StampinB Scoring Challenge

Every Thursday brings a new challenge from the Stampin' B's Design Team, and today is no different! Our new challenge this week is to use scoring on your project. Scoring is such an easy way to add texture and dimension to your card! There are lots of super tools out there for scoring--the Scor-Pal, Crafters Companion, Martha Stewart Scoring Board, Scor-It-All, and more--but you can score like a pro even if you don't have fancy (or costly!) tools like these. I do all of my scoring with a lowly embossing stylus (or burnisher) and the groove of my paper trimmer. Here's my card creation for this week's challenge:

I've also made this for the DeNami Color Challenge #8, which is to create a project featuring Golden Tangerine, Charcoal, Chocolate Brown, Lime and White/ Cream.

I've used the DeNami Design Rosebud Trio and the "cheers" sentiment from the Everyday Greetings set. I've also used DeNami Chocolate Brown and Charcoal cardstocks.

I'm also entering this card in the Textured to Perfection Challenge over in the Moxie Fab World, to incorporate texture in an innovative way. This is my second card for the challenge, and this time around I tried adding texture (two textured cardstocks, scoring, sheer ribbon, and hand-trimmed grass) in a clean way that doesn't overwhelm the design.

Thanks so much for dropping by today for a little slice of bliss with me. If you'd like to try your hand at this week's Stampin' B's Challenge, post your project 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!! :)

See you soon!

Emily

Card Recipe:Stamps: DeNami Design Rosebud Trio and Everyday Greetings
Cardstock: DeNami Chocolate Brown cardstock; DeNami Charcoal cardstock; cream, tangerine, and lime CS from The Paper Company 
Ink: Versafine vintage sepia
Accessories: embossing tool, colored pencils, SU scallop trim border punch, foam tape, cream sheer ribbon 
Techniques: scoring

Birds, Birds, Birds for this week's StampinB Challenge

This week's challenge, hosted by Joanne, over at the Stampin' B's Design Team Challenge is Birds, Birds, Birds. I'm starting to look toward Christmas, so I came up with this card featuring a fancy bird Christmas tree ornament:
I hate to admit how much I struggled with this one! I'm afraid it shows. And do you know how hard it is to photograph sparkle, shimmer, and bling? But I sure had fun adding it!! :) The dotty border around my sentiment frame was made with a glue pen and then heat embossed with copper embossing powder along with the sentiment.

I'm playing in these challenges:

• Flourishes Release Week Heavy Metal Challenge: to use a little metal on your card
• Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge #139: to make a Christmas card that either features an ornament, or create an ornament
• Ribbon Carousel Challenge #24: sparkle and bling
  

Thanks so much for dropping by today for a little slice of bliss with me. If you'd like to try your hand at this week's Stampin' B's Challenge, post your project 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!! :)

See you soon!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Flourishes O Christmas Tree (sentiment) and Flourishes All That Glitters
Cardstock: SU marina mist CS, SU wild wasabi CS, white CS from The Paper Company
Ink: SU wild wasabi, Versamark
Accessories: SU designer label punch, MS snow flurry edge punch, copper EP, glue pen, heat tool, Pink Paislee glitter, rhinestones, baker's twine
Techniques: heat embossing

A {not white} One-Layer for the StampinBs

**Have you taken time to play in my WCMD Giveaway yet?**
Today is the last day! Entries close at 5 p.m. EDT. You can find all the details HERE!

Another Thursday brings us another challenge from the Stampin' B's Design Team! This week our hostess is Lois, who is challenging everyone to make a one-layer card that is not white. Shall we meet the card that stepped up to the plate?

I stamped this wonderful fall image and sentiment from my new A Season of Thanks stamp set, which I won last month from Flourishes, directly onto some yellow cardstock. I colored the Indian corn with colored pencils (no gamsol this time), added a few scored lines, rounded a single corner, and I was done! Clean and simple design, quick and easy production, light and flat for mailing. What more could a crafty gal want?

