Christmas Swap with the Divas

Hi there! I am still battling this nasty cold I have had since Thanksgiving, so I have not been spending a whole lot of time in my craft room recently. (Thank you for all of the well-wishes that have been sent my way!) As, I just received my swap cards back from the Stamping Divas yesterday, I thought I would share them with you. Every month we do a different "theme" swap and in November it was all about Christmas cards. 

My swap card is in the photo below, on the left. It's the same card I made for the Paper Payers color challenge a few weeks ago. I made 10 of those little buggers, in total. All of the details for the card can be found HERE. With that, here are the swap cards from the DIVAS! Beautiful work, as always, ladies! 

~My card (left), Kerry Hansing (right)~

~Stephanie Fairbanks (left), Sharon Tong-Robinson (right)~

~Debora Shaw (left), Olives Barnes (right)~

~Gina Taylor (left), Teresa Payne-Neal (right)~

Thanks for visiting today! I hope to be back in the swing of things soon. Until then, I'm back to hot tea, tissues, lots of rest and catching up on my DVR from the past few weeks. Maybe Top Chef and Grey's Anatomy will have magical healing powers. Haha! 

Have a very HAPPY day today! :) 

Paper Players #74 - Lesley's Sketch

Hi there and Happy Sunday to you! I am hoping for good day today but have been battling a NASTY cold since Thanksgiving. It has taken my voice and pretty much ALL of my energy, but I am armed with vitamins, DayQuil and lots of fluids. I know it's just a matter of time before it moves along. Until then *cough, cough* I am pressing on!

This week at the Paper Players, Lesley is our fabulous hostess and she has a fun sketch to try out. 

Blame it on the cold meds, but I wanted to try something a little out of the ordinary with my card. I recently received the Mocha Morning Specialty DSP and have been itching to open it up. I decided to try to play with these colors for a Christmas card. If you have visited me before, you know that I like to branch out from "traditional" colors on holiday cards. It's just a quirk of mine. I just like to be different, I guess. ;)

I embossed the ornament and the sentiment in black, which may be a little dramatic but I am really hoping it works with the papers. I tried to soften it up with some sponged ink and delicate pearls. Two of the patterned papers have a soft "shimmer" to them which the photos just don't capture. 

Here is the inside of the card...with the strategically placed watermark...so you won't see the horrible fold...because I seem to have misplaced my bone folder. Look away from that, please. Have pity on the sick girl! Lol!! 

Please stop by and visit the rest of the gals on the Paper Players Design Team and see what they have to share this week. You will NOT be disappointed! I hope you have a chance to play along this week, too. 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao
Susan Joyce

Thank you SO much for stopping by! I hope your day is HAPPY! :) 

Hugs, 

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Tags 'til Christmas and Petite Pairs 
Paper: Mocha Morning Specialty DSP, Soft Suede, Basic Black and Crumb Cake card stock 
Ink: Basic Black Craft ink, Soft Suede Classic ink (for sponging)
Punches; Ornament punch, Scallop Trim Border punch and Scallop Corner punch
Accessories: Black Embossing powder, Stamping Sponges, Basic Pearls, Stampin' Dimensionals and Basic Black 1/8" Taffeta ribbon
Non-SU! Accessories: Oval and scalloped oval dies

I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas

Hi there! Happy Saturday to you! Time for another fun challenge over at Our Creative Corner! This week, Wendy Janson is our hostess and we are having a theme challenge:

*Make a project with a Christmas tree (or pine tree if you would rather)*

I also found some inspiration from the sketch over at Inkspirations. I flipped the sketch to accommodate the tree. As I have mentioned before, I LOVE using non-traditional colors for holiday cards, so this week's combo at Create with Connie and Mary, immediately grabbed my attention. Who loves Lucky Limeade? I do, I DO!! 

I finally ordered the Lovely as a Tree stamp set (what took so long, right?) and couldn't wait to use it for this card. I wanted the card to have a woodsy-theme...hmmm, which is odd because there is nothing "outdoor-sy" about this gal. ;) The tree and the sentiment are embossed, although it is tough to see in the photo. I also used my new Woodgrain background stamp...which I was convinced I needed to buy after seeing the awesome creations by my stampin' friend Nance. :) 


Then after getting the card all dirtied up with sponges and the distressing tool...I couldn't help but add some holiday pizazz with the pearl ornaments. I colored them with a marker...they really look more "navy" in real life, the photo makes them look lighter. I also added a light dusting of "snow" to the "ground" using Dazzling Details. It rarely snows here in Texas, so my card is celebrating a GREEN Christmas. 

