Inspiration comes from all places!  This card was inspired by an article in a Century 21 magazine about the newest designs and texures of wallpaper.

Here is my card:

And here was the inspiration.  I was immediately drawn to this design.

Supplies Used:

Stamp Set: Apple Blossoms (Level 2 Hostess set)

Ink: Tangerine Tango, Going Gray

Paper: Going Gray, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White

Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig (couldn't have lined up the circles stamp without it!), large oval and scallop oval punches, Dimensionals

My inspiration for this card came after spending a weekend at our home in Colorado.  Very early one morning, I looked out our upstairs bedroom window and saw the beautiful tall pine trees on our property silhouetted against the early morning dawn.  I was struck by the beauty and counted myself very lucky to have a home in the beautiful Wet Mountains of southern Colorado.  When we returned home, I took out my reinkers, baby wipes and my all time favorite stamp set, Lovely as a Tree to see if I could recapture the moment.

I used Regal Rose, So Saffron and Pretty in Pink reinkers. 

To learn how to do the Baby Swipes technique, please visit my on line tutorial here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCkub-ubYsQ

Stamp Set: Lovely As a Tree, Four the Holidays

Ink: Regal Rose, So Saffron and Pretty in Pink reinkers, Basic Black

Paper: Glossy white card stock, Basic Black, Barely Banana

Accessories: Baby Wipes,  1/16", 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, black brads

I love this time of year.  I love the crispness in the air and that I have to wear a jacket and shoes in the morning when I go out to feed the birds.  I especially love fall colors.  I saw this wreath advertised in the Sunday paper, and I instantly thought of the stamp set Autumn Days and the In Colors Crushed Curry and Dusty Durango.  I think these two, along with Soft Suede, are my favorites.

And here's my card:

I used the masking technique to stamp the wreath. Here's how:

I punched a 1 3/8" circle out of a Post-It Note.  This circle will be my mask. The sticky  part on the back of the Post-It Note will keep the mask in place.

I laid the punched out circle on my card stock and then stamped around it using the dotted flower image from Autumn Days.  First I stamped using Crushed Curry, cleaned my stamp and then over-stamped using Dusty Durango.

Remove the mask and you have a wreath. 

  I added the circle greeting from Matchbox Messages to cover the inside of the circle.  Very easy!

This is the inspiration for this week's challenge.  I saw Soft Suede and Chocolate Chip.

And here's my card.  I used Autumn Traditions Designer Series Paper.  I also ran the Chocolate Chip card through my Big Shot using the Distressed Texturz Plate for a little added interest.  I know it is hard to see, and it's hard to photograph.  Very simple with no stamping involved.

Card Stock: Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip, Autumn Traditions Designer Series Paper

Accessories: 1/16 inch hole punch, Vintage Brads, Big Shot, Distressed Texturz plate (Kit #4)

   When I saw this sweatshirt in a catalog, I instantly thought "Polished Stone".  

Then I thought the stamp set Branch Out would be perfect accent to the background:

Polished Stone is one of my all time favorite stamping techniques.  It is so simple to do.  Here's how:

Polished Stone Technique

What you need: glossy white card stock. This technique will also work on any nonabsorbent surface like vellum, dominos, acetate, glass, or plastic.

rubbing alcohol

cotton balls

metallic reinkers (gold, silver, copper)

classic  re-inkers

Acrylic sealer-optional

-Put a few small drops of the metallic ink randomly onto glossy white card stock.

-Dampen a cotton ball using rubbing alcohol.  Don’t saturate the cotton ball.

-Place a couple of drops of the classic ink onto the wet cotton ball.  You may use 2-3 colors of ink.  I would not suggest using any more than two, or it Can look muddy.

-Dab your cotton ball over the card stock.  Continue dabbing until you achieve the look you want. 

The rubbing alcohol will cause the re-inker to blend together.
The metallic re-inker will sit on top of the color and will make your background vein to look like marble.

-Optional: Seal with acrylic sealer.  If you don’t ,the metallic ink will come off on your fingers.  This does not bother me.  The smell of the acrylic sealer bothers me more!

OR: heat emboss piece with clear embossing powder (make sure alcohol is dry first).  This will also set the metallic ink.

-Use piece as a background or stamp an image using regular black or Stazon black ink.

Stamp Sets:Branch Out and Autumn Days

Paper: Bravo Burgundy, Garden Green, Brushed Bold and glossy white

Ink: Black Stazon, Versamark, Encore Metallic Gold re-inker, Bravo Burgundy, Garden Green and More Mustard dye re-inkers

Accessories: Bravo Burgundy 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

This bracelet was my inspiration for this week's challenge.  These are my favorite colors and now that Fall is in the air, it is nice to use them again.

And here is my interpretation.  I used the Autumn Days stamp set and Autumn Traditions Designer Series Paper. 

