The Gals over at Our Creative Corner are at it again with another creative challenge! This week’s challenge is a color challenge consisting of a delightful confection of white, brown, hot pink and light pink. I selected Chocolate Chip, Pink Passion, Pretty in Pink and Whisper White, and the For All You Do stamp set. This also gave me the opportunity to use the newest arrival to my Bigz Die arsenal, the Bigz XL Flower Folds. I also pulled out an old friend, the Top Note die. Of course, I just had to ink distress and add a touch of bling! May I give you a folded flower today for all you do?

• Prepare a standard card base from Pretty in Pink textured card stock. Round all four corners using the Corner Rounder. Distress using a Sponge Dauber and Chocolate Chip ink.
• Layer with “Chocolate Chip with White Dots” pattern paper from the Chocolate Chip Patterns Designer Series Paper. (I rounded all four corners and lightly distressed the edges.)
• Zip a piece of Chocolate Chip card stock through the Big Shot with the Top Note die.
• Zip a piece of Whisper White card stock through the Big Shot, once again using the Top Note die. Then zip this through the Big Shot using the “Dots” Texturz Plate. Using Paper Snips, snip off the perforated section. Distress using a Sponge Dauber and Chocolate Chip.
• Layer the Whisper White onto the Chocolate Chip, and add a snippet of Chocolate Chip Masterpiece Ribbon Originals, and pop onto the card base with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
• Zip a piece of Pink Passion card stock through the Big Shot with the Flower Folds Bigz XL Die. (I used the smallest of the four sizes for this card.) Distress the petals with Chocolate Chip ink. Paper pierce the edges of the petals. Add a Whisper White Jumbo Grommet to the center. Additional bling is achieved by using the larger beads from the Silver Bead Duo. (Beading is so easy with Tombow Adhesive!) Pop onto the Top Note mat with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
• Ink the “Petite Dots” mini background stamp from For All You Do with Pretty in Pink and stamp onto Whisper White. Ink the “For All You Do” sentiment with Chocolate Chip and stamp directly onto the dotted background. Punch out with the Curly Label Punch and pop onto the card base with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
• Ink the “Butterfly” image from For All You Do with Chocolate Chip and stamp onto Pink Passion card stock. Ink the “Petite Dots” mini background stamp with Whisper White and stamp on top of the Chocolate Chip butterfly. Snip out with Paper Snips. Bling the body using Tombow Adhesive and mini-beads from the Silver Bead Duo. Pop into position with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

This week’s Mojo Monday sketch was just begging for me to pull out the Serene Snowflakes set! Versatility is a key characteristic of any stamp set that I purchase, and I firmly believe that this set can be used throughout the year. I selected the beautiful Night and Day Designer Series Paper to compliment the swirls of the images, and punched it up with a splash of Real Red. After a week of KISS, CAS, and Simply Schach cards, it felt great to bejewel, beribbon, and distress this creation!

• Prepare a standard card base from textured Whisper White.
• Using the Circle Scissors Plus, cut two circles from Whisper White. My circles were 2-3/4″ and 1-7/8″ . The Real Red matting circles are 1/8″ larger. (Stampin’ Schach Tip: Do you have trouble with your Circle Scissors Plus slipping? Do what many other demonstrators have done…recycle the rubber left after mounting your stamp sets by adding additional “feet”! I cut and positioned mine where the thin black rubber pads were located. Plus, a little adhesive on the paper to hold it in place on the glass mat while you cut works wonders!)
• Ink the “Snowflake” images from Serene Snowflakes with Jet Black StazOn and stamp onto the Whisper White circles. Color selected sections of the snowflakes using a Real Red Stampin’ Write Marker. Ink distress the edges with Going Gray and a Sponge Dauber. Accentuate the centers of the snowflakes with Red Circle Fire Brads. A Filigree Brad adds further charm to the larger Snowflake.
• Select a darker coordinating pattern from Night and Day Designer Series Paper. Cut two strips (1″ and 1/2″) and mat onto Real Red. Add snippets of Real Red 5/8″ and 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbons. Adhere and position onto the “Floral” pattern from Night and Day Designer Series Paper. Layer this onto Real Red card stock and adhere to the card base.
• Position and adhere the circle images.
• For additional bling, add a Red Circle Fire Brad to the lower right hand corner.

Schach Design Tip of the Day: Although it looks as if this card is work intensive, surprisingly enough, it is not! An excellent sketch provided the foundation, and after that the design process was relatively easy. Notice how the Designer Paper mimics the circles, as well as the dots and swirls of the images. This pulls the entire card together!

A Big Thank You to the Mojo Gals! My “Mojo Crock of Apples” was selected as one of the winners in this month’s Mojo Madness. This is indeed an honor that I will treasure. There were so many wonderful cards entered this month, with an abundance of talent. This was truly a pleasant surprise. I would also like to congratulate the other winners. Your cards were amazing!

Ready for a challenge? Enter the Pals Paper Arts KISS Challenge. KISS is an acronym for Keep It Simple, Sweetie! Challenges are tons of fun, and great ways to jump start our creativity. I can hardly wait to see what you create this week!

Ready to book your fall or holiday workshops? If you reside in southeast Iowa or west-central Illinois, I would be happy to help you host a workshop. Click Here to see why you should host your workshops with me! Not within driving distance? Don’t despair. I will help you host a catalog workshop! If you need a FREE copy of the Holiday Mini Catalog, please email me, and I will drop one in the mail for you!

And finally, as today’s post comes to an end, I encourage you to leave me a comment or email me with your questions. I really do appreciate your comments, and I am more than willing to answer any questions that you may have about the cards that I create or the techniques that I use. Until next time…

Please Click Here to Order Stampin’ Up! 24/7!
Stamp Set: Serene Snowflakes (115438)
Ink: Jet Black StazOn (101406)
Designer Series Paper: Night & Day (116768—Holiday Mini)
Card Stock: Real Red (102482), Whisper White (100730), Whisper White textured (108693—Neutrals assorted)
Tools: Circle Scissors Plus (112530), Glass Mat (112531), Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049)
Embellishments: Circle Fire Brads (109110), Filigree Brads (112577), Real Red 5/8” Grosgrain Ribbon (109052), Real Red ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon (109034)

Yippee Skippee! It’s time for this week’s Pals Paper Arts challenge! This week we are blowing a KISS your way. KISS is an acronym for “Keep It Simple, Sweetie”. Lots of white space, minimal layers and minimal embellishments are hallmarks of this type of card! I must say that this truly was a challenge for me, as I am the queen of layering, distressing, and embellishing. However, I gave it my best shot and pulled out one of my favorite fall sets, Falling Leaves.

• Prepare a standard card base from Very Vanilla textured card stock.
• Cut a strip of Dusty Durango and layer onto the card.
• Ink up selected leaves from Falling Leaves and stamp onto Very Vanilla. I used the following inks: Dusty Durango, Elegant Eggplant, Crushed Curry, and Old Olive. Punch using the 1-1/4″ Square Punch. Adhere to the horizontal strip.
• Add a snippet of Old Olive 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon for a dash of color!