Pals Paper Arts Preview

Hello friends! Here's a little sneaky peeky at this week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge. I hope you're ready to play along! Stop by bright and early tomorrow morning to find out the challenge details at Pals Paper Arts! In the mean time, check out last week's Favorite Picks.

I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge 12

Hi friends! It's time for another fun I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge! Today I have a color challenge for you that I hope you'll enjoy.



I'm not a huge fan of red, so I don't have a ton of cards with red ribbon. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Remember, this challenge will run for 20 days, which allows you to play two challenges at once! To play along with the previous challenge, click here. I can't wait to see your fabulous creations!

Winner Wednesday!

Oh my! I'm so behind! This Winner Wednesday was supposed to post LAST WEEK! Yikes! So, without further ado... the winner of the I {Heart} Ribbon Grosgrain Ribbon Challenge is...

Erika from InkyPinkies!

Colorful Christmas

Today I'm sharing my card for this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge. Check out this adorable little gingerbread house for inspiration!

DEEtails:

I loved the button roof in the inspiration card and knew I had to incorporate some buttons in my card. I used them as a focal point and added a small piece of Brushed Silver card stock and some Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine. I matted it with some Baja Breeze card stock and adhered it to a card with some fun patterned paper from my stash, some Scalloped border, die cut with the Tasteful Trim die and some red grosgrain ribbon from my stash.

Hope you'll play along this week with this fun and colorful inspiration!

Hello Friend!

I took a little break yesterday to SHOP! Did anyone else hit up some Black Friday sales? :)

My card today is another Rosette card. I loved the effect on my card last week and thought I'd try it out again. :)

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with some Pool Party and Very Vanilla DSP, which I made two different sized rosettes out of. I attached a cute doily sticker from my stash to the center of each rosette. Then I stamped my sentiment from PTI's Think Big Favorites on Very Vanilla card stock, matted with some more Pool Party DSP. Hope you like it!

Pals Paper Arts Pearls

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you're ready for a feast! :) Every year on Thanksgiving, my brothers and I put up our Christmas tree, so I thought it fitting to share an ornament card with you! Today's challenge over at the Pals Paper Arts is all about Pearls! They are a perfect way to add a little sophistication to any card.

Here are the DEEtails:

I created my pearly ornament by punching out a circle on a scrap piece of card stock. I used some removeable adhesive to attach it to my card as a guide for my pearl placement. Then I pulled out my Pearl Jewels. I used several partial sets, so I can't give you a real estimate of how many pearls I used, but it was quite a bit! I started with the outline, then filled it in. Once my ornament was done, I added some Whisper White Taffeta ribbon.

I'm always trying to find creative uses for pearls, so I can't wait to see what you do! And don't forget that you can play with any of your favorite crafting materials over at Pals Paper Arts. What are you waiting for? Go make something crafty while the turkey is in the oven... Hurry and link up! :)

Pals Paper Arts Preview

Here's a teeny sneaky peeky at tomorrow's card for the Pals Paper Arts challenge. Don't forget to pop over to check out the Favorite Picks from last week! See you tomorrow! :)

Fun Flower Headband

Good morning dear friends! In just a few hours, hubby and I will be packing up the car and heading home to visit our families for the holidays. It's been quite a stretch of time since we last saw everyone, so we're a bit excited to go back.


Today I thought I'd share something fun that I worked on over the weekend. Let me tell you that the plan was not to make a headband, but the project evolved into this sweet little creation. And boy was it fun to make!

The evolution started with some closet cleaning a few weekends ago. *giggle* I had some gray corduroy's in my closet that no longer fit. The fabric was fabulous and I knew it would make a great flower embellishment. I had planned to make a cute embellie for a card that would double as a pin. I pulled out the Fun Flowers die to cut some layers for my flower. As I was digging through my fabric scraps, I found a cute brown and white striped tank that looked great with the gray. I die cut a few more layers and added a brown button to the center. While playing around with my flower, it donned on me that the tank fabric would make a cute headband with the flower clipped on. LOVED IT! So, I created this no sew headband with a removable flower clip. What do you think? Can't wait to wear it!

Forest Friend

Today I'm sharing a card that I made for this week's WeeMemories Challenge. I can't resist a card with a fun forest friend! :)


Here are the DEEtails:

I started by stamping the sweet images from SU!'s Love Bandit. I cut the tree pieces out and the little owl and adhered them together. I added some Stampin' Dimensionals to make my owl pop up a bit. Then I layered some Lucky Limeade DSP, Chocolate Chip card stock, Cherry Cobbler Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch and tied on some Early Espresso Grosgrain ribbon.

