Hoot Hoot Hooray!

Boy, it sure has been a crazy week! And looking at my calender for next week, it seems like it is going to be even crazier! I'll try to get a few more posts up though... Today's fun card is for the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge.



The inspiration picture is darling! I am a big fan of owls and these are no exception! The cupcakes are from Cotton Candy Bakeshop.


Here are the DEEtails:

The owl image, from Pink Cat Studio, this week's sponor, is so cute and perfect for this challenge. I printed "Squirt" on Bashful Blue, So Saffron, and Whisper White card stock and cut out the body, eyes, beak, and flower. I loved the idea of a "patchwork" owl, so after piecing it together, I took a needle and poked holes at all the faux stitching on the image. Then I took some needlepoint floss and stitched away! The rest of my card was so easy to put together. I threw in some Georgia Peach DSP, an Early Espresso scallop circle, some So Saffron Poly Twill, some Itty Bitty punch flowers, and a cute sentiment from my Owl Together Now stamp set. So fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

So Saffron Poly Twill is SO fun to use! And it can be SO free when you purchase one of my Ribbon Shares. You'll receive a free yard of ribbon with every order!

Celebrate!

It has been a busy few days, so I'm a little behind on posting the card that I made for the Stampin' Celebration challenge.


Here are the DEEtails:

I am loving Pink Pirouette right now, and I used it for this card as well, along with some sleek Basic Black. I started by making my Chanel C. I used my 2" circle punch and cut out the center with my 1 1/2" circle punch, then cut a section off to make the C shape. Then I stuck my card stock into some VersaMark and heat embossed it twice to get a glossy look. Next, I made my flower. I punched a 1" circle in basic black and adhered a piece of black grosgrain ribbon from my stash around the perimeter. One edge of the ribbon is adhered to the back, the other edge faced straight up. Then I took my scissors and carefully cut the top edge of the ribbon and frayed it to create the fuzzy center of my flower. I punched 1" circles in Pink Pirouette and adhered them behind for my petals. I matted a piece of Pink Pirouette cardstock and added some Basic Black satin ribbon, tied in a bow. I adhered my C with Stampin' Dimensionals, then scribbled the rest of the word "celebrate." I added my flower and tucked a few Pear Pizazz leaves made from my bird punch underneath. Voila!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have you made a button butterfly yet? They are so fun and easy to make! Come join my challenge and show off your button butterflies!

Happy Birthday Mom!

I've told you about my mom before... She's a fabulously talented lady and she loves PINK! It's kind of funny because my brothers and I have been trying to get her to expand her wardrobe colors, but at the same time, whenever she wears anything other than pink, we can't seem to find her and she just doens't quite look like Mom. Hehe. In fact, the last time we went shopping together, she kept picking out lavendar and purple tops that she liked, but I kept making her put them back because it just didn't seem right. Haha.

Nonetheless, I made this birthday card for her with some fun purple flowers. I bought her this pretty necklace from J. Crew, which is just a big ball of colorful flowers on a long chain. It's so "her", and made the card to match. The necklace is great because she can wear it with ANY color, but more importantly, it will match with all her pinks! :)

Here are the DEEtails for the card:

I started with a piece of patterned cardstock that I had in my stash. It's fun because it's glittery, although you can't tell in the photo. I adhered it to a layer of Perfect Plum card stock, then added two rows of Rose Red grosgrain ribbon which I pleated. I created my flowers by layering punched Perfect Plum with my Martha Stewart Hydrangea Bloom punch. I adhered a Rhinestone Jewel in the center of each and then scattered them on my card. I stamped the letters from my Messages for Mom set in Rose Red on Very Vanilla card stock. I colored the centers in with my Pretty in Pink Stampin' Write marker, cut out my letters, then adhered them to my card with some Stampin' Dimensionals. I adhered everything to a Rose Red card for that a little extra pink. :)

In honor of my Mom and her fabulous creations, I'll be opening up an Etsy shop with her Sew Type A creations! It's not quite ready yet, but I'll keep you poseted!

Kindness

Wow. I just realized that all my cards this week are green. :)

Today's card is for the 2 Sketches 4 You challenge. I turned it sideways to create this card.


