed! :)  For me, not quite yet ~ but soon.  Time to get one more blog post with my last challenge card of the year.

Well, Stacey is back!  Before I went on blog hiatus, I tried to do her jewelry-inspired color challenges each week.  When I finally got the mojo flowing again, I discovered that she had changed the name and look of the challenge to Curtain Call Color Challenge - but the great color combos stayed the same.  :)  And this one was no different:

Don't those colors scream fun??  They also whisper, "How on EARTH am I going to put them all together in ONE card???"  :)  Thankfully, I also had Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch to help me figure it out:

I know the card is supposed to be square, but mine isn't - creative liberties, right?   The card might have been less "busy" if I had made it square, but... here's what I came up with:

Recipe - Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes (SU!), Lottie and Gussie Gabalot (Stamping Bella)  Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Real Red  Paper: Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Crushed Curry, Real Red Paper Pad, Whisper White  Accessories: Nestabilities (Labels Nine), Copics, cleaqr embossing powder, Swiss Dots EF, Martha Stewart border punch, satin ribbons, button, silver cord, oval punches, brads

I cannot believe these Bellas had never seen ink - until tonight.  :)  Aren't they fab?  Don't they just make you think of your bestest friend in the whole world? 

Okie dokie - time to call it a night.  Thanks for stopping by - see you next year!  :)

Play Date Cafe Challenge and Jen's Sketch for You to Try

Happy New Year's Eve!!  Do you have big party plans for tonight?  We aren't planning to go anywhere or do anything special.  We'll probably just watch Air Farce and laugh ourselves silly and then see if there's a movie or something and go to bed...we're such party animals!  ;)

I was able to do some crafting this morning before I ran to town to hit the gym and get a few groceries.  Again, I was able to combine two challenges in one. The Play Date Cafe is another one of my new discoveries and Jen's Sketch for You to Try is an old favourite.

 

When I first saw the colors I immediately felt "deja vu" since I had just finished another card using almost the exact same colors for Arielle's Colour Q Challenge!  I wanted to change it up a little bit from that card so I decided to use Taken with Teal for my "turquoise", Chocolate Chip for my "brown" and Regal Rose for my "dusky pink."

Recipe - Stamps: Grateful Heart Plain Jane (Verve)  Paper: Taken With Teal, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, SU! designer paper  Ink: Chocolate Chip  Accessories: Nestabilities, paper flowers, button, paper piercer, corner rounder, slot punch, satin ribbon, adhesive pearls, sponge dauber

I hope you all enjoy your New Year's Eve - however you decide to celebrate.  :)  I think I'm going to try to make a few more cards before I kick back and relax.  Here's to 2010!!

I hope everyone had a super fantabulous Christmas!  We had a very quiet, at-home Christmas.  My parents came up on Christmas Day and spent a couple days with us.  Mom and I did our annual Boxing Day shopping - we were up and out of the house by 6AM!!  Yes, we are certifiable!  LOL   I haven't had much time to play, though, so I was pleasantly surprised when I clicked over to Arielle's Color Q challenge this morning and discovered that she chose MY card to be the Colour Queen for last week's challenge!!!  I was pretty excited, that's for sure.  Now, if only someone could tell me how to get that fabulous Colour Queen badge to my sidebar...

I LOVE the colors Arielle chose for this week's challenge:

And, as usual, Julee's Mojo Monday sketch rocks:

I think I went a bit overboard with all the  scallops and rounded-edge items on this card... it needs a bit more "straight" methinks.  Of course, if I had used the regular circles instead of the scallops for the big circle, that might have helped, but I just LOVE how the Verve's flourish frame looks in the scallop circle!  As a side-note, Verve is having a HUGE sale until tomorrow night so click over and grab some deals - some sets are 50% off!!!

