Autumn Blooms PP364

Happy Sunday, everyone!  Sunday is fun day because it's the start of another challenge at The Paper Players.  My dear friend Sandy has some gorgeous inspiration to get our mojo going for her theme challenge of Autumn Floral:

This card took waaaay longer than it should have.  Not because of the theme of the inspiration photo, because I could not translate the image in my head to paper!  I tried numerous stamp sets but couldn't capture the blended hues I wanted with just a single color of ink.  In the end I went with an old standby image and found my happy place in watercolor! 

I also used the fantastic sketch at the Global Design Project as my starting point--sure do love a sketch challenge and this one is great!  The first thing I stamped was the leaf from the Colorful Seasons stamp set.  I inked it in Crushed Curry and lightly kissed the inked stamp with Cajun Craze.  When stamped it gave a two-toned color to the leaves and no two are exactly alike, just like real leaves!

I am really liking the Fresh Fig in color for fall projects.  The gorgeous flower from Birthday Blooms was stamped in Basic Gray archival ink onto cold press watercolor paper.  I colored the image in layers starting with Sweet Sugarplum, adding a few layers of color to rich the intensity I liked.  Fresh Fig was washed on to shade the flower and add dimension.  I washed the center of the flower with Crushed Curry with some drops of Cajun Craze.  I wanted to mimic the color of the leaves in the inspiration photo as well as my stamped ones, so I colored these with a blend of Old Olive, Crushed Curry and just a hint of Cajun Craze.  The whole image was actually stamped twice--once to provide the base with leaves and the second to cut out and pop up just the flower.  I added some looped copper thread and a bitty die-cut stem in copper foil paper from the Flourish thinlits.

By this time, I was running out of light to snap a pic of my card so the inside was a quick 1, 2, 3 stamp job using a sentiment from Thoughtful Branches in Fresh Fig, the Birthday Blooms flower in Crushed Curry and some [retired] Gorgeous Grunge splatters in Sahara Sand ink.  There were a TON of stamp set and dies on my desk by the time I finished this card, lol!  It took me awhile to get there but, in the end, I am pleased with the colors and final result.  I hope you are too!

Here's the awesome Global Design Project sketch--thanks for the inspiration GDP!

Please go check out the rest of the lovely autumnal inspiration from my teammies at The Paper Players.  Maybe you'll be inspired to play along with us before the challenge closes on Friday, October 6th at Noon (PST).  Thanks for stopping by!

The Paper Players Design Team 

Claire Broadwater

 Jaydee

Joanne James

Laurie Schmidt

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy 

Sandy Mathis 

Deanne 

Annie Abrahamson 

Jan Clothier 

A Floral Statements Sketch - PP354

Happy Sunday, friends!  The awesome Jaydee is our hostess this week at The Paper Players and she has a fantastic sketch for our inspiration:

As soon as I saw the sketch, I knew exactly which stamp set I was going to use and I couldn't wait to play with it... Floral Statements:

It's another one that I couldn't wait to order from the new catalog and it didn't disappoint...so pretty!  I like the combination of the vintage looking flowers with the bold crisp letters.  It's a combo that feels modern and fresh.  To keep that crisp look to the letters, I stamped it with Archival Black ink and used my MISTI to re-ink and stamp in the same spot three times for a good solid black on the letters....worked like a charm!

I used a lot of water in my Aqua Painter to wash the background with Pool Party ink.  The flowers were also painted with the Aqua Painter and a blend of Powder Pink and Berry Burst inks.  Yummy Lemon Lime Twist colored the leaves and centers--what a fun color!  Here's a tip I learned from my teammie, Jaydee...unlike cold press watercolor paper, hot press watercolor paper is perfect for solid stamped images like this one as it has no texture.  I never knew the difference between the two until Jaydee mentioned it on her blog one day.  I bought some that very day and have been using it ever since--thanks Jaydee!

There's not much else to this card--it's all about the watercolor!   Be sure to pop over to The Paper Players and check out the rest of the eye candy from my teammates.  Maybe you will even join us before the challenge closes on Friday, July 28th at Noon (PST).  Thanks for stopping by!

The Paper Players Design Team 

Claire Broadwater

 Jaydee

Joanne James

Laurie Schmidt

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy 

Sandy Mathis 

Deanne 

Annie Abrahamson 

Jan Clothier 

Beachside Bungalows and a Sleigh Ride {PP258}

Hi all!  The lovely LeAnne is our Paper Players hostess this week with a fun Clean-and-Simple Challenge...The Beach!

I had just received my box of pre-order goodies from the Stampin' Up holiday catalog (goes live for customers September 1st) and I was itching to use something, anything from that box for my card today!  But what to do with holiday goodies for a beach challenge?  Let's see if you can find the holiday goodie on my card:

I wanted to create the look of a tropical seaside village with colorful houses and a rising sun.....so I used the new Sleigh Ride Edgelit dies to make my sand dunes, ocean and houses!  I cut two hills with the house edgelit die from Crumb Cake cardstock.  The die has these little houses on it and since I wanted to make them in different colors, I simply snipped them off the Crumb Cake layer leaving me with a good sand dune.  Stamping some Gorgeous Grunge speckles in the same color gives the illusion of sand.  I cut another edgelit from Pool Party cardstock and used the line stamp from Gorgeous Grunge in the same ink color for the illusion of moving water.