I'm also playing along with Flourishes' Wacky World Card Making Day Challenge, which was to be inspired by the colors of a favorite animated character. This time I picked up the orange, yellow, red, and (skin-tone)/tan of my favorite comic strip characters, Calvin and Hobbes.
Thanks so much for dropping by today for a little slice of bliss with me. If you'd like to try your hand at this week's Stampin' B's Challenge, post your project 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!! :)

See you soon!
Emily 

Card Recipe: 
Stamps: Flourishes A Season of Thanks
Cardstock: morning sun cardstock
 Ink: Versafine vintage sepia
Accessories: colored pencils, scoring tool, corner rounder 
Techniques: scoring

StampinB Halloween Challenge

Happy Thursday! It's time for a new challenge from the Stampin' B's Design Team. This week Faith is our hostess, and she is challenging us to make a Halloween card. I had so much fun with Mr. Smiles earlier in the week that I just had to press him into service again:

That SPOOK bingo card is another digital element from the Haunted Collection by Carina Gardner that I first used earlier this week. Mr. Smiles once again was colored with colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits. And that bejeweled spider web? An adhesive embellishment I picked up in a clearance rack at Target last year after Halloween. (Unfortunately, there was no way to try out how it would look against that bingo card without it sticking. I'm afraid that it blends into the background way too much. It would have looked better if I'd adhered the web to some vellum and cut out around that before adding it to my card. Ah, well. Hindsight really is 20/20.)

I'm playing along with these challenges:

• Simon Says Stamp Challenge : ANYTHING GOES
• Paper Sundaes Challenge: ANYTHING GOES

Thanks so much for dropping by today. If you'd like to try your hand at this week's Stampin' B's Challenge, post your project 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!! :)

See you soon!
Emily

PS The sweet Paulina of Pretty Pink Posh is offering an awesome giveaway: a Big Shot Machine and two sets of Spellbinder dies. If you are interested, you should definitely check it out HERE.

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Mr. Smiles by Jane's Doodles
Paper: The Haunted Collection digital papers and elements by Carina Gardner, white CS, purple and lime green CS from The Paper Company
Ink: Palette noir black
Accessories: Lilac baker's twine from The Twinery, colored pencils, odorless mineral spirits, paper blending stumps, foam tape, scissors, EK BOO border punch, lime green buttons from Doodlebug, Colorbok adhesive gem spider web
Techniques: digital papers, Gamsol Magic

StampinB Border Punch Challenge

Well, it took a while to get back in the groove again after our long vacation, but I've finally got things in order and am so happy to be back again posting with the rest of the Stampin' B's DT for our weekly Thursday challenges!

This week, we've got a fun one! The challenge is to use at least two border punches on your card. Here's what I came up with:

I combined this with a few other challenges. The theme of my card was inspired by Emily Leiphart's Moving Challenge.
My color scheme comes from the new ColourQ #102 Challenge.
And finally, my sketch is from the Vertical Sketch Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. I took the liberty of rotating the sketch (a full 180 degrees!).
Thanks for dropping by today. If you'd like to try your hand at this week's Stampin' B's Challenge, post your project 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!! :)

See you soon!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: SU Good Neighbors
Paper: SU certainly celery CS, SU whisper white CS, turquoise CS from The Paper Company
Ink: Versafine onyx black, Versafine red satin, Palette reflection blue, Palette charcoal
Accessories: SU scallop border punch, MS picket fence border punch, sewing machine, dimensionals, red/white baker's twine
Techniques: machine stitching

Brown, Black, and Ivory for StampinB Challenge

It's been a busy week, but I really enjoyed making my sample card for this week's Stampin' B's DT challenge. It was an excellent excuse to sit down and create! I'm not sure anything would have been made otherwise. ;) Yup, that busy.

So, this week our Stampin' B's challenge is hosted by Vicky Gould, who is challenging us to use brown, black, and ivory. This combo had me stumped for a while. But while I was flipping through a Pottery Barn Teen catalog during breakfast earlier in the week, I stumbled across this photo and had an "aha!" moment:
I'm sure it's easy to see how these "Style Tiles" inspired my card:

