Hello! It’s Friday, which means it’s time for a new Sweet ‘n Sassy Digi Challenge! This week we have a color challenge: Pink and Black. You’ll need to create a card using a digital image and showcasing the colors pink and black! You may also use white or cream/ivory cardstock and embellishments. You don’t have to use a Sweet ‘n Sassy digital image, but we really enjoy seeing our participants use them (and you get the chance for extra perks if you do – see the Digi Challenge site for more details!).

I decided to get a start on Mother’s Day cards for Operation Write Home, so that’s how I chose the sentiment and the feminine feel of my card.  The layout is a Sweet Stop sketch from several weeks ago, turned on its side.  In retrospect considering the challenge theme, I probably should have used more pink and black and less ivory, but I’m happy with how the card turned out.

Now it’s your turn to show us what you can create!  Link your card at the Sweet ‘n Sassy Digi Challenge site by midnight eastern time Thursday, February 14.  Be sure to see what the rest of the  Design Team has created and give them some comment love, too.  Links to their blogs are in the left sidebar.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Digital Images: Lotus Flower, Mother’s Day Sentiments (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Blushing Bride, Basic Black, Very Vanilla (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: printer ink
Other: Premier colored pencils (Prismacolor); odorless mineral spirits (Houston Arts); Victoria embossing folder (ProvoCraft); half pearls (KaiserCraft)

Hello! Happy Friday! Are you ready for another Sweet ‘n Sassy Digi Challenge?

This week’s challenge is Hip To Be Square! We’re asking that you create a square or cubic project using a digital image as your focal point. You don’t have to use a Sweet ‘n Sassy digital image, but we do enjoy seeing our participants use them (and you get the chance for extra perks if you do – see the Digi Challenge site for more details!). Link your card at the Sweet ‘n Sassy Digi Challenge site by midnight eastern time Thursday, October 4.

I’ll admit that I went pretty simple and made a square card. I used a Sweet Stop sketch from last May for my card’s layout.  The cupcake liner was paper pieced. (Paper piecing is such a good way to use up small scrap pieces of designer paper!) I thought this would make a cute, cheery card for someone.

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to see what the rest of the Design Team has created and give them some comment love. Links to their blogs are in the left sidebar.

Supplies:
Digital Images: Cupcake Cocoa, Masculine Birthday Greetings (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Almost Amethyst, Tea Party designer series paper (Stampin’ Up); Solar White (Neenah)
Ink: printer ink
Other: markers (Copic); buttons (SU); embroidery thread (DMC); Labels Nine Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)

Good morning!  I’m finally getting around to sharing this card that I made for one of the Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps Release Party challenges that was presented last weekend at Splitcoaststampers.  The challenge this time was to use buttons and brads to embellish the card.  Well, I used only one button, but I think that was OK.  I used brads for the centers of the flowers.  I was happy to discover just how well the SNSS stamp image works with this retired Stampin’ Up designer paper.  That’s why I chose to color the flowers the way I did; normally I’d use a lighter color but I was trying for something to coordinate the image with the designer paper.  The layout is Sweet Stop Sketch #170.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Happy Place (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Soft Sky, Old Olive, Fall Flowers designer series paper (SU); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Old Olive (SU); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); button (Basic Grey); ribbon (Offray); brads (Bazzill); linen thread (SU); sponge

Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps is having a Christmas in July blog hop – and their customers are invited to participate, too!  They’re celebrating big time with a special offer on their Christmas themed clear stamps, and they are even pre-releasing some new Christmas sets!  Check out the Sweet ‘n Sassy blog for all the details on this limited time offer.

Here’s what I created for this event.  I’ve used the digital image Rhubarb Santa with this week’s Sweet Stop sketch challenge layout.  Because I’m going to send this card to Operation Write Home, I wanted to keep it easy to mail, but I did add a little bit of dimension and texture by using Liquid Applique for the fluffy trim on Rhubarb’s hat.

