Springtime Walk {PP86}

Hey there friends! It's Sunday so you know what that means...it's time for...The Paper Players!  Lovely Lesley is our hostess this week with a gorgeous, I mean gor-juss, color combination.  I'll bet you can guess what color it includes, right?  You got it...Pool Party!

Beautiful aren't they? When I look at these colors I hear, "Spring is here, Spring is here!"  Looking through my stamps for something "spring-y", I found one I haven't used in a long time, Nature Walk which I combined with Linda's fabulous sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

 

This is one of those sets that I struggle with.  All the images are so pretty and lend themselves to a collage style which I love.  Problem is, I still need a lot of practice with the "collage" look.   I fuss over placement of the images when I really just need to let it flow, right?  Well, anyway...after many tries on scrap paper, I'm finally happy with this one...I think ;-).  All the images are stamped in all 4 challenge colors...

with a little extra sparkle, via Dazzling Diamonds, on the bees' wings.  A little background stamping in tone-on-tone Crumb Cake really adds some interest to the plain card base.

I'm not really sure what I will use this card for so I left the inside sentiment-free for use at a later time.  But I did have fun with more Pear Pizzazz foliage and some bees.  Just love that sweet little bee.  That's it for me folks, I hope I've inspired you to play along with Lesley's gorgeous color combination.  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

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy
Jenn Picard
Heidi Boos

Sherry Eckblad (March GD)

Our challenge will close Friday, March 16th at Noon (PST).  I hope you can join us!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies 

Stamps: Nature Walk; Easter Blossoms [retired] 

Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake

Paper:  Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake, Whisper White; Flirtatious Specialty DSP

Xtras: Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon; Linen Thread; Scallop Oval, Scallop Ribbon Border and Large Oval Punches

Vintage Flower Fields: {PP57}

Happy Paper Players Sunday, friends!  Glad to have you here with me for my week as hostess over at The Paper Players.  We're hosting a sketch challenge this week and I designed it especially for you:

Some more goodies from the new catalog arrived on my doorstep last week and I couldn't wait to ink up Field Flowers.

I turned to my Color Coach for inspiration and found this fresh color combo: Soft Suede, Island Indigo, More Mustard and Lucky Limeade isn't it pretty?  Field Flowers is a gorgeous two-step stamp set and the best part is that the stems are separate from the flowers so they can be two different colors without using markers!  The stems were stamped in Lucky Limeade directly onto some First Edition Specialty Paper--love this look!  

One flower was stamped directly onto the DSP while the other was stamped two-step style onto Very Vanilla cardstock and snipped out for some dimension.  Both flowers received a Soft Suede center with yet another stamp in the set. Because I was channeling my teammate, Ann Schach, (!) I sponged the edges of the flower with Soft Suede.  In fact, I think I sponged all the edges and oh, yes I even used one of Ann's favorite tools the 7-sided distressing tool!  Love how it roughs up the edges! 

I rolled one corner and separated the layers of Island Indigo cardstock--I told you I was channeling Ann, LOL!  The corner was just crying out for something so a sweet little Soft Suede bee floated out of the Nature Walk stamp set and landed on my paper!

The opposite corners of the Soft Suede base got a background stamping treatment with the water spots and script stamp from French Foliage. As well as the More Mustard Top Note peeking out from the bottom.  Isn't that new In Color ruffled ribbon lovely? 

Another new stamp set saw ink on this card...Friendly Phrases is a must-have--love the mixed fonts and the cursive handwriting. 

More fun with water spots on the inside too!  Can't get enough of them!  So, I hope you've enjoyed today's card and that you'll cruise on over to the rest of the Design Team for some lovely inspiration:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Lauri Ingram

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Sandra Azzopardi

Tui Nathan (GD)

If you decide to join us this week, please load your craftiness on The Paper Players blog by Friday, August 5th at midnight (PST) to be in the running for A Cut Above or even Headliner!  I can't wait to see what you do with our sketch!  Thanks for stopping by!

supplies:

stamps: field flowers, french foliage, nature walk, friendly phrases

ink: lucky limeade, more mustard, soft suede

paper: soft suede, island indigo, more mustard, very vanilla CS; first edition specialty DSP

xtras: lucky limeade ruffled ribbon; top note die; 7-sided distressing tool; sponges;

Pure Vanilla Saffron: {CD92}

Hiya friends, welcome to another week at The Color Dare!  We were thrilled to see so many talented crafters join us last week--thank you!  This week, Riley's got a doozy of a color combination--at least I thought so.  CD 92: Pure Poppy, So Saffron & Very Vanilla.  Seems simple right?  Well....I have to admit, I still have not completely embraced Pure Poppy and find it challenging to work with.  But that's what this is all about, right?  Challenging ourselves outside of our comfort zone.  So without further adieu...

