Radiant Bouquet

Mornin' y'all and happy Friday.  I'm so happy that yesterday I finally inked up the third new stamp set I got in my last SU! order, Radiant Sunflowers!

I have the coordinating DSP too, but today I used something different to go with the inspo pic at Just Us Girls:

I put my bouquet on a Night of Navy pattern from the Nature Walk DSP and used Peaceful Pine as my card base, going with the darker colors to make the flowers pop like on the pic.  And I had some fun coloring in the flowers, I did each one a bit differently with a mix of Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Cajun Craze.  And I kinda sorta used this week's Freshly Made Sketch:

My bouquet image is a little pointier at the top and bottom and wider in the middle, though I wish I'd cut the ribbon a little differently to match the sketch a little better.  And obviously I stretched this into a regular A2 card because I don't like making square cards.  But I did just get the new Tiled Garden square dies, which are like the square version of the Spotlight on Nature dies that are circles.  Those teeny cutout bits are annoying as all get-out to get off the cutting plate for my Big Shot, but they sure look good on the card!  I backed the cutouts with Daffodil Delight to make them stand out more.  I thought the sparkle dots were Daffodil Delight but they're actually Darling Duckling, we have hardly any embellishments in Daffodil Delight or Pumpkin Pie and I don't know why.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Radiant Sunflowers
Ink:  Night of Navy, Stampin' Blends in Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, Peaceful Pine
Paper:  Peaceful Pine, Daffodil Delight, Basic White, Nature Walk DSP
Accessories:  Radiant Sunflowers dies, Tiled Garden dies, Dimensionals, Night of Navy bordered ribbon, Low-Profile Sparkle Dots, Wink of Stella

How about a little extra cute today:

BLEP.  Daph was snoozing on the love seat next to me while I was working on my stitching project and watching the end of Wonder Woman (the movie, though I do own the 70s TV show as well).  She's a good couch time companion.

Sew Crafty

Mornin' y'all.  I was not as productive in the craft room yesterday because I was busy running back and forth to the store.  The hubs had requested lasagna for dinner, so after I took Ryan to school, I went to the store to get ingredients for lasagna and orange Jello because we always had orange Jello with lasagna when I was a kid so they go together in my brain.  Then I got home and made the orange Jello so it could set in the fridge and sat down at the computer and realized that I had forgotten the ground beef for the lasagna, so I had to go BACK to the store to get that and then I assembled the lasagna and put it in the fridge until time to bake it for dinner last night and then most of my kid-free time was used up.  I was grumpy.  That lasagna was sure good for dinner though, and Ryan refused to eat it because he's crazy.

Anywha, I do have a card to share today:

I used this week's sketch from Atlantic Hearts:

And the speed stamping challenge from As You See It:

And here's my time:

I pulled out the very old Sweet Stitches DSP, Handmade for You and Button Button stamp sets and I'm sure this card will be going to my mom, who does like to sew and is the one who taught me how to cross stitch when I was younger than Ryan is now.  I've had that DSP for many many moons (I think it's over ten years old) so I'm glad to use up even a little of it.

Ryan and the hubs have a Donuts with Dads thing at Ryan's school this morning, so Daph and I will be going for our morning walk while they're doing that.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Handmade For You, Button Button
Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Daffodil Delight
Paper:  Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Basic White, Sweet Stitches DSP
Accessories:  3/4" circle punch, Layering Circles dies, Dimensionals

A Couple of Corny Cards

Mornin' y'all!  Man, Ryan was in a MOOD again this morning, he must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed.  Hopefully he'll be over it by the time I pick him up from school.  Meanwhile, I'm pretty happy because I had a very productive session in the warcraft room yesterday and made SIX cards.  So let's start with a couple of corny cards, shall we?

I thought of my old favorite set Perfectly Preserved when I saw the AAA Cards Challenge:

So the central theme is on the farm, and I went with the left spoke of crops of fruit or veg.  I've used the apples from Perfectly Preserved much more often than the corn, so today it's the corn's time to shine.  And I actually stamped three ears so I I decided to make a second card while I was at it:

I also used up some scraps of my also favorite Orchard Harvest DSP and I think I still have several unopened packs of it because I am a paper dragon.

Two quick cards that started off my crafting session yesterday.  And these also fit with the theme at the Paper Players of looking forward to fall : )

Okay, the hubs asked for lasagna for dinner tonight so I had to go to the store this morning and I just realized as I typed this sentence that I totally forgot to get ground beef, ugh!  There was someone standing in front of it and so I detoured to pick up the mozzarella cheese and then forgot to go get the beef.  Okay, guess I'm going back to the store.  I even had it written on my list!!  Maybe I'll wait and go get it when I pick Ryan up...

