VSN - Virtual Stamp Night's Weekend Challenge

Make sure to visit us at VSN's "Viva Las VSN" challenges tonight, May 15th and tomorrow May 16th.
Here is the link to the Master Thread:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=54

Make sure you stop by ... I'm hosting the 10pm (EST) challenge. I have 3 cards I've made, but it's a secret, so can't post them til then ... only 4 1/2 hours to go.

There's LOADS of fun challenges lined up, so come on over!

Cards for Fun

This first card is for a color challenge over at Splitcoasters. The challenge was to use rose red, pink pirouette and grey. The image was stamped in black versafine and colored with prismacolor pencils & gamsol. Matted this on grey. The next panel of pink pirouette and grey was punched on the one side with the SU eyelet border punch. The card base is rose red with rose red designer paper then a pink pirouette grosgrain ribbon at the top.
The image panel is stamped in black on white and matted on same grey.

This next card is a PIF that I traded over at SCS. I colored this cute turtle in with prismas and gamsol then added some Glossy Accents on the flower petals. Cut the image panel and perfect plum mat with Nesties circle & scalloped circle dies and popped up on dimensionals.

The base is pale plum with perfect plum designer paper. I then cut 4 squares of old olive dp, flipping the opposite corners over. Added 2 heart brads at the top. On the bottom, I added a strip of perfect plum card stock that was punched on one side with a Martha Stewart border punch then tied with eggplant grosgrain ribbon.

The sentiment panel was stamped with perfect plum and punched with the word window punch then matted in perfect plum.

This rubber ducky card was for the sketch challenge SC225. I love this color combination of saffron and bashful blue.

4 pieces of cardstock that I flipped over for the blue side on the bottom were matted on saffron then popped up on dimensionals.

The card base is saffron with bashful layer then the same dp. The image panelwas another PIF that I colored with prismas & gamsol. I added a clear glitter gel pen to the bubbles, soap and his beak before matting on bashful blue and popping up on dimensionals. A wide saffron ribbon finished this little guy off.

This was the first chance I got to use this cute dragon ... I colored him in same way with the prismas & gamsol. The background paper, however, was made using the Ways to Use it technique to make Faux Bandana paper. Basically, I stamped some images from the Polka Dots Punch set in hunter green on some green galore card stock. Then, it was time to take out the white gel pen & doodle, doodle, doodle. The trick was, to know when to stop. I wasn't happy with the results until I actually saw the card at a distance once it was finished. I think I may have been to close to the subject to truly enjoy it.

I finished him off with a computer generated sentiment and placed it so it looks like he's holding the sign.

I'm not too much of a bright color lover, so this color challenge was a bit tricky for me - Summer Sun, Only Orange, Kiwi Kiss (or old olive) ... I actually was thinking card stock color nearly all morning, but decided to soften the colors by using inks.

I used the same stamp set, Polka Dot Punches, and stamped one heart as the focal point in only orange, then the rest of the images from the set in summer sun. For the sentiment panel on the top flap, I first stamped the Birthday greeting in Kiwi Kiss then some of the images in either orange or yellow. This I matted on Old Olive so it would give a bit of punch against the Kiwi. I punched 2 small holes in the shape on the right of the sentiment panel to tie a piece of ribbon, I call it candy corn ribbon, for obvious reasons.

The card base is Kiwi kiss that I trimmed half way down in front then punched the border with an MS border punch before attaching the white panel. The inside also has white that was punched at the bottom w/the same punch.

When all was said and done, I added some yellow and orange Stickles glitter glue to the centers and called it a day.

This card was for this weeks sketch challenge. I found this gorgeous heavy cardstock from My Mind's Eye, 29th Street Market. All of the panels are from this set, just flipped over to reveal the backside. The card base and all panels are matted with perfect plum.

The image panel is one of my new favorite stamps, yet this was the first time it saw some ink. Such a sweet image, it makes me wax nostalgic about when my beautiful daughter was that age (not so long ago, yet seems like an eternity). She was stamped on vanilla cardstock with versafine sepia then I sponged the edges with Holtz tea dye to age it a bit. I added 2 purple brads at opposite corners that I tried to distress a bit with sandpaper and ink. A creamy satin ribbon beneath the top panels finished this one off.

