Gretchen Barron

Strength and Hope

Hello everyone! It's Tuesday morning and that can only mean one thing ... a new Color Challenge from Utah Divas International!

 

Look what we have for you this week ... the colors of Perfect Plumb, Old Olive, Marina Mist and Basic Black ... all inspired by this beautiful Stained Glass Wall Hanging!

 

 

  Stampin' Up has a special promotion going on right now. They have partnered with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in the Strength and Hope Campaign and have designed this beautiful stamp set as part of the promotion. From now until August 31st, Stampin' Up! will donate $2 from the sale of every Strength and Hope stamp set to breast cancer research! Not only is there this beautiful stamp set but a Digital Kit as well which can be used with My Digital Studio or any design software (click on the small image to view the Digital Kit)! Way to go, Stampin' Up!

 

So, how did I blend this beautiful new stamp set with today's challenge colors?

 

I don't usually use the challenge photo as inspiration, just the colors. But this time, I had this cool idea to recreate this checkerboard frame and look what I came up with! It takes a little time but it's really not difficult. I used my Fiskars Paper Cutter (which has a plunging blade ... meaning that you can position the blade in the middle of a paper and plunge it down and through the paper and then make your cut). I made 1/2" slits all around my Perfect Plumb mat at 1/2" intervals. And then just "wove" a strip of Basic Black cardstock in and out of the slits. I secured them on the back with household adhesive tape and then trimmed the edges so everything was nice and even. I then ran it through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice Impressions Folder.

 

The rest of the card is pretty straightforward. I heat-embossed the butterfly with Black Craft Ink and Black Embossing Powder and then sponged Old Olive and Marina Mist inks onto it, cutting it out and mounting it with Stampin' Dimensionals.

 

I think this checkerboard technique provided a really interesting and unusual card! Let me know what you think!

 

Make sure and stop by the Utah Divas International website and check out the rest of the Design Team projects. There's some really special ideas awaiting you this week!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you'll come back soon for more ideas and inspiration!

Fun with Fun Flowers

Hello everyone and Happy Tuesday to you! I'm having a lot of fun lately with the new Fun Flowers Bigz Large Die and the Big Shot!

 

 

Just look what you can create so quickly and easily! Isn't this a fun card!

 

 

This is also my card this week for the Utah Divas International Color Challenge. This week's colors are Real Red, Poppy Parade, Regal Rose, Always Artichoke and Very Vanilla. Talk about some happy colors, all inspired by this lovely quilted bag!

 

So, here's the card that I made this week -- so quickly and easily using the Big Shot, the Fun Flowers Die and the Swirly Decorative Strip Sizzlet Die! Doesn't it make great "stems" for the fun and whimsical flowers!

 

Also used are the fabulous Fabric Covered Brads from the Occasions Mini Catalog (only 5 more days to order from this great catalog) and Stampin' Dimensionals. I told you this was an easy one!

 

I embellished the inside of the card with another fun flower and added this great sentiment from the Fabulous Florets Stamp Set (available beginning May 1st in the new Summer Mini Catalog).

 

I hope you've enjoyed my fun flowers today! Be sure and check out the other Design Team projects for this week's color challenge on the UDI Blog. I think the Design Team outdid themselves this week! I guess they enjoyed these fun colors as much as I did!

 

Thanks for stopping by, everyone! I hope you'll visit again soon! Until then ...

 

 

UDI Color Challenge #32

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to a new Tuesday Color Challenge from Utah Divas International!

 

This week's colors are inspired by this beautiful bedroom ensemble -- Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Basic Gray and Whisper White!

 

I decided to pull out a stamp set I haven't used in awhile -- Elements of Style!

 

I stamped the hummingbird in Black Craft Ink on Whisper White Cardstock and then heat embossed it with Black Embossing Powder. Add a tiny Basic Pearl for an eye, cut it out and pop it up on Stampin' Dimensionals! for a great look over the stamped flourish from the set.

