Challenges

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Young Crafters Unite Challenge #4

Hello, blog friends! 
It’s time for a brand new Young Crafters Unite challenge!This month, our theme is DIE CUTTING! If you’ve followed my blog, you know that I am in love with my Big Shot and dies. I bought my machine a year or two back and now cannot imagine life without it! 
When I heard the theme of this challenge, I honestly had a hard time deciding how I wanted to use a die cut. I finally decided to just use it as my focal point- after all, that’s my favorite way to use them! 
 
With the super chilly mornings, I’ve just been in this Christmas/ Winter mode. I decided I should tackle some of my Christmas cards, so I thought this challenge was a great time to complete one. :) 
I just LOVE this Winter Evergreen Tree. It’s SO versatile! Lately I’ve been using it and then adding lots of sprigs to it- pretty neat, right? If you want to see the stamps I used, be sure to scroll down and take a look at the supply list.
The other YCU DT girls have some fabulous cards to share with you- be sure to check them out! 
Oh, and I can’t forget to mention there’s a fabulous prize up for grabs. Simon Says Stamp has graciously offered up a $25 gift certificate to the winner of this challenge! Imagine all the goodies you could pick up with that!

Ready to play along in this challenge? Head on over to the Young Crafters Unite site to upload your card and/or get all the details! 
Thanks for stopping by- until next time……  

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CAS-ual Fridays #26

Hello! 
I’m so excited- I actually was able to get crafty recently. I was feeling slightly stressed out, so I went to one of my go-to stress relievers: stamping! Somehow, even though I work with stamps all day long, playing with stamps still makes me happy at the end of the day. :) 
With so many fabulous challenges out there in blog land, it’s always a tough decision on choosing which ones to play along with. One of the first ones I always check out is the CAS-ual Fridays challenge. Partly because they are always great themes, but the other has to do with the fact that THREE of my DeNami DT girls are DT members there as well. 
Here’s the challenge for this week:
 
While I was creating this card, I had to constantly remind myself to keep it CAS (clean and simple). Generally my cards have lots of layers, so this is always a tough task for me. However, I think I did a pretty good job this time around!  
 That’s all for me today. Thanks for stopping by- I hope you were inspired!

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Young Crafters Unite Challenge #3

Hello, blog friends!
I hope you all are ready for a new challenge- we have a brand new one starting for the Young Crafters Unite Challenge #3! It has been so much fun seeing many of you participate in these challenges. Whether you are a young crafter, or young at heart, we welcome ALL to join us! 
For my card today, I pulled out some of my WPlus9 Design Studio stamps. I used the Guiding Light, Guiding Light Sentiments and Woodgrain Silhouettes sets for this masculine card. I usually can’t whip up a guy card, but with these stamps, it was pretty easy! 
 
Are you ready to tackle this challenge? I hope so! However, if you’re in need of some more inspiration? The YCU DT has some fabulous masculine cards to share with you- be sure to check them out! 
Oh, and I can’t forget to mention there’s a fabulous prize up for grabs. Simon Says Stamp has graciously offered up a $25 gift certificate to the winner of this challenge! Imagine all the goodies you could pick up with that!

Ready to play along in this challenge? Head on over to the Young Crafters Unite site to upload your card and/or get all the details! 
Thanks for stopping by- until next time…… 

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Young Crafters Unite Challenge #2

Hello there!
Well, my dear friends, it’s time for the Young Crafters Unite challenge #2! I was so excited about this theme- pairing up a card with a matching envelope= SUPER fun!
With September here, I thought I’d pull out the Small Apple stamp again. I just can’t get enough of this one! It’s so perfect for all sorts of cards and projects!
Since my card is pretty busy, I decided to stick with a fairly basic envelope design. Also, since the postal service can be brutal at times, I didn’t want to do anything that might get mangled in transit.
Just in case you want to see the card a little bit closer, here’s a picture: 
In need of some more inspiration? The YCU DT has some GREAT cards/ envelopes to share with you- be sure to check them out! 
Oh, and I can’t forget to mention there’s a fabulous prize up for grabs. Simon Says Stamp has graciously offered up a $25 gift certificate to the winner of this challenge! Imagine all the goodies you could pick up with that!

Ready to play along in this challenge? Head on over to the Young Crafters Unite site to upload your card and/or get all the details!

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Young Crafters Unite Challenge #1

Hello, blog friends!
It’s finally that time……we are kicking off the very first Young Crafters Unite challenge! The DT has created some amazing cards- be sure to scroll below for their blog links.
 