Stay tuned for Friday’s post… the Sweet ‘n Sassy Digi Challenge Design Team is joining in the fun with a blog hop to celebrate the new release of several Christmas digital images!  You won’t want to miss it!

Supplies:
Digital Image: Rhubarb Santa (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Real Red (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K. Designs); designer papers from Holly Jolly Christmas 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Echo Park)
Ink: printer ink
Other: markers (Copic); Liquid Applique (Marvy); standard circle and petite scalloped circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders)

Jun 142012

It’s getting down to the wire for me to finish up Father’s Day cards for my husband, my dad, and my father-in-law!  Today I’m sharing the card I made for my family to send my father-in-law.

The layout for this card is a tweak of this week’s Sweet Stop Sketch turned on its side.  The background was created by watercoloring on white cardstock with several different ink colors.  The red squares were trimmed from the top of the main background panel.  I stamped the cattails image three times, omitting parts of it on the right side of the panel to allow room for the sentiment.  I also added in a grass image as “filler”.

Supplies:
Stamps: images from Serene Silhouettes (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps); sentiment from Dream Big (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: Soft Sky, Basic Black (Stampin’ Up); Solar White (Neenah)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: corner rounder punch (EK Success); Soft Sky, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Riding Hood Red ink refills (SU)

Happy Friday to you!  It’s time for another Sweet ‘n Sassy Digi Challenge!

This week’s theme is Weddings and Best Wishes.  My husband and I have been invited to a wedding in June, so this was good timing!  I opted to keep the color scheme for my card very simple and stayed with the ever elegant combination of ivory and black.  I even chose not to color the digital image I used – ok, partly because I’m still a bit intimidated by the intricacy of it, and partly because I genuinely think it looks great even in plain black and white (or ivory).  To prevent the card from seeming too plain, I used one of my favorite embossing folders on the large main panel, added a pretty embroidered ribbon and some Primas with pearls, and popped up the sentiment with dimensional adhesive. The sentiment and image come from the same digital stamp set, Hummingbird with Scripture.  How handy is that, to have a gorgeous image and some sentiments all together in one download? The layout is a Sweet Stop sketch from almost a year ago.

The rest of the design team and I hope you’ll join us this week!  Simply create a card with a wedding or best wishes theme, using a digital image for the focal point.  Link your card at the Sweet ‘n Sassy Digi Challenge site.  Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps digital images aren’t required, but we do love when you use those (and you get the chance for perks if you do – see the site for more details!).  Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies for today’s card:
Digital Images: Hummingbird with Scripture (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Pure Ivory Pure Luxury (Gina K. Designs); Basic Black (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: printer ink
Other: Victoria embossing folder (ProvoCraft); ribbon (Offray); flowers (Prima Marketing); pewter half pearls (KaiserCraft); standard circle and petite oval Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders)

Today one of my friends is celebrating her birthday.  She’s a pretty amazing lady, this friend.  She’s a loving mom to two busy young boys, she recently took on a second job outside the home, and she’s a devoted supporter of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.  Plus she does all the normal mom and wife things like taking care of the house and finding the best buys on groceries and cooking meals for her husband and kids.  I honestly don’t know how she does it all.

So here’s the birthday card I sent to her this year.  I combined the current Dynamic Duos challenge colors with the current Sweet Stop sketch (but turned the sketch on its side).  I also included the Sweet Stop “spin” of ruffling the ribbon I used on the card.  The chicken image is popped up with dimensional adhesive.  Just for fun, I stamped a few chicken footprints on the liner inside the card.  The sentiment is computer generated directly on the yellow panel.  I was afraid the Dynamic Duos “dessert” option of dry embossing would mess up the printing, so I decided to skip the dessert.

 

If you know Victoria, I hope you’ll join me in wishing her the very happiest of birthdays – because she truly is an awesome chick!  I ♥ her bunches and I’m so lucky to have her as a friend.