Finally, here is the inside of the card, using the same elements from the front:  

Thanks for stopping by! I sure hope you will join us this week at Our Creative Corner and play along. Please check out what the rest of the lovely ladies on the DT have created for inspiration, too.  


Have a very HAPPY day today! :) 


Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Woodgrain background, Teeny Tiny Wishes and Peace on Earth (inside sentiment)
Paper: Night of Navy, River Rock, Lucky Limeade and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Versa-Mark, Lucky Limeade, River Rock, Crumb Cake and Night of Navy Classic ink
Punches: Word Window
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, 3/8" Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon, Rich Regals Buttons, Basic Pearls, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Color Spritzer Tool, River Rock Stampin' Write Marker, Dazzling Diamonds, Twine, Distressing Tool and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non-SU! Accessories: oval and scallop oval die, blue sharpie marker

Thankful for Birthday Wishes

Hi Stampers! I wanted to share some HUGE thanks to everyone who sent some happy thoughts and wishes for my birthday last week. I don't think my iPhone has ever had that kind of work-out, EVER! :) I truly appreciate all of the sweet blog comments, phone calls and emails.  Thank you! 


To start the day, my sweet assistant at work presented me with this sassy little number  to wear for the day. It's pink. It sparkles. Did I wear it? You betcha! This tiara was also accompanied by a huge box of Peppermint Bark. My favorite! 

I wanted to share the gorgeous handmade cards that arrived in my mailbox. (Not that the abundance of Hallmark cards weren't special, too...but they would be a little out of place on a stamping blog, right?) These gals are SO amazingly creative! Check out their blogs with the links under their cards. 

Here is a beautiful card from my sweet friend Genny. The colors are so bright and happy and I love how she stamped the butterfly on the vellum. 

Genny Valdes

Stampin' By Genny

Next, here are some of the beautiful cards from my dear Paper Players friends:

LeAnne Pugliese

weeinklings

Lesley Croghan

Always Playing with Paper

Ann Schach

The Stampin' Schach

(the poem on the inside of the card STILL makes me laugh out loud when I read it!) 

Nance Leedy

Canopy Crafts

I wish I was tech-savvy enough to post the audio clip from my friend Beth's kindergarten class singing birthday wishes to me first thing in the morning...It was awesome! Beth is ONE whole DAY older then me and I never let her forget that. (Love you, "Burger"!) I also took a ceremonial spot on the "birthday board" in her classroom for the day, which was pretty exciting. :) 

I was also beyond blessed to have received some wonderful gifts. I won't name them ALL...but a few (of my non-stamping) friends DO pop by my blog on occasion, so a big shout out to them. First, to Kristina and Eric for the fabulous new TOMS...click HERE to see them. (I *heart* TOMS!) Thanks to Deb and Vinny for the beautiful Pashmina scarf and amazing bottle of wine. Thanks to Kasia (my friend since 3rd grade) for the gorgeous flowers that were delivered to my doorstep. Of course, my Hubby gets major props for pulling off the best surprises EVER! 

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are having a great day today! 

Paper Players #73 - Jaydee's CAS Colors

Hi stampers! Wow, it has been a whole WEEK since I have posted! (ridiculous!!) I  did NOT mean for that to happen...life has been incredibly busy lately. I even had a post ready to share with some of the beautiful birthday cards I received this week. (stay tuned...it's still coming...) I just need a few more hours in the day...Ack!! 


This week at the Paper Players, the lovely Jaydee is our hostess and she selected a deliciously, elegant color combo for inspiration:

These colors are so rich! I tried to do them justice...although what I lack in CAS-skills, I completely make up for in sparkly accents...hopefully! :) The tree and the sentiment are heat embossed and I dressed up the background by adding some texture . I hadn't used the Snow Swirled set in a while, so I thought it was about time to break it out of the case.  All and all, it was an easy card to create, which is totally my cup of tea, lately!  

Please stop by the 'Paper Players and check out what the rest of the DT have created for inspiration this week. We sure hope you will join us and play along! 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao
Susan Joyce
Rita Wright is designing this week, too! :) 

Hope you had a fantastic weekend! Hugs/! 

