Color Throwdown Color Blocks

Today's card is for this week's Color Throwdown Challenge. I'm loving this color combination:


Here are the DEEtails:

I simply started by gathering some patterned papers from the Urban Oasis, Urban Garden, and Brocade Background DSPs. I also used some Whisper White card stock, embossed with the PTI Woodgrain impression plate, plain Whisper White cards stock, and some Kiwi Kiss card stock. I cut each patterned paper and card stock piece into 1.5" squares, and arranged them on my page, adding various embellishments like a Little Leaves die cut, some Soho Designer Hardware, a Big Designer Button, a Jumbo Grommet, some Marina Mist Taffeta ribbon, some Baker's Twine, and some Jewelry tags stamped with a sentiment from SU!'s Silhouette Sentiments and some flowers from SU!'s Priceless set.

Special DEElivery:

This card is for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Simple Valentine

Aren't these colors cute together? I made this card for this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge. Hope you'll play along!

DEEtails:

This card was so unbelievably simple, that it only took a few minutes to assemble! I cut a Baja Breeze mat and added a piece of Welcome Neighbor DSP. (I originally was thinking of something flourishy with hearts, like the background in the inspiration photo, but it took away from the simplicity and cuteness of my heart focal point). I wrapped around some thick Pink Pirouette Grosgrain, then I die cut some shapes - the small scallop circle from the Scallop #2 die and Heart #7. I also punched a 2 3/8" scallop circle. I layered my elements with Glue Dots (to give it a little dimension, but not too much) and added a Whisper White Designer button, threaded with linen thread for the final touch. You can easily add a sentiment to this card, but I kept it simple. Hope you like it!

Special DEElivery:

This card is for sale in my Etsy Shop.

And don't forget that tomorrow is the last day that you can apply for a Cupcake Inspirations Design Team spot. I'd love to have one of my readers as a Sweetie with me, so I hope you'll apply!

Inspiration Island (And Some Photos!)

I keep promising DEEtails from my trip earlier this month, so I'm finally here to share a couple of photos from fabulous Hawaii. My mom's family is from Hawaii, so we decided to make a long weekend a short trip to surprise far away family, who we haven't seen for a couple of years. And boy, did we surprise them. :)

Okay, I'll be honest and tell you that I spent all my time hanging out with family (and shopping) that I forgot to take out the camera... Some of these photos are from a previous trip to Hawaii, but the photos are too fabulous not to share.

Gorgeous water lily from my grandma's garden. Looks fake doesn't it?!

Koi from a floating restaurant that we frequent. We were there for "feeding time"!

Don't be fooled by his vibrant feathers and charming looks. This bird is totally obnoxious. He belongs to my Aunt's neighbor and squawks non-stop. His favorite phrase is "shut up." Not kidding!

Butterfly display at Neiman Marcus. I don't think this is unique to Hawaii, but it's still so pretty!

The vivid colors of Hawaii are fabulous. I especially love how green everything is there! The flowers are so beautiful and everything just looks so fresh! I was kind of inspired by a combination of the photos above to make this card.

Here are the DEEtails:

I started by stamping the tree from SU!'s Season of Friendship set and randomly adding leaves in Pear Pizazz and Old Olive, then carefully cut it out. I really couldn't put that annoying bird on my card, so I opted for some cute pink flowers instead. I used my Itty Bitty Punches to create Regal Rose flowers with Daffodil Delight centers punched from the Owl Punch. I cut a piece of Whisper White card stock and added some Old Olive Striped Grosgrain, tied with some Linen Thread. Then I stamped the sentiment from SU!'s Upsy Daisy set.

Special DEElivery:

This card was mailed to my Aunt in Hawaii along with a bunch of her favorite Starbucks Cinnamon gum that's always so hard to find!

Color Inspiration: Neutrals

Here's the last challenge from Moxie Fab World's Color Inspiration series. Today I'm doing neutrals and I'm so sad for this to be over! It's been so fun!


