An Exciting Day for the Color Throwdown!

It's an exciting day on the Color Throwdown blog as we embark on a new adventure! Except for a few weeks off here and there, we will start having a sponsor each week for the challenges! What does this mean? It means that quite a few companies have generously offered to provide stamps for the team members to use, and they're providing some great prizes for our participants! Be sure to check out all the details on the Throwdown blog... in fairness to our great sponsors, there are a few rules to be followed in order to be eligible to win so be sure to read things over! Our first official sponsor is DRS Designs, and you can read more about their company on the blog, too!
Cathy chose our color combo this week, as it matches the DRS logo! I hope you'll have as much fun with these colors as I did!
I just adore these Dustin Pike images from DRS, so it was a no-brainer for me to choose Jimbo and the Gang (#P891) for my card today! And you should have heard my little "yippee!" when I found this green and purple gingham ribbon in my stash, too! What a great match, and it made for a perfect little embellishment on the monkey's head! Since the image is so large (my card measures 5" x 5") I had to put my Walk on the Wild Side sentiment (#F935) on the inside, combined with Jenny Giraffe (#G859).
Stop by the blogs of the other Throwdown designers to check out their awesome DRS Designs creations! And don't forget our July Guest Designer, Juliana!

Cathy * Barbara * Danielle * LeAnne * Broni

Remember, leave a direct link to your creation on the Throwdown blog using Mr. Linky and if you upload to an online gallery like Paper Craft Planet, use CTD51 in your tag! You could be the winner of the awesome goodies being given away by DRS Designs, OR you could be chosen as our Featured Stamper next week which would put you in the running to be the September Guest Designer! So get busy creating!

And hey... take a second today to stop by the blog of my fabulous friend Darlene and wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Jimbo and the Gang, Walk on the Wild Side, Jenny Giraffe (DRS Designs... see links above)
Cardstock: So Saffron, Garden Green, Lavender Lace, Chocolate Chip, designer paper (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah)
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamagic Jumbo Java (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)
Accessories: ribbon (Offray), Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder (ProvoCraft), Scallop Dot border punch (Martha Stewart from Hope Stamps Eternal).

Keeping Track of it All!

Remember a few weeks ago, I posted the Prayer Journals that I made for my daughter and her friend before they went on their mission trip? (They got home on Saturday by the way, and both had a wonderful and rewarding time... thank you EVERYONE for your kind thoughts, prayers and emails! I'm sorry I haven't had time to respond to everyone but I'll try to get to them all eventually!) Anyway, I knew I wanted to make a Prayer Journal for myself too (and I actually have, but haven't photographed it yet!) But I got the idea to also make myself a journal for keeping track of my design team commitments! Since I've been hoarding this adorable Girl Friday paper from Cosmo Cricket, I decided to finally use it for something special, and made this journal! The covers are rectangular coasters from Cindy Lyles over at Starlit Studio. I covered them with Modge Podge, adhered the paper, and then generously coated them again with the Modge Podge for extra durability.

Inside, I made dividers for my teams, and used the Stampin' Up! round tab punch on each divider for easy access.

A close-up of the left side... that green tab on the bottom isn't labeled! Hmmm... could another team be going on that tab? (Yep, I've got a secret!)
In the back I added two extra pages with pockets on each side to hold assorted notes, photos for inspiration challenges, sketches, etc.

Everything is fastened together with my handy-dandy Bind-It-All! Now I have no excuse not to be organized, right?

Thanks for stopping by today! Stay tuned for the Color Throwdown, with a special new feature you're going to LOVE!!!

Cupcake Inspiration with the HSE Sweeties

The Hope Stamps Eternal Sweeties have another Cupcake Inspiration challenge for you this week! The design team at HSE has been officially dubbed "The Sweeties" because we'll be bringing you such sweetness each week with the Cupcake challenge, and this is the first official challenge for our team together. So to celebrate, Rachel is giving away some SWEETS from the Hope Stamps Eternal store to one lucky participant! Check out the cupcake below, take some inspiration from it (you don't have to use a cupcake on your creation... just be inspired by the one we've presented), create a card, and leave a link to your creation with the Mr. Linky on the HSE blog. Deadline to enter is 9:00 p.m. MT on Saturday, July 18th.

Here's the cupcake to inspire you, from Life's Ambrosia!
And here's my card! The cherry on top immediately made me think of my Hero Arts Cupcake clear stamp set, so that's what I just had to use! I chose to use my Basic Grey Urban Prairie paper for this, but if you check out the other Sweetie's cards, you'll see that the new Lemonade paper would work beautifully for this! (AND it's available in the HSE store!)
Stop by the Sweeties blogs for more ideas, and don't forget to leave a link to your card on the HSE blog! If you upload to an online gallery like Paper Craft Planet, don't forget to tag your upload with CIC15.

Carolina * Michelle * Colleen * Bonnie * Natalie

Jessica * Kelli * Rachel

Thanks for visiting my blog today! I hope you had a great weekend, and have an even greater Monday! I only have a 3-day week this week, as I'm leaving Thursday morning for an extended weekend trip! Wanna' know what I'm doing? Are you sure? You'll be INCREDIBLY jealous! OK... on Thursday morning, I'm leaving with my friend Darlene Pavlick. We're taking my daughters and driving to Northwest Ohio where my Mom lives and dropping them off. Then we're driving on to Indiana to the home of Joan Fricker! Then, on Friday we're driving to Shipshewana where we'll be meeting up with..... Sharon Johnson, Barb Schram, Deb Saaranen, Janine Orchard, Julie Koerber and Pat Adam (Julie's Mom)!!! We're having a Stamp Simply Girls Weekend, and I CAN'T WAIT!!! Stay tuned... I'll be taking LOTS of pictures!

Stamps: Cupcake clear set (Hero Arts)
Cardstock: Rose Red (Stampin' Up!), Parakeet (Bazzill), designer paper (Basic Grey Urban Prairie)
Inks: Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)

Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds glitter (Stampin' Up!), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), rick rack (craft supply).

Stamp Simply #95 - Let the Sparks Fly!

Time again for another Stamp Simply challenge, and this time we're letting the sparks fly! Sharon's inspiration for the challenge this week comes from the fact that even though the Fourth of July is over, the sparks (and sparklers, firecrackers, and even fireworks!) are still flying! Seriously, how many of you still have people setting off explosives in your neighborhood? I sure do, and it annoys me to no end, but I try to just grin and bear it. As long as my sleep isn't disrupted there isn't a whole lot I can do about it, right? But I can make some sparkle of my own, and you can too! Give today's Stamp Simply challenge a try!

Now, admittedly you can't see a whole lot of sparkle on my card! I started out wanting to use these journaling squares from Prima and some other Prima accessories, and didn't end up with very much sparkle. Still, I'm pleased with how this turned out... very outside my box! I stamped my butterfly silhouette image using chalk ink, then embossed with a half glitter, half embossing powder combination. I added some pearls and shiny brads, then did some distressing to try to get a good blend of shabby and elegant.

Here's a close-up so you can see there really is just a little sparkle there! Move closer to your monitor or click on the picture if you have to! ;)
Stop by Sharon's blog to see her stunning sample for inspiration, and check out the blogs of the other Stamp Simply girls for more ideas! (Julie is taking the night off!)

Barbara * Jenny * Deb * Janine * AJ * Jennifer * Rose Ann

I am more than ready for the weekend! How 'bout you? Have a great Friday, and thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamps: Nostalgia clear stamps (Inkadinkado)

Cardstock: Kraft, Sprout, Slate Blue, Espresso (Bazzill), Journaling Square paper (Prima)

Inks: Versamagic Jumbo Java (Tsukineko)

Accessories: pearls (Prima), brads (Gary Burlin), corner punch (Tonic), deckle edge scissors (Fiskars), twill (Creative Impressions).

