Brayered Roses with new In Colors!

Here is another card using Patty Bennet's Brayered Roses technique! This time I used both Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo on the roses. The card base is Crushed Curry. The "Best Wishes" comes from the Oval All set. The scallop oval is punched from Melon Mambo cs. A nice simple card - one of my favorite kinds!

Some great pics of Caelen!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Lots of Color Challenges!!

Hi Everyone!!

I have a few color challenges to share with you today! This first one is from the week of May 19th. The colors were Tangerine Tango, Old Olive, So Saffron, and More Mustard.

I started with a card base of Tangerine Tango. My main panel was Very Vanilla. I started by Brayering the whole sheet with so Saffron. Then, I brayered from the top down, not totally covering the Saffron, with More Mustard and finally with Tangerine Tango. From the bottom, I brayered a bit of Old Olive.

Next, I stamped the flowers and sentiment in Chocolate Chip ink. I finished it with a large grommet and 5/8" chocolate chip grosgrain.





This card is from the week of May 26th. The colors were Almost Amethyst, Basic Gray, So Saffron, and Garden Green.

I used one of the new sets that I earned for FREE from Sale a Bration. (One of those extra perks of being a demo!!) This is the "Friends 24-7" set. I stamped the Almost Amethyst panel with the long flowers in Almost Amethyst craft ink (it is a little hard to see in the photo!) and layered it with Garden Green. I stamped the brocade image in White craft ink and embossed it with white embossing powder on a basic gray panel. This was also layered on Garden Green. The "here for you" was stamped on So Saffron inside the frame from the "Great Friend" set, (which is in the current mini catalog and you might see it after that too...). All pieces were layered on a Basic Gray card and then I added some rhinestone brads.



Ok... up next is the challenge from June 2. These colors were Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Apricot Appeal and Gable Green.

This is one of the new sets, that will be in the new and gorgeous catalog, called Circle Circus! I stamped the various circles on White cs in the colors for the week and punched them out with a few different circle punches. I layered them all onto a Whisper White card with some Pink Flamingo DSP, (which you will also be seeing in a new Stampin' Up! publication arriving July 1st). I added the silver jumbo brad. Finally, the "Happy Birthday" comes from the Very Versatile set in the mini - which will not be available after this month... and was punched out with the word window punch!...


Last but not least, is the challenge from this week! The colors were Barely Banana, Garden Green and Bordering Blue. Since we have some new In-Colors, we could swap out the Banana for the new Crushed Curry!! So that is what I did!

I started by embossing my Whisper White cs with the Manhattan flowers embossing folder in my big shot! Then, i turned it over and brayered some crushed curry ink onto the "wrong" side to get the color on the flowers and not on the outline. (I learned this technique from Patty Bennet's blog!)
Next, I cut out around the flowers.

I stamped the grass from the "Inspired by Nature" set and the sentiment in Garden green on my Bordering Blue card. Attached the flowers and that is it!!!!


So now I am all caught up! Phew!!!!

Stay tuned in the next few days for a few more sneak peeks!!! More new in colors and stamp sets!!

Last Chance Lists!

The Last Chance lists are out now for this year! These are the products that will no longer be available after June 30th. Some of the items, like those on the Retiring Accessories List are only available while supplies last. So get your orders in early!! You can order online directly through my Stampin' Up! website or by calling or e-mailing me with your order!

Decor Elements list

Stamp Sets listed Alphabetically

Stamp Sets listed Numerically by page number

Accessories

There are some other great promotions going on including the fact that some of the accessories are on sale for as much as 50% off and that you can get extra hostess dollars when you host a show this month! Check those out here!

Creative Challenge

The latest Creative Challenge for my group was an inspiration challenge. The picture that was to be our inspiration was this picture of dishes from Walmart.

As soon as I saw these dishes, I thought, Priceless, the stamp set that is! I also saw the colors Night of Navy and a little So Saffron along with Whisper White!

Did you ever have one of those moments when you get a picture in your head of a card? You have this vision and then when you put it on paper it doesn't quite look as good as it did in your head.... I kinda feel that way with this card.

I started with a Whisper White card. Next, I stamped a strip of White with the larger swirl from Priceless in Night of Navy ink. I

layered this with Night of Navy card stock and then with So Saffron. For the Sentiment, I stamped the So Kind in Night of Navy ink and punched it out with the large oval. I punched out a scallop oval from So Saffron and an extra large oval from Night of Navy. I layered the ovals together and added them to the card. That is it. A nice, simple, quick card!!

I hope you enjoy it!!

Color Challenge 05-12-09

This week's colors were Really Rust, Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip. These colors go really well together!

I have had this tin sitting on my desk ready to be altered for a long time now! I guess I have been looking for the right inspiration to decorate it. The tin held Mulling spices from Williams-Sonoma. I simply cleaned it out and let it dry thoroughly. I took a piece of Designer Series paper from the Urban Garden pack and stamped it with stampes from Friends 24-7 set in Chocolate Chip and Really Rust ink. Then I used sticky strip to adhere it to the outside of the tin.