Here are the DEEtails:

I ran a piece of Sahara Sand card stock through my Cuttlebug with the PTI Woodgrain impression plate, then layered on my elements. I added some flowers from SU!'s Punch Potpourri stamped with VersaMark on Baja Breeze card stock and embossed, Then I cut out the gorgeous image from SU!'s Notably Ornate stamped in Baja Breeze on Very Vanilla card stock. I added a pretty ribbon from SU! Ribbon Originals Beachfont, with a cute Baja Breeze Corduroy button, embellished with a Kraft Taffeta bow. Then I added the SU! Notably Ornate bird stamped in Versa Mark on Baja Breeze, embossed, and raised with Stampin' Dimentionals along with the sentiment from SU!'s Kind Thoughts set, stamped in Sahara Sand on Very Vanilla card stock. Hope you like it.

Take a Bow

This week's Pals Paper Arts challenge is an Elements of Style challenge with bows. Fun, right? I know this isn't an inspiration challenge, but the photo was too cute not to be inspired.



Here are the DEEtails:

I raided my ribbon stash to find the perfect ribbons to use on this challenge: a little red grosgrain, some Elegant Eggplant ric rac from SU! Orchard Ribbon Orignals, some blue and green grosgrain, Pumpkin Pie grosgrain, and some pink ruffled ribbon. I adhered the ribbons to each other and some Whisper White card stock and added some bows. I stamped a sentiment from SU!'s A Little Birthday Cheer set and added an Elegant Eggplant mat to my Melon Mambo card.

Special DEElivery:

This card is for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Color Inspiration: Monochromatic

Ready for another Moxie Fab Color Inspiration challenge? Only two more left! Today I'm working on monochromatic:


DEEtails:

I used the fun and fabulous Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die to make a bunch of butterflies in Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink and Pink Pirouette. I adhered them all over my card with glue dots then added a Pretty in Pink Satin ribbon. I little sentiment from PTI's Everyday Button Bits finishes it off.

Color Inspiration: Metallics

Here's another Moxie Fab World Color Inspiration challenge! This time we're working with metallics:

Here are the DEEtails for my card:

Blushing Bride made a perfect backdrop for this simple card. I added a piece of Whisper White card stock, layered with some vellum. I stamped the beautiful image from SU!'s Kind Thoughts set in Crumb Cake, which looks surprisingly elegant on vellum. Then I stamped the sentiment from PTI's Signature Greetings in Going Gray, My final touch of metallic is a gold ribbon from my stash, layered over some Whisper White Satin ribbon. Hope you like it!

Polka Dot Wishes

Here's my card for this week's Off The Wall Craftiness Challenge. Isn't this a fun color combination?

DEEtails:

I was instantly drawn to that fun cake and decided to create a card that mimics the circles, bow and trim. Enter my card. I used Whisper White for my background and adhered little circles in Marina Mist from the Itty Bitty Punches set. For a little element of cute, I added little flowers in Pumpkin Pie. Then I tied a Pumpkin Pie Taffeta bow and added the sentiment from SU!'s A Little Birthday Cheer set. The most tedious part of making this card was adding the pom pom trim around the edge of my card. I found this stuff in my stash and thought it would be perfect. I finally got it to stay put after attaching a couple extra layers of cardstock behind it and adhered it all to a Marina Mist card. Thanks for stopping by today!

Special DEElivery:

This card is for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Love Love Love

Don't you just love Cupcake day!? Here's my card for this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge.


And here are the DEEtails:

I stamped a flourish image from SU!'s Season of Joy set in VersaMark ink on Whisper White card stock and embossed it. Then I adhered it to a piece of Real Red card stock. I stamped the sentiment from SU!'s Tiny Tags set and added a strip of Real Red Taffeta ribbon underneath. Then I cut out and adhered a sweet heart from SU!'s I {Heart} Hearts set using some Stampin' Dimensionals and tucked a cute bow next to it. I added a Basic Black mat to make everything pop.

