Mod, Mod Holiday {CCMC178}

Hiya friends and welcome to another week at Create with Connie & Mary!  This week the gals have a sketch challenge for you:

I wasn't sure at first quite what to do with it--there's a lot of parts and pieces--but I just received a pack of the Christmas Lane Simply Scrappin' Kit and was inspired by all the paper and colors:

I just love the happy colors and modern prints in this kit!  It's a pretty straight-forward card with clean lines and clean stamping--not a distressed edge or spritz anywhere!  This is more the style of stamping I did when I first started before I was lured to the "dark side" with sponges and spritzers, files and blades, oh my!  LOL!  It is interesting how our styles evolve and it's fun to go back to the roots now and then, right?  My little tree is stamped in Lucky Limeade with the Pennant Parade set and rests on a Whisper White oval made with the Ovals die.

I kept the fun going on the inside with another tree and a sentiment from Petite Pairs.  It can be tricky to line up the tree stamp exactly with the little pot, so for this one I stamped the pot but used a punched piece (with the Petite Pennant punch) for the tree.  That way I could put it exactly where I wanted it!

It's been a long day so that's it for me folks!  I hope you enjoy today's card, please let me know if you have any questions.  I do hope you'll check out the rest of the Create with Connie & Mary design team and consider playing along with us.  Thanks for visiting!

supplies:

stamps: pennant parade, contempo christmas, petite pairs

paper: soft suede, lucky limeade, cherry cobbler, whisper white; christmas lane simply scrappin kit

xtras: ovals die; cherry cobbler baker's twine; basic rhinestones; petite pennants builder punch

Embossed & Dashing for the Paper Players {26}

Happy Sunday everyone!  I hope all my US friends enjoyed the holiday weekend, I sure did!  It was nice to have a leisurely time making my card for this week's Paper Players {26} challenge.  Usually it's a mad rush to the deadline!  This week is Jaydee's Paper Players Plus challenge and she's calling for wet embossing.  Such fun--I love how embossing creates a sharp and glossy image.  For this one, I turned to a much-neglected holiday favorite from 2009.  Sweet Dasher has yet to see ink this holiday season so I thought he was due for a turn at my craft table.

Isn't he handsome?  He looks wonderful emobssed in Night of Navy.  First, I cut a 3" circle with my Nestabilities and stamped the long row of bare trees from Lovely as a Tree in Bashful Blue.  

 

Next, I overstamped Dasher by inking him first in Versamark, then Night of Navy and sprinkled with clear embossing powder and heat set.  I love this technique which allows me to emboss in any ink color.  Versamark + classic ink of choice + clear embossing powder and heat set = FAB results!  I also added a little Dazzling Diamonds to the snowy hills with a glue pen. 

Bashful Blue cardstock was embossed with the Northern Flurry impressions folder and sponged over with Frost White Shimmer Paint.  I applied the Shimmer Paint directly to the cardstock with a sponge and added a few basic rhinestones for even more sparkle!

 

 Whisper White organza ribbon is my go-to ribbon for holiday cards--it's elegant and shimmery all at once.  Of course, my other go-to this season is the Silver Tinsel trim I tied onto the knot.  A little bit of tinsel goes a long way but adds such a fun element!

 

On the inside, I stamped Lovely as a Tree again in Bashful Blue and overstamped a sentiment from Occasional Quotes (hostess level 2) in Night of Navy.  I just love this sentiment, it's the perfect match for the serene, frosty mood I was going for.  Of course, the inside needed a bit of "frost" too so a few more strokes of the glue pen and a sprinkling of Dazzling Diamonds was in order.

