A Bit of Inspiration From the 4 Crafty Chicks

Welcome back, everyone!  Can it really be that time of the week already??? This week's hostess-with-the-mostest at the 4 Crafty Chicks is Lori and she has given us this lovely picture to use as inspiration for your creations this week:

Isn't it lovely?  For my card, I used the colors in the photo as well as the "nature/natural" setting and combined them with the Week Three Viva la Verve sketch:

Stamps: Hope Perches Plain Jane (Verve)  Ink: Concord Crush  Paper: Concord Crush, Old Olive, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, SU! DSP, Victoria Gardens DSP (Echo Park)  Accessories: Paper piercer, Herringbone embossing folder, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Nesties, twine, Bird Punch (SU!), rhinestone brads

Thanks for stopping by today - can you believe the summer is almost over?  The kids go back to school next week and I can't wait!  If you want to play along with us this week but need a bit more inspiration, don't forget to visit the other Chicks' blogs.  I know they'd love to see you!  Have a great week!

Color Crazy at the 4 Crafty Chicks!

Welcome everyone!  I am so excited about this week's 4 Crafty Chicks Challenge because, as many of you know, a COLOR challenge is my favorite-est kind of challenge.  Lori is our hostess with the mostest and take a lookie-loo at what she came up with for us all to play with:

Don't those colors scream "FUN!!!"???  When I first saw the colors I didn't think it would be a difficult combo to put together but when I finally sat down to make my card.... well, let's just say it *wasn't* easy.  First I had too much Melon Mambo, then too much Pear Pizzazz then not enough white space... ACK!  I finally finished with something that I don't think is *horrible* - my mojo must have needed a brief vacation that day.  ;)  I used the wonderful Mojo Monday sketch from Debbie but made mine a square to accommodate the size of the flower I used:

Stamps: Every Season Plain Jane (Verve)  Ink: Tangerine Tango  Paper: Melon Mambo, Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White  Accessories: Scallop border punch, adhesive pearls, paper piercer, Swiss Dots EF, baker's twine (TCP), Paper Rosette die (Tim Holtz), button, corner rounder, Sweetest Stem embosslit (SU!)

I hope you are enjoying your week - it has been raining and gloomy for  most of the week here so hopefully the sun will come out again soon.  If you have time to play along with Lori's fun color combo this week, make sure you link it up for us.  Have fun!!!

Spring Has Sprung at Sentimental Sundays

Oh my goodness!  I am SOOOOO sorry I forgot to post this yesterday.  I was so busy with the Verve release last week that I completely forgot to come back and schedule this post for yesterday!  I'm going to make it short and sweet for you all...

This week's challenge over at Sentimental Sundays is Easter/Spring - and don't forget your sentiment!  My card uses the Color Throwdown's color combination and Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch from last week.  And, yep, you also see another one of Verve's newest Plain Janes - Proverbs 31:28...isn't it gorgeous?

All the Verve-y goodness on this card makes me smile - the new Flower Circles and Elegant Leaves dies, the Flutterby die and the wonderful verse all work together perfectly. 

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy the sun this week!

Color Throwdown 126 & Paperworks Co #66

Are you ready?  T.G.I.F.!!!!!  I am extra-excited this Friday because I don't have to go anywhere or do anything while the kids are at school - normally I have to go *somewhere* or do *something* on my day off but...not today.  :)  I took the boys to school, came home and talked to my mom for a bit and then got down to business.  I made a card for one of my DTs and then decided to make a "for fun" card. 

When I saw this week's Color Throwdown combination and read what paper inspired it (Marjolaine by Basic Grey), I knew I HAD to use it sometime this week:

I wanted a nice, clean and simple sketch to go with this wonderful color combo and found a perfect one over at the Paperworks Co. blog:

Stamps: Psalm 46:10 Plain Jane (Verve)  Ink: Early Espresso, Old Olive  Paper: Marjolaine (Basic Grey), Early Espresso, Old Olive  Accessories: Marina Mist satin ribbon, MS border punch, Nesties, paper piercer, sponge dauber

What are you doing this afternoon?  I think I might try to get one more card done - or maybe I'll do some baking...the snow is starting to fall again.  *sigh*  Thanks for taking a peek today - enjoy your weekend!

Another Color Dare & My Nemesis...Pacific Point

Happy Hump Day!  Can you believe that we are already halfway through January?  We have had nothing but snow, snow and more snow over the last week and a half or so and, I'll be honest, I'm tired of it.  I know it *is* winter and I *do* live in Canada and snow *is* part and parcel for winter but, gosh-darn-it-anyways...  :)

I suppose there is a bright side to the snow and cold - it's perfect stay-in-the-house-and-bake-and-craft weather.  Maybe if I keep telling myself that, I'll start to believe it...do you think?  Enough about the weather, though, you came for a challenge and this week's Color Dare is a doozy... Pacific Point, Pink Pirouette, and Regal Rose.  It is very similar to one combo Riley had before Christmas and I struggled with that one too.  I found Julee's new Mojo Monday sketch and its simple layout convinced me to give 'er a whirl...

