Deesigns by Nina Dee

I {Heart} Metallic Ribbon Prize Package!

2012-01-25T07:00:00.005-05:00

Have you played along with the current I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge? We still have about a week left to play along with the metallic ribbon challenge.

I don't have a card for you today, but I thought I'd share the fun prize package that I've put together for the lucky winner.

1 yard each of 5 metallic ribbons and trims
3 metal rimmed vellum tags
2 birthday ribbon slides
2 rhinestone ribbon slides
3 phrase clips (smile, bliss, and love)
2 circle clips

To play along, create a card that includes metallic ribbon and link up your card here. I can't wait to see what you create!

Let It Snow!

2012-01-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! I'm back today with a card for this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge. It's quite appropriate for the weekend since it's been quite cold. We've even seen a few flakes! :)

DEEtails:

I started with a Baja Breeze card and added a strip of Brushed Silver card stock, punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon punch. Then I added some pretty pink ribbon from my stash. I centered a die cut tag with a pretty snowflake from my stash. To finish things off, I spritzed my card with some Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz for a little extra glimmer and shine (although it's really hard to see in the photo). Hope you'll play along with this week's challenge!

Simple Things

2012-01-21T19:00:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends! I'm finally getting back into the swing of things... I know it has been a while since we've last "chatted." I've been able to squeeze in a bit of card making here and there, but I haven't had much time to tell you how things are going around these parts. :)

I've been longing to pop on here and reflect a bit my blog goals. But to be completely honest, I haven't had much time to think about it! So here I am with a reflection (and update) on my blog goals.

Last year, I wanted to Blog More. Success! In 2010, I averaged 16 posts a month. In 2011, I averaged 23 posts! And some months, I was even able to post daily - Wow! It's very clear that I work on a school schedule and that my busy months are at the beginning and end of the school year, with May/June and September/October being the months where I seemed to disappear a bit. :) Apparently this year hasn't started off too well with blogging... It's been crazy here, but I think things are starting to settle... I hope!

Last year I tried to Get Personal. And boy was this hard! I used to be scared to share details of my life, but I've been showered with nothing but kindess from all of you. THANK YOU! :) It's still hard for me to tell you about my life - mostly because my guess is that you probably don't care. Haha. So clearly, this is something I need to continue working on...

Another goal was to Challenge Myself. I told you that color and sketch challenges were not my forte. This is still very true. I'm "forced" to continue working on this with the new changes at Pals Paper Arts. Honestly, when I got accepted onto the design team, I was a little bit nervous about the fact that I'd HAVE to participate in these other types of challenges. But really, I'm thrilled to be a part of the team and to be pushed this way.

I was also wanting to Inspire Myself. But I've decided this one is not that important. The way I see it, the challenges that I play are what inspire me and if that's the way I inspire myself, then that works for me. Plus I'm hoping that the I {Heart} Ribbon challenge will continue to be another way I can inspire myself and others. :)

My last goal was to Find a Home for all my cards. Still working on that... :) But I have been better about mailing out my cards and I hope that continues.

So there's a recap of my goals. I've decided it makes sense to keep them as they are since I'm still working on many of them. And now, time for today's card...

Jay Gee's Nook always has the best challenges! I couldn't wait to play along with this one! There is so much that you can pull from the inspiration below:

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with the Lattice die cut from Stampin' Up!, which I adhered onto Whisper White card stock and matted with Crumb Cake card stock. I placed some strips of So Saffron DSP before attaching my die cut. Then I added a bunch of fun embellishments - a book print heart (from the Hearts dies), a die cut tag (from Lots of Tags) stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s Touch of Kindness, some punched leaves (from the SU! Bird punch), some Victoria Lace, a stamped bird cage from SU!'s Aviary (embellished with a piece of brown ribbon and a Rhinestone Jewel), and a layered butterfly (from the MS butterfly punch). I'm loving all those little goodies piled on top of each other. What do you think?

Pals Paper Arts Sketch Challenge

2012-01-19T05:45:00.005-05:00

Hello there! It's time for another wonderful Pals Paper Arts Challenge! This time, we have a fun sketch challenge, created by our own Margaret Moody. She's quite the talented one when it comes to creative sketches.

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with some Designer Series Paper in Soft Suede and Baja Breeze. I tucked some Soft Suede Striped Grosgrain ribbon over the top of the Soft Suede piece to create a nice little hanging banner for my focal point. Then I embossed the oval Designer Frame onto some Very Vanilla card stock and tore it out. I stamped the image from SU!'s Have a Seat in Soft Suede ink. I added a little Itty Bitty Punch flower, embellished with a Pearl Jewel on the chair. Then I finished things off with a simple banner, stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s Curly Cute in Baja Breeze.

Hope you'll play along with us at Pals Paper Arts! Remember, you can use any of your favorite products and have plenty of time to link up! I can't wait to see what you create! :)

I {Heart} Metallic Ribbon

2012-01-18T23:00:00.003-05:00

Today I'm sharing a simple card that I whipped up for the Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger Challenge. Aren't these tissue paper pom poms just gorgeous?!

I love this color combination so much and I decided to add a bit of gold ribbon and use it as my inspiration for my I {Heart} Metallic Ribbon Challenge.

DEEtails, DEEtails, DEEtails:

I started with a shimmery MS doily from my stash and tied on some pretty gold ribbon. Then I got to work with my pom pom flowers, using my punches and card stock. I punched out the flowers, then rolled them between my fingers until the paper fibers began to peel. I carefully peeled apart the layers to create these tissue-like flowers. It's a simple technique, really, and makes beautiful flowers. Then I stamped my sentiment from PTI's Think Big Favorites. I'm lovin' it... How about you? :)

Don't forget to link up to my I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge. We're celebrating this month with some metallic ribbon! Come join in on the fun!

All That Glitters Is...

2012-01-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

Silver! You betcha! I was inspired by these gorgeous cupcakes to create a card with silver on silver! I'm loving this shimmer without being too sparkly! I hope you'll play along with us at this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge!

DEEtails:

This card was so simple to make. I grabbed some Brushed Silver card stock and stamped some Delicate Doilies from SU! with VersaMark ink. Then I added my sentiment from SU!'s Curly Cute set. I heat embossed the doilies and sentiment with silver embossing powder to create the beautiful tone on tone look. Easy Peasy!

Psst! This Cupcake Inspiration might be the perfect inspiration to use some metallic ribbon and play along with my I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge too! I can't wait to see what you create! :)

Winner Wednesday!

2012-01-11T19:00:00.001-05:00

Here's the winner of the Red Ribbon Challenge! Congratulations to Mynette and her fabulous holiday card!

Are you playing along with the I {Heart} Ribbon Metallic Ribbon Challenge this month? Remember that the new challenge format gives you more time to play! Click here for DEEtails :)

January Pals Blog Hop

2012-01-10T04:00:00.001-05:00

Love is in the air as the Stampin' Pretty Pals share the love with cards and projects for today's Pals Blog Hop!

You've probably hopped over from Susan Lankford at Stampin' Crafty Corner, I'm stop number 9 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 love themed 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 a fun card that I made featuring a stamp from the Holiday Mini Catalog that I haven't been able to use yet. Although this stamp is no longer available through Stampin' Up!, you could substitute the center image with any fun stamp to make this card work for any occasion or theme.

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with a piece of Whisper White card stock and punched the top with the Spiral Punch (available on the SU! Clearance Rack) and stamped my image from SU!'s Festive and Fun and colored the letters in with my Stampin' Write Markers (Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, and Melon Mambo. I die cut a doily with Regal Rose card stock, using the Perfect Pennants die and adhered it to a Pretty in Pink card. Then I used a stapler to attach a small piece of Pretty in Pink Dotted Scallop Ribbon to my "note" and layered it on my card along with a strip of Melon Mambo card stock punched with the Scallop Edge Border punch. I embellished the card with a few Designer Buttons (Rose Red and Pretty in Pink) and a Bitty Button threaded with some Baker's Twine. Hope you like it!

Now hop along for more inspiring ideas from >Kim Czenszak at Live Love Stamp, stop number {X} on the Love Is In The Air Pals Blog Hop! Thanks for "hopping" by!

Fun and Colorful Birthday!

