This week’s color challenge was out of my comfort zone. Really when I first saw the colors I thought “ick, maybe I should skip this week”. Well I could not bring myself to skipping out on my responsibilities when I was around and could actually do them. Well here are the colors.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Diva Coffee Break Design Challenge #236
This week’s color challenge was out of my comfort zone. Really when I first saw the colors I thought “ick, maybe I should skip this week”. Well I could not bring myself to skipping out on my responsibilities when I was around and could actually do them. Well here are the colors.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Finally
I finally have something I can show you. I have really been struggling over the last two weeks with my stamping. The first week, I spent every night at my desk trying to create something, but nothing ever materialized in my head. It was pretty depressing. Then I started looking at some blogs for ideas and thought I came up with something, went to my stamping desk and nothing. But my two little girls went down for a nap early and at the same time, so I had some time this morning and I figured I would try to stamp again, and I created something. I am so excited to have something to share even though I am not completely, entirely happy with it.
Above is the sketch for the Diva Coffee Break Designs challenge for this week. I used my favorite stamp set from the Summer Mini. It was just one of the ones that as soon as I saw it I knew I had to get it no matter what. I love the combination of solid and line art images.
I am not 100% sure on the color combo now that it is done. When I was trying to pull out colors to start with they looked great together, but maybe I used too much of the Daffodil, it just isn't sitting perfect, but I am so happy to have created something decent.
I am off to go try some more stamping while the girls are still asleep!
Stamps: Fabulous Florets
Ink: Black Craft, Old Olive, Rose Red
Paper: Daffodil Delight, Concord Crush, Old Olive, Rose Red, Whisper White, Brights DSP Stack
Accessories: Stampin’ Dimensionals, Basic Black Embossing Powder
Tools: 1 1/4” Square Punch, Heat Tool
Pin It Now!Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Diva Coffee Break Designs Color Challenge #218
This is a fairly simple card, but I just LOVE it. I stamped the three baby outfits in a row on the whisper white cardstock, then I stamped it again on each color, cut them out and glued them to their hangers. The ends of the congratulations tag were made by slipping just the ends of the paper into the Modern Label Punch.
Come on over to the Diva Coffee Break Designs blog to check out what the other designers have come up with. There is quite a variety with this color combo. Then take the colors and play along with us so we can see your creations! Pin It Now!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Diva Coffee Break Designs # 216
I’m back again with another Diva Coffee Break Design color challenge! It is a really pretty color combo today.
I admit I don’t use blushing bride much, ok so hardly ever. I just forget about it. It really is such a pretty shade of pink. Today’s card is so simple but I really like it. It is funny how this one simple card took so long for me to actually make. Do you find it hard to make a clean and simple card?
Hop on over to the Diva Coffee Break Design Blog to check out the rest of the amazing samples!
Have a stamperfic day!
Pin It Now!Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Diva Coffee Break Designs # 215
Ok, so today is Diva Challenge Wednesday and we have a sketch for you.
Please head on over to the Diva Coffee Break Designs blog to check out what the other designers have come up with. Then take the sketch and play along with us so we can see your creations!
Stamps: Baby Blossoms, Sweet Summer
Ink: Rose Red, Pear Pizzazz, Always Artichoke and River Rock
Paper: Very Vanilla, Rose Red, Pear Pizzazz and Baja Breeze
Accessories: Stampin Dimensionals
Tools: 3/4”, 1”, 1 1/4” and 1 3/8” circle punches, Scallop Trim Border punchPin It Now!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Diva Coffee Break Designs #214
I have made a some little Love Notes to stick inside the the lunch boxes of my family on Monday. This was the last in the set. I had the others scheduled but they never went live so I will be posting those over the next few days. This is the card that I made for my oldest. I know that she will just love the sparkly red paper and hope that she will feel special and loved when she opens her lunch box.
