Crazy Egg Challenge at the 4 Crafty Chicks!

Welcome, everyone!  We've got a Crazy Egg Challenge for you this week at the 4 Crafty Chicks since it is the fifth Thursday of the month and our very own Lori is offering up a prize package for this week's winner - how fun!  So, this week's challenge is a theme: "A New Year" ...whatever this means to you.

I didn't have much time to put this card together so I had to have something that was quick and simple.  Arielle's colourQ this week was perfectly elegant for a New Year's card:

I popped over to Mojo Monday and discovered that it was "Round or Square?" week:

A few layers later and voila!


Stamps: Along the Same Lines, Teeny Tiny Wishes (SU!)  Paper: Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Old Olive, Basic Grey, Basic Black  Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black  Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Seeing Spots embossing folder, Very Vanilla satin ribbon, oval punches, scalloped oval punch, circle punch, twine

Thanks for stopping by today - I know that many of you are busy spending time with family this week but if you have a few minutes to play along with us, we'd love to have you and make sure to check out the 4 Crafty Chicks blog to see the fantastic prize package up for grabs!  Enjoy your day!

A Color Dare...Repeat?

Hi everyone!  We've been busy settling back into a *routine* after the craziness of Christmas...so much to do!  Thankfully, we've got a little bit of a change for this week's Color Dare.  A couple of weeks ago, Riley gave us Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze,Very Vanilla, and Rich Razzleberry to work with, but due to some pre-Christmas craziness in *her* life, she never got around to posting the DT cards or the inLinkz.  SO...we get to do it again!  If you need some inspiration, here's my card.  Have fun!  We'll be back with a new combination next week.  :)

Spread Your Wings and Fly ...

Hi everyone!  Here we are 2 days post-Christmas... have you all recovered?  I hope you all ate too much and laughed until your stomach hurt - that's the best part of Christmas.  :)

Megan has given us a great combo for this week's Picture Perfect Creations Color Challenge - I hope you will be able to play with us:

I made this card last week in my crafting frenzy and needed a CAS layout (something I'm enjoying more and more...) so I popped over to clean&simple stamping to see what they had for us and found:

Stamps: Beautiful Kindness (Verve)  Paper: Whisper White, Night of Navy, Rose Red, Greenhouse Gala DSP  Ink: Night of Navy  Accessories: Paper piercer, Scallop Edge border punch, Beautiful Wings embosslit, adhesive pearls

I hope you will take a few minutes to play along with us this week - don't forget to check out the rest of the PPC Creators' blogs to see their amazing cards.  See you back here on Wednesday for a brand new Color Dare!

Oh Baby!

Merry Christmas everyone!  I trust that you all spent a lovely day with family and friends yesterday and that Santa did a fabulous job with his gift deliveries.  My family and I have been spending the last few days at my sister's home with her and her family  - and our parents - and our brother and his girlfriend - AND four dogs!  We've eaten too much and laughed even more and have enjoyed every minute.  If you are reading this on Sunday morning, I am probably out with my mom and sister doing our traditional Boxing Day shopping...some may think we are crazy but we have so much fun! 

So, you must be here for a challenge, right?  This week's theme at Sentimental Sundays is "Baby"... you could make so many fun projects for this theme but don't forget your sentiment!  I decided to make a card with another simple sketch and found this amazing one over at The Cat's Pajamas:

Stamps: Nursery Necessities (SU!)  Paper: Basic Grey Olivia DSP, Whisper White, Cameo Coral, Pink Pirouette, Old Olive  Ink: Cameo Coral, Old Olive  Accessories: Nestabilities, Pink Pirouette wide grosgrain ribbon, oval punch, scallop oval punch, twine, eyelet, Cropodile, dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by today - enjoy the rest of your weekend!

A Sketch Challenge at the 4 Crafty Chicks!

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."  Are you humming along with me?  I am so ready for Christmas to get here but mostly I'm looking forward to going Boxing Day shopping with my mom and sister.  It has been a tradition with me and my mom for the past four or five years to brave the crazies and see what goodies we can find...but we don't take it too seriously.  We CERTAINLY are NOT the ones sleeping outside of the store overnight just to get that great deal on the big-screen TV... :)  Now, maybe if it was a Grand Calibur I'd rethink that statement...

