Pearls by the Sea {PP123}

Hello friends and Paper Players fans! For my friends in the US, I hope you are enjoying the Thanksgiving weekend.  I've had 6 days off from work and it's been wonderful!  My Mom has been visiting us this week and it's been great to have her here for my stamp club, Thankgiving dinner, shopping and more stampin!  But enough about me, you're here for a card!  This week the lovely and talented Jaydee is hostess for a sketch challenge and she's designed a fabulous one:

So versatile!  So many things to do with that center panel--stamp it, use pretty patterned paper, whatever you would like!  I chose to use it for a friend's birthday card using a new-to-me stamp set, By the Seashore:

My friend loves the beach as well as blues and greens so I used that as the inspiration for my color palette of Midnight Muse, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade and River Rock.  Each seashell was stamped in one of those 4 colors in a random pattern.  And by random, I mean it took me 5 attempts to achieve "random", lol!  The background was stamped with a long-retired stamp (Aida) for a natural wicker/tropical feel. 

I took a liberal approach to the sentiment panel in Jaydee's sketch but I think the flagged ends of the Itty Bitty Banner and my ribbon ends mimic the sentiment banner in the sketch.  The sentiment I used was a bit small so I backed it with a Decorative Label that had been stamped with the Four Frames set on Pool Party cardstock.  I added just a few okay A LOT of pearls to frame it out--it needed a little somethin' ya know? I think you would agree a special friend deserves A LOT of pearls, right?

And speaking of pearls, I just had to show you what our sweet dog, Sadie, was sportin' after Stamp Club last week.  Those darn pearls end up everywhere...and I guess Sadie thought this one looked like a tasty morsel!  Or maybe she was just taking after a certain pair of Boxer Twins...

Lastly, I peek at the inside with a spray of seashells across an all-time favorite birthday sentiment from the retired set, On Your Birthday.  I'll never tired of this stamp!

I hope I've inspired you to play along with us at The Paper Players this week.  The hardest part about getting started, I think, is the layout of the card and Jaydee's sketch is a fantastic place to begin your design.  Be sure to visit the rest of the design team and check out their interpretations of Jaydee's sketch.   Our challenge ends on Friday, November 30th at Noon and don't forget, our Guest Designer call too!  Have a great day, friends! 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy
Amy White

Dawn Easton

Helen Heil
Jen Arkfeld

 
Supplies 
Stamps: By the Seashore; Itty Bitty Banners; Aida Cloth (ret.); On Your Birthday (ret.) 
Ink: River Rock, Midnight Muse, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade
Paper: River Rock, Midnight Muse, Pool Party, Whisper White CS
Xtras: Scallop Ribbon Border punch; Decorative Label punch; Itty Bitty Banner Framelits; Basic Pearls; Midnight Muse stitched satin ribbon

A Single Christmas Tree {PP122}

Happy Sunday, friends!  It's another week at The Paper Players and LeAnne is our hostess-with-the-mostest-toastest and a fabulous Clean-and-Simple challenge for us:

Clean and Simple featuring Silver or Gold...how pretty and festive is that?!  When I saw this challenge, I knew that I would use my brand-new Christmas Lodge Tree stamp.  I love that Stampin' Up is offering single images from select stamp sets!  I've always loved the tree from Christmas Lodge--who am I kidding, I love all trees(!)--so I was delighted when SU offered it as a single stamp.  I kept the design very clean-and-simple:

I told you it was CAS!  ;-)  I think the whole card took me about 10 minutes!  Both the tree and the sentiment were stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with Gold EP on Very Vanilla cardstock.  To really amp up the glitz, the Very Vanilla panel is mounted on a card base of Brushed Gold cardstock.  I also adorned the tree with a few basic pearls because what goes better with gold than pearls?!

