I sit here typing and sipping on the very beloved coffee on a cold Thursday morning.  It is cold here, which is not the usual.  I am loving it, and the steaming coffee is really making my world.  I am here with a few cards that are linking up to several challenges.

I am seriously enjoying the new year and all that opportunity to create.  There is something about a new palette of year that is inspiring in so many ways.  I am trying to push myself in some new ways so that I can create new things.  I hope that what I am coming up with, you find inspiring.

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Up first this week is a word challenge from the team over at Just Us Girls.  The word this week, ‘new’ is appropriate being that it is JUGs first challenge of the year.

I am working with a new product, the stamp set from Darcie, as well as my new year resolution to enjoy the little things.  I stamped out all the images in the stamp pack and picked the right sentiment.  I colored in the images with my copics.  I made a mistake by highlighting the sentiment in yellow.  I wish I had just left the card stock white there.  I did trim the card stock up and snagged some velum with gold detailing and trimmed it up to slip under the card stock.  I assembled everything and left it that simple.  I like the idea of sitting down and enjoying the simple things like milk and cookies(not that I would drink milk), or coffee and donuts(which I try to avoid cause I will eat all 12).  It is my resolution to not fixate on the big things that are out of my control, but instead really take the time to enjoy the small things.

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The design team over at Inspired by All the Little Things have a beautiful inspiration photo this week.  The colors in the photo are what really pulled me in, and the simplicity of those flowers.

I pulled out a rose stamp from a Winnie and Walter stamp pack and stamped it out repeatedly onto some watercolor paper, masking when I where I needed to, so could get a bundle of roses.

I pulled out my big xmas gift from my hubby, a new box of Derwent Inktense Pencils and colored in the image, using water where I needed to spread the color.  I love how bright these inktense pencils are even after water is added.  I pulled out a Craftin Desert Diva die and die cut the watercolor paper.  I trimmed up some pale lavender printed paper and adhered it to an A2 card.  Then leaving the watercolor paper off center I adhered it.  I pulled out a Refections sentiment stamp pack and added the sentiment.  Finally, I pulled out some ribbon and crafted a pretty bow to add to the bundle of roses.

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This week over at Muse, design team member Anita, gave us a really pretty card to inspire us.  I was especially inspired by the beautiful circle in the center of the card and the amazing rough grid pattern create on it.

I have no idea how Anita created those colored patterns, but I was desperate to try create it.  I started searching my stencils, but I did not have anything that I thought would work.  So, I pulled out my bin of, well frankly, crap that I use to create texture in my art work, and found this dry wall patch that I have been holding onto for right moment.  The texture of the patch would be perfect, and come to find out there was a slight tackiness to it that kept if from moving around on the paper.  I pulled out my distress inks and blended in Picked Raspberry, Broken China and Evergreen Bough.  It worked perfectly for me.

I pulled out a Little B die and die cut a circle into the card stock.  I grabbed an A2 card and adhered the circle to the card with some dimensional tape.  I pulled out some black card stock and trimmed it to match the circle and heat embossed a fiskars sentiment onto it with some white embossing powder.  Finally, I pulled out a Riley & Company Funny Bones stamp and stamped it onto the card.  I know the muse card had a simple birthday sentiment, but I needed a something that would make me laugh, so funny sentiment it was.

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Over at Less is More, the CAS card group, the theme of this weeks challenge is Ombre.

I pulled out some card stock and started creating an ombre effect starting with Tattered Rose Distress Ink.  Then I added Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Festive Berries and Aged Mahogany.  Then I die cut the paper with two Craftin Desert Diva dies and adhered them with some adhesive.  I didn’t feel the die cuts showed enough of my ombre effect, so  I trimmed a bit of the card stock and added it to the side of the A2 card.  I added a simple sentiment with black ink and a couple of crystals that matched the ombre effect.  I am not normally fond of CAS cards, mostly because I don’t feel I have a gift for creating them, but this CAS card I think for once, really works.  🙂

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Finally, today we have a challenge from the team over at The Paper Players.  They have a theme challenge this week looking for designs that ‘Go Green’ and use a recycled item on the project.

I pulled out a left over colored tag from the holiday tag mad dash, and decided it would be perfect for the theme, especially since it was green.

I stamped out some Lawn Fawn dinosaurs, masking where I needed to, onto the tag and trimmed it up so it would fit an A2 card.  I colored in the images with my inktense pencils to add a hint of color over the green tag.  I pulled out a sand colored piece of printed paper and adhered it to an A2 card.  I pulled out a die set from Craftin Desert Divas and die cut a piece of green printed paper.  I put the green paper down at an angle and then added the trimmed up tag.  Finally I added a sentiment from the same stamp pack.  I haven’t decided if this card works or not yet.  I want to say yes, but something about it is still bothering me.   I just don’t know what it is.

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That’s it for today.  The coffee is not empty, so off I go to get real life chores done (ugh, laundry and vacuuming).  The kids have a four day weekend starting tomorrow, so if I don’t get my chores done right now, the won’t be done till next week.  Till next time…