Growing In Unity ~ Day 3: Enjoy

(This is my second post of the day. For my DeNami Design Product Spotlight post,
please scroll down to my next post or click here.)

Welcome to Day 3 of my Growing In Unity week! Today's the day I'm being highlighted on the Unity blog, so if you just can't get enough of my smiling face {roll eyes}, you can swing by over there to check it out. In any case, be sure to comment on all of my Growing In Unity posts, Monday through Friday this week, to maximize your chances of being drawn as the random winner of two free Itty Bitty stamps from Unity Stamp Co.

All righty, on to my Unity project of the day:

The star of the show is a wonderful Itty Bitty stamp from Unity: Tattered Roses by Iron Orchid Designs. I just love this stamp! I colored it with chalks, applied with foam applicators, to give this the look of a hand-tinted vintage photo and then sponged on distress ink around the edges for a more aged look. The sentiment is from the How YOU Doin' {ippity} kit. Anyway, I thought those tattered roses would be perfect for playing along with the current {ippity} challenge: Flowers. I'm also entering this in the Anything Goes Challenge over at Simon Says Stamp.

I challenged myself to use patterned paper on each GIU project this week--a different paper collection each day! Today I'm adding the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found--Market Street 6 x 6 paper pad to my list of utilized collections. It's a beauty! Those peachy/coral and heather green tones are so pretty for spring. I do believe that all of my patterned paper collections this week will be from My Mind's Eye. How did that happen? Well, it just may have something to do with the fact that A.C. Moore stores (the brick and mortar versions) carry MME 6 x 6 pads for the regular price of $3.99, which makes them pretty cheap. But when I can get hold of a 50% off coupon (which is often the case), I can get one of these pads for the bargain-basement price of $1.99!! I know, right?? Anyway, that may have something to do with the fact that I now own 10 different MME 6 x 6 pads now ;).

Well, thanks so much for stopping by to see what's making my happy today on Bliss Road! I'll see you back here--same time, same station--again tomorrow.

Have a great day!
Emily

Feminine Flair

I'm so excited that this is another release week at Flourishes! I love seeing each month's new sets and playing in all of the release week challenges. This time around the week-long release challenge is to add a little Feminine Flair to your project. I needed a get well card for yet another friend who is having surgery, and today's card will be perfect for her.
This card all started with a lovely piece of patterned paper that my dear, dear friend Colleen sent me (along with a delightful collection of SU scraps and diecuts that she picked up from her fabulous SU demo. Thanks a million, Col!!). I have no idea what it's from, but it was sized perfectly for folding into an A2-sized card. And I love that the back of the card will be patterned, too! My daffodil image is from Flourishes' A Year in Flowers Set 1. I stamped it in Versamark ink and used my Stampin' Pastels to reveal the image. I'm sure you can spy the feminine flair I added: a paper doily, vintage lace trim, a pearl stick pin, and lots of adhesive pearls. I realized that in my collection of Flourishes stamps I don't have any "Get Well" sentiments--something I should take care of fixing soon! So I used this perfectly sized "Take Care" instead. I can hand-write a "get well" message inside. ;)

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily

Another for St. Patrick's Day

Yesterday's Splitcoast Free for All Challenge to use your good luck charms, greens, and leprechauns was perfectly timed for adding to my {small} collection of St. Patrick's Day cards. Here's another one that I put together.
A blogging and SCS friend, Bonnie Klass of Stamping with Klass, has what she calls a "UFO box," her term for her collection of UnFinished Objects, and she often describes part of a card she's made as having been rescued from her UFO box. What a great idea!! After I read about that for the first time, I started my own UFO, well, . . . pile . . . on my stamping table. And sometimes I add images that, for whatever reason, just aren't quite right for the project I'm working on. But there really isn't anything wrong with them, so into the UFO . . . pile . . . they go. This bouquet of shamrocks image was rescued from my UFO pile (added a few weeks ago while working on this card). I thought it would work well with CPS Sketch #207.
Here are a few more challenges I piled on for this card:

• Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge: FTTC107, to make a St Patrick’s Day card or use the color green as your main color
• Delightful Challenges: Welcoming Spring
• Cute Card Thursday: Signs of Spring
• Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge #42: to be inspired by the colors and theme of this photo

OK, so that wraps things up for now. Thanks for dropping by!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Flourishes Irish Blessing
Paper: MFP snow storm CS, MFP lily pad CS, The Paper Company
Ink: Versamark, Palette virdian leaf
Accessories: MS modern garland border punch, SU 0.5" and 0.75" circle punches, Stampin' Pastels, sponge applicator, buttons from my stash, gingham ribbon, rhinestones, safety pin
Techniques: Poppin' Pastels

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

CAS Christmas Ornaments

I had a busy day today (OK, who am I kidding? ALL of my days are busy any more!) but managed to fit in making this card this afternoon.
It's pretty straightforward. I used all Flourishes stamps, with white-embossed pine branches, silver embossed ornament caps, and silver ink for the ornament strings. I stamped the tea rose on the round ornament with Versamark ink and applied chalk with a sponge applicator.

Challenges:

• Flourishes Winter White Challenge: FLLCDEC10, make a white card with a little pop of color
• Flourishes Christmas Spirit Challenge: Use Flourishes stamps to create a card, tag, or decorate up a package using any flower EXCEPT a poinsettia
• ABC DT Challenge: Non-Traditional Holiday Colors
• Stamptacular Sunday Challenge: Blue, Blue Christmas
• City Crafter Challenge: Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
• A Spoon Full of Sugar: Christmas Card
• Tuesday Throwdown: Clean and Simple
• Papertake Weekly: Christmas card but red and green must not be seen
• Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Christmas but no red or green
• Delightful Challenges: Embossing
  

I'm so very pleased with how this card turned out! Thanks so much for dropping by to take a look and share my little slice of bliss.

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Flourishes--All That Glitters, Strawberries (sentiment), Tea Rose Background
Paper: SU bashful blue CS, white CS from The Paper Company
Ink: Versamark, SU bashful blue, Encore metallic silver
Accessories: EK 1.5" circle punch, MS nordic snowflake punch, SU 3/4 x 15/16 oval punch, CM corner rounder punch, white EP, clear EP, heat tool, silver brads, Stampin' Pastels, sponge applicator, adhesive pearls
Techniques: Poppin' Pastels, embossing

{ippity} 3 on 3

Well, this is one of those cards that I decided I may as well post even if I don't like it so much. I made it for two challenges on Splitcoast: today's color challenge to use perfect plum, baja breeze, and pear pizzazz, and an {ippity} release week challenge, INRC1FALL2010, a 3-on-3 challenge to use 3 different {ippity} images and 3 layers. I was so excited as I planned this out, but now that I'm done it doesn't really do much for me. And the colors just seem so muddy. Ah, well. I still had fun making it, and it will "do" to let someone know I am thinking of him or her, even if it isn't the most spectacular of cards. I guess they can't all be masterpieces, right??

I tried to incorporate a few other challenges as well:

• Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge: #23 (in case you couldn't tell, I flipped the sketch. Had to make my vine stamp point the right way!!)
• Crafty Creations: Buttons
• Delightful Challenges: Glitter It Up
• Cute Card Thursday: Anything Goes
• Paper Sundaes: #44, Pick Your Own Sundae Toppings! Choose at least two of these toppings: punches, ribbon, embossing, or the color blue. I used embossing, punches, and I even have "faux" ribbon!
• Critter Sketch: Texture (added with embossing)
  
• Stamps R Us: Sparkles and Scallops
• Tuesday Throwdown: Buttons and Bows

DD's middle school has parent-teacher conferences this week, so she had early release today and will for the rest of the week. We got to have lunch together, just the two of us. How fun!! We made pizza bagels, and she had fun munching on the pepperoni and cheese ingredients while we waited for them to get all melty in the oven. I'm really looking forward to having her company at lunch for the rest of the week!

