SUO Challenge #73 – Patriotic Projects!

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For those of us in the United States, we will be celebrating our national Independence Day. the Fourth of July, just about the time that this challenge comes to an end. But having so many of you from throughout the Stampin' Up! world – not just the United States – we wanted to make sure that this was a topic that would appeal even if there isn't a current holiday to celebrate. I'm anxious to see entries from all over the world featuring colors and designs that you consider patriotic.

So Patriotic Projects are what we're looking for in the SU Only Challenge #73! Of course, as always, the challenge is to make this with Stampin' Up! products only. The rules are printed over to the left and embellished a bit at the end of this blog post.

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 June 17, 2013. This is a NEW challenge!

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: June 18, 2013 (3 am USA Eastern Time) –

June 29, 2013 (6 am USA Eastern Time)

SUO Challenges 72, Weddings – Our Top 3!

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Thanks to all of you who participated in our challenge to make projects that would be appropriate for weddings! While there were not as many entries as we usually have, our Design Team agreed that, what we lacked in quantity, you certainly made up for in quality! More than half of our entrants for this challenge received votes in our Top 3 selection!

So congratulations to all of you – but especially to our Top 3 for the Weddings Challenge! Click on the pictures of their projects to go to more details on their blogs. We hope our Top 3 winners will take a copy of the Top 3 banner and add it to their blogs – it's down towards the bottom of this blog on the left side.

Sharon Green. All the details in Sharon's card make for an absolutely gorgeous wedding card. For those of you not yet familiar with the latest Stampin' Up! catalog, there is a Simply Sent Kit called Simply Fabulous, and Sharon used part of the laser-cut card front to accent her fabulous border. Now I can see that this is going to have to go on my next shopping list! The ribbon and the glimmer butterfly accenting the glimmer paper under the border really make this a special card! Stunning!

Amanda Burditt. We loved the way that Amanda cut all those little white hearts with the Hearts a Flutter framelits and adhered them all together to make the embossed-looking background. Adding the red heart made with the same framelit added the perfect accent to make this a beautiful Clean and Simple card. Lovely!

Charissa Laarman. The layers and the colors in this card make this a very special Wedding card. Sharon skillfully used the Adorning Accents embossed hearts and the crochet ribbon trim as layers of their own with the other beautifully coordinated layers under the wedding dress. I personally really like the rock and roll technique that she used on the wedding dress, which highlighted the shabby chic look of the entire card. Gorgeous!

SUO Challenge #72 – Time for June Weddings!

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Many of us in the world of Stampin' Up! may forget that June is NOT just the month for the new Stampin' Up! Catalog! It's first and foremost one of the most popular months of the year for weddings. I'm not going to pretend to having researched any of that; it's just my impression. And based on that impression, we in the SUO Challenge Design Team have decided to devote the first challenge of June to Weddings!

So this is your challenge – to make a card, a gift, a favor or anything that might be appropriate for a wedding. Of course, as always, the challenge is to make this with Stampin' Up! products only. The rules are printed over to the left and embellished a bit at the end of this blog post.

To get you started thinking about what you might make, here are the entries from our Design Team. Just because they're all cards doesn't mean at all that your projects have to be cards. We love to see any kind of paper crafted art! If you have any questions, please contact Robin Messenheimer, the blog coordinator, and she'll definitely to her best to help out!

PLEASE remember this: We're looking for projects posted to the internet AFTER June 3, 2013. This is a NEW challenge!

Challenge Dates: June 4, 2013 (3 am USA Eastern Time) –

June 15, 2013 (6 am USA Eastern Time)

SUO Challenge 71, Favorite Retiring Sets – Our Top 3!

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Once again, thank you all for your delightful entries celebrating your favorite retiring or retired Stampin' Up! Stamp Sets. Here we are at the beginning of the new year, many of us waiting breathlessly for our first order from the new catalog. But we also love to go back and look at past favorites – even if they're from the near past!

So many of you received votes from our Design Team this time around it was hard just to pick a Top 3. But we did, and here they are! Just click on the pictures if you'd like to read more about their projects on their blogs.

Gloria Steger. We all loved all the details on this card – it's a great all-around card, even if Gloria did call it Christmas in May! The soft coloring is lovely, and the whole design makes for a very clean-looking card!

Shanna Gaff. We loved the use of the Vellum and how it softens the coloring behind the sentiment. One of our design team members offered, "It's always better with Vellum!" Such a lovely color combination, too!

Gayle Wheeler. First of all, I think that little bird is so darned cute – it's got to make anyone who looks at it smile! We also loved the free-form hills, and the use of the retiring Clouds Embossing Folder, just embossing a part of the sky. Overall a delightful picture!