This will be going to my dear, dear friend who, along with her family, is embarking on a job-dictated move to a different state in a few weeks. Boo hoo! I am going to miss her desperately. Oh, sure. We'll still keep in touch by phone and email. But it just won't be the same as getting together in person. I have quite selfishly hoped for months that the move could be averted somehow. And as much as I have hoped this, I think that she has hoped and wished for it 100 times more. She does not want to move. Normally, I would make a congratulatory "new house" card for a friend who is moving, but that just didn't seem appropriate in this situation. So I wanted to make a card of support for what has been and continues to be a difficult situation, and I think that this sentiment ("Where there is love, there is a home") is perfect.
My friend has been packing over the past several months, and she has been trying to down-size her family's belongings as she goes. She recently gave me a bag of craft supplies that she no longer needed. All of my embellishments for this card, including that precious little key, came from the stash that I inherited. I hope she'll recognize some of them!
Thanks for dropping by today. If you'd like to try your hand at this week's Stampin' B's Challenge, post your project 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!! :)

See you soon!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: SU Good Neighbors
Paper: Neenah natural CS, Paper Maniac kraft CS, brown CS from The Paper Company, black/ivory patterned paper from Recollections, Gertie patterned paper from Stella and Rose Collection by My Mind's Eye
Ink: Versamark, Versafine onyx, Versafine vintage sepia
Accessories: EK Success 1.5" square punch, white embossing powder, heat tool, twill tape, dimensionals, rescued buttons, satin ribbon rose, embroidery floss, key embellishment
Techniques: embossing

A Sand-sational StampinB Challenge

We've been working on getting ready for weekend company (arriving tonight), so it's been a jam-packed week so far. The kids have been a huge help with the housecleaning. It's above and beyond what they are normally expected to do, so I told them I'd contribute to their vacation souvenir funds if they pitched in with the extra. It's amazing what a little incentive will do!! I'm actually hearing things like "Mom, can I clean the little windows around the front door?" and "Is it OK if we scrub the toilets?" How can you turn down offers like those? I'm teaching our 8YO to vacuum (not that it's a tricky job or anything, but his 8YO mind doesn't find it intuitive to move the vacuum in an overlapping stripe pattern to cover the entire floor!). So far he is super enthusiastic about vacuuming, and the fact that we have a cool, kinda techie Dyson vac (with some definite 8YO appeal!) doesn't hurt. ;)

I've still got lots to do to get the house ready, and I'm trying to get ready for next week's July Stamp Release for Mark's Finest Papers, too. So this will be short!

Today I'm sharing my card for the new Stampin' B's DT Challenge hosted this week by Anne. Her challenge is to make a beach scene that includes sand, either real or stamped. I was thrilled to have an opportunity to use the new It's a Shore Thing stamp set that I won from The Craft's Meow last month. I stamped the sand hill images directly onto a sheet of cheap sandpaper from a pack that I picked up from Dollar Tree. So, there's my real sand, Anne!! And I'll warn you now, go get your sunglasses. This is a bright one!

I thought I'd enter this over at Moxie Fab World for the Stamp It! Cards Week Challenge--to create a card in which stamping is the predominant element. I'm also entering this in the The Craft's Meow July Card Sketch Challenge. Here's the sketch:
Thanks for dropping by today! Be sure to stop back in tomorrow for my last Blogoversary Celebration post for another chance at some blog candy. (Be sure to check out the Day 1 and Day 2 celebrations for additional chances. You can enter all three drawings through Sunday, July 10.)
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: The Craft's Meow "It's a Shore Thing" set
Paper: various cardstock from The Paper Company, DP from the Target Dollar Spot, sandpaper from Dollar Tree
Ink: Palette L'Amore Red, Versafine Onyx, Palette Reflection Blue
Accessories: SU 3" scalloped circle punch, SU 2.5" circle punch, SU scalloped border punch, CM corner rounder, Prismacolor pencils, brads, baker's twine from The Twinery

All-New Stampin' B's DT Challenge!

What happened to June?!? I swear, we just started this month, and here we are ending it already. Yikes! Time flies when you're having fun!! Or when you are super busy with end-of-school-year activities and lots of otherwise-too-hard-to-schedule doctor/dentist/orthodontist appointments. Yup, you read that right--orthodontist. Our 12YO daughter just started orthodontic treatment and her braces were installed(??? applied? riveted on?) on Monday. We have many recurring adjustment appointments in our future!

