Happy Weekend!

Happy weekend everyone! I wanted to share this photo that I took yesterday. I took a walk around my mom's garden and saw these sweet cosmos growing near the herb garden. I snapped this photo and I love it!

So Tweet

I was really pleased with this card, but I'm not sure I like how it photographed. Anyway, I made it for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch, although I didn't have an oval, like the sketch calls for.

Here are the DEEtails:

I started off stamping the various bird cages from my Aviary. This set is so stinking cute, I have no idea where to start when I look at it! I wanted to do something simple today, so I stamped them in Basic Gray ink and allowed a lot of overlap. I added a couple canaries (one is hidden under the bow), then I cut them the cages out. I layered some Greenhouse Gala DSP onto Daffodil Delight, then added some ribbon. I used Satin ribbon and Taffeta ribbon to add some varying textures and crisscrossed the ribbon slightly before tying it in a big fluffy bow. I added my birdcages with Stampin' Dimensionals, then mounted everything on my Basic Gray card.

Hope you like it!

Garden Mail

The City Crafter Challenge Blog has a gorgeous inspiration photo from A Creative Mint for the Garden Mail theme this week. (Check out A Creative Mint for more beautiful inspiration!)

The challenge was to incorporate colors from the photo and include something to do with mail. Since I'm out of town, my options were limited, but hopefully you'll like what I came up with!

The DEEtails:

I started out stamping various letters from the few sentiment stamps that I had. Luckily, I recently bought the Everything Nice set, which has some neat letters that I could use. I inked a letter at a time, using my Stampin' Write markers and stamped them on Whisper White, Crumb Cake, and Elegant Eggplant. (I think I would have liked a lighter purple, but this is all I had.) I used my Jewelry Tag Punch and adhered some Pearl Jewels. I also stamped some images from my Tiny Tags set and punched a little flower (from Itty Bitty Shapes Punches) and heart (from the Owl punch) for some accents. I adhered me tags onto Whisper White card stock using Stampin' Dimensionals. Then I stamped the sentiment from my Messages for Mom set with Crumb Cake ink. I love this sentiment! I added an Elegant Eggplant mat, then ruffled some Chantilly lace trim for a soft touch. I just happened to spot these mini clothes pins at the store the other day (they are slightly larger than the mini craft clothes pins) and bought them cause they looked fun. They turned out to be perfect for this card. It is a bit bulky, since it isn't really meant for paper crafts, but I think I like it!

What do you think?

For Chocolate Lovers

Here's a fun card that I created yesterday for the 2 Sketches 4 You challenge.

DEEtails:

I started off with a Blushing Bride card and added an Early Espresso mat. I added a strip of stitched-poly ribbon and stamped the sentiment from my Sweet Scoops set. Then I added layers of Blushing Bride and a cute patterned paper from the Lap of Luxury DSP pack. Then I stamped my ice cream cone and scoops on Whisper White card stock in Crumb Cake and Chocolate Chip ink with Early Espresso fro the sprinkles. I cut everything out and used some Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere them to my card.

Meanwhile, I was showing my little brother a few techniques using the Sweet Scoops set. Here are his cards that he made to give to Mom and Dad.

Hmm... I wonder if they'll get the hint! :)

Camera Bag & Strap

I'm so excited about this that I just HAD to share it with you! Ever since my hubby gave me a camera as an early birthday gift, I've been eyeing up those cute ruffly camera straps on Etsy. In the few days that we went back home, my mom whipped up an adorable camera bag and matching strap (with ruffles!) for my birthday. I love it!

Isn't the bag so cute?!

It has a four little pockets inside for extra batteries!

And check out the matching strap!

The flower part is a pocket for my lens cap that I seem to be always misplacing!

To see more of mom's creations, check out my previous post here.

Some Birthday Love

One of the reasons why I love paper crafting and card making so much is that little thrill that you get when you open up your mailbox, peek inside and find a little envelope addressed to you with a handmade card. I love sharing that feeling with others (although I do admit that I'm not always on top of my game when it comes to mailing cards out!) and I especially love when it happens to me!

I wanted to share a card that I got in the mail the other day for my birthday, which is today! This is from none other than Mary Fish, my up-line and fearless leader! I love her to pieces!

What a cute card! Check out her original post here.

Want to know something silly? I originally fell in love with Mary when I first noticed that she changes the color to her header on her blog every now and then, to go along with the current holiday or fresh new color. I love how something so simple can be so cheery and make such a difference! Not sure if you ever noticed it, but I'm sure you will now! Haha!

