The Diedrich Dare: Out with a Bang!

Hello girls! Long time no see!

I did make a card this week for the Diedrich Dare challenge for July. During the summer, the challenge is just once a month. And sadly, this is the last challenge for Whimsical Wednesdays. Jessica and her kids decided to end the challenge. They are exploring new avenues of creativity. This was such fun in the time that we had. I met Jessica, seems like forever ago, when we were on a design team for a now defunct company. She is sweet and caring and genuine and I feel incredibly lucky to know her, to have designed with her and to call her friend. I actually feel that way about all the girls that are DareDevils - past and present.

SO...

...let's talk about the challenge. It's an inspiration challenge this week using this photo from therecipegirl.com:

Oh man! It's a cupcake which is wonderful. But the fact that it's a Fourth of July cupcake is SUPER wonderful! Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays! I was inspired originally by the frosting and intended to use the Shaving Cream background somehow but that idea got swept aside as time whittled away. And in staying true to my style, I kept it clean and simple.

I used my Cricut to cut the cupcake, layered it, tied a bow and popped it onto the kraft base. Now I just need to find a friend with a Fourth of July birthday! Hmmm - oh yeah! THIS lovely lady that I get to work with on the Cuttlebug Challenge fits the bill I do believe! Happy Belated Birthday sweetie!

Jessica has put together a terrific prize package for our final challenge! Here's the list of prizes:

♥ Choice of TWO digi stamps from Baby Bud Designs


♥ "Sweet Message" stamp set from The Greeting Farm (4x6 set)

♥ "A Good Book" stamp from {Ippity} stamps

We'd love to see your creation inspired by the image this week. You've got one week to upload a link over at The Diedrich Dare before we close our doors on Wednesday, July 14th.

The Diedrich Dare: All About Inspiration

Good morning girls! The DIEDRICH DARE will be taking a bit of a break....HOWEVER....we are issuing a challenge TODAY AND the 1st week of July to keep you busy...and just to keep you intrigued? We have one HECK of a PRIZE!

Today's Challenge is a WONDERFUL inspiration piece that sweet DareDevil Sara sent because she knew Jessica would love what it said. It just so happens it makes for an EXCELLENT summer challenge too! Here's the photo:

I immediately loved the colors. I always admire bright, happy colors although I don't typically create with them. And so I decided to really step out of my comfort zone and use bright, happy colors!

The stamp is an old PSX stamp; do ya'll miss PSX as much as I do? I'm not a big Alice in Wonderland fan but I've always loved this quote about imagining impossible things. Love it in the Lime Green. Love the polka dot ribbon even more I think!

I hope this card makes you feel bright and happy!

Now...here's the deal. You have ALL MONTH to play along. There are NO restrictions on number of entries, etc. You just have to link it up here and we have to be able to see the inspiration piece somewhere on your card or project.


Entries will be accepted until JUNE 30th, 2010 at 8pm CST.
The catch? Well, ok, it's NOT a catch..it's more like LOOT....TONS OF IT! CHECK THIS OUT:

ONE lucky winner will receive:

*TWO Kraftin' Kimmie stamps of Choice, sponsored by Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!
*This HUGE prize from Tamiko's:
1. Spellbinders Frameabilities Scalloped Edge Frame
2. 1/4" Scorepal tape
3. Sticky thumb adhesive tape
4. Memento Tuxedo Black Ink Pad
5. Robin's nest tear drops
6. Robin's nest dew drop
7. Robin's nest mini dew drops
8. 2-3 bags of Lion coffee (a little something from Hawaii)
*A FREE Digital Image sponsored by Daredevil herself, Sara Henton
*TWO Rubber Stamps from a newly released BabyBud Designs (manuf. by C.C. Designs) sponsored by
   Daredevil Krista VanTol!
* ONE 4x6 Set of choice from The Greeting Farm

Can you BELIEVE the generosity of these sponsors??? I am SUPER stoked for this and it's nothing we've ever had the privilege to offer our players before. I cannot WAIT to see who the random winner is! Thank you to each and every one!!

