On Thursday, March 11th we had 7 entries in our National Craft Month Challenge a day contest. Selected by random number generator, Meegan is our winner. Check out Meegan’s layout on her blog:

Meegan, please be sure to contact us via the Couture Cardstock contact form  http://www.couturecardstock.com/contacts/ to provide us your shipping address and choices for your 10 free sheets!

Happy Friday!  The weekend is on it’s way!  I can’t wait- I get to attend an all day crop tomorrow and I am so ready for a day of crafting!  I hope that your weekend is equally fun.

Today I have a journaling prompt for you.  We often record the signs of spring in our layouts and projects.  Flowers, spring colors, and other fresh details are easy and fun to incorporate.  But how often do we record our feelings about spring?  I know I don’t do that very often.  Next time you create a spring layout, think about recording your thoughts.  Are you relieved it is finally spring?  Are you dreading the heat of summer to come?  Write it all down and record it!

Enjoy the spring this weekend!

~Alyssa~

Today’s Challenge: Use the word “spring” on your project.  Feel free to interpret that word any way you like.

Rules for both of our month-long contests follow:

First, we are giving it all away! In honor of National Craft Month, we are holding a month long contest in March. The winner will receive 1 of every product in our store.  That’s 291 sheets of cardstock, in every color, weight, and texture you could ever need!  Here’s what you have to do to win: put our blinkie on your blog using the code available in the sidebar to the right.   Leave us a comment (on this post) with a link to your blog where you posted our blinkie, and you are entered to win!  That’s all there is to it! We will draw one very lucky winner on April 2nd.  (if you already have our blinkie, leave us a comment and tell us that too, you are eligible to win).

Second,  to celebrate National Craft Month, we are holding a month long contest here at Couture Cardstock, and your participation will determine the size of the prize!  Each day during the month of March, we will be offering a challenge on our blog.  Each day, you have one opportunity win a prize pack by completing that challenge and linking it to that day’s post.   For every challenge entry received, we will add a sheet of cardstock to the prize pack. All entries must be posted by 11:59 pm EST the day of that challenge and the winner for each day will be selected the following morning.  The minimum prize pack will be 10 sheets of your choice, the maximum depends on YOU!!

The details:

1. You may enter each challenge once (only one entry per person per day).
2. Entries must be posted in a gallery or on a personal blog, and must mention Couture Cardstock in the description.
3. You do not need to use Couture Cardstock in your entries, although we encourage you to do so.
4. Each project completed may only be used once.
5. All entries must by posted and linked to the corresponding challenge post by 11:59 pm EST, the day the challenge is posted.
6. The minimum prize pack per day will be 10 sheets of your choice.

Both contests are open to anyone, anywhere.  However, International winners (outside the US) will be responsible for their own shipping costs.

On Wednesday, March 10th we had 6 entries in our National Craft Month Challenge a day contest. Selected by random number generator, Rebecca is our winner. Check out Rebecca’s layout on her blog:

Rebecca, please be sure to contact us via the Couture Cardstock contact form  http://www.couturecardstock.com/contacts/ to provide us your shipping address and choices for your 10 free sheets!

If you ask me what my favorite color is, more often than not my answer will be “water”. I just adore all the blues and greens that combine to make up the colors of a crystal clear ocean. My user name in several online galleries is “Waterchild12”. So it’s no surprise that the H2O monochromatic family is my absolute favorite of all the color families. I couldn’t wait to work with it, and I was certainly not disappointed.

I’ve used Oasis, a beautifully rich, heavy-weight textured cardstock, as my card base. Day at Sea is the lightest of the colors and the medium colored light-weight layer is Calypso. What great names!

My “Waterchild” (a self-portrait, maybe?) is a Ching-chou kuik Fantasy Collection image which was stamped on One Sheet Wonder and was so much fun to color with my Copic markers. Normally I will use 3 closely numbered shades from the same color family (like BG10, BG11, and BG13) when I color an image, but I wanted her outfit to appear watery with different depths of color. So I played around on some scratch paper and ending up using colors from a wider spectrum – BG10, BG23, BG49 with a little Y11 added. I like it!

(Cardstock: H2O Monochromatic Family: Day at Sea, Calypso, Oasis; Paper: One Sheet Wonder, Pocket Full of Posies mat stack (DCWV))

I added some vintage lace, ribbon, buttons, rhinestones and a Prima flower. And she’s been highlighted with some Star Dust Stickles for that watery sparkle.

I hope you like it! Until next week, have fun creating!

Broni

Today’s Challenge: Use buttons!

Rules for both of our month-long contests follow:

First, we are giving it all away! In honor of National Craft Month, we are holding a month long contest in March. The winner will receive 1 of every product in our store.  That’s 291 sheets of cardstock, in every color, weight, and texture you could ever need!  Here’s what you have to do to win: put our blinkie on your blog using the code available in the sidebar to the right.   Leave us a comment (on this post) with a link to your blog where you posted our blinkie, and you are entered to win!  That’s all there is to it! We will draw one very lucky winner on April 2nd.  (if you already have our blinkie, leave us a comment and tell us that too, you are eligible to win).

