Tres Papillon {PP84}

Happy Paper Players Sunday, friends! So glad you could join me today.  This week, LeAnne is our hostess and she has a long and lean sketch for us, take a look:

Now, you can interpret the shapes and layers of the sketch any way you want to just as long as the basics are there.  For my card, I was inspired by Arielle's fabulous color combination over at Colour Q: Dusty Durango [retired], Lucky Limeade, Baja Breeze, Basic Gray and Whisper White.

 Love these colors together and I even found a little bit of Dusty Durango in my stash!  

You can see that I had a loose interpretation of LeAnne's sketch but the basic elements are there--I hope LeAnne doesn't mind!  My card base is a 3x6 piece of textured Basic Gray cardstock and the three colored panels were glued together with sticky strip and stamped all as one in Versamark ink and the Woodgrain background stamp.  Stamping them all together allows the background stamp to flow uninterrupted over all three panels.  The pretty butterflies were made with the Beautiful Wings embosslit and a few rhinestones.  And here's a little peek at the inside:

I hope I've inspired you to play along with LeAnne's sketch!  Be sure to check out the fabulous inspiration from the rest of the Design Team:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

The Paper Players challenge will close on Friday, March 2nd at Noon (PST)...I hope you will join us!

Supplies 

Stamps: Tiny Tags; Flight of the Butterfly, Woodgrain

Ink: Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Lucky Limeade, Cajun Crazy classic ink; Versamark

Paper: Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Lucky Limeade, Dusty Durango, Whisper White CS; Basic Gray textured CS

Extras: Beautiful Wings embosslit; Basic Rhinestones; Linen Thread; Jewelry Tag punch

Timeless Innocence {CCMC190}

Happy Thursday, y'all, and welcome to another week with the gals at Create with Connie & Mary. This week we have a sketch challenge, which I think have to be my favorite! I always find the layout to be the most difficult part of the design process and with a sketch challenge that's already done for you! Here is the sketch for CCMC190: 

This one was right up my alley as I love the trimming the main image with the Decorative Label punch and adding just a smidge of ribbon.  So that's exactly what I did:

Everything was inspired by the Timeless Portrait designer series paper from the images and patterns to the colors.  The River Rock base was layered with some patterned paper of the same color and I added a strip of Cherry Cobbler dsp trimmed in a little ribbon of Island Indigo cardstock cut with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon punch.  There is actually very little stamping on this because the boy & girl silhouettes were cut directly from the designer paper and layered on top of some basic black cardstock run through the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and punched with the Ticket Corner punch.  A little striped grosgrain ribbon, some Baker's Twine and two tine tags completed the look.  This card was designed as a birthday card for a co-worker with two children so I thought the silhouettes were perfect!  Pretty simple when the Designer Paper does all the work!

I hope I've inspired you to play along with this great sketch over at Create with Connie & Mary!  Be sure to check out the rest of the lovelies from the design team and then come back to play with us by Wednesday, February 29th at Noon (EST).  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Supplies 

Stamps: Fabulous Phrases; Four Frames

Ink: Island Indigo (really, that's it!)

Paper: River Rock, Island Indigo, Basic Black cardstock; Timeless Portrait DSP

Xtras: Ticket Corner, Dotted Scallop Ribbon, Deocrative Label and Medium Jewelry punches; Paper Snips; Basic Black wide striped grosgrain ribbon; Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine

A CASE of a CAS {PP83}

Hey there friends! I'm sorry for being a little late with my card for The Paper Players today but I'm finally caught up!  Anne Marie has a great challenge for us this week... to create a Masculine Themed Clean-and-Simple Project.

Since I was a little short on time, I decided to CASE myself and created another CAS card using the Embossed Color Blocking technique as shown on Thursday's card.

This time, I used the colors of Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Always Artichoke and River Rock for my embossed panel.  Of course, the tree is from the classic stamp set, Lovely as a Tree, and it's stamped in Early Espresso...

...with a little River Rock ink added with a Blender Pen for shading.  The Houndstooth embossing folder seemed a fitting masculine texture and the Antique Brad was just enough "hardware" for embellishment.