 

I used the Big Shot and the Elegant Bouquet Impressions Folder to emboss the Basic Gray background layer and then added the very elegant 5/8" Basic Black Satin Ribbon and bow. A little stamping on the inside layer finishes the entire card off -- PERFECTION!

 

I hope you'll jump on over to the Utah Dvias International Blog to check out the projects from the rest of the Design Team. You'll be so glad you did! And we invite you to play along with our challenge this week by posting a link to your own creations!

 

I hope you'll stop back soon for more ideas and inspiration!

 

A Sneak Peek into a Summer Garden

Hello everyone and Happy Tuesday morning to you! The weather is warming up and I'm just itching to get out and dig in the dirt! Perhaps it's a little early for planting your garden but in our virtual stamping universe, the time is just right! And here's a great new Color Challenge from Utah Divas International to help stir your creative juices as you dream of your summer garden!

 

 

This week's color combination is inspired by this beautiful sweater in hues of Bashful Blue, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Night of Navy and Basic Black -- delightful, isn't it?

 

 

And here's the card I created with this beautiful combination! I'm giving you a Sneak Peek into some of the wonderful new products you will find in the Summer Mini Catalog beginning May 1st! This stamp set is Fabulous Florets. It's perfect for overstamping and layering colors and images and so soft and beautiful for Spring. Off to the side, you'll see the wonderful embossed image that you will get with the new Flower Garden Embossing Folder (used with the Big Shot). Now won't this be a fun new look in your garden of card-making supplies!

 

Additional tools and supplies that I used for this card include the Scallop Border Punch, 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Daffodil Delight and 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Night of Navy, and Stampin' Dimensionals to pop the image up.

 

And, not to ignore the inside of the card, I went crazy with the flower -- I love this look!

 

That will do it for today! I hope you've enjoyed a Sneak Peek into the Stampin' Up! Summer garden! For more wonderful inspiration using this week's color challenge, visit the Utah Divas International blog and check out the rest of the Design Team Projects. It will be time well spent!

 

I hope you stop back soon! Until then ...

Criss Cross Fun

Hello everyone and happy Tuesday to you! I hope you've been enjoying some fun and relaxing stamping time lately!

 

The Utah Divas International have a new color challenge for you today -- yummy colors of Early Espresso, Real Red, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla ... all inspired by this beautiful bedroom ensemble.

 

And my Inspiration card for this week's project ... this slightly whimsical, slightly elegant Criss-Cross card! I used the BIG polka dot pattern from the Celebrations Designer Series Paper Pack and the fun, new Fun Flowers Bigz Die, along with the Big Shot, to create this fabulous focal flower! The Stamp Set is Thank You Kindly. Other supplies include 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Sweet Stitches Big Designer Button, Sticky Strip, sponges and Stampin' Dimensionals. The card slips easily in and out of the Criss-Cross pouch and I created a Belly Band with the flower attached which slides on and off the card. What fun!

 

Well, that's it for today, my friends! I hope you have a good one! The sun is shining here and the sky is blue ... ah yes, spring has finally come! Be sure to check out the other Design Team projects on Utah Divas International and we invite you to play along with us as well. You'll find all the information there!

 

I hope you stop back soon! Until then ...

 

An Easter Cross

Hello everyone and Happy Tuesday morning to you! It's time for a new Utah Divas International Color challenge and look what we have for you this week -- More Mustard, Rich Razzleberry, Poppy Parade, Crumb Cake and Blushing Bride.

Now, I don't know about you but when I'm faced with a challenge like this that has so many colors, ones that I normally would never use together, I tend to use them in very small amounts (after my initial panic attack, of course!).

This is exactly what I did with today's card. I began with a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and just began sponging the color onto the cardstock, in small amounts -- More Mustard, Rich Razzleberry, Poppy Parade and then finally Blushing Bride to kind of fill in all the open spaces. I love this "watercolor" look that you get when you do this sponging technique.