Second,  to celebrate National Craft Month, we are holding a month long contest here at Couture Cardstock, and your participation will determine the size of the prize!  Each day during the month of March, we will be offering a challenge on our blog.  Each day, you have one opportunity win a prize pack by completing that challenge and linking it to that day’s post.   For every challenge entry received, we will add a sheet of cardstock to the prize pack. All entries must be posted by 11:59 pm EST the day of that challenge and the winner for each day will be selected the following morning.  The minimum prize pack will be 10 sheets of your choice, the maximum depends on YOU!!

The details:

1. You may enter each challenge once (only one entry per person per day).
2. Entries must be posted in a gallery or on a personal blog, and must mention Couture Cardstock in the description.
3. You do not need to use Couture Cardstock in your entries, although we encourage you to do so.
4. Each project completed may only be used once.
5. All entries must by posted and linked to the corresponding challenge post by 11:59 pm EST, the day the challenge is posted.
6. The minimum prize pack per day will be 10 sheets of your choice.

Both contests are open to anyone, anywhere.  However, International winners (outside the US) will be responsible for their own shipping costs.

On Tuesday, March 9th we had 4 entries in our National Craft Month Challenge a day contest. Selected by random number generator, Allison Cope is our winner. Check out Allison’s card on her blog:

Allison, please be sure to contact us via the Couture Cardstock contact form  http://www.couturecardstock.com/contacts/ to provide us your shipping address and choices for your 10 free sheets!

Today it is my turn to show you how wonderfully the printable paper and templates at My Time Made Easy work with Couture Cardstock.  First of all, I printed all of the My Time Made Easy papers on Detail Blending Paper.  It runs smoothly through my printer and takes the ink perfectly, and doesn’t bleed through or run, even on the papers with deep saturated colors.

Secondly, My Time Made Easy offers both color and black and white patterns, so it’s easy to customize and get exactly what you need.  For the small download fee, you can keep using them over and over again.

Here is the layout I made:

Cardstock: Couture Cardstock: “Seduction Monochromatic Family: The Other Woman,” White Monochromatic Family: Canvas,” “H2O Monochromatic Family: Whale Watching,” “Spring Valley Monochromatic Family: Pasture” “Pure Silk Collection: Detail Blending Paper”; Printables: My Time Made Easy, LLC “Flutters and Flowers,” “Fanciful Flourishes”; Paper: GCD Studios “Artsy Urban”

I cut the butterflies from one of the “Flutters and Flowers” My Time Made Easy papers, and colored them with my Spica Atyou markers.  They sparkle!  The diamond pattern and the text pattern (behind the photo) are also from “Flutters and Flowers.”

The photo is a fun shot of my daughter at the zoo.  She was watching the penguins when I bothered her with the camera.  :)

Todays Challenge:  Use pastel or muted tones on your project.  Have fun creating!

~Alyssa~

Rules for both of our month-long contests follow:

First, we are giving it all away! In honor of National Craft Month, we are holding a month long contest in March. The winner will receive 1 of every product in our store.  That’s 291 sheets of cardstock, in every color, weight, and texture you could ever need!  Here’s what you have to do to win: put our blinkie on your blog using the code available in the sidebar to the right.   Leave us a comment (on this post) with a link to your blog where you posted our blinkie, and you are entered to win!  That’s all there is to it! We will draw one very lucky winner on April 2nd.  (if you already have our blinkie, leave us a comment and tell us that too, you are eligible to win).

Second,  to celebrate National Craft Month, we are holding a month long contest here at Couture Cardstock, and your participation will determine the size of the prize!  Each day during the month of March, we will be offering a challenge on our blog.  Each day, you have one opportunity win a prize pack by completing that challenge and linking it to that day’s post.   For every challenge entry received, we will add a sheet of cardstock to the prize pack. All entries must be posted by 11:59 pm EST the day of that challenge and the winner for each day will be selected the following morning.  The minimum prize pack will be 10 sheets of your choice, the maximum depends on YOU!!

The details:

1. You may enter each challenge once (only one entry per person per day).
2. Entries must be posted in a gallery or on a personal blog, and must mention Couture Cardstock in the description.
3. You do not need to use Couture Cardstock in your entries, although we encourage you to do so.
4. Each project completed may only be used once.
5. All entries must by posted and linked to the corresponding challenge post by 11:59 pm EST, the day the challenge is posted.
6. The minimum prize pack per day will be 10 sheets of your choice.

Both contests are open to anyone, anywhere.  However, International winners (outside the US) will be responsible for their own shipping costs.

On Monday, March 8th we had 6 entries in our National Craft Month Challenge a day contest. Selected by random number generator, Wendy Crowe is our winner. Check out Wendy’s sweet layouts on her blog:

Wendy, please be sure to contact us via the Couture Cardstock contact form  http://www.couturecardstock.com/contacts/ to provide us your shipping address and choices for your 10 free sheets!

Today I thought I would bring you a couple of different products to coordinate with the blues in our Serenity Monochromatic Family…

First, when I first saw these AMAZING stamps by Tim Holtz, I was drooling. They have officially moved to the top of my stampers wishlist, and how fun they would be to use with this collection!

