Sweater Weather

Challenge #171 at the Paper Players is a color challenge. It just so happens that all three of these colors are in the Sweater Weather Designer Series Paper in the Holiday Catalog. So that helped narrow things down!

I also used the Mojo Monday #319 (MOJO319) layout, and I am submitting this card to the SUO Challenge #83 - a Favorite Sentiment. I just love this Happy Birthday stamp!

I don't have the Circle Framelits yet, so I had to break out the retired Circle Scissor Plus to make my two bigger circles. I haven't used it in a really long time - it's pretty easy actually!

I love this trick. To make perfect flagged ends (that are always matching if you have more than one), just insert the end of the paper a tiny bit into the Hexagon Punch, and punch!

I lined the envelope with the same pattern of DSP as the little tangerine flag.

Here is another trick that I used today. Because I only have a couple 6x6-inch squares of this DSP (I didn't buy the whole pack; I got it as part of a paper share), I wanted to maximize my usage of it. So I cut two smaller pieces, rather than one long, large piece to be my background layer. (I know, I should have flipped one of them the other way. But in the pic of the whole card, it's hardly noticeable!)

Stamps: Birthday Wish 
Paper: Sweater Weather DSP, Tangerine Tango CS, Chocolate Chip CS, Crushed Curry Textured CS (but could use the current Core'dinations paper to achieve the same look), Very Vanilla CS
Colors: Tangerine Tango Ink
Tools: 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Circle Scissor Plus, Big Shot, Envelope Liners Framelits, Hexagon Punch (to make flagged ends)
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals 

italics = retired product

Autumn Wreath & Cards (& Sale!)

Stampin' Up! is continuing their Weekly Deals! Every Tuesday, look for new items on sale! Here are this week's items:

My favorite of these items is the Autumn Accents Bigz Die. This is a MUST-HAVE. Check out this awesome wreath I made using this die with Stampin' Up! cardstock and Designer Series Paper. I'm entering my wreath into the current Crafty Creations Challenge - Autumn Colours, and the Crafting for All Seasons Challenge #64 - also Autumn Colours.

Doesn't it look so nice against the natural wood of my current apartment door? :)

I got a styrofoam wreath from Michael's and just used straight pins to attach all the leaves. I made sure to first kind of wrap them around to coat the wreath itself, so the green styrofoam wouldn't show through. Then I just continued adding leaves until I was happy with the look! I wish I had kept track of how many leaves it took, but I did not. My guess is... maybe 150?

Here are some cards that also use the Autumn Accents Bigz Die. This first one uses the Adorning Accents Embossing Folder, which is also on sale. 

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

In Color Autumn

I loooooove the way this card turned out!! I used 3 of the new In Colors - I think they go well together (they remind me of Reese's Pieces!). I sponged each color onto the main panel - I tried to keep the brown shade near the bottom (for the ground), and the yellow & orange shades in the sky, to make it look like it's around sunset. I'm very pleased with the result.

I stamped the greeting in Craft Ink (in a darker shade of brown), which I thought might stick better to the textured cardstock.

I first stamped the trees in Craft Ink, then used clear embossing powder to emboss them, before I did the sponging.

Supplies: Heard from the Heart Stamp Set, Lovely as a Tree Stamp Set; Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, and Very Vanilla cardstock; Soft Suede Textured cardstock; Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, and Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pads; Chocolate Chip Craft Stampin' Pad; Stamping Sponges; Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder; Heat Tool; Stampin' Dimensionals