Well, that's it for me today. I have many more things to cross off on my TO-DO list. Thanks for dropping by today to see what I'm up to!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: {ippity} Now & Always, {ippity} Love in Return
Paper: SU baja breeze CS, SU pear pizzazz DP, DCWV textured CS
Ink: SU baja breeze, Versamark, ColorBox snow white
Accessories: SU scallop border punch, SU 2-3/8" scallop circle punch, MS deco fan corner punch, Stampin' Pastels (perfect plum), sponge applicator, foam tape, rhinestone, white EP, scissors, button, hemp cord, glue dot, glue pen, Studio G Sparkle Writer
Techniques: Poppin' Pastels, embossing

Another Flap Card

OK, I am officially hooked on making these flap cards!! Here's another quick one to share with you.
I incorporated these challenges:

• Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge: FTTC89, focus on the sentiment. I used this great sentiment "Live the Sweet Life" from Flourishes' Peaches and Cherries set.
• The Play Date Cafe: PDCC52, to be inspired by the colors in this photo collage:
• Card Positioning Systems: Sketch 189
• today's Splitcoast Inspiration Challenge IC255: to be inspired by one of the posters on the website Poster Cabaret. I was inspired by the oval shape in this poster.

My little slice of bliss today? While DH and DS were away today on a Cub Scout outing (they went to tour a radio station~~WBUR, Boston's NPR News Station), DD and I went to do some produce shopping at a new little produce store in our town called The Purple Plum. It is so quaint!! We picked up some tomatoes and lettuce for tonight's tacos for supper, plus some cantaloupe for breakfasts and red peppers for DD's school lunches next week. Then the two of us went out for lunch!! We capped with off with some card-making this afternoon for a fun day of togetherness. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Flourishes Peaches and Cherries
Paper: SU DP scraps, SU pretty in pink CS, SU pumpkin pike CS, SU regal rose CS, SU summer sun CS
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: SU punches: large oval, scallop oval, wide oval; CM oval cutting system, MS chrysanthemum punch, brads, photo turn, sewing machine, scoring tool, rhinestones, Stampin' Pastels, sponge applicator, hairspray
Techniques: Poppin' Pastels, machine stitching

Autumn Snowman

So, I have an SCS friend whose birthday is coming up at the beginning of November. I know she loves snowmen so I wanted to make her a snowman birthday card. But because her birthday is smackdab in the middle of autumn, I couldn't bring myself to make a card that is too winter-y (or worse, Christmas-y). The new Color Throwdown colors for this week are dusty durango, perfect plum, and so saffron, so I thought I'd give them a whirl for a snowman card. Here is the result of my big experiment! It's certainly not something you see everyday.
Having no actual dusty durango or perfect plum, I had to substitute colors, but I think these are reasonably close. I stamped the snowman in burnt umber and colored him using a blender pen with Stampin' Pastels and SU inks. The sky and snow are sponged in with some strategic masking. My original thought was to stamp two snow people (and make one a woman) and have them hold a little birthday banner strung between them, but the sketch didn't really allow for two. So that's when I thought of making a little message flag instead. I'm sure you can see that my flag pole is a colored party toothpick!

I just received my very first Smooch (Gold Lame) from Mark's Finest Papers. I wasn't sure how best to use it, so I tried it out for the first time by "gilding" the edges of some of my shapes. I still have to get used to applying it evenly (try really hard not to look at the gloppy boo-boo at the bottom of the oval--HEY, I said don't look!), but I like the overall result. Next time it should go more smoothly. Fingers crossed! Then I need to look into other Smooch applications.

