Amethyst Sundays

Retro-Holiday Dazzle

2011-12-04T12:38:00.005-06:00

Greetings everyone! This card takes me back to the days when I was loving hot pink and drawing unicorns and rainbows on my school folders. Yes! Admit it...you did it too! Anyhow, the card would never have come together had it not been for two great challenges going on this week. First, I found this great sketch at Create with Connie and Mary to play with.

...then, I combined the sketch with the theme challenge at The Paper Players#75 ,which required using some unusual colors or images for a Christmas card. I haven't pulled out the Melon Mambo in quite some time, so I thought that pairing it with Concord Crush would make for an interesting holiday look. This little girl stamp from the Greeting Card Kids set is a new one for me, but I like how the image and the colors have a kind of retro-vibe going on. Thanks for stopping by!

Other Materials used:

Silver Glimmer paper

Sizzlets Snowflakes Set #2

Cheerful Treat Designer Series Hostess Paper

Whimsical Christmas Lodge Luminary

2011-11-19T18:23:00.019-06:00

Greetings everyone! Thanks for checking out my newest creation. Awhile ago, I made a similar Halloween House Luminary. I've been meaning to make a christmas version with the new designer Christmas papers from Stampin' Up and finally got to it this week. What do you think? Some of the new additions to this house are the pennant punch Christmas tree and "stained glass" windows made from the newer lace ribbon border punch.

The directions are very similar to the ones I used for the haunted house. PDF directions can be found on that page if you click on the link above.

Materials used include mainly the items linked below plus Stampin Up's oval punches, circle punches, Basic Rhinestones, glitter brad, silver brads, Decorative label punch. Click on links to order! Thanks!

Autumn Thinking of You Card

2011-11-12T20:50:00.005-06:00

Greetings Everyone, I made this card for a friend who recently lost someone close to her. This has been a tough week for her and her family, so I thought this card would fit.
This week, I was inspired by two challenges. Mojo Monday has a great sketch contest going which helped me with my layout and Create with Connie and Mary has a lovely color combination to play with. For the challenges, I used this "Young Vermilion" stamp for the first time and really like this little guy. He fits right inside the new circular Bigz die that is labeled "Perfect Pennant;" I think that scalloped edge is so pretty. I also tried using some fabric on this card, which I rarely do, but I think it lent a soft touch. Overall, I know that the background looks more like Pumpkin Pie than More Mustard, but it isn't...I did stick with the colors! Thanks for looking!

Butterfly Curtain Clips Tutorial in Pictures

2011-11-12T08:30:00.018-06:00

To make these cute clips, you need some aluminum sheets which are found in any home improvement store, strong glue like 529, and some curtain clips.

Choose your die, and put a piece of aluminum over it to cut the shape you want. Here I used Stampin' Up's Bigz Butterfly die. After that, use an embossing folder to emboss the aluminum.

I used the "Elegant Lines" embossing folder by Stampin Up and the Polka dot folder for my butterflies.

Once, you have cut and embossed your shapes, the next step is to get some strong glue and adhere them to the clips. Let dry and hang! It's that easy!

Thanks for looking! Have a wonderful day!

PPA Color Challenge

2011-11-06T17:09:00.006-06:00

Hi! This weekend I've been busy getting some holiday goodies together, and I was inspired by the PPA Color Challenge this week where Early Expresso, Soft Suede and River Rock were the colors to play with. I never have used these colors of a Christmas card, but I think the colors worked well to help frame this pop-up, fun-fold circle card. The challenge inspired me to cut open the new, fancy DSP from Stampin Up and do some embossing magic. I think it made for a lovely, simple card. Thanks for looking!

Big Shot Contest at Stampin Up

2011-11-06T15:29:00.005-06:00

Hello! Thanks for visiting. I have a special project to share with you this week that I made for the Big Shot Contest that Stampin' Up is currently hosting. I just ordered the Milk Carton Bigz Die about a month ago and have been wanting to make some cute little houses with it. Once I had the house design, I thought, "Hey, these would look good hanging on a Christmas tree!" So, then all I had to do to make that happen was cut a slit in the roof, thread the ribbon into it and seal it up with some sticky strip. That is some Christmas Cute! Plus, if you keep the bottom on you can fill each one with some treats or money or both!

Here are the details if you would like to make one yourself:

1. For the house, cut cardstock in half at 5 1/2 and put onto the milk carton die. Run through the Big Shot, fold creases, and put together with sticky strip. Leave top open.
2. Cut DSP for roof. I made mine 3.5" x 2.5" (score in middle) and then added an icicle rim with silver glimmer paper and edge punch. Cut slit in middle of the scored rooftop.
3. Cut a piece of thin ribbon and pinch ends together against some sticky strip. Slide into top of milk carton "house"and adhere. Use more sticky strip to keep top of house together. Thread the ribbon through the slit in the roof and tack the roof down on the top of the milk carton.
4. Cut a 1- 1.5" strip of DSP and wrap around the middle of the house.
5. Punch door from with scallop oval punch and door from small oval punch. Use glimmer brad as doorknob. Adhere door to front.
6. For the snowflake, I used the Big Shot again and the small snowflake dies that come four to a box. These were made with the silver glimmer paper as well and look like some awesome snowy bling!

Have fun making these little lodges! They get addictive!

Ka-POW! Creative Challenge

2011-10-30T13:39:00.004-05:00

Hello! Thanks for stopping by. Today my six-year-old is pumped because his best friend is having a birthday party at a place called "The Bounce Depot." When I pick him in three hours, I'm sure he will be full of sugar and all sweaty from bouncing. Ahhh...the joys childhood. Can you remember the last birthday party you came away from in the same condition? I can't! At any rate, this is the card I put together for the birthday boy and I used Carrie Gaskin's challenge to help me with the layout. I know it shouldn't have a strip of paper across the top, but that big top banner hides an OOPS mistake I made when I stamped the sentiment upside-down. I wish all my mistakes were that easy to cover up:) Thanks for checking it out!

