Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall!

 I love, love, love the change in seasons!  Just when I am getting tired of the current season and am craving a change, up comes the next season!

This sweet four card set highlights the four seasons and includes the message "The season of friendship lasts forever."

Needless to say, any friend would be tickled to receive this set.  It makes a great birthday, hostess, or just because gift, and I am looking forward to teaching you how to make it!  

 I will be offering this class on July 20th at 4:30.  We will make this little box and the four cards that fit right in it, all for only $20.00!

Please RSVP by the 18th of July so I can have all the materials ready for you.

In addition, if you can't make it but still want the cards, let me know and I'd be happy to make a set for you!


OR... if you want to make the set but the 20th doesn't work for your schedule, let me know a better time for you, and we'll see what we can work out.

I'm looking forward to creating with you soon!

Monochromatic Dynamic Duo

This week on Dynamic Duos, the color challenge is to use River Rock and Always Artichoke.  I was stumped for awhile, but after I looked at some of my saved pictures, I decided to use this sketch.

Clearly, I am not the best sponge dauber.  This one is a bit lighter and the one below is darker, too heavy with the sponge dauber, but I couldn't really fix it, and I didn't want to trash it.

I used the reverse masking technique.  I cut an oval out of a scrap piece of paper and then heat embossed and image from Embrace Life in clear embossing powder.  Then using the same mask, I sponged River Rock and Always Artichoke and added a ribbon.  I thought about adding a sentiment, but by leaving it blank, I'll be able to use it for many different occasions.  I also added artichoke ribbon on one and River Rock on the other.

On the darker one, I did color the leaves in artichoke.

Thanks for looking...

It's Friday Mashup Party Time

 Well, once again, the ladies over on The Friday Mashup have a great challenge this week!  They challenge us to create a card with a party time theme, or create a Box in a Bag, or mash-it-up and create a Box in a Bag with a party time theme.  I chose to mash-it-up and create a set for a wedding shower.

 Both my card and my box/bag start with a base of Crumb Cake.  I accent with Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, and Certainly Celery.

I also used some big pink buttons with linen thread, and the Congrats set.

I also used the heart strip embossing folder and the scallop edge punch, the large label punch, the large scallop circle, 1 3/4" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, and the build a blossom punch.

Finally, I tied the box/bag shut with Crumb Cake ribbon.

I think the recipient will love it!

Thanks for looking!

Seeing Double?

 No... you are not hallucinating... It's this card again....

This card uses the same basic sketch of my last card, and I did it for this week's color challenge over on Stampin' Royalty.  The challenge is to use Island Indigo, More Mustard, Pool Party, and Old Olive.

I just love this card and sketch.  I am sure you'll be seeing it again.

Colors Used:  Island Indigo, More Mustard, Pool Party, and Old Olive
Sets Used: A Little Bit of Happiness
Other: Brads, vellum, Blender Pen


Thanks for looking...

Oh, It Has Been Thrown!

 This is my cased card for this week's color challenge on Color Throwdown.  I haven't done this challenge blog much, but I do love it!  This week, the challenge was to use Crumb Cake, Kiwi Kiss, Calypso Coral, and Cajun Craze.

Awhile ago, I got a card in a swap that follows this basic sketch.  I really, really like the sketch.  It uses thin strips of scrap paper behind a vellum strip that has been stamped and colored in.

The base is Crumb Cake, and the vellum is attached by a brad at either side.

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but I have colored in the image with my ink pads or markers and blender pen.  In the above pic, I colored the leaves and the stems in with the Kiwi Kiss.  I also colored the flowers in coral and cajun.

Stamp sets:  Teeny Tiny Wishes, Simply Sweet
Colors: Crumb Cake, Kiwi Kiss, Calypso Coral, and Cajun Craze
Other: brads


I LOVE how it turned out... so much that I used the same sketch for another color challenge!  Check it out!  Thanks for looking!  

A Boot-iful Mashup

 This week's challenge over on The Friday Mashup is a color challenge (Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, and Daffodil Delight).  You could also do the paper piecing technique.  Or you can Mash-It-Up and do both...and that's just what I did!

I knew I wanted to use my new Bootiful Occasions stamp set.  The Pool Party lent itself to the boot with the rain clouds.  I stamped it on scraps of pool party and colored the clouds in with my stampin' markers.  Then I cut the boot out. This one I colored Daffodil Delight.  On the one below, the clouds are Rich Razzleberry... very different, I know.

I used the framelits and cut one in Whisper White and a bigger one in daffodil.  I used a strip of razzleberry along the bottom and used two different edgelits to add a little something to the strip.  The bottom layer is white and that is embossed with the fan folder.  I thought it looks a bit like clouds when you face the fans down.  Finally, I added a ribbon on each card, one in daffodil, one in razzleberry.

I didn't have a vision for what I wanted this card to look like when I started.  I am not sure that I love it, but I do like it.  Thanks for looking!

Piecing Together a Mashup Challenge

 I know this probably looks familiar, and that's because I cased myself!  Well, I cased someone else and made this card already once for another color challenge.  I love it so much that I decided to make it again for The Friday Mashup's weekly challenge.

This week, the challenge was to use Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, and Daffodil Delight, or make a card using the paper piecing technique, or Mash-It-Up and make a card using those three colors and using paper piecing.  I chose to Mash-It-Up with this card.

As I often do, I decided to make two of this card, giving each card it's own little unique touches.