Turkey Time

Are you ready for Turkey Day? Someone sure is, making this Turkey cupcake creation! Hee hee! :) That's our inspiration for this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge. Hope you're ready to play along!



DEEtails:

This ribbon turkey sure was fun to make! I punched out an Early Espresso Circle and started looping and layering my ribbons. To keep them in place, I used Sticky Strip (and lots of it!). The ribbons used here are More Mustard Grosgrain, Crushed Curry Polka Dot Grosgrain, Riding Hood Red Taffeta, Early Espresso Satin, and Chocolate Chip Grosgrain. I sure do love a card that used lots of ribbon! To make the rest of Mr. Tom, I punched smaller circle for his head, hole punched some Basic Black eyes, cut a little triangle for his beak and added an upside down heart (from the owl punch) for his gobbler. I added some little feet, using the bottom of the owl punch. I layered everything onto a Scallop Circle die cut. I feel like I could have used a little more ribbon, but I'm still pretty pleased! Nice to meet you Mr. Tom!

Paper Rosette

Hey there! You know how much I love finding a fun challenge. The Friday Mashup is one that I've been spying for a while, but have never gotten around to doing... I'm finally playing along with the Everything's Coming Up Rosettes Challenge! Oh how fun!


It's an exciting day because I also pulled out my Simply Scored for the first time to create this rosette (I'm not sure I love the name, but I do love the style!) I've made them before (I called them acordian flowers - Hee!) but it sure was labor intensive! The Simply Scored is a fantabulous tool! :)

Here are the DEEts:

I started with a Baja Breeze card and added a piece of card stock of the same color for a little textured piece. Not sure if you can see it well in the photo, but I scored a grid on a piece of Baja Breeze and added it under my ribbon strip. Then I took some book print, stamped with the sentiment from PTI's Think Big Favorites, and matted it with some Not Quite Navy card stock. I added a strip of Not Quite Navy Striped Grosgrain ribbon and my paper rosette, made with some Pocket Full of Posies DSP and embellished with a simple Not Quite Navy button tied up with Linen Thread.

Congratulations Erin!

Sorry for the terrible picture. It has been dreary here the past few days and I haven't been able to get a good photo. Today is the baby shower of a co-worker of mine, Erin. I was excited to create a cute card for her and baby Emily after I picked up this sweet monkey musical toy from her baby registry.


I used the layout for this week's Mojo Monday challenge for this card.


Here are the DEEtails:

I started with some Crumb Cake card stock and layered on some Chocolate Chip crad stock, edged with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border and some Crumb Cake card stock embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing plate. Then I stamped the sentiment from SU!'s Swirls and Curls Verses in Chocolate Chip ink on Very Vanilla card stock, matted with som Blushing Bride. Then I added some branches punched with the bird punch and stamped the cute monkey from SU!'s Fox and Friends. I hung her upside down and embellished her and the branches with some Itty Bitty punch flowers. I added a Rhinestone Jewel for a little sparkle. Hope you like it!

Pals Paper Arts Sketch Challenge

Well, hello there! I see you've popped in to check out my card for this week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge. Here it is!


I'm so pleased about my creation for this week's challenge. Our talented Pal, Margaret Moody, is our in house sketch artist. I love her sketches, even though I normally struggle with sketch challenges. But this one turned out quite favorably, if I do say so myself! :)


Here are the DEEtails:

I started with a Soft Suede card and adhered a piece of Pool Party DSP to it. Then I stamped the image from SU!'s Just Believe on some Whisper White card stock and trimmed it to size. I stamped the flower images from the same stamp in Pool Party and cut each flower out. I adhered them over the original image with Stampin' Dimensionals. Then I added some Soft Suede Striped Grosgrain Ribbon and the sentiment from SU!'s Spring Solitude stamped in Lucky Limeade. I added some butterflies made with the Beautiful Wings Embosslit to finish off my card.

Be sure to play along with us at Pals Paper Arts this week! You can use your favorite products to play! I can't wait to see your creations! :)

I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge 11

It's time for another I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge! If you're not quite ready yet, don't worry! I've extended the previous challenge for a few more days. Check it out here.

Here are a few of my favorite polka dot ribbon cards:

There's a minor change with the I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge, that I hope you'll like. I'm extending the challenge for a few more days, so a new challenge will post every other Wednesday, but run for 20 days. That means more time for you to play along! This current challenge will run until December 5th! I can't wait to see your creations! :)

Pals Paper Arts Preview

Happy Hump Day! :) I'm uber excited about my card for tomorrow's Pals Paper Arts Challenge! Start getting out your crafty goodies so you're ready to play along tomorrow! And don't forget to check out the Favorite Picks from last week's challenge!

