The Spot 161 Color Challenge

                                           

Good Morning! I hope you are all having an amazing day so far! It is cold and raining here and I am sure that the farmers are happy to have this moisture. Kids are off to school and I am going to put a roast in the crock pot! I love comfort food! A couple of the kids may revolt, but this isn't Burger King. We have 13 days left of school and I can't wait for it to be over... 

This week The Spot has a fabulous spring like color challenge with one of the new In Colors Fresh Freesia! I have decided to use the entire Expressions In Ink Suite for my card today, lets take a look!

This card came together so fast it was scary!!! The flowers from the Artistically Inked are stamped in Magenta Madness and Fresh Freesia with leaves stamped in Granny Apple Green all on Basic White. I have used the coordinating dies to die cut these beauties with my Mini Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine. It is so cute and easy to use right on my workspace! Next, I stamped the edges of my Granny Apple Green with Granny Apple Green ink using the background like stamp in the set. The Gold and White stripe was a must use and was matted onto a piece of Basic Black ink and layered onto the Granny Apple Green layer. The sentiment stamped in Jet Black Stazon on Basic White was die cut using the Tailor Made Tags dies and tucked in behind my flowers. A few pieces from the Ephemera Pack and some Gilded Gems and this beauty was done! 

Now it is your turn! I can't wait to see you play with these fresh colors! 

Have an amazing day!!

Product List

Artistically Inked Bundle (English) [155456]	Expressions In Ink Suite Collection (English) [155459]	Fresh Freesia Classic Stampin' Pad [155611]	Fresh Freesia 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [155613]	Magenta Madness Classic Stampin' Pad [153117]
Granny Apple Green 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146990]	Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad [147095]	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [121045]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276]	Tailor Made Tags Dies [155563]
Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad [101406]	Gilded Gems [152478]	Mini Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [150673]

The Spot 150 You are Amazing Birthday Challenge

Good Morning from Siberia! Just kidding I am still in Colorado but yesterday morning when I woke up, it was -42 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chill of course! It seriously was just crazy cold! I am good with snow and the cold that goes with that, THIS is disrespectful. Good news is that the kids have a delayed start and will get to go to school! It will probably be one of very few days that they will be thankful for their masks. Needless to say we had some fun with throwing hot water into the sky and the best place to be was definitely inside eating big bowls of homemade chicken noodle soup! I even tried my hand at making noodles... I need practice!

 

Click Here for Challenge Details

Today I am creating with The Spot Design Team, we are creating with a Birthday theme! It was a great opportunity for me to create with the You are Amazing Stamp Set and Kit. I am all about not using something the way that it was intended to be used. So if you have this kit, this is a great alternative and if you don't have the kit... you are going to want it after you see this card!

My amazingly cute card started with pieces from the You Are Amazing card kit. After I picked the pieces I wanted to use from the kit, I grabbed the stamp set and inked up the sentiment from the coordinating You Are Amazing stamp set. It is inked up in the ever so cheerful Mango Melody. The Flirty Flamingo layer behind it is stamped in Flirty Flamingo on the corners using the burst stamp. This is layered over a piece from the kit that I added a bit of the Granny Apple Green striped twine from the kit. The Polka Dot and Mango Melody Banners were created from the kit. This was perfect for a sheet of the Oh So Ombre Designer Series Paper from Sale A Bration! A nice mat of Bermuda Bay for this Flirty Flamingo card base and this cutie was done! 

I can't wait to see ALL the birthday cards, I am sure this is a challenge that ANYONE can play along with! I hope you all are staying warm!

The Spot 146 Case The Designer

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday! First let me start off by telling you that you are going to see a lot of me this week! So man new goodies to play and the creativity and it is just free flowing! Hope you are all well! We are too! Every one is at school and I have the house to myself which is amazing! Maybe that is why the creativity is free flowing! 

This week The Spot Creative Challenge Team is coming to you with a Case The Designer Challenge! This time we are casing my amazing friend Jay Soriano! Jay has a really specific style and love for color. He does amazing blending backgrounds and his Stampin' Blends skills are on point! 

So when I was trying to decided what to CASE for this challenge I chose to go to Jay's boards on Pinterest! I chose the card below because I LOVE THE LAYOUT!!! 

I chose to CASE the layout the layout above for this challenge but twist it a bit and use the new Snail Mail Suite! 

