Itzie Inkies Monkies!

Lookee at this cute little fella! Isn't he adorable? Shortly after beginning my position as an All That Scraps design team member the other dt members were chatting about how much we love Lucky and Lulu and the cute penguins, one of the gals said she would love to see some monkies in the CC Designs style and Christine (the owner of ATS and designer of CC Designs) said, "Guess what I'm workin on?" So, today I recieved a package that included this adorable guy! I was especially excited because my 3 year old LOVES monkies-especially Curious George. She had a Curious George birthday party last year (I used the Monkey Business stamp set that Stampin' Up! has for those invites) and she is still insisting on having a George party again. The leaves on the tree were made using the flower from the retired Stampin' Up! set, Sheltering Tree.

This adorable monkey, including one other and another sentiment will be available tomorrow, February 9 on the All That Scraps website http://allthatscraps.com/ . You have to check them out!

Supplies Used: Old Olive cs, ink, Always Artichoke ink, Soft Sky cs, Chocolate Chip SW Marker, Creamy Caramel SW Marker, ink, Close to Cocoa ink, SW Marker, Aquapainter, Tag Corner Punch, Paper Piercer and Template, White Signo Gel Pen, Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Fall Flowers Designer Series Paper, Horizontal Slot Punch, CC Designs Monkey Love stamp set.

Bo Ho Backgrounds

Here is another for Jami's girls! This one uses the new set Bo-Ho Backgrounds. I love that not only does this set have 2 blocks that are for backgrounds, it also includes a medallion image and a block that has 2 sentiments on it. Although you have to use the marker ommitting technique to get just the sentiment you want, I love it!

My favorite stamp in this set is the background of flowers. The flowers are beautifully drawn and stamp wonderfully. I love using them all over a large panel as I did here. To get the multi colored medallion I just stamped the medallion three different times, in three different colors. Then I used my circle punches and punched out different layers of the medallion and layered them on top of one another! So easy!

Supplies Used: Pretty in Pink cs, ink, Purely Pomegranate ink, cs, Very Vanilla cs, Close to Cocoa ink, Circle Punches, Gingham ribbon, silver brad, Scallop Circle Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Bo-Ho Backgrounds.

Enjoy It!

Do you like this one?!?! This set was a freebie demo's received. I love the images in it and when I was all done with this one I was really pleased with it. I love the 5/8" grosgrain ribbon-it adds so much! This was another one I did for Jami's swap. I had to use this set and a combination of colors shown on page 10 in the Spring-Summer Collection. I had this sample at a stamp club meeting this week and one of the gals said she really liked it but that it had too much guava. She said she's not a fan of Groovy Guava. The great thing about the color combos Stampin' Up! is putting in these new catalogs is that there are so many colors listed (such as on page 10 they show these colors together:

Old Olive

So Saffron

Pumpkin Pie

Groovy Guava

Cameo Coral

Rose Red

There are so many colors suggested, you could substitute just about anything for the Guava and have it look great!

Supplies Used: So Saffron ink, cardstock, Groovy Guava ink, cardstock, Slit Punch, 1/8" Handheld Circle Punch, So Saffron Brad, 3/4" Circle Punch, Enjoy the Little Things.

Jami's Swap!

I haven't been doing nothing the last 2 weeks, I have been working on swaps for another of Jami's swaps over at Splitcoaststampers. I call these ladies "famous swapers". Why? They have blogs that rank way up there, many of them you have probaly seen. You know Taylor VanBruggen right? Yup...Miss Famous Stamper herself! I get to swap with her and lots of other incredibly talented ladies. Jami does request that we wait to post our creations until she has swapped them out. They have been swapped out so I can show you some of mine. This is the one I chose to show you today. This still remains a favorite set of mine even after many projects made with it! I paper pieced the bird by stamping him on the blue piece of Cutie Pie Paper and cutting out just his body. Then I popped it up with a dimensional. I can't seem to get away from paper piecing this little guy! The artwork just makes it so easy! Supplies Used: Bashful Blue card stock, ink, Black Staz On ink, Whisper White card stock, Pumpkin Pie SW Marker, Scallop Circle Punch, Cutie Pie Designer Series Paper, Rose Red brads, Bashful Blue Grosgrain Ribbon, A Little Birdie Told Me.

How Sweet is This?

You might recall that in November I mentioned that I had a customer who was so sweet and actually bought me an early Christmas gift. This sweet lady bought me the Giga Scallop Oval punch for Christmas because she said she is so thankful for me. I thought that was so sweet! Tonight I met with a stamp club tonight that I haven't seen since November. One of the members came in and said, "I have something for you!" Look what she made me!!! Isn't this THE CUTEST cardstock purse with note cards?!?!? She made 10 of these babies for me! I was so touched! She used this adorable paisley stamp on the Pretty in Pink paper. I don't know who makes the "C" stamp or the "Just a Note" but I know the rectangular frame around the letter is a retired stamp from SU! I still can't get over how sweet this is! As a paper crafter I find myself making stuff for other people all the time, and I wish I had some cute things for myself but it seems weird to make something for myself. Now someone has gone and made me something! Thanks Deneen! In addition to making me this sweet little ensemble, Deneen is constantly encouraging me and giving me great compliments about my work! A friend who makes me gifts and is encouraging to boot! I think I'll keep her around!

"Smile" It's Time for Sale-a-Bration

Here is a project that uses one of the Sale-a-bration sets for this year....the flower is from So Many Scallops...this set perfectly works with the scallop circle punch! The inside of the flower that reads "smile" is from Be Happy.

If you don't know what Sale-a-Bration is, I must ask....where have you been?!?!? Sale-a-Bration is the best time in the Stampin' Up! year! With every $50 order a customer places, they can choose from 5 limited stamps sets and one limited pack of rub-ons! Now who doesn't like FREE?!?

Supplies Used: Soft Sky cs, ink, Certainly Celery cs, brads, Grosgrain Ribbon, Rose Red cs, ink, circle punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Fall Flowers Designer Series Paper, Absolutely Fabulous, So Many Scallops, Be Happy.

Blog Candy Winner

I used a random number generator to pick the winner for this Blog Candy...the winner was number 17: Anita said... Congratulations on the 5,000 hits. I started my blog 1/19/08 and have 1095!My favorite stamp right now is Globetrottabella - I wish I was her just traveling around the world!http://www.wowprincess.com/anita/ 4:06 PM Anita, send me an e-mail at caspen1973@yahoo.com with your snail mail address and I'll get your goodies out to you!

