Thursday, December 31, 2009

Tick Tock, Tick Tock...



...is it 2010 yet?  For some of you 'round the world, it is indeed! :)  For me, not quite yet ~ but soon.  Time to get one more blog post with my last challenge card of the year.

Well, Stacey is back!  Before I went on blog hiatus, I tried to do her jewelry-inspired color challenges each week.  When I finally got the mojo flowing again, I discovered that she had changed the name and look of the challenge to Curtain Call Color Challenge - but the great color combos stayed the same.  :)  And this one was no different:



Don't those colors scream fun??  They also whisper, "How on EARTH am I going to put them all together in ONE card???"  :)  Thankfully, I also had Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch to help me figure it out:



I know the card is supposed to be square, but mine isn't - creative liberties, right?   The card might have been less "busy" if I had made it square, but... here's what I came up with:


Recipe - Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes (SU!), Lottie and Gussie Gabalot (Stamping BellaInk: Versafine Onyx Black, Real Red  Paper: Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Crushed Curry, Real Red Paper Pad, Whisper White  Accessories: Nestabilities (Labels Nine), Copics, cleaqr embossing powder, Swiss Dots EF, Martha Stewart border punch, satin ribbons, button, silver cord, oval punches, brads

I cannot believe these Bellas had never seen ink - until tonight.  :)  Aren't they fab?  Don't they just make you think of your bestest friend in the whole world? 

Okie dokie - time to call it a night.  Thanks for stopping by - see you next year!  :)

Play Date Cafe Challenge and Jen's Sketch for You to Try



Happy New Year's Eve!!  Do you have big party plans for tonight?  We aren't planning to go anywhere or do anything special.  We'll probably just watch Air Farce and laugh ourselves silly and then see if there's a movie or something and go to bed...we're such party animals!  ;)

I was able to do some crafting this morning before I ran to town to hit the gym and get a few groceries.  Again, I was able to combine two challenges in one. The Play Date Cafe is another one of my new discoveries and Jen's Sketch for You to Try is an old favourite.



 
When I first saw the colors I immediately felt "deja vu" since I had just finished another card using almost the exact same colors for Arielle's Colour Q Challenge!  I wanted to change it up a little bit from that card so I decided to use Taken with Teal for my "turquoise", Chocolate Chip for my "brown" and Regal Rose for my "dusky pink."



Recipe - Stamps: Grateful Heart Plain Jane (VervePaper: Taken With Teal, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, SU! designer paper  Ink: Chocolate Chip  Accessories: Nestabilities, paper flowers, button, paper piercer, corner rounder, slot punch, satin ribbon, adhesive pearls, sponge dauber

I hope you all enjoy your New Year's Eve - however you decide to celebrate.  :)  I think I'm going to try to make a few more cards before I kick back and relax.  Here's to 2010!!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

I *DID* Say I was Going to Bed...



 ... but I HAD to do this one!  OK - I had to do these 2...  :)



The Color Dare is another one of my new additions to my ever-growing list ovah' dere ----> and The Pink Elephant Challenge is one of the newer ones too - both WELL worth a look.  :)  There was another sketch option at TPE but I liked this one better. 

All in all, this card came together quite quickly ~ thankfully. 


Recipe - Stamps: Topiary (Little Paper Shop), Teeny Tiny Wishes (SU!)  Ink: Soft Suede, Versafine Onyx Black  Paper: Soft Suede textured, Cameo Coral, Bashful Blue textured, Whisper White  Accessories: Swiss Dots EF, Argyle EF, Swirlz EF, paper piercer, Soft Suede grosgrain ribbon, buttons, silver cord, Round Tab punch, Copics

Now I'm really going to bed!  Night y'all - see you tomorrow!


I hope everyone had a super fantabulous Christmas!  We had a very quiet, at-home Christmas.  My parents came up on Christmas Day and spent a couple days with us.  Mom and I did our annual Boxing Day shopping - we were up and out of the house by 6AM!!  Yes, we are certifiable!  LOL   I haven't had much time to play, though, so I was pleasantly surprised when I clicked over to Arielle's Color Q challenge this morning and discovered that she chose MY card to be the Colour Queen for last week's challenge!!!  I was pretty excited, that's for sure.  Now, if only someone could tell me how to get that fabulous Colour Queen badge to my sidebar...

