Hi all! Here ya go! Another Color Inspiration Challenge for ya! Enjoy!

This week's photo was found while I was just surfin' the net earlier today. I thought this dress was just gorgeous. I love vintage dresses, don't you? :)

SO YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE? Make a creation (card, scrapbook, etc.) of your own using the above colors. Then take a picture or scan your creation. Upload your digital image to your blog or in an online gallery, and then come back to kwernerdesign blog to share! Leave a comment on this entry with a link to your creation. Please link to webpages, not directly to image files. Who's in the Round-up? After the deadline, I'll share my creation with you as well as 20 submitted creations, consisting of ten randomly selected entries and ten of my favorites. Pictures emailed to me will not be considered for the Round-up. When does your creation have to be submitted? Thursday, July 24 at 11:59 pm MDT. <--- NEW TIME! You have until basically midnight. NOTE: Those who have websites and blogs, you are welcome to use the above graphic on your blog. For swatches only, you can download the image file by right clicking here (or control+click for my fellow Mac users) and saving the file to your computer. Then upload the swatch image to your blog.

Hi all!

This week's color challenge comes from marthastewart.com, and these cute felt baby shoes. Aren't they adorable? I love them so much I want to make them! And the colors they used for the photograph? Hello? Adorable!

Martha Stewart always has the most creative, cute, and crafty projects on her website. I just love to see new projects over there!

Anyhow, have fun with these colors! NOTE: That's Very Vanilla up there, NOT Whisper White. :)

SO YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE? Make a creation (card, scrapbook, etc.) of your own using the above colors. Then take a picture or scan your creation. Upload your digital image to your blog or in an online gallery, and then come back to kwernerdesign blog to share! Leave a comment on this entry with a link to your creation. Please link to webpages, not directly to image files. Who's in the Round-up? After the deadline, I'll share my creation with you as well as 20 submitted creations, consisting of ten randomly selected entries and ten of my favorites. Pictures emailed to me will not be considered for the Round-up. When does your creation have to be submitted? Friday, July 18 at 11:59 pm MDT. <--- NEW TIME! You have until basically midnight. NOTE: Those who have websites and blogs, you are welcome to use the above graphic on your blog. For swatches only, you can download the image file by right clicking here (or control+click for my fellow Mac users) and saving the file to your computer. Then upload the swatch image to your blog.

Hi all!

Here's my card for the challenge this week. In order to get the punched circles just right, I used the same technique that I used in this video. Super easy and simple. :)

I'll have you all notice the bow, please. I think I finally figured out how tie a good bow! Watch for a video soon. :)

Okay, now HEADS UP! I'd like to give you all some tips on posting your Color Inspiration Challenge submissions. These are tips that will help me and you, so please use them:

1. If you're posting a link to your blog, PLEASE please link to the exact entry that has the card/creation on it. Often, when I go to your main blog page, you've added more entries so I have to scroll down a ways before I see your submission. This is just so I can get through the entries quicker. Often, you can get to the specific entry by clicking on the title of the entry, on "Permalink", or on the time it was posted.

2. It's come to my attention that if you try to include more than 1 link in the comment, it will sometimes flag the comment as spam and not post it. Please include only one link.

3. Please include the ENTIRE link/URL. For example, you need to have http:// in front of your link. This tells my blogging software to make it a link. Just select the entire web address in the address bar of your web browser and copy that into your comment.

4. RELOAD the entry page your commenting on after submitting comment. After you've posted your comment and it says that it's gone through, return to the entry page and hit refresh on your browser. There have been a lot of double posts, and I think it's because some of your browsers aren't recognizing the change in the page. A simple refresh/reload with show your comment. If it's still not there, go ahead and try commenting again.

5. You don't have to have a blog to submit a creation. There are plenty of free image galleries out there. If you want to keep your creation in a craft-friendly place, I suggest signing up with Splitcoaststampers.com. You can upload your images into your own gallery, receive comments from other papercrafters, and also submit a link to your creation to my Color Inspiration Challenges. You can view a tutorial on posting images to Splitcoast in this video.

And that's it! :) Thanks for all your cooperation on this.

On to the top ten submissions and randomly chosen ten!

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Flower Windows - Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, and Really Rust card stock; Certainly Celery wide grosgrain ribbon; VersaMark ink; Winter White detail embossing powder; Simply Said stamp set (Stampin' Up!).

Hi all! This week's Color Inspiration Challenge comes to us from West Elm. I just love West Elm! And I love this bedding!