New Stamps Are Coming

I should be getting some new CC Designs stamps soon! A new set will be released on February 9. Wanna see a sneak peek? Run over to Christine's blog and take a look at her post on January 29th. http://www.ccdesigns.typepad.com/

Stamp Club Card Project

Here is a project a couple of my stamp clubs will be doing this month. The technique they will be learning is called Faux Silk. The panel that has the flowers stamped on it is the panel that shows the faux silk. I hope you can see it in this photo. It is such as easy technique!

1) Stamp an image on a piece of card stock (or you can stamp directly onto tissue paper).

2) Crumple up a piece of tissue paper and smooth out...crumple again.

3) Using a glue stick, coat the entire stamped panel and spread your tissue paper over the panel. Wrap the tissue around the back of your panel.

That is it! I really liked how this card turned out and can't wait to see how my stamp clubs receive it!

Supplies Used: Whisper White cs, Chocolate Chip cs, ink, Slot Punch, Chocolate Chip Wide Grosgrain Ribbon, One of a Kind, BoHo Backgrounds.

I Love Awards

My Great Grandma Upline (is that a goofy term?) is Linda Heller. I count myself very lucky to have her because I don't really have a direct upline anymore and I so appreciate someone who recognizes my accomplishments. I used to be much more active with my SU! sales but life has become busy and my priorities have changed. All the sales I had before kept me out of the house a lot and it wasn't helping my marriage at all. So, now I do the occasional Stamp Camp and I have 4 stamp clubs that meet every other month. That keeps me busy enough to make a bit of extra cash and be eligible for free goodies from SU! Anyway, Linda has about 100 people in her downline (that was the guesstimate she gave me last time I asked) and it seems like every quarter I still get these adorable 6x6 awards from her! I hang everyone on the wall of my stamp room! I'm proud of my work but even more, I love to look at what she puts together! So, this is the one I got yesterday. If you look closely it says "#1 in Group Sales for 2nd Quarter 2008". It's not the second quarter yet, this happened last year too. I bet Linda's word processing program automatically inserts the year. Anyway, no matter what it says, isn't it cute!? She made this one with the new Simply Scrappin Kit called Summer Days. Isn't this a great color combo? And can you see the paper piercing that follows the lines of the flowers? And...she used my new favorite accessory!! Wide Grosgrain ribbon. If you haven't tried it because you have thought "it's too big for a card" you HAVE to try it...you'll love it!

Beate's Weekend Sketch

Here is my second entry ever for Beate's Weekend Sketch. I have had this Stampin' Up! set, Fabulous Flowers for several months but have only used it on a couple projects. I just love what I see people doing with it, but I will admit I am not a very good distressed/shabby stamper. I admire it so much but it takes a lot for me to come up with my own project and have it come out like the stuff I admire! Beate's sketch can be found on her blog here: http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/. My project is 5 1/2" x 5 1/2". I wish I could get closer to the actual project on some of these so you could really see it up close. I stamped the linen background (is anyone else AMAZED they retired this?!?!) with Soft Sky on the Vanilla panel (I stamped it off once) and then stamped the flowers on top of it. It is always amazing to me to see how much Linen really looks like fabric, especially if you stamp something on top of it!

Supplies Used: Soft Sky cs, ink, Mellow Moss cs, ink, Gingham Ribbon, Rose Red cs, ink, Very Vanilla cs, Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware, Ticket Corner Punch, Sanded background stamp, Linen background stamp, Fabulous Flowers, One of a Kind (sentiment).

HUGE Sale at All That Scraps!

Hey all! Check it out!!!!! From what I understand, when these items are gone, they are gone and won't be restocked!!! The following are starting at 15% off Bazzill Really Big Brads Karen Foster Big Time Brads Black and White Making Memories Ribbon and Ribbon Brads Prima Brads Rob and Bob Snap Ease Junkitz Paints Making Memories Paint Sets 7 Gypsies Binding Rings Bazzill Really Big Paper Clips Bazzill Blossom Heidi Junkitz Halloween Book Plates Making Memories Sweets Making Memories Simply Fabulous Trims Making Memories Safety Pins Pebbles Word Charms Q & Co Buttons Q & Co. Bold Sequins Q & Co. Chic Charms Q & Co. Fab Flowers Q & Co. Sassy Sequins Q & Co. Anchorettes Cropper Hopper Embellishment Organizer Cropper Hopper Supply Case Daisy D's Beacon Hill Chasing Butterflies Basic Grey Dasher Flair Baby Of Mine Flair True Love Flair Christmas Junkitz School Days K & Co Brenda Walton Christmas SEI Smarty SEI Citrus Kick McGill Punches McGill Strongarm Q & Co Felt Ribbon Prima Petites Prima Silk Road Prima Got? Flowers Prima Belle Fleur KI Alphabet Soup Simply Chic Clear Stamps Gina K Wood and Plain Rubber Single Stamps Gel A Tins -select stamps Bazzill Bazzinks Notecards and Envelopes The following are 25% off Junkitz- Laguna Guy Laguna Girl Calendar The following are 50% off 6 pack owires Center City Designs Cherry Arte Moxxie Pixel Decor Daisy D's-Mistletoe Memories Girlfriends Gypsy Harvest

5,000 Hit Blog Candy!

I can't believe that there have been over 5,000 hits on my blog is less than 2 months! It is amazing to me each time I venture over here to post something new because I haven't been hearing from you guys all that much! I am assuming you are liking what you see to have you coming back time and again!

So here are the treats you can enter to win! Some red leather label holders, a clear acrylic block and a set of acrylic stamps from Studio G. These include some little sunflowers and a greeting!

So right now I am wanting to find out all about YOUR favorites! Post to this entry and tell me about your favorite stamp RIGHT NOW...you know we all do it, we get stuck with a stamp set or image and play with it quite a bit for awhile. What is yours? Leave me a link if you can so I can add something new to my ever growing wish list! You have till Wednesday evening to post and I'll announce the winner on Thursday.

Currently I am having fun playing with Stampin' Up!'s new Happy Heart Day - who knows what next week will bring!

little

One Of A Kind

Last night was my big night of stamping.....from 7-midnight! My friends Lorien and Lorie came over to stamp and I was so excited thinking that I would get a ton of stuff made to keep my blog updated for days........It didn't happen! Really, this is the only new design that I created all night! (I did do 8 of the 52 swaps I need for the Splitcoaststampers weekend in March) I hate when that happens. I had no mojo last night. I even did Sharpay's performing exercises just like she does in High School Musical.....come to think of it, this card was finally created right after "getting my head in the game" (can you tell I have an 8 year old who loves High School Musical!?).