Here are the challenges that went into the making of this card:

• SCS sketch challenge 303:
• Color Throwdown 115:
• Caardvarks: create a new stamped card that is decorated inside and out! Here is a peek at the inside of my card:

Well, thanks for stopping by to check out my little slice of bliss!! Have a super weekend. :)

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers Snowman Country, Mark's Finest Papers Owl Be Here (flourish), SU Lots of Thoughts (sentiment)
Paper: SU so saffron CS, SU tangerine tango CS, DCWV textured CS, MFP natural CS, DCWV Indian Summer Stack DP
Ink: Palette burnt umber & violette, SU so saffron, Versamark
Accessories: CM oval cutting system, sponge, Gold Lame Smooch (from Mark's Finest Papers), Stampin' Pastels, blender pen, dimensionals, toothpick, American Crafts felt flowers, brads
Techniques: sponging

Monochromatic Amaryllis

A quick post to share this monochromatic Christmas card I made today.
This was for today's Splitcoast Clean and Simple Challenge, CAS88, to be inspired by the word "Crinkle." I was inspired to add a panel of crimped, or "crinkled," card stock.

I also made this for Flourishes' Timeless Tuesday Challenge, FTTC87, which was to use this sketch. I am also hoping to enter this card as one of a pair (to be completed later!) for Flourishes' October Christmas Spirit Challenge, which is 1 stamp, 2 looks! Basically the idea is to take one Flourishes Christmas stamp and use it to design two different cards with completely different looks. This amaryllis stamp I have from Flourishes Calendar Set 3 is the only Flourishes Christmas-y stamp I have, so this challenge really appealed to me!! I'm hoping to be back later in the week to complete the other half of this challenge. :) To be continued . . .

Today is Columbus Day, so our kids had the day off from school. I've been really busy this weekend getting projects ready for the Mark's Finest Papers October Blog Hop, which starts tomorrow. (There will be blog candy from MFP, so be sure to check back Tuesday through Friday this week!) Anyway, since I was wrapped up for most of the weekend, I let the kids pick a few favorite activities to do today as a treat. They requested Chuck E. Cheese and a trip to their favorite playground park. I don't mind taking them to CEC for the arcade games and play space a few times a year, as long as it isn't busy (as a rule, we never eat there, just play). So we decided to arrive right when they opened at 9 a.m. and we were delighted to have the entire place to ourselves for well over an hour!! The kids had received a gift of CEC tokens from their grandparents when we visited with them in August, so it didn't even cost us anything. They had a blast playing their favorite games and picking some prizes, and I got to be a hero for taking them. The tokens ran out just as other customers started to arrive, and we took that as our sign to leave. Sweet!

After mac & cheese for lunch here at home, we headed out to their favorite playground, Kid Spot, at a nearby town park. Aside from being a tiny bit cool (sweater weather!), it was a good day to play outside, and they played hard for an hour and a half while I sat on a bench reading a magazine that had been put aside all weekend while I worked. A wonderful break for all of us!!

Thanks for stopping by to check out my little slice of bliss for today!! See you again soon! :)

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Flourishes Calendar Set 3
Paper: Pink Paislee 365 Degrees DP , white & red card stock from The Paper Company
Ink: Versamark, Palette l'amore red
Accessories: SU scallop trim border, CM circle cutting system, SU modern label punch, paper crimper, dimensionals
Techniques: Poppin' Pastels

Faux Silk Poinsettia

Happy Friday, everyone!! I wanted to share a card that I made yesterday for the SCS Ways to Use It challenge, WT291, which was to use tissue paper. I chose to use the Faux Silk technique, which involves stamping on tissue paper. A great tutorial for it is found HERE on SCS. I first used this technique back in the spring and really loved how it turned out. I was so glad for the nudge this challenge gave me to use it again!! (And here's a closeup showing the texture of the faux silk a little better.)
This is my fourth SNEAK PEEK of the six new clear stamp sets that will released by Mark's Finest Papers next week. This set is called, appropriately enough, Seasonal Poinsettias. I'm looking forward to doing some watercolor painting with this set next week!

The color combo is for the new Play Date Cafe challenge (PDCC50) to use melon and green. I thought these would be perfect for a "pink poinsettia" card! I stamped the poinsettia in Versamark on tissue paper and used chalks to color it in. I figured that most other coloring methods would bleed on the tissue, and I love the soft look the chalks gave this image--the perfect look for my faux silk!

