Framed Again!

While looking around my stamping room I came across several packages of these little paper frames from the $ Tree. I love little finds like that and often just have to take advantage of them. They were 6 for a dollar so you can get a lot of bang for little dough. Since I usually do a card and a 3-D project at my demonstrations this was the 3-D for my last get together and for all parties for the next few weeks. They were simple yet pretty. I used Papaya Collage, Calypso Coral and Soft Suede.

The Paper Players Challenge

I am sitting down in "real time" and came across this challenge from the Paper Players. I looked at it and right away came up with a clean and simple card to match their sketch. Here is the sketch.

Now here is my card. I used the stamp set Just Believe for this card and used the colors Old Olive and Pacific Point to make my focal image. It is very basic but that is how I like them!

The Friday Mashup!

This is the first time I have ever seen these creators and their sketches but since I had a little time I thought I might as well play along! I took a leftover element and added it to a card to match the sketch. It was quick and simple. Here is the sketch and their link (in case you want to play along).

Now here is my card. I used Pumpkin Pie and Cherry Cobbler with  a touch of Whisper White.

PPA139 - A Sketch Challenge

This week I am playing with the Pals Paper Arts sketch. I don't always have time to play but when I saw this sketch it only took me a minute to get an idea so I had to sit right down and play with it. I used the World Spectacular designer paper for my inspiration as you can see here. It was not hard! Check out what the design team and others are doing by clicking here.

Cute Little Note Holder

Well, as much as I may hate to admit it, school time is quickly approaching! As you get ready to send your little ones (or maybe not so little ones) off to school, why not make a few of these quick little note boxes for their teachers. I know I can never have too many pieces of note paper about! I found the tutorial for this on Splitcoast here. I quickly grabbed my July only stamp set, Reason to Smile, and stamped up this one. I would have to say that the hardest part was punching the corners of the paper and that is optional!

LNS Challenge - Embedded Embossing

I am working on my Christmas in July upcoming class on the 28th (Saturday week) and when I saw this challenge I decided to go with my Christmas theme. I made a very simple card that would be so easy to CASE even for the most basic stamper. The colors are Bashful Blue and Whisper White. I used the Snow Swirled stamp set. After setting the front layer I ran it all through the Big Shot using the Dots folder. 10 minutes or less from beginning to end.

A Quick Gift

I was playing around with my paper cutter and scorer the other day and made this little lolly. I know it is supposed to be much simpler with the great Stampin' Up! Simply Scored Scoring tool and the diagonal plate but somehow in the great flood mine was lost or thrown away by my hubby. I never even used it! Sadness.
Anyway, this little lolly went onto the candle and I made it into a quick birthday gift using the birthday sentiment from the Curly Cute set. I love the new butterfly punch. It is so pretty!

Reason to Smile #2

Another Reason to Smile card. I was going for the Gerbera Daisy look here, not sure I did it but the effect is interesting with the ink. I had to draw my stems and on the leaves so please don't laugh! At the last second I added a little butterfly that was laying on my desk.

CCMC210 - Color Challenge

Another color challenge. Wow! I think I like the sketches better because there is less to have to decide! Anyway, I am playing along again and it seems that I am stuck on this great little stamp set called A Reason to Smile. That is just a fun name! It has kept me smiling alot! I will be sorry to see this stamp set retire at the end of this month.I got my inspiration for this card from this blog.

CCMC-NC4 Challenge

A 2nd entry for this week (since I missed last week)! Anyway, I made so I figured I might as well post it. This one came in 2nd and I cased myself (casing someone else) from a few days ago. Same layout, different colors. Same stamp set too! This cute set disappears on July 31st so get yours today with any $50 or more order for only $5! What a deal.

Week 4 - Color Challenge

Whew! I just got back from my whirlwind trip to Honduras for a medical mission trip. We saw 849 people in 4 days. I saw and treated so many of God's children in the area of Yarsein. It was amazing how God was able to use 15 gringo's to touch so many lives.
Any way, I got home and found this challenge on the subscription Create with Connie and Mary new catalog edition and was stumped! It took me several tries to get one that I was happy with. This is a very basic layout but the colors were stumping me. Here is my final draft.

I just realized that some of the Hondurasa money, ie...the Cinco Lempiras has the same colors are this challenge. I could have just posted this bill to the challenge!

How fun is that! Same colors as this challenge!

Mixed Bunch

I am still going through the old Stampin' Success magazines and copying the cards I like. This is one where I made a couple of teensy changes. I used the clear glitter on the bottom and change the sentiment. This great set, Occasions Alphabet, fits perfectly with the new Duo Ticket punch!