Anyway, this card took forever to make! I did this one for the Sketch Challenge for this week. I was moving along and then it came to making the 3 panels behind the sentiment and I made them too big so I had to do them all over. UUUGGH! When I finally finished I was really pleased. The patterned paper is the new Berry Bliss paper and the stamp set is called One of a Kind. Lookee at that flower....it is done with the new flower punch as well. I also used my new Cropodile to set the eyelet. Today we are headed to Lansing to go to a museum over there so I won't be able to stamp till early this evening. Hopefully I'll get some stuff done tonight and share tomorrow!

Supplies: Close to Cocoa cs, ink, Pretty in Pink cs, ink, Taffeta Ribbon, eyelet, Whisper White cs, Berry Bliss DSP, BoHo Blossoms punch, One of a Kind.

More than 5,000 Hits!

Wow, I just happened to look at my counter on the bottom of the screen and see it is over 5,000! I have only had the counter for a month and a half so I am happy to see that so many people visit and are checking out all these fun projects! How about some blog candy?!?! Keep watching---I'll work on some blog candy this weekend and start an entry for a blog candy contest by Monday. I'm getting some stamping time tonight so hopefully I'll have a few things to show over the next few days!

Ohh, How I Love a Sketch

I have been taking part in the sketch challenges splitcoaststampers for several years. Without a sketch I feel that my layouts are usually pretty plain. But WITH a sketch I usually am pretty happy with what I turn out. Beate (http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/) has been doing weekend sketches on her blog for a bit but I haven't participated as of yet. I was just telling my husband that I feel creatively challenged right now, yet I still felt the desire to stamp. I hate it when I get the time to stamp and I spend it staring at stamps on my table and card stock but I end up walking away from it all because I can't come up with anything! So, this morning I took some time to stamp and decided to use Beate's sketch challenge from this past weekend. If you look at this card and the Ellie one below they started out the same....a base and a large panel that was faux stitched. I was going to use this base and panel for that card but changed my mind. It was just sitting on my desk so I decided to use it for this project instead. I had also been looking to make my first submission to a magazine which was asking for projects using turquoise in it. Well, as always, I waited to the last minute and this is supposed to be in CA by the 1st. I don't think it will make it, but I'll send it anyway.

This image is from the same set used below. The sentiment "Happy Heart Day" is actually connected to the mouse, at his feet. But I had the brilliant idea to cut them apart because I really don't like doing marker omitting with images I know I will use often. They just don't seem to get clean enough and then when you ink them up and huff on them you almost always seem a shadow of the area you don't want...anyway...my point? SO, I cut them apart, but it wasn't easy. I had to get my exacto in there. HINT: If you have to get your exacto in there, it might not be the best idea. It worked ok but now the sentiment is so skinny that it doesn't sit well on the block and it takes me lots of tries to get a good impression. Maybe others have had better luck.

Supplies Used: Certainly Celery ink, cs, Real Red ink, cs, SW Marker, Tempting Turquoise cs, ink, SW Marker, Whisper White cs, Close to Cocoa ink, SW Marker, Aquapainter, Crafter's Tool Kit, White Signo Gel Pen, Stampin Dimensionals, Barely Banana brads, 1/2" Circle Punch, Happy Heart Day set.

Friendly Ellie

Isn't this image adorable?!? Actually this entire stamp set is just adorable. It is a new set from Stampin' Up! called Happy Heart Day. I named this elephant Ellie because my youngest daughter, Brooke, adores elephants. Her "lovey" as some people call them, isn't a blanket (my oldest still has blankie which she MUST sleep with every night and she is 8!). Brooke's favorite friend that she must sleep with is Ellie. An adorable Beanie Baby elephant which she has had since she was a tiny thing. We actually have 2 Ellie's - exactly the same - so that we won't be in a bind if one is in the wash. Usually at any given time she has both Ellie's with her.

The image is stamped and then water colored. I used my Stampin Writer Markers to add some darker color to certain areas such as the edges of the hearts and parts of Ellie. I also used my Bashful Blue SW Marker to very thinly outline Ellie . It sort of gives the illusion of a sky...not as good as some of these water coloring genius' that are out there, but it works for me. The pretty ribbon on this card is the new striped ribbon from SU. I used it on the mailbox a couple entries ago and it looks so cute on this card don't you think?

Supplies Used: Real Red cs, ink, SW Marker, Striped Ribbon, Bashful Blue cs, ink, SW Marker, Whisper White cs, Certainly Celery cs, SW Marker, Going Grey ink, SW Marker, Aquapainter, So Saffron ink, SW Marker, Crafter's Tool Kit, White Signo Gel Pen, Black Staz On.

So Sorry

I have a friend who lost her mother suddenly last week. Just before Christmas her mother started having pains in her legs and the doctors said she had shingles but the pains were not stopping. They ended up admitting her to the hospital and through a bunch of tests discovered that she had breast cancer that had spread to areas like her spine, stomach, etc. It was all through her body. She never returned home and died in 3 weeks. Apparently she had not had a mammogram in years. Isn't it just terrible? My friend is 36 and will be making an appointment to get her first mammogram shortly. Do me a favor today - give yourself a self breast exam and if you are due for a mammogram, please schedule it!

Supplies Used: Chocolate Chip cs, ink, 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Soft Sky cs, ink, Cropodile, Stardust Stickles, Fancy Flexible Phrases, Priceless Stamp Set.

Sweet Mailbox...A Punishment?

Have you seen these adorable little mailboxes at the Target Dollar Spot? They come in red, white and pink. I think it was last year that they made their debut. Paper crafters were buying them up to alter but I never was lucky enough to find them near me. I snagged some this year though. My only question was, "what would you do with them after you fill them with some yummy treats and eat them up?!?!" Well, as a mother of three girls of course I had to find a use for them. So here is the plan...each of my girls will get one (they will each look different so that means be watching for 2 more mailboxes over the next few days) and when they are fighting or mean to their sister, they will have to draw a picture for their sister or write a note to them and stick it in their mailbox. And of course I imagine they will do it when things are going well too.

