A Dashing Sketch {PP74}

Hiya friends! I hope my US friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that everyone is enjoying the weekend. It's another week at The Paper Players and the lovely and talented Lesley is bringing us a sketch:

Lesley always comes up with the best sketches--ya know she's the creator of Freshly Made Sketches--and this week is no exception!  One look at that tilted panel and I knew what I wanted to do:

Since titled panels are a challenge for me, I like to tilt the paper but stamp the image straight.  It's a sneaky way to embrace the tilt!  For this card, I paired some Mocha Morning DSP with some Brushed Gold cardstock cut with the Two Tags die.  I did cut it down a little to better fit my image.  Dasher was inked in Versamark, then Early Espresso, stamped onto the Brushed Gold and heat set with clear stampin' emboss powder.

The background was stamped in Early Espresso with the En Francias stamp and I added a little fussy ribbon treatment with vanilla seam binding, linen thread and a glimmer brad.  You might notice that the tiny tag was sponged with Champagne Shimmer paint to dull the brightness of the vanilla a bit.

I did the same with the Northern Frost snowflakes--the vanilla just seemed too bright next to the gold.  A little bit of shimmer paint sponged right on gives it instant sparkle with an aged look.

I went to town with the shimmer paint using it to ink up Dasher again on the inside.  Applied directly to the stamp gives it a shimmery watermark appearance.

And there you have it!  I hope you like today's card...please let me know if you have any questions.  Be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team at The Paper Players:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao
  Susan Joyce (November GD)

If you decide to play along with Lesley's fabulous sketch, please link up your creation to The Paper Players by Friday, December 2nd at midnight (PST).  I can't wait to come visit you!

supplies:

stamps: dasher, seasonal sentiments [retired], en francais, tiny tags

paper: early espresso, very vanilla, brushed gold CS; mocha morning DSP

ink: early espresso, versamark, soft suede

xtras: northern frost die; two tags die; very vanilla seam binding ribbon; linen thread; glimmer brad; basic pearls; champagne shimmer paint

Fit for a Princess: {PP59}

Happy Paper Players Sunday!  Wowza, do we have a challenge for you this week!  Anne Marie says it's time to get your PINK on!  And with this week's color challenge, you can do exactly that.  Take a look:

Now, I would be lying if I said these colors came easy for me.  :-) I like pink well enough but three shades on one card?!  Well, let's just say it was a challenge for me too!  Here's where I ended up:

What do you think?  Another one that's completely out of my comfort zone..I just kept adding more stuff!!  I was definitely channeling our hostess on this one!  :-)  The Pretty in Pink base card is stamped in the same ink with the En Francais set and layered with some [retired] Rose Red designer paper:

The next layer is the Hello Doily stamp heat embossed with white Stampin' Emboss powder on Pretty in Pink cardstock and fussy cut.  Heat embossing really brings out the beauty of this stamp and makes it look like an actual crochet doily.  Heat embossing also gives a nice edge that makes quick and easy work of the not-so-fussy cutting!

 Fan flowers are hugely trendy right now and since I just received my new Simply Scored board, I was eager to make one!  This one was made with Regal Rose patterned DSP and an Antique Brad.  The sentiment tag was stamped with Petite Pairs in Rose Red and popped out with the Modern Label punch.  I just snipped off one end and tucked it underneath the brad...instant tag!

Petite Pairs is a fun set with coordinating sentiments for outside and inside so this one was stamped in Rose Red over a Pretty in Pink Delicate Doily. 

Thanks for stopping by today--make sure to see the lovely work of the other Paper Players Design Team princesses!  We hope that you'll pull out your wands and tiaras to get your PINK on this week!  If you do, make sure you finish up before Friday, August 19th at midnight (PST) when this challenge turns into a pumpkin! Until then...have a pinkalicious day!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Lauri Ingram

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Sandra Azzopardi

Carrie Gaskin (GD)

supplies:

stamps: delicate doilies, hello doily, petite pairs

ink: pretty in pink, rose red, versamark

paper: pretty in pink, regal rose, whisper white CS; sweet & sour DSP [retired]; patterns stack DSP (brights)

xtras: scalloped ribbon border punch; rose red seam binding ribbon; antique brads; modern label punch; stampin emboss powder (white)

Love for Eastern Blooms {CCMC157}

Welcome to the Thursday Challenge at Create with Connie & Mary!  It's a sketch challenge this week and my card went in a completely different direction than what I had in mind...but I like the end result, I think!  Here is our sketch:

