The Challenge is Back!

Hi Everyone and Happy Labor Day!

After a long summer's break, The Challenge is back and better than ever!  Our first challenge of the month is a sketch~

Here is your sketch~

I got my color and style inspiration from Runway Inspired Challenge~

I am also linking up to Virginia's Challenge at Virginia's View- 'Geometrics'
The leaves are made with Stampin' Up's new leaf framelits.  I sponged and spritzed with Distress inks.  Spritzed with Heidi Swapp Color Mist.  Added Stampin' Up gold thread and some sequins.
The sentiment is from one of my favorite sentiment sets, Altenew's Label Love.

Ready to join us?  Here is the rest of the Design Team inspiration~

Lesley Croghan

Kimberly Wiener

Lori Tecler

Nancy Salkeld

Kim Heggins

Anita Madden

Michele Ferguson

Claire Broadwater

Then link up at The Challenge!

Blessings to you!  Lee Ann  :)

Map Quest

Hello, Everyone!

Happy Sunday, and if you are a superbowl fan, then Happy Superbowl Sunday! I for one am not really a fan and have no connection to either team, so for me, Happy Stamping Sunday, LOL!
  I cannot get enough of the Map It Out Set from Stampin Up.  Maybe it is because I have such a love of travel and am already dreaming of National Parks for the up coming summer.
I thought it would be fun to try a collage style card and use a sketch from one of my fave designers.  Her sketches always challenge me.  Here is my card based on Chupa's sketch~

And the sketch~

 

So, I don't know about you, but taking pictures of cards is one of the most difficult parts of this crafting process for me.  With all of the dimension in my card, I could not get all elements in focus at the same time.  This pic is much clearer, although is not the entire card.  

 

I started with dragging my cardstock through some Crumb Cake, Real Red and Daffodil Delight ink spritzed with water on my craft mat.  You can read a tutorial for this technique here.  Next, I stamped my map image in Basic Gray.   As much of my red and yellow ink turned into orange ink, I spritzed the map image with some red Fireworks spray ink.  The map was fussy cut out.  

I cut a couple of hexagons out of my This and That Epic Day dsp.  I backed them with cs.  My arrow was die cut out and them stamped using Crumb Cake ink and the tiny state circles, leaving them in place on their storage sheet.  I stamped the state of WA in black as I wanted this to be the state I was highlighting.  My heart was stampd and punched out and then coated with Crystal Effects to give it a wonderful, shiny button look much like an epoxy sticker.

The elements were layered and linen thread was looped and adhered between the map and hexagon layers.  The map is popped up on dimensionals, as is the heart circle and the arrow.

I am also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, which is to use twine or string,

and the Colour Me...!  #5, which is anything goes, up to 5 colors. 

For those of you observant color lovers, this was for another color challenge last week, but I never got around to finishing it before the deadline!  But, it works perfectly here, as I have used Real Red, Basic Gray, Crumb Cake and Daffodil Delight.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed week!  

Lee Ann :)

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up)

Stamps- Map It Out, Peachy Keen

Paper- Whisper White, Basic Gray, Crumb Cake, Epic Day dsp, retired dsp

Ink- Crumb Cake, Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray

Other- heart punch (retired), Polka Dot ef, linen thread, dimensionals,   Crystal Effects, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Finishing Touches Edgelits, On Film Framelits

Pink Elephants

Hello Everyone!

We are out of the deep freeze and the snow is just about all melted.  I think a lot of people are thinking spring right now, myself included!  Today I am thinking about spring showers-baby showers, that is.