Recipe - Stamps: Thankful Accents, 1 Peter 5:7 (Verve)  Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Versafine Onyx Black  Paper: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, SU! retired DP (??) Accessories: Nestabilities (Scallop Circles, Scallop & Reg. Rectangles), 1-3/4" circle punch, paper piercer, paper flowers, adhesive pearls, Finial Press EF (SU!), Choc. Chip satin ribbon, button, silver cord, sponge dauber, clear embossing powder

I hope the next couple of days slow down a bit so I can get caught up with some of the challenges.  Can you believe 2009 is over?  It seems like just yesterday we were all freaking out about Y2K!  LOL 

See you tomorrow - enjoy your New Year's Eve and bring on 2010!

Viva la Verve Friday

I am starting to panic... I am not done my shopping yet and Christmas is in 7 MORE SLEEPS!  ACK!  I think I might have to make a trip to town early next week - procrastination seems to be my middle name.  So, instead of worrying about it, I will craft... ;)

Today's creation comes to you courtesy of this week's Viva la Verve sketch over at Splitcoast Stampers:

I got some new designer paper today from Stampin' Up! and I *had* to open it up so that's where the color combination came from.  I really wanted to use one of my newest Verve Plain Janes so I took some liberties with the sketch; instead of putting the smaller rectangle on top of the larger horizontal rectangle I put the paper flowers there.

Recipe - Stamp: To Risk (Plain Jane - Verve)  Ink: Onyx Black Versafine, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay  Paper: Rose Red, Bermuda Bay, Sahara Sand, Thoroughly Modern DP, Whisper White  Accessories:, Nestabilities Corner rounder, photo corner punch, paper piercer, taffeta ribbon, paper flowers, adhesive pearls, Swiss Dots EF, slot punch, clear embossing powder

I've got a busy weekend ahead so I don't think I'll have much time to create but we'll see.  Enjoy your weekend and if you're done with your Christmas shopping mojo, could you please send it this way???  THANKS!  :)

Another Mojo-filled Monday

It's a Winter Wonderland here - finally! The snow came down all day today making for some not-so-fun driving conditions but "... it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ... " I had to go to the city this morning to do some running around and then my youngest called me from school to tell me that he wasn't feeling well. "Mom, can you come get me? What's wrong? I just don't feel very good. Did you throw up? Yes." *sigh* But, I'll tell you this, he sure didn't *seem* too sick when he got home and grabbed the snow shovel and started to clear the sidewalk and deck...hmmm.... ;)

Anyhoo, when I got home I stoked a roaring fire, made myself a cuppa coffee, turned on the "Glee" soundtrack and sat down to check out Mojo Monday. Julee came up with another fabulous sketch and I got to work:
I started by looking for a stamp I hadn't used before and I found one I bought a couple of years ago and had never seen ink. *bad bad bad* I stamped it and colored it and the rest of the card came together pretty quickly. The sentiment is from a My Favorite Things set called "Say Charge." I moved the sentiment to the other side of the card because otherwise it would have covered up most of the fun part of the image.


Recipe - Stamps: favorite time (Penny Black), Say Charge (MFT) Ink: Chocolate Chip, Versafine Onyx Black, Copics Paper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Real Red, Old Olive Accessories: Spiral Punch, Nestabilities (Scallop circle, pinking circle, circle), paper piercer, color spritzer, CB Swiss Dots embossing folder, adhesive pearls, circle punch, Sizzix tag die-cut, gingham ribbon, star eyelets

I have been using white a LOT in my cards lately - I just love how crisp and fresh it makes a card look. I'm not sure what I'll do with this card but I'm sure I can find someone to give it to... Thanks for stopping in - tomorrow is the Color Challenge over at Splitcoast so we'll see what I can come up with for that. :) See you then!

Cupcake Challenge x 9 = Mucho Fun!

