Sweet Sunday Sketch - What's your absolute FAVE?

Good morning!  I'm switching it up a bit this week for our Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge - I thought it might be fun to have a week where you can pick your favorite sketch, make a new card with that sketch and then link it to the Inlinkz at the bottom of this post.

I guess you should read that last paragraph as "I don't have anything new for you this week, so I'm trying not to look like such a huge slacker and keep the game going!"  Bwahaha!

I don't have a sketchbook yet (it's on my ToDo list), but you can find all the past sketches HERE (I realize scrolling through all the sketch posts on the blog is a little tedious and I apologize for that.)  Or if you are on Facebook, you can find all the sketches in the Sketches album on the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge page (just "like" it).   

I'll be playing along a little later too and I can't wait to see what sketches are the most favorite :)  Links close on Friday at 10 PM Mountain and I'll announce a winner on Saturday afternoon.

Thanks so much for playing along this week!

Sweet Sunday Sketch Winner

Hello!  It's time to announce this week's sketch winner!!  Our random winner is.......

#57 - Belinda Andrews! 

Congrats, Belinda!  I think this is the first time that the very last entry was chosen - yay!  This card makes me smile - the bright happy colors and the paper medallion and birthday hats are terrific!  Love it!!  Please stop by Belinda's blog, Be Happy Stampin' to see more of her gorgeous work.

See you back soon!
Karen

JustRite Challenge

It's Friday!!  And to make this Friday even more spectacular, Stamper's Dream is hosting another fabulous challenge and this week it is a sketch!  You know how I love sketches!  Can't work without them, honestly.

Not only is there a fantastic sketch to work with, there is also a prize - a $50 shopping spree at Stamper's Dream . Trust me when I tell you that you won't have any trouble spending it there when you see all the latest and greatest products we have in stock, including the complete JustRite Christmas stamp collection!

Just use the sketch challenge #037 to make your card, then post it on the JustRite Inspiration Blog using Mr. Linky. You have until Thursday, September 30 at 9 am.

This little cutie is from Whimsical Christmas.  I stamped the image in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored him in with Copic markers (V17, V91, V95, N7, 100, Y21, YR23).  For some extra detail, I added a few Latte pearls in the image and along the Scribbles Swirls Sizzix die cut and then added an ivory ribbon along the bottom.  The patterned paper is the delicious new Mitten Weather from Cosmo Cricket, mmmmm!

Please visit these members of The Dream Team to see what fabulous challenge card samples they have made for you:

Michelle
Tosh
Cammie
Laurie
Amy
Christina 

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

recipe:

stamps: whimsical christmas (justrite stampers)

paper: perfect plum, pale plum, ivory cardstock, mitten weather (cosmo cricket)

ink: memento tuxedo black

accessories: copic markers, ivory grosgrain ribbon, scribbles swirls embosslits (sizzix), latte pearls (kaisercraft), scallop border punch (stampin up)

Mmmm... chocolate.

Hi!  I've had such luck getting some sketch challenges finished this week and it's nice to have some mojo back in my stamping space.  Goodness!  This card uses SSS74 from the Sweet Stop, although the challenge is with a twist and I opted to stay untwisted - I didn't use the color challenge with it, which is mustard yellow and deep red.  I'm such a rule breaker - bwahaha!  I stamped this incredible cake image from Make a Wish in Memento Rich Cocoa and colored it in with Copics (BG10, BG11, BG13, E57, E59, W1, W3) and popped it up on a Blossom Nestabilities die.  The papers and ribbon are all from the Make a Wish Project Pantry Kit from Taylored Expressions and I added some Taylor's Tiny Twinkles to the flowers to bring out the green.  It's a very, very colorful card, haha!  The sentiment is part of a larger sentiment that I cut down to fit on the circle.  Card base is 5" square.

Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy your day.
Karen

recipe -

stamps: make a wish (taylored expressions)

paper: make a wish project pantry kit

ink: memento rich cocoa

accessories: circle/blossom/scallop nestabilities (spellbinders), 5 & 6 petal punch (ek success), taylor's tiny twinkles, clear rhinestones (kaisercraft)

Taylored Expressions Blast From the Past Blog Hop

Welcome to the September round of the Taylored Expressions Blast from the Past Blog Hop!  This is one of my favorite posts of the month - it's always such a treat to look through all of those yummy TE sets and pick one to ink up and give some special attention.  This month I chose to ink up The Places You'll Go - love this set!!  It's so perfect for boys, which I always find difficult to make cards for.

I started off with Mercy's MTSC91 and some Lil Man paper from Cosmo Cricket (so cute!) and inked up this adorable little image with Memento Rich Cocoa and Copic markers.  The border is the new Scalloped Eyelet Border die and I created the circle underneath with 2 circle Nestabilities dies.

Taylored Expressions is offering a special Blast from the Past sale in order to help you prepare for our next customer blog hop! Our October blog hop is all about Christmas and we'll be featuring past Christmas stamps from Taylored Expressions in our creations. The following select Christmas sets are 20% off through Sunday, September 26th so it's a great time to pick one up and join us on the hop next month. You can find all the details on the TE Blog Hop HERE!

Christmas Blessings
Season's Sweetings
Home Sweet Home
Holiday Wonder
Wings of Joy
Tag Treats

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

recipe -

stamps: the places you'll go (taylored expressions)

paper: tawny medium (prismatics), choice buttercream (taylored expressions), 'lil man (cosmo cricket)

ink: memento rich cocoa

accessories: copic markers, scalloped eyelet border (taylored expressions), rectangle/scallop & circle nestabilities (spellbinders)

Just swingin' by

Hello!  It's Monday - that means laundry day here.  I know, that sounds fabulous!  haha!  I'm taking a little break from all the stain remover to show you a really fun card using Julee's MOJO157.  I adore this little bicycle image from In the Park - so cute!  But now I'm looking at it and I forgot to put the basket on!  GAH!  Next time.  haha!  I stamped the image in Memento Rich Cocoa and colored it with Copics - then for some accents I added a bow from my Bow Easy and the Scalloped Eyelet Border, which is my favorite border at the moment.  Love it! 

I hope you are having a wonderful Monday - I hear the dryer calling my name.  Anyone want to sort socks?  My fave....

Karen

recipe - 

stamps: in the park (taylored expressions)

paper: summertime project pantry kit

ink: warm red liquid chalk (colorbox), memento rich cocoa

accessories: green dotted ribbon, yellow pearls (kaisercraft), circle/scallop nestabilities (spellbinders), scalloped eyelet border (taylored expressions), copic markers

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 86

Good morning - It's time for another Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge! Here is the deal: make a card with this layout and use the InLinkz button down at the very end of this post to enter your card. The links will close on Friday at 10 PM (Mountain Time), and I'll randomly select one card to feature on my blog on Saturday. So, as long as your card is linked by 10 PM Friday, your card will be in the drawing. Be sure to link directly to the blog post or gallery image which features your card. You may post a picture of the sketch on your blog, but please save the image to your computer first. Use the keyword SSSC86 if you plan to post your card in an online gallery.

I was looking through my patterned paper and I found some of this delish Bloom & Grow from My Mind's Eye that I haven't used in a very long time and paired it with Cupcake Collections from PTI.  I colored the cupcake in with Copics and added a little Brights collection button on the side.  And let's not forget all those rhinestone sprinkles!

This is the last in our "Invisibility Lounge" napkin series and when I look at this sketch, it just makes me giggle.  Especially when Nancy emails me and says, "I made that sketch?"  I think the "Love you Karen" on the bottom says it all - must have been in the "I love you, man!" stage of the night.  Bwahaha! 

