Cupcake Inspirations Challenge 307

Hello there! Can you believe we're nearing the end of April already? Geez! Where has the month gone! This week we have a great theme challenge for you at Cupcake Inspirations... Spring!

This week's sponsor is Limited Runs Digital Stamps. Nikki has created the most gorgeous image for this challenge! I decided to try a different route and used 2 Blooms instead.

The DEEtails:

This card evolved in an interesting way because I honestly couldn't remember what I had in mind when I chose my image for the challenge. Haha. I decided to enlarge the digi image and cut out only one of the two blooms. I colored it in with my Stampin' Blendabilities Markers. My colors are a bit limited, which is part of the reason for this color combination. I layered some punched circles in Basic Gray and Smoky Slate. The sentiment was stamped in VersaMark ink and embossed it in Smoky Slate. The background is the Sheer Perfection Designer Vellum Stack layered onto some Hello Honey Cardstock. This stuff is gorgeous! I can't wait to use more!

Paper: Basic Gray Cardstock, Hello Honey Cardstock, Neenah Solar White 80# Cardstock, Sheer Perfection Designer Vellum Stack, Smoky Slate Cardstock
Stamps: 2 Blooms (Limited Runs Digital Stamps), Four You 
Ink: VersaMark
Embellishments: Smoky Slate Stampin' Emboss Powder
Tools: 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 2" Circle Punchheat tool, Stampin' Dimmensionals

Now stop over at The Cupcake Inspirations blog and check out what the rest of the Sweeties have created. I hope you'll play with along with us this week!

Cupcake Inspirations Challenge 296

Hi there! Ready for a yummy cupcake and some gorgeous color inspiration? Here's this week's challenge at Cupcake Inspirations. 

This week's sponsor is 7 Kids College Fund. They are giving away a $20 gift certificate to their store! 

DEEtails: 

I decided to do some watercoloring for this card, which is a fun and easy technique. First, I stamped my image with VersaMark ink onto some watercolor paper and heat embossed it with some clear powder. Then I got out some Stampin' Write Markers, which are water-based inks. I basically transfer the color from the marker onto a clear stamp block and with a wet paintbrush, use the ink to watercolor my image. So easy to do and it turns out so effortlessly gorgeous.

For the leaves, I used some patterned paper from Heidi Swapps Favorite Things line and punched out the leaves from the bird punch. I like that the green isn't a solid color, so it keeps with the soft effect from the watercoloring. The background paper is from the same paper pad. I stamped it with a sentiment from Four You, which I embossed with white powder. I layered a bit of gold underneath, die cut with the Tasteful Trim die, with a bit of Bermuda Bay peeking out from underneath. I am so loving this color combination!

Paper: Bermuda Bay Cardstock, Gold Foil Sheets, Heidi Swapp Favorite Things Paper Pad, Watercolor Paper
Stamps: Four You, Secret Garden
Ink: VersaMark
Tools: Bird Punch, Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, paint brush, Stampin' Dimmensionals, Stampin' Write Markers - Melon Mambo, Rose Red, Strawberry Slush, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Tasteful Trim Bigz Die

CASEing an Old Favorite

I know it's been a long time since I've created anything or stamped a card. I've kind of been itching to go in my craft space, which I'm sure is a good sign that I'm getting better. But the place is kind of a disaster! While I was sick and unable to do much crafting, we just piled things into my craft space. The space itself is already pretty tiny, so piled with a bunch of extras makes the place almost completely impossible to navigate through.

I recently sent out this card to my aunt and loved the simplicity of the card and the use of all the fun patterned papers. I thought it might be fun to CASE my previous creation. I've been collecting quite a bit of patterned papers, so it was a nice way to flip through and use some of them. This card was actually a good choice to start with, since I've found that not being in my craft space for so long has caused me to forget where a lot of my tools and embellishments are stored. Haha!

DEEtails:
I started by selecting some various patterned papers. I turned to the retired Patio Party DSP and added some patterned Summer Starfruit and Baja Breeze. Then I used my Bigz Beautiful Butterflies Die, also retired, but you can use any butterfly punch or layer any shaped die for that matter. I stamped the sentiment from Four You onto some Whisper White card stock and used the 1" square punch to create a simple banner. Lots of layering and I was able to create this quick and easy birthday card!

Paper: Baja Breeze card stock, Baja Breeze patterned DSP, Midnight Muse card stock, Patio Party DSP, Summer Starfruit patterned DSP, Whisper White card stock
Stamps: Four You
Ink: Midnight Muse
Tools: 1" Square Punch, Bigz Beautiful Butterflies Die

Stampin' Celebration Sketch Challenge

Hello friends! It's time for some mid-month inspiration from the Stampin' Celebration team!

