Love for Eastern Blooms {CCMC157}

Welcome to the Thursday Challenge at Create with Connie & Mary!  It's a sketch challenge this week and my card went in a completely different direction than what I had in mind...but I like the end result, I think!  Here is our sketch:

It's a great one for featuring horizontal stamps and I just had to use one of my favorite retiring SU sets:

I sure am going to miss Eastern Blooms with its lovely stylized cherry blossom branch.  I had an anniversary card in mind with these colors and thought that a gold embossed branch would be lovely:

First, I stamped a piece of Baja Breeze in the same color ink with the En Francais background stamp.  The cherry blossom branch was stamped in Versamark ink, sprinkled with gold stampin' emboss powder and heat set.  Of course it needed a boatload of..ahem....just a few pearls.  :-)

I added some scrunchy Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon to the bottom edge with some sticky strip tape.  The Tiny Tag was stamped in Baja Breeze and Soft Suede and pinned to the ribbon with a tiny Vintage Trinket safety pin.  You can also see that I did a little bit of background stamping with some Soft Suede cherry blossoms directly onto the Elegant Soiree designer paper. 

You can probably see the background stamping better here behind the trio of sweet little flowers.  The flowers were punched from Brushed Gold cardstock with the Itty Bitty Punch Pack and topped with a big fat pearl on each!

With a dark card base, of course the inside needs to be finished.  Cherry blossoms were inked in Baja Breeze and stamped off once before stamping onto Very Vanilla cardstock.  A scrap piece of Elegant Soiree designer paper and a Soft Suede sentiment from A Word for You were the finishing touch!  In case you are wondering, the Very Vanilla insert measures: 3 3/4" x 4 3/4". 

I hope you've enjoyed my card today...I'd love to hear what you think or answer any questions you might have.  Be sure to pop on over to Create with Connie & Mary to see what the rest of the design team has in store for you!

supplies:

stamps: eastern blooms, a word for you, en francais, tiny tags

ink: baja breeze, soft suede

paper: soft suede, very vanilla, baja breeze CS; elegant soiree DSP

xtras: basic pearls; gold stampin' emboss powder; itty bitty punch pack; very vanilla seam binding ribbon; vintage trinkets; jewelry punch

Whooo's Got a Great Sketch? {PP53}

Happy Paper Players Sunday everyone! First, I have to take a minute to congratulate Lesley, our fearless leader, on the one-year anniversary of The Paper Players!!  Lesley is a talented and inspiring leader who values teamwork and has built The Paper Players into one of the best challenge sites in blogland!!  I am so honored to work with this team!

This week Lesley is also our hostess and has designed an amazing sketch for you!  The sign of a great sketch, I think, is how it makes everything come together with ease and this sketch does just that!

This is a great sketch to highlight designer or pattered paper as I've done with a sneak peek of the Just Add Cake designer paper coming July 1st in the new catalog.  I took the color scheme for my card from the colors in the paper: Peach Parfait, Wild Wasabi, Baja Breeze and So Saffron--love 'em!  I needed a birthday card for our nephew and he loves the Owl Punch so with a great sketch, some cool DSP and a punch in hand, my work was almost done!

Over the Peach Parfait base, I layered a piece of So Saffron cardstock that was stamped in the same color with the Woodgrain background stamp. 

Three pieces of [upcoming] Just Add Cake DSP were layered on top and the Peach Parfait polka dot piece is just the reverse side.  The edges were roughed up with a distressing tool.

 Next was my sweet little Peach Parfait owl!  His belly is another pattern from the Just Add Cake DSP and I've perched him on some Baja Breeze branches punched out with the XL Two-Step Bird Punch.  The whole focal piece rests on a 2 3/8" scalloped circle punched from Wild Wasabi that was stamped with the Woodgrain stamp.

The banner tag is a part of the Petal Cone die [still available] and was stamped in Wild Wasabi with a sentiment from the [retired] hostess set, Something to Celebrate.

A few scrap pieces made a little border for the inside and a stamped Fox & Friends owl on the border.  The owl was inked using the Rock-n-Roll technique with So Saffron and Peach Parfait.  So, what do you think of my nephew's birthday card?  I'd love to know!

Be sure to hop along to the rest of the Design Team for some inspiring creations.  Big hugs and thanks to Cindy Beach our June Guest Designer--it's been great working with you Cindy!  The Paper Players Design Team are:

• Lesley - Always Playing with Paper
• LeAnne - WeeInklings
• Jaydee - Stampin' with Jaydee
• Ann - The Stampin' Schach
• Anne Marie - Stampin' Anne
• Nance (me!) - Canopy Crafts
• Cindy [GD] - Stamps, Paper and Ink
• Lauri [Summer DT] - Paperville
• Sandra [Summer DT] - Sandra's Stamping Spot

We hope you are inspired to get your craft on this week!  If you do, load up your creation at The Paper Players by Friday, July 1st at midnight (PST).  We can't wait to visit you! 

