SUO Challenge 27, Ribbons and Bows!

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There are so many new ribbons in Stampin' Up!'s catalogs that we decided we just had to have a challenge to feature them as more than just an embellishment on a card or scrapbook page. From the new Ruffles and Scalloped Polka Dots in the 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog to the Velvet and Quilted Satin ribbons in the 2011 Holiday Mini Catalog, our Design Team has put together a luscious bouquet of greeting cards for you to enjoy.

And the challenge is for you, too, to make a card, gift or scrapbook page that features Stampin' Up! ribbons as a major focus. Please use any Stampin' Up! ribbon or ribbons you choose. Whatever you choose, we are excited to see your projects!

DebsCard

HeidisCard

JennifersCard

KarensCard

MichellesCard

MarysCard

PamsCard

CindysCard

RobinsCard

Invitation Top Three!

A big thanks to all of you who made time during this busy season to join in our challenge to create a Invitation with Stampin' Up! products. ALL of them this week were wonderful (as always), so we were hard put to come up with our top three for the challenge. But, (also as always) we did figure it out and send extra special congratulations to this week's Top Three:

Karen Szczepkowski wowed us all with the way the fold of her card put a special emphasis on the embossed flowers. The color on her card is just stunning – the whole card is so eye-catching it's hard to look away from it.

Lisa Martz made us all drool with her yummy candies – and what a great idea for recycling that Stampin' Up! packaging! There are so many excellent details in this card that it's impossible to list them all in this small space.

Donna/Butternut Sage created such an elegant invitation that we're all ready to go to whatever it is that she's hosting! We were especially impressed with the scoring details – so easy to do with Stampin' Up! new Simply Scored tool.

Congratulations to all three of you!

A Gentle Reminder

This challenge was created for fans of Stampin' Up! products and demonstrators to participate in and draw inspiration from. Hence the name of the blog, Stampin' Up! Only Challenges, we ask that you respect this by using only Stampin' Up! products. Retired Stampin' Up! product is welcome, as well as any outside products that you would normally not see offered for sale in any Stampin' Up! catalogs or publications, such as sewing on your card, stick pins, and so forth.

SUO Challenges is an advertising-free zone and is a challenge that is for fun only. Please respect our guidelines set forth over to the left at the top of the blog.

SUO Challenge 26, Invitation to a Party

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This month SU-Only Challenges is One Year Old, so it must be time for an online party! And do we have a party for you – not only a new challenge, but two new members of our Design Team to Introduce as well as a fond farewell to one of our original members. Here's our challenge for the week – and you'll find fun information about our new members in another post.

Create an invitation to a party – any kind of party! Of course there are always birthdays and showers and graduations. But there's also the Barbecue, the beach party, the end-of-summer bash, and so much more! Hey, even Stampin' Up! Workshops are parties! The list is endless.

Here are our Design Team Members' takes on this challenge, and we hope that you will join us in the fun we've had making them!

Deb's Card

Heidi's Card

Jennifer's Card

Karen's Card

Robin's Card

Mary's Card

Cindy's Card

Favorite New Stamp Top 3

Thanks for all your entries last week! But we did have to pick our Top 3 who are:

Jackie Topa for her hobby horse that is just too darned cute and wonderfully clever. Several of us wonder where we were when the "clever" gene was doled out. We think Jackie got more of them than is fair!

Bornwyn Eastley is another designer with more than her fair share of clever genes with imaginative use of the Two Tags Sizzix die. Beautiful card!

Leslie Croghan's design, coloring and overall execution of her vintage card was just the perfect card for congratulating her mother. Just gorgeous!

We did have to disqualify a couple of entries this week. We've noticed that there have been several projects over the past few weeks that have included dies from companies that compete with Stampin' Up!'s Sizzix products. Please remember that entries for this challenge should be SU! ONLY!

Here's our standard short reminder of the "rules": Entried should be Stampin' Up! products only, be a new creation in response to our challenge, and have no links to posts that are selling anything. You can find all the finer details on the sidebar at the top left

Welcome our New Design Team Members! And a fond farewell, too.

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We are SOOOO happy to have two great new design team members. We just know you're going to love their projects. We're also sad to see one of our members move on to other projects, but we'll definitely miss her.