DEEtails:

Paper: Calypso Coral card stock, Crisp Cantaloupe card stock, I Am Me DSP
Stamps: Four You, Gifts of Kindness, Oh Hello, Regarding Dahlias
Ink: VersaMark, Whisper White
Embellishments: Cork, Crushed Curry Chevron Ribbon

Don't forget to check out the rest of the Stampin' Celebration design team's fabulous creations! Then join us for this month's challenge, using either using either the inspiration images from the beginning of the month or our mid-month sketch. We can't wait to see what you make!

Erica Cerwin - Pink Buckaroo Designs

Erin Gonzales - Hand Stamped Style

Rochelle Gould - I stamp, I create, I have fun!

Cori Kozak - Creative Chat
Allison Ohran - Sweet Impressions
Lauri Ingram - Paperville Crafts

Krista Jensen - Krista's Stamper Room

Anita Krul - My Paper Chronicles

Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge

Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge

It's January 1st, and you know what that means...

Yes... a new Stampin' Celebration Challenge! 

DEEtails:
I'm in the mood for a bit of metallic... Can you tell? :)

Paper: Midnight Muse card stock, Print Poetry DSP Stack, Silver Foil Sheets, Whisper White card stock
Stamps: Four You, Secret Garden
Ink: Midnight Muse, VersaMark
Tools: Scallop Trim Border Punch

Embellishments: Rhinestone Jewels, Silver Embossing Powder, Smooch Spritz

Be sure to take a peek at what the rest of the Stampin' Celebration design team has created. 

Erica Cerwin - Pink Buckaroo Designs

Erin Gonzales - Hand Stamped Style

Rochelle Gould - I stamp, I create, I have fun!

Cori Kozak - Creative Chat
Allison Ohran - Sweet Impressions
Lauri Ingram - Paperville Crafts

Krista Jensen - Krista's Stamper Room

Anita Krul - My Paper Chronicles

Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge

Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge

Happy October! :) Today I'm here with the rest of the Stampin' Celebration team with a brand new Inspiration for you! I hope you'll be excited to create with the fabulous colors and textures in the inspiration below! I know, I certainly was!

DEEtails:
I'm sure you know by now how much I love the Chevron DSP, so of course I had to use it for this card! I added a piece of burlap, that I picked up at the local craft store and cut out a little frame from some Soft Suede card stock. Beneath it, I adhered a pretty Dahlia bloom, inked in Calypso Coral and colored in with some Crisp Cantaloupe. For a little added texture, I tied on some Linen Thread. Finally, I added the sentiment as a banner below. Hope you like it!

Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe Chevron DSP, Crisp Cantaloupe card stock, Soft Suede card stock, Whisper white card stock
Stamps: Four You, Regarding Dahlias
Ink: Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Soft Suede
Embellishments: burlap, Linen Thread

Don't forget to check out the rest of the Stampin' Celebration design team's fabulous creations! 

Erica Cerwin - Pink Buckaroo Designs

Erin Gonzales - Hand Stamped Style

Rochelle Gould - I stamp, I create, I have fun!

Cori Kozak - Creative Chat
Allison Ohran - Sweet Impressions
Lauri Ingram - Paperville Crafts

Krista Jensen - Krista's Stamper Room

Anita Krul - My Paper Chronicles

Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge

Stampin' Celebration Sketch Challenge

Hello friends! There's some mid-month inspiration over at Stampin' Celebration today with this fun new sketch. You can play along with the colorful inspiration that we shared at the beginning of the month or use the sketch below. I opted to turn the sketch on its side and create a card with it.

DEEtails:

I started with some Basic Gray card stock and embossed a piece with the lovely Woodgrain embossing folder. Then I punched out some hexagons using some pretty stamped backgrounds from Oh, Hello and Beyond Plaid, along with some DSP from Eastern Elegance. I added a few small hexagons, cutting out some pieces of Crushed Curry embossed with the Honeycomb embossing folder. Then I embellished a few butterflies, using my punches on Going Gray DSP and adding some Rhinestone Jewels. Finally, I a banner stamped with  the sentiment from Four You. What do you think?

Now, be sure to stop by and visit the rest of the Stampin' Celebration design team to check out their wonderful creations. We'd love for you to join us this month, using either the inspiration images from the beginning of the month or our mid-month sketch. Can't wait to see what you make!

Erica Cerwin - Pink Buckaroo Designs

Erin Gonzales - Hand Stamped Style

Rochelle Gould - I stamp, I create, I have fun!

