Hi everyone! Today I have a card for the DeNami Sketch Challenge 4, which you can find here. I really love this sketch that Sherry created. It's simple, but interesting at the same time! I decided to make a Halloween card because I haven't made any yet this year. And you know what? I actually haven't made ANY Halloween cards since 2006!!! I never really owned any Halloween stamps...but that changed when I bought this adorable Jack O'Lantern Trio stamp from DeNami Design at the CHA show this year! I just love it! It's so cute! I also don't have too many markers, so I don't do a whole lot of coloring in images. Maybe one of these days I will get a few Copics to start a collection. Uuhhhh...so many things I want to buy, buy, buy.....

 
I am very happy with how this turned out. The orange patterned paper is something I found in my stash that I had bought years ago. I don't have too many embellishments that match this color scheme, so I created my own by spelling out the words "BOO" and "EEK"! I used a small circle punch to make the green circles, stamped the letters on each one, and used purple Stickles to accent the edges. I also used dimensionals on each one to give them some extra oomph! Hope you like it. I would love to hear your feedback :) Thanks for stopping by!

Oh, and be sure to stop by again on Monday, Oct 4th. It's the first day of the new weekly Paper Therapy challenges! I will have my first Design Team card posted here on my blog, and on the Paper Therapy site. Come check it out! We'd love to have you participate! There will be a prize for this one ;-)

Supplies:

Stamps: DeNami - Jack O'Lantern Trio, EK Success Image Tree - Brush Alphabet

Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive

Patterned Paper: Unknown

Ink: Black Staz-on

Dies: SB Nestabilities Standard Circles Small, Big Scalloped Circles LG

Other: SU 1/2" Circle Punch, Lavender Stickles, Dimensionals

Announcement!!!

Hello fellow bloggers and paper crafters! I have exciting news to share with you today! I am proud to announce that I've been chosen as a Paper Therapy Design Team member! If you aren't familiar with Paper Therapy, it is an online community where stampers and scrapbookers gather to discuss paper crafts and general, everyday life. There is a gallery section where you can upload pics of your projects, and starting Monday, October 4th, there will be a new challenge every week! The first challenge of every month will have a prize! Let me tell you...these are going to be fun challenges! And what I really like about it is that you can use any brand of product for these challenges, so anyone can participate.
If you haven't checked out the site yet, I encourage you to register (it's free). Just click the grey "SIGN UP" box at the very top of the page. Then introduce yourself in the "Intros" forum. I look forward to seeing you there!

Color Cue {8} and Cardabilities Challenges

I needed an anniversary card for my in-laws, so I decided to combine the Color Cue {8} Challenge with the Cardabilities Challenge. I love how this card turned out! Perfect fall colors!
Isn't the patterned paper just gorgeous?! I couldn't believe how perfectly it matched the colors for the challenge, so of course I had to use it. The yellow vertical piece of cs is made with a stamp from the Double-Line Doodles SU set. I love my Frames with a Flourish SU set, but haven't used it all that much. I thought it was a nice complement to the patterned paper. Finally, the polka-dot ribbon ties it all together. Thanks for stopping by! I would love to hear your feedback! :-)

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin' Up - Frames with a Flourish, Everyday Flexible Phrases, Double-Line Doodles

Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Whisper White, So Saffron, Bravo Burgundy, Old Olive

Patterned Paper: Heidi Grace Designs

Ink: Stampin' Up - Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke

Ribbon: Joann's Papercrafting Ribbon

Other: Dimensionals

Embellish Magazine Color Challenge with Squares

I've got a quick post today. This is my card for the Embellish Magazine Color Challenge with Squares. This is such a great color combination, I couldn't pass up submitting a card to the challenge! I punched out a few squares and decided to rotate them so they actually look like diamonds. I made this for my stepmom to cheer her up since she's been in a lot of pain lately due to a bulged disc in her lower back. Her favorite color is purple, so it worked out very nicely :-) Thanks for stopping by and as always, I'd love to hear your comments!

