Pink and Green Christmas and more

Yep, another Christmas card.  I really do love making holiday cards, but now I have a good reason to continue producing them, even after the holidays have passed.

Jingle Belles challenge blog is ALL about the holidays!  This is my first time being able to play there, and I've combined two of their challenges:

• a sketch by Amy Tsuruta

• and a color challenge (I'm 'late' for this one):  Pretty In Pink...and Green

This couldn't have been easier to make.  I had this summery DCWV designer paper forEVER, then grabbed a green strip from an old Christmas card, punched a border on some Pink Passion cardstock, mounted on a re-purposed green glittery gift tag (just don't look on the other side) and some stamped snowflakes from Stampin' Up!'s Patterned Pines.

Another Christmas card done!

I got some happy news today:  my Get Whale Soon card was chosen as the winner at DeNami Designs!  I'm now the proud owner of a new badge and some shopping money.  :D  I love to shop!

Hope you have time to play in the Play Date Cafe's Colour Splash this week.  You have until 11:59 pm EST Tuesday to enter!

Thanks for visiting me today.  I always appreciate it!

Colleen

Stamps:  SU Patterned Pines

Paper:  Whisper White, DCWV Summer Stack, Pink Passion, old Christmas card (green strip)

Ink:  Pink Passion

Punch:  Martha Stewart Double Scallop border

Other:  green glitter star gift tag, dimensionals

I'm A Guest Designer for SCS!

Hello!  I have the pleasure of being a Guest Designer this week for Splitcoast's Clean and Simple Design Team.   Challenge 104 is "Inspiration from a Word or Phrase:  Rock & Roll".

At first, I was stumped.  I do not own "rock and roll-ish" stamps, or any kind of music for that matter.  No musical notes, no guitars, etc.  So, I took out my binder of stamp sets and mulled it over.

• Polka Dots background stamp?  - no, that's a polka, not R & R
• Vintage Vogue, in honor of Madonna's song "Vogue"? - no, that's pop music
• Baroque Motifs, for baroque music? - no, wrong century
• A crown from Artistic Etchings, in honor of The King, Elvis?  - okay, now we're getting somewhere!
• Sweet Dreams, for the Eurythmics song of the same title?  Cool Cat, for Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever"? - maybe!

Ultimately, I decided on a combination of three songs:

• "Freeze Frame" by the J. Geils Band
• "Rooster" by Alice in Chains
• "Fell on Black Days" by Soundgarden

The J. Geils Band was popular when I was younger, and my husband listens to Alice In Chains and Soundgarden sometimes, and I like a couple of their songs.  Mostly I listen to classical music, though!

What do you think?  Different, yes.  But I really like the dramatic look for a change!
I used Fancy Frames by TPC Studio, a rooster from Vintage Farmhouse by Fiskars (yay, another stamp set finally sees ink!  I only got it two years ago for a birthday), and some Nestie frames:  Labels One and Large Deckled Rectangles.

I grabbed a layout I saw in Stampin' Up!'s spring Mini Catalog on page 24.  An SU catalog is full of ideas for layouts!

Background designer paper is from My Mind's Eye 'Garden Vignettes'.  The rooster was colored with Copics.  I'm sure I did not get his colors as nature would, but oh well!

I hope you are inspired to play in this challenge.  If you really think about it, inspiration can be found anywhere.

Happy Stamping,

Colleen


Stamps:  Vintage Farmhouse by Fiskars, Fancy Frames by TPC Studio
Paper:  Basic Black, white by PTI, designer paper by MME 'Garden Vignettes'
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Big Shot, Spellbinders Labels One and Large Deckled Rectangles, Copic markers, dimensionals, orange and red rhinestones from Queen & Co., black ribbon from the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store

Inspired by a Table Arrangement

This weekend the kids are over their grandparents', so I've got lots of time to craft.  Unfortunately, yesterday's efforts produced only one card, but I think it's pretty.  It is also the kind of card I swore I would never make.  LOL  ;)

It is 3D to the max, the kind that will NOT fit in an envelope.  I even handmade some flowers for it, using this surprisingly easy technique I found here on YouTube.

When I first entered the realm of card-making, I thought all cards should be flat enough to fit in an envelope, or what good were they?  Hardware:  too heavy.  Pearls:  too bumpy.  Flowers:  forget about it - they won't fit anywhere!

Look at me now....

My inspiration comes from Off The Wall Craftiness' current challenge:

See the photo on the second row, all the way to right?  It grabbed me.  I thought about how to translate a tablecloth, with its fullness and black band, into a card.  And those plates on the wall above have turned into a cluster of white flowers.

I love it!

Other challenges I've entered:  Just Us Girls, to make a 3D flower; The Paper Players - Anything Goes; and Tuesday Throwdown - distressing (my flowers have been severely distressed!). 

I used three different punches/dies to make these flowers:  a scalloped SU punch, a scalloped circle die from Spellbinders, and a 1" serrated edge circle punch from Martha Stewart.  I like the little flower the best.  After punching out all my circles on white cardstock, I sponged light color on the edges of each.  I practiced with Old Paper and Antique Linen Distress Inks by Tim Holtz.   When they were finished, I used a glue pen to smear some glue here and there, then used white iridescent glitter (no name; had it forever).  It looks better in real life, I assure you.

Thanks for joining me today.  I love to hear what you think, so if you have a moment, please leave a comment for me!

Colleen


Stamps:  With Gratitude by Flourishes
Paper:  PTI Vintage Cream, Whisper White
Ink:  Basic Black, Old Paper and Antique Linen Distress inks
Punches:  SU scalloped circle, Martha serrated edge 1" circle
Other:  black ribbon from Stamp Simply Ribbon Store, iridescent glitter, pearls from Queen & Co., Big Shot, Spellbinders Fancy Tags and scalloped circles, white gathered lace from stash, dimensionals, water spritzer, Scor-Tape

Joy Wreath (and a failed vintage card)

I have one card I am proud to show you today, and one - eh, not quite so much.  Let's start with the one I like.  :D

On a kraft base, I added some punched strips of Old Olive and Chocolate Chip, and a brown satin ribbon to dress up the lower half.  The circle Nesties make up my "wreath", with a Stampin' Up! set called The Snowflake Spot stamped in Old Olive and Always Artichoke.  Pearls are the ornaments on the wreath.

I'm entering the CAS card at The Shabby Tea Room:  challenge -  Winter Wonderland, and Pals Paper Arts:  challenge 78  - CAS cards with a bow.

Now let's check out my failed vintage card, shall we?

Even though I mostly make CAS cards, I adore looking at shabby-chic, vintage style ones.  I long to make them.  So I gave it a try yesterday and asked my husband what he thought.

Me:  "Do you like it?"

He:   "No."

Me:   "Is it the bow that you don't like?"

He:   (pause) "It's the whole thing."

Alright, so I didn't quite get the gist of the style this time.  But I will be trying again!

Don't forget about The Play Date Cafe's current Colour Splash challenge:  black/white and a splash of purple!  Come join us.  :D

Aaaaannnnd......I'll be the Guest Designer at Splitcoast's Clean And Simple Challenge this coming Monday, January 31st!  You won't want to miss the unique theme for the challenge.  :D 

All I can say is, at first I thought I couldn't do it, and then after looking through all my stamps, I couldn't STOP coming up with ideas!!

See you soon,

Colleen


CAS card
Stamps:  The Snowflake Spot (SU)
Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Whisper White, kraft
Ink:  Always Artichoke, Old Olive
Punches:  SU scalloped border, Martha's Modern Garland border
Other:  Big Shot, circle nesties by Spellbinders, Stampamajig, pearls by Recollections, satin bow, dimensionals

Vintage card
Paper:  kraft, Ruby Red, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Basic Black
Punches:  Pine Needle border, Rose Leaf and Arctic Snowflake by Martha
Other:  Christmas card front, glitter,  Spellbinders Fancy Tags, button and lace from my stash, needle and thread

Play Date Cafe 66: Inspired by a Plate Rack

I am so loving the challenge colors this week at The Play Date Cafe...it's Color Splash time!!

Right away, the old Stampin' Up! demo in me saw "Almost Amethyst" as that purplish shade.    

My personal inspiration came from my dining room's plate rack:

The walls are gray, white and purple.  The plate rack is black iron, and holds three Limoge dishes from my great-aunt.  They were given to her by her first husband's grandmother, I believe.  So, these dishes are pretty old.  They are decorated with irises, one of my fave flowers.

My card:

I had no appropriate flower stamps to fit in a 1" circle punch, so I spotted my unused fleur-de-lis.  Fleur-de-lis icons are modeled after iris flowers.  How lucky can I be?!

