SUO Challenge #44 – Our Top 3!

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We are finally getting around to a review of all of the gorgeous projects entered into our Mother's Day challenge, now that the SUO Challenges Coordinator has recovered from a bit of jet lag. Gosh that's getting harder the older I get!

It's also getting harder and harder for the SUO Challenge Design Team to come to an agreement on our Top 3 for our challenges. We are SO thrilled to have Stampin' Up! only projects of such quality all in one place! Of course, for Mother's Day, the projects were no exception. And here are the Top 3 on which we have finally decided. Congratulations to them all – and be sure to click on the photograph of their projects to go to their blogs or galleries to learn more about them!

Jonia Smith. The word that popped up on several of our ballots was, "Wow!" This set for Mom is beyond spectacular. And those 3-Dimensional flowers are just gorgeous! We do hope that Jonia will join in our next challenge (which, as you all now know is to make a project with 3-Dimensional flowers).

Gayle Wheeler. We all loved the details on both the card and the envelope. This is a delightful use of a color combo, showing how it works on both a light and dark background. We especially like how Gayle decorated the envelope for this ensemble!

Diane Vander Galien. There are so many delightful little details on this pop-up card that make it just beautiful to look at! The ribbon, pearls, and the spritzing have help to create a soft and feminine feel which is just perfect for Mother's Day!

SUO Challenge #43 – Our Top 3!

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Thanks so much to all of you who joined in our challenge to say "Goodbye to the Occasions Mini Catalog." Some of you, of course, aren't in the North American Mini Catalog zone, so you featured stamps from other catalogs, which is just fine. We're nothing if not flexible here at Stampin' Up! Only (except we're not flexible when it comes to our "Stampin' Up! ONLY rule; we tend to dig our heels in on that!)

As always, so many great projects and so many of you received mention as we determined our Top 3 this week. So on to our congratulations for projects well done to::

Diane Vander Galien. Oh, my! How soft are those watercolored colors, and how beautifully layered is the card!! This is such an elegant card, and shows off so many wonderful techniques and products that it's hard to focus on any one as the "star" of the card. If nothing else, all the texture just made us say, "Wow, what a pretty card!"

Trish Giesbrecht. This card has so many elements that are just perfectly placed on it! The embossing with the Labels Framelits is a perfect frame for those two little flowers. Again, a very soft and pretty card!

Susan Rowe. This is not just a card – it's a whole suite of projects that makes a perfect gift package! Susan's in Australia, so is using the delicious Spice Cake paper to which we up north said, "Goodbye" back in January. So nice to see it again in such a fab project!

If you'd like to see more about any of these three projects, just click on the picture!

SUO Challenge #42 – Our Top 3!

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We are very happy that so many of you decided to join in our "Congratulations" challenge. Congratulations to all of you! And, as always, a special Congratulations to our Top 3 for Challenge #42!

Bonnie Klass. We all loved the use of the white space in this card, perfectly accented by the "stamped-off" images from the Herbed Expressions stamp set. This clean and simple design is just stunning!

Cathy Parlitsis. Those rosettes are adorable, and the layering of the whole card sets them off so beautifully. Cathy used so many techniques in this card, and they all blend together to make a really spectacular Congratulations greeting.

Erna Logtenberg. The fold in this card is one that many of us haven't used in a long time – and now we wonder why! Of course, the colors and the stamped layered motif of this card are what truly make it special – and one of our favorites of the week!

Thank you ALL for being a part of the SUO Challenge!

SUO Challenge #40 – Our Top 3!

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Once again, over half of the entries in our challenge received Top 3 votes. Your ingenuity shown in all the fab entries for "It's Fun Being Green" just amazed us all. We are just so pleased to have such talented people entering our challenge and we look forward every time to seeing what you design for us!

But, as always, we like to single out three of the entries for recognition as one of our Top 3. It's so hard, because we'd like to make it a top 6 or 7 or 8…. But not. So here are our Top 3 for this challenge. You may click on any of the pictures to go to the artist's blog for more details about her project.

Paula Sievers. Everything on this card is just fabulous! The hills outlined with the edgelits, the little rosette in the lower left corner, the sun – and all the textured elements – really make it a very special card!

Karen Szczepkowski. This card really took the idea of making the green the focal point to heart (sorry, but one of the design team said it first, so I'm not to blame for the pun). And what a unique way to use the Sprinkled Expressions Sale-a-bration stamp. Just darling!

Patty Gorka. Again, the use of Edgelits for the hills in this card was definitely unique. And that butterfly just really shows off the design of the stamp from Mixed Bunch. Finishing the card off with the diagonal grid is a perfect complement to all the other texture in the card.