Stamps: Plain Jane (Verve)  Ink: Pacific Point, Pink Pirouette  Paper: Whisper White, Pacific Point, SU! DSP (Bella Rose, I think...)  Accessories: Sponge dauber, Labels Nine Nestabilities, Pink Pirouette & Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon, halfback pearls (Pretties Kit), Square Lattice embossing folder, paper piercer

As always, thanks for popping by today.  If you don't have an aversion to Pacific Point like I do (or even if you do and are looking for a *real* challenge...), we'd love to see your creations over at the Color Dare blog.  You've got until next Tuesday at midnight to submit your entry.  Have fun!

Another Color Challenge at the 4 Crafty Chicks

Good morning!  One day closer to Christmas and the pressure is on... are you ready?  This week's challenge at the 4 Crafty Chicks is brought to you by yours truly and I've chosen a color challenge with colors inspired by my new favorite Basic Grey paper, Marjolaine.  Take a peek:

I haven't played with Jen's Sketch For You to Try for awhile so I popped over to see what she had for us this week.  Lo and behold, she didn't have a new sketch but instead asked us to use a favorite sketch from the past.  So off I went and found this one from November 13, 2010 that has lots of layers...perfect to showcase this amazing DSP:

Stamps: Hebrews 11:1 Plain Jane (Verve)  Ink: Early Espresso, Not Quite Navy  Paper: Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Early Espresso, Marjolaine DSP (Basic Grey)  Accessories: Button Flowers Die, button, baker's twine, paper piercer, Sweetest Stem Embosslit, adhesive pearls

I hope you will play along with us this week - our Golden Egg badge is up for grabs!  Please take some time to visit my fellow chicks' blogs for more inspiration with these colors.  Have fun!

Colour Q Meets Mercy's Tuesday Sketch

Hey everyone!  Welcome to another Tuesday - it's a lovely, sunny, fall-ish day today here in Central Alberta and I'm SO looking forward to the weekend.  First things first...I have to say THANK YOU to all the ladies over at the Colour Q for choosing me as a Colour Q Courtier for this card.  I am so excited that you loved it as much as I did!

I'm not sure how Arielle finds such great inspiration pictures but I am totally LOVING this week's Colour Q combo (even if that Cajun Craze is in there AGAIN...do you really love it *that* much, Arielle?  ;)

And Mercy's Tuesday Sketch looked like an good-and-easy one to incorporate all of those colors:

Stamps: Utopia Collection (Kaisercraft), Psalm 121 Plain Jane (Verve)  Ink: Cajun Craze, Always Artichoke  Paper: Whisper White, So Saffron, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze  Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Always Artichoke seam binding, button, twine, paper piercer, corner rounder, Copics (G99, E08, E29, E79, YR23, YR31), Labels Five, sponge dauber

Thanks for stopping by - see you tomorrow for a new Color Dare! 

PPC #35 & Unscripted Sketches #77

Welcome to another week, everyone!  It's Monday and that can only mean one thing - a brand new Picture Perfect Creations Color Combo from Megan.  This week's combination is quite lovely, if I do say so myself:

I spent most of the weekend reading the Percy Jackson series so I didn't have much time for crafting.  Yes, I read the entire series in a weekend -- I read until the wee hours of the morning and neglected my family for two and a half days.  Was it worth it?  Definitely.  Now I can't wait to read the first book in Rick Riordan's newest series, The Lost Hero.  So, anyways... I needed to make my card quickly so I popped over to Unscripted Sketches to see if theirs would work and, thank goodness, it did:

Recipe - Stamps: Proverbs 3:5 (Verve)  Ink: Chocolate Chip  Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, SU! DSP  Accessories: Scallop Circle punch, Square Lattice embossing folder, brad, paper piercer, Chocolate Chip satin ribbon, Little Leaves Sizzlit, circle punches

I hope you can join us this week at PPC - if you need more inspiration, please stop by the rest of the PPC Creators blogs to see what they created for us...their links are to the left.  :)  See you soon!

Curtain Call - Act 39!

Well, folks... here we go again with another fabulous Curtain Call Color combo from Stacey.  I've been having internet issues this week so I have to make this post quick and to the point... not sure how long I'll stay connected!  This week's colors are so calm and soothing I had no problem making a quick card:

I used Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch - well, kind of since my card is a square and her sketch is a rectangle:

Recipe - Stamp: Psalm 84:11 (Verve Plain Jane)  Ink: Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery  Paper:  Accessories: Whisper White organza ribbon, buttons, hemp twine, Nestabilities, paper piercer, sponge dauber, adhesive pearls, square punches Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi, Kraft, SU! DSP

The Curtain Call Crew has more samples to show you today so make sure you stop by to see:

Amy White at Devlinwhite Designs
Andrea Roose at Andrea's Scrap- und Stampel Blog
Iwona Palamountain (Chupa) at Random Acts of Creativity
Julie Smith at Paper and Such
Lea Lawson at Lea's Cupcakes & Sunshine
Marisa Ritzen at Rosemary Reflections
Shelley Germann at Stampin' Garden
Sue Kohler at My Inner Reflection and 

our fabulous Guest Designer for July...Silke Ledlow at My Life.