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Perfectly Preserved, Country Home
Ink:  Early Espresso, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Old Olive
Paper:  More Mustard, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Orchard Harvest DSP
Accessories:  Cannery Framelits, Textured Notes dies, Dimensionals

Fabulous Colors for SUO Challenges

Mornin' y'all!  It is time once more for a new challenge from SUO Challenges, and this time we've got some fabulous colors for you:

It would be super easy to go for florals with these colors, but I like to do things the hard way so I decided to go with pumpkins instead:

It's the new Painted Pumpkins bundle again!  This time I did use the big leafy stencil background, and instead of stamping the pumpkin outlines, I used the stencils for those as well.  I don't have any current DSP with Fresh Freesia in it but I found some nice stripes in the retired Toadstool Gardens DSP stack and that's what I used to ground my gourd trio.  A few Fresh Freesia gems and done!

We hope you'll give these colors a try and upload your card to the SUO Challenges blog.  Don't forget to use only Stampin' Up! products, like it says in the name : ) Have fun!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Painted Pumpkins
Ink:  Peaceful Pine, Darling Duckling
Paper:  Darling Duckling, Peaceful Pine, Basic White, Toadstool Gardens DSP Stack
Accessories:  Painted Pumpkins stencils & dies, Dimensionals, Opaque Faceted Gems

Rhino Hello

Mornin' y'all, hope your week is off to a good start.  'Member how Ryan had a stomach bug last Friday?  I think he shared it with me, the plague rat, but if he's anything to go by I should be feeling better by tomorrow.

So how about a cute little card today...

I thought of Animal Outing immediately when I saw the new Festive Friday Challenge:

I started out with a lot of Basic Gray and Smoky Slate for neutral colors, but I did add some other colors so I'm not sure if that one still counts.  Side note, I really like the combo of Basic Gray/Smoky Slate, Pool Party, and Shy Shamrock.  Anyway, for the recipe list, I do have stripes, wild animals, and some jungle leaves--I had pulled out Tropical Chic when I did my tropical card for Retro Rubber last week and didn't use it, so it was fun to use it for this card instead.  It took me some time playing around with the placement of the leaves and stripes to get something that I liked.

That's it for now, peeps.  Ryan is supposedly getting ready for school and as soon as he's off I will be off to run some errands.  And then possibly a nap because I'm still feeling this bug that Ryan gave me.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Animal Outing, Tropical Chic, Softly Sketched
Ink:  Basic Gray, Shy Shamrock, Stampin' Blends in Smoky Slate, Pool Party, Shy Shamrock, Golden Glow
Paper:  Pool Party, Basic White, Animal Expedition DSP, Pool Party DSP
Accessories:  Stylish Shapes dies, Tropical dies, Dimensionals, In Color Dots

Falling Twice as Hard With The Paper Players

Mornin' ya'll and happy Sunday!  It's time for a new challenge from The Paper Players...hope you enjoyed last week's color combo from Stef, and get ready for a great CAS challenge from Claire!  Here it is:

HECK YEAH I am looking forward to fall!  And I just got a new SU! order with several different packs of fall patterned paper, so here's what I made:

Say hello to the Autumn Opulence DSP, which comes with two sheets of cut-outs and that's where I got the images for my cards.  Yep, I made two; the first one came together so fast I figured why not!  The cut-outs have a wide white border around them, so I trimmed that down a bit, added a simple strip of torn DSP and embossed the greeting with copper embossing powder.

This one's on Early Espresso...

And this one's on Blackberry Bliss.  I love when fall papers include a blue or a purple to ground all the browns, oranges, and reds.  I think this one is a bit less CAS just because the image is so large so it's a good thing I made the pumpkin card, which is definitely clean and simple : )

Check out the other design team creations on the Paper Players blog, and you can hop through their individual blogs to leave some comments too:

The Paper Players Design Team

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater

Joanne James

Ann Schach

Jan Clothier

Stef Perry

you are here --> Christy Stanford

And then upload your card at the Paper Players blog!  Keep in mind a few simple rules:
1.  Create a new paper project
2.  Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us and provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission
3.  Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL
4.  Have fun!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Fern & Flora
Ink:  Versamark
Paper:  Early Espresso, Blackberry Bliss, Autumn Opulence DSP
Accessories:  Copper EP, Dimensionals

The Swami's Ring

Happy Saturday and welcome back to the Nancy Drew Challenge!  After an unexpected delay last week, she's back and this time she's investigating #61 The Swami's Ring:

Heyyy we get Nancy with titian hair on two out of the three covers this week, I don't know why after #56 the cover artists switched to making her a boring blonde instead of strawberry blonde.   The one on the left reminds me of The Strange Message in the Parchment with Nancy looking down, and I do like the action scene behind her.  The middle one is just odd with the plain black background; the one on the right is my favorite even though Nancy's just plain blonde on here and I think she should wear a different color shirt as that color isn't really flattering on her.  I like the sense of danger with the creepy guy coming up behind her.