Well, today's card is courtesy the latest Stampin' B's DT challenge, this week provided by Faith. Her challenge to anyone wishing to accept it is to use two different dies and piercing on your project. Can you dig it? Here's how I tackled it:
Today I'm using two new June release stamp sets that I won from The Craft's Meow: Celebrating You and Timeless Tags. Love that solid-image fuchsia. It's perfect for paper piecing! I went with the traditional fuchsia colors, which immediately made the BasicGrey Green at Heart collection pop into my head. And thus, my color and paper choices were sealed. :)

My two different dies? (Well, if you've followed my blog for a while, you already know that I don't "do" die-cutting/embossing machine-y kinds of stuff. I do what I can with my paper punches and just boogie on down the road.) So my "dies," by which I mean punches, of course, are the 2.5" circle and the 3" scalloped circle. And I'm pretty sure you can spy my piercing. I just love how the fuchsia image's lines are all kind of dotty--a perfect tie-in with my piercing. And edge stitching, for that matter!

I thought I'd also throw this little ditty into the mix over at Moxie Fab World for the Stamp It! Cards Week Challenge--to create a card in which stamping is the predominant element. Check!

Well, th-th-th-that's all, folks! Thanks for dropping by today. If you'd like to try your hand at this week's Stampin' B's Challenge, post your project 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!! :)

See you soon!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Celebrating You and Timeless Tags, both from The Craft's Meow
Paper: SU whisper white CS, SU razzleberry textured CS, hot pink CS from The Paper Company, BasicGrey Green at Heart DP
Ink: SU melon mambo, Palette chartreuse, Palette bourdeaux
Accessories: EK Success 3" scallop circle punch, SU 2.5" circle punch, sponge dauber, foam tape, sewing machine, rhinestones, hot pink twill tape
Techniques: paper piecing, sponging, machine stitching, paper piercing

StampinB Friendship Sentiments

I know that summer *officially* arrived on the 21st, but today our summer finally begins! Yesterday was my kids' last day of school for the 2010/2011 school year. Woo-hoo! We are ready for a fun summer. :)

And because it's Thursday, the Stampin' B's DT has a new challenge for you. This week, Joanne is our hostess, and she is challenging us to use a friendship sentiment. Done!
I was going for a freshly-laundered-linens-hanging-on-a-clothesline kind of feel here--you know, summery and clean and simple. My friendship sentiment is all summer-fresh, too: "Plant seeds of kindness and your garden of friends will grow!" Cute, right? The flowers were reverse-masked using the negatives left from a SU Boho Blossoms punch.

I'm playing along with Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday #20 to use reverse masking (along with at least one PTI product, of course!). I'm also playing along with Clear It Out Tuesday's clean and simple challenge.

Well, thanks for checking out my little slice of bliss for today. If you'd like to try your hand at this week's Stampin' B's Challenge, post your project 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!! :)

See you soon!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: PTI Blooming Button Bits (flower stems) and PTI Flower Garden Sentiments
Paper: MFP snow storm CS
Ink: SU dye inks: wild wasabi, pretty in pink, so saffron, tangerine tango
Accessories: SU boho blossoms punch, sponge daubers, rhinestones, Peapod baker's twine from The Twinery, silver daisy charm from Stamp and Create
Techniques: reverse masking

StampinB Border Punch Challenge

Welcome to a new Thursday! We are in the home stretch now: after today, my kids have just 3 more full days and one half day of school and then SCHOOL'S OUT FOR THE SUMMER!! I'm not sure who is more excited about that: them or me. I'm SO looking forward to sleeping in, not having to pack lunches, no after-school activities, no monitoring homework progress. And I'm also looking forward to being able to do fun stuff with my kids!! With no school to get in the way, we can go on picnics, take hikes, craft, explore, play games, learn new stuff. The possibilities are endless!

BUT, we aren't there quite yet and I'm still cranking out the year-end thank yous. This week Vicki Dutcher is challenging us to use a border punch, so I broke out one of my favorite border punches (Martha Steward Modern Garland) and a detailed fleur de lis stamp to make a thank-you card for my son's Cub Scout den leader. (Incidentally, the fleur de lis is the symbol of the Boy Scouts of America and, thus, perfect for a scout leader! And the Cub Scout colors are blue and gold.)
My layout was inspired by the Splitcoast CAS challenge for this week, which is a sketch incorporating a 3 x 3 grid.