Tim Holtz “Shabby French” Stamp Set

Tim Holtz “Purely Random” Stamp Set

Onto some patterned paper, isn’t this Chic Baby Boy Collection by Teresa Collins just completely fit for a prince? I know that my own son, Jax, has me seeing royalty in a new light… particularly a blue one. (The gallery photo of our cardstock looks a tad more purple than it really is, so trust me when I say that this paper is a perfect companion to the Serenity Monochromatic Family collection!)

Today’s Challenge: Use 3 different shades of the same color!

xx Heidi

Rules for both of our month-long contests follow:

First, we are giving it all away! In honor of National Craft Month, we are holding a month long contest in March. The winner will receive 1 of every product in our store.  That’s 291 sheets of cardstock, in every color, weight, and texture you could ever need!  Here’s what you have to do to win: put our blinkie on your blog using the code available in the sidebar to the right.   Leave us a comment (on this post) with a link to your blog where you posted our blinkie, and you are entered to win!  That’s all there is to it! We will draw one very lucky winner on April 2nd.  (if you already have our blinkie, leave us a comment and tell us that too, you are eligible to win).

Second,  to celebrate National Craft Month, we are holding a month long contest here at Couture Cardstock, and your participation will determine the size of the prize!  Each day during the month of March, we will be offering a challenge on our blog.  Each day, you have one opportunity win a prize pack by completing that challenge and linking it to that day’s post.   For every challenge entry received, we will add a sheet of cardstock to the prize pack. All entries must be posted by 11:59 pm EST the day of that challenge and the winner for each day will be selected the following morning.  The minimum prize pack will be 10 sheets of your choice, the maximum depends on YOU!!

The details:

1. You may enter each challenge once (only one entry per person per day).
2. Entries must be posted in a gallery or on a personal blog, and must mention Couture Cardstock in the description.
3. You do not need to use Couture Cardstock in your entries, although we encourage you to do so.
4. Each project completed may only be used once.
5. All entries must by posted and linked to the corresponding challenge post by 11:59 pm EST, the day the challenge is posted.
6. The minimum prize pack per day will be 10 sheets of your choice.

Both contests are open to anyone, anywhere.  However, International winners (outside the US) will be responsible for their own shipping costs.

On Sunday, March 7th we had 2 entries in our National Craft Month Challenge a day contest. Selected by random number generator, Kelly Massman is our winner. Check out Kelly’s pretty card on her blog:

Kelly, please be sure to contact us via the Couture Cardstock contact form  http://www.couturecardstock.com/contacts/ to provide us your shipping address and choices for your 10 free sheets!

The hues of the  infinite sky, the deep seas, and the vast oceans, all appear blue to our human eyes. Blue signifies depth and distance, offers a calm depiction of peace. Some soothing shades of blue appear icy, others are invigoratingly brilliant or intense. Couture Cardstock’s Serenity Monochromatic Family offers all of these elements.

For my layout today, “Beautiful Boyhood”, I used several shades from this collection. For the background I used Harmony, accented with some vanilla, white, black, and teal colored paint. The embellishments were created using rub-ons and stamps on top of  Peace of Mind, Calm, and Zen.

Tomorrow I will be showing you some gorgeous products to accompany the beautiful blue hues of this collection!

xx Heidi

Today’s Challenge: Use paint somewhere on your project!

Rules for both of our month-long contests follow:

First, we are giving it all away! In honor of National Craft Month, we are holding a month long contest in March. The winner will receive 1 of every product in our store.  That’s 291 sheets of cardstock, in every color, weight, and texture you could ever need!  Here’s what you have to do to win: put our blinkie on your blog using the code available in the sidebar to the right.   Leave us a comment (on this post) with a link to your blog where you posted our blinkie, and you are entered to win!  That’s all there is to it! We will draw one very lucky winner on April 2nd.  (if you already have our blinkie, leave us a comment and tell us that too, you are eligible to win).

Second,  to celebrate National Craft Month, we are holding a month long contest here at Couture Cardstock, and your participation will determine the size of the prize!  Each day during the month of March, we will be offering a challenge on our blog.  Each day, you have one opportunity win a prize pack by completing that challenge and linking it to that day’s post.   For every challenge entry received, we will add a sheet of cardstock to the prize pack. All entries must be posted by 11:59 pm EST the day of that challenge and the winner for each day will be selected the following morning.  The minimum prize pack will be 10 sheets of your choice, the maximum depends on YOU!!

The details:

1. You may enter each challenge once (only one entry per person per day).
2. Entries must be posted in a gallery or on a personal blog, and must mention Couture Cardstock in the description.
3. You do not need to use Couture Cardstock in your entries, although we encourage you to do so.
4. Each project completed may only be used once.
5. All entries must by posted and linked to the corresponding challenge post by 11:59 pm EST, the day the challenge is posted.
6. The minimum prize pack per day will be 10 sheets of your choice.

Both contests are open to anyone, anywhere.  However, International winners (outside the US) will be responsible for their own shipping costs.