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this month. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus)  ♥ Heather Schlatter 

 ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross  

Kris Palakiko  ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥  Sara Henton

The Diedrich Dare: iSparkle

Good morning girls! Today we have an incredible challenge from DT member Kim's kiddos Kaeli and Emilie.

iSparkle.
Do You?

The girls want us to make cards (or another project perhaps) that SPARKLE!

I made a scrappy card for one of my closest friends and I hope she likes it! She mentioned earlier today that she loves polka dots so I have a feeling she will!

I used a scrap of polka dot paper and paired it with some glitter covered chipboard tab and letters. Added some stickers for "happy" and a rubon for "birthday". Quick and simple which really fit my time frame for creating this card!

As this is the last week of May, I want to say thank you again to Sweet Pea Stamps for being our sponsor this month! I am very thrilled to have some of the ching chou-kiuk stamps and look forward to playing with them again soon! It all came together because our girl Randi helped make it happen!

Over the summer, the Dare is running ONE challenge for the entire month - and oh giiirl! The prizes are amazing! I can't wait for ya'll to see all the info next week! In the meantime, take a moment to visit the rest of the DareDevils and see how they are SPARKLING today!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus)  ♥ Heather Schlatter 

 ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross  

Kris Palakiko  ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥  Sara Henton

Also, be sure to visit Cuttlebug Challenge and see all the projects for this week's challenge: Pennants

The Diedrich Dare: A Double Sketch

Post #2 - please keep scrolling for my Cuttlebug Challenge project!

The Diedrich Dare this week is bringing you not one but TWO sketches drawn by DT member Heather's two sweet girls Willow and Piper. I used Willow's sketch. Piper has a terrific sketch too and she said butterflies weren't required but she would love to see them. So I used an image from Sweet Pea Stamps (our fabulous sponsor this month) that features a butterfly*. Here are their sketches:

Aren't those the sweetest? I love their little notes to us! I was flipping through my scrap drawer and saw some yellow paper and instantly thought of a card I saw in Stamp It months ago that was mostly yellow. I don't remember if it had Kraft and/or Black but it struck a cord with me and I decided to use this color combo and use up this paper. I don't design with yellow much AT ALL; who knows why I even bought it in the first place!?!

I know we've really been showcasing The ching chou-kuik line from Sweet Pea Stamps this month here at The Dare, but she has lots of other lines as well, including this artistic, elegant line and a really cute line called Gum Drop Gang!

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus)  ♥ Heather Schlatter 

 ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross  

Kris Palakiko  ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥  Sara Henton

That's it for me today! Be sure to keep scrolling for my Cuttlebug Challenge card below!

*I may be able to enter this in Flutter By Wednesday too - I miss creating with those girls every week!

The Diedrach Dare: Another Sweet Pea Creation

Good morning girls! This is my first post today - I hope you'll take a look at my Cuttlebug Challenge project as well!

Sweet Pea Stamps is our sponsor this month and I have a card using another of the Ching-Chou Kuik images for you today! And sweet Kyah drew up our sketch for this week! You can totally tell that she makes cards along with her mom!

I used the Dance of the Butterfly image for my card today. I thought for sure I wanted to use the Swirls embossing folder on the circle portion so I chose one of the mermaid images. The main panel is from my local stamp club. One of the girls (hi Marilyn!) showed us how to make these panels with crayons and an iron. I have done the technique where you melt crayons on wax paper but this was different - more like using encaustic wax. SO FUN! SO VERY COOL!

And totally terrific for an image like this when you don't want to color! I love it, love it, love it! I was talking to Heather (hey girl!) on the phone while I was putting this together and adhered the circle to the blue without embossing. So I just embossed all of it and popped it up like I meant for it to be that way!

