Mark's Finest Papers Challenge #46 - Fabulous!

The new Mark's Finest Papers Speedy's Friends challenge is to use lime and gray on a One Layer Card.  Our challenge hostess is Susan Raihala, who is a master at OLC's. 

I chose a piece of cardstock whose origins I do not remember.  It is light gray with a 'heathered' look to it.  I stamped the large dandelion image from Just Dandy and heat embossed it with black embossing powder.  Anyone else have trouble with Stampin' Up!s black embossing powder?  Mine does not cover evenly and disappears in some areas.

With white craft ink (Stampin' Up!), I sponged around the edges of the card, and a little around the dandelions as well.  Hardly noticeable; oh well.

I punched a hole with my paper piercer and threaded through some AWESOME satin ribbon from Marks' Finest Papers.  This is nice stuff to work with.

Check out my teammates' creations, too:

Vicki Dutcher -- Joanne Grezlak -- Geri Utterback --

Harriet Skelly -- Susan Raihala -- Karen Knegten

We'd love for you to come play with us!  Link up your card by March 18th 3:00 pm EST HERE.  Can't wait to see your One Layer Wonder!

Colleen

Stamps:  Just Dandy by MFP
Paper:  light gray
Ink:  Versamark, Basic Black, Whisper White craft
Punch:  corner rounder (SU)
Other:  paper piercing tool, green bling by Queen & Co., ribbon from MFP, sponge

Play Date Cafe 72 - Happy Flowers

It's a week of bright, happy colors once again at the Play Date Cafe!  

These colors remind me of big, bold flowers, so I came up with this:

The big flower heads actually remind me more of lollipops.   :)

I used a Stampin' Up! set called Artistic Etchings, plus circle punches (1 3/4", 1 1/4" and 1") to create my flowers.  The stems and leaves are from another SU set called Time Well Spent, and the orange polka dots on my card base - Polka Dot background stamp. 

I tied my bouquet together with Pink Sorbet twine from The Twinery. 

After punching out my flowers, I had some leftovers.  With those, I made another similar card:

Which card do you like better?  I'm curious!

Enough about my cards, it's time for you to see what my teamies at the Cafe have come up with:

Julie Day of J. Day Designs is our Guest Designer!

Julie has been a regular player with The Play Date Cafe and her fresh, unique style has gotten lots of attention lately.  We're so happy to have you as our guest, Julie!

Please follow THE PLAY DATE CAFE 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.

Thanks to each of you who plays with us at the Play Date Cafe.  I truly appreciate it!

Colleen

Stamps:  Artistic Etchings, Polka Dot Background, Time Well Spent (SU)
Paper:  Pink Passion, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, white by PTI
Ink:  Pink Passion, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black
Punches:  1 3/4", 1 1/4", 1" circles, Punched Scallop border - all SU
Other:  bling from Queen & Co. and Recollections, Pink Sorbet twine by The Twinery, dimensionals, Big Shot, Finial Press embossing folder

Sarah -- Ruby -- Tracey -- Jaclyn -- Jinny -- Julie -- Michele --

Fiona -- Andrea -- Libby -- Savannah

Washing O' The Green

It looks like I've hung these shamrocks on a laundry line, doesn't it? 
This card took a long time to make, even though it's relatively simple in design.  Stamping, fussy-cutting, tying onto the laundry line....it took a couple of hours.  I usually send my Irish relatives a card for this holiday, but I'm sorry folks:  this is not the one that you'll find in your mailbox!  LOL

My birthday is on St. Patrick's Day, so this holiday has always been a super special day to me.  With a name like Colleen, you can bet I'm Irish, too (half Irish)!

The stamps are both from Studio G (no name on each small set, though).  I picked up 3 sets at $1.00 each at my local AC Moore craft store.  The twine is Peapod from The Twinery.

Challenges entered:

• The Shabby Tea Room - The Luck O' The Irish
• EtsyInspired - featured shop is Desired Things, and I've used this photo (look at the green beads:  they look like shamrocks!)

• Really Reasonable Ribbons Ramblings - Green Theme, with ribbon
• Penny's Challenges #48 - Going for the Green
• PaperCraft Planet blog spotting
• CARDS challenge gallery

Thanks for joining me today!  