Stamp Sets: Autumn Days, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Soft Suede, Crushed Curry

Paper: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede and Autumn Traditions Designer Series Paper

Aren't these ties cool?  They were in the Kohls insert in yesterday's paper.

These two are the inspiration for my first challenge:

And here's my card.

I got out my Craft Ink Spots and dabbed and smooshed Taken with Teal, Brilliant Blue and Bashful Blue on glossy card stock.  Then I lightly wiped it with a paper towel to blend the colors. The stamp set is Bird on a Branch.  I like this background! 

Another Sunday paper challenge!  Isn't this bedspread pretty?  What a perfect opportunity to use my new Butterfly punch and Medallion back ground stamp!

I stamped the Medallion back ground stamp on Whisper White card stock using black craft ink and embossed with black embossing powder.  Then I punched out butterflies using the Butterfly punch. I stamped solid butterflies using the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set on Whisper White card stock using black craft ink.  Remember to let the craft ink dry before going further to avoid smudges!  I then layered the punched butterflies over the stamped butterflies using small pieces of Dimensionals to add a little pop.

Here's a close up of the layered butterflies:

  This bedspread was advertised in Target's insert on Sunday.  I saw it and thought Rich Razzleberry, Basic Gray and the new Medallion back ground stamp. Perfect, let's make a quick card...

I stamped the Medallion background stamp on Whisper White paper using black craft ink and then heat embossed with black embossing powder.  I really like the Rich Razzleberry and Basic Gray color combo. The center is a pearl from the Pretties Kit.

Here's a close up.  I think the Medallion back ground stamp is so pretty and elegant.

I thought this bedding advertised in the K Mart insert in yesterday's paper was so bright and pretty. I saw Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery and Going Grey.

Here's my interpretation.  I used the stamp set Fifth Avenue Floral and the Stained Glass Technique.

Stamp Sets: Fifth Avenue Floral, Matchbox Messages

Ink: Black Stazon, various markers

Paper: Basic Gray, Vellum card stock

Accessories: mat pack and stylus, 1 3/4 circle punch

What inspires you?

This pretty backpack was advertised in a Kohl's insert in our Sunday paper this week.  When I saw it, I immediately thought of one of my favorite stamp sets,Baroque Motifs and Razzle Dazzle found in the new Stampin' Up Idea Book and Catalog.  Don't the colors remind you of the new In Color, Melon Mambo?

And here is my interpretation:

Stamp Sets: Baroque Motifs, Razzle Dazzle

Ink: Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery

Paper: Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Melon Mambo

Accessories: Eyelet Border punch

Today was the first official day of retirement for my husband and I!  We will now move onto the next phase of our lives.

This is the card I gave to him to celebrate.  I finally used my new stamp set, Autumn Days for the background, combined with some of our new In Colors.  The birds are from Love you Much. I also used the small circle from Circle Circus.

Here was my inspiration.  This came from the Cost Plus insert in Sunday's paper. I immediately saw Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry, Chocolate Chip and Not Quite Navy.

Here is another version using the pheasant from Autumn Days.  I really like the pheasant!  But, I couldn't figure out a way to have two pheasants facing each other.  I even tried the Reflection Technique, and it just didn't work.  One bird was a lot lighter than the other, hence the name Reflection Technique! 

I've gotten in the habit of scanning the advertisement inserts in our local paper on Sundays for project inspiration.  And this Sunday was no exception!  I saw this bedding in a Target ad:

I love the colors and the design and immediately thought of the new Medallion background stamp from Stampin' Up!

It is one of my new favorites!

And here is my card. 

Very simple to do.  Colors used were Tempting Turquoise and Ballet Blue. I wanted to do the rock n roll technique to get the two colors, but since the stamp is so large, it wasn't working very well.  Instead, I ran the Ballet Blue pad over the center part of the stamp and then used a brayer to even the color out.  Then, I inked up the brayer using Tempting Turquoise and added the 2nd color to fill in areas.  The center is a Circle Ice Rhinestone brad and the corners were punched using the Ticket corner punch.

This insert from Wal Mart was in our Sunday paper.  I was instantly attracted to the bright colors!  Whoever thought of purchasing a lime green or orange vacuum cleaner?

It reminded me of my younger days when tie dye was all the rage.  So, I got out my Circle Circus stamp set, sponge daubers, white embossing powder and heat tool and went to work at creating my own tie dye project using the Emboss Resist technique.

Here's the inspiration thanks to Wal Mart:

Here's the finished card:

Emboss Resist technique:

You will need:

Versamark, white embossing powder and a heat tool

1. Stamp your image in Versamark onto white matte card stock.

2. Sprinkle white embossing powder over the image and heat emboss with heat tool.

3. Using a sponge dauber, add color from regular dye ink pads.  The ink will resist where the image has been embossed.  Buff color using a kleenex.

Colors used: Crushed Curry, Glorious Green, Tempting Turquoise, Only Orange, Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry

The greeting is from the very versatile, all occasion Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.