Lets see what you can do with this great color combination. Head on over to the Diva Coffee Break Designs blog to check out the other designers' creations and link yours along too!Pin It Now!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
DCBD #213
For this challenge I was able to play with some goodies from the current mini catalog. One of my favorite items in the catalog is the Create a Cupcake stamp set and matching punch. My kids (along with the rest of the country) are really into cupcakes and have been for a few years now, so this one will fit right in for making all sorts of birthday invites and cards.
Don’t forget to check out the other wonderful designs that we have made for you with this sketch over on the Diva Coffee Break Designs blog. Then play along with us and link up your creation so we can admire it! Pin It Now!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
DCBD #212
This is a really simple little card that can easily be duplicated for a class or a workshop but I love it.
I can’t wait to see what you can do with these colors. Head on over to the Diva Coffee Break Design Blog and check out what the other designers have created for some inspiration. Then link up your creation so we can all oooo and aaaahh over it.
Stamps: For You Flower
Ink: (markers) Melon Mambo, Peach Parfait, Old Olive
Paper: Melon Mambo Textured cardstock, Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Peach Parfait, Brights Collection DSP Stack, Hostess Level 1 In Color DSP pack
Accessories: Old Olive Satin Ribbon, Stampin Dimensionals
Tools: Fancy Flower Punch, 1 1/4 inch circle punch, 1 3/8 inch circle punchPin It Now!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
DCBD #211
Welcome back to another Diva Coffeebreak Designs Wednesday. This week was a sketch week. And what a fun sketch it turned out to be.
I am trying to make use of some of my more neglected stamp sets and this is one that has not seen as much ink as it deserves. I have used the bear images more than their sayings.
I stamped the bear first and colored her in with poppy and sahara sand markers. Next I stamped the bear again on a piece of designer series paper and cut out the skirt part of the dress. Then I stamped the image again on a post it note and covered the first image so that I could sponge the clouds in the sky. (Since my post it note template was still sticky and in good shape I stuck it back in the box with the stamps to use again!) I actually used a leftover frame from the scallop oval frame die, since my main oval was the middle part of the frame, to use as my template for the clouds. I sponged in some always artichoke grass and drew a few grass lines with the same marker. The ribbon was whisper white but I colored it with my Poppy Parade marker and because I was in a hurry and couldn't wait too long for it to dry I wiped it with a baby wipe and a paper towel. It did soften/lighten up the color some but I think it still works great.
I hope that you feel inspired by the sketch and can play along with us at the Diva Coffee Break Designs Blog and share your creations with us. Thanks!
Stamps: Beary Best Friends, Beary Nice Wishes
Ink: Poppy Parade, Not Quite Navy, Sahara Sand, and Always Artichoke
Paper: Whisper White, Poppy Parade, Not Quite Navy, Sahara Sand, and Poppy Parade Patterns DSP (Hostess Pack)
Accessories: Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon
Tools: Big Shot, Scallop Oval Frame Die, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Small and Large Oval punches, stampin’ sponge
Pin It Now!Wednesday, January 12, 2011
DCBD #210
Such a great combination, so of my favorites to work with, so many possibilities. That was my problem there were too many possibilities. I sat down to brain storm and sketch some things out and the ideas kept coming. You will probably see this color combo used in a few more posts as soon as I get them completed.
This is the card that I ended going with. I wanted to use the Birthday Bliss stamp set because I just stumbled across it and found it unmounted. I forgot that I had it and I think that I got it last year at Sale A Bration time. So I have had it a while. Opps. So I paired it with my much neglected Fifth Ave Floral set.
We all want to see what you can do with these colors! So hop on over to the Diva Coffee Break Designs Blog and check out what the other Diva Designers have created as your inspiration, create along with us and link your creation for us to check out!
