COLOR INSPIRATION, A SKETCH, AND BUD BASICS (again!)

Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challege #15 of Chocolate Chip, Close To Cocoa, Really Rust, Certainly Celery, and Whisper White was just that ... CHALLENGING (for me, anyway!). I tried to use other stamps sets and just couldn't get anything to work. Then, I did it AGAIN ... pulled out Bud Basics! I combined this color inspiration with Jessie's (knightrone on SCS) sketch on Great Swaps Girls (GSGC11).

I almost didn't post this card, as it did not turn out like I had planned ... some days you got it, some days you don't! I think everything is pretty self-explanatory on this card, but wanted to point out that those are non-SU Dew Drops in the flower centers.
RECIPE
Stamps: Bud Basics, All Holidays
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, and Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Close To Cocoa, Really Rust, and Certainly Celery
Embellishments: Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Dew Drops (non-SU)
Tools: Paper Piercing Tool & Mat Pack
Supplies: Mini Glue Dots

WILD ABOUT WASABI

I have the house to myself today! I can't believe it ... it feels so weird (but nice!). John is on a business trip, Allie is at leadership camp all day, and Drew is at the local waterpark with his buddies. I plan to get some stamping time in between loads of laundry!

I stamped these cards last night. The first one is a case of THIS CARD by Vickie Waugh, the Featured Stamper #06 on the Great Swaps Girls blog. Vickie is known as VickieKy on SCS, and you can view her SCS gallery HERE, and her blog, Stamping Ever After, HERE. Anyone can play along with the Great Swaps Girls challenges, so hop on over and check 'em out!

With the retired Stampin' Up! stamp set list to be posted on Sunday, June 15 and the new catalog coming out in August, I'm motivated to use as much of my soon-to-be retired products as possible. As much as I THINK I'll continue to use them, I KNOW I won't! ... because Stampin' Up! always comes out with NEW fabulous colors and products! Remember last year's In Colors of Cranberry Crisp, True Thyme, Cool Caribbean, Marigold Morning, Vintage Violet, and Buckaroo Blue? I thought for sure that I wouldn't be able to live without them, so I stocked up on the cardstock, ribbon, etc. Do you think I've touched them since they retired? Not a chance! It's no surprise that the current six In Colors of Wild Wasabi, River Rock, Soft Sky, Groovy Guava, Soft Sky, and Purely Pomegranate will also be retiring with the introduction of the new catalog. The rest of the cards in this post use the soon-to-be-retired Wild Wasabi CS, Wild Wasabi Prints DP, Wild Wasabi Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, and the Wild Wasabi Build-A-Flower Accents & Elements. ... just goofing around with the supplies that were out on my work station.
4 1/4" x 4 1/4" Square Card ...
3" x 3" Note cards ...
RECIPE for all cards in this post...
Stamps: Much Appreciated
Paper: Wild Wasabi and Whisper White CS, Wild Wasabi Prints DP
Embellishments: Love & Happiness Rub-Ons, Build-A-Flower Accents & Elements, Wild Wasabi Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Tools: Paper Piercing Tool & Mat Pack
Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals

GREAT SWAPS GIRLS SWAPS

I recently participated in two Great Swaps Girls Swaps. All the swappers should have received the swapped cards by now so I think I'm safe showing my contributions to the swaps (wanted the swappers to see them IRL first!).

This first card was for a non-A2 card swap. An A2 card (in case you don't know) is a standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" greeting card size. For the swap we could do any size or shape of card we wanted other than A2. I chose to design a square 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" Tart & Tangy card ....

RECIPE
Stamps: Tart & Tangy, Fundamental Phrases
Paper: Real Red and Bashful Blue Prints DP, Bashful Blue, Real Red, and Whisper White CS
Ink: Real Red and Old Olive Markers, Basic Black Classic Ink Pad
Embellishments: Real Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Real Red Brads
Tools: 1/4", 1 1/4", 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Scallop Punch, Word Window Punch
Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals

This next card is for a Get To Know You or NVR (No Vendor Restriction) themed swap. Usually, the Great Swaps Girls swaps are Stampin' Up! only, but for the Get To Know You swap, we could use any stamps we chose, from any vendor. I stuck with my all-time favorite, can't-be-beat Stampin' Up! stamps! ...

RECIPE
Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment, Tart & Tangy
Paper: Summer Picnic DP, Real Red, Old Olive, Basic Black, and Whisper White CS
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red, and Old Olive
Embellishments: Black Brads, Old Olive Poly-Twill Ribbon
Tools: 1/4" Circle Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig
Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals

SO MUCH FOR MY MOJO

I've owned the stamp set, So Much for quite awhile and haven't been inspired to do much with it .... UNTIL I saw THIS CARD by SeattleStamper on SCS. I loved the idea of the crystals on each dot of the circle! I would have preferred small half back pearls for my card instead of the rhinestones, but this is what I had that fit, thus the card not turning out the way I wanted. Funny how the mojo disappears when you haven't stamped for a week!

I incorporated the Great Swaps Girls Sketch Challenge (GSGC07), changing the oval to a circle ... and the SCS Color Challenge (CC168) of Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow, and Very Vanilla.
RECIPE
Stamps: So Much
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow, and Very Vanilla CS
Ink: Chocolate Chip Classic
Embellishments: Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon, Rhinestones (non-SU), Love & Happiness Rub-Ons
Tools: Circle Cutter (Creative Memories), Cuttlebug and Swiss Dots Embossing Folder
Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals, Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive

EASY PEASY!

I know what you're thinking ... there she goes again using that Crew Kids Girl Simply Scrappin' Kit to make another EASY card! My response .... SURE AM !!! As I've said before, the color combination of Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, and Wild Wasabi has GOT to be one of my all-time favorites! Seems like every time I have a break from stamping for a few days, I tend to go for this SSK to get me back in the groove of designing. The only stamping on this card is the sentiment from Circle of Friendship, "Sending You Birthday Wishes". The main image flower and the layering on the sentiment piece are self-adhesive die cuts from the Crew Kids Girl SSK.

To create this card, I used Jessica Rone's sketch for Great Swaps Girls (GSGC02) and Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply Challenge #33 (SSNOTIME33) which was to create a simple card using pink and green and a flower.

RECIPE
Stamps: Circle of Friendship, Self-Adhesive Die-Cuts from Crew Kids Girl SSK and one from Build-A-Flower Accents & Elements
Paper: DP from Crew Kids Girl SSK, Wild Wasabi, Regal Rose, and Whisper White CS
Ink: Wild Wasabi
Embellishments: Pretty In Pink Brads, Regal Rose 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon
Tools: Paper Piercing Tool and Mat Pack
Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals

I'M A GREAT SWAPS GIRL !!!

I received the most exciting news this weekend! Do you remember the new blog I talked about in THIS POST a few days ago? This new blog was formed by a group called Great Swaps Girls, a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators who formed an invite-only swap group. This group began in August of 2007 after a thread on SCS bemoaned the quality of swaps demos were receiving at convention. High-quality, top-notch swaps is what GreatSwaps is all about. And great conversations, too. Well ...... I have been invited to be a part of this super-talented group of stampers!!!! I am just flyin' high with excitement! WOOHOO!!! What made the invitation even more fun is that my friend, Silke Ledlow, My Life, received her invitation from GSG this weekend too!

I'm so very much looking forward to seeing what this new adventure holds for me! Thanks for letting me share my news with you!