Meet the New Design Team!

The day is FINALLY here!

I shared with you several weeks ago

that Susan Rothamel, the owner of

US ArtQuest, asked me to be the

coordinator for their first design team.

Well...I have been working hard

getting this team 'coordinated' and

can finally reveal their names....

Sarah Anderson

Suzi Blu

Lea Cioci

 Jessica Griffin

Jan Hennings

Terri Sproul

 Connie Vogt

I hope you will visit each of these

fabulous designers by clicking directly

on their names.

Then when you have finished, please

stop by the USAQ website

and see what's new!

A Bug-Eyed Hooty Owl...Yeah, That's What I Said!

I have had so much fun the past few days

creating in my little art space.

I am this week's color host over at

The Play Date Cafe.

I rarely have ANY idea what I am going

to make when I choose my color inspiration photos.

This week was no exception, but I can tell you that

I had something much more elegant in mind

than what I came up with....here's why....

Look at this fabulously elegant inspiration

from marthastewartweddings.com

Now look at the whimsy that followed...

Now granted, the senior designers typically

choose the 'color stories' up to 3 months in

advance, but I can assure you I had no idea that

I would go in THIS direction.

Isn't that the great thing about challenges, though?

I used a wonderful new punch from EK Success.

This 'starburst' is punched directly into the

lime green cardstock.  The stamp is from 

Studio G's 'I Cling' series.  The DP is from

DCWV's 'Latte' matstack.

I paper-pieced the polka dot DP to the

'Bug-Eyed Hooty Owl'.

Now it's time for you to skeedaddle over

to The Play Date Cafe.  You are not going

to believe this week's DIVERSE collection

of projects using these fantabulous colors!

Farmer's Market Phone Book Fun...Huh?

So I have to thank my teammate, Savannah

over at Savannahland2 for this challenge.

I spotted her card and thought it would be

so much fun and you know what...

IT SO MUCH WAS!

It's Jessica Witty's Phone Book Challenge

 sponsored by Paper Crafts Magazine.

The idea....just whip up a project using pages

from a phone book.

SO SIMPLE...SO FUN!

I used Cosmo Cricket's 'Garden Variety' collection

which was a no-brainer considering the theme of

my yellow pages ad.

I cut out my sun using Spellbinders dahlia dies

and just zig-zagged my way around the

vegetable frame to complete the

old-fashioned flavor.

I am also tossing this in the ring over at

Challenge #54 - Bright & Cheerful

It was fun to pick out bits and pieces of this 

1/4 page ad and really like the result.

I hope YOU do too!

Before I go, I want to thank Savvy for one more thing.

I was honored over on her blog today with

this award.  Little does she know just how

much sunshine SHE brings to my life!

Love ya, kiddo!

Looking Through a New Window

I wanted to play with this challenge ALL last week,

but just couldn't seem to get it done.

So I am very happy to have completed my project

and am quickly going to get it posted over there  : )

Little Red Wagon's challenge this week

'Put a Window in it'

I knew exactly what I wanted to use for this

unique and fun challenge.

  I love these chipboard embellishments from

Tattered Angels and thought it would put a

'twist' on the challenge.

There is most definitely a 'window'

in this distressed and layered card.

I used wonderful Tim Holtz/SA

stamps for the flourishes and butterfly.

The sentiment is from My Sentiments Exactly.

I'm sure you recognize all the Prima going on!

I am also entering this card over at...

Totally Gorjuss
#31 - 'Bling'

Flutter By Wednesday
 #110 - flower & butterfly

Stampin' Sisters in Christ
#40 - Distressing

I hope you enjoy it and I hope it inspires you

to 'think outside' the window  : )

Loving the Clouds on a Sunny Day!

I know, I know....two quick posts in

one day!  I have been trying all

weekend to put the finishing touches

on re-creating a card that was first

inspired by my 3 grandsons.

You see, Jenny over at Wee Memories

has a fabulous challenge this week...

'The Sky's the Limit'

She love clouds...is taken with clouds...

and when I first read that, I knew that

I needed to make one of these cards

for the challenge....

