Happy Watercolor Lanterns {PP180}

I have a thing for lanterns.  I worked at Pier I Imports in high school (back when it really was an "import" store) and I fell in love with the rice paper lanterns we sold.  In college, a lantern adorned every one of my dorm rooms and apartments.  To this day, they decorate our home and outdoor living spaces.  When the new Occasions Catalog was released, the Happy Congratulations stamp set was first on my list!  I paired it with Ann's fun sketch at The Paper Players this week:

With stamp set and sketch in hand, I found inspiration for the color palette in the Watercolor Wonder DSP:

This DSP is tricky because the colors are quite strong at full strength but appear muted in the paper for that watercolor look.  That can be difficult to replicate in stamping and cardstock but I chose Smoky Slate and Silver as my accent colors to tone down the others.  For the lanterns, I stamped off once for all the colors but Smoky Slate and Daffodil Delight.  With this technique, I was able to get the watercolor look easily!

I loved Ann's idea of a hidden message in the tag so I positioned the dimensionals under the focal piece at the edge so the tag would slide in and out.  I added a silver foil arrow cut with the On Film Framelit dies.

And added some more lanterns {love!} and this fabulous sentiment that accompanies the set.  The tag was finished with some Silver Baker's Twine, also new in the Occasions Catalog.  I had a lot of fund stamping these sweet little lanterns and I love how the colors turned out.  As they are not ones I would normally put together, it was fun to experiment and let the DSP inspire!

I hope I've inspired you to play along with us this week at The Paper Players.  The rest of the Design Team has even more fabulous inspiration for you so be sure to pop over for a visit!  Then come on back to The Paper Players blog and join us before the challenge ends on Friday, January 31st @ Noon (PST).  Thanks for stopping by today, friends!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

Supplies
Stamps: Happy Congratulations, Express Yourself (hostess)
Ink: Island Indigo, Tangerine Tango, Smoky Slate, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green
Paper: Smoky Slate, Whisper White CS; Silver Foil Sheets; Watercolor Wonder DSP
Extras: On Film Framelits; Scallop Tag Topper punch; Itty Bitty Punch Pack; Basic Rhinestones; Silver Baker's Twine

One-Layer Love you More {PP179}

Hi friends!  Welcome to another week with The Paper Players where my friend Sandy has an awesome One-Layer CAS challenge!  Woohoo, I love a good challenge, lol!

There is the cutest stamp set available until January 27th called Love You More and I couldn't wait to use it!

This is one card where it came out exactly as I pictured it in my mind--that doesn't happen very often!  The key to a one-layer card is the illusion of layers and that was made easy with a little masking!  I started with a base of Naturals White cardstock and cut out a banner with the new Banners Framelits from a piece of copy paper.  I used removable tape to adhere the banner to my card base and then stamped the World Map image in Sahara Sand right over it.

I left the banner mask in place and sponged around it lightly with some more Sahara Sand ink.  This created a shadow around the banner and really gives it a dimensional effect.  To add some texture, I used the Essentials Paper Piercing Pack to pierce along the lines of the banner.  I colored the globe image with Real Red, Coastal Cabana and Early Espresso Stampin' Write markers.  Love that little heart on the African continent so I had to color it in!

This is a fabulous freebie stamp coming up during Sale-a-Bration called See Ya Later that was just perfect for this valentine.  I made another mask, this time with the Circle Collection Framelits and sponged around it with more Sahara Sand ink.

I know you'll want to pop over and see all the fabulous one-layer inspiration from the rest of The Paper Players Design Team.  I hope you'll consider making your own one-layer creation and linking up with us before the challenge ends on Friday, January 24th at Noon (PST).  Thanks for stopping by today!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

Supplies 
Stamps: Love you More, World Map, Teeny Tiny Wishes 
Ink: Sahara Sand, Real Red
Paper: Naturals White
Extras: Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Banners Framelits; Circle Collection Framelits; Stampin' Write Markers (Real Red, Coastal Cabana, Early Espresso); Paper Piercer

Crazy for Starbursts {PP178}

Hiya peeps!  My friend LeAnne has a bright and cheerful color combination for us this week at The Paper Players. 

It's the perfect pick-me-up for winter!  I knew I wanted to use the Starburst Sayings stamp set and coordinating Framelits for a spray of circles....and then I happened upon this great sketch over at Create with Connie & Mary:

It was exactly what I had in mind and the perfect template to make it happen!  Connie and Mary always have great sketches.  :-)  So, wanna see what I did?!

 I hope LeAnne doesn't mind that I added Basic Black as a neutral.  I don't think she will--she's cool like that!  To get the starbursts where I wanted them, I used the smallest starburst die as a stencil and traced the shape onto a piece of scrap paper.

Since I used thin copy paper, I attached it right to my cardstock with some removable tape and positioned the die over my tracings.  Eight cranks of the Big Shot later and I had my base!

