One-Layer Wetlands {PP159}

Hello friends!  It feels great to be back home and playing along with my friends at The Paper Players.  I managed to get my DT posts scheduled while we were on vacation but I've been remiss in commenting and visiting so I've got some catching up to do!  We just returned from an amazing 10-day safari in Tanzania to celebrate my MIL & FIL's 50th wedding anniversary--wow!  More on that later and I've got a project to show you from the trip too!  Today, however, the lovely and talented Ann has a Clean-and-Simple challenge for us:

I know I've been using it alot but I couldn't help pulling out the Wetlands set again--it seemed perfect for a one-layer card!

 Lots of stamping one this one!  The key to my design was a mask I created from cardstock cut to the same size as the front of the card (4.25" x 5.5") and cut with an Oval Framelit.  I attached the mask to my card front with removable snail which gave me an oval window through which I sponged and stamped!  So Saffron, Pool Party and Crumb Cake were sponged to create the sky, water and sand. 

For me, the tricky part to a one-layer card is creating dimension without adding layers!  The Gorgeous Grunge set helped add waves to the water, with Bermuda Bay ink (stamped off once), and texture to the sand, with Crumb Cake ink.  Piercing around the oval with the Occasions Paper Piercing Pack helped add even more texture. 

I switched things up a bit on the inside by using Pool Party cardstock instead of the usual white or vanilla.  Elements and stamps from the front were repeated on the inside and a sentiment from Blooming with Kindness coordinated perfectly.  

Oh my gosh--have you used the new Envelope Liner Framelits?!  I just got a chance to play around with them and they are fantastic!  So easy to make a coordinating envelope--love!
Before I go, I just have to share a couple photos with you...there will be more to come! 

This was on a game drive in Serengeti National Park and, yes, the giraffe was this close!!  He was right by the side of the road!  Lovely creatures, they are.  Can you see those little paths on the ground in the picture?  Those are wildlife "trails" criss crossed all over the park.  While it may seem to us that the animals walk all over the place, they actually follow an elaborate network of trails throughout their roaming areas.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip, was a hot air balloon safari over the Serengeti on the morning of my in-law's actual anniversary.  It was a breathtaking experience.  Once back on the ground, we were treated to a champagne breakfast in the bush!  Some amazing moments that we will never forget!

So after all that, I hope you won't forget to check out the work of my mates on the Design Team and then play along with us before Ann's challenge ends on Friday, August 23rd at Noon (PDT).  Take care, friends!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

 
Supplies
Stamps: Wetlands, Gorgeous Grunge, Blooming with Kindness
Ink: So Saffron, Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and Bermuda Bay
Paper: Naturals White and Pool Party CS
Extras: Occasions Paper Piercing Pack, Paper Piercer, Ovals Framelits, Stamp-a-ma-Jig, Envelope Liner Framelits

A Wetlands Goose

I really love this Wetlands stamp!  It's very versatile working equally as well with light, beach colors or dark, masculine colors:

I needed a birthday card for my BIL who lives in the wilds of Wisconsin and this goose is just perfect!  I paired it with some Core'dinations cardstock embossed and sanded to resemble barn wood.  Again, perfect for my BIL who actually salvaged wood from an old barn--I mean the entire barn--and used it to build an addition onto their house! How cool is that?!

Sometimes when an image is colored with markers, the color is less saturated and not as pretty.  Not so with this stamp!  The weathered, watercolor look of it makes for a great multicolored image.  Here I colored with Early Espresso, Gumball Green and Crushed Curry.  I masked the goose so that I could stamp the grasses around him.

Love the Crumb Cake Epic Day Washi Tape for a little texture and subtle color and the Banner Greetings hostess set was a must on my very first order!

This is just one of those stamp sets that Stampin' Up does so well--fine details that stamp beautifully!  I hope you've enjoyed my Wetlands Goose birthday card.  The full list of supplies I used to make this card is listed below.  Thanks for stopping by today, friends! 
 


