Cards For A Few Challenges

Good evening! I hope you had a great weekend!  The weather here was fantastic - it was over 60 yesterday and the sun was actually shining!  But today, we are back to winter.  Cold and damp and drizzly!  I guess I can't complain, though, considering the winter weather some of you are dealing with!

On to my cards... My first card was made for this week's Queen For The Day Challenge (#45) over on Splitcoast Stampers.  We are CASEing Heather (Isaiah40:31) this week.  Here is the card of Heather's I chose to CASE.  I chose to use the color's from this week's Color Spotlight Challenge #10 on StampTV for my card. 

Here are the colors Gina gave us to work with:

Here is the card I made for both challenges:

I stamped the poppies from the Gina K. Designs set, Hugs and Prayers (by Nina Brackett) on GKD Layering Weight White with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copic markers.  The sentiment is from Nina's GKD set, Fanciful Tags.  The border is punched with the Martha Stewart Modern Garland Edge Punch.  A few rhinestones finished my CAS card.

My second card was also for two challenges:  this week's Sketch Challenge on Paper Craft Planet (sk012911) and the Featured Stamper Challenge on Splitcoast (FS208). This week's Featured Stamper was Sue (Tillymint).  Here is the link to Sue's card that I chose to CASE.

Here is the PCP sketch:

Here is my card for both challenges:

My card is 5 1/2 " square.  My base card is GKD Green Apple.  My patterned papers are the Webster's Pages Hollywood Vogue/WonderFALL Petite Papers pack.  I used some trim from Webster's Hollywood Designer Trim pack and I created a rosette from Webster's Vintage Inspired Netting.  I airbrushed a cluster of white Primas with Copics  My sentiment is from the Gina K. Designs set, Inside & Out.  It's stamped with SU Kiwi Kiss onto GKD Layering Weight Ivory.  The sentiment panel was cut out with Spellbinders Petite Oval Nestabilities.

Thanks for stopping by!  See you soon!

Just Us Girls #69

If you are looking for my CSS Alumni Blog Hop post, click here.

It's Saturday and time for the last challenge of the month over at the Just Us Girls blog!  It's also my last week as January Guest Designer.  I have had a fantastic time playing along with the super-talented and super-sweet DT and I'll definitely be back to join in on their fun challenges each week!  With that said, let's move on to today's challenge, which is a Wild Card challenge hosted by Maria.  The challenge is to make a handmade 3D flower and use it on our project.

Here is a link to a great tutorial from Tim Holtz for making your own paper flowers.  You can use a variety of flower punches or dies and still follow these basic instructions.  There are also lots of other handmade flower tutorials out there, so get creative and let us see your beautiful blooms!

Here is the card I made using three paper roses I made from DP using a Marvy flower punch:

I started with a base of Papertrey Aqua Mist CS.  The patterned papers are from the Webster's Pages Lullaby Lane/Life's Portrait Petite Papers pack. I created the flowers with papers from the same pack, following the tutorial above.  I used some leftover trimmed petals to create my leaves.  The sentiment is from an old SU set, Happy Harmony.  It's stamped with Tim Holtz Peeled Paint Distress Ink and heat embossed with clear EP.  I added a soft, double-loop bow made with Martha Stewart Seam Binding and my Bow Easy.  A few light peach pearls finished it.

Be sure to stop by the JUGs blog and check out the gorgeous flower creations from the amazing DT.  While you are there, why not play along with us?

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!

CSS Alumni Blog Hop - Sketch Challenge

It's time for another Center Stage Alumni Blog Hop!  This time we had a sketch challenge, using a great sketch designed by our own, Melissa Cash.  If you arrived here from Betty's blog, you are in the right place.  If not, you'll want to start back in the StampTV forum and hop from there so you don't miss a thing!

Here is Melissa's sketch:

Here is the card I made using the sketch:

And this is the inside:

I started with a base of Pure Luxury Green Apple CS.  The patterned paper I used was from my stash - it is from the My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus collection.  I stamped the sentiment from Gina's Spring Mix set with Tim Holtz Walnut Stain Distress Ink onto Pure Luxury Layering Weight Ivory.  The frames were cut with Spellbinders Classic Squares for the first two layers and Lacey Squares for the Green Apple border.  I added tiny ivory pearls to the scallops.  I created a twisted ribbon flower with ribbon leaves and added an ivory pearl to the center.  A few matching buttons finished the outside.  On the inside, I stamped the flowers from Gina's Spring Florals and colored them with Copic markers and highlighted with a Sakura Pure Glitter Pen for a little shimmer.