So, after what seems like a long abstinence, let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp Campin' Fun ...

These cards I made at Eileen's last stamp camp ... Love all the results.

This first one used vellum that had been run through the SU embossing plate. I trimmed out the rose at the top edge and matted onto pink striped paper.
The sentiment was stamped in black on white and then cut with oval punch then matted on scallop oval punch of pink pirouette before popping up on dimensionals. Added some satiny ribbon at the bottom and faux pearls to finish it off. This is such an elegant card, I love it.

This next one was stamped with versamark on white then clear embossed. I used saffron and coral inks to sponge in color then added 3 yellow brads. This was matted on grey and popped up on dimensionals before stacking on a white/grey panel. I added a corner punched in grey and SU Walkin in the Rain DP and another yellow brad. The sentiment was stamped in coral on white, punched with oval punch & matted on scallop oval punched c/s, with one last brad centered on the flower.
The card base is saffron with white mat & then Walking in the Rain DP. I tied saffron ribbon around the white/DP layer.

This image was stamped 2 times and water colored with an aqua pen and ink pads. I cut both images out and layered the flower on top of the stem. The white background was streaked with saffron and pale blue inks before image was popped up on dimensionals.
Next layer in pink was hole punched at the corners, then I threaded some chocolate grosgrain ribbon through. The vertical pieces were tied with a knot at the center before threading through to the backside. This panel was also popped up on dimensionals.
The card base is Riding hood with pink pirouette and SU green dp. On that, I trimmed a 'ribbon' of dp that I stamped with the sentiment in riding hood red. Finished by adding a sparkly white brad.

This card has to be one of my favorites. I stamped the floral images 2 times and watercolored them with aqua pen and ink pads then cut them out and layered them to look like a branch.
The card base is saffron with white layer then Walking in the Rain yellow dp. On the left side, took some baja dp and c/s, trimming the cardstock edge with the SU eyelet border punch. I covered the seam with saffron ribbon.
The sentiment was stamped in baja breeze and punched out with the oval punch then matting on a piece of baja punched with the scallop oval punch. I added a faux pearl before popping the sentiment panel up on dimensionals.
The butterfly was punched 2 times, in baja dp and saffron dp. I tied silver cording with the knot at the top to look like antennae. Faux pearls added on the left baja piece finished this one off.

This was a fun one. Brighter than I usually go, but I liked how it turned out.
Flowers were stamped in bright pink and then punched with the scallop circle punch. Black dots were added at the center of flowers. The petals dropping down were cut from a completed flower.
The black basket was cut from the SU die then run through the argyle texture plate. I doodled some white stitching around the openings and edges.
Sentiment panel stamped in black on white then punched with the oval punch ad then matted on bright pink c/s that was punched with the scalloped oval punch. I tied a piece of white grosgrain ribbon at the handle then around the base of the basket.
Card base is bright pink with black mat then white layer. On this white layer, I just doodled some squiggles around the edge.

Thanks for dropping by ... what do you think?

Check back in a little while ....

School's over ... thank goodness ... was interfering with my stamping, lol. Bad news, because of a mistake on my part - not double checking my checklist ... I have to wait til January to enter the Nursing Program. I'm done with all the extra classes needed during the nursing program, but will try to take at least 1 class over the summer and again in the fall to stay in the swing of studying.

Just getting ready to participate in tonight's VSN "Viva Las VSN" challenges, and realized I hadn't posted a couple of the cards I've done over the last few weeks, so need to scope out my other computer to get the pics up ... and get ready for tonight ... I'm hosting the 9pm (10 pm EDT) challenge, so come over and take a look ... I'll be back in a bit to link the page.

Couldn't do the challenge ....

Yesterday's Technique Lover's Challenge TLC217 at SCS was to do a Gesso resist with a magazine page. Ok, so I don't have any Gesso ... I don't have any white glue to MAKE homemade gesso ... and I don't have a magazine in the house. I liked the look, so went ahead with this card.

The background was stamped with versafine onyx with 2 script stamps in collage fashion. The image was stamped in Versamark on white then clear embossed. I used baja breeze and kiwi kiss ink pads to sponge randomly in small circles to highlight the butterfly and flourish then matted panel on olive. The base is olive with an unk DP matching NQN in color. I added a bayou grosgrain ribbon across, threading it through the slot I made with the SU horizontal slot punch. The sentiment is Hero arts on white and punched the circles with CM punch then sponged it a bit with kiwi and baja.