This one is for Brooke, my 3 year old. The paper is Candied Apples by Sasafrass Lass. I LOVE this paper. So cheerful and pretty! The ribbon is the new Real Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon from Stampin Up! The stamp is from the new set by Stampin Up! called Happy Heart. I just love him...so sweet! I used a Circle Rhinestone brad for the center of the flower that is on the heart. When I told her it was all done she said "ooh, I love him!"

AWWW, YOU Make My Day!

So Lorien posted to the entry below and I really got all swelled up inside. Can I tell you how much I just love her! To toot her horn a bit let me tell you that she is one of the most generous people I know....she is an amazing woman too because she has three kids and works full time. I know lots of you do that, but you need to understand that I have been a stay at home mom for going on 9 years and most of my friends are stay at home moms. They are just the people I come in contact with most. Then I met Lorien a few years ago, we are both SU demos and have the same uplines. Lucky for me she lives about 4 1/2 miles away and we've gotten to know one another over the last 4 or 5 years. About 2 years ago I had to go back to work for about 3 1/2 months and I KNOW how hard working full time and being mom can be. So, she is an inspiration to me - a sweet and generous soul. So anyway, Lorien nominated me as a gal in blogland who "makes her day". So, now it's my turn..I'm assuming I can't nominate her since she nominated me, but she most definitely makes my day! Here are my list of bloggers that Make My Day! 1) Taylor VanBruggen http://tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com/ 2) Laurie Schmidlin http://justgivemestamps.typepad.com/my_weblog/ 3) Lauren Meader http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/ 4) Abbey Welker http://projectsforyournest.blogspot.com/ 5) Michelle Giraud http://twisted-chick.blogspot.com/ 6) Julie Campbell http://stampedinhisimage.blogspot.com/ 7) Chat Wszelaki http://memystampsandi.blogspot.com/ 8) Cambria Turnbow http://cambriaturnbow.blogspot.com/ 9) Claudia Piegdon http://claudia-cardmaker.blogspot.com/ 10) Insert your blog here in case I missed you!

New Stamps!!

Here is my first project with one of my new sets that came...this one is BoHo Backgrounds. The floral background is my absolute favorite! Another thing I am quite impressed with is the large circle...it stamps so nicely. This card is pretty simple and doesn't really need much explaining...For the circle, I stamped the circle image on Whisper White using Pomegranate ink and then punched it out with the SU scallop. I stamped the same image again using Soft Sky ink and then Close to Cocoa ink. I used the 1 1/4" circle punch to punch out the Soft Sky image and then used the 1" circle punch to punch out the Cocoa image. I layered them on top of one another and put a silver brad in the middle. On the large white panel I stamped the floral background stamp from this set all over with Soft Sky ink and then I inked up the circle image with Close to Cocoa. Before stamping on my white sheet I stamped off on scratch paper so that my image wasn't too dark and overpowering. I am hoping to stamp some more over the next few days and share more projects. I have 3 of the target mini mailbox tins I am working on so keep watching for those!

I Love a Sweet Card

Several posts back I told you about a fellow ATS designer who has a friend who recently lost a baby. I had sent her a sympathy card and the other day Tricia sent me this adorable card made with another CC Designs set called Little Penguins. It is so cute and bright. I just love the coloring on this little guy. I do have this set but just haven't had anytime to pull it out. Thanks Tricia!

New Home for the Birds

I continue reaching for these new birds from CC Designs. Aren't they the cutest?!? Last week I colored them different colors and they were girlfriend birds, this time they are the same color and they are love birds. Inside it says "on your new home". The adorable little bird house is a stamp that was in a studio g set from the Michael's dollar bin. Isn't it cute? I just adore that house! I wish I knew who made the printed paper. Again, my mom bought a stack of paper

s and shared with me. I love the colors in this paper....saffron, banana, guava and some brocade blue. Don't forget the celery too! I colored all the images with Stampin Write Markers and a bit of ink and aquapainters. Did you notice? NO EMBELLISHMENTS!! That was my own personal challenge on this one. I think it is still sweet.

New Level 3 Hostess Set

Here is another sample done with Time Well Spent, a level 3 hostess set from the Spring/Summer Collection (Stampin' Up!). I love the design of this set. There are several different flowers to choose from but I think what I love most about it is the sayings that are in this one. Especially this one, "time spent with Friends is time well spent." I spent some time with friends tonight getting somethings done. This is another swap for the DKOS swap I am in. (I know, I seem to have signed up for a lot in that swap!) I don't know why I continue to do that! I have too many swaps as it is!

For this one I had to do a fold that was not a typical card fold. My card stock measured 5 x 8 1/2, I scored my card at 3 3/4" and then folded the little flap that was left over the top. I added a scalloped strip of card stock stamped randomly with the tiny flower from this set. The ribbon on the saying panel is attached with a slot that was punched with the Horizontal Slot Punch. I think this is just so bright and cheery!

Supplies Used: Certainly Celery cs, Wide Grosgrain Ribbon, SW Marker, Groovy Guava ink, Designer Prints Paper, Ruby Red ink, cs, Black Staz On, Horizontal Slot Punch, Stardust Stickles, Slit Punch, Aqua Painter, Time Well Spent set.

Sweet Little Elzybells

I haven't played with my Elzybells in awhile. Luckily another set of cards I signed up for in that DKOS swap (see a couple posts below) required me to use my Elzybells. This round required Elzybells, a pastel colored panel and an embellishment. I LOVE these colors together, they seemed appropriate for our Michigan weather this week. Usually when I drag out winter stamps and sit in my Michigan stamp room I reach for the color blue. A very "cold" and snowy color. But this week in Michigan we had a couple days reach 50 degrees! Seriously! My oldest daughter wore her denim jacket to school for 2 days! Anyway, the pink and green reminded me of spring! It is much colder today than the rest of the week but still pretty mild for January and there isn't a speck of snow on the ground!

Supplies Used: Purely Pomegranate ink, cs, double stitched ribbon, Black Staz On, Pretty in Pink cs, ink, Old Olive ink, cs, Stardust Stickles, Ticket Corner Punch, Marvy Oval Scallops (Mega and Giga), Elzybells Falling Snowflake, Elzybells Winter Girl.

