Christmas wreath

Well, it's Friday once again and let me tell you that summer HAS arrived here in New England!  So, maybe if I think about Christmas hard enough, it will make me feel a little bit cooler.  : )  Probably not, though.  This week at Christmas Stampin' All Year Round we have this gorgeous photo for our inspiration.

Aren't those colors so fresh and fun?!  Our sponsor is Di's Digi Designs and the prize is a $10 gift certificate to the shop!!  She's got some super cute images!

I took my inspiration from the colors in the picture.  Although, I used darker greens except the one splash of lime ribbon!  I just had to add it in!  Also, my wreath is in a circle just like the images on the cookies.  Can't wait to see how you interpret this challenge.  Hop on over to the CSAYL blog for all the details and to see the other projects from the DT.  One of them, I swear, put these cookies on her card!

Challenges:

Viva La Verve June week 3--sketch

Crimbo Crackers #44--You've had it how long (wreath image about 4 months, sentiment 2 years, paper 1 year, larger pearls just got 'em last week)

Jingle Belles--We wish you a digital Christmas (my image is digital, though the sentiment is stamped--hope that counts)

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge--Christmas greenery

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra--anything Christmas goes

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown #18--sequins and/or pearls

Christmas Card Challenge #30--inspiration photo (obviously, I was inspired by the wreaths)

Creative Inspiration #220--anything goes + the option of ribbon

Crafting by Designs--anything goes
Beat the Christmas Rush (June 25-July 24)--anything Christmas goes

Supplies:

Stamps: Robyn's Fetish "Beautiful wreath" digi; Verve "Ornamental Christmas" sentiment

Papers: DCWV Christmas pack for the dark green; don't know who made the other two

Spellbinders standard circles, large die

Time

This card is so, so, so out of the "normal" box for me!!  But I'm always up for a good challenge and this month's Verve Diva Dare is just that--a good challenge.  I don't use a lot of kraft paper, as I'm not usually a big fan (too neutral, I think), but I pulled some out as the base of this card.  I also don't think I have ever used paint on a card, but I pulled out some of those, too.  It started out with the clock hands.  I knew if I could pull off my vision with them, then the rest of the card would work.  I die cut them out of a deep orange/coppery color then rubbed a metallic copper ink pad over them, then dipped my paint brush in side by side puddles of an apple green and turquoise and used them to dry brush across the hands.  It gives such a beautiful verdigris look to them.  I also did the same for the gold brad I used to adhere them to the card.  For the back ground, I inked up the large clock face with the copper ink pad and then dry brushed the two paints right onto the stamp before I stamped it on the paper.  Then I dry brushed some light brown onto the cardstock for a bit of distressing.  (I think I need to work on that technique a bit!)

Challenges:
Stamping with Dragon--anything goes
Word Art Wednesday--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI "Hands of Time"; Verve "Beautiful You"
Dies: PTI clock hands

CASE

Flourishes is having a Designer Focus on Stacy Morgan this week and have set the challenge of CASE-ing one of her featured cards.  Here is the card I chose to CASE:

Isn't it absolutely stunning??!!!  Maybe I'm partial to it because I LOVE pansies, but I love the white embossed background too.  Here's my take on it:

Supplies:

Stamps: PTI "Lock & Key"

Dies: PTI Lock & Key

The Paper Studio "Quatrefoil" embossing folder (I embossed two horizontal lines with my scor-pal and then embossed the top and bottom separately with the embossing folder, because I don't have a fancy folder like Stacy.

Freedom

 Today is Papertrey Ink's blog hop: A Touch of Gold; and I decided to play along.  I embossed the sentiment with gold embossing powder and added gold pen to the littlest stars in the fireworks blooms.  I also edged the white panel with gold pen, but it doesn't show up at all from the front.  Oh well.

Challenges:

PTI Blog Hop--a touch of gold (June 25th only)

Raisin Boat--4th of July

Viva La Verve June week 4--sketch

Brown Sugar #47--summer (to me the 4th of July marks the Unofficial start to summer)

Crafty Catz #188--pick and mix: anything goes OR add some embossing just for fun (I used heat embossing on the sentiment and the stripes in the background)

Eureka #45--Summertime fun (is there anything that says summer more than relaxing and watching the fireworks?)