Here are the DEEtails:

I started out with a piece of Pink Pirouette card stock and stamped the flowers from my Upsy Daisy set in Pretty in Pink. I stamped a portion of the sentiment from my Heard From the Heart set over the flowers in Wild Wasabi ink. I added a Pretty in Pink mat. Then I wrapped some striped grosgrain ribbon around my Wild Wasabi card. I stamped the rest of my sentiment towards the bottom of my card, then adhered my stamped image above it. I took some more striped grosgrain ribbon and tied a big, fluffy bow and adhered it to the side of my card. Then I took two Pretty in Pink corduroy brads, used wire cutters to cut the brad off, then adhered them to my ribbon with some glue dots.

Thanks for stopping by!

Loving the Striped Grosgrain Ribbon? Take part in Ribbon Share Option 2!

And don't forget to take part in my Inspire DEE Button Butterfly challenge! I can't wait to see your creations!

Wickedly Cute!

This week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge is totally Wicked! :)

Here are the DEEtails for my card:

I started with a piece of Kiwi Kiss card stock and stamped the cute little witch from my Fang-tastic set. I love her little green face! I colored in her hat, dress, and stockings with a Basic Black marker to mimic Alphaba's outfit from the musical. (Actually, I'm not really sure what color her stockings are, but I just went with black). I added a couple layers of black Waffle Paper under my card stock, then adhered it to a Whisper White base with Stampin' Dimensionals. I stamped the sentiment onto a piece of Whisper White card stock and then used my Modern Label punch and added it to my card. I added a Basic Black mat and adhered it all to my Old Olive card. I added some fun bats, cut out of Basic Gray card stock to the side of my card. Isn't this stamp set so cute?!

Thanks For Being You

Today's card is for the Shabby Tea Room Fresh Living Challenge. Here's the inspiration picture:

And here are the DEEtails:

I used my Stampin' Write markers to ink and stamp the images from my Falling Leaves set onto Sahara Sand card stock. Then I went over them, coloring in each leaf to be a solid, bold print. I cut the images to 1" squares, and trimmed some corners with my corner rounder. Then I took my Chat Room rub ons and added a single word to each leaf. I arranged my squares on my card and adhered them on. I added some ribbon below, first using Early Espresso 5/8" Grosgrain, then layered on some Theater Ribbon Orignals. For my final touch, I added a Corduroy button in Kraft, threaded with some organdy ribbon from my stash.

Love the layered ribbon look? Try out some of my ribbon shares! Not only will you get yards of gorgeous ribbon, but you'll also get a surprise yard free, just for participating! Contact me to place your order today!

Are you up for a challenge? Try out my Button Butterfly challenge, part of my Inspire DEE challenge series. I'd love to see your creations! Or better, yet, you can set the trend and start a new challenge by e-mailing me your inspiration ideas!

Natural Bird Cage

I am absolutely loving this week's Curtain Call Color Challenge inspiration photo!

Here are the DEEtails for my card:

I used my Cricut and Songbird die to make an Early Espresso birdcage. I cut a scallop edge in Always Artichoke to add a border to the bottom. Then I used my Tiny Tags set to stamp a sentiment and some flowers onto some Crumb Cake card stock and punched them out with my Jewelry Tag punch. I tied them to my bird cage with some Linen Thread. Then I took some Naturals White card stock and used my Papertrey Ink Woodgrain embossing plate to add a bit of texture. I added a little bit of Early Espresso grosgrain ribbon along with some Papertrey Ink leaf trim. I added some layers of Early Espresso and Always Artichoke and adhered it all to my Crumb Cake card. Hope you like it!

Patterned Topiary

Here's my DEEsign for the current Embellish Magazine Color Challenge using Paper Piecing. Okay, so this isn't exactly paper piecing, but I hope it's close enough! The inspiration colors are fabulous and I just had to play along. I love green and yellow plus a little kraft! These are totally my colors! :)

Here are the DEEtails:

I was immediately drawn to the photo on the left, with all the burlap and the fabulous moss monogram. I started by punching my circles out of Haiku DSP. I used my 1 1/4", 1", and 3/4" circle punches. Then I cut a 1/4" strip of Early Espresso card stock, which I used as my stem. I adhered my topiary pieces to my stem, then "potted" it in a Soft Suede pot, tied with a piece of Daffodil Delight Taffeta ribbon. Instead of using Kraft cardstock, I pulled out a piece of burlap, cut it to size, pulled out a couple threads from each side, then adhered it to my card. I added my topiary. I added some more yellow by tying some Daffodil Delight grosgrain ribbon to the side of the card.