I've got to wrap this up! Be sure to visit the rest of the DareDevils and see what they created using the sketch this week!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus)  ♥ Heather Schlatter 

 ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross  

Kris Palakiko  ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥  Sara Henton

The Diedrich Dare: Sweet Pea Pirate

Hello girls! Today is the first Whimsical Wednesday: Diedrich Dare challenge for the month of May!!! There are soooo many exciting things going on right now for the dare! First, our challenge for the month of May -

Are you squealing too? If not, you will be when I tell you that Lynette has graciously and generously donated a $20 gift certificate to her store for one lucky participant this week! I know huh?!!?

Sweet Pea Stamps range anywhere from whimsical to artistic. They are made of hiqh quality, unmounted red rubber. They have an amazing collection of images from three talented fantasy artists: Ching-Chou
Kuik, Elaine Cox, and Lisa Victoria. If you would like to see more samples, please check out the Sweet Pea Stamps blog.

I also want to add that Lynette is a wonderful owner. I ordered some stamps from her and had an issue and she was so quick to fix it! Above and beyond customer service so I'm really happy to recommend her and her stamps to you!

Okay, the other exciting thing going on in May is that The Diedrich Dare is welcoming not one but FOUR guest sketch artists! It's gonna be a great month! This week Kaitlyn has drawn a wonderful sketch for us. Her mom is fellow DareDevil Andrea.

Isn't that the cutest?!?! She did want to add that your image doesn't have to be a girl and the ribbon doesn't have to be polka dotted. Kids totally get the whole "not limiting creativity" thing don't they?

Lynette was so generous and sent the team some stamps to play with - thank you so much Lynette! I used Ching-chou kuik's Caribbean Treasure image** (which I noticed is on sale right now) for my card today. My pirate girl has a little sassy girly-ness that shines through despite being on a pirate boat.

This is the first image I've colored from the Ching-chou kuik line and I think I goofed on a few bits, but don't look at those, okay? Check out the stickles I added to her tail fin instead!!! LOL!!!!

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too! I know I can't wait to see their creations this week!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus)  ♥ Heather Schlatter 

 ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross  

Kris Palakiko  ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥  Sara Henton

**You can find this image HERE - all the way at the bottom of the page.
And be sure to check out my Cuttlebug Challenge card for today too - it's in the post above!

The Diedrich Dare: Spring Fever!

Hello girls! It's so good to see you! For this week's Diedrich Dare challenge, Madelynn challenged us to create a spring card!

The Greeting Farm has been our super wonderful, so generous sponsor this month. I can't remember if Nurse Anya was my first or second Anya but she's absolutely a favorite! As I was thinking about this challenge, the concept of spring fever came to mind. I taught high school for 11 years. And I know Jessica recently posted a card she made for Madelynn on her blog wishing her luck with the state tests. Those are happening *this* week here in Texas and I remember how spring fever set in after they were over. It was like you could heave a big sigh of relief. And with the warmer weather, my kids would came alive and beg to have class outside. So that was my inspiration for today!

I had a lot of fun paper piecing Nurse Anya's "scrubs". Isn't it so fun to see all the bright and happy patterns that nurses wear? At least the pediatric nurses which are the ones I have the most interaction with these days!
I'm really happy with my coloring on this card. I watercolored her and was channeling DareDevil Alumni Sandra the whole time! I even got some pink cheeks on her that look halfway decent! I hate to toot my own horn, but this is definitely a skill that has to be developed so I feel like I made a big leap here!

And here's the inside:

So - how will spring inspire you today? Create a spring card of your own and link it up over at the Dare blog! Be sure to visit the rest of the DareDevils too and see their spring cards!

Kris is the featured team member this week and her card is so stinkin' adorable!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus)  ♥ Heather Schlatter 

 ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross  

Kris Palakiko  ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥  Sara Henton

Bee-uatiful Color Combo

Hi girls! Time for another Diedrich Dare on this Whimsical Wednesday! This week we have a color challenge. These always stretch me outside of my comfort zone. I really think this is a great combo and hope that you'll join in with us this week! Be sure to link up your card over at the Dare blog!