I LOVE the colors Arielle chose for this week's challenge:



And, as usual, Julee's Mojo Monday sketch rocks:


I think I went a bit overboard with all the  scallops and rounded-edge items on this card... it needs a bit more "straight" methinks.  Of course, if I had used the regular circles instead of the scallops for the big circle, that might have helped, but I just LOVE how the Verve's flourish frame looks in the scallop circle!  As a side-note, Verve is having a HUGE sale until tomorrow night so click over and grab some deals - some sets are 50% off!!!


Recipe - Stamps: Thankful Accents, 1 Peter 5:7 (Verve Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Versafine Onyx Black  Paper: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, SU! retired DP (??) Accessories: Nestabilities (Scallop Circles, Scallop & Reg. Rectangles), 1-3/4" circle punch, paper piercer, paper flowers, adhesive pearls, Finial Press EF (SU!), Choc. Chip satin ribbon, button, silver cord, sponge dauber, clear embossing powder

I hope the next couple of days slow down a bit so I can get caught up with some of the challenges.  Can you believe 2009 is over?  It seems like just yesterday we were all freaking out about Y2K!  LOL 

See you tomorrow - enjoy your New Year's Eve and bring on 2010!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

ONE MORE SLEEP!!!


You'd have thought it was Christmas morning today - I was up *well* before 7 AM and couldn't get back to sleep... what's up with that?  I figured why waste some perfectly good *quiet time?*  I might as well get up and DO something.  ;)

I was out and about most of yesterday so crafting was not on the agenda.  I was busy blog hopping the other day and added MANY new challenges to my list ovah' dere -----> so please check them out.  I found the Play Date Cafe's color challenge for this week and was immediately stumped:



I know the challenge says "blue", and normally I would have chosen a more "subdued" blue, but with that bold, bright hue staring me in the face, I thought I would "take it on."  So, back to my Bold Brights I went (going where I RARELY go) and I dug out Brilliant Blue. Hmmmm...not exactly your first-thing-in-the-morning-inspirational-color to create with.  And I don't have very much gold so I knew this was going to be mostly a blue and cream card.

I popped over to The Pink Elephant's weekly challenge to see what "brilliant" sketch they had posted.



Hmmm... *wheels turning...smoke pouring out of my ears...*


Recipe - Stamp: Snow Swirled (SU!)  Paper: Bazzill Textured (cream), Brilliant Blue  Ink: Versamark  Accessories: Swiss Dots embossing folder, Nestabilities (Labels Four), gold embossing powder, adhesive pearls, ribbon, button, gold cord, paper piercer, Martha Stewart border punch

It was REALLY hard to get a good picture of this card - the flash made it too "in your face"...


... but whatever.

I hope to have time for another card later today.  I need to get my ham in the crockpot - thanks for reminding me, Lor - and then laundry needs to be done and the house needs to be tidied before my parents get here tomorrow. 

If I don't post again, I hope each one of you has a super fantabulous Christmas celebration, wherever you are.  Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

One Day - Three Cards, Six Challenges


I DID IT!!  I finished wrapping the presents.  Well, OK - that's not the truth...  I'm done wrapping the "immediately necessary" gifts - the ones for my nieces can wait for a bit 'cause we're not going to see them at Christmas anyways.  My parents are coming up on Christmas Day and they will take those ones back with them.

I found two more challenge blogs to add to my ever-increasing list:  Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge and Just Us Girls Challenge.  The JUGS challenge this week is a color challenge but it's not always a color challenge.