I'm a sucker for the collaged cards, what can I say ... I'll be getting the Gesso, tho, to try out this technique because the samples shown are amazing.

Thanks again for popping your head in. Hope you come back soon.

Gotta love those Stamp Camps

Been in a rut lately - cards all seem to come out the same, so I was grateful to my Stampin Up demo, Eileen, for our stamp camp this weekend.
Here's what we created.


First card was made with vellum that was run through the SU rose embossing plate. I trimmed out the top and layered it on pink striped DP then added white satin ribbon with faux pearls. I added some more pearls at the top directly on the DP. Sentiment was stamped in black on white and punched with oval punch then layered with a pink pirouette punched from the scallop oval. This is such a soft, feminine card.




This next one was cut with an SU die cut out of black then was run through the Harlequin embossing plate for dimension. I used a white signo gel pen to create the stitch marks. Flowers were stamped with pixie pink and punched with the scallop circle punch. Added some black punched circles for the centers. I took one flower (thanks, Norma for the idea) to cut individual petals. The sentiment is in black on white then punched with the oval punch and matted on pixie that was punched with the scalloped oval punch and popped up on dimensionals. Added some white grosgrain ribbon to the handle and beneath the sentiment. Base is pixie with black then white layer that I doodled on with black and pixie marker.



This next one was stamped with versamark on white and clear embossed. I then sponged saffron and cameo coral randomly for the background and matted on grey then added 3 yellow brads. Corner was punched from grey and Walk in the Park DP, fastened with another yellow brad. The sentiment is in rose on white, punched with the oval punch then matted on rose which was punched with the scalloped oval punch. A yellow brad attaches it. The base is saffron with white layer then Walk in the Park DP, using saffron ribbon crossways. I'm loving this color combination!



This card was created by watercoloring the stamped image with aqua pen and ink pads. I then free-hand cut the image out and popped it up on dimensionals. The image panel is sponged on top with baja or bashful, I forget, bottom is saffron, which was then popped up onto a pink pirouette layer. This pink layer was punched in the corners with cropadile punch and threaded with chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon. I knotted the 2 side ribbons at the center. This layer was also popped up on dimensionals. The base is riding hood red then pink then bella rose DP. I stamped the sentiment in riding hood on a piece of DP then folded it over the edge, attaching it with a sparkly white brad and finished by notching the end of the 'ribbon'.


This last card might be my favorite. The flower image was stamped 2 times and colored with ink pads and aqua pen then cut out so they could layer as a cluster of flowers. The butterfly was stamped in saffron and baja and cut out free hand. I should have pinched the yellow layer a bit more for the photo so you could see it, but it's really nice. The sentiment was stamped in baja and punched with the oval punch and matted on baja punched with the scalloped oval punch. The base is Saffron then white, then Walk in the Park DP (yellow on right side and baja on left side) with a strip of baja that I punched with the SU eyelet border punch. I covered the seam with saffron ribbon. Note the silver cord that I tied around my butterfly to give the illusion of antennae.


Thanks again, Eileen - it was just what the body (or should I say mind) needed. I can't wait for the next one.

Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to any comments you might have, as always.

Taking me a while to get back into the swing of stamping ... Here's some I've done over last couple of weeks.
First one is from the Ways to Use it challenge from Splitcoasters, WT214, to incorporate a frame. I used a chipboard frame from the dollar store and sponged Tea Dye all over to distress it. The image is one of the NEW Whiff of Joy's "Melinda with muffin Basket" that I colored with prismas and gamsol. The DP was purple and green floral print that I also distressed and upt on some Perfect plum c/s. Finished off with some purple stickles and eggplant grosgrain ribbon at opposite corners. This card is actually 5x7 in size.