Stampin' UP! Supply List: 
Stamps: Snow Swirled and Short and Sweet for the sentiment)
Paper: Brushed Silver, Night of Navy and Whisper White card stock and Silver Glimmer paper
Ink: Versa-Mark, Not Quite Navy classic ink
Accessories: Small Oval punch (ret.), Large Oval punch, Snow Burst Embossing folder, Clear Embossing Powder, Basic Rhinestones, Night of Navy Grosgrain ribbon and Stampin' Dimensionals

Paper Players #72 - LeAnne's Color Combo

Hi there stampers and Happy Sunday to you! I'm running a little late today with my post because of my sweet husband. He decided to surprise me last night with a birthday bash with a bunch of our friends. (My b'day is tomorrow) I thought he and I were going out to dinner, but imagine my surprise when everyone was there at the restaurant when we arrived. It was a wonderful night with delicious food and fabulous friends. My hubby is so awesome for putting it all together! But YOU came here to see a card, didn't you...so let's talk about that! :) 

It's Sunday, so it's time for another fun challenge over at the Paper Players! This week LeAnne is our hostess and she has put together this lovely combo to try: 

I also used the sketch over at The Sweet Stop for inspiration: 

I couldn't help but go with a holiday card with these colors. I tried to make a "guy" card at first...but it just wasn't working out. So Christmas it was! I used the Bright Hopes stamp set and dug around my stash of DSP to get the matching colors. (Note to self...buy more Always Artichoke DSP and ribbon as the selection in my craft room is limited, for some reason)

The image was first inked up in Versa-Mark and then again in Always Artichoke Classic ink. After stamping the image I heat embossed it for some added shine. I also heat embossed the sentiment in Riding Hood Red. Every layer is sponged and the main image was distressed with the Color Spritzer Tool and a Crumb Crumb Cake marker. It made the image pop a bit more then plain ol' card stock. I used pearls to accent the card and topped off the bow with an Antique Brad. It really was a pretty easy card to complete, although you would never know from the 2- 1/2 hours it took me to put it together. Ugh!! 

Sure hope you will hop on over to the Paper Players site and play along this week! You have until Friday 11/18/2011 to link up a project. Be sure to visit the rest of the Design Team to see what they have created for inspiration with these fun colors: 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao
  Susan Joyce (November GD)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a very HAPPY day! :) 


PS: If you are ever in the San Antonio are and are looking for a fantastic dining experience, CLICK HERE for info on the restaurant we were at last night. Everything from the food to the service to the overall atmosphere were outstanding. I can't wait to go back!  

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Bright Hopes and Petite Pairs (sentiment)
Paper: Paisley Petals DSP, Love Letter DSP, Always Artichoke, Riding hood Red and River Rock card stock
Ink: Versa-Mark, Always Artichoke and Riding Hood Red Classic ink
Punches: Scallop Trim border punch, Large Oval punch, Small Oval punch (ret.)
Accessories: Always Artichoke Seam Binding, Antique Brads, Basic Pearls, Clear Embossing Powder, Stampin' Dimensioanls, Color Spritzer Tool, Crumb Cake Stampin' Write Marker and Stamping Sponges

Pumpkin Pie for Our Creative Corner

Hi there and Happy Saturday to you! This week at Our Creative Corner, the lovely Wendy Janson is our "hostess with the mostest" and boy, does she have a fun challenge for us!

CHALLENGE:  Who doesn't look forward to pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving?!  Well Thanksgiving is soon approaching and with the anticipation of pumpkin pie, the challenge this week is to create a project using pumpkins or the color pumpkin pie as the focal point or main color of your project!

I decided to make a pumpkin AND use the Pumpkin Pie color on my card. You can never have TOO much pumpkin-anything at this time of year, I say. I embossed the card stock with the Houndstooth embossing folder, then punched out three Large Ovals to create my punched pumpkin. I added some fall foliage to dress it up, using the leafy branch from the Bird Builder punch. The Color Spritzer and Stamping Sponges came out of their hiding spaces, to add some distressing to the edges. The sentiment is from the Day of Gratitude stamp set. Finally I added some bling to the card and the leaves. 

I also used some new burlap "ribbon" that I snagged from the lovely Linda Coughlin's (from the OCC team) Etsy shop. The twine on the pumpkin was actually part of the packaging that wrapped up the ribbon. Waste not! Now, I do not even have one OUNCE of the creative talent Linda has, but I tried to channel a teeny-tiny bit of her awesomeness while creating this card. :) 

Here is the inside of the card, using a retired rub-on image to add some flair: 

Thanks for stopping by! I sure hope you will pop by the Our Creative Corner site and see what the rest of the DT has created this week for inspiration. It would be awesome if you would play along with our Pumpkin Pie challenge, too. Hope to see you there! :) 


Have a HAPPY day! :)

Guest Designer at A La Card Monkey

Hi there! I'm back with a second post today...which is a very rare occurrence these days. 