I like the paper I used and the stamps...just not crazy about the final result!  And, I had to throw some Chocolate Chip in there because I was swimming upstream on this one, lol!  Love the new Framed Tulip textured impressions folder though!  And so yummy in Chocolate Chip don't you think?  The background paper is Botanical Gazette designer series paper and it is sooo pretty.  This piece was already distressed, I just added the stamped images from Nature Walk, starting with the row of speckled eggs along the bottom, in Chocolate Chip, and the floral image in Pure Poppy. 

I also added the waterspots from French Foliage in So Saffron, the sweetest bumblebee from Nature Walk in Pure Poppy and a Chocolate Chip sentiment from Cheep Talk.  I matted the whole panel onto So Saffron CS

and added a double row of the Dotted Scallop Ribbon border in So Saffron & Pure Poppy.  Some yummy Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon with just a touch of Chantilly Crochet Trim finished it off nicely.   I repeated some of the images on the inside, leaving lots of room for a quick note of Christmas thanks--still working on those!

So there you have it!  I am confident that y'all can come up with something fun for Color Dare 92!  Be sure to check out the rest of the design team, below, for some fabulous inspiration.  If you play along, be sure to link up your project over at the Color Dare blog and use CD92 in the description.  Can't wait to come visit you!

• Riley - our leader
• Glenda - Papers, Scissors & Rocks
• Heather - Princess Scrapper Stamper
• Joan - JJ Creations
• Marisa - Rosemary Reflections
• Melissa - My Paper Obsession

supplies: 

stamps: Nature Walk, Cheep Talk, French Foliage

ink: Pure Poppy, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip

paper: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, So Saffron CS; Botanical Gazette DSP

xtras: Framed Tulip textured impressions folder; Seam Binding ribbon; Chantilly crochet trim; Dotted Scallop Border punch

---

The Virtual Canopy Club is still open for new members.  Refer to this post HERE for all the details!

Birdcage Mosiac: CCCC{62]

Happy New Year's Eve everyone!  I hope you have something fun planned to ring in 2011 tonight.  We will have a quiet night at home with friends--just the way we like it!  It's even warm today--about 70--so we might actually be able to sit outside!  :-)  Continuing my attempt to play along with favorite challenges this week...I couldn't wait to use the gorgeous colors Stacey picked out for the Curtain Call Color Challenge:

So soft and lovely--perfect for a restful transition from the holiday madness!  I was itching to use my sneak peek products from the upcoming spring Mini Catalog...and reached for a new favorite, Nature Walk, and the darling vintage birdcage:

The birdcage is stamped with my stamp-a-ma-jig on Whisper White in Pear Pizzazz, Baja Breeze and Early Espresso.  I matted the main panel on some Early Espresso and wrapped it with....new seam binding ribbon!  Oh happy day!  I was so excited to see all the new colors of seam binding ribbon.  Here I used Baja Breeze and gave it the scrunchy treatment with some sticky tape.

Couldn't resist the cutest little bumblebee from this set so I stamped him in Pear Pizzazz and overstamped this Short & Sweet sentiment in Early Espresso.  It's punched out with the "large" oval punch.

Isn't the Pear Pizzazz background frame pretty?  That's the new Framed Tulips textured impression folder--it makes a sweet accent to the card base.  I sponged the embossed edges lightly with Pear Pizzazz just to highlight the detail a bit more.

Sorry for the short post tonight but we're expecting company soon!  At the close of this year I want to thank all of you who visit my blog and leave such kind and encouraging comments for me.  I truly appreciate your visits and your feedback and wish you the best in 2011!  See you next year!  :-)

supplies:

stamps: nature walk, short & sweet

ink: pear pizzazz, baja breeze, early espresso

paper: pear pizzazz, whisper white, early espresso CS

xtras: framed tulips impression folder; baja breeze seam binding ribbon; basic pearls, large oval punch