Upsy Daisy for Our Creative Corner

Hi there and Happy Saturday! It's also the kick-off to Labor Day weekend here in the US, so that is pretty exciting. I'm SO ready for a relaxing weekend here in the Texas heat before a busy week of traveling. It's time for another fun and fabulous challenge over at Our Creative Corner. This week, Holly Kean is our  lovely hostess and this is what she has for us: 

"I'm inviting you to dig up your patterned papers and get inky by stamping right on them to create something totally new and different. Imagine the dramatic background a simple damask stamp on a striped designer paper could create! Or grab a cute image stamp and your favorite patterned paper to make a never-been-seen-before focal point for your card!"

I picked my paper and my stamps...and then...I was STUCK! Ugh! I hate when that happens. So, I decided to turn to some inspiration from the ColourQ  to put it all together. Whew! This week marks their 100th challenge and they have teamed up with this sweet sketch from Clean and Simple Stamping:

The second part of their challenge is to use a favorite color combo from their archives. I LOVED this mix when I first saw it and regretted never playing along. I pulled out the colors for today's card and was ready to go! I mean, SERIOUSLY...how adorable is that scarf in the inspiration photo?! If THAT doesn't get the mojo workin', I don't know what will! (I only wish it got cold enough down here in Texas to actually WEAR a cute scarf like this!) 

I embossed the image from the Upsy Daisy stamp set on First Edition Specialty DSP. I just love this paper as a background for stamped images! 

I added a few layered flowers (because I was still thinking about that gorgeous scarf!)  and embossed the sentiment. Finally, I added some pearls to the layered flowers and the punched trim...why NOT? I followed the sketch but NOT the whole "clean and simple" thing...I need to learn how to use LESS in the layer department. 

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please visit  Our Creative Corner to see what the rest of the lovely ladies on the Design Team have created this week. SO many beautiful designs!! You will NOT be disappointed. We sure hope you will join us and play along. 


Have a HAPPY day today! :) 


Stampin' Up! Supply List-
Stamps: Upsy Daisy 
Paper: First Edition Specialty, Old Olive, Basic Gray, Basic Black, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Basic Black Craft ink and Crumb Cake Classic ink (for sponging) 
Accessories: Scallop Trim Border punch, Boho Blssoms punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch, Word Window punch, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Basic Black 1/4" Taffeta ribbon (although it actually looks more gray then black), Very Vanilla 1/8" Taffeta ribbon, Black Embossing powder Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Basic Pearls and Stampin' Dimensionals

Sunny Garden Thanks

Hi everyone! It's finally Friday! Are you doing the "Friday Happy Dance" out there? :) This week has been a busy one for me and because of that, my stamp room has been very quiet over the past few days. (*insert chirping cricket sounds here*) I actually made this card on Tuesday and have been somewhat hesitant to post it because I'm not sure if I really *like* it yet. But, as I have nothing else created at the moment, it will have to do. 


I have really been trying to challenge myself lately to break into the (many) unused products sitting in my craft room. I was so excited for the Sunny Garden DSP when the new SU! catalog launched back in July. I HAD to have it (along with the Daffodil Delight Taffeta ribbon you also see)...so I immediately added it to my first order from the new catty. Yup, almost 5 months had passed and I had not used either of them! Eeek! 

I tried to give the bright papers and sponged "sky" a little bit of a "warmer" look by adding in the Chocolate Chip (embossing and card stock) color. I think the addition of that color is WHY I am not sure if this card makes me happy. (...SO strange because, usually, Chocolate Chips can ALWAYS make me happy! Haha!) I also really meant to paper pierce around all the layers but started sticking it all together before I remembered that little tidbit, *sigh*! So, what do you think? Is it too dark? What would you change, if anything? I would love to hear your comments and feedback. :)

Before I forget, I thought I would share a recent photo of "the boys" in their sweaters. It has been chilly here at night so they need to stay cozy. I took the photo with my iPhone so it's a little fuzzy, sorry. 

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 

Stamps: Upsy Daisy

Ink: Chocolate Chip Craft ink, Daffodil Delight, Poppy Parade and Pear Pizzazz Classic ink

Paper: Daffodil Delight, Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz card stock and Sunny Garden DSP 

Accessories: Corner Rounder punch, Medium Oval punch, Scalloped Oval punch, 3/8" Taffeta ribbon in Daffodil Delight, Jewels, sponges and Clear embossing powder

Thanks for stopping by! 

Have a HAPPY day, 

Upsy Daisy Throwdown

Yesterday, I spent some time catching up and creating with my stampin' pal, Dawn. Her mom is in town visiting and made a fabulous lunch for all of us, as well. Mmmmm! As an added bonus, I got some quality "cuddle time" with Dawn's 2 1/2 month old baby boy, which always makes me smile. :) We decided to try our hands at a couple of challenges today, since we always gain a ton of inspiration from them. I went with my usual "dynamic duo" consisting of a color challenge and a sketch challenge...it seems to work for me so why mess with a good thing, right?

When I saw this color combo over at The Color Throwdown blog, I was super excited to "throw it down". I love, love, LOVE Melon Mambo and Pacific Point is such an awesome, vibrant blue...but then there was River Rock, ugh! Try as I may, I just am perplexed by this color, perhaps I need to attempt to use it more frequently...it's just NOT my favorite. I think I have used 1/2 of a sheet of River Rock cardstock in over 2 years...

I recently heard about the Hand Stamped Sentiments Challenges from one of their DT member's (and fellow SU! demo), Genny, and decided to give it a go this week. Thanks, Genny and team for a fun sketch challenge! I was fun to participate with y'all for the first time . :) 

The floral image in the Upsy Daisy set is such a fun, bold silhouette on it's own. But I really wanted it to stand-out a little more on this card. So, I added some Dazzling Diamonds mixture (see below) to the image for sparkle. Thanks to Dawn for reminding me of this great technique, as I hadn't used it in a while. I'm adding instructions, in case someone out there hasn't tried it before. 

To achieve this look: 

-First, I wiped an Embossing Buddy over my Whisper White cardstock to catch any stray embossing powder.  

-Second, I used a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to stamp my image in Melon Mambo on the white cardstock.
-Next, I cleaned my stamp, then re-inked it in Versa-Mark.
-Then, I used my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to perfectly place my (Versa-Mark'ed) stamp over the existing (Melon Mambo) image on the cardstock. I chose to stamp it, just a wee bit off from the original image, for a little "shadow".
-After stamping, I sprinkled some Dazzling Diamonds embossing powder and Heat & Stick powder (50/50 mixture blended together...thanks Dawn for letting me use yours) over the image and heat embossed it. 
-Voila! Sparkly stamped SUCCESS! :)


I also decided to tie the hemp twine on through some eyelets, since just knotting it around the cardstock alone, was causing it to tear. Oops! Hope you like how it all came together. I'd love to hear what you think! :) 

 

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Melon Mambo and Pacific Point classic ink, Versa-Mark
Paper: Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, River Rock and Whisper White cardstock, Good Morning Sunshine DSP (retired) and Razzleberry Lemonade DSP (retired)
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds embossing powder, Heat and Stick powder (blended together with Dazzling Diamonds), hemp twine, 1 3/8" x 5/8"Oval punch, 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval punch, Crop-A-Dile
Non SU! Accessories: pink bling, (Dawn's) blue eyelets and blue ribbon 

Have a great day!
Until next time,