These were kinda hard colors to work with - I have no trouble putting light pink with red, but a stronger raspberry pink just doesn't "do it" for me.  Nonetheless, I persevered and came up with this:

Recipe - Stamp: Wreathabella (Stamping Bella), Ornamental Christmas (sentiment, Verve Ink: Old Olive, Versafine Onyx Black  Paper: Real Red textured, Rose Red, Old Olive, Kraft, Whisper White, SU! DP  Accessories: Nestabilities (pinking circles and circle), Argyle embossing folder, paper piercer, Copics, Kraft taffeta ribbon, Purely Pomegranate ribbon, Old Olive twill ribbon, metal clip, sponge dauber

I think that's it for me - three cards is enough for one day.  Probably won't have much time to craft tomorrow as I have to hit the gym in the middle of the day and the laundry is starting to pile up again.  I *think* I'm pretty much ready for Christmas - are you?

OK - One more and then I PROMISE...




...to go wrap presents!  I PROMISE!  I *had* to do this card because the colors are just so fabulous!  I found the Colour Q Challenge while I was surfing the other day and thought it should be added to my weekly repertoire.  Here's what Arielle gave us to work with:



 I combined it with Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday sketch. . .


And came up with this. . .



Recipe: Stamp - Patterned Pines (SU!)  Paper: Real Red, Whisper White, Glorious Green, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink  Ink: Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Glorious Green  Accessories: Martha Stewart border punch, paper piercer, Nestabilities, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Snow Dots Embossing Folder, ribbon, button, silver cord

OK - I'm going to go wrap NOW.  I don't have that much to do so maybe I'll be back later. . . ;)

Do I Have To Wrap Presents?



ONLY 3 MORE SLEEPS!  And I *still* haven't started wrapping presents.  I just zoned out last night and didn't even get the paper out.  I will get it done, right? 

And, what did I do this morning instead of wrapping presents?  As if I need to tell y'all... ;)

I used Taylor's Sketch and the Splitcoast Color Challenge - Crushed Curry, Real Red and Sahara Sand.


 
Recipe - Stamp: Many Thanks (SU!)  Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Real Red  Paper: Sahara Sand, Crushed Curry textured, Real Red, K&Company Designer Paper  Accessories: Nestabilities (Labels Four), Martha Stewart border punch, paper piercer, Swiss Dots embossing folder, taffeta ribbon, buttons, Copics

I had a lot of trouble with these colours for some reason.  I mean, they are lovely colors on their own, but try to put them together... not as easy as I thought it would be.  The sketch was pretty simple (thank goodness!)


I *know* I should wrap and not craft. . . do you sense the procrastination in my voice?  I should make some cookies too. . . and I have some bananas that should be used for banana bread. . .


Monday, December 21, 2009

Winter Mittens Digi Stamp Card


Hello again!  Have you been crafty while I've been creating?  I came across another little contest over on the Verve Blog;   Julee's got the cutest little mittens digi-stamp to download for FREE!  Again, Julee ROCKS!  So, you download the stamps, print 'em out and create sumthin' with them... easy enough, right?  Then I popped over to Jen's Sketch for You to Try from Saturday and found this:
 
After I printed out the mittens, I realized my card was going to end up a lot bigger than usual - 6x6, in fact.  Not a big deal, just won't have an envelope for this sucker.  :)  Also, due to the size of the mittens, I had to alter the sketch a teeny-tiny bit.  I paper-pieced the mittens and sponged the background before I took it out of the Nestie.  You can't really see the rub-ons along the bottom but they sure look cute down there...


Recipe - Stamps: Winter Mittens Digi, Snow Wonderful (Verve Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Taken With Teal, Basic Black, Holiday Lounge DP  Ink: Sahara Sand, Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories: Nestabilities, sponge dauber, paper piercer, adhesive pearls, modern label punch, "Icicle" rub-ons (SU!), ribbon, button, silver cord, Swiss Dots embossing folder

There.  That's going to be it for me tonight.  I need to wrap presents so I think that will be in my future...

ONLY 4 SLEEPS!  ACK!  :)

Thanks for stopping by - stay warm!