Enjoy The Little Things

I have been struggling with this card for several days....I am trying to come up with some swaps for Jami's New Catalog Swap and I had to use Enjoy Every Moment and a combo using only some of these colors: Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Groovy Guava, Cameo Coral, Old Olive, So Saffron (color combo on page 10 of the Spring/Summer Collection). I think it has been a combination of the stamp set and the colors that has been throwing me off. I really wanted to use Rose Red somewhere, but it really doesn't seem to go very well. I finally scraped the Rose Red and Pumpkin Pie (which I was trying to include) and just decided to go with these colors. Although it took me a couple days, I really like this card! This is not the actual swap since Jami makes us keep them under wraps till they are swapped out (shhhhhh!) but I used some pieces and changed it around a bit. I hope you have a great day!

Thanks So Much

This is made with the set So Much from Stampin' Up! Demonstrators who attended Regional events this year received it for free. When I first saw this set in the Fall/Winter 2007 catalog I really like the stamps but it wasn't one that I ordered. I was really excited to learn that this was going to be another FREEBIE from Stampin' Up! I made this one for a swap I am in on Splitcoaststampers. If you are interested in getting involved in a swap that is for full cards you should check out the DKOS swaps. "Different Kind of Swap"'s are fun! You sign up for a stamp set you want to work with and someone will post "directions" you need to follow. You get 5 full cards back and they are really good quality. This is the only non-demo only swap I sign up for. For this card I had to use the set So Much and use the color Soft Sky somewhere on the card as well as two other colors. Some directions include things like - "use a punch", "use ribbon", "use a non traditional fold". It is great to see so many different things come back in your group. Here is a link to the latest sign up's if you are interested: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8111013#post8111013

Supplies Used: Close to Cooca cs, ink, Soft Sky cs, ink, Purely Pomegranate cs, ink, double stitched ribbon, Brass Jumbo Eyelet, slit punch, handheld circle punch, Polka Dot bg, So Much.

Huggy Birds

This one was made for a friend who is going through a rough time right now, I thought I would send her a hug...you've seen these birds before a couple posts down. I think they are just the cutest. The birds come from CC Designs new set Love Ya Much and the word "hugs" comes from their set Little Penguins. The designer paper is by Basic Grey, it is from their Blush collection...this one is called Infuse. I made the scalloped border using the slit punch across a strip of Sage Shadow card stock and then did the same with a strip of Ruby Red and just put the Ruby Red strip behind the Sage one being sure the Red strip peeked out. I used my Aquapainter, Groovy Guava and Ruby Red ink to color the birds.

Stay tuned for some Stampin' Up! stuff as I am placing my first order from the new catalog...what am I getting you ask? Here is a list of a few things...

HI & Hello

BoHo Backgrounds

One of a Kind (and matching punch)

Happy Heart Day

Berry Bliss Designer Paper

Red Striped Grosgrain

Chocolate Chip Wide Grosgrain

Just For You Scrappin Kit (hostess)

For a Friend (hostess)

Have a Great Day!

A Set of Happy Thoughts

In November when Stampin' Up! was having it's Designer Series Paper sale I also received my first package of Build A Brads and was demonstrating them at all my Stamp Clubs...Here are three cards that I did using the Cutie Pie paper, Stampin' Up! punches and the Build A Brads. These are SUPER simple cards but can you imagine how cute they would be bundled up and given as a gift to someone. They are so colorful and cheerful!

New Catalog Goodies

I can't wait for my New Catalog Open House that is this Saturday..I always enjoy seeing how much my customers like the new catalogs. I REALLY like this one. I like the color combinations used throughout and I love most of the samples as well. There are so many great new stamp sets too. This sample is a version of a make and take the ladies will be doing at the Open House. This isn't exactly it, this one is stepped up a bit but it is the same idea. The front of the card is actually the Sage panel, I added a strip of Chocolate Chip that has been cut into scallops with the slit punch and then I cut off about 1 1/2" of the sage and mounted the Barely Banana panel inside the card. The polka dots on the Sage panel were heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I can't take complete credit for this card as the inspiration came from a card done by Jenn Diercks. She is a fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator and All That Scraps designer. See her card here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/692166?cat=11785.

Supplies Used: Sage Shadow ink, cs, Chocolate Chip ink, cs, Barely Banana, ink, cs, brad, Ticket Corner Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Versa Mark, Clear Embossing Powder.

Tonight's the Night!

Here is another sneak peek with the new CC Designs set called Love Ya Lots. I paired it up with a piece of retired Stampin' Up! paper called "Rebecca" and a retired set from SU called Fresh Fillers. This is an oh, so simple card that you could use just about any image with and measures 4" x 4". Isn't this lion cute as can be? The sentiment is from Amuse and of course I used my Marvy Punches. The great thing about these new stamps from CC Designs is that they fit perfectly into my Mega and Giga punches! You can purchase the new CC Designs stamps tonight at midnight! Run on over to All That Scraps to grab yours.

I think I forgot to tell you that All That Scraps offers FREE shipping on all orders over $10! Way to go Christine!

Supplies Used: Pretty in Pink cs, SW Marker, Chocolate Chip cs, ink, grosgrain ribbon (retired), Close to Cocoa SW Marker, Rebecca Designer Paper (retired), Regal Rose cs, Marvy Scallop Oval Punches (Mega and Giga)

Snow Day!

So, I haven't gotten downstairs to stamp but I DID get the tree down and 2 kids got baths. The girls had a snow day today and 2 of them ended up going outside to play. I had to share a pic so you could see how much snow we have gotten since New Years Eve...at least a foot (I'm terrible at measurements!) Here is my oldest (8 years) outside sitting on the picnic table. She found it hilarious that she could sink down so far into the snow. Enjoy your day! Stay warm!

Enjoy Every Moment

I did get downstairs last night and apparently not feeling well has affected my stamping. I was working on a swap with Jami over at SCS and I am to use Enjoy Every Moment (a new set from this new catalog) and I'm waiting to see if it is going to grow on me. I am not feeling that much better today, but I really have a ton to do. I still have to take all the Christmas decorations down. I was hoping to do that today. We'll see how far I get. The kids were supposed to return to school today but we got about 11 inches of snow since New Years Eve so school was cancelled. Enjoy your day!

Supplies Used: So Saffron ink, cs, Old Olive ink, cs, brad, Rose Red ink, Groovy Guava cs, double stitched ribbon, Versa Mark ink, Crystal Clear Embossing Powder, Paper Piercer, Enjoy Every Moment, Polka Dot background.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I apologize for not having a sample to show you today. I came down with a nasty head cold 2 yesterday and it is knocking me on my butt. It is almost 1:30 pm and I am still in my pj's. I'm afraid if I even desired to stamp, I wouldn't turn out anything to get excited over. I am hoping that this cold leaves SOON as I have an Open House scheduled for Saturday for the Spring/Summer Stampin Up catalog and I haven't even started designing the 2 projects we will do! So, say a prayer that I start feeling better! If you live in the Flint, Michigan area and want to attend my Open House, feel free! Saturday from 10-12 we'll be stamping, just send me an e-mail so I know to add an extra to my supplies! Have a great day everyone!