The Sweet Sunday Stampers have amazing sketch samples to show you today, so stop on by to see:

• Jennifer Tapler
• Joanne Basile
• Karen Motz
• Laura Fredrickson
• Lynn Put
• Sarah-Jane Kale'
• Vicki Burdick
• AND special guest Nancy McKinney 

Thanks for taking on the challenge this week! 
Karen

recipe -

stamps: cupcake collection (papertrey ink)

paper: bermuda bay, choice buttercream (taylored expressions) cardstock, bloom & grow (my mind's eye)

ink: bermuda bay, memento rich cocoa, deep lagoon & pumpkin spice liquid chalk (colorbox)

accessories: brights buttons, aqua rhinestones (kaisercraft), copic markers, embroidery floss, taylors tiny twinkles (taylored expressions), circle/scallop nestabilities (spellbinders), scalloped eyelet border (taylored expressions)

Sweet Sunday Sketch Winner

Happy Saturday, everybody!  It's time to announce this week's winner and I wanted to thank everyone who participated in the challenge this week and sent cards to Operation Write Home.  Your support is truly appreciated!

The random winner is #8!  Patti!

I love the soft colors and the mix of images - and of course pearls along the scallops.  Congrats Patti!  Please email me and let me know which 3 watermarks you'd like. 

You can find more of Patti's amazing cards at her blog, Stampersize (super fun name!)

See you back soon!
Karen

JustRite 12 Weeks of Christmas Blog Hop #2

Today The Dream Team from Stamper's Dream is joining JustRite Stampers for their newest Wednesday feature, 12 Weeks of Christmas Blog Hops #2! Every Wednesday until Thanksgiving some of your favorite designers will be joining some of the JustRite design team for a series of Christmas blog hops, showcasing the JustRite Christmas Collection of stamps! So mark your calendars for Wednesdays at 9am Central for great Christmas gift, card and project ideas, starting at the JustRite Inspiration blog!

For my card, I started off with my Mitten Weather papers and the MOJO156 sketch but tweaked it just a bit to fit the sentiment, which is from the fabulous set, Christmas Nested Centers and paired up with the holly frame from Christmas Nested Frames.  I filled the holly berries in with some Christmas Red Stickles and colored the leaves in with Copic Markers. 

Please visit these designers blogs to see what fabulous Christmas projects they have for you on the hop today!

JustRite Inspiration Blog
Michelle Rodgers
Amy Sheffer
Heidi Blankenship
Christina Fischer
Kazan Clark
Tosha Leyendekker
Laurie Schmidlin
Sankari Wegman
Cindy Lawrence
Kellie Fortin
Denise Marzec
Stephanie Kraft
Kathy Jones
Leslie Miller
Carolyn King
Angela Barkhouse
Michelle Kovak 

Thanks for stopping by ~
Karen

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 85 + a bonus challenge!!

Good morning - It's time for another Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge! Here is the deal: make a card with this layout and use the InLinkz button down at the very end of this post to enter your card. The links will close on Friday at 10 PM (Mountain Time), and I'll randomly select one card to feature on my blog on Saturday. So, as long as your card is linked by 10 PM Friday, your card will be in the drawing. Be sure to link directly to the blog post or gallery image which features your card. You may post a picture of the sketch on your blog, but please save the image to your computer first. Use the keyword SSSC85 if you plan to post your card in an online gallery.

I'm so excited about the sketch this week!  Jan Hunnicutt contacted me a while back asking if I would like to host a challenge to benefit Operation Write Home and I jumped all over the idea.  Operation Write Home's mission is "...to support our nation’s armed forces by sending blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them."

The extra challenge this week is to create a birthday card and mail it to Operation Write Home and they'll send our challenge cards on to those men and women who are serving in the armed forces.  The only limitation is you may not use any glitter or glitter products on your card.  Why, you ask?  Here is a bit from the blog: "Many of our deployed heroes live in very primitive conditions. Primitive as in no showers for a couple weeks. No laundry. Nowhere to get cleaned up. And if they open a box of cards and get sprinkled all over, they might have absolutely nowhere to get rid of all that mess; they may not even realise it's all over them. And if they have glitter on their uniforms it can put them at risk — it can make them visible to night vision goggles, and that is just not a risk we're willing to take!"

