Paper Players Plus Fabric {PP36}

Happy Paper Players Sunday, everyone! I am thrilled to be the hostess this week over at The Paper Players where we are challenging you to have "Fun with Fabric"!

"Fabric" can be anything woven so ribbon, lace, crochet trims...all apply!  I chose to use some Sweet Stitches fabric on a card for you today:

The layout and card are pretty basic but there are a lot of little details--always my favorite!  First, the flower.  My first use of SU's Sweet Stitches fabric and I love it!  I used the Flower Folds XL die to cut four large flowers and layered them using the same technique as here.  I backed it with another flower cut from chocolate brown felt and sewed on a BIG Melon Mambo button.  

Next, I inked the tape measure from Sew Suite in Chocolate Chip, stamped it onto Daffodil Delight cardstock and trimmed it down to look like every seamstress's best friend!  Doesn't it look cute decked out in some Melon Mambo pom-pom trim?  I also stamped the Crumb Cake background with the Pattern Pieces stamp--such a fun background!

Lastly, don't you love it when two stamps sets match up perfectly?  That's what happened here when Puns From the Past met Sew Suite for a sentiment made in heaven!  I inked the pincushion in Tempting Turquoise and stamped off once before stamping onto Very Vanilla CS.  Then, I overstamped "Sew Glad" in Chocolate Chip, popped it out with the Curly Label punch and tucked it under the tape measure.

Be sure to check out the rest of the wonderful design team inspiration over at The Paper Players.  Now...it's over to you...let's see what you can do with fabric and fabric trims--I can't wait to see!  Have a great week my friends!

the goodies:

stamps: sew suite, puns from the past, pattern pieces

ink: chocolate chip, tempting turquoise, crumb cake

paper: daffodil delight, crumb cake, very vanilla CS, sweet stitches DSP

xtras: flower folds xl die, curly label punch, sweet stitches fabric, sweet stitches big buttons, melon mambo pom-pom trim

Butterfly Bliss {CD98}

Happy Wednesday all!  It's Color Dare day here under the Canopy and I can't wait to show you what I've created for you!  Riley's colors this week are so rich and elegant.

CD 98 

Pale Plum

Always Artichoke

+ neutral of your choice

This was the first chance I had to use the SAB set, Bliss and what fun I had with it!  I stamped the damask image in Pale Plum onto Very Vanilla cardstock.

The Bliss butterfly was stamped in Pale Plum onto Vellum cardstock and hand cut.  I attached him with a glue dot and hid it under 3 small basic pearls.  With his wings bent up, it looks as if he just alighted there.

The Tasteful Trim XL die made these large and lovely Pale Plum scallops from some retired Halloween paper--yes that's the "B" side of Halloween paper!   But look at that Always Artichoke seam binding ribbon!  This is such a cool trick for easy scrunching.  Just snip the end of the ribbon and pull at the end until you expose the middle threads.  Then grab onto one of the center threads and PULL!  Instant gathered ribbon!  I laid down a row of sticky strip and tucked the ends under--voila!

I liked the look of a non-sentiment front so I left it as is but added a sympathy-appropriate sentiment from Word Play to the inside along with another Pale Plum butterfly and a strip of Always Artichoke patterned paper from a retired hostess pack.
I hope you'll check out the rest of the design team's inspiration and will think about joining us at The Color Dare this week!

• Riley - our leader
• Glenda - Papers, Scissors and Rocks
• Heather - Princess Scrapper Stamper
• Joan - JJ Creations
• Marisa - Rosemary Reflections
• Melissa - My Paper Obsession

A Sketch for the Paper Players {PP35}

Happy Sunday everyone!  Hope you're having a good weekend. Welcome to Paper Player Sundays!  Lesley is our hostess this week and she has designed this versatile sketch for us:

It's a good one, eh?  I went with a traditional A2 size as it fit the focal image that I had in mind...

When I pulled the Build-a-Cupcake punch out of my Sale-a-Bration order box and looked at all the parts it punches, I couldn't wait to use the top part of the cupcake--that is, the frosting--as clouds!  Believe it or not, this card started with the clouds!  I knew I wanted to use the clouds where the flowers are in the sketch.  Once I had the clouds, a tree seemed the next logical choice and it just snowballed from there!  My three colorful and fun panels are taken from the Play Date designer paper.