Special DEElivery:

This card is for sale at my Etsy Shop.

Cupcake Inspirations is currently hosting a Design Team Call (until January 31st). If you love cupcakes, cards, and challenges, I encourage you to apply! It's so much fun (and calorie free!) and the cupcakes are always such fabulous inspiration. Hope you'll join me and the other Sweeties! :)

Happy Birthday Valerie! (And Winner Day!)

Today is my wonderful friend, Valerie's birthday. Valerie is one of the most kind and thoughtful people I know. I met her in my first year of college, when she wrote a sweet card to me on a random day and taped it on my dorm room door. Little did she know that the day she chose happened to be one of the worst days I was having that year, you know, the kind of day when you wonder what you're purpose is and why you are where you and what you're supposed to be doing there? I was having that kind of day and was moping in my room when I found her card that completely lifted my spirits. I barely knew Valerie at the time (I had only seen her in passing a couple of times), but she wrote such a heartfelt card and as I sat in my dorm room crying, I knew that I had found a wonderful friend. To this day, Valerie and I continue to write cards and letters to each other. Today I'm sharing a card that I made for her for her special day.

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with a piece of Whisper White card stock and stamped it with the SU! Polka Dot background in Regal Rose. I added some Old Olive Scallop Edge trim to the top and bottom of my sentiment from PTI's Signature Greetings, stamped on Regal Rose card stock. Then I added some fun ribbon from my stash layered on Some Regal Rose Grosgrain and topped with a felt flower embellishment from my stash. I added a bit of a Regal Rose mat before adhering everything to my Old Olive card. Hope you like it!

I also wanted to announce the winner of my Blogiversary Mystery Giveaway. I'm sorry that I made you all wait so long. I've been out of town (I'll share DEEtails next weekend) and haven't had much time to think through my giveaway... I honestly couldn't decide what to give away, so I've decided to give a $20 gift certificate to my Etsy store so the winner could decide. You can use the gift certificate towards cards, DEEscounted stamps, DEEstash items and shipping (I'll be adding a bunch of stuff this weekend).

All of your comments were so sweet, but there can only be one winner, so...

The winner is... Aparna... who said...

I have been a long time subscriber through my reader, but I just became a follower too! I think my favorite card is definitely the April Showers one from last April. I love the yellow and black together, the darling ribbon, and especially the asymmetrical scallops--def. my favorite part! TFS :)

Isn't she sweet?! Aparna will also receive the April Showers card as part of her prize package!

Aparna, please email me at deesignsbyninadee{at}gmail{dot}com within 48 hours to claim your prize!

Ooh! That was fun! Perhaps I'll do this again soon... :) Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Inspiration: Jewel Tones

Here's another Moxie Fab World Color Inspiration challenge! Here is the Jewel Tones color combination:

Here are the DEEtails

I started with a Sahara Sand card and added a band of Taken With Teal, embellished with some Summer Sun Scallop Trim border and some Elegant Eggplant Grosgrain ribbon. Then I added a piece of Elegant Eggplant card stock stamped with the SU! A to Z image and tucked a piece of Crushed Curry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon underneath. I layered on a Summer Sun Decorative Label punch, stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s Upsy Daisy set and some felt flowers and teal brads from my stash. Hope you like it!

Special DEElivery:

This card is for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Sending Sweet Thoughts

Wow! I am so excited about my Lady in Red card being selected as one of the Pals Paper Arts Artist Picks! I'm back today with a card for this week's sketch challenge.


DEEtails:

I started with a Pretty in Pink card and layered on my elements - some Going Gray card stock, stamped and embossed with some polka dots from SU!'s For All You Do set, some fun ribbon from the Flirty Ribbon Originals, the cute image from SU!'s Wandering Words inked with Stampin' Write Markers, and a heart from SU!'s I {Heart} Hearts set adorned with some Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon and a Basic Gray Designer Button.