Next, I decided to overly a cross that is cut from the Lattice Die. I originally saw this idea on my friend, Dawn Olchefske's blog. I loved the lacy, twisted cross that you can find in this die-cut. I glued the cross onto the stamped cardstock and then ran the entire piece through the Big Shot, using the Square Lattice Impressions Folder. This is called the Embedded Embossing Technique and it produces such a wonderful result. I added a bow with long, flowing tails, made with 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Rich Razzleberry (fasten the tails down with a little SNAIL adhesive).

I finished off the card with the Extra Large Decorative Label Punch, the Scallop Oval Punch, a sentiment from Easter Blossoms and some of those gorgeous Satin Rosettes (two of the Rosettes have been died with Blushing Bride Reinkers - don't know if you can see that in the photo). I used the final color of the challenge, Crumb Cake, as the Card Base.

So there you go ... all that color ... in a way that doesn't overpower. I'm really pleased with how this card turned out and I hope you are as well.

Be sure to check out the Utah Divas Blog to see the other great inspiration projects that our Design Team have created for you this week.

I hope you enjoyed your visit today and I hope you come back soon for more ideas and inspiration!

A New Color Challenge from Utah Divas International

Hello everyone and welcome to a new Color Challenge from Utah Diva's International! Look at the beautiful colors we have for you this week -- Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Old Olive, Basic Black and Whisper White! I just love the contrast that you get when you pair Black and Pink together! Such a pretty look!!!!

 

For today's card, I cut out a Top Note Die, using the Big Shot and Pink Pirouette Cardstock. I only used half the die cut and stamped the image from Friends Never Fade directly on the Pink Pirouette cardstock. I used Stampin' Write Markers to apply ink directly to the rubber. I then inked the edges of the Top Note Shape and adhered it to the Basic Black layer using SNAIL adhesive.

 

Again, using the Big Shot and the Square Lattice Impressions Folder, I ran the entire thing through the Big Shot again for this cool Inlaid Embossing Technique. I added a Pretty in Pink ribbon and a tag made with the Decorative Label Punch and the Scallop Oval Punch. The sentiment is from the Cottage Garden Stamp Set. I applied the tag with Stampin' Dimensionals and added a little tied-on faux bow! What a pretty card to kick-off the spring season!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope I've inspired you to try the Color Challenge at Utah Divas International. If you need more inspiration, check out the rest of the Design Team Projects on the blog post! There's some great eye-candy waiting for you there!

Please stop back soon!

Ribbon Rosettes to DYE for!

Good morning, everyone! I'm so excited to bring you this card today. Just look what you can do with those beautiful Ribbon Rosettes that come in the Occasions Mini Catalog! You can DYE them any color of the rainbow! It's quick and easy and oh, so beautiful!

 

Today's card is one I created for this week's Utah Divas International Color Challenge. The colors are Baja Breeze, Always Artichoke, Basic Gray and Very Vanilla. Click HERE to view the other Design Team cards and to enter your card in this week's challenge!

 

 

 

Now, on to those Ribbon Rosettes! To dye your flowers, simply put a tiny bit of water in a plastic container and add a few drops of Stampin' Up! reinker in your choice of colors. The more color you add, the deeper the shade of your finished rosettes.

 

The Rosettes are originally Very Vanilla so they take the color really well. I used tweezers to swirl mine around in the colored water. I suppose that if you leave them in the water longer, they will be an ever richer, darker shade of the color that you're hoping to make them.

 

Once you're satisfied with the color and they are completely coated, lift them out and place them on a paper towel. Let them dry overnight and they are ready to pop on any card, scrapbook page or 3-D item as a beautiful, and colorful, embellishment. I used Crystal Effects to attach mine to today's card -- those babies aren't going anywhere -- they are secure!