Well, thanks for checking out my little slice of bliss for today. If you'd like to try your hand at this week's Stampin' B's Challenge, post your project 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!! :)

See you soon!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: SU Perfect Punches
Paper: snow storm CS; DCWV textured CS, SU night of navy CS
Ink: SU night of navy, Palette sunflower
Accessories: MS modern garland border punch, SU scalloped oval punch, SU small oval punch, scoring tool, dimensionals, twine

StampinB Spring Scene Challenge

Welcome to another rainy day on Bliss Road! The highlight of our rainy yesterday was more after-school puddle jumping. It keeps the cabin fever at bay! The kids are having a blast with their umbrellas and boots. I've gotta admit: it is pretty satisfying to walk across the mother of all puddles in a good pair of rubber boots and coming out the other side with feet still toasty and dry :). I imagine there will be no shortage of puddles this afternoon, too. Look out soggy world, here we come!!

Our Stampin' B's Challenge this week is to make a spring scene. And while my kids and I have been "making some {spring} scenes" of our own this week out there in our wellies (in full view of all the high school spring sports teams practicing--in the rain--on the HS practice fields we walk beside on our route home), it hasn't been the kind of spring scene I could easily capture in a card. So, I instead went with a "spring as the season of love" scene. Some cute paisley DP with spring colors immediately came to mind, and pretty soon, with the help of my Stampin' Up Two-Step Owl Punch, I had this card:
There's a whole lot of punchin' goin' on in this one!! But it was definitely a hoot to make. :)

Well, thanks for stopping by to check out today's little slice of bliss! If you'd like to try your hand at this week's Stampin' B's Challenge, post your project 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!! :)

See you soon!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Schlosser Designs Boughs
Solid Paper: snow storm CS; baja breeze, regal rose, close to cocoa, chocolate chip cardstock from Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper: Tiffany DP collection from We R Memory Keepers
Ink: Palette burnt umber, SU baja breeze
Accessories: SU two-step owl punch, SU small heart punch, dollar bin small blossom punch, Provocraft small leaf punch, SU word window punch, SU modern label punch, sponge dauber, sewing machine, Studio G Sparkle Writer
Techniques: machine stitching, punch art, sponging

Stampin' B's TGIF Challenge

A good and happy Thursday to you!! I'm so glad you dropped in. I hope you are ready for a new Stampin' B's DT Challenge, because I am the hostess this week, and I have a fun TGIF challenge for you.

"How exactly does one fit TGIF into a card or paper project?" you ask?? Well, that's an excellent question, and one that I plan to answer right about . . . NOW!!

I'm using TGIF as a little acronym for the project recipe I'm challenging everyone to use:

T = be sure to add some texture
G = we've gotta see some green
I = include something iridescent
F = use anything that begins with the letter "F"--your choice!
But be sure to tell us what "F" choice is!

So my sample card for this TGIF challenge is a little something I cooked up for the DeNami Design Girlie Girl Challenge. You'll see texture in my stitching and lace, green in lots of places, iridescence in the butterfly sticker, and flowers for my letter "F" choice!
I was a first-time participant in the DeNami Girlie Girl Blog Hop earlier in the week and had a fabulous time! When I was making my card for the blog hop, I was torn between going the sophisticated-girlie route or the frilly-girlie route. In the end, sophistication won out for the blog hop, but frilly has been on my mind ever since. Luckily, DeNami issued a girlie-girl challenge along with the blog hop, and I got to try out my frilly-girlie ideas after all! And all of my girlie ideas fit perfectly within my TGIF recipe. ;)

For this card, I concentrated on pink with green, another favorite combo! I stamped and colored the DeNami Rosebud Trio and punched it out with my decorative label punch from Stampin' Up. It was fun adding girlie decorative details: hot pink stitching, a short length of lace trim, a shiny dimensional butterfly sticker, a bit of sheer hot pink ribbon tied through a fancy paperclip (a birthday gift from my kids), some sparkly rhinestones, and a chipboard GROW sticker, which I thought was a particularly appropriate match to those pretty rosebuds!!
Well, thanks for stopping by to check out today's little slice of bliss! If you'd like to try your hand at this week's Stampin' B's Challenge, post your project 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!! :)

