Sketchy Saturday (#19)

Woo Hoo!! It's Saturday!!! This is such a great weekend for me. Two stamping buddies from out-of-state came to visit and we're having a blast!! Definitely a much needed weekend for all of us. It's great to take some time for you.

Here's the sketch for today.

Check out what the team came up with this week......

Adriana

Alicia

Carol

Leonie

Tammy

Join in and take the challenge with us. Leave a comment with a link to your blog or upload to your SCS gallery using DivaSC18 as your keyword. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend full of fun. Take some time out for you.

Finally Friday x 2!!!

Hello all!! I hope this finds everyone enjoying a happy Friday and you find time to stamp and create!!! And yes, I know I missed last week, but I am planning early for this week and have this post set to go today!!!

For today, I have two special Diva's to highlight: Adriana Benitez and Stephanie Gittins. First off we have Adriana and her awesome creation!!!

Here's what she has to say:

Hello again! It's a rainy day here in Florida so I've been hiding out in my craft room :) I wanted to share another project with the group - I hope you like it. I like reading quotes and tend to save my favorite ones on sticky notes. I have this one note that I leave up all the time and it has started to lose it's "sticky"; so I figured it would be a good time to put it on something a
little more permanent. Here's my solution:

After coloring in the branch and tree images from Thoughts & Prayers with markers, I stamped them onto Very Vanilla cardstock. The quote itself was cut out of Basic Gray cardstock using the Big Shot and the Billboard alphabet die.

When you are cutting out the letters, keep in mind that some letters can be turned around to make others you need. For example, the p can be flipped to make a q , b or d. This is helpful when you need multiples of certain letters and don't want to spend all day cutting! Take the time to lay them all out on your project and see how they fit.

I used a small Xyron to apply adhesive to the letters. Note: When you run them through the

machine, you'll want to put them face up - the way you would read them - otherwise it will apply adhesive to the wrong side. Trust me on this.... lay them in the machine, then carefully let them slide down; a couple of mine kept wanting to turn over!

Once you have placed them on your project, use a rubber adhesive eraser to remove any extra adhesive from around the letters.

After laying out the words, I decided to only add photo corners (using our punch, of course!) and left off any additional ribbon, brads etc. so that it would fit nicely within the glass panes of the frame. Eventually, I may use ribbon to hang it from the wall but for now it will be resting on my bookshelf so no additional embellishment is necessary. I hope you enjoy the project and are inspired to make one of your own!

And here is what Stephanie has to show us:

Ribbon Flower Card

This is an adorable technique that we learned at the Stampin' Up! Convention last year. I am always looking for new ways to use ribbon.

This particular technique works best with wide ribbon- I love it the most with the 1 1/4" Pink Pirouette Grosgrain Ribbon, but this So Saffron ribbon is pretty cute too!

To make the flower, you just do a simple stitch along the edge of the ribbon. This is very easy sewing- just up and down, and you don't even have to be perfectly even. Then pull the thread until the ribbon gathers, and tie the thread in a knot. I finished it off with a Build-a-Brad, and
attached the whole thing with a Pop-Up Glue Dot.

You may have also noticed the two-color butterfly; this was done using the Rock & Roll Technique.

Paper: Sage Shadow, Cameo Coral & Whisper White cardstock
Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly
Inks: Cameo Coral, Sage Shadow, and So Saffron Classic Pads
Accessories: 7/8" So Saffron Poly-Twill Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, Ticket
Corner Punch, Pewter Build-a-Brad, Mini Glue Dots, Pop-Up Glue Dots, 1/2"
Circle Punch, Needle & Thread

Wonderful creations ladies and thanks so much for sharing them with us!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann F. ~~~

Diva Inspiration Challenge #32

Another Thursday, another challenge. This week's picture I found on the internet here. It is a sunset in Maui. How beautifully colorful the sky is! When I first saw this picture, the first thing that came to my mind was bringing out my brayer to try and duplicate the sunset colors for my background. The colors I'm pulling from this picture are Ballet Blue, Lovely Lilac, Pixie Pink, and Summer Sun.

