SUO Challenge 53, Boxes and Bags – Our Top 3!

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Thanks to everyone who participated in our Boxes and Bags challenge. What wonderful projects, and a great post to review whenever we are in need of ideas for boxes and bags. Every one of these projects is worth a CASE!

But, as always, we have picked a Top 3 to highlight. Clicking on any of the photos will take you to the designer's blog post for more information about each of the projects. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Christie Miche. To quote one of the design team members, "This is just so darned cute!" Christie also shares a linkl to the video for making the origami bootie. We are just so impressed with the use of the Stampin' Up! paper and ribbon for this perfect baby gift!

Diane Vander Galien. We couldn't decide which part of this very stylish project we liked most. The ribbon is just perfect, the window in the box is so much fun, and the tag with the framelit background is such an elegant finish!

Melissa Davies. We especially liked the way that Melissa put the Wisteria Wonder and Marina Mist colors together so that they looked like they were made for one another. All the perfect little details bring these two colors together beautifully. I think my personal favorite detail is the little Marina Mist bird!

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!

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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!

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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!