Materials used: Stampin Up Big Top Birthday DSP, Tempting Turqoise CS, Real Red CS, Daffodil Delight CS, Fox and Friends stamp set, Black ink, Scallop edge punch, scallop circle punch, circle punches, Holly Berry Buttons, Star punch

Merry & Bright Christmas Calendar

2011-09-24T16:03:00.008-05:00

Greetings everyone! What you see before you is the fruit of my labors over several days. I started on this calendar weeks ago and it seemed to take forever! I think the main issue was that everything had to be painted first (all the pieces, boxes, and numbers) plus all the little boxes had to be put together. Still, I had these cute chipboard pieces and matching paper so my crafty internal voice said, "Get it together, woman!"

After much sanding, painting, gluing and bling, you see the finished product. The best part was papering the boxes and making the center image. Thanks for checking it out!

I am submitting this project for the Our Creative Corner Challenge this week which is featuring "Numbers." How perfect...look at all these numbers!

Disclaimer: Usually I try to stick to Stampin Up products, but seriously, this cute paper jumped into my cart at the store. If you would like any other deets, email me! Thanks!

Haunted House Luminary

2011-09-17T11:25:00.008-05:00

Hello everyone! It's been awhile since I posted, but here is a special project I made for the Stampin Success Halloween contest. While I didn't win, I still had fun making this spooky luminary. Inside is a flameless candle that flickers and shows the cobwebs and candle on the windowsills really well. The trickiest part was getting the top of the petal cone "roof" to fold inside evenly, but the rest comes together nicely; it just takes some time. The gingerbread look is usually for Christmas, but it was fun to try it on a halloween house. Thanks for looking!

The PDF DIRECTIONS for this are available. If the link doesn't work, just email me!

Sweet, Sweet Summertime

2011-07-18T15:50:00.006-05:00

Happy Summer everyone! Even though it is blistering hot where I am, I will take the heat any day over a blizzard and 30 below zero. To me,summer is on its way when the trees drip green and all the flowers I planted in the spring start blooming their bright colors. C'est joie de vivre! For this card, I was inspired by a few challenges:

Mojo Monday of course provided their 200th sketch! Congrats!

Pals Paper Arts Challenge 102 - Summertime with Blog Candy

Cute Card Thursday - use Circles

To make the card, I used an older stampin up scrapbook kit called "Crew Girl". The colors featured are Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink, White, & Basic Grey. The stamp sets I used are Thoughts and Prayers & Posy Punch for the Hello. I also used some quick strip accents, pink satin ribbon and flower stickers. Thanks for stopping by!

Two for One!

2011-07-14T10:11:00.006-05:00

Good day to you all! Today I was inspired by the color challenge at The Paper Player...so inspired that I made two very different cards. I need both of them for some upcoming occasions, so it was fun to see the direction my ideas went. I had to search for some fun papers to fit the challenge but it all worked out. I also had to avoid using flowers for the Creative Inspirations Challenge 120. Which do you like best?

Thanks for visiting! Have a great day.

Loving the New Stampin Up Paper!

2011-07-11T15:12:00.005-05:00

Hello all! I hope it is a sunny day where you are and not too hot. I have been playing around with all my new Stampin Up papers today, and since I was in a flowery mood, this new designer paper called "Cheerful Treat" seemed to fit the look I was going for today. On Shelli's blog, she is challenging us this month to have some fun using brand new products, so I decided to show my LOVE with this card over the new papers!

Here's what I did to make the card:

1.The base and big scallop circle are cut from Concord Crush, then I layered the white patterened DSP over the top. Along the bottom, I chose some images from the striped side which makes some really pretty natural borders. So simple to do!

2. The hardest part came next in that I cut the strips for the crinkled flowers (I knew the technical name of these at one time, but it's lost on me now!) The pink one in the center is about 1.5 inches wide and scored every 1/4 of an inch, then it is scrunched together and held with a circle of sticky strip and some tombo glue in the center. The smaller green one started out at an inch, but I cut it down after I scored it to about half that.

3.Next, I used the Big Shot and my punches to cut out the circles, hearts, and swirls. I used the "love" sentiment from the new set of Pennant Parade."

This card is submitted for two challenges:

So Shelli's New to You Creative Challenge

Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge 199

Thanks for looking! Have a glorious day!

Sweet Sunday Sketch SSC125

2011-07-10T17:06:00.004-05:00

Happy Sweet Sunday! I have been working on a few fun things today. I finally got some space to break open some new Stampin Up paper called "Pocketfull of Posies." At first, I thought the papers were a little too geometric for me, but then I started mixing and matching and the colors and designs really meshed together with the sketch design today from Sweet Sunday. I think it may end up being one of my new favorite DSPs! I made this card for a few challenges going on. Check them out!

Stamp It! Cards Week Challenge in the Moxie Fab World

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 125

To make this card, I trimmed the scalloped edge from the DSP and mounted it on black cardstock, then cut out and adhered to top of card. I cut the circles and rectangles out, stamped my image, then colored it in with So Saffron and Certainly Celery markers. I stamped extra flower images, colored and cut them out to pop them up on dimensionals on the edges. All paper is Stampin Up. Glitter added too, of course! Thanks for looking!

Lacy White Winter Wishes

2011-07-09T19:31:00.003-05:00

Greetings to all of you! I worked hard to come up with a decent card for today's Our Creative Corner Challenge today...it called for WHITE ON WHITE. Is that tough or what? It was much harder than I thought, but definitely worthwhile. My DH says this could be our Christmas card this year. Whaddya think?

I created this for two challenges:
Our Creative Corner - White on White
Cute Card Thursday - Use LACE!

To make this card, I embossed the Tulip edge using Stampin Up's embossing folder, then I cut out the Snowflake using SU's snowflake die, which was promptly glittered. I took a strip of lace and tacked it down on a circular strip of sticky strip. Then, I punched out the smaller snowflake and added a glitter brad to the center. After stampin the peaceful wishes sentiment, I adhered the entire snowflake to the top using dimensionals. I like how it came out...white can be WOW!