I combined a couple of sets here, Zoo Babies and Designer Type.  The elephant was stamped in Blushing Bride and fussy cut out.  She was stamped again in Real Red and just the ear was fussy cut out.  The ear was layered onto some Basic Black cs and narrow black mat was cut around the ear.  The ear is adhered to the elephant with a dimensional.  The banner was stamped on 3 different dsps and all were fussy cut out.
I used the retired Canvas background stamp in Pool Party on Whisper White.  I cut the Deco Label Framelits out of this.  I cut another framelit out in white and embossed it.  All were layered onto the card.
I used this week's sketch at SCS and am entering the card in the Monday Simon Says Stamp Challenge-Anything Goes~

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann :)

Supplies Used-
Stamps- Zoo Babies, Designer Type, Canvas Background Stamp
Paper- Whisper White, Blushing Bride,  Black retired dsp
Ink- Blushing Bride Pool Party, Black, Real Red.
Other- Deco Label Framelits, Polka Dot and Argyle Embossing Folders, Square Punch, Neutral Button, dimensionals, Retired Blushing Bride Button, White and Pool Party Baker's Twine

The Card Concept

Hello Friends!  It is finally here- the first challenge at The Card Concept!
If you have not heard of this challenge, let me share a bit about it.  There are 12 designers, representing 6 different crafting styles-Clean and Simple, Clean and Graphic, Clean and Layered, Free Style Collage, Classy/Elegant, and Shabby and Vintage.  I am representing the Classy/Elegant Style.

You can participate in the challenge, choosing one of the 6 styles represented to design your card in.  This is a wonderful way to explore styles and learn just what it is that makes a style work.
Flourishes are one of those elements that speaks 'elegant'.  This stamp image is full of flourishes!  Layers are another common element of the elegant style, and I personally love fussy cutting and use this often.
This is how I created layers.  I lightly stamped the Off the Grid stamp in Crumb Cake on Very Vanilla cs.  I sponged a bit of pink ink over the grid image.Next, I stamped the Baroque image in Early Espresso, directly on the vanilla cs.  I stamped it a second time on vanilla cs and fussy cut a large portion of the image out,  This was adhered directly over the initial image.  I stamped the image a third time on Crumb Cake cs in Versamark ink and heat embossed the center area with Early Espresso embossing powder.  The central image is fussy cut out and adhered to the second image, using dimensionals.
The final layer is from adding the butterfly.  The reason I chose to do the baroque flourish image in brown was to have a lot of contrast with the pink butterfly, so that the butterfly popped.
The background panel (Crumb Cake cs) has texture from dry embossing.  Scalloped edges, pearl bling, die cut leaves and a seam binding bow finish off the card. 
Please hop on over to the challenge blog and check out the other gorgeous creations from the Design Team.  Pick your style and create! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!
Have a blessed week,

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies Used (all Stampin' Up)
Stamps- Off the Grid, Beautifully Baroque, Papillon Potpourri
Paper- Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and retired dsp
Ink- Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride, Versamark
Other- Apothecary Framelits, Large Scalloped Edgelit, Butterfly punch, pearls, Polka Dot Embossing Folder, Early Espresso Embossing Powder, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Tiny Tag Punch, Very Vanilla Seam Binding, Dazzling Details, Copic markers (not SU)

Watercoloring

Hello! 
Well, we have another snow day today, so I took the opportunity to play.  I decided to pull out a set I have not used before and try a little watercoloring with reinkers.

I water colored the image with Lucky Limeade, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Pool Party and Island Indigo inks.  I cut the image out in an oval and backed it with a Deco Label Die Cut that I had sitting on the desk.  It had been stamped in Pool Party with the Canvas Background stamp.  To the background mat, I stamped the grass image and sentiment, Added a banner some leaves and the image panel. 
I used this week's Seize the Sketch  sketch-

I am also entering this card in-
 the Shopping our Stash challenge- Use Something New (green twine and stamp set)
the Great Impressions Challenge, which is also Use Something New
And the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge which is Something New

Thanks so much for stopping by and stay warm!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies Used ( all Stampin' Up unless specified)
Stamps-Simply Sketched, Wetlands, Inspired By, Canvas Background stamp
Paper- Whisper White, Pool Party, Old Olive, Lucky Limeade, watercolor paper, retired dsp
Ink- Stazon black, Old Olive, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede
Other- Linen Thread, Edgelit, :Little Leaves die, square punch, Oval Framelits, Decolabel Framelits, dimensionals, wood grain embossing folder

Another Year Older?

Hello!  

Continuing with the Celebrations theme at Ribbon Carousel this month, I have a birthday card to share with you. 

The white flower behind the pink flower is made using one of the Ornament framelits as flower petals.  The large leaf is made using one of the Apothecary Framelits.  The tropical drink is stamped in Tempting Turquoise and clear embossed; the umbrella and straw are then stamped.  The beverage is fussy cut out and popped up on dimensionals. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings!

Lee Ann  :)

Products Used-all Stampin' Up

Stamps-Mixed Bunch, Happy Hour
Paper-Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White
Ink-Stazon Black, Tempting Turquoise, Versamark, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Pink
Other-Polka Dot ef, clear ep, Holiday Ornament Framelits, Apothecary Framelits, Baker's Twine, dimensionals

The Crew in March

Good Morning and Happy Friday to You!

Can you believe we have already completed the month of February??  Here it is, March 1st, and that means a new SU Creative Crew gallery and challenges at SCS.  So without further ado, here are the challenges and cards I have made for them-

DSP/Color Focus: Fan Fair dsp and island indigo

 For this card, the flowers were stamped twice in Island Indigo and fussy cut; then fussy cut flowers from one the the stamped images were layered on top of the other image and adhered with dimensionals to give them depth.  The pink scalloped oval frame is also adhered with dimensionals.

 The butterfly was stamped in Craft Black and heat embossed with clear ep.  It was colored with Island Indigo and So Saffron reinkers and aquapainter.  Once dry, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint was stippled onto the So Saffron areas of the butterfly, which of course, you cannot see in the photo. 

 Catalog Focus: Check out the Fan Fair Product Suite in the IBC, pp.106-117. Romance us with Elements of Style or Everything Eleanor. Take us away with Postage Due or Papillon Potpourri. Intrigue us with Daydream Medallions or Nature's Price.

 The butterflies were stamped in Island Indigo on Very Vanilla; the larger was punched out and the smaller, fussy cut.  Champagne Mist Shimmer paint was stippled onto the butterflies.  Dazzling Diamonds was piped along a few of the butterfly lines. 
Holiday Focus-
Use a wonderful quote as a focal point in your project. (You may use any quote that SU! has ever produced, even retired, but you must let us know the year of the stamp and the stampset name.)

This card is 5.5 x 5.5 inches square.  The Gumball Green Polka Dot embossed panel is 5.25 x5.25 inches.  The Whisper White panel is 4.75" x 4.75" and stamped in Poppy Parade with the flourish from Elements of Style.  The So Saffron panel is 3.75" x 3.75", die cut in the center with a Window Framelit and the scored around the edges at 1/8".  The Island Indigo panel needs to be small enough that it is not visible behind the So Saffron panel and is die cut with a smaller Window Framelit.  The Indigo and Saffron panels are adhered together.  The sentiment is stamped in Stazon Black on Whisper White and the flourish from Elements of Style is inked up in So Saffron, stamped off once and then stamped over the sentiment.  This panel is adhered to the Poppy Parade stamped panel and the Window Framelit panels are popped up on dimensionals and adhered around the sentiment.  

Three sets of Little Leaves are die cut in Gumball Green; flowers are punched from the Itty Bitty Punch pack punch in Poppy Parade.

  

The  humming bird is stamped in So Saffron on Naturals White cs and then fussy cut. To color the bird, you first saturate the cut image in water, folding/squeezing it like a sponge so that it absorbs as much water as possible.  Once soaked, uncrinkle/unfold paper and drop drops on reinker ink onto wet paper and watch ink spread!  To get a ruby colored throat on my hummingbird, I used a paint brush to dab Poppy Parade reinker ink on the spot.  Once inked as desired, put bird in a coffee filter and dry carefully with a heat gun.  Once completely dry, press stamped image onto Versamark pad and then sprinkle with clear ep.  Repeat this process multiple times until desired thickness reached.  To give the bird a golden edge, drag the edges across the Versamark pad and then drag through gold ep; heat. 

That's it for today's Creative Crew projects; hope you can join us!  Have a blessed day!

Lee Ann :)

Products used- All Stampin' Up
Card 1-
Stamps-Elements of Style, Pretty Petites
Paper-Basic Gray, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Fanfair dsp
Ink-Island Indigo, Baja Breeze, Basic Gray
Other-Oval Framelits, Little Leaves die, Petite Curly Label punch, Heart charm(retired), dimensionals, Faceted Vintage button, Very Vanilla Seam Binding, blender pen, Polka Dot ef

Card 2-
Stamps-Swallowtail
Paper-Island Indigo, So Saffron, Basic Black, Whisper White, Natural Composition Specialty dsp
Ink-Versamark, Island Indigo reinker, So Saffron reinker, Black Craft
Other-clear ep, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, paint brush to stipple on Shimmer Paint

Card 3-
Stamps-Easter Blessings, Papillion Potpourri
Paper-Early Espresso, Natural CompositionSpecialty dsp, Very Vanilla
Ink- Versamark, Island Indigo
Other-Pool Party ep, pearls, Butterfly Punch, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Baja Breeze Seam Binding, Island Indigo ribbon, Dazzling Details, Paint brush to stipple on Shimmer Paint

Card 4-
Stamps-Trust God, Elements of Style
Paper-Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, So Saffron, Poppy Parade, Naturals White
Ink-Poppy Parade, So Saffron, Stazon Black, Gumball Green, Island Indigo, Versamark
Other-Clear ep, gold ep, Window Framelits, Simple Scored, Dimensionals, Little Leaves die, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, pearls, white ribbon, Polka Dot ef

Back in Black

It has been a crafty Monday and I have another card to share with you. I was inspired by another Dirty Dozen Design Team Member to get creative with the Petite Curly Label Punch that is available now during Stampin' Up's Sale-A-Bration. Spend $50 and the punch can be yours for free.  Or, choose the Pretty Petites Stamp set.  I used both here-

As you can probably see, this is a pretty simple card-a CAS card, really.  I used a bunch of Stampin' Up scrap paper and stamped with one of the images in the Pretty Petites set.  I selected a rainbow of colors.  I punched out the labels and arranged them in a cascading fashion.  The "thank you" is popped up on a dimensional.  That's it!
If your are interested in these products, just leave me a message below, and I can help yo place an order.  
Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Lee Ann  :)

Products used- all Stampin' Up
Stamps-Pretty Petites set
Paper-Basic Black, Whisper White, variety of SU scraps
Ink-Stazon Black
Other-Dimensional, Petite Curly Label Punch
___________________________________

2/18/13 -4:50pm
I have an add-on here Ladies!  I just got my Ears to You stamp and the card club girls want Easter, so I am working on that! 

 I love how the Oval Framelit fits perfectly in the Apothecary Framelit.  The bunnies were stamped and cut out in the Oval Framelit, then stamped again and fussy cut out.  I used the edge of the Decorative Labels Punch to stamp my Happy Easter sentiment and create a little tab.  

Thanks for taking a peek! 

 Lee Ann  :)

Supplies Used-
Stamps-Ears to You, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper-Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Tea for Two dsp
Ink-Daffodil Delight, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Stazon Black
Other-Decorative Label Punch, Apothercary and Oval Framelits, Decorative Edge Framelits, Paper Piercing Pack, Pearls, Dimensionals, Ribbon  

 

Weekend Challenges

Hello Everyone!
I have two cards to share with you tonight and both were made for the "Lovefest" going on at Splitcoaststampers.  Each of 10 days is devoted to a member company at SCS.  My first card is for Sweet N Sassy stamps.

I inked up a brand new stamp for this challenge.  This is one of those cards that keeps evolving and evolving and evolving!  It is really nothing like what it started out to be, but I love how it turned out.  I started by stamping the image in Stazon on watercolor paper and coloring it with an aquapainter and reinkers.
Next, I tried the out of the box technique, and totally botched it!  I attempted several repairs, but ended up fussy cutting out the image.  My dp strip initially had a scalloped edge on it, but it was too much so it ended up with a simple mat.  I cut a Spellbinder oval, embossed the edge and sponged with Soft Sky ink while it was still in the die.  The branch is popped up on dimensionals.

The next card is for the opening day of the "Lovefest"-

We were to add a little "LOVE" to our cards.  Mine is L-Lavender O-Oval V-Venetian Motif SB die E-Embossing
This is another image just seeing ink.  It is from Our Craft Lounge.  I stamped the image in Momento Black and then colored with Prismacolor pencils.  I am still learning coloring.  I find colored pencils difficult, so I started out small!  The bow was made with my Becca's Bow Maker-I love that thing!  I can finally put a pretty bow on my cards!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann :)

Supplies used-
Card 1-
Stamps-Sweet N Sassy Stamps-Sheltering Cherry Blossom
Paper-Whisper White, Soft Sky,watercolor, Sycamore Street dsp (SU)
Ink-Stazon Black, Soft Sky, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose
Other-Polka Dot ef (SU), Spellbinder oval die, aquapainter, pearls, dimensionals

Card 2-
Stamps-Art of Nature by Our Craft Lounge
Paper-Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Neenah Solar White
Ink-Memento Black, Early Espresso
Other-Spellbinder Venetian Motif dies, Prisma color pencils, ribbon, MFT Fish Tail Flag Stax,  SU oval Framelit, SB embossibility folder

Coloring with the Featured Stamper

Good Morning, Everyone!
This week's Featured Stamper at SCS is Wendy, and she has a fun and vibrant gallery full of colored images.  I got out my brand new Prismacolor pencils to play along-

I picked this pretty image from Sweet and Sassy stamps to color as I thought it would be pretty easy for my first go at colored pencils.  I wanted to avoid coloring skin! Can you tell I was thinking spring when I picked this floral and colors?  :)
Thanks so much for stopping be and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies used-
Stamps-Flowers in Bloom-Sweet N Sassy Stamps
Paper-Neenah Classic Crest White, SU Brilliant Blue, Stampin'Up -gold dsp, and Authentique -blue dsp
Ink-Memento
Other-Prismacolor Pencils, ribbon, pearls, dimensionals, Honeycomb and holiday Oval Frame efs, both from Stampin' Up, Stampin' Up oval Framelits, Copic marker (for shadow around image)

Valentine Candy

Hi everyone!  My second post of the night is another Valentine card, Candy Box 2. 

This is the red version of the first Candy Box card, here.  The Twitterpated dsp was sponged with Real Red.  The sentiment is embossed in silver ep.  The lace around the heart is actually Stampin' Up's paper doilies. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies used -All Stampin' Up
Stamps-Well Scripted
Paper-Twitterpated dsp, Real Red, Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink-Versamark, Real Red
Other-Heart Sizzlits, doilies, silver ep

Poppy Geraniums

This is the second of two cards for the counselors at school; tomorrow is School Counselor Day.  Thank your children's counselor(s)!

I started by coloring the image with markers, then stamping on Whisper white.  I cut the image out with an Oval Framelit and sponged Daffodil Delight in towards the center of the image.  I cut a second oval and turning it into a frame, embossed it with the Oval Holiday ef; I then brayered Poppy Parade ink over the embossed frame.
The background panel is embossed with the Polka Dot ef.  The image was adhered to the background panel and then the frame was popped up on dimensionals and placed.  The bow was made and accented with a Vintage button and a brad.  Finally, the sentiment was stamped in Stazon black and a banner created by punching both ends of the sentiment strip with a square punch.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a Fabulous Friday!  