ONLY 4 MORE SLEEPS!!! Are you ready? I actually finished my shopping this weekend so now all that's left to do is wrap it up - my least favorite part.  I used to find it *therapeutic* but not anymore.  I will admit it *does* look pretty when it is all done.  :)

I was busy all weekend so I didn't sit down to craft at all and I was up E-A-R-L-Y this morning to go to the gym so when I got home all I wanted to do was sit and CREATE.  It's Monday and you all know what that means... Mojo Monday!  Julee's giving us a bit of a break this week, what with Christmas and all.  :)  Thanks, Julee!  I also incorporated this week's challenge from Our Creative Corner which asked us to feature either snow or snowflakes somewhere on our card:

I had a new package of SU! designer paper that I absolutely LOVE so I *had* to use it.  I was supposed to use Ruby Red but I found some Riding Hood Red from last year and I think it looks better than the Ruby would have.

Recipe - Stamps: Snow Wonderful (VervePaper: Sahara Sand, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Holiday Lounge DP  Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Riding Hood Red  Accessories: Corner rounder punch, taffeta ribbon, adhesive pearl strips, metal edge tag, paper snowflake, Merry Details Sizzlit (SU!), sponge dauber, Swiss Dots embossing folder

I want to try to make something else this afternoon but not sure what.  I have a couple challenges I didn't finish from last week so maybe I will attempt those.  I guess if all else fails, I can start wrapping those presents...right? 

Wherever you are, enjoy the first official day of winter!  :)

Friday, December 18, 2009

Viva la Verve Friday



I am starting to panic... I am not done my shopping yet and Christmas is in 7 MORE SLEEPS!  ACK!  I think I might have to make a trip to town early next week - procrastination seems to be my middle name.  So, instead of worrying about it, I will craft... ;)

Today's creation comes to you courtesy of this week's Viva la Verve sketch over at Splitcoast Stampers:



I got some new designer paper today from Stampin' Up! and I *had* to open it up so that's where the color combination came from.  I really wanted to use one of my newest Verve Plain Janes so I took some liberties with the sketch; instead of putting the smaller rectangle on top of the larger horizontal rectangle I put the paper flowers there.


Recipe - Stamp: To Risk (Plain Jane - Verve)  Ink: Onyx Black Versafine, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay  Paper: Rose Red, Bermuda Bay, Sahara Sand, Thoroughly Modern DP, Whisper White  Accessories:, Nestabilities Corner rounder, photo corner punch, paper piercer, taffeta ribbon, paper flowers, adhesive pearls, Swiss Dots EF, slot punch, clear embossing powder

I've got a busy weekend ahead so I don't think I'll have much time to create but we'll see.  Enjoy your weekend and if you're done with your Christmas shopping mojo, could you please send it this way???  THANKS!  :)

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Could the Week Get any Better???


I WON MOJO MADNESS!!!!  O-M-G!!!  Well, I wasn't the only one - 4 other lovely ladies won too but... One of the cards I submitted last week for Julee's monthly Mojo Madness earned me the privilege of choosing a FREE Verve stamp set.  Can you believe it??  I was totally excited.  THEN - the very same morning I discovered that I had won BLOG CANDY from the Pals Paper Arts Challenge I participated in earlier this week.  I must have been kicked in the butt by the lucky bug because I haven't won anything in a VERY LONG TIME.  :)

I have had a very busy week so not much time for crafting but tonight, while my husband is out with 2 of the kids at their Christmas Concert, I am at home and FREE to craft 'til my heart's content.  My friend Lori and I challenged each other to complete the same challenges to see what we would come up with.  We chose the Diva Coffee Break Designs Color Challenge and this week's sketch challenge over at Splitcoast:




Recipe: Stamp - Thoughts and Prayers (Stampin' Up)  Ink: Rose Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Rose Red DP, Razzleberry Textured  Accessories: Finial Press embossing Folder, Swiss Dots, Old Olive marker, paper flowers, brads, Nestabilities (Curved Rectangles), rub-on (sentiment), satin ribbon

I love these colors together but, like Lori, I wasn't sure I could make them work.  I thought if I put a bit of white in there that it would help to get the creative juices flowing.  Can you believe we did these cards without talking to each other while we were making them???  We both used Olive satin ribbon, both used congratulations as the sentiment, both cuttlebugged with Swiss Dots and used a fair bit of white.

The weather has warmed up IMMENSELY here so it's actually not such a production to leave the house.  I still have to finish my shopping... are you done?