Enjoy your day! :)

ColourQ Again

It's always interesting to work with elements that are a little out of my comfort zone. Today, I'm tackling two of them - the color red and crookedness. Ha! I have a slight aversion to the color red. I really have no idea why! (I promise that my mom didn't force me to wear it as a child - at least I don't think so!) I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Real Red is a color I rarely ever use. It does help to have it mixed with some colors that I DO like though - Yellow and Brown. Love them! And, you probably didn't know this, but I'm also a little strange about tilting things. I happen to like things straight and square. I usually stay away from sketches that include a tilted element. Funny huh! The tilt in this card happened by complete accident, but I think I kind of like it! Check out this fun (but rather red) skirt for today's ColourQ challenge.


Here are the DEEtails:

I started off with a So Saffron base and stamped my new Pretty Pattern on it in Real Red ink. I carefully colored in each section with Chocolate Chip and Real Red Stampin' Write markers. I think I would have liked a little more color in the background, but I just wasn't sure exactly how to achieve this... Anyway, I then stamped a sentiment from my PTI Signature Greetings set on Real Red card stock. The piece of Chocolate Chip card stock, stamped with A to Z was actually an extra scrap sitting on my desk. I happened to lay my sentiment onto it by chance and found that it was a great match! Even the crookedness worked! Next, I stamped some little butterflies from my Flight of the Butterfly set with some Summer Sun ink on some Twill tape. I bunched it up on my card - one of my favorite ribbon techniques then added a So Saffron butterfly stamped with Tangerine Tango polka dots.

Just an update on my supplies, in case you were interested and following my blog: I'm back home for a couple of days, which is why you see ample supplies used on this card. Tomorrow, we hit the road again to go back to visiting my family for the summer. We had to come back home for a quick trip for some meetings and a presentation. During this time, I restocked my paper, but kept many of the same supplies in my bag. So we'll be back to minimalist stamping (which you'd know really isn't the case at all, if you saw my craft bag crammed with stuff!).

More Pink and Gray

Who would have thought that I would enjoy making these tiny cards so much?! I love it! Today's card is inspired by this week's challenge at Off the Wall Craftiness. I love the challenge mood boards here and have been meaning to join in. So, I'm finally doing it!

I giggled a bit when I read Kim's story about her Ken doll. My mom and step-dad's wedding was gray and pink, and it sounds like her Ken doll was dressed just like my dad was! I love these colors together!

Here are the DEEtails for my card:

Check out the picture right smack in the middle there. That's my inspiration! I cut various circles with my beloved punches and stacked them together. It didn't look quite right, so I rolled each circle, forwards, sideways, and backwards and peeled the card stock layers apart. I love this technique because it makes the flowers look much more delicate! Then I adhered the layers and crumpled up the edges a bit more. I added Pearl Jewels to the centers (can you tell that I love the new Jewels from Stampin' Up!?) and layered them over a Basic Gray Taffeta ribbon on my Basic Gray card. Love it!

What do you think?

ColourQ Pink and Gray

I feel so out of touch with the challenge world. It's been over a week since my last challenge and I feel like the week just flew by! I instantly fell in love with this week's ColourQ inspiration. I pulled out all my satin ribbons to recreate the fabric flower, but it just wasn't going to work. I had so much fun making my mini cards for the July Pals Hop, that I decided to make another mini card.

Here are the DEEtails:

I stamped the large flower from my Apple Blossoms set on Whisper White card stock in the four challenge colors. I decided that I didn't like the way the flower looked in Basic Black, so I opted to use Basic Gray for my "black" and Going Gray for my "gray". I carefully cut out each layer of the flower image and adhered them together. To create a bit of a pop-up without being too much, I layered two pieces of Sticky Strip to each layer. Then I added a tiny bit of bling to the center of my flower. I matted my card then added some Basic Black Satin Ribbon layered with some pink ruffled ribbon from my stash.

Hope you like it! Thanks for peeking in!

A Little Bit Of Color Part 4

Today's mini card has a fun splash of color! Plus this is so easy to throw together with any color combination!

DEEtails: I chose Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait and a bit of Soft Suede for this card. I punched out a bunch of flowers with my Itty Bitty Shapes Punches, and created a simple pattern of color and shapes. I adhered each flower to a Naturals White backgroung using glue dots. I punched a few circles from my Owl punch and chose a few random flowers to add centers to. Then I stamped my sentiment from my Messages for Mom set in Soft Suede.

