Merry Monday Reminder and WOWZA!

Okay, I call "UNCLE"...yep, definitely too much on my plate these days! My blogging and card making has taken a back seat to "real" life adventures. Thank you to my blogging pals and to my wonderful design teams for keeping the challenges running smoothly. I truly hope to be back to a more normal schedule soon but I am nearing the end of the year, 19 days left of school and well, I am just so darn busy!!!  Lots going on in my personal life too, it is all good but busy! I think Spring and Summer really add to the hectic way of life. Anyone else feeling overwhelmed? LOL!

Just a quick reminder that the Merry Monday Challenge is on until Sunday at Noon (PST). I hope you have a chance to join in the fun!!!  To play along, please click HERE!

Freshly Made Sketches #37 {Rita's Blog Hop and Sketch!}

It is time for another sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!  Welcome to Rita's Blog Hop!! Today we are celebrating Rita and her last challenge with us at Freshly Made Sketches!  She is on her way to having a baby and so is taking a maternity leave from our team! Hurry back Rita!  We will miss you!!!  She has created this gorgeous sketch for her last challenge and Nance Leedy, has added Rita's photo to it, to make it extra special!

The ladies at Freshly Made Sketches and the Paper Players have come up with a blog hop for our friend Rita!!!  I wanted to create something in pink for Rita, as she is having a girl!!  Little Laila!  Rita has been an integral part of our team...I will miss her! 

To follow our hop, be sure to visit Linda Callahan next!  The blog hop list of participants is below...starting with Anne Marie Hile!

Anne Marie Hile

Ann Schach

Cindy Hall

Erna Logtenberg

Jen Mitchell

Jennifer Timko

KathyTanner

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan {You are HERE}

Linda Callahan

Nance Leedy

Tui Nathan

Tara Murphy Bourgoin

We hope that you will join Freshly Made Sketches this week!  Please be sure to visit the other DT Members to see their wonderful creations! And please visit Rita, by clicking HERE!!!

Cardabilities #56 {Celebrate Today}

This week at Cardabilities, Karan has a very interesting sketch of which I took some liberal interpretation! I did find this sketch to be very challenging, but I hope it inspires you to create something beautiful! I used Baja Breeze as my base and inked up the Summer Solstice set with the Perfectly Penned set!

I hope you get the chance to join us at Cardabilities!!!  

Merry Monday Winners

Thank you to everyone who joined us for last week's sketch!!!  


The Merry Makers have chosen their favourites for this week. Be sure to grab your badge and display it proudly on your blog!

Wendy's Choice: Carolyn King
King's on Paddington

Lots of terrific holiday cards to choose from this week but this one from Carolyn King grabbed my eye simply because of the traditional Christmas colors, great papers, embossing and that adorable deer image! Love it! Carolyn, your my Top Pick this week! Congratulations!

LeAnne's Choice: Carol
Our Little Inspirations

This card of Carol's has me dreaming of a White Christmas on a Silent Night in a Winter Wonderland!!  What a wonderful creation....a simple design but lots of texture and warm country colors!  The scallop oval mat,  lace borders and little tag all add up to a perfect Top Pick!!!

Nina’s Choice: Deanne
Three Tree {paper} Creations

It was another tough decision this week, but I thought Deanne’s card was adorable. I love the non-traditional colours that were used and Barry is adorable. The purple pompoms are a perfect finish for this wonderful card,  Congratulations Deanne you are my Top Pick this week!

Colleen's Choice: Christine
Happy Heart Cards

I chose Christine’s elegant card this week because of its elegance.  I love the large tree heat-embossed in black, with tiny flowers adorning it.  Her hand-stamped backgrounds have such subtlety, letting the tree take center stage.  Congratulations, Christine, for being my Top Pick this week!

This week's winner is:

Danielle Vincent

D's Crafty Connection

I loved Danielle's card as soon as I saw it! The fun snowman she created is just too cute! Look at the amazing scarf she created with the new dies and the sweet little snowflake on the hat is just perfect!! The background paper looks like snow! I think this is such an awesome Christmas card!!! Congratulations Danielle, be sure to email me as I would love for you to be my Guest Designer next week on Monday, June 4th!

To play along with this week's challenge, please CLICK HERE!

Merry Monday #22 {Warm and Cozy Christmas}

Welcome to another week at Merry Monday!  The idea behind this challenge is to get a head start on your Christmas cards!  Each week, I choose one Merry Monday Winner who will then be a Guest Designer for a future challenge!  So get out your Christmas supplies and let's get to work!    