See you soon!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Rosebud Trio from DeNami Design
Solid Paper: kraft and snow storm smooth 100 lb. card stock from Mark's Finest Papers
Patterned Paper: Lemonade DP collection from BasicGrey
Ink: Palette noir black
Accessories: Decorative label punch from Stampin' Up, adhesive rhinestones from Q & Co., foam tape, markers, sewing machine, Sandylion dimensional butterfly sticker, K&Co chipboard GROW sticker, lace trim remnant, sheer ribbon remnant, triangle paper clip from Target

StampinB Navy and Green Challenge

Howdy! Stampin' B's DT Challenge #105 is brought to us this week by Brenda, aka Benzi, who is challenging us to use the colors NAVY and GREEN plus either stripes, plaids, or dots. I think that navy and green make such a refreshing color combo. It's one of my favorite combinations, although I really need to use it in my card making more often. Anyway, this challenge was a lot of fun to play with--thanks, Benzi!
Somehow I had it stuck in my head that I had some navy and green plaid patterned paper tucked away in my paper collection somewhere. After spending more time than I care to admit searching for it to no avail, I decided to make my own plaid. Sure, I could have gone with navy dots (which I definitely have in my collection) or green stripes (which I also have plenty of), but once the plaid idea got stuck in my head, I just couldn't shake it! Anyway, I used an ancient plaid stripes rubber stamp from The Angel Company to build a green and navy background.

The green and navy colors were perfect for DeNami Theme Challenge #6: Boys. I was super excited to use my brand-new DeNami Friendly Robot rubber stamp and the Solid Scallop Dot Rectangle stamp I received free with my DeNami Designs order. I colored those absolutely adorable little robots with the Gamsol Magic technique, using Prismacolor pencils, odorless mineral spirits, and a paper blending stump.

I like that I was able to leave this card rather open-ended. It could be a baby boy card. I could make it an "Oh, Boy! It's your birthday!" with the right sentiment inside. My son could use it to write a fun thank you note. I think it could even make a cute congratulations card--for a super report card, a sports win, or for any job well done. :)

Challenges:

• DeNami Theme Challenge #6: Boy
• Wee Memories #50: Color! Use the colors that inspire you or your favorite color palette. I just love navy and green together. :)
• CPS-Card Sketches: Sketch #212

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 joining me today for my little slice of bliss. I'll see you again soon!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Plaid Stripes from The Angel Company; Friendly Robot and Solid Scallop Dot Rectangle from DeNami Designs
Paper: white storm CS, SU night of navy CS, SU wild wasabi CS
Ink: Palette noir black, SU night of navy, SU wild wasabi
Accessories: precision scissors, Prismacolor pencils, OMS, paper blending stump, white gel pen, foam tape, baker's twine
Techniques: Gamsol Magic, handstamped background

StampinB Stamped Background Challenge

Happy Last Day of March!! Is March going out like a lamb where you live? We are expecting an April Fool's Day Nor'easter which could bring 6 to 12 inches of snow to our region. Not exactly lamb-like and certainly not how I was planning to welcome April!

Anywho, it's Thursday and time for a new challenge from the Stampin' B's DT. This week Vicky Gould is our hostess and she is challenging everyone to make her own background using only stamps--no designer paper allowed. I've only been able to make one Easter card so far this year, and having no Easter-themed DP, this challenge to make my own was the perfect opportunity to grow my Easter card stash.
I stamped my backgrounds using a pretty Easter egg stamp I found in a dollar bin at Michael's last year. I recently found a package of Recollections gold cross stickers on clearance (also at Michael's) and was thrilled to use my first one on this card. I made the large ribbon rose from scratch but the two smaller ribbon flowers come from Offray.

