*Strong and Free*

I love any day when there are no alarm clocks going off in the morning!!

The kids are lucky enough to get today and tomorrow off from school... today to mark Remembrance Day, tomorrow is a Professional Development Day.

Sadly I have a lot of things planned for the next 24 hours including a two hour round trip to pick up some stuff for Christy for her to take to Saskatchewan this weekend for a crop, getting blood work done in the morning (means I can't eat after 10 tonight, which is probably a good thing), getting some groceries and hopefully pre-bowling in preparation for my trip to see my sister in a few weeks.

In other sad news, I retired my flip flops today....  I was beginning to think that the crappy support in them was what has been causing the pain in my heels....  figure it's time to put on some socks and shoes and hopefully put the pain behind me.  We'll see if it works.

This was probably the longest I've ever gone wearing flip flops... and I loved every minute!

Anyway.... I thought a very simple but strong card would be good to share in Remembrance Day.....

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Marina Mist, Cherry Cobler, Wild Wasabi; PTI White
*Images:  Stamping Bella
*Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics
*Tools:  Stampin' Up! border punch
*Challenges:  MTSC89; SCS ColorChallenge #279


I took two minutes of silence at 11 this morning to remember all who have come before me, who have sacrificed so much to give me the freedom I cherish... I hope you did too!

*Smile*

Are you shocked?  So many days with posts!!  I just have so many cards to share that I figure I should share them instead of holding on to them.  I have several already photographed and ready to share as well as 10 cards waiting for me to take them outside and take photos.

I don't know that I've ever had this many cards in my stash to share!

It feels good to have cards made instead of panicking that there is nothing for me to share!

Sad part is that the traffic to my blog has really dropped off in the last months... I guess too much time without regular posts.

But I'm glad you're here!!

And for coming, I'm sharing a smile with you....

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  PTI White; Stampin' Up! Rich Razzleberry, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron
*Images:  Whipper Snapper; PTI Mega Mixed Messages
*Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics
*Tools:  Stampin' Up! border punch
*Challenges:  MTSC95; SCS Color Challenge #291

*Trying To Get Back*

I can't believe how tough it has been to get back into a regular routine for me....  being "off" for 8 weeks a row has made my return to my normal life a little rough.  I'm constantly checking my Google Calendar to make sure I"m not missing anything!

I have had some time but no mojo for crafting... I *want* to craft, but there's just nothing there.

Maybe that will change tomorrow night as the CalGals are gathering for the first time since May!  This is the longest we've gone without getting together.  I'm looking forward to spending the evening at Shannon's with the girls tomorrow!  I should figure out what I want to pack!

This is another of the cards I created in my brief stay at home this summer....

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  PapertTrey White; Stampin' Up! Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler
*Images:  PaperTrey; Stampin'g Bella
*Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Stampin' Up! Marina Mist; Copics
*Embellishments:  Stampin' Up! white grosgrain ribbon coloured with Stampin' Up! Wild Wasabi ink
*Challenges:  SCS Color Challenge #279; FTL103

*Not So Sure*

Happy Wednesday everyone!  It's been a strange week for me as I seem to be mixed up as to what day it is.  Monday I had an appointment with an opthomologist in the mid-afternoon and since I was getting dilated, Bruce had to take me.  We stopped on our way home to pick up Alex after band practice at school since the bus leaves before practice is over.  We came home, got dinner going and then ran in different directions... Bruce and Alex were off to the school to learn about requirements and choices for high school courses, the ride I had arranged for Matthew to go to TaeKwon Do didn't show up so I quickly got him in my car and dropped him off on the way to my bowling practice (the tournament I'm in is on Sunday).  Matthew got a ride home so I was able to stay at practice.

All was cool until yesterday at lunch when Bruce asked what day it was... "is it Tuesday" he said?  And I thought, couldn't be Tuesday cuz Alex didn't have piano yesterday, but Matthew went to TaeKwon Do so it must have been Monday yesterday.

OH NO!!

Yup, we completely forgot to take Alex to his piano lesson on Monday at 5pm.  First time ever.  Oooops.  I emailed his teacher yesterday and she was wondering what happened to us but totally understood.  I felt like such a dork.

So, today *is* Wednesday right??

LOL

On to my creation...

I'm not sure I'm in love with it, but I don't hate it...  I used a lot of challenges for this one.

