Good morning, all! (Unless, of course you're in a far away country where it's evening). :)

This week's Make a Card Monday came about because I had two packs of American Crafts rubons that I had rarely used. Both had the same designs but one was in brown and the other in white... Hmm... What to make?

I thought to make a card that uses only those two colors. But I substituted Very Vanilla for the white just so that it would soften the contrast just a bit. Even though the rubons were white, it doesn't really bother me too much.

It looks like a wedding card, huh? That wasn't what I was aiming for, but it certainly looks like one now. No complaints here, though. A card is a card. :)

Anyway, the card came together SUPER quickly! I wouldn't mind making a few more of these. :)

Hi all!

Sorry about dropping off the planet for a bit. :) I've been wanting to spruce up the blog here for a while so all my free time went to that. But, I got it where I want it so it should be free sailing for a hopefully a long time. Anyone who has a blog knows exactly what I mean--you're only content with how your blog looks for a short while and then BAM! You've got to change it up a bit.

During the revamp of the blog (which really didn't change all that much), I added a couple new things. First, I think I eliminated a lot of the things that caused the pages to load slowly. I took out a lot of images and used text instead. Did you guys notice a difference in how fast the page loaded?

I also added numbers next to all the comments. That mostly for me. In the past when I drew random comment numbers for give aways, I had to print out all the comments, and then pencil in the numbers. Now, the numbers are already there! :) Plus, if you guys want to reference each other's comments, just mention which number it was.

And, this last thing will take a while to get up and running completely, but I'm adding technique tags to all the entries that have cards or scrapbook pages in them. For instance, on this entry I tagged the term "faux stitching." At the end of this entry, if you click on the faux stitching link, you'll see a list of all the entries that have faux stitching in them. Pretty sweet, eh?

Like I sad, that one will take a while because I have to go through all 418 entries and manual type in all the tags. Just be patient. I'm working from the oldest entries and slowly making my way to current ones.

Anyway, this is the card I made for Color Inspiration Challenge #13. I actually had this all sketched out on Thursday night, made it Friday night, and am now just getting around to posting it. It's been a crazy weekend! :)

So enjoy the card, and be sure to take a look through all picks this week. Every week it's getting harder and harder to narrow the top ten down! You guys are truly amazing. :)

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TEN RANDOMLY SELECTED

Bloom Where You're Planted - All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted. Cutie Pie Designer Series Paper; River Rock,Wild Wasabi, and Whisper White card stock; Regal Rose, Wild Wasabi, and River Rock ink; corner rounder punches; paper piercing template; white gel pen; River Rock double stitched grosgain ribbon; Garden of Life stamp set (Papertrey Ink); white plastic flower (American Crafts).

Hi all! This week's color inspiration was borrowed from Tracy Porter. Specifically, this is the Rosewater Bedding. Isn't that gorgeous?

A special thanks goes out to one of the blog buddies, Amy, who alerted me to this site! Thanks, Amy!

Anyhow, I've had a few questions about participating in the challenges each week, but one in particular keeps coming up. Heads up! You asked, "Do I have to use the specific colors?"

No. If you have the Stampin' Up! colors it makes it a bit easier on your part, but if you don't have them, just use a similar color.

Hope that clears things up! :) Anyway, here are the usual details...

Hi all! Thanks for being patient for today's video. :)

For those with high-speed internet, check out the video in higher quality over at YouTube. Just click here and then below the video click on "Watch in high quality."

Anyway, I used some chalk ink on this card. I LOVE chalk inks! They just look... so soft, or something. Just a cool look. I wish I had even more chalk inks to work with.

I also used a Stamp-a-ma-jig like you wouldn't believe! When I started stamping all those dots, I was all, "Hmm... this might take a while," and then I kept going and wanted to kill myself! That's a lot of dots! And just think--what if I'd tried to stamp the ENTIRE front of the card? Crazy! It was almost as bad as working with all those punched circles in my last entry's card. ;)

I also did a bit of individual color on the Happy Birthday stamp. I wasn't sure if the chalk ink would work in this case, but I was happy to note that it did. :)

Before I forget, I created an iTunes iMix for all the songs I've used in videos (including the Holiday ones). If the songs were bought from iTunes or could be found on iTunes, they're on this list. Plus, you can buy all of them at once, or individually. See it here.

Anyhow, on to the video!

Hi all! The Make a Card Monday video is uploading to YouTube right now. It's taking forever! Anyhow, it should be ready in the next few hours. :)

I decided to upload a larger file (higher quality) but then realized after I'd already uploaded it once that there was a glitch in the file. So... I'm uploading it again. Joy. :)

But that means that if you watch the video over at YouTube, you can click on "Watch in higher quality" and the video will be MUCH clearer. Seriously, it looks as good as when I'm editing it on my computer. No more pixelation! :)

Until then, enjoy your Monday morning (or Monday afternoon depending on where you live--whassup, my Aussies!?) :)

Okay, first it must be said that I did not look at anyone's submission for this challenge until after I'd completed my own. That being said, I couldn't help but see how many others received the same inspiration as I did from the MoMA placemats. :)

(Make sure you click on each one of those words--they each go to a different card!)