As for New Year's Resolutions I am not a good one for those...usually I break them almost instantly so I don't make them anymore, though this year I am resolving to eat healthier. This summer I did it and lost about 5 lbs but I need to do it again. What is your resolution this year?

Sneakin You Another Peek!

Here is another peek at one of those new sets from CC Designs...this one is called Love Ya Much

and I paired it with more Sassafras Lass paper. This design is called Decadent. I hope I can explain how I did this card and make it make sense!

1. I lined up my printed paper on the front of my Real Red cardbase and using my Mega Scallop Oval punch (from Marvy) I punched through the base and the printed paper.

2. I grabbed an scrap of Real Red and punched the Mega Scallop through that and then centered that hole into the Giga Scallop and punched. The piece that is left over is my frame and was adhered around the window on the front of the card. I tied some ribbon around the edge of the frame created on just the printed paper. I then adhered the printed paper to the base, matching up the holes.

3. I stamped the birds and colored them on Whisper White and then punched them out with the Mega Scallop and mounted them inside the card.

The cute little tag was made by a tag punch my mother got me over a year ago. She got it from LTD if you can believe that! It has 3 different sizes of tags and I use this itty bitty one the most! The words from Everyday Flexible Phrases and Fancy Flexible Phrases fit best inside it!

Supplies Used: Real Red ink, cs, More Mustard marker, Creamy Caramel ink, Close to Cocoa ink, Cool Caribbean ink, Aquapainters, Ticket Corner Punch, self adhesive jewels from JoAnn's, White Grosgrain Ribbon, Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Cord, Marvy Scallop Punches (Mega and Giga), Sassafras Lass paper

CC Designs Sneak Peek

Here is my first Sneak Peek as a All That Scraps designer. This adorable kitty image (and saying "You're the Cats Meow" is from a new set to be released on January 4. The set is called Love Ya Lots. The paper is from Sassafras Lass, a company I had never heard of till I was browsing the patterned paper selection at All That Scraps (http://allthatscraps.com/). Isn't it adorable paper? If I had to choose one color combination that is my all time favorite, it would be Cool Caribbean and Real Red. I just love how cheerful it is and this paper included those colors and cute flowers so I had to order it! I usually have a hard time with Valentines cards. I get so stuck on the pink and red and they just never really turn out the way I intend them too. When I saw this paper (and several others I'll share with you over the next few days) I thought it would be perfect for Valentine's Day. And, how purrrfect was it that the saying fits inside the Word Window Punch from Stampin Up?! Keep watching for more projects featuring a stamps from 2 new CC Designs sets that will be available on January 4!

Supplies Used: Cool Caribbean cs, Real Red cs, Grosgrain Ribbon, Going Grey ink, Aquapainter, So Saffron Marker, Regal Rose Marker, Certainly Celery Marker, Pretty in Pink ink, Grosgrain Ribbon, Ruby Red Brads, Ticket Corner Punch, Word Window Punch.

Lizzie, It's Cold Outside...

Here is a project I did using Lizzie Anne Designs and some pretty Basic Grey paper (this is called Shiver). This card is for a LAD set swap I signed up for on Splitcoaststampers. I adore the Soft Sky and Caramel for winter themes so it was quite exciting when I found the patterned paper that had those colors in it. (A great thing about us stampers, we get excited by very small things!) In addition to these colors being great for winter, if you throw in some silver accents it really floats my boat! You have seen several cards lately on my blog using this set by LAD. It is the only set of theirs that I own but there are a couple on my wish list. They will be releasing some new stamp sets in the next week or so and I can't wait to see what they have to offer this time!

Supplies Used: Soft Sky ink, cs, Creamy Caramel ink, cs, Aquapainter, Staz On Black, Caramel Gingham Ribbon, Silver Brads, Christmas in the City (Lizzie Anne Designs).

Sweet CC Snowman

Here is the first project I have done with my first CC Designs stamp ( http://www.allthatscraps.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=360_361_545) . Isn't this little snowman the cutest?!?! I paired him with the birthday hat and sentiment from the new Stampin' Up! set, A Little Birdie Told Me. I wish I could tell you who the patterned paper is by. My mom bought a stack of papers somewhere and shared some sheets with me. This patterned paper was in it. Sometimes when you complete a project you sit back and look at it and think......hmmmmm....something is missing, this isn't doing it for me....that is how I feel when I look at this card, but I won't get a chance to stamp today as we have our Christmas gathering with my husband's family today and it has been days since I shared anything at all. So, what do you think could be added (or taken away) to do it for me?

Supplies Used: Almost Amethyst cs, StampinWrite Marker, So Saffron cs, SW Marker, Apricot Appeal Grosgrain Ribbon, Certainly Celery cs, SW marker, Staz On Ink, Signo White Gel Pen, Paper Piercer, White Grosgrain Ribbon, Diamond Stickles, CC Designs Snowman.

So Sorry

This card is for someone I don't know. Yesterday I was browsing the blogs of some of the other gals who made it on the ATS design team and I came across Tricia Traxler's blog http://www.simplystamping.blogspot.com/. Tricia had a post this week telling of a friend who recently lost her baby girl. Most of you don't know that going on 7 years ago we lost a daughter too. We had just 4 weeks left in our pregnancy and she died inuetero. Emma's death was hard at the time but God's hand was in the entire process. To make a long, emotional story short, my husband and I were not Christian's at the time and within month's of Emma's death, we were both baptised and are raising our other children to love our savior, so that we can all be with Emma together again in Heaven someday. Anyway, whenever I hear of a mother who is grieving the loss of a baby I feel compelled to offer a shoulder and a prayer. So, I will be sending this on to this mother who is grieving the loss of her baby during this season of joy.

This birdie stamp is another that I got yesterday on my outing and was made by Inkadinkadoo. The printed paper is from Cosmo Cricket ( you can grab this pretty paper, and LOTS more pretty papers, at All That Scraps). It is from the Hey Sugar line and is called Candy Girl.