Supplies for today’s card:
Digital Image: Hey Chicky (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Stamp {inside the card}: Best of Cluck (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Basic Black, Daffodil Delight (SU); Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); printer ink
Other: markers (Copic); black grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals (SU)

Well, it started becoming obvious that I won’t be able to complete all nine of the Stars and Stamps Blog Rebel Challenges before Thursday’s deadline.  So for this card, I’ve combined two challenges.  Yvonne at Penguin Papers asked OWHers to make a card using bright colors, and Sheila at 2 Paw Prints challenged us to make a card with an owl on it (with a bonus if a punny sentiment was used).  So I figured why not go whimsical rather than realistic and make card with a brightly colored owl?

I paper pieced Opal Owl using various papers from Basic Grey (and I guess that makes this card eligible for Sherry’s paper piecing challenge, too, as well as this week’s Splitcoaststampers Technique Lovers’ Challenge).  The layout was strongly inspired by Sweet Stop Sketch #157 but I stretched out the sketch to a rectangle,  substituted the owl for the circular focal point, and shifted the focal point toward the left so I’d have room for the sentiment banner.

I just think this would be a really cute card for one of our heroes to send home to his or her child.  What do you think?

Supplies:
Digital Images: Opal Owl, Owl Sentiments 2 (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Tangerine Tango, Basic Black, Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi (Stampin’ Up); papers from Ambrosia and Blitzen collections (Basic Grey)
Ink: printer ink
Other: flowers (Prima Marketing); mini brads (Making Memories); Plaid embossing folder (Sizzix)

Whew!  Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps introduced their May 2012 release products last Thursday and held challenges at Splitcoaststampers.com to celebrate the new items.  In between the housework and shopping and everything else that needed to be done this weekend, I managed to get cards made for all three of the challenges… although it really came down to the wire this evening!

The first challenge was to make a masculine card, and the second challenge was not to use markers, colored pencils, etc. to color the image on the card.  I combined those ideas for my first card.  I cut the ticket shapes from colored cardstock and stamped them.  I had to use the trial and error method for getting the tiny envelope sized correctly for the card; I think this was attempt number three.  But the envelope guide on my Martha Stewart scoring board helped make creating the envelope a fairly easy task.  I took the cues for the colors I used from the current Splitcoaststampers Color Challenge.  Even though the challenge was to make a masculine card, I think mine turned out gender neutral.  But it’s definitely not something frilly and feminine.

 

I made another card for the second challenge, this time using paper piecing to add color to the image I chose.  The layout for this card is OWH Stars and Stamps Blog Sketch #119.  Except for the card base, all the cardstock and designer paper used on this card were scraps!  The only “problem” with this card is that I can’t decide whether to categorize it as a love-themed card or an any occasion card for Operation Write Home.  What do you think?  Please leave a comment with your opinion!

 

The third challenge ended up being the most time consuming for me, and this was the card that had me scrambling to meet the deadline.  The challenge was to use punched or die-cut shapes to create a faux embossed look to the card.  I decided to use a flower punch to create the shapes for my faux embossing.  Although I had seen the technique before, this was the first time I ever tried it.  I learned that Mono Multi probably isn’t the best adhesive to use for adhering your punched shapes.  I feel a Xyron would have been better.  I tried a stippling technique with my Copics to create the background around Rhubarb the bear.  I love this sentiment; I think it is excellent for cards for OWH! The layout for this card is this week’s Sweet Stop Sketch stretched out into a rectangle.