Please welcome to the SU-Only Challenge Design Team:

Mary Brown

Hi…my name is Mary Brown and I have been a Stampin' Up! demonstrator since September of 1999 and a stamper since 1995 (wow…that's a LONG time!). I started out as a quilter (and still do that now and then) and then got into stamping. I love being able to finish projects in less than a year! I'm probably best known as stampercamper and my style tends to be more of a clean and simple nature. Honestly…I DO try to add more stuff and then just end up taking it back off. And as for watercoloring…once in a blue moon on that one; I like to stamp and go!

On a personal note, I've been married to my sweetie Randy since 1984 and was fortunate to earn the SU incentive trip to Hawaii the same year as our 25th wedding anniversary…COOL!!! We have 2 'fur children'…a spaniel mix (aka the BEST doggie IN THE WORLD) and her little brother a short hair havenese (known as a shavenese). Both are rescue doggies and little sweethearts. When I'm not stamping, I'm teaching full time at a local (and extremely large) community college. I am in the Allied Health Division and specialize in the new/beginning health care student. I LOVE my job and each quarter usually teach around 9 classes (approx 250 students).

I'm sooooo excited to be part of the SUO Challenge team as I am SUO ALL the time!

Cindy Elam

Hello! My name is Cindy Elam, and I live near San Diego with my husband Tom (aka the world’s most tolerant husband). We are blessed to have our two adult children living nearby. I am relatively new to stamping, having just started in February of 2008 after my BFF Barb suggested I might like paper crafting. She pointed me to a few blogs and Splitcoast Stampers, and that was all it took to get me hooked! I discovered Stampin’ Up! shortly after, and became a demonstrator in 2009, for the discount of course! Well, being a “hobby” demo has evolved into a business that now supports my stamping addiction!

I used to sew, do a little quilting, and various other crafts. I even had my own business designing and selling bra patterns (Élan Patterns) and the supplies to sew them. Threads magazine published an article I wrote on the subject, too.

Now I am devoted entirely to cards, scrapbooks, and 3D paper crafts. Card making is so rewarding – just one card can spread triple love that went into it. There’s the pleasure you get when you create it, and the pleasure it gives the recipient when they receive it, and then the pleasure you get again when you see their reaction to it. That little piece of paper has amazing powers!

We are so very happy to have these talented ladies join our group!

A Fond Farewell to Melina Pylant

Unfortunately, one of our original members, Melina Pylant, has decided to move on to other endeavors, and we are so very sad to see her go. I've just finished going through many of her contributions to the SUO Challenge Blog – what a treasure she has been for us and for you! We wish her well and invite her to join in the challenge when she can find the time!

SUO Challenge 25, Favorite New Stamp Sets!

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Now that many of us have had a chance to order some great new stamp sets from the 2011-2012 Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog, we thought it was time to show them off! I know that I had a hard time trying to figure out which one of my sets was a "favorite." I had to remember that those stamp sets really didn't care which one I chose, so it wasn't going to hurt their little rubber feelings if I didn't choose them.

We'd like to know what YOUR favorite new stamp sets are, too! If you've not purchased anything lately, don't let that deter you! Just pick out your most recent favorite Stampin' Up! Stamp Set. We actually love seeing any Stampin' Up! stamps! But our Design Team really wanted to show off our new stuff!

Be sure to stop by next week when we have some exciting new Design Team Members to announce!

Deb's Card

Heidi's Card

Jennifer's Card

Karen's Card

Michelle's Card

Robin's Card

Here's a short reminder of the "rules": Stampin' Up! products only, a new creation in response to our challenge, and no links to posts that are selling anything. You can find all the finer details on the sidebar at the top left

Congratulations our challenge "Top Three" who entered some simply gorgeous Get Well Cards!

While I hope my friends never get sick, I now know that I will have tons of great ideas for Get Well cards if they do. Thanks for all your wonderful entries this time around! And our Top Three Winners are:

1. Leena Girsa. The layout and the coloring was so bright and cheerful it's hard to imagine this card wouldn't help someone get well quickly! We were really impressed with the way you paper pieced the umbrella!

2. Annie from Canada. We really liked the way you used this Valentine Layout for a get well card. The color combination is so very artistic, as are the layout's details like the layered ribbon, the button and the embossing.

3. Rosemary Morgan. The Sunflower Background set stamped on the First Edition Specialty Paper looks so peaceful, and we really liked the way that the So Saffron ribbon was accented in new striped embossing folder.