Cori Kozak - Creative Chat
Allison Ohran - Sweet Impressions
Lauri Ingram - Paperville Crafts

Krista Jensen - Krista's Stamper Room

Anita Krul - My Paper Chronicles

Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge

Stampin' Celebration News!

Today I have some exciting news to share! For the next six months, I will be joining the fabulous Stampin' Celebration design team! I am so excited to be working with such a talented group of ladies and I hope you'll join us on the 1st and 15th of each month to create and celebrate! :)

This month's challenge features the same inspiration used in the Stampin' Celebrations Design Team call, so you'll get a peek at the cards I submitted.

DEEtails:

My first card was inspired by the pretty coral cake on the right, while the second was inspired by the two photos on the left.

Card 1 ~
Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe DSP, Pool Party card stock, Whisper White card stock
Stamps: Chalk Talk, Stippled Blossoms
Ink: Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Lucky Limeade
Embellishments: 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Calypso Coral Chevron Ribbon, Wilton Paper Doily

Card 2 ~
Paper: Pool Party card stock, Whisper white card stock
Stamps: Four You, Morning Meadow, Secret Garden
Ink: Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, VersaMark
Embellishments: Lattice Bigz Die, Coral Sharpie Marker, Pearl Jewels, Crisp Cantaloupe Ruffle Stretch Ribbon, Clear Stampin' Emboss

I do hope you'll join the celebration this month! And be sure to take a peek at the fabulous creations that the rest of the Stampin' Celebration team has made:

Erica Cerwin - Pink Buckaroo Designs

Erin Gonzales - Hand Stamped Style

Rochelle Gould - I stamp, I create, I have fun!

Cori Kozak - Creative Chat
Allison Ohran - Sweet Impressions
Lauri Ingram - Paperville Crafts

Krista Jensen - Krista's Stamper Room

Anita Krul - My Paper Chronicles

Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge

Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge

Hello dearies! Today is a pretty exciting day as we reveal team 2 of the Pals Paper Arts. This means PPA will be hosting a challenge every week now! Here's this week's challenge:

Here are the DEEtails for my card:
I started with a Midnight Muse base and added a strip of This and That DSP. I'm loving this little pattern here as a background. I wrapped some Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine around the card and added tied a few knots to add some texture. Then I made a little notepad paper using the A to Z stamp and the retired Spiral Border punch. I crumbled up the paper a bit and added some staining with my Crumb Cake stamp pad and a little bit of gold Smooch paint. Then I added a heart punched out of Cherry Cobbler with a bit of new Chevron ribbon tucked underneath. Finally, I added my sentiment from the Four You set stamped in VersaMark ink and embossed. Hope you like it!

Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge

Hello lovelies! Happy Independence Day! And Happy July! :)

July kicks off some fun and exciting things over at Pals Paper Arts! We have a brand new team and brand new color combos and sketches to begin weekly challenges! Wahoo! Ready for the first challenge of the month? We have a lovely, patriotic color combination today!

Here are the DEEtails:

Creating this card was pretty challenging for me. I had a really difficult time with this color combination - you know my aversion to red... and then, there was this very bright blue to work with... I'm sure you can see why I chose to use quite a bit of Crumb Cake on my card. But I was excited to play with some of my new goodies, so although it was a challenge, it was quite a bit of fun. For the base, I used the Positively Chevron stamp - I kind of like how imperfectly it was stamped. I offset the bright blue with some Crumb Cake card stock which I ran through a polka dot embossing folder and matted with more Crumb Cake. I'm loving this new Regarding Dahlias stamp! I stamped it in VersaMark on Crumb Cake card stock and embossed it with some Whisper White powder. I added a bit of color using my Blender Pen. I was actually a little nervous as I colored in the petals, but the dark and light bits just seemed to work. Some dimensionals help to make it really pop. I layered a bit of Summer Smooches DSP underneath, which I punched with the Scallop Punch and added a piece of Natural Trim ribbon for some texture. Finally, the sentiment from Four You was layered on top. 

Whew! That's a lot! But it is definitely a huge difference from what I started with...

My card was so blah... I sat with it for a while and finally realized what it needed - texture, depth, and color. So I added them. I added texture with an embossed background, ribbon, and heat embossed image. I added depth by expanding my dahlia image to the edges of the card, layering my ribbon, and adding dimensionals. And finally, I added color by inking my flower and enlarging it, as well as expanding the white space on my sentiment. I'm loving the updated card. Want another peek at it?

Now, won't you join the Pals this week with our color challenge? Check out the lovely projects that our Resident Artists have come up with! I'm sure you will be inspired! Then link up your creation to the Pals Paper Arts blog.