On the Road Turtle

Here's the first attempt at my "on the road challenge". I knew there would be things I would miss, especially big stuff like the Big Shot. I didn't think about all the little things like my grid work pad with a ruler!

Since I'm working with such a small supply of goodies while I travel, I think it's only fair to mention what I would change about the card if I could. For this one, I would add a layer of Whisper White behind the punched Garden Green strips. I just didn't have long enough pieces with me. :) The turtle is stinkin' cute though. I know I'll play with him again soon. Thanks for sticking with me while I try this little experiment. My photos may not be all that since the lamp ect I use when taking those is another thing I take for granted. Just think of how happy I will be to have all of my options back when I return home!

On the Road Challenge

I'm off! My husband is already in North Carolina and I'm all set (I hope) to join him there tomorrow. Then, we'll start the long journey home by car. While we're on this adventure, I've set myself a blog challenge. I grabbed a few stampin' supplies (what would fit in my purse along with a book, camera, etc.) and that will be all I'll have to work with! Three clear mounted sets, two stamp pads (Versamark & Chocolate Chip), a few markers, even fewer punches, and a couple of small wheels. Along with these, I grabbed a few odds and ends that were out on my desk & a sheet protector work of scrap paper. Fingers crossed! I don't make any promises, but I'll do my very best with what I have along. Can't wait to see where this will lead!

Decor Elements Planner

I'm a little hesitant to post this one since the Decor Elements I used are now retired, but I never seem to give enough attention to the whole line and they are just fabulous! Each year I use the same simple academic calendar to keep my world straight and each year I try to give it a distinct Stampin' Up feel. The first year I tried stamping on the cover using Staz-on which did pretty well. Last year, I took it to the next step & used some of our rub-ons to add flowers. So, it seemed like the logical step to go all out with Decor Elements this year. Why should any part of our day to day lives be completely mundane? I've seen these little guys used on laptops, cars, water bottles (mine has gone through the dishwasher countless times with the Decor Element still happy), and much more. They started out as great wall and frame decorations, but they are great for much more. Check out my Stampin' Up website for the full catalog of Decor Elements. We even have chalk board elements now that you can write on again and again!

Fox and Friends Get Whale Soon

It's time for another PPC color challenge! This time around, the colors were: Pacific Point, Whisper White, and Poppy Parade. That shouted nautical to me, so I decided to make my first card with the little whale from Fox and Friends. Of course, I've used the sentiment from Pun Fun a few times with other whales (Pun Fun and Animal Stories both have great whales too). It's kind of amazing that I can come up with three spouting whales from my collection & none of them are from an ocean themed set. Who knew? I do love this little guy though. I may experiment with giving him a google eye, but for the first time through I thought I would leave him as is.

Guess Who's Three

It's an all pink celebration for my niece, Eleanor. Today was her third birthday and she is VERY into all things pink. I was a little worried as the date approached because I don't have any princess stamps. However, I quickly realized that I have all sorts of things that will fit the bill. I started with the color pallet of Pink Pirouette, Mellon Mambo, Regal Rose, and Pretty in Pink. Yep, a full fledged pink party! Then I punched out my little butterflies, ran them through the Big Shot, and layered on Iridescent Ice embossing. The Elegant Lines folder seemed perfect for the job. Lots of glitter & lots of pink made for a very happy little person. She liked it enough for her to ask me to put it up high so her little brother couldn't rip off the butterflies! One more month and I'll add the #5 to my kid card collection. It's nice of my sister-in-law to have timed the kids' birthdays so nicely. Mojo Monday will have to wait until Tuesday this week. Special occasions can do that I think.

Happy Birthday Marge!

August 16th is a very busy day on my birthday calendar! It's the birthday of both my niece and my dear friend, Marge. So, I guess you'll be seeing a couple of birthday cards from me. :)

It's a real challenge for me to put together a card for Marge. She is the person responsible for introducing me to the wonderful world of stamping, so I always want to make her something extra special. You should see the creations she comes up with!

After a long deliberation I decided to just go with something I hadn't tried before. I've never used the frame created from using the Lattice Big Shot Die before and found it made a great window for the soon to be released 2 1/2" Circle Punch. The paisley heart is another gem from the new Holiday Mini Catalog & I embossed it for just the right touch. My sentiment comes from the Curly Cute set, which I just ordered & love.

Marge would have laughed at all the little steps that went to make this simple card. Sponging the frame, embossing the white background, sponging the textured circle, and outlining both the heart and the circle for detail effect made for a fun step by step evolution of the card.

Love Helps PCC

The ladies over at PPC picked another great color combo for this week: Pink Pirouette, Perfect Plum, and So Saffron. Lots of great possibilities! This was another little happy accident of mine. I knew all week that I wanted to make a card for this challenge that centered on the heart stamp from "Punch Potpourri", but when I made the punched hearts with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, I just knew I needed to use the bird image instead. So, a quick switch of focus ended up here!