I'm officially a Dynamo!

I can finally share some news with you.  I've been chosen to join the very talented design team at the Dynamic Duos Challenge blog.  Getting that "Welcome" email from Lesley Croghan was SO exciting!
Dynamic Duos is a weekly, 2 color challenge.  I hope you'll be inspired to play along with us! You'll find links below, to visit all of the DT Dynamos.

The Dynamic Duos Challenge Blog

Anne Marie Hile

Alison Barclay

Debbie Henderson

Hayley Kew

Janet Bagnall

Janet Zeppa

Lori Turner

Michelle Folland

Susie Wittwer

Tara Bourgoin

Tracey McNeely

Hope to see you playing along with us.  There are some great color combos coming up!

Hello - CAS(E) this sketch!

I hadn't planned on stamping this morning.  Didn't think I would have time.  Well, since I was up at 2:45 am, I thought I might as well make use of the time.  Yes.  2:45 AM!  Ugh.  Ok, enough of my whining.

So.  I'm playing along in the current challenge at CAS(E) this sketch #25.  This sketch is by Jackie Rockwell.  So talented, she is!

I took a few liberties with Jackie's sketch.  I turned it on it's side, first of all...and my 3 images aren't all "grounded" as the sketch shows.  I may get thrown out!
Anyway, I had fun with it :)

I did a lot of stamping, then fussy cutting.  I even cut the little puppy's head off, then attached it at an angle.  He has a dot of black enamel accents on his nose, to give it a bit of shine.  I colored his collar with a black Spica glitter pen.  Then I just had to add a sparkly gem to his collar.  Both the butterfly and the heart are accented with some Stickles.  The final touch was a little smudge of pink on the littel birdie's cheek.  Yes, I know.  Birds don't blush.  But...I just had to do it!

Thanks for taking a look!

Supplies:
Cardstock: white (PTI), gumball green (SU)
Ink: basic black, chocolate chip, daffodil delight, gumball green, primrose petals (SU)
Stamps: critters in the 'burbs, critters in the forest, a birdie told me (Lawn Fawn)
Patterned paper: follow your heart - be happy 6 x 6 pad (My Mind's Eye), this & that 6 x 6 pad (Echo Park)
Die: grass border die (A.Muse), black enamel accents, cotton candy stickles, diamond stickles (Ranger), black glitter pen (Spica), clear gem (The Paper Studio)

Springtime! Dynamic Duos & Tuesday Trigger

Hello!  I'm sharing a card that I made for 2 challenges.  These challenges made me think "spring", so I jumped on board!

Dynamic Duos Challenge #50

Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger - Pretty Petit Fours

I think these 2 challenges were just meant to go together.  What fun!  Obviously, I used DD's color combo.  Then I pulled some more inspiration from the TT photo.  I was drawn to the woodgrain under the petit fours, along with the 2 toned blooms and that silver server.

I stamped my tulips onto all 3 card stocks, then fussy cut and layered them.  I used my woodgrain impression plate for the background panel with a couple of rounded corners to mimic the oval shape of the image under those sweet petit fours.  The card was finished off with 3 silver pearls.  All of the layers are popped onto the card with foam tape.
Ahh...love these tulips AND the ones blooming near my front porch.  Maybe, just maybe, spring is really here!
Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Cardstock: blushing bride, calypso coral (SU), white (PTI)
Stamps: wonderful charms (CTMH)
Ink: onyx black (Versafine)
Other: woodgrain impression plate (PTI), silver pearls (Recollections)

Celebrate your 20th!

Hello, I'm sharing a card that I made for a nephew who's turning 20 in a couple of months.  The current challenge over at Dynamic Duos #49 is a perfect fit for the card I had in mind.  We all know how difficult masculine cards can be.  You know...no ribbon, pearls or glitter!

Here's the challenge graphic for DD #49.

See what I mean?  And the dessert option is: Masculine Theme.

Edited to add:
I'm also playing along with the sketch challenge at RetroSketches #60.  Their sketches are always a great starting point!