I used the Bee Tile from Sugar Creek Hollow that was the free image this past week. This is one of my favorite images from SCH. I love the collage look and this is already done for me! Got to love that! I used this week's sketch from SCS for the layout.

I added a little color to the flowers and vine with some colored pencils. The bumblebee body was colored with a Dove blender and Pearl Ex and the wings were painted with Radiant Pearls. It's very sparkly in real life - perhaps you can get an idea from this next photo:

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus)  ♥ Heather Schlatter 

 ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross  

Kris Palakiko  ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥  Sara Henton

Spring Doorway

Good morning girls! Spring is my favorite season. I love the warm/cool temperatures and the way the plants come back to life. The Diedrich Dare has another great sketch this week to play along with. I love how basic and simple it is. Love all the layers although I think I eliminated one or two.

I used a little bit of flower soft on the flowers in the basket. Someone sent me some ages ago and a gal used it last night at stamp club. Her projects were just gorgeous and so I decided to use an image that would work with the mix that I had.

I'm sorry this is up later in the morning. I was embossing my green layer when my little man woke up not exactly screaming, but crying so very hard. I'm still not sure if it was a bad dream or his tummy hurting. Regardless, he launched himself into my arms and asked to go to my bed. I added my favorite script stamp to the base for more dimension/texture/interest and assembled it this morning. Hope ya'll have a wonderful day!

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus)  ♥ Heather Schlatter 

 ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross  

Kris Palakiko  ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥  Sara Henton ♥ Valerie Urtiaga

A little Note from Cassie - via friend Heather

 Happy Wednesday Everyone,

This is Cassies friend Heather here she called me this morning from her Mother In Law's House and is having Computer issues she can not get into her computer files or on the Internet.

She just wanted me to pop on and let you all know she will be posting her creations when she gets back home tonight and can connect to the Internet again!!!!

Drive Safe Cassie Girl!!!

Heather

Thanks Heather! I didn't have a chance to complete a card using traditional methods before leaving town for a bit so I opted to create a digital card for this week's Dare challenge. This week is an inspiration challenge using the photo below. I loved the pink and brown with all the white. My card doesn't have white like I would've used if I'd used traditional methods but I'm still learning so much about Photoshop.

The Greeting Farm is sponsoring the Diedrich Dare this month and I used one of the Ebony digi stamps. The sketch is from this week's sketch challenge at Splitcoaststampers and all the digi papers are from Summertime Designs.

Thanks for looking! I hope you've been by to see the rest of the Daredevils to see how they were inspired by the photo!

Kindness

Hello girls! Are you having a terrific day?!  Since it's Wednesday, there are a handful of challenges I am highlighting today.

Cuttlebug Challenge - Popups
The Diedrich Dare - sketch by Jack below
Flutterby Wednesday - use blue,green, white - oops! I did use butterflies, but the wrong colors! If you play along, be sure to link your direct blog POST. Danni's trying a new link system this week too.

I love this sketch and took some liberty to simplify it a little by eliminating a layer and using the fruits at the bottom of my image for the row of buttons in the sketch.

Pretty simple construction. I used some Coredinations cardstock for the coral layer and just distressed the edges. And that ribbon. Oh it's sooooo luxorious. It's the nicest ribbon I've ever owned. My fellow Daredevil Rebecca ordered some months and months ago; I shared some of the yardage with her of some skinnier ribbon and just a little of this. It's so nice I've been hoarding it but finally convinced myself to just use it. There is always more to get should i need it, right?

And then the popup on the inside is using the spiral popup method. This is the first popup I've created using this method. I left it off to the side so there would be plenty of room to write a message.

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too! We have a new Daredevil this week - please be sure to visit Krista Vantol and welcome her to the team!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus)  ♥ Heather Schlatter 

 ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross  

Kris Palakiko  ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥  Sara Henton ♥ Valerie Urtiaga

And be sure to visit the Cuttlebug Challenge blog too to see all the inspiration over there as well.

