SUO Challenge #87, Colors of January – Our Top 3!

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Thanks to everyone who participated in our latest challenge. It was such fun reading about how you think of January in terms of color, and finally seeing lots of fresh non-holiday ideas! We loved them all – as usual!

Thanks especially to our Top 3 whom we felt did the best job of capturing our theme for the week! Click on the pictures of their projects to go to their blogs or galleries for more details.

Karren Johnson. The artistry in this project is just amazing. I am so ready to try out this technique! And the colors are perfect for January where Karren lives – it's a lot warmer in New Zealand that it is in much of the northern hemisphere here in the dead of winter!

Eva Bussom. Eva carried the snowflake theme right into January where many of use have seen lots of snow – but she made it festive with the fun window shaker card! It's great to have some bling to brighten things up when the days are so short (at least up here in the northern hemisphere)!

Narelle Farrugia. What lovely colors – and that "fussy cut" flower just leaps from the front of the card! And such a great idea to use the color of January's birthstone (garnet) for her colors of January card!

SUO Challenge #87 – Colors of January!

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I am SOOO over the colors of December. The red and green of Christmas and the blue and silver of Hanukkah are so last month! This week our challenge is to make a greeting card or other fun paper-crafted project that includes the color or colors that make you think of January. There's no right or wrong answer – we're interested in what YOU think of when you think, January!. Once you have your project done, post a photograph of it on your blog or in any other open online gallery, and then add a link to our Link Tool at the bottom of this post. If you have any questions about linking your project or problems in creating the link, be sure to let the challenge coordinator, Robin Messenheimer, know. We cheerfully help crafters out just about every challenge, so don't be bashful about asking for help!

Of course we have guidelines and they are detailed at the left and summarized below,, including the dates that this challenge is open.

Please remember this is an SUO (Stampin' Up! Only) challenge. Cards using non-SU! images, paper, embellishments, etc., will be removed. We also ask that you do not have advertisements for products (e.g., classes and subscription services) in your post. Please respect our criteria.

And now on to some inspiration from our talented design team for this week's challenge!

To participate in our challenge, make a card or other paper-crafted 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.

PLEASE remember this: We’re looking for projects posted to the internet AFTER December 30, 2013. This is a NEW challenge! AND please mention/link to the SUO Challenge Blog in your post!

And, of course, your projects should be 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 or in any other project included in your blog post 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: December 31, 2013 (3 am USA Eastern Time) –

January 11, 2014 (6 am USA Eastern Time)

SUO Challenge #86, Last Minute Christmas – Our Top 3!

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Thanks to everyone who participated in our latest challenge. I wouldn't be surprised if quite a few of our blog followers didn't use some of those ideas for last minute Christmas Cards and Gifts! We loved them all – as usual!

Thanks especially to our Top 3 whom we felt did the best job of capturing our theme for the week! Click on the pictures of their projects to go to their blogs or galleries for more details.

Eva Bussom. This is just one of the set of note cards that Eva made. The whole set is so simple, but beautifully creative. And they look so easy to make – they could be used as a quick last-minute gift for so many occasions just by changing out the greetings!

Tricia Raineri, This is an especially wonderful little gift with the matching greeting card to go along with it! The whole design makes those polka dots look so very festive!

Lizy Bartaby. The tea lights inside the Stampin' Up! Milk Cartons make such a festive glow! This is a great hostess gift for the hard-to-shop for person – especially as they can sit or be hung as a banner. So creative!

SUO Challenge #86 – It’s Almost the “Last Minute”!

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Christmas is NEXT WEEK! Did you just get a Christmas Card from someone who wasn't on your list? What if someone calls at the last minute and asks to come over for a visit?? Yikes! This week our challenge is to make a card or other project to give us all an idea about what to make for that "last minute" need. Once you have your project done, post a photograph of it on your blog or in any other open online gallery, and then add a link to our Link Tool at the bottom of this post. If you have any questions about linking your project or problems in creating the link, be sure to let the challenge coordinator, Robin Messenheimer, know. We cheerfully help crafters out just about every challenge, so don't be bashful about asking for help!