This tree from Valentine Defined is one of my favorites in the set and it fit perfectly inside a 3" circle mat cut from Chocolate Chip cardstock with my new 3" Circle die.  Of course, I used the same Pony Party grass I used in this card and added a red glimmer heart with the smallest heart from the Heart-to-Heart punch.

The clouds were punched from Whisper White cardstock with the Build-a-Cupcake punch:

and the edges were sponged with Tempting Turquoise ink so they would stand out against the other white cardstock.

The sentiment from You're a Gem seemed to fit the mood of this card and I matched the Old Olive ink and Chocolate Chip mat to the main image.  For a little more texture, a strip of Chocolate Chip cardstock was edged with the Scallop Border punch and run through the Polka Dot impressions folder.

So there you have it--what do you think?  I hope you like it!  Be sure to hop on over to the rest of The Paper Players design team for some fabulous inspiration.  If all that inspiration gets you crafting, come back to our blog and link up your creation by midnight Friday February 25th for a chance to be our "Headliner" or "A Cut Above"!  Hope you'll join us!

the goodies:

stamps: valentine defined, you're a gem, pony party

ink: old olive, tempting turquoise

paper: so saffron, chocolate chip, whisper white CS; play date DSP

xtras: build-a-cupcake, scallop border, 1" circle, 1 1/4" circle, heart-to-heart punches; 3" circle originals die; nestabilities; stampin' write markers; red glimmer paper

Dear Friend {CD97}

Hello friends!  Oh, I think you're really gonna like the colors Riley chose this week at The Color Dare--I sure did!

CD 97

Marina Mist

Night of Navy

River Rock

 And here is what I made for you:

It all started with the Marina Mist striped wide grosgrain ribbon...oh how I love this ribbon!  I'm slowly collecting it in all the available colors and it is so lovely.  Here, I ran a straight stitch with my sewing machine down one edge and pulled on the strings to gather the center together.  I punched a 1 3/8" circle of Marina Mist, covered it completely in sticky strip and pressed the gathered center onto the sticky circle.

To attach the center button, I used my paper piercing tool to poke two holes in the sticky circle and threaded the large button (from my stash) on and tied it at the back.  On top I used large glue dots to layer on a Night of Navy button tied with some linen thread.  Next using the two-step XL Bird punch, I popped out some Night of Navy branches and attached them to the back of the flower.  I used this week's Stamping 411 sketch for my layout and got to work arranging my panels.

The bottom layer was embossed with one of my favorite embossing folders of all time--Vintage Wallpaper.  The top layer is taken from the Neutrals Designer Series Paper stack in River Rock and matted in Marina Mist. 

I dusted off an oldie but goodie--All Holidays--for the perfect sentiment in Night of Navy.  I loved this color combination and I hope you do too--can't wait to see what you come up with!  Check out the inspiration from the rest of the design team and then share it with us over on The Color Dare blog.

• Riley - our leader
• Glenda - Papers, Scissors and Rocks
• Heather - Princess Scrapper Stamper
• Joan - JJ Creations
• Marisa - Rosemary Reflections
• Melissa - My Paper Obsession

supplies:

stamps: all holidays

ink: night of navy

paper: river rock, marina mist, night of navy CS; DSP neutrals stack

xtras: marina mist wide 1 1/4" striped grosgrain ribbon; vintage wallpaper embossing folder; 2-step xl bird punch; night of navy button; linen thread; button from my stash

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentine's Day friends!  I hope your day is filled with love and laughter!  I'm a bit Valentine'ed out so I have no card to share today but this seemed a fitting occasion to mention that recently I was the lucky recipient of a Liebster Blog award from two of my very dear blogging buddies--Anne Marie and Christina.  Wow!

Anne Marie, or Stampin' Anne to the blog world, is a super talented crafter with a heart of gold and a design style as big and bold as the state where she lives--yep, Texas!  She is a master at mixing patterns, texture and BLING and a visit to her blog is sure to inspire as well as bring a smile to your face with her sparkling personality not to mention the occasional song lyric!  Thank you Ann Marie--it's an honor!

