Amazing Friend

Hello everyone.  It's a sketch day here at Sunday Stamps this week, and the sketch is presented by - me.

I decided to use a framelit for the central focal piece and used the "Amazing Family" set.  This sketch is great for using up little bits of ribbon, cardstock or DSP.  I have added three sets of brads/embellishments in the sketch, but when I created the card I left two sets out.  Great thing about challenges, they help get you started, but you can go into any direction you wish.

I hope you'll join us for the challenge.  Check out the Sunday Stamps blog to see what inspiration can be found from the other Design Team Members.  Be sure to link your project back to us at the challenge blog so we can drop by and see what you've created.  All entries are due by Friday, March 8, 2013 for this challenge.

Hope you try it out!

Joan

Bicycle Birthday

Welcome to  Sunday Stamps Challenge day - today it's a colour challenge!  We've got Perfect Plum, Raspberry Ripple and Crumb Cake for you today.  Sounds like a recipe for a baked good!  Yum!

I chose to keep the card fairly simple today.  I've distressed the edges of the Raspberry Ripple by using my Snips and adding ink.  The Perfect Plum section has been embossed and then distressed with ink.

I've found that the wonderful Natural Trim Ribbon accepts coloured ink quite well....that opens possibilities for decorating the lovely linen texture.

Give these colors a try and share your project with us over on the Sunday Stamps blog.  Here are a few things to keep in mind when you join us.

1. Please provide a Link back to us in your Post.

2. Please link directly to your blog post for the challenge.

3. Feel free to use any Brand of product.

4. Deadline is Friday February 1st @12pm EST.

5. Have FUN!!

I had a fabulous day stamping at Tamye's Extravaganza yesterday....lots of yummy projects that I will be sharing with you over the week.  Here is a clean and simple card created using the new Pinwheel Sizzlits Die that I COMPLETELY missed in the Spring Catalogue and now want to get.

Sure does help to make the small pinwheels easily.

Well, hope you have a fabulous Sunday.  Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

Joan

Spring will come.....

We may have a fair number of Sunday Stamp days until we get there - but Spring will Come!

This week we have a fun sketchy at Sunday Stamps from Tara.  I should have thought more about the sketch before I started stamping though.  When I went to put my little flags on the card - and I tried a number of sizes - I decided that I had to adjust where they were on the card so that they didn't take away from the flowers.

I took the colours for my card from the Colour Throwdown this week - Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White and Crumb Cake.

I'd love to see what you come up with for our sketch challenge this week - Here are some things to keep in mind...

1. Please provide a Link back to us in your Post.

2. Please link directly to your blog post for the challenge.

3. Feel free to use any Brand of product.

4. Deadline is Friday January 25th @12pm EST.

5. Have FUN!!

Have a Super Sunday!  Thanks for visiting.

Joan

Feel Well Butterflies

Yay! It's a sketch day at Sunday Stamps today - I love sketches - especially when I really don't have a whole lot of time to think - the sketch provides a perfect jumping off place and I love this fabulous design by Steph.  There's no end to what could be the focal point could be where the shapes are. 

I've decided to take a wee break from the Christmas theme and use some of the upcoming Sunshine and Sprinkles Designer Series Paper and one of the new Hearts a Fluter Framelits.  I'm pretty sure I'll be spending a good amount of time playing with my new toys once my school Christmas concert is over!

I hope you have fun with this challenge - we'd love to see what you come up with.  Here are a few things to keep in mind when you join us.

1)  Please provide a link back to us at Sunday Stamps in your post.

2) Please link directly to your blog post for the challenge.

3) Feel free to use any brand of product

4) Deadline is Saturday, December 22 @ 12am EST

5) Have FUN!  

Thanks for dropping by!  Hope you're having a productive weekend.

Joan

Amazing Sunday Stamps

Happy Sunday!  It's a colour challenge today at Sunday Stamps and Holly has a poppin' group of colours for us - I thought I'd have trouble with this combo because Melon Mambo scares me a wee little bit. But, once I picked the stamp set I wanted to use, everything fell together quite nicely and I even used the Melon Mambo the most.  My daughter wants to send this to one of her friends.

The little balloon is layered and the framelit is popped up over the ribbon too.  And, just to keep things interesting, (and to use things that I often forget about), I've added some Chrystal Effects to the letters, making them pop and shine at the same time.

I actually love these colours as we're on the brink of the fall tones.  So give them a whirl and post your creation over at the Sunday Stamps Challenge Blog where you'll also find some fabulous inspiration from the fabulous design team.

Have fun!  Hope your day is fabulous, and thanks for stopping by.

Joan

Sunday Stamp Thoughts

WooHooo - It's a colour day this week at Sunday Stamps and today's fabulous colour combination comes from Tara.

I must admit I don't use Sahara Sand very often, but I do like it with this combination, although I only featured it as a mat.  Be sure to take a peak at what the other Design Team Members came up with at Sunday Stamps; it's fun to see how everyone showcased the colours.  

Once you've finished with your creation, be sure to link your post back to the Challenge blog so we can see what you came up with.

Next week - another sketch challenge!

The school prep has taken some of my energy this year - must be an age thing,  and we take our son to the airport tomorrow as he heads down to Apple Headquarters for 3 weeks training as a Genius.  Young man hasn't traveled that far on his own before so I'm a bit anxious for him.  I know he will do well, and he'll miss his little Elliot to pieces!

Hope your long weekend is going well - hope to see your creations over at Sunday Stamps.

Thanks for dropping by.

Joan

WooHooo - My First Sketch

I'm so excited because today at Sunday Stamps it's sketch day - and today - it's my sketch.  It's a totally new experience for me - what fun, fun, fun.  Please feel free to use whatever shape you want where the ovals are.  I love sketch challenges because, although most of the time I follow sketches to the T, there are times where they end up being a jumping off place for creativity to go in it's own direction.  That's the beauty of it!

I used Rich Razzleberry for under my ovals and I was glad to find a stray piece of polka dot Rich Razzleberry ribbon.....I love the polka dot ribbons!

When you've finished creating, be sure to post it over at Sunday Stamps; I'd love to see what you come up with!  And if you're looking for more inspiration, pop over there to see what the rest of the Design Team has come up with.

We're busy here today - Grant has a meeting at work so we're having a family lunch instead of family dinner.  That works out perfectly because we're going to see Mary Poppins on stage tonight.  Fun, fun, fun.

Hope you have good things planned - or not planned - with friends and family today.

Thanks for stopping by!

Joan

Patio Lanterns

Today is a sketch day at Sunday Stamps... and what a fun one it is.  You MUST check out the Sunday Stamps Challenge blog to see all the different ways that this sketch has been interpreted.  I'm so excited to be working with such a group of creative ladies!

I've chosen to use Patio Party DSP and pop out the patio lanterns.  I punched out 6 circles, folded them in half and then attached them to each other.  The large scallop edgelit was used to cut the edge of the Delicate Designs Folder.

Today I will be home from my first holiday of the year....We've been in the Maritimes since July 2 and had a wonderful time!

Next stop - Salt Lake City for the Stampin'Up! Convention.  I have one day to do laundry and repack.

Hope you have plans that keep you busy and having a great time.

Thanks for stopping by....once I'm back from Salt Lake I'll be very excited to be back in my craft room on a regular basis!

Joan

Canada Day Sunday Stamp Duo

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

We'll be having a busy day here today - Pancake Breakfast, Trivia Questions before the Parade, Lunch and fun and games at my Canamaniac friend Amy's house.  It will be Elliot's first Canada Day, so we're looking forward to spending the whole day with him too!  Don't think we'll be going to the fireworks though since we have to be on a plane at 1:00am tomorrow morning.  WooooHoooo!

AND it's also 

Sunday Stamps!

It's a sketch day at Sunday Stamps - and it's a perfect sketch if you're needing to make a card in a pinch.  Any shape could be used where the circle is  - and that's exactly how this card duo ended up being created.

I had initially created the card with the sail boat - a week ago when I knew I needed to get some of my challenges done ahead of time before travelling on holidays.  Then I realized that this post would go live on Canada Day - so I turned around and created a second card, which you see above, using today's holiday as a theme;   proving that any shape can be used where the circle is in the sketch!

  The two bands across the middle of the sketch provide a lot of room for creativity and for this sail boat I chose to use fibers for both - I'm loving the new stitched ribbon for the new In Colours....and the twine is a wee bit nautical.

 Here's the sketch for you to go by and for more inspiration, be sure to stop by the Sunday Stamps Blog to see what the rest of the Design Team came up with this week.  Be sure to link your project back to Sunday Stamps so we can see what you've created.

Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians.

Have a safe and fun celebration!

Joan

Water Play & Prep

Well, fancy that....I've found a new Challenge Blog - Create with Connie and Mary.  They alternate between Colour Challenges and Sketch Challenges.  This week's Colour Challenge is Tangerine Tango, So Saffron and Pacific Point.  Gotta admit that I moaned when I saw Pacific Point, but all turned out well for these little guys spending time in the water!

To create the "lake" I used my Aquapainter to pick up ink from the inside of the Pacific Point stamp pad.  Because I was using the aquapainter the colour wasn't as strong as I applied it, but it keeps the Pacific Point hue.

I haven't used this fold (Gatefold) for a card for YEARS.  I think it's still a bit plain, but I'm going to leave it as is.  On the inside of the card I have attached a white piece of cardstock with the children stamped along the bottom in Tangerine Tango.

I'm in the process of creating projects for my September workshops.  I came across a version of this card by Onja Ming on Stampin' Connection.  I really liked how she had placed the ribbon BEHIND the punched border.  I always like to be able to give my stampers something to decorate their envelopes with - and it's usually a stamp that is used on the card itself - hmmmm - no stamp on this card except for the sentiment - NO Problem - I decided to take another piece of the Lace Ribbon Border and using it as a "stencil" to create the design on the envelope.