2012-01-08T07:00:00.001-05:00

After a nice long break, I'm excited to share this week's card for the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge! Check out this fun and colorful inspiration cuppy! :)

DEEtails:

It's been a while since I made my last layered border punch card (one of my favorite techniques, by the way), so I was eager to create one for this week's challenge. I simply punched out strips of Lucky Limeade, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Island Indigo, and Early Espresso card stock using various border punches (Scallop Edge, Scallop Trim, Dotted Scallop Ribbon, Pinking Hearts, and Eyelet Border). Then I layered them over each other. I die cut a PTI Fillable Frames die in Melon Mambo and stamped the cute sentiment from SU!'s A Word for You. Then I punched out the cute little cuppy using the Cupcake Builder punch and Create a Cupckae stamp from Stampin' Up! and tied a little bit of Baker's Twine around the cupcake liner. What do you think?

Come play along with the sweeties over at the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge. Hope to see you there!

Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge!

2012-01-05T05:45:00.001-05:00

Hello dears! Today I'm here to share my card for the newest Pals Paper Arts Challenge!

This week's challenge is a Color Challenge and I'm certainly not singing the blues about this one :)

Be sure to pop over to Pals Paper Arts to check out some more inspirational cards by the PPA DT. Plus, we have two new Design Team Members, so be sure to say hello!

Here are the DEEtails:

I stamped the beautiful clock image from SU!'s Forever Young in Not Quite Navy on Very Vanilla card stock. I matted it with Baja Breeze card stock and tucked some Not Quite Navy striped Grosgrain ribbon underneath. I adhered it to a Not Quite Navy card and embellished the stamped image. I added some Designer buttons, threaded with Linen Thread, some Itty Bitty Punched flowers adorned with a Rhinestone Jewel, and a Jewelry Tag stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s Tiny Tags.

There are some changes with the Pals Paper Arts Challenges and you'll definitely want to be in the know. We have even extended the deadline for participation to one week so there's more time to join in the fun. We can't wait to see what you have created! And remember that the Pals Paper Arts Challenges welcome all products and players. Hope you'll play along!

I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge 14

2012-01-04T18:00:00.000-05:00

I hate having to change up the ribbon challenge rules, but I'm trying to find the format that works the best, so I'm changing things up yet again...

Here's how it will go... I'll be posting a new challenge on the 1st of each month. Each challenge will go down the end of the day on the last day of the month, which will hopefully give you lots of time to play (and play again). I'll only be hosting one challenge each month, which will allow me to give out prizes (which I know you love). Monthly prizes will consist of ribbon (of course) and possibly other goodies if I'm feeling generous! Winners will be announced on the 1st Wednesday of each month (because I just like the sound of Winner Wednesday!). I'm hoping to post a card (and reminder) for the challenge on each Wednesday that follows. Did you get all that?

So now, without futher ado, here's our challenge!

Let's ring in the new year with some metallic ribbon! Gold, silver, bronze, something with sparkles... Anything will do!

You'll have until Tuesday, January 31st to link up your card or project featuring metallic ribbon!

Pals Paper Arts Best Dressed List

2011-12-29T05:45:00.000-05:00

It's time! :) Hope you're ready to check out the Pals Paper Arts Best Dressed List for 2011! The PPA Design Team each selected our favorite winner for each month of the year. Here's my pick for August:

Diane Oliver's fun card was one of the top picks for the Pals Paper Arts Soften the Edges Challenge #108 and my favorite for the month of August. I love all the little details that went into this card that make it so fabulous - the bright colors, the paper piercing, the distressed leaves, the scalloped edge on the rosette, the fun Designer Printed brad, and the unexpected mix of Designer Series Paper and Fabric! Plus, the inside of the card is really cute too! Stop by Diane's blog, Rubber' n Rafters to check out the details!

And don't forget to stop by the Pals Paper Arts to check out the rest of the Best Dressed List for 2011!

I {Heart} Ribbon Challenges Extended!

2011-12-28T16:00:00.000-05:00

Don't forget! There's still time to play along with the current I {Heart} Ribbon Challenges! Click the challenge badges below to play along!

Pals Paper Arts Preview

2011-12-28T15:00:00.001-05:00

The Pals Paper Arts Design team is taking a little break this week, but don't worry, we still have something fun in store for you! Stop by tomorrow to check out the Best Dressed List, featuring our top 12 PPA challenge picks from 2011. Don't forget to stop by today to check out the winners from last week's challenge!

Pals Paper Arts Tags

2011-12-22T05:45:00.000-05:00

It's the last Pals Paper Arts challenge of the year! I hope you'll bring our your crafting goodies and play along! Remember, you can play with any brand of products!

This week's challenge is all about tags! You can choose to make a tag or add a tag (or tags) to your card. I chose to do the latter and I'm loving this card!

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with an Old Olive card and stamped some trees from Stampin' Up!'s Season of Joy with some VersaMark ink. Then I added some Riding Hood Red DSP and layered on some Whisper White card stock, trimmed with some punched Dotted Ribbon Border in Riding Hood Red. I stamped a portion of the sentiment from SU!'s Heard from the Heart. Then I wrapped some Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine around the card and tied on some Jewelry Tags, punched from some Old Olive and Riding Hood Red DSP and stamped with letters from SU!'s Occasions Alphabet.

Be sure to hop over to Pals Paper Arts and link up your fabulous tag creations! I can't wait to see what you come up with! :)

I {Heart} Ribbon Challenges Extended!

2011-12-21T21:30:00.004-05:00

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately! The holidays are such a busy time for everyone! I've spent the past few weeks putting together a huge holiday celebration for my school. I haven't had much time to craft (or rest)! I'm sure you've been busy too. For that reason, I'm extending the past two I {Heart} Ribbon Challenges until January 2nd to give you an opportunity to create! Click the challenge badges below to play along!

Pals Paper Arts Preview

2011-12-21T19:00:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay! Today was my last day of school before break and it's been quite a busy week! Here's a sneak peek of this week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge! Be sure to pop over tomorrow to check it out! And don't forget to check out last week's Top Picks in the mean time! :)

Pals Paper Arts Sketch Challenge

2011-12-15T05:45:00.000-05:00

This week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge is a sketch challenge, created by out talented artist, Margaret Moody! I love how versatile and simple this week's sketch is and I'm sure you'll love it too! Get out your crafty goodies and play along with us! You can use any brand of paper products you like!

Here are the DEEtails:

I decided to flip the sketch upside down to create my sparkly vintage Christmas card. I started with some Very Vanilla card stock, which I stamped the sweet image from SU!'s Greeting Card Kids. I colored her in with some ink and a Blender pen. I trimmed the girl and adhered her to a piece of Very Vanilla card stock with some Stampin' Dimensionals. Then I added some Victoria Crochet Trim and a some Sticky Strip, covered with Glass Glitter. I stamped a strip of SU!'s Music Notes on Very Vanilla card stock for the background and added a Riding Hood Red Poinsettia, punched from the Boho Blossoms punch and added some Old Olive leaves from the Bird punch. I added a cute Jewelry Tag, stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s Pennant Parade and tied up with some Linen Thread.

Can't wait to see what you come up with! Join in on the fun at Pals Paper Arts today!

I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge 13

2011-12-14T07:00:00.001-05:00

Hello dears! It's time for another fabulous I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge! I thought we'd try an inspirtation challenge this week and something a little festive...

Source

Isn't it lovely?! I can't wait to see what you create! Feel free to interpret this inspiration however you see fit! And remember, ths inspired by ribbon challenge is the only I {Heart} Ribbon challenge that doesn't require you to use ribbon! :) Have fun and link up!

Pals Paper Arts Preview

2011-12-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

Hello friends! Hope you had a lot of fun playing along with the Pals Paper Arts Challenge last week! Be sure to check out the Artist Picks and Mystery Blog Candy winner! Are you ready for tomorrow's challenge? Here'a little peek :)

December Blog Hop

2011-12-13T04:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the December Pals Hop! This month, we're featuring Birthday themed cards and projects! I hope you enjoy the hop and the amazing creations that the Pals have come up with.

You've likely hopped over from Rae Harper at Wild West Paper Arts, I'm stop number 15 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 Birthday 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 a fun little project that I was excited to create for my hubby who celebrated his birthday on Friday. It's a little sparkly and maybe a little girly, but thankfully my husband puts up with my sparkles and wore it proudly. :) Perhaps it also helped that we didn't leave the house until after I asked him to take it off so as not to damage it! *Giggle!*

This birthday badge was made with some Pocketful of Posies DSP, which I scored with my Simply Scored tool to create a rosette. Then I layered some silver Waffle Paper, arranged in a circle, and added a cardstock circle, which I covered with Sticky Strip and Baja Breeze Glass Stampin' Glitter. I love the big chunks of glitter! I stamped the sentiment from SU!'s Bring On The Cake on Baja Breeze card stock and heat embossed it in silver. I cut the sentiment out and adhered it to my badge with glue dots. Then I added some pretty Baja Breeze satin ribbon and some glittery ribbon from my stash. Perfecto! I can't wait to make a girly pink one next!