Won't you join us for a embossing challenge?  Head on over to The Paper Players this week to check out the rest of the Design Team's creations--you're sure to find a lot of inspiration when you do!  To play along just link up your creation by midnight (PST) Friday, December 3rd to be in the running for "A Cut Above" and "Headliner".  The winners will be featured on The Paper Players blog Saturday, December 4th.  Come join us, we can't wait to see what you'll create!
 

supplies:
stamps: dasher; lovely as a tree; contempo christmas; occasional quotes

ink: bashful blue, night of navy, versamark

paper: night of navy, bashful blue, whisper white CS

xtras: northern flurry impressions folder; whisper white organza ribbon; silver tinsel trim; dazzling diamonds; frost white shimmer paint; basic rhinestones, clear embossing powder

A Sketch for the Paper Players {25}

Happy Sunday everyone!  I am feeling rested and rejuvenated after some quality time with my Mom.  Everyone needs a little mama time now and then, right?!  Of course, our weekend included quality craft time so I am ready for a new challenge at The Paper Players.  I was honored when Lesley asked me to design a sketch for you :

I know, I didn't follow my own sketch quite exactly but it's just a starting point, LOL!  You can take liberties too!  I took my colors from the Candy Lane designer series paper: Baja Breeze, Garden Green and Blushing Bride.  Love these colors together!  The Blushing Bride and Baja Breeze Contempo Christmas ornaments were inked first in Versamark, then Classic ink, sprinkled with Iridescent Ice embossing powder and heat set.  The results are oh-so-sparkly but with the addition of a Basic Rhinestone trio at the top, they are downright festive!

Once I get into a design--the colors, shapes and mood of it--I can't stop at just the front!  So, the inside got a little Canopy treatment as well:

Just love the little sentiment and fab tree in the Contempo Christmas set.  Here I stamped the tree in Baja Breeze and overstamped, just a little, with the Garden Green sentiment.  A scrap of Candy Lane DSP and a Garden Green scallop ribbon border pulled it all together.

I will be so happy if you find inspiration in this week's Paper Players sketch. With a deadline of midnight (EST) Friday November 26th, our US friends should have enough time to recover from Thanksgiving and still get in on the challenge.  And those of you outside the United States will have a head start on us!  Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see your creation over at The Paper Players!

supplies:

stamps: contempo christmas; berry christmas (bows) [retired]

ink: baja breeze, garden green, versamark

paper: baja breeze, garden green, whisper white CS; candy lane dsp

xtras: scallop ribbon border punch; ornament punch; scallop trim border punch; iridescent ice stampin' emboss powder; basic rhinestones; polka dot impressions folder

Season of Friendship for The Paper Players {PP20}

Happy Sunday, everyone!  Thanks for joining me here for another great week at The Paper Players.  This week Lesley has a clean and simple sketch for us to try:

Isn't that great?  You can do a lot of things with the center panel...and here is where I went with it:

I really like the colors of this card--traditional with a twist!  Here I used Crumb Cake, Real Red, and Baja Breeze--love BB and RR together.  I started with the center panel of Crumb Cake that I spritzed with Champagne Shimmer mist and stamped with the Season of Friendship tree in Whisper White craft ink.  Of course, it's always difficult to capture the sparkle in a photo (pic above looks so flat!) but maybe you can see it here:

Pretty, isn't it?  The trio of Real Red birdies are from another favorite tree stamp, Branch Out (retired) as are the sweet little Baja Breeze snowflakes.  With my glue pen, I added some Dazzling Diamonds to the Baja Breeze snowflakes as well as the ones on the background Candy Lane specialty designer paper because you can never have enough sparkle!

I thought this simple design needed a simple bow treatment so I ran a piece of the Whisper White organza ribbon around the strip of Real Red cardstock and then tucked a couple loops of ribbon under each side of the main panel.  I like the look of it and it's postal-friendly!