I hope you'll play along with us this week!

Cuttlebug Be Inspired 76: Easter Dresses

Hello again girls. This week's theme for the Cuttlebug Challenge is all about Easter. I remember being a little girl and the easter dresses my mom would sew for me. Dresses that were pretty, pastel, and definitely designed for warm weather. Easter Sunday ends up being chilly here half the time! But that never deterred me from wearing that new dress.

I can just imagine this little girl in her new Easter dress, waiting for the egg hunt to begin. I mentioned in the post below that I wanted to use this week's DareDevil sketch in a new way --- and this is it. Completely different take on the layers and all and I love it! Be sure to scroll down to see that post as well, okay!?! And since I added a butterfly at the last moment, I can use this for Flutter By Wednesday as well!

My card uses some cardstock from the Coredinations White Wash line. Such a fun paper - I love how soft and muted the color is with the white wash finish over it. We have a new official glue sponsor for the Cuttlebug Challenge - Beacon Adhesives. One of their products is Zip Dry and I used that on my card today. One thing I've had issues with in the past is getting layers to adhere to my card when I emboss the base (or layer below it) like I did on today's card. My Tombow tape runner just doesn't seem to get a strong bond. But the Zip Dry did the trick today. It's a great glue for paper crafting as it dries without wrinkling - one of the biggest issues with using liquid glues with paper. I remember using it a few years ago in a Karen Russell class but then forgor about it until now.

Head over to the Cuttlebug Challenge blog to see the rest of the designers creations. Be sure to upload a link to your creation so we can see how you intepret the theme!

The Diedrich Dare: Polka Dots and Puppy Dogs

Hi girls! Could anything be cuter than polka dots and puppy dogs? This image is my favorite from The Character Cafe, our sponsor for this month. This week's sketch for Whimsical Wednesday: The Diedrich Dare is a great, simple layout by Jack.

I always seem to look at sketches one way -- and then after I've finished the sketch I see it another way. I can't wait to see how the other girls interpreted this one. And I hope to use this sketch again in a different way real soon too!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Take a moment to go see the rest of the team and see their creations today.

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus)  ♥ Heather Schlatter 

 ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross  

Kris Palakiko  ♥ Randi Wall ♥ Rebecca Ednie

 Sara Henton ♥ Valerie Urtiaga

Cupcakes Forever!

Good morning girls! It snowed here again on Monday/Monday night. I think we got between 2 and 3 inches although most of it has melted off by now. Still, I have had enough snow to last a decade of winters! What about you?

I do have a few cards to share today. I have been battling a sore throat for several days so I don't know how I feel about this first card.

The sketch for this week's Diedrich Dare is a great one; I'm just not sure I've done it justice. The heart paper was sitting out on my desk, leftover from valentine's and the cupcake stamp was the first one I grabbed.

You can see that I changed things a little from the sketch. I didn't really mean too, I just forgot what direction the angle was and then had to make the other elements work. I paper pieced the frosting on the cupcake for this week's challenge at Joanne Basile's blog - to paper piece.

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too! This week we are welcoming Andrea Murdock to the group. Be sure to leave her a welcome note too won't you?

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus)  ♥ Heather Schlatter 

Jacquie Nordaune (on hiatus) ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich

Kim Ross ♥ Kris ♥ Randi Wall ♥ Rebecca Ednie

Sandra MacLean ♥ Sara Henton ♥ Valerie Urtiaga

Whimsical & Flutter By Wednesday: Are You Ready For Spring?

ETA: My pictures - I would like to say I can't believe I forgot to add them, but that is exactly something a scatterbrain like me would do! Thanks Heather for the heads up!

Hello again girls! This is my second post today - please keep scrolling to see my quilt card for the Cuttlebug Challenge.

I have combined several challenges in this card.
Flutter By Wednesday, use hearts along with butterfly/fairy/angel
Mojo Monday Sketch from this week.
Whimsical Wednesday, a color challenge.