...then play along with us and post your Curtain Call Color Challenge: Act 39 creation using Mr. Linky over at Stacey's Stamping Stage.

I hope you enjoy working with these colors as much as I did - can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Curtain Call Meets Mojo Monday!

What a week it's been!  I know I keep saying this over and over but between work and trying to keep on top of house *stuff*, I haven't had much time at all for creating ... and it's really starting to bug me!  LOL  I NEED my "me" time and it just seems like everything else has been taking priority lately.  *sigh*  Ok, enough of my whining - let's get to the reason you are here today!

Today Stacey has given us another FABULOUS combination over at the Curtain Call Color Challenge - I SOOO love the splash of pumpkin pie in this lovely bouquet:

I've been using Julee's Mojo Monday sketch all week and it is so fabulous that I have made two cards with it - the other one you will see tomorrow for the new Shabby Tea Room challenge:

Here's my take on the sketch using Stacey's awesome colors:

Recipe: Stamp - Hebrews 11:1 (Verve)  Ink: Regal Rose  Paper: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry Prints paper  Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Birds and Vines embossing folder, Nesties, hemp twine, felt flowers, button, Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon, paper piercer

I have to admit, I kind of copped out by using so much white (which should have been vanilla - but I realized it MUCH too late! OOPS) but when I tried to put more of the *colors* together, it ended up looking too gaudy.  I love how this turned out...  :) 

The Curtain Call Crew has samples to show you today, too, so make sure you stop by to see:

Amy White at Devlinwhite Designs
Andrea Roose at Andrea's Scrap- und Stampel Blog
Iwona Palamountain (Chupa) at Random Acts of Creativity
Julie Smith at Paper and Such
Lea Lawson at Lea's Cupcakes & Sunshine
Marisa Ritzen at Rosemary Reflections
Shelley Germann at Stampin' Garden
Sue Kohler at My Inner Reflection and 



our fabulous Guest Designer for July...Silke Ledlow at My Life.

...then play along with us and post your Curtain Call Color Challenge: Act 38 creation using Mr. Linky over at Stacey's Stamping Stage.

Enjoy your Sunday - see you back here tomorrow!

Curtain Call - Act #37...

Hey everyone!

I hope you are enjoying your summer holidays as much as I am. . . the weather has been VERY cooperative lately and we have been able to get a fair bit of work done in the yard that has been, shall I say, neglected the last few weeks.

Between working and playing outside, running errands to town, looking for a new vehicle, my crafting time has been little to none BUT I managed to sit down on Friday night and get my card for Stacey's Curtain Call - Act 37 and what a great color combo she gave us this week:

Don't the cupcakes look YUMMY?  I always love the sketches over at Our Creative Corner Sketch Challenge and this week's sketch is no exception:

I quickly stopped in at the Paper Makeup Stamps challenge to see hat they had for us this week and discovered a fun one: they want us to make a window card, and I must admit, I have NEVER done one of these so I thought I'd give it a try.

I still had some turquoise and melon mambo out in my desk from my STR card last week so it wasn't hard to put this beauty together - actually it *was* kind of hard but only because I forgot the you can't cut through lots of layers with Nestabilities so I was almost done and then had to start from scratch in order to cut one layer at a time!  Oh well, live and learn, right? 

Recipe - Stamps: Proverbs 3:5 Plain Jane (Verve)  Ink: Chocolate Chip  Paper: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Barely Banana, Melon Mambo, SU DSP, unknown DSP  Accessories: Velvet flowers, buttons, twine, Nestabilities, pop-up glue dots

Here are a couple more views of the card:

And the inside:

I used my new Embossed Curve border punch (EK Success) for the inside sentiment layer but made a bit of a boo-boo with one of the scallops so I stuck on a couple of adhesive pearls to cover it up.  :)

The rest of the Curtain Call Crew has samples to show you today, too, so make sure you stop by to see:

Amy White at Devlinwhite Designs
Andrea Roose at Andrea's Scrap- und Stampel Blog
Iwona Palamountain (Chupa) at Random Acts of Creativity
Julie Smith at Paper and Such
Lea Lawson at Lea's Cupcakes & Sunshine
Marisa Ritzen at Rosemary Reflections
Shelley Germann at Stampin' Garden
Sue Kohler at My Inner Reflection 

 ...then play along with us and post your Curtain Call Color Challenge: Act 37 creation using Mr. Linky at Stacey's Stamping Stage.


Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have fun with these colors - I know I did!  See you tomorrow!