So - who's ready to play along?!  As an added bonus, I'll be giving one lucky participant 3 of my watermarks in a random drawing this coming Saturday.  Woohoo!  Click here to find out more on where to send your birthday challenge card(s) - the addresses are on the left-hand side of the page.

This week's sketch is the next in our little series - "Sketches From the Invisibility Lounge" by Nancy McKinney.  I've been loving these!  I couldn't use this sketch without using on of her designs, so I picked up Make a Wish and Borderlicious and went to it.  The papers are all from the Make a Wish Project Pantry kit and then I used the balloon die cut for the balloons - and of course some bling.

The Sweet Sunday Stampers have amazing sketch samples to show you today, so stop on by to see:

• Jennifer Tapler
• Joanne Basile
• Karen Motz
• Laura Fredrickson
• Lynn Put
• Sarah-Jane Kale'
• Vicki Burdick
• AND special guest Nancy McKinney 

Nancy Riley will be leaving the team and I'm so sad to see her go.  She'll be taking amazing care of her family for a while and we wish her all the best.  Nancy, your cards are always amazing and inspiring and we'll miss you so much!

Thanks for taking on the challenge this week! 
Karen

Sweet Sunday Sketch Winner

Hello everyone!  It's time to announce the latest Sweet Sunday winner - woohoo!  This was such a fun sketch and I loved seeing what you all came up with too.  So, drum roll please........

#53 - Nadia!!

This card is absolutely darling!  I love these little birdcage images from SU and the color combo is gorgeous!  Congrats Nadia!  Please stop by her blog, Nadia's Scrap- und Stempel-Ecke, her cards are fabulous!

See you soon for a new sketch and something extra that you don't want to miss out on.

Karen

Mitten Weather

Hello!  So sorry I've been so quiet here on the blog - I've been trying to catch up on all sorts of house things, and gee, for some reason I keep putting those house things off until I can't stand to be IN my house.  haha!  It felt so good to get back to stamping and I have a cute little card to show you.  I started with Mercy's MTSC90 and went straight for my new pack of Mitten Weather paper from Cosmo Cricket, and what better image to go with snowy mitten weather than a sweet little snowman from Vintage Christmas!  The image is stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored in with Copic markers.  To dress up the card just a bit, I tied an ivory ribbon around the top and added a few Latte Pearls to the bottom corner.  Another Christmas card done and ready - only about 40 more to go!  I'm on a roll!  haha!

Have a wonderful day!
Karen

recipe - 

stamps: vintage christmas set (justrite stampers)

paper: rich razzleberry, pale plum, ivory cardstock, mitten weather (cosmo cricket)

ink: perfect plum, memento tuxedo black

accessories: circle/scallop nestabilities, ivory satin ribbon, latte pearls (kaisercraft), copic markers

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 84

Good morning - It's time for another Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge! Here is the deal: make a card with this layout and use the InLinkz button down at the very end of this post to enter your card. The links will close on Friday at 10 PM (Mountain Time), and I'll randomly select one card to feature on my blog on Saturday. So, as long as your card is linked by 10 PM Friday, your card will be in the drawing. Be sure to link directly to the blog post or gallery image which features your card. You may post a picture of the sketch on your blog, but please save the image to your computer first. Use the keyword SSSC84 if you plan to post your card in an online gallery.

Welcome to week 2 of our fabulous little mini-series, "Sketches From the Invisibility Lounge" by Nancy McKinney.   I made this card for my MIL's wedding, which was Saturday afternoon - all 5 of her grandkids were in it and I can't wait to see what kind of photographs I have of them!  They were all so dapper - the boys in their little suits and the girls in their ivory dresses.  Makes my heart melt.  The wedding was in a botanical garden and so I wanted to make a card using the flower theme and color scheme {although I added the blue - call it artistic license}.  I just got my Pixie-Licious Mini-Deck and wanted to tear into it.  I love cutting into brand new papers!  And, true to form, I didn't leave any room for a sentiment on the outside of my card, but the inside says, "To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides. - David Viscott"  Isn't that beautiful!?  The stamps are some previously uninked Verve, Feel the Sun.  New stamps, new papers - ahhh, it's a good day. 