Reason to Smile

This little set is a special this month only from Stampin' Up! With any $50 or more order you can get it for only $5. Now that is a deal by any standard. I got this card layout here and did it with Perfect Plum, So Saffron and Wild Wasabi. I used the color coach for this color combo. Great little tool.

Happiest Birthday!

I cased a Saleabration card for this one. I changed the DSP to current and Voila! A quick and easy birthday card. It would also be easy to make it masculine by changing the flower to eyelets or brads.

Blooming With Kindness

This card was inspired much more recently than last year as this set just came out in the newest Stampin' Up! catalog. It is called Blooming with Kindness and it has this flower image with lots of great greetings. I got this card idea from Fran Sanbad and you can see her card here on her blog. I made a couple of very minor changes like the colors and the greeting.

Everything Eleanor - Again!

Another Everything Eleanor card. I said it before and I will say it again, this is my new "go-to" set for the moment. I was really sad about losing Baroque Motifs but this one will replace it very nicely. I got this card idea from Connie Babbert (thanks) and used it verbatim for my Stamper's 25 club. The colors are Real Red, Basic Gray, Old Olive and Whisper White. It makes a great any occasion card!

Just Because

It is interesting how as I keep going thru the new catalog I find things that are new that I missed or stamp sets or as in this case, die cuts that have been retired. I like this pillow box so I will keep it just for fun. I made this little box "just because." I used boxes like this last year on our cruise to give extra tips to the room steward and table server.
Supplies Used:
Artistic Etchings, You're Amazing sets
Soft Suede, Riding Hood Red, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight and Whisper White card stock
Riding Hood Red, Pool Party and Soft Suede inks
Ruffled Pool Party ribbon, Expresso twine, Brights button, Scallop circle and retired Builder punch, Duo ticket punch

Betsy's Blossoms

What a fun and simple card. It is based with Tangerine Tango and the other colors used are from the DSP Floral District, Rose Red and the leaves are Lucky Limeade. Who would have thought that these colors would look so good together? I am sure I never would have used them without the DSP. I like how the flower in the corner looks like a sun! This was one of the great preview cards from the current Create with Connie and Mary by Natasha Zandbergen. Thanks Natasha!

Papaya Collage

I just love the collage look of cards and projects of any kind. That is probably why I bought this set, the idea of collages. Well, I let it sit around for a month or more before I got around to using it and then I pretty much cased a magazine card. Of course, I used only Stampin' Up products for my card so mine is different from the one in Paper Crafts.

Field Flowers 4x4

This is another CASE from my old Stampin' Success magazine. These magazines have great ideas and I recently read on the Stampin' Up! website that they not only approve CASing but highly recommend it! Whew! Most of my inspiration comes from others! This is a Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla and More Mustard combo with a little Old Olive and Baja Breeze ink.

PPA Challenge 138

As you can see this is a color challenge...

I decided to do something a little different because I found one of these little frames on my desk left over from my Stamper's Club projects the other night. I used this little frame from the $ store for my challenge.
I inked up the frame with direct to frame Daffodil Delight. I then stamped one of the little flowers from the Reason to Smile set and water colored it to get the Brown-Eyed Susan look. The ribbons are from last years Christmas mini and matched so I used them.

Challenge Frame

CCMC209 - Sketch Challenge

It is time for another Create with Connie and Mary Challenge. They do this every Thursday and you have a week to play along. Sometimes I am very late but since I will be leaving for Honduras on Saturday a.m. for my mission trip I had to play quickly! Today it is a sketch. Sketches are fun because you get an idea and then just fill in the blanks.

Enjoy!

Never Too Early for Christmas!

Ok, it is July and that means that my annual Christmas in July stamp camp will be coming soon! I am looking at July 28th for this class. You will not want to miss it and if I have enough interest I will do 2 sessions. Any way, this is a little teaser for those of you who like the non-traditional colors. The card is Pink Pirouette and the DSP is from the new catty called Be of Good Cheer. I used the Pennant Parade stamp set for this cutie. Mark your calendars now for this very fun event happening Saturday, July 28th at 10 AM. This is a crowd favorite! We will make 2 each of 5 different cards for only $25.

Sending You Rainbows!

I have recently been studying Noah's ark and the rainbows in a Mad Science class for church and had to make up a quick rainbow card to show off the colors. I know the last colors (Indigo and Violet) are not showing up well in this photo but they are there IRL (in real life). This was quickly and simply done with the Beautiful Wings embosslit. The sentiment is from the set Kindness Matters.