Christina, of Sea Glass and Sentiments, is another super talented crafter with an amazing attention to detail and a clean and simple style that is to die for!  She mixes colors and layers to perfection and is wicked with her sewing machine!  She also has a heart of gold and always leaves me the sweetest and most encouraging comments.  Thank you Christina--I am honored!

As part of the award, I am to pass it on to 3 other blogging buddies whom I admire.  Of course, I find inspiration from so many talented bloggers out there--my Google Reader list grows everyday--but the following artists inspire me not only with their amazing creations but their kindness as well:

1. Linda @ Stampin' Seasons--not only do I love her effortlessly elegant style, Linda is generous with her comments and always makes me laugh!
2. Lesley @ Always Playing with Paper--Lesley gave me my very first spot on a Design Team and along with that, confidence in myself and my designs .  On top of that, she is super friendly and I love her style.
3. Tara @ Tara Bee Ink--Tara's creations are always stellar.  An amazing attention to detail and a superb sense of color.  I always leave a visit to her blog with my jaw still on the floor!

And, iIf you're still with me I will leave you with a virtual Valentine's bouquet straight from the camellia bushes in our backyard.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Paper Players Friends {PP34}

Happy Paper Players day everyone!  Thank you to all who showed us some love last week with all your LOVEly creations.  With so many fabulous entries, you're making it more and more difficult each week to choose our winners!  Our friend and Paper Player Jaydee is our hostess this week for a color challenge:

and she is challenging us with Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze and Whisper White!  Now, I cannot tell a lite...these colors were challenging for me but that's what it's all about, right?  That's how we grow by stepping outside of our comfortable box every once in awhile!

Yesterday, I mentioned that I've been trying to create more mat stacks--love the way they look and it's a fun way to incorporate several colors.  This card actually started with the "Friends" stamp from Friends Never Fade which I stamped in Cajun Craze and a second time in CC to cut out the flower and pop it up:

 A few Basic Pearls added to the center added even more dimension.

The Tags til Christmas set has a great stamp that fits the Decorative Label punch perfectly.  I inked it in Crumb Cake and stamped on the same cardstock, cut it in half and used each piece to frame my center panel.

The Two Tags die makes a fun focal point for my little mat stack.  I cut out a piece of Cajun Craze and stamped it with the Dot, Dot, Dot stamped inked in more Cajun Craze.  

My Crumb Cake card base needed a little something so I stitched a piece of woodgrain designer paper from Woodland Walk DSP onto the base.  I really need to do more stitching--it adds such a subtle accent.  Next, I made a border of Whisper White with the Framed Tulip embossing folder and placed it behind the mat stack and behind the Two Tags.

The other fun thing about using a tag as a mat is that it already has a hole ready for your ribbon!  I added some yummy Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon and a basic glimmer brad to hold it there in style!

Lastly, a retired set Best Blossoms, has this lovely sentiment that is perfect for any friend.  I inked a flower from Friends Never Fade in Crumb Cake and overstamped with my Cherry Cobbler sentiment.

I hope you enjoyed my card today and that it has inspired you to give this unique color combo a try!  Pop on over to The Paper Players to see what the rest of the design team has cooked up for you!  Then link up your creation on our blog by midnight (MST) Friday February 18th to be in the running for A Cut Above and Headliner! Have a great week my friends!

supplies:

stamps: friends never fade, tags til christmas, dot dot dot, best blossoms

ink: cajun craze, crumb cake

paper: crumb cake, cajun craze, whisper white CS; woodland walk DSP

xtras: two tags die; framed tulips embossing folder; cherry cobbler seam binding ribbon; glimmer brad; basic pearls; decorative label punch

Vintage Cameo {PPA80} & {MFW}

Happy Saturday, everyone!  I hope it's a good one so far.  Have you seen the vintage challenge over at Pals Paper Arts this week?!  Oh my word, the photo is absolutely gorgeous! 