Anyhoo...you're here for a challenge, right?  Well, you've come to the right place.  This week's challenge at the 4 Crafty Chicks is from Lori, our hostess with the mostest, and she has created this FABULOUS sketch for you all to play with:

I didn't have a color challenge to work with for this card so I went to my Basic Grey paper stash and found a pad of Pyrus paper I hadn't cracked open yet so I thought I'd remedy THAT little faux pas:

Stamps: Small Script (SU!)  Paper: Blue Bayou, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Pyrus DSP  Ink: Cajun Craze  Accessories: Scallop edge border punch, adhesive pearls, Very Vanilla seam binding, button, chipboard stars, adhesive sheets, craft knife, glitter, dimensionals, paper piercer

I hope you will take a few minutes to play along with us this week - I know we are all going to be a {bit busy} but if you need a little break, we'd love to see what you create.  :)

This will be my last post before Christmas so I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you ALL for your love and support over the past year ~ I have had so much fun sharing my love of paper with each and every one of you.  I hope that you will all enjoy the time spent with family and friends over the next few days - relax and take pleasure in the quiet times.  Merry Christmas, everyone!

Color Dare #90

Three more sleeps... ;)  Today's the last day of school for the boys and then they're off until just after the new year.  I'm looking forward to spending some time with them - not much longer and they're not going to *want* to hang out with mom.  *sniff* 

This week's Color Dare combination is a PERFECT one to use if you have a couple of last-minute cards left to do: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive and Soft Suede...yummy.

I used the Unscripted Sketches sketch from last week, rotated it ninety degrees and voila:

Stamps: Doves and Holly (Flourishes)  Ink: Soft Suede, Old Olive  Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, SU! DSP, Old Olive  Accessories: Paper piercer, Cherry Cobbler seam binding, adhesive pearls, Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder

I love how this card turned out - I wasn't sure about the combination at first but once I got them all together, I was a believer.  :)  You know we love it when you play along with us...we get such great ideas from you guys.  Enjoy the next few days before Christmas and I'll see you tomorrow for a new 4 Crafty Chicks challenge - see you then!

PPC Specialty Challenge - "Christmas"

Welcome to the last Monday before Christmas everyone!!!  Are you all ready to go?  I *think* I'm pretty close - I just have to wrap and buy a couple more gifts and I'm done.  :)  Whew...  what a busy holiday season it has been and it's not quite over yet!

This week's challenge at Picture Perfect Creations is *not* our usual color challenge - instead Megan has given us the theme of "Anything Christmas Related."  Easy peasy, right?

I found this week's challenge over at the Play Date Cafe and the first thought that popped into my head was definitely NOT a Christmas card - not with that yellow in there but I thought I'd give it a try anyways:

I started out with the Diva Coffee Break Design Challenge sketch as my inspiration but my card ended up evolving into something {a bit different} from the sketch:

Stamps: Warm Words (SU!)  Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight  Ink: Basic Black, Versamark Dazzle Frost  Accessories: Daffodil Delight sating ribbon, Oval scallop punch, oval punch, eyelet, Cropodile, silver cord, Baubles embossing folder (Crafts Too), adhesive pearls, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Iridescent Ice embossing powder

I started out with some Daffodil DSP as the main back panel but decided that it was *too much* yellow - it's just supposed to be a {splash}, right?  So I cut a new piece of white and tried to decide what to do with it because it was too boring for me!  HA!  I initially thoguht about embossing it but that would have been too much embossing.  Hmmmm...what to do?  I finally decided to ink the entire surface with Versamark and heat emboss Iridescent Ice onto it... I LOVE how it turned out!  Here's a close-up of the sparkly-ness:

If you have a few spare minutes this week, we'd love it if you'd play along with us at Picture Perfect Creations and if you need some more inspiration make sure to stop and see what the other PPC Creators did with these colors!  See you on Wednesday with a Color Dare combination that would be the PERFECT complement to this PPC Christmas challenge ~~~ I'm just saying... :)  Later, gators!

Sentimental Sundays - Inspired by Song

Only one more week... are you ready?  I'm slowly getting there - mostly done but since we are traveling to my sister's, the pressure is on to get it all done before we leave.

This week's challenge at Sentimental Sundays is a fun one - "Inspired by Song."  You can choose any song you want and don't forget to include a sentiment!  Since we *are* in the Christmas season, I kind of wimped out and chose a Christmas song, "Walking in a Winter Wonderland."

I {heart} Arielle's colourQ combination this week - I haven't used Ruby Red for a LONG time so I was really happy to see it in her combo:

I haven't played with Melissa's Tuesday Morning Sketches for quite awhile and when I saw this week's, I knew it was perfect for the image I wanted to use:

I had to make my card a 5-1/4" square to accommodate my trees but I think I made the sketch work:

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree (SU!), Medallion (SU!), Sleigh Ride (Flourishes)  Paper: Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Bermuda Bay, SU! DSP  Ink: Bermuda Bay, Chocolate Chip  Accessories: Paper piercer, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Kiwi Kiss corduroy buttons, Sookwang adhesive sheets, sugar beads, silver cord, dimensionals

Here's a close-up - so sparkly and wintry:

We'll see you back here tomorrow for a new Picture Perfect Creations Color Challenge - have a great day!