 

I used a numbers impression plate for the gray panel on this card.  That patterned paper?  That's from a long-retired DSP pack from Stampin' Up!  I was so glad to find a pattern in gray and white AND it's a maculine-looking print, don't you think?

Anyway, I did quite a lot of layering and popped up most of those layers with foam tape.  I'm really pleased with the results.

Thanks so much for taking a look today!

Supplies:

Card stock: basic black, basic gray (SU), white (PTI)

Stamps: signature greetings (PTI)

DSP: walk in the park (SU)

Ink: onyx black (Versafine)

Other: white bakers twine (SU), by the numbers  impression plate, by the numbers die collection, notebook page die (PTI), foam tape (3M), scor-tape (Sookwang)

The craft girls!

Just a quick post with no card!  On Saturday, three of my crafting friends came over for a day of stamping, laughing and talking.  It had been sooooo long since all 4 of us crafted together.  So it did my heart good to spend time with this group of friends.

I just want to share a few photos from yesterday.  And say "thank you" to Cheryl, Kris and Roberta for coming over to spend the day crafting with me.  I'm so blessed!

Kris

A view of my messy crafting space, with Roberta in the background.

Kris, Roberta, me and Cheryl

Our crafting table, with Cheryl and Roberta in very intense conversation!

I hope all of you crafters have a great group of friends to stamp with, too!

Congrats!

Hi!  I created another card using Retrosketches - rs #59.  This sketch was so fun and so versatile that had to use it again.

I created a graduation card this time.  Navy blue & gold are the school colors.

This one came together quickly - yeah, that doesn't happen very often!  I used the same banner dies from CSS, that I used on the card in my previous post.  A stamped sentiment, some gathered ribbon and some bling for the grad girl...and I was done.
Thanks for stopping in!

Supplies:
Cardstock: night of navy, more mustard (SU), white (PTI)
Ink: night of navy (SU)
Stamps: signature greetings (PTI)
Other: banner dies (CSS), navy ribbon (Offray), bling (Recollections), foam tape, scor-tape

Thank heaven for little boys...

Hey, back with a second post for today.  I hosted a Stamping Saturday for a group of my crafty friends.  We had so much fun.  Stamping, talking, laughing, eating a bit of chocolate and a few gummy bears.

Thank you Roberta, Kris and Cheryl for spending the day stamping with me!

I'm sharing one of the cards I created yesterday...in between the the laughing and talking :)

I used Retrosketches - rs#59 for my layout.  Their sketches are always fun starting point.

I made this card for a little guy that will be turning 2 years old in a few weeks.

I gotta tell you - this card was SO much fun to create.  So. much. fun.!  This patterned paper is a long-retired one from Stampin' Up!.  It's cardstock weight paper, which makes it perfect for using with dies.  And it's great for masculine cards.  I die cut all of those little pieces of clothing, then stamped them. Some are popped up with foam tape, as is the focal panel.  Ahhh...I really want to keep this one.  Does that ever happen to you???

Anyway, thanks so much for looking!  I hope you'll leave a comment.

Supplies:
Cardstock: chocolate chip (SU), white, kraft (PTI)
Ink: chocolate chip (SU), onyx black (Versafine)
Stamps: hanging out (PTI)
Dies: hanging out (PTI), banners (Clear & Simple Stamps)
Other: foam tape, scor-tape

Happy Birthday - 2 challenges

Hi, I'm sharing a card I made today for 2 challenges.

Dynamic Duos Color Challenge DD#48 - Bashful Blue & Pumpkin Pie

Unscripted Sketches #206

I have to admit, when I saw the challenge colors for Dynamic Duos I wasn't sure if I could combine those two colors without the pumpkin pie dominating my card. 

Well, I think managed to "tame it", by using BB for my main panel and using PP as an accent.  Yes.  I'm liking the results!  As for the sketch, I placed my sentiment panel a bit differently than the sketch showed.
See those banners?  Those are from Stampin' Up!'s first clear photopolymer stamp set.  Each of the tiny stamped images inside the banners are also from that set.  Always fun to play with new stuff.  Right?
Anyway, both the sentiment panel and the banners are popped up with foam tape.
Thank so much for taking a look.  I appreciate your visits!