Embroidery Hoop in Blues

2011-07-08T13:28:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! Yesterday I was on a mission to find some cool things that just needed a pick-me-up. So the boys and I headed out for a garage sale-Goodwill adventure. We had such a fun time...well, as much fun as boys can have on a frugal shopping trip...but we all came away with some must-have items. One of my finds was a bag full of new embroidery hoops in all different sizes for about $3.00. I was psyched to try something new with them using my stash of Stampin Up fabric. So, what you see for the PPA101 Blues color challenge is the fruit of my endeavors.

Here I used the Springtime vintage fabric with Marina Mist ribbon, crochet trim, and cream rosettes. To hide the hoop fastener, I used the Big Shot to cut out some blue butterflies, attached a vintage brad, and voila, it is looking darn cute on my wall right now! Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas in July

2011-07-07T11:35:00.005-05:00

Happy July to you all! I have to admit that getting this card going was a little tough when it's around 90 degrees out, but I did it and had some fun pulling out the christmas stamps. I don't even remember what I have anymore! I was inspired by three challenges for this card:

Mojo Monday198 Challenge - See the sketch above!

The Paper Players Christmas in July Challenge #54

Our Creative Corner - Design Team entry!

With the sketch, I thought that the DSP created " a lot going on" as my husband would say, so I kept the snowman image pretty simple as a contrast and focal point. Check out the challenges for some great ideas!

Thanks for looking - have a great day!

Beautiful Borders Birthday and a Sweet Challenge

2011-07-06T15:25:00.003-05:00

Hi and hello! Scrolling through the latest Moxie Fab post, I noticed the Beautiful Borders challenge that had some great creative ideas for some fun borders on cards. For this challenge, I decided to play with a thin line of canary yellow pom pom trim. After I cut out my ovals and stamped and colored in the image, I simply tombow glued the trim around the edges to create this whimsical border. You can't even tell where the edges come together! So fun!

I also loved the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge going on this week (SSC124). It really helped me figure out how to lay out this card. You should check out all the lovely lovely cards going on there.

Sorry my hyperlinks aren't working, but they are both easy to find! Trust me! Have a glorious day!

Materials used: Stampin Up- (Pocketful of Posies DSP, Going Grey CS, Crushed CurryCS, Pom pom trim, Yellow brights button, flower punch, kiwi kiss CS, Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set), October Afternoon DSP.

PPA 100 - Favorite Technique

2011-07-05T09:24:00.004-05:00

Greetings! This week marks Pals Paper Arts 100th Challenge, so I am getting my card in just in time. I used to be so good about doing this challenge every week, but once I got a full time job, it just didn't come as easily. Still, I have loved all the challenges and looking at all the talented folks who have given me some serious inspiration. Cheers to all of you!

For this challenge, I had to show a card that uses one of my favorite techniques - using punches to embellish a scene. In this case, punches make the whole card! I used several circle punches for the clouds, boat, and sun, scallop punchs for the sun and waves, and a square punch for the sail. The buttons and "rain" add a fun touch too. Thanks for looking!

Sew Sweet!

2011-06-12T12:15:00.005-05:00

Hello again! I am in the "mood to make" this weekend, and the challenge from Moxie Fab World to be "sew" creative absolutely inspired me to dig out my "Sew Sweet" DSP and put it to work. I was also inspired by the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge as you can see from above. Put them together and add some bright, cheery paper and we are good to go! Have a wonderful day!

Materials used: Stampin Up: Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo cardstock, polka dot embossing folder, Chocolate chip ribbon, Sew sweet DSP, Brights button, Too Many Tags sentiment, Sizzix scallop circle.

Father's Day

2011-06-12T10:49:00.005-05:00

Well, I've got my dad's gift all ready to go...now just to write the card and mail it! For the SUO Challenge this week, I decided to use the masculine colors of Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler,and More Mustard to craft this card for my dad. He loves to watch the birds from the sunroom and so this image seemed to fit. Thanks for looking!

Summer Thanks

2011-06-11T22:17:00.006-05:00

Ah, the salad days of summer... I am loving them and hope you are too. For today's card, I worked on a sketch from the Mojo Monday blog and am also thinking that this card would fit well for the PPA97 - What's your style?
This card is bright and has the basic colors of red, green, yellow and brown that say "down to earth, but fun." That definitely fits me and my style. I like simple lines that come with some kind of creative pop! So here, you can see the simple strips of paper punctuated by the sassy flower, ribbon, and swirly stem. Thanks for looking!

Materials used: Stampin up (Garden green card base, paper daisy, red glitter rhinestone, swirls die, real red satin ribbon, other designer paper.)

Spring Butterfly Plaques

2011-03-27T12:47:00.003-05:00

Greetings! Thanks for stopping by. I made these at my last club meeting and they were lots of fun. Here's what I did:

1. For the scallop square, cut a piece of cardstock and a piece of thin cardboard 4.5" x 4.5"(I use the leftover cardboard from our DSP packages.)

2. Adhere a 4x4 square of Big shot multipurpose adhesive sheets in between the cardstock and cardboard.

3. Run it through the Big Shot using the scallop square die.

4. For the inside squares, cut cardstock and DSP to nest inside one another. I think mine is about 3.75" x 3.75" for the outside square and 3.5"x3.5" for the inside square.

5. Stamp sentiment and punch out with designer label punch. If you want this to be shadowed like my first sample, then punch out two label punches from the desired color of cardstock. Cut label in half and shadow it above & below the sentiment. Cut ends off the other punched color lable and attach those to the ends of the sentiment as well.

6. Use beautiful butterflies sizzix embosslit to cut out the butterflies and adhere all to the front over the sentiment.

7. Use Crop-a-dile to create holes and attach the eyelets. Thread ribbon through and tie!

Materials used:

#1 - Pacific Point, Ice Cream Parlor DSP, Melon Mambo, white organza ribbon, silver eyelets, designer label punch. Sizzix scallop square, butterlies dies.