Special DEElivery:

This card is for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Cute Pink Thank You

You know I can't resist a great inspiration challenge. I found another great one, at Jay Gee's Nook. So cute!

DEEtails:

I wanted to keep this cute and simple, so I used the sweet polka dot print from the Georgia Peach DSP and layered on a piece of Regal Rose card stock, some frilly white ribbon from my stash and a big yellow flower adorned with some striped ribbon, a button, and a mini tag, stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s Happy Moments set.

Special DEElivery:

This card was given to my Aunt and Uncle for letting me stay in their lovely home this weekend.

Thanks for peeking in today!

Color Inspiration: Pretty Pastels

Ready for another Moxie Fab World Color Inspiration challenge? This one is for the Pretty Pastels color combination.

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with a piece of Blushing Bride card stock, embossed with PTI's woodgrain embossing plate, and matted with a piece of Ruby Red card stock. I then added a Scallop Trim border and Pretty in Pink Satin ribbon, embellished with some Pearl Jewels. Finally, I added a stamped a cute birdcage image.

Special DEElivery:

This card is for sale in my Etsy shop.

Color Inspiration: Bright and Bold

Fun! Fun! Fun! Cath over at Moxie Fab World is hosting Color Inspiration challenges this week, based on her favorite color combinations from the Paper Crafts Color Inspiration for Card Makers Magazine - Yes, the very magazine that I'm using to challenge myself this year! So of course I had to play along! And you should too!

Today's card is for the Bright and Bold Challenge. Here is the fabulous color combination:


And of course, the DEEtails:

I love the SU! Polka Dot background stamp and inked it with Regal Rose on Whisper White card stock. I added a Basic Black mat, Scallop Edge and some Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain ribbon. Then I added a Decorative Label punch and a SU! Punch Potpourri butterfly, inked with VersaMark and embossed. Then I stamped the sentiment from SU!'s A Word for You, cut out and layered over the butterfly.

Tic Tac Hearts

Time for another Cupcake Inspirations Challenge! This one is so fun!

Here are the DEEtails:

I love the tic tac toe stamp from SU!'s A Happy Heart. I inked it with my Stampin' Write Markers - Regal Rose, Melon Mambo, Basic Black and Basic Gray. I added a Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink mat and adhered it to this fabulouse heart doily that I found at Target in the Dollar Spot section. I added a strip of Pretty in Pink Ribbon, stamped with a sentiment from the same set and layered everything onto some Lap of Luxery DSP, framed with Naturals White and Basic Black mats. Hope you like it!

Thank You For Your Friendship

Today I'm sharing a card made for my personal challenge - working my way through the Paper Crafts Color Inspiration magazine. Here's the first color combination.

Here are the DEEtails:

Being a color challenge, I really wanted to let the bold colors take center stage. I started with a piece of Bermuda Bay card stock and a piece of Raspberry Tart DSP. I added a strip of crinkled Old Olive Eyelet Border underneath and a little banner, stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s Upsy Daisy set. I added a little flower with a rhinestone brad from my stash and a swirl of Rhinestone Jewels. I adhered everything to a Chocolate Chip card, allowing a bit of color to peek through. Hope you like it!

Special DEElivery:

This card is for sale in my Etsy shop.

I'm out of town this week, so most of my posts from the past week and upcoming week were written ahead of time. My husband said I was like a machine, cranking out these cards last week so I could post every day. Hehe! I'm feeling a bit like a celebrity this week, with all the fabulous comments you have been leaving me! :)

Today I thought I'd answer one of the questions I received. This one is from Queen Mary - love that name :)

Nina Dee, you said you wanted to get more personal this year so I have a
question to get you started! How does your inspiration work? Do you see the
colors and envision a card? Do you envision a stamp? I love your card but I'm
really too literal in my card making to be very good at inspiration challenges,
so I'd LOVE to know how your brilliance begins!