Supplies
Stamps: Wetlands, Banner Greetings, Blooming with Kindness
Ink: Early Espresso, Gumball Green classic ink
Paper: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Gumball Green CS; Eastern Elegance DSP; Early Espresso Core'dinations CS
Xtras: Oval Framelits; Window Frame Framelits, Hexagon Punch; Epic Day Washi Tape; Stampin Write markers (Gumball Green, Crushed Curry, Early Espresso), Festive Piercing Pack;Stampin' Pierce Mat; Paper Piercing Tool; Woodgrain embossing folder 

A Secret Garden, Recycled {PP140}

Hiya friends! Wow, where did last week go? Was it just me or did Easter really sneak up on us this year? I was totally unprepared and have spent the last week trying to play catch up. It's time to catch up with my friends over at The Paper Players where I am hosting this week's Theme Challenge!

Since April is National Earth Month, I thought it would be fun to use recycled items on our projects.  I save all kinds of things (probably more than I should) and am always finding inspiration in colors and patterns everywhere but especially packaging items.  The inspiration for today's card came from of all things, a tissue box!

 

Love the colors, the patterns...all of it!  In need of an idea for a sketch, I went looking at some challenges and found this week's fun Mojo Monday sketch:

I knew I was going to use one side of the tissue box as my focal point, so I cut it apart, cut one piece down to size and used it just as I would use any other pattered paper.  The colors were a great match to Gumball Green, Marina Mist, Early Espresso with just a pop of Summer Starfruit.

The images on the box reminded me of the florals from the Secret Garden stamp set so I stamped a few of them in the corners on the card base.  I love adding some stamping to the background--especially in a matching color and with coordinating images.  It adds a lot of interest and helps ground the whole design. 

I liked how the stamps coordinated with the tissue box images so I added some more to the inside in Gumball Green, Marina Mist, Bashful Blue and Summer Starfruit.   

So, I'll be you've got some pretty tissue boxes of your own around the house!  You won't look at one the same again, will you?  I hope you'll reconsider some of the items in your home and look at their potential use on a craft project.  If you do, we would love for you to join us over at The Paper Players before the challenge closes on Friday, April 12th at Noon (PDT).  Be sure to check out the rest of my mates on the Design Team for their amazing recycled, re-purposed and re-imagined projects!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Amy O'Neill

Brian King

Jen Nelson

Justin Krieger

Sandy Mathis (off this week)

Supplies 
Stamps: Secret Garden, Petite Pairs; Blooming with Kindness
Paper: Gumball Green, Whisper White, Early Espresso CS; Designer Patterns Stack (subtles)
Ink: Early Espresso, Gumball Green, Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Summer Starfruit
Xtras: Scallop Oval punch; Large Oval Punch; Oval Framelits; Occasions Paper-Piercing Pack; Linen Thread; Summer Starfruit stitched satin ribbon

Stitched Papillon Potpourri {PP135}

Hiya friends and welcome to another week with The Paper Players!  LeAnne is our hostess this week and she has a fun challenge for us:

I couldn't wait to get to work with my sewing machine and had all sorts of ideas swimming in my head.  I created one project (I'll show you later this week) but then I saw one of the newest digital MDS downloads and knew right away what I would do with it:

I love printing DSP with My Digital Studio on my home printer.  It's a great way to extend my designer paper collection for very little money.  This paper is from the Spring to Life Digital Kit and features these adorable butterflies on a Lucky Limeade background.

I printed the DSP onto Whisper White cardstock and got to work on the butterflies.  I stamped the bitty butterfly from Papillon Potpourri in Versamark on Basic Gray cardstock, heat embossed with clear EP and punched them out with the coordinating Bitty Butterfly punch.  I backed each one with another bitty butterfly punched from vellum cardstock and stitched them to my DSP using a little bit of removable adhesive to hold them in place during sewing.  