#2 - All the same except - Night of Navy, Springtime DSP, Antique Brass eyelets, Baja Breeze seam binding.

PPA 81 Sketch Challenge

2011-02-21T16:05:00.004-06:00

Greetings Everyone! I had fun playing along this week at PPA. You should too! This week is a fun sketch. I used it to create a cute card for my nephew who will be turning four years old soon. The bright colors really cheered me up, especially since we are getting another foot of snow today. Yikes! Materials used: Stampin Up Bold Brights patterned paper in Pumpkin Pie, Yo Yo Yellow & Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, Real red, white cardstock. Baja Breeze seam binding, Curly label punch, 1.5 circle punch, 2"scallop punch. Pumpkin pie ink for sentiment.

PPA80 VINTAGE!

2011-02-14T20:41:00.002-06:00

Greetings everyone! I hope your weekend was fun. I had a chance to go to my first Stampin Up event at the Minneapolis regional, and it was such a great event. The projects and ideas were absolutely amazing.Plus, it was awesome to see Shelli there. The whole day was so different (and better) than what I expected! I can't wait to go again some day!

Onto my card and this week's challenge at PPA. The theme is Vintage, and I went in a more retro vintage direction with this card. I have had these chair stamps for a few months, but haven't played with them too much. With the paper, and embellishments, this came together in a very vintage-sitting-in-grandma's-kitchen way for me. Enjoy your day!

Materials used: Have a Seat stamp set, Riding Hood Red card base, Baja Breeze seam binding, other DSP, SU Button and pearl with linen thread.

Shelli's Creative Challenge - Bookmarks

2011-02-06T14:39:00.005-06:00

Hello all! I have been so excited about playing with my new goodies and sale-a-bration sets this week. For this challenge, I decided to enter some bookmarks that I am giving away to the ladies in my book club. For these bookmarks, I decided to pair the sale-a-bration set "BLISS" with the new "CLEARLY for YOU" set from the 2011 Occasions Mini-catalog. These go so nicely together, and I hope the ladies will like them. By the way, if you are looking for a good book to read, we just finished The Madonnas of Leningrad. Wow-it was a great book! Thanks for stopping by!

Materials used: Paper (Baja Breeze, Springtime DSP, Basic Black, Garden Green, Rose Red, Crumb Cake) Ink (Garden Green, Basic Black, Rose Red) Embellishments (Pearls, Sizzix Fancy Flower embosslit, White organza ribbon, linen thread, antique brads, green rhinestone brad, decorative label punch, circle punches, edge punch, adhesive rhinestones), sponging on edges.

Challenges for the Week

2011-02-06T14:20:00.006-06:00

Greetings! This week I am attempting two challenges! Look out! At PPA they have a fun Color challenge going on and at Our Creative Corner, they have a clean and simple challenge going using a tree image. I had to sub in some Old Olive for the Certainly Celery, but I think it works.I usually don't do paper-piecing arrangements, but this kind of came together in a simple and direct way. Thanks for stopping by!

Materials used: Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Ridinghood red, Rich razzleberry, Red ink, Chocolate Chip ink, scallop punch cut apart for hearts, rhinestones, elegant soiree DSP, random assortment of DSP for treetops, Love Matter Stamp set & Trees Three stamp set.

Happy Valentine PPA77

2011-01-23T09:46:00.010-06:00

Greetings,
This weekend has been a good one in terms of getting a bunch of crafty things done. Here are a few things I have been working on. The first two were inspired by the sketch for PPA 77 this week. It's been a long time since I've played along because my job has kept me so busy, but I wanted to stop being a blog-lookey-lou and actually put some cards in the ring!
For the first card, I used the "Three little words" set that I got last year for SAB and have barely cracked open. Shocking, I know. I like the tulip stamp in that set and as you can see, I went a little crazy stamping them.

The second card is one I made for a swap I doing this week with my upline. I wanted a new take on valentine colors and opted for melon mambo, chocolate chip and crumb cake. I really like this one with the Elegant soiree DSP.

The last card is a CASE from Kelly Rose seen here. I love her coffee cup design, but to use this layout for a valentine. What do you think?

Recipe- Card #1: Crumb cake base, Basic Gray, Elegant Soiree DSP, Three little words stamp set, Champagne chunky sprinkles, Butterfly die, pearls, circle punches.

Card #2:Crumb cake base with chocolate chip backing, Three little words stamp set, Melon mambo, elegant soiree dsp, scallop heart die, large heart punch, scallop edge punch, Expresso satin ribbon.

Card #3:Crumb cake base, Cherry cobbler, scallop heart die, large heart punch, scallop edge punch, Expresso satin ribbon.

Keep It Simple Masculine Card for PPA54

2010-08-05T15:51:00.004-05:00

Greetings!

This week at PPA, the challenge is to make a masculine card and keep it simple! So, for my card, I used Basic Gray and paired it with Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, and one small strip of the new Elegant Soiree DSP. I really REALLY wanted to put some small pearls on it, but had to restrain myself. Great challenge---I am always needing some ideas for masculine cards!

Have a wonderful week!

Materials used: Going Gray, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Elegant soiree DSP, 1 3/4 circle punch, SU Sizzix Leaves die, Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Hey Cupcake! PPA 52 Sketch Challenge

2010-07-24T13:28:00.006-05:00

Hello everyone! This week at PPA, the challenge is this sketch by the talented Margaret Moody. I came up with a few cards for this challenge, but this is the one I am going to post for now because it is simple and sweet. Thanks for looking!

Materials used: SU Petal DSP, Pink Flamingo DSP, Whisper White, Basic Black, grocery bag, sizzix swirl die, Crazy for Cupcakes, The More the Merrier, Whimsical Words, SU edge punch, Pink rhinestones, dazzling diamonds, gold stickles.