Stamps: Birthday Bliss, Fifth Ave Floral
Ink: Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Sahara Sand
Paper: Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Sahara Sand and Whisper White
Accessories: Stampin Dimensionals, Navy Taffeta Ribbon
Tool: Wide Oval PunchPin It Now!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Diva Coffee Break Designs # 209
It’s a sketch! I know that I have complained many times before about how difficult sketch challenges are for me, but I think that I am getting better at them. I dont seem to have as much difficulty as I used to in transforming a blank sketch into something that I am happy with. I do have to admit I was intimidated when I first saw this sketch. I could not instantly think of how I was going to use these long rectangles. But it all worked itself out in the end and I am happy with the card that turned out.
I had to move my faux brads to the top instead of the bottom because my bow was too big and I did not like how my smaller bows looked. The brads are 3/8 inch circle punches from the mini punch bundle that are coated in crystal effects to make them pop and look a little more like a brad.
I would love to see what you can do with this sketch, so hop on over to the DivaCoffeeBreakDesigns Blog and check out what the other Diva Designers have created and link your creation for us to check out! (Wow talk about your run on sentence!)
Stamps: Friends Never Fade, Thank You Kindly
Ink: Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Pear PIzzazz
Paper: Whisper White, Pear pizzazz and Greenhouse Gala DSP
Accessories: Crystal Effects, Early Espresso
Tools: 3/8 inch circle punch
Pin It Now!Wednesday, December 1, 2010
DCBD #205 It’s a sketch
Wow, it is good to be back. I had a great post all ready to go a few minutes ago but my husband asked me to do something for him, which he could have done for himself, and we had a brief power outage. If I had only just hit publish instead of waiting to proof read it , there would have been a great long post for you. Now it is getting late, it is way past my bedtime and tomorrow is an early day so here is the reader’s digest version.
Life is hard.
I have not had a chance to stamp in more than a month until last night. Thank goodness I had everything ready for the Royal Blog Tour done way in advance. I was able to get the cards and stamp sets mailed out to the winner, Holly in KY and she received them safe and sound!
I decided to start simple while jumping back into stamping and this sketch really helped that. Here is the great Diva Sketch:
There is not all that much stamping on my card, and I was a little disappointed in that part but am happy with the card especially considering that it was my first attempt out of the gate.
And look I didn't even really have to alter the sketch! I love this time of year and am so excited to be able to listen to Christmas songs with out being teased! (I listen to Christmas music year round.)
P.S. Sorry it has been so long since I stamped I dont remeber the names of the punch, stamp set or DSP but they are all out of the Holiday Mini catalog. The colors are Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke and Very Vanilla. I promise next time to have a full recipe for you.
Pin It Now!Wednesday, November 3, 2010
DCBD #201
I am a little late getting this post live but I am finally up and participating in the Diva challenges again. This week the divas have a great sketch for you to work with:
Like always after any stamping break it took me a long time to be able to come up with anything at all that I could do with this sketch. I liked the look of it better turned over and made a fun little Thanksgiving card.
It is a pretty basic card but one that was great for getting my foot back in the stamping door. Maybe tonight I can get some more done, with out falling asleep at my desk again!
Stamps: baroque Motifs, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: River Rock, Tangerine Tango
Paper: Tangerine Tango, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, River Rock
Accessories: Champagne Shimmer Paint (mist), Stampin’ Dimensionals
Tools: Big Shot, Scallop Oval Frame Die, Wide Oval Punch, Word Window Punch, Designer Label Punch
Pin It Now!Wednesday, October 6, 2010
DCBD Sketch Challenge #197
Welcome back to another Wednesday Diva Coffee Break Designs challenge day. Wow the time is just whizzing by. I cannot believe it is already a few days into October. Crazy! There are only like 80 or less days left till Christmas. Ok back to the not so scary stuff, here is this week’s sketch.
I have been having a lot of fun playing with the Make a Monster set. I had to get this set because I was lacking in the boy department and my son and I instantly knew we had to get this set when we saw it in the new catalog. For today’s card I chose to make some silly monsters.