The next 3 are from last week's Sketch challenge, SC224 from Splitcoasters. I really liked this sketch & couldn't seem to stop. This first image was from a swap on SCS, think it's one of the gorjuss girls images. I colored with prismas and gamsol and added sparkly blue gel pen to the dots on her skirt. I pierced the corners before matting on real red and popping up on dimensionals. The card base is white with real red, then SU DP. I cut coordinating strips of the same DP for the cross strips and finished with some red brads.
This second card was made with the same sketch. Love Bubbles hedgie ws colored with prismas and gamsol, matted on sage then popped up on dimensionals. The DP was digital paper I printed out then added sage strips for the cross pieces. Finished off with brads on the cross strips and added a sage matted sentiment.

This next one is again, same sketch. Bees were prisma/gamsoled and used CM oval to cut the image and pink mat out. The sentiment is computer generated and matted on same pink. Popped these up on dimensionals. Base is real red with SU dp. I cut coordinating cross pieces from same DP then matted on real red. Finishing touches were faux pearls.

This Changito Slicker was done following Friday's Limited Supplies Challenge, LSC216. We were supposed to use a wheel (Delicate Designs in cameo coral on guava); a sentiment (Changito's "Let it Rain"); one image (Changito's Slicker); and one embelly (guava grosgrain ribbon). I colored him with prismas and gamsol and added clear sparkly gel pen to the raindrops and his buckles. I cut the image and mat in cameo coral using the Nestabilities Scallop rectangle dies and offset them before matting on the ribbon. I'd never think of trying the cameo and the guava, but it works.

I absolutely love this card - it's one of Elisabeth Bell's from the Sugar Nellie company, Girl with Birdhouse. This imag is quite large and had to go with the 5x5 card size. This followed along with the color challenge from last week, CC214, Bordering blue, saffron, pink pirouette. I used the pink pirouette and bashful blue to sponge diagonals to create the 'sky' then colored with prismas and gamsol. The pink and saffron mats were punched on one edge with a MS border punch. I added pink pirouette wide ribbon to the corner and finished it off with faux pearls.

I've had a nasty head cold with congestion last couple of weeks, and just as it starts to get better, I'm feeling lousy again today. I went to a stamp camp with at my buddy Eileen's yesterday and saw Kim and Kristin there too, so I may post those cards too if I get a chance.

Thanks for looking - and as always, I love to hear your comments.

Here's my take on this morning's SCS Color challenge: combine saffron, bashful blue and close to cocoa. I finally inked up this Whipper Snapper "Eggspresso" image in Versafine and colored with prismacolored pencils and gamsol. I used my new EK punch on both the cocoa and bashful layers, then popped the image panel up on dimensionals.

The card base is close to cocoa with a white panel inside to write on. The "DP" is saffron that I stamped all over with an Inkadinkadoo flourish stamp in close to cocoa for a subtle effect. I finished with a pale blue ribbon and some pale blue Stickles dotted strategically around. The sentiment was stamped in chocolate matted on cocoa and bashful and popped up along with the image panel.

Boy did that feel good - to finish a card. I tried uploading it to SCS last night when I finished it, but the site was acting wonky on me, so posted here first instead.

Thanks for looking.

I enjoy any and all comments and suggestions you might have.

I feel like I haven't stamped in weeks ... well, it has been weeks.

DD and her cheer squad took 1st place in the Nationals competition up in the Dells last weekend. Yay! Now that cheerleading is over ... and Spring Break is behind me, I can get back to the stamping table.

My First submission for a Designer Call Challenge

Those of you that know me know my new 'hero' is Elisabeth Bell. She has the most fantastic artistic style. She has her own website here if you're looking for more of a 'fix' for her work:
http://www.zhibit.org/elisabethbell/blog
I first learned about Elisabeth from the Whiff of Joy website, which can be found here:
http://www.shop.whiffofjoy.com/, and I think I've pretty much bought every one of their Elisabeth Bell stamps. (If I'm missing one, let me know and I'll immediately rectify the situation! lol) ...

Anyway, this image is from the 2009 Spring Kit that was just released last month. This is Willow with Flower Basket. Another absolutely beautiful image, thank you, Elisabeth!

I colored her with prismacolored pencils and gamsol, then highlighted it a bit with my white signo gel pen. For the swirls at the base of her jeans, I added a clear star gel pen. I also added to the flower centers in the basket, her bracelet and her buttons. I sponged the perimeter with baja breeze, ticket punched the corners and added faux 1/2 pearls to the bottom corners.