Lee Ann :)

Supplies used-All Stampin' Up
Stamps-Serene Silhouettes, Curly Cute
Paper-Whisper White
Ink-Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Poppy Parade, Stazon Black
Other-Oval Framelits, Polka Dot ef, Oval Holiday ef,  1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Vintage button, brad, dimensionals, brayer, square punch, sponge

Shabby Elegance

Hello and Happy Sunday! 
It is hard to believe another week has come and gone.  This weekend is a long weekend with tomorrow being Martin Luther King Day so I am settled in and crafting. 
Today's card is in honor of the featured stamper at Splitcoaststampers this week.  Monkeymama, or Angela irl, has a gallery chock full of delightful cards. 

This Stampin' Up only card features Designer Series Paper and a sentiment stamp from Sale-a-Bration products.  The patterned paper strips were fussy cut out following the design of the paper.  The sentiment was stamped in Razzleberry and die cut using an  Apothecary Framelit.  The doily is spritzed with sparkly Smooch Spritz, although you cannot see all of the pretty dazzle in the picture.  All of the elements are on a Naturals White mat and mounted on a Crumb Cake card base.  The sentiment panel is popped up on dimensionals and a large, dazzling rhinestone is added. 

Thanks so much for visiting and have a craft-filled weekend!

Lee Ann  :)

Products used-
Stamps-Feeling Sentimental
Paper-Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Naturals White, Sycamore Street dsp
Other-doily, Large Rhinestone, dimensionals,

Designer Paper Challenge

Happy Friday, Everyone!  It was a wonderfully short work week and here we are again at the weekend!  I have 2 more Creative Crew cards for you today; these cards are for the challenge focusing on the new Designer Series Paper in the Spring Mini and Sale-a-bration catalogs. I have used the Tea for Two dsp for these cards-

For this card I have paired the bird from Everything Eleanor with the bird cage from Nature Walk to create a vintage style card.

  

For this card I have used a sentiment from the Trust God set and made a rolled rose by punching a large scalloped circle, cutting it into a spiral and rolling the spiral, starting from the outside and working your way to the center.  The edges of the rose are sponged with Calypso Coral.  Fan Fair dsp is also used behind the sentiment.
Thanks so much for visiting!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,
Lee Ann :)

Supplies Used (all Stampin' Up)
Stamps-Everything Eleanor, Trust God, Nature Walk, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper-Basic Black, Basic Gray, Barely Banana, Crumb Cake, Naturals White, Lucky Limeade, Very Vanilla, Fan Fair dsp and Tea for Two dsp
Ink-Stazon Black, Calypso Coral, Basic Gray
Other-Window Frames Framelits, Oval Framelits, dimensionals, Little Leaves die, Decorative Labels punch, pearls

Natural Noel

First of all, please excuse this mess of a blog!  I am trying to make changes, but they don't come easily given my lack of computer prowess.  Hopefully it will be much improved by the weekend! 
Today's color challenge at SCS is Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler and Early Espresso.  I substituted Baja Breeze for the Marina Mist as I do not have that color.

I used Stampin' Up's retired Peaceful Wishes for this, stamping the pine cones in Early Espresso and fussy cutting them out.  The berries are in Early Espresso and Cherry Cobbler-the stamp was colored with SU markers, then stamped on Naturals Ivory.  They were also fussy cut out.  The sentiment is stamped in Versamark and Cherry cobbler, heat embossed with clear ep on Naturals Ivory paper and fussy cut.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann :)

Supplies used are all Stampin' Up-
Stamps-Peaceful Wishes, Greetings of the Season
Paper-Naturals Ivory, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, dsp
Ink-Cherry Cobbler, Versamark, Early Espresso
Other-Apothecary Framelits, clear ep, Scalloped edge punch, Dimensionals, Simply Scored

Wanted: MOJO

I seem to have misplaced my MOJO.  Have you seen it?  And while you are at it, if you see any creative bones out there, let me know because I don't seem to have a creative bone left in my body!
As this is the week of Thanksgiving, it seems a good time to ponder things I am thankful for.  I am thankful for my son and our home-that we even have a home and that I have been blessed with a good job. I am thankful that God loves me even though I do such a lousy job of loving Him.  I am thankful that he has faith in me even though I usually rely on me rather than Him. I am thankful that He has given us the ability to be creative.  And I am thankful for this community of crafters/stampers in blogland and at SCS; who knew we could have so much fun sharing with people hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles away?!
Now on to stamps!  The Shining the Light Challenge at ODBD this week is to use silver or gold on our card.  Sounded easy enough, but without MOJO, not so!!