Hop along for more inspiring ideas from Cindy Hall at Pretty Impact, stop number 16 on the December Pals Hop! Thanks for "hopping" by!

Make Merry!

2011-12-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

Hello friends! I hope you are having a nice weekend so far! I'm sorry I haven't been blogging much lately. My hubby has been having some health issues that we are still trying to figure out. It's hard for him to do a lot right now, I've been busy taking care of him and taking care of some of the things he usually takes care of. This hasn't given me much crafting time, but I've been trying to sneak a bit of time in here and there.

Today's card is for this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge. These cute cupcakes really get you in the Christmas mood, don't they?

DEEtails:

The card was a bit tricky to photograph with all the white, but I really wanted to do something with white on white. I love the way the image turned out. So simple, yet festive. I used the image from SU!'s The More the Merrier and stamped it in VersaMark ink. I added white embossing powder, then colored in the scarves, hats, buttons and cute carrot noses. I took my white Souffle pen and filled in the snowmen. It's hard to tell in the picture, but it makes a bit of a difference. Then I used my VersaMark pen to add some Heat and Stick powder and some white flocking to a couple of the hats and the earmuffs. I added some more "snow" on the bottom with the VersaMark pen and white embossing powder. My creative juices weren't really flowing beyond that, so I just slapped the image on a 3x3 card and added the sentiment from SU's Berry Christmas. I may pull my snowmen off and add them to a better layout later. Here's a closer look at my snowy friends.

Pals Paper Arts Puttin' On The Ritz!

2011-12-08T05:45:00.000-05:00

Have you seen the well-to do... Up and down Pals Paper Arts... :) Today we're Puttin' On the Ritz!

You'll definitely want to join us this week, because we're going all out with a MYSTERY Blog Candy Blow Out!

One lucky participant will be showered with Stampin' Up! products from each of the design team members! It's an event you won't want to miss! So hurry up and put on your best!

Here are the DEEtails for my card:

I started with a couple of pieces of Whisper White card stock. I folded the corners over and layered them to make the shirt. I tied up some Basic Black satin ribbon for a bow tie and added some Rhinestone Jewels colored in with a black sharpie for some buttons. Then I took a couple of pieces of Bassic Black card stock for my jacket. I folded the corners over and punched a little detail with my 1" square punch. Then I added some clear embossing powder to add a little texture and shine. I overlapped them on the front of my card for a perfect tuxedo. I didn't have anyone special in mind to send this to, but I can easily add a sentiment for a special occasion - Congrats, Happy New Year, Let's Celebrate, etc!

Do whatdya say? Won't you join us?! Bring out your paper crafting goodies (yes, that sparkly stuff too!) and Put On The Ritz! :)

Winner Wednesday

2011-12-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

It's Winner Wednesday, and you know what that means...!

I know, I usually post the card of the I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge winner, but who can resist polka dots, ribbon, and flowers all rolled into one!? :) Oh my gorgeousness! I was a bit giddy when I saw Mynnette's fabulous creation.

Congratulations Mynnette! :)

Pals Paper Arts Preview

2011-12-07T06:30:00.000-05:00

Psst! Do you love a giveaway?! Do you love surprises?! You're in luck because this week, the Pals Paper Arts is hosting a MYSTERY Blog Candy Giveaway this week! Oh yeah! Woohoo! :) Be sure to check out the details tomorrow morning at the Pals Paper Arts Blog. Until then, check out this sneak peek of tomorrow's card and don't forget to stop by to check out the Artist Picks from last week. See you tomorrow! :)

Questions Answered...

2011-12-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

Good morning friends! Sorry for my disappearance earlier this week... I was enjoying the time with my family over the holiday that it was a bit of a rude awakening going back to work on Monday! Plus, this time is always an extremely busy one for me at school as we get ready for the holidays.

I don't have a card for you today, but I wanted to answer a few questions about my Pals Paper Arts card last week.

Before I begin, I want to thank all of you for your super sweet comments! I was floored by your kindness!

Eemili asked for a closer look at the pearls... Here you go!

Bakerbabe asked if the pearls are adhered directly to the circle that I punched out or to the card... The pearls are adhered directly to the card. The punched circle was used as a guide as the outside of the card. I adhered it with some removable adhesive, added the outermost circle of pearls, then removed the circle.

Ellen asked about what kind of pearls I used... I used Stampin' Up!'s Basic Pearl Jewels, which are half-back adhesive pearls. I used the 3 sizes - 5mm, 3mm, and 2mm. I ran out of the 3mm size, so I had to cut apart the strips of connected 3mm pearls (which is why you can see a bit of messy adhesive when you look very closely).

If I can answer any other questions, feel free to ask away! :) Thanks again for your kind comments!

Pals Paper Arts Celebrity Color Challenge

2011-12-01T05:45:00.000-05:00

Knock! Knock! Are you ready for a fabulous and festive celebrity color challenge? We are over at Pals Paper Arts! :)

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with some Cherry Cobbler card stock. I stamped it with the Woodgrain background stamp and cut some door panels, matted and adhered to my Cherry Cobbler door. I added a Chocolate Chip brad for the door handle and adhered it to a piece of Very Vanilla card stock. Then I punched a bunch of leaves from the bird punch and created a wreath and bough. Then I added some Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon for a little extra pizzazz.

Hope you like it! And I hope you'll play along too! Remember, you can use your favorite products to create a card or project using the color palette above.

Pals Paper Arts Preview

2011-11-30T20:30:00.000-05:00

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

2011-11-30T20:00:00.000-05:00

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!

2011-11-30T19:30:00.001-05:00

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

2011-11-27T07:00:00.003-05:00

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!

2011-11-26T07:00:00.001-05:00

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

2011-11-24T05:45:00.000-05:00

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

2011-11-23T07:00:00.005-05:00

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

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

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

2011-11-21T07:00:00.001-05:00

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

2011-11-20T07:00:00.001-05:00

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

2011-11-19T13:00:00.000-05:00

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!

2011-11-18T07:00:00.001-05:00

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

2011-11-17T05:45:00.003-05:00

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

2011-11-16T07:00:00.002-05:00

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

2011-11-16T06:30:00.000-05:00

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

2011-11-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

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

2011-11-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

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

2011-11-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

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

2011-11-12T10:30:00.005-05:00

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!

2011-11-11T16:00:00.001-05:00

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!

2011-11-10T12:00:00.002-05:00

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

2011-11-10T05:45:00.001-05:00

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

2011-11-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

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

2011-11-08T04:00:00.000-05:00

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!

Winter Wishes Gift Tags

2011-11-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I played along in a Wee Memories Challenge, so I thought I'd try out this week's challenge - Handmade Gifts, Tags and Boxes with a little set of holiday tags in a box.

Here are the DEEtails:

I used lots of dies and punches to make this simple gift. I started by stamping the snowflake image from SU!'s Season of Joy in Baja Breeze ink and punching it out with a 1 1/4" circle punch. Then I used some Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere the circles to a Baja Breeze scallop circle. I then die cut the base with the Scallop Rectangle die and stamped a portion of the sentiment from SU!'s The More The Merrier. I punched a 3/8" circle in the top corner and threaded some Marina Mist Taffeta Ribbon through the tag. I made the box with the Bigz Matchbox Die using some Ski Slope DSP and clear card stock. Six tags fit comfortably in the matchbox and make a great little set to give away.

Thanks for peeking in today! Be sure to come back tomorrow for the monthly Pals Blog Hop!

Grateful

2011-11-06T07:00:00.001-05:00

It's time for another Cupccake Inspirations Challenge! Today I have a sweet fall card for you that I CASEd from this card that I found on Pinterest. Pinterest has tons of fabulous card ideas if you're ever in need of some inspiration.

Here are the DEEtails:

I stamped images from SU!'s Falling Leaves in Lucky Limeade, Tangerine Tango, and Crushed Curry. I adhered them to 1 1/4" circles punched out of some book print and some Crumb Cake and Lucky Limeade card stock. I ran my Crumb Cake card stock through my crimper to add a little texture. Then I added some buttons from SU! and from my stash, threaded with some Baker's Twine. I adhered everything to a Crumb Cake panel, matted with some Chocolate Chip card stock. Then I punched a Designer Label stamped with the sentiment from Falling Leaves and tucked it underneath.

Ribbon Pennant

2011-11-05T17:30:00.000-04:00

I have a simple card to share today, while I play along with this week's Play Date Cafe challenge. The inspiration is so sweet.