It's a great one for featuring horizontal stamps and I just had to use one of my favorite retiring SU sets:

I sure am going to miss Eastern Blooms with its lovely stylized cherry blossom branch.  I had an anniversary card in mind with these colors and thought that a gold embossed branch would be lovely:

First, I stamped a piece of Baja Breeze in the same color ink with the En Francais background stamp.  The cherry blossom branch was stamped in Versamark ink, sprinkled with gold stampin' emboss powder and heat set.  Of course it needed a boatload of..ahem....just a few pearls.  :-)

I added some scrunchy Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon to the bottom edge with some sticky strip tape.  The Tiny Tag was stamped in Baja Breeze and Soft Suede and pinned to the ribbon with a tiny Vintage Trinket safety pin.  You can also see that I did a little bit of background stamping with some Soft Suede cherry blossoms directly onto the Elegant Soiree designer paper. 

You can probably see the background stamping better here behind the trio of sweet little flowers.  The flowers were punched from Brushed Gold cardstock with the Itty Bitty Punch Pack and topped with a big fat pearl on each!

With a dark card base, of course the inside needs to be finished.  Cherry blossoms were inked in Baja Breeze and stamped off once before stamping onto Very Vanilla cardstock.  A scrap piece of Elegant Soiree designer paper and a Soft Suede sentiment from A Word for You were the finishing touch!  In case you are wondering, the Very Vanilla insert measures: 3 3/4" x 4 3/4". 

I hope you've enjoyed my card today...I'd love to hear what you think or answer any questions you might have.  Be sure to pop on over to Create with Connie & Mary to see what the rest of the design team has in store for you!

supplies:

stamps: eastern blooms, a word for you, en francais, tiny tags

ink: baja breeze, soft suede

paper: soft suede, very vanilla, baja breeze CS; elegant soiree DSP

xtras: basic pearls; gold stampin' emboss powder; itty bitty punch pack; very vanilla seam binding ribbon; vintage trinkets; jewelry punch

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

Paper Players Sweetheart {CCMC132} & {HSS49}

Welcome to the first Paper Players challenge of 2011!  This week we're getting ready for the next big card holiday--Valentine's Day! 

Show us a little love with your Valentine's themed projects this week--any colors, any stamps, any layout just a theme of Valentine.  For my card, I used this great sketch over at Create with Connie & Mary

 and with the Greeting Card Kids stamp in hand, here's what I made for you: 

I love non-traditional color schemes for holidays and I was itching to use my recently acquired Marina Mist striped grosgrain ribbon so I let the ribbon do the talking!  The En Francais background stamp was inked up in Marina Mist and stamped on the MM card base.  I used my square Nestabilities to cut out a piece of Very Vanilla on which I stamped this little sweetheart in Jet Black Stazon ink.  From there, I got to work coloring her with my Stampin' Write markers:

 

I used Marina Mist, Blush Blossom and Real Red for her clothes, skin & valentine heart and Daffodil Delight with just a touch of River Rock for her blonde tresses.  Using just the teensy-weensy heart from the 2-step Owl punch, I popped out a little heart from our new Glimmer Paper to give her Valentine some pizzazz!  And because you can never have enough sparkle, I also added Dazzling Diamonds to her crinoline.

I really love the big bow in the sketch so first I wrapped my card with the Marina Mist striped grosgrain ribbon, securing the ends underneath the square with glue dots.  For the bow, I made a big loop of ribbon, secured the ends with glue dots, pinched the center, tied it off with Linen Thread and secured it to the card with more glue dots (love those!).  I think it's so cute how it matches the bow in her hair!

I made a quick panel of Very Vanilla for the inside (cut to 5 x 3.75") and stamped our sweetie again in Marina Mist and with a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes in Real Red:

I realized with all this blue, this card also qualifies for the Winter Blues Color Splash challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments too!

I do hope you'll make a Valentine project to share with us at The Paper Players this week. The deadline is midnight (PST) Friday January, 15th to be in the running for "Headliner" and "A Cut Above".  Each week the challenge hostess chooses one "Headliner" and the Design Team each chooses "A Cut Above" to feature on The Paper Players blog.  We can't wait to see what you will share with us!

supplies:

stamps: Greeting Card Kids, En Francais, Tiny Tags (love), Teeny Tiny Wishes

ink: Marina Mist, Jet Black Stazon, Real Red

paper: Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Very Vanilla CS

xtras: Marina Mist 1 1/4" striped grosgrain ribbon; basic pearls; Nestabilities; Stampin' Write markers; linen thread; dazzling diamonds; Glimmer Paper

---

I'll have another post later today...