Edit-11/18/12-5:50pm
I have been having a rough time getting good pictures of cards lately, so I was playing with the settings on my camera to see if I could brighten up the photos.  Here is a retake of the one above-it may be too bright!  At this point my eyes are so blurry from looking at pictures I don't know what looks good and what does not!

 I wanted to make an easily mailable card, so that meant it would be flat.  I seem to be gravitating to nature lately, enjoying all of the beauty that God has for us, so I chose pine branches to frame my scripture verse.  My background is embossed in silver and my pine branches are glittered with silver Stickles, but it really is not showing up in the photo.  The scripture verse is stamped in Bravo Burgundy craft and clear embossed.  Though simple, I still like how his turned out.   

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Enjoy this week of Thanksgiving and the official start of the Christmas Season!

Lee Ann :)

Supplies Used-
Stamps-ODBD Worship the Lord, Stampin' Up Watercolor Winter and Sanded
Ink-Versamark, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgandy
Paper-Whisper, White, Bravo Burgandy, True Thyme
Other-silver ep, clear ep, silver stickles

___________________________________________________________
This card is for the Featured Stamper challenge at SCS.

  I just LOVE the dsp that comes in the Holiday Mini Scrapbook kit!  Gray and cream are sooo pretty together. I scored around the edges of the white card base and highlighted the edges of the Pool Party panel by heat embossing it with silver ep. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up)-
Stamps- Teeny Tiny Wishes, Serene Silhouettes
Paper-Basic Gray, Whisper White, Pool Party, Very Vanilla, dsp
Ink-Versamark, Basic Gray
Other-white and silver dsp, Window Framelits, Simply Scored, Polka dot ef     

Colorful Sunday

Happy Sunday to Everyone!  I have a quick post this morning before I get on to other things-sadly, housework.  This is for this week's Color Throwdown 217.

These are some fabulous colors!  Here is my take on the challenge-

 I have not used my set, Everything Eleanor too much, so I thought I would play with that.  I went with a white flower and the Lucky Limeade was perfect for the greenery.  I love the framing affect when using the Framelit Window dies and made mine in Night of Navy.  I hope I have inspired you! 


 Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann :)

Supplies used-
Stamps-Everything Eleanor
Paper-Whisper White, Night of Navy, Lucky Limeade, Basic Black
Ink-Lucky Limeade, Stazon black
Other-Polka Dot ef, Vintage Wallpaper ef, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Window Framelits, dimensionals 
All Supplies are from Stampin' Up

_________________________________________

Well, so much for housework!!  I couldn't let the weekend get away from me without playing the Featured Stamper challenge at SCS today.  Today's featured stamper has a wonderful gallery and I chose this card to case.  I really enjoy making frames for my images and this card is no exception.  I like how Patty used a die cut as the main focal point in the frame.
This is my take on her card-

Instead of using a die cut as the focal point in the frame, I used a masked image. I ended up blending two colors on the mask as I started out using Buckaroo Blue but quickly realized that the sponge I grabbed had brown on it.  The white frame and sentiment panel are both embossed with the wood grain ef and popped up on dimensionals.  I applied Dazzling Details to the berries, although you really can't see it in the photo and distress Stickles to the pine cone.



Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!


Lee Ann :)

Supplies used-
Stamps-Peaceful Wishes, Gently Falling, Watercolor Winter
Paper-Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Ink-Early Espresso, Always Artichoke, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate chip, Crumb Cake, Buckaroo Blue
Other-Wood grain ef, Window Framelits, dimensionals, Aspen mask (Crafter's Workshop), Stickles, Dazzling Details

Window on a Fabulous Color Combo!