Reason to Smile Promotion

Get the Reason to Smile Set-up to a $20.95 value-for just $5 when you spend $50 on any Stampin' Up! products.

Description	$5 Item	Price
Reason to Smile Wood-Mount Set	131274*	$5.00
Reason to Smile Clear-Mount Set	131275*	$5.00

*Enter this $5 item number after reaching $50 on your order.

 Now for the details:

• There is a limit of one (1) set per customer.
• You will not be automatically prompted to enter the $5 Item Number for a qualifying purchase. Use the item codes from the table above.
• The Reason to Smile Set is exclusive to this promotion and will not be available after July 31, 2012.

Happy Greetings

This card is from the same Stampin' Success as yesterday's card. These are from the July 2011 magazine. Yes, I am a little behind! Any way, I am working hard to get posted ahead for my upcoming mission trip to Honduras and since I will be gone most of this month. So, I am taking inspiration wherever I can find it at this point. This card was done by demonstrator Tara Bilbao from Long Beach, CA. I know you will like it as much as I did. Love the color combo; Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Certainly Celery and a touch of Tangerine Tango.

Create with Connie & Mary New Catalog Edition 2012 - Sketch Challenge CCMC-NC2

This Saturday's challenge is a sketch as seen above. I really like this layout and quickly decided on my card. I love the new designer paper called Storytime so I had to use that in this card. I am really just a BIG kid who refuses to grow up! I used:
From My Heart set
Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Whisper White and Pool Party card stock
Storytime and Summer Smooches DSP
Big Shot with circles die and the Perfect Pennants die

Thanks for looking!

Patriotism Lives!

I love my country. Being somewhat of a world travelor (at least 18 different nations seen so far) I know what great advantages we have in the US of A. We have so many rights that we just take for granted. Also working in a school where we say the Pledge of Allegiance daily I am reminded daily of my freedoms. Thank you God that I was born into this great nation and God Bless America!

All that being said, I was inspired to make a patriotic card. I followed the layout of an old Stampin' Success (demostrator only) magazine and this is how my card came out.
Supplies used:
Loving Thoughts stamp set
Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White card stock
World Spectacular DSP
Midnight Muse ink
Real Red stitched grosgrain ribbon, heart punch
Big Shot with Apothecary framelits and dots embossing folder

Ruffled Paper Frame

As you know I love to play along with Create with Connie and Mary and they are doing one of their subscriber only New Catalog creations now. You can join here anytime. Anyway, one of the preview projects they showed was created by Connie and it was a frame or mirror that used DSP to cover it. I decided to make one when I found an old magnetic frame on my file cabinet that apparently survived the floods of May! Click here to the sample and get a FREE tutorial. Mine is a bit different and I used ribbon on mine because in case you didn't know...Ribbon and Glitter cover a multitude of sins!

Gray and Yellow go to Paris

A great color combo...Basic Gray and Daffodil Delight! I was again inspired from Stampin' Success (wonder how it got it's name)? I changed the colors but the layout is the same. The set is Artistic Etchings. By the time you read this, I will be in or on my way to Honduras. I would love for you to keep me in your prayers.

Language of Friendship

This is a catalog CASE from the new Stampin' UP! catalog. I really could only see a small sample of the card but I imagine is was simple like this. You can see the "real" card on page 74.

Crabby Card

I also saw a card like this one in Paper Crafts this issue and quickly punched out my own crab. I put mine on a card and had to write my own sentiment with a little smudgy help from my 3 yr old grandson. Well, you get the idea. This is a no stamping card.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries???

Mmmm! Who does not love a good chocolate covered strawberry? I know I just acquired the taste for strawberries a few years ago. It is a texture thing and I did not like the seeds but I am over that now. So, I found this little video tutorial here from Cristena Bagne and gave it a try. It really turned out cute and I hope to make these with my stampin' friends soon. You could fill these up with little treats and they would be great for a summer time get together or party. Have fun and I hope to see you soon!

Everything Eleanor

Well, I know many people are not in favor of this new yellow, Summer Starfruit, but I have to say it is growing on me. Today I cased a card from Connie Babbert and she paired the Starfruit up with the Basic Gray. It makes a lovely combo. I used a different sentiment from Pursuit of Happiness because the yellow reminded me of a sunny day and I love sunny days!

CCMC-NC1

Ok, I am in the current New Catalog online project membership with Connie and Mary and the whole gang again so that means I get to do 2 challenges a week for a while. This is a member only challenge but anyone can join. Click here for more information.  As you can readily see it is a color challenge and these just happen to be the colors in the new DSP called Comfort Cafe. It really is pretty. Now, without further ado, here is my card.