Happy Hula Hoop: {CCMC156}

Yahoo, it's Thursday and that means a new challenge at Create with Connie & Mary! This week we have a fantastic color combination for you.   Check it:

Love it, right?  These colors are so bright and happy that I had to give some love to the Recess stamp set from the Mini Catalog:

This card reminds me of my daughter and her love for jump ropes and hula hoops!  I thought the Playdate Designer Series Paper was the perfect match for these happy colors.  I used the big flower from the DSP and just cut down the 12x12 paper to the section that I needed.

Then I stamped my girl in Jet Black Stazon and colored her shirt, skirt and hula hoop with my Stampin' Write markers a Blender pen and ink pads in the challenge colors.  See the little bows in her hair?  Yes, I drew those free-hand with a Tangerine Tango marker!  I also rimmed the edge with a glue pen and then dipped it in Dazzling Diamonds because a little girl can never have too much sparkle!

I trimmed the main panel with a Tangerine Tango Scallop Ribbon Border and stamped the background randomly with the Recess hopscotch image inked in Old Olive. 

Using the Cupcake punch (coming back in the new catalog July 1st) I made some Whisper White clouds which I sponged with Tempting Turquoise and stamped in the challenge colors with "Happy Sweet Day" from the Fabulous Phrases set.

Of course, I couldn't forget the inside!  Some Funky Four flowers were stamped in the challenge colors and the Apple Blossoms [hostess] sentiment just seemed to fit the feel and emotions of this card...happy thoughts do indeed make happy days!  You'll make us happy if you play along at Create with Connie & Mary!  Be sure to check out the rest of the design team inspiration over at Create with Connie & Mary and then load up your challenge card for a chance at the top 3 pick!

supplies:

stamps: recess, funky four, apple blossoms, fabulous phrases

ink: tangerine tango, tempting turquoise, old olive

paper: old olive, tangerine tango, whisper white CS, playdate DSP

xtras: scallop ribbon border punch; dazzling diamonds; stampin write markers (tangerine tango); blender pen; cupcake XL punch; 2-way glue pen; 1 3/4" circle punch; 2" circle punch (non SU)

Simple Paradise {PP52}

Happy Paper Players Sunday, everyone!  I hope you're having a fabulous weekend and Happy Father's Day to all the men out there!  Hmmm, I wonder if I have any male readers??  Paper Player Jaydee is our Clean-and-Simple hostess this week and she has challenged us with a simple and classic sketch:

Lovely, isn't it?  Lots of options with this one.  I like to mix it up a bit so I turned the sketch on it's side which put the focal piece on the right side like this:

And what a perfect sketch to show off one of Stampin' Up's newest In Color...Pool Party!  A beautiful soft and cool ocean blue that is just gorgeous and will be available with the new catalog on July 1st .  I've stamped the background with the retiring Sanded background stamp inked in Pool Party.  Another retiring stamp set, Paradise, was inked in Pool Party, More Mustard, Soft Suede and Lucky Limeade (another new In Color) and stamped onto Whisper White.

Here you can get a good close look at Pool Party and Lucky Limeade.  I trimmed out the main piece with a scalloped border of More Mustard that I distressed a little with the bone folder.  Then wrapped the whole thing with Early Espresso Baker's Twine.  This Baker's Twine is a chameleon; it magically matches whatever shade of brown it is paired with.  Doesn't it look like Soft Suede Baker's Twine here? 

A clean and simple card deserves a clean-and-simple inside too!  Because I want to use my Sanded background stamp as much as possible before it retires :-), I stamped it again on the inside behind my Whisper White panel onto which I repeated more tropical leaves from the Paradise set. 

So, I hope you've liked my Simple Paradise card;  I would love to hear what you think!  Be sure to check out the inspiring work of our amazing Design Team and then head off to your craft room from some clean-and-simple fun!  Be sure to load up your lovely creations by Friday, June 24th at midnight (PST) to have a chance for the Design Team's winning selections.  Hope to see you at The Paper Players!

supplies:

stamps: paradise; curly cute, sanded

ink: pool party, lucky limeade, more mustard, soft suede

paper: pool party, whisper white, more mustard CS

xtras: scalloped border punch; early espresso baker's twine.

Hello Thursday Design Team!

Oh my gosh, I've been busting at the seams to share my news with you!  I am delighted to report that...I received an invitation to join the Create with Connie & Mary Thursday Design Team!!  This is a huge honor to me as I have been playing along with their challenges for awhile and find them among my faves.  Now, I am excited to share them with you!  OK, enough about me (LOL) you came here for a card and a card you shall have but first...this week's challenge!  It's a sketch challenge--don't you just love sketches?  