I am super excited to share that I was asked to be a Guest Designer this week over at A La Card Monkey. The lovely gals on the team selected me as a "Monkey Princess" here on THIS post from November 4th . This week, the challenge is Anything Goes (any theme or event), using the following sketch:

When I saw this week's color combo at Just Add Ink, I was instantly smitten. Any color combo with Melon Mambo in it always grabs my attention. Melon Mambo is my favorite! *grin*

With the sketch and the colors, I knew exactly which stamp set was going to see some ink for the very first time: Gift Givers. How stinkin' CUTE is this little lady? This stamp is the main reason I bought the set. She's just so sweet hanging out in the snow to say hello. :) 

There is a lot of dimension in the card, that it tough to see in the main image. All the layers are popped up using Stamping Dimensionals. I also added the Snow Burst Embossing folder to the background, then sponged on some Frost White Shimmer Paint, to give it that "wintry-vibe". I also embossed the Melon Mambo layer, as the polka dots sort of mimicked the snow in the stamped image. Basic Pearls look a little bit like snowballs, so they made the cut, too. I colored one tiny pearl with a marker to adorn the little cutie's cap. Dazzling Details were added to the snowflakes and the "ground" on the stamped image for some added sparkle. Sparkle is cool! 

Finally, here is a shot of the inside of the card: 

I'm also adding this one to Shirley's Christmas Blog Hop. 

Yes, that's THE same Shirley from the A La Card Monkey team! 

Check it out and join in the fun! 

Thanks so much for visiting!  Enjoy your day today! 

Hugs,


Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Gift Givers (Holiday Mini catty), Petite Pairs (inside) and Season of Friendship (snowflake, inside)
Paper: Certainly Celery patterned DSP, Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery, Pool Party and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Melon Mambo and Basic Black Classic ink
Punches: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Scallop Circle punch, 3/4" Circle punch, 1" Circle punch and 1- 1/4" Circle punch
Accessories: Melon Mambo 1/2" Scallop Dots ribbon, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder, Snow Burst Embossing folder, White Frost Shimmer paint, Stamping Sponges, Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery and Pool Party Stampin' Write Markers, Basic Pearls and Stampin' Dimensionals

Freshly Made Sketches Snowflake

Hi there stampin' friends! What a busy week it has been...ugh! Can I please have a few more hours in the day to stamp? That would be awesome. :) I wanted to share a card I made inspired by this week's challenge at Freshly Made Sketches. The super-sassy Rita Wright is hosting the challenge this week and I couldn't wait to play along. She's a fellow Texan and a really cool gal. (Hi Rita!)  Here is her sketch:

If you have followed my blog for a while, you already know that making holiday cards with "traditional" colors is something I have a tough time with. I'm not one for the red/green Christmas card creations, but I CAN do it...I just prefer to step out of the box, whenever I can. For this card, I was very inspired by a photo I found on Pinterest. Here it is: 

I decided to use my new Snowflake punch for the focal image, using red Glimmer Paper. I punched a few accent circles made using the "eyes" of the Owl Builder punch. For the center of the snowflake, I used the circle from the Bitty Punch pack. I used the Scallop Trim Border punch and Red Glimmer Paper to add some sparkly trim. Then added ribbon and pearls to dress it up. I stamped the "Merry Christmas" sentiment in Basic Black Craft ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder for some shine. Finally. I used the Scallop Trim Corner punch to add a bit of pizazz to one of the corners, just for fun. All the supplies used are listed at the end of the post.

Here is a quick shot of the inside of the card:

I will be back later today with a card for a fun team that I am a Guest Designer for this week. Be sure to come back to visit. Also, please stop by the Freshly Made Sketches site and join in the fun with Rita's sketch. Their DT has awesome inspiration to share.


Have a very HAPPY day today! :)


Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Four the Holidays, Season of Friendship and Occasional Quotes (ret. hostess) for the inside sentiment
Paper: Newsprint DSP, Real Red Glimmer Paper, Real Red, Basic Black and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Basic Black Craft ink and Real Red Classic ink (inside)
Punches: Scallop Trim Border punch, Scallop Trim Border punch, Snowflake punch, Owl Builder punch, Bitty Punch pack (center of snowflake)
Accessories: Basic Black 1/8" Taffeta ribbon, Clear Embossing powder, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder, Stampin' Dimensionals and Basic Pearls