COLORING DOWN THE MAMBO LINES!

Well, I'm back! Probably wondering where I've been! So, since about 2 weeks before convention until now, I've been all out with tons of activities!!! And I have sooo much to share!!! But I wanted my "comeback" to be on my favorite blog hop!!! I finally got to meet my "hoppers" in person at convention! I was so excited to put names to real faces (not just blog photos!)!  It was my pleasure & honor to meet such talented ladies! And dance up a storm with a couple!! ;)

Some of my gals:

So welcome back from Helen's blog! I've really missed you & am glad to see you again!!!

This weeks color choices are Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, 

Tempting Turquoise  OR Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant.  I chose the second because I feel like I've been using all the pretty bright colors for everything! I figured it'd be fun to get some of the "deeper" colors!!!

So here's what I came up with:

I used From My Heart stamp set. I find this set very useful! It's got great sentiments to just kind of fit in where you don't know what else to say! lol 

I made this card to go with a sketch challenge for my upline group this week. We had to use this sketch for our group swap. I thought that since things have been so crazy, why not combine & save a little time.

So here's the sketch:

I like having a sketch to kick off those ideas, but I find them stifling sometimes. This sketch was a fairly simple one. It didn't leave a lot of room for creativity. Sure, I could have embossed more, or added more bling, but I basically needed to "color inside the lines".  But these challenges also really make you think! I had to come up with something within those constrictions. While it's a pretty simple card, I think it's effective!

So pop on over now to Liz's blog & tell her I said hello my friend! It's been awhile!!! Glad to see you!!!

I promise lots of great convention stuff over the next couple of weeks! I have all  my swaps to share with you, as well as some of the amazing swaps I received!  I also have some fun pics of the great fun we had!!!

Happy Stampin'!

WOOHOO!!! IT'S CONVENTION TIME!!!!

So you didn't see a blog hop this week! That's because I am in Salt Lake City for our Annual Convention!!! This year promises to be bigger & better than ever as we celebrate our 25th Anniversary!!

I will be posting for the next few days from Salt Lake City!!! Be sure to check back for lots of fun!!!!

Happy Stampin'!!!

PISTACHIO COLORING DOWN THE LINES!

Hello again! Happy Dog Days of Summer-at least here in New England! Hazy, hot & humid! While everyone is complaining about the weather, I'm reveling in it!! Love it! We have it for a "blink"/year!!!!

So if you're blog hopping here from Helen's blog, I'm happy to see you!!  Luvin' her card this time!!! Well, I always love her cards!!! lol

So this week's Coloring Down the Lines colors are 

Pistachio Pudding, Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe

                     or                     

      Pistachio Pudding, Smokey Slate, Strawberry Slush

We are winding down with the new In-Colors! But I really love this Pistachio Pudding color! At first, I thought it was kinda blah. But now that I see it paired with the other colors, it's the perfect accent to just about any card!

Here's this week's creation:

The colors actually shout out to me "sherbert"!! lol I think ice cream, but I didn't go the ice cream route! Now I challenged myself this week to not even use Whisper White cardstock anywhere-just the 3 colors. I usually like to stamp on the Whisper White or Very Vanilla to make the stamped image pop, but I think it works on the Smoky Slate! What a pretty gray that is!

So I used a Sketch Friday SF070513

sketch for inspiration.  Stamp set is Summer Silhouettes & the greeting is from Sweet Essentials! An understated set that you can now order for 25% off!!!

The Fancy Fan folder is the embossing in the back. I finally opened my Delicate Details Lace Tape, & boy do I wish I hadn't!!! I LOVE it!! I'll have to be buying plenty of this now!! You can color right on it to make it different colors. I stuck with the white to keep the accent going.

In this close up the Smoky Slate looks very metallicy silver! Nope.  Now I stamped the flower images in Pistachio Pudding & Strawberry Slush, & I thought it looked good as is. But I added the White Uniball Gel Pen to make the image pop. Add the white heat-embossed sentiment & voila!!! I think it's a very pretty card!! I think it shows pretty well in the close up!!!

Now head on over to Liz's happy blog home & check out her lovely card!! I'll see you there!!! You bring the coffee!!

Next week you will be seeing all kinds of convention treats! I leave Tuesday night for a week of fun!! Right now I am working feverishly to get all my swaps done & everything ready for the trip!!! Good stuff!!!

So until next time!

Happy Stampin'!!!

PUMPKIN FOR THE 4TH!

So Happy 4th of July to you, and Happy Birthday to the good 'ole USA!!! While we are all out celebrating, I just wanted to share a pic or 2 with you!

These pictures come from June's My Paper Pumpkin! I really like this month's set! It's sweet & easy! 

Still on the fence with My Paper Pumpkin, maybe this month will put you over! I love the simplicity & fun of the kits!

So enjoy this little "birthday" present to America!!!

 This is what ya get! All the materials for 4 cards, including envelopes, stamps, a mini stamp pad, embellishments. Every month it's different! Most have been card kits, but there was a really cute little scrapbook kit in May! Can't wait to see July's!!!

You can either do all 4 the same, or go outside of the box & change it up! That, of course is what I always do!! lol  See?

I just think they're so bright & cheerful! I'd love to get one of these in the mail!!!

Happy Stampin'!!!

COLORING DOWN THE LINES BROWN SUGAR!

Welcome over to a new Coloring Down the Lines blog hop! I'm once again doubling up with the Mojo Monday sketch challenge because I really liked this one!!!

If you've "hopped" over from Helen's blog, it's great to see you again!!!I hope you enjoy here as much as you did there! :)

So this week's colors are

Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe, Bermuda Bay

OR

Baked Brown Sugar, Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler.

 I chose to use the first one because I just love those colors together! That Baked Brown Sugar is becoming a fave. It's an odd shade of brown, & that's why I like it! It seems to go with everything! But we are now working in the new In-Colors, & I really love ALL of those! So pretty!!!

So here's the Mojo Monday 300 challenge sketch:

It just seemed to "call out" to me!!!

Now here's my card!

I really had fun with this one! It came to me easily! Some take forever to design. This one just fell right into place!

I used the ever popular Oh, Hello stamp set for the sentiment. You may recognize the flowers from Secret Garden also! I used the coordinating Framelits to cut the flowers out. Those Framelits save so much time! And now with the Magnetic Platform it makes this whole process so quick, easy & fun!

The Bermuda Bay is embossed with the Fancy Fan embossing folder. I cut out the sentiment squares with my new Square Framelit Collection!!! So easy to get the sizes just right!!!

Embellishments were simply a bit of 5/8" Crochet Trim and a few of the 

Pearls Basic Jewels!

Here's a close up!

So this is a fave card for me!!! I can't wait to hop over to Liz's blog & see which colors she chose! I always smile at her designs! So great!

On another note, I leave in 2 weeks for Convention in Salt Lake City!! I can't wait to hang with my friends-old & new! I will be hooking up with my buddies from Canada-Team CanAm!! Girls, get ready for some purple!!!! lol

 I was so excited yesterday when I got my nametag in the mail!!! Now to finish all my swaps! Nope. Not even close to done yet!!! lol

Until next time!!

Happy Stampin'!!!