MTSC40

As I hoped, I have transitioned from Halloween to Christmas. Let's hope it sticks! I just love this Christmas Cocoa DP and I think I'm going to use it a lot this holiday season. This particular paper that I used in the background (soft suede with diagonal lines) reminds me of corduroys. It's just gorgeous. Anyway, this is my card for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge. The recipe:

Paper: Soft Suede, Real Red, Whisper White, Christmas Cocoa
Accessories: SU Elastic Cord, SU Real Red Ribbon, Sizzlit Snowflake Die Pin It Now!

The Last Post Was NOT my last Halloween Card!

Ok, I'm almost positive that this is my last Halloween card. After all, October is right around the corner and I have to start seriously thinking about Christmas cards and goodies. I just hate to put away this fabulous stamp set. But I will. Seriously. Here's the recipe for my MOJO105 card:

Stamps: From the Crypt, Autumn Apparitions
Paper: Basic Black, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Pale Plum, Night & Day
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Ribbon, Pewter EP, 1 3/8" circle punch

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I Hope This is My Last Halloween Card

I can't get enough of this Halloween stuff, but I think this is the last of it. I can't tell you how much I love this From the Crypt stamp set. That skull is awesome! I'm not a huge fan of the whole "trick or treat" thing, but I love anything that is Halloween themed - the scarier the better! I decided to make this card using the sweet sunday sketch challenge. Thanks for looking. The recipe:

Stamps: From the Crypt, Best Fiends
Paper: Sage Shadow, Basic Gray, Basic Black, Whisper White, Nouveau Chic
Ink: Black Stazon, Versamark
Accessories: Silver EP, Clear EP Pin It Now!

MTSC39

Wow. Two cards in two days. I'd like to think I can keep this up, but I don't think so. :( I don't know about you, but one thing I love to do is check out the new challenges on the days they are debuted. It's so fun to see what's in store and to see if I can get my creative juices flowing. Sadly, that is not the case here as I don't like this card so much. Let me say that I LOVE the Christmas Cocoa paper. The colors are fabulous, the flocked paper is totally awesome, but I just couldn't come up with something equally fabulous for this card. I love doing Mercy's sketch challenges, so I'm disappointed that this card came out rather bland and boring. I do like the square rhinestones and the ribbon. And I dug out some old SU red embossing powder, which is kind of cool. (Remember when they had a bunch of colored EP? That was a long time ago). Anyhoo, thanks for looking. The recipe:

Stamps: Delightful Decorations
Paper: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Real Red, Christmas Cocoa
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Red EP, SU Ribbon, Rhinestone Brads Pin It Now!

MOJO104

This is the first time I've used watercolor paper. I think I need more practice. Although I think it came out okay, I've seen such beautiful watercoloring on other cards, I can clearly see that I'm a novice. I'd like to achieve the variations in color that I've seen. Back to the drawing board, I guess. I used the MOJO104 sketch for this card's layout and I chose a somewhat unusual color combo. I wanted to use Soft Suede and Bermuda Bay, then kept picking other colors (with the help of the SU Color Combo machine) until I got one I liked. Thanks for looking. The recipe:

Stamps: Asian Artistry, Matchbox Messages
Paper: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Watercolor paper
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Old Olive, Black Stazon
Accessories: Texturz Plate, Ribbon, Brads Pin It Now!

Happy Birthday Aunt Vangie!

Tomorrow I'm going to a {surprise} birthday party for my Aunt Vangie. (Don't worry, there's no chance she will see this before then, or ever actually). I had been kicking around some ideas for a birthday card in my head, but nothing seemed to want to translate itself to ink and cardstock. Then I remembered that I had this DSP (which is so gorgeous I mostly want to just stare at it) and all of a sudden, I had a card (with some help from Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge). The recipe:

Stamps: Greenhouse Garden

Paper: Baja Breeze, Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Parisian Breeze

Ink: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Sizzilit Little Leaves, ribbon

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Not So Spooky

Pink for Halloween you might say. You bet. I just think that pink and black and white look really cool together and I wanted to do something a little unusual for a halloween card. This is what I came up with. I used the MOJO103 sketch for the layout. I think this proves that my job is interfering with my stamping! Here it is, Monday morning, and I've already made a card for the challenge. I'm not sure you can tell in the pic, but the skull is embossed. It really makes it pop. Enjoy your labor day and thanks for looking! Here's the recipe:

Stamps: From the Crypt, All Holidays
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Night & Day
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Black EP, Dimensionals, Ribbon Pin It Now!

Happy Birthday Nate!

Friday is my nephew's 15th birthday. He was born on 9-4-94 so it is REALLY easy to remember his birthday. This good news for certain memory-impaired aunts! I'm getting him a gift card and as soon as I saw this week's tutorial on Splitcoast I knew it was exactly what I needed. I used the Urban Garden DSP because it has a modern look that I also think shows kind of masculine. All in all, I really like how this came out. Thanks so much for looking. The recipe:

Paper: Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Urban Garden

Stamps: Oval All, Birthday Wish

Ink: Not Quite Navy

Accessories: Baja Breeze ribbon, Dimensionals

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Only 114 Days Until Christmas

Every year I tell myself that I'm going to start my Christmas cards early so that I can get them out of the way and actually enjoy the holiday season. However, every year this does not happen. I wonder if I'm the only one who wishes that I could be a little kid again trying to stay awake at night to hear Santa come and deliver all those cool Christmas presents. Remember how you felt when you believed that Santa had actually come to your house and left behind some of the things on your wish list? I do, and I wish I could know that feeling again!! Anyway, I have so far surprised myself this year by making two, count 'em, two Christmas cards already - and it's only September 2nd! I'm not sure I love this one, but I made it for the Splitcoast color challenge CC233 and for the Lizzie Ann Designs sketch challenge #88. Here's the recipe:

Stamps: Season of Joy

Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Whisper White

Ink: Real Red

Accessories: Real Red ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds, Rhinestone Brads

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Boxer Madness

Is this the cutest card ever? I cannot, in any way, take credit for this clever card. I read the tutorial here. I made this card for the birthday of one of the girls I work with who loves boxers. And, Sylvia, I know you are reading this and you are sworn to secrecy!! I think she's gonna love it!

The recipe:
Stamps: NONE!
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa, Basic Black, Rose Red, Holiday Treasures Pin It Now!