birthday {grunge!} challenge card

Hi there!  I've got a quick share for you today - a card I created for the Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge 126, and colors that were inspired by the Color Q challenge...unfortunately, I missed the deadline for this challenge by minutes - boo!  Oh well..there's always next time, and at least I got to play in one!  I really loved the colors in the Colour Q, and had the idea of using the SU! Grunge Rock set, so this is the card I came up with. Here's what the challenges look like.

I'm really digging this Grunge Rock stamp set-so fun!  Hope you like it too.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

happy new baby {challenge card!}

Hey there blog peeps!  How are you all?  Today, I've got a card share for you that's doing triple duty!  First, it covers one of my swap cards this month, which is a baby theme.  Then of course, I had to get my challenge fix, so my inspiration came from the Taylored Expressions card sketch and the Embellish label color challenge.  Here's a look at the sketch and colors (it's actually my second card for the Embellish challenge!)

I have to say that I love the color palette for the Embellish challenge.  The colors are so pretty together.  Hence, my inspiration to do another card in this scheme!  And, how fun is the Taylored Expressions sketch!  Here's a look at my full card for you:

I used the Smooch Spray and the Presto Papers DSP to create my grid background and found that the finished paper looked so pretty!  It's hard to tell in the picture, but the Smooch Spray gives the paper a shimmery look to it.  All you need to do is spray the paper 2-3 times, then take a sponge and spread the smooch spray all over the DSP.  The color I used was Log Cabin.  At first I thought it was going to be really dark, but it's got a chocolate-coppery look to it.  Very cool!  For my circles, I used the Circle Bigz die for the white piece with the stroller image, then I used my Circle cutter for the mat.  The scallop circle is from the Scallop Circle #2 die.  Another thing I discovered in making this card is that the stroller image on the scallop circle would make a perfect sized tag, too!  Here's the recipe for you:

{Happy Baby Card}

All supplies Stampin'Up!

*Stamp Set: Fun and Fast Notes

*Cardstock: Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Whisper White, Presto Papers DSP

*Inks: Chocolate Chip classic pad, Regal Rose marker

*Accessories: Polka dot embossing folder, Scallop Trim border punch, 3/4" and 1" circle punches, Heart punch, Scallop Circle #2 die, Circle Cutter, Circle die, Itty Bitty Punches, brad

Hope you like it!  Thanks for coming by today!

Twick or Tweet for challenges

It's been a while now since I've gotten to participate in a Taylored Expressions challenge, so I decided to play today. In my blurfing this morning , I also saw that the Pals Paper Arts had a Halloween challenge this week, so I was determined to figure out a way to combine them. I think it's time to start thinking about Halloween anyway, since it's the next holiday around the corner! Plus, I wanted to play with some more of the fun things I pre-ordered from Stampin'Up!'s upcoming Holiday Mini (you can order from this starting on Sep 1st!) - I got the stamp set {aptly named "Twick or Tweet"} and the DSP paper called Night and Day, which is where the herringbone paper and the polka dot acetate sheet is from. Here's a full view of my card: Oh, and of course, here's a pic of the sketch, too: Hope you like it! Are you wondering how I made the diagonal color blocks? I just cut the cardstock corner to corner, then on one of the triangles, I lined up the corner and the midpoint of the long side on my paper trimmer and cut along those lines. Tip: I cut 2 colors at a time so that I would have them lined up for sure ;) Then I put the polka dot acetate sheet on top, which I just adhered by applying a strip of the white Tombo glue across the top. It ends up nice and neat and the glue part is covered up by the ribbon! Here's the recipe:

{Twick or Tweet card}
All Supplies Stampin'Up!
*Stamp Set: Twick or Tweet
*Cardsock: Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry Old Olive, Dusty Durango, Night and Day Specialty DSP
*Inks: Basic Black Classic Ink Pad; Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Going Gray Markers
*Accessories: Signo White Gel Pen, Playground button, Black Striped Ribbon, Linen Thread, Scallop Border punch, 1 3/4" punch, Cutter kit (distressing tool to rough up the punched circle piece on my card)

Thanks for coming by today and have a great weekend!

Taylored Expression Cupcake Challenge 70

I'm excited that I'm able to participate in Taylor's Cupcake Challenge this week. This is another fun sketch challenge that I like to do when I can! Since Father's Day is just around the corner, I decided to create a Father's day card for this sketch challenge. I plan on stocking up on Father's Day cards and masculine cards in general, so I'll be posting these in the coming days to share some guy-type card ideas with you all. Here's the one I created for this challenge. I'm definitely getting my money's worth on the "And Many Mower" set!I love using the Texturz Small Dots embossing plate and circle punches to create that golf ball look.

Here's the recipe:
*Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White cardstock
*Good Morning Sunshine DSP
*Harlequin and Small Dots Texturz plates
*And Many Mower stamp set
*Garden Green and Pacific Point Classic Ink Pads
*Garden Green, Old Olive, Mellow Moss, Ballet Blue, Going Gray, and Basic Gray Markers
*Sponge daubers, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, corner rounder

What do you think? Thanks for stopping by!