Stunning, right?  Oh the colors, the yards and yards of fabric, the black satin--yum!  I really think I was born in the wrong era, lol!  Anyway, I know this challenge isn't a photo inspiration one but it's the photo that hooked me.  I thought the PPA vintage theme was a perfect partner with The Appearance of Cameos Challenge in the Moxie Fab World to create something that's been kicking around in my head for awhile:

I used the Easter Blossoms set to create a cameo from the little girl silhouette.  Isn't she sweet?!  I inked her first in River Rock, then Versamark, stamped onto Very Vanilla and heat set with clear embossing powder.  The Large Oval punch was used to crop out just the top portion and the Scallop Oval punch made a lovely mat in Brushed Gold cardstock.

 

I always admire the mat stacks my friend Christina creates so I tried my hand at it here.  I made another mat from Basic Black cardstock with the Decorative Label punch and decorated the ends with a few Basic Pearls.

I wanted to emulate the gorgeous fabric of the skirt and the closest color I found is Rose Red.  The Rose Red designer paper is from Springtime Vintage DSP which I overstamped with the French Filigree background stamp in River Rock.  I matted it in Rose Red and placed atop a River Rock card base.  I like how the flourishes mimic the voluminous fabric of the skirt.

I love the play of black against the rose and decided to give the wide striped grosgrain ribbon an aged look by snipping the bottom and pulling loose some threads.  Looks a bit like a Victorian area rug!  I just received Fabulous Phrases in a recent order and I love all the sentiments to mix and match!  In the end "happiness" best seemed to describe the feeling I get from the little girl cameo and the soothing colors.

A bit of leftover Rose Red DSP on Very Vanilla adds some interest to the inside and one French Filigree flourish inked with my River Rock marker pulls it all together.  I'm not sure if it's possible to create clean-and-simple vintage card but I think that's what I ended up with!  I would love to hear what you think of today's creation!  Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check back tomorrow for the next challenge from The Paper Players!

supplies:

stamps: fabulous phrases, french filigree, easter blossoms

ink: river rock, versamark, jet black stazon

paper: river rock, rose red, very vanilla & brushed gold CS; springtime vintage DSP

xtras: large oval, scallop oval & decorative label punches; basic pearls; black 1 1/4" wide striped grosgrain ribbon; clear stampin' emboss powder

  

It's Curtain Call Baby! {68}

Hiya friends!  Just a quick post tonight to share a card I made with the scrump-dilly-icious colors from Stacey's Curtain Call Color Challenge {68}:

 

Aren't they gorgeous?  I think I say that about all the colors Stacey picks!   I'm not sure I'm in love with this card but it's growing on me...I think.

I was itching to use the Fun Flowers die that I've had since December but not yet used once!  Ack!  The flowers are cut from Pink Pirouette CS and then stamped in Melon Mambo with the En Francais background stamp.  I also sponged more Melon Mambo on the edges to define each layer.

The center is one of the Sweet Stitches fabric brads from the mini catalog.  Just love these!  I also embossed the card base with the Perfect Details texture plate.  I like how it gives a garden lattice look to the background.

And here's the inside...combined two sentiments here, Occasional Quotes & Short and Sweet, and I thought they worked well together.  I've only ever used the "Love begins in a moment..." sentiment for wedding or anniversary cards but when I gave it some thought, it really works for the birth of a baby too! Sorry for such a short post tonight...it's been a long work week but I'm off tomorrow and looking forward to a bit of quality time at my craft table.  Have a great Friday, friends!

supplies:

stamps: en francais, a word for you, charming, occasional quotes, short and sweet

ink: melon mambo, wild wasabi, pink pirouette

paper: whisper white, melon mambo, pink pirouette, wild wasabi CS

xtras: two tags die, fun flowers die, scallop border punch, polka dot impression folder, sweet stitches fabric brads, perfect details texture plate, wild wasabi striped grosgrain ribbon

Cogs-a-Million {CD96}

Happy hump day friends!  It's the middle of the week and that means it's time for another one of Riley's fabulous color combinations at The Color Dare!  This week she is challenging us with

CD96 

Garden Green 

Bashful Blue 

Peach Parfait

Fun colors, eh?  I've been making lots of cards with hearts and flowers so I decided these colors lent themselves to a masculine card--something I haven't made in awhile!  

