Create With Connie and Mary 217

Hello everyone!  I'm so excited to share with you that Holly Endress will be joining us at Create With Connie and Mary for the month of September as a guest designer!  I sure hope you'll pop on over to her blog to show her some love!  

Today Connie and Mary have cooked up quite a great sketch for you.  I think it's perfect for showing off gorgeous DSP and some fantastic stamps.  Take a look:

I couldn't resist using my Wonderfall stamp for this sketch. I love layering the leaves and they are perfect for a little rock-and-roll coloring.  I added some pretty baker's twine and button for a finishing touch!  I actually waffled a bit about whether or not I should add a sentiment to this card but decided against it.  I often like to leave cards blank so that I can add an appropriate sentiment at a later date.  One thing for sure is that fall is definitely in the air because the challenge this week at The Paper Players is to use leaves or trees on a project.

There's still time to sign up for the Create With Connie and Mary 2012 Holiday Edition.  Don't forget to head on over to Create With Connie and Mary to find out all about it and to check out the latest inspiration from the design team for this latest sketch challenge. You won't be sorry! 

Freshly Made Sketches 51

Hello everyone!  Today at Freshly Made Sketches, Cindy has got a great sketch for us to play along with.  I know you're going to love it because it's definitely a keeper!

As I contemplated my huge pile of DSP (that never seems to shrink no matter what I do), I came across this paper from Everyday Enchantment.  I never really cared for Peach Parfait all that much but it occurred to me that this paper was kind of pretty.  And with the added Chocolate Chip layer peeking around the edges I like it even more.  I tend to prefer patterned paper that has interesting geometric designs rather than big, bold prints because it makes a subtle background for whatever image or embellishment I'm adding to my card.  However, once I chose this paper I didn't know what else to do.  Oh dear!

I ended up flipping through the rest of the DSP and chose to use the colors featured on the other papers.  I figured that the folks at Stampin' Up! surely know better than me what colors look good together.  So I ended up with a flower stamped in Poppy Parade and the leaves stamped in Lucky Limeade.  The scallop frame is stamped in Chocolate Chip (a color not featured in the DSP, but one that I thought looked pretty good).  I added an Antique Brad to the center of the flower to give it some pizzazz!

Our fabulous design team has got some great cards to share with you, so head over to Freshly Made Sketches and check them out.  I hope you can join us this week.

colourQ 153

Hey there!  It's Tuesday and that means that Arielle has got another challenge at colourQ to tickle your creative funny bone.

I think these colors are perfect for autumn but I decided to go in a slightly different direction.  The weather in my neck of the woods has been spectacular lately - hot days and cool nights - so I thought I'd go with an end of the summer card.  (I think I may have just invented a new season)!  And the latest retro sketch provided some sketchy inspiration.

My new season showcases cards that are not quite the full, leafy variety you usually see around this time of year, and is not the flowery sort you see during the summer.  Instead I used the Pocket Silhouettes stamp to create an image that represents flowers at the end of the season.  They're not blooming, but they're still there perhaps waiting to spread their seeds for the next year.

I felt like my mini sewing machine was feeling a bit neglected so I dragged it out to sew a zigzag around my Ski Slope Chocolate Chip layer and the Sweet Pea So Saffron layer.  As usual, my corners are a bit ragged but I've just learned a tip about how to sew corners so I'm anxious to try it out on a future card.

Be sure to head on over to colourQ and check out the challenge and the design team samples.  You won't be disappointed.  And the deadline for entry to be considered for colour Queen has been extended so check it out!

Dynamic Duos 18 and FTL206

When I saw the color challenge at Dynamic Duos I knew immediately that I wanted to join in.  A few days earlier I had seen the sketch challenge at clean&simple decided that the two would challenges would be a perfect excuse to ink up these cool retro glasses from The Alley Way Stamps.

My mother used to have some glasses that looked a lot like these.  They were very stylish for a period of time and then, as these things happen, fell out of fashion. For some reason she kept them in a drawer and as kids my sisters and I would periodically take them out and try them on and laugh at each other, marveling at how crazy people were to think that these glasses actually looked good!  I remember one day coming home from school, and as I walked across the front yard and I looked up in time to see my sister's boyfriend standing at the picture window wearing these glasses with a big goofy grin on his face.  I'm not sure I've ever laughed so hard in my life!  I think that memory is a big reason why I bought this stamp set!

Thanks for stopping by!

CASology 8 and Less is More 83

This week's challenge at CASology really got me thinking.  The cue card is RELAX and it was fun to see the samples from the design team as well as the gallery submissions about what relaxing means to everyone.  I saw a sofa or two which gave me a chuckle.  I have a love/hate relationship with my sofa!  I love it because it is very comfortable and I hate it for the same reason.  I no sooner sit on it to relax and I fall asleep!  I can't tell you how many TV shows I've missed because I can't keep my eyes open.

So, I decided to go in a different direction for my relaxing card.  I incorporated the brown and pink challenge over at Less Is More.