Case file:  Nancy has a multitude of mysteries to contend with this week:  she's looking for clues to the identity of an amnesiac patient at the local hospital; someone tries to choke said amnesiac over a large ring found in his knapsack; Nancy's 5-year-old neighbor Tommy encountered a hit-and-run driver and broke his leg; someone is sabotaging a local music festival and somehow Carson is the suspect (the real mystery is why he's the prime suspect, and unfortunately that one is never solved); and a harpist at said music festival is looking for her missing sister.  All the mysteries seem to lead to a local religious retreat run by someone called Ramaswami.  It's a lot.

Here's my card for the first book:

Did I buy the To A Classic stamp set *just* for this image?  Yes, yes I did (it was only $5!).  I had to use it to make a get well card for little Tommy, who not only broke his leg in two places and hit his head (wear helmets, kids), he had to have surgery for his leg.  Nancy came to visit him in the hospital and gave him a toy car which seemed like an odd choice given that Tommy was almost run over by a car, but I ran with the idea and used a car on my card too.

For my colors, I used Soft Sky, Dapper Denim, Sweet Sorbet, Golden Glow, and Pear Pizzazz, and to incorporate an arch shape I went with a stoplight behind my car image.  This idea came to me in the shower last weekend which is really where all the best ideas originate.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  To A Classic
Ink:  Dapper Denim, Stampin' Blends in Cloud Cover and Smoky Slate
Paper:  Soft Sky, Dapper Denim, Basic White, MidNight Flora DPS, Sweet Sorbet DSP, Pear Pizzazz DSP
Accessories:  Everyday Arches dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals

Okay, on to the middle book:

I had to do a musical theme since we have the sabotaged music festival and the harpist looking for her missing sister.  The greeting stamp on this card is the very one that went on walkabout last weekend and frustrated me no end until I finally found it stuck to a sheet protector with the DSP I used on the card.  Anyway, one of the acts of sabotage against the music festival involved someone setting a scorpion loose in a crowded theater, but to my surprise I have zero scorpion stamps.  Also unless that scorpion was the size of a dachshund at least, if not larger, there's no way people would see it in the aisle of a darkened theater but now I am imagining a giant scorpion tootling down the aisle with a bucket of popcorn in his claw to see a production of Oklahoma! so there's that.  (The Drew Crew does go see a production of Oklahoma! in the book.)

For this one, I used Poppy parade, Crushed Curry, and black for my colors and kept the layout very simple given the cover of the book with its plain black background.  And if you're looking for this stamp set, Music From the Heart, I now have an extra one.  Weirdly I have no harp stamps despite having several music-themed stamp sets, but I do have at least one lyre and a lute.  You'd think harps would be more popular.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Music From the Heart
Ink:  Poppy Parade, Crushed Curry, Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Poppy Parade, Basic White, Everyday Enchantment DSP, Crushed Curry DSP
Accessories:  Stitched So Sweetly dies, Dimensionals

And now for the third cover:

Yes, I made a "Remember When" card for a book that features an amnesia patient *snicker* I mean really, I am making these cards to entertain myself and this is where my sense of humor leads, so mission accomplished.  So, in the book, Nancy finds a large ring in the amnesiac's knapsack that has a design of interlocking water lilies on it, so that's why I have a water lily on my card.

I used Granny Apple Green, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, and Early Espresso for my colors on this card and I really like that die behind the flower.  I think Lovely Lily Pad was a Sale-a-Bration stamp set and they came out with dies later, but I could be misremembering (though I'm pretty sure I do not have amnesia).  Anyway, the dies for this stamp set are pretty cool and I'm glad I've kept it.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Lovely Lily Pad, Word Play
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crisp Cantaloupe Stampin' Blends
Paper:  Granny Apple Green, Calypso Coral, Basic White, Artistry Blooms DSP
Accessories:  Lovely Lily Pad dies, Dimensionals, Shimmering Dots

I think this book suffers from cramming too many mysteries into one volume even if all the investigations are interconnected.  It also has like a bajillion characters and I can't keep them straight because a lot of them have at least one alias and none of them are particularly well developed.  It reminds me a little bit of Red Gate Farm with the mysterious religious group and I do like the amnesia plotline even if it is a soap opera trope.  I think this one is by a different ghostwriter than the others we've had so far because Nancy is constantly leaping into cars or dashing around places and Ned acts like a whiny baby man for over half the book which made me want to shove him off a cliff like the amnesia patient.  I don't think this is a strong installment in the Drewniverse but I did enjoy making my cards and the image of the scorpion attending the theater that it planted in my brain, so I'm giving it two and a half stars.

If this book inspired you to make your own card, leave me a comment below!  And I'll see you next week when Nancy encounters The Kachina Doll Mystery.