Challenges:

• EtsyInspired #132: to be inspired by the wares of Etsy store Fresh Metal Jewelry. I was inspired by this beautiful white fabric flower necklace to make my white ribbon rose.
• ColourQ #78:
• CardPatterns #108:
• Tuesday Throwdown: Florals
• A Spoon Full of Sugar: Easter

And there you have it!! 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 so much for stopping by to check out my little slice of bliss for today!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Easter egg image from Michael's dollar bin
Paper: SU pink pirouette CS, SU certainly celery CS, storm white CS, PTI kraft CS
Ink: Palette burnt umber, Palette toile pink, SU certainly celery, Ranger tea dye distress ink
Accessories: EK 2.25" circle punch, SU 2.5" circle punch, CM circle cutting system, CM corner rounder punch, EK rock fern punch, Stamp-A-Majig, sponge dauber, sewing machine, dotted grosgrain ribbon, narrow satin ribbon, pearls, Offray ribbon flowers, Recollections cross sticker
Techniques: machine stitching, ink distressing

StampinB Spring-Colored Thanks

Another Thursday brings another Stampin' B's DT Challenge!! I am honored to be the challenge hostess this week. My challenge is to create a thank you card using spring colors--the added twist is that one of the colors must be PINK. Let's meet today's card:
Daffodils have a special place in my heart because they are my birthday flower! This gorgeous daffy image is from Flourishes, and I had the best time using my favorite coloring technique: watercolor painting with inks. Yay! That's always so enjoyable. I thought that a pink, yellow, and celery color scheme would be just right for this spring thank you note. The yellow and pink ledger paper DP in the background is from Pink Paislee's Sweetness collection. The yellow lace is vintage stuff from the sewing box I inherited from my Gramma.

I incorporated several additional challenges into this card:

• CPS209:
• Flourishes' March Release Challenge: FLLCMAR11, to create and use a cut edge on your card. I have several that I created with border and corner punches!!
  
• Tuesday Throwdown: Lace
• Flourishes Timeless Tuesday: FTTC109, Butterflies
• Clear It Out: Buttons

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 so much for stopping by to check out my little slice of bliss for today!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Flourishes A Year in Flowers, Calendar Set #1
Paper: SU regal rose CS, SU certainly celery CS, Pink Paislee Sweetness DP, Canson watercolor paper
Ink: Palette noir black, various inks for watercoloring
Accessories: EK 2.25" circle punch, MS topiary border and corner punches, SU scallop trim border punch, SU jewelry tag punch, watercolor brush, foam tape, vintage lace, buttons from my stash, embroidery floss, Sandylion butterfly sticker
Techniques: watercolor painting

StampinB 100th Challenge

A new Thursday brings a new Stampin' B's DT Challenge!! This week we are celebrating our 100th challenge, and challenge hostess Joanne says, "Strike up the band!" Her challenge to us is to create a project using something music related. I had the best time taking on this challenge and so, without further ado, let's meet my card. Ta-da!!
You probably can't take your eyes off my funky and fabulous felt bird, right? This sweet feltie was a prize I won at Get Sketchy last fall and comes from the cute Etsy shop Crafty Paper Girl. I couldn't wait to use it on a card, and today's StampinB challenge was perfect!

The sheet music behind my felt bird was taken from a vintage hymnal I bought last year at a local used book store expressly for deconstructing to use in papercrafting projects. And I was so pleased to dip into my droolworthy Pink Paislee Sweetness pad for the background DP.

Challenges that inspired this card:

• Tuesday Trigger in the Moxie Fab World: An Idea in Yellow. I was so inspired by the colors of this photo and picked up the bright yellow, pale blue, and dark brown to use in my card.
• EtsyInspired Challenge #128: to be inspired by the wares of the Etsy shop The Hidden Alphabet. I was inspired by the intricate damask-style pattern in this photo (and chose the DP that I used because of it), as well as by the bold frame.
• Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge: MMSC93
• OneStop Craft Challenge: Spring Flowers (in my punched borders)
• Stamptacular Sunday Challenge: Frames
• Paper Sundaes Challenge: Use a Charm
• Critter Sketch Challenge: Use a sentiment (mine is "Music" on my tiny tag)
• A Spoon Full of Sugar: Tag
• Tuesday Throwdown: Tag
• Papertake Weekly: Anything Goes
• Clear It Out Challenge: Anything Goes
• 4 Crafty Chicks: Stitching
  

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 so much for stopping by to check out my little slice of bliss for today!