Thanks for stopping by!  Now hop on over to Carolina's blog, where she has a gorgeous creation to share with you!  Be sure to leave a comment as you hop to each blog, because on Tuesday morning (February 1st), we will randomly choose one comment from all the participating blogs and that commenter will receive a  FREE stamp set of their choosing, valued up to $24.95!

Oops, I almost forgot to mention that my color combo was from this week's Color Throwdown #126:

Tuesday Trigger - Sweets For The Sweet

I had a little time to play this afternoon, so I decided to make a card for this week's Tuesday Trigger on Moxie Fab World - Sweets For The Sweet!  What a yummy looking inspiration we had to work with!

Here is this week's trigger:

Here is my take on it:

I used this week's Sketch 99 from the Card Patterns blog for my layout.  I started with a base of Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury Cranberry Tart CS.  The patterned paper is from the Basic Grey Bittersweet collection.  The pattern of the bottom panel reminded me of the flourishes inside the candy box.  The hot pink center panel and soft burgundy wrinkled silk ribbon were inspired by the colored tissue paper lining the box.  I created a scalloped border to mimic the one on the box.  Finally, I punched 3 hearts with an EK Success heart punch then covered them with glitter to make three yummy "fudge hearts". Each got its own little scalloped "holder".  The sentiment is from Gina K. Designs Happy Hearts set (by Tami Mayberry). It's clear embossed and cut out with Scallop and Classic Circle Nestabilities. 

I truly appreciate you stopping by!  Have a great evening!

StampTV Sketch Spotlight Challenge

Good morning!  I'm back to share a card I made for this week's Sketch Spotlight Challenge on StampTV.

Here is the sketch Gina had for us this week:

Here is the card I made with the sketch:

My card is also for today's Teapot Tuesday Challenge on Splitcoast Stampers (MMTPT130).  We were to be inspired by two adorable teapot lamps in pink and blue. Our cards are going out to the proud new parents of twins -a boy and a girl!  The twins are the grandbabies of fellow SCSer and teapotter, Patricia Rose (kokirose).  You can check out their story here, if you'd like.

I stamped the cute teddy bear from the Gina K. Designs set, First Christmas, twice onto GKD Layering Weight White and colored them with Copic markers.  I paper-pieced the hats and scarves with DP from the SU Print Patterns pad. The background papers are also from that pad.  The sentiment is from Gina K. Designs Spring Mix set.  I popped up the bears and added a few buttons to finish my simple card.

Glad you stopped by!  Have a great day!

Mojo Monday 175

Happy Monday! I had a busy weekend and I'm getting here late today, too, but I wanted to share a card I made for this week's Mojo Monday Sketch 175.  As soon as I saw this sketch, I knew I wanted to play along. 

Here is this week's sketch:

And here is my take on the sketch:

I decided to use the colors from last week's Color Challenge on Paper Craft Planet (pcpcolor88, week3) which were light blue and gray.  I started with a base of SU Soft Sky and layered with papers from the Basic Grey Cappella 6x6 pad.  My sentiment is from the Gina K. Designs set, Arranged With Love, and it was stamped with Tim Holtz Peeled Paint Distress Ink and heat embossed with clear EP.  I added some soft blue suede ribbon that I got from Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.  I finished it with a stick pin made from the SU Pretties Kit and lots of ivory pearls and flourishes.

Thanks for stopping by tonight!  Have a great evening!

Just Us Girls #68

Good morning!  It's Saturday again and that means a new challenge over on the Just Us Girls blog!  For week 4 of the month, we have a 3D/template challenge hosted by Lisa.  The challenge is to create a 3D  Valentine treat container.  What a great way to get a head start on the fun little gifts we like to give to those we LOVE on this special day!

Here is the treat box I made:

I decided to make a gable box for my project.  I used a great tutorial from Nina Brackett.  I started with a 81/2 x 11 sheet of SU Rose Red cardstock and printed out Nina's template. I covered the box, inside and out with Basic Grey Bittersweet DP.  I cut an opening in the front and added a piece of acetate for my window.  This was framed with DP cut with Spellbinders Petite Scalloped Oval Nestabilities.  I added a couple of rhinestone flourishes for some sparkle.  The butterfly was punched from DCWV Flower Shower Glitter Paper with a Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch.  The flower was handmade from the same glitter paper using Posy Patch Flowers dies from Heartfelt Creations.  The heart tag was created with EK Success Heart punches and stamped and embossed with a sentiment from the Gina K. Designs set, Happy Hearts (illustrated by Tami Mayberry).

