No More Today!

So I was able to make another card tonight... but I don't like it so I think I should call it a night. Tomorrow brings exciting Stampin' Up! news and hopefully another card. I'm going to the Cubs game tomorrow afternoon - pray that the rain stays away!

Jaron's Color Challenge

Here's my next two-challenges-with-one-stone card! Kind of a strange color combo for a wedding card, but I was feeling daring! Here are the colors for Jaron's Color Combination Creative Challenge #1.

And I used the sketch from clean&simple Fall-to Layout #39. My first attempt at making a card with these colors was just NOT working because I was trying too hard again to come up with my own layout.

I'm still trying to figure out the best lighting for my pictures, and I swear the base is Taken with Teal, even though it looks more like Tempting Turquoise. :(

This was the first time I finally used my Pretties Kit and now I am hooked! I'm such a dork. I have soooo many supplies and accessories that have never been touched because I am too intimidated or lazy to figure out how to use them! Anyway, with this flower I used the Aqua Painter and Soft Sky ink refill to dye it.

Also, I originally wanted to use the Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon for the strip under the flower, but the shade didn't quite match the Old Olive cardstock. So I used textured cardstock instead!

And for a final touch, I stamped a sentiment inside and a little heart from You & Moi in Taken with Teal on the envelope.

I'm hoping to post at least one more today... do you think my dog will leave me alone long enough to make that a reality??? We'll find out!

Supplies: Warmest Regards Stamp Set*, Curvy Verses Stamp Set; Taken with Teal and Old Olive cardstock; Old Olive textured cardstock; Prints Soft Sky Designer Series Paper*; Jet Black StazOn Ink Pad; Scallop Edge Punch; Crafter's Tool Kit; Pretties Kit; Aqua Painter; Soft Sky Classic Ink Refill; Mini Glue Dots

*retired SU! product

Mother's Day Card #1

As I mentioned yesterday, this is my first day off in a while so I'm trying to power through some challenges and get stuff accomplished! Work even called to see if I could cover for someone that called in sick. But for once I actually said NO (which is hard for me to do!) because I think it is necessary for my mental health!

I finally sat down and made a list, and there are 29 cards (!) I need to make for the next couple months. (Only 2 of them are late!) There are four women in my life I'm planning on giving Mother's Day cards to... but only two of them might actually check my blog so I think I'm safe posting a couple of them early.

In the interest of multi-tasking, I used two challenges to make this card. The first is Stacey's Jewelry Color Inspiration #34. What a perfect color combo for a frilly, feminine card!

The second challenge I used was the Mojo Monday Week #84 sketch. This is my first Mojo Monday sketch, and it was pretty intimidating! But I love how it turned out!

I stepped out of my card-size comfort zone and decided not to do a 5-1/2" x 4-1/4". I made this square-sized card once before (5-1/4" x 5-1/4"), and it fits in the Medium Square Envelopes.

I don't have Going Gray, so I used Brushed Silver. It's more expensive on a per-sheet basis, because it is so fun and shiny!!

I have a large box full of retired stamp sets that I am going to (hopefully!) sell on eBay that I dragged out of the closet today. I actually had some success doing this in January, so we'll see! Anyway though, I wanted to use the Mother's Day and Father's Day stamps from All-Year Cheer II one more time before I part with this set. I kind of like them though, so maybe I won't be able to sell it after all! Since I was using retired stamps already, I also used retired paper and non-SU! (gasp) brads and ribbon.


Stay tuned for a few more challenge submissions later today...

Supplies: All-Year Cheer II Stamp Set*, Perennial Favorites Stamp Set*; Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Brushed Silver, and Whisper White cardstock; Enchanté Designer Series Paper*; Certainly Celery Classic Ink Pad; Perfect Plum Stampin' Write marker; Scallop Circle, 1-3/8" Circle, and 1-1/4" Circle Punches; Certainly Celery 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon; Mini Glue Dots; Stampin' Dimensionals; Target brads; random silver ribbon

*retired SU! product

Time to Celebrate!

Oops, so it's been a whole week since I've posted! :(

I sooooo did not get to relax this weekend, because we had to go grocery shopping, get the dog a bath, go to my in-laws, go out to dinner... Some of that was fun, but not relaxing. I'm so wiped, I went to bed at 6pm on Monday! Tomorrow I get a real day OFF so I'm excited!! Hopefully I'll be stamping my little heart out!

Anyway, on to my latest card! This is my entry for KWerner's Color Inspiration Challenge #50! This time she's even giving out prizes! I don't think much of my work is prize-worthy, but you never know... ;)

This card reminds me of a circus, with all the primary colors and such. I envision this card being used for a 3-year-old boy's birthday or something. It's just so fun and bright (and unisex, which is difficult to accomplish!).

Ever since I got the Darling Dots Stamp Set (the only Level 1 Hostess set I like), I've wanted to use this layout. I think it's fun and easy and I'll probably have more cards using this set and layout soon. This is also the first time I've used paper-piercing, and I love it! I'm trying to work my way up to more sophisticated looks, but I like how this turned out. I also used the Cutter Kit to distress the edges of the white panel of cardstock.

Since I'm such a perfectionist (which is why it usually takes me a week to finally finish making a card!), I like everything to be parallel, perpendicular, in-line, etc. So when the "celebrate" was kind of slanted I wanted to freak. So I tilted the "time to" so hopefully no one would notice... which I'm guessing you didn't until I pointed it out... :)

Sorry for such a wordy post. Tomorrow I will have more challenge entries and less babble! Yay!

Supplies: Darling Dots Stamp Set, Celebrate Everything Stamp Set; Tempting Turquoise, Yoyo Yellow, Real Red, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White cardstock; Tempting Turquoise, Yoyo Yellow, Real Red, and Chocolate Chip Classic Ink Pads; Tempting Turquoise, Yoyo Yellow, and Real Red Stampin' Write markers; 1-3/8" Square, 1-3/8" Circle, and 1-1/4" Circle Punches; Cutter Kit; Crafter's Tool Kit; Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Earth Day!

Those who know me know I've been pretty "green" before that term even became popular. Go out and get some reusable bags, carpool, and RECYCLE! Happy Earth Day!

I have no stamping stuff today because it's T minus 37 hours until NAPLEX. So I'll probably be back on Saturday with some kind of post! Wish me luck!

Clean & Simple Sketch 38

Now that I'm blogging, I find myself wasting, AHEM, spending a lot of time browsing others' blogs. It's addicting! Especially when I am procrastinating because I don't want to study!

I came across the clean&simple blog via one of my "side-line's" blogs. Sometimes I feel that I try too hard to come up with card layouts, and that's when they always turn out not so good. I think I will get some great inspiration from this blog!

My first inspired creation was prompted by Sketch 38. Next time I will try the textured cardstock base. For now though, I really wanted to play with my new Walk in the Park Designer Series Paper. :)

Walk In The Park Designer Series Paper #115123 $9.95

This paper is one of the great new products in the Occasions Mini. Right now when you spend $40 on products in the Occasions Mini, you'll earn a free stamp! But only through April 30. Check out the details here. (The cute little corduroy button is from the Mini too!)

Oh yeah, and my husband took the good camera with him on a business trip, so I had to dig out our old one. I can't tell which pic shows the colors better, so here's both. I also wanted to do a close-up of the corduroy button, but that didn't work out so well.

Supplies: Fresh Cuts Stamp Set; Baja Breeze, Cameo Coral, Basic Gray, and Whisper White cardstock; Walk in the Park Designer Series Paper; So Saffron, Cameo Coral, and Basic Gray Classic Ink Pads; Baja Breeze Corduroy Buttons; Hemp Twine; Stampin' Dimensionals

Another Late Challenge - Whoops

Well true to form, I finally finished a challenge but too late to officially participate! Stacey's Jewelry Color Inspiration #32 was a great combination of colors! Very summer-y.

I always love when people post close-ups (plus my pics seem small for some reason). Aren't these 3 punches great for layering?

Finally, I just LOVE the Cheep Talk stamp set! I just got it, but I will be using it for EVERYTHING! How freakin cute are these birds? This card makes me think of me and my best girlfriend just chatting away. I think I might send this card off to her!

Supplies: Cheep Talk Stamp Set, Oval All Stamp Set; Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise, Yoyo Yellow, Tangerine Tango, Basic Black, and Whisper White cardstock; Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise, and Tangerine Tango Classic Ink Pads; Large Oval, Wide Oval, and Scallop Oval Punches; Stamp-a-ma-jig; Stampin' Dimensionals

Second to Last Exam... Hopefully EVER!

Today I take exam 1 of 2 to become a licensed pharmacist. After I get home, I'll need to do some stamping to relax! But after that I need to keep studying because next Friday I take the other exam I'll need. So check back later today for a picture of whatever I make! I'm hoping to get to Stacey's Jewelry Color Inspiration #32. I am actually really excited about these colors! I love Tempting Turquoise and Green Galore - they were the colors I used on my wedding invitations! :)

KWerner Color Inspiration Challenge #49

My husband needs a gift card holder for a coworker who's leaving. Since I didn't have anything specific in mind, I decided to do the Color Inspiration Challenge #49 (too late to actually post to KWerner's blog, of course). Here are the colors:

And here is my creation! I wanted to use the Medium Square Envelopes so the dimensions are 5-1/4" x 5-1/4". I believe the only retired item is the "All my thanks to you!" stamp on the front. The Hodgepodge Hardware could easily be switched out and a different stamp set and punch used.

When I originally cut my cardstock, I left a little flap on the inside, which became my gift card pocket. I secured the pocket using just a couple of brads. Voila!

Supplies: Designer Label Stamp Set, Sincere Salutations Stamp Set; Pacific Point, Rose Red, Basic Black, and Whisper White cardstock; Bella Rose Designer Series Paper; Basic Black and Rose Red Classic Ink Pads; Designer Label Punch; Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware; Pacific Point 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon; Rich Regals Brads; Crop-A-Dile; Mini Glue Dots; Stampin' Dimensionals

I started a blog!

Welcome to my blog! Hopefully I will force myself to stick with this and post stamping projects regularly. For now, I am off to figure out how to format this thing!