Inside, I stamped the tree in Crumb Cake ink and heat embossed the sentiment, from Delightful Dozen, with more Gold EP.  You can't have enough gold right?!  You also can't have enough sparkle:

So, I sponged some Champagne Mist oops, I realized I used Frost White Shimmer paint directly over the embossed tree working outward.  Gives the tree a lovely glow, doesn't it?  Of course, it's difficult to capture in the photo but it's quite lovely in person.  And, I am confident that the rest of The Paper Players Design Team has created some lovely projects to inspire you:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy
Amy White

Dawn Easton

Helen Heil
Jen Arkfeld

 

Be sure to pop over to The Paper Players for all the gorgeous DT projects as well as a surprise announcement!  We hope you can play along--Just remember, our challenge closes on Friday, November 23rd at Noon (PT).  For those in the US, you'll have plenty of time after eating all that turkey to come craft with us! :-)  And speaking of Thanksgiving, let me take the time now to express my thanks and gratitude to all of you for following me on this crafting journey.  If you celebrate Thanksgiving this week or not, may your blessings be many!
  
Supplies 
Stamps: Christmas Lodge Tree; Delightful Dozen; Greetings of the Season
Paper: Very Vanilla & Brushed Gold CS
Ink: Versamark, Crumb Cake
Xtras: Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder; Basic Pearls; Champagne Mist Frost White Shimmer Paint; stampin' sponges

Wheel of Thanksgiving {PP121}

Happy Sunday, friends! Wow, it's been a long time since I posted but I'm back and happy to be with my gal pals at The Paper Players.  This week, the always-amazing-Anne-Marie has a beautiful fall color combination for us:

So rich and lovely, I couldn't wait to use them for a festive Thanksgiving decoration.  I've been on the fence about the Designer Rosette Bigz die but when I saw this week's colors I knew I "needed" it to make this:

Can you believe there is no stamping on this beauty?  None!  Just dies, sponging and MDS!  My Big Shot really got a workout!  I cut 4 sections of More Mustard cardstock with the rosette die and glued them together to make one big rosette that measures 9" in diameter.  I wish I would have stamped the cardstock before I folded but instead I spritzed it with Champagne shimmer mist and a More Mustard marker.  It's pretty in person but almost too subtle. 

Next, I used various designer papers in the challenge colors to make smaller rosettes--these are about 4" across.  I used a retired leaf die to cut the leaves and embossed them all with a selection of folders and sponged each one to bring out the texture.  The champagne glimmer paper really goes well with these colors doesn't it?

Each rosette was topped with a Naturals Designer Buttons and some Linen Thread.  There's also a little bundle of Crumb Cake Scalloped Tulle Ribbon tucked under each rosette. 

Lastly, I didn't have any sentiments large enough for the rosette so I used My Digital Studio to type my own then colored it Bravo Burgundy and printed it on Very Vanilla paper.  Love MDS for customized sentiments and colors!  Of course, this isn't an all-weather decoration so it will adorn the inside of our front door and brighten our foyer!

I hope I have inspired you to make a little Thanksgiving decoration of your own and don't you think Anne Marie's colors are perfect for it?  I know the rest of the Design Team made some beautiful projects so be sure to pop over to The Paper Players and take a look.  Then, come back and join us in the gallery...just be sure to do so before Friday, November 16th at Noon (PT) when our challenge closes.  Until then...happy crafting!

The Paper Players Design Team

Amy White

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Dawn Easton

Helen Heil

Jaydee

Jen Arkfeld

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Supplies
Ink: Old Olive, More Mustard, Bravo Burgandy
Paper: Old Olive, More Mustard, Bravo Burgandy, Very Vanilla CS; Howlstooth & Scaringbone DSP; Orchard Harvest DSP; Designer Patterns Paper Stack (Regals); Champagne Glimmer Paper
Extras: Crumb Cake Scalloped Tulle Ribbon; Designer Naturals Buttons; Linen Thread; MDS; 2" square punch; Houndstooth & Woodgrain embossing folders; Color Spritzer tool; More Mustard stampin write marker; Leaves #2 die; Designer Rosette Bigz die