Colleen

Stamps:  Studio G

Paper:  Not Quite Navy, Wild Wasabi, white by PTI

Ink:  Not Quite Navy, Wild Wasabi

Other:  dimensionals, pearls by Recollections, Peapod twine by The Twinery 

Paper Crafts, Here I Come!

Eeeeek!  Two of my four submissions to the Paper Crafts "Go-To Sketches For Card Makers" call were picked up!  This special issue will hit newsstands August 9, 2011.

I had never submitted anything for publication before and am AMAZED that I got picked up on my first try.  Still in happy shock, that's me.  :)  I spent ALL morning filling out the papers for Paper Crafts, and taking the time to write out the detailed supply lists and instructions.  I've boxed up my creations and am heading for the post office now!

I also want to take a moment to accept an award from a fellow blogger named Tara Bilbao, of Tara Bee Ink.  Thank you so much, Tara!  Check out some of my faves of her cards here and here.

The rules of accepting this award:I want to pass this on to:

1-Creating a post where I blog about the Liebster award & reveal my 3-5 blog picks

2-Let the honorees know that I selected them

3-Copy & paste the blog award on my blog

Danielle Therese Greenwood - Au Claire de Lune
Tammy Hobbs - Creating Somewhere Under the Sun
Julie Day - J. Day Designs


I will be back with a new card soon - promise!  I've also got to accept another award from two different ladies, but I'm running out of time today.  :)

Thanks for joining me -- I always appreciate your visits!

Colleen

(PS - Blogger is being goofy today, and I cannot get that green background out of my Liebster award badge!  I'm so sorry.  If you are accepting this badge from me today, check out my sidebar:  there is a Liebster badge there that looks 'normal')

I'm Joining The Team!

I was honored when Vicki Dutcher, Blog Team Coordinator for Mark's Finest Papers, tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I would be a part of the weekly challenges there. 

Since today is my big debut,  I got to choose the challenge for this week.  :0)

My challenge:  using Bleached Images.  Here is a tutorial link at Splitcoaststampers to see how it's done. 

Here is my card with a Bleached Butterfly:

I used the new March release set, Just Dandy.  The butterfly image from it is just perfect for the bleaching technique.  I stamped it in Versamark on a scrap of Really Rust cardstock, then heat-embossed it with Rubber Stampede's Gold Embossing Powder.

For the bleaching part of the process, I laid my embossed butterfly scrap on several layers of paper towels.  I poured a small amount of regular household liquid bleach into a clean baby food container.  Using a children's fine tipped paint brush, I painted the bleach inside the embossed image.  It changed the rust cardstock to a beautiful, golden yellow.

You may have to do some trial and error with your cardstock color choices.  For instance, black turns muddy brown when painted with bleach.  Yuck.  Not what I wanted. 

Most of my supplies are from Mark's Finest Paper store, with a few exceptions.  I took a page from my "Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior" book to use as designer paper.  There was a time I enjoyed reading the proper way to do things...but now I don't care nearly as much.  :) 

Now go visit my other teammates' blogs to see what they've done with the bleach technique:

Vicki Dutcher -- Joanne Grezlak -- Geri Utterback --

Harriet Skelly -- Susan Raihala -- Karen Knegten

Hope you've gotten plenty of inspiration to try out this technique, and we can't wait to see what you do!  Just link up your card to Speedy The Cat's Challenge HERE by Friday, March 11th at 3 pm EST.
Thanks for joining me today.  I always appreciate your visits!

Colleen

Stamps:  Just Dandy by Mark's Finest Papers
Paper:  Basic Black/Soft Suede/Really Rust by Stampin' Up; designer papers and tobacco colored cardbase from MFP; page from old book
Ink:  Versamark
Punch:  Vine Trim double edge by Martha Stewart
Other:  chocolate pearls from Recollections, brad and satin ribbon from MFP

Play Date Cafe 71 - Color Splash of Your Choice

Welcome to a new twist on an old favorite at the Play Date Cafe...Color Splash Week! 

This week the challenge involves a black and white creation -- with a splash of ONE color of YOUR choice.  My Player's Choice splash of color is Caribbean Blue.....