I had fun repeating the same elements on the inside stamping the tree in Crumb Cake on Whisper White with more Baja Breeze snowflakes and another Real Red bird:

And isn't this sentiment just perfect?!  It's another one from the level 2 hostess set Occasional Quotes--so versatile!  As I was taking these pictures, I realized I should have put some more Dazzling Diamonds on the inside so I may go back and add just a touch. :-)

I hope you've enjoyed my sample today...be sure to head over the The Paper Players and check out the rest of the design team.  I'm sure you'll find some wonderful eye candy and inspiration.  Then try your hand at Lesley's sketch and link it up.  We can't wait to come visit you!

supplies:

stamps: season of friendship; occasional quotes; contempo christmas (sentiment); branch out (retired)

ink: whisper white craft; baja breeze, real red, crumb cake, jet black stazon, basic black

paper: crumb cake, whisper white, real red CS; candy lane specialty DSP

xtras: MS glue pen; dazzling diamonds; whisper white organza ribbon

Holly Jolly PPA {62}

Hello everyone!  Have you played at the Pals Paper Arts yet?  This week they have a fun challenge to use buttons!  I've recently discovered buttons in my own crafting and love the new color family packs of SU buttons that coordinate with all our paper and ink.  So once I figured out what colors & papers I was using for today's card, I knew I had a matching button in my Brights collection.  Here it is:

This is a pretty simple layout but features the bold colors of the Jolly Holiday designer paper: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive and Very Vanilla.  What a deep, rich color combination!  The bottom half of the card base was embossed with the Polka Dot impressions folder and I used two strips of coordinating Jolly Holiday paper at the top.  Polka dots and stripes usually don't work for clothes but are always a winning combination on cards!  The highlight though was making the little ornament tag.

I inked one of the sentiments from Tags til Christmas first in Versamark, then Cherry Cobbler ink and stamped it onto Whisper White cardstock.  I sprinkled it with clear stampin' emboss powder and heat set for a shiny finish.  I punched it out with my 1 3/4" circle punch, added some gold elastic cord and finished it with an Old Olive button.  Makes a cute ornament, yes?  I had the luxury of a little time when working on this one so I was able to finish the inside as well:

I love this retro tree from Contempo Christmas--the little curly que branches and the stylized graphic makes me smile.  I stamped it in Old Olive and paired it with the sentiment from A Christmas Greeting, stamped in Cherry Cobbler.  Isn't that a nice thought?  Holiday neutral too which makes it good for all!

Thanks for letting me know what you think of this one--I so enjoy reading your comments and appreciate the time you took to visit me today...have a great one!

supplies:

stamps: tags til christmas; contempo christmas; a christmas greeting

ink: old olive, cherry cobbler, versamark

paper: cherry cobbler, very vanilla CS; jolly holiday DSP

xtras: clear stampin' emboss powder; designer buttons (brights collection); gold elastic cord; scallop dotted ribbon border punch

The Paper Players {14}: clean and simple

Happy Sunday everyone and welcome to the Paper Players challenge (14)!  Did you see our entries last week?  Lots of talent out there in blogland and we received over 100 entries!  That's wonderful--thank you so much.  This week the lovely and talented Jaydee asked us to create a clean and simple card--my favorite! 

I didn't expect to make a Christmas card in September (!) but after all the Halloween cards I've been making, I thought it was time for a change.

My colors are inspired by the Elegant Soiree designer paper: Soft Suede, Baja Breeze and Very Vanilla.  The Soft Suede base was run through my Big Shot with the Elegant Lines embossing folder--the perfect compliment to the designer paper.  I stamped the ornament from Contempo Christmas first in Versamark and Soft Suede ink, stamped onto Very Vanilla and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  After punching it out with the coordinating Oranament punch (love it!), I added some of the new adhesive Basic Pearls and popped it up on a piece of Baja Breeze.  A little strip of DSP, some 1/4" Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon, the sentiment from Contempo Christmas and my clean and simple card is finished!

Head on over to the Paper Players and check out the design team's inspiration.  We would love to see your take on clean and simple! 

supplies:
stamps: contempo christmas
ink: soft suede, versamark
paper: soft suede, baja breeze, very vanilla cardstock
xtras: ornament punch; very vanilla 1/4" grosgrain ribbon; elegant lines embossing folder; clear embossing powder; basic pearls