For the DP, I chose papers from the Manchester DP pack from SU - wonderful combination. I matted the various layers with either baja breeze or chocolate. The scalloped edge was done with the SU scallop border punch, then I added faux 1/2 pearls to the scallops.

I get so mesmerized by the Elisabeth Bell images, that I'm always forgetting to get their sentiments, so I used one of my new Angel Company sentiments, circle punching it and matting on chocolate circle punch, up on dimensionals. I finished by adding 2 more 1/2 pearls. For the vertical piece, I had to tie a chocolate satin ribbon in a bow ... Willow certainly deserves the extra effort that goes into tying a bow, right?!

Anyway ... I hope you like her ... and I hope I did her justice. Let me know.

This darling card was made following the SCS Limited Supplies challenge for Friday. We were to create our own designer paper using one, and only one stamp set. I've been meaning to send out a new arrival card, and this was just the kick in the pants I needed.
I used the Stampin Up 'Soft 'n Sweet' set and stamped the rattle, bootie, teddy bear and sentiment in cameo coral and close to cocoa randomly over a piece of vanilla cardstock, and then sponged with cameo coral before I matted onto the card base, cameo coral.
The main image was stamped in close to cocoa on vanilla and sponged in cameo coral, then matted with cameo coral. I added 3 matte white brads and a grosgrain bow at the corner then popped up on dimensionals.
I was looking for simple, and think this fit the bill. Such a sweet card, what do you think?

Here are some of this week's challenges that I participated in ...
The first is the Color Combination:
Summer Sun, Pumpkin and Kiwi. I'm pretty tired of winter, so I was drawn to this beach scene. I colored the hammock in pumpkin and then tied in the colors with the mats. On the left side, I used an eyelet edge stamped in kiwi on the summer sun base. I added some yellow stickles between the lace. I also added some crystal effects to the glasses, glass, shells.

This was the SCS sketch challenge this week. Since I had the same colors from yesterday's color challenge, I went with those. I stamped with chocolate from the pocket silhouettes set and matted on pumpkin, popping them up. The base is kiwi and the "BG" is actually a sheet of pumpkin that was embossed with the argyle pattern from the Cuttlebug. The cross yellow piece is embossed with the swiss dots pattern and sponged with pumpkin. IRL the ribbon looks a closer match than it shows in the picture, but I'm happy overall with the results. What do you think?

This challenge was to be frugal or recycle. This scroll or flourish was stamped months ago and wasn't all that thrilled with it, so it's been sitting in my box of precut cardstock. I was going to stamp the back side with something else, but never got around to it. Here, I cut it out free form and circle punched the coordinating flowers, adding copper brads. The not quite navy layer was rolled with the jumbo wheel in the burlap pattern - I only have creamy caramel, so had to go back & forth, up & down and diagonally til I was happy with the 'texture'. The sentiment is from warm words, matted on NQN and then black. When all was said and done, looked a bit 'empty', so I added some dots with the signo gel pen around the sentiment and in the corner to simulate paper piercing. Not a fan of the dots, so those of you that know me know this was outside my comfort zone ... but I did survive, lol ... and will probably break down and use them again.

Anyway ... thanks for taking another look inside my blog ... Have a GREAT DAY !

Last weekend was the VSN "What's Love Got to Do With It" challenge of 20 (if you count "H"s double whammy). I was lucky enough to get to be the hostess of one of them. Each challenge was released at the top of the hour and we were given 45 minutes to complete each challenge. What fun ... I love the challenges, and often look for the SCS ones the night before, if I'm lucky, so putting them back to back to back was wonderful.

I had to leave for a couple of hours on Friday, and then Saturday didnt get home when I wanted to, so ended getting backed up, but I was able to complete all but 2 of them. (And I'm sure I'll go back and finish those soon.)

This was my first hostess 'gig' and it was a lot of fun ... little nerve-wracking, but fun, nonetheless. This time some of the member companies at SCS donated prizes that we could award for each of the challenges. Now THAT part was incredibly hard - picking out from all the wonderful submissions. The winners will be announced by this weekend, I think.

If you're interested in trying these challenges, just for fun, feel free to check this out:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=420718

While the contest is over and submissions had to be in by last Sunday midnight, there are some fun twists to try out.

So, here are the cards I made ...