         

This card started with the cute little die cut from the DSP that the dies from the Snailed It Bundle actually cut! So when you can't color something that you like (Like me with this snail!), you can just use your dies to cut this little dude out! So my snail is the colored succulent in the picture above and is accented with the Bermuda Bay and Real Red die cuts much like the Succulent piece behind the colored image. I chose to use the Snail Mail Designer Series Paper for the Large Stitched Circle and strip across, following along with the sketch. Instead of having the banner with the sentiment I chose to use the word bubble die much like the smaller succulent that peaks out from behind of the top right of the circle. The mushroom stamp was a great touch for the background of this and went along with the sketch (well, in my head it did). A bit of the Snail Mail Twine combo was a great added touch!

Now it is your turn! You can stalk Jay's blog or his Pinterest Boards to find a card you want to CASE!! I can't wait to see what you choose!

The Spot 134 Christmas Means More Sketch

Good Tuesday morning from Antarctica!! Just kidding I still live in Colorado, but when you wake up and it is 0 Degrees outside with 7 inches of snow... you wonder for a bit. The good thing about living in Colorado is if you don't like the weather, wait a day, it will change. So, today is going to be a balmy 38 Degrees, so we should have some melting and the temps go back to "normal" fall temps! Just in time for Joshua's winter coat to be here! Isn't that the way things work?

I spent the weekend working on Make & Takes from my friend and demonstrator Amy Combs' retreat! The projects were amazing and I can't to share a few of them with you in the coming weeks. It was good for my soul to be virtually surrounded with stamping friends and it also got my creativity going again. We all know that is been a bit absent lately!! So, when I peeked at this weeks sketch for The Spot, it only took me an hour (not counting the time spent refereeing kids) to get this done!

When I started to mentally create this card, I knew I wanted to use the Designer Series Paper from the Most Wonderful Time Product Medley. I don't actually have the whole medley but had purchased the refill kit for the retreat and LOOOOOVEEEE the papers! I picked a bit of an assortment of the DSP and adhered them to a 4" x 5.25" piece of Smokey Slate card stock. Once I had this done I set it aside with my Old Olive Card Base. The card offers a bit of pizzazz on its own because the Gold Foil accents in the paper. I reached into my scrap bin for a piece of Real Red. I love the Christmas Means More stamp set!! I love the mix of fonts and fun sayings from our favorite holiday movies.  I knew that I wanted to heat emboss the sentiment on the Real Red but couldn't decide between Stampin' Emboss White or Gold. The white popped a bit and that is what I wanted. Then the Hippo & Friends Dies have some great label like shapes that are stitched, so I used the largest one. The holly is accented with Metallic Pearls and a bow of All The Trimmings Ribbon was a perfect touch for this Christmas Cutie! 

I am so happy that you came by today! I can't wait to see what you create with this weeks challenge!

The Spot 128 Forever Fall

Happy Tuesday! I must say that I have really struggled the last week. It is SO weird to not have my kids at home! In my mind I thought I was going to be having my own personal "I am Home Alone" party, but I have really struggled. I liked having my kids home. Minus the bickering of course, but they are all back at school with their friends. Stumbling through the new normal of masks in the hall way, masks on the bus... I am grateful that they still get to be kids!

This week with The Spot Design Team we are creating with a fall feeling color challenge! It is just weeks away for those of us above the equator and it is my favorite time of year to cook. I wasn't sure what to whip up for this challenge so I decided to use the Forever Fern Bundle and a bit of the Brushed Metallic Card Stock. Lets take a look!

Sometimes when creating with a color challenge I stumble at bit. I mean, I know that these colors SCREAM fall but I didn't want to make a stereotypical fall card! After sponging a background with all three colors, I still wasn't sold on what to do. I created my own DSP with the Forever Fern stamp set using the Merry Merlot, Crumb Cake and Bumblebee. Once that piece was done I embossed the dark bronze colored Brushed Metallic Card Stock with our Tin Tile Embossing Folder. A few die cut elements with the coordinating dies were just the right touch with my little Linen Thread bow. The sentiment on my square from the Stitched Shapes dies, is stamped with Bumblebee ink and coordinates nicely with the Bumblebee card base. The Merry Merlot mat makes my card front pop a bit with the Elegant Faceted Dots.

I can't wait to see what you create with this warm and rich color challenge! Hope you have an amazing day!