What a fun weekend I had!  Taylor is celebrating a year of Cupcake Challenges and she and her Cupcake Crew came up with not ONE, but NINE amazing sketches for us all to play along with.  Let me tell you - I was so "in the groove" I was up until the wee hours on Saturday night/Sunday morning.  For those of you who KNOW me, that is UNHEARD of!  LOL  Not only are there some great sketches but each sketch hostess-with-the-mostest is also offering up some great prizes.

Since I have so many cards to get through, I won't put a lot of details about each one but I will post the recipe.  I have been trying so hard to use up my scraps and papers I've already cut into so all of these cards were made from this part of my stash.  Hopefully, if you click on each picture, it will open a bit bigger so you can *see* it.  I did use my Copics for the first times on these cards - I think I did OK with them but I still have a LOT to learn (and many more colors to get!)  SO, without further ado. . .

Taylor's Sketch

Stamps: Billybootabella (Stamping Bella), sentiment from "Rain or Shine" (MFT)  Ink: Onyx Black Versafine  Paper: Groovy Guava, Chocolate Chip, Barely Banana, Whisper White, Ginger Blossom DP  Accessories: MS border punch, Nesties, Copics, GG stitched ribbon, flowers, brad, oval punch, designer label punch, 1-3/8" circle punch, clear embossing powder

Jackie's Sketch

Stamps: Sweetybellas (Stamping Bella), unknown sentiment  Ink: Onyx Black Versafine  Paper: Rose Red, Basic Black, Whisper White, DP  Accessories: Nesties, Copics, clear embossing powder, adhesive pearls, Hodgepodge Hardware, ribbon, Swiss Dots EF, black brads

Jami's Sketch

Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Warm Words  Ink: Not Quite Navy, Versamark  Paper: Urban Garden DP, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, WW  Accessories: Top Note Die, Nesties, clear embossing powder, Hodgepodge Hardware, Swiss Dots EF, Kiwi Kiss ribbon

Ana's Sketch

Stamps: Eastern Blooms  Ink: Ruby Red, River Rock, Versamark  Paper: Ginger Blossom DP, River Rock, Ruby Red, Groovy Guava, WW  Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Nesties, silver brads, clear ambossing powder, pewter jumbo eyelets, River Rock stitched ribbon, bird/grasses embossing folder, flowers

Vicki's Sketch

Stamps: Snowman Bird (Hampton Arts), sentiment from MFT's "Baby It's Cold Outside"  Ink: Onyx Black Versafine, Real Red  Paper: Ski Slope DP, Real Red, Old Olive  Accessories: Nesties, Copics, pewter jumbo eyelets, ribbon, tab punch, brads, Martha Stewart border punch, paper piercer

Donna's Sketch

Stamps: Meditations (Verve), Faux Stitching  Ink: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip  Paper: Bella Rose DP, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss  Accessories: Flowers, rhinestone brad, ribbon, 1-1/4" square punch

Sherrie's Sketch

Stamps: Lovey Huggabugg & sentiment (Stamping Bella)  Ink: Onyx Black Versafine, Bravo Burgundy  Paper: Bravo Burgundy, Bordering Blue, So Saffron, Whisper White  Accessories: Nesties, Copics, grosgrain ribbon, adhesive pearls, Martha Stewart border punch, Swiss Dots EF

Stephanie's Sketch

Stamps: Unknown cupcake stamp  Ink: Onyx Black Versafine  Paper:  Regal Rose, Taken With Teal, Chocolate Chip, SU! DP (retired)  Accessories: Birthday embossing folder, Nesties, Copics, ribbon, chocolate brads, pink heart brad, clear embossing powder

Monika's Sketch

Stamps: Happy Heart Day  Ink: Onyx Black Versafine  Paper: Hawaii Papaya DP, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip  Accessories: Nesties, Copics, Tangerine Tango Ribbon, flower, brad

Well, that's all of them! I hope you will all go over and take a look at each of the sample cards the Cupcake Crew has put together. I had so much fun and any it was a good excuse to craft in exchange for a chance to win goodies!

Have a great week!