Winter Mittens Digi Stamp Card

Hello again!  Have you been crafty while I've been creating?  I came across another little contest over on the Verve Blog;   Julee's got the cutest little mittens digi-stamp to download for FREE!  Again, Julee ROCKS!  So, you download the stamps, print 'em out and create sumthin' with them... easy enough, right?  Then I popped over to Jen's Sketch for You to Try from Saturday and found this:

 

After I printed out the mittens, I realized my card was going to end up a lot bigger than usual - 6x6, in fact.  Not a big deal, just won't have an envelope for this sucker.  :)  Also, due to the size of the mittens, I had to alter the sketch a teeny-tiny bit.  I paper-pieced the mittens and sponged the background before I took it out of the Nestie.  You can't really see the rub-ons along the bottom but they sure look cute down there...

Recipe - Stamps: Winter Mittens Digi, Snow Wonderful (Verve)  Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Taken With Teal, Basic Black, Holiday Lounge DP  Ink: Sahara Sand, Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories: Nestabilities, sponge dauber, paper piercer, adhesive pearls, modern label punch, "Icicle" rub-ons (SU!), ribbon, button, silver cord, Swiss Dots embossing folder

There.  That's going to be it for me tonight.  I need to wrap presents so I think that will be in my future...

ONLY 4 SLEEPS!  ACK!  :)

Thanks for stopping by - stay warm!

ONLY 4 MORE SLEEPS!!! Are you ready? I actually finished my shopping this weekend so now all that's left to do is wrap it up - my least favorite part.  I used to find it *therapeutic* but not anymore.  I will admit it *does* look pretty when it is all done.  :)

I was busy all weekend so I didn't sit down to craft at all and I was up E-A-R-L-Y this morning to go to the gym so when I got home all I wanted to do was sit and CREATE.  It's Monday and you all know what that means... Mojo Monday!  Julee's giving us a bit of a break this week, what with Christmas and all.  :)  Thanks, Julee!  I also incorporated this week's challenge from Our Creative Corner which asked us to feature either snow or snowflakes somewhere on our card:

I had a new package of SU! designer paper that I absolutely LOVE so I *had* to use it.  I was supposed to use Ruby Red but I found some Riding Hood Red from last year and I think it looks better than the Ruby would have.

Recipe - Stamps: Snow Wonderful (Verve)  Paper: Sahara Sand, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Holiday Lounge DP  Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Riding Hood Red  Accessories: Corner rounder punch, taffeta ribbon, adhesive pearl strips, metal edge tag, paper snowflake, Merry Details Sizzlit (SU!), sponge dauber, Swiss Dots embossing folder

I want to try to make something else this afternoon but not sure what.  I have a couple challenges I didn't finish from last week so maybe I will attempt those.  I guess if all else fails, I can start wrapping those presents...right? 

Wherever you are, enjoy the first official day of winter!  :)

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!  :)

Could the Week Get any Better???

I WON MOJO MADNESS!!!!  O-M-G!!!  Well, I wasn't the only one - 4 other lovely ladies won too but... One of the cards I submitted last week for Julee's monthly Mojo Madness earned me the privilege of choosing a FREE Verve stamp set.  Can you believe it??  I was totally excited.  THEN - the very same morning I discovered that I had won BLOG CANDY from the Pals Paper Arts Challenge I participated in earlier this week.  I must have been kicked in the butt by the lucky bug because I haven't won anything in a VERY LONG TIME.  :)

I have had a very busy week so not much time for crafting but tonight, while my husband is out with 2 of the kids at their Christmas Concert, I am at home and FREE to craft 'til my heart's content.  My friend Lori and I challenged each other to complete the same challenges to see what we would come up with.  We chose the Diva Coffee Break Designs Color Challenge and this week's sketch challenge over at Splitcoast:

Recipe: Stamp - Thoughts and Prayers (Stampin' Up)  Ink: Rose Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Rose Red DP, Razzleberry Textured  Accessories: Finial Press embossing Folder, Swiss Dots, Old Olive marker, paper flowers, brads, Nestabilities (Curved Rectangles), rub-on (sentiment), satin ribbon

I love these colors together but, like Lori, I wasn't sure I could make them work.  I thought if I put a bit of white in there that it would help to get the creative juices flowing.  Can you believe we did these cards without talking to each other while we were making them???  We both used Olive satin ribbon, both used congratulations as the sentiment, both cuttlebugged with Swiss Dots and used a fair bit of white.