Recipe:
Paper: SU chocolate chip, SU bashful blue, Pink Paislee Sweetness DP, page from a vintage hymnal
Ink: Ranger tea dye distress ink, Palette haystack, SU chocolate chip
Accessories: MS poinsettia chain punch, SU jewelry tag punch, sponge dauber, Crafty Paper Girl feltie, foam tape, heart charm, brown burlap string, sewing machine, rhinestones
Techniques: machine stitching, ink distressing

Stampin' B's Challenge: Flowers

Subtitle: Inspired by Our New Shower Curtain

Wishing a Happy Thursday to you!! Thursdays are the days that a new Stampin' B's DT challenge is posted, and this week we have a springy one. Our hostess, Vicki, says that all you have to do is use a flower on your card. Easy, right?

My flower project (that's a hint that today I have a non-card to show you) has a little bit of history to it. About a month ago, my hubby and I repainted our master bathroom. And along with that came new throw rugs, curtains, mirror, storage cabinet, and shower curtain. It took a looooooooooong time to find just the right shower curtain, but as soon as I saw it, I knew it would be perfect.

Our new shower curtain.

Now every time I'm in the bathroom and see my lovely new shower curtain, I can't help but think of my {ippity} Now & Always stamp set!

See what I mean?

I just knew that at some point I would have to make a project that captured our shower curtain with my {ippity} set, and that time has arrived. Without further ado, let's meet the result.
This altered canister started life as a Viactiv calcium chews container. I think that my altered version will make fabulous gift packaging for a girlfriend's birthday. I also think that the DP I created echoes our shower curtain nicely. I made it by white embossing the open-pattern chrysanthemums and stamping the closed mum image in Versamark and applying pink chalk with a sponge applicator.

I also incorporated these challenges:

• Wee Memories: Source of Inspiration Challenge. My inspiration for this week's project was our new shower curtain!
• All Things Unity: Alter It. Alter anything (I chose an empty Viactiv container) using Unity or {ippity} stamps.
• Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge: MMSC92

Well, that's all I have for you today. 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 so much for stopping by to check out my little slice of bliss for today!

Recipe:
Stamps: {ippity} Now & Always, {ippity} Moonbeams and Heartstrings
Paper: SU chocolate chip, SU pink pirouette
Ink: SU chocolate chip, Palette toile pink, Versamark
Accessories: MS chrysanthemum punch, MS modern garland PATP, SU boho blossoms punch, Stampin Pastels, sponge applicator, dotted grosgrain ribbon, rhinestone, foam tape, button from my stash, pink burlap string, white EP, heat tool
Techniques: Poppin' Pastels, altered container

Stampin' B's Challenge: Monochromatic

This week Lois is our hostess for the new Stampin' B's DT Challenge. Her challenge is to make a monochromatic card. Here is mine:
I used one of my favorite techniques for making a monochromatic card: the Poppin' Pastels technique. I stamped this gorgeous bouquet of shamrocks from Flourishes in Versamark ink and then applied SU garden green chalk with a sponge applicator. Usually I apply the chalk all the way to the edge of the card stock, but this time I stopped at the edges of the image. That left a blurry halo of sorts around the image, but I kind of like it!

I tried my hand at another ribbon rose, and I feel like I'm getting a better feel for it. Practice makes perfect, right?

I incorporated these challenges into the making of this card:

• Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge: FTTC105, use three patterned papers
• Card Positioning Systems: CPS205
• Wee Memories: Live, Laugh, Love (my card celebrates LIFE with its "Cheers!" sentiment)
• Challenge Up Your Life: Monochrome
• EtsyInspired Challenge #126: to be inspired by the wares of the Etsy shop Glow Girl. I was inspired by the colors and pattern of the fabric used in this coupon holder.
• Simon Says Stamp: make your own embellishment. My ribbon rose definitely qualifies here!

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 so much for stopping by to check out my little slice of bliss for today!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Flourishes Irish Blessing
Paper: MFP lily pad CS, SU garden green textured CS, SU garden green DSP, MFP snowstorm CS
Ink: Palette jardin moss, Versamark
Accessories: SU five-petal flower punch, SU decorative label punch, Stampin Pastels, sponge applicator, gingham ribbon, rhinestones, foam tape, The Twinery peapod baker's twine
Techniques: Poppin' Pastels, handmade ribbon rose