DEEtails:

I love the cute pennant necklace at the top left, which is what inspired my card. I stamped SU!'s Woodgrain background image on some Going Gray card stock. Then I cut pieces of Pretty in Pink and Daffodil Delight grosgrain ribbon and attached it to some Baker's Twine. Then I stamped my sentiment from SU's A Word For You on some Whisper White card stock, that I added some stripes to, using a Pretty in Pink Stampin' Write Marker. I rounded the corners and added it to my card with some Stampin' Dimensionals.

Hope you're having a nice weekend! See you again tomorrow morning :)

Beads and Baubles

2011-11-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Friday Friends! :) Today I'm sharing a card that I made for this week's Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger. Check out this fun and colorful bauble bracelet.

DEEtails:

I loved working with the unexpected color combination in this week's Tuesday Trigger. I started with some polka dotted Pool Party DSP and added a strip of Bermuda Bay card stock die cut with the Tasteful Trim die. I added a strip above it, stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s Thank You Kindly set. I added a thin strip of Very Vanilla card stock, and some Regal Rose ruffled ribbon from SU!'s Fairy Tale Ribbon Originals. That yellow rose with the pearl center from the inspiration photo really stood out to me, so I watned to recreate it. I used some Crushed Curry card stock and the Floral Fusion die to create the petals and added a pearl brad from my stash for the center. Hope you like it!

Exciting News!

2011-11-03T05:45:00.000-04:00

I have some very exciting news to share with you today! I'm the newest member of the Pals Paper Arts Design team! I hope you'll join me every Thursday for some PPA fun! You can play along using your favorite paper crafting brands and supplies - Stampin' Up! supplies are not required to play!

Today's PPA challenge is a gorgeous monochromatic color scheme in browns. Love it!

Here are the DEEtails:

I started off with a River Rock card and added some DSP in the same color. Then I took a strip of Soft Suede DSP, added some pleats and layered some Early Espresso Grosgrain Ribbon and Soft Suede Taffeta Ribbon over it. I love the way this turned out. I stamped the image from SU!'s Easy Events in Early Espresso on some River Rock card stock. I matted it with some Soft Suede and added some strips of Early Espresso Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border. Then I embellished my card with a Designer Button and some Linen Thread.

Hope to see your creations on the Pals Paper Arts Challenge this week!

I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge #10

2011-11-02T07:00:00.005-04:00

We're finally back for a brand new I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge! I hope you're ready to play along!

Grosgrain Ribbon is almost like a ribbon staple. Here are a few of my cards featuring Grosgrain Ribbon.

Come join in on the fun! You'll have until Wednesday, November 16th to link your card with Grosgrain ribbon below. I can't wait to see what you create! :)

Thanks So Much

2011-11-01T07:00:00.007-04:00

Happy November! My how time flies! My goal has been to get back in the swing of things this month, so I've been busy at work the past few weeks trying to make up for lost time! I hope you'll get back into your routine of joining me for our daily chats!

I battled a crazy cold this weekend (I feel like I'm getting sick a lot recently), but managed to sneak a few minutes of crafting here and there between coughing fits, and lots of rest. I find it's nice to craft while sipping hot tea. Today's card is what I managed to create little by little. :)

I made this card for this week's CR84FN Challenge. Aren't these colors gorgeous? I'm especially loving the fabric swatches on the left, which I translated into swatches of Designer Series Papers. I've been really loving patterned papers recently. Here's a little secret... When I first got into Stampin' Up! I refused to buy their paper, for no particular reason, other than I prefered to spend my money on their stamps. Now I can't get enough of their card stock and DSP and sometimes will make an entire order of paper, DSP, accessories and NO stamps! Giggle!

Here are the DEEtails for today's card:

I had fun rummaging through my DSP to find the perfect mix for this card - from left to right, top to bottom I used a little Elegant Soiree, some Walk in the Park, Urban Garden for the next 3 blocks, some more Walk in the Park, a smidge of Windsor Knot, a bit more Walk in the Park, and a touch of Greenhouse Gala. I had hoped to be able to sew my little swatches to the card, but my sewing machine and I had a minor battle and I gave up. In the end, I distressed my edges and just adhered the pieces to my card. I added some fun ruffled ribbon from my stash and tucked a PTI Mat Stack die cut, stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s Everyday Wishes. I love that little whimsical touch at the bottom of the sentiment! Then I added some SU! Fabulous Florets, stamped on So Saffron and Baja Breeze card stock.

Happy Day

2011-10-31T07:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween Friends! Today I have a not-so-Halloween card for you... In fact, it's rather spring-ish! :)

This is a card that I made for the previous challenge over at Jay Gee's Nook, but never had time to post! I'm way late now, but I thought I'd share it with you anyway. I loved the pretty little inspiration. :)

DEEtails:

I decided to line up some patterned paper, kind of like the photo of damask gift pouches (center right) using Shades of Spring (pink), DSP Prints in Certainly Celery (green), and Domestic Goddess (blue and yellow) DSP. I layered it over a piece of Pool Party card stock, punched with the Scallop Trim Border Punch. I adhered it all to my Blushing Bride card. Then I added a sweet sentiment from SU's Friendly Phrases, stamped on a paper pierced PTI Fillable Frames die. Then I tucked in some leaves, from the Bird punch and a sweet pink flower from my stash.

Give Thanks

2011-10-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

Today I'm sharing my card for this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge. Check out the festive fall cake for this week's inspiration!

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with some Old Olive DSP and layered them together. I added some Early Espresso Grosgrain Ribbon in between the two patterns and added some Linen Thread for some texture. Then I stamped the cute acorn image from SU!'s The More The Merrier. I punched it out and layered it onto a scalloped circle in Really Rust. I paper pieced the acorn with some Soft Suede and Early Espresso. Then I adhered it to my card with some Stampin' Dimensionals and tucked in some leaves, punched with the Bird punch. I scattered a few Itty Bitty Punches, adorned with some Pearl Jewels. Then I matted everything with some Early Espresso card stock before adhering everything to my Old Olive card.

Pals Paper Arts Featured Artist

2011-10-27T07:00:00.000-04:00

I'm thrilled to be able to share a card today that I made as Feature Artist for this week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge... Ribbon... I'm sure you all know how much I LOVE ribbon, so I'm so excited to share my ribbon inspired card. Can you count how many different types I used?

Here are the DEEtails:

The colors in this inspiration photo really popped out to me as a fun and unexpected color combination. I interpreted it as Rich Razzleberry, Concord Crush, Lucky Limeade and a touch of Soft Suede. I started with a piece of Rich Razzleberry DSP and added an edge of Concord Crush punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border (technically not ribbon, but I think it should still count!) and tucked some Lucky Limeade underneath. I love this contrast. Then I cut a strip of Naturals White card stock and rounded the corners on one side. I wrapped some Striped Grosgrain Ribbon in Rich Razzleberry around it and trimmed it with pinking shears. Pinked ribbon is such a fun effect. I tucked in some more Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border so it peeks up a tiny bit at the top of my wide ribbon. Then I tied on some Linen Thread (also not really a ribbon, but let's count it anyway). I die cut a couple of butterflies, using the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die. I love the way the wings pop up on the card. I tied on some Rich Razzleberry Taffeta Ribbon for antennae. Then I tucked in some Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon with some leaves punched from the Bird Punch to add a fresh pop of color. For my final touch, I added the sentiment, from SU!'s Thank You Kindly to the bottom of my card.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Which Witch?

2011-10-23T07:00:00.000-04:00

A few week's ago, I made a cute mini card for our nephew. This week, I wanted to make a matching card for our nieces. Check out this little cutie.

Here are the matching cards together.

Here's this week's Cupcake Inspiration - fun stuff!

DEEtails:

I used the same DSP that I used on my little vampire from the Guest Book Simply Scrappin' kit. I used a tiny bit of Basic gray for the trim on her dress and some Elegant Eggplant for her socks. Her face and hands were cut from Blush Blossom card stock. I pieced her together, adding a bit of ribbon to her hat to tie it in with little vampire's bow. Then I layered some Pumpkin Pie card stock and matching Paper Patterns DSP and attached it to my 3x3 gift card. Hope you like it!

Thanks Blog Hop

2011-10-11T04:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the October Pals Hop! This month, we're featuring Thank You cards and Thanksgiving inspired projects! Enjoy the hop and the amazing creations that the Pals have come up with.

You've likely hopped over from Kylie Nicolosi at Kylie's Crafty Corner, I'm stop number 5 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 Thank you and Thanksgiving inspired 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 a set of Thank You cards that I've created with some new Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper.