For the top, I covered the outside rim with the 5/8" chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon. Next, I used my Big shot to cut out the scallop circle from Baja Breeze textured cs. Next, I cut out a 3.5" diameter circle from Very Vanilla cs using the Circle Scissors plus. The Vanilla piece was stamped with the bird image in Chocolate Chip ink. I used my markers to color it. Next, I colored over the whole thing with my Versamarker and embossed it with clear EP. Then, I stamped the damask image in Baja Breeze around the outside and sponged with both Really Rust and Chocolate Chip. I adhered these layers to the top and folded up the scallops on the top.

I really enjoying covering tins like this! It goes with that whole reduce reuse recycle thing! And, they even look nice too!

Color Challenge 05-05-09

Last week's color challenge colors were Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla and Certainly Celery. I wanted to try the latest craze in watercoloring techniques. You can see a great tutorial by Patty Bennett here.
It came out ok... I think I need some practice to get it just right. Also, I think the colors got a little washed out in the picture. Anyway, I chested a little on the colors and used Shimmery white instead of Very vanilla. The Very Vanilla does not hold up well to a lot of water like the Shimmery White does. The card base is Baja Breeze and the sentiment is a rub on from the Chit Chat set. The stamps I used were Fifth Ave Florals - my favorite!

May Card Class!

HI Everyone,

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's day! Mine was good and not too stressful - Yay!!

Anyway, I am trying to get back into a regular routine and get back to my classes! So below is a picture of the cards we will be making at my next class!

This class will be $10 for all 4 cards! Plus, each of these cards has a different technique - so extra bonus!

The class will be held on Wednesday, May 20th at 7pm and again on Friday, May 22nd at 10am! Please let me know if you would like to come by Monday May 18th. Also, if you can't make it, I will be offering a class kit by mail with instructions and pictures of each card. The images can even be pre-stamped for you iof you would like.

I am really excited to share these cards with you! So, come join me!!!

Check back tomorrow for the latest color challenge!

Enjoy!

Color Challenge 04-28-09!

Well, I am just about caught up now. This color challenge was to use Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss. I like all of these colors and I even like them toghether... but I am not sure I like them for this card.

I embossed the Tangerine Tango card stock with the Manhattan flowers enbossing folder. Next, I wrapped that piece of CS with the Kiwi Kiss and Very Vanilla satin ribbon (have I told you that I love this ribbon and hole we get it in more colors next year??). Finally I attached this to the Chocolate chip card and added the Scallop oval stamped with a sentiment from the Oval All stamp set!

More Color Challenges!

Ok... so here is the challenge from April 24th. The colors were Riding Hood Red, Always Artichoke and Basic Grey.

I used my brayer for this card. Have you heard of Michelle Zindorf and her brayer technique?? She is like a superstar on Splitcoaststampers. She makes amazing cards! Recently she signed up to be a Stampin' Up! demo and is actually one of my sidelines!! I even get to meet her in September at our upcoming Fall Fest! Anyway, all of that was to tell you that her work is what inspired this card!!!

I stamped the flowers from Upsy Daisy in Basic Gray. Next, I brayered the top with Riding Hood Red and the bottom with Always Artichoke. Next I sponged around the entire panel with Basic Gray ink. I added some highlights to the flowers with my white gel pen.

Enjoy!

Color Challenge Catch up!

HI Everyone,

I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday! Here is the card I made for the color challenge from April 14th. The colors were Baha Breeze, Pink Pirouette, Certainly Celery and Kraft. I made 2 versions of this card. One with the brads on the bottom the other with the new small grommets from the Occassions mini! I used the ones with the grommets for my swap at Spring Fling.

Spring Fling is a demonstrator event run by my upline. This is one of the places that we get training and ideas for our business! Did you see my post yesterday about being able to sign up to be a demo for only $75?? Now is a great time to be a demonstrator! Call me for more info!!

May is Scrapbooking Month!

Oh wow!!! There are some great promotions going on this month at Stampin' Up! for National Scrapbooking month!

1. Buy 3, get 1 Free!! - That's right when you buy 3 packs of Designer Series Paper or Textured Card Stock, you get to choose one more for FREE! You can mix and match for any combination of DSP and Textured CS!

2. There is a new alphabet set called the Jumble Alphabet that will be released in the new catalog in July. Well, you can get it now for 20% off the regular price!! This alphabet includes both upper and lower case letters and is double mounted.

3. Best of all, you can be a demonstrator for just $75!!!! Can you believe it? That is the best price for a Starter Kit that I have ever seen!

For More info on any of these great promotions, just click here! Also, you can always give me a call or send me an e-mail for more info too!

Catching up on Color Challenges!

OK... so I have actually been doing the color challenges on time each week... but I have not had a chance to post them. So over the next few days, I will post my color challenges from the last 3 or so weeks.This was from April 7th. The colors were Certainly Celery, Sage Shadow, Pretty in Pink, and So Saffron. My inspiration for this project was based on another challenge I saw on Splitcoaststampers.com. That challenge was to make this envelope scrapbook. There is a tutorial here!