Supplies Used: Sage Shadow cs, ink, Stampin Write Marker, More Mustard cs, SW Marker, Vanilla cs, Linen background stamp, Twill Tape, More Mustard Brads, Linen Thread, Word Window Punch, Fundamental Phrases set, Giga and Mega Oval Scallop Punches (Marvy), Large Oval Scalloped Frames and Doodles stamp set (Gina K), Inkadinkadoo birds.

Sweet Birdie Valentine

Today I went out shopping...I know LOTS of people were out shopping today, 3 days before Christmas....but the point to my shopping trip wasn't for Christmas gifts. I wanted to take a friend of mine to Jane's Craft Studio in Waterford (http://www.janescraftstudio.net/). I love that place! It is a small store about 25 minutes from me but they have stamps from a few of my favorite stamp companies there..Amuse, Elzybells and Rosies Roadshow (http://www.rosiesroadshow.com/) Alas, due to it being the end of the year and most people are done looking for winter/Christmas stamps, the Elzybells stock was pretty depleted but it was fun to look at what they did have. I ended up buying some stamps that really called out to me...I chose a couple birds from Inkadinkadoo. They are perfect for Valentines Day! This sample uses two of the stamps I bought. This card is 4 x 4. On the Chocolate Chip scallop edge I used a flourishy heart thingy (so technical!) and stamped it with Chocolate Chip ink. The printed paper is from Basic Grey and you can get that at All That Scraps ( http://www.allthatscraps.com/). Both are from Basic Grey. The stripe is from the Blush line of papers and is called "Eternity". The floral is from their Infuse line and is called "Lace". I used my Regal Rose Stampin Write Marker, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip and Old Olive to ink up the stamp and do some huffing on it to stamp the bird. I punched it out with the Stampin' Up! Scallop Circle punch, added some Stickles and used my Stardust Jelly Roll pen to add some sparkle to the bird's flourishes. Hope you enjoy!

Supplies Used: Chocolate Chip cs, Stampin Write Marker, Regal Rose SW Marker, Pretty In Pink SW marker, cs, grosgrain ribbon, Slit Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Old Olive Brad, Word Window Punch, Stardust Stickles, Stardust Jelly Roll pen.

Layout from a Customer!

There is nothing I love more than seeing creations my customers make! I love to see that they are using their stamps and I get particularly giddy when they make really cute stuff! The other day I received a Christmas card from one of my customers and the whole darn thing was adorable! I particularly noticed the layout and decided I had to use the layout myself! So, today I pulled out my FREE set from Stampin' Up!, Time Well Spent and had fun with it. It did take awhile with all the cutting and coloring but it was worth it, I think it turned out cute. I didn't include one embellishment because I ran out of room, but maybe the next project I make will use the same layout again and include the omitted embellishment...I love showing how you can use the same layout and change the set and colors and have a whole new card...so keep watching!

Supplies Used: Bashful Blue cs, ink, Stampin Write Marker, So Saffron brads, SW Marker, Certainly Celery cs, SW Marker, Brocade Blue SW Marker, Old Olive SW Marker, Regal Rose SW Marker, Stampin Dimensionals, SU Large Oval Punch, SU Circle Punches, Purely Pomegranate Double Stitched Ribbon, Stardust Stickles, Cutie Pie Designer Paper, Time Well Spent set, Seeing Spots set.

New Stamps are Coming!!

I am sure that by now you have all peaked at the adorable stamps CC Designs creates over at All That Scraps (http://allthatscraps.com/). Aren't they so cute?!?! My favorites are the Lucky and Lulu stamps and yesterday I got a sneak peek at a set that is comin' my way baby!!! You are going to love it! You will "squeal" with delight when you see it! All of the images are so "dog-gone cute" - - - trust me, I'm not "lion". I can't wait to start creating with these and share them all with you, so keep watchin' because they should be here any day and I am sure my "tweetheart" won't mind giving me some time to play with them as soon as they arrive!

Baby It's Cold Outside

Here is a card made with the My Favorite Things set, Baby It's Cold Outside. I love paper piecing the girl's coat! It makes matching it with the printed paper so easy plus it is less coloring to do! I used some paper from Basic Grey...this is from their Figgy Pudding line of paper. Both sides of the paper are represented here. You can get both the Basic Grey paper and the stamp set at All That Scraps, http://www.allthatscraps.com/.

Supplies Used: Soft Sky cs, ink (Stampin' Up!), Chocolate Chip cs, ink (Stampin' Up!), Basic Grey paper (Glacier), Brass Jumbo Eyelets (Stampin' Up!), Watercolor Paper (SU), Pumpkin Pie inc (SU), Going Grey ink (SU), Stardust Stickles, misc. ribbon.

New Catalog .... OOOH!

The New Stampin' Up! catalog arrived in my mailbox today and it is so pretty, it really is! The colors are great and it indeed has the feel of spring! Christmas is still a week away and after looking at the new catalog, I am craving sunshine and warmer temps!

Here is a peek at one of the new Hostess Sets. This is made with a Level 3 set called "Time Well Spent". Stampin' Up! sent these to all current demonstrators late last month and this is the first time I have inked it up! On this one I used the Polka Dot background stamp and embossed it on the Rose Red panel with clear embossing powder and added some faux zig zag stitching around the panel. Otherwise this is pretty easy to do, a bit time consuming to water color that big flower, but there are no real secrets here! Don't you adore the sentiment on this one??? "Time Spent With Friends Is Time Well Spent". LOVE IT!

Supplies Used: Old Olive cs, ink, brad, Soft Sky ink, cs, Rose Red ink, cs, Pumpkin Pie

SW Marker, Aqua Painter, Versa Mark, Clear Embossing Powder, Paper Piercer, White Signo Gel Pen, White cs, Black Staz On.

Altered Journals - Personalize Your Gifts...

Yesterday I had my Christmas gathering with three of my closest "peeps"..you know, the ones you can belch in front of and they laugh so hard they can hardly stand it, the ones you tell your fears to and share about your past. Anyway, I made them journals this year for Christmas. The journals themselves are the large On Board Art Journals that we sell through Stampin' Up! This one was for Jennifer and I really tried to make sure that I used colors and styles they would like. Jennifer loves anything distressed, pink, girly...she is into antiques and has a beautiful sense of style. Anyway, as soon as I started her journal I knew just what paper to use! I grabbed this Basic Grey paper and was off and running. I used some chipboard from EK Success and traced it onto Cool Caribbean card stock. I also used the Big Pieces set for this one. The punch I used was the Stampin' Up! scallop circle. I really like how this turned out and I think she did too!

