Muse Challenge #5

Woohoo! TGIF!

Have you joined in the fun over at the Muse Card Club Challenge yet? You are missing out on a good time if you haven't!

Marion Vagg was this week's Muse. You can see her inspiring card here.

I was drawn to the geometric pattern of the background, the fresh color combination, and the way the sentiment had its own line in the design. This is what I created, using stamps from Mama Elephant:

Giving my version of clean, simple geometric a try. I started by masking off a portion of my oatmeal cardstock, then stamping the triangle border from Trifecta. Then I went in with a color combo inspired by Marion's and stamped a selection of triangles. When I was happy with the way that looked, I stamped my sentiment in the open space.

I'd love to hear your thoughts - not quite sure if I have the feel of this yet. What do you think? Love playing along with these Muse challenges, though!

Before I head out, I have been meaning to post the recipe for this White Chili I made the other night (for you, Kim!).

You can find the recipe here from Taste of Home. It is set up for a slow cooker, but I popped it all in a pot and let it cook for about half an hour - was perfect! This is a big favorite around here.. it was SO good, and it made lots of leftovers (which were also delicious!).  Enjoy!

Nice to see you here today!

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Recipe
STAMPS: Trifecta, Smitten - Mama Elephant
CARDSTOCK: Soft Stone - PTI; Tangerine Tango - SU!
INK: Going Gray, Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi, Blush Blossom, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Basic Gray - SU!

Play Date Cafe Challenge #168

Hi there and happy Thursday. I am here to bring you this week's Play Date Cafe Challenge! Our colors this week are definitely tending towards the lovey dovey!

Our colors for this week are cranberry, raspberry, and petal. Here is the card I created using these colors.

To start, I sketched a heart onto printer paper and cut it out. I used the negative as a mask, stamping the various arrows over it in this week's colors. I combined a few different sets to get this look. Isn't it fun?

Before I removed the mask (I used a bit of washi tape to hold it in place on my cardstock) I added a bit of Antique Linen Distress ink to help define the heart shape just a bit. The sentiment was a finishing touch.

Think you'd like to join us this week? You can link up your creation over at The Play Date Cafe Blog. You have through Tuesday, February 12th to play along.

You can also check out this week's prize from our sponsor, Avery Elle. They have some very cute stuff!

Before I head out, I wanted to ask you guys if any of you have had any experience with narrow angles or acute angle glaucoma? At a recent eye appointment, my optometrist diagnosed me with narrow angles, which basically means the iris of my eye covers the fluid drains from the eye. If this fluid cannot drain, pressure can build up in the eye suddenly and without warning and can lead to an acute type of glaucoma. The treatment is laser iridotomy, where the portion of the iris covering the drains is removed by laser.

Now that I have sufficiently grossed you out, has anyone had experience with this or any other type of laser eye surgery? I have an appointment to see the surgeon on Monday. It is outpatient and they only do one eye at a time. Eyes aren't something to mess around with, so I know I have to have it done, but does anyone have any good experiences or reassuring words for me?

Have a good day!

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Recipe
STAMPS: Sweethearts - WMS; Cupid's Arrow - Wplus9; Smitten, Trifecta - Mama Elephant
CARDSTOCK: Primrose Petals - SU!; Vintage Cream - PTI
INK: Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals, Regal Rose - SU!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries; Onyx Black Versafine - Tsukineko

Play Date Cafe Challenge #166

Hi there!

How is your week going? Besides our frigidly cold temperatures, it has been moving along smoothly.

It is time once again for this week's Play Date Cafe Challenge, and this week is a color splash week!

This week's colors are black, white, and just a splash of emerald green. Here is what I created.

This was the perfect chance for me to give the chalkboard technique a try, and what fun it was! I combined images and sentiments from the Smitten and Trifecta sets from Mama Elephant as well as Cupid's Arrow and Banner Love from Wplus9. I added my splash of emerald in with a bit of washi tape and a button.

Today The Play Date Cafe will be announcing a new Private Blend Designer. How exciting! Here's a little hint about who it is.. she says "I'll play with just about any craft material EXCEPT cotton balls. Something about them grosses me out!" Head over to the Cafe Blog to find out who will be joining us!

I also want to give a big shout out to this week's prize sponsor, Viva Las VegaStamps. I love their trendy and unique images. Thank you for sponsoring us this week, Viva Las VegaStamps!

I would love for you to join us at the Play Date Cafe this week. You can link up your creation over at The Play Date Cafe Blog. You have through Tuesday, January 29th to play along.

The color splash week is always a popular one, and I can't wait to see what you create for the challenge. Have a great day!

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Recipe
STAMPS: Smitten, Trifecta - Mama Elephant; Cupid's Arrow, Banner Love - Wplus9
CARDSTOCK: Black, White - Wplus9
PATTERNED PAPER: Chillingsworth Manor - Echo Park Paper Company
INK: Whisper White - SU!
OTHER: Detail White Embossing Powder - Stampendous; Washi Tape - Target; Button