I flipped the sketch on it's side and made this:

Isn't it happy?!  Last week I was working on a big project with the Playful Polka Dots Simply Scrappin' Kit and many of the elements on today's card are left-overs from the kit...

including this big Daffodil Delight polka dot scalloped circle onto which I layered three Rose Red flowers from Fabulous Florets.  I tucked in a few polka dot leaves from the kit--love how they repeat the polka dots in the circle and the embossed background.  And what is my favorite companion pattern to polka dots?

Why stripes of course!  This fun paper is just one of the great patterns included exclusively in the Simply Scrappin' kit.  Aren't those colors great together?  The banner tag was cut from the Petal Cone die and stamped in Old Olive with a sentiment from Happy Greetings. 

and I used an left-over piece on the inside trimmed out with a Rose Red scallop ribbon border.

In lieu of the two brads from the sketch, I used the polka dot embossing folder and wrapped the whole front panel in some yummy Rose Red seam binding ribbon.  Love how this ribbon ties so easily!  Thank you for stopping by today and sharing in my happy news!  Be sure to stop by and see what the other Create with Connie & Mary Design Team members did with this week's sketch--you'll find tons of inspiration!  We hope you'll play along with us!

supplies:

stamps: fabulous florets, happy greetings

ink: rose red, old olive

paper: playful polka dots simply scrappin' kit

xtras: polka dot impressions folder; rose red seam binding ribbon; scallop ribbon border punch; petal cone die

Wild Melon Delight {PP51}

Happy Paper Players Sunday everyone!  I say that every week don't I?  Well, it is a happy day because I get to share my latest Paper Players card with you, dear readers.  Ann Schach is our gracious hostess for a color challenge this week and she has chosen some bright and happy colors:

Bright, right?  Wild Wasabi, Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight...love 'em!  Right away I knew I wanted to use my  very neglected Avaiary stamp set.

You can see that I made my own patterned paper with the challenge colors and all the birdcages from the set.  Boy, my stamp-a-ma-jig got a work out here!  I layered my "paper" with some Wild Wasabi polka dots from the Woodland Walk DSP and some [retired :-(] Melon Mambo pom-pom trim:

Love that stuff!  The "Celebrate!" sentiment is from the Something to Celebrate set retired from the Spring Mini catalog.  Stamped in Melon Mambo is stands out nicely on the Daffodil Delight card base.  I also used my Two-Step Bird punch with two different Daffodil Delight designer papers and a Wild Wasabi branch:

The really cool trick is hard to see but is called Faux Diamond Dust and comes courtesy of fellow DT member and friend, LeAnne Pugliese.  Can you see the shimmer behind the bird?  Using the Faux Diamond Dust technique, I made my own Glimmer Paper!  I swiped a Versamark pad over plain Whisper White cardstock, sprinkled Iridescent Ice Stampin' Emboss powder and heat set.  The result is a shimmery paper that is just gorgeous IRL! You can do this with any color or even after stamping as LeAnne did on a card I was lucky enough to receive from her (I'll share my birthday cards  in a few days--check back).

I don't know what I will be using this card for so I left off a sentiment on the inside.  Just added some more of the WW polka dot paper, a Melon Mambo scalloped ribbon border and some more sweet little birds.  No wonder they're celebrating, they escaped!

I hope you will escape to your craft space and come play with us this week at The Paper Players.  Check out the rest of the DT inspiration and then get busy!  You have until Friday, June 17th at midnight (PST) to load up your creation at The Paper Players.  You just might win our choice for A Cut Above or Headliner!  Hope to see you there!

supplies:

stamps: aviary, something to celebrate [retired]

ink: melon mambo, daffodil delight, wild wasabi, versamark

paper: daffodil delight, melon mambo, whisper white CS; woodland walk, greenhouse gala DSP; patterns designer series paper stack-brights

xtras: scallop ribbon border punch; 1 3/8" circle punch; scallop circle punch; two-step bird punch; melon mambo pom-pom trim [retired]; iridescent ice emboss powder; basic rhinestones

Dreaming in the Garden: {CCMC153} {CI158}

Hiya friends!  I am continuing my spotlight of retiring stamps and accessories with another Thank You card.  My birthday was last weekend so, I've got a lot of thank you cards to send--lucky me!  Another favorite of mine on the Last Chance list is Dream Garden and when I saw this week's sketch at Create with Connie & Mary, I immediately thought of the cranes in this set:

Then, I went looking for a color challenge suitable for an Asian-inspired card and found these over at Stamping 411's Color Inspiration #158:

OK!  So off I went to my craft room.  And after fiddling around a bit--took me awhile to get the Certainly Celery just right--here's what I came up with:

See how the three panels of the crane stamp line up with the three panels in the sketch?  I stamped the cranes 3 times in Peach Parfait on So Saffron cardstock and matted the panel with Peach Parfait.  The Very Vanilla circle was cut with a circle nesties and I used the rock 'n' roll technique for the geisha image.  