Digital Tuesday - Sweet Birthday

The girls over on the Digital Tuesday blog host a challenge every week to use your digital stamps! There's a different theme each week, and I thought I'd play along since my Digital Stamp Oasis stamps were feeling a little neglected. This week's theme is Sweet Birthdays and the challenge is to create something for a birthday that includes something sweet! So I stopped in at my favorite bulk food store, and found that they had gumballs! You know, the kind we used to get in a gumball machine for a penny? (Do they even make those anymore? My kids never used to beg for money for those machines, so I haven't paid attention to them in years!) Wouldn't this be a sweet little treat to leave on the desk of a gum-loving co-worker who is celebrating a birthday?

I got these little jars at Hobby Lobby years ago, and am happy to finally have a use for them! My sweet party squirrel is from Digital Stamp Oasis, and the sentiment around the band is from My Favorite Things. I knew I wanted the tag on the left side of my jar, so before printing I flipped the image so he'd be facing the other way. That's one of the neat things about digi images... you can flip them and change the size!

So why not show your digital stamps a little lovin' this week and give their challenge a try!? Don't have any digital stamps? Ellie has a great selection of them in her Etsy store, or check out the links in the sidebar of the Digital Tuesday blog for other great digi-stamp companies!

Thanks for stopping by today! I appreciate it so much!

Stamps: Party Squirrel (Digital Stamp Oasis), sentiment (My Favorite Things)

Cardstock: Bashful Blue (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah)
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)
Accessories: Martha Stewart Scallop Dot border punch (Hope Stamps Eternal), Nestabilities Label 4 (Spellbinders), ribbon (supply).

Color Throwdown #50 - SU Ink Whacadoin' Wednesday

It's time for another Color Throwdown, and this week Broni is hosting the challenge! She chose some great bold and bright colors for summer! We hope you'll play along! Remember, you don't have to have these exact colors... they're just meant to be a reference. Use whatever you have that's similar and have fun! And remember to use CTD50 if you upload to an online gallery, and leave a direct link your creation back on the Throwdown blog using Mr. Linky so we can all see your card!
It's also Whachadoin' Wednesday on the SU Ink blog! This week's challenge is to use stripes in your creation, so I combined both of these challenges for my froggie card here!
Don't you just love that sentiment? I think it's too funny! I colored my froggie with my Copics, then colored another one, cut him out and mounted him over the first for extra dimension. His spots are colored with a yellow Spica glitter pen, and I sponged some green ink around the edges of the die-cut before removing it from the die. I also sanded the stripes on my Core'dinations cardstock!

Check out what the other Throwdown designers have created by visiting their blogs, and while you're visiting at Juliana's blog, be sure to wish her a HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY today!

Juliana * Broni * Cathy * Barbara * Danielle * LeAnne

You can also stop by the blogs of these SU Ink designers for more "striped" inspiration!

Kristen * Danielle * Leigh * Loretta

Happy stamping! Thanks for stopping by today!

Stamps: Leapfrog (Storage Units, Ink & More)

Cardstock: Cardinal, Aquarium (Core'dinations), white (Neenah), designer paper (Stampin' Up!)
Inks: Nightfall (SU Ink), markers (Copic)

Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes embossing folder (ProvoCraft), brads (Stampin' Up!), ribbon (May Arts).

Hope Stamps Eternal Cupcake Inspiration #14

It's time for another Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal, and Rachel has picked these adorable penguin cupckakes shown here to inspire you! Aren't they the cutest??? Way too cute to eat, that's for sure! Since the cupcakes have a little bit of a beach'y/Hawaiian-theme to them, I decided to use my Memory Box penguin with her little floatie for my card, and tried to stay with the pastel colors in the cupcakes. I was wishing I had more patience for waiting for things to dry, as I would have applied some Glossy Effects to the inner tube. Maybe I'll still do that... chances are though I'll mess it up since the card is completely done!

This particular penguin stamp isn't available, but several other Memory Box stamps and products are available at the Hope Stamps Eternal store, so stop by soon to see what Rachel has in stock! (NEW Basic Grey papers are available, too... just FYI!)
And finally, here is Kelsey's completed Prayer Journal! If you caught my blog post over the weekend, you saw the Prayer Journals that I made for my daughter and her friend before they left on a mission trip this past Sunday. (We heard from Kaylie last evening, and she had a great day with the family they're helping, getting to know them and helping to re-do their bathroom! Thanks everyone for your prayers!) Kelsey had asked me if she could have a Journal too, so she picked out these great papers from American Crafts, and even picked out the ribbon for her journal. I again used my Bind-It-All to put it all together, and the recycled white coil!
I put a pocket page on the inside of her journal too, and she is pretty pleased with the final result!
Thank you for visiting my blog today!

Prayer Journals

Hello everyone! I hope all myAmerican friends are having a very happy Independence Day, and to all my international friends, I hope your Saturday is going great! We're having a quiet day so far, but having a little cook-out later and then will go to see the Triple Three-Alarm Fire in the Sky (the area's BEST fireworks show ever!) that is put on every year by the firefighters in Orrville. The OFD has been doing a huge parade, a 5-day long carnival, and the most spectacular fireworks display for many, many years and we never miss it!

I worked on a little project last night and this morning that I wanted to share with you. Every week when I go to Sunday School, and to Bible Study on the weeknights, I jot down prayer requests, usually in a scrap piece of paper or an index card if there are some handy. Often the list of requests get misplaced after another week goes by, and sometimes I find myself wanting to look back at them, to maybe cross off requests that aren't needed anymore, give thanks for prayers that were answered, or just as a reminder to check in with that person and see how they're doing. So for the longest time I've had it in my head to FINALLY use the Bind-It-All that I bought back in February (yes, 5 months ago!) and make myself a Prayer Journal. Something not too big that I could keep tucked in the case with my Bible, where it would always be handy. Then, earlier this week the super-talented Valerie Stangle posted this little class project on her blog, and it was just the push I needed to get started!

What I actually decided to do first though, was to create a Prayer Journal for my daughter Kaylie and her best friend Randii who will both be leaving tomorrow morning for their mission trip to Virginia. Later this weekend, I have two more journals to finish... one for me, and one for Kelsey (who picked out some fabulous American Crafts papers for her journal!)

So first here is Kaylie's Journal which I designed with some SEI paper that she picked out. I dug through my old chipboard letters from Stampin' Up! and found a letter K to use. Valerie used some rectangular chipboard coasters for her project, but since I don't have any of those (and don't know where to get them... anyone have a source?) I just cut some heavy-duty cardboard from some 12x12 paper packs I had at the store. Both of these journals measure 4" x 8". I covered the cardboard front and back with the designer papers using Modge Podge and a foam brush, and also Modge Podge'd the chipboard letters so these will be good and durable.

I was lucky to have these white spiral bindings that I kept from some old booklets. I used to work for an oncologist, and there were some old patient study booklets that were going to be thrown away, so I used my noodle and saved those bindings, knowing they would come in handy someday! They're 5/8" in diameter and worked just perfectly in my Bind-It-All (and they were free, so you can't beat that!)

Inside I did just as Valerie did with her booklet and cut down some notebook paper to size.
Taking another cue from Valerie's fabulous design, I included an extra page in the back with a little pocket for holding a few notes. Sometimes at our church, the secretary types out prayer requests and leaves them in our mailboxes. Usually she types the request out 10-12 times on a sheet of copy paper, then cuts them in little strips, so these can just be slipped into that pocket until there's time to enter it in the journal!
I stitched around the outer edges of the pocket for extra stability and added a little round tab punch (another great idea from Val!) so that pocket page is easier to access.
Here is Randii's journal, using some gorgeous black and white paper from Magenta, and some bright pink Bo Bunny paper for accent.
A little bling on the letter R, and a few more details similar to Kaylie's and they're done! I even got to use my new Martha Stewart Scallop Dot Edge punch from the Hope Stamps Eternal store! I've loved this punch everytime I've seen it used by my stamping friend Maria Gurnsey, so I FINALLY got one of my own! :)
The flowery frame and Scripture stamps I used on both journals are from Stampendous. Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope the rest of your weekend is fabulous!

Stamp Simply #94 - Stars & Stripes

Are you ready for the holiday weekend? We're not doing anything terribly special at my house... my daughter Kaylie leaves very early on Sunday morning for a mission trip to Dickersen County, Virginia with Appalachian Service Project. So we're just having a small cook-out and going to see fireworks on Saturday evening because she needs to get her rest! I'd really appreciate any prayers that anyone wants to offer for her and the team of people that is going on this trip. Kaylie could actually use a few extra right now too, because her little bunny rabbit passed away last evening, so it's been kinda' rough at my house. *sniff, sniff* "Domino" was 8 years old, so for a little bunny he was pretty old, but it doesn't make it any easier, that's for sure.

Sharon Johnson has another great Stamp Simply challenge for you today! She's always thinking up great ideas to get your creative juices flowing! Today's challenge, in honor of Independence Day is to incorporate stars and stripes into your design! You can create a Patriotic card if you want to, but it isn't necessary... just use some stars and stripes!

I chose to make mine Patriotic, but I think it'd be a great birthday card to use all summer long! My stars are from Stampendous, and I colored them with Copics and Spica glitter pens, but I just can't capture that sparkle in my photos! My sentiment is from Kitchen Sink Stamps.

Sharon's blog has all the details, so be sure to stop by there and also to leave a link to your creation when you're done! We say good-bye to our June Guest Designer, Sabrina Jackson and welcome our July Guest Designer Rose Ann Reynolds today, too! Check out all the Stamp Simply team blogs for further inspiration!

Barbara Anders
Jenny Gropp
Julie Koerber
Janine Orchard

Deb Saaranen
Jennifer Buck
AJ Otto
Rose Ann Reynolds, July Guest Designer

Thanks for stopping by, and for all your wonderful comments! If I don't have time tomorrow, I wish you all a Happy 4th of July!

Stamps: stars (Stampendous), sentiment (Kitchen Sink Stamps)

Cardstock: light blue, dark blue (unknown), Riding Hood Red (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah), designer paper (Scenic Route)
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamagic Rocket Red (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)
Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Distressed Stripes Cuttlebug embossing folder (ProvoCraft), ribbon (craft supply), gem stones (Mark Richards).

SU Ink Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Big Day! It's the 1st Birthday of Storage Units, Ink & More, and the Celebration Blog Hop! Today the Design Team is going to show you their creations using the new S-U Inkies Collections while we hop around cyberspace! If you arrived here on my blog from Danielle's blog, then you're right where you need to be! If you didn't come from Danielle's blog, you will want to start back at Kristen's blog to get in on all the fun! Remember to leave a comment at each blog to be eligible to win all three of the new S-U Inkies, a pack of Core'dinations cardstock, and inkpad with matching reinker, a package of flowers and a jar of ribbon all from SU Ink!

Also, to celebrate SU Ink's first birthday, there are some great contests going on! Be sure to stop by the SU Ink blog for ALL the details, including how you can win a prize valued at over $500!