 

The stamp set for this card is Just Believe (one of my all-time favorites). Other supplies and embellishments used include the Big Shot and the Perfect Polka Dots Impressions Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals. 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon in Baja Breeze, the Scallop Border Punch and the Extra Large Decorative Label Punch. I stamped out my sentiment on a scrap of Very Vanilla cardstock, punched it out and then attached it to another scrap of Always Artichoke cardstock. Using my Paper Snips, I very carefully trimmed around the punched shape, making a slightly larger mat of the Always Artichoke cardstock underneath! I then added one additional tiny rosette to the corner of the tag.

 

I do hope you've enjoyed today's card and quick and easy tutorial on how to Dye the ribbon rosettes! I know I will be using this a lot -- be on the lookout for rosettes in a rainbow of colors!

 

Just a reminder -- today is the final day of the GREAT SNAIL SALE. You have until midnight to e-mail me with your SNAIL refill order. Click HERE for more information on the original post about this event. The price is now down to $3.30 per refill and may very well go even lower as more SNAIL refills are ordered throughout today! Help me see how low the price will go -- the more we order, the lower the price!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you've enjoyed your visit and I do hope you'll be back soon for more ideas and inspiration! Until then ...

Fun Flowers with Colorful MoJo

Hello everyone and welcome to a couple of new challenges this week - the Utah Divas Color Challenge and the MoJo Monday Sketch Challenge! I just love it when I can combine two challenges in one project!

 

This week's colors for the UDI Color Challenge are a little unusual but look how well they go together -- So Saffron, Blushing Bride, Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke. I would never have chosen this combo but Oh My! They are beautiful together!

 

Pairing this card with the beautiful weekly sketch from MoJo Monday made this a fun project to do and, if I do say so myself, a lovely bit of eye candy!

 

Do you see all the texture on this card? I used not one, not two, but THREE Impression Folders along with the Big Shot but a trio of elegant embossing. I used Elegant Bouquet on the So Saffron background layer as well as on the top (smallest) flower die cut. I used Perfect Polka Dots on the bottom (largest) flower and Finial Press is used on the Cherry Cobbler Square.

 

Other accessories include Basic Pearls in all three sizes, 1/2" Seam Tape Ribbon in Cherry Cobbler, the Eyelet Border Punch, the Jewelry Tag Medium Punch, a Sweet Stitches Fabric Designer Brad, Stampin' Dimensionals and the Tiny Tags Stamp Set. The perfect little double bow was created quickly and easily with the fabulous Bow Makerthat I received as a gift from my friend, Lee Conrey.

 

I inked the edges of all the Blushing Bride pieces with Cherry Cobbler Ink. The two tiny tags are attached to the bow with a bit of Linen Thread.

 

I had so much fun playing along with both these challenges this week! I hope you'll want to try your hand at this fabulous color combination! For more inspiration, check out the Design Team projects at Utah Divas International.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope I've managed to inspired you and give you a few new ideas! Please come back soon! Until then ...

A Tasteful Trim Birthday

Hello everyone and welcome to a new Utah Divas International Color Challenge! I don't know about you but I am declaring the end to winter weather (I know, lots of luck with that!). The past few days have been beautiful here in Central Illinois -- it's nearly 60 degrees here right now. I am ready for spring!

And to help us get there, look at this beautiful bedding set that serves as the inspiration for this week's color challenge using the colors of Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White. Talk about spring fever ...

To add a little interest and something different to the background of my card, I cut the Jumbo Ric Rac Shape from the Tasteful Trims Die using the Big Shot and Melon Mambo Cardstock. I inked the edges with Melon Mambo, adhered it to a Certainly Celery background and then smashed the whole thing together with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder and the Embedded Embossing Technique. I just love this look!

Stamp sets include Crazy for Cupcakes and Perfect Punches. Other accessories include the Wide Oval Punch, sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals and Chunky Pink Glitter (retired, sorry!). It's a quick and fun birthday card, perfect for just about any age!

Be sure to check out the other Design Team projects for this week's color challenge at Utah Divas International! We hope you'll be so inspired that you want to play along with us!

Check back soon for more ideas and inspiration! Thanks for stopping!