 

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin' Up -Doodle That, Around and About, Fun and Fast Notes

Cardstock: SU - Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Basic Black, Very Vanilla
Ink: SU - Perfect Plum, Basic Black

Ribbon: PTI - Spring Moss

Other: Nestabilities Labels One, SU 1 3/8" Square Punch, Stickles-Lavender, Dimensionals

DeNami Color Challenge #4

I hope everyone had a wonderful long holiday weekend! I sure did, but it still went by WAY TOO FAST!! Dave and I spent time with family, I did some clothes shopping (got some new fall stuff and a new winter coat!), and I was able to spend time stamping. So fun ;-) So, here is my card for the current DeNami Challenge which is Color Challenge #4. Michele did an AWESOME job picking the colors. I just luv luv luv them! I just might have to do two cards for this challenge. We'll see if time permits. I used the Rosebud Trio stamp as the main focus of the card, and then inked up just one of the Rosebuds with VersaMark and stamped it in each bottom corner to give it a little extra character. Let me know what you think! You've got to check out the challenge and play along, there is still plenty of time. There is a FABULOUS prize for this one ;-)

Supplies:

Stamps: DeNami - Rosebud Trio, Stampin' Up! - Warmest Regards

Cardstock: SU - Pink Passion, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: SU - Basic Black, VersaMark
Ribbon: White - Unknown, Black - SU

Other: Nestabilities Labels Eight, Kaiser - Pink Pearls, Recollections - Black/White Pearls

Simple Masculine Card

I made this card a few months ago, and realized I never posted it! It's always a challenge for me to come up with a guy card, and I am very pleased with this one! I used Stampin' Up's Circle Circus set and Happy Everything. I love sets that have such fun, detailed patterns. I stuck with the common blues and browns I often use for masculine cards. It's a simple yet appealing card, what do you think? I'd love to hear from you! I'm happy to have new visitors and followers on my blog  ;-)
 

Supplies:

Stamps: SU - Circle Circus, Happy Everything

Cardstock: SU - Ballet Blue, Chocolate Chip, Kraft

Ink: SU - Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Ribbon: Joann's Papercrafting Ribbon

Other: Miscellaneous Circle Punches, Brad - SU, Dimensional

DeNami & Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenges

For this card, I decided to combine two challenges. The first is DeNami's Theme Challenge #3, and the second is Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 82. Check them out! I thought they were great challenges.

 

















I didn't use any special techniques on this card. Just lots of basic stamping, die cuts, and punches! I love adding detail...it's rare that I make a card using only cardstock. WIth all the amazing embellishments out there today, how could you NOT! I used 2 DeNami buttons from the great bag of buttons I bought at their booth at CHA. It's such a good mix of different styles and sizes. I also used ribbon from Paper Trey Ink. Glad I made that purchase ;-)
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I love getting new visitors and receiving comments, so let me know what you think! Have a GREAT weekend!

Supplies:

Stamps: DeNami - Birthday Wishes Circle, Party Time Petit Fours Set

Cardstock: SU - Tempting Turquoise, Lavender Lace, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: SU - Tempting Turquoise, Lavender Lace, Basic Black

Buttons: DeNami
Ribbon: PTI -Plum Pudding

Other: Nestabilities Standard Circles Small, Marvy Uchida 2" Round Scallop Punch, EK Success Edger Punch-Open Scallop, SU Corner Rounder, Stickles-Lavender, Dimensionals

California Vacation Pics...

Dave and I are back home now after having a wonderful California vacation last week. I thought I'd share a few of my favorite pictures. Dave really enjoys photography, so I had the luxury of just enjoying the scenery while he snapped, snapped, snapped away with his camera! Overall, he took about 2000 pictures! Here are only a few...

We took a guided coach bus tour which started in San Francisco and ended in Los Angeles, making many stops along the way. Sonoma Wine Country, Yosemite, Monterey, a forest with the big Redwoods, Pebble Beach, Carmel, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, LA, and Hollywood! We were both surprised at how cool it was (or COLD!) for most of the trip until we got to Santa Barbara. For those of you that know me personally, you know that I absolutely HATE THE COLD! The 50's-60's are not a temperature I would have guessed for California! The breeze off the ocean was very brisk. So, in the pictures below, you will see me all bundled up...I was even able to manage to get on two sweatshirts! LOL! It's shocking that I can survive living in Chicago, huh?! Hope you enjoy the pictures ;-)

The famous Lombard Street in San Francisco. It's hard to see the actual street
with all the foliage, but check out all those cars going back and forth!

San Francisco neighborhoods. Notice how steep it is! Crazy!

Something I really enjoyed on the trip was visiting Ghiradelli Square where they
make such delicious chocolate! See the sign behind us, in the upper right?

San Francisco = FOG! I love this closeup shot. The color is fantastic!

Seeing and driving over the Golden Gate Bridge was one of my favorite moments on our trip!

Yosemite National Park. Amazing!

Cool shot Dave captured with a long exposure.

California Coast

One of my favorite things was getting a tour of the Sony Pictures Studios lot!
Among the list was the set of Jeopardy and the sitcom "Rules of Engagement", but pictures weren't allowed there :(

The Kodak Theatre is where one of my favorite shows is filmed!! American Idol!!

And of course, we HAD to get a picture of the famous HOLLYWOOD sign!