To see what my creative team came up with, just click on their name:
Maria
Elizabeth

To view the submissions on SCS click here.

Now it's your turn! Post a link in the comments section with your blog entry or SCS gallery showing us what creation you were inspired to come up with!! If you upload to SCS be sure to put DivaIC32 (no spaces) as the keyword. Have fun!!

Inspire Stampin' happiness wherever you go!! :)

Heartfelt Sympathy

Today's card comes to us from Maria Williams. It's a beautiful sympathy card. I like to have a few sympathy cards on hand because when the time comes and I need one, I usually don't feel much like stamping. I need to get some more made since, unfortunately, I have used my stash.

Here's what Maria has to say about her card.

The flowers were stamped in Basic Gray, and then I added clear embossing powder to it. Right after I finished heating the powder, I added more embossing powder to it and heated it again. I did this four times. The sentiment is raised up on Dimensionals.

Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Close as a Memory.
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Basic Gray, Kiwi Kiss, Urban Garden DSP.
Ink: Baja Breeze, Basic Gray.
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Crop-a-dile, Dimensionals, Clear Embossing Powder.

Thanks for sharing your beautiful card, Maria!

Until next Wednesday,

Happy Stampin'!

Elizabeth

Want S'mores?

Todays project is by Adriana Benitez of FL who is one of our Design Team members. She is very creative and I love having her on our team. This set is so cute and versatile "Under the Stars".

To make the box:
1. Insert your 8-1/2 x 11" cardstock into your paper
trimmer so that the short side is flush with the top of
your trimmer. Slide your paper over so that the left edge
is lined up with the 2" mark. Score your paper.
2. Slide the paper over again so that the left edge is
now lined up with the 7" mark. Score.
3. Turn your cardstock 1/4 turn to the right. Slide your
paper so that the left edge is lined up with the 2" mark,
score. Repeat at 5", 7" and 10".
4. Cut off the pieces marked with an X.
5. Decorate your box.
6. Place sticky strip along the center flap (marked #).
Assemble your box. You may want to put a little piece
of adhesive on the last piece you fold in on the botton
(to help keep it closed.)

For the s'mores, fill a small plastic bag with chocolate,
marshmallows and graham crackers. Tie it closed and
drop it into your handmade box!

Supplies:
paper: (1 sheet) Creamy Caramel; scraps of Close to
Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Naturals Vanilla
Stamps: Under the Stars, Lovely as a Tree
Ink: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip and Old Olive
Other: Big Shot and Billboard (Alphabet Die), Black Hemp
Twine


Please e-mail utahdivasinternational@gmail.com if you would like the templates.

What a fun project! Thanks for sharing Adriana!

Happy Stampin'

Max

Sketchy Saturday (#18)

Take a little time and create today! Here's the sketch challenge. I drew this up from a couple of things I saw and later found that it was almost the same as the sketch challenge found here.

Check out these great creations by the team...

Adriana

Carol

Leonie

Tammy

Join in and take the challenge with us. Leave a comment with a link to your blog or upload to your SCS gallery using DivaSC18 as your keyword. Hope everyone has a safe and relaxing weekend.

Diva Inspiration Challenge #31

Today's inspiration picture was found at Kohl's. These are Toasted Hazelnut Pillar Candles. Can't you just smell them?!?

I can pick out a bunch of possibilities from these candles. I see a sketch and layout, I see faux wood, as well as the colors Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, and Whisper White. What can you pull from the picture?

To see what my creative team came up with, just click on their name:
Maria
Elizabeth
Carol

To view the submissions on SCS click here.

Now it's your turn! Post a link in the comments section with your blog entry or SCS gallery showing us what creation you were inspired to come up with!! If you upload to SCS be sure to put DivaIC31 (no spaces) as the keyword. Have fun!!