Thanks for hopping by again! Want the Itty Bitty Shapes Punches FREE? You can get this as a gift from me when you place your Stampin' Up! order of $100 through me. Contact me at deesignsbyninadee@gmail.com to place your order today!

Oh Brother...

I'm one of those lucky girls who has little brothers. Though they can sometimes be a pain, they are usually good company. Like the other night when my 9:00 shipment of Stampin' goodies came, my twelve-year-old brother offered to stay up with me and make some cards.

He had so much fun that the next day, he made another card. I appreciate his enthusiasm and willingness to take part in one of my hobbies.

But even more than that, I think I appreciate his sense of humor.


Gotta love boys!

A Little Bit Of Color Part 3

Today's mini card is a rich blend of Concord Crush and Going Gray.

DEEtails: I stamped the pretty flourish from my Cute By The Inch Hostess set. with Going Gray ink on Going Gray card stock. I cut each square out (it isn't perfect because I don't have a 1" square punch!), and mounted them to a Concord Crush Square with a bit of Going Gray peeking out from underneath. I added some Basic Rhinestone Jewels in the centers. Then I tied a simple bow using Basic Black Taffeta ribbon and adhered my stamped image on the card.

Be sure to check out Tuesday's Pals Hop post for links to other fabulous card ideas, and my Stampin' Up! deals for the month of July.

A Little Bit Of Color Part 2

Here's my second mini card to share with you this week. It's a fun and girly card and perfect for a birthday girl who likes a little bit of sparkle.

DEEtails: I started off my cutting out a small rectangle from the Hostess Designer Series Paper Pack. I added a piece of 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Pretty in Pink for a handle. I mounted the bag with Stampin' Dimensionals on some layers of Blushing Bride card stock and more DSP. Then I added the sentiment from my Messages for Mom stamp set in Going Gray and added a strip of Basic Rhinestone Jewels. Hope you like it!

Thanks for hopping by again! Come back tomorrow for another mini card idea!

A Little Bit Of Color

Welcome to the July Pals hop! This month, we're featuring Stampin' Up!'s New Catalog and In Colors for 2010-11!

If you've hopped over from Gina Shaw at Cards by Gina, I'm stop number 6 on the Pals Hop and I'm glad you hopped in! I'll help you "hop along" from blog to blog where you'll find inspirational ideas for papercrafted creations from Mary Fish's Stampin' Pretty Pals! If you hop off course, simply click on any of the links in the Pals Hope Line-Up at the bottom of this post and you'll be back on track!

My original plan for today was to show off a number of little gift cards with splashes of color. I had a notepad filled with sketches that I wanted to do, but my shipment of new goodies only arrived Monday night at 9:00, which clearly made itdifficult for my original plan to play out. Since I'm on vacation, I don't have a lot of supplies with me and I was really relying on this box for the Pals Hop. Plus, with my internet not working well, I'll only be able to share one card with you today. Let me just say that it has been a bit stressful here. But, I plan on sharing a new mini card each day this week in honor of the July Pals Hop, so check back daily!

DEEtails: For a fun and simple notecard, I started off with a Crumb Cake card, cut to my 3x3 gift card size. I love how versatile Crumb Cake is. It looks great with any color! I stamped a trapezoid shape from the Hostess set, Playful Pieces, with Early Espresso ink. By swiping it on my ink pad, it adds a bit of a textured look for a flowerbox. I punched some flowers from my Itty Bitty Shapes punch, in Peach Parfait and Poppy Parade. I added a thin strip of Pear Pizzazz for stems and a tiny punch for the centers of my flowers. Then I adhered my flower box using Stampin' Dimensionals. For an extra special touch, I stamped the sentiment from the Hostess set, Apple Blossoms, on a piece of Stitched-Poly Ribbon in Peach Parfait. I love the way the stamped ribbon looks! This card would be totally cute in any color combination!

Want to stock up on some new SU! products of your own? Place an order of $50 or more (of any SU! product) with me during the month on July, and you'll get your choice of Stitched-Poly In Color ribbon (an $8.95 value) for free, my treat! OR, Place an order of $100 or more and get the Itty Bitty Shapes Punches pack (a $16.95 value) free! Just e-mail your order to deesignsbyninadee@gmail.com anytime during the month of July to take advantage of this special offer.