The weather has warmed up IMMENSELY here so it's actually not such a production to leave the house.  I still have to finish my shopping... are you done?

OMG! What a Surprise - Another EXCITING Discovery!

I just clicked over to Taylor's blog to see what wonderful sketch she posted last week and I discovered that she picked MY card as one of the 5 TESC93 Top Crops!  I have loved Taylor's cards and blog for a LONG time so this is pretty *neat* - THANKS TAYLOR!!  I'm still in shock...

Here's the link to the card.  So cool...  :)

I'm back and I promise not to blind you all this time although I *did* use yellow again.  NOT Yo Yo Yellow (I think that color will be kept on the shelf for a L-O-N-G time...) but Stampin Up's Crushed Curry. I got the color inspiration from the Pals Paper Arts Challenge Blog I found last week and the sketch is, once again, Julee's Mojo Monday sketch:

Recipe - Stamps: Ornamental Christmas (Verve)  Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede, retired DP (SU!)  Ink: Old Olive, Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories: Nestabilities, clear embossing powder, heat and stick powder, Martha Stewart glitter, spiral punch, sponge dauber, CB embossing folder, Soft Suede polka dot grosgrain ribbon, button, gold cord

Much easier to look at than my first Mojo attempt, right???  I know I didn't use any scallops but since I used them on my other card, I wanted to try something different.  This card is much sparklier in real life than in the picture so just *imagine* that...

K - that's going to be it for me tonight.  It is going to stay freaking cold for one more day and then it's *supposed* to warm up a bit - I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Take care and stay warm!  Only 11 more sleeps 'til the big guy drives his sleigh ~ are YOU ready?  I'm not... ;)

WARNING - You May Need Sunglasses...

WOOHOO!  Another Snow Day ~ -33*C plus a wind chill right now and I'm sure it was colder this morning when they decided to close school.  On the positive side, it is sunny and clear outside and I'm INSIDE creating.  :)  But, the sunshine is NOT the reason you may need sunglasses reading this post...

Don't say I didn't warn you!  This card is exceptionally bright.  Very, very, very bright.  You'll get a hint of why when you see the colors Embellish Magazine has given us this time.  Don't get me wrong, I totally {heart} the color combo but I do NOT use bright yellow E-V-E-R.  In fact, I took the plastic wrap off of my Yo-Yo Yellow ink pad this morning 'specially for this card... sad, eh?

It's Monday which means Julee has given us another fantabulous sketch to inspire us over at Mojo Monday.   It's another sketch with circles, and I *was* tempted to use my new Verve stamps but I controlled that impulse.   :)

 

OK - here goes...are you ready?  Sunglasses on????

I didn't want to blind you all at once so I thought I'd just give you a teaser to convince those of you out there who thought: "I don't need sunglasses.  How bright could it be?  What is Melissa thinking?" to go and get them...NOW.  :)

Here it is - are you ready???  You might *not* want to click on it to make it bigger...that's a lotta yellow all at once.

Recipe: Stamps - Snowflake Spot (Stampin' Up!), Many Merry Messages, Label (Daisy Bucket)  Paper: Kraft, Very Vanilla, Cool Caribbean, Yo Yo Yellow, Chocolate Chip  Ink: StazOn Timber Brown, Chocolate Chip, Yo Yo Yellow, Cool Caribbean  Accessories: Nestabilities, Martha Stewart border punch, shrink plastic, gingham ribbon, silver cord, button, adhesive pearls, paper piercer, Swiss Dots CB EF, heat gun

Can you all still read??  I'll give you a minute to recover...





So... you needed the sunglasses - was I right or was I right?  Seriously, I have never made a card with this much yellow so these colors really made me step out of my little box.  It also gave me a chance to use my shrink plastic that has been collecting dust on the shelf for far too long.  I {love} the little sentiment charm - like a little ornament.  And you all know I canNOT make a card without pearls...I almost put them around the scallop circle but it was too much.  HOW there can EVER be too many pearls, I'm not sure but this was one of those times. 

If the sun isn't shining outside at your house today, hopefully my card brought the sun inside if only for a few minutes.  :)  Enjoy the rest of your Monday everyone and STAY WARM...

*Is it January 21 yet??? *