SSSC56 Any Occasion Card

I have to admit that when I saw Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge I was a little intimidated.

I usually have very bad luck trying to fit small squares onto big ones and then I get aggravated trying and I just give up.  But this time I wanted to give it a go.  I've been trying to do Karen's sketches every week because they are just so darn "sweet" so I didn't want to let myself down by skipping one that I might find difficult.  After all, isn't that what a challenge is all about?  Challenging ourselves to do something that may be out of our comfort zone.

So with my trusty ruler in hand (really, it was more like a death grip) I attempted this sketch challenge.  And I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the result.  I hope you like it too.

And because I usually do something to the inside of a card made with dark cardstock so that regular folk can use it, may I present the inside as well.  (And by regular folk, I mean those who see no need to own a white gel pen).

 Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

Gift Card Holders

I decided that I have an awful lot of retired designer paper in my stash and that I was going to begin a serious campaign to use it up.  These gift card holders are a start.  Who doesn't need a supply of gift card holders?

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

PPA29 Black and White and No Stamps!

Once in a while I make a card then I realize that I haven't used any stamps on it.  This is one of those cards.  To be honest, it didn't start out that way.  I had a couple of versions of this card using some stamps that will remain un-named (lest you think I'm crazy for even thinking about using them on this card).  Then I spied a box I had made a while ago and there was this really cool, mulit-colored, multi-layored daisy flower on it as an embellishment.  Never one to turn down an easy fix, I jumped at the chance to cut a few daisies with my sizzix flower daisies #2 die in black and white and then layer them on this card.  I held it all together with a build-a-brad.  I bent the petals of the daisies up a little bit so they kind of stick out from the card.  Nice effect, if I do say so myself.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

MTSC60 Mother's Day

I'm not sure I've ever made a card in this size before.  I had these long, narrow envelopes in my stash and I decided Mercy's latest sketch challenge was perfect to use them up.  And in the meantime I figured it would be a good time to make some Mother's Day cards. 

And a big THANK YOU to Gretchen Barron for taking what I am assuming is a tremendous amount of time to figure out the optimal cardstock sizes to get a perfect square using the scallop trim border punch.  What an invaluable service.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

MOJO125

Well, it is a snowy night here in Massachusetts.  The weathermen were predicting about a foot of snow and that it would start snowing around noon today.  Well, it started about 9:00 this morning, but it didn't stick!  It snowed all day while I was at work but there was no snow on the ground.  It was like rain!  Then around 4:00 this afternoon it started to stick and I think by morning we'll have about 7 inches or so.  Which means I have to be up early so that I can shovel.  Fun.

I took this snowy night as an opportunity to make my card for the latest MOJO challenge.  When I saw the sketch, with its very intimidating curved piece, I was a little nervous.  But as it turns out, I still have a small plate in my stamp room that I use to make curved edges so it was no trouble at all.  I just love challenging myself with something out of my comfort zone!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

SSSC55, PPA28, Oh My!

I've been busy this weekend!  Not only did I make cards for the MOJO challenge and Mercy's challenge, I did another combo and made a card for the sweet sunday sketch challenge and the PPA color challenge.  Sheesh, I'm exhausted!  Hopefully, I can stay awake for the super bowl!

As soon as I saw the PPA color challenge I knew I wanted to do it.  The colors look so awesome together and I used similar ones not too long ago, so I was raring to go.  For this card I broke out the Welcome Neighbor dp and I think I like it just as much as the Sweet Pea dp.  It has similar colors and a similar feel.  I didn't take a picture of the inside of the card, but as I usually do with a dark card base, I put a lighter color on the inside so that it can be written on.  I think you can just see it peeking here, but I used some more of the dp and punched it with the swiss cheese border punch - so cute!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

MTSC59

I decided to combine a couple of challenges here.  Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge and a color challenge (256) on Splitcoast.  A few weeks ago I saw a color challenge somewhere that used crushed curry and a gray and something else and I saw a few cards that really "spoke" to me.  I realized that it was the crushed curry that caught my attention, so I decided to try and use it more often.  (When will I stop coming up with these "new year" resolutions?!?!?)  So when I saw this color challenge I thought that it was a sign from the stamping cosmos!  I used crushed curry, basic gray and bravo burgundy (another color that I haven't used in a while).

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!

MOJO124

Whew!  I was able to make the MOJO challenge this week before Mr. Linky closed (with some time to spare).  I don't know where the time went this week.  It seemed like I was busy every night this week and had no time to spend in my stamp room.  So once the weekend got here, I rolled up my sleeves, went into the stamp room and didn't emerge until I had created something.  This is what I came up with.

I love this Sweet Pea dp and I'm happy to let the paper guide my colors.  I think this is a really unusual combination (pumpkin pie and taken with teal), but it's very dramatic and interesting in real life.  Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have time to stamp today!