And I broke out my new lime green baker's twine for this card. I am SO glad I got some--I'm just loving this new twine!! It's going to be great for all of my holiday projects.

Challenges used:

• The Play Date Cafe, PDCC50, use green, white, and melon
• Splitcoast sketch challenge SC297
• Delightful Challenges, use Christmas colors: red, green, and white

Thanks for stopping by today!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers Seasonal Poinsettias
Paper: white tissue paper, Crate Paper Blue Hill Collection DP, The Paper Company CS
Ink: Versamark, Palette boudoir blush
Accessories: MS deco fan corner & border punches, CM corner rounder punch, sewing machine, Stampin' Pastels, Xyron, dimensionals, lime green baker's twine, adhesive pearls
Techniques: faux silk, Poppin' pastels, background stamping, machine stitching

Stampin' B's Piercing Challenge

Hi, all!! It's Thursday, and that means another challenge from the Stampin' B's DT. This week Vicki Dutcher is challenging us to use piercing on our cards. How fun!! I think that piercing is such an easy way to add subtle design and texture to paper projects.

I am hosting the September Gallery Comment Contest over on Splitcoast Stampers this month. At the end of the month, I'll be awarding prizes and mailing them out to randomly drawn contestants. And, of course, I'll need enclosure cards to send along with the prizes!! So, I'm getting a start on my stash of tiny cards. I bought a couple of packs of studio g mini cards and envelopes at A.C. Moore recently during a Midnight Madness sale. They were already die cut; all I had to do was decorate them! I loved the scalloped edge on these green mini cards and thought the scallops would be perfect for piercing. I think I was right!!

I had such fun finding just the right images to feature in the circle windows of these cards. My Button Bits sets from PapertreyInk were perfect! The flower was inked in Versamark and daubed with Cameo Coral chalk. The strip of striped DP is paper pleated. Both sentiments come from Mark's Finest Papers stamp sets.
Challenges for this project:

• Stampin' B's DT Challenge 76, piercing,
• Tuesday Taggers, It takes all sorts,
• Flourishes Timeless Tuesday FTTC85, celebration cards (if a congrats card for winning a prize isn't a celebration card, I don't know what is!!),
• Tuesday Throwdown Challenge #18, paper pleating,
• A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge 122, anything goes.
  

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 dropping by to check out my little slice of bliss today!!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: PTI Everyday Button Bits (apple), PTI Blooming Button Bits (flower), MFP Tweet Blessings (sentiment), MFP Regal & Proud (sentiment)
Paper: studio g mini cards & envelopes, SU DP scrap, SU rose red CS
Ink: Marvy LePlume II brown marker, SU certainly celery, Versamark
Accessories: SU word window punch, SU modern label punch, piercing tool, Stampin' Pastels, sponge dauber, buttons, scoring tool (for paper pleats), dimensionals, alphabet spiral clip
Techniques: piercing, Poppin' Pastels

Autumn Sympathy

A happy Wednesday to you! What a crazy week. At first I started typing "happy Monday" and then changed it to "happy Tuesday" before realizing that it is already Wednesday. Where has the week gone??? I can't believe I haven't posted anything since Saturday. I'm not sure how that happened. I trust that all of you had a super weekend. We certainly did. Our DD (11YO) had a fantastic Girl Scout encampment weekend. The weather was perfect! On Saturday, our DS (7YO) was thrilled when my DH took the training wheels off his bicycle. He was obviously far past ready to be released from training wheels land. He had everything mastered within minutes! He spent his weekend tearing up and down the driveway with no training wheels to slow him down. :)

Then on Sunday afternoon, after DD returned from her camping trip, all four of us went apple picking. It's our family tradition to go picking at a local orchard the very first weekend that MacIntosh apples come into season! It was fabulous. We picked 3/4 of a mixed bushel of Macs and Galas. That should last us for a couple of months of lunches (and maybe a few pans of apple crisp, too.) Yum!