Items Used
*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Bermuda Bay, Certainly Celery, Handsome Hunter; Staples White
*Images:  Verve
*Ink:  Stampin' Up! Handsome Hunter; Stampin' Up! marker in Pretty in Pink
*Tools:  Big Shot; Nestabilities; Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder; EK Success border punch
*Embellishments:  Stampin' Up! grosgrain ribbon; Kaiser Rhinestone
*Challenges:  CC252; MTSC55

*Only One More Sleep*

Tomorrow the last of my Holiday Company heads home... it's been wonderful having the people I love around.  I will definitely be sad to see Heather walking through the security check point at the airport.

Sniff sniff sniff

This is another card I created the other day while Heather and I were crafting and watching movies.  We've tried to craft again, but really, neither of us is getting much accomplished.  It took me an entire movie to create a card yesterday.

This card uses three challenges...  the current Splitcoast Sketch Challenge, a Splitcoast Colour Challenge from a few weeks ago, and the current Crazy for Challenges challenge (to use Polka Dots)

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Always Artichoke, Rich Razzleberry and Barely Banana
*Images:  Unity
*Ink:  Memento black; Stampin' Up! Markers
*Tools:  Big Shot; Sizzix embossing folder; Nestabilities
*Challenges:  Splitcoast CC248; Splitcoast SC261; C4C18

*Double Challenges*

Good morning everyone... has everyone started to recover from their turkey comas?  We have enough left overs for one more day of sandwiches and then the turkey is done until next time.  I am one of those strange people who prefers turkey as left overs, in a wonderful toasted turkey sandwich.  I could care less if I get any fresh from the oven.

I was pleased to discover that I haven't gained the usual 5 pounds over the last few weeks... only up a half pound from where I was.  I can handle that.  My plan is to get to the gym in the new year once my company is all gone and to get back to making healthy food choices again.  I've gained some pounds over the last few years and I want to celebrate my 40th birthday as a slimmer, more healthy version of me!

I created this card earlier this week when Mom, Heather and I did some crafting.  It was sad for me to put away my Christmas papers and ribbons and stamps and get back to regular every day creating. (I really do love my Christmas craft stuff!).  I decided to follow the MojoMonday Sketch as well as a Splitcoast Colour Challenge.

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Stampin Up! Sahara Sand, Real Red, Crushed Curry
*Images:  Stampin' Up!
*Ink:  Stampin' Up! Real Red
*Tools:  Big Shot; Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder; Nestabilities
*Embellishments:  Stampin' Up! Crushed Curry ribbon; Michael's bridal flowers coloured with Stampin' Up! markers; red Kaiser Pearl
*Challenges:  Mojo118; SCS Colour Challenge#250

*I Did It Myself*

Another day and another workout at the gym.  I took a break from the gym after hurting my knee a few weeks ago...  and then it was easy to just not go when my knee was starting to feel better.  Bruce and I went on Saturday and I've been two more times this week.  Instead of doing my learn to run program on the treadmill, I have been doing 30-45 minutes on the recumbent bike.  I don't like the bike.  It's boring.

And it sucks that most days they blast music through the speakers in the gym so loud that I can't enjoy the music on my iPod...  I want my music, not whatever the young gym attendant thinks is good music.

At any rate, I am trying hard to make the gym a habit again.  I am hopeful that the desire to go to the gym will return some day...  Right now I'm going because I know I should, not because I want to.

An unfortunate side effect of a good workout in the cold weather is that I get really really hot in the gym, go outside and cool off quickly, then I get in the car and turn on the heat...  then I get home and eat my breakfast before hitting the shower.  All of this hot and cold means I feel chilled for most of the day.

Sucks

Anyway... you didn't come to hear me whine about the gym LOL

I had fun with this card.... the challenge over at Crazy 4 Challenges this week was to use three different geometric shapes on one card.  It's been a bit since I came up with a design on my own so it took a bit of time for me to think of what I wanted to do.  But all of a sudden the idea came to me.  But then, I didn't know what colours I wanted to use... so I opened up the master list of Colour Challenges at Splitcoast and looked through until I found something that caught my eye.

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Basic Black, Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant
*Images:  Lizzie Anne Designs Floral Frenzy; PaperTrey Mega Mixed Messages
*Ink:  Stampin' Up! Elegant Eggplant
*Tools:  Stampin' Up! 3/4" circle punch, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" square punches, slot punch; Big Shot; Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Embossing Folder
*Embellishments:  sheer polka dot ribbon from Michaels
*Challenges:  C4C8; SCS CC235


It felt good to create a card using my own vision instead of following a sketch... but it was tough!  LOL!

