Cupcake Inspirations Challenge 294

Hello Dearies! It's time for another Cupcake Inspirations Challenge. This week we have a yummy color combination for you...

We are sponsored this week by Fresh Brewed Designs. My friend, Heather, has lots of fun images there. When you have a chance, take a peek at her shop. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to use any of her designs on my card today. 

DEEtails:

I'm not gonna lie... I had a bit of a rough time with this challenge. What I was envisioning in my head just wasn't coming out for me on paper. I went through about four different designs before I settled with this one... Some doilies stamped and embossed on vellum cardstock. Some bits of chevron peeking through.Of course, I had to add polka dots, too. I found these great wooden tags in my stash and added a little sentiment - from Expressions Thinlits paired with a word from Simply Celebrate. And then a bit of sparkle. :) What do you think?

Paper: Pink Pirouette Cardstock, Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack, Vellum Cardstock

Stamps: Delicate Doilies, Simply Celebrate

Ink: VersaMark, Whisper White

Embellishments: Frosted Sequins, Pink Pirouette Chevron Ribbon, Pink Pirouette Taffeta Ribbon, Recollections wood tag, Smoky Slate Stampin' Emboss Powder, washi tape

Tools: Expressions Thinlits Dies, heat embossing tool

Be sure to visit the rest of the Sweeties and leave them some love! If you're interested in becoming a part of our team, you're in luck! We're holding a Design Team call this month. We'd love for you to join us! Check out all the details here.

Naki and Nina's Double Dare Challenge - We're Back!

If you've been visiting this blog for a while, you may remember a fun little challenge that my friend Naki and I started. It's been ages since we've played - Naki had a baby (or three), I had my health issues, and it just sort of fizzled... We still chat with each other daily and we've recently been restless about crafting and wanting to bring the challenge back... So, here it is! Newly made over, it's Naki and Nina's Double Dare Challenge!

Here's how it works: For each challenge, Naki and I blindly pick something that we want to work with (a color scheme, tool, sketch, technique, inspiration, whatever!) Then we combine our picks to make a Double Dare Challenge! Sometimes we come up with some crazy combinations (like once it was butterflies and Halloween!) We encourage you to play along too and you can share a link to your creation in our comments. So, let's get started, shall we?!

Naki's pick for this challenge is to use gold. 

We've both been loving metallics lately and our latest obsession has been gold.

My pick was to include polka dots. 

Of course, did you notice that our badges fit this challenge? Haha!

Here are the DEEtails for my card:

I started with a piece of polka dotted Gold Soiree DSP and layered it with a doily and some Crisp Cantaloupe Cardstock for my card base. Then I added a strip of Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon. I die cut some feathers using various gold papers - Gold Foil Sheets, some Gold Glimmer Paper, and a striped one from Gold Soiree. I wanted to offset all the sine and glitter with a bit of a rustic touch, so I went with a wood Polaroid style frame that I found up at the craft store for cheap on Christmas clearance! I added the sentiment, a small "Thank You" from Gifts of Kindness, stamped in Gold Metallic ink and die cut with one of the Bitty Banner Framelits Dies. I love all the layers that come together on this card. 

Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe Cardstock, Gold Foil Sheets, Gold Glimmer Paper, Gold Soiree DSP
Stamps: Gifts of Kindness
Ink: Gold Metallic Encore
Embellishments: Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon, Recollections wood frame, Wilton doily
Tools: Bitty Banner Framelits Dies, Feathers Framelits Dies

Now be sure to pop over to Naki's blog to see what she has made. If you'd like to play along with us, just create something with Gold and Polka Dots and share a link to your creation in the comments below! Naki and I can't wait to see what you come up with!

What I Wore

Now that I'm back to work, I'm back to getting dressed in real clothes. Haha. So, I thought I'd share my outfits from last week. As vain as it may be to show my outfits to the world, it actually is kind of fun to document my clothes, especially after not being able to wear regular clothes for quite some time. Plus it sometimes turns out to be a lifesaver for me when I forget what how I styled something later on. (I know... that sounds silly!) But in all reality, documenting my outfits actually motivates me to dress a little more fun. I would probably wear a black dress Every. single. day. if nobody paid attention. Haha. But you'll notice this week was bookended with a bit of color (wine cardigan on Monday and cobalt dress on Friday!)

...And yes, for those of you who were wondering, I do wear dresses practically every day, even in the winter! I wear camisoles and leggings (sometimes a pair of tights too!) under my dresses to stay warm and usually pair them with cardigans. I still can't wear jeans from the sensitivity from surgery and some leggings are too painful to wear, but I've found a few comfy ones that I can throw on. It does mean having to do laundry more often though, haha.

DAY ONE

 dress: h&m / cardigan: old navy (similar) / necklace: groopdealz (also sold here) / bracelets: kate spade

DAY TWO

dress: macys by studio m / cardigan: loft (similar) / necklace: macys by bar III / bracelet: kate spade

DAY THREE

dress: old navy (similar) / cardigan: loft / necklace: groopdealz

DAY FOUR

dress: tj maxx by max studio / cardigan: target / necklace: express

DAY FIVE

 dress: old navy (similar in style, similar in color) / necklace: tiffany & co.

DAY SIX: SHOPPING AT TARGET

shirt: jcrew factory / sweater: jcrew factory / vest: loft (similar) / leggings: kate spade

What did you wear this week? If you have a "What I Wore" post on your blog, I'd love to see it! Link it up in the comments below.