Color challenges are definitely a challenge for me but I am pretty happy with how this one turned out!
It's pretty basic; I did use watercolor for my image on this card.

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too! Debbie has stepped down from the team - I'm happy to have been able to design with her for a bit. And last week I forgot to mention that Sara Henton has joined our crazy, fun bunch!

Darla Wilson (on hiatus)  ♥ Heather Schlatter 

Jacquie Nordaune (on hiatus) ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich

Kim Ross ♥ Kris ♥ Randi Wall ♥ Rebecca Ednie

Sandra MacLean ♥ Sara Henton ♥ Valerie Urtiaga

The Diedrich Dare: Walk Humbly in the Lord

This is my 2nd post today -- please scroll down for my Flutter By Wednesday post.

This week we had a terrific sketch by sweet Ava; it's a great basic sketch that can be interpreted in so many ways!

My card uses another image from Sugar Creek Hollow. I love the look of vintage boots. I'm pretty sure that no Victorian lady wore a size 11 so I'll never be able to experience what they are like to wear. But aren't they gorgeous!?! I love this pair with it's elegant and whimsical details. This could absolutely be used in a vintage way or in a more modern way. My card today is a mix of the two!

I watercolored the boots and then cut them out using a Quickutz tag die. Faux stiching, a polka dot flower paired with the organza flower and the bits of lace are a mix of different eras.

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Darla Wilson (on hiatus)  ♥ Debbie Lee ♥ Heather Schlatter

Jacquie Nordaune (on hiatus) ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich

Kim Ross ♥ Kris ♥ Randi Wall ♥ Rebecca Ednie

Sandra MacLean ♥ Sara Henton ♥ Valerie Urtiaga

Thy Word Vintage Card

Happy Wednesday morning girls! So happy to see you! I am thrilled to have a card to share with you today! It's been a looong time since I played along with The DareDevils. Jack has a great sketch this week (easy to ease me back into creating *wink*).

I used one of the images that will be available at Sugar Creek Hollow on March 1st. (Have you signed up as a follower over there yet? There is a chance at a sweet prize!) This verse is one of my favorites!

The patterned paper in the background is some 'vintage'** K & Co paper I found in my stash. I used lots of distress inks and created a shabby vintage look. I meant to add pearls in the corner and as I'm typing this I see that they are missing. That's what happens when your 3 year old wants to make a card with you - you forget what you were going to do next! LOL!! I am not going to complain though - I love it that he wants to be with me creating and coloring! Here's a close-up to show some dimension:

Please take a moment to visit the rest of The DareDevils - you know they will have some wonderful creations to share with you. I can't wait to see them myself!

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week.

Heather Schlatter ♥ Jacquie Nordaune 

Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich

Kim Ross ♥ Kris ♥ Randi Wall 

Rebecca Ednie ♥ Sandra MacLean

Valerie Urtiaga

**I know 'vintage' normally refers to items that are at least 50 years old. However, when it comes to scrapbooking paper, I think it's fair to say anything over 3 years old is 'vintage'.

At least that's my story - and I'm stickin' to it!!

The Diedrach Dare: Hope

Post 1 - please see my Flutter By card above too!

Good morning girls! Wednesday again already - the days just fly by! I'm so thrilled to get to share today's Diedrach Dare challenge with you today. This week Jack gave us a terrific sketch to work with.

And my take on it

I created my card as a personal message to one of my fellow DareDevils, Sandra. It's a message for you too if there is uncertainty of confusion or discouragement in your life. I hope you know how amazingly precious to God you are. His plans are not to harm us, but to uplift us.

This is the final Dare of the year - so you'll have 2 weeks to work on this challenge. Pretty neat since one of the DareDevils, Randi Wall, is giving away a single unmounted image from the Sweet Pea Fantasy Art Collection by Ching-Chou-Kuik plus one of my cards. Now, I have a piece of artwork from Randi and so owning a card from her is some serious stamping treasure! Be sure to leave a link to your card at the blog for your chance to win! And good luck!! I also hear that a little something might be up for grabs over at Jessica's blog too!