I used a Lizzie Anne birdcage stamp from "The Monthly Mix - May 2010 Dream Big".  
Isn't it adorable?   LoVe this stamp!  The bird and cage were colored with Stampin' Up! markers, decorated with aqua bling from Michael's, and 'hung' with Caribbean twine from The Twinery.

The Twinery is our sponsor this week at the Play Date Cafe.  And our very own Julie Ranae is the "Guest Designer"!  Julie is on the Design Team at the Twinery, too. 

Some lucky duck is going to win this gorgeous assortment of twine, which includes three brand new colors --

First, go check out what the other Play Date gals have dreamed up for you this week:

Tracey -- Jaclyn -- Savannah -- Julie -- Michele --

Fiona -- Andrea -- Sarah -- Jinny -- Ruby -- Libby

Ready to play with us?

Please follow THE PLAY DATE CAFE 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.

I can't wait to see what YOUR splash of color will be! 

Colleen

Stamps:  Lizzie Anne Designs - Monthly Mix May 2010 "Dream Big"
Paper:  Basic Black, Bermuda Bay, white by PTI
Ink:  Stazon Black
Punch:  corner rounder (SU)
Other:  Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dot embossing folder (SU), Caribbean twine from the Twinery, button and rub-on (on button) from SU, SU markers, dimensionals, bling from $1 bin at Michael's

Just a Quick Note & an Award

Hi everyone!  I've missed being here with you this past week.  I just wanted to pop in and say 'hello' and tell you what I've been up to.

My days have been filled with card-making, but unfortunately nothing that I can show you right now.  I made several submissions to PaperCrafts magazine over the last week.  The deadline was yesterday, and I managed to sneak in one more.  I absolutely love how the cards turned out, and if they are not picked up by a magazine, at least I will be able to eventually share them with you all here.  :)

I've also been working on a card that I can finally reveal this Saturday, March 5th.  It's a big day for me, so stay tuned!

I've received two blog awards recently.  One is from Pauline, and one from Tara; two lovely, classy ladies who do beautiful work.  I need to make time to properly accept the awards soon.  Thank you, Pauline and Tara!

My "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" card made it into the Top 3 last week at CASE Study.  I'm proudly wearing my badge!

And, of course, there's always Life going on around a cardmaker, too.  My 12 YO daughter is going through some stuff right now.  It's been an emotional time for me, and that drains away a lot of my energy.  Please send positive vibes to us.  :)

My sister-in-law and I have decided to try being vendors at a spring craft fair in our region.  We have never done this before, and there's a lot of prep work involved.  She is a knitter who makes gorgeous, trendy items and I'll have my cards to sell.  We are both working on our crafts now so we have an ample supply for the fair.  If any of you have done craft fairs before and can offer any helpful tips, I'm all ears!  Please drop me an email (on my sidebar) or comment.

This Thursday morning, there is a new Play Date Cafe challenge.  It's an 'old' challenge, but with a really cool twist.  Can't wait for you to see both the challenge AND my card. 

That's it for me for now.  I miss you all! 

Colleen

Play Date Cafe 70 - Happy Birthday

At the Play Date Cafe today, we have a super-happy, bright combo of colors to play with!

Don't those colors remind you of summer? 

I made a birthday card that helped use up some of my scraps. 

All of the designer papers are from Stampin' Up!, and are retired.  There are so many neat ones in the $1.00 Scrap Bags I get from my demo. 

I lined up some scraps in various widths across the bottom of the card, then stacked two borders punched with Martha Stewart's Double Scallop border.  A ribbon scrap tops them. 

The punched frame is made with Martha's String Lace Punch Around the Page set (bought for 9.99 after Christmas!).  I paper-pieced the stack of presents from SU's Happy Moments and added a tiny bird from a new Sale-a-Bration set called Sweet Summer.

We have a Guest Designer this week at the Play Date Cafe:  Maria Gurnsey!  Click on over to check out her creative goodies on her blog, Gingham and Polka Dots.  

Our Design Team has brewed up some neat projects to share with you, so be sure to check them out, too:

Tracey -- Jaclyn -- Savannah -- Julie -- Michele -- Fiona -- Andrea -- Sarah -- Jinny -- Ruby -- Libby -- and me, Colleen!

The awesome prize package, worth $30, is sponsored by Maria Gurnsey.

Ready to play with us?

Please follow THE PLAY DATE CAFE 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.

Hope to see your work hanging in the gallery at the Cafe!

Colleen

Stamps:  Sweet Summer, Happy Moments
Paper:  PTI white, designer paper scraps from SU, Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi
Ink:  Stazon black
Punch:  Martha Stewart Double Scallop Border, String Lace PATP
Other:  SU ribbon scrap, SU markers, dimensionals, Scor-Tape

Kiss Me, I'm Irish

A St. Patrick's Day card in untraditional colors...that's what I like! 

My birthday is on St. Patrick's Day (March 17th), and all of my life, I would tend to receive the same card from various loved ones for my big day.  That's because very few greeting card companies made St. Patrick's Day/ Birthday combination cards.  It's probably better than it used to be, but they all tend to be GREEN (for obvious reasons).

I changed things up a bit by adding navy and deep red for something unexpected.

The layout is from CASE Study's muse this week, Eva Dobilas.  

I kept the same layout, even tying in some of Eva's elements like the Spellbinders Label Ten die-cut, and a green swirl stamp.

The shamrock stamps and the sentiment are from a Studio G pack purchased at AC Moore.  The swirl is a clear stamp that was part of a blog candy win, and I don't remember the company name.

The deep red layer is part of a gift bag that I cut apart.  I had to reassemble it under the cream die-cut to match up the stripes.

A new Play Date Cafe challenge is issued this Thursday at 12:01 AM EST, and you don't want to miss the bright, fresh group of colors coming your way!

Thanks for joining me.  :)

Colleen

Stamps:  swirl - unknown, shamrocks and sentiment - Studio G
Paper:  Not Quite Navy, PTI Vintage Cream, red from gift bag, greens from SU retired designer paper
Ink:  Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress Inks, Wild Wasabi, Cherry Cobbler
Punches:  scalloped border by SU, Lattice Edge by Martha Stewart
Other:  bling from Queen & Co., Big Shot, Labels Ten and Labels Eight by Spellbinders, sponge, dimensionals

A Beautiful Thing

After the crazy, unexpected weekend I had (see THIS post), it felt goooooood to make a card late yesterday.

I created this for the Mark's Finest Papers Speedy the Cat's Friends challenge, where we are to use black/white/one other color (mine is pink); and also for Dutch Dare Card Challenge:  Sparkle, Glitter, Bling!  I've got sparkly hearts, rhinestones and pearls galore.

I was able to play with some new stamps I received from Wplus9, a really cool stamp company that is new to me.  I love my set, Magical Moments.  I stamped a sentiment from it onto a Spellbinders Labels Four die cut.  The designer papers are from Stampin' Up! and My Mind's Eye.

I'm off to the local craft stores soon.  They have coupons for today and yesterday only for 55% off an item!  Can't resist that.

Thank you to everyone who left comments on my post yesterday, about the tree falling and just missing our house.  It was quite an experience!  So glad no one was hurt.

Colleen

Stamps:  Wplus9 'Magical Moments'
Paper:  PTI white, Basic Black, designer paper from SU and My Mind's Eye 'Garden Vignettes'
Ink:  Basic Black, Pretty In PInk
Other:  Big Shot, Spellbinders Labels Four, glittery chipboard hearts from Recollections, pearls, pink rhinestones, black ribbon from Stamp Simply Ribbon Store

You've Got To See These Photos!

There's no card to show you today, but I've got to tell you what's happened in the last 24 hours.  Yesterday and the night before the winds were really intense here in Southern New Jersey, with gusts up to 60 mph.  Yesterday morning about 10:15, we lost power, and I thought it was because of the wind.  I happened to look out my front door just in time to see a tree fall into my neighbor's house!  Our houses are very close, so this photo above is taken just outside my front door.  The tree partially covered my driveway.

It was a very old, very big Sweet Gum tree that's been a problem for a while.  Our township refused to take it down.  We knew this was going to happen someday, and those high winds just took the big guy down.  We had been without power from the time the tree fell on Saturday morning until around 4 am Sunday morning.  We spent the night in a hotel, and got home around 11 am today.  At least we were warm and had a chance to re-charge our cell phones and watch TV.  Our story was on the local news last night on Channel 6 ABC.