2010-07-12T15:00:00.002-05:00

Greetings everyone! I was inspired to get "cute" today for the Card Style Fun and Cute Challenge at Moxie Fab World. This is a style that I don't always gravitate toward--as I could tell by my lax ribbon-scrunching abilities--but I like how this card came out. Plus, it was fun to use those cutesy butterfly dies:)

You should stop by and check out all the fun ideas and inspiration they've got going on there!

Materials used for this card: Brown bag paper, Stampin Up So Saffron, Whisper White, Tea Party DSP, Martha Stewert Ribbon and DSP, Thickers, SU Butterfly Embossing sizzlit, rhinestones, SU edge punch.

PPA 50 Color Challenge & New Look

2010-07-10T10:05:00.006-05:00

Hello everyone! Today I am happy to submit my entry for the PPA 50 Color Challenge and show you the new look I have been working on for my blog. I needed something a little more peppy, and with the help of shabbyblogs.com, I revamped! Hope you like it!

Now for the challenge. This week was a doozy for me because this is a color combination I can safely say that I have NEVER tried, but it did make me think...which is always good:)

So what you see above is what I came up with using my new SU "Cute by the Inch" set.

Materials used: Cute by the Inch & Teeny Tiny Wishes by Stampin' Up!, Bella Bleu DSP, So Saffron, Basic Grey and Choc. chip cardstock, Choc. Chip Taffeta Ribbon, SU Buttons, SU edge punch, and rhinestone.

HELLO Summer!!!! PPA 47

2010-06-19T16:57:00.002-05:00

Greetings! I was so excited to see that the challenge at PPA this week was all about SUMMER, so excited in fact that I made two things for this week, so bear with me. For me, summer means time to relax and read, so I made this swanky-cute bookmark to keep my place when I take time out from reading to make dinner and such. The stamp is from an older SU set, but it dusted off well. Next up, I needed a birthday card for my sister. She is a very "beachy" person, so I used a seashell motif and matched them with some subtle, sandy colors. Take a look at the close-up and the final product below! Thanks for stopping by!

Materials used: SU Stipple Shells stamps, Sparkling Summer, Paper is soft suede, coral, saffron, whisper white, turquoise, crushed curry, jersey shore DSP, Prints Pack II, stick on rhinestone, hemp twine, SU border punch, polka dot emboss folder, butterfly sizzlet die, scallop punch.

PPA 46 Color Challenge!

2010-06-10T11:54:00.000-05:00

Greetings! I am done teaching and summer has officially begun for me! What better way to start than to crack open a new Stampin Up set and get busy with the PPA challenge this week.
We were invited to use the following In Colors!

There are prizes this week, so go check them out!

Materials used: Square scallop die by Sizzix, Pearls from Pretties Kit, Copper square from Hodgepodge hardware, Elements of Style stamp set, Dazzling Diamonds, Sequin strand from a cool 5 & Dime store, square scallop punch.

PPA40 Monochromatic Blues

2010-05-04T10:34:00.000-05:00

Greetings! I've been away for awhile, but am glad to be able to do a little scrappin' with this week's PPA challenge. For this card, I used the wrought iron punch around a cut circle to create a frame for the tree image. That was the toughest part! Thanks for looking!

Materials: Organza ribbon in blue, Lovely as a Tree stamp, Three Little Words sentiment, Autumn Meadow DSP, Pastels, Modern label punch, Night of Navy paper, Sage Shadow paper, Very vanilla paper.

PPA 32 SPRING!

2010-03-04T17:56:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone! I am so happy to the snow melting. It will be awhile before the grass starts to grow, but at least I can pretend that SPRING is here! Thanks for the challenge! Go play at PPA!

Materials used: Tea Party DSP, Scallop Oval Sizzix die, SU stamp sets, Chocolate Chip ink, circle punches. pastels, glitter.

PPA28 Color Challenge!

2010-02-07T12:02:00.000-06:00

Greetings! It has been a crazy few weeks since I started a new job, and so I haven't been able to get into my craft room often. But this week I was psyched to start some valentines using the PPA color combo of Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, and Basic Black. It was also fun to cut into the new Stampin Up Designer Paper, so this is my take on the challenge! Enjoy!

Materials: Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Regal Rose Paper, plus new DSP; Pretties Kit Flower and pearl; Well-Scripted stamp set and scallop-edge punch, heart punch, scallop heart embossing plate.

PPA 24 Sketch Challenge----Give Me Some Summer!

2010-01-10T15:06:00.000-06:00

Hello all! I am feeling wintered out and needed to set my sights on some bright colors. Hence, I dusted off the Pink Flamingo paper from SU today and got to work on this week's sketch by Margaret Moody at PPA. Last year at this time I was in Mexico where there were flamingos and peacocks walking around in the bright sun. This card reminds of those warm, beautiful days. How I wish I were there!

Materials used: Darice rhinestone stickers, SU Pink Flamingo DSP, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP, Martha Stewart border punch. Cardstock: White, Tempting Turqoise, Real Red. SU Wonderful Words I Sentiment.

PPA23 Anything But a Card Challenge

2010-01-05T09:52:00.000-06:00

Hello! I am so excited to share with all of you the triptych I made for my new little neice's room that fits this week's challenge at PPA. It was so easy to do once I decided on a layout and picked out the colors. Abby's room is pink, but my sister eventually wants to paint it a light green, so I opted for the Tea Party DSP which has lovely accents of both.

I decided to make the butterflies white so they stood out against the background. I used the awesome Sizzix butterfly die from SU and the texture embossing plates to give the butterflies some subtle polka dots or swirls. In the center of them all I added pearls, soft subtles buttons and some glitter dots. The paper, ribbon borders and chipboard letters are under the frame, but the butterflies are all adhered with glue dots to the top of the glass making them look like they are really fluttering.

Though I layed out the three frames to work together with the butterflies floating off one frame to another, they also look good individually so that my sister could put them altogether as seen in the top picture or put them around the room in various places.Thanks so much for looking! Have a great day!
Materials used: SU pretties kit, white paper, SU butterfly sizzix die, Martha Stewert small butterfly punch,green glitter chipboard letter stickers, Soft subtles buttons, old ribbon, Tea Party DSP, gold cord tied in buttons.