My box is also for Weekly Challenge #3 on Joan's Gardens' blog, which this week had the following requirements:

-make a box

-use a butterfly

-use a flourish

-use a handmade flower

If you haven't already, be sure to stop by the JUGS blog and see all the fabulous Valentine's projects the ever so talented DT has to share with you! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend!

Card Patterns Sketch 98

This is my second post today and it will be a quick one before I head out for the rest of the day.  I am sharing a card I made for two challenges - Sketch Challenge #98 on the Card Patterns blog and this week's Color Spotlight Challenge on StampTV (stvcsp9).

Here is the Card Patterns sketch:

Here are the Color Spotlight challenge colors:

And finally, here is my card:

I started with a base card of Turquoise Sea and added a layer of Layering Weight White.  The two patterned paper panels are from Webster's Pages Home For The Holidays/Winter's Wings Petite Papers pack.  I created a simple sentiment tag from Heavy Base Weight White with one of the Spellbinders Ribbon Tags Trio 2 and stamped the sentiment from the Gina K. Designs set, Arranged With Love (by Melanie Muenchinger), with Vivid Aqua.  I added some chocolate satin ribbon, chocolate pearls and a beautiful layered flower that I got from Pixie Petals Etsy store.  I added a little brown satin embellishment (Offray) to the flower center and that was it.

Have a wonderful weekend!  See you tomorrow for this week's Just Us Girls Challenge!



Color Throwdown #125

Wow!  Where did the week go?  It's been a busy one, but I finally had a chance to drop in and share a card I made for this week's Color Throwdown.  Here are the soft and pretty colors from Barbara:

I used the sketch from this week's Sketch Spotlight Challenge on StampTV for my card.

Here is my card:



I used some beautiful papers from Webster's Pages Waiting For Santa/Sweet Season Petite Papers pad which had all three colors.  I cut the pieces to match the sketch and stitched around the panels with my Janome Sew-Mini.  My card base is Pear Pizzazz and it is layered with Blushing Bride.  I paper-pieced the dress from Gina K. Designs Retro Boutique set with a striped DP from Webster's Winter's Wings pad., then added a sash of sheer ribbon and a tiny rose.  I added some Liquid Pearls and Pink Stickles to the hem of the dress to look like taffeta and lace.  The sentiment is also from Retro Boutique.  It is framed with one of the Fanciful Tags frames (also from Gina K. Designs) and cut with a Spellbinders Fancy Tag. A few tiny pearls finished it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Just Us Girls #67

If you are looking for my Gina K. Designs CSS Alumni Blog Hop card, click here.

It's Saturday and time for a new challenge on the Just Us Girls blog!  I am having so much fun as their January Guest Designer!  This week, Kristin is our hostess and we are having a color challenge.  And here is another fun thing - Kristin invited me to pick the colors this week!  I was excited and nervous at the same time, but in the end, it didn't take long for me to choose.

Here are the colors for the challenge:

The colors were inspired by the gorgeous new line by Graphic 45 called Once Upon A Springtime.  The colors in this collection are so soft and pretty!  They provide a perfect respite from all the cold winter weather many of us are having!  Can you tell I am dreaming of spring?  It can't come too soon for me!

Here is the card I made using the colors:

You know I had to use the Once Upon A Springtime papers for my card!  I started with a base card of Papertrey's Aqua Mist and layered it with aqua striped DP from the 8 x 8 pad.  I used the Martha Stewart Modern Garland "Punch Around the Page" set to create my next layer out of SU Groovy Guava.  I layered this with one of the coral prints in the pad.  I created the bottom panel by punching a strip of SU Old Olive with the Martha Stewart Deco Fan Border Punch and layering it with a green scrolly print DP.  I added small ivory pearls to the scallops.  The "postcard" was cut from one of the sheets of patterned paper and I added a little stamp that I cut from another of the sheets.  My sentiment tag was made using one of the Spellbinders Fancy Tags layered with a sentiment and frame from the Gina K. Designs set, Fanciful Tags (by Nina Brackett).  I finished it with some tiny buttons, a puffy pearl heart, a silk flower and a Aqua Mist bow.  Phew!  I think that's it!

Oh, and this is also for Weekly Challenge #2 on Joan's Garden's blog which this week had the following requirements:

-Use paper that has a stripe

-Use a button or some type of embellishment

-Use a heart

-Use a bow



My card has all those elements!  Isn't it great when things work out that way?  Many of the products I used on my card, including the Once Upon A Springtime pad, can be purchased from Joan's store.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!  Be sure and check out all the fabulous and inspiring creations the very talented JUGS DT have to share for today's challenge!

