Check The Technic

It has been a LOOONNNGGGG time since I have been creative just for the fun of it. It seems like I am always working on a new issue of the Newsletter or a New CD and I just run out of time to keep up with creating things that just make me happy. Well, I just finished a new CD --  to be announced later this week -- and the newsletter is in great shape, so I allowed myself some unfettered creative time!

I decided to play along with the Late Night Stampers weekly challenge #166: Texture. This is how I challenged myself: I opened my Emboss or Die CD and selected a technique randomly, then worked out my card! I wanted to use a color combination that I normally wouldn't, and I really like how this Peach/Tangerine/Limeade combination works. 

I am so happy to have created this card! I hope you enjoy it. If  you would like the directions for the background, it is on the Emboss or Die CD: 79 tutorials using Embossing folders and Die Cuts, for $17.95. I think I will spend part of my week opening CDs and picking tutorials out randomly!

The Sketch for this weeks Stamping Queens Sketch Challenge was deceptively easy:

In reality, I struggled! How to incorporate such simple elements and still keep my card balanced....and still use my beloved techniques?

I decided to use the color theme from this week's LNS Challenge: Use Night of Navy, River Rock and Cajun Craze for the card. This makes me happy because my beloved Well Worn Paper using some of those colors, too. I decided to use the Glassy Embossing Technique (in the February 2010 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter, and on the Emboss or Die CD) on one of the designer papers, and use that as my base. I layered on the sentiment, papers and ribbon and didn't move the elements around too much:

Make sure to stop by the Stamping Queens blog to see the other creations this week!

I am so woefully behind -- but I am happy to serve out my last week as a guest designer on the SU LNS group as a Guest Designer. This week's theme is "Fall is in the Air" - and I rediscovered this cute set from Stampin' Up Called Trendy Trees.  

I was out today and noticed that they trees are just starting to change color...as much as I love fall in Connecticut, I am a little sad about the lush summer green going away. 

For this card, I used Pumpkin, Daffodil, Cherry Cobbler and Espresso papers with a vanilla base. I also used the Word Window Punch for the "sunken greeting."

I NEVER have a baby card ready when I need it. Ever. Nothing could have made me happier than this LNS Challenge! LNS 139 is Ohh Baby Baby! so I am happy to have made this for my stash (now I just hae to make one for a boy LOL).

I used the Out of the Box Nesties Technique from the Technique Junkie CD: Emboss or Die for my main image. I took my color inspiration from the Cheerful Treat DSP. Don't those dots work perfect with the balloon the elephant is holding? I colored the main piece with chalks, and added some pen work for whimsy. I also popped up a couple of the layers in back and front, they are a little hard to see from the photo, but fun to look at!

I hope you like it, and will play along!

I am thrilled to have been chosen as a Guest Designer for Stampin Up LNS for the month of September. It is such an honor for me! Each week the group is presented with a themed challenge. This is the first challenge for September: Remembering 9/11. 

Living close to New York, we know many families affected by 9/11; it is such a sad day in our history. It is up to us to remember those who have fallen and to celebrate the fallen heroes. I hope my card honors their memories appropriately.

My card uses Stampin' Up!'s Medallion stamp colored using the Non-Stick Color Technique from the June 2011 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter. The sentiment stamp is from the Blessings from Heaven set.

I love this little goose from the Stampin's Up! Cherish Friendship set, and I have played with coloring him a few different ways. This card uses the Pencil over Marker Technique from the February 2005 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter (that is what I love about classic techniques -- they never really expire!). The LNS challenge this week was "Tear into it", so I used the Torn Frames Technique (December 2008 issue of the TJNL) on one side only. The background uses Burnished Resist.

Have a great weekend!

Home sweet home! Although we had a good trip (most of it was good -- some of it wasn't so great), it is always great to be home. Just in time for Hurricane Irene! I have a ton to do today, but wanted to pop into blogland to share a bit with you before I jump into my emails with both feet. 

This card uses the Back-to-Back Technique (from the August 2011 Technique Junkie Newsletter) for the background, with the main panel highlighted with a Torn Frame (December 2008 TJNL). All of the stamps are from Stampin' Up!. This was a perfect card for LNS Challenge 135, too, since I adore the stamps, the buttons, the clips, the lattice Embossing folder...you get the idea!!

I love this set of stamps. Birds always remind me of my mother -- she was a bird-watcher, and got excited every time she would see something vaguely exotic. It makes me smile just to make bird cards. I think I have a bit of her in me -- I spent a considerable amount of time this week with binoculars glued to my face, looking out of over the spectacular salt marsh on the Delegal River in Savannah from my Mother-in-Law's floor to ceiling windows. And yes, I saw ALOT of birds and got just as excited as my mom used to!

Hope you all stay safe from Nature's fury this weekend!

One thing I did a little different for this card was to "double stamp" the French Filigree background (the white part). I love the stamp but I wanted a bolder look, so I inked the stamp, put it face-up on my work surface, smooshed the paper on top, then lifted the paper a little and moved it over ever-so-slightly before smooshing again to create a bolder look. It came out exactly as I wanted it!

After I made this, I realized that I did EXACTLY the same ribbon treatment on this as I did the Framed Nesties Card from yesterday...oops! I had actually created the pink card weeks ago...so it wasn't top of mind (or maybe it was!). Oh well, I still love the way this turned out!

White on white sounds so easy, doesn't it? It can be challenging to make something that has enough zing power so all of the white elements work together. Thank goodness for embossing machines!

Today's card also serves two purposes. First, it is for the Blogger's Challenge, in which we were challenged to use Embossing this week. The LNS 131 Challenge this week was to make a white-on-white card. My card serves two masters! A tutorial on White-on-White can be found on the Emboss or Die CD. 

To make this card, I used Stampin' Up's Blossom Petals punch on a sheet I had embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. I punched the petals and arranged the flower on a piece I had embossed using the  with the Designer Textured Frames embossing folder (this is a hidden gem in the new catalog!). I used the Blessings from Heaven stamp set for the greeting. The flowers were colored with White Smooch ink -- and they are heavenly in person. Oh -- I added the punch on the bottom, too -- thought it needed a final touch for balance.

I had a really hard time getting a good photo of this card -- it is so pretty in person, and nothing I did seemed to capture that. I hope you get the idea!

You can join in the Blogger's Challenge below -- just follow the links. Have a great weekend!