I stole an hour (OK, probably a bit more than that) this morning to make a sympathy card I've needed for over a week now. It was lovely to be creating again. I do hope that this will help to comfort one of my fellow DT members who lost her mother last week.
I stamped the birch tree trunks (an MFP stamp from the set Stinky Situation) in Versamark ink and applied SU chocolate chip chalk with a sponge applicator. The oval of "DP" under the main image was recycled from a Panera gift card holder I received earlier in the year. To make the messy pleated ribbon, I ran a line of adhesive from my tape runner down the length of the ribbon (on the back) and stuck it down, to itself and to the card underneath.

Here are the challenges I incorporated while making this card:

• Splitcoast sketch challenge SC298,
• The Paper Players Challenge #15, to use Old Olive, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, and Early Espresso,
• City Crafter Challenge Week 22, Tree of Books, to create a card/project that include the image of a tree/trees or a book/books,
• Delightful Challenges, Ribbon Recipe,
• Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #20, to use fall colors,
• A Spoonfull of Sugar Challenge 121, autumn color challenge,
• Tuesday Taggers, Diamonds are Forever. I scored a piece of textured card stock with a diamond pattern,
• Tuesday Throwdown #17, distressing. I used an emery board to sand my scored diamond pattern and to distress the edges of most of my panels and mats.

Thanks for stopping by to visit today!

Card recipe:
Stamps: MFP Stinky Situation, My Sentiments Exactly (MSE) Sympathy Sentiments
Paper: SU chocolate chip CS, Cosmo Cricket Pixie Dust CS, various scraps of CS, recycled Panera gift card holder
Ink: Versamark, Palette burnt umber
Accessories: CM oval cutting system, SU modern label punch, scoring tool, emery board (for distressing), Stampin' Pastels, sponge applicator, hairspray, dimensionals, wrinkled ribbon
Techniques: Poppin' Pastels, distressing

Edited 10/12/2010 to add:

Just discovered that I was named a City Crafter Challenge Blog Spotlight Artist for Week 22 for this sympathy card.

Monochromatic Thanks

Whew, it's been a hot and sticky one here today! After doing my freelance work this morning, the kids and I ran some errands and then decided to beat the heat by staying inside (where it's air-conditioned) to stamp! We had a marvelous time, and I had just enough time to make this fun monochromatic thank you card. The lovely bird image is another sneak peek from the Mark's Finest Papers set, Tweet Blessings, to be released next week. There are so many images in the four MFP sets being released next week that are perfect for chalks and one of my favorite techniques, Poppin' Pastels!

I made this card for these challenges:

• Sketch challenge SC292 on Splitcoast
• Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge 14, to make a thank you card
• Tuesday Throwdown #11, to make a monochromatic card
• and Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge FTTC78, to use no embellishments. Now that was a challenge!
  

Gotta run now--it's time to take DS shopping for new sneakers before supper. Thanks for stopping by!

SUPPLIES:
Stamps: MFP Tweet Blessings, SU Lovely Labels, SU Very Vintage (jumbo wheel)
Paper: PTI kraft, SU chocolate chip CS, SU DP
Ink: Palette burnt umber, Versamark
Accessories: CM corner rounder punch, CM 1.25" circle punch, CM 1.5" circle punch, SU modern label punch, sponge, scissors, dimensionals, Stampin' Pastels, sponge dauber
Techniques: Poppin' Pastels, sponging

CAS Owl Birdday

Hey, everybody!! Welcome to Monday. I have a quick CAS (clean and simple) birthday card to share with you. I made it for today's SCS CAS challenge, CAS78, to use polka dots. I used a great CAS sketch from earlier this summer (CAS72), too.