Also, The Paper Players are are having a Design Team Call through Sunday, February 26th at Noon (PST). CLICK HERE for more information and to apply.  Be sure to check the rest of the fabulous Design Team inspiration at The Paper Players...come back and play with us until Friday, February 24th at Noon (PST).  Thanks for stopping by today!

 

Supplies 

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Teeny Tiny Wishes 

Ink: Early Espresso, River Rock, Always Artichoke

Paper: Early Espresso, River Rock, Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla

Xtras: Labels Framelits; Antique Brads; 1 1/4" Square Punch (flagged end); Houndstooth Texture Impressions Folder; Blender Pen; Simply Scored board

Embossed Color Blocking {CCMC189}

Happy Thursday, friends, and welcome to another week at Create with Connie & Mary!  This week it's a color challenge and everyone loves a color challenge, right?!

Gosh, it's been a long time since I've used Chocolate Chip!  Ever since Early Espresso came along, I have barely touched my stash of cardstock.  Luckily I still had a bit laying around and that was all I needed for what I had in mind.  I was inspired by a card I saw on Maille Belles blog using a color blocking technique. Here is my card:

I'm not sure I like it all that much but I was experiementing, lol!  I cut several strips of cardstock at funny angles and attached them to a piece of cardstock.  

and here's what it looks like on the back, showing the piece of cardstock holding it all together:

I trimmed it to the desired size so all the edges were even:

and used one of the Framelit Labels dies to cut my window.  Next, I ran the whole piece through the Square Lattice embossing folder on my Big Shot.  Then I stamped a piece of scrap vanilla with a sentiment from Sincere Salutations and layered it under the window.  Here's a close-up:

You can see that the sentiment is below the main panel.  I love how the Framelits let you cut anywhere on your cardstock! I finished it off with some Lucky Limeade organza ribbon and a Lucky Limeade designer brad!

I would be interested to hear what you think of this technique and my card!  Be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team creations over at Create with Connie & Mary.  I hope you will play along with these gorgeous colors...I can't wait to see what you make!  The challenge will close on Wednesday, February 22nd at Noon (EST).

Supplies 

Stamps: Sincere Salutations, Kindness Matters 

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Melon Mambo classic ink 

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Melon Mambo, Lucky Limeade, Very Vanilla cardstock 

Extras:Framelits Labels Collection; Square Lattice embossing folder; Lucky Limeade organza ribbon; Designer Brads In Color; Adorning Accents embossing folder

From My Heart to Yours {PP82}

Hiya friends, and happy Paper Players Sunday to you! Is this month flying by or what? I can't believe that Tuesday is Valentine's Day already! I made use of the beautiful colors from our very talented friend, Ann, to make one more Valentine:

I am learning to love, well...like Poppy Parade but I've learned that I am most comfortable using it in small doses!  :-)

So how about just one little embossed Poppy Parade heart, small enough dose right?!  I have seen all kinds of balloon cards with the Fashionable Heart Embosslit and wanted to try my hand at one.  I embossed six Very Vanilla and one Poppy Parade heart(s) then taped a piece of Linen Thread to the back of each one.  Once gathered in a bouquet, they needed a sky background.

It turned out more subtle than I intended but I used a scallop circle to sponge some Pool Party on my background, making my own partly cloudy sky.  A few line art clouds were added from the retired Out on a Limb set.  I stamped a few on the Soft Suede card base too!

 I embossed the bottom of the Pool Party cardstock with the Stripes embossing folder and gathered my balloon bouquet behind a modern label sentiment from P.S. I Love You.  I tucked a little bit of Soft Suede tafetta ribbon under the sentiment to hide the top of the embossed edge.  Even though this card is destined for my husband, I couldn't resist two small pearls on each side...they will remind him of me, right?  LOL! 

I had a few Poppy Parade hearts left over so I added them to the inside with two more stamp sets, I {Heart} Hearts and Teeny Tiny Wishes and that's it!

I hope you like today's heart bouquet and that it inspires you to play along with Ann's colors this week.  For even more inspiration, check out the fabulous creations from the rest of the Design Team: 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Our challenge closes Friday, February 17th at Noon (PST) so get to those craft rooms and get busy...we can't wait to come visit you!