I know that many will not feel as I do, but I love the color Starfruit!  I have seen many great color combos including Starfruit, but I happened upon Summer Starfruit, Black and Poppy Parade today.  LOVE it!  I played around with another inspiration challenge at SCS this afternoon and also played The Paper Player's challenge this week-to incorporate a frame in our projects.

Engelbreit Window Frame

I titled this "Engelbreit Window Frame" because it has a bit of a "Mary Engelbreitesque" look to it with the color scheme, polka dots and rolled rose. While last week was a bit of a struggle,  I feel like I have gotten my MOJO back with this card. 

Products used include-

Paper-Whisper White, Summer Starfruit, Poppy Parade, Basic Gray, dsp (Patio Party and Designer pack-neutrals)

Stamp Set-Trust God

Ink-Stazon Black

Other-Window Framelits, large scallop circle punch (to make the flower), Little Leaves die, White Baker's twine, polka dot ef, dimensionals

I had so much fun making this card and it is easy to reproduce as will as change up the color scheme.  

Thanks so much for checking out my project and have a Blessed week!

Lee Ann :)

Schooled Thanks!

Oops!!!  Did I forget Boss' Day??  This week has been a busy one at school, lots of field trips, a blood drive to run and kids getting their hearing checked tomorrow.  But I cannot forget my principal, who is an amazing boss.  This week's Freshly Made Sketch is perfect for a masculine card.  

Here is my take on this sketch complete with a bit of a school theme-

I love the orangy tones with gray so paired Cajun Craze with Basic Gray dsp from the Storytime dsp pack.  I die cut Soft suede with an Apothecary die and made a banner in Whisper White, adding a sentiment from Trendy Trees.  The leaves are from Lovely as a Tree, stamped in Stazon Brown and watercolored with an aquapainter.  I created a tone on tone background on the top third of the card using strips of Cajun Craze paper.  The leaves are popped up on dimensionals.  I love dimensionals!

Here's to hoping my principal likes this card!  I hope you like it as well!
Have a wonderful week,

Lee Ann  :)

It's Like Christmas!

It's a great day when you receive your Stampin' Up order in the mail, with all the new Christmas goodies!  I am enjoying all of it, but the first new stamp I wanted to play with is the new Ornaments Keepsakes set with matching Framelits Dies.  I am loving this set!

Isn't this fun??!!  And really simple, too.  I suppose I could have gotten more elaborate, but I thought the embossed ornament and the new Holiday Embossing Frame packed enough of a punch. 
So, this card was made on a Cherry Cobbler base with a Whisper White mat, followed by a second Whisper White mat that was embossed with the Holiday frame.  Now for the fun!  Then I stamped one of the new ornaments from the Ornament Keepsakes set in Versamark and Cherry Cobbler and embossed it with clear ep.  I restamped the top of the ornament in Versamark and embossed it with gold ep.  Both were cut out with the new, matching  Framelit die.  I cut a second ornament framelit in white and adhered it to the back of the Cherry Cobbler embossed ornament just to give it a little more support.  The ornament was pieced together (gold hanger to ornament) and was popped up on the embossed frame layer.  I added a White Baker's Twine loop with a Jewelry tag punch stamped with the Tiny Tags stamp-"merry".  A Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding bow finishes it off. 
There you go-not hard at all!  The Framelits do all the work. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog and have a fabulous week!

Lee Ann

It's 9:00pm and still stamping, this time with a set I have been itching to get my hands on- Everything Eleanor.  No, I really don't know how they came up with the name.  But I LOVE this set; here is my first card with it.

I started out making this a Rose Red flower; I colored it with a blender pen and reinker.  I did not like how it looked, stamped another flower and did not like it either.  It really shouldn't take very long to color one small flower!  Anyway, I went back to my Rose Red flower and colored the "shaded" areas with a Tangerine Tango marker and then went over the whole flower with a Daffodil Delight marker.  The stamens are in More Mustard.  I went a very round about way to get this color, but I love how it turned out.  The background flowers were stamped using the masking technique.

 Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann :)