Kimono Kids

Here's a little sneak peek of the card I made for this week's Diva Sketch Challenge. As soon as I saw the sketch, I thought of a card I had made this summer, and I knew that it would adapt perfectly to the sketch. When I was the Stampin' Up Convention in July, I attended an event hosted by Barbara Jackson. It was called "Over the Top" Swap, and it was amazing! Not only did we swap fifty gorgeous, full cards, we also had a fabulous dessert and Barbara planned amazing make and take projects for us. I can't wait to go to another one of her events! Anyway, here is the Sketch for the week.


I rotated the sketch so that the four squares were on the top of the card, and here is what they became.



Four little lanterns dancing above the kimono kids! It was love at first sight with this stamp set, and once I used it at Barbara's event, I had to order it. The color combination I chose was right from the new color coach. It is So Saffron, Baja Breeze, and Riding Hood Red.

Here's the full recipe.
Stamps: Kimono Kids
Papers: Whisper White, Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Finial Press Embossing folder, stampin' dimensionals, Basic Black 1/8" taffeta ribbon, markers

To fray the ribbon at the bottom of the lanterns, I just snipped along the edge of the white trim and then pulled the loose threads out. And here's the surprise, it's an easel card! I cased this idea completely from Barbara Jackson's make and take card. The little fans help prop the card open. And I know just which friend this card is going to!



From here you can hop right over to Becky's blog to see what she came up with for this week's sketch.

Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,
Barbara

Christmas Collage

It's time for another Utah Diva's weekly sketch challenge. I love the way my thinking and ideas are stretched when I have to work with a sketch. But first, here's a little sneak peek at the card!



I never would have come up with this card on my own! Here's Sketch 97 for August 21.



I've modified the sketch slightly, changing the center rectangle into a tag. I am working on card for a Holiday Mini Catalog swap, and I used this tag on those cards. I really loved how it came out, so I decided I would use it on this sketch challenge as well. My apologies for taking liberties with the sketch, Carol!



The tag was stamped using the beautiful Christmas Collage background stamp. You can only see a portion of it here. It is a full background stamp, and it is just gorgeous! It will be available to purchase starting on September 1. (Holiday mini catalog, page 20, #121279, $17.95) It is my favorite item in the Holiday mini catalog! Here's the recipe:

Paper: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Naturals Ivory, Deck the Halls DSP
Stamps: Christmas Collage
Inks: Early Espresso, Always Artichoke (re-inker & blender pen) and Cherry Cobbler marker
Accessories: Two Tags Bigz die, 2 3/8" scallop circle, jumbo brads, crop-o-dile, 5/8" Early Espresso satin ribbon, hemp twine

Here's a detail of the tag. I first cut out the tags with my Big Shot and the Bigz die. I inked only a portion of the background stamp that I wanted to feature, then carefully placed the cut tag on top of the inked area.



I think I'm in love (sigh) with the Deck the Halls paper!

Now on to Becky's blog to see what she came up with this week. If at any time you run into a dead end on the blog hop, you can head over the the Diva's blog and see who is next in line. Look under Carol's Sketchy Saturday Team. Have a wonderful weekend, and thanks for stopping by! As always, a special thanks to those of you who take the time to leave a comment. I really appreciate it!

Blessings,
Barbara

Because I Care

Here it is, Saturday, and time for another weekly UDI sketch challenge. This is challenge #96. Kudos to Carol, our sketch team leader, for all of her hard work! Here is the challenge sketch for the week.



This week I used a Level One hostess set from the 2010-2011 catalog. Stampin' Up! gave all of their demonstrators this set when we placed our catalog pre-orders in June. It was a thank you gift to us for our patience during the color renovation. (SU! is really good to us!) Anyway, this is the first time I have used this stamp set, and I just love it. I have four huge hydrangea bushes in my yard, and when they are blooming, I always have a bouquet of hydrangeas in the kitchen. This card is almost identical to the coloring of my bushes.



Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Because I Care
Paper: Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White
Ink: Bashful Blue
Markers: Not Quite Navy, Old Olive, Certainly Celery

I used the thumping technique I saw demonstrated at convention to add the dark accents to the hydrangea blossom, and the leaves were done with marker as well. The background of the card is the "smooshing" technique I mentioned in a previous post. Here is a detail of the hydrangea.



Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! And a special thanks to those of you who take the time to leave a comment. It is always such an encouragement to me. Now you should head over to Becky's blog to see what she came up with this week.

Blessings,
Barbara

Whoo's There?

Hi there! Happy Saturday! You probably arrived here from Alisa's blog since it's time for our weekly sketch challenge blog hop. If any of the links are missing, you can go on over to the Diva blog to see the entire list.

This week's sketch was fun to play with. I had several ideas I was kicking around until I finally settled on one. Here is the sketch.



I decided that I would make a full card, with the diagonal elements on the card front, and the square on the right side of the image would be a flap that wrapped around from the back. I cut a 3"x 6" rectangle, scored it at 3" and folded it in half. I attached it to the back of card with lots of adhesive. Here's the card.



I think I will add some kind of a closure to the card since the square element will not stay flat, but I'll go back and do that later. Here's the recipe.

Stamps: Woodgrain background, On Your Birthday
Inks: Early Espresso, Bashful Blue
Punches: 1 3/4" Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" Circle, Two-Step Owl, Two-Step Bird
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Garden Green, Pretty in Pink, Greenhouse Gala DSP, Whisper White

Here's a look at the inside of the card, which shows an excellent example of why you should always use your Stamp-a-ma-jig for the greeting of your card! (I think it is quite obvious that I didn't! That's what happens when you are in a hurry.)



I had always wanted to try to make clouds, and it was fun and easy! I made a template of several scallop circles that I had glued together and then sponged bashful blue over the edges. I discovered that it is a little easier to start at the top of the paper and work to the bottom, although you can just as easily start at the bottom and work to the top.

Well, it's time to head over to Becky's blog and see what she came up with. You're going to love it!

Enjoy your weekend!
Blessings,
Barbara

Top sellers at Stampin' Up!

Over the next couple of weeks, I thought I'd share some of my convention memories and photos of cards I swapped or received. I was in a Christmas card swap and an "Over the Top" swap, and some of those cards were amazing! Any way, one of the presenters shared some interesting facts with us. These are the ones I remember.

1. The hottest new color is our Cherry Cobbler. (paper #119685, $6.95, ink pad #119669, $5.95)
2. The most ordered ribbon in July was the Pear Pizzazz 1/2" stitched-Poly Ribbon. (#119262, $8.95)
3. The number one selling Bigz die is our exclusive Top Note. (#113463, $21.95)
4. The number one selling Embosslit is Beautiful Wings. (#118138, $11.95)

And this photo will give you an idea of what it is like to share four days with 2700 other demonstrators who have the same passion for Stampin' Up! and paper crafting. We have just left main stage and are headed off to lunch.