I have to admit that every time I see "paper piecing" I think it says paper PIERCING so I was preparing for how I would poke holes in this sweet little card.  Then when I checked out the blog, I didn't see holes poked in any of the samples, so I re-read carefully and realized my mistake.

For this card, my pennants are punched using Summer Smooches and an old DSP Sunny Garden (the sequel to Cottage Garden, my favorite DSP ever!)

Colors Used: Pool Party, Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White
Sets Used: Pennant Parade, Happiest Birthday Wishes (inside sentiment: "Happiest Wishes on your Birthday!")
Other:  Pennant punch, mini flower punch, white bakers twine, stampin' dimensionals (the pennants are popped), blue bling, buttons

Thanks for looking!

Dynamic Duo/Mambo Melon... card 3

This is my final card for this week's color challenge over on Dynamic Duos.  The challenge is to use Melon Mambo and Basic Black.

This card was inspired by a card I received in a card swap.

I used Betsy's Blossoms and Create a Cupcake sets.  I also used lots of punches including the triple flower punch, word window, and modern label punch.  I also used my new fan embossing folder.

 The sketch is basically the same on each card, but each is slightly different.

Thanks for looking!

Dynamic Duo/Melon Mambo... card 2

 This is card number two of Dynamic Duo's weekly color challenge.  This week the challenge is Melon Mambo and Basic Black, and I have been inspired!  

For this card, I cased a card that I received in swap.  I just used the challenge colors, and I used the Pennant set and Pennant punch.  I used melon ink with two of the different pennants.  Then I punched out the larger scallop pennant in black.  I layered Whisper White on to a layer of black and put that on a melon card.  I added the sentiment from the set.  I connected the pennants together using little, teeny, tiny brads.  Finally, I wrapped some white bakers twine around the black and white layer and popped the pennants on top of the twine.

Inside, I used a birthday sentiment.  

Thanks for looking!

Dynamic Duo/Melon Mango... card 1

 This week's color combo over on Dynamic Duos is Melon Mambo and Basic Black.

I am pretty excited about the ideas I came up with!  I usually combine the color challenge with an other challenge, but I recently got a BIG Stampin' Up order, and I used my new sets for my inspiration.

This card was also inspired by some graphics at church!  I love it when that happens!!!  I stamped a Whisper White piece with melon using Flowering Flourishes.  Then I ran it through the Big Shot using the lattice folder.  I also used the sentiment from So Sorry set.  I punched that with a 2" circle punch and put it on top of a flower punch.

Finally, I added the black ribbon and some melon and black bling.

Inside the card, I added a piece of printer paper with a little melon flourish inside the card.

Thanks for looking!

Colorful Birdie Challenge

 I just made the cut off for the two challenges I completed with these cards.  I had to keep up my goal of completing the Dynamic Duos weekly color challenge of Regal Rose and Basic Gray.  In addition, this card fulfills The Friday Mashup's challenge, although it isn't a Mashup.  This week, the ladies over on TFM had a sketch challenge, or a card with birds or you could mash-it-up and do both.  Well, I need a wedding card later this summer, and the rose and gray seemed very wedding-y to me; thus, this card was born.

Initially, I envisioned two empty cages on either side of the cage with the two birds, but the spacing just wasn't quite right.  So it was a single cage for the two love birds owls.  I was going to use the bird images, but the owls just looked right.

I was also able to use that embossing folder with the strip of hearts... perfect for a wedding card!

Colors: Basic Gray, Regal Rose, Whisper White
Stamp sets: Aviary, Occasional Quotes
Other: Heart strip embossing folder, diamond bling, Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon

Inside, I put this sweet love message, perfect for a wedding.

Thanks for looking...

Scrappy Sun

I love this card!  I totally cased this from the great Gretchen Baron, and it totally works for this week's challenge on The Friday Mashup.

The challenge is to use scraps of patterned paper or ribbon, or make a scrapling, a mini-card made from left over pieces or Mash-it-up and do both.

This is not a mashup, but I used lots of scraps of yellow and orange ribbon, but I also used some scraps of orange DSP, too.  There's also a layer of DSP under the sun that has been hanging around in my Pumpkin Pie folder for a long while just waiting to be used at some time.

The white pieces on each card is also embossed, and I have a little orange bling in the double circles on the sun.

I love this sun!  Thanks, Gretchen!  You rock!

And thanks for looking!

Scrappy Mashup Duo...

 This week, the challenges for both The Friday Mashup and the Dynamic Duo went together in my studio and here are the results... fun little colorful scraplings.

The Friday Mashup challenge is to use scraps of patterned paper or ribbon or make a scrapling, the leftover pieces of a card when you make a square 4 x 4 card.  Or Mash-it-up and do both.

The Dynamic Duo challenge was to use Real Red and Island Indigo.

This bowl of cherries is the first stamped that popped into my mind when I decided to put these two challenges together.  It's small and would fit just right on a little bitty card.  When I opened my folder of Real Red scraps, I found lots of patterned scraps from the old hostess pattern packs.  There's also a little strip of Real Red grosgrain ribbon.

However, I just didn't feel like I was done with this challenge. I have a ton of other scraps in my Real Red folder, so I used some more scraps of red and Island Indigo to create these other two little scraplings.  Notice the red DSP hiding under the snail.  Each of the pieces on each of the cards is a scrap or leftover, including that last two large red brads!  How cool is that?  I mean, even down to the punched edge of white scallop trim.  I punched that a long time ago and didn't use it.  I didn't want to just trash it, and this mini-card offered me way to use it!  Yeah!  I love using my scraps... more cards like this please!

Thanks for looking!