A Sketch By the Tide {PP134}

Hi friends! Did you think I fell off the earth? I had so much going on last week that I took a little break from The Paper Players. Before I knew it, it was Sunday again and time for another Paper Players challenge! They do come around quickly, don't they? This week, Jaydee has a fabulous sketch for us:

I told you it was fabulous, right?  I will be using this one over and over!  I used the sketch to design a card for my stamp clubs using one of my favorite sets from the Spring Catalog, By the Tide:

 

Oh how I love the coral and seahorse images!  I've used some of my favorite colors here too: Summer Starfruit, Calypso Coral and Pool Party.   Such great beach colors together!  What am I going to do when Pool Party retires in June??  I started with a Crumb Cake base and added a layer of Pool Party embossed with the Fancy Fan folder.  I sponged some Pool Party ink all over the embossing to really make it pop.  Love how the fancy fan texture looks like waves.

The circle of Whisper White was cut with the 3" circle die onto which I collage stamped the coral, seahorse and script images and scattered some pearls in the coral.  I used two strips of designer paper for the vertical element of the sketch, notching the ends and giving them a slight curl for extra movement.  Can you hear them blowing in the warm ocean breeze?  Well, probably many of you are under piles of snow right now so you'll just have to imagine the lovely breeze!  :-)

I am really loving this sentiment from the Sale-a-Bration set Vintage Verses--it's so pretty! And, of course, I can't get enough of that sweet little seahorse either!  He was the perfect finishing touch to the inside of my card.

 I just know the rest of my friends on the Design Team will have some amazing projects for you this week.  Be sure to pop over and give them some love!  Then pop over to the Paper Players to join us before the challenge closes on Friday, March 1st at Noon (PST).   I can't wait to see what you can make with Jaydee's sketch!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Amy O'Neill

Brian King

Jen Nelson

Justin Krieger

Sandy Mathis

 
Supplies 
Stamps: By the Tide; Petite Pairs; Vintage Verses 
Ink: Calypso Coral, Summer Starfruit, Pool Party
Paper: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Whisper White, Summer Starfruit CS; Sycamore Street DSP, Designer Series Patterns Stack (2011-2013 In Colors)
Xtras: Naturals Trim ribbon; Basic Pearls; 3" circle die; 1.25" square punch; 1.25" circle punch; Fancy Fan embossing folder

Vintage Verses for the Paper Players {PP132}

Hiya friends and stampers! It's another great week over at The Paper Players. The always-amazing-Ann has a fresh color challenge for us:

I absolutely love Summer Starfruit--it's such a bright and happy color.  The girls in my stamp clubs have some rather....ahem....."colorful" descriptors for this color but I love it!  Especially paired with Midnight Muse and that little pop of Primrose is the perfect accent color:

Patio Party DSP has all the challenge colors in it so I started with the paper as my inspiration building my card around the Summer Starfruit pattern.  A couple of Paper Doilies off-set from the sentiment panel were the perfect landing spot for a trio of butterflies.

Love the texture provided by the Needlepoint embossing folder!  I thought it was a great match to the stitching lines of the Primrose Petals satin ribbon too.

Since I used a sentiment from Vintage Verses (FREE during Sale-a-Bration) on the front, I kept it going with another one from the same set on the inside.  More butterflies on the inside, complete the look!  I have no idea who or what I will use this card for but I had fun pulling together these colors.  And I hope you do too when you make a card to join us in the challenge this week!  :-)  Be sure to stop by the rest of the Design Team and check out their fabulous work!  Don't forget, our challenge ends Friday, February 15th at Noon (PST).

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Amy O'Neill

Brian King

Jen Nelson

Justin Krieger

Sandy Mathis

Supplies 
Stamps: Vintage Verses; Papillion Potpourri
Ink: Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals
Paper:  Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Whisper White CS; Patio Party DSP
Xtras: Bitty Butterfly punch; Elegant Butterfly punch; Primrose Petals stitched satin ribbon; Needlepoint embossing folder; Basic Pearls

Poppies Full of Sympathy {PP131}

Happy Sunday, everyone! This week I am your hostess over at The Paper Players for our monthly Theme Challenge:

I find that sympathy cards are among the hardest to design--even more so than masculine cards.  For me, it's about finding just the right balance between enough embellishments to make it special but a clean design to convey peace and serenity.

So how did I do?  Do you feel calm looking at this card?  :-) One way I think it conveys a calming effect is through color.  The Color Coach came through on this one for me: Not Quite Navy, Pool Party and So Saffron are pleasing to the eye as well as cool and serene.  I stamped the large background stamp, Pleasant Poppies, onto Pool Party designer paper with Not Quite Navy ink.