Snowmen Abound at the 4 Crafty Chicks!

Are you ready for a new 4 Crafty Chicks Challenge?  Hopefully it will be an easier one for you all to play along with than my color challenge last week...;)  This week Tamie is the hostess with the mostest and she has challenged us to use snowmen on our cards.  You could have one or you could have many - the choice is yours.  :)

Like I said yesterday, I'm trying to keep my cards quick and easy for the next couple of weeks and this one is no exception.  Seriously, this card couldn't have taken me any longer than about half an hour... and no stamping! 

I have had this My Mind's Eye paper pack, Colorful Christmas, sitting in my stash for a couple of months now and haven't even cracked it open until now.  It is SOOOOO cute I can see more cards coming out of it!  LOL

Paper: Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate, Kiwi Kiss, Colorful Christmas (MME)  Accessories: Nestabilities, Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon, paper piercer, corduroy brads, dimensionals

How's that for a quick card?  No sketch, no color challenge...I think this is a first for me!  LOL  If you want to see what the rest of the Chicks created, make sure you stop by their blogs and leave 'em some love.  Enjoy the rest of your week and play along with us if you have time!

Color Dare #89 (...and there are only 10 more sleeps! ACK!)

Welcome back to another Color Dare, all you crafty crafters!  This week's combination is one that you could definitely use to finish up those Christmas cards; it's a bit non-traditional but I *know* there are many of you out there that could make it work.  So, this is my own personal challenge to you:  Can you make a Christmas card using Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze and Pink Pirouette?  :)

I have been trying to get ahead of the game with my DT cards so I don't have as many to do over the next couple of weeks and I'm really trying to make cards that are quick and easy so I immediately went over to clean&simple stamping for a sketch and found this one:

I started out wanting to make a Christmas card but couldn't find anything Christmas-y to use for the snowflake so I dug out my Sizzix Daisies die and a few cranks through the Cuttlebug later, voila!

Stamps: Well Scripted (SU!)  Paper: Pink Pirouette, Very Vanilla, Rich Razzleberry, Baja Breeze, SU! DSP  Ink: Rich Razzleberry  Accessories: Paper piercer, buttons, silver cord, Square Lattice embossing folder, Rich Razzleberry polka dot ribbon

Off to do some more *getting ahead* so I can relax and enjoy the week before Christmas without deadlines looming over my head!  :)  See you tomorrow for a brand new 4 Crafty Chicks Challenge.  :)

PPC #42

Hi everyone!  I have to make this post a short one as I have lots of things on the go this weekend and being on the computer is not one of them!  LOL

Here we are at Picture Perfect Creations Color Combo #42 and I started off by trying to make a Christmas card with these colors but failed MISERABLY!  So, off I went in another direction entirely...

Stamps: Love's Flower (Verve)  Ink: Basic Grey  Paper: Whisper White, Basic Grey, SU! DSP  Accessories: Kassie's Brocade embossing folder, baker's twine, dimensionals, adhesive pearls, Cherish border punch (MS), button

The sketch is a great one from Tracy over at Eat, Sleep, Stamp - I rotated it to make it fit my image.  I also want to thank Tracy for choosing my PPC card last week making me her featured Sketch Artist!  Thank you!!

Please take a few minutes to pop over to the rest of the PPC creators blogs to see what they created with these colors - I know they'd love to see you!  I'll be back on Wednesday for a new Color Dare!

Let it Snow at Sentimental Sundays

....{shhhh}  There are less than two weeks before Christmas and I am SOOOO not ready.  I am trying to *feel* it this year but am having a hard time - so much other stuff to do and not enough hours in a day to get it all done.  Sound familiar?

All of my lamenting aside, I have been finding a few minutes here and there to do some crafting and this week's challenge at Sentimental Sundays is a fun one: "Let it Snow!"  You can interpret this in so many ways so have fun with it and don't forget your sentiment!

Like I mentioned, time has been at a premium so I wanted to make something that wouldn't take hours.  I couldn't find a sketch that worked for me so I just made a simple, square card with a few layers but I did use Arielle's colourQ combination as inspiration for this CAS card:

Stamps: Snow Wonderful (Verve)  Ink: Real Red  Paper: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, SU! DSP  Accessories: Oval punch, corner rounder, white taffeta ribbon, baker's twine, adhesive pearls, Snowflakes embossing folder, paper piercer, sponge dauber

This card also qualifies for these other two fabulous challenges:

• City Crafter Challenge #34 - Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!
• Tuesday Throwdown  #28 - Clean and Simple

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy your Sunday and I'll see you back tomorrow with a new Picture Perfect Creations Color Combination!