Thanks so much for stopping by! :)

To Have & To Hold

Today's card is for this week's Cupcake Inspirations challenge. The inspiration image is a wedding cake with cupcakes in beautiful lace cups. Gorgeous! This week's challenge is sponsored by Passion for Stamps. Cupcakes are from Heavenly Cupcakes.


Here are the DEEtails:

I loved the lace and roses in the inspiration, so of course, I had to make an eyelet border rose for this card using Naturals White card stock. Besides the rose, this card is simple, really. I added a Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon, leaving generous tails, to my Naturals White card base. Then I stamped the sentiment from my Everything Nice set in Going Gray and punched it out with my Decorative Label punch. I added an extra layer of Rose Red behind it, then adhered some Rhinestone Jewels to the dots in the center. I adhered it to my card using Stampin' Dimensionals, then adhered everything down to my Rose Red card.

Are you loving this Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon as much as I am? You can get some for FREE when you participate in my Ribbon Shares!

Inspire DEE Challenge: Inspired by Darlene

My Mom's friend, Darlene, had a light bulb go off when she saw my button card that I made recently and sent me an e-mail suggesting that I make more cards with buttons! I was particularly inspired by her idea of making button butterflies, and here we are with today's card!

I'd like to inspire all of you to create a card with a button butterfly as well! Please scroll down to the bottom of this post to link your card! I'll select a winner at the end of the month and you'll receive a selection of buttons from my very own collection!

Here is a close up of my button butterfly.


And here are the DEEtails:

This card is SO simple to make! I used my butterfly punch to create my base for my butterfly with Lovely Lilac card stock. Then I selected buttons out of my stash and arranged them just so. I used some adhesive to adhere them to the card (I ran out of sticky dots!). Then I stamped my sentiment from the set, A Little Birthday Cheer, with Basic Gray ink, directly onto my Lovely Lilac card. I punched out a Decorative Label on Naturals White card stock and adhered my butterfly to it and placed it in the center of my card.

So fun! Won't you play along?! Join the Inspire DEE Button Butterfly Challenge and link your card below!

Want to Inspire DEE? Send me your inspiration photo or idea to DEEsignsbyNinaDee@gmail.com and you may be the next person to Inspire DEE!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

This card is for my grandmother, whose birthday is today! Happy birthday! She is the creative founder of our family (she sews and paints and arranges flowers, among other things!) and has passed on those creative genes to the rest of the ladies in our family. My appreciation for art probably stems from my days hanging out with her when I was young. We would often go to the art museum, or relax by a lily pond or a park with our sketch books. And as I got older, she always got me to try new ways to express my creativity. We even took a basket weaving class together when I was in college!

So, today is her day, and this card is for her. Here are the DEEtails:

My mom and I found a gorgeous handmade necklace in a little gift shop. It was a perfect blend of jewels and beads... sparkly, but not over the top... simple, but still quite a statement. Plus, it was in grandma's favorite colors! We of course, didn't hesitate to buy it! I made a card in a matching color scheme and similar style and my mom sewed a little pouch for the necklace and card. I started off with some Baja Breeze card stock with a Not Quite Navy mat and layered my ribbons on it. I used Baja Breeze satin ribbon from the Ribbon Originals Valet, Early Espresso grosgrain ribbon, and some Victoria Crochet Trim. Then I punched out a butterfly that was stamped with my Punch Potpourri stamp and embossed. I added a few blue jewels from my stash for a bit of sparkle. Then I added a sentiment at the bottom from my Wow Flowers set. I adhered everything on a Sahara Sand card. Perfect! I hope she likes it!

Love Ribbon? Participate in one of my Ribbon Shares to get the ribbon I used on this card and more! Plus, for every Ribbon Share you buy, you'll get a free yard of ribbon! What a deal!

Pretty Poppies

Today's card is for this week's Curtain Call Color Challenge. I love poppies and the inspiration photo from A Creative Mint is no exception!

Here are the DEEtails for my card:

I started off punching some Scallop circles using my 2 3/8" punch with Pink Pirouette card stock and my 1 3/4" punch with Poppy Parade and Peach Parfait card stock. I rolled my scallop circles and peeled apart the card stock layers to create these delicate flowers. I adhered a few layers together and punched a Martha Stewart Cosmo for the poppy centers. I added a Wild Wasabi striped ribbon to a piece of Whisper White card stock and arranged my flowers on my card. I stamped a simple sentiment from my Flight of the Butterfly set in Basic Gray. Then I added some layers of card stock to mat my card. Thanks for stopping by!

