Ornate Blossom Kissed Mojo/ Mojo Monday 180

A Mojo Monday creation with all new toys! I've been wanted to make the "kissing technique" work for a very long time. I just didn't have the right stamps to make it work. Well, I received both the Ornate Blossom & Fine Flourish free via Sale-a-Bration & they make a perfect pair for this technique. I inked up the blossom with Blushing Bride first & then I inked up Fine Flourish with Early Espresso. Next, I stamped the Fine Flourish image on to the blossom. Ta dah! Now I had a flower with two colors and a fun pattern as well. Of course, its size made my Mojo Monday sketch a little off but I think it works none the less. My sentiment comes from another new to me set: Tiny Tags. They are such tiny gems!

Funky Fun Scrap Cards

Today's cards are a little break from the norm. Scandal beyond scandal they feature colors and paper that SU has retired! I've been playing around with some of the scrap bits and pieces I've amassed through time & wanted to share these little gems. All of the cardstock is still available thanks to the Clearance Rack, but the designer paper actually comes from the little sampler I had from last catalog. There's no reason the display bits couldn't turn into great cards too! I am an absolute scrap hoarder & I like to put those pieces to good use whenever I get the chance. Do you keep all the flotsam and jetsam that you make during the creative process or do you toss it?

Glitter Windows Cheers/ Curtain Call 70

I have such a great time trying out new techniques and new challenges! Today I decided to combine those good things into one card. Over at the Curtain Call Color Challenge, I found a fun group of colors for this snowy afternoon: Tangerine Tango, Tempting Turquoise, Pear Pizazz, and Whisper White. A while back, I was surfing through the tutorials over on Splitcoast and found one for a Glitter Window Card. Naturally, I decided to pair these two up! The result is super fun although I have to work on my glitter photography. Jeff says I need to add a second light source. We'll see if that works next time...I never claimed to be great at that part of this whole deal. I'll include a close up of one window so you get a better idea. Just pretend the frosting looks all sorts of sparkly, okay? :) Packing tape is the key to this effect and it's super simple to do. I think it will look excellent on Christmas cards too. I can't wait to try it then. Today I paired up one of the sets from the Idea Book and Catalog that's free from Sale-a-Bration (Tart & Tangy) with a good time favorite (Cheers to You). After all, there are those of us out there that will agree some four day weeks feel even longer than those that last a full five! Happy Friday everyone!

A New Challenge/ LBNL #1

I'm super excited to have been invited to try out a brand new challenge. It's called Last but not Least because it's posted on the last day of each month. DJ has put together a super fun challenge for the first round of her challenge: One Mat, One Stamp, One Sentiment, One Ribbon, One Button. In short, it's a One Card. Fun, huh? I just couldn't resist! It's super simple & yet I had to give it a good bit of thought. It made my brain work in different ways than a color or sketch challenge stretches me. Thanks, DJ! I took out my Always Elegant set (free from SAB) for its very first use. I decided it would look great framed by a textured piece of cardstock, so I used my circle cutter to make a 3" circle in a 4 x 4" square of textured Marina Mist. I'm not sure if it shows up in the photo, but I used my Versamarker, Heat & Stick Powder, and Dazzling Diamonds glitter to add accents to the stamped image. I did the same to the little brad that connects my sentiment to the card. Out came my Sticky Strip to make my new favorite ribbon formation. Then, all that was left was my button. I'm pretty sure a paper button counts & my Sweet Buttons Embosslit gave me lots of choices. I can't wait to check out the next challenge at the end of this month! Thanks to DJ for introducing me to a stamping adventure that I might have missed out on otherwise. :)

Simply Said Lattice Color Throwdown #130

I tried to keep things super simple for this week's Color Throwdown. The colors they put out there for us this time around were: Pretty in Pink, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip, & So Saffron. I like the basic feel of this card, but it may still be a WIP (work in progress). I can't kick the feeling that I'm missing something... I had fun cutting up the Lattice Die into the little corner flowers & I adore the Simply Said bouquet so it was great to pair them together. I'm so pleased that the folks at the Color Throwdown included Tangerine Tango because it's a color I don't use as often as others & I don't think I would have come up with this combo on my own. In fact, I was nervous about the Tangerine layer at first. Then I tried it out and really liked how it made all the colors pop! That's the great thing about trying challenges-- they get you to stretch just a bit. :)

Water Lily Congrats/PPC #49

Over at PPC they are celebrating their first anniversary. So in addition to having a color challenge (Mellon Mambo, Garden Green, Whisper White, & Basic Gray) they also asked for anniversary themed cards. I found that I just kept adding petals to my Build-a-Blossom creation so that, in the end, it felt a lot like a water lily. Then, it just needed a couple of lily pads! To create those I just ran a couple of 2 1/2" Circles through the Big Shot with the Elegant Lines folder. No problem. I embossed the sentiment with silver emboss powder to really make it stand out. I do have a confession to make though. I wish I would have gotten the Curly Cute set in wood mount rather than clear. Typically I have no problem with our stamps staying on the block, but these really challenge me. I'm not sure if it's because they have so little surface area to stay connected compared to their length or what the deal is with them, but they're the only ones that tend to come off while I'm stamping. In short, my strong recommendation with this set is to go for wood! However, my Build a Blossom set is also clear and it never gives me any problems. Hmmm...I'm thinking the long & skinny stamps are just not quite perfect for the clear format. I'm so glad we have the choice of both!

Masculine Bird Birthday/ Mojo Monday 179

Today I set myself a few extra challenges to go with the Mojo Monday sketch. When I saw the layout I told myself I needed to use Springtime Vintage as the designer paper square & that my three dots would be eyelets. That didn't give me the impression that I'd be making a masculine card, but that's exactly where I ended up. Springtime Vintage is pretty girly, but these green stripes aren't! I also brought out a few old friends. I used Lovely as a Tree in the background (the first SU set I ever bought) and dusted off my Cajun Craze paper. Far too often I find that I only bring this great color out for fall cards. I had the same issue with Really Rust. Every now and then, it's important to remind myself that it's a great color all the time! Otherwise, why would I have used it as the inspiration for my house color?