This fab owl image is another sneak peek from the Mark's Finest Papers set, Owl Be There. Great news: this awesome set will be released next week!! I colored the owl image using the Poppin' Pastels technique, dabbing chalks over Versamark ink. This is also for this week's Stampin' B challenge, to make a birthday card, and for the Just For Fun Friday Color Challenge #22.
We had an awesome weekend. Not much time for stamping, though! We saw two movies with the kids (Harriet the Spy Friday night and Planet 51 Saturday night). Saturday my DH had all-day plans for working in the garage, so I took off early with the kids to explore the nearby super-quaint seaside village of Rockport, MA. I treated the kids to breakfast at a cute little diner (Flav's Red Skiff) a stone's throw from the town wharf. They both had mini pancakes and shared a side of bacon and were in heaven because breakfast out is a huge rarity for us. Then we checked out the views from the town wharf (including the ultra picturesque Motif #1), wandered out Bearskin Neck to the harbor break wall, peeked in windows of art galleries and fancy gift shops, watched the waves roll onto and seagulls soar above Front Beach, browsed in souvenir stores, shopped for saltwater taffy, and generally soaked up the salty atmosphere. What a wonderful, laid-back adventure! The kids want to know when we can go back again. Me, too!!

On Sunday, all four of us headed to the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline, MA, for its annual Italian car show, Tutto Italiano. We've been going to this show for 10 years now to satisfy my DH's need for speed and interest in exotic cars. This lawn event is on the beautiful grounds of the former Anderson estate and grows bigger and bigger each year. We all had fun looking at the collection of cool, exotic, historic, sometimes rare, and often red Italian cars including Lamborghini, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, De Tomaso, and Maserati models. And this show always offers fabulous people-watching opportunities! The weather was fabulous, and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Well, thanks for dropping by today!!

SUPPLIES:
Stamps: MFP Owl Be There
Paper: MFP hazelnut tan CS, SU pumpkin pie CS, various SU DP scraps
Ink: Versamark, Palette burnt umber
Accessories: CM corner rounder punch, CM oval cutting system, paper piercer, dimensionals, Stampin' Pastels, sponge dauber
Techniques: Poppin' Pastels, paper piercing

One Blue Fish

The weather was just beautiful here today! So much drier than the muggy stuff we had over the weekend. For the first time in weeks, we didn't need the a/c and were able to air out the house. Why is it that (dry) fresh air smells so good???

The kids played outside this morning for a loooooooooooong time and I got in a good chunk of work done on my current freelance project. Woohoo!! Then the kids joined me after lunch in our "stamping nook" (read: dining room table no longer practical for dining purposes for all of the crafting paraphernalia covering it). We had a great time with today's SCS CAS challenge: to be inspired by the title of the Dr. Seuss children's book: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. A fun challenge to be sure!

I was inspired to use this awesome seahorse image. It's another sneak peek from the soon-to-be-released Flourished Sea Creatures stamp set from Mark's Finest Papers. I am really having fun with all of the great images in this set, which includes the coral and seaweed images I used today, too.
My colors were inspired by this week's Curtain Call Color Challenge: Act 40. I thought these colors were perfect for a masculine card, so I'm also entering this in the MFP Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #13, to make--what else?--a masculine card.

To make this card ultra quick, I used the Poppin' Pastels technique on the seahorse panel, applying tempting turquoise chalk after stamping the images in Versamark ink. Simple! To give this some interest yet keep it clean, I added a few score lines behind the image. I couldn't resist giving my ocean floor a sandy bottom by adding a torn strip of my soon-to-be signature cheap-o Dollar Tree sandpaper.

I love how this quick and easy card turned out! Thanks a bunch for dropping by to check out my happy project for the day. :)

SUPPLIES
Stamps: MFP Flourished Sea Creatures
Paper: MFP Pensacola Sand CS, SU CS: real red, old olive, basic black
Ink: Versamark, Palette l'amour red
Accessories: Stampin' Pastels, sponge applicator, scoring tool, foam tape, Dollar Tree sandpaper
Techniques: Poppin' Pastels, scoring

Happy Birdday! (An MFP Sneak Peek)