DEEtails:

I started by cutting 1" strips of Spice Cake DSP and trimmed them down to 4" in length. I distressed the edges and assembled them in various combinations on Sahara Sand card stock. I stamped sentiments from SU!'s Thank You Kindly set. Then I added some Early Espresso grossgrain ribbon and added some Early Espresso Baker's Twine and embellished each card with some flowers from my stash.

Hop along for more inspiring ideas from Leah O'Brien at Leah's Stampin' Corner, stop number 6 on the October Pals Hop! Thanks for "hopping" by!

Fang-tastic

2011-10-09T10:00:00.001-04:00

Wow! I can't believe how quickly these past few weeks have been flying by! Are you getting into the Halloween spirit? I'm not a huge Halloween fan, but I do love this cute vampire card that I made for this week's Cupcake Inspirations project. And this Corpse Bride cake is quite cute... (I actually like that movie too!)

DEEtails:

I created my little vampire by stamping the image from SU!'s Fang-tastic on some DSP from the Guest Book Simply Scrappin' kit, and some Basic Gray and Whisper White card stocks. I pieced my little guy together and added a touch of ribbon to make his little bow tie. I layered him onto some Lucky Limeade card stock and matching Paper Patterns DSP and attached it to my 3x3 gift card. Hope you like it!

Grateful For You

2011-10-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

Boy, I sure have missed you! It has been a wild couple of weeks. First I was super busy! Then I got sick. Then I was even busier because I was trying to catch up with all the super busy that I missed while I was sick, while trying to keep up with with the current business! On top of that, I haven't been very inspired, so it has been a challenge to get in my craft corner and create.

I'm finally back today with a little something for this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge.

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with some Naturals White card stock and inked up the image from SU!'s Pendant Park. I randomly dabbed my Stampin' Write Markers in Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Poppy Parade, Pumpkin Pie, and Tangerine Tango. To make the colors run together, I dabbed a little water from my Aqua Painter. Then I stamped the cute bench image, also from SU!'s Pendant Park, in Chocolate Chip. My sentiment was created by mixing a few words together from SU!'s Falling Leaves, SU!'s Great Friend, and the "you" from PTI's Wonderful Words, die cut from some Riding Hood Red card stock. I added a matching mat to create a simple pop of color to my card.

I want you to know that I am so grateful for all of you, who come back to check on me, even though I've disappeared for far too long! I can't promise when I'll be back to my regular schedule, but I appreciate you stopping by!

I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge Continues

2011-09-21T07:00:00.001-04:00

I love me some inspiration, and I hope you do too! You've got some more time to play along in the last I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Click here to go to the original post and link up your creation.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-09-20T07:00:00.000-04:00

Today is my mom's birthday! Here's the card I made for this pink loving lady! It fit well with this week's CR84FN Challenge.

DEEtails:

I used the PTI Background Basics: Newsprint stamp set to create the newspaper background. Then I stamped some fun circle images from SU!'s Circle Circus down one side in Pink Passion. I stamped the sentiment from PTI's Think Big Favorites in Pink Passion and cut it out. I mounted it with some Stampin' Dimensionals on a PTI Half and Half die cut, which I trimmed down just a bit so my sentiment would spill over the edges a bit more.

I'm sending some virtual flowers to my mom today. :) I came across this picture and thought of her... These are some of here favorite blooms. Happy Birthday Mom!

source

Simple Merci

2011-09-18T14:00:00.002-04:00

Sorry that I'm a little late today with my card for the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge. I've been so busy lately that my days have sort of blurred together!

I managed to whip up a card this afternoon for today's inspiration photo.

DEEtails:

I love the clean look of a stark white card, which is what I decided to do for this card. I cut out the pretty frame after using the Designer Frames Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and adhered it to the center of my card. Then I stamped the sentiment from PTI's Think Big Favorites. Then I added some simple embellishments - some leaves punched from the bird punch in Certainly Celery and a rose from my stash in one corner and a heat embossed butterfly from SU!'s Great Friend in another corner.

Don't forget to play along in this week's I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge. It's a fun and colorful inspiration challenge! Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Hello Friend

2011-09-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here's a card that I made last week during the couple of days off that we had due to flooding. I love all the yellow stripes in the current challenge over at JayGee's Nook.

DEEtails:

I started with a piece of SU! Designer Series Paper Patterns, trimmed at a diagonal. I added some strips of Whisper White and Daffodil Delight card stock and added some letters from my stash. I added the sentiment from SU!'s Posy Punch. I layered several punched out pieces of Whisper White card stock, to create a handmade chipboard piece. I love the dimension that the thickness of the layered card stock provides. Then I stamped the cute typewriter image in Daffodil Delight on Whisper White card stock and adhered it to my card with some Stampin' Dimensionals.

Winner Wednesday!

2011-09-14T07:00:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to Archana, the winner of the I {Heart} Ribbon Yellow Ribbon Challenge. Check out her cute gingham ribbon flower.

Archana, please contact me at deesignsbyninadee{at}gmail{dot}com to claim your prize!

There's still time to enter the current I {Heart} Ribbon Inspiration Challenge! With so many gorgeous colors, I can't wait to see what you come up with! :)

Fall Pals Hop

2011-09-13T06:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the September Pals Hop! This month, we're featuring Fall and Halloween inspired projects! Enjoy the hop and the amazing creations that the Pals have come up with.

You've likely hopped over from Cindy Hall at Pretty Impact, I'm stop number 16 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 Fall and Halloween 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 a 3D project that I've created with my supply of Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper. It wasn't so easy to photograph and I haven't started decorating for fall yet, so it's hard to see it "in context."

DEEtails:

I started by selecting my color palette. I loved the idea of yellows and browns and pulled out various DSPs from my collection that matched. I made my stem by cutting 2" strips of Crumb Cake card stock and applied ModPodge medium to them. Then I twisted them into some "sticks." I adhered my twigs together with my hot glue gun and trimmed them to size. Then I cut 1" strips of my various DSPs and used the same technique to make thinner sticks. I adhered each stick to my stem in a "C" shape, using my hot glue gun until I filled my entire pumpkin. I could probably have filled in my pumpkin more, but it was exhausting, not to mention a gooey mess! Haha! Perhaps I will go back and add more to fill in the rest. For more information, check out the tutorial for Paper Pumpkins over at WhipperBerry.

Hop along for more inspiring ideas from Sandie Conner at Pretty Provisions, stop number 17 on the September Pals Hop! Thanks for "hopping" by!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2011-09-10T07:00:00.001-04:00

Today is my grandmother's birthday, so I'm sharing the card that I made for her and for the current CR84FN Challenge. Gorgeous colors, aren't they?

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with strips of Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Bermuda Bay, and Crumb Cake to create my base, that I matted with some Very Vanilla. Then I added some faux corrugated cardboard, die cut with PTI's Limitless Layers and run through my crimper. I added the sentiment from SU!'s Bring on the Cake, tied up with some teal Baker's Twine and piled on the embellishments - some Victoria crochet lace, some teal ribbon from my stash, a pretty crochet doily, some flowers and a button, all from my stash. Thanks for stopping by today! See you here tomorrow :)

Garden Glory

2011-09-09T14:00:00.000-04:00

These extra days off have given me some extra time to create. :) Here's the card I made for this week's gorgeous Tuesday Trigger challenge over at Moxie Fab World.

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with some Garden Green cardstock, die cut with the Lattice die and adhered to some Whisper White card stock. Then I took some Bermuda Bay Polka Dot ribbon and turned it solid side up. I stamped some beautiful blooms and leaves from SU!'s Array of Sunshine in Bermusda Bay and Wild Wasabi. I added some Very Vanilla card stock, stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s Kindness Matters, tucked under my flowers. Thanks for peeking in! Hope you're having a nice Friday!

Pretty Project

2011-09-09T13:00:00.002-04:00

The stormy weather these past few days have flooded lots of roads around the area, so our schools were closed yeaterday and today. I've been busy working on some projects for school, but also had some time to whip this up.

DEEtails:

It was pretty simple, really. I just took a piece of Whisper White card stock and some pretty butterfly stickers from my stash and framed them in a shadow box. These are special stickers because, although it's hard to tell in the photo, the butterflies have clear acetate wings over the colorful base, making them look pretty realistic. I can't wait to hang this up on my wall!

I Heart Ribbon Challenge 9

2011-09-07T07:00:00.002-04:00

Hello friends! It's Wednesday, so you know what that means! Another I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge!

I thought I'd switch things up a bit this time and give you an inspiration photo to work with. Surprise!

via Pinterest

This photo is all about ribbon, but your project doesn't have to have ribbon. Interpret the photo as you wish making a card, scrapbook layout or any other project, inspired by the photo above.