Baja Beach Double Time Challenge!

Good Morning and Happy Sunday! I wish the sun was out here in my neck of the woods, but sadly, the fog has socked us in. Maybe that's why the card I came up with today has to do with a sunny beach scene. It could be wishful thinking on my part, but we definitely have a May Gray day in Southern Californina. Anyway - back to the card, I was inspired to create this from Taylored Expression's Cupcake Challenge sketch #68 and Kristina Werner's Color Challenge #52.
Here's a picture of my full card. I love these colors - besides the fact that they are also very UCLA looking, too :)

Here's the recipe - all supplies Stampin'Up!:
*Embrace Life stamp set
*Baja Breeze, So Saffron, More Mustard, Sahara Sand, Whisper White and Shimmery White card stock
*Delicate Dots and Walk in the Park DSP
*Baja Breeze Classic Ink pad
*Eyelet Border, Scallop Border, Wide Oval, Large Oval, Scalloped Oval punches
*Texturz Embossing plates, Matchbox Bigz XL die, and Circle Cutter
*Chunky Glitter, So Saffron Twill ribbon

I wanted to try making an umbrella with punches since I've seen so many cute umbrellas on the blogs I visit. I used the Wide Oval punch and the eyelet border to create mine.

Thanks for coming by to visit. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Double the challenge, double the fun!

Let's just say that I was inspired to stamp today that I got to make cards for 2 challenges! I did Taylor's Cupcake Challenge 64 and I am participating in my first Weekend Sketch Challenge 77. Part of it is actually because I wanted to go into my craft room and straighten it up a bit, so you know what happens after that...I get preoccupied and come up with ideas as I'm picking up and trying to put stuff away! That's exactly what happened with my card for the Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 64. The card I created uses some of the scraps that had come up from last week's Kwernerdesign Color challenge card I had made, so I couldn't let the extra flowers I had go to waste, right? So here they are, repurposed for this sketch, along with all that Raspberry Tart designer series paper goodness that I can't get enough of:All materials are Stampin'Up!, except for this card, I did use the square scallop nestabilites to frame my flowers in :)

Here's the recipe:
*Flower Layers Originals Dies
*Central Park and Great Friend stamp sets
*Rose Red and Kiwi Kiss Stampin'Up! Classic Ink pads
*Rose Red, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Pacific Point cardstock, and Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper
*Double stitched rose red grosgrain ribbon, old olive grosgrain ribbon, jumbo brads, scallop border punch
*Square Scallop die from Nestabilities

Now this next card I created was for the Weekend Sketch Challenge, which I came across in my internet "blurfing" this morning. I came across it on Beate's blog, and followed the linke to Lori Craig's blog, who happens to be hosting the card challenge for the weekend. I was inspired by a few cards I've seen that have made a background out of a gerber daisy stamp, so I decided to pseudo-case that using the daisy-like stamp from the Fifth Avenue Florals stamp set. I also wanted to do another monochromatic card, this time in Baja Breeze. Here it is:Here's the recipe:

*Fifth Avenue Florals and All Holidays stamp set
*Baja Breeze and Whisper White cardstock, and Walk in the Park Designer Series Paper
*Scallop Border punch, Rhinestone brad and Filigree flower

I had fun making these cards! Hope you like them. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a great week!

Taylor's TECC 63 Sketch

Believe it or not, I was able to squeeze in another sketch late last night...here is the card I made for the Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 63. Since I had the Rockabilly paper out, I was inspired to create something a la Ed Hardy (sort of, I guess). I wish I had the Just Jawwing set, but had to make do and use the Rockstar stamp from the "A Little Somethin'" stamp set. Here's what I made:Here's the recipe:

*A Little Somethin' and Hugs and Wishes stamp sets
*Rockabilly Specialty DSP, Black textured cardstock and Whisper White and Kiwi Kiss cardstock
*Matchbox Bigz XL die, scallop border punch and scallop oval punch, Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon

Thanks for stopping by today! ;)

Double Challenge card entry

I'm doing double duty on this card, where the color scheme came from Dawn McVey's Raspberry Suite Week 3 Challenge and the layout came from Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 62.
So, here's the card I made. I got to use my retired DSP, which I horded at the time, but am so glad to be using the groovy guava color scheme from last year's In Colors!I also used the Eastern Blooms stamp set, which is one of my favorite sets too. What do you think? Hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by ;)

Inspired by Color and Sketch Challenges

I love the colors from Kristina's Color Challenge 47 and love the layout from Taylored Expressions Cupcake challenge #61, but sadly, I didn't make my card quick enough to submit to either challenges! Oh well, I still had fun making the card, and that's the important thing, right? It got my creative juices flowing with the color scheme and layout. Here's what I came up with:And, of course...here's the recipe:

* Tangerine Tango textured cardstock, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White Cardstock
* Baroque background stamp, Trendy Trees stamp (for the sentiment)
* Daisies #2 and Top Note Bigz dies
* So Saffron grosgrain ribbon, corduroy button

What do you think? Hope you like it!

