Flirtatious Doily/ Mojo Monday 203

I set myself a bunch of challenges this morning. I wanted to do Mojo Monday since I haven't in a very long time. Also wanted to make sure I included one of the laser cut doilies from the Flirtatious Specialty Paper AND and wanted to use some scallop polka dot ribbon. That was a bunch to squeeze into one card, but I gave it a try!

I had to modify the sketch a bit to make things work,but Mojo Monday provided the inspiration. As for colors, I wanted to be careful that what ever combination I picked could work with either the Melon Mambo doilies or the Pumpkin Pie doilies equally well. That way, if I run out of Melon Mambo pieces for class, the Pumpkin Pie bits work just as well. So Saffron with Marina Mist should work great for either. At least that's the hope!

Lucy Tutorial #2/ Shimmer Mist Best Wishes

Well, after I introduced mom to the technique of sponging she asked a great question: "What happens when you sponge an embossed image?". So, that was the next mission. To pick out colors we just opened up the Idea Book and Catalog to the designer paper section and picked out a combo that worked for us. It didn't matter that we didn't actually have any of that paper. It was like an instant or "on demand" color challenge. Unfortunately, this card doesn't photograph as well as I would like. You get the idea though. Mom sponged the embossed image and I showed her how it's important to be pretty aggressive when sponging in this situation. You really want the embossed bits to stand out. Then, I introduced her to the 7 Sided Distressing tool & Shimmer Mist (made from a mix of Shimmer Paint and Rubbing Alcohol). As a final elegant touch we added a couple of little Basic Rhinestones. Just right. It would make a great wedding card! Next up for mom was the wonderful world of embossing...

Gift Card Easel

Sorry there weren't any more posts from Illinois! The lighting thing was just making me crazy. I would have tried out using sunlight, but the sun hid behind a whole bunch of rain for most of my visit. So, I'm back in Colorado and back to making posts! This morning I decided to change the Circle or Square Mojo Monday challenge into an easel card that will make a great gift card holder. There is just the right amount of room to use temporary adhesive to stick a gift card right inside! Perhaps I'm just in an easel card frame of mind after finishing the engagement balloon invites with the bridesmaids yesterday. What great fun that was! An assembly line with a full table of people goes so fast & we had a great time putting them together. It felt like such an accomplishment to see them all completed. I'm running late for the rest of my day (as usual), so I guess I better get a move on!

Monochrome Mojo

I was feeling in a purple mood today, can you tell? All three of the current SU purples are used in this card including Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, and Concord Crush. I've been trying hard not to limit myself to reds and greens for Christmas cards, but still have been missing parts of my pallet. Time to branch back out!! I also wanted to use some sets that are starting to get a bit dusty on my shelf. :)

Of course, I spent the morning checking out the offerings on Stampin Up's online spectacular. WOW! I put in my own order first thing. There were a couple of bundles I just couldn't pass up! Check out my SU website to see the savings available now through Nov 30th.

I also want to take the opportunity to thank everyone who came to play for my first ever Punch Art class. It was great fun. I want to share one more possibility with you. This one comes from my upline, Cindy. She posted him on her blog yesterday and he's about the cutest moose you'll ever see! Check him out here.

FYI I leave for Illinois this afternoon, but will try to post from there. I'm making no promises as there was VERY little room for stamping stuff in my one carry on. I think the folks at TSA are going to be perplexed by my Sizzlets & punches, don't you?

Scallop Circle Daisies (By Request)

I am part of a group of Stampin' Up demonstrators that participate in a card swap each time a new catalog comes out. It's great fun because we get to see all sorts of ideas & display lots of the new product to our customers without actually buying EVERYTHING in the catalog. At least...not all at once! That comes later. :) Well, folks at my classes fell in love with one swap card in particular this time around. It featured these great flowers created with our two sizes of Scallop Circle Punches. So, I decided to switch things up a bit to make my own version of the card. I hope this will work for my ladies! What do you guys think?

Rocket & Stars

Little boy cards are sometimes a challenge for me, but it's probably just because I don't have a lot of stamps that lend themselves well to these projects. That was one of the reasons I decided I really needed the star punch. It could be used for cards like these, but for others as well. I'm all about versatility. Then, I realized that it actually made much more sense to get the Stars Big Shot Die. It was about the same price, but instead of just one star now I can make four different sizes! Talk about versatile.
I wanted to play around with my stars, so I coated three of them in Versamark and embossed them in either Iridescent Ice or Gold. I also played around with my Versamarker so I could add little bits of gold embossing to my rocket. All the little dots & the port hole are embossed (sort of hard to tell in the photo, sorry!).
Perhaps next time I'll give my rocket some sort of night sky to fly though. Today, Tangerine Tango seemed so perky & like a good fit with my stars.

Up, Up, and Away

I promised more playing with punches today & here you have it. While trying to create my octopus from yesterday, I discovered that the Ornament Punch makes a lovely hot air balloon. And what is a balloon with out a basket? This little basket comes from the Bouquet Bunch flower pot. I just didn't ink the ribbon around it's middle or the lower lip of the pot.

I combined it with my favorite sky technique (which just uses a torn paper towel & a sponge) and my ever faithful Lovely as a Tree set to give the balloon a place to explore. I even branched out and utilized Soft Suede, a color I use rarely. Now that I know it will be around for a long time, I need to make friends with it. It's one thing to ignore an In Color that only has a year lifespan & quite another to neglect a part of the enduring pallet!

Ornament Fish

I created today's card to celebrate a couple pieces of good news I received over the weekend. The first is from Stampin' Up. There are several items from the Holiday Mini catalog that are still available & will appear in the new catalog this summer. They include one of my favorites, the ornament punch, as well as the Petals a Plenty embossing folder & all of our shimmer paints. I saw a card using the punch to make fish in one of my Stampin' Success magazines & was disappointed that I couldn't make them since it was discontinued. But now that I know the punch is still available, I can show you my version.
I also found out over the weekend that I'm headed off to Curacao in May. We're way overdue for an ocean adventure. So, my fishy friends are a fun way to celebrate that too!