Thanks Queen Mary! :) First off, I only do inspiration challenges that inspire me. I have to like the picture in order to create a card based on it. It's important to find a challenge blog that has the types of pictures/photos that inspire you and fit your card-making style. If you're looking for a great challenge blog, click the DEEsign Challenges butterfly under my banner to see a number of challenge blogs that I like to participate in. Another great place to find inspiration is magazines and catalogs.

When I start an inspiration challenge, I look at the photo and focus on elements of the photo that really stand out to me. As I think about my card, I choose elements that look like things that I can duplicate (this is sometimes limited, based on my supplies) - it might be a flower, the lines in the photo, or even the placement of objects in the photo.

Here is a bit of my thought process in creating cards for a few of my favorite Cupcake Inspirations Challenges:

I loved the tiny flowers in this inspiration photo and knew I could "copy" the line of flowers. The pearls and lace border were other elements in the card that stood out to me. (Click here to see the card I made).



Here's another one... I loved the bold, bright colors and I the cute doily. I also liked the contrast of the cupcake wrapper peeling away from the chocolate cupcake, so I made sure to include a Chocolate Chip and Whisper White contrast on my card. (Click here to see the card I made).


Here's a photo where the balance of everything was just perfect, so I completely copied it all - the over sized flower, the pearly center, a big bow, amber jewels, even the background. (Click here to see the card I made).


Hope that gives you a little insight to my creative process. :) Thanks again, Queen Mary!

Enjoy

Today's card is for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.


DEEtails:

I started off with a Ruby Red card and layered on my elements - some Pear Pizzazz Paper Patterns DSP, So Saffron Polytwill with a Ruby Red Scallop Edge, a rose, stamped from SU!'s Fifth Avenue Floral set, the fun sentiment, and a cute green flower from my stash. Hope you like it!

Special DEElivery:

This card is for sale in my Etsy shop.

Lady in Red

Today's Pals Paper Arts Challenge is Lady in Red. Here's my Lady in Red! :)


Here are the DEEtails:

I used the Scallop Circle 2 die to create the dress shape. Then I added rows of ruffly Real Red ribbon along with a piece of HodgePodge Hardware. I adhered my dress to a piece of Basic Black card stock, stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s Great Friend set, and layered over some Sending Love Specialty DSP.

Special DEElivery:

This card was sold in my Etsy shop.

Haunted Thank You

Today's card is for this week's Off the Wall Craftiness challenge. This card makes me giggle because it reminds me slightly of what the cast members wear at Disney's Haunted House. Hehe! Here's the inspiration:

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with a piece of Bravo Burgundy card stock and gave it a thin Basic Gray mat. I added a piece of Urban Oasis DSP and a strip of Basic Gray Taffeta ribbon. I tied a bow with the ribbon and added an antique brad from my stash. Then I used some Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere my stamped image and sentiment from SU!'s Just Believe set. Happy Hauntings! :) Hehe! Just Kidding!

Thanks Patti!

One of my Stampin' Pretty Pals, Patti MacLeith, awarded me this Sylish Blogger Award. Boy, am I flattered! :)

I'm supposed to share 8 things about myself in order to show this award, so here we go:

1. My husband and I have been married just over 2 years. We celebrated our anniversary just last month, which is a date that we share with my parents and grandparents.

2. We live in Maryland, just south of Washington DC. I don't really like it here... In fact, I wish we could move, but we stay here because...

3. I love my job. I'm an elementary school counselor and adore everything about my job. I don't think I could find a school that I'd like more, which is why I refuse to move anywhere else.

4. I don't watch TV, except for one show - Glee. LOVE IT! We don't even have cable or DVR or any of that fancy stuff.

5. Instead we watch movies! But I also don't like the movie theater, so we buy DVDs like crazy. We have quite the collection.

6. I like rainbows and organizing things in rainbow order. Everything in my house is organized this way - craft supplies, books, movies, cds, everything! It's not always the easiest to find things, but it's pretty!