Lesley Croghan

This week I decided to use a wonderful digital stamp from my stash! This cute bear was designed by Torico! I love her sweet images. I used some traditional colours paired with yellow. I am also excited to have Tammy Hobbs as our Guest Designer this week! Welcome Tammy. This is Featured Designer Colleen Dietrich's last week with us as our Featured Designer. Thank you so much Colleen for being a part of the fun for May!!!  The design team has some wonderful samples to get you into the Christmas spirit!! Welcome to Bonnie Klass and Narelle Farrugia, our newest Merry Makers.

LeAnne Pugliese

Nina Forsyth

Narelle Farrugia

Bonnie Klass

Tammy Hobbs (GD)

Colleen Dietrich (FD)

Challenge Rules (to keep things fair):

1. You must use the sketch and make a Christmas card.

2. Please add a direct link to your blog or to an online gallery.

3. Feel free to use other challenges or for a stamp releases, it doesn't matter, as long as you add this challenge link to your post.

4. Any offensive posts or cards that do not follow the guidelines will be removed out of courtesy to fellow bloggers and myself.

5. As always, please have fun and make the sketch your own!

This linky will close at Midnight on the Saturday before the next Merry Monday Challenge.

1. Margaret G.	2. Carol L	3. Wendy Aungst	4. Monica H.	5. shelia	6. Judy
7. Kylie	8. Natali	9. Karen Aicken	10. Allisa	11. Three Trees	12. Luanne
13. Linda Lapotka	14. Carol Parcell	15. Janet Kay	16. jaydee	17. Danielle Vincent	18. Jenn
19. Patti Corriere	20. Carol Lucas	21. Rose	22. Gisèle	23. Catiecuddles	24. SU! with Hayley Kew
25. Alicia	26. Barb Housner	27. KatheD	28. Beth

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Some Exciting News!

Wow, Challenge #21 this week for Merry Monday, which hopefully means you have at least 20 cards made for next Christmas! Over the past 5 months, I have enjoyed viewing your beautiful Christmas cards! I knew I wanted to add a couple more designers to the team. Bonnie Klass and Narelle Farrugia are both good stamping friends and I am so thrilled they have agreed to join me for the next three months. They will be with me for June, July and August. I asked them to share a bit about themselves, here is what they had to say!

Narelle Farrugia

Hey everyone, my name's Narelle and I live in Melbourne, Australia.  I'm married with 2 boys and I love to create every chance I can run away to my craft cave - this is in between working full time and running kids to football training. I fell in to attending a Stampin' Up! workshop over 3 years ago and it didn't take long before I was caught by the stamping bug, joined up as a demonstrator and haven't looked back! I was thrilled when Lesley asked me to join the Merry Monday Design Team for the next three months and can't wait to see what you all create.

Bonnie Klass

Hi. I'm Bonnie Klass, an avid stamper living in the triangle area of North Carolina.  My husband and I retired a few years ago and spend our days taking care of two grandsons age 4 and not quite 1.  They keep us busy.  Whenever I have a few minutes, I escape to my stamp room.  I have several groups of ladies that I stamp with on a regular basis as well as some wonderful online stamping friends.  Stampers are the best people!  I am so excited to be on the design team for Merry Monday.  It's one of my favorite challenges and to be included with these talented ladies on the team is a real honor and treat.

Thank you ladies and welcome to the team! They are actually joining in our challenge on Monday, which will be our last week with the lovely Colleen Dietrich!! Where has the month of May gone?!!

There is still time to play along with this week's challenge, to play along please click HERE. The challenge ends on Sunday at Noon (PST).

Dynamic Duos #4-Monochromatic

Week 4-Monochromatic-same colours in different hues (light/dark)

Saturday is here and that means another challenge over at Dynamic Duos. This week we have a monochromatic colour theme, and we are going with blue hues! On a personal note, I am trying to keep up with my commenting for all my teams and hope to be back at commenting much more in a few weeks! I have become so busy with work and other personal commitments, that I have had to cut down on my computer time. I hope you will bear with me until I can get back to it a little more regularly!

As much as a tried, I could not get a good photo of my card! Ack! I love this new Hostess Set so much! I thought the blue colours would go perfectly with the sentiment and the umbrellas! The Dynamos have created some amazing cards this week, please be sure to visit them!  

Allisa Chilton

Anne Marie Hile

Anika Lerche

Bronwyn Eastley

Kim Singdahlsen

Lesley Croghan

Lisa Elton

Melissa Chipperfield

Paige Grabau

Sue Joyce

Still time to play along with Merry Monday!

Still time to play this week with the Merry Monday Sketch. To play along, please CLICK HERE.

Freshly Made Sketches #36 {A Sketch from Tui}

These next few weeks you will be seeing less of me on my blog as I have the opportunity to work with a children's chorus in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat". I will be sitting and teaching them songs rather than sitting and making cards! But it is only until June 15th and I will be back more regularly after that! 