Monday, December 14, 2009

OMG! What a Surprise - Another EXCITING Discovery!

I just clicked over to Taylor's blog to see what wonderful sketch she posted last week and I discovered that she picked MY card as one of the 5 TESC93 Top Crops!  I have loved Taylor's cards and blog for a LONG time so this is pretty *neat* - THANKS TAYLOR!!  I'm still in shock...

Here's the link to the card.  So cool...  :)

I'm back and I promise not to blind you all this time although I *did* use yellow again.  NOT Yo Yo Yellow (I think that color will be kept on the shelf for a L-O-N-G time...) but Stampin Up's Crushed Curry. I got the color inspiration from the Pals Paper Arts Challenge Blog I found last week and the sketch is, once again, Julee's Mojo Monday sketch:



Recipe - Stamps: Ornamental Christmas (Verve)  Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede, retired DP (SU!)  Ink: Old Olive, Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories: Nestabilities, clear embossing powder, heat and stick powder, Martha Stewart glitter, spiral punch, sponge dauber, CB embossing folder, Soft Suede polka dot grosgrain ribbon, button, gold cord

Much easier to look at than my first Mojo attempt, right???  I know I didn't use any scallops but since I used them on my other card, I wanted to try something different.  This card is much sparklier in real life than in the picture so just *imagine* that...

K - that's going to be it for me tonight.  It is going to stay freaking cold for one more day and then it's *supposed* to warm up a bit - I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Take care and stay warm!  Only 11 more sleeps 'til the big guy drives his sleigh ~ are YOU ready?  I'm not... ;)

WARNING - You May Need Sunglasses...



WOOHOO!  Another Snow Day ~ -33*C plus a wind chill right now and I'm sure it was colder this morning when they decided to close school.  On the positive side, it is sunny and clear outside and I'm INSIDE creating.  :)  But, the sunshine is NOT the reason you may need sunglasses reading this post...

Don't say I didn't warn you!  This card is exceptionally bright.  Very, very, very bright.  You'll get a hint of why when you see the colors Embellish Magazine has given us this time.  Don't get me wrong, I totally {heart} the color combo but I do NOT use bright yellow E-V-E-R.  In fact, I took the plastic wrap off of my Yo-Yo Yellow ink pad this morning 'specially for this card... sad, eh?

It's Monday which means Julee has given us another fantabulous sketch to inspire us over at Mojo Monday.   It's another sketch with circles, and I *was* tempted to use my new Verve stamps but I controlled that impulse.   :)

OK - here goes...are you ready?  Sunglasses on????



I didn't want to blind you all at once so I thought I'd just give you a teaser to convince those of you out there who thought: "I don't need sunglasses.  How bright could it be?  What is Melissa thinking?" to go and get them...NOW.  :)

Here it is - are you ready???  You might *not* want to click on it to make it bigger...that's a lotta yellow all at once.



Recipe: Stamps - Snowflake Spot (Stampin' Up!), Many Merry Messages, Label (Daisy Bucket)  Paper: Kraft, Very Vanilla, Cool Caribbean, Yo Yo Yellow, Chocolate Chip  Ink: StazOn Timber Brown, Chocolate Chip, Yo Yo Yellow, Cool Caribbean  Accessories: Nestabilities, Martha Stewart border punch, shrink plastic, gingham ribbon, silver cord, button, adhesive pearls, paper piercer, Swiss Dots CB EF, heat gun

Can you all still read??  I'll give you a minute to recover...





So... you needed the sunglasses - was I right or was I right?  Seriously, I have never made a card with this much yellow so these colors really made me step out of my little box.  It also gave me a chance to use my shrink plastic that has been collecting dust on the shelf for far too long.  I {love} the little sentiment charm - like a little ornament.  And you all know I canNOT make a card without pearls...I almost put them around the scallop circle but it was too much.  HOW there can EVER be too many pearls, I'm not sure but this was one of those times. 

If the sun isn't shining outside at your house today, hopefully my card brought the sun inside if only for a few minutes.  :)  Enjoy the rest of your Monday everyone and STAY WARM...

*Is it January 21 yet??? *