Challenge Extravaganza!

I miss doing challenges, so I started looking around the web for some current ones. I was able to incorporate not one, not two, but THREE challenges into this card! Summer Starfruit is kind of difficult to "capture" in pictures, so I took one with the flash to get a better representation of the true color. (Added bonus: you can see my cute manicure!) ;)

First, I really like the clean and simple layout of the Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge 284 (TSSC284). I anticipate making many more cards in this layout, especially since I have so much Designer Series Paper! I decided to incorporate the flagged end into my sentiment.

Next, I headed over to the Around the World blog for their third challenge (AW03), which was a theme challenge. Since I live in the Northern hemisphere, it is all about FALL! The trick with this blog is that everything has to be a CURRENT Stampin' Up! product - which I was actually able to accomplish this time! To give the card a little texture, I just crumpled up the leaf into a ball a couple of times.

Then, I headed to Split Coast Stampers to find a color challenge that would mesh with the other two challenges. I found A Crazy Suede Starfruit (CC446), which was a wonderful palette for a fall card. And thus, my card was born. :)

This baby is headed my brother's way, as his birthday is at the end of October. I like autumnal cards because they often tend to be on the less feminine side and are appropriate for guys. I also just love the season! The leaves haven't started changing colors yet around here, probably because it's been in the 80s for the majority of "fall" so far. Next month I expect some real beauties though!


Stamps: Wetlands
Paper: Soho Subway DSP (Summer Starfruit pattern), Venetian Romance DSP (Soft Suede pattern), Cajun Craze CS, Soft Suede CS, Summer Starfruit CS, Very Vanilla CS
Colors: Cajun Craze Ink
Tools: Autumn Accents Bigz Die (leaf), Circle Card Thinlits Die (banner for sentiment), Big Shot
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals