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Sunday, October 28, 2012

Three Challenges in ONE card...






   Hello friends and bloggers!
It's the 28th of the month and that means it is Calendar Girls' FUN time again!!
 
Who are the Calendar Girls? ♥ You can check them out here:
 
I{{{ ♥ }}} being part of this great group of creative individuals...their challenges get my juices going and my mojio re-activated each and every time...lol
  To begin, my card needs a wee of explaining this month, as I tried to combine THREE CG's challenges in one card, since I was dreadfully behind with a couple of previously missed summer challenges. Thankfully I am now all caught up!
yeahhh meee!...*sigh of relief here* :o)

Let's start with last JUNE's challenge, hosted by Michelle (SCS - pattem)
Here is her own request:
"My challenge is...using SC 388 (found in the SC thread), with any color combination create a card that best suits your beginning to summer, or summer plans. It could be a trip you are planning, a flower that is blooming, a wedding you are attending, or a graduation gathering. Whatever it could be...have fun creating a card to go with it..."
For Michelle challenge , I followed the sketch below, and added a cute girl on her bike image which represents my joy of summer riding even though I haven't done that in years, until my hubby bought us both new bikes at the beginning of summer (sadly, I only used mine once due to back problems!) :/ Thanks for a  great sketch Michelle!:o) 

                                            
Next, is the month of AUGUST,                                  with Debbie at the helm (SCS - djones)
Calendar Girls Olympics:
"Since the Summer Olympics are now going on, I decided the theme for this month would be our very own Calendar Girls Olympic challenge. There are two parts to this month’s theme:
1. The colors of the rings on the Olympic flag are: blue, yellow, black, green and red. Your card must have at least one embellishment and it must be in one of those colors.
2. Please make a card based on one of the Olympic events. The events in this summer’s Olympics are: Archery, Badminton, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Canoeing, Cycling, Diving, Equestrian, Fencing, Soccer, Gymnastics, Handball, Judo, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Track and Field, Trampoline, Volleyball, Water Polo, Weightlifting, and Wrestling. So, here are some examples…I have a stamp of a women jogging, making a card with this stamp, my card represents the Track and Field Event. That one is pretty obvious...."

For Debbie's challenge I chose biking as my Summer Olympic event, and used a cute Penny Black image, then added all 5 colors of the Olympic rings via the handcut 4 lil pennants with their black background. The big yellow button also takes care of the embellishment part of this 
olympic theme. Thanks for such a fun challenge Debbie!♥


And, finally here we are with the present challenge for the month of OCTOBER , hosted by Tami  (SCS - BlueInks)
She presented us with the challenge expressed here :
Our October Theme :
"We are all about the month of October!
I have three little challenges for you girls this month.
It is the tenth month of the year, so please have exactly ten( 10 ) items on your card. No more, no less! The ten items do not include your card base. Your image stamped on a piece of card stock is counted as one item.
Our due date is the 28th. So, that is going to require two ( 2 ) circles needed on each card and a minimum of eight ( 8 ) different colors.
Are you scared yet?!......lol...."

 
Soooo, lets see if I did the math right...let me count the ways...  I believe that I CAN count exactly TEN items in total IF my lil pennants are counted as one combined item...*grinnn*
The wee sentiment DOES count too...right?...RIGHT!!??  ;o)
The two circle: yellow button and white circle w/stamped image, and I used more than 8 colors  for my sweet immie ; 12 copics in total (2 pinks, 3 browns, 1 grey, 2 blues, 2 oranges, 2 yellows) ;o) Anyways, math and I always had a 'rapport' like oil and water...*rolling my eyes*
which could possibly be reflected even on my card...how lame is that?? LOL
Regardless, this challenge was soooo much fun to do! I found myself grinning often, as I counted items over and over in a totally non-mathematical way...yet trying to make sense of it! (not!!) ehehe  ... Still grinning...;o)
 


I kept the inside of my card fairly simplistic and empty of sentiment for the time being. I will most certainly give it to my youngest, sweet grandaughter once she's ready to trade off her training wheels...this immie reminds me sooo much of her! ♥
 
Tami thank YOU for such FUN, FUN, FUN
math challenge!! I had a blast! ♥
 
Blessings to all of you, and thank you for visiting!


Card Deets:
Stamp: Penny Black ' Easy Rider' ; SU 'Picture This'
C/S: Really Rust (SU) ; DP : My Mnd's Eyes 'Sunny Side'
Ink: Memento Black ; Copics for coloring
Accessories: punches, Spellbinders circle die, lrg button ,
Sew Easy fancy floss -lemonade-, dimentionals
Tecnique: distressing (circle), layering ,counting to 10 (lol)





 
 
 


Sunday, October 21, 2012

*VERONICA* by :Mo Manning



Hello friends,
I am sooo late in posting this fun card....in fact I have several ones to post still...eventually...lol....please just bare with me ;o)

A while ago I hosted a wonderful swap, the first one in fact, about Mo Manning's inked and colored finished cards... This swap was extra special to me because I had the approval, the support and , at times, the on line partecipation of the owner, designer and artist of such wonderful stamps and digis, not to mention a well published author and illustrator of children's book too!! Such talent!!
Mo herself provided also all of the weekly prizez for my swap, as I also hosted
 games each Wednesday, such as 'Getting to know Mo...'  etc..:o) Soo much fun! ♥
At the very end of the swap, during the last game, the ultimate winner (Deanna) won an amazing prize: a stamp named after herself !! WOW!
HOW COOL IS THAT?!
Isn't this beautiful girl sweet?? :o)
I tell ya,  Mo is one terrific, generous human being!!! ♥
 
All of the swap's partecipants did a remarkable job and their cards' artistry was absolutly fabulous!!
I am sooo inspired by all of those wonderful gals and glad that I decided to partecipate in my own swap also ;o) 
This is my result:
 
For my card I used Mo Manning's 'Veronica' (mo142) rubber stamp, colored with Pure Color Pencils (SU), some markers from SU, Pacific Point card stock , My Mind's Eye 'Just The Girls collection' d/p , lacey ivory strip, baubles, dimentionals , Spellbinders, white and blue toulle and stickles. I sooo love this stamp...it shows what it used to be one of my favorite pastime aka shopping...lol and it also embraces a voluptuous image  of a happy gal who looks so confident in her own body. Gotta love that! When I grow up I wanna be just like her....eehhe
Please take a look at all the other
WONDERFUL, incredible cards made from all the lovely partecipants of the first 
 Mo Manning original swap.
You can see them all by just clikking on
the link provided below :
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=23442

Thanks for stopping by, your visit (s) is/are quite important to me ♥
Please stay tuned soon...
I'll be approaching a new Mo Manning swap ...definetly planning to make it a fabulous annual event....those adorable stamps and digis are too cute to resist to turn into fabby cards!!...
don't YOU agree?!
Take a look at Mo Manning's wonderful and inspiring link here:
 
 
BLESSINGS TO ALL!!
 
 
***DISCLAIMER: for all intentions and purposes I need to point out that I am NOT receiving nor  did I ever received any promotions, discounts, rewards or prizez by Mo Manning.
All work and swap games researches etc. was a total labour of love on my part.
What I wrote above on my thread is my own personal viewpoint of miss Manning, whom I highly respect ♥




Monday, October 15, 2012

She's One of a Kind...




Hello Friends and Bloggers....
It's our monthly DUELING time!! ♥
Each month, on the 15th day to be exact, we Dueling Dazzlers 'battle' with the Dueling Divas
to compare ideas, learn new tecniques, and creating DARLING cards together .
If you're new to my blog and like to read more details about what it's all about, please check the link here provided :
http://paola-sama.blogspot.com/2010/10/its-duelling-darlings-timeo.html



Melina is the hostess for this month's 'duel' ..in fact she's hostessing both the Darlings and the Diva's groups this time around...For our challenge, Melina asked us to make a card with our leaders in mind...here are her own words:
" Hey girls.....
This is my idea for our October Duel. We make a card with our team leaders in mind (details below)....for all their hard work they do keeping us going.

For the Dazzlers team:

Your challenge is to make a card with the theme of Trees (since she is the Forest Ranger) and include patterned paper since she says this is her go to thing when making cards. I will be sending out a PM to all of you including Jeanette with this theme challenge idea. But, Jeanette will not know about the "leader in mind" bit.
The extra thing I ask of you for October is that you all mail your cards to Jeanette. PLEASE DON'T MAIL THEM BEFORE THE 15TH OF OCTOBER. I don't want her finding out what's going on before she sees the blog posts!
That being said, in your blog posts for October 15th, please mention something about your DDD leader and how this is a big 'ole surprise for her and how she is going to be getting happy mail. That is the reveal of the secret......the day you post your DDD card.

..........................I have asked the Divas to do the same thing for Kelly with a different theme in mind.
Thanks so much to all of you for sticking with the DDD crew! I love being a part of this group!!!

HUGS,
Melina"



What can I say about our fearless leader JEANETTE??? She's just an AWESOME gal, ready and  so willing to help out and a great listener ....very compassionate and an absolutle rare gem!! She's also quite adventurous (she even rode an elephant!) and loves attending World's Missions...Jeanette is a wonderful Child of God and one of my dearest online friend and mentor.

        * I LOVE YOU JANETTE, YOU'RE QUITE AN INSPIRATION
AND ARE TRULY  ONE OF A KIND... *

Today, my card is ment to reflect Jeanette's love for Christmas trees...every year she decorates her house with a tremendous amount of Christms trees,each with its own theme...she's so passionate in everything she does ♥
One thing though  that Jeanette does NOT uses much in her  creative cards is GLITTER! :o) .... I thought I'd do that for her...lol...*grin*.

I also chose to use non-traditonal colors, relying on several different blues
combined with soft and pretty lavander....the oval containing the glittery trees is
surrounded by night of navy organdy ribbon over lavander card stock...

 
                                 This above is the INside of Jeanette's card

 
Last year we DDD were requested to do a similar theme also , but with a coffee challenge in mind...here's that post if you wish to peek and found out the wonderful meaning of Jeanette's name:
http://paola-sama.blogspot.ca/2011/05/may-ddd.html#uds-search-results

WISHING YOU ALL A WONDERFUL MONDAY!
GOD BLESS ♥
 


Friday, October 12, 2012

White on White....

 
 
Hello Friends in Blogland ,
These cards were made for an all white-on-white swap hosted by my friend Vivian ( better known as blusky on SCS)
 
This is what she requested in her own words:
 
"White on White Holiday Card swap Challenge...
Who doesn’t love white on white cards. They are just so elegant.
So the theme of this card swap is to create white on white Holiday cards-Christmas, Hanukkah or New Years is appropriate.
The possibilities are endless, but here are a few ideas:
1) You can dry emboss, or wet emboss an image
2) You can use your cuttlebug or any embossing tool for background or main image
3) Add a little glitter, bling, flowers, you know how to make it pop,
Show off your creativity in this one...."
 
Well, I have to say that this swap was quite a challenge for me...
what? NO color AT ALL? NOT even ONE to throw in the mix??
Oh my!!...I was truly stumped!....Then I thought of using my friend Kristina's
poinsettia Spellbinders dies -after seeing  a gorgeous RED poinsettia she posted in her own blog,see here: http://reflectionsofahappycrafter.blogspot.ca/2012/09/festive-poinsettia.html  
thus, these cards were 'born'.....
I wanted to keep them simple yet elegant....I hope I achieved such task.
 

Above: close up of the centered double oval with a very glittery single poinsettia
Below : the simple sentiment added to the inside ,the only black ink addition  ;o)
 
For these cards I used three different white card stocks: pure white, ice white and glossy white. I discovered that I really like them all together.The addition of  GLITTER to the flower's petals is a given ,as well as  three Kaiser  pearls to complete it. Other than that ,oval Spellbinders dies were used here, as well as embossing folder to give more dimention to the first background oval.
 On the very top, a simple white organdy ribbon was added with the addition of a sparkly raindrop rhinestone in its centre.


Not  too shabby  a result eh?! :o)
 
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY FOR A VISIT!...
Comments are sooo appreciated too!
Just saying....*LOL* ;o)
 
Hugs and Blessings galore....♥
 
 

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Mystery revealed...







Today it's time to reveal the Unidentified Image for swap round #4 hosted by the uber
wonderful Terry aka my very own WPS (= Wing Pit Sistah...lol..such 'title' started when we both discovered our mutual love for those fun and adorably cute chicken images from Penny Black..need I say more? lol... )
Terry sent us swap partecipants adorable images from MFT -a' la mode- 'Miss You a Latte'...it is my very first a' la mode image and I was thrilled to receive it...:o)

For my card front I checked for ideas on SCS and tweaked a couple to create my own...

' On the inside of my card I decided to use real coffee bags (the kind you fill your own) and repurposing them as 'designer papers'... added a cute , generic sentiment to it  from an old SU set I have et voila'.... simple yet effective...at least I thought so....;o)
 

Last week I happened to be at my local SB for a Pumpkin spice Latte as a treat, and took a few sleeves home with me , from which I repurpose the most recognized Coffee Company Logo in the World...(I saw many ideas such as this for cards before and  decided it was my turn to try...) I do think it adds s'thing to it...lol...for sure it stands out!...lol




 THANK YOU for such FUN image to play and create with  Terry, you are an AWESOMEEEEE hostess and I truly hope you decide to host your own swap theme on SCS soon....
I'll be your numero UNO fan for sure WPS!!...
*wink & smile*

Have a GREAT Day full of God's Blessings everyone...
and THANK YOU for visiting...♥

Card Deets:
Image- a' la mode-Miss You a Latte ( MFT ) stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
and colored with Copics
Card stock- Teal (SU)
Designer Paper- 'Just The Girls' (My Mind's Eyes) & 'Offbeat' (Basic Grey),
plus real coffee bag used on inside
Sentiment- 'Espress Yourself' (SU 2002)
Accessories- SB logo, photo corner punch, eyelet border punch, rhinestones (Basic Grey) ,
grosgrain ribbon (Barely Banana), Spellbinders dies, dimentionals. 
Tecnique- piercing







Tuesday, October 2, 2012

FALL Season is here! ♥


How much do I LOVE Autumn?
Let me count the ways...♥

Last August, my dear friend Fay hosted the SOTC monthly theme...(if you are unfamiliar with SOTC group please check details on gthe link provided below) 
 
I had to take a 'pass' on August as I knew I could not partecipate - we were hardly at home...in fact the Riviera Maya had the best of me then..lol....
However, recently Fay lovingly nudged me to create fall cards for her swap anyways, sooooooo even though August is now over and gone , I decided to indulge her (and myself!) and created these colorful cards.


Faye requested cards "...inspired by the Fall colors of brown, gold, orange, red, etc. and or Autumn images/themes. Whatever you love about Fall and are inspired by..."
 
Personally I was so totally inspired, and so in awe of this gorgeous fall card beauty... check it out here :
 

.....and this above is the inside of my card.....
 
I hope Fay will like my interpretation of  Fall...♥
God sure has a wonderful way to show us His beauty throughout his natural and magnificent colorful 'canvas'...
 
♥ BLESS YOU ALL MY FRIENDS!
Thanks for visiting....
 
 
 Card Deets:
Stamps: Lovely as a tree (SU); Itty Bitty Background (SU) ;
Fall Season (Stampendous)
Card Stock: More Mustard (SU) ; Pear Pizzaz
Designer Paper : Woodland by Martha Steward ;
Fluttering Leaves by Provo Craft
Ink: Cranberry Crisp, Marigold Morning, So Saffron, Chocolate Chips.
Accessories: Leaf punch by MS, corner rounder punch by SU, brown buttons, gold organdy ribbon , red,/browm /green leaves ribbons ,  EF Woodgrain by Darice, Spellbinders dies  Label 18.
Tecnique: brayering , sponging , dry embossing.