I stamped it a second time and fussy cut a few flowers for added dimension.  This adds some interest but isn't too heavy or busy to detract from the overall feeling of the card.  I matted the focal image on So Saffron and added a sentiment from Loving Thoughts--also on So Saffron cardstock.  Just a touch of Not Quite Navy taffeta ribbon keeps it simple but elegant.

I hope you like my Poppies Full of Sympathy card and feel inspired to play along with our challenge at The Paper Players.  Be sure to stop by and check out the work of the other Design Team members...you won't be disappointed!  If you can play along with our challenge this week, just remember that it closes Friday, February 8th at Noon (PST).  Thanks for stopping by!
 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Amy O'Neill

Brian King

Jen Nelson

Justin Krieger

Sandy Mathis

Supplies
Stamps: Pleasant Poppies; Loving Thoughts 
Ink: Not Quite Navy
Paper: Not Quite Navy, So Saffron cardstock; In Color Designer Paper Patterns Stack
Extras: Not Quite Navy taffeta ribbon; paper snips

Oh, Whale for the Paper Players

Happy Sunday, friends! I hope you're having a great weekend. Sundays are a great day around here because it means another week with The Paper Players!  Check out the great sketch our friend, LeAnne has for us this week:

It's a good one isn't it?  I must say, though, I took a few liberties with it--including flipping it--but I think you can see the bones, at least I hope that LeAnne can!

 

We made another version of this at my stamp clubs this month and it seemed to be a big hit!   Don't you just love that little whale?  For the main panel, I added some large scalloped "waves" cut with the Tasteful Trims die from the gorgeous Sale-a-Bration Sycamore Street DSP. 

I alternated the scallops and tucked the Island Indigo whale from Oh, Whale in amongst the waves.  Then, I curled up the edges of the scallops to add more dimension.  A pass through the new Cloudy Day embossing folder {heart!}, some [free] Tangerine Tango satin ribbon and a rhinestone eye completed the look.

To mimic the ribbon in LeAnne's sketch, I added a trio of waves with the stamp from Oh, Whale to the Sahara Sand card base.  Some Sahara Sand marker spritzed onto the card added interest and a "sandy beach" feel.

The inside got a similar treatment with some more wavy stamping and polka dotted waves.  With the ease of the coordinating Happy Whale Clearlit, I couldn't resist adding another die cut whale.

And, with LeAnne's great sketch I know you won't be able to resist our challenge this week!  Check out the rest of the Design Team for some fabulous inspiration and then go get busy in your craft room!  Just make sure to come back and share with us at The Paper Players by Friday, February 1st at Noon (PST).

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Amy O'Neill

Brian King

Jen Nelson

Justin Krieger

Sandy Mathis

 
Stamps: Oh, Whale; Friendly Phrases; Wishes Your Way
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Island Indigo, Sahara Sand, Summer Starfruit
Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White; Sycamore Street DSP
Extras: Tasteful Trims die; Tangerine Tango satin ribbon; Cloudy Day embossing folder; basic rhinestones; Happy Whale clearlit; 

Swallowtail Multi-Color Technique

Hi there, friends! I'm so excited to share today's card with you. But first, Jaydee has a wonderful Clean-and-Simple sketch challenge for us over at The Paper Players:

Such a great sketch with all kinds of possibilities.  While at Stampin' Up's Leadership Conference last weekend, we saw a demonstration using multiple ink pads to color the gorgeous Swallowtail stamp from the Spring Catalog.  I was so inspired to try it myself:

I turned the stamp rubber side up and applied ink directly with the ink pad, tilting the ink pad and brushing it on in sections like a paintbrush.  Starting in the middle and working outward I used Elegant Eggplant, Summer Starfruit and Baja Breeze.

Because I wanted the butterfly to float off the edge of the card base and show more of the beautiful stamp, I stamped it again on the Summer Starfruit base using the stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up with the previous stamped image.  I also spritzed a little Soft Suede marker across the card front.

On the inside, I used Baja Breeze and Summer Starfruit only to ink the butterfly, stamped off once and then onto the Whisper White cardstock.  A sentiment from Blooming with Kindness was added to bring in my third color--Elegant Eggplant.

With the large Swallowtail stamp, I've shown you just one way to interpret Jaydee's clean-and-simple sketch.  Check out the rest of the Design Team for even more gorgeous inspiration.  I hope you'll come back to The Paper Players and show us  your creation before this challenge closes on Friday, January 25th at Noon (PST).  Thanks for stopping by today!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Amy O'Neill

Brian King

Jen Nelson

Justin Krieger

Sandy Mathis

Stamps: Swallowtail; Blooming with Kindness; Sweet Essentials 
Ink: Summer Starfruit, Elegant Eggplant, Baja Breeze 
Paper: Summer Starfruit, Whisper White CS 
Xtras: Color Spritzer; Soft Suede marker; Dazzling Diamonds; glue pen