The Spot 116 Color Challenge Prize Peony

Good Morning!! Happy Tuesday! It is a beautiful morning on the plains of Colorado. I hope that you are having the same kind of morning! We spent the weekend about 30 minutes north at a swine show put on by the Colorado Junior Swine Association. Taryn got her feet wet in showmanship and showed Daisy pig for the second time. It was a great weekend and the kids even managed to have some time to play at a park and pond close by. I am up to my ears in finishing swaps and trying to figure out class scenarios as I am able to hold classes again. So be sure to check back for more information.

Today I am creating with The Spot Design Team and we are creating with a great color challenge. You can pick 3 or use more... It is entirely up to you. If I remember correctly when we created this color combo we had the idea of a Shabby Chic challenge... Which we all know is TOTALLY MY JAM but my creative mind didn't lend towards that idea and I really wanted to play with the Prized Peony Bundle. Let me show you what I have created.

My card started with the large peony stamp from the Prized Peony bundle. I have used my Rich Razzleberry and Pear Pizzazz Stampin' Write Markers to ink it up. This stamp set has an amazing coordinating dies and I used the die to cut the flower above. Once this was done I ran a piece of Crumb Cake card stock through the Old World Paper embossing folder. I found that I get a great embossed texture when I mist my card stock with a bit of water. Something you can't see very well is the added heat embossed Gold Splatters that are accented with Gold Metallic Pearls. The Peony is layered over the Square Velum Doily and a bit of Linen Thread and Gold Bakers Twine from the Forever Greenery Trim Combo Pack. The sentiment which is also heat embossed in gold on Whisper White card stock was punched using the Label Me Fancy Punch. Once I had this all complete, I added it to a layer of Rich Razzleberry and put it on the Mint Macaron card base!

Now it is your turn! I can't wait to see what you create with this weeks challenge, you have until Saturday!!

Product List

Prized Peony Bundle (English) [154056]	Regals Stampin' Write Markers [147155]	Subtles Stampin' Write Markers [147156]	Versamark Pad [102283]	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder [109129]
Heat Tool (Us And Canada) [129053]	Old World Paper 3D Embossing Folder [153200]	Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [120953]	Rich Razzleberry 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [115316]	Mint Macaron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [138337]
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100730]	Forever Greenery Trim Combo Pack [152475]	Linen Thread [104199]	Metallic Pearls [146282]

The Spot Not Yo Mommas Card Challenge

Happy Tuesday! I am enjoying a hot cup of coffee in silence while typing up my post this morning... sometimes I wake up early just so I can drink my coffee in silence. It is for everyones safety! The kids and I will be working on seed tapes today of carrots and radishes for the garden. I am hoping to plant some of the flowers I got from the nursery on Friday. For those of you who garden, do you follow the Farmer's Almanac? In Colorado there is also the theory of not planting things before Mother's Day... I tend to be a bit of a rule breaker anyway.

Click Here For Full Challenge Details

This week The Spot Design Team is creating cards that are not so average. We are calling it the Not Yo' Momma's Card. You may see some fun folds or Unisex type cards and cards that are NOT for mom!!  I chose to make a fun fold. That isn't necessarily for mom but maybe for an amazing friend. Now I can't take credit for this amazing fold design. I tend to treasure or hoard cards from swaps... I usually keep my very favorites. I received a swap card from my demo friend in California Amy Combs at OnStage in Vegas, I hadn't pulled it out of the clear envelope until a couple of weeks ago, so she gets the credit for the design of this fold. Let me show you what I have created!

Adorable, right?! This card has a rich base of Early Espresso with a mat and accents of Mossy Meadow. I have used the Stampin' Blends Petal Pink, Mossy Meadow and Ivory to color the Magnolia. This was nicely accented with the Magnolia Lane DSP stripe and the Bird Ballad DSP. I even added a bit of the Pressed Petals DSP wood. The Stitched So Sweetly Dies are a go to and a favorite. To create my label I stamped the smaller magnolia in Petal Pink and sentiment from the To A Wild Rose in Early Espresso before die cutting. My label is accented with a bit of Striped Petal Pink and Lace Trim. A few Gold Glitter Enamel dots were an amazing touch. 

I will be making this fold live on Thursday... Stay Tuned for a time!

I can't wait to see what you make for this challenge!