Seriously, I couldn't help but smile as I saw how similar some of your cards were to mine. We must have a cosmic connection!

Anyhow, here are the ten I selected and the ten that were randomly picked. Such great submissions this week. Every week, you guys really step it up. :)

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TEN RANDOMLY SELECTED

Hi all!

This Color Inspiration Challenge photo was borrowed from a photo shared over at Design Sponge of some new items at the MoMA Store. Isn't that place mat so cool looking?

Anyhow, have fun with this mostly neutral color palette. I added a some pop of green in there for a bit more color. All in all, I think ya'll could make some very sophisticated creations with these colors.

Good luck!

Hi all!

Super simple card tonight. :) And a winner for today's Amazon.com gift card!

According to random.org, the winner is Kelly Jo who commented at 4:30 this afternoon. Congrats, Kelly! I'll email your gift certificate right now. :)

Simple Flower Card - Kraft card stock, white taffeta ribbon and rubons: Stmapin' Up!; patterned paper: KI Memories; Aqua Mist card stock and Garden of Life stamp set: Papertrey Ink.

National Splurge Day! If you had $500 to spend on anything--really, ANYTHING!--how would you spend it?

Leave a comment telling us how you'd spend your "money." I'll randomly pick a commentor and send them a $5 Amazon gift card (via email, of course). Not exactly $500, but you could get 5 songs from their MP3 Store... LOVE IT!

NOTE: I've closed the comments for this entry. I just draw a random winner and the details are in the next entry. Thanks for all your answers, everyone! :)

Good morning! It's so early, it's not even bright and sunny here yet. I'm writing this at 12:15 in the morning! :)

Before I head off to bed, here's this week's card. Sort of a different card for me. But the more I look at it, the more I like it.

Often I'm asked if I work from sketches when I make my Make a Card Monday videos. Sometimes I do. However, this card was created by just wingin' it. I had no plan whatsoever. Sometimes that works out for the good and other time it's atrocious. You just never know what you're going to get, ya know?

What about you guys? Do you plan ahead? Play it by ear? Or maybe something in between. If I don't have a sketch, usually I'll at least know a few things that I'd like to use, I put them out on my desk, and then I start creating. But like I mentioned above, this card was just random. Flyin'-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-random. :)

Enjoy!

Hi all!

This is going to be a super quick entry since I'm wrapping this up at nearly midnight. Man, I'm tired!

Tonight we met at my brothers house to celebrate Father's Day, and the inaugural Werner Family Father's Day Tetris Tournament! Complete with brackets and everything. :)

I lost my very first match (up against Ryan) but wasn't eliminated until two rounds later. It ended with a fight to the death (ha!) between my brother Ryan and my sister Anna. Ryan won, though. :)

However--and that's a big HOWEVER--we played a sudden death match between just four players and I WON! WAHOO!

Until next year, right? I'll be practicing!

Anyhow, here are the selections for the latest Color Inspiration Challenge:

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TEN RANDOMLY SELECTED

Hello - Riot of Petals background stamp; Old Olive, So Saffron, and Whisper White card stock; Rose Red ink; Three Flower punch; brad; paper piercer and template (Stampin' Up!); gray paper (American Crafts); alphabet stamps (Educational Insights).

NOTE: This has nothing to do with papercrafting. I'll post my card and picks for the latest color challenge tomorrow evening. :)

Some of the blog buddies asked about my nails, so I thought I'd show how I give myself a French manicure. By no means am I a professional. This is just how I do it. :)

Products used:
Orly Rubberized Bonder (base coat)
Essie Nail Polish - Marshmallow
Essie Nail Polish - Mademoiselle
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Also mentioned:
MakeupAlley.com

Ya'll must go see these cupcakes! This baker is AMAZING! :)

Hi all!

This Color Inspiration Challenge (#11--can you believe it!?) was borrowed from Ikea. I {heart} Ikea! Such a cool and awesome store! :) I was so happy when Ikea finally came to Utah and opened a store last summer. People literally camped out on the sidewalk overnight to be the first customers inside! Can't you believe that? Crazy kids! :)

Sadly, I have been to more Ikea stores outside of Utah (Minneapolis, holla!) than inside. I really need to go again. The last time I went to Ikea was nearly a year ago when I had lunch there with my Stampin' Up! Convention buddies (Hi girls!). We had yummy meatballs and mmm... okay... I think I'm going there for lunch tomorrow. :)

Anyhow, Ikea always has great color inspiration. That's where this pictures came from and I love it!

Just a note for all of you who are participating in the challenge: Notice the use of white--there's lots of it! Don't be afraid to be bold and use a lot of white.

Hi all!

This week's card is for one of the many people I know that announced just this week that they're expecting! Seriously, there is something in the water around here... everyone's pregnant! :)

Anyway, I'm still obsessing over these Educational Insights alpha stamps. Just can't get enough of them! We used them at card club on Thursday, and then I had to break them out for Make a Card Monday.