My first instinct was to use a gray or limeade ribbon but I experimented a little and found that Calypso Coral really popped against the Basic Gray.  Coral was too much for the sentiment though so I heat embossed a sentiment from Blooming with Kindness with Pewter embossing powder.  You can also see that I sponged the Framed Tulip embossed edges with a little white craft ink to highlight that gorgeous embossing.

I promise you those butterflies on the inside really are Calypso Coral!  They look a bit more terracotta  here but it's really not. :-)  Paired with a sentiment from Wishes Your Way, this seemed the perfect pick-me-up to a friend who recently underwent surgery. 

So, what do you think?  Have I inspired you to add some stitching to your project?  Real or faux, whatever way you can imagine...we would love to see it in the gallery at The Paper Players.  Be sure to check out the rest of my friends on the design team and their fabulous stitched creations!  Then come on back to join us before the challenge closes on Friday, March 8th at Noon (PST).  Thanks for looking today!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Amy O'Neill

Brian King

Jen Nelson

Justin Krieger

Sandy Mathis

 
Supplies 
Stamps: Papillion Potpourri; Wishes Your Way; Blooming with Kindness
Ink: Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Basic Gray, Versmark
Paper: Basic Gray, Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Vellum  CS; Spring to Life Digital Kit DSP
Xtras: Calypso Coral ruffled ribbon; Pewter embossing powder; sewing machine; Framed Tulip embossing folder; Bitty Butterfly Punch; Basic Rhinestones

Swallowtail Multi-Color Technique

Hi there, friends! I'm so excited to share today's card with you. But first, Jaydee has a wonderful Clean-and-Simple sketch challenge for us over at The Paper Players:

Such a great sketch with all kinds of possibilities.  While at Stampin' Up's Leadership Conference last weekend, we saw a demonstration using multiple ink pads to color the gorgeous Swallowtail stamp from the Spring Catalog.  I was so inspired to try it myself:

I turned the stamp rubber side up and applied ink directly with the ink pad, tilting the ink pad and brushing it on in sections like a paintbrush.  Starting in the middle and working outward I used Elegant Eggplant, Summer Starfruit and Baja Breeze.

Because I wanted the butterfly to float off the edge of the card base and show more of the beautiful stamp, I stamped it again on the Summer Starfruit base using the stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up with the previous stamped image.  I also spritzed a little Soft Suede marker across the card front.

On the inside, I used Baja Breeze and Summer Starfruit only to ink the butterfly, stamped off once and then onto the Whisper White cardstock.  A sentiment from Blooming with Kindness was added to bring in my third color--Elegant Eggplant.

With the large Swallowtail stamp, I've shown you just one way to interpret Jaydee's clean-and-simple sketch.  Check out the rest of the Design Team for even more gorgeous inspiration.  I hope you'll come back to The Paper Players and show us  your creation before this challenge closes on Friday, January 25th at Noon (PST).  Thanks for stopping by today!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Amy O'Neill

Brian King

Jen Nelson

Justin Krieger

Sandy Mathis

Stamps: Swallowtail; Blooming with Kindness; Sweet Essentials 
Ink: Summer Starfruit, Elegant Eggplant, Baja Breeze 
Paper: Summer Starfruit, Whisper White CS 
Xtras: Color Spritzer; Soft Suede marker; Dazzling Diamonds; glue pen

Blue Sky & Daffodils {PP128}

Hi there friends! It's another Paper Players Sunday and the always-effervescent-Anne-Marie is our hostess this week for a color challenge!

I love color challenges.  I love the opportunity to mix colors and how the combinations sometimes push me outside my comfort zone.  I have to admit, anything using Pacific Point does just that, lol!  That said, I adore this combination that Anne-Marie has given us.  Pacific Point is really pretty with gray & yellow.  I knew that I wanted to incorporate flowers:

And that is exactly what I did!  I was itching to use the Secret Garden stamp set and coordinating Framelits and they did not disappoint.  I started with a Basic Gray base and layered a piece of Pacific Point run through with the Tulip Frame embossing folder and trimmed down to size.  I found the perfect patterned Pacific Point paper (say that 5 times fast!) in the International Bazaar DSP. 