 

So that’s what I’ve been up to this weekend.  I hope you had a good weekend, too!  Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies for the birthday ticket card:
Stamps: Ticket Sentiments (Sweet ‘N Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Kraft, Basic Black, Naturals Ivory, Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Pennants and More dies (SNSS); 1/4″ circle hole punch

Supplies for the hot pepper card:
Stamps: Punny Fruits & Veggies (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); Basic Black (SU); scraps from Phoebe and Blush collections (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: small scallop die (Papertrey Ink); standard circle Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)

Supplies for the Rhubarb the bear card:
Stamps: Thoughtful Rhubarb (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: So Saffron, Marina Mist, Pink Pirouette (Stampin’ Up); Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Spring Bouquet flower punch (SU); markers (Copic); mini brads (Making Memories); standard circle and petite scalloped circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders)

you just never know...

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May 032012

… when you’re going to need an image of a person using a vacuum cleaner.

I bought this stamp several years ago to use to make a birthday card for my mom, who’s always been an excellent housekeeper.  However, now that Mom is getting older, she’s starting to need some extra help.  So as a Christmas present to her and Dad, my sisters and I joined forces to have a cleaning lady come in once a month to do some of the more difficult jobs.  I needed to pay the lady for the next four months, and rather than just sticking a check in an envelope for her, I made today’s card to go along with her payment.  The layout is Sweet Stop Sketch #81 turned on its side, and I opted not to include a sentiment panel. It was nice to use some of my older Stampin’ Up designer paper in creating this!  My coloring turned out a little wonky in the photo; the lady’s shirt and vacuum cleaner match the pink and raspberry in the designer papers better in real life.

Supplies:
Stamp: Kindred Spirits Sara (Gina K. Designs)
Cardstock: Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); Pretty in Pink, Berry Bliss designer series papers (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic)

ice cream cone? yes, please

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Apr 272012

Here’s the card I made for the Sweet Stop sketch challenge that ends tonight.  (One day I hope to be able to get my sketch challenge completed several days before the deadline, and not right at the last minute!)  This is my take on Sweet Stop sketch #120.  I rotated the sketch for a vertical layout and simplified it by not matting each layer.  I have to admit I’m a little disappointed in the photo because I thought I’d done a better job blending the browns when I was coloring the bear.  But I’ve already sent the card off to Operation Write Home so I can’t take another picture of it.  I did enjoy using some of my Prima flowers to dress up this card a bit.  I’ve been making so many Father’s Day cards lately, it was nice to create something more feminine for a change of pace.

Supplies used:
Digital Image: Rhubarb’s Ice Cream Cone (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Sentiment Stamp: Everyday Sayings (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink (Stampin’ Up); Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); “Lombard Street” from Phoebe 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); printer ink
Other: white grosgrain ribbon (SU); flowers (Prima Marketing); micro brads (Recollections); Labels Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)

I incorporated a lot of challenges into today’s card!   First of all, this week’s Sweet Stop Sketch challenge was to follow a previous Sweet Stop sketch for your project’s layout.  It took me a while to decide because there are so many awesome choices there, but I finally picked sketch #118 and stretched it out for an A2 portrait-oriented card.  The current Sweet ‘n Sassy Digi Challenge is to create a project with a vintage or antique look; I think I accomplished that with the sponging I added to the different panels on the card.  The OWH Midweek Throwdown challenge is to use the colors brown and turquoise; those are the dominant colors here even though I’ve added some splashes of yellow.  I’ve also fit in this week’s Splitcoaststampers Free For All challenge to mix and match two or more designer papers (I’ve used three – the turquoise background, the turquoise and brown stripe, and the yellow scalloped border is also a designer paper scrap).

Enough talk… here’s the card:

Supplies:
Digital Image: Butterfly & Flower (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Sentiment Stamp: Everyday Sayings (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla (Stampin’ Up); designer papers from Blush and Two Scoops 6″ x 6″ paper pads (Basic Grey)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean, Soft Sky (SU); printer ink
Other: Chocolate Chip twill ribbon (SU); Premier colored pencils (Prismacolor); odorless mineral spirits (Houston Arts); small scalloped border die (Papertrey Ink); sponge

Yes, I know the post title seems out of place because today is Tuesday.  Today I’m sharing cards I made yesterday for the Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps April release party challenges at Splitcoaststampers.com.  Sweet ‘n Sassy sponsored three challenges to celebrate their new products.

