SUO Challenge #85, Non-Traditional Christmas – Our Top 3!

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Thanks to everyone who participated in our latest challenge. Lots of gorgeous ideas for non-traditional Christmas projects – colors and images alike! 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.

Alyson M. The beautiful translucent pink Poinsettia is so festive, especially with the background made with My Digital Studio, and the Holly Jolly and scalloped edges picking up the background colors. Not Christmas colors, but it's definitely a Christmas card – and a gorgeous one at that!

Amy Kunkle. This is definitely a "Merry and Bright" card! This is about as non-traditional as you could get, colorwise, but it, too, is unquestionably a Christmas card!

Donna Centamore (Butternut Sage). These snow "shovels" are arranged just perfectly for this lovely Christmas scene. The colors are traditional, but the beautifully decorated gardener's spades are certainly not – but a great card for a gardener!

SUO Challenges #85 – Something Non-Traditional for Christmas

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Usually about this time of the year I'm pretty tired of Christmas cards using red and green or red and white or blue and silver – well, you get the picture! You, too? Then this week's challenge is for you! The challenge is to make a Christmas card card or other project that includes non-traditional colors or images – or both! 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 2, 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 3, 2013 (3 am USA Eastern Time) –

December 14, 2013 (6 am USA Eastern Time)

SUO Challenge #79 – A Favorite Technique!

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As we work on our paper crafting projects, many of us have a favorite technique that we add to our projects when it's possible. I didn't need to sit and figure out what my favorite technique is – I knew immediately when we got to this challenge what I would like to show off. Now that I see our Design Team projects for this challenge, I can also see where I might just have to rethink "favorite"! I love them all, and I hope you do, too!

And speaking of you – we'd like to know what YOUR favorite paper crafting technique is! That's your challenge for SUO Challenge #79 – to create a project using your favorite technique. What's the technique that you use that makes you smile the most when you're working on or have completed a project? Make a card or any paper crafting project – using Stampin' Up! products, only, of course – and enter it in this challenge through the link tool at the end of this post.

The details of our guidelines are over at the left. But I summarize them at the end of the post, including the dates that this challenge is open. 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!

And now for the entries from the ladies AND gentleman of our Design Team!

PLEASE remember this: We're looking for projects posted to the internet AFTER September 9, 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: September 10, 2013 (3 am USA Eastern Time) –

September 21, 2013 (6 am USA Eastern 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.