I re-invested in some watercolor paper from Stampin’ Up! the last time I placed an order and I am sure glad that I did. I usually use shimmery white cardstock to watercolor but it just didn’t have the right feel for these little guys. I had forgotten how great the Stampin’ Up! watercolor paper really is and how easy it is to watercolor with it. It is such a great quality, you have to get some yourself to try! I just used my ink pads and an aquapainter for these goofy guys. By the way, my son (almost 7) pulled these colors together and wanted me to make a monster card with them, didn’t he come up with a good one?
Stamps: Make a Monster, Word Play
Ink: Poppy Parade, Not Quite Navy and More Mustard
Paper: Poppy Parade, Not Quite Navy, More Mustard, Water Color Paper, Whisper White
Accessories: Dimensionals
Tools: Aquapainter, Decorative Label Punch
Pin It Now!Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Diva Coffee Break Designs Challenge #196
This week’s challenge is a pretty color combination for you. I think that this weeks color swatch is pretty.
The colors are great, but they just seemed too much with most everything I tried. I don't know what the problem was with my stamping last week when I worked on it but I was not happy. I was going through the 4 samples I created and I just could not bring myself to posting them on here. So what did I do, I took time I should have been folding the laundry and tried again. This time I like what came out.
It is fairly simple but I already have something in mind for it so it came together nicely. I wanted to give my oldest a little something special for being a big helper this week. I made a little set to stick in her lunch box. She has been begging me more more of the silly bandz bracelets. I have only bought the kids a few but thought that she earned them for her help, so I made one of the treat containers and a package fits in there perfectly.
I hope that she will be excited and feel special when she opens her lunch.
Ink: Concord Crush, Pear Pizzazz
Paper: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Regal Rose, Concord Crush, Pear Pizzazz and Brights Designer Series Paper Stack
Accessories: Pear Pizzazz Poly Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones
Tools: Big Shot, Two Tags Die, Perfect Polka Dot Impressions Folder, Treat Box Die, 1 3/4 inch scallop circle punch, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, 1 1/4 inch circle punch, 3/4 inch circle punch, and small circle from the punch pack
Pin It Now!Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Diva Coffee Break Designs #195
Its is another fabulous Wednesday. It is a big day for DH, he is getting what he calls having his “eyes zapped”! Really it is just Lasik surgery but he has been wanting it for years and things all of the sudden fell into place and we had an opportunity we couldn't pass up. So today is the big day!
Last week was a fantastic color challenge so that means that today it is a sketch. Man I really had a hard time with this one. It just felt like there were so many elements to this sketch it really threw me for a loop. This one card took about 4 days in the design process. The colors and the stamps are completely different than what I started with and I even omitted the DSP that I thought I really wanted to use.
Here is the sketch we have to work with:
See it really isn't that bad, the sketch is a nice one but it wanted to give me a difficult time. It is a good thing I was ahead of the game when I was working on this one. Here is what I came up with:
I do have to say that I am very pleased with how my card turned out. I am glad that I kept trying this sketch instead of just completing one of my rejects. Now I just need to get to some of those and see what I can salvage out of them to make into other cards.
Ink: Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Cajun Craze
Paper: Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Cajun Craze and Whisper White
Accessories: Brights Designer Buttons, Stampin Dimensionals
Tools: Big Shot, Square Lattice Impressions Folder, Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch
Pin It Now!Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Diva Coffee Break Designs #194
Welcome back to another great challenge Wednesday. I love the color combo that the Divas’ have in store for you today. I love the Peach Parfait with the Cajun Craze, it is such a yummy combination.
I have been working on an all occasion gift set to give away to a hostess. These cards are square 4 1/4 inch cards, so that they will fit in a traditional a2 envelope with out having to pay for extra postage! I used this combo for the “get better” card.