Sorry that the photo is a bit 'wonky', but had to take

the pic a bit on the quick side...battery dying!

I KNOW you've been there  : )

Anyway...This card was made using some

BOO from my collection.

'Actopus to Zelephant' from K&Company.  

I used the adhesive borders and the mat pad DP.

This was a very popular card when I made it nearly

a year ago, and I sold it on Etsy.  So I have

decided to offer this one there as well.

Hope you will pop over and pick it up!

Just click HERE!

Thanks Jenny...a FaBuLoUs challenge this week!

Design Team Announcement...soon...

It's nearly time...yes indeed!

In just a few short days,

Friday, May 28th to be exact,

we will be announcing the 

NEW DESIGN TEAM

for

US ARTQUEST!

Can I just say that you will be

inspired by the talented line up

who will share with you 

projects

tips

techniques

using the amazing art products from

US ArtQuest.

So make sure you mark your

calendar to stop back by

The Open Window

this Friday!

Many Thanks...I'm Honored!

What a wonderful surprise!

When I returned home from

my trip to St. Paul, I 

received two lovely messages.

The first was from

Our Creative Corner.

I won a fabulous 

$25 gift certificate to

I {heart} papers

YAY!

It was for this little creation...

You can read my original post HERE.

The other was from

KL Stampin' and Scrappin'.

I made the Top 3 for this...

I know many of you LoVeD

this card...you can see how it

was made HERE.

I think it's always nice to share when

a challenge (or two) works out and

indeed, these did for me!

Thanks to all the challenges out there

who help get our creative juices flowing!

A Little French Inspiration

It is SO good to be back in my little

art space.  I confess that

I haven't had much time to create

this week, and it just so happens that

I chose to participate in a couple of

challenges, which is a great way

to get you focused.

.....One challenge is simple in it's sketch

and one that's inspires layers......

If you have read my blog for any length of time,

you probably know that I am in love with the

Provence region of France.

So when I saw City Crafters' theme this week

was 'I Love Paris', I knew I wanted

in on the fun!

The sketch over at Card Patterns was just

right because it was simple enough to allow

for lots of creativity on the page.

I went major BOO on this card.

The DP is actually stationary from

The Paper Company which

I purchased many years ago along with

a little DCWV accenting.

The 'Paris postmark' stamp is Stampabilities.

The fab die-cut in the center is from

Tattered Angels 'Creme Collection'.

I'm sure you not only recognize the 

Martha Loop Punch, but also the bird die cut,

which is from Tim Holtz and the Spellbinders 

Nestibilities scallop.

The bling and flowers are from Prima.

Glad to be able to share this with you.

I hope when you stop by, you will take a

moment to say hello...

Are You Still With Me? PDCC Sneak Peeks!

I'm baaaack!

Did you miss me?  I sure hope so because you have

NO IDEA how much I missed sharing with you

and hearing from you  : )

I will share a little more about my time away this

past weekend up in St. Paul, Minnesota at 

The Rubber Stamp and Scrapbook Expo...

but for now, here are this week's colors over

at The Play Date Cafe.

Because I was away, I have had NO time to be

creative, so I thought it would be fun to

feature 'sneak peeks' from our

FaBuLoUs Design Team.

Just a tiny taste though......

And this peek from this week's

celebrity guest designer....

Any idea who it might be?

Does this photo 'ring any belles'?

Well there's no point in waiting any longer

to find out because you can see them ALL

over in The Play Date Cafe!

Come Meet Me in St. Paul!

I am going to be MIA beginning today,
May13th-17th

as I will be away working with my friend

Sue Rothamel from US ArtQuest.

We will be traveling tomorrow to 

St. Paul, Minnesota

for the Rubber Stamp & Scrapbook Expo.

If any of you are in that neck of the woods,

I hope you will come out to The Fairgrounds

to stop by and say hello.

You will find us with Marco's Paper.

I would LoVe to meet you!

Reaching Out with Unique Style

The past few days have completely gotten away

from me, so I wasn't able to contribute to the design

team gallery this week over at The Play Date Cafe.

So instead, I am quite happily going to share the 

creations of my fellow Senior Designers,

 Sarah and Mona.