PPA22 Sketch Challenge

2009-12-29T09:14:00.000-06:00

Greetings everyone! This week at PPA, the challenge was to use this sketch by Margaret Moody: My dad's birthday is today, so I used the sketch to make something special for him. I love this old SU sailboat image for mens' cards, and the sketch made it easy to show as a focal point.

I mainly used the Bella Bleu DSP for background color over the Chocolate chip base. I love the colors and patterns of that paper. Thanks for looking. Have a very happy new year!

Materials used: Bella Bleu, chocolate chip, very vanilla, stipple shells set, gold brads, gold cord.

A Sparkly Winter Wonderland

2009-12-20T22:34:00.000-06:00

Greetings everyone! I hope this Christmas week is filled with cheer for you. We had some fresh snow on the ground last night, and today I felt really festive and ready to make up some new Christmas cards to send out tomorrow. For this card, I used my Big Shot and SU square scallop die to cut out my card shape. Next I stamped my ice skater images, colored them in, dabbed it all over with Versamark and embossed it with SU's iridescent ice to make it shimmer all over. Then, I just layered everything. I used SU Basic Black, Whisper White and Taken with Teal colors. Very wintry!

There are some great creative challenges out there right now that inspired me to go for this theme. This card is for three of my favorite challenges this week. Check them out to see some great ideas! Have a glorious holiday season!

Paper Pals Arts #21 Theme Challenge: Winter Wonderland

Crafty Calendar Challenge: Winter Sparkle

Kaboodle Blog: Sparkling Winter

PPA 20 Color Challenge

2009-12-14T23:27:00.000-06:00

Soft suede, crushed curry, and old olive made the color challenge this week at PPA. It was tough to know what I wanted to make with these colors, but I opted to go with an out of the way Valentine love card since my Christmas mojo has been in a constant swirl for weeks and needs a break. What can I say?...The hearts showcasing the colors inspired me! Above is my take on the combo. I am loving my square scallop sizzix frame from SU, and I think it nicely showcases the "love you" sentiment from Dreams du Jour. Thanks for looking!

Materials used: Kiwi Kiss ribbon, Dreams du Jour, Old Olive and curry markers, small half pearl on glue dot for center of flower, square scallop sizzix die.

Paper: Vanilla, curry, olive, soft suede, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP

PPA 19 Holiday Photo Challenge

2009-12-07T09:46:00.000-06:00

Holiday Greetings to one and all! This week at PPA, the challenge is to gather inspiration from this photo and create something spectacular. I love ye old vintage feel, and I immediately thought of using the "Sleigh Bells Ring" set to feature on my card. I added glitter to the image, but very little other color to keep it looking a little more like old-fashioned sepia tones. The red and green provide some color just like in the photo, and I even dug out my fancy corner punch to frame it all. Thanks for looking!

Materials used: Sleigh Bells Ring, Many Merry Messages, Gold cord & brads, Corner punch, Branch Sizzix die, red rhinestones, Real Red and Soft Suede paper.

PPA 17 Sketch Challenge

2009-11-24T10:34:00.000-06:00

Greetings! This week as soon as I saw the skectch by Margaret Moody, I knew I wanted to do a frosty window scene, but it took me all week to get down to business! What I did here was to punch squares using my SU square punch out of black cardstock, then I layered acetate behind the "window." I stamped the tree image from SU's "Old Fashioned Christmas" onto white, added some glittery stickles to dress it up and sponged yellow around the tree as if the inside room was warm and full of light. I adhered my designer paper to the black card base and then applied the tree image with the window over it popped up on dimensionals. For the icicles, I used the lace-edged SU punch with white and silvery paper. The sentiment is from "To You and Yours." I wish the pictures would turn out better...it looks much nicer in person. Thanks for looking!

Soft Snowman for Crafty Creations Challenge #41

2009-11-17T21:14:00.000-06:00

Hello! This was such a fun card to make...I always have fun when there is glitter involved! The DSP inspired me to go soft on the winter colors. Usually I wouldn't think of using light pink, but somehow it all works together. Thanks for looking! Head over to Crafty Creations to see more great inspiration! Crafty Creations
Materials used: SU Big on Christmas Set, SU snow flurries and chipboard snowflakes,white Signo gel pen and pink rhinestone brad.

CPS Card Sketch 142

2009-11-17T13:00:00.000-06:00

Hello! I was inspired this week to join in on a few challenges. This one is for the CPS 142 Card Sketch sponsored by My Favorite Things. The look on this card was achieved by using some retired SU Raspberry Tart paper, a Martha Stewert snowflake punch, and the Dasher image available from SU. Paper is folded at right to give off an accordian ribbon look and gold stickles are added all over. Have a glittery day! Thanks for stopping by!

PPA 16 Christmas Cheer!

2009-11-16T10:23:00.000-06:00

Greetings! This week at PPA, there is a THEME Challenge: Christmas Cheer. I have been making a few new things for my stamp classes, and last week the candy bag (at left) was a big hit. It is very easy to do as well! To make one, simply cut real red cardstock 8 1/2 x 3 1/2. Score at about 3 3/4 and 4 3/4. Punch a 1 3/4 circle on one side, coming from the top. Insert 4 candies (Here I used Palmers Cookies and Cream patties) into an SU small cellophane bag. Next, cut a 4" x 3 1/2" piece of Merry Moments DSP, fold in half and use stapler to attach all together at the top. Decorate as desired. Thanks for looking. Check out the Paper Pals site for more info....there is blog candy this week!
Materials: Merry Moments DSP, Organza Ribbon, Season of Joy tree stamp, Ornament punch, Tags sizzix die, Basic black paper, real red paper, vanilla paper, Holiday Best sentiment, Delightful Decorations, Scallop punch, circle punch.