Shabby Vintage: {PPC9} & {CCCC41}

Tonight I have an entry for two of my favorite weekly challenges to share with you. Lesley and the design team over at Paper Players challenged us with a "vintage" theme and boy, is that ever a challenge for me! Is there such a thing as too much vintage?! This card has been distressed, smudged, spritzed, shimmered, embossed and stamped within an inch of it's life! I'm not sure but...I think I like it!

The color scheme was inspired by another favorite over at Stacey's Stamping Stage. I did take a little artistic liberty and changed the neutral from Whisper White to Very Vanilla to better coordinate with this lovely bit of Victoria Crochet Trim from the new SU catalog. Otherwise, the colors stayed true using Night of Navy, Marina Mist and Crumb Cake. What a beautiful
combination!

At stamp club with my upline this week, we made these wonderful flowers with the Scallop Circle Punch. I don't know where this technique originated...if anyone knows please tell me so I can give proper credit. You can use as many layers of scallop circles as you wish depending on how full you want your flower to be. For this one, I used 5 Marina Mist scalloped circles--4 punched with the 1 3/4" Scallop Circle punch and 1 using the 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch (new). The technique is super simple:

1. Punch desired number of scalloped circles.
2. Punch a small hole in the approximate center of each circle. I used my 1/16" circle punch but you could also use a Crop-o-Dile or even pierce a hole. Don't worry if the hole isn't in the center--you want each layer to be a bit wonky so it looks more natural.
3. Using a regular spray bottle, spritz each circle with water so it is covered. I just held it in the palm of my hand and sprayed a couple times.
4. Scrunch each circle in your hand.
5. Unfold each circle and layer them one of top of the other, aligning the center holes and with the largest circle at the back.
6. Place a small brad through all layers of the flower.
7. Starting with the top layer, scrunch up each scalloped circle until it looks the way you want it to look. You can spray the entire flower with water a few more times to get the desired effect.
8. Set your flower aside to dry--should take about 15 minutes or so. You'll be amazed at how quicky it dries and how beautiful it is when finished! Leave me a comment if you would like me to post a photo tutorial on how this is done. I've been thinking I need to start doing some tutorials so this might be a good place to start--let me know if you're interested.

Before my flower dried, I used SU's Color Spritzer and an Early Espresso Stampin' Write marker to give it an aged, vintage look. After color spritzing, I sprayed on a mixture of Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint and rubbing alcohol for some extra sparkle and glitz! I warned you this one was spritzed within an inch of it's life! LOL. (click on the photo above to get a better look at the shimmered spritz!)

Finally, the inside. A piece of Very Vanilla was stamped with the En Francais background stamped I used on the front. Also stamped in Crumb Cake but this time I stamped off twice so it looks almost like a watermark. I wanted a soft and washed-out image that wouldn't compete with any writing on the inside. The little piece of Marina Mist is punched with my new favorite punch--Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border--and the Night of Navy flower is from Charming. And because I couldn't let well enough alone (!), I sponged the edges of the inside with Crumb Cake just as I did on the sentiment oval from the front. That little background stamp in the oval? It's from Charming too and is also stamped in Crumb Cake...pretty, eh? Maybe I do like this vintage thing after all...what do you think? Don't forget to go check out all the other vintage entries at the Paper Players Challenge and the beautiful colors at the Curtain Call. It's always fun to play along...cheers!

8/8/10 edit: I'm so excited! Stacey chose this card as the LEAD in the Curtain Call Color Challenge {Act 41}. I just can't believe it...I'm thrilled...thank you!

8/9/10 edit: WOW! Just found out that this card also made it as a Cut Above at the Paper Players...a big thank you to Lesley and the design team! Hmmm, maybe vintage is my style afterall. :-)

supplies:
stamps: en francais; charming; because i care
ink: night of navy, marina mist & crumb cake
paper: crumb cake, night of navy, marina mist, very vanilla cardstock
xtras: vintage wallpaper impressions folder; 1 3/4" scallop circle, 2 3/8" scallop circle, wide oval, 1/16" circle; dotted scallop ribbon border punches; lots of tags & little leaves sizzlit dies; victoria crochet trim; basic pearls; champagne shimmer paint; color spritzer; early espresso stampin write marker