For the first challenge - we were to use oversized heart and circle on the card. I only had the Creative Memories heart template, so I cut from some rose DP. I distressed both circle and heart and sponged with rose. Because I wanted to emphasize the circle/heart, I kept the image small, coloring with prismas/gamsol and finishing with some rose ribbon.

For this challenge, we were given 3 choices of chocolate with a color theme ...
White Chocolate (too sweet for me)
Dark Chocolate (too bitter for me)
Milk Chocolate - just right
For the milk chocolate theme, we were to use cocoa, amethyst and real red. The image is a Changito (Archiver's exclusive) monkey that I sponged the edge with real red and added the itty bitty speckled stamp to. I matted with cocoa and amethyst. The BG is actually cocoa that I stamped in real red and cocoa from the Changito Valentine or Cupid set (maybe a little from both?).

The title for this challenge was "Bittersweet Love" - to take an unappreciated stamp and make a lovely card. I think I may have tried to use these stamps a handful of times over the last 8-10 years with little satisfaction. I was determined to make it work this time. Maybe new techniques helped? The tree trunk was stamped with cocoa and then I tweaked it with some prismas & gamsol. The branchy part is actually about 1/2 x 1 inch and I colored direct to stamp in 2 different colors so it gave the mottled leaf appearance. While I probably should have drawn in a more curvy or hilly horizon, I'm actually very pleased with how this turned out. I matted on hunter and added some copper brads then punched the corners with the ticket corner punch and popped up on dimensionals. Finished by tying a hunter colored ribbon over the DP. This unappreciated stamp has moved closer to the front of the line now.

This challenge was to use something new. I had just received this stamp, the DP as well as the 'ribbon'. Image was stamped with versamark and embossed with white then sponged with rose. Blush blossom was the base for all the panels as well as the card base. I cut apart the embroidered daisy ribbon to simulate brads in the corners of the image panel and left a strip on the lower panel. Don't know if it shows, but the DP has a bit of a shimmer to it.

Monochromatic was the theme of the day here ... I loved this DP and wanted to make my card based on that. I stamped in chocolate the flower image on vanilla, matting on chocolate and popped it up on dimensionals. The cross panel is cocoa that I embossed with a CB folder then sponged chocolate over - looks just like leather if you ask me - then finished off with a strip of ribbon and some distressed chocolate stickles.

I am definitely going to have to check out more embossing powders to expand my stash. This technique was the split negative technique, which I've never done before. The object is to stamp 2 of the same images - one in dark on light cardstock & one in light on dark cardstock, split them and put the opposites together. Best if you use a silhouette style of stamp image. This was fabulous ... I loved the way they both turned out. If you'd like more information on this technique, Lori Craig has put together a wonderful tutorial here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/split_negative/

I actually had to rent the movie "Princess Bride" to finish this challenge because I hadn't seen it in some time. We were to use our favorite quote and be inspired to make a card. I couldn't come up with anything pithy or original, so I stuck with a castle ... I received this image from **Carol** over on SCS and colored it with prismas/gamsol. I love the BG DP paper - black 'n white toile that just went perfect with the rennaissance (sp?) effect I was going for. I didn't want to pierce the ribbon for brads, so I added some liquid pearls to finish it off.

This card was actually a "two-for" ... What was my Obsession (why, Elisabeth Bell images, of course, haven't you guys figured that out?! lol) ... and to incorporate things from the Sound of Music's "My Favorite Things" song. "Raindrops on roses ... tied up in 'ribbon' ... " The dp is from the Bittersweet pad from Basic Grey - a perfect compliment!

The challenge here was to use the melted crayon technique. I stamped the image and popped it up after matting on dimensionals along with the border punched strip of burgundy. The background actually has the melted crayon technique. I used some reds, pinks and beige colors to go with the components on the card. For a tutorial by the fabulous Beate Johns, check this out:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/melted_crayon_background/

This challenge was to create a window effect. I used the TLC challenge from a couple of weeks ago - cut out embossing - to create the window frame and then sponged it with pinks and greens then added 2 eyelets and some rose ribbon. While it's difficult to see, I added some acetate beneath the CB'd cut panel for the actual window pane, and then popped them up on dimensionals to create a 3D effect. The sentiment was stamped on some DP.