Then the fun began!  I stamped the flowers with Versamark ink onto Daffodil Delight and heat set them with white embossing powder.  I stamped each flower twice and fussy-cut the center part to layer.  I wanted to highlight the beautiful line art of the flowers so I added a little shading with a blender pen and Daffodil Delight ink.   I must say I am really pleased with the results!

I do hope you'll join us this week for Ann-Marie's fabulous color combination.  As you read this I am traveling back from SU's Leadership Conference--my very first!  I am sure that I will have lots of ideas to share with you as I try to absorb and create with all that I've learned from the experience.  In the meantime, be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team who are sure to have some stellar projects to share with you.  This week's Paper Players challenge closes on Friday, January 18th at Noon (PST).  Thanks for stopping by today!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Amy O'Neill

Brian King

Jen Nelson

Justin Krieger

Sandy Mathis

Stamps: Secret Garden; Blooming with Kindness
Ink: Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray, Versamark
Paper: Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray,Whisper White CS; International Bazaar DSP
Xtras: Secret Garden Framelits; Basic Gray taffeta ribbon; Labels Framelits; Festive Paper Piercing Pack; Tulip Frame embossing folder; blender pen

Tic-Tac-Toe & the Players {PP106}

Hiya friends! It's another Paper Players Sunday and that means it's been a week since I last posted...yikes!  Hopefully, this week I'll be a little more active in my stamp room.  Nothing like a big box of new toys for some motivation!  We've also had a new addition to the family that's kept me busier than usual but more on that later...  Today, the lovely Lesley has a Tic-Tac-Toe challenge for us.  Choose any 3 elements from the board: vertical, horizontal or diagonal:

I couldn't wait to use my Floral Frames Framelits and matching Daydream Medallions stamp set.  I found this great sketch over at Create with Connie & Mary and am delighted to play along with my friends over there--Hi gals! 

I combined the sketch with the center column of the Tic-Tac-Toe board: Birthday, Dry Embossing & Ribbon to create this:

The color combination is directly from the Color Coach and I love it: Basic Gray, Primrose Petals and Summer Starfruit!    The background paper is actually new Halloween paper called Howlstooth & Scaringbone from the upcoming Holiday mini.  Love those gray polka dots!  The center panel is 2 3/4" wide and stamped with the largest image from Daydream Medallions in Summer Starfruit.  I trimmed it with more Summer Starfruit cut with the Adorning Accents edgelit and matching embossing folder.

Here's a close-up of the flower--don't you just love a coordinating stamp set and Framelit?  I used 3 different ribbons: Chantilly crochet trim (ret.), Summer Starfruit stitched satin and some new Basic Gray striped satin ribbon.  All the ribbons are held together with our cool new Ribbon Slides (Holiday mini).  I knew right away that they would be perfect for pulling together a riot of ribbons and I was right!  (love it when that happens, lol!)  It's a great way to make a big impact with a small amount of ribbon.

Of course, you know I had to finish the inside!  More stamping of the medallions in the background as well as the center panel and the perfect sentiment from Bring on the Cake.  

The Paper Players Design Team

Jen Arkfeld
Lesley Croghan
Dawn Easton
Helen Heil
Jaydee
Nance Leedy

Anne Marie Hile

LeAnne Pugliese

Ann Schach

Amy White

Please be sure to visit the rest of the design team for some amazing inspiration! I'm so happy that almost all of the senior design team is back in action this week.  Between vacations and SU convention, we've all been scattered!  Now we just need our fearless leader!  I hope you'll play along with Lesley's Tic-Tac-Toe challenge...you have until Friday, August 3rd at noon (PST) so go get your craft on!

Now, if you would like to stay tuned for some personal stuff....first a couple pix of a different kind of craft:

These gorgeous platters are handmade by a group of women living near Royal Natal National Park.  Each coil is made from reeds, wound together with thread and coiled into a platter.  The colors are added with different colored threads and string--often recycled from purchased products.

Their smiles are genuine and the creativity astounding.  We actually saw them harvesting the reeds by the side of the road.  Our daughter couldn't wait to have her picture taken with them!

OK, lastly...if you're still with me...we took the plunge this week and added a new member to our family.  Our last kitty passed on a few months ago and the house had been too quiet ever since.  So, we visited the rescue center run by our vet and well....let's just say there's no such thing as "let's go have a look", ha!  May I present....Miss Sadie Leedy:

She is a 3 year old mix of Jack Russell terrier / Italian Greyhound and all kinds of uber-cuteness! 

We are all in LOVE...and I think she is too.  :-)  She's become quite attached to me in a short period of time--follows me everywhere, even to the bathroom, ha!  Nothing like a dog for dedication!  If you've made it this far, thanks for indulging my need to share and thanks for stopping by.  Have a great week!

 

Supplies 

Stamps: Daydream Medallions,Bring on the Cake, Blooming with Kindness

Ink: Summer Starfruit, Basic Gray, Primrose Petals

Paper: Summer Starfruit, Basic Gray, Primrose Petals, Very Vanilla CS; First Edition Specialty DSP; Howlstooth & Scaringbone DSP

Extras: Floral Frames Framelits; Adorning Accents Edgelit & Embossing Folder; Ribbon Slides (Holiday mini, avail Aug 1st); Basic Gray Striped Satin Ribbon (Holiday mini, avail Aug 1st); Large Basic Pearls; Chantilly crochet trim (ret.); Summer Starfruit stitched satin ribbon; Basic Pearls.

A Welcome Sketch {PP105}

Hi everyone!  Wow, I'll bet you were wondering if I was ever coming back, right?  My family and I just returned from 3 weeks touring the beautiful country of South Africa!  We had an amazing time--traveling by car from one end to the other--we went on game drives, saw incredible wild animals, hiked the Drakensburg Mountains (snow!), sampled the vineyards of the Western Cape, ate fabulous food and had a wonderful time!  If you're interested, I'll share some pics with you over the coming days.  In the meantime....I apologize that it will take me awhile to catch up with all my blogging buddies but it sure is good to be stamping again with my pals over at The Paper Players!  We have some uber-talented guest designers that I am so excited to work with too--hi gals!  This week Jaydee has a fantastic sketch for us:

Lovely sketch, eh?  Dress it up or down, anyway you like it.  I eased into a return to stamping with some of my favorite papers and colors from the Comfort Cafe DSP: Soft Suede, Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse and Pool Party:

That gorgeous flower takes center stage from the Blooming with Kindness stamp set.  I stamped my Soft Suede card base with the Distressed Dots background stamp and added a couple flagged banners of DSP to the bottom of the main panel.  Love the new Naturals Designer Buttons to which I added an Itty Bitty Banner sentiment, cut with the coordinating Framelit and secured with Linen Thread.

You might not be able to tell, but I stamped the flower again, fussy-cut the middle and popped it up for extra dimension.

The flower is so pretty that I had to stamp it again a few more times on the inside.  This time in Summer Starfruit and Pool Party--such a great color combination! 

Finally, coz I just gotta share...here we are on a hike in Royal Natal National Park.  That huge mountain behind us is part of the Drakensburg range and this particular part is known as the "amphitheater".  Just stunning.

I hope you will play along with us this week at The Paper Players!  Jaydee's sketch challenge will run until Friday, July 27th at Noon (PST).  Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team has created!  Thanks so much for stopping by! 

The Paper Players Design Team

Jen Arkfeld
Lesley Croghan
Dawn Easton
Helen Heil
Jaydee
Nance Leedy

Anne Marie Hile

LeAnne Pugliese

Ann Schach

Amy White