I feel as if I cheated a little by using some retired DSP, Travel Journal, as it had all the challenge colors.  Love how our DSP coordinates with our ink and cardstock making it so easy to pull off a coordinated look.  Actually, this DSP uses Pumpkin Pie but on the piece I chose, it's faint enough that it works with my Peach Parfait gears!  First, I stamped the Sanded background stamp in Crumb Cake on my card base.  I used the Spiral Border punch to make a Garden Green border and bent it around a little for a distressed accent. Once I attached the paper to the card, I wrapped the whole thing with some Peapod baker's twine from The Twinery.  Love this stuff--it adds just the right amount of texture and isn't too girlie.

Then it was onto the gears!  Using the Cogs XL punch, I cut out some gears in Bashful Blue, Peach Parfait and Garden Green using both sizes on the gear punch.  Next, I had fun layering all my gears and arranging them in a pattern--this part always takes the longest for me.  Somehow "random" just doesn't work with my detail-obsessed brain!  Anyway, I like the end result and for a little pop of "chrome", I added these fun silver dots that came from my local craft store.  I like how they add to the feel of the gears.

The bold collection of sentiments in Word Play was the perfect Garden Green touch for this card.  I added some accents to the inside but left plenty of room for a handwritten note.

I hope you like it!  Now, pop on over to the rest of the design team to see their take on this week's colors.  Then stop by The Color Dare blog and link up your creation.  You've got until midnight next Tuesday, February 15th to show us your stuff!  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

• Riley - our leader
• Glenda - Papers, Scissors and Rocks
• Heather - Princess Scrapper Stamper
• Joan - JJ Creations
• Marisa - Rosemary Reflections
• Melissa - My Paper Obsession

Love is in the Air {PP33} & candy winner!

Happy Sunday everyone and welcome to another week at The Paper Players.  What a time we had last week with our first-ever Blog Hop.  I am so grateful for all those who stopped by during the Hop and became one of my followers.  I just love to see all your little smiling faces on my blog each day--it warms my heart to know you're out there! 

So first order of business is to announce the winner of the Blog Hop candy!!  I used Random.org to generate the winning comment and it selected #65...Michelle!!! 

Congratulations Michelle!  Please email your snail mail address to nleedy@cox.net and I will put your Polka Dot impressions folder AND my blog hop card in the mail to you right away!

Alright, now onto this week's challenge..it's February and that means Valentine's Day and all things LOVE-ly!   Please join us for our "Love is in the Air" challenge to create a romantic card of any style.

I like to try and find other uses for holiday stamps and so it was with that approach that I used Valentine Defined to make an anniversary card.

I started with a card base of Basic Gray and a piece of Bashful Blue run through the Elegant Lines impressions folder and matted with Rich Razzleberry.   To make the focal medallion I stamped the heart grass from Valentine Defined in Bashful Blue and overstamped the lovin' flamingos in Rich Razzleberry.

I punched the flamingos with a 1 3/4" circle punch, backed it with a 2" Brushed Silver circle and a 2 1/2" scalloped circle in Rich Razzleberry.  I punched a bitty heart with the two-step owl punch (really, this time!) and added some Crystal Effects.  It makes a sweet little puffy heart!

I needed a place for the sentiment but didn't want to interfere with the embossed background.  So I stamped a piece of cardstock Vellum with a Basic Gray sentiment from A Word for You, punched a scallop border and added some pearls.  Some Basic Gray taffeta ribbon hid the adhesive perfectly!

On the inside I added a strip of more embossed Bashful Blue cardstock, a scalloped border of Rich Razzleberry and a sentiment from Occasional Quotes in Basic Gray.


Be sure to check out all the inspiration from the rest of The Paper Players design team and then link up your love-inspired creation on the Paper Players blog by midnight (MST) on Friday February 11th.  The design team will each choose A Cut Above and a Headliner.  Have fun all my lovely friends!

supplies:

stamps: valentine defined, a word for you, occasional quotes

ink: basic gray, rich razzleberry, bashful blue

paper: basic gray, rich razzleberry, bashful blue, brushed silver, whisper white, vellum CS

xtras: basic gray taffeta ribbon; basic pearls; 1 3/4" circle and 2" circle punches; 2 1/2" scalloped circle punch; scalloped border punch; crystal effects; elegant lines impressions folder