The Sweet Sunday Stampers have amazing sketch samples to show you today, so stop on by to see:

• Jennifer Tapler
• Joanne Basile
• Karen Motz is enjoying her "Labour Day" with friends.  I'd like to buy a vowel, please.
• Laura Fredrickson
• Lynn Put
• Sarah-Jane Kale'
• Vicki Burdick
• AND special guest Nancy McKinney 

Nancy Riley is taking some time off, but I know she'd love for you to stop by and say hello.

Thanks for taking on the challenge this week! 
Karen

recipe -

stamps: feel the sun (verve stamps)

paper: old olive, rich razzleberry, choice buttercream cardstock, pixie-licious (cosmo cricket)

ink: old olive, rich razzleberry

accessories: latte pearls & wine rhinestones (kaisercraft), old olive satin ribbon, scallop border punch, big scallops & flowers die-namics (my favorite things)

Taylored Expressions Release Party

There is lots and lots of excitement going on over at Taylored Expressions this morning - not only is it release day, it is also TE's 2nd birthday!  To celebrate, TE is offering some amazing specials for this weekend only, so be sure to read all the way through my post so you don't miss out on any of the goodies!

I have another super fun card for you today, using Make a Wish - and I'm even showing you bits and pieces of the set I didn't include in my earlier post - so many fun images in this set!  I stamped the "make a wish" sentiment on Choice Snow White cardstock with Memento Rich Cocoa and used the Take Note Frame 3 Taylored Die to cut the image out.  I love the way a curvy shape will dress up a main image panel - so cute!  The image is colored in with the Make a Wish Copic set and I stamped the star again and popped it up.  The cute little pennant banner is stamped in Warm Red Liquid Chalk and cut out to size and popped up with dimensional tape.  For the final touch, I wrapped the peach satin ribbon around the card front and used my Bow Easy to make the separate bow - I used a glue dot to adhere it to the image panel.  Easy Peasy!  Click here to see a really good tutorial on how to use the Bow Easy - this handy little template has saved me many, many, MANY gray hairs :)  I made this card with Sankari in mind - today is her birthday too!  Leave it to Sankari to celebrate a birthday the same day as all of these cute stamps - haha!  I should have put on lots and lots of Liquid Pearls in  honor of the birthday girl - drat!!

Are you ready to hear about all the specials?  Taylored Expressions will be offering these specials through Monday, September 6th.

• Purchase ANY 4 full-size stamp sets and receive a free Binder Box.
• Purchase ANY 8 A la Carte stamps and receive a free set of Stamp Storage Panels.
• 4 orders will be selected at random (one each day from Friday - Monday) to win a $25 TE gift certificate.
• The first 20 customers to order the Fright Night Project Pantry will receive a free set of orange glittered chipboard letters. 

More inspiration is waiting for you - stop on by and see what these marvelous ladies have for you today:

• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Jackie Pedro
• Jami Sibley
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Motz
• Melissa Sauls
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild
• special guest designer, Barbara Anders
• and super illustrator, Nancy McKinney 

recipe - 

Stamps: Make a Wish (Taylored Expressions)

Paper: Make a Wish Project Pantry Kit

Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Warm Red Liquid Chalk (ColorBox)

Accessories: peach satin ribbon from the Make a Wish Project Pantry Kit, Take Note Frame 3 Taylored Die (Taylored Expressions), Make a Wish Copic kit

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek | Day 3

Good morning and welcome to DAY 3!  Today the Taylored Expressions team is featuring 2 more brand-spankin' new sets: Fright Night Favors, designed by Taylor, and the latest addition to the Hangin' Out series, Hangin' Out Wicked Wardrobe, designed by Nancy McKinney.  We're getting our Halloween groove on!  All new sets, Project Pantry Kits, and Taylored Dies will be available for purchase tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM Pacific - woohoo!! 