Lots-o-Buttons

Happy Belated Birthday To ME! :) Hehe! I love belated birthday gifts because they're such a nice surprise that often come when you least expect it. My Aunt, Uncle, and cousins spent the summer in Denmark this year (my uncle is Danish, so they often go to visit). While they were there, they picked up a birthday gift for me, which I just got in the mail. Isn't it fab?!


This bracelet is absolutely perfect! I am a huge fan of buttons (and neutral colors). So of course, after I tried it on, took it off, photographed it and put it on again, I grabbed my button collection and made this card.

Here are the DEEtails:

Crumb Cake cards are my favorite, so I started off with it as my base. I took a piece of Neutrals White card stock, and drew a heart design with my Riding Hood Red Stampin' Write marker. I cut it out and adhered it to my base, then grabbed a handful of white buttons and filled in my heart. I added some Hemp Twine around my line, then outlined it with my marker. I used my Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write marker to write my sentiment. Then I pleated some Riding Hood Red card stock and added it to the bottom of my card. It kind of looks like a Valentine, but I really wanted them to know how much I LOVE my gift! I hope they get the message!

So Sweet of You

I mentioned last week that I'm trying to do more sketch challenges, so here's another one. This one is from 2 Sketches 4 You, where my fabulous blog friend Regina (AKA the Stampin' Bean) is a design team member.


Here are the DEEtails:

This cute little flower was actually a "discard" that I had on my desk from an experiment a while back. It's layers of Pretty in Pink card stock, punched with my Scallop Circle, crumpled up and peeled apart. This makes the layers a little more delicate and fluffy. The center is a button from my stash, tied up with some Hemp Twine. I adhered my flower onto a Martha Stewart doily. Then I grabbed some fun, Raspberry Tart DSP, which I layered over a Rose Red Scallop Edge border. I added some Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon, which I pleated, and then stamped my PTI Signature Greetings sentiment in Basic Black.

Hope you had a great holiday! If you took any great photos during the weekend, I hope you'll participate in my Inspire DEE Challenge! Check out the DEEtails here!

Thanks for Everything!

I made this card for the Moxie Fab World Challenge, but as I was working on it, the colors jumped out at me and reminded me of my dear friend and colleague, Rebecca. Rebecca is amazing and does so much for me. She runs programs that I create, drives hours to present at conferences with me, and is my right hand man, er lady, even though it's not her job (or anything close to it!) Anything I don't want to do, Rebecca does with a smile on her face. Anything I need help with, she's there by my side. Anything I'm too scared to try, she's the first to leap. She even kills all the yucky bugs in my office for me! :) Hehe! So this thank you is for Rebecca - for EVERYTHING she does!

Now for the DEEtails:

I liked the layout of color in this inspiration image and used it to guide the placement of colors on my card. So, I started out with white card stock and added some textured Tempting Turquoise at the bottom by running it through my Swiss Dots embossing plate. My Daffodil Delight grosgrain ribbon was brought on by the bright yellow cushions on the sofa. I added a bow to add some more color in the center, the way the fun yellow sculpture does in the photo. Two pink flowers for the awesome pink chairs with an Itty Bitty Button center tied up with some linen thread to add a bit of tan color from the wood. And of course some words from my For Everything stamp set to show off some blue from the gorgeous ocean in the background. To frame it all, a Daffodil Delight mat and card.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope each and every one of you have a "Rebecca" in your life!

Don't forget to participate in the first ever Inspire DEE Challenge, your chance to inspire me to create a card using your favorite image! Click here for more DEEtails! :)

Happy Birthday Cupcake!

Here's my card for this week's Cupcake Inspirations challenge. Check out the inspiration photo. The cupcake looks so delicious that I'm almost temped to lick my computer screen! Don't worry, I won't! This week's challenge is sponsored by the Cutting Cafe.

Here are the DEEtails:

I started out printing the digital cupcake image from the Cutting Cafe on Baja Breeze and Poppy Parade card stock. I cut out the bottom of the cupcake and the layers of my frosting and assembled my cupcake with lots of Stampin' Dimensionals. I printed the sentiment, also from the Cutting Cafe, onto Whisper White card stock and used my Sizzix Circle die to create my shape. I adhered some Nursery Suite Specialty DSP to a Baja Breeze card and added some Poppy Parade Stitched-Poly ribbon. I adhered my circle and cupcake to the card and finished it off by adding some sprinkles! I used some craft tweezers and dipped some beads into Tombow glue and carefully placed them on my frosting. Yum! :)

Welcome Baby!