What I love is that you can see two very different

styles for one color combination.

Sarah's mixed media-style is above

and Mona's layered-style is below.

I love our entire design team because they each

have a style unique to them...and that's

what every good team needs...styles that can

represent across the board.

We are really excited to welcome

Heidi Van Laar to The Cafe as this week's

Celebrity Guest Designer.

I am going to keep you guessing about this

week's 'color story' until you get on over

and see it for yourself  : )

You'll find it all in

The Play Date Cafe!

Love is in the Air...

I have been working on a few cards to try and get

ahead on posting as I will be away over the next

several days...so here is another one.

I love vintage and shabby chic, but don't create nearly 

as many things as I would like just because of the

time required to layer and layer.

I love these this paper from Webster's Pages.

I was able to piece it together and use much of the page.

The only paper that is not WP, are the solid white, pink 

& green cardstocks.  The green heart was stamped

around the edges with an accent stamp to give depth.

The sentiment is from My Sentiments Exactly.

Thought I would offer these up for a bunch of

challenges...so here's where they are going:

Challenge #112 ~ Sketch

Challenge #4 ~ Pinks

Wee Memories #5 ~ Stitches

Our Creative Corner ~ Which Anniversary?

(I went with 30th which is pearls)

I will be back a little later with the new

challenge from The Play Date Cafe.

I 'Embellished'...this Challenge

I have just a really quick post for you today.

I have spent most of the day at the clinic with

my sweet husband while he had a medical

procedure done on his esophagus, so I am

spending time between 

giving him some TLC 

and my studio/computer.

 I thought it would be fun to put something together

for this week's Embellish challenge and I knew if

I didn't get it done today, I would

miss out on the fun.

Ashley Cannon Newell is the wonderful host of

this challenge and e-zine AND is our guest

designer in The Cafe this week.

Although my grandpa's have long since passed on,

I was thinking of my grandsons and their love for

'Papa Paul' as I made this card.

I LoVe this color combination and I 

managed some MAJOR BOO on this

project as I broke out some fabby

rub-ons from SEI.

The cardstock is Bazzill & the DP is

from The Paper Company's 'Mirabella' stack.

Everyone's favorite Loop border punch 

is Martha Stewart/EK Success.

I used Spellbinders Scallops for the

dimension and centered it with a

fabric-covered brad from My Mind's Eye.

So that's it in a nutshell!

I will see you tomorrow night at

midnight, EST for the new challenge

from The Play Date Cafe.

It's Pure Bliss.....

I had a ball working on this card over the weekend

and thought I would share it with you

and offer it for a few challenges this week.

I love dimension and this card definitely has it!

I used designer papers from the 'Mirabelle' collection

by The Paper Studio.  The vintage writing DP
makes a beautiful backdrop to the Victorian floral
foreground.  The sentiment is from Studio G
and the lace is about 20 years old.

Can I just say that Prima have really outdone
themselves with these flowers and the bling is
by Prima as well.

This creation fits a variety of challenges for this
week, so here is where I am entering:

Challenge #27 ~ Pink & Green
(the hostess used similar colors to mine)

Challenge #29 ~ Recipe
( one type ribbon/2 DP's/3 Embellishments)

 

Challenge #79
Wedding Wishes

Which Anniversary is it?
1st is paper.....13th is lace
30th is pearl.....60th is diamond

Challenge #49
Wedding/Birthday

Challenge #20
All About Weddings

Challenge GC53

Read
(using text)

 Wee Memories Challenge #5
Stitching
 Crafty Ann's #14
Anything Goes
Creative Inspirations #33
Celebrations
Clearly I Stamp #13
Flowers

That's it for now!

I have a busy week ahead.  Soon I will be leaving
for the Twin Cities of Minnesota with my friends
Sue Rothamel & Crystal Copperstone
of US ArtQuest.
We will be at
The Rubber Stamp & Scrapbooking Expo
demoing and having more fun than
anyone has a right to!  : )

So tonight, I will be working ahead on a variety
of projects to share with you and catching up
on a neglected to-do list.
Have a great Monday!