Enjoy your Wednesday!

*Everyone Is Healthy...*

... at least for now.  Alex went back to school this morning.  He's still a little tired, but otherwise he seems to be doing well.  I wonder how long until the next one of us gets it?

I was watching the morning news on Global Calgary this morning and they had a reporter and camera out in front of the H1N1 Clinic that is in the NW quadrant of the city...  I thought I saw someone I recognized, so I hit rewind (I LOVE the PVR and the pause and rewind live TV feature!)...  Yup, pretty sure that it's my friend Bonnie's son... so I called her on her cell phone and yup, she is there with her son and Mom (Dad couldn't take the time off work today and the daughter is home sick).  After I got off the phone, I pressed play again and ended up rewinding a few times again... just a couple of people behind Bonnie is another Mom I know from the neighbourhood, and a few people behind her was Bruce's cousin's husband and their daughter.  I know Merlie took the girls yesterday and waited in line for 6 hours to get their shots.

I am looking forward to a day alone in the house...  cuz I've said that, I've probably jinxed myself and Matthew will call later this morning saying he's sick.  He was fine this morning, but it will be just my luck LOL!

I did some crafting yesterday afternoon which was awesome.  I finished off two challenge cards from the last few days.

This is the card I created for Mojo110, and it happens to use the colours for an SCS Colour Challenge.  It was hard to use only coloured cardstock instead of patterned paper on this card...  I thought, at least in my opinion, that there was a lot going on to be adding pattern to it.  Instead I have a lot of white space.

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Basic Black, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo
*Images:  Stampin' Up! Best Yet; Verve Floral Whimsy
*Ink:  Memento black
*Tools:  Big Shot; Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Folder; Nestabilities
*Embellishments:  ribbon from Michaels; Bling (in the centres of the flowers)
*Challenges:  Mojo110; SCS CC234


During the dinnertime news last night, they were reporting that there was a "special weather statement" for the City of Calgary... a possibility of 5-10 cms of snow overnight.  Sigh...  Thankfully we woke up to a dusting of snow in the grass and wet (and probably slippery) streets.  No 5-10cms.  (that's about 2-4 inches).  It's still too early for snow!  I think all parents hope it holds off until after Halloween!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

*We Have SUN!*

Yes, it is true.... the sun has made another appearance in Calgary... first time since Sunday! It was a long cold and wet week!! What a weird summer we've all had... It's not hot yet, but at least I have windows open and my slippers are *not* on my feet!

As planned yesterday, I did get off the computer after my blog post and created my card for the current MojoMonday sketch.

Since the card needed ribbon, I chose my colours based on what ribbons I had on hand. I didn't know what colours to use so I turned to Splitcoast Stampers and checked out some of the more recent colour challenges and used one of them.

This card combines Mojo98 and SCS Color Challenge #224

Items Used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Summer Sun, Tangerine Tango, Pacific Point; PaperTrey Ink white
*Images: Amuse
*Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, B14 Copic Marker
*Tools: Big Shot; D'Vine Swirl Cuttlebug Embossing Folder; Spellbinders Labels 3 and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities
*Embellishments: Stampin' Up! Tangerine Tango ribbon

*Slow Mojo*

Happy Weekend everyone! Beautiful summer day here in Calgary, but it's the last one for a few days... cooler wet weather until Tuesday. Bummer.

Our new beautiful red washer and dryer arrived this afternoon... we bought the last years' model of the LG Steam. And yes, my king sized comforter fit! I'm kind of wishing we'd bought the pedastals... Bruce thinks he can build something so hopefully I can convince him to get busy on that sooner rather than later.

I had a great time visiting and laughing and playing with the Cal-Gals last night. We always seem to have a good time together.

This is one of the cards I created last night... I saw the colour combination while blog surfing and discovered it was the current Splitcoast Colour Challenge (CC223). I knew I had to try it. I paired it with Mojo91.

Items Used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up Basic Black, Whisper White, Ruby Red, Baja Breeze
*Images: Stampin' Up Baroque Motifs; Lizzie Anne Say It In Script
*Ink: VersaFine Black; Stampin' Up Ruby Red; Copic Markers
*Tools: Big Shot; Nestabilities; Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder
*Embellishments: black grosgrain ribbon; Michael's Bride flower (coloured with a Copic); Kaiser Pearls

I am really pleased with how this card turned out....

*Colour Challenge Gone Wrong*

Happy Saturday everyone.

I'm guessing my card yesterday was particularly awful... only one comment LOL! No worries... I did warn you in advance that it wasn't one of my favourites! A big thanks to Rhonda for lying through her teeth!!

Unfortunately, you don't get rewarded with a beautiful card today either.

I saw so many beautiful cards using the SCS Colour Challenge #127 that I had to go and play... and honestly, while this one isn't bad, it certainly isn't beautiful. I went back to the drawing board after I did this one and made one I like at least a little more.

Items Used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Blue Bayou, Sahara Sand and Chocolate Chip
*Ink: Stampin' Up! Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip and Sahara Sand
*Images: Stampin' Up! In The Spotlight and Fundamental Phrases
*Tools: Marvy Mega and Giga Scallop Circle Punches, Stampin' Up! Word Window Punch and 5-Petal Flower Punch
*Embellishments: bling, Sakura Stardust gel pen (on flower), Sakura Glaze pen in clear

*More Pencil Crayon Fun*

I am so sorry to have been missing in action all weekend. Friday night at the fireworks my nose got all stuffed up and my throat got sore... thought it was allergies cuz there was all this algae on the lake we were sitting near. That night I ended up with a fever and chills and woke up at 6am with every part of my body aching. I didn't take it as easy as I should have on Saturday. I woke up on Sunday and could barely keep my head up... so I spent all day Sunday on the couch with the remote control. Fun day.

Today I am happy to report that while my sinuses are still full and my voice is now a few octaves lower, I am feeling quite a bit better. I don't feel foggy like I did yesterday. My joints aren't aching anymore. Still a bit of a headache but I think it's cuz my sinuses are full.

My plan for today is to take it kind of easy. I got a package in the mail today that contained my brand new 12" Large Base Guillotine Paper Cutter from Tonic. I can't wait to play with it. For those that know me, you know I have a thing for paper cutters... this is tabletop paper cutter #4. Sigh, I have a problem LOL!

The card today I made because I wanted to do more colouring with my coloured pencils. I truly love how the images look after I've coloured them... just hate that it's so time consuming! But I guess it's worth it.

I am a little disappointed with how this turned out... the shading in the corners just didn't turn out the way I had hoped it would.... play and learn I suppose.

The layout is from Pagemaps (April 2005) and the colour combination is from Splitcoast Stampers (Colour Challenge #121)

Items Used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Pretty in Pink; Classic Crest white
*Ink: Stewart Superior Document Stamping Ink in Black; Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip
*Images: Michael's $1.50 wood mounted stamp, Stampin' Up! Fundamental Phrases
*Tools: Prismacolor Professional Quality Coloured Pencils, odourless paint thinner, blending stump

*Hey Little Froggie*

Less than three weeks before school starts for my kids. Hard to believe how fast the summer goes by. I remember being a kid and getting bored in the summer because summer vacation was way too long. But now I find summer vacation is gone in the wink of an eye. So not fair.

I took the kids to do a little back to school shopping yesterday. We didn't need much, but I'd much rather do it three weeks before school starts than the last week of vacation when you have to battle every other family doing the same thing.

The little one needed a pair of pants and two pairs of shoes. The older one already has a list of school supplies he needs (the school provides them for the little one), and he needed jeans and shoes. I nearly fell over... I went to Sport Chek, had someone measure his foot and they've put my 12 year old son into size 9 shoes!! He is no longer able to wear kids jeans either... the 16s fit him in the waist and length but they just didn't look right across the front.... so he's in a 28X30 men's jean now.

Sniff sniff sniff.

How on earth has he gotten to be 12 years old, 5'3" (+) with a deepening voice and a little facial hair?! Where is my little boy??

On to the card for today....

As promised a few days ago, here is my first card done with my Professional Quality Primsacolor Pencil Crayons, odourless paint thinner and a blending stump.

To start with, I stamped a punch of petals from Pick a Petal and a few frogs from Unfrogettable and I just started playing with the coloured pencils. I decided after playing for a few hours that it was time to make something out of these things. I couldn't use any of the petals as each was a different colour with a different shading pattern. It would be one confused flower!

So a frog card it was.

Colouring was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. I followed the directions I found on the Sanford Website. I simply stamped with my Document Black ink (by Stewart Superior). I then ran a line of colour along the inside line of the frog's outline and then started to blend with the odourless paint thinner and the blending stump. Once it was all blended, I added another line of colour in the same spot and blended again using a circular motion with my stump. I kept doing this until I had filled the area.... leaving it darker on the edges and lighter on the inside.

It takes time but it sure is pretty!

This card uses a layout from Pagemaps (April 2005) and the Splitcoast Stampers Colour Challenge #126

Items Used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Close to Cocoa, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Whisper White; Classic Crest White (for colouring on)
*Ink: Stewart Superior Document Black; Stampin' Up! Close to Cocoa Classic and Whisper White Craft
*Images: Stampin Up! Unfrogettable, So Many Sayings and In The Spotlight; Paper Trey Ink Circle Borders and Corners
*Tools: Prismacolor Professional Quality coloured pencils, odourless paint thinner, blending stump, Marvy Giga Scallop Circle Punch

*Another Barb Bingo Card*

I gotta tell you, it's darn chilly here in Calgary today. While we were on vacation, Calgary had the hottest month of July since sometime in the 1940s. And now, it's chilly! I have slippers and a sweater on today! I could probably get away with wearing pants but I refuse! Capris and a t-shirt until I have to put on the cold weather-wear!

All this cool weather sure makes me think that fall is closer than it is! It's only the 13th of August and I feel like summer vacation is pretty much over.

In some ways, I guess it is.... only three weeks until school starts. Two weeks from today Alex has an orientation at his new school. I guess that means I need to buy school supplies soon.

It goes too fast!

The card today is using a layout Barb posted for her Bingo game. I'm not sure why I play these online Bingo games... I have a whopping two numbers marked off from the fifteen she's called already. Yup, so not winning this round LOL!

This card also uses the colours for the Colour Challenge #126 over at Splitcoast Stampers.

Items Used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Soft Sky, Cameo Coral, Blue Bayou
*Ink: Stampin' Up! Basic Black, Soft Sky, Whisper White Craft
*Images: Stampin' Up! All Holidays and Baroque Motifs
*Tools: Marvy Giga Scallop Square Punch

*Chocolate Chip?*

I've started trying to get the house a little more organized. We don't live in a pig sty.... pretty far from it, but my husband thinks that it is difficult to clean up when he doesn't know where things go. So, since I am apparently the queen of organization, I will be working on getting rooms organized, purging the junk, and getting this place in to order. Somehow. Not that I want to, but I suppose it's a good idea.

On Sunday night I tackled the toy area in the basement (which is adjacent to my craft area). I purged 2 green garbage bags of broken toys and junk. Amazing what the kids put back on the shelves. Monday morning I did Matthew's room (Alex's room doesn't really need it). And then I started on my craft room.

Why my craft room so early on? Well, I figured that I should have some place to retreat to while the rest of the house is in chaos while I organize. I purged a litted, re-arranged some shelves, took a shelf that was empty from the storage area.

And then I sat down and crafted! tee hee

This is another old Colour Challenge on Splitcoast. The colours are Chocolate Chip (even though it looks black), Sage Shadow and Almost Amethyst. I stamped a piece of Whisper White using Simply Said using the sage and amethyst and then I ran it through my Cuttlebug with the D'vine Swirls embossing folder. I layered it on to amethyst and then on chocolate and then on to the card. I punched holes in the card to feed through some chocolate grosgrain ribbon and stamped my sentiment along the bottom in chocolate ink.

This card was kinda out there for me as I think I've used only one sheet of Chocolate Chip cardstock in my Stampin' Up! lifetime (which is coming up on 3 years)! I just don't think of myself as a brown type of person.

These colour challenges can be fun.... but they're also tough sometimes... it's hard to figure out how to use colours you have never thought to put together! But, it's helping me be creative so I'll go with it!

*Another Colour Challenge*

I decided to play a little more with the Splitcoast Colour Challenges on Saturday night. I don't like the way this card turned out nearly as much as the one I posted on Saturday. But again, I am pleased that I was able to think outside my box and just "go".

I started with the colours on this one... Vintage Violet, Cool Caribbean and Rose Red. The only reason I have it laid out this way is that I had a Vintage Violet half sheet and scraps of Cool Caribbean and Rose Red. I figured I should use my scraps instead of cutting in to full sheet.

