We Grow Great.....and dirty!!

Well, one of the challenges for the Dare to get Dirty week was from my fellow Little Paper Shop designer, Laura!!

So I absolutely had to rise to the challenge which was to:

"I challenge you to rip and tear, distress your paper and make it down right dirty!"

Well, I think I succeeded in that - although I am wondering if my card just looks dirty! instead of distressed and dirty LOL!!

I used black soot distress inkpad by Ranger for my stamping and sponging.

I took out my frustrations by distressing all the papers used in this card, with my Heidi Swapp distressing tool!

The image is from Cornish Heritage Farms Kim Hughes line Nature's Silhouettes. I stamped it off a couple of times and also restamped with SU! white craft ink.

Then I stamped the CHF Spanish Script backgrounder overtop lightly in Papertrey Ink Sweet Blush.

Cardstock base is Memory Box licorice, pink is Papertrey Ink's Sweet Blush cardstock and the tag is one I had just laying around!!

The sentiment is from CHF Motivational Centers - I love using those stamps - it makes me feel good all over!!!

I added a Prima flower tied with a couple of ribbons and added it to the tag.

For a final touch I added some Stamping Bella pink baubles to the stamped image - FUN!!

This card also fits the sewing challenge by Julia and the silhouette challenge from Joan - YAY!!

Blingy Cupcakes!!

I've had this Lockhart stamp for quite awhile and just never got around to any of Taylor's Challenges!

There are only so many challenges you can make cards for.......and right now I am doing the Dare to Get Dirty challenges over on Splitcoast Stampers!!

It is so cool and they really throw a ton of challenges at you at once....but so FUN to do!! You can see all the cards from the challenges here, and if you are a fan club member you can join in the fun!!

This cards is for a sketch challenge and a cupcake challenge today that I have combined.

I used Memory Box Sugar paper and Prism cardstock for the card base.

The stamped image is from Lockhart stamps and I bought it specifically to do Taylor's Friday cupcake challenges! only I have never used it!! Silly me!

I coloured the image with copics and then stamped and coloured the icing again and cut it out and popped it up onto the coloured image with dimensionals! I love to pop it UP!!

I added some BIG bling to the top of the cupcake, and the ribbon is May Arts which I tied in a bow!

I added a Prima flower with a bit more bling attached and DONE!! YAY!

The Papertrey Blog Hop was SO fun last night!!

If you have never participated, and you have Papertrey Ink stamps, you should try it!! It is a blast!!

Follow Your Heart.....

I wanted to make a simple card for Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply Dirty Girl Challenge, (fan club members only) - I know this is kind of a pain if you are not a fan club member of Splitcoast Stampers, I used to get peeved about it, then I joined!! and now I wonder what took me so long!!

Back to the card: In Sharon's words, this is all you need to Stamp Simply

"-Start with a simple layout/design and a beautiful image
-Use some favorite paper (either DP or cardstock)
-Add your stamped image and a sentiment if you wish
-Finish it off with a beautiful ribbon or other embellishment
-Simple, beautiful, done!!!"

I think I have accomplished these things in this card.......

My layout is simple - never mind that it took me an hour to figure it out

I used the paper that lately I seem to be using a lot of - green!! or in this case Kiwi!!

I only have one stamped image, and that is the background, which is Flourishes damask which I stamped in Brilliance Black.

The images on the white panel are both rub-ons!! Aren't they gorgeous!

How lame am I that I JUST discovered that I own some Stamping Up's rub-ons??!! Someone must have hidden them from me and I now just found them, kind of not buried, kind of in front of me.....ya--- so what?! LOL!!

I have finished the card off by adding vellum over top of the stamped background and then a little bit of organdy/organza ribbon - both swiss dot and plain. I don't know which one is the proper name ---all I know is that together, they are bee-yoo-ti-ful!!

So I followed the instruction to a tee and ended up at

"Simple, Beautiful and Done!!"

Thanks for looking!!

Another Challenge!

This week will be all about the Dirty Girl Challenges over on Splitcoast Stampers!

Yesterday's challenge from Jenn Balcer was an inspiration challenge.

This is my take on it. It was a gorgeous cake decorated with black and white icing and a beautiful brilliant green bow!

I LOVE those colours!

I used Memory Box licorice as my card base and layered it with kiwi Bazill cardstock, and then a sheet of paper from the MM notebook 5th Avenue.

I added a rub-on flower from a Stamping Up rub-on sheet and an organdy swiss dot black ribbon.

I ripped another piece of Memory Box licorice cardstock and stamped Birthday Wishes from the Kim Hughes Silhouette line stamps.

I roughed up the edges and sponged them a bit and then added some bling.

To the flower I added some Ranger clear essentials - see the close-up, and YOO HOO!! it was done......I meant to say yoo hoo btw!!

Dare To Get Dirty...several of them....!

I have combined several challenges into this one card for some of the Dare to Get Dirty '08 challenges!!

I wanted to do a masculine card for Michelle's challenge, because I had the Old Truck from Little Paper Shop and that would be perfect for a masculine card. RIGHT!?

So then I thought, why don't I watercolour it so then I could combine the two challenges, in which Christine's challenge was watercolouring??

When I was trying to figure out which colours to use I thought of Lauren's challenge today which was a monochromatic scheme - varying shades of the same colour! Brilliant........ I'll throw that in too!

Of course, how do I lay it out?? Well. Perfect! Today is the sketch challenge!!

How thmart am I??! LOL! Never mind that it took me all day.....

The cardstock is Prism cardstock and the designer paper is Basic Grey Periphery.

I stamped the Cornish Heritage Farms houndtooth backgrounder on one of the strips in Ranger distress ink - Old Photo to be exact. While I had it out, I sponged all around the edges with Old Photo ink.

I don't know what paper the star paper is - but it is bee-yoo-ti-ful!! The stars are raised and embossed and gor-gi-o-so!!

I added some Basic Grey Periphery buttons to the upper corner and some Gina K MANLY brads down the skinny strip of Basic Grey Periphery!

And, why else would you send a man a card - for his birthday of course!! Sentiment is from Little Paper Shop also!

If any men are reading this........I'm sure there are lots of other reasons to send you a card.....I was just joking--K?

Texasjodylynn's Dare to get Dirty Challenge was to find some GREAT ribbon and be inspired by said ribbon!

Well, who said Hallowe'en was too far away?

I have already seen Christmas cards so surely I can put together a Hallowe'en card!!

I used Memory Box paper from Ellen Hutson and my Inkadinkadoo stamp.


The ribbon I chose is from the Paper Pickle and I have wined before about that luscious ribbon that just sits at the counter - jars and JARS of it!!! and of course I grabbed this thinking it would be great for - uh huh!! Hallowe'en cards!!


Thanks for looking!! On to the next challenge!!!

Easy Peasy White Challenge

JulieHRR's Tuesday Challenge was to make a card with LOTS of white space!!

Well that is a little challenging for me - but I went for it and actually it was super duper easy and so very quick!!

First I embossed the lower half of my white cardstock panel with the Cuttlebug stylized flowers folder.

Then I took my rectangle nestabilities frame and just embossed the upper part with it.

I stamped the sentiment from Papertrey Ink's Birds of a Feather "With Sympathy" inside the rectangle.

I tied some Papertrey Ink Plum Pudding swiss dot satin ribbon around and matted it on the Plum Pudding cardstock base.

How simple is that!!??