Supplies 

Stamps: P.S. I Love You, I {Heart} Hearts, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Out on a Limb [retired]

Ink: Pool Party, Soft Suede, Poppy Parade

Paper: Pool Party, Soft Suede, Poppy Parade, Very Vanilla CS

Extras: Fashionable Hearts Embosslit; Soft Suede Taffeta ribbon; Basic Pearls; Modern Label Punch; Large Oval Punch; Linen Thread, Stripes Textured Impressions Folder

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;

Mixed Blossoms {PP81}

Hey there friends! It's Paper Players Sunday...rumor has it there is some big football game today too? :-)  I don't know about that, I just know it's time for The Paper Players!! I'm pleased as punch to be the hostess this week for our Theme Challenge:

Flowers!  Yep, just use any flowers or floral image on your project.  How easy is that?  Well, since I had it in my head to use a specific stamp and punch combo, apparently it's not so easy but nonetheless I persevered and made TWO cards for you!

The first one using Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeade combined with the Mixed Bunch stamp set and coordinating Blossom punch.  I made the center panel of DSP and drew a faint line down each side to use as a guide for the embossed scallops courtesy of the Adorning Accents embossing folder.  I liked the layout so much that I made a second one:

This time pairing all the same elements but using Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight and Lucky Limeade.  The designer paper on both card is from the Sweet Shop specialty paper and features a sentiment from Kindness Matters, a stamp set available FREE with a qualifying Sale-a-Bration order!

I hope you like my Mixed Blossoms card duo...be sure to stop by and see what the rest of the design team has made for you:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

I hope you'll play along with us this week.  Please link up your craft goodness over at The Paper Players by Friday, February 10th at Noon (PST).  I can't wait to see what you make...now go get crafty!

Supplies

Stamps: Mixed Bunch; Kindness Matters 

Paper: Wisteria Wonder, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral, Whisper White CS; Sweet Shop Specialty DSP

Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Island Indigo, Calypso Coral classic inks

Xtras: Blossom punch; Triple Blossom punch; Scallop border punch; 1 1/14" square punch; In Color Designer Brads; Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon; Adorning Accents embossing folder

A Cup of Thanks {CCMC187}

Happy Thursday, friends, and welcome to another week at Create with Connie & Mary! It's our first February challenge and the gals are starting us off with a beautiful color challenge:

Concord Crush is not a color I use very often--in fact, I don't use much purple at all--but paired with the most versatile color EVER, yes Pool Party, Concord Crush is gorgeous!  I used this sketch over at the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge for inspiration:

I really enjoyed this sketch and the Tea Shoppe set fit the layout perfectly!  Designer papers used were Attic Boutique and Designer Patterns Stack (neutrals).  Let me show you a few closeups of some details:

I stamped the little pansies from Tea Shoppe directly onto the Sahara Sand dp in the same color ink.  Stamping on designer paper adds a subtle layer of interest and is a great way to customize your own designer paper!  Most stamp sets come with a few smaller coordinating images that are perfect for this technique.  I stamped the flowers in Pool Party on the sentiment banner too!

I couldn't leave well enough alone with the teacup either, LOL!  I stamped it a second time in Concord Crush and fussy-cut a couple pansies for a little dimension.  And I finally broke into a package of Hatpins for a little accent on the Pool Party seam binding ribbon.

Lastly, I used Stampin' Write markers to ink up a single teacup from the same set and stacked them on the inside. The edges were sponged with Sahara Sand and two sentiments from Petite Pairs were stacked together.

I hope I've inspired you to play along with these gorgeous colors.  Be sure to take a look at some fabulous inspiration from the rest of the Create with Connie & Mary design team and then try your hand at something crafty!  Just make sure to link it up at Connie & Mary by Wednesday, February 8th at Noon (EST).  I can't wait to see what you make!

Supplies

Stamps: Tea Shoppe, Petite Pairs

Paper: Concord Crush, Pool Party, Sahara Sand, Whisper White CS; Attic Boutique DSP; Designer Patterns Stack (Neutrals)

Ink: Concord Crush, Pool Party, Sahara Sand classic ink

Xtras: 3" Circle die; Polka Dot impressions folder; Hatpins; Boho Blossoms punch; 1 1/4" Square Punch; Basic Pearls; Pool Party seam binding ribbon