Get Inky #7--red, white, blue

Our Daily Bread Designs #160--patriotic or red, white, and blue

Clearly iStamp Challenge #1-red white and blue

Supplies:

Stamps: Cloud 9 Designs patriotic set (got it for 97 cents at JoAnn's!!!  Big time score!); Papertrey Ink "Distressed Stripes" embossed with clear powder on the card base

Dies: Verve "Pennant Trim Die" and the tiny stars added to the fireworks are cut from the "Scalloped Trim Trio" star die--they were the perfect size; spellbinders classic ovals large

Santa is watching

Well, it's Friday once again!  The first day of summer, no less (at least in the Northern Hemisphere)!  But, we still need to be working on those Christmas cards, right?  And today starts the new challenge at Christmas Stampin' All Year Round.  This week's challenge is to create a gift card holder.  It can be part of a card or packaging to hold a gift card.

Our sponsor this week is Bugaboo and one lucky winner will receive 7 digis of their choice!!

So, before I show you my project(s), I read the challenge wrong and thought it said a gift card holder OR gift packaging.  So I made this really fabulous gift bag.  You can see it in the second picture.  Then when I went to add my link to the DT post, I realized it was supposed to be a gift card holder, whether part of a card or as it's own packaging.  So, I had to quick whip up a gift card holder.  Agh!!  It's been one of those weeks.  But lucky you because you get two projects for the price of one!

 I made the holder using one of my favorite cheats: an A2 envelope folded in half.  It makes the perfect base and when you cut off half of the inside flap, it is perfect for holding a gift card.  Just make sure that you adhere everything to the correct side so you don't end up with it upside down like I did.  (I told you it was one of those weeks.)  I had to do a quick cut off of the bottom of the envelope flap to make it work.  No one will ever know, except you, 'cause I just told you.

 And here is the gift bag, using the same image since it's the image I received from our awesome sponsor: Bugaboo.

 It doesn't show up very well, but I coated the snow areas and the snowflakes with SU! diamond dust glitter.  It is so sparkly in real life.  I created the "chimney" paper behind the image using my scor-pal to create the brick pattern, then filled in the grout lines with a white gel pen.  I think it's really cute.

Thanks for listening to all the blah, blah, blah.  Hop on over to the CSAYL blog to get the full details and see the other projects from the DT.

Challenges:

Cutie Pie #46--one for the kids (the gift bag would will be perfect for a child's gift; and the little Santa is pretty cute, right?)

Christmas At Sweet Stamping--cute & cuddly plus non-traditional colors (he's not cuddly per se, but Santa is cute)

The Squirrel and the Fox #46--use something metal (metal eyelets on the gift bag)

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #129--frame, window or aperture

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra--anything Christmas goes

There She Goes #212--anything goes

Creative Inspiration #219--new baby or fit to give to a child

Christmas Challenges with Sketch #78--sketch

DRS Designs #75--the great outdoors (a little glimpse of the outside through the window

Supplies:

Stamps: Bugaboo Stamps "Window Santa" digi; Verve "Merry and Bright" sentiments and snowflakes on the gift card holder

Papers: DCWV Christmas Pack

Punches/dies: Martha Stewart snowflake punch; spellbinders circles and scalloped circles, large

Christmas in June

Here are the 4 Christmas cards I created this past month; combined them all into one post for the Beat The Christmas Rush challenge.  Below each picture you can find the link to the original post.

 6/14--Joy

 6/7--Winter Wishes

 5/31--From Our House

5/29--Vintage Christmas

Sunflowers

Tomorrow is the last day of storyhour for me and the little munchkins, so I am putting together a little thank you gift for the woman that runs it.  She loves sunflowers and has planted a sunflower garden with the kids for the past couple years.  So, I thought a sunflower card was perfect for her.  I pulled out an old, old, old SU! set: Sketch It and had fun playing around.

Challenges:
Seems a Little Sketchy #41--sketch

Crafty Ribbons #48--anything goes with ribbon
Card Mania #23--kraft paper
Tammy's Scrapin Corner #67--anything with wings (ladybugs do have wings)
{Pin}spirational Challenge #62--inspirational photo (I went with the flowers and the color yellow)

Crafting By Designs--Anything goes with the twist of Show your season (my favorite season is definitely summer!  I hate being cold and I love having the windows open and fresh air blowing through the house.  Plus, all the flowers and the smell of fresh cut grass and clothes hanging on the line!  Oh yeah, definitely a summer girl.)
Word Art Wednesday #85--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! "Sketch It"; Verve "Joyful Blooms" sentiment
Dies: spellbinders fleur di lis squares