So Very Grateful

Hi there! The card I'm sharing with you today actually started out as my card for the Embellish Magazine Leaves Color Trends Challenge. I started by stamping the leaves from SU!'s Apple Blossoms. Then I matted my card with some Old Olive card stock. I didn't care for the way I had planned out how to add the Rich Razzleberry and Not Quite Navy, so I switched gears. I created my sentiment from a mix of various stamp sets - Just Believe, Messages for Mom, and Falling Leaves. I pinked the edges and adhered it to my card with some Stampin' Dimensionals. Then I added some flowers, punched from the Itty Bitty Punches in More Mustard and arranged them on my card with some glue dots. Then I wrapped some Linen Thread around my card to add a little texture. Hope you like it!

Thank You Mums

A friend of mine recently cleaned out her stamp collection and gave me a few of her retired sets. Today's card uses one of those sets, Garden Greetings to create this card for the Embellish Magazine Leaves Color Trends Challenge. Aren't these colors pretty together?


DEEtails:

I've had this leaf ribbon stashed away for a while now, so I was thrilled to pull it out for this challenge. I started by stamping some flowers from SU!'s Garden Greetings set in Rich Razzleberry and Not Quite Navy. I cut them out and arranged them on my card, adding the sentiment from the same set. I added a Rich Razzleberry mat and a strip of Not Quite Navy Taffeta ribbon. Then I layered three segments of my leaf ribbon to finish off my card.

Make A Wish

Good morning friends! Hope you have been enjoying your weekend! Today I'm sharing my card for this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge.


Here are the DEEtails:

This adorable image is from this week's sponsor, TiddlyInks. Isn't she sweet? I printed the digital image out on Naturals White card stock and got to work with my Stampin' Write Markers. I used So Saffron for her hair, Blush Blossom for her skin, Lucky Limeade for the leaves, and a mixture of Summer Sun and Pumpkin Pie for the flowers. I matted my image with some Peach Parfait and added a strip of card stock, stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s A Little Birthday Cheer.

Thanks So Much

I spent yesterday afternoon with a friend of mine, Samantha. It was her birthday yesterday, but this selfless lady spent the afternoon focusing on me and 9 other educators from our county to recognize us for our efforts in supporting the community. In fact, she didn't even make it known to us that it was her birthday until the very end, when she shared how pleased she was to spend her special day with us.

Samantha is the founder of a non-profit organization called Reaching Out Now, which focuses on supporting low-income families in our school communities. Sam started the program at my school (where her children attend) and the success of the organization has spread like wildfire throughout the county. I adore this photo (that I snagged off the Reaching Out Now website). It clearly shows how this fabulous lady stands out among the rest.

Today's card is for Samantha and this week's ColourQ challenge. I love this unique and wonderful mix of colors, which is perfect for this truly unique and wonderful woman.


DEEtails:

I started with some Soft Suede card stock and stamped SU!'s Woodgrain image. Then I added some layers of die cuts - Lattice in Dusty Durango and PTI's Half and Half in Pool Party, trimmed down a bit. I stamped the sentiment from SU!'s Everyday Wishes in Peach Parfait on Whisper White card stock. I rounded the corners a bit by hand, to soften it up a bit. Then I added it to my card with some Stampin' Dimensionals. For the final touch, I added some peachy blooms from my stash and threaded a Whisper White Designer Button with some Linen Thread. Love it! Here's a closer look.

Happy Birthday Rebecca!

Today is my sweet friend, Rebecca's birthday! Happy birthday dear! :)


I wanted to try out a fun chevron pattern for my dear friend, so I pulled out some DSP in Basic Gray, Melon Mambo and Lucky Limeade. I pieced together some patterned paper rhombus shapes. It's not perfect, but I'm pretty pleased with my first attempt. Then I rolled a flower using some Melon Mambo Striped Grosgrain ribbon (here's a tutorial on how to make these). I tucked some Lucky Limeade Ruffled ribbon as leaves. Then I layered some shapes die cut with the Lots of Tags die in Basic Gray and Melon Mambo, then added the sentiment from SU!'s Friendly Phrases using some Stampin' Dimensionals.

Thanks for peeking in today! Don't forget to play along with my I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge! You have a few more days to link up your card with Grosgrain Ribbon!

Happy Birthday Baby Bro!

This is my second post of the day. Be sure to scroll down to see my Pals Paper Arts post!

Today is my baby brother's birthday. Of course he's no longer a baby as he turns 14 today! My how time flies! :) I'm so excited to call him tonight - he's getting a phone for his birthday present. He is a big iTouch fan, so I decided to make him a themed card. I tucked an App gift card in there. I was actually hoping to find him some fun accessories, but didn't quite find what I had in mind. I'll keep looking and hope to send him an extra something later...