This was a lot of fun to make and I can't wait to put some photos in it.

Enjoy!

Birthday Pop Up Card

On April 1st, Stampin' Up! released the new pop-up dies for the Sizzix Big Shot. Best part is they are not available anywhere else yet! Anyway, there is a birthday cake pop up and a ball pop up. Both dies come with great instructions and make amazing cards, scrap pages or decorations.

Here is a card that I made with the Birthday cake pop up. I made for a birthday party my daughter was attending.

The stamps and this paper happen to be retired, but the idea certainly isn't.... The cake was just colored with Stampin' Write markers. I punched the top and bottom of the panel with the Eyelet border punch. The background of the card was stamped tone on tone with the little flower stamp. Finally, I layered the Happy Birthday on a scallop circle and popped it up with a Dimensional.

Now for the inside..................

When you open the card, this beautiful cake pops up to greet you. I decorated the layers with some of the flowers from the 3 flower punch. The candles on the top are from the die. Finally, for the bottom of the card, I added another eyelet border.

I will share another of these cards with you tomorrow. It is the card I made for my friends baby shower.

See you then!

Color Challenge 03-31-09

Ok.... so I am posting this late as usual! My sister, Shine, has been on my case for days. She has been telling me, "People want to see new things on your blog, not just the same picture for weeks. Now, go update your blog so I can see some of your new projects...."


I know that she is right! But, sometimes, life just gets in the way... So, I hope that you will continue to check out my blog and understand, that I try my best to update it as often as I can! :)


So here is my project for today! It was the color challenge for last week. The colors are Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Pumpkin Pie and So Saffron. I have been wanting to make a card with my new set from the Occassions mini called Very Versatile. I also needed some more inspiration and used Beate's Weekend Sketch.
This card is 4x8". The Designer Series paper on the side is from the Urban Garden pack. The Corduroy buttons can be found in the new Mini. The Ribbon is the free ribbon that I got during Sale-a-bration.
I also took some time to decorate the inside of the card.

Some Spring pics of the kids!

Make a Smilebox greeting

...and even More Swap Cards

This card above was made by Tracy Bakunas. I love this set - Fifth Avenue Florals... It is definitely my favorite!

This one was made by Michelle Zindorf. You should definitely check out her blog. She does just amazing things with a brayer!! You can also find her work on Splitcoaststampers.com

This beauty comes from the very talented Karen Barber!

... and finally this one was made by Brenda Rosenau. I love those little birds! I also really like the way she used the negative space from the Top Note die.


I hope you have enjoying seeing these amazing works of art by some very talented ladies!

New Matchbox Die in the Occassions mini!

As soon as I saw this new Big Shot die, I knew that I had to have it! Not only did I have a million ideas in my head, but then my friend Stasia posted this link to another demos blog, with this amazing project and I just had to copy it!

So here is my take on the treasure chest. I used the new Walk in the Park DSP that will be available on April 1st in the new Occassions mini catalog.

For the drawer pulls, I used the Jumbo Eyelets and Clear Rhinestone brads. The ribbon is the Organza.

For this one, I used the Pink Flamingo DSP and for the drawer pulls, I used the new Small Grommets and some Grosgrain ribbon.

I decided to use this one as my new holder for my Inchies. The box that I had them in was getting a little small.

I hope you enjoy these!

Some More Swap Cards!

Here are a few more of the awesome swap cards I received from the Big Shot and Favorite new set swap.

This one was made by Dawn Byers.

This creation is by Laura Davis.... and finally the last one was made by Tami Carder-Loos.

Aren't they amazing? I love how each of these talented ladies used the Simple Flower embosslit, yet made them look so different.

Color Challenge for St. Patty's Day!

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are enjoying your St. Patrick's Day! With a name like Kelly Mahoney, you know I am wearing my green today! I was also paper crafting in Green for this week's color challenge! This week was anything green.

This card also fits two other challenge's - The Weekend Sketch challenge by Beate and friends and the current Creative Challenge to use at least 2 different dies and the Big Shot on your project.

So here it is:

I started with a Certainly Celery Card. I used the Top Note die and made a Whisper White and a Sale-a-Bration DSP top note. I layered those together and attached them to the card. I wrapped a piece of Organza ribbon around it. Next, I stamped Thanks from the Illuminations stamp set in Certainly Celery ink. I also stamped the "t" in Handsome Hunter (I almost wrote Forest Foliage - Silly me!) and cut it out and layered it on top of the Stamped piece. I layered that piece and another piece of Handsome Hunter that was just a tiny bit larger than the white.

Next, I used the Big SHot again and with Handsome Hunter Cs and the Simple Flower embosslit, I made that flower on the bottom of the card. I added some Tombow Multi Purpose adhesive and some green glitter. This was then adhered with a Dimensional. For the clover, I used the Heart to Heart punch and punched out 3 of the fat hearts from Handsome Hunter cs. I free hand cut the stem and attached all to the card.

Enjoy!

Also, I wanted to share with you a few pics from this weekend. We took the kids to see the Circus at the Izod center. They had a blast and so did we!!