A 3 challenge card...

My card today was created for 3 challenges.  I enjoy having the chance to combine several challenges into one of my cards.  This card was certainly a challenge!  My first two attempts with the card base and matting just didn't look right...but the third one was a charm.  I least I think so; I hope you like it!  I made this card for a sweet friend of mine.  I hope she doesn't check my blog before I have the chance to give her the card!

This card will be submitted to these challenges:
Just Us Girls (JUGS) sketch challenge #40, sponsored by Justrite Stampers
Crazy 4 Challenges, who challenged us to use 2 or more ribbons
Inspirations Color Challenge #30, the challenge is to use kraft, rich razzleberry, old olive & whisper white

The second photo shows a little of the inside, where I've added a border of punched DSP to coordinate with the front of the card.

Here's my recipe ~
Card stock: rich razzleberry, old olive, kraft, whisper white (SU)
DSP: cottage wall (SU)
Stamps: autumn leaves (Gina K designs), priceless (SU)
Ribbons: old olive satin (SU), lt purple flourishes (American Crafts)
Punch by MS
Spellbinders square dies
Flat back pearls (Recollections)

3 Challenges = 1 card!

Well, I squeezed in some time to stamp today...before church, after church and finally finished this evening after our Father's Day gathering.  I knew that this week would be busy, so I had to get this card finished today!
I created this card for 3 challenges...and these 3 fit together SO well.  These ladies always come up with great challenges, every week.  It's a lot of fun to play along with them!
The challenges are:
*Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge, SSSC74...get the details here.
*Crazy 4 Challenges C4C42, to use a paper flower...details here.
*Just Us Girls Color Challenge, using lt. pink, choc chip & vanilla..deets, here.

On several of the blogs that I follow, I've seen crafters making their own paper flowers.  I decided it was high time that I gave it a try!  After punching the flowers out of pretty in pink CS, I roughed it up with my bone folder, then used my distressing tool around all of the edges.  Eventually, I was able to separate the layers of card stock, the I sponged a little brown on and curled the edges.  For my first try, I'm really pleased with the results.
I'm posting 2 pics; the second is a closeup of my paper flower.

My recipe:
Cardstock: chocolate chip, pretty in pink, very vanilla (SU)
Ink: chocolate chip, pretty in pink, cameo coral
Designer Series Paper: Sending Love Specialty (SU)
Stamps: Fantasy tree (Penny Black), Tiny Tags (SU)
Punches: scallop circle, flower trio, word window (SU)
Embellishments: cotton candy stickles, petal pink liquid pearls (Ranger), brad (Making Memories), brown flat back pearl (Recollections)
Tools: crimper, distressing tool
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AND ~ I just have to add this fun pic from our family gathering today.  This is a pic of my father-in-law and all of his sons.  In the first shot I took, one of my BIL's had his arms folded, but no one else did.  So...I thought getting all of them posed the same way would make for a more interesting shot.  They humored me!  They're good guys!!!
Hope you had a happy Father's Day, too.

In the pocket...

...that's where you'll find the birthday greetings in this card.  This is a pocket card.  I thought I had a simple idea for this card, but the process just didn't flow  : /  grrrrr...it took a LOT longer than I expected to make this card.
But, I am pleased with how it turned out.
I will be posting this card to the "Just Us Girls" challenge.  This will be the very first challenge that I have participated in.  I've wanted to do this for a long time, and finally worked up the nerve to do it!  By the way, you can see the JUGS blinkie in the far right column of my blog page.  There are a lot of challenges on various papercrafting sites.  Sometimes you could win a prize or sometimes recognition and getting your work posted on-line.

The card "recipe" is:
Real Red CS from Stampin' Up!
Whisper white CS from SU!
g.c.d designer paper
EK Success wavy border punch
Slot punch from SU!
Happy Birthday 10 stamp from Stampabilities
Winter White EP from SU!
The ribbon is from Michael's