Happy Thursday, everyone! Today I am sneak peeking another new stamp set from Mark's Finest Papers, Tweet Blessings. It will be released in August. The sentiment is from another soon-to-be released MFP set, Owl Be There. I had a lot of fun adding a kinetic element to this 5.5" square card: my little orange birdie can "fly" back and forth above the birdhouse! I made a little "pendulum arm" by uncurling a paperclip, wrapping one end around a brad hidden underneath the birdhouse image, and adhering the bird image to the other end. So you can swing him from side to side like a metronome. Fun :)

My sketch for this card comes from the Get Sketchy Card Challenge, Sketch #47. A cool sketch, to be sure! All those triangles and circles appeal to my mathy brain :). And for my card colors? I'm playing along with the Just For Fun Fridays Color Challenge #20: Finally, because this is a "birdday" card, I'm entering it in the Caardvarks July Challenge, to create a birthday card.

That's all for my papery bliss today. Thanks for dropping in!

SUPPLIES:
Stamps: MFP Tweet Blessings, MFP Owl Be There
Paper: MFP morning sun CS, MFP hazelnut tan CS, My Mind's Eye Magnolia DP
Ink: Palette burnt umber, SU pumpkin pie
Accessories: SU large oval punch, SU scallop oval punch, EK small scallop circle punch, CM circle cutting system, dimensionals, paperclip, sewing machine, orange rhinestones, hemp twine, assorted buttons from my stash, felt flower (Making Memories), glue dots, Stampin Pastels
Techniques: machine stitching, chalks

Happy Travel

I'm so pleased to announce that I have a new badge for my blog. I "Made the Fab 4" at The Play Date Cafe for my PDCC37 challenge entry last week. That's the kind of news that really makes my day. Yipee!!
I just got my first Unity order earlier this week and couldn't wait to use my new stamps. So I made this quick card this morning before getting started on my work for the day. The Unity Addicts Challenge for the week is to use orange, teal, and navy. I also wanted to try yesterday's SCS challenge for using chalks. The chalky look is really growing on me, and I'm lovin' the Poppin' Pastels technique! I also used this sketch from the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge.

We just bought a little pop-up camper trailer this year so we could take our kids camping. I just *had* to have this Unity "Destination: Happiness" stamp! This card will be for my DH's birthday in early September, right after we return from an extending camping trip. I think it will be perfect for him!

For details on the supplies used in this card, please click here. Thanks for dropping by!

Christmas in July

Don't you just love getting fun mail? I sure do!! Yesterday afternoon I received a real treat. It was just like Christmas in July!!! I participated in the Gallery Comments Contest on Splitcoaststampers last month, and I found out on July 1 that I was one of five randomly drawn winners. Boy, was I surprised! Anyway, my prize package, sent by the sweet contest hostess, Anita, arrived yesterday. Just take a look at the fun goodies she sent me! And all for doing something I enjoy doing anyway, browsing the galleries of fantastic card creations on SCS and commenting on the cards I like. Sweet!

And speaking of Christmas in July, that is what the card I enjoyed making today is all about! I was inspired by these colors
and this card sketch.

I was also inspired by a third challenge to try my hand at making my own buttons, either from fabric, paper, plastic, polymer clay, wool, etc. I had read about making faux buttons from paper on the {ippity} blog in May, so that's the route I took. I'm glad I tried it, but I doubt I'll make faux buttons again. I have so many actual buttons in my vast collection, in so many different colors, that I can't imagine many situations in which I'd need to make my own! And I have to say, it was rather time consuming. So, been there, done that, don't need to return. Finally, here's my result of all that inspiration.

Oh, there's one more thing I wanted to say about my Christmas in July card. A few days ago I saw this fabulous card by fellow SCSer KopyKat. I thought her image treatment was just beautiful! I've tried this Poppin' Pastels technique with chalks before, but was never happy with it. So I was determined to try it again and did so on this card with that fabulous amaryllis image from Flourishes. I'm much happier with my results this time around and so pleased with my first Christmas card of the year!

For the supplies used in this card project, please click here. Thanks for stopping by!