I was going back and forth on which stamp to use as my focal point, and finally decided on the super fun Surfboard Trio by DeNami Design. With the warm weather we’ve been having, it’s been putting me in “beach mode”. :)
When I think of Summer, I always think of bright colors. I went with that thought and colored the surfboards lots of vibrant hues. The hardest part? Deciding which colors to use!
Okay, now that you’ve seen my card, I know you’ll want to check out the DT cards as well. Here are their links:
If their cards aren’t enough push to have you try out this challenge, there’s a PRIZE up for grabs as well! The fabulous Simon Says Stamp has graciously offered up a $25 gift certificate!
Ready to play along in this challenge? Head on over to the Young Crafters Unite site to upload your card and/or get all the details! 
I can’t wait to see what you all create!

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Embellish Patterned Paper Challenge

Hello! 
I hope you all had a great weekend. It’s been really low key for me, which was a very welcome change to how busy I’ve been lately. I love spending time with friends and family, but there are also days when I just need to have nothing planned. Does anyone else need these moments? 
Since I did have some down time, I had time to make lots of cards. Here is one that I made (for the current Embellish Magazine challenge)….
As most of you know, I like to stamp my own patterned papers. It may be polka dots, argyle, damask, etc…. pretty much any stamp can be used to create your own papers. However, I must say, there ARE times when it’s nice to go the “easy” route and use printed papers. With the recent influx of cute ones recently, I’ve been known to pick up a few paper pads here and there. I’m so glad that the challenge today helped me actually USE some of them! :)
 Well, that’s all for today. I’ll talk with you all later!
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CAS-ual Fridays 13

Hi-ya, blog friends-
I have a card to share for the newest CAS-ual Fridays challenge. It’s hard to believe that it’s already at the 13th challenge!  This time around, the theme was to create a long card (measuring 4 x 9). I rarely ever create long cards, so this was a nice change. 
Since it IS CAS-ual Fridays, I kept it super duper simple. I think this card took about 7 minutes to make. The hardest part? Deciding which color to make the flowers! :)
Well, that’s all I have for today. I’ll be back soon; I have lots of other cards to share with you all. Oh, and don’t think I’ve forgotten about my giveaway. Since I was gone at CHA, I’ve been a little behind. I’ll hopefully have it in a few weeks! 
Have a great night! 
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Lawnscaping Challenge 14

Hi-ya, blog friends! 
I’m back here in sunny Washington. I cannot even begin to tell you how happy I am to be home. Chicago and I just didn’t get along very well. In between feeling dizzy and having bouts of nausea, I also couldn’t get used to the muggy weather! Yuck, yuck, yuck! 
 
For today, I have a card that was based off of the current Lawnscaping Challenge #14: stamp a scene. I had such a fun time creating this card- the colors and the mix of DeNami and Lawn Fawn just makes me so happy!
Did you happen to notice the glittery rainbow? LOVE!  If you’ve been eying this stamp, I actually have a sweet little deal for you. Here’s a coupon code good for 10% off your whole order on the DeNami Design website!
Well, that’s all for today. Thanks so much for stopping by!  
 
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Just A Note

Hello from {muggy} Chicago! 
I arrived a few hours ago for the big CHA SuperShow this weekend. If you missed the news, DeNami Design has a booth there, and I’ll be working in it! You can find us at Booth #2222. Hundreds of card ideas, all of the new stamps along with many of you old favorites, Make N Takes and of course, demos by Nami!  Hope to see you there….
Okay, now onto today’s card. I recently stumbled across a newer company, The Craft’s Meow. I had to pick up two of their sets- they were just calling my Copics! For this card I pulled out the set called “Happiness Is…” and created a card based off of the July challenge.
I had the hardest time trying to come up with a way to add a sentiment. After trying many different options, I finally decided to bring out some of my neglected vellum. Voila! I love the way it turned out. You can still see the pretty rose AND it adds a bit more elegance to the card. 
 
Thanks for stopping by today. Sending you all hugs…..
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CAS-ual Fridays 10

Hi there!
I wanted to pop in really quickly with a card I made for the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #10. The theme this week was shaped cards, which was definitely a challenge for me. I decided to go with a cloud shape since it seemed to fit the stamps I wanted to use. :)
I used a Cricut cartridge for the white cloud shape, then just created my own “frame” with the blue cardstock. Such a fun thing to do when you want to change up your cards!
Thank you so much for stopping by today! I’ll see you on Sunday for my Lovely Layers Blog Hop card!