You need to go see the beautiful things created by my teammates at the Cafe, too:

Senior DT:
Julie Ranae
Sarah Anderson
Savannah O'Gwynn
Ruby 2 Shoes

Design Team:
Andrea Ewen
Fiona Shultz
Jaclyn Miller
Jinny Newlin
Libby Hickson
Michele Gross
Tracey Kuzniak

Private Blend Designer:
Colleen Dietrich - that's me!

This week our sponsor is the fabulous...

Please follow the rules carefully to enter.

Deadline for prizes is 11:59pm EST on Tuesday
The 'Cup of the Week' will be announced during the next challenge.
ALL SKILL LEVELS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PLAY!
We want you to enjoy this challenge.
Interpret the colors the way you see them.
We do not use specific card stock color names or brands.
Break out of the box and have fun!

The main requirement is:
PDCC COLORS BE THE FOCUS OF YOUR SUBMISSION
When using additional colors, please limit them to neutrals.
You are welcome to combine challenges, but we do ask that:
1. The PDCC name and/or photo is used
2. OUR colors are the focus of the card.

We'd love for you to come play!  See you there.

 

 

 

 

 

Stamps:  fleur de lis from Classical Icons - TPC Studio, Elements of Style

Paper:  Almost Amethyst, Whisper White, Going Gray, Basic Black

Ink:  Basic Black, Almost Amethyst

Punch:  Modern Garland by Martha Stewart, 1" circle

Other:  Big Shot, circle Nestie and Fancy Tags by Spellbinders, dimensionals

Repurposed Christmas Card

Have you ever received Christmas cards that were too pretty to throw away?  A lot of those I make into tags for gifts.  One in particular, though, I saved to repurpose for this card:

The Santa image comes from a Caspari greeting card, and I trimmed it up just a bit. 
I added a gold glittered chipboard frame from K & Company,

a piece of Anna Griffin die cut trim, on which I stamped the word "Greetings" (from Flourishes' Sleigh Ride),

and more gold glittered pieces from K & Co., as well as a button tied with jute twine.

The card took very little time, and I have another one in the works, 'cause this one was so fun and easy!

I'm entering this at The Shabby Tea Room, whose current challenge is "Winter Wonderland", and City Crafter Challenge Blog, whose Sew Fun challenge wants us to sew something.  I sewed on this button!

See you tomorrow with a new Play Date Cafe challenge!!

Colleen


Stamps:  Sleigh Ride by Flourishes
Paper:  kraft, greeting card
Ink:  Basic Black
Other:  glitter frame and flourishes from K & Co., button from my stash, twine

Get Whale Soon

Hi everyone.  Sorry to be quiet for the last several days.  I had kept myself busy on the weekend by organizing much of my crafting stuff, and it took hours and hours.  It is something I enjoy doing, as much as stamping actually.  Want to rent me for a couple of hours?  ;)  LOL

We also adopted a kitty on Sunday, which was kind of planned and kind of impromptu.  She is very sweet, and I hope she can stay.  My breathing has been kind of tough since she arrived, but it might be due to a cold I developed before she came along.  I'm under a doctor's care for this, and really hope and pray that my breathing difficulties are not "cat-caused".  I think my family would rather put me to the curb than this beautiful little black kitty.  I will keep you posted.

So, I recently received some adorable stamps from DeNami Design.   I am now a fan!  I love their cute images.  They have a sketch challenge this week, using this sketch:

And here's what I came up with:

Isn't he the cutest paper-pieced whale ever? 

I used some basic brads and a fancy star brad to comply with the sketch, but also Flourishes has a hardware challenge right now, FTTC102.  I created 'waves' on my card base with Cuttlebug's D'Vine Swirls embossing folder, and more waves under the whale using my EK Success 'Bracket' border punch.

 The clouds are from Stampin' Up!'s "Good Neighbors" set.  The designer paper might be Sweet Pea from SU (retired).  It was all in a $1.00 Scrap Bag from my SU demo a while ago.

I will be back tomorrow with my card for the new Play Date Cafe challenge.  I absolutely LOVE what I came up with, and I can't wait for you to see it. 

Thanks for joining me today, and if you don't mind sending prayers/wishes for my breathing, I'd be so grateful.  We all want to keep our little Cristabel.