Here's my little project:

I wanted to make some cute ribbon embellished paperclips, so I pulled out some ribbon from my stash and some colorful clips that my mom got me for school. Aren't they fun!? And so easy and inexpensive! :)

Link below by Wednesday, September 28th. One lucky winner will win a selection of ribbon from my stash! :) Can't wait to see how you are inspired by ribbon!

Polka Dot Parade

2011-09-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

After a busy week, I'm here to share a card with you for this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge.

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with some white card stock and adhered punched circles in an assortment of colors (Calypso Coral, Perfect Plum, Island Indigo, Crushed Curry, and Old Olive). Then I added the Happy Birthday banner, stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s Bring On The Cake and an Island Indigo daisy.

If you're interested in the first week of school, here's a quick recap:

Our school system was closed on the first day of school, while our buildings were inspected for damage after Hurricane Irene.
We were featured on the front page of our local paper, The Maryland Independent on Wednesday with photos from the first day of school.
Although we didn't have any on the first day, we had a few kiddos crying throughout the week.
On Wednesday, we found a hummingbird flying around in our Activity Room!
On Thursday, one of our kindergarteners fell off the monkey bars and broke his arm!

I think that's all the excitement I can take for a single week! Yikes! I'm glad we have the long weekend to recover!

I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge Continues!

2011-08-31T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hi all! I know I haven't been around here much, so I thought I'd give you all a bit more time with the current I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge. Click here for DEEtails.

Remember that you can post any project (cards, scrapbook layouts, 3-D project) that fits the challenge. I'm excited to post the next challenge, so I'll only be extending this one for another week. A new challenge will go up on September 7th so hurry!

So Sweet and Simple

2011-08-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

Today I'm sharing a card that I made for the Square Sketch Challenge over at Moxie Fab World. Here's the fun sketch:

And here are the DEEtails:

I love the simplicity of this card as I showcase this neat pieced together flower. It's a chipboard sticker from Basic Gray that my hubby bought for me. So sweet of him, huh? Perfectly suited with my sentiment from PTI's Signature Greetings. I layered my Vanilla card base with some Old Olive and Ruby Red before adhereing it all to my Blushing Bride card. Hope you like it!

A Simple Thanks

2011-08-29T13:00:00.000-04:00

Today is supposed to be the first day of school for our students, but we're home while our buildings are assessed for damages after this weekend's storm. What a way to start the year off! Since I have a few extra hours, I thought I'd whip up a quick card for the current Pals Paper Arts Challenge: Soften the Edges.

DEEtails:

I decided to go with the color pallete in the inspiration image and layered some Dusty Durango Polka Dot ribbon turned on its solid side with a strip of Ruffled Ribbon in Pool Party on top. Then I added a faux corrugated cardboard embellishment, made from a Mat Stack die from PTI and run through my Crimper. I stamped the sentiment from PTI's Think Big Favorites and added some flowers and leaves from the Itty Bitty dies and Bird punch in the unexpected color combination. Thanks for peeking in today! Hope you're having a good Monday!

Don't forget, there's still time to play along in the current I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge. We're featuring yellow ribbon, so come and play along!

Orange You Thankful?

2011-08-28T14:00:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting today's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge post! In the midst of preparing for our visitor, Irene, I wasn't able to get a photo and post up. Hope everyone stayed safe!

DEEtails:

My card today is all about yellow and orange flowers. I actually created a card very similar to this in monochromatic pinks last year. I stamped various SU! images from Fifth Avenue Floral, Itty Bitty Buds, Wings of Friendship, and Lovely Flowers. Then I colored the blooms in with my Stampin' Write Markers - So Saffron, Daffodil Delight, Summer Sun, Apricot Appeal, Peach Parfaith, Pumpkin Pie, and Tangerine Tango. Then I matted my image on Summer Sun and Peach Parfait card stock, wrapped a Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain ribbon around it and attached my sentiment from SU!'s Thank You Kindly on my layered card stock. Hope you like it!

A Bit of Gold

2011-08-27T15:00:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! Sorry for my awful picture problems. :( I've been battling it out with Photobucket and hope to have it resolved soon! Anyway, I hope you're having a good start to your weekend. This has been quite an exciting week... First with the earthquake, then a tornado watch, and soon a visit from Irene! Hope you're all keeping safe!

I'm popping in today for another Play Date Cafe challenge. I'm loving this inspiration board!

DEEtails:

I loved elements from the four pictures on the right, so I used tried to incorporate them all into this card, starting with the three chairs, which which I interpreted as three Pool Party panels on a Very Vanilla background. I meant to curve my corners, but was a little too quick to adhere my card stock and decided to skip the step altogether. Next, the teacup with the flower inspired my round shape behind my blossoms, which I die cut from PTI's Limitless Layers. I love the gold letters in that bottom middle picture, and knew I had to add some to my card. So, out came some gold ribbon from my stash, along with the PTI Wonderful Words die and some Brushed Gold card stock. I stamped "thank" from PTI's Think Big Favorites and added my die cut "you". I added two blooms, stamped with SU!'s Bella Blossoms, embossed on Groovy Guava card stock. Lastly, I added a pretty butterfly, punched on some Secret Garden DSP with a MS punch and layered for dimension. Hope you like it!

Hello Friend!

2011-08-24T19:30:00.000-04:00

I hate that I missed the deadline for the Play Date Cafe challenge! I found some time over the weekend to make this card, but didn't have a chance to post it until now. Bummer! Hope you like it anyway!

DEEtails:

I was really drawn to the bold flowers and the fun the umbrellas from the inspiration, so I wanted to incorporate stripes, polka dots and a big blossom on this card. I started with some Night of Navy card stock and layered a piece of Designer Series Paper Patterns in Lucky Limeade. I wrapped around some Night of Navy Striped Taffeta Ribbon. I stamped the rose from SU!'s Fifth Avenue Floral and adhered it with some glue dots, tucking a Sweet Pea Stitched Felt leaf underneath. Then I stamped a portion of the sentiment from PTI's Think Big Favorites on a Regal Rose tag and tucked it under my striped ribbon. I stamped the other half of the sentiment on some more Regal Rose and cut it out to adhere on top of my rose. I'm loving this bold color combination and hope you like it too!

Winner Wednesday!

2011-08-24T19:00:00.001-04:00

Thanks to all of you who have been so patient during this busy time of year for me! I'm hoping things will settle down for me soon, but in the mean time, I'm working 12+ hours each day, planning, organizing, scheduling, analyzing data, and a list of other stuff!

Since it is Wednesday, I wanted to take a moment to congratulate the winner of the Taffeta I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge. Congrats to Erika Clark, who used some Certainly Celery Taffeta Ribbon on her card featuring the new Stampin' Up! set, Gently Falling.

Erika, please contact me at deesignsbyninadee{at}gmail{dot}com to claim your prize!

There's still time to enter the current I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge! This week, we're featuring yellow ribbon. I can't wait to see what you create!

For My Friend

2011-08-21T07:00:00.000-04:00

The little cupcakes for this week's Cupcake Inspirations challenge are so sweet! They inspired me to make today's card, using this neat color palette.

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with a piece of Designer Series Paper Patterns in Chocolate Chip, which I mounted on some card stock. Then I stamped my flower, using SU!'s Build a Blossom, with Elegant Eggplant ink on Perfect Plum card stock. I assembled my flower and adhered it to my card, tucking in some Pretty in Pink card stock, stamped with the sentiment from SU!'s Friendly Phrases. Then I tied a pretty bow using some green satin ribbon from my stash, that matches nicely with my Wild Wasabi card.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Tree of Thanks

2011-08-19T17:30:00.000-04:00

Sorry for my disappearing act this week! I'm sure you can understand how busy the last few weeks of summer can be! My craft area has been quite lonely for the past few days, but I was finally able to put together this card this afternoon.

I decided to try the sketch challenge over at the Ribbon Carousel, which I flipped sideways.

Here are the DEEtails:

I stamped my image from SU!'s Season of Friendship on some white card stock and added some Rich Razzleberry Grosgrain and some Crushed Curry Polka Dot Grosgrain (flipped upside down) to peek out from underneath. I adhered it to my Lucky Limeade card and added a strip of Lovely Flowers DSP to tie the colors together. Then I embellished my tree with some leaves, punched with the Bird Punch, some Itty Bitty Punches flowers in Melon Mambo, and some Rhinestone Jewels, colored with a yellow permanent marker. At the bottom, I added my sentiment from SU!'s Thank You Kindly in white embossing powder on Crushed Curry card stock, with a bit of Melon Mambo Dotted Ruffle Ribbon punched along the bottom.

Thanks for peeking in today!