For my first little number, I created a card using Fright Night Favors and the coordinating Favor Frame Die.  This set is so incredibly cute and I think the little spider is my favorite - love his little googlie eyes.  That, and he doesn't bite or crawl on me.  Win/Win!

I started with the MOJO153 sketch and changed the squares into scalloped circles.  Such an sweet and simple card that would be very easy to make duplicates of for teachers or classmates.  Or me.  haha!

My next little treat uses these super fun Taylored Tubes that Taylored Expressions will be carrying in the store, starting tomorrow!

This project was a blast to make and super easy!  I followed Lisa Somerville's template and dressed up the box and test tubes a bit, and of course added those much needed Terror Tablets - super spooky!  All of the patterned paper, cardstock, ribbon, and embellies are from the coordinating Fright Night Project Pantry Kit, which is full of those fun Halloween greens, oranges, purples and of course black.  The patterned paper is the Happy Halloween collection from Echo Park.  You can see all of the details about the Fright Night Project Pantry Kit over at Taylor's blog - she has a fun picture showing all the goodies included inside this yummy package. 

You will not want to miss out on the rest of the projects from the Baker's Dozen - they have gone ALL OUT for you today.

• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Jackie Pedro
• Jami Sibley
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Motz
• Melissa Sauls
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild
• and super illustrator, Nancy McKinney

Have fun!
Karen

recipe -

Witch's Brew card

Stamps: Fright Night Favors

Paper: all paper is from the Fright Night Project Pantry Kit

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Olive Pastel & Pumpkin Spice Liquid Chalk (ColorBox)

Accessories: all embellishments are from Fright Night Project Pantry Kit, circle/scallop Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Test Tube Stand

Stamps: Fright Night Favors

Paper: all paper is from the Fright Night Project Pantry Kit

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Olive Pastel & Pumpkin Spice Liquid Chalk (ColorBox)

Accessories: all embellishments are from Fright Night Project Pantry Kit, Taylored Tubes, Copic markers, Milk Chocolate M&M's

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek | Day 2

Welcome back to Day 2 of the Taylored Expressions sneak peeks!  I hope you enjoyed all the fantastic Make a Wish, Borderlicious, and Bubble Big Background eye candy yesterday - it has been so much fun working on these completely fun new sets. 

On the menu today are all of the new Belated Birthday a la Carte stamps, which were concepted by our very own Jami Sibley and illustrated by the same illustrator as the Apple Doodle Ink collection.  Each image has 2 coordinating sentiments, which is perfect for stamping the inside of your card too!  And, you can use the images for any occasion - I'm already thinking about what baby cards I can make with the Belated Birthday - Ducks In a Row!  All of these images are simply darling!

I've chosen to stamp with Belated Birthday - Shooting Stars, which is the cutest little sheep!  As soon as I saw this image, I knew I was going to cover him up in Sugar Sparkly Fluff - how fun is that? I stamped the sheep 3 different times in Memento Rich Cocoa and then cut out the body and the fluffy piece of wool on his head, then popped them each up with dimensional tape.  The sentiment fits so perfectly between Circle Nestabilities dies, so I created a little circle frame for it and added a little green striped bow to the side.  All of the ribbon and papers you see are from the Make a Wish Project Pantry Kit, which is SO cute.  The patterned papers are Imaginisce Bday Bash collection, super fun! 

The Baker's Dozen has so much more to show you and you don't want to miss any of that gorgeous eye candy out there!

• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Jackie Pedro
• Jami Sibley
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Motz
• Melissa Sauls
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope to see you tomorrow -
Karen

recipe -

Stamps: Belated Birthday - Shooting Stars

Paper: all from the Make a Wish Project Pantry Kit

Ink: Memento Rich Tuxedo

Accessories:  green striped ribbon (Make a Wish Project Pantry Kit), Sugar Sparkly Fluff (Our Craft Lounge), circle/oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders),  Copic markers