I also am stuck on an embossing kick. Any and all stamping has to include embossing!

I go through these phases every once in a while when nearly everything I create uses the same supplies or techniques. I bet many of you go through these phases too. Either colors, stamps, ribbons, tools.

What phase are you in right now?

Then again, maybe it's just that I use whatever is within reach on my craft desk (aka whatever is hanging out on the top surface of my mess). ;)

and watched the following video. I love presentations like this. Reminds me of the "quintessential random number" also known as 47, which became a strange numeral companion to me after watching 5 years of Alias. See it everywhere. Seriously.

If anything, this guy is amusing to watch. :)

Just updating my YouTube channel, so I thought I'd bring the video over here, too. :)

Hi all!

Tonight is my monthly card club. (If you have questions on the details of my club, read my answers here). I designed the cards last night and my bag is all packed and ready to go over to Paula's for some card makin' and yummy food right after work.

Anyway, I usually make it a point to ask each month's hostess if she has any requests for the kinds of cards we'll make. Paula specifically asked for small 2x2 cards. Whoa. That's small!

But they're cute, eh? :)

I kept the little guys pretty plain so that they could be used for just about anything. I picture them being used on gifts since I don't have envelopes for them. Have any of you seen envelopes fit 2x2 square cards?

The other card uses some materials that I picked up at Kate's Paperie in New York. That gorgeous blue card stock! Yum! And the green envelope that you can see peeking out from underneath the card--that's from Kate's as well. :)

3 cards - Kraft card stock (Stampin' Up!); ribbon (Kate's Paperie); patterned paper (Sassafrass Lass, KI Memories).

Hi Card - Winter White embossing powder, Soft Sky ink, Naturals White and Basic Black card stock (Stampin Up!); blue card stock and black ribbon (Kate's Paperie); patterned paper (Sassafrass Lass); dot stamp (Art Warehouse); alpha stamps (Educational Insights); VersaMark ink.

The above card is for all you blog buddies! I've been such a slacker and I have left ya'll hangin' for SO long! You guys are too good to me--hangin' in there until I can squeak out some spare time in the middle of the night. :)

Anyhow, here's my real card for the Color Inspiration Challenge. I made the sorry card after I made this one. Seriously, thanks for being so patient. :)

I bought this little lamb-y stamp back in March when I was in New York. I bought it at Kate's Paperie--which, by the way! If you're ever in New York, you must go to Kate's! It's awesome! Anyhow, back on topic...

Can you believe it's taken me this long to get around to using this adorable little lamb? I don't recall who the stamp is by... It was a name I've never heard of. I'll update ya'll with it later. :)

My word, I need to clean out my stash more often! I've been unearthing all this incredible stuff that I forgot about! As soon as the room is all cleaned up, I'm sure I'll have plenty of inspiration. ;) And according to all your comments about my messy craft room, a lot of you have the same issue!

Obviously, I'm still stuck on the circles-turned-into-scallops! I just can't stop using this little detail! I LOVE it! What about you guys? Have you tried it out yet?

Okay, now on to the Color Inspiration Round-up!

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According to random.org, the winner is Barb Hendrickson! Congrats, Barb! Watch your mailbox for an email from me with instructions. I just need your mailing address so I can send you some goodies! :)

My word, there's a lot of comments from both the Color Inspiration Challenge AND yesterday's entry. Forgive me while I go through them all. :)

I'll post the selections/winner, etc. tonight after I'm home from work.

Sorry kids. No MACM this week. Why, you ask? This is why...



Yep. I have a messy craft area. It's actually one of the reasons I haven't been too motivated to create anything recently. BUT! That's about to change!

After procrastinating cleaning out my craft room, it's down to just a few days before I HAVE TO have it all done. New roommate Jen moves in this weekend so I need to have it all in order so that she can move her stuff in, too. We'll be sharing the office, and I was definitely taking up more than half my share. :) So, I moved the stamp set shelves into the closet --the walk-in-closet--and I lined the shelves up side by side so I could see the stamp sets easier). There's still a lot of random junk in the closet, but at least my stamps have a home. :)

I'm slowly going through ALL my stuff and giving a lot of it away. Stuff I'm just not too excited about or that I know I'll never get around to using. I'm taking in a big box of stuff to the office this morning to share with the work buddies. But I'm sure I'll have even more tonight when the cleaning commences once again. Speaking of, leave a comment here and I'll randomly pick a name tonight. That person will receive a little somethin' from my stash of giveaway goodies. :)

Anyhow, not too long ago I created some cards for the scrapsupply.com newsletter (see the May 2008 newsletter). As I was cleaning out my craft room I found this notepad (from M.O.):



Oh yeah! I forgot I sketched out ideas for this card:



In fact, you might recognize one of the sketches from another card. Which was is it, eh? ;) Anyway, have a happy Monday ya'll and I'll catch you tonight when I post my Color Challenge card and the selections for the last challenge.