Stamps:  Good Neighbors (SU), whale and sentiment from DeNami Design
Paper:  PTI white, Taken with Teal, designer paper from SU
Ink:  Basic Black
Punches:  EK Success 'Bracket' border
Other:  Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl embossing folder, Big Shot, star brads from SU, silver brads from JoAnn's, Martha Stewart Tinsel Glitter in Feldspar, dimensionals

Moxie Miss You & more

Hooray!  I found time to craft today.  All these hours resulted in only one card.  And you should see my dining room table.  (:roll eyes:)   ;)  However, I am extremely pleased with the result:

Edited to add:  this card won Honorable Mention at The Shabby Tea Room

My inspiration began with the Moxie Fab World challenge, "Grey Is The New Black".  I also liked The Shabby Tea Room's challenge, "White and Bright", using white/cream and one other color.  And at City Crafter, we are asked to use handmade flowers.  This is a first for me!  One more challenge:  Stampin' B's hostess this week is Emily Keaton, my very good friend.  She challenges us to use banners on our card.

Card details:

• Began with a Basic Gray card base
• Stamped an Anna Griffin floral background stamp over half of the card front
• Layered a piece of lace-printed vellum on upper half of card front
• Punched Martha Stewart "Iron Gate" border along a strip of vanilla cardstock
• Attached gray satin ribbon to that piece of punched vanilla

• Using a 1/2" circle punch along left edge of card, made a slight half circle to help attach tassel (which is from a repurposed greeting card) 
• Added a piece of Pink Paislee Artisan Elements over satin ribbon
• Created my own flower by punching a 3/4" circle and covering it with Scor-Tape (double sided adhesive) on one side.  I fumbled my way around and layered on a satin ribbon from Anna Griffin, winding round and round, and finally securing the end on the back of the circle with more Scor-Tape.  I added a pearl in the center of the flower.

• I stamped the Anna Griffin sentiment on a strip of white cardstock, then cut it into a banner and added a small pearl to the letter "o"
• It became apparent to me that I need special adhesive for vellum paper, because you can see my bits of adhesive through it.  To help disguise it, I added pearls at the top corners, then a handmade medallion as well.  The medallion is made with a Martha Stewart Iron Gate Corner Punch.
• Pearls everywhere were the final touch.

If you didn't catch it earlier, I am a Featured Stamper today on "Fascinating Fridays" at Noor Nahdi's blog, Fond of Crafts.  Thank you so much once again, Noor!

I also discovered other good news a short while ago:  my card was featured at Unity's blog for Friends With Flair!  Go check it out.  :)

I'd love to hear what you think about today's card.  Drop me a comment if you have time, I'd so appreciate it!

Stamps:  Anna Griffin floral background and sentiment
Paper:  vellum of unknown origin (!), Basic Gray, Very Vanilla and Whisper White
Ink:  Basic Gray
Punches:  Martha Stewart Iron Gate border and corner, 1/2" and 3/4" circles
Other:  Pink Paislee Artisan Elements, Anna Griffin vanilla satin ribbon, pearls from Recollections and Queen & co., dimensionals, tassel from repurposed greeting card

I've Been Featured on 'Fascinating Fridays'!

Good morning, all!

I have the pleasure of being a Featured Stamper over at "Fond of Crafts" blog today.  Noor Nahdi, who is based in Dubai, wanted to showcase my cards in her weekly feature, Fascinating Fridays.  I feel very honored.  Thank you, Noor, so very much!

Please go over and check out my segment HERE at Noor's blog. 

Have a wonderful day, and I hope you get some to time to craft!

Play Date Cafe 65

It's week #2 in my new position at The Play Date Cafe as Private Blend Designer, and I've been having so much fun!  I enjoy visiting our players' blogs to leave love for them, and in the process, I see some very amazing talent out there!  Wow.  And our new Design Team couldn't be nicer.  They are terrific ladies, each with a unique and wonderful personality.

The new challenge at the Cafe is this:

I really had to ponder an idea for this color combination, until I saw this page in my daughter's coloring book:

With inspiration from the gray trench coats and green umbrellas, I thought of my Blooming with Happiness set from Stampin' Up!. 

Isn't the umbrella so sweet?  I matted it on Wild Wasabi and Pumpkin Pie cardstock, and dressed it with a Pumpkin Pie Corduroy Button.  The button is laced with a small bit of gray ribbon from...are you ready....Aeropostale pajama pants.  Those pants, which my 12 YO received for Christmas, had the tags attached with a cute little safety pin and that gray seam binding.  It was just skinny enough to make it through those button holes.

Check out the inspiring pieces by our Design Team, too:

Senior Design Team:

Julie Ranae

Sarah Anderson
Savannah O'Gwynn

Ruby McGuire 

Design Team:Andrea Ewen
Fiona Shultz
Jaclyn Miller
Jinny Newlin
Libby Hickson
Michele Gross
Tracey Kuzniak

Private Blend Designer:
Colleen Dietrich - that's me! 

Are you ready to play, too? 

Please follow the rules carefully to enter.

Deadline for prizes is 11:59pm EST on Tuesday

The 'Cup of the Week' will be announced during the next challenge.

ALL SKILL LEVELS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PLAY!

We want you to enjoy this challenge.

Interpret the colors the way you see them.

We do not use specific card stock color names or brands.

Break out of the box and have fun!

The main requirement is:

PDCC COLORS BE THE FOCUS OF YOUR SUBMISSION

When using additional colors, please limit them to neutrals.

You are welcome to combine challenges, but we do ask that:

1. The PDCC name and/or photo is used and

2. OUR colors are the focus of the card.

This week's prize up for grabs is from one of our very favorite sponsors....

I was happy to see some of my crafty friends playing at the Cafe last week, and I hope you'll come play again.  :D

 

Happy Stamping,

 

 

 

 

Stamps:  Blooming With Happiness, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Baroque Motifs  (all SU)

Paper:  PTI white, Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie

Ink:  Basic Gray, Stazon Black

Other:  SU markers, dimensionals, Pumpkin Pie Corduroy Button, gray ribbon from pajama pants, Aleene's Tacky Glue, Stampamajig

Bloomin' Birthday Cake

I wanted to play in a couple of challenges today and found a little time to make a birthday card for my 12 YO, who'll turn into a teenager in June.  Yikes.  Where did that time go  (yes, I am a bit ahead of schedule)

I used a sketch from CPS Card Sketches, #201:

And I've created a birthday card, which is the current challenge at Create: website.

I used the Blooming with Happiness cake and candle stamps from Stampin' Up!, colored with SU markers, and decorated flower centers with green glitter glue from Studio G.

Got a chance to pull out some older products in my stash:  pinkish fibers from SU's Fancy Fibers (anyone remember those?), and a little die-cut tag from a sheet of die-cuts - also from SU.  (I was introduced to the world of stamping through Stampin' Up!, so I have tons of stuff from them.)

Two bits of news to share:
Tomorrow begins the new Play Date Cafe challenge.  I hope you'll come over and play!
And on Friday, I will be honored by Noor Nahdi, of Fond Of Crafts .  She runs a weekly artist spotlight called "Fascinating Fridays".  I am excited that I was chosen by Noor!  

See you tomorrow with a new Play Date Cafe creation.  Until then, happy stamping!

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes, Blooming With Happiness (both SU)
Paper:  Orchid Opulence, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, retired designer paper (SU)
Ink:  black Stazon
Punch:  Doily Lace by Martha Stewart
Other:  Big Shot, oval and scalloped oval nesties, dimensionals, SU markers, Fancy Fibers (SU), die cut tag, green glitter glue by Studio G

Unity Valentine

Hi everyone!  I've missed making cards and blogging these last few days.  I worked a lot over the weekend, and today is my day to play.  :)

Never having owned Unity stamps before my recent blog candy win, I could never play in Unity challenges at Splitcoaststampers.  Now, I have a small assortment, so that opens the doors for me!

I bunched together some Unity challenges since I can finally play:

• I used a sketch found HERE on the Splitcoast Forum, called the Hip Hop Sketch Challenge #40. 
• The Unity Addicts Challenge #34 wants us to use our oldest and newest Unity stamps.  Well, this stamp is BOTH for me!
• Friends with Flair #60 on the Unity website features a Valentine's card as our inspiration photo:

A closeup of my card:

Those little punched hearts were made with Stampin' Up!'s Heart-to-Heart punch.  I used a skinny strip of red cardstock, which fits perfectly in the smallest of the hearts.  No waste!  Gotta love it.  And I paper-pieced the bottom red section of the "Love" basket with more of that skinny strip of red.

I'm off to make something new.  (insert happy sigh here)  I will see you soon!

Thanks for joining me.  :)

Colleen

Stamps:  Unity 'love' basket
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Valentine designer paper (retired) from SU
Ink:  Stazon Black
Punch:  Heart-to-Heart, scalloped square, 1 1/4" square (all SU)
Other:  SU markers, dimensionals, Xacto knife, cutting mat