In My Thoughts {CCMC191}

Happy March 1st, friends!  You know what Thursday means...it's Create with Connie & Mary day! This week its a color inspiration.  Check out these happy, spring-time colors:

 I combined our colors with this beautiful sketch from the gals over at Card Patterns:  

I really liked the layout and the unique border treatment in the sketch.  So, here's what I did with it:

Just Believe was one of those sets I just HAD to have when it came out but it's been sorely neglected in my craft room.  So, I dusted it off and colored it with Wild Wasabi and So Saffron Stampin' Write markers to create my focal image.  I needed a thinking of you card for a friend and this one from Word Play is among my favorites.  I overstamped it in Island Indigo to coordinate with the card base.

The Lace Ribbon Border punch made a lovely trim piece through which I wove a piece of So Saffron 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon and with a glue dot added a little knot and some Island Indigo Baker's Twine--love that stuff!  And that's it, pretty simple really, especially when the sketch and colors are picked out for me!

I hope I've inspired you to play along with these gorgeous colors over at Create with Connie & Mary.  Be sure to check out the amazing inspiration from the rest of the Design Team--it's sure to be a treat!  If you decide to play along with us, please link up your creation by Wednesday, March 7th at Noon (EST).  I can't wait to see what you make...happy crafting!

 

Supplies 

Stamps: Just Believe, Word Play

Ink: Island Indigo

Paper: Island Indigo, So Safforn, Whisper White CS; Patterns Designer Paper Stack (Subtles)

Xtras: Lace Ribbon border punch; So Saffron 3.8" Taffeta Ribbon; Island Indigo Baker's Twine; Wild Wasabi & So Saffron Stampin' Write markers

Kind Thanks: {PP50} {CTD144}

Happy Paper Players Sunday, friends! Our first challenge of the month is always a theme challenge and this week it is Kind Thanks appropriately hosted by one of the kindest crafting bloggers I know, LeAnne Pugliese.

Growing up, my mother never let me get away without sending a thank you so, very early on, I learned the importance of a hand-written note!  Kind of ironic that years later, my Mom is the one that got me started with Stampin' Up and card-making!  :-)   Thanks, Mom!  Anyhoo, my card today uses these amazing colors at The Color Throwdown #144:  Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery and Pumpkin Pie.

I've been on an pink and orange kick lately so I was delighted to use these colors today for my Simple & Kind Thanks card:

I told 'ya it was simple--somehow it just felt like a clean-and-simple kind of day!  My Certainly Celery card base was stamped with an all-time favorite background stamp, Sanded.

I was very saddened to learn that this stamp is on the Last Chance Stamps list as it is truly fantastic background stamp. So great that I will keep on using it even after it retires! I layered the floral stamps from Just Believe in Certainly Celery, Melon Mambo and Pumpkin Pie to create my garden.

When I was finished with the garden I stamped a sentiment from Sincere Salutations in Early Espresso just over the garden edge.  I almost left the background a plain and simple card base but decided the Pumpkin Pie strip from the brights Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack would draw your eye to the sentiment in the middle.  Does it work?

The inside is just a simple piece of whisper white cardstock but I wanted to pull in all three colors in one stamped image.  I inked the leaves of the stamp with Certainly Celery marker and combined Melon Mambo & Pumpkin Pie markers on the flowers to get a multi-colored flower.  I also stamped a little celery behind the white cardstock so it didn't look like it was floating!

So there you have it...Kind Thanks, clean and simple style.  Be sure to check out the rest of the team's inspiration over at The Paper Players and then go get your craft on!  We're welcoming three new Guest Designers so that means there will be 3 more winners selected on Saturday!  If you can join us, please load your creation over at The Paper Players by midnight (PST) Friday, June 10th to be in the running for A Cut Above and Headliner.  We hope you'll play along!

supplies

stamps: just believe, sincere salutations, sanded

ink: melon mambo, certainly celery, pumpkin pie, early espresso

paper: certainly celery, whisper white; brights patterns designer series paper stack

Jolly Old Saint Nick: Paper Players {21}

Happy Sunday everyone!  It's another week at The Paper Players and we have a fun challenge for you this week.  Everyone likes to share recipes, right?  So this week, Ann has shared a favorite card recipe with us!  Your challenge is to use at least one of the following ingredients in your project:

one designer/patterned paper

one punch

one sentiment

Of course, you can use more but it must have at least those three items.  The Paper Players have cooked up some incredible inspiration to get your creative juices flowing!  Here's what I designed for you this week:

I really love this Santa--I love his retro look.  He reminds me of the Santa Claus of my childhood.  I stamped him onto Whisper White with jet black Stazon for a crisp image.  I used a blender pen and my ink pads to shade his beard (Sahara Sand) and his skin & cheeks (Pink Pirouette).  But the real fun was decorating his hat.