I inked her first in So Saffron then rolled the edge of the stamp around on a Peach Parfait ink pad and then again, lightly, on a Real Red ink pad.  After I stamped her onto the circle I used a q-tip to add a little Very Vanilla Smooch Spritz directly on the image for a pearl effect. 

I used another retired favorite, Embrace Life, for the beautiful bamboo fronds that were stamped on the circle in Certainly Celery and on the background in So Saffron.  I love how it makes her look like she is praying in a bamboo grove.

I also grounded her with a Blender Pen and Certainly Celery ink.  Without it she appeared to be floating--much better to be on the ground!  :-)  That's a little bit of Subtles Patterns Designer Series Paper stack in Certainly Celery peeking below the circle and some lovely Certainly Celery 1/4" grosgrain ribbon.

Here is the crane stamp again on the inside--just a single stamp inked in Certainly Celery and stamped off once.  Happy Greetings from the summer mini catalog provided the perfect sentiment inked up in Peach Parfait.


So, what do you think of my Dream Garden card?  I'd love to hear from you!  Remember, we've got a Kind Thanks challenge going on over at The Paper Players this week so come check us out!  Thanks for stopping by today and I hope wherever you are today...it's a good one! :-)

supplies:

stamps: dream garden, embrace life, happy greetings

ink: so saffron, certainly celery, peach parfait, real red

paper: so saffron, very vanilla, peach parfait CS; subtles DSP stack

xtras: circle nesties; certainly celery 1/4" grosgrain ribbon; blender pen; very vanilla smooch spritz

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

Sunny Flip Flop Fun: {CQC87}

Happy June 1st, everyone! It's been ages since I played along with a Colour Q challenge and I couldn't wait to make a bright and happy card with Colour Que #87 this week:

Isn't that little owl the cutest?  I'm pretty sure that I had a sundress or some other summer outfit in these colors when I was a kid and they just make me happy!  Summer, of course, means flip-flops so I inked up the Sunny Fun stamp set for the first time to make this card:

Love those flip-flops, don't you?!  I started with a Soft Suede card base, rounded one corner and added some Soft Suede spritzing with my Color Spritzer tool to give the illusion of sand.  Here's a closer look:

For the main panel, I cut a strip of cardstock in Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo and stamped a portion of the flip flops onto each strip in Versamark ink, sprinkled on white stampin' emboss powder and heat set.  

 Next, I laid all three strips face down and taped them together with sticky strip.  One edge was not quite even so the tabletop paper cutter made a nice clean edge over all three panels.  Then I added some small basic rhinestones to each of the flowered flip-flops because even your flip-flops have to have bling...at least mine do, lol!

I ran a piece of Whisper White cardstock through the Square Lattice embossing folder and tore the left edge.  I wanted this panel to look like a towel laying on the sand and the Square Lattice folder is a great one for adding a fabric-like texture.  Tui Nathan had a great banner tag on this card which inspired my sentiment panel--thanks Tui!  You really must check out her work--it's amazing!  For the sentiment, I ran a piece of Soft Suede through the Big Shot with the Petal Cone die to make the banner tag.  Did you notice it's a bit smaller than the die?  Using the same technique I introduced on this card, I laid the banner back down in the die and ran it through the Big Shot again to make the banner shorter with a perfect edge.    I heat embossed the "Hello" sentiment from Happy Greetings with white stampin' embossing powder, punched a small hole in each end and looped some linen thread through each hole.  I secured the thread on the back with a piece of tape--easy!

And here is a not-so-great look at the inside.  The storm clouds were gathering as I snapped this pic so I didn't have time for a do-over!  More Sunny Fun flip-flops along the edge in Crushed Curry, a piece of Pumpkin Pie patterned designer paper and a Melon Mambo sentiment from Happy Greetings finished it off!

Thanks for stopping in today...I would love to know what you think of my sunny flip-flop card!  Until next time, have a great day friends!

supplies:

stamps: sunny fun, happy greetings

paper: soft suede, whisper white, melon mambo, pumpkin pie, crushed curry [retired]; brights pattern dsp stack

ink: versamark, crushed curry [retired], melon mambo

xtras: petal cone die; square lattice embossing folder; linen thread; white stampin' emboss powder;

basic rhinestones; color spritzer; soft suede stampin' write marker