My first card uses an Inky from the new Forest Friends collection, and it's my favorite of the bunch! I have always LOVED tree stamps, so this was right up my alley! I paired my little tree and birdies with some new paper from My Mind's Eye and Core'dination cardstock in Vienna Lake, along with some confetti white cardstock. My tree and birdies are colored with Copics on Neenah white cardstock, and I added some velvet rick-rack and Making Memories brads for embellishment. My sentiment is computer generated, using Kimberly Geswein's free fonts.
Next up is the super fun Doodle Bots Inky! The Doodle Bot was a perfect opportunity to use some of the Cogsmo paper scraps I had in my stash from Cosmo Cricket, along with some Red Pepper Core'dinations cardstock. Since I had some Hershey nuggets staring me in the face while I created the other day, I decided to make a little 1x5 Nugget box! Directions for the Nugget box can be found here. Inside the box I just wrapped strips of the Cogsmo paper around the Nuggets!
And finally I have this cute little Fairy Inky from the Fairy Tales collection! Isn't she sweet? I used the Saturday sketch from Paper Craft Planet for inspiration on my card, and used some more of my Core'dinations cardstock for my design! This is my first experience using the Core'dinations cardstock and already I'm in love! Isn't it cool how you can run it through the Cuttlebug with an embossing folder, then sand over the raised areas to get this cool effect? My little fairy was colored with Copics, and I added a little Angel Wings Shimmerz to her wings for extra sparkle. My cardstock colors are Love Potion, Forget Me Not, and Apple Green along with white Neenah for Copic coloring and a piece of Around the Block designer paper.
And since the "Summer Fun" stamp is included with this little Inky, I decided to put together a little summer fun bucket! My niece just had her second baby in May, and has another little girl who's almost 3. So this little sand bucket, along with bubbles and popsicles is for Tana! The sunscreen is for everyone, and the magazine (along with an article on how to cope with a new baby in the house!) is for Mommy! I gave my daughter Kelsey the assignment of photographing the whole gift for me, and she thought it would be fitting to have Nibbles our bunny rabbit check out the bucket in the photo, too! (Looks like an advertisement for Easter, doesn't it?) LOL
NOW, to complete this Blog Hop, you need to head on over to the SU Ink blog! The final step in being eligible to win the Blog Hop prize is to leave a comment there telling us which one of the new Inkies collections is your favorite!

I hope you enjoyed the Blog Hop today! Thanks for stopping by!

Double-Whammy Awesome News!

On July 1st, Storage Units, Ink & More will be turning 1! And to celebrate, YOU are getting all the goodies! Oh boy, do we have goodies to give away! We're talking about some HUGE prizes, some worth over $500!! Mark the date... be sure to go to SU Ink on July 1st to get in on all the fun!!

We're also having another great BLOG HOP! Come see some sneak peeks on some BRAND NEW stamps on July 1st as well! You will want to start at Kristen's blog, and proceed from there, being sure to leave a comment at each of the Designs Team members blogs to have a chance to win some great prizes!

OH! And did I forget to mention... I was asked recently to join this amazing team of girls at SU Ink! Yahoo! I can't wait for you to see the awesome creations everyone is designing for the Birthday Celebration and Blog Hop! I'm thrilled to be a part of this great team!

Thanks for sharing in ALL my good news today! I appreciate all your visits and fantastic comments SO MUCH!

Happy stamping!

Color Throwdown #49

It's my turn to host the Color Throwdown this week, and I hope you will like the colors I chose! I spotted a blouse while shopping with my daughter and our exchange student, Anne back in April and though the colors were so pretty they needed to be part of a Throwdown!
Be sure to stop by the Throwdown blog for all the details and the Mr. Linky so you can link your own creation! And give a big welcome to our July Guest Designer, Juliana Swanson while you're there!

All the Throwdown girls have great inspiration for you, too...

Juliana

Broni

Cathy

Barbara

LeAnne

(Danielle's taking the week off!)

Happy stamping, and thanks for stopping by! Stay tuned for the Storage Units, Ink & More big Birthday Blog Hop beginning Wednesday morning at 9:00! You won't want to miss your chance to win some fabulous prizes!

Stamps: Chester (Whipper Snapper Designs), sentiment (Hero Arts)
Cardstock: Groovy Guava, Chocolate Chip, designer paper (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah)
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamagic Jumbo Java (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)
Accessories: ribbon (Stampin' Up!), Threading Water border punch (Fiskars), Nestabilities (Spellbinders).