I Love These Three Amigas Challenges!

 My dear friends Sharon, Joanne, and I are having trouble coming up with a day for a stamping playdate, so we decided to go virtual again.  What does that mean?  We each set forth a challenge for each other and have a deadline to submit them by.  I'm barely making this one.  I have two minutes left to upload.  Let's see how fast I can type.  :-D 
This first card is for my challenge.  Something old is the rhinestone brads that we've had in the catty for awhile.  Something new is the DP and the Four Frames stamp set, which are the special for this month.  (They're gorgeous, BTW!)  Something borrowed is the layout.  It's from this week's sketch challenge on Splitcoast.  The something blue is quite obviously the DP.  :-)  Yes, I cheated and used the rhinestones from last year's Easter Egg kit.  Sorry!

 And this card is for Sharon's challenge.  She told us to make a quilted card, using this tutorial for instructions.  I, of course, had to go to see what other patterns I could find on the internet.  I found this awesome quilting site to find other patterns to try.  I also found a lot of images on google and found a diamonds pattern that I thought would translate well to paper.  I did use retired DP, just in case I didn't like my first attempt.  I also decided to use my retired brads to match.  After gluing down the DP, I ran the whole thing through the Big Shot with my Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  The tag punch and Tiny Tags stamp set attached with crochet thread finish it off.

And last, but definitely not least, Joanne challenged us to make an Easter treat holder.  (Mine must contain chocolate, because I don't get enough of that food group.  ;-D )  The background scallop is punched out of Naturals Ivory and then stamped with the Medallion center and Marina Mist ink.  (I was going for a different look than usual.)  The flowers were made with my Boho Blossoms punch and the Itty Bitty punch set.  The leaves are courtesy of the lattice die leftovers.  Yes, I have a problem with keeping all kinds of scraps!  Basic pearls finish off the flowers and the Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon was also a leftover!  Let's hear it for leftovers!  Whoo Hoooo!!!! 

Ok, now it's your turn!  Let's see what you can do with these challenges.  Upload your projects to an online gallery (splitcoaststampers.com or for Stampin' Up only stampinaddicts.com) and then come back here to leave us a link.  We'd love to see your creations!  I promise to leave you a comment, too.

Blessings,
Julie

Love That Finial Press Folder!

Oh yeah! See that great embossing pattern in the back- ground? That's the Finial Press embossing folder from Stampin' Up! This first card was from a workshop where the hostess requested an Easter card. The tulip basket image is from A Flower for All Seasons, a set that I received free as a Sale-A-Bration reward. I just love FREE!
And here is the same card that we made at the next workshop with a ribbon added and switched into a birthday card. The DSP is from the Sale-A-Bration pack. The birthday greeting is from the new set Well Scripted...isn't it gorgeous?! I punched it out with my wide oval punch and the frame behind is was punched out with my Big Shot and Lots of Tags sizzlits. I just love how Stampin' Up! coordinates their accessories.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station.

Blessings,
Julie

New Swaps....I Love It!

I've joined a new swap group that I'm SUPER excited about! First of all, I love to swap and get new ideas to show my stamping friends. Second, this is with some of my blogging buddies and some sidelines of mine. I have received a couple back so far. I promise to show you what I've received when I get them. In fact, I can hardly wait to show you!


This is the first card that I sent in for the swap. The theme was Spring. I don't usually use oranges (as I think I've shared with you before...) but adding the Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Dusty Durango, and Always Artichoke definitely helped me with the Pumpkin Pie. I just love that little frog on the A Flower For All Seasons stamp. Some of this was colored with and Aqua Painter and ink from the lids of the ink pads and some of the image is colored straight with my Stampin' Write Markers. The "hello" tag was made with my Tiny Tags stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalog. All of the layers on the main image are lifted up with dimensionals. It's such a fun effect...I love the way it lifts up the image from the card.


I had a lot of fun with this card. I'm not much of a pink person either. Not unless the pink has some personality, that is. Well, I love this Sending Love Specialty DSP from the Occasions Mini Catalog. The sparkle really gets me every time! :-) The beautiful satin ribbon is also from the Occasions Mini. The layout is based on a card that I saw on my wonderful friend Joanne's website Sleepy In Seattle. Since we had a Spring theme, I used the gorgeous Greenhouse Garden stamp set. The flowers in the background are stamped off so that they look faded and provide an appropriate background look. The main flower was stamped in Pretty in Pink and the flower veins were stamped in Cameo Coral. I then used my Crystal Effects to draw the veins and sprinkled it with Dazzling Diamonds glitter for a 3-D glitter effect that matches the DSP. See those cute little rhinestones? They're from our Eggcellent Eggs decorating kit in the Occasions Mini. Love it!

Ok, that's enough blathering for today. Thanks again for stopping by the Stamping Station.

Blessings,
Julie