Here are the card DEEtails:

I started with some Basic Black card stock and trimmed it down to make my iTouch base. I used my corner rounder and matted it with some Silver card stock. Then I made each App button using various colors, cut to 1/2" squares and rounding the corners with my scissors. I used my Itty Bitty punches and the 1/8" circle punch a lot. I also drew a number of the pictures free hand and a few number and letter stickers. The inside has letter stickers that spells "iWish U a Happy Birthday!" :) It was rather fun to create this card!

Pals Paper Arts Holiday Inspiration

Today I'm playing along with the Pals Paper Arts Design Team with a Holiday Inspiration challenge. The inspiration photo is below.

DEEtails:

I started out with a River Rock card and added a strip of Old Olive DSP, embellished with the Scallop Trim Border in Early Espresso. I stamped the polka dotted image from SU!'s Four Frames in Riding Hood Red and punched it out with the Designer Label. Then I added som Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon and some Old Olive leaves (from the bird punch) and Red Riding Hood berries (1/8" circles) for a quick and simple Christmas card.

Pals Paper Arts Preview

Now that I'm part of the fabulous Pals Paper Arts Design Team, I'll be sharing a sneak peek of my challenge creation every Wednesday. I hope it'll get you excited and ready to play along with us. Be sure to check in to see the Favorite Picks from last week's challenge!

And don't forget to play along with the current I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge, featuring Grosgrain Ribbon. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

November Pals Hop

Welcome to the November Pals Hop! This month, we're featuring Winter, Christmas, and Hanukkah inspired cards and projects! Enjoy the hop and the amazing creations that the Pals have come up with.

I'm the first stop 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 great ideas for Winter, Christmas, and Hanukkah paper projects from the Stampin' Pretty Pals! Should you hop off course, simply click on any of the links in the Pals Hop Line-up below and you'll be back on track!

Today I'm sharing several cards that I made using Stampin' Up!'s fabulous Pennant Parade set. This versatile set is featured in SU!'s Idea Book and Catalog in the Occasions section, alongside some fun birthday sets, but today I'm showing you how you can use it for several Christmas cards.

DEEsign 1: Simple Christmas

This card uses the tree image stamped several times in Wild Wasabi and cut out. I folded three triangles in half and adhered them together to create a 3-dimensional tree, attached to the tree base and topped with a little star. I matted my stamped image with some Wild Wasabi card stock and adhered it to a Riding Hood Red card. For the sentiment, I used the retired SU! set, Christmas Greetings.

DEEsign 2: Classy Christmas
My second card uses some other pennants from the set, stamped in Lucky Limeade and adhered to the potted bases. I stamped the sentiment onto some Cherry Cobbler card stock and punched it with the 1/2" circle. I added some Rhinestone Jewels and matted everything on some Chocolate Chip card stock. I stamped the sentiment from SU!'s Heard from the Heart and tied on some Dotted Scallop ribbon.

DEEsign 3: Whimsical Christmas

Back to using the tree image, I cut out three more triangles, this time stamped in Garden Green ink. I stamped the same potted trunk image, but this time adhered my trees a little lower. Then I added some Rhinestone Jewels, colored in with a red permanent marker. I stamped the sentiment from SU!'s Season of Joy on Real Red card stock and added some Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine.

Hope you've enjoyed my cards today! Hop along for more inspiring ideas from Julie Trevett-Smith at The Stampin' Affair, stop number 2 on the November Pals Hop! Thanks for "hopping" by!

1. Nina Dee at Deesigns by Nina Dee
2. Julie Trevett-Smith at The Stampin' Affair!
3. Maxine Conrad at Stamp to the MAX!
4. Jessica Ying at YoYoStamping Studio
5. Mike Funke at Stampin-Style
6. Jennifer Takacs at My Stampin Blog
7. Nancy Gleason at My Stampin' Space
8. Nicole Watt at Impressions By Nicole
9. Mikki Sarkisyan at Mikki's Creative Corner
10. Kylie Nicolosi at Kylie's Crafty Corner
11. Mary Fish at Stampin' Pretty
12. Barb Furlong at The Love of Stamping
13. Ann Schach at The Stampin' Schach
14. Linda Fisher at Linda's Stamin Loft
15. Sandie Conner at Pretty Provisions
16. Cindy Hall at Pretty Impact
17. Rae Harper at Wild West Paper Arts
18. Angie Blake at Angie's Musings
19. Kris Kilcoyne at Kween Bee Kreations
20. Camila McManus at OBX Scrapbook
21. Leah O'Brien at Leah's Stampin' Corner