I just love it when the ol' lightbulb comes on over my head!  Hope your day has some AHaaa moments in it too.  Thanks for visiting.
Joan

Kiss, Kiss, Kiss

Ooo - Ooo - Ooo - I must say I was tickled pink when I saw the challenge over at The Paper Players today.  I have been waiting for a pink challenge so I could pull out the "lip stick" for this stamp.  Allison is the one who wanted this stamp - but we share. The colour challenge at Paper Players is - Pretty in Pink, Rose Red and Regal Rose.

I used my craft inks for the lips and then covered them with clear embossing powder so they would shine.  I am loving the font for the "Hand-Penned Holiday" stamps which are coming up in the Holiday Mini.

I must say that this card is a duplicate of THIS ONE I created with the  butterflies.

I spent yesterday afternoon re-creating the paper flowers from the July Stampin'Success front cover...I added a few extra colours of my own - I have to "copy" first sometimes before the creative juices start to flow...  I think I will get some floral stems because then they'll bend - these guys are pretty stiff right now ( I used skewers which I sponged with Lucky Limade).  I had fun making them!

Thanks for taking time to stop by for a visit.  Have a great day!
Joan

Tri Fold Nature Walk

 

Today, over at Hand Stamped Sentiments, they've laid down the challenge for fancy fold cards - I don't think I've ever actually finished one of these Tri Fold Shutter Cards - but I'm relatively happy with the way this one turned out.  Lots of little pieces depending on the sections you want to highlight.  It's interesting to look through the gallery on Splitcoast for this type of card  - just to see the different ways that people have place their papers and what they've done to embellish their creation.

AND, over at Hand Stamped Sentiments, the DT has a wide variety of fancy folds cards to share for inspiration.

I'm off to the city to do some shopping and then I'm looking forward to having dinner this evening with a few of my former (won't say "old") college roommates.  We've been staying in touch for over 30 years!!!

Hope you have some life long friends to share good times with.

Thanks for stopping by to visit

Joan

Daring Chocolate Hearts

I don't think I ever thought to put brown and pink together before I started stamping; but I just love this combination:

Crumb Cake

Chocolate Chip

Pink Pirouette

I'm loving the new Scallop Dots Ribbon...when I get home from my holiday I'll have some new colours to use.  Can't wait!!!!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit - Happy Stamping!!!

Joan

Life's a Bowl of Cherries - Enjoy!

I wasn't sure I would use this little bowl of cherries from the new "Cherish Friendship" set, but when I saw the Color Challenge from Splitcoast this past week: Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy  and Crumb Cake, it just seemed to make sense to use it.  So I pulled out the water colour paper and gave them a try.

The clean and simple look is what the  4 Crafty Chicks  are looking for this week.  I seem to be able to keep it simple as long as the main piece has texture.  I just have this strong aversion to flat paper on my cards - maybe that's why I like dimensionals so much too.  I have raised the square with the cherries and the small vanilla oval with "Enjoy".

Well, I'm off to sort cards today, and do some hemming.  I going to do the hemming first so I that it actually gets done!

Have a great day!  Thanks for the visit!
Joan

New Ribbon Flower Variety

Well - I found a new way to make a flower with ribbon in order to complete the challenge over at 4 Crafty Chicks this week. I was intrigued by Lori Turner's(Inkingly Yours) flower (one of the 4Crafty Chicks Design Team members - and fellow Colour Dare Team Member) She got the instructions for her flower from Dawn Olchefske's tutorial HERE. The instructions were excellent, easy and creating the flower was sort of magical - just like embossing powder!

(Oh - just one point - do make sure you follow Dawn's steps - I watched the video and then went to make the flower "remembering" the steps. TAKE THE RED LAYER OFF THE STICKY STRIP TO ATTACH THE RIBBON - if you don't you'll find that it melts while you're heating the ribbon. It doesn't ruin the flower - just gives you a reason to laugh at yourself!!!!!)

I thought I'd take a chance and see what happens stamping the sentiment on the ribbon - I used StazOn - and am glad it didn't bleed through the fibers.

Hope you are having a fabulous day - Thanks for stopping by!

Trio of Owls

Played around with this one a bit. Couldn't decide what to put in the central section of the "Lord Have Mercy" sketch challenge....decided on the owls.

The colors are from over at the Color Chef...(Kelly Jo's Stamp Pad). The colours are bright green, black and cream.

I just also happen to fall into the category set out by Crafty Creations this week to use Owls in your projects. Whooooo, Whooooo!!!!

Yesterday I commented at a couple of blogs on the way buttons were attached to bows....so I decided to give it a try.

Hope you are having a wonderful beginning to the tail end of the week. Thanks for stopping by.
Joan

Autumn Bird

This weeks colours over at The Colour Chef are

autumn terracotta juniper petal

The Stampin'Up! colours I used are Cajun Craze, Marina Mist and Perfect Plum. I finally got a chance to use this little bird from the Punch Potpourri Hostess set....I LOVE how you can punch out the fancy section of her belly to become her wing. It fits perfectly.

I also have been wanting to try this Crimped Diamond technique. What a fantastic fancy way to use the crimper. I really do appreciate those people who play around with the tools we have and come up with unique ideas. Here is the tutorial for this technique.

I hope you're having a wonderful day - and thanks for stopping by.
Joan