The colors are very autumn looking, and even though it's still summer here, I really was taken with these colors. So soothing. :)

Anyhow, I can't wait to see what ya'll come up with!

SO YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE? Make a creation (card, scrapbook, etc.) of your own using the above colors. Then take a picture or scan your creation. Upload your digital image to your blog or in an online gallery, and then come back to kwernerdesign blog to share! Leave a comment on this entry with a link to your creation. Please link to webpages, not directly to image files. Who's in the Round-up? After the deadline, I'll share my creation with you as well as 20 submitted creations, consisting of ten randomly selected entries and ten of my favorites. Pictures emailed to me will not be considered for the Round-up. When does your creation have to be submitted? Friday, July 11 at 7:00 pm MDT. NOTE: Those who have websites and blogs, you are welcome to use the above graphic on your blog. For swatches only, you can download the image file by right clicking here (or control+click for my fellow Mac users) and saving the file to your computer. Then upload the swatch image to your blog.

Thanks for all your submissions! You guys are getting better and better each week! I particularly loved the entries this week because they were so bold--just what I wanted! :)

Anyhow, I'm visiting family in sunny-hot-Hot-HOT Arizona this weekend, so I don't have a card for you. But I do have the top ten and ten randomly selected. Enjoy!

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First off, I have to commend all of of you who guessed the musical artist of the song in my last video! You're all super smart. The song "To Love You More" gained popularity when Céline Dion included it on her 1997 album, Let's Talk About Love. However, I used the Lucia Micarelli version in my video. :) Thanks for all your guesses!

This week's color inspiration is actually sort of a stretch. ;) After the brown and white monochromatic card in yesterday's video, I found myself still in a monochromatic mood. AND when I saw these t-shirts over at johnnycupcakes.com, I just knew I had to borrow them for the challenge this week.

Aren't those the best shirts? I have one in brown that I wore at last year's Stampin' Up! convention in Denver and I love it! (BTW, I hate that photo of me... I was all tired and sweaty and not lookin' so hot... BUT I was having a ton of fun!)

Anyway, I couldn't leave ya'll hangin' with just a couple colors, so I threw in some Ruby Red and River Rock. But feel free to eliminate them if you want. Just a couple options for you. I guess the main challenge this week is to create a high-contrast, bold creation. Just like the t-shirt, find a bold/sassy phrase and let it "scream" at us!

Just have fun! I can't wait to see what you all create! :)

Oh, and sorry for the quick deadline. I wanted to get it in before the holiday weekend.

NOTE: I corrected the graphic above just a few minutes ago. I forgot to change the text to read "Whisper White" instead of "Going Gray," but it's correct now. If you used Going Gray before I corrected it, don't worry about it. For everyone else, Whisper White it is! Thanks, Savitri, for letting me know! :)

SO YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE? Make a creation (card, scrapbook, etc.) of your own using the above colors. Then take a picture or scan your creation. Upload your digital image to your blog or in an online gallery, and then come back to kwernerdesign blog to share! Leave a comment on this entry with a link to your creation. Please link to webpages, not directly to image files. Who's in the Round-up? After the deadline, I'll share my creation with you as well as 20 submitted creations, consisting of ten randomly selected entries and ten of my favorites. Pictures emailed to me will not be considered for the Round-up. When does your creation have to be submitted? Thursday, July 3 at 7:00 pm MDT. NOTE: Those who have websites and blogs, you are welcome to use the above graphic on your blog. For swatches only, you can download the image file by right clicking here (or control+click for my fellow Mac users) and saving the file to your computer. Then upload the swatch image to your blog.

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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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...

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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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!

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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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).

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.

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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Hi all! Just a quick Color Inspiration Challenge for ya'll to work on this weekend. :)

This CI Challenge comes to us from Pottery Barn. These colors are so yummy and make me think of summer... swimming, backyard barbecues, etc. :)

My card will be comin' at ya on Monday. :)

Wow! What a turn out for this week's challenge! I loved all your entries and it was particularly hard to narrow it down to just ten favorites! :)

As for my card, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until Monday to see it. ;) I'm multitasking and using my CI Challenge card as my MACM for next week. I'll be in New York for the National Stationary Show so I needed to film it before I go.

Anyhow, here's the Round-up for Challenge #9:

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Hi all! Before I forget, remember to check out the final part of my Questions & Answers video... I posted it right before I posted this entry. :)

This week's CI Challenge comes to us from marthastewart.com. I was looking through the home decorating section and came upon this photo. :)

As usual, I'll share my card with you all when I post the Round-Up on Friday night.

