Stampin' B's Color Challenge

Happy December 2nd! Today my dear son, my baby, turns 8 years old. Wow! It seems like it was only yesterday that he was born four weeks early (better than the 12 weeks early he originally seemed intent upon; I spent those last eight weeks, a majority in the hospital, on bed rest trying everything possible to keep him "in the oven" until it was safe for him to make his grand entrance into the world). We have delighted in watching him grow into a loving, bright, curious, sweet, sensitive, and hilarious boy who loves to laugh, read books, build with Legos, push buttons, play with computers (see "push buttons" entry), ride his bike, help people, and be a Cub Scout. He likes to be just like Dad, play with his sister, and cuddle with Mom. We love him to pieces, and we hope that he has a fantastic birthday. :)

So to celebrate, I have been invited into DS's classroom to read a favorite story to his class. The Scholastic Book Fair is at his school this week and today happens to be the day for his class to visit the Book Fair, so I'll meet them at the Book Fair so we can shop together and then head back to his classroom for the story. We also have some winter pencils that he will pass out to his classmates as a birthday treat (because edible treats are no longer allowed at his school).

At some point today (when I'm not at his school but while he still is), I will be baking him the chocolate chip cake that he requested as his birthday cake. There won't be time for a full-blown birthday celebration tonight (both kids have gymnastics tonight after school, and then DS has an evening Cub Scout meeting tomorrow which will leave us short on time for celebration then, too), so the birthday cake will have to suffice as celebration for today. But we'll really do it up right on Saturday with presents and lunch out at the restaurant of his choice (looks like he's decided on Fuddrucker's) and maybe even a little surprise outing. We're looking forward to fun day!

Well, it's time to meet my card for today!! It's Thursday, so you know what that means--another challenge from the Stampin' B's DT!! This week it's time for me to host my very first Stampin' B's challenge. My challenge to the team, as well as anyone who would like to play along with us this week, is a color challenge with a twist: use purple and turquoise on your card and add something shiny or sparkly. Here's what I came up with:
My "DP" for this card is actually a piece of calico fabric from my stash. I've always thought this is the most beautiful shade of purple! After stitching it to my card base with my sewing machine, I frayed the edges (or at least as best as I could manage). The butterfly and sentiment are a sneak peek from a new stamp set called Take a Peek that will be released by Mark's Finest Papers next week. Just wait until you see the cute lil' critters in the rest of this set!!

My mother-in-law loves to quilt and sew. We will be sending this fabric-bedecked card to her for her birthday next week. Hope she'll like it! Here's a close-up of some of the sewing details that I hope she'll flip for:
I incorporated these challenges into my card:

• Card Positioning Systems: CPS195 sketch
• Tuesday Throwdown: Embellish It
• Everything But the Kitchen Sink: Textures (I've added texture both with fabric and with grosgrain ribbon)

I hope you've been inspired to play along with the Stampin' B's!! If you do make a card, post it on your blog or SCS gallery, and link it up to the Inlinkz tool on the Stampin' B's blog. We'd love to see what you create!! :)

Thanks for checking out my little slice of bliss for today!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers Take a Peek
Paper: The Paper Company CS
Ink: Palette violette
Accessories: SU large oval punch, SU decorative label punch, dimensionals, scissors, grosgrain ribbon, sewing machine, turquoise rhinestones, buttons from my stash, lilac baker's twine from The Twinery
Techniques: machine stitching