This week I have my cards ready for all my challenges starting with Freshly Made Sketches! We have a fabulous sketch from lovely Tui Nathan and I was excited to break into the new IN Colour pack and to use the new Ink Pads! I used Raspberry Ripple, and I love it! Those new ink pads are amazing, and I will be buying up some new ones for the other colours too. 

We hope that you will join Freshly Made Sketches this week!  Please be sure to visit the other DT Members to see their wonderful creations! 

Linda Callahan

Lesley Croghan

Cindy Hall

Jen Mitchell

Tui Nathan

Jennifer Timko

Rita Wright
Erna Logtenberg
Tara Murphy Bourgoin

Merry Monday #20 Winners

Thank you to everyone who joined us for last week's sketch!!!  I finally completed my card for this week's challenge, wow! Where does the time go! To join in our current challenge, please click HERE.


The Merry Makers have chosen their favourites for this week. Be sure to grab your badge and display it proudly on your blog!

Wendy's Choice: Vicki Burdick
It's A Stamp Thing

When I saw Vicki's covered notepad I just loved it! The papers, embossing folder, pearls and adorable stamps just make this such a wonderful gift! Congratulations Vicki for being my Top Pick this week!!

LeAnne's Choice: Christine

Happy Heart Cards

Christine's use of color on this pretty card caught my attention right away!  Isn't this a striking combination? The layout she implemented is very simple, but adding just enough fun embellishments kicked it up a few notches, especially with that fun bling and sweet baker's twine!  Congrats, Christine, on being my Top Notch this week!

Nina’s Choice: Allisa
Rocky Mountain Paper Crafts

Another week of fantastic Christmas cards to choose from, Allisa created this wonderful blue stocking card. There are so many details that just stands out, I am a huge fan of textured backgrounds and the brick behind the stocking is fabulous. I love the added flock at the top of the stocking and the little bits of bling. Congratulations Allisa you are my Top Pick this week!

Colleen's Choice: Erna
Elog Cards

There were SO many amazing cards to choose from, I had trouble choosing a winner!  Erna's card wins my vote because of the mix of traditional Christmas colors combined with a fresh, modern feel.  The die cut tree really commands your attention, and the glittered ornaments and silky ribbon are the perfect finishing touches.  Congrats, Erna, on being my Top Pick this week!

This week's winner is:

Tammy Hobbs

Creating Somewhere Under the Sun

I just loved Tammy's cool Christmas card! The gingham paper, the funky tree shape and the blue rhinestones just made this card so completely adorable and unexpected! I also loved the shimmery star at the top of the tree and the fabulous sentiment looks like it has been hand written! The perfect card for celebrating a Cool Yule! Congratulations Tammy, I would love to have you join me as our Guest Designer on Monday, May 28th!! Please email me as soon as possible! I hope you can join us!

Don't forget our current challenge is on right now, to play along please click HERE.

Merry Monday #21-{Coming Soon}

Welcome to another week at Merry Monday!  The idea behind this challenge is to get a head start on your Christmas cards!  Each week, I choose one Merry Monday Winner who will then be a Guest Designer for a future challenge!  So get out your Christmas supplies and let's get to work! I have a confession to make, no card for me this week! Eeek! Last week I was just plum tired and could not for the life of me craft! I hope by the end of the day today, to have added my card!  In the meantime, the amazing design team has some wonderful samples to get your creative juices flowing!

Lesley Croghan

LeAnne Pugliese

Nina Forsyth

Wendy Aungst

Colleen Dietrich

Challenge Rules (to keep things fair):

1. You must use the sketch and make a Christmas card.

2. Please add a direct link to your blog or to an online gallery.

3. Feel free to use other challenges or for stamp releases, it doesn't matter, as long as you add this challenge link to your post.

4. Any offensive posts or cards that do not follow the guidelines will be removed out of courtesy to fellow bloggers and myself.

5. As always, please have fun and make the sketch your own!

This linky will close at Midnight on the Saturday before the next Merry Monday Challenge.

1. Margaret Gilmer	2. LisaJ	3. Heidi Williams	4. Alicia	5. Janet Kay	6. Kylie
7. Carol L	8. Shelia	9. SU! with Hayley Kew	10. Carol Lucas	11. Patti Corriere	12. Donna Bowman
13. Danielle Vincent	14. Kathy Tanner	15. Three Trees	16. Debbie	17. Linda Lapotka	18. Bonnie
19. Christine Blain	20. ~Tammy~	21. Narelle Farrugia	22. Carolyn King	23. Allisa	24. Catiecuddles
25. Violet Verhoog	26. Tania B

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Paper Players #96 {Happiness}

This week at the Paper Players, AM has an awesome Clean and Simple Challenge! She is looking for some Polka Dots! I LOVE Polka Dots! 

I inked up my new set called "Mixed Bunch" and used the colours from Colour Q. Then I punched out a couple of flowers, to match the Colour Q Graphic.  Then I used my bird punch to create the leaves for the flowers. I embossed the gray piece of cardstock with my Stripes embossing folder, to make it look like a fence.  The sentiment is from Fabulous Phrases and I cut it out with my new Framelits called "Bitty Banners". Oh I love them!!! The backdrop is embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing folder.

We hope that you will join the Paper Players Challenge this week!  Please be sure to visit the other DT Members to see their wonderful creations!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Jenn Picard

Heidi Boos

Narelle Farrugia (GD)

Dynamic Duos #3-Celebrate Today

Wow, third challenge already at Dynamic Duos! This week is our Black Tie Week which means one colour and black, as well as a Dessert Option.

The colours this week at Daffodil Delight and Basic Black with a dessert option of Dry Embossing.  I chose no dessert this week, need to watch my dessert intake and went clean and simple for my card! I just received the Mixed Bunch Stamp Set and the Blossom Punch in an order and I was excited to use it!!!

{Supplies Used-All SU!}

Stamps: Mixed Bunch, Perfectly Penned

Inks: Daffodil Marker (to ink the flower), Basic Black

Papers: Summer Smooches, Black and Daffodil Delight

Tools: Blossom Punch. Bird Punch, Dimensionals

I hope you get the chance to join us this week at Dynamic Duos. Enjoy your long weekend, we are hoping to get some fishing in! I will let you know if we catch any fish! I am so excited for a break! Be sure to stop by the wonderful design team...they have come up with some amazing samples this week!

Allisa Chilton

Anne Marie Hile

Anika Lerche

Bronwyn Eastley

Kim Singdahlsen

Lesley Croghan

Lisa Elton

Melissa Chipperfield

Paige Grabau

Sue Joyce

Merry Monday Reminder

Well I have decided to take the weekend off from my computer, it will be tempting to check in from time to time with my tablet, but I am going to TRY to unplug! LOL! If you have the chance to craft this weekend, don't forget the Merry Monday Challenge is open until Sunday at Noon (PST). Sure hope you will join us!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Cardabilities #55 {Hello}

May 15th is here and that means a brand new sketch over at Cardabilities!  I loved the sketch and decided to take a clean approach to it!  I used my new but retiring "Triple Treat Flower" stamp. Love using it, wish I had bought it at the beginning of the last catalogue! What was I waiting for?

For my colours I went with Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive, using some Summer Smooches Designer Paper. The leaves are created using my Bird Punch and the sentiment comes from the Sale-A-Bration set called "Elementary Elegance". I completed the look with the embossed, dots background.  

I hope you get the chance to join us over at Cardabilities , the challenge is on for the next two weeks!

Merry Monday Winners

Thank you to everyone who joined us for last week's sketch!!! The Merry Makers have chosen their favourites for this week. Be sure to grab your badge and display it proudly on your blog!

Wendy's Choice: Bonnie
Stamping with Klass

I loved Bonnie's card this week because she took this beautiful rose and turned it into a holiday card! Not a set you'd normally use for a Christmas card but she made this work beautifully!! I love the Scallop Trim Border Punch and the embossed pieces. She needed nothing else to make this pretty rose stand out on it's own! Nice job! Congratulations Bonnie for being my Top Pick this week! :)

LeAnne's Choice: Lisa
Snowy Moose Creations

I am a pushover for silhouettes, and this fun scene of Santa and his reindeer made me giggle with delight!  I love that the image is stamped in blue, and the background paper and embossed panels really add fun texture to an already-cool layout!  Love it!  Congrats, Lisa, on being my Top Pick this week!

Nina’s Choice: Danielle
D's Crafting Connection

So many fantastic cards this week, my eye was caught though with Danielle’s window card. The Christmas trees are so cute and coloured so nicely, I love the bright colors in the design paper with the little bit of sparkle. The two little sentiment tags are a great finish. Congrats on being my Top Pick this week, Danielle!

Colleen's Choice: Patti Corriere 

what are you inking?

Patti's Christmas tree is so clever, using a pennant punch as her base and adorning it with wavy 'garlands' of pearls. The color scheme of pale aqua and fresh green makes for a unique approach to a Christmas card. I also like the creative use of the Lattice Bigz die as the horizontal panel. Congrats on being my Top Pick of the week, Patti!

This week's winner is:

Lesley's Choice: Madeline of The Stamping Studio

 

I just adored Madeline's sweet card! The funky fold, her white gel pen colouring and the colour combo all made this card a stand out for me! Congratulations Madeline! Please be sure to email me by clicking the envelope icon in my blog banner, we would love to have you as our Guest Designer next week!  

To play along with this week's Merry Monday Sketch, please CLICK HERE.