PPA 15 Color Challenge

2009-11-06T10:40:00.001-06:00

Hello! This week at Pals Paper Arts a color challenge has been issued. Click on the link to see some great ideas for inspiration. I modeled this card off of the one Carrie Fitch did this week. I loved her use of white space and the Patterned Pines set. Click on the link at left to see all the great ideas! This card was definitely a challenge. I don't ever use gray because it's not as crisp as black, but it adds a subtle elegance here, I think. For my card I embossed the white background with Texture Plates II. The trees have some dazzling diamonds on them and are set over some old Ski Slope DSP. The "Merry Christmas" comes from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set. Love this set! It has everything!

Have a great day!

IN THE PINK............ PPA14

2009-11-02T12:13:00.000-06:00

Hello! This week the PPA challenge to use PINK as a show of support to fight against breast cancer. This is a card that shows some pink love! To make it, I embossed the top layer of blush blossom with a texture plate, then added a piece of old SU wedding DSP to the bottom. I used the Matchbox Messages rectangle to frame the cake from the Fairy Tale Wedding set. I stamped the cake again onto the DSP and cut out; it is also popped up on dimensionals. The "Best Wishes" sentiment is from Oval All. There are some pink stickles and Dazzling Diamonds to jazz it all up. Background is Soft Suede. Enjoy!

Snowdrop Earrings for PPA13

2009-10-27T10:36:00.003-05:00

I was excited about the challenge this week at PPA to create Anything But a Card, but after seeing so many awesome entries, I was stumped as to what I should make. I recently got the Pretties Kit so I decided to get out my jewelry supplies and try my hand at some earrings. They were very simple and easy to put together. For supplies I just used two posts, earring tops, the pretties kit pearls, sparkly beads, and silver beads. I already had the silver beads that you see on the top. To show the earrings off, I used a box from Jolee's Boutique that once housed some other jewelry supplies and added some Bella Bleu paper as well as some thin organza ribbon. Thanks for looking!

Materials used: Pretties kit, Bella Bleu DSP, retired Snowflakes stamp set, scallop punch, 1 3/8 circle punch, white organza ribbon. Bordering blue ink on the snowflake.

PPA12 Sketch Challenge

2009-10-15T13:06:00.000-05:00

Salutations! This week the PPA is hosting a sketch challenge by Margaret Moody and the above is my take on the sketch. I used the "Dreams du Jour" set which has been getting a little dusty and had fun matching up some colors from the new Autumn Meadow paper in the Mini Catalog. I like the rustic look of this paper, and the Taken with Teal color is one I need to pay more attention to! Thanks for looking!

Materials: Paper (Choc. Chip/ More Mustard/Real Rust/Taken with Teal/Very Vanilla/Autumn Meadow), Sizzix #3 flower die, lace edge punch, 2"scallop punch, gold brads, gold stickles, gold cord, Dreams du Jour, & Teeny Tiny Messages.

PPA11 Color Challenge

2009-10-08T15:04:00.000-05:00

Greetings! I have been away for a week so it feels good to get back in the stamp room. For this week's challenge, we were supposed to use OLD OLIVE, PUMPKIN PIE, & PERFECT PLUM. Click on the PPA link at left to see all the great inspirations and submissions. For my card, I used my new "Tales from the Crypt" set. I embossed the skeleton and cut it out with an oval cutter, sponged lilac pastel around the edges, then set it on a pumpkin pie mat. Around the edges of the Old olive mat behind it, I simply used the filigree-like stamp that comes with this set to add a spooky border. The rest was basically putting paper on paper. Thanks for Looking!

PPA9 Inspiration Challenge

2009-09-25T11:06:00.001-05:00

This week the challenge at PPA is to get inspired from an autumnal photo from Pottery Barn: http://stampinpretty.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54f95df9288340120a580ed3f970b-pi.
So what I did was ground my card with the green DSP from Merry Moments paper to match the vases in the pic. I know the DSP is designated "Christmas," but hey, it works! I also wanted to use a few stamps that have been languishing in their cases-the thank you stamp and Fifth Ave. Floral. It's definitely feeling like Fall here in central Minnesota, so I was definitely "inspired" to put this card together. Click on the PPA link on the left to see a ton of inspirational ideas! Thanks for stopping!

Materials: Soft Suede paper and ink, Barely Banana paper, Merry Moments DSP, Thoroughly Modern DSP, Fifth Ave. Floral, Thank You, Leaf Branch Sizzix die, gold stickles.

Haunting Hill Halloween Color Challenge

2009-09-22T15:00:00.000-05:00

Tried the new Haunting Hill wheel last night, so was glad to see the Splitcoast color challenge today: Black, Curry and Razzleberry, which inspired me to dream up this halloween scene. I'm not crazy about the bow, but too late to change it now!
Materials used: Haunting Hill wheel, Cute and curly, markers, ribbon, SU paper, brayer for sky in Yoyo Yellow.

PPA8 Challenge Keep It Simple Sweetie!

2009-09-21T11:46:00.000-05:00

This week at PPA the challenge is to Keep It Simple! Here are the rules:

Clean with lots of 'white' space
Simple Designs
Minimum time to create
Limited layers and embellishments

So, I've been wanting to find a cool use for this set, "For All You Do," and I liked the solid flower block, but wasn't quite sure how to showcase it. What I did here was to stamp it three times using Melon Mambo ink on white paper, cut out the squares, and layer it on black. I had a leftover strip of Kiwi Kiss from the Raspberry Tart DSP to add some contrast along the bottom. And then, I attached the white card to a piece of basic black to bring it all together. I think it looks a little "zen," and it was definitely very simple. I plan to make a bunch and try different color blocks. Thanks for looking!

PPA7 Sketch Challenge

2009-09-10T13:54:00.000-05:00

Greetings, it's another week of playing at PPA. This week it is a sketch challenge by Margaret Moody, and you can see all the cute ideas for inspiration here:http://www.palspaperarts.com/ . For this sketch, I decided to break out my Razzleberry Lemonade paper which I love so much that I have used only one piece so far; it hurts to cut into the good stuff, you know what I mean? So, after hemming and hawing about what to put in the circles (at first it was all butterflies), I decided to really just showcase the paper. The only stamps I used was the butterfly from Dreams du Jour and Celebrate from Matchbox Messages. This was a very easy card to create once I made a decision!