7. I play in a community band and am one of two tuba players. It's so much fun!

8. I drink water, almost exclusively. I have those Starbucks insulated cold cups, which are always filled with water. I never leave home without my water!

And now, here are some blog friends, who I'm passing this award to:

Joanna

Kris

Margaret

Pam

Regina

Please be sure to take a peek at their blogs and say hello!

Valentine's Day Hop!

Welcome to the January PALS HOP! This month, the Stampin' Pretty Pals are featuring Valentine’s themed projects for your inspiration! If you've hopped over from Dawn Gross at This & That, welcome! I'm stop number 13 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 the Stampin' Pretty Pals! Should you hop off course, simply click on any of the links in the PALS HOP LINE-UP at the bottom of this post and you'll be back on track!

Today I'm showcasing 3 different looks for Valentine's Day using two of my favorite Stampin' Up! stamp sets: I {Heart} Hearts and Tiny Tags.

DEEsign 1: Simple and Natural

DEEtails:

I started with a Crumb Cake base and stamped the Woodgrain background in Early Espresso. Then I stamped one of the hearts from the I {Heart} Hearts set with VersaMark on Cherry Cobbler card stock. I added a Very Vanilla Designer Button with some Baker's Twine threaded through it and a little sentiment from the Tiny Tags set. I added a ruffled piece of Early Espresso satin ribbon for little extra something.

DEEsign 2: Fun and Playful


DEEtails:

I randomly stamped some hearts with VersaMark ink on a piece of Blushing Bride card stock. Then added a So Saffron Scallop Edge border along one side and tied a Blushing Bride Poly Twill bow. I stamped some additional hearts on So Saffron card stock and adhered them to my card stock. I also stamped the sentiment onto a piece of Whisper White card stock and punched it out with the Jewelry Tag punch. After punching a hole, I tied a piece of yellow floss onto it. A couple of Itty Bitty Punches flowers with Pearl Jewel centers add a fun extra touch.

DEEsign 3: Sparkly and Sweet


DEEtails:

On this card, I stamped the heart with the friend sentiment onto Early Espresso card stock and cut them out. I adhered them onto my card backwards, so the card only shows plain card stock hearts, then added my embellishments - a Jewelry Tag punched sentiment, a little heart, some Rich Razzleberry Designer Buttons threaded with Pretty in Pink card stock, some Itty Bitty Punch flowers, some Rhinestone Jewels, and finally, the friend sentiment cut out from the center of the heart. I adhered my embellished hearts onto a piece of Pretty in Pink card stock, punched with and Eyelet border and added a Rich Razzleberry taffeta ribbon.

Want some of my favorite stamp sets? Through the month of January, you can get I {Heart} Hearts or Tiny Tags for 20% off, when you place an order through me. Just e-mail your order to deesignsbyninadee@gmail.com anytime during the month of January to take advantage of this special offer.

Now, hop on over to check out Ann Schach at the Stampin' Schach , stop number 14 on the Valentine's Pals Hop! Be sure to visit each of the Pretty Pals for more fun and inspirational ideas! Thanks for "hopping" by!

1. Mike Funke at Stampin Style
2. Mary Fish at Stampin' Pretty
3. Kylie Nicolosi at Kylie's Crafty Corner
4. Martha Stewart at Seasons of Stamping
5. Joanna Munster at Inspired by Stampin'
6. Melissa Ordelheide at Natural Stampin'
7. Nicole Watt at Impressions by Nicole
8. Stephanie Uzee at Stampin' with Suzee
9. Joan Norris at Clearly Creative
10. Carla Bazhenow at Carla's Scraps
11. Melanie Collins at Oops a Daisy Designs
12. Dawn Gross at This & That
13. You're here! :)
14. Ann Schach at The Stampin' Schach
15. Sue Bendinsky at My Color Creations
16. Gina Shaw at Cards by Gina
17. Barbara Chatzkel at Take Out Paper Arts
18. Angela Richwine at Stampin' Away