For the houses I used a scrap piece of cardstock to cut just a part of the edgelit.  Since I only needed one house in each color, I didn't need the whole piece.  I chose Calypso Coral, Blushing Bride and So Saffron for my seaside village.  The Sun from the stamp set Kinda Eclectic was stamped in Daffodil Delight and the clouds were stamped in Soft Sky with the Work of Art stamp set. 

One more sneak peek you really can't even see but trust me, you're going to want it!  That's the fine tip glue pen I used to adhere the Hello framelit to my card.  It has a needle like tip that hollow and lets the glue flow freely and easily onto the tiniest of surfaces.  Love it!

I hope you like today's card and an alternative way to use your holiday goodies!.  Do stop over to the rest of The Paper Players design team to see what goodies they are sharing.  I hope you will play along with us before our challenge closes Friday, August 21st at Noon (PST).

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile (on leave) 

Claire Broadwater
 Jaydee

Joanne James
Laurie Schmidt 
LeAnne Pugliese
Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

Amy Koenders
Jodi McKinney

Lisa Elton 

Tribute to By the Seashore {PP244}

Hi there friends.....wishing all the mamas out there--pet mamas too--a very Happy Mother's Day!  This week at The Paper Players, the lovely LeAnne is our hostess with a beautiful color challenge:

Blue, green and natural....happy sigh!  So pretty together and the colors reminded me of the beach, which reminded me that I soon needed a retirement card for a dear friend who....loves the beach!  So, today's card was born:

It was very difficult to get a good photo of the colors.  I guess the light background with fairly light colors did not add up to a bright card...no matter what the light was outside!  I used a base layer of Naturals White because the flecks lend itself to the casual, rustic, beach feel.  A combination of images was used to achieve the seaside look--coral in Pistachio Pudding and a trio of sea life in the challenge colors....how 'bout a close-up?

I stamped each one with Versamark and heat embossed with white embossing powder.  I had a hard time getting the colors to stand out just stamping on white paper with the colored ink.  I thought the white embossing on colored cardstock highlighted the colors better.  For the Lost Lagoon nautilus (?) shell, I cut around the swirl and used a double stack of dimensionals to make the center stand out.

You can also see in this photo that I sponged the edges of the base layer, as well as the shells and starfish with [retired] Champagne Mist shimmer paint.  I still have several bottles of the stuff....I just love the soft color and lustre that it adds.  

I'm going to keep this short and sweet today so you can get on with your day!  Be sure to stop by the rest of the Design Team to see what wonderful ideas they are sharing this week.  We hope you will play along with us before the challenge closes on Friday, May 15th at Noon (PST).  Thanks for stopping by today!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile
Claire Broadwater
 Jaydee
Joanne James
Laurie Schmidt 
LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy
Sandy Mathis 
Debbie Mageed
Karren Johnson
Shannon Jaramillo

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Cheerful Critters & Feathered Friends {PP232}

Hiya friends!  We've got another challenge for you at The Paper Players.  It's the first one to be hosted by Joanne and she has a really sweet Clean-and-Simple challenge for us:

I was so excited when I saw Joanne's challenge because I love bird stamps and images!  I went looking through my stash and found mostly small bird images....hmmm.  I wanted to feature a bird more prominently and then it dawned on me!

I got to work with my favorite Cheerful Critters!  So, I colored this cubby little chick with Blendabilities in Daffodil Delight (light) and Calypso Coral (light & medium).  I had a little bit of grass left over from this card and I thought the chick looked perfect peeking out from it.  I then colored the sign with my [new-to-me] Soft Sky Blendabilities, go tout my Soft Sky cardstock for the base humming along thinking I'm doing great and then....WHOA!  The color of my sign didn't really match my Soft Sky card base?  Hmmm....has anyone else had this problem?  I put my little focal piece on a [retired] Bashful Blue card base and whaddyaknow?  It looked like a perfect match!  Maybe I just got an off batch of blendies?  Or, maybe it's because I only used the light & medium shades.  I'll have to experiment some more.

What I did like was the idea to use some washi tape as a base for my focal point.  The clean look of some simple washi tape makes quick work of a clean-and-simple design.  I've been going through alot of Linen Thread lately.  Just love the simple rustic/natural touch it adds to any project.  That, and it's a dream to tie into a bow.

I know that the rest of the design team has some amazing inspiration for you!  Be sure to pop over to The Paper Players to check them out.  Then, head to your craft space and share your Clean-and-Simple "Feathered Friends" projects with us before the challenge closes on Friday, February 20th at Noon (PST).

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile
Claire Broadwater
 Jaydee
Joanne James
Laurie Schmidt

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy
Sandy Mathis 
Debbie Mageed
Karren Johnson
Shannon Jaramillo

 

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.