Materials: Gold brads, gold cord, Razzleberry Lemonade paper, Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo ink, Dreams du Jour, Matchbox Messages.

Color Challenge CC235

2009-09-08T11:39:00.000-05:00

Greetings! Today I decided to work on Splitcoast's color challenge, which is to use Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant and Basic Black. These are perfect Halloween colors, but I trended in another direction..toward a more fall-themed thank you. I was inspired by a birthday card on p. 138 of Stampin Up's new catalog. It also gave me chance to use my Big Shot with the harlequin texture plate and the leaves sizzlet. Thanks for looking!

PPA #6 Challenge

2009-09-07T13:27:00.001-05:00

This week at Pals Paper Arts, they are hosting a color challenge using Ruby Red, Brocade Blue, and Crushed Curry. There are lots of cute ideas, so hurry over to take a look!http://www.palspaperarts.com/
Materials used for this card: So Swirly Big wheel, Season of Joy snowflake, Big on Christmas set, Clear rhinestone brads, ruby red and brocade blue markers, polka dot ribbon, glue dots, silver cord, lace edge punch.

My Attempt at Elegant Christmas Cards

2009-08-31T11:31:00.000-05:00

I liked the idea of this challenge from Moxie Fab http://www.moxiefabworld.com/this week to make an elegant christmas card. While I am not too excited about winter coming, the signs are all around me....our acorns are falling like tiny bombs all over our drive and the chipmunks and squirrels are having shouting matches over who gets what. In MN, where I am, the winters are long, so while I am soaking up the sun while I can, but who doesn't love to make a christmas card any time of year?!

So, for this challenge, I made three cards using Stampin Up's new Merry Moments DSP, the Lots of Tags Sizzix die for the frames, Martha Stewert pink satin ribbon, and assorted stamp sets, "To You and Yours," as well as "Season of Joy," and "Many Merry Messages."

Thanks for looking! Have a great day!

Fruit Snack Holder Directions

2009-08-31T11:22:00.001-05:00

Here are the directions for the fruit snack holder:
a. Cut one square of DSP 9 x 9" square.
b. Cut one square of DSP for inside cup one inch smaller, so 8 x 8" square.
c. With mono adhesive, attach the smaller square inside the large one.
See pic below:
1. Fold square in half to form a triangle.
2. Fold bottom-right corner to left side.
3. Fold bottom-left corner to right side.
4. Fold front top points over front of cup, then rear top points behind back. To complete, hold top of cup open with one hand, then gently press bottom seam up at the center with the other hand.

PPA Halloween Challenge #5

2009-08-31T10:58:00.000-05:00

Greetings & Salutations! This week the challenge at PPA is to create something with a halloween theme. See all the cute inspirations here:http://www.palspaperarts.com/. For this challenge, I went with a fairly simple card and a matching fruit snack holder using the Oval All stamp set and a pumpkin stamp from a set I got for a dollar at Michaels. I don't have the new Creepy Crawly paper yet, so I had to make do with last year's DSP. Instructions for the snack holder follow.......Thanks for looking!

PPA#4 Challenge

2009-08-25T11:57:00.000-05:00

The challenge at Pals Paper Arts this week has been "Anything but a Card," so today I used a stand-up frame found at a garage sale and played with some punch patterns. The result reminds me of a kind of modern quilt. The punches I used were the big star, 5-petal flower and 1/4 circle. The layout took the most time, but once I got started, it went smoothly! I wanted a sentiment that said something that expressed the beauty of originality, but went with this quote by Gandhi: "Be the change you want to see in the world." The ribbon and sentiment can be left on or taken off easily. I'm going to keep this as inspiration, but it would make a great grad gift too, I suppose. Thanks for looking!

Thanks for looking!

Fuzzy Halloween

2009-08-20T13:00:00.000-05:00

These Halloween cards are made for the Splitcoast "Ways to Use It" Category. You had to use something fuzzy on your creations, so I chose to use my spidery shiny black yarn to wrap my cards with.

Recipe: Rich Pazzleberry, Old Olive, Basic Black, & Whisper White paper, Heidi Grace Halloween paper with Home is Where the Haunt Is, Cute and Curly main SU stamp sets.

Christmas in August

2009-08-20T11:49:00.000-05:00

It is a gray, rainy day today, so I felt like making a subtle Christmas card. This one uses the Tea Party DSP that I have been working with and SU's retired set, "From Our House to Yours," (one of my favorites). I brayered Almost Amethyst on the background before stamping the house image, then put on some dazzling diamonds. Thanks for looking!

Altered Album for my New Niece!

2009-08-19T13:15:00.000-05:00

This is my first blog post ever, and what better way to start than by celebrating with the birth of new life. That's right...there's a new baby in town and thank my stars, it's finally a girl. Our family has been riding on a wave of boys for the past few years, and we are so ready to welcome Abigail Claire to our clan.

To celebrate and begin my training as Queen Spoils the Most, I have been working on this altered ATC album, but it's not just any album, it holds a plethora of advice about growing up as a girl from the women in my family. It's got silly advice, like "Get a dog who likes broccoli," to "Don't forget how special you are. God only made one Abigail Claire, so you are really something!"

To make it, I used Stampin Up's older ATC chipboard album and the current Tea Party DSP. Even the flowers are cut out from one of the DSP patterns. It tended to blend in too much, so I back it on black to make it pop a little. There are butterflies punched out and some brads and bling. Inside, I have advice printed and mounted on various pieces of matching paper, with each little section holding a piece of advice. I like that it can be added to and hopefully will become a keepsake!

It's not totally done yet, as some aunts needs to weigh in on advice, but it's getting there. Thanks for stopping by!