Challenge here was "Long Lost Love", or to use a stamp that hadn't seen the light of day for some time. No, not the Quartet image, but the corner embroidered doily image. In fact, the stamp was so clean, I honestly don't remember if I've EVER inked it up. I put it in the corners of some SU dp stamped in Not Quite Navy. The DP matches the Birds Galore SU set, which I don't have, but thought it would look good with this image as well, so I stuck with the turquoise/NQN colors here. I finished with faux pearls and organdy ribbon after popping up on dimensionals.

This challenge was to use products beginning with "L".

I used this lamb image - actually a strip - that I cut apart to make cubed. Also used some lavendar lace (or is it lovely lilac, lol - go figure) ... with a little mat of 'leggplant' ... okay, a stretch, lol. The DP is very old SU dp from when they first came out - this matches the moss/olive/plum colors. Added some purple ribbon and finished with a strip of some pretty butterfly embroidered or crocheted or tatted (I'm not sure). Thinking of postage, I wanted a lighter substitute for brads, so I added some purple stickles to the center of each of the butterflies. I also added some crystal effects to the heart.

This challenge was for the "Joy Fold" card brought to us by SCS's stagccva. The image is from the new Whiff of Joy's Spring 2009 kit, Kneeling Willow. I colored her with the gamsol/magic technique and highlighted her with some white signo gel pen. I used color combo of rose, cameo coral and kiwi, with the raspberry tart DP from Stampin' Up. Finished with a disk of rose and DP then added some pink/green prismas and a flower brad.

For a tutorial on the Joy Fold technique, you can check this out: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/joy_fold_card/

This was MY challenge - The would be a card a man sends to a woman, but, with a Color combo of kraft, vanilla and navy ... only 3 brads ... no ribbon or prima flowers ... images had to be botanical. I have a bunch of leaf stamps that I stamped with navy on the kraft. I had masked an oval using the word window punch from SU on a post it sticky so I could stamp from their warm words set "cherish". I then sponged the edges with navy. The added branches are navy punched with a MS punch then tucked under the navy/kraft photo corner. Where you see the vanilla strip, I kept pulling out ribbon (not paying attention to my own instructions, lol), then pulling them off until I finally realized the vanilla would be my 'ribbon'. I punched edge with another MS border punch in vanilla and the navy background then pierced the top of the vanilla panel.

This challenge was an "Ode to Jimmi", one of the moderators for the VSN challenge weekend. She doesn't like hearts, so our challenge was to skip the hearts and stay away from red, pink and white. I loved this sentiment stamp that I just received, and went with a rusty brown feel. The sentiment panel and 2 background layers were all distressed then sponged with tea dye and a bit of cocoa. I finished with some distressed brown stickles, a peach & brown flower with chocolate ribbon accents and brad that I added some crystal effects to to beef it up a bit.

This challenge from LuvLee (Lee) was to incorporate a feather - whether it be real feather, image, etc. At least she didn't ask me to put glitter on it, lol. This took a bit of a think on my part, but eventually settled on this. The images are High Hopes - and I actually got the sentiment before I got the images, I loved the saying so much. The inside panel I left off for the picture, but this is what the inside of the card looks like. Both images were stamped on vanilla and colored with prismas/gamsol. I made the chicken one of those expensive black ones to incorporate the only feather I could find. I distressed the edges and sponged with tea dye. I also distressed the black mat and then took randomly knotted twine and wrapped around the image panel before popping up on dimensionals. The black feather sits below the image panel on top of the BG image from Cornish Heritage farms (thanks, Stacy/jbgreendawn @ SCS), that I also distressed and sponged with tea dye. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this card - it makes me laugh!

This challenge was to use hearts - either 3D as in a box or other altered item, or incorporate it into a card. The artichoke layer is actually like a postcard. The eggplant heart is actually the 'card' part that opens. I wanted to send a birthday card out, so I used this image that DD picked out at HL when they were 1/2 off. Artichoke and eggplant combo is so pretty - I love green/purple together. I distressed the edges of the image panel after cutting with CM cutting system and sponged eggplant around the edges. When I finished with the card, it looked a bit nekkid, so I added the purple stickles to give it the brad effect. I think it's a cutie myself.

And that is the end of the challenges that I was able to complete.

Thanks for stopping in and taking a peek. Come back soon.