Less is More Week 52

Evening All,
Well feeling more human and trying to not panic about all the "stuff" I have to do to play catch up! Ugh so anyway I figured whats one more night?? Right??!! So, anyway went on over to Less is More and they had a great challenge:

They requested that the card be

• rectangular
• in landscape orientation
• with the band remaining in a vertical position 

As it's a very simple sketch,  we would like it to remain as is without any rotation of either the card or the vertical band.

 Simple sketches are not so simple for me, so I felt that this would be a great challenge for me. Here is what I came up with:

I really like how it came out! I am very proud of myself :) It was SOOO hard not to add a few butterflies or a ribbon!! LOL!! Here is what I used:
Paper: Naturals Ivory and Chocolate Chip
Ink: Chocolate Chip Craft and Classic Ink
Stamps: Sunflower and Loving Thoughts
Tools: Watercolor pencils and Gamsol (love how it brightens the color!)

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Karin

Friday Mashup #43

Hi All,
Had a great opportunity to complete one of my favorite challenges this weekend: The Friday Mash Up. Here was their challenge:

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project using the "Sketch".
2. Or Make a project using "Something NEW in your stash". (Stamps, ribbon, pretty paper...anything!)
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project "using the Sketch & something NEW in your stash".

I chose to "Mash it Up" with the DP, Ribbon and Stamp Sets I recently received. Here is what I came up with:



A great friend of mine gave me the beautiful Vanilla Ribbon and I had not had a chance to use it!! Here is what I used:
Paper: Everyday Enchantment, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade and Very Vanilla
Ink: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade and River Rock
Stamp Set: Loving Thoughts and Take it to Heart
Tools: Blender Pens, Big Shot
Embellishments: Lucky Limeade Organza Ribbon, Vanilla Ribbon, Dimensional's and Lattice Folder
Punches Small Oval and Decorative Label

Thanks for stopping by! Have a good Monday!
Karin

Freshly Made Sketches #19

Morning All,
Can't believe how fast weekends fly by! I am working really hard to carve out time at least 4-5 days a week to make a card, complete a challenge, etc. So far I am right on track! For today's card I went on over to Freshly Made Sketches and Jen Mitchell had a great sketch:

And here is what I came up with:

Here is what I used:

Paper: Soft Suede, Naturals Ivory, Calypso Coral and Everyday Elegance DP

Ink: Pool Party and Crumb cake (for distressing)

Punch: Curly Label

Stamp Sets: Loving Thoughts (so so beautiful!)

Embellishments: Pool Party Seam Binding, Everyday Elegance Brads and Sticky Back Pearls, Big Shot and Top Note Die (you run it through as you would normally do then take that shape and turn it horizontally and run it through again. That gives you this awesome shape!!).

I chose not to distress the base layer of Naturals Ivory as I liked the contrast with the DP and the sentiment. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Have a great day!

Karin

Stampin Queen Challenge #23

Morning All,
Quick post before I go run some errands. I wanted to complete the Stampin Queen's Challenge #23 as I had accomplished #22. Here is that sketch:

And here is what I came up with:

Here is what I used:
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla and Sending Love DP (retired)
Ink: Pretty  in Pink
Stamp Set: Well Scripted (sadly retired)
Embellishments: Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon and Very Vanilla 5/16 Neutral Brads
Punch: 2 1/5" Circle, 2 3/8 Scallop Circle and 1 3/4 Circle

Have a great weekend!
Karin

Late Night Posting!!

Evening All,
I guess this "counts" as a Friday post even though its 11:30!! Wow! Busy but great day! Had a fantastic night hosting a stamp a stack for my rehab co-workers and was so "awake" that I thought I would finish a card for the Stampin Queen's Challenge. They had two sketches due to some technical difficulties. I thought I would start with:

It was right up my alley! Here is what I came up with:

I really like how it came out! Here is what I used:
Paper: Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Blueberry Crisp DP (retired) and Naturals Ivory cardstock
Ink: Crumb Cake and Not Quite Navy
Stamp Set: Thoughts and Prayer
Embellishments: Big Shot and Polka Dots embossing folder, Marina Mist Taffeta Ribbon, Victorian Lace Ribbon and Dimensionals.
Punches: Decorative Label

Hope you had a great Friday!
Karin



Try Stamping on Tuesday #50

Evening All,
Had a few extra minutes today thanks to the great weather making my barn chores easy, so of course I chose to do a challenge card! I went on over to Try Stamping on Tuesday and Jenn had a great sketch (as usual!):

Here is my take on the sketch:

I am starting to like the balance of Soft Suede with brighter colors. I also think it lends itself to use for vintage products. This is what I used:
Stamps: Short and Sweet
Paper: Soft Suede, Naturals Ivory, Pool Party, and Everyday Elegance
Ink: Soft Suede
Embellishments: Everyday Elegance Brads, Big Shot, Tulip Embossing Folder, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die and Pool Party Seam Binding

Hope your having a great week!
Karin



Let the Sale-a-brating begin!!!!

  

Oh my gosh its here!! Had to write a quick post reminding everyone that Stampin Up's biggest promotion of the year is here!! SALE-A-BRATION!!

Earn FREE items!! Now through March 31, 2012, earn a free Sale-A-Bration gift for EVERY $50 you spend on Stampin' Up! products.  Even items from the on-line clearance rack can be included in your on-line order and count toward your total!  Spend $150 or more (excludes shipping and tax) and you will receive both Sale-A-Bration gifts AND earn Hostess Benefits Inclusive of a beautiful tote offered for a limited time! Click on the catalog above to check out the great products!!
Have a great night!
Karin

PPA 127

Evening All,
Well I decided that after a tough afternoon I would "allow" myself the chance to make a card for a friend who is expecting her first child. I was in need of a sketch so I went on over to Pals Paper Arts and they had another great sketch:

Here is what I came up with:

I spent a little time cutting out a few of the images after coloring them and "popping" them up on dimensionals, Here is a close up look:

I really like the Packed for Everything bundle in the new mini! It has an option for everything! Here are the supplies I used:
Stamps: Packed For Everything and Loving Thoughts
Paper: Whisper white, Certainly Celery, Pear Pizazz DP and Concord Crush DP
Ink: Staz on Black
Markers: Close to Cocoa (retired), Crumb Cake, So Saffron, Pear Pizazz, Concord Crush and Wisteria Wonder
Embellishments: Big Shot and Polka Dot Embossing Folder, Certainly Celery Satin Ribbon
Punched: Corner Rounder and Scallop Oval
Thanks for stopping by!
Karin

MOJO 224 & CCMC185



Hi all,
Made these cards Friday night. I got into a new challenge (to me) Mojo Monday and they had a great sketch:

Now that I had my sketch I needed a color palette so I went on over to Create with Connie and Mary and they challenged use to use the following colors:

 I wanted to experiment with using mostly designer paper with minimal to no stamping so here was the first card I came up with:

I really love the Everday Elegance DP in the salebration catalog!! I really enjoy the  shabby chic/vintage style as you can tell from the card above. The only stamp I used was the filigree image from the Pines and Poinsettias set. I also went heavy on the sponging and tearing. As I was looking at this card I really was thinking about how it would look "cleaner". The clean and simple style is quite nice, but not the easiest style for me. I took another "crack" at it and here is what I came up with:

Same color palette but I replaced the Crumb Cake base with Whisper white and the stamp with the "Thanks" from Kindness Matters.

I like how both cards came out and think I will enter the Shabby chic version for the Connie and Mary challenge and the clean and simple(r) for Mojo Monday. I would love to know what you think!!! Thanks for stopping by!!

Karin

GO PATS!!!!

FM #42

Morning All,
Quick post as I am moving slow on all the chores! I think the first real snowfall of the season is to blame!! Anyway I went on over to The Friday Mashup and this was their challenge:

 

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project using "Paper Piercing".  
2. Or Make a project using the colors "Blushing Bride, Riding Hood Red & Early Espresso".  
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project with the "Color Combo & Paper Piercing". 

Now I had the colors I needed but (gasp) I actually don't have any paper piercing tools so I thought and I thought and then I realized that the Top Note Die pierces the paper all around the shape (makes it easy to cut when you want to "nest" the shapes). So I grabbed my paper and here is what I came up with:

Here is what I used:
Paper: Blushing Bride cardstock and DP and Early Espresso cardstock
Ink: Early Espresso and Riding Hood Red
Embellishment: Big Shot, Tulip Embossing Folder and Top Note Die
Punches: Large and small heart
Stamp Set: Take it to Heart and Short and Sweet

Have a great day!
Karin
PS GO PATS!!

Freshly Made Sketches #18

Evening All,
Dinner is taking to long to cook so I decided to make a card. Sadly I am in need of a few sympathy cards and I always seem to have a hard time starting those. For inspiration I headed on over to Freshly Made Blogspot and they did not disappoint. Linda Callahan designed a great sketch:

Here is what I came up with:

Here is what I used:

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black and DP that retired ages ago and I did not keep the title!!

Ink: Basic Black

Stamp Sets: Loving Thoughts and Elements of Style

Embellishments: Basic Black Satin Ribbon, Heat Tool and Black Embossing Powder

Happy Friday and GO PATS!

Karin

Try Stamping on Tuesday #49

Evening All,
Well I have a late gym class tonight so thought I would take advantage of the great sketch at Try Stamping on Tuesday.