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 60

I was so excited to be able to play in this week's Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge Sketch 60! It's been a while since I played last, but I always enjoy viewing the sketch and everyone's creative entries. Taylor's got an awesome site that I love to visit for some fresh ideas! For this challenge, I decided to use the new set from the Occasions mini called "And Many Mower" to create this card for my father-in-law's upcoming birthday. He's got a golf birthday weekend coming up, so I thought this set was par-fect to use!
Here's the recipe - all items are Stampin'Up! except for the Nestabilities Oval die and Oval Scallops die.

* And Many Mower stamp set
* Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Whisper White cardstock, Muirland DSP (retired)
* Chocolate Chip Classic Stamp pad, Sahara Sand, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive , Garden Green, and Certainly Celery Markers
* Watercolor brush with Kiwi Kiss and Pacific Point stamp pads
* Nestabilities oval and oval scallop die
* Brads

Hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by today!

Cheep Talk for Cupcake Challenge 53!

Hello all! Hope you're enjoying your Saturday. It is a beautiful day in Southern California - clear and sunny in the mid 70s! I thought I'd post a card I made for the Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #53, using my brand new Cheep Talk stamp set and Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series Paper. I wanted to use Pacific Point because I've been so inspired by how clear and blue the ocean's looked the last couple of days! While I know I said I wish there was more of a winter here in CA, it's been too gorgeous out to not enjoy this great weather:) Here's the card:

What do you think? Hope you like it! I've been having a lot fun adding accessories to my cards. I can't believe how I used to just hord my accessories because I didn't want to use them up - isn't that silly? Well, I'm glad I grew out of that phase of my papercrafting life! I used the Rhinestone Brads for the center of the flower buttons from the Button Bouquet and then I also used the big blue circle button from those accessories as well. Did you happen to notice the texturz background? It's been a cool little background paper-dresser-upper. I am currently in love with the Trio Flower punch, too, which I can't believe I waited so long to get! It's just such a sweet trio of flowers! This was a great sketch to play with. I think I'll be making more with this layout.

So, besides putting this card together this morning, I've also gotten in touch with my "inner PC." Being the nerd that I am, I have been having fun toying with the new computer and getting my bearings around the Vista operating system. It definitely is different. I feel like there's a lot to learn as well as just a lot of new navigation to get used to. I like that the computer feels smarter. I didn't have to reload my Camera driver software - it just recognized it when I plugged in the USB port - how cool is that? It's amazing that I feel like I just got out of the dark ages, when I thought I was doing a pretty good job staying abreast of all the techie things. Imagine that! Well, I'm gonna say Ciao for now, so have a great night. Thanks for stopping by!

Oops! One last thing, actually. Today is my parent's anniversary, so I wanted to give them a quick little shout out:

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MOM & DAD!

Taylored Expression Cupcake Challenge # 52

This weekend, I was very excited about participating in the Taylored Expression Cupcake Challenge #52, especially because it's also her 1 year anniversary of Celebrating a Year of Cupcake challenges! I wanted to make sure I got my entry in on time, so I did it over the weekend. The downside was, I didn't have my new goodies to play with, but I still had my fun Raspberry Tart DSP, which is one of my new faves from the Stampin'Up! Spring-Summer catalog. Here's the card I came up with.

I decided to make my own cupcake for this challenge, so I created the "muffin top" out of the wide oval punch and embossed it with my cuttlebug folder and I made the cupcake container using the scallop edge punch and paper piercing template. Hope you like it! Thanks for peeking :)

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 51

Ok. I know I just did a challenge yesterday, but I happened to run across this challenge on Taylored Expressions that I had to play! Here's a picture of the sketch:

And here's the card I created:

I love me the cupcakes! Here's the recipe:

*Stamp Sets: Crazy for Cupcakes, Wow Flowers
*Paper: Raspberry Tart DSP, Whisper White, Cameo Coral
*Stamp Pad: Basic Black
*Markers: Cameo Coral, Old Olive, Rose Red
*Accessories: Trio Flower punch, Ticket Corner punch, Pretties Kit, Word Window punch, Scallop Edge punch, Brads, Chunky Glitter

What a fun sketch! I had so much fun with this cupcake challenge! As you can tell, I'm back to a pink-ish palette, but this really is more raspberry than pink. I love this new Raspberry Tart DSP - at first I wasn't the biggest fan, but once I got it and saw it in person, all the papers are really yummy! Hope you like this card!

On to current events for a sec - today is going to be one for the history books! I'm excited to be a part of history in the making, as we swear in our 44th President, Barack Obama. Hope you all have a great and memorable day!