I live in New England where the summers are kind of short and, since I love summer, I try to enjoy it as much as I can.  So on the weekends, after I've done the cleaning and the errands, I high-tail it out to my patio to relax on the chaise lounge with the sun on my face.  I usually have a book in my hand, and quite frequently I fall asleep, but I love to sit out there and just do nothing!  And my patio is surrounded by flowers, hence the pink flower on my card.  It's a wonderful thing to sit out there smelling the flowers and the boxwood.  I regret when summer comes to an end and the cold weather chases me inside!

Well, all this "talk" about relaxing has made my eyes droopy, so I think I'm done for the night!  But thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate it when you do!

The Paper Players 110

Now that September is nearly here the days are shorter and nights are noticeably cooler.  I find myself gravitating towards cards using more fall-like colors.  Of course, the upcoming season also means Halloween and you may have read here a time or two that I really love making Halloween projects.  The sketch challenge this week at The Paper Players got me thinking about an old favorite pack of Halloween DSP called Halloween Night and thus my card was born.

In case you're wondering, the pretty purple-ish paper you're seeing is not Wisteria Wonder.  Is is the long-retired Vintage Violet and one of my all-time favorite colors.  I can't think of a Halloween project without thinking of this paper!  The witch is from Halloween Hoot and although her face is colored a little darker than I wanted, she is pretty darn cute!  I'm not at all sure that witches are supposed to be "cute" but I couldn't resist that description about this ol' gal.  It's like she's kicking up her heels to dance a little jig!

Lately I've been experimenting with Photoshop and how I edit my photos and the resulting blurry photos are making me wonder whether I need to schedule a visit with my eye doctor pronto, or go back to the old way I edited.  I've got a long weekend coming up so I hope to do some more experimenting.  If my cards look a little blurry I apologize, and hopefully I'll figure out what to do soon.

As always thanks so much for stopping by!  I really appreciate you taking the time to visit and comment!

Create With Connie and Mary 216 - It's a Scavenger Hunt!

There are some awfully fun things going on over at Create With Connie and Mary this week.  Not only do we have a fun color challenge, but there is a Scavenger Hunt going on.  And the prize?  One lucky winner will receive a subscription to the 2012 Create With Connie and Mary Holiday Edition!  Be sure to head on over to Create With Connie and Mary to read the rules of the contest.  But be sure you keep on reading here, because I've got a clue to share!

Now, on to my card.  As I contemplated what I wanted to do for this fabby color challenge, I came across a sketch that I had used previously to make a card.  I really liked that card so I decided to use the sketch again for my card this week.

Are these fantastic colors or what?  I stamped the flowers from Summer Silhouettes in Rich Razzleberry, then fussy cut them out.  I've got a simple layer of Night of Navy and Lucky Limeade which I jazzed up a bit with some Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine.  I thought the flowers were a little plain so I added a Basic Rhinestone to the center of each one, then added a few more randomly around the design.

Preview week at Create With Connie and Mary is winding down and with it, is your chance to sign up for the 2012 Create With Connie and Mary Holiday Edition at a discounted price.  But for this week only, you have a chance to win a subscription by hopping around the Design Team blogs and collecting some important clues in our Scavenger Hunt.  My secret Create word is is, so write it down and head on over to Create With Connie and Mary so you know what to do with it!

Thanks for stopping by today!  The Design Team has got some fabulous cards for you to get your creative juices flowing so be sure to stop on by.  Then grab those stamps and inks and join us.  Remember this is a Stampin' Up! only challenge so don't sneak any other stamps or paper in there!!

Freshly Made Sketches 50

Sometimes it's funny how ideas for making a card come to me.  The other day I went into my stamp room to make my card for this weeks challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  I was kicking around some ideas in my head when I happened to look down and spotted a small piece burlap ribbon that I got somewhere or another.  It was like a light bulb went off in my head and I knew just how I wanted my card to look!

My card base is Naturals Ivory cardstock which I hardly ever use but discovered matches the Orchard Harvest DSP quite well.  I used some of the Cajun Craze patterned paper as well as the More Mustard checkered paper from that pack.  I love how these colors paired with the burlap make a warm, and somewhat rustic card.  I thought about putting some pretty leaves on this for my focal point, but for the second time that night I looked over and saw my long-forgotten Spice Cake buttons and realized the big More Mustard one tied with some Linen Thread would be perfect!  Who would have thought that twice in one night I would be inspired by just casually looking around my stamp room!  I ought to try that more often!!

I hope you have time to look around your crafting space and see what you can find.  Then put it all together and join us for this sketch challenge.  My friends at Freshly Made Sketches have created some wonderful cards to inspire you, so be sure to stop on by check them out!

Lesley Croghan

Cindy Hall

Tui Nathan

Jennifer Timko

Allisa Chilton

Jen Sannes

Ann Schach

Linda Suarez

Jennifer Brum