Da, Da, Da-Da!!!! The BIG News!

Here is the news...I can't really believe I am typing it! You are now reading the words of a design team member for All That Scraps! ME...yes, you bet...the computer didn't switch you to Taylor VanBruggen's blog, or Julie Ebersole's or even Julie Campbell's but you stayed right here at my blog. I have been walking around giddy since Saturday night when I got the e-mail from Amy Rysavy inviting me to part of the All That Scraps design team. "Who the heck is All That Scraps?" you ask??? UMMMM, RUN over to their site!!! (Check out the Design Team page and scroll down and you'll see me!) Here is the link to their site: http://www.allthatscraps.com/

First and foremost ATS is a great store that sells a bunch of top products! You can get Lizzie Anne Designs stuff there (insert a huge grin here!), Bind It All (momma may be "rewarding" herself with a purchase soon!), Basic Grey paper (I don't really like Basic Grey do I? I NEVER use their paper! he he he)....but they also sell C.C. Designs stamps: http://www.allthatscraps.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=52&chapter=0 And I have been noticing them on a few blogs and I keep visiting the ATS site and stopping myself from ordering but NO MORE! I can't wait to make my first project with their stuff and post it for you to enjoy. Their stuff is just so cute! My kids were watching me as I was choosing some stuff to come live at my house and they can't wait to be able to play with the new stamps when they get here.

The other thing I love about ATS is that it is very similar to Splitcoaststampers because they have a gallery and message boards. The galleries are incredible and I must admit I am a bit intimidated by the projects that some of the more experienced DT members over there have shared with everyone....BEAUTIFUL, fun stuff! So check out ATS and keep watching my blog for projects with C.C. Designs stuff!

Here is a list of all the additions to the ATS DT and their blog links:

Cyndi Bundy ------------- BLOG

Inge Groot ----------- BLOG

Jeanette Fincher --------- BLOG

Katie Stilwater -------- BLOG

Laurie Schmidlin ----------- BLOG

Lesa Rapp ---------- BLOG

Linda Black --------- BLOG

Renée Van Stralen ------- BLOG

Shannan Teubner --------- BLOG

Sue Berker ------------- BLOG

Tricia Traxler --------- BLOG

Chipboard Coaster Ornament

My 3 "peeps" and I always have a small Christmas gathering for us girls where we talk, giggle and exchange small gifts. Each year Jennifer and I handmake something and for the last several years I have made them Christmas ornaments...last year it was the Maya Road tins, the year before it was microscope slide ornaments...this year I wasn't going to make any because I couldn't think of any way to create a ornament that was different from the previous years and then I was sitting in my stamp room and it dawned on me-----a couple months ago I ordered some chipboard coasters from Emily Giovanni and I hadn't done a darn thing with them! So...I pulled out some supplies and got to work. This is one of the coasters I did using a set that is retiring from the current SU! catalog. This set is called "It's Snow Time" and is one of my all time favorite sets. I can't believe they are letting it go! The Designer Series Paper is also retiring. This is from the Cerise line. I think I may end up ordering a pack before it leaves because all the red and white is perfect for Christmas cards or scrapbook pages.

These are SO easy to make...I am really lazy and it helps to have easy projects:

1) Cut your DSP to fit the coaster (4 x 4) and using Mod Podge spread it all over the coaster (Be sure to coat the entire thing really good) **You can buy Mod Podge at any craft store, even Walmart**

2) Lay your DSP down and smooth it out ;

3) Leave it to dry;

4) Stamp and color the snowman image ***NOTE: Originally I used SW Markers to color everything except the hint of Soft Sky on the snow, but when tried to seal the entire ornament, the red areas smeared... so for this one I colored everything with my markers EXCEPT the red spots, for those I used my ink pads and aquapainter to color those areas***

5) Mat the image however you like and adhere to ornament with sticky strip or mono adhesive;

6) Seal the ornament with a layer of Mod Podge over top of the entire thing being sure to smooth out the glue;

7) Once dry you can embellish however you like. I put the stickles glitter glue on top of the image after the mod podge was done. I tried it both ways - doing it before I seal it and doing it after and it really doesn't make a different when it was done but because it is 6:30 am the day I am to give these and I am just finishing up, it the interest of time, I wanted to get it over with quickly! (See, lazy!)

8) To adhere the ribbon hanger for the ornament, flip your ornament over and use sticky strip to adhere the ribbon to the back.

Supplies Used: Cerise DSP, Old Olive cs, Stampin Write Marker, Real Red cs, ink, Soft Sky cs, ink, Pumpkin Pie SW Marker, So Saffron SW Marker, Old Olive Brads, Old Olive 5/8" Wide Grosgrain Ribbon, Sticky Strip, Diamond Stickles, It's Snow Time set.

EEEEEKKKK!!! BIG News I Tell Ya!

But I can't tell ya yet...lets just say I was giggling and nearly speechless when I heard the big news and that doesn't happen often! I hope to get to stamp tomorrow and share a new project with you. As soon as I can share the big news I will.

Monochromatic Birdie

Today I took part in the Ways To Use It Challenge at Splitcoaststampers. Everyday of the week there are different challenges at Splitcoaststampers that help you jump start your creativity. I usually look at the Color Challenge (Tuesdays) and the Sketch Challenge (Wednesdays) but I haven't really ventured to any of the other ones...the biggest reason is that I don't have enough time to stamp everyday. To find the challenges just go to http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ and on the opening page, look at the column on the right, follow it down a bit and you will see a list of the challenges. I happened to see that today they were doing a Monochromatic Challenge as the Ways to Use it Challenge, so I thought I would try. I love the look of monochromatic cards but I don't do them often because they intimidate me. This is what I came up with using that new set, "A Little Birdie Told Me". Can you tell what monochromatic color I was going with? HA! I paper pieced the bird again using the So Saffron Designer Series Prints paper. I used my Marvy Giga Scallop Oval Punch as the base for the bird (THANK YOU CLAUDIA!!!!). The remainder of the layers were done using the other prints in the So Saffron DSP collection. Do you like the layout? Well....that layout was done for the Sketch Challenge at SCS...Yes, you can combine 2 challenges (or more) in one card. SO, the next time you have a project to do and you feel as if you are creatively challenged, run over to SCS and see what you come up with!