I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge 8

2011-08-18T19:30:00.000-04:00

So sorry for the delay! I completely lost tract of my days! It's time for a new I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge! We'll be doing a color challenge this time.

Yellow is such a bright and cheerful color! And it reminds me a lot of getting ready to go back to school. Here are some of my favorite cards with yellow ribbon.

Ready to play along?! You'll have until Wednesday, August 31st to link your card with Yellow ribbon below. One lucky winner will receive a prize pack of ribbons from my stash and will be announced on September 7. I can't wait to see what you create! :)

Colour Queen! :)

2011-08-16T16:30:00.000-04:00

Hey there! Did you guys see this post on ColourQ featuring this card?! I'm so excited! It's been a while since I've had a card feature or won a challenge and it feels so good!

I'm busy this week finishing last minute arrangements before we go back to school next week. Yikes! I can't believe the time is here! I'm hoping to be back soon with a card. Until then, thanks for being patient! :)

Merci

2011-08-15T10:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a nice weekend! My concert got rained out on Saturday, so I spent the whole weekend working on lots of little projects for school. I was quite the busy bee!

Here's a sweet yellow card that I made for this week's CR84FN Challenge. I adore Mona Pendleton's inspiration boards, don't you?

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with a Daffodil Delight card and layered some ribbon on it - Daffodil Delight Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Daffodil Delight Grosgrain Ribbon, and some pretty lace from my stash. Then I die cut a tag from Lots of Tags in Crumb Cake and ran it through my crimper. I stamped the sentiment from PTI's Think Big Favorites #3 and heat embossed it in white of Daffodil Delight card stock. I cut it out and adhered it to my card. Then I die cut some blooms from Floral Fusion and punched a few Itty Bitty Punches flowers out and layered them. I embellished the centers with some Pearl Jewels to finish things off.

Just a couple more days for my I {Heart} Ribbon Taffeta Challenge! Hope you'll play along! :)

Books for School

2011-08-14T07:00:00.001-04:00

Just a few days ago, I talked about how I didn't do very many 3-D projects, but here I am with another one. Just recently, my supervisor took on another position in the school district. I've been wanting to create something for her that would be useful for her in her new office and when I saw this week's Cupcake Inspirations challenge photo, I knew just the thing!

These books are actually really easy to make and take no time at all. Here are the DEEtails:

I die cut some Natural White card stock with the Bigz Matchbox Die and assembled them. Then I printed my book spines (the font I used was Imprint MT Shadow) on Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy and Garden Green card stock and trimmed the card stock to be a little larger than the matchbox. I adhered the book covers to the covers of the matchboxes. For the Cherry Cobbler book, I only adhered the bottom cover to the matchbox, so the cover opens up.

I lined the inside cover with some Natural White card stock and wrote a little note on that first page. Then I stacked my boxes and glued them together with some removable glue dots. I stuffed the inside of the boxes with some fun supplies then tied the books together with some Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine.

You could definitely decorate the cover, but I chose to keep mine blank, mostly because I wasn't sure what to put on it. Surprisingly, I don't own any school themed stamps. I like the simplicity of it anyway...

So are you ready for school to start?!

Just for Fun

2011-08-13T11:30:00.000-04:00

Hope you're starting your weekend off well. This evening my band has one of our first concerts in a while (we took a break during the month of July) at the National Harbor - my favorite outdoor concert venue. Hubby and I plan to go and hang out there for a bit - there's lots of fun shopping and good eats! I'm excited to have a bit of a fun day after such a long and busy week.

I'm sharing a card today that I made earlier this week. I had hoped to get some more pink in there, but coudn't quite find the right thing to add. It's hard for me to get inspired on my own, but somehow this card pieced together quite easily. I just pulled out some supplies that I had been wanting to use and it all sort of fell into place. I love when that happens, don't you? :)

I know you want the DEEtails:

I used some Designer Series Paper Patterns in Soft Suede followed by a strip of border from my stash (it's hard to see, and I'm a little bummed about that, but it's kind of this ragged edge in a kraft color). Then I added some Crumb Cake card stock die cut with the PTI Half and Half die. I stamped half the sentiment from PTI's Think Big series stamps and added a Melon Mambo you, die cut from the PTI's Wonderful Words. Then I added some Maya Road kraft doilies. Hope you like it!

Just a few more days for the I {Heart} Ribbon Taffeta challenge so be sure to play along!

Colorful Thanks

2011-08-12T17:00:00.000-04:00

Aren't these a fabulous mix of colors? Thanks to Embellish Magazine's Coloring Color Challenge, I've put them together to make this card.

Here's a secret... I'm not very good at coloring, nor will I ever claim to be... When I was little, I went to a private school and had TONS of homework. I never had enough time to color all my home work so my mom did it for me. *Giggle* Even as I got older, coloring was never a huge strength of mine, so my mom always helped me out with big projects, posters, etc. Now before you start thinking that I can't stay in the lines or anything like that, I'm not TERRIBLE... Just not GREAT. I haven't quite gotten a good technique down yet. You'll see some of my coloring skills on my projects that I do for the Cupcake Inspirations Challenges every Sunday.

For this card, and many others, I didn't actually color on the cardstock, but I did use my Stampin' Write Markers to color my stamps. Here's secret number 2... I actually don't use many ink pads. I own about 10 - all neutral colors. I also have the Stampin' Spots, however, I don't use them on a regular basis. Instead, nearly all my stamped images are colored in with Stampin' Write Markers (even the neutral colors because I tend to like the marker ink better).

So now that you know that I cheated a bit on this card, here are the DEEtails:

I started with a strip of Beyond the Garden DSP and added a Scallop Dots Ribbon Border punched in Regal Rose to the top and bottom. I adhered the paper to some Wild Wasabi cardstock and added a MS doily. I colored my stamps from SU!'s Fabulour Florets with some Melon Mambo and Garden Green Stampin' Write Markers and stamped them on Regal Rose and Wild Wasabi card stock. I love how that darker ink stands out on the card stock. I adhered them with Stampin' Dimensionals. Then I stamped my stentiment from SU!'s Thank You Kindly in VersaMark ink and heat embossed it using some white embossing powder. That white just pops on that Daffodil Delight. I trimmed it down to size and tucked it under my MS doily.

Thanks for stopping by today! :)

Hello, You!

2011-08-11T14:00:00.000-04:00

Grrr! My internet and I have been fighting today, thus the delay in posting today's card...

This week's challenge at Pals Paper Arts is Dress for Success - basically a recipe card, using 1 DSP, 1 punch, and 1 sentiment. This was definitely a difficult challenge for me - you know me, I need an inspiration photo! But, I pulled this card together and it's starting to grow on me...

Here are the DEEtails:

I started with a Not Quite Navy card and layered on some striped Pool Party DSP - can you tell that I'm loving the Designer Series Paper Patterns In Colors?! :) Then I stamped the PTI Newsprint background stamp on some So Saffron cardstock and heat embossed it. I wrapped some Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon around the card and layered on a MS doily. I added my sentiment from SU!'s Hello, You stamped in Not Quite Navy on Pool Party and layered on more Not Quite Navy card stock to make it pop. Then I punched a Not Quite Navy butterfly layered with an image stamped from SU!'s Butterfly Prints and tucked in a leaf punched from the Bird punch and a flower embellishment from my stash.

Colorful Stripes

2011-08-10T11:30:00.002-04:00

Happy Wednesday! Here's a fun card I whipped up for the ColourQ challenge using all my fun border punches! Aren't these colors so cheerful!?

DEEtails:

I loved the striped on this card, so I originally planned a black and white background, still using my border punches, but when I pulled out all that colorful cardstock, I just had to use stripe them all! I made my sentiment pink and white, to mimic the logo on the flip flop. I used the PTI Mat Stack 4 die to create my label and drew the outline with a marker. The sentiment is another PTI Think Big Favorites that I cut out and mounted with Stampin' Dimensionals. I added a few flower embellishments from my stash - love that tiny bit of sparkle :)

3-D Pals Hop

2011-08-09T04:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the August Pals Hop! This month, we're featuring fun and creative 3-dimensional projects! Enjoy the hop and the amazing creations that the Pals have come up with.

You've likely hopped over from Sandie Conner at Pretty Provisions. I'm stop number 9 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 3-D 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!

If you're a regular here on the blog, you might know that I don't usually make 3-D projects, so this hop was a bit of a challenge for me. I wanted to make something useful, while still being fun, so after some thinking, I decided to make something for my desk at school.