The yellow house is my next door neighbor's.  The tree went through her front living room window, and if her 12 year old son didn't have fast reflexes, he would have been hurt or killed.  He was sitting on the sofa right beneath that window.  An angel was sitting on his shoulder.

This is taken from right in front of my house. 
The tree blocked our street for more than a day.

This is taken from across the street, where the tree 'lived'. 
 It took up a lot of sidewalk, which my neighbor just had repoured this past fall.

Clean up on Sunday, February 20, 2011.  PSE & G put up a new power pole
 in the very wee hours of the morning.  Tree clean up has been happening all day.

I had planned to make a card for Moxie Fab's Trigger Tuesday before the deadline last night, but that didn't happen!  God had other plans for us.

You think you're safe at home....but you never know!  We're grateful that no one was hurt in this incident.

See you soon,

Colleen

Inspired by a Dress; An Award

I often receive a catalog from a children's clothing company called CWD Kids.   I save every issue, because they are jam-packed with gorgeous dresses and other clothing items that give me so much inspiration.

Here's my take:

I had received some stamps from Wplus9 in the mail the other day and they were wrapped in hot pink tissue paper.  I saved it, knowing I would need it for this card.  Tissue paper doesn't punch well, even when layered multiple times for thickness.  But that was okay here because I wanted a crumpled flower appearance anyway!  The shimmery pink brad is from Target's Dollar Spot last fall.

The green designer paper is from an old K & Company paper pad that I bought for 99 cents a while back.  I cut it out with a Spellbinders Labels Eight die, then embossed it with Sizzix Powdered Sugar.  The butterflies were created using the new-to-me SU Bigz Beautiful Butterflies die, then embossed with Sizzix Regal Flourishes folder.  Their antennae are made with Pink Sorbet Twine from The Twinery. 

The sheer pink ribbon is an old gift bag handle that I took off the bag (it didn't have any life left in it anyway!).

Challenges entered:

• Really Reasonable Ribbon - 'spring'
• Cardabilities #25 sketch -

I found out last night that the card below earned me a VIP Top 3 Award at Party Time Tuesdays! 

In a couple of weeks, I have exciting news to share with you, but I can't spill the beans yet!

Thanks so much for joining me today.  I always appreciate you visiting my blog.  :)

Colleen

Paper:  K & Company paper pad, white by PTI, pink tissue paper
Punches:  5 petal flower, horizontal slot and scalloped circle by SU
Other:  Big Shot, Powdered Sugar and Regal Flourishes embossing folders by Sizzix, Pink Sorbet twine from The Twinery, pink brad from Target, green and pink bling from Queen and Company, ribbon from gift bag handle, Bigz Beautiful Butterflies die from SU, Labels Eight by Spellbinders

Village by the Water

Once I saw the Waltzingmouse Sketch for this week (which ends tonight), an idea for a sun and water scene formed in my head.  I needed some tiny houses to go in this scene, and the Wonderfully Whimsical set by Papertrey Ink was just perfect. 

The sketch:

And the color scheme I chose is based on CR84FN's current challenge:

The waves were created on Marina Mist cardstock with Embossed Curves border punch.  I layered four of them together in a staggered fashion.  Then I laid my oval Spellbinders nestie on it and ran it through the machine many times.  It actually did not cut all the way through my four layers, so I had to do a little hand-cutting. 

I forgot to sponge each 'wave' border before attaching them together, so when it was complete I edged the waves with a Marina Mist marker.

I made the sun with both an oval and a scalloped oval die cut.  The regular oval was sponged with Summer Sun ink, but I don' t know if you can see that.

I'm tired tonight, and am ready to let "American Idol" wash over me. 

I'll see you all soon! 

