James Taylor meets Mojo Monday

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It is time for you to learn I am a HUGE James Taylor (JT) fan.  My best friend (for the last 34 years) and I have been to about 16 of his concerts.  When we were in high school and college and he would perform back to back concerts we would go both nights. One night with our boyfriends and the second just the girls.  We always enjoyed the concert with just the girls more!

Today I am featuring one of the first stamp sets I ever bought from Stampin' Up! it is called From my Heart and it has this wonderful stamp with the words from the JT song Secret of Life.  This is one of my favorite JT songs and helped get me through four months of bed-rest when expecting my second child.  It holds a very special place in my heart.

 
08-27-2013

I used the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge #308 as my inspiration for the card.  Here is this week's Mojo Monday Sketch:

Mojo308Sketch

 The card is straight forward and can be easily copied.  You may want to know the supplies I used, here is the list:

Paper:  Elegant Eggplant – retired DSP regals collection (the new collection has even better patterns), Perfect Plum and Whisper White card stock, Silver Glitter paper

Ink:  Elegant Eggplant

Stamp set:  From my Heart

Accessories:  Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Frosted Finishes Embellishments (Holiday Mini)

Tools:  Oval Framelits, Big Shot, Stampin' Dimensionals, Snail Adhesive

Here is one more look at the card.

08-27-2013b

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Backyard Basics for Freshly Made Sketches

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Today I am featuring a card I made for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  True to the vision of Freshly Made Sketches, this card is crisp and clean.

08-26-2013a

Freshly Mades Sketches is celebrating their 100th sketch challenge this week and they went back to their very first challenge for a little nostagia.  Here is the sketch:

FMS 100

The Mojo Magic

I cut a piece of whisper white cardstock 5" x 10" for the 5 x 5 card base.

Cut a 3" x 4" piece of grass weave from the Gingham Garden DSP pack.  

The square begins with a 3" x 3" piece of Daffodil Delight followed by a layer of Pear Pizazz and finally a piece of whisper white card stock making each layer 1/8" smaller.

I stamped the tulip from the Backyard Basics stamp set three times onto Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizazz and then using the Backyard Basics framelits cut them out.  I snipped the yellow tulip head off and adhered onto the pear pizazz tulip with a simple glue dot.  Then I grouped them together on the card stock square and using the 2-way glue pen adhered them to the square.  The ends of the tulips did hang off the bottom of the square so I simply snipped then along the edge of the square.  (Save 15% by purchasing Backyard Basics as a bundle)

Cut a 1" x 5" piece of the yellow stripe side of another piece of Gingham Garden DSP and layered it over the two pieces on the card base.

I stamped the bee from the Backyard Basics set onto Daffodil Delight card stock and cut it out using the coordinating framelits. The bee was placed on a piece of whisper white card stock which was cut from the Windows Frames Collection of framelits.

And finally the sentiment was added from the Sweet Essentials stamp set and punched with the Word Window punch.  Three Daffodil Delight candy dots added the finishing touch. 

08-26-2013b

As the summer comes to a close it was fun to create with Backyard Basics.

Thanks for stopping by today.  If you are inspired to create and need any of the materials used in today's card, click here and shop 24/7.  I hope you have a great week!

Michelle

A Real Challenge – PPA #169

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Today I am participating in the Pals Paper Arts Sketch Challenge #169.  

08-22-2013

The sketch was designed by Nicole Watt. who is also a master of Stampin’ Up’s MDS program.  Here is the sketch Nicole designed for today’s challenge:

PPA sketch 169

While the sketch looks simple it truly challenged my creativity.  I wanted to use some DSP in the design yet with the limited elements I was stumped with what else I should use.

When I saw the Beautifully Baroque stamp set in the annual catalog I new immediately that I had to have that stamp.  So as I looked for the perfect accessory to the Venetian Romance DSP I selected the Beautifully Baroque stamp.  It just seemed to be the right choice.

The colors in the Venetian Romance DSP set the stage for the matting card stock of Pistachio Pudding and Island Indigo.  I stamped the Beautifully Baroque stamp in Crisp Cantaloupe as well as Baked Brown Sugar and the Crisp Cantaloupe was the standout.  

Again the DSP led me to use Baked Brown Sugar as the background card stock which was added to the Very Vanilla card stock base. 

The finishing touches – three rhinestones from the Basic Rhinestones Jewels pack.

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After working on this PPA Sketch Challenge I really understand why they are called “Challenges”.  In the end I am pleased with the result – a simple, clean, yet classy design.  I did not put a sentiment on the front of the card as I thought it could be used for any occasion.  

I would love to hear from you, would you find this challenge as challenging as I did?  

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Thursday, the gateway to the weekend!

Michelle

Puttin’ on the Ritz

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Today I am featuring a card I made for the Mojo Monday Challenge.  

08-20-2013

Here is the sketch:

Mojo307Sketch
The card evolved as I added elements tossing out pieces and adding others.  In the end it looks ritzy with the silver glitter paper, silver embossing powder and the red rhinestones.  The Stampin' Up Holiday catalog Festive Flurry bundle is the centerpiece to this card.  I used silver embossing powder to make them shine against the Cherry Cobbler card stock and Modern Medley DSP.

08-20-2013a

I think the Festive Flurry framelits take these snowflakes from pretty to spectacular! What do you think?

Thanks for stopping.  Make it a great day!

Michelle