DEEtails:

Our school colors are Green and Yellow, so I chose a fun version of these colors with some bright yellow Post-It Notes and some Lucky Limeade. I simply took an acrylic frame and turned it upside down, slipped in some fun patterened DSP, added my Post-Its and embellished away with some Ruffled Flowers. What a fresh take on the ever-handy tool. And now I don't have to search my desk for my Post-It pad!

Hop along for more inspiring ideas from Leah O'Brien at My Stampin' Room, stop number 10 on the August Pals Hop! Thanks for "hopping" by!

New Uses

2011-08-08T16:30:00.004-04:00

Hello friends! I've been excited to show off this card that I made last night, but I haven't had a chance to sit down at my computer until now... It's been another busy day!

Just last week, as I was cleaning out my crafty space, I came across my crimper, which I debated on putting in my destash pile (many of these things are now at my Etsy shop!). After debating a bit, I decided to keep it because I told myself that I would come up with a great use for it in a few weeks - possibly using kraft card stock. And then, Dawn McVey showed off an awesome technique for making faux corrugated cardboard embellishments a few days later. So here I am today, with my fun embellishment, made with my crimper and some Crumb Cake (AKA kraft) card stock, just like I had envisioned! :)

DEEtails:

I love the layers on this card that kind of mix this look of old and new. I started with some Designer Series Paper Patterns in Pool Party, which I layered with some Crepe Paper die cut with the Tasteful Trim die, and some more DSP, punched with the Scallop Edge Punch. I added a doily and layered my faux cardboard, tied up with some fun aqua Baker's Twine. I had some adhesive chipboard letters, which have this neat texture to it in a pale aqua color and spelled out "Hi." Then I topped it all off with a Ruffle Flower, embellished with a button from my stash.

Be sure to pop by tomorrow - it's blog hop day! :) And of course, don't forget to play along in the Taffeta Ribbon Challenge!

Summer Fun

2011-08-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

I have a fun summery card to share with you today that I made for this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge. Check out all those gorgeous colors you have to play with this week!

DEEtails:

This week's sponsor, JLJ Designs had these cute flip flop images that I printed out and colored. I cut them out and strung up some fun ruffle ribbon from my stash for the straps. These were so fun that I wanted to keep my card pretty simple. I added a strip of Dotted Scallop Ribbon punched in Taken with Teal and adhered my flip flops with some Stampin' Dimensionals. Easy peasy!

Don't forget to play along in the I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge! I'd love to see what you come up with!

Pretty In Pink (And An Attempt At Publication)

2011-08-06T07:00:00.003-04:00

Hi there! Today I'm sharing a card that I had made a while back to enter for publication. It didn't make the cut, but I still really like it... I kind of wish I hadn't sent it in because I kind of miss this card. *giggle* It has a lot of neat texture and a lot of glam without being too over the top and would have made a fabulous birthday card for a girly girl. :)

I haven't had any success with being published yet, and honestly, it is such a tough process! I am such a sucker for instant gratification, that often, when I think a card is a possible entry for publication, I just want to show it to all of you right away! And of course I do, so then I miss out on my chance to enter it for publication. Heehee!

Do any of you have any publication secrets for success? I'd love to hear! Please do share! :)

Here are the DEEtails for my card:

I started with a Going Gray card and layered on some Pink Pirouette and Basic Gray. I stamped a portion of the Just For You sentiment from SU!'s Afterthoughts and embossed it. Then I layered on the embellishments - an MS doily with a PTI Dress Form die cut in Basic Gray and layered with some pink satin (love that part!), some pleated Pretty in Pink Taffeta ribbon and a glittery swirl from my stash. Love!

Don't forget to pull out some of your Taffeta ribbon and enter the current I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge! Click for DEEtails! :)

Nature Tag

2011-08-05T16:00:00.001-04:00

Sorry that today's post is a little late. I've been busy this week working on stuff to get ready for the new school year. (I can't believe it's almost here!)

The card I made today is for the current CR84FN Challenge. Check out the lovely inspiration.

DEEtails:

I started by recreating a tag from the inspiration pic. I stamped the image from SU!'s Nature Walk in Wisteria Wonder and Pear Pizzazz and cut it out. I adhered it to a tag from my stash, embellished with a strip of Wisteria Wonder card stock and some gray and white Baker's Twine. Then I stamped the number, also from Nature Walk, directly onto the tag in Going Gray ink. For my background, I punched the top edge of some Certainly Celery card stock with the Scallop Trim Border and adhered a piece of Designer Paper Patterns in Wisteria Wonder that I tore along the bottom. I stamped the sentiment from PTI's Think Big Favorite #2 and added my tag with some Stampin' Dimensionals.

Thanks for peeking in today!

Fun and Fresh

2011-08-04T10:00:00.002-04:00

The colors of this week's Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge are so fun and fresh! I hope you'll play along!

Here are the DEEtails for my card:

I thought a fun and fresh take on the cuckoo clock image from SU!'s Forever Young might be cute, so I started by stamping in in Island Indigo ink on matching card stock. I set it aside as I layered my background - some Designer Series Paper Patterns in Lucky Limeade with a stamped SU! Woodgrain background in Lucky Limeade, matted on Lucky Limeade card stock. Then, I stamped the setiment from SU!'s retired Hello, You set on some Daffodil Delight card stock, trimmed with some Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punched in Island Indigo. I adhered my clock and embellished it with an Old Olive Designer Button tied up with some white Baker's Twine. Love it!

Don't forget my I {Heart} Ribbon Taffeta Challenge is still going on, so be sure to play along!

I Love Being Spoiled

2011-08-03T07:00:00.004-04:00

Here's some Taffeta ribbon inspiration for you. I've made this lovely purple number for the gorgeous challenge over at Jay Gee's Nook - always a favorite of mine.

DEEtails:

People often ask me how I manage to pull an inspiration card together, so I'll try to walk you through it a bit today. If you want more details, check out a post I wrote about inspiration pics a while back. If you find this helpful or totally boring (or somewhere in between), please let me know, so I know if I should do posts like this again in the future.

Whenever I start with an inspiration card, I have to be INSPIRED by the inspiration image. I know that seems obvious, but I want to emphasize that I don't participate in every inspiration challenge and it's not because I don't have time... I only play along with the ones that really inspire me.

How do I get inspired? Well, I try to draw several elements from a picture that speak to me - basically, the elements have to be something I like (or sometimes even LOVE) as well as something that I think I can recreate or have embellishments that sort of fit.

In this inspiration challenge, I was drawn to three images towards the bottom of the card... 1) Those pretty petals on the pillow in the bottom left reminded me a bit of my crepe paper Ruffle Flowers. 2) Also notice those doilies (second from the bottom in the center) which I can't resist - love! and 3) The intricate pattern on the bottom right told me to add a little bit of a scalloped detail to my card.

At this point, I don't have any idea of what my card will look like, only that I'm actually interested in making a card inspired by this picture... Of course, I know that I have to stick with the colors of the inspiration card, so I start by pulling out some cardstock - Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Wisteria Wonder, some Whisper White, a bit of Basic Gray. Notice that I don't use ALL these colors... I just pull them out to know what I can work with. I decide that Wisteria Wonder doesn't quite work here, so I put it aside. Having the colors out helps me to think through how I want to combine the elements and colors for my card.

Now I start thinking about my inspiration elements and what I can actually do with them. I recently created a gray crepe paper Ruffled Flower, and I think that would work perfectly, so I pull it out. Dark purple doilies aren't something I have on hand, but I have some white doilies and I find some large lavendar doilies, which might work. I can also stamp some with SU!'s Delicate Doilies set, so I pull those out. And lastly, a pretty scalloped detail is something I can easily make with the Scallop Edge Border punch. I play with my elements a bit, tossing out the idea of using actual doilies since they don't quite work with my Ruffled Flower. Remember, that this is a process, and pulling things out and putting them back are just part of the process.

I decide on Elegant Eggplant doilies stamped on Perfect Plum card stock, so I start stamping a background. I want to tie in those dark doilies with my Scalloped edge, so I punch the border on some Elegant Eggplant card stock. I need something to blend those edges together, so I pull out some Perfect Plum Taffeta which looks absolutely gorgeous with my Ruffled Flower. I want a sentiment that allows for a good amount of gray to show at the bottom (to tie in with my gray flower) as well as balance my big bloom, so I choose the cute Thank You sentiment from SU!'s Afterthoughts and ink it with some Basic Gray. I add a Perfect Plum button, tied up with some gray and white Baker's Twine to finish things off... and Voila! There you have an inspiration card! :)

So tell me... what do you think? Helpful? Total bore snore? Should I go through the inspiration process more often? Are you inspired to start making your own inspiration cards? Do you wish I'd stop typing already? *Giggle*

See you tomorrow... Same place, same time! :)