I used my homemade shimmer mist to help in the creation of the flowers (shimmer paint and rubbing alcohol). It helps me to crumple and shape each punched flower as well as giving the flower a nice shimmer (the camera pick up a few shimmers as the little white dots on the photo). Plus the alcohol dries quickly. This was another great combo that I would have not been able to come up with on my own.
Stamps: Word Play, Vintage Vogue
Ink: Peach Parfait, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake
Paper: Whisper White, Peach Parfait, Cajun Craze, Wild Wasabi and Crumb Cake
Accessories: Champange Shimmer Paint (mixed with alcohol for mist), Dimensionals
Tools: Fancy Flower Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch
Pin It Now!Wednesday, September 8, 2010
DCBD Sketch Challenge #193
I usually struggle a bit with sketches. When I create I usually pick my colors, then the stamp set and see where it takes me. I have a hard time conforming my brain the other way around to work my planning out backwards. But this time I rotated the general orientation of the sketch and “boom” I knew exactly what colors and stamps I wanted to use.
Don’t forget to head over to the Diva Coffee Break Designs Blog to check out the samples that the other divas have made and to play along with us!
Stamps: Word Play, Pretty Petals
Ink: Peach Parfait, Not Quite Navy, Pear Pizzazz
Paper: Peach Parfait, Not Quite Navy, Pear Pizzazz and Whisper White
Accessories: Stampin Dimensionals, Pear Pizzazz Poly Twill Ribbon
Tools: Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Circle Scissors Plus and Glass Cutting Mat
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Diva Coffee Break Design Challenge #192
Welcome back for another Diva Coffee Break Challenge. Can you believe it is September already? I am still wondering where June went. Boy this summer was a challenge but is sure went fast. Today also happens to be my birthday. I always set a few goals for the year on my birthday, I pick a couple areas of things I want to try and improve on. I actually set 8 goals this year and one of them is to be a better blogger both here and on my family blog. Although I would like to be able to post at least on this blog every day Mon-Fri (I take a break from the blog on the weekends to be with my family) I have set a realistic goal to post at least 3 times a week. OK, enough with the boring goal talk, on with this week’s challenge. I really enjoyed this color combination. The only problem was that I wanted to use river rock as the base for my original card sketch and I went to pull some out and I have completely depleted my supply of river rock with out even know it. I went to my scrap folder and only had one scrap left about 1/8 of a sheet of cardstock. I was sure bummed but went a different direction and made do with what I had.
The Just Believe stamp set was one that I knew that I had to get when I looked through the catalog the first time. Then shortly there after I received the monthly demonstrator magazine that Stampin’ Up! sends to us demos free of charge, and fell in love with the card. I changed the colors but still like the card just as much and I was able to use my one piece of River Rock cardstock! I created my own Baja Breeze satin ribbon by dragging the ribbon through my inkpad squishing it down with a sponge dauber. Then I overheard a great tip at convention, a lady was telling her friend to use a baby wipe on the ribbon. I have shied away from dying my own ribbon because even after drying it with the heat tool I would still get some ink transfer from the ribbon. But if you wipe it with the baby wipe and then dry it, something in the wipe prevents the ink transfer, and by George it actually worked!
Thanks for stopping by. Please head on over to the Diva Coffee Break Designs blog to check out some fantastic samples using this color combination challenge, there are quite a few of them!
Pin It Now!Thursday, August 26, 2010
Diva Coffee Break Designs Color Challenge #190
I really like working with the new 2 step Owl Punch from Stampin’ Up! The little owl is just so cute and so easy to personalize. One punch and you get all of the pieces you need.
Last week’s color challenge at the Diva Blog was a really great one. All of the colors come from the new brights collection. I think that Stampin’ Up! really did a great job with the new color families this year. I struggled to use my brights, and would have to force myself to make a card using those colors every once in a while. Now I don't have that problem, and I never thought I would see old olive in the brights collection either.
Here are my cute little love owls. I plan to stash this one away and use it to stick inside my husband’s lunch box.
Pin It Now!