Colleen

Stamps:  Wonderfully Whimsical by PTI

Paper:  Marina Mist, Garden Green, Vintage Cream by PTI, yellow unknown

Ink:  black Stazon, Summer Sun

Punch:  Embossed Curve by EK Success

Other:  Big Shot, oval and scalloped oval nesties by Spellbinders, SU markers, dimensionals, sponge

Play Date Cafe 69 - Happy Holidays

This week at the Play Date Cafe we have a 'Combined Grind', where we blend our challenge with that of another challenge blog.  Our blend this week is with CASE Study, and our guest is none other than Iwona Palamountain aka Chupa!  Chupa is everywhere in crafting blogland and I'm sure you've seen her work before.  If you haven't, you must check out her stuff at her blog, "Random Acts of Creativity". 

Hope you don't mind another holiday card, but our challenge colors  just shouted "Christmas" to me this week.

I used twill tape as a trunk for my tree, and gave it some 'age' with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  The boughs are made with Vine Trim Double Edged punch by Martha Stewart, and decorated with stickers from an old Stampin' Up! calendar kit.  I added a bit of glitter for holiday dazzle.  :)

The tree is set in front of a Spellbinders Labels Ten die cut that was distressed with more Walnut ink and very lightly overstamped with Hero Arts Old French Script.  The designer paper is from My Mind's Eye 'Garden Vignettes'.  The largest die from Spellbinders Labels Eight forms the cardbase. 

 The holiday sentiment is from Mark's Finest Papers Seasonal Poinsettias set. 

Even though I have made a holiday card, you'll find plenty of non-Christmas-y projects from our Design Team at the Cafe this week. 

Thanks for joining me today!  Hope to see you playing along with us.  :)

Colleen

Stamps:  Seasonal Poinsettias by Mark's Finest Papers, Hero Arts Old French Script
Paper:  Vintage Cream by PTI, So Saffron, Garden Green, designer paper from My Mind's Eye 'Garden Vignettes'
Ink:  Walnut Stain and Antique Linen Distress inks
Punch:  scalloped border by SU
Other:  sponge, dimensionals, glitter, Big Shot, Spellbinders Labels Eight and Ten, twill by SU

Inspired by a Hat Box

Hope you all had a sweet Valentine's Day.  Ours was low-key, with a bit of chocolate exchanging.  Chocolate is always welcome, any day!

My card today is inspired by a hat box I own:

Isn't it romantic?

There were quite a few challenges that inspired me as well, and they are listed further down the post.

There was a lot involved in the making of this card.  Lots of distressing with ink and sponges, and subtle stamping.  The rose image is from Miss CutiePie:  Inspiration and Freebies blog, provided to me by my friend Sparklygirl-Tina.  Thank you, Tina!  My printer's calibration is a little crazy right now, so the colors are a little brighter than they should be.  I used Antique Linen Distress ink to tone down that rose a bit.  I cut it with a Spellbinders Circle Die, then mounted it on an Anna Griffin clip art I've had for years.  The crochet trim behind it was attached and ruffled using Scor-Tape double sided adhesive.

I chose three different patterned papers from my Anna Griffin stash (so happy to cut into it at long last!) as my background.  The lightest cream one is a floral, but I overstamped it with Hero Arts Old French Script in Tattered Rose Distress ink.  It's super subtle.

Here are the challenges I entered:

• Really Reasonable Ribbon - Spring, using ribbon
• Ooh La La - Someone Special (I wouldn't give this card to just anyone!)
• Flourishes Timeless Tuesday 105 - 3 patterned papers
• Inkspirations - sketch (I changed the oval to a circle, and made my card a square)

• EtsyInspired - Glow Girl - inspiration photo coupon organizer -- my green panel of Anna Griffin paper looks sooo much like this fabric

• Off The Wall Craftiness - GORGEOUS inspiration photos:

• Flourishes Bring Back Beautiful 07 - Love and romance
• Create: CARDS - border punches

Whew!  That's enough, isn't it? 

Thanks for joining me today.  It's almost time for another Play Date Cafe challenge, so I'll see you in a couple of days!

Colleen

Stamps:  Hero Arts Old French Script

Paper:  PTI Vintage Cream, Anna Griffin designer papers

Ink:  Distress Inks - Tattered Rose, Walnut Stain, Antique Linen

Punches:  Martha Stewart Double Scallop and Deco Fan

Other:  Big Shot, Spellbinders circle die, digital image, pearls from Queen and Co., crochet trim, sponge, Anna Griffin circle die cut frame, pink ribbon from stash, dimensionals, Scor-Tape