A little Silver Tinsel trim wrapped around a silver Glimmer Brad, gave instant pop to the pom-pom of Santa's hat.  Almost makes it looks like it is a shining ray of light, doesn't it?  I also colored his hat with a Real Red stampin' write marker.

And this picture shows just how sparkly the trim on Santa's hat is!  I filled it in with my 2-way glue pen and sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds over it.  Just love how dazzling it looks.  The sparkle behind Santa comes from a generous spritz of Shimmer Mist onto the Blushing Bride circle.

Once my card was laid out, the plain cardstock background seemed a little naked to me so I dug out a retired snowflake set, Snow Burst, and stamped one of the small snowflakes in Baja Breeze as a background to the sentiment.  I like repeating elements in my cards and I thought this little snowflake mimicked the silver tinsel to a tee!  I love the combination of this sentiment from the Just Believe set with Santa--it's absolutely perfect!  It's difficult to tell in the photo but the sentiment was stamped first in Versamark ink, then Garden Green, sprinkled with clear embossing powder and heat set.  It really makes the sentiment stand out.

I was having so much fun with this stamp set and the paper, that I had to play some more on the inside!  I love how Santa is winking at us over the DSP.  He was stamped in Garden Green with a Real Red sentiment and a sprinkling of Baja Breeze snowflakes all from the Jolly Old Saint Nick stamp set.

So, that's my interpretation of Ann's recipe challenge...are you up for it?!  We would love to see what you cook up for us!  Head over to The Paper Players blog to see what the rest of the team has made for you and to link up your creation.  We can't wait for you to join us!  Thanks so much for stopping by...have a great week!

supplies:

stamps: jolly old saint nick, just believe, snow burst

ink: baja breeze, real red, garden green, pink pirouette, versamark, jet black stazon, sahara sand

paper: baja breeze, whisper white, blushing bride, garden green, real red CS & candy lane specialty DSP

xtras: scallop ribbon border punch; dazzling diamonds; shimmer paint; clear embossing powder; silver tinsel trim; glimmer brads; real red stampin write marker

Paper Players Cafe: {APP11} & {PDCC42}

Oh, this one was so much fun...this designer paper is soooo pretty! When I saw the challenge colors at the Play Date Cafe--dark brown, green & beige--I immediately thought of the unopened pack of Woodland Walk designer paper sitting on my desk! Right, the paper I just had to have but haven't used yet? Yes, that's the one. Lesley's versatile sketch from The Paper Players was the perfect layout for the silhouette image from Just Believe. With an oval as the focal point, I thought the sketch worked better rotated. I think it works! To begin, the Chocolate Chip base was stamped with the Woodgrain background stamp in Chocolate Chip ink. Next, I ran the Oval Scallop die through my Big Shot three times. First with the woodgrain DSP, then with Crumb Cake cardstock and lastly with Garden Green cardstock. The extra oval of Crumb Cake was adhered to the DSP because the DSP is a little thin on its own.
The flower silhouette was stamped directly on the DSP once in Wild Wasabi and again in Garden Green. The Garden Green image was stamped just a little bit over from the Wild Wasabi one. This gives a really cool shadow effect. Before inking my stamp with Garden Green, I inked it Versamark and then directly on the Garden Green stamp pad. After it was stamped, I sprinkled Clear Embossing Powder and heat set the image. The result is a partially embossed and darker image. Of course, I had to add a few adhesive backed Basic Pearls. Love all the sizes available on one sheet!Isn't the taffeta ribbon bow yummy? Here I used Kraft taffeta that has since retired but the taffeta ribbon is available in many colors and is so easy to work with. I almost never tie a successful bow but it's actually easy with the taffeta ribbon. Here's a great video tutorial from Dawn McVey on the bunny ear method of bow tying that I used on today's card.
A couple little images from Tiny Tags punched with the Medium Jewelry Tag were all the sentiment this card needed. I played with a few things but just thought anything else was too much. That's all for today. I hope you will come along and play over at the Paper Players and Play Date Cafe challenges--it's just what you need to get your creative energy in gear! Have a good one...cheers!

edit 8/17/10: here's the inside of the card...I think some folks thought this was a second card!

supplies:
stamps: just believe; teeny tiny wishes; tiny tags; woodgrain BG
ink: wild wasabi, garden green, chocolate chip
paper: chocolate chip, wild wasabi, garden green, very vanilla CS; woodland walk DSP
xtras: frame scallop oval die; dotted ribbon border punch; medium jewelry tag punch; basic pearls; baker's twine; kraft taffeta ribbon

Mojo Aviary Pals: {PPA55} {MOJO151}

I {heart} the colors at this week's PPA challenge: Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight. The funny thing is, I've had these whimsical birdies from the Aviary set stamped in this exact color trio sitting on my desk for awhile now. So, I was delighted to see them featured at my favorite weekly challenge over at Pals Paper Arts.

With the main panel already stamped, I just needed some sketch inspiration to figure out what to do with it. This unique sketch from the Mojo Monday blog provided something to work with. It turned out to be a bit of a challenge for me--couldn't figure out that sentiment panel--but in the end I like the results.
I remembered my promise to show you more sneak peeks...can you find it? Notice that scallop border in Melon Mambo? WOW--it's from a new XL die for the Big Shot called Tasteful Trims. What until you see it--all these trims that are great for cards and sewing projects! Scallops, rick racks, zig zags and a bubble trim--you're going to love it!

Here's a little close-up for you of the cage I cut out and popped up on dimensionals. A sweet little Daffodil Delight 1/8" taffeta bow and some Basic Rhinestones dressed it up just the right amount. The 1/8" taffeta ribbon has quickly become a favorite in my ribbon stash. Couldn't let those scraps go un-loved so they were re-purposed on the inside for a finishing "Canopy" touch.

Thanks so much for stopping by...I truly appreciate your visits and the comments you leave when you're here. I love hearing from you. Cheers!

supplies:
stamps: aviary, just believe (sentiment)
ink: melon mambo, daffodil delight, tempting turquoise, crumb cake
paper: whisper white, daffodil delight, melon mambo CS; island oasis & greenhouse gala DSP
xtras: 1/8" taffeta ribbon daffodil delight; basic rhinestones; tasteful trims XL die; hugs notes (retired)

Believe in Perfectly Elegant Plum: PPA {53}

I am not usually a fan of purple and, in fact, have previously tried to use Perfect Plum with little success. Maybe I just needed to give it the starring role to reveal it's true perfection. Leave it to the fine design team at Pals Paper Arts to show us how great a monochromatic color scheme can be. This week it was purple...I literally groaned when I read it (!)...but the need arose for a card to give to a dear friend who likes purple and lo and behold this one was born. I actually like it, alot. There are so many fun new things here that I just love. First the Elegant Lines impressions folder makes such a statement for just $7.95. Second, the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch is so pretty and subtle. Kind of the best of both the scallop edge and eyelet border punches. Third...adhesive PEARLS...say no more! And lastly, adore the Just Believe stamp set. Proving it's versatility here on a sympathy card.

I tried a new-to-me technique that worked very well. I wanted to emboss the flower silhouette image but I didn't want my embossed image the same color as my paper. Usually to emboss in a color, you would use Craft Ink in the desired color + clear embossing powder but I don't have any Perfect Plum craft ink so I fudged a little. I used regular Classic ink in Perfect Plum + Versamark + clear embossing powder. Here's how I did it:

1. Ink the image in Perfect Plum and stamp on colored cardstock (here I used lovely lilac-retired) using my trusty Stamp-a-ma-jig. Clean stamp.
   
2. Next, ink the same image in Versamark and using the same Stamp-a-ma-jig, stamp directly over the Perfect Plum. If you use the Stamp-a-ma-jig carefully, it will line up just right.
3. Sprinkle with clear embossing powder and heat set.
4. The end result is an embossed Perfect Plum image without Perfect Plum craft ink! I was thrilled to discover how easy it was.

Just a little bit more to show you...here is the inside. Love how beautifully the frame stamp from Just Believe surrounds so many phrases...big and small as seen here with Teeny Tiny Wishes. The sentiment is inked in Rich Razzleberry which coordinates with the 1/4" grosgrain ribbon and sentiment on the front. So I managed to use 3 different colors of purple...not bad for being out of my own little color chart!

Another strip of Dotted Scallop "Ribbon" adds just an extra special something. And, doesn't the inside of the embossing folder look just as pretty as the outside?

OK, that's it for today...thanks so much for stopping by. I would love to know what you think of my purple creation...cheers!

supplies:
stamps: just believe; teeny tiny wishes
ink: perfect plum, rich razzleberry; versamark
paper: perfect plum, very vanilla, lovely lilac (retired) cardstock
xtras: dotted scallop border & 1 3/4" circle punches; stamp-a-ma-jig; adhesive pearls; clear embossing powder; elegant lines textured impressions EF; rich razzleberry 1/4" grosgrain ribbon.