Here is what I came up with:

I took two different pictures as one showed off the gold embossed heart nicely while I thought the other showed off the embossed sentiment. I decided to play a little with different ribbon and liked the textures they added. Here is what I used:
Paper: Pretty  in Pink, Chocolate Chip and Sending Love DP (sadly retired)
Ink Versa Mark
Stamp set: Short and Sweet and Take it to Heart
Embellishments: Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon and Victorian Crochet ribbon, Heat tool and Gold embossing powder, Big Shot and Tulip embossing folder and chocolate chip brads.

Hope your week is going well!!
Karin



CCMC 184 & Paper Players #78

Evening All,

Had a chance after a very LONG day to blog a little. Good ending to the kitty story. Took her to the vet this morning and low and behold she was microchipped!! To top it off she had been missing 6 weeks and made it over thirty miles to me! Crazy!! Thankfully she is home safe now, here's to hoping she stays that way!!

Onto the challenges for the day. I went on over to Create with Connie and Mary and they had a great sketch for the week:

Now I needed my colors so checked out the Paper Players Blog. They challenge was to use the following colors:

                                                      

Here is what I came up with:

Here's my recipe:

Paper: Calypso Coral, Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride and Whisper White

Ink: Calypso Coral, Pear Pizzazz and Blushing Bride:

Stamp Set: Take it to Heart and Short and Sweet

Embellishments: Everyday Enchantment Brads, Calypso Coral organza ribbon, Large Heart and Small Heart punches, Eyelet Border and Scallop edge punch, Big Shot and Tulips Embossing Folder.

Hope you had a great Monday!

Karin

Try Stamping on Tuesday #48

Hi All,
Had a chance to make a challenge card today before running into work. I had gone on over to Try Stamping on Tuesday earlier in the week and I LOVED the sketch:

Once I saw the sketch I knew I wanted to make a "fancy fold" card, where the bottom design is folding up and over the main design. To do that you need to cut your 8 1/2 cardstock vertically at 5 1/2 so that it is 11" long. You then score it at 4 1/4 and then 8 1/2 to make your folds. Here is what mine looks like closed:

Here is with the card open with it standing like an easel:

I water marked the inside as well, but it doesn't show up very well on my photos! I used Pool Party as my base and the beautiful Everyday Enchantment DP from the Sale-a-bration catty for my punches and Die cut, as well as the organza ribbon. I really am happy with the way this card came up and it is going right into my Valentine pile!
Thanks for stopping by!
Karin



ps editting to add another picture of the front as the light was better..I hope!!

 

Fm #41

Hi All,
Slow morning over here! Fun, late night with my stamp club!! Its always a lot of fun, but the discussions last night were somewhat concerned. You see the neighborhood is full of us "animal people" meaning we are "softies" for anything with four legs. So the uproar is that a poor black and white kitty has been around the street all week, going from house to house being fed and hiding in garage's for shelter. He/she is very skittish but stayed on my deck eating some cat food I left for it as we all sat in the kitchen and crafted. I ended up talking my significant other into borrowing a have a heart trap so we can catch it to bring to a local vet to be scanned. I really hope it has a chip!! Fingers crossed!

Well onto the card of the day. I went on over to The Friday Mash Up. Here is this weeks challenge:

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a "Thank You" themed Project.
2. Or Make a project "Using Designer/Patterned Paper".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Thank You project with Designer/Patterned Paper".

I chose to "Mash it up". Here is what I came up with:

I hope you can see the gold embossing!! I used soft suede for my base and embossed the Sunflower stamp as background (totally love!!) and then made my band from a layer of pool party and Spice Cake DP (sadly retired). I then used my Kindness Matter stamp set and gold embossed the butterflies, cutting out each one, gold embossed the "Thanks" and layered on pool party seam binding. That is the "it" color for me!!
Have a great day and GO PATS!!!
Karin

ps edited to add a second picture of the card. I think it may be a better shot:

Stamp Club

Evening All,
Quick post before my monthly stamp club comes over! Here is a picture of the third card we are making tonight!

So love this technique! Here is what I used:

Stamps: Simply Soft
Cardstock: Pool Party - Half sheet
                 Very Vanilla – 3 x 2 ½”
                 Everyday Elegance DP – 4 x 5 ¼”
Ink (markers): Pool Party, Baja Breeze, Island Indigo, River Rock, Pear Pizzazz, Lucky Limeade and Sahara Sand markers. StaZ On ink for the image.
Embellishments: Gel pen, Big Shot, Designer Frames embossing folder, and Oval Die cut and Lucky Limeade Organza Ribbon.
Techniques: Layer the flowers with the blue markers with the lightest first and not covering the layers with next, darker marker.Do the same with the green shades on the leaves and stem. Highlight around the edge with Sahara Sand and use the gel pen to add a little “dot” to the base of the flower.

Have a great night!
Karin
PS GO PATS!!! :)

Stamp a stack cards!

Hi All!
I am proud to say I was able to accomplish a lot of stamping last night! I made some gifts I needed to make, completed a challenge card AND put together my three cards for my upcoming "Stamp a stack" classes. A Stamp a Stack is a class you come to and make fifteen cards (three designs, five cards apiece). They are a great "Girls Night In"! Feel free to contact me if your interested in coming to any or hosting your own! Here are the three cards:

Here are some individual shots as the group photo is a bit grainy. I still have to use the iphone for pictures....

As you can see there is a Valentine, Birthday and Thank you card. Well off to work!

Karin



FMS17 & PPA126

 

Evening All,

Well dinner is cooking I thought I would run into my craft room to complete a challenge card. I had gone over to the Pals Paper Arts color challenge earlier in the week and loved the colors:

  

I knew these were the colors that I definitely wanted to use! Next I needed a sketch, so I of course went on over to Freshly Made Sketches  and they did not disappoint! Here is their great sketch:

I combined the two great challenges and here is what I came up with:

I really loved how it came out. I almost added a sentiment but after playing around with it, I thought it looked better as it was. I did a really cool technique on it called "ghosting". It gives the image an almost 3D look. You stamp in a light color (i.e. Baja Breeze), then use your Stamp-a-ma-jig to align the image slightly to the left and stamp again in a darker color (i.e. Not Quite Navy. Not sure if you can tell from the picture but I watermarked the panel in the center with the leaf image. My recipe is as follows:
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze and Very Vanilla
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze and Versamark
Stamp Set: Just Believe (I really need to use that more!!)
Ribbon: Baja Breeze Seam Binding.

Hope you are having a great week!
Karin



Less is More week 49

Morning All,
Made a "deal" with myself this morning, I can complete one challenge then I must do paperwork! Well I was surfing to some of my favorite blogs and I checked out the Less is More Challenge. Their challenge was for your card to be:
                     Predominantly Purple

I was immediately drawn in as I love the combination of Stampin Up's in colors Concord Crush and Wisteria Wonder. Here is what I came up with:

I really feel like the "white space" shows off the combination nicely. I have been dusting off and using my Vintage Vogue set quite a bit lately, its so versatile! Here is what I used:

Paper: Whisper White, Concord Crush and Wisteria Wonder

Ink: Concord Crush and Wisteria Wonder

Stamp Set: Vintage Vogue

Punch: Moder Label

Embellishments: Large and regular sized Sticky Back Pears (the large sized are new for the Occasions Mini!)

I did a modified rock and roll technique on the flowers. I didn't have the ink pads, just the markers. So I colored each flower and edged it with the darker marker then I cut them all out for depth and layered over that corner. I really love how it turned out and I think I will be adding this card to my Valentines stash. I love using non-traditional colors for cards!

Have a great day!

Karin

SQSC#20 and Color Throwdown #173

Morning all,
Quick post before finishing the house chores and head to the beach with my horse :).Still picking away at my Valentines so I went on over to the Color Throw Down Blog and they  had some great colors to work with:

Now that I had my colors I needed a sketch so I went on over to the Stampin Queens sketch and really liked the challenge:

                                           

I mashed the two challenges together and here is what I came up with:

I really liked how it came out! Here is what I used:
Stamp set: Well Scripted (sadly retired)
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Red and Silver Glimmer paper
Ink: Real Red
Embellishments: Big Shot and Top Note Diez,and Basic Grey Satin Ribbon
Punches: Small Heart and Decorative Label
Hope you are enjoying the weather if your in the North East!!
Karin

Freshly Made Sketches #16 & CCMC 183

Hi All,

I was in the mood for adding another card to my Valentine's Day "stash". So went on over to Create with Connie and Mary and they had a great color challenge:

Now that I had my color palette I needed a sketch so went on over to Freshly Made Sketches. Here was their great sketch for the week:

                                                

Another great design as usual! Here is what I came up with (I ended up taking two photos with my camera as I wasn't sure which one showed the colors the best:

I really enjoy participating in all challenges, but really think the color challenges make me work outside my comfort zone. For example, I don't normally reach for Soft Suede, but I really love how it looks layered with Blushing Bride and Pool Party! My recipe is as follows:

Cardstock: Blushing Bride cardstock and DP, Pool Party and Soft Suede

Ink: Pool Party

Stamp Sets: Sweet Shoppe Alphabet

Embellishments: Big Shot and Polka Dots embossing folder and Pool Party Seam Binding  (New for the now live Occasions Mini!! YEAH!!!!)

Hope your enjoying your Friday!

Karin