Since I don’t always do things in order, LOL, the first card I created was for the third challenge, to make a monochromatic card.  This idea came to me pretty quickly; I’ve seen this general card idea done by several people who share their work in the Splitcoaststampers gallery.  The only hesitation I had was in choosing white or Soft Sky cardstock for the base of this one layer card.  I decided to hoard the Soft Sky and go with white. I used large Post-It notes to mask off the area I wanted to ink.

 

The second challenge was to use the theme of “April showers” as your inspiration.  I wasn’t easily coming up with any ideas for that, so I went on with the first challenge and made a birthday card.  I decided to combine this with the current Sweet Stop sketch challenge – to use any of the previous Sweet Stop sketches.  I chose sketch #145 to show off one of my newest digital images.  I took the color scheme from the designer papers.

And now I have two more cards for the box I’m planning to send to Operation Write Home at the end of the month.  Now I need to get working on Father’s Day cards to include in that shipment!

Supplies for the monochromatic card:
Stamps: Butterfly Flourish, Love From Cocoa (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Soft Sky, Baja Breeze, Blue Bayou (Stampin’ Up)
Other: post-it notes; sponges

Supplies for the birthday card:
Digital Image: Cookie’s Gift (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Stamps: Everyday Sayings (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Razzleberry Lemonade designer paper (Stampin’ Up); Solar White (Neenah)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); printer ink
Other: Rich Razzleberry ribbon (SU); markers (Copic)

I’ve been trying to get some masculine cards made for the Operation Write Home Muscle Card Challenge.  This one uses the Sweet Stop sketch #152 layout.  I’m not sure I like the contrast of the white background in the designer paper against the darker colors, but it was the best designer paper I had to match the colors and scene of my focal point. The focal point is stamped on glossy paper brayered with ink from a rainbow pad. I’ve had it done up for so long that I have to confess I’m not 100% sure which rainbow pad I used, and I think the colors have mellowed a bit. I *think* it’s Adirondack’s Wildflower pad. This week’s OWH Stars and Stamps Midweek Throwdown challenge is to create “thinking of you” cards, so that was the inspiration for the sentiment I chose.  (I was hurrying to get this blogged, but don’t worry – I’ll go back and put a white liner inside the card!)

Supplies:
Stamps: Serene Silhouettes, Thoughtful Rhubarb (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps); Sanded (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Glossy White, Autumn Vine designer paper (SU)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Not Quite Navy (SU); rainbow ink pad (source unsure)
Other: standard circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); brayer

I just love this sentiment from one of the stamp sets Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps released earlier this month.  It’s so perfect for cards for Operation Write Home!  I’ve been slowly but surely working on filling a box of cards for the OWH Mother’s Day Challenge, and today’s card is one of the general themes cards I’m making for it.

I used Sweet Stop sketch #146 for the layout, with a few tweaks – I switched the rectangular panel to a vertical format, which meant I needed to place it over the ribbon because I didn’t want to cover up Rhubarb the bear’s feet.  I liked the current Desert Islands Craft Challenge itinerary enough to create another card for it.  This time the elements I used were the color green, two or more patterned papers, two or more die cuts, and stitching.  I do have to say that as much as I love the look of stitching on cards, handstitching around the perimeter of this one took longer than I thought it would.  But I’m completely amazed and pleasantly surprised that many of the DMC embroidery floss colors I bought during my cross stitching days back in the late 1980s and early 1990s coordinate with the Stampin’ Up cardstocks and designer papers I own now!

Supplies:
Stamps: Thoughtful Rhubarb (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Soft Sky, Afternoon Tea designer papers (Stampin’ Up); Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: scallop border die (Papertrey Ink); classic scalloped rectangle and petite scalloped circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); corner rounder punch (SU); embroidery floss (DMC); markers (Copic)

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