The Cool Caribbean and Rose Red are the same size. I ran the Caribbean through the Cuttlebug with the D'vine Swirls embossing folder. I stamped the Rose Red with a circle background stamp in white craft ink and then the saying on top in black classic ink I punched two of the corners with the small corner rounder and added some Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware and a piece of stitched grosgrain ribbon. I thought it added some interest to use the two same sized pieces but to turn one the different way from the other.

This is another colour combination I don't think I would have put together on my own....but now I look forward to trying something different with it!

*Challenged*

The house is finally a little more empty. My father in law decided that he was well enough to return home today. Tonight the house was quiet, more or less. Alex and Bruce were off skiing and Matthew was fully engrossed in a Star Wars Movie. I felt like crafting but didn't know where I should begin.

I decided that I should try some of the Colour Challenges on Splitcoast Stampers. I printed off all of the challenges and started skimming through them until something caught my eye.

This colour combination worked because I knew I had ribbon that would go with it. This is ribbon I bought at Scrapbookers Paradise a while back and have never used. The colours are Certainly Celery, Regal Rose and Bashful Blue.

I used my Cuttlebug and the Happy Birthday embossing Folder on the Regal Rose cardstock, placing it so that I had the text I wanted embossed on my smaller piece of cardstock. I took a piece of paper towel and some white craft ink and swiped it across the embossed piece to highlight the raised areas.

I stamped the word 'celebrate' (Everyday Flexible Phrases) on to another piece of Regal Rose and cut it out with my 1 1/4" circle punch. I put the card together and finished it off with the ribbon.

This card was difficult for me as I had no preconceived idea in my head. I just started with the colour combination, thought of the ribbon, and then saw a scrap of Regal Rose that had been embossed with my Cuttlebug and .... I'm proud of myself for coming up with an idea that didn't come from someone else's creation, which happens a lot for me. Felt good to be creative.

I also really like this colour combination... very spring-like if you ask me!

I figured out that I can "watermark" my images using the software that came with our digital camera so I'll be adding that to all of my creations from here on in. If I was adventurous I'd do it to all of the creations I have posted on the web, but honestly, that just sounds like too much work!

*Cuttlebuggin'!*

Yup, I was Cuttlebuggin' again today! Two days, two cards!! I had hoped to get more done last night/today but well.... last night I spent an hour colouring an Outlines Rubberstamp image with the dark colours of Sakura Stardust Pens and I hated it. Today, I kept procrastinating and didn't make it down to stamp until after 4pm. But, it's just Matthew and I tonight so I think I can set him up with a movie and I might be able to head back downstairs (Alex and Bruce are skiing at C.O.P. again tonight).

I did this card using both the Colour Challenge and the Design Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers. I've not done any of the Colour Challenges before, but have played around with many of the layouts from the Design Challenges. What a great resource for stampers to get some new ideas! Not only is the information about the challenge on Splitcoast, but you'll also be able to find samples in the Splitcoast Gallery!


So, this card uses Cool Caribbean, Basic Black and Whisper White. The card base is black. The large Cool Caribbean Layer was put through my Cuttlebug with the Happy Birthday embossing folder. I used a roll of double sided tape to create my large half circles in Basic Black and Cool Caribbean. The Cool Caribbean circle is embossed with the D'vine Swirl embossing folder.

I then cut a piece of Whisper White cardstock to 2 1/4" square and stamped "it's your day" from All Year Cheer (Stampin' Up!) in Basic Black ink. I then used my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig (a stamp positioner) to use just portions or a swirl stamp I recently bought (it's a Hero Arts stamp) in Cool Caribbean. I covered the entire white piece with Versamark ink and then embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder (SU!). I punched a hole through the white and through a piece of ribbon that I got at Michaels and attached the ribbon with a silver brad. I layered the white onto a 2 1/2" square piece of Basic Black.

I stamped celebrate (Everyday Flexible Phrases stamp set, SU!) in Basic Black on Cool Caribbean and punched it with the 1 1/4" circle punch so that the word was near the bottom of the circle. I used the 1 3/8" punch in black and layered them together and attached them behind the square piece before adhering it all to the card front.

The colours are a little dark as we've changed the light bulbs in the chandelier over our dining room table which is where I've been taking photos of my dimensional cards.... I don't think the glitter nor the dry embossing would show up quite so well in a scan.

I took my inspiration for this card from the card seen on Cathy's Blog (thanks for the inspiration!!)