Ah... This Monkey Challenge 52 is A Slice of Life...

Bear with me here. My close-up photo was horizontal when I took the photo and when I uploaded it. The thumbnail looks correct too. But when I add the photo to this post, it turns it on its end! I took the close-up to show the Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the middle drink, the highlights made with the white gel pen, and the tiny pearl in the middle of the flower on the first mug. Oh, and I used a red Sharpie to color a tiny pearl for the "cherry" on the middle drink whip too. Yum!

Here's the A La Card Monkey Challenge 52 - it's your favorite coffee/tea/beverage of choice, along with my sketch.

I was thinking coffee shop, a newspaper with your coffee... that's what got me started. I sponged Newsprint dsp (top) and Elegant Soiree dsp (bottom) with a luxurious knot of 5/8" Very Vanilla satin ribbon separating the two. I used an image from A Slice of Life. It's a Level 1 hostess set in the Occasions Mini Catalog, which is only available till the end of April. To the left of the cups, I used the Tiny Tags stamp set with the Medium Jewelry Punch and Vintage Trinkets (those adorable looking button brads!) to add a "love 4 you" greeting. I enjoy an occasional mocha with a little coconut and whipped cream. The drink is called "The Hollywood Star" at the bowling alley espresso stand. I call it pure bliss!

I hope you'll create a card for this challenge. Why? 'Cause it's fun, silly!!! If you're not sure where to start, you'll want to visit http://alacardmonkey.blogspot.com/ to see all the wonderful ideas. You'll have to visit the monkey blog anyway to upload your card. Love ya!

American Ink swaps from Easter Blossoms to A Slice of Life...

Kimberly's swap using Easter Blossoms and Lap of Luxury dsp

Frankie's swap with So Cute and Something to Celebrate

 

Karen's swap used Easter Blossoms and Thanks for Caring.

 

Mary Ann used Teeny, Tiny Wishes

Our newest team member (and already a senior associate!), Purple, created her swap using Clearly For You and Faux Tearing Technique.

Michelle offers a sneak peek of a new stamp set (Four Frames) and Paisley Petals dsp available through a special offer in April.

 

And when I posted the make & takes a few days ago, I forgot Mary Ann's! Sorry about that. It used the Finial Press embossing folder and A Slice of Life hostess set.

Quick cards from Party This Way & Sweet Summer, to On The Green & Clearly For You...

I had a 10-card class yesterday with these quick and easy cards. Everyone made two of each design. The top card uses the Level 1 hostess set, A Slice of Life, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Something to Celebrate, and a Scallop Border Punch. The colors are Early Espresso and Marina Mist, with the onesie pieced from Elegant Soiree dsp.

This man card uses the single On The Green stamp, along with Woodland Walk dsp, Word Window Punch, and jumbo eyelet (added with the Crop-a-dile tool). The colors are Garden Green and Crumb Cake, and everyone could select sentiments from Teeny, Tiny Wishes.

This birthday card uses the Party This Way stamp set, as well as the In Color pad of paper and a Basic Black marker.

This Crumb Cake card uses the Clearly for You stamp set with Early Espresso ink and a piece of 1-1/4" Early Espresso grosgrain ribbon. Punches used include the Decorative Label and 2-1/2" Circle.

I love the bright colors of this Sweet Summer card. We stamped whichever words from So Happy for You, along with the stem and flowers from Sweet Summer in Basic Gray. Then we used an aqua painter with Old Olive and Tempting Turquoise to color the images, adding a bit of Daffodil Delight with a marker. The designer paper is from the Pawsitively Prints II pack.

A Slice of Life birthday card...

This is one of the cards we'll be making tonight at a 10-card class at my studio. It uses A Slice of Life hostess set (in the Occasions Mini), as well as a sentiment from So Happy For You (a stamp set you may get for FREE with a $50 purchase) with Real Red and Bashful Blue papers and markers. The cake and candles were stamped in Basic Gray.

Bliss stamp-a-stack card in Marina Mist...

I'm hosting a stamp-a-stack tonight (where everyone makes 2 cards each of 5 different designs) featuring items you may earn for free during Stampin' Up!'s Sale-a-Bration Event. This Very Vanilla card features the Bliss stamp set and the colors Marina Mist and Early Espresso.

Below, I used some of the Ice Cream Parlor dsp you can get for free with a $50 purchase, along with the "true friend" circle stamp from the Punch Bunch set, another free choice with a $50 purchase. The Pretty in Pink card also features the Finial Press embossing folder, Eyelet Border Punch, 2-1/2" circle punch, Decorative Label Punch and the drink stamp from A Slice of Life hostess set. I used markers and Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the drink cups.

Cute card features A Slice of Life...

I used my own sketch to ink up A Slice of Life stamp set - it's a freebie hostess set with any $150 order. I started with some Lap of Luxury dsp layered on Concord Crush card stock, and then on a Whisper White card base. The flower and vase image were stamped in Concord Crush ink, then I used a blender pen and Pink Pirouette ink pad to color the flowers. I adore the tiny pearls on each flower. You can see a closer look below:

To finish the card, I added a Love Impressions Rub-On (the XOXO) and a pearl and adhered it with dimensionals. Have a great weekend!