Supplies:
Cardstock: pumpkin pie, whisper white, bashful blue (SU)
Ink: bashful blue (sponged onto the sentiment panel), basic black (SU), onyx black (versafine)
Stamps: framed fonts (Avery Elle), designer typeset (SU)
Die: labels three (Spellbinders)
Other: blue gems (The Paper Studio), foam tape, craft sponge

A new name - a new look

I'm in the process of making some changes to my blog.  It already looks quite different doesn't it?
If you received this post via email, you can click on the name of my blog - at the very bottom of the email - to go directly to my blog and see the changes  :o)

I've changed the name, once more.  I know...AGAIN?  At the time that I chose She Loves to Make Art, it seemed to be a good fit.  But over time it didn't seem to fit my outlook on crafting.  It sounded waaaay to serious.  Crafting is so much fun and I need my blog name to reflect that.

Procraftination

I'm looking at it 2 ways.  At times, putting off my crafting time until my "chores" are done.  Or...putting off those chores, to have time to create!   It all depends on the situation, you see.

My blog's URL won't change.  It will still be www.susiewittwer.com.  But the name in my blog header will change from She Loves To Make Art to...Procraftination.  You'll  probably want to update your bookmark or favorites link.  Oh.  And I'll be keeping this blog name for a long, long time.  Enough changes already!

I'm really, really hoping that this transition will go smoothly (and that I don't mess up anything in the process!).  So I hope you'll bear with me during this construction phase.  Please let me know if you run into any issues or problems with my blog.  You can leave a comment or contact me via the email link in my sidebar.

Many thanks to all of my followers.  I appreciate your loyalty - and your patience!
Susie Wittwer

One cool chick!

I'm back with a very quick post.  No challenges for this card.  If you saw my posts last weekend, you saw THIS post of the window card I made.  Well.  I'm kinda hooked on making window cards now.  I had so much fun with that first one, that I had to make another one!  This one is going to a friend who has a birthday in about a week.  She has a great sense on humor, so I know she'll like this card.

I had a lot of fun creating this scene.  You have no idea.  Serious. Fun.
I did some sponging to create the sky.  The grass (left over from last week's card) and the fence were die cut.  I stamped the bird onto 2 patterned papers, then fussy cut and combined them.  This cool chick has a tiny rhinestone eye and a dab of glossy accents on her beak. The grass and the window panel are popped up with foam tape.  I think that covers it all.  Thanks for visiting!

My recipe:
Card stock: whisper white, early espresso (SU), white (PTI)
Patterned papers: this & that pad (Echo Park), sunshine pad (MME)
Ink: baja breeze, basic black (SU), onyx black (Versafine)
Stamps: my peeps (Paper Smooches)
Other: picket fence die, woodgrain impression plate (PTI)

Love - a birthday card

Since I did all of my house cleaning yesterday, I rewarded myself with a little time at my craft table this afternoon.  Hmmm.  Like I need an excuse to stamp.  Ha!

I'm playing along in 2 challenges with this card that I made for my husband's birthday.  He's a sweetie. :o)

Dynamic Duos - DD#47

Retro sketches - rs#58

I combined the two challenges like this ~

I have to admit, when I saw the colors for the "bold & sassy" challenge at Dynamic Duos, I wasn't sure how successful I would be at combining them.  As it turns out...I'm really liking the result!  I stamped some text onto the Pool Party panel using the same color ink.  I added some texture to the Cherry Cobbler panel.  And the sentiment is embossed with Cherry Cobbler EP. Nearly every layer is attached with foam tape.  Oh, those pretty twines?  They were wrapped around a purchase I made from Avery Elle.  They matched the DD challenge colors perfectly.  Well, that's about it for now; I've got one more post to write.
Thanks for taking a look!

What's in it?
Card stock: white (PTI), pool party, cherry cobbler (SU)
Stamps: defining words (WPlus9)
Ink: pool party (SU), versamark
Other: linen impression plate (PTI), cherry cobbler embossing powder (SU), twine (Avery Elle), corner rounder, vintage button, foam tape