Just the Way You Are {CCMC188}

Happy Thursday, friends, and welcome to another week at Create with Connie and Mary!   This week we've got a great sketch for you, check it out:

Lots of possibilities with this one--you can even make it into a standard A2 size as I have done here:

This sweet little girl from Greeting Card Kids always melts my heart...probably because she reminds me of my daughter.  I have so much fun coloring her dress and all the little extras like her bow and heart valentine:

I was channeling my friend Ann by adding a little pearl to her bow.  I colored her dress with a Blender Pen and a Baja Breeze ink pad while her hair, skin, bow and heart were all colored directly with So Saffron, Blush Blossom and Poppy Parade Stampin' Write markers.  Did you notice the little white spot on the heart?  That was completely by accident as I was coloring the heart but it adds some dimension so I will make sure to do it on purpose next time!

To the background So Saffron designer paper, I added the floral image from Fresh Vintage to coordinate with the images in the Everyday Enchantment DSP used on the focal heart and flagged banner.  And isn't the Baja Breeze Pleated Satin Ribbon delicious?  Just a ring of sticky strip around the back of the heart and it sticks on easy-peasy!

I had fun mixing images from P.S. I Love You to create the sentiment on the outside...

while Sprinkled Expressions, another Sale-a-Bration set, provided the perfect sentiment to make this my daughter's Valentine card....just the way you are!

I hope I've inspired you to play along with our sketch at Create with Connie & Mary this week!  We would love to have you join in the fun.  Just make sure to do so by Wednesday, February 15th by Noon (EST).  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies 

Stamps: Greeting Card Kids, P.S. I Love You, Fresh Vintage, Sprinkled Expressions

Ink: Poppy Parade, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Early Espresso, Jet Black Stazon, Crumb Cake

Paper:  Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake CS; Everyday Enchantment DSP

Xtras: Hearts Framelits; Ovals die; Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon; Baja Breeze Pleated Satin Ribbon; Scallop Ribbon Border Punch; 1 1/4" Square Punch (to flag the banner end); So Saffron, Blush Blossom and Poppy Parade Stampin' Write markers;

Little Red Riding Hood {PP72}

Hiya friends...happy Sunday! Welcome to another week with The Paper Players.  This week LeAnne has a fabulous holiday color challenge for us:

These colors gave me a holiday vibe but you could go in many directions with them depending on which color is most prominent in your design.  I paired them with Rita's fantastic sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

 I had not used the Greeting Card Kids set in awhile and I just love the little girl image:

A blender pen with Riding Hood Red, River Rock and Always Artichoke classic inks made quick work of coloring the image.  I also added a little Dazzling Diamonds to her coat, hat and the snowy ground.

You know I have just about every color of the wide striped grosgrain ribbon...even some retired colors like the Riding Hood Red piece I used here.

I tied it off with some linen thread and two mini jingle bells--they make the sweetest little sound when the card is opened!

One other little detail is the stamped border from Creative Elements that I used to frame the center panel. 

And there you have it!  I hope I've inspired you to play along with us at The Paper Players.  Be sure to check out the rest of the design team for some fabulous inspiration:

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 do play along, please link up your creation to The Paper Players by Friday, November 18th at midnight (PST).  Thanks for stopping by today!
 

 supplies:

stamps: greeting card kids, sincere salutations, creative elements; seasonal sentiments [retired but available in MDS]

ink: river rock, riding hood red, always artichoke; jet black stazon

paper: very vanilla, always artichoke CS; timeless portrait DSP

xtras: riding hood red wide striped grosgrain ribbon [retired]; linen thread; mini jingle bells; dazzling diamonds; blender pen

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

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I'll have another post later today...

Christmas Kids for Inkspirations {51}

Happy Monday everyone!  Only two weeks of work and school in our house and then we are all off until January...can't wait!  I'm so excited to share a sweet little card I made for the Inkspirations Challenge {51}.  This week's sketch really caught my eye so I found a bit of time to play along!  Here's the sketch:

And here is the sweet little card I made (can you tell I am happy with it?!)

Oh my gosh, I don't know why I waited so long to order Greeting Card Kids it is absolutely adorable!  Well, I know why...I was afraid of coloring the images but my Stampin' Write markers made quick work of it and I think it turned out alright.  Actually, when my daughter saw what I was working on she asked me to stamp one for her and we colored them together...so much fun!  I like the way Baja Breeze and Blushing Bride work together but I didn't want to go all pastels so I added some Love Letter DSP in Basic Black.  I like how the black DSP picks up on the black outline of the stamp and the sentiment.

I colored the little girl's outfit with Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze and Crumb Cake and applied Dazzling Diamonds to the trim on her coat & hat.  The tree was inked with Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride and a touch of Daffodil Delight for the star.  I also used my Color Spritzer to add some Crumb Cake sprinkles to the background.

I know you noticed the Tinsel Trim, right?  I wasn't kidding when I said it was my go-to holiday accent.  I think I've used it on almost every holiday card I have made!  Here, I ran it across the back of my circle, close to the edge and held it in place with good 'ole Scotch Tape, worked like a charm!  In the background, you can see snowflakes from Jolly Old Saint Nick stamped in Baja Breeze on the matching cardstock.

Next, I added the Blushing Bride strip embossed with my Polka Dot Impressions Folder as well as some Certainly Celery ribbon treated to the "scrunchy" effect.  The ribbon looked a little bare so I added a Pear Pizzazz glimmer brad wrapped with more silver Tinsel Trim.  Love how it echoes the bigger circle! 

Lastly, I wanted to color some more(!), so I stamped the little girl on the inside and colored her outfit to match the front but just a tad bit lighter.  I didn't want to compete with the outside.  The sentiment is from the Peaceful Season [level 2 hostess] which I stamped in Stazon Jet Black for a crisp image.  Don't you love how it looks like her hand it holding up the sentiment?  So that's my little card for today...thank you so much for stopping by.  Please let me know what you think!

supplies:

stamps: greeting card kids; peaceful seasons, teeny tiny wishes

ink: stazon jet black; baja breeze

paper: crumb cake,  baja breeze, blushing bride, very vanilla CS; love letter DSP

xtras: polka dot impressions folder; stampin write markers; dazzling diamonds; silver tinsel trim; certainly celery twill ribbon [retired]; "in color" glimmer brad; color spritzer