SUO Challenge 53 – Boxes and Bags!

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We at the SUO Challenge Design Team decided that we needed to break out of our own rut a bit this summer and fall, and we decided to do some different kinds of challenges – such as the "Photo Op" challenge last time. This week, we're going 3-D full on with a challenge to make a box or a bag, using Stampin' Up! products only, of course! I know we've all enjoyed getting out of the box, so to speak, and hope that you will, too!

So our challenge this time is to make any kind of a project using a box or a bag. You can make the box or bag, or using something premade to show off your collection of Stampin' Up! products. Everyone will love it no matter which option you choose.

You can see that we on the design team have lots of different kinds of projects to help you with some ideas for your projects, and we can hardly wait to see what you enter for this next Stampin' Up! Only Challenge!

Cindy Elam

To participate in our challenge, make a card or other project and post a photo of it to your blog or a gallery on the internet. Then come back here and use our link tool at the bottom of this post to share the photo with us! We're looking for cards posted to the internet after September 3, 2012, and (of course!) made with Stampin' Up! products only. The products may be those that are in current catalogs, or they may be retired products. But (as our blog title says) SUO – Stampin' Up! Only! This means that Products from other papercrafting, rubber stamp, die-making or other companies may not be included in your project if Stampin' Up! sells a like product. For example, Stampin' Up! does not sell sewing thread. So use of sewing thread from another company is just fine. Stampin' Up! does sell the Sizzix Big Shot, so use of die-cuts, texture plates or other such products from another company is not fine. If you have a question, please send an e-mail to our Coordinator, Robin Messenheimer, and she'll be glad to answer it!

Challenge Dates: September 4, 2012 (3 am USA Eastern Time) –

September 15, 2012 (9 am USA Eastern Time)

SUO Challenge 52 – A Photo Op – Our Top 3!!

9 / 3 / 12

We were wondering what kind of entries we'd get for this unusual challenge for us. It did not surprise us at all that a good number of the entries were scrapbook pages, but we were delighted with the variety of the designs. I know it's hard to think of photos as the fronts of cards or as elements in a 3-D project. But we hope this at least got you thinking about those possibilities.

As always, we thank all of you for your entires – we loved looking at each and every one of them! But we did managed to come up with out Top 3 for this challenge, and hope you all like them as well as we did.

We'd also like to comment that two of this week's Top 3 are new to our challenges – a big thanks to Shana and CJ for their first-time entries!

Shana Gaff. Shana's die cut photo of a sunset seemed just to be a perfect use for the Stampin' Up! framelit. The top of the shape especially mimics clouds, and the bottom made us feel as if we were on the beach looking out at this scene. The sentiment goes beautifully with the photo, and was offset from it so nicely. Lovely, simple card!

Diane Vander Galien. This is a fantastic example of how to use photos in My Digital Studio by Stampin' Up! The background, with its low-opacity photo is the perfect backdrop for the oval photo. Of course, this is a gorgeous couple, too, which really makes this digital web page special!

CJ Thibault. What a great anniversary card! The sunset in the circles at the bottom accent the sunset shining through in the wedding photo so nicely, even though they were taken at different times. Another beautiful couple, too!

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SUO Challenge #52 – A Photo Op!

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Quite often I receive greeting cards from friends and family that have photographs on the front. Sometimes they're photos of gorgeous flowers or art work, and other times photos of the places where the card was made. So why don't we think more about doing that with all the wonderful Stampin' Up! products that we have to accent some of our own beautiful photographs?

With that thought, we decided this was a good time to bring the photo back into our projects. Of course, many of us started out our papercrafting hobby or business as scrapbookers. And we know how much scrappers love to embellish their photos! So, whether it's a greeting card, a scrap page, or some other kind of papercrafting project using Stampin' Up! products, our challenge to you today is to make something featuring a photo.

To give you some ideas, here is a great variety of projects from our SUO Challenge Design Team. We hope you get inspired by them to join in our challenge!

Karen's Page

Connie's Card

Cindy Coutts' Page

Mary Brown

Cindy E

Cindy Elam

Robin's Card

Robin Messenheimer

Pam Staples

To participate in our challenge, make a card or other project and post a photo of it to your blog or a gallery on the internet. Then come back here and use our link tool at the bottom of this post to share the photo with us! We're looking for cards posted to the internet after August 20, 2012, and (of course!) made with Stampin' Up! products only. The products may be those that are in current catalogs, or they may be retired products. But (as our blog title says) SUO – Stampin' Up! Only! This means that Products from other papercrafting, rubber stamp, die-making or other companies may not be included in your project if Stampin' Up! sells a like product. For example, Stampin' Up! does not sell sewing thread. So use of sewing thread from another company is just fine. Stampin' Up! does sell the Sizzix Big Shot, so use of die-cuts, texture plates or other such products from another company is not fine. If you have a question, please send an e-mail to our Coordinator, Robin Messenheimer, and she'll be glad to answer it!

Challenge Dates: August 21, 2012 (3 am USA Eastern Time) –

September 1, 2012 (Noon USA Eastern Time)

SUO Challenge 51, Love Those Designer Papers – Our Top 3!

8 / 20 / 128 / 20 / 12

There are certainly many of you who do, indeed, love your Stampin Up! Designer Series Papers! We were thrilled to see all the different papers and all the different ways that you used them as part of our Love Those Designer Papers! Challenge. I've already had to pull some out of my Designer Paper box to see if I can CASE some of your projects – what fun!

So thank you all for your fabulous entries, from which we have picked this challenge's Top 3! Just remember that you're all tops in our estimation – lots of oohs and aahs this time as there are every time we send out a challenge.

Now for our Designer Papers Top 3. Be sure to click on the pictures of their projects to go to their blogs to learn more about them!

Diane Vander Galien.

We had no idea that so many of our design team members just LOVE pinwheels! And what a fantastic job Diane did in showing off the Designer Series Papers with the pinwheels as well as with the pennants. She even made that delightful holder to complete this wonderful centerpiece! (Your SUO Challenges Coordinator did NOT miss the candy on the table! Definitely MY fave!)

Julie Cluff. How did she do that??? Well, Julie described in quite some detail how she made that gorgeous Peacock with all those layers! Just a WOW! And how stunning is the bird against that backdrop of the International Bazaar Designer Series Paper – great accent!

Melissa Davies. We all loved the soft colors and delicate elements in this card. All the details just perfectly accent the design of this simply beautiful card. Fabulous look!

Thanks to all of you for participating in the Stampin' Up! Only Challenge!