Inspire Stampin' happiness wherever you go!! :)
~~Maria~~

Happy Wednesday!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week so far! It's almost Friday! ;)

Today's projects are being shared by Kristine Memmott. Valentine's Day is gone, but these would be just as adorable for St. Patrick's Day or Easter treats for teachers or co-workers, etc. Just change up the colors and sentiments and Voila! :)

Stamps: Love You Much, Holidays and Wishes.
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip.
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Close to Cocoa, Candy Lane DSP.
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Punch, Riding Hood Red striped ribbon, Big Shot, Envelope Die, Dimensionals.

Until next Wednesday!

Stampin' hugs!

Elizabeth

Adorable Gable Box and Calendar

Yikes - I can't believe I almost forgot to post today! Do you ever think about how quickly time passes and wonder what you actually do all day? Once I considered the idea that I might just be lazy and then I thought "Nah, why should I take all the blame? It's definitely my kids' fault that I'm so unorganized!"

Anyway, I'm so excited about this post, and not just because the projects are so cute. It's also because they come from Stephanie Gittins who just happens to be my upline! Steph is a fantastic upline and everything she does turns out so cute! You're going to love these ideas - I'm sure of it!

Valentine Gable Box
This project was made using the new Gable Box tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers. I'm going to use this particular box for my kindergartener's teacher on Valentine's Day. I especially love this box because it is a little bigger than most, and will hold quite a bit of chocolate! (Or you could fill it with something else... but nothing's better than chocolate!)

I used the Candy Lane paper on this project, but you might notice that the colors aren't the same ones listed in the catalog. Most of the paper does use the suggested colors, but I noticed that this particular stripe was a lot more pink. It's always a nice surprise when you find other colors to coordinate in your paper!

Paper: Close to Cocoa, Rose Red, and Regal Rose Cardstock. Candy Lane Designer Series Paper
Stamps: Love You Much
Inks: Chocolate Chip Classic Pad
Accessories: Wide Oval Punch, Heart to Heart Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, White Gel Pen, Dimensionals, Crop-a-dile, 5/8" Regal Rose Grosgrain

Coaster Calendar
I absolutely adore this little calendar! I made these for all of my Club members, and they were so quick and easy. You can find the calendar template here- a big thanks to Cat on Splitcoast Stampers! I used 4x4 coasters, and just covered them with paper. I punched the holes to mount the calendar all the way through with my Cropadile and then attached the pages with brads. I figured this way the calendar could be changed out next year. I skipped a lot of the heavy accessories, like ribbon, because I put magnet tape on the back.

Paper: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red & Whisper White Cardstock. Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper
Stamps: None
Ink: None
Accessories: Large and Small Oval Punches, Three Flower Punch, White Gel Pen, Gold Brads, Crop-a-Dile

Thank you so much for sharing these cute projects with us Steph!

Sketchy Saturday (#17)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's the sketch for today's sketch challenge....

And here's what the team created..

Adriana

Alicia

Carol

Leonie

Tammy

Join in and take the challenge with us. Leave a comment with a link to your blog or upload to your SCS gallery using DivaSC17 as your keyword. Have a wonderful day full of love and friendship.

Friday the 13th Looks like Eastern Blooms!!

Hello all!!! I can't tell you how happy I am that today is Finally Friday!!!! And, being the lucky person I am, I have a 3 day weekend!!!!!

Ok, enough about me. This weeks card creation come from Maria Williams and is a fresh springy take on Eastern Blooms.

Here's what she has to say:

The first card I made was based on Diva Sketch Challenge 14, but it took me a while to get it done. Unless people keep going back to check old challenges, I doubt anyone saw it.

The circle in the middle of the card is raised up on Dimensionals, and each of the flowers are popped up as well. The background was stamped in VersaMark, and the saying was taken from the Chit Chat Rub-ons.

Stamps: Eastern Blooms
Paper: So Saffron, Regal Rose, Rose Red
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, VersaMark
Accessories: Big Shot, Sizzix Die - Circles Scallop #2, Coluzzle, Trio Flower Punch, Dimensionals, Scallop Edge Punch, Chit Chat Rub-ons

Happy Stamping until next Friday!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Our First Award

Check this out!

Utah Divas International has received it's first award!!!

Thank you Ruthie B.!