Have a great day!

Gina K. Designs CSS Alumni Blog Hop

It's time for another Center Stage Spotlight Alumni Blog Hop!  This time we are playing along with Gina's Color Spotlight Challenge for this week (STVCSP8).  If you arrived here from Betty's blog, then you are in the right place. If not, you will want to start over in the StampTV Forum so you won't miss anything!
You may have seen that this week's Color Challenge had two sets of colors. You could use either or both (on separate cards). 

Here are the two sets of colors for the challenge:

I chose to work with the Version 1 colors.  Here is my card:



I stamped lots of the flowers and leaves from Melanie's set, Bud and Vases with Memento Rich Cocoa onto Pure Luxury Red Hot (for the flowers) and Fresh Asparagus (for the leaves).  I highlighted the centers with an Inkssentials White Opaque Pen then cut out all the flowers and leaves to assemble later.  The card base is Heavy Base Weight Ivory and the Swiss Dots layer is Sweet Corn.  I cut out the mat for the image panel with Spellbinders Lacey Circles.  I punched a trellis out of Layering Weight Ivory and adhered the flowers and leaves to it.  I added one more spray of flowers for my main image.  I added small pearls to all the flower centers. I finished it with a couple of bright red pearls and a double-loop bow made of red wrinkled silk with my Bow Easy.

Thanks for stopping by!  Now hop on over to Carolina's blog where she has some awesome creations for you to be inspired by!

Hope you'll play along!  See the STVCSP8 post for details on how you could win a free stamp set if you do!

Color Throwdown #124

In yet another outpouring of love and support for fellow stamper, Katie Renz, today's Color Throwdown Challenge #124 is being dedicated to Katie and the team asked that our cards for the challenge be sent on to her.  You can find links to Katie's story, as well as a fundraiser being held for the benefit of Katie and her family, in my post from yesterday and in my sidebar. 

Here are today's colors:

Here is my card:



I don't have any Early Expresso so my card base is GKD Pure Luxury Chocolate Brown. My layers are Melon Mambo.  The patterned paper is from the Prima Fairy Flora 6 x 6 pad.  I stamped the sentiment from Gina K. Designs Hope Grows set (illustrated by Theresa Momber) with Versamark and Soft Sky onto Cryogen White Iridescent CS (Paper Temptress) and embossed it with clear EP.   The sentiment panels were cut with Spellbinders Petite Oval Nestabilities.  I punched the butterflies from another sheet of Fairy Flora PP and added some adhesive gems for some sparkle.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great evening!

Help For Katie

This week the stamping community is coming together in support of fellow stamper, Katie Renz, who was recently diagnosed with stage 4 gastic cancer. You can read about Katie's story in her own words here on her blog.  Katie's friend, Jak Heath, has coordinated a fundraising event to help Katie and her family during this difficult time.  You can read about all the details on Jak's site.   The links are also in my sidebar.
This week's Teapot Tuesday Challenge on Splitcoast Stampers is also dedicated to Katie.  The details of the challenge are here and there is more information here about how you can send a card to Katie to help lift her spirits.

Here is the card I made for the teapot challenge (flowers and gold) and to send to Katie:

I used the layout from this week's Sketch Spotlight Challenge on StampTV, but flipped it.  I used one of the sentiments from the Gina K. Designs set, Faithful Florals (illustrated by Tami Mayberry) and embossed it with gold EP onto ivory CS.  The flourishes on the image panel are from Nina Brackett's Lovely Labels 2 set, also by Gina K. Designs.  All the layers are GKD Pure Luxury Good As Gold.  I embossed the narrow gold strip with one of the Cuttlebug Organic Flourish border folders.  The patterned paper has beautiful gold accents.  Sorry but it came from my scrap bag and I can't remember the brand.  I finished it with a cluster of Prima flowers.

Keeping Katie and her family in my thoughts and prayers.

Thanks for stopping by!

Color Throwdown #123

This is my second post today.  I'm back with a quick post to share I card I made for last week's Color Throwdown #123.   I used the layout from Saturday's Sketch Challenge on Paper Craft Planet (sk010811).