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Darla Wilson  ♥ Debbie Lee ♥ Heather Schlatter

Jacquie Nordaune ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich

Kim Ross ♥ Kris ♥ Randi Wall ♥ Rebecca Ednie

Valerie Urtiaga

The Diedrach Dare: Out of my Comfort Zone

Good Wednesday morning girls! I hope you are having a terrific day! We are in the middle of the third straight week of a cold snap. Very unusual for here; I'll be happy when we return to our normal winter temps in the 60s.

Since it's Wednesday, there is a lot going on here at the blog.... first up is my post for Whimsical Wednesday: The Diedrich Dare. Madelynn brought us an inspiration challenge this week. These are the hardest challenges for me and I'm really steppin' out with the BRIGHT color scheme.  Here's what she chose:

She loves the fun, funky style of the Alex, the main gal on Wizards of Waverly Place. I can see why she does. I love how cheerful bright colors are even though I don't wear them, decorate with them or create with them very often. I chose to use the colors and the white blossoms on the plate as my inspiration.

I am not even sure what colors these papers are. I got them in a color family stack from Stampin Up and I'm pretty sure that I have every sheet still! But I do love that blue color - it might be Taken with Teal? I stamped the snowflakes in Craft White and then embossed in white as well. The pink panel is popped up on dimensionals but you can't really see the dimension in this photo.

The layout is pretty simple. I was originally going to have a sentiment, but every one I tried just didn't look right. So I finally said: "okay - no sentiment. just ribbon and gems". And now the card and I are both happy!!

Please take a moment to check out The Diedrich Dare blog --- and upload your creation using the inspiration piece as well. Then see what the rest of the DareDevils have done. Debbie isn't participating this week; she's been swamped at work. (bummer.) BUT -- we do get to welcome 2 new DareDevils to the team: Jacquie and Valerie. I'm so excited to get to design with Val again and really can't wait to get to know Jacquie well too!

Darla Wilson  ♥ Debbie Lee ♥ Heather Schlatter

Jacquie Nordaune ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich

Kim Ross ♥ Kris ♥ Randi Wall ♥ Rebecca Ednie

Sandra MacLean ♥ Valerie Urtiaga

Come back later* as I have a FlutterBy Wednesday post coming up too! The Cuttlebug Challenge team is on hiatus this week as we prepare for our next Big Event coming up in just a few days!

*MUCH later as I've just realized it's Wednesday and I forgot to create that card earlier today!

The Diedrich Dare: It's December Already?!?

Happy Wednesday girls! Can you believe it is December already? It seems like it was just summer!

This week for Whimsical Wednesday: The Diedrich Dare, we are being challenged with a great sketch by Nicky! Take a look at this layout - imagine all the possibilities!

He wants you to know that the circles in the corners are buttons!!

Here is my take on the sketch - a little simplified!

I had scraps out on my desk and really wanted to get them used up instead of stashing them in a drawer. This card has some of my favorite things on it: velvet ribbon, gems, distressing, embossing. I hope you'll play along with us this week - be sure to visit the rest of the girls too and see how they rocked this sketch! We are so excited to welcome a new DareDevil this week to the group! Please say hello to Kris and check out her blog HERE!

You do see those snowflakes embossed on the main panel, yes? Oh My Crafts is the sponsor at Cuttlebug Challenge - last week's challenge is running through this week too --- they are giving away 15 prizes this week so be sure to head over there and complete the challenge for your chance to win!

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member (it's me!) this week. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Darla Wilson  ♥ Debbie Lee ♥ Heather Schlatter

Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross ♥ Kris

Lisa Slusser ♥ Randi Wall ♥ Rebecca Ednie ♥ Sandra MacLean

Have a beautiful day!!