Hi all!

So here we are at the 8th Color Inspiration Challenge. Can you believe it?!

This week's CI Challenge comes to us from Pier1. I found this particular picture in their room inspiration gallery. :)

I'll share my card with you all when I post the Round-Up on Friday night.

Hi all!

My fingertips and hands hurt and I'm developing bruises on my feet. Why, you ask? Because I put together my bed all by myself tonight. I was growing impatient waiting for my super-busy brother to come help me, so I dug in and did it myself.

Sigh. My legs hurt.

Do any of you know how hard it is to put together a four-poster bed all by yourself? Well, I do. And let me tell ya, it takes 2 hours. Yes, TWO HOURS! But I'll be sleepin' pretty tonight. And if the bed falls apart--forget it! I'm sleeping on the floor.

Long story short, after two trips to Lowes (Worker: "You again? The screws didn't work?" Me: "Nope! I need the longer ones") and crawling around on my bedroom floor while I listen to audio from the ENTIRE Center Stage movie, I didn't have a chance to make a card for the CI Challenge this week.

But that's okay because there are SO many awesome ones this week to pick from, right?! Behold, my top ten picks and the randomly selected:

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Hi all!

Can you believe we're at the 7th Color Inspiration Challenge? Wow! Time flies when you're having fun, eh?

This week's CI Challenge comes to us from Restoration Hardware. Isn't that the most gorgeous bedding? LOVE it! I'm sure that all of you can come up with beautiful cards, pages, and other paper crafting items using this color combination as inspiration. For those who haven't joined us yet, feel free to jump in and share a card with us!

As usual, I'll share my card with you all when I post the Round-Up on Thursday night.

Hi all! It's been a whirlwind couple of days around here, to say the least. :)

As I mentioned before, my mom is moving to Arizona so we were packing up the house and getting her all ready to leave. Currently as I type this, the moving caravan should be pulling into my aunt's house in Phoenix where she'll be staying for a bit until she finds a permanent home. It was a sad morning saying our goodbyes before they left to drive to Arizona, but this will be such a good move for her. And I know she'll love living near her two sisters. :)

I've lived with her for nearly a year and a half and she's the best "roommate" I've ever had. Even if I had to put up with needles sticking me in the foot (quilting on the couch in the front room) and threads traveling about the house attached to my pant legs. I'll definitely miss her. In fact, I just might miss those needles and threads. :)

My friend Jen will be my new roommate, though. She's mad talented and also works at Stampin' Up! Talk about a fun time! She's a riot! Party at Jen and Kristina's! You're all invited!

Anyhow, my craft area is still a disaster. But I managed to create this little card using this week's colors. Hopefully ya'll will like it. :)

And here's this week's Round-Up. I had SO many entries this week and they were all excellent. You guys are making it REALLY hard to pick my top ten, let me tell ya! And I wish I had the time to respond to each and every comment/entry.

So, on to the round-up:

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Hi all! Above is the Color Inspiration Challenge #6! The photo this week is borrowed from Mystic Valley Traders. They have the most gorgeous bedding--I can hardly stand it! I want it all! Anyhow, I was particular drawn to these colors. Have fun with it!

As usual, I'll share my card with you all when I post the Round-Up.

TAKE NOTE: There is only a small amount of green used in the photo, so remember to keep the Wild Wasabi to a minimum. :)

Hi all! Here we are again at the round-up! :)

Anyway, before we get to your submissions, here's the card I made. I wanted to create a super easy and simple card and this is what I came up with. :) Easily duplicated and I just love it!

Just a couple things to note. The Soft Sky flower was created by punching out a die-cut flower from Stampin' Up!'s Die-Cut Blooms and then tracing the cut-out onto the Soft Sky card stock. Then I stamped it using the Dotted background stamp. You can't really see the dots too well, but believe me, they're there. :)

Also, currently I'm a bit obsessed with these alpha stamps from Educational Insights. They're actually for elementary school kids! If you want to buy them as well, here's a link.

So, on to the submissions. I was so impressed with all the cards you guys made! So many beautiful cards that I had a tough time narrowing it down to my favorites. My first initial cut had 30 cards in it! AHH! So I had to whittle it down to ten.

Of course, the first ten are included as well. However, if one of the first ten was included in the top ten or if the link provided didn't work, I didn't include it.

Here ya go:

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