Here are the CTD colors:

And here is the PCP Sketch:

Here is my card:

What is really cool is that CTD design team member, Kristin Bueter, designed a set of beautiful digital papers using this week's color combo and it was available to download free from the CTD site!  Be sure and check it out!  Thanks, Kristin!   I had to use Kristin's papers for my card.  I kept the rest of the card very simple to showcase the colors and papers.  My sentiment frame is from Gina K. Designs set Lovely Labels 2 (illustrated by Nina Brackett) and the sentiment is from Nina's Fanciful Tags set, also from Gina K. Designs.  I added some pearls and an artichoke bow to finish it.
See you tomorrow!

Card Positioning Systems #200

Happy Monday morning!  Hope everyone had a great weekend!  I can't believe we are expecting snow/ice again here in NC! It's already been a cold winter and it's only January.  I hope it doesn't turn out to be as bad as they say.
On to my card.  I made this card for two challenges - this week's sketch challenge on the Card Positioning Systems blog (CPS #200) and one of the January Release Party Challenges on the StampTV blog (GKDJAN11MW) which was to use exactly one new thing on our card.

Here is the CPS sketch:

Here is my card:

My one new item was the beautiful new patterned paper from Graphic 45 called Once Upon a Springtime which I just got over the holidays but hadn't used yet.  I stamped the flowers from the Gina K. Designs set, Bud and Vases (illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger) twice with Memento Rich Cocoa onto GKD Pure Luxury Layering Weight Ivory and colored them with Copic markers.  I added a little sparkle to the flower centers with a Spica glitter pen.  I popped up the flowers on foam tape to create my focal image.  I finished my card with a double-loop bow made from wrinkled silk ribbon using my Bow Easy.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Winter Chickadee

I am back tonight to share a card I made for a few challenges.  It's been such a busy week, I had to do a bit of multi-tasking by combining some of my favorite challenges.  My card is for today's Card Patterns Sketch #97, today's Our Creative Corner Inspiration Challenge and the weekly challenge on Joan's Gardens' blog which this week had the following requirements:

-use an animal or bird

-use a floral patterned paper

-use some kind of die

-do something outside our comfort zone

Here is the Card Patterns Sketch I worked with:

Here is the inspiration photo for the OCC challenge:

Here is my card:

For my main focal point, I combined two images from the Gina K. Designs set, Winter Wings, using masking. I colored the image with Copic markers then added gloss to the berries with a Sakura Clear Glaze Pen.  I added some "snow" to the branches by adding Liquid Applique and puffing it up with a heat tool.  I used one of the Spellbinders Lacey Circles to frame the image. The card base is GKD Pure Luxury Cranberry Tart and my floral patterned paper is from the Webster's Pages Home For The Holidays Collection.  The thing outside my comfort zone was the stitching, something I am generally too lazy to pull out my sewing machine to do.

Many thanks for stopping by!  Have a great evening!

Just Us Girls #66 Technique Challenge

It's Saturday and time for another JUGS challenge!  I am back as Guest Designer for the month of January. For this second week of the month, we have a Technique Challenge and Pam is our fab hostess this week!  Pam's challenge is called Envy of the Envies and the challenge is to line our envelopes with patterned paper and decorate it to match our card. 

Gina K. Designs is the generous sponsor for this week's challenge. Gina has a terrific video tutorial on how to line your envelopes here on StampTV. 

Here is the card and envie I made for the challenge:

I used some cute images from the Gina K. Designs set, Retro Boutique, illustrated by Rupa Shevde. I stamped them with Memento Tuxedo Black onto GKD Pure Luxury Layering Weight White CS and colored them with Copic markers.  I highlighted the individual images with Spica glitter pens.  I added gloss to the shoe and the purse inset with a Sakura Black Glaze pen.  Finally, I added a little bling to the shoe and purse.  My card base is GKD Pure Luxury Black Onyx and the mat is Green Apple.  The dotted DP is from Webster's Pages Life's Portrait collection.  I created a little awning with a striped paper from the same collection.  I finished my card with some black and white polka dot ribbon from my stash and a Sparkler from Webster's Pages.

Here's the 3 part challenge:

1. Make a card – no specs on this but if you have Gina K stamps we'd LOVE to see them :-)

2. Decorate your envelope to match/coordinate with your card

3. Create a liner for your envelope to coordinate with your card.

 

You'll definitely want to play along this week!  Link up a photo of your card and envelope over on the JUGS blog.  The Team will be giving away a Gina K. Designs stamp set to one randomly selected participant who follows all the challenge requirement!  How cool is that?

Be sure to stop by and see the awesome creations from the JUGS DT!
Thanks for stopping by!