The rules for this award:

1) Post the award’s logo on your blog

2) Add the link to the person who nominated you

3) Nominate at least 6 others and no more than 10 blogs & post their links.

I would like to bend the rules slightly and give this award to all our Divas with blogs. I'd like you to post this on your blog and list your favorite blogs to visit. Don't forget to link the Divas blog to yours ;)

Thanks again Ruthie B.

Hugs, Becky

Diva Inspiration Challenge #30

Happy Thursday! Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Have you made your special valentine a card yet? If you haven't had the chance to do so yet, then this week's Diva Inspiration Challenge is the shot in the arm you need!
I found this image over at The Charming Dandy which is a blog written by a woman for men. This article suggests writing a love letter. Now, if only the guys in our life would read this article and take a hint...... hehehee. ;)

I know there's not much to pick from this picture, but remember it is to inspire you to create whether you go with the layout, the colors, the images, or even the feeling or memory it may remind you of.

To see what my creative team came up with, just click on their name:
Maria
Elizabeth
Carol

To view the submissions on SCS click here.

Now it's your turn! Post a link in the comments section with your blog entry or SCS gallery showing us what creation you were inspired to come up with!! If you upload to SCS be sure to put DivaIC30 (no spaces) as the keyword. Have fun!!

Inspire Stampin' happiness wherever you go!! :)
~~Maria~~

Happy Almost Valentine's Day!

Today's project comes to us from Becky Roberts, our Blog Manager. It is absolutely fabulous, and you can order the tutorial on her blog, Inking Idaho.

Thanks for sharing with us, Becky! I am always amazed by your talent!

Have a fabulous Wednesday!
See you next week!

Happy Stampin'!
Elizabeth



Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette and Very Vanilla.
Stamp Sets: Loads of Love and Accessories, Love You Much.
Punches: Scallop Circle and 1 3/8” Circle Punch.
Accessories: Candy Lane DSP, Top Note Die Cut and the Big Shot, Transparency Paper, Jumbo Eyelets, Rope Twine, Flower Fusion, Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Chocolate Chip Stitched Grosgrain, Button Bouquet.

Jackpot!

These fantastic designs come to us from Gretchen Barron - if you haven't fallen in love with these stamps and papers already, you will now!

Get ready for your next Game Night or Party with JackPot Designer Series Papers from Stampin' Up! From invitations to Pencil Holders to Card Caddy's to Post-it Note holders and more, you can create everything you need for a unique and fun evening with friends and family. I had a ball making all these projects with Jackpot DSP and the new coordinating stamp sets, Game Night and Card Games.

Let's start with the invitation. I began with a Basic Black card base and added a layer of Real Red and a 2" layer of the DSP, separated by 1/4" Black grosgrain ribbon. The game pieces were stamped on Very Vanilla Cardstock, punched out with the 1 1/4" Square Punch and
mounted on Basic Black squares punched with the 1 3/8" Square punch.

The sentiment and inside invitation are from Hugs & Wishes. The game pieces were stamped with Basic Black and Real Red Inks.

Moving on, look at this adorable pencil holder! It could also hold tiny wrapped candies or other snacks. The can was a Peanut Can which has been transformed with a little DSP, ribbon, and stamped images. How cute! And something that is useful long beyond your actual event. I will be using mine at workshops to hold Markers, Blender Pens, Bone folders and other supplies needed to make cards. What a great way to show-off our versatile Designer Series Papers and coordinating Stamp sets!

Whether you want to keep track of scores or simply jot down a few notes, this little Post-it Note Holder is the perfect accessory for your party. You could even make one of these for each guest as a little gift to send home with them. It goes together in literally minutes, using an inexpensive chipboard coaster, DSP, and a Jumbo Clip!

This cute little box is made using the Big Shot and the Scallop Envelope Die. You cut 4 Envelopes with Real Red Cardstock, fold on the score lines and attach them together using Sticky Strip Adhesive then decorate as you desire. The box makes a perfect place to store playing cards or would be darling filled with snacks as an individual party favor for your guests. The dice were stamped with Whisper White Craft Ink and embossed with White Embossing Powder and I used one of our new Sizzlets Lots of Tags for the cute shaped tag!