My brother-in-law and his wife had their baby on Tuesday, so we're actually back home for the weekend to meet him. My hubby and I are already aunt and uncle to two adorable little girls, but now that their brother is here, boy are we psyched! I come from a family of boys - four little brothers - so I think boys are just extra fun. Now, I am a total girly girl, and often have nothing to do with them and refer to the bros as "stinky boys" - which they are - but I thoroughly enjoy them. And now that our nephew is here, our nieces can enjoy all the fun of having their own "stinky boy" in their lives - I mean besides their dad! Hehe! :) Here's the card I made to welcome the little man:

And here are the DEEtails:

I started off stamping the cute elephant from my Baby Steps stamp. I used my Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker to ink just the large elephant and stamped him on Whisper White card stock. Then I took some pieces of Pretty in Pink, Baja Breeze, and Pear Pizazz card stock and cut little triangles out. I used my Stampin' Write to scribble a letter on each flag, and hung them on a piece of linen thread by using a bit of adhesive. I adhered one end of my banner under a piece of Nursery Suite Specialty DSP and the other end under my elephant's trunk. Then I took an extra piece of linen thread and tied a little bow around his trunk. I used some Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere my elephant to my DSP and added a Chocolate Chip layer before adhering it to my Baja Breeze card. The great thing about this card, is you can adhere it to a pink card for a girl, or a green card if you're not quite sure what the parents are expecting! Surprises always are fun! :)

Did you know that Linen Thread is part of my Ribbon Share Option 8? The Lace and Fiber package comes with Stampin' Up!'s new Chantilly and Victoria Crochet ribbons, Twill Tape and Linen Thread. Order yours today!

Simply Thanks

I'm really liking this week's Curtain Call Color Challenge. I like the simple lines and pretty flowers in the inspiration challenge and the color combination is such a neat one.


Here are the DEEtails:

I started by tying a floppy bow with some Concord Crush Stitched-Poly ribbon onto a Crumb Cake card before I adhered a piece of Concord Crush card stock, stamped with my Simply Thanks stamp. Then I punched several sets of flowers with my Floral Fusion Sizzlits die in Whisper White and Pear Pizzazz. I crumpled all my flowers and stacked them together, added a silver brad to each center, and adhered them to my card. So simple!

Pretty in Pearls

This week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge is Elements of Style: Pretty in Pearls. I am loving the name (and the new look at PPA)! I love this photo of Audrey from Breakfast at Tiffany's. She wears her pearls so beautifully! My mom was named after her, which may be one of the reasons why I've grown to love Audrey Hepburn from a very young age. :)



Stampin' Up!'s new Pearl Jewels are just perfect for this project and that's what I used on today's card. Here are the rest of the DEEtails:

I am loving these ribbon flowers, made with Daffodil Delight 3/8" Taffeta ribbon twirled, twisted, and adhered to a card stock base. I added a simple sentiment from my Full of Life stamp set onto a piece of Pear Pizzazz card stock, layered on Wild Wasabi and So Saffron. A few punches of my Bird punch made leaves to tuck under my ribbon flowers, adorned with some Pearl Jewels. Lovely!

Want to make your own taffeta ribbon flowers? You can make them in 10 fabulous colors when you order Option 7 of my Ribbon Share. Plus, you'll get an extra yard of ribbon, free with your purchase!

Inspire DEE Challenge!

Happy September! I thinks it's time for a little change around here, so I'm holding the first ever, Inspire DEE Challenge! I'm kind of just making it up as I got along, so bear with me! Hehe!

I'm looking to be inspired, and ultimately to change up the blog decor once again, so I'm challenging YOU to inspire ME! Here's how it works:

E-mail me a photo that you think will inspire me (or challenge me!). It can be your own photo or one that you've found on the internet (please be sure to include the source!) I'd love to link to you if I feature your photo, so please be sure to send me a link to your blog if you have one! As the month goes on, I'll create DEEsigns inspired by your photos. Plus, I'll be challenging you to create you own paper crafts using the photos I've chosen.

One special card will (hopefully) inspire me to update this blog and the person who submits this photo will be the lucky winner! What will you win? Well, I'm not sure yet... But I'll come up with something good! :)

Send as many photos as you like! My challenge will go on through the month of September and feature as many DEEsigns as I can manage to create! Have fun!