Now, hop on over to check out Jason Casper at Jason's Stampin' Pad, stop number 7 on the Pals Hop! Be sure to visit each of the Pretty Pals for more fun and inspirational ideas!

1. Kylie Nicolosi at Kylie's Crafty Corner
2. Mike Funke at Stampin-Style
3. Barbara Furlong at The Love of Stamping
4. Martha Stewart at Seasons of Stamping
5. Gina Shaw at Cards by Gina
6. You're Here! :)
7. Jason Casper at Jason's Stampin' Pad
8. Carla Bazhenow at Carla's Scraps
9. Mary Fish at Stampin' Pretty
10. Joanna Munster at Inspired by Stampin'
11. Wacky Whippet Stamper, Pam Giudici

Thanks for hopping by! And be sure to stop by throughout the week for more mini card ideas!

Some Extra Love

I am totally in love with the Pals Paper Arts color challenge for this week! I love neutrals with a splash of color!

Here are the DEEtails:

Silly me, I didn't pack any So Saffron card stock with me, so I had to go with Daffodil Delight on my card. I used it as my base and then build a neutral palette mat with Whisper White on top of Chocolate Chip on Basic Gray with a Scallop Edge. Then I stamped some wood grain hearts from my I {Heart} Hearts set inked with Early Espresso on card stock in the three challenge colors. I also stamped the sentiment from my Messages for Mom set. For a little extra touch, I added a So Saffron striped grosgrain ribbon tab.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll play along this week at PPA! :)

You Are Wonderful

I'm visiting my family for few weeks, but managed to bring a few supplies along. It's always a fun (and sometimes frustrating!) challenge to try to create with just a limited number of stamps, card stock colors and supplies. Here's the card that I made for this week's Cupcake Inspirations challenge.

I love all the beautiful flowers on these cupcakes! They look so bright and cheerful!

Here are the DEEtails:

As soon as I saw these cupcakes with a bit of a woodsy feel, I knew I wanted to use this pink wood grain paper that I had in my stash. I added a Ruby Red mat and adhered it to a Wild Wasabi card (by the way, I am really loving this color!). That same paper pack had this striped pattern with the perfect colors for my card, so I cut a wide strip along with a small piece of Very Vanilla card stock. I punched some flowers in Ruby Red, Bermuda Bay and Wild Wasabi with my Itty Bitty Punch and adhered it to my Very Vanilla square. Then I added a double Scallop Edge in Wild Wasabi and Bermuda Bay. I stamped the sentiment from my Messages for Mom set on a Bermuda Bay banner and used Dimensionals to adhere it to my card.

Hope you like it! :)

Quick and Easy Card

I love a quick and easy card with lots of texture and dimension in a great color scheme, don't you? This card uses the color combo from this week's Color Throwdown (or at least something close - I didn't have any Tempting Turquoise).

Here are the DEEtails:

I started off with a Taken with Teal card since I was all out of Tempting Turquoise. Then I added this awesome layer of cork cut with my Top Note die. It adds so much texture and is so easy to do! I stamped directly onto it using a PTI Signature Greetings stamp in Early Espresso ink. To create my rose, I first stamped my A to Z image in Crumb Cake on a piece of Very Vanilla card stock. Then I stamped the image from my Fifth Avenue Floral set and cut it out. I adhered it to my card with Stampin' Dimensionals, then added a Chocolate Chip ribbon. So quick and easy! I hope you like it!

A Pleasing Palette

My card today was created for this week's Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger. The photo from Country Home is absolutely gorgeous and I really didn't know how to capture all the beautiful elements in my card.

DEEtails:

I started off cutting two mats with my Cricut using the Song Bird cartridge in PTI Ocean Breeze and SU! Bermuda Bay card stock. I layered them and added some Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrin ribbon tied in a bow. Then I stamped the sentiment from the PTI set, Everyday Button Bits in Crumb Cake ink (Ooh! That was weird to say!). I wanted to make some large, but delicate flowers like the roses in this photo, so I took some Pretty in Pink card stock, punched some circles, and peeled apart the layers. I crumpled and stacked my circles and added a pearl in the centers. I'm not sure that you can tell that the layers are thin, so you'll have to take my word for it. I added some leaves from my Bird punch in Certainly Celery and Wild Wasabi card stocks. Then added everything to a Crumb Cake card.

Thanks for popping in today!