Finally, a little book is always handy to keep track of names and addresses, to keep a running record of game scores and attendance or even as a mini-scrapbook to record the fun you've all shared. This was made very quickly using one of our On Board 5x5 Art Journals, the Stamp Sets Game Night and Smarty Pants and the Spiral Punch!


Gretchen - thank you so much for sharing your wonderful ideas with us - I'm inspired by your creativity!

Sketchy Saturday (#16)

Saturday! Saturday! Today is Saturday! :) Here's the sketch challenge. What an easy and fun way to use up some scraps. Here's what the team created using this sketch.

Adriana

Alicia

Carol

Leonie

Michelle

Tammy

Join in and take the challenge with us. Leave a comment with a link to your blog or upload to your SCS gallery using DivaSC16 as your keyword. Have a wonderful weekend.

Finally Friday - SAB style!!

Hello all!! Bet you thought I forgot again didn't you?? Well, truth be told I almost did, but then I had to wait until I got home from work so I could post this!!

This Friday we have an adorable card from Brenda Taylor using Polka Dot Punches and Delicate Dots dsp!!! Both are available now during Sale-A-Bration!!!! I know my customers are going crazy over both of these items!!

I love how simple and easy to reproduce this card is. I know I will be case'ing it myself!!

Thanks Brenda for another wonderful idea for this set!!

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Polka Dot Punches & Congrats
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, So Saffron & Whisper White Delicate Dots designer series paper
Ink: Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Certainly Celery & Basic Black

Accessories: Bashful Blue grosgrain ribbon, scallop circle punch, scallop border punch, pop dots

Happy Stamping and have a wonderful weekend!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Diva Inspiration Challenge #29

This week's Diva Inspiration Challenge picture gives you two guilty pleasures in one! Would you believe these shoes are made out of chocolate?!? Talk about SWEET shoes! These shoes were made by Gayle's Chocolates and I found it here.

So what colors do you think I pulled out of this picture? Of course Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla but also Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, and Close to Cocoa.

To see what my creative team came up with, just click on their name:
Maria
Carol
Elizabeth

To view the submissions on SCS click here.

Now it's your turn! Post a link in the comments section with your blog entry or SCS gallery showing us what creation you were inspired to come up with!! If you upload to SCS be sure to put DivaIC29 (no spaces) as the keyword. Have fun!!

Inspire Stampin' happiness wherever you go!! :)
~~Maria~~

Gift ideas!

Good Wednesday morning! Today's projects come to us from Courtney Carpenter of Kansas.

This wine box can be used for many things...holidays, friends, house-warming party, etc.

Stamps: (Hostess Level 2 )A Little Something.

Ink:choc. chip, brocade blue.

Paper:Candy Lane designer paper, choc. chip paper, pink pirouette, whisper white, and brocade blue. Access:brocade blue ribbon, silver cording, pewter jumbo eyelets.

The other project I created was a post-it note holder with pencil. Super easy and fast! No stamping required.

Paper:Candy Lane designer paper, choc. chip, pink pirouette. Access:scallop punch, glue pen, dazzling diamonds, dimensional, heart to heart punch. Ribbon: whisper white taffeta.

Aren't they just the cutest? I love them! Thanks for sharing, Courtney!

Until next week...

Happy Stampin'!

Elizabeth

Another Valentine's Idea

Well, I've been swamped lately without much time to stamp, but I've wanted to make a Valentine's Day card for my husband. Something that's not too girly, you know?

I had a few ideas running around in my head and when I finally sat down to stamp, they didn't come out quite as I'd imagined - don't you hate when that happens? However, I'm way too cheap to waste the supplies and start completely over, so he'll have to be happy with the results!

Stamps: Sweet Stems, Holidays and Wishes
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Going Gray, Pink Pirouette, watercolor paper
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red
Embellishments: Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain ribbon, Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Aqua Painters, Floral Frenzy Classy Brass Template