Some of the starbursts are adhered directly to the back of the panel and some have a dimensional on them so they appear recessed.  Just gives a little variety and movement rather than all of them being flat.  I wanted this to be a mailable card but still have some bling.  Rather than use bulky rhinestones, I punched some small circles from Silver Glimmer paper with the cupcake punch and adhered them to each starburst with a glue dot.  The sentiment is also from Starburst Sayings; stamping it again onto colored cardstock (Pear Pizzazz) makes a bold statement and draws the eye to the sentiment.

 On the inside, I repeated the same color pattern of starbursts to create a fun background for the combined sentiments from Remembering Your Birthday--love that set!  I had a lot of fun making this card with LeAnne's colors.  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

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

I hope you'll join us over at The Paper Players before the challenge closes on Friday, January 17th at Noon (PDT).  Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies
tamps: Starburst Sayings; Remembering Your Birthday
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Primrose Petals, Crushed Curry, Coastal Cabana; Jet Black Stazon
Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Primrose Petals, Crushed Curry, Coastal Cabana, Basic Black, Whisper White CS; Silver Glimmer Paper
Xtras: Starburst Framelits; Cupcake punch; Hexagon punch; glue dots

A Simple Stems Chalkboard {PP177}

Hi all...and welcome to the first Paper Players challenge of 2014!  I am delighted to be this week's hostess for a fun Theme Challenge:

My family and I enjoyed a much-needed stay-cation over the holidays and we did a lot of weeding, purging and cleaning (thanks for the push, Mom!).  Boy, does it feel great!  My craft room is a peaceful place now with a place for everything and everything in it's place.  Starting the new year with a "clean slate" was certainly the theme of our winter break!  So, you want to see what I made in my clean slate craft room?  Here it is:

This card features more products from the new Occasions Catalog as well as more sneak peak Sale-a-Bration designer paper.  Today's card uses two more patterns from the Sweet Sorbet DSP I used on this card.  The color palette is the same and makes me swoon!  Sahara Sand, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pool Party, Summer Starfruit and Pistachio Pudding--yum!  I love the little pops of black in the pattern which really help make my chalkboard sentiment stand out!  I added a little faux stitching with the Stampin' Chalk Marker--the perfect tool for this look!  If you're not sure how to create the chalkboard look, check out this simple step-by-step Chalkboard Tutorial--it's easier than you think!

The real star are these gorgeous flowers from the Simple Stems stamp set--new in the Occasions catalog.  The great part is that two of the flowers in this set coordinate with the Secret Garden Framelits which made cutting them out a breeze!  I did, however, hand-cut the Crisp Cantaloupe flower, stamping it twice so I could pop the middle. 

Isn't this embossing folder fun?!  Scallops Textured Impressions Embossing folder is another Occasions catalog newbie.  I love how the embossed scallops repeat the pattern of the DSP but in a different way.  A little Pistachio Pudding Ruffle Stretch Trim secured to the back of the DSP adds yet another layer of scalloped and frilled detail.

I know that you will find some beautiful inspiration from the rest of The Paper Players design team.  Check them out and leave them some comment love!  I hope we inspire you to play along with the Chalkboard Technique and share it with us at The Paper Players before the challenge closes on Friday, January 10th at Noon (PDT).  Thanks for stopping by today!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

Supplies
Stamps: Simple Stems, Oh Hello, Secret Garden, Remembering Your Birthday, Petal Parade*
Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Pool Party, Summer Starfruit, Sahara Sand, Versamark, Whisper White craft ink
Paper:  Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Pool Party, Summer Starfruit, Sahara Sand, Basic Black & Whisper White CS
Framelits: Secret Garden; Ovals Collection; Labels Collection
Xtras: Hexagon Punch; Stampin' Chalk Marker; White embossing powder; Basic Pearls; Pistachio Pudding Stretch Ruffle Trim; Scallops embossing folder
*Available 1/28/14 during Sale-a-Bration

Thank You New Goodies & FMS117

Hi all!  I might be the only person in blogland who hasn't played along with Amy's fantastic sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches...until now!  Here's the sketch:

It's perfect for featuring some gorgeous designer paper and with a new box of sneak peeks from the upcoming Sale-a-Bration (available January 28th), I knew just which one I would use:

The colors in the Sweet Sorbet designer paper make me happy!  Sahara Sand, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pool Party and Summer Starfruit are so pretty together--soft and subtle.  I used two different Framelit dies to make the banners--Itty Bitty Banners and Banners Framelits for the just released 2014 Occasions Catalog.  The Gold Sequin Trim is also a newbie in the Occasions catalog and you can see that a few sequins escaped!

This DSP has a coordinating stamp set, Petal Parade, that will be available for FREE (with a $50 order) during Sale-a-Bration starting January 28th.  Don't despair, there's new goodies to be had starting today with the release of the 2014 Occasions Catalog.  If you don't have a demonstrator and would like a copy, just email me and I'll send you one for FREE!

I hope to see you back here on Sunday, January 5th when The Paper Players return to weekly challenges again.  It's been nice having a break from DT duties but I'm looking forward to craftin' with my Paper Players pals again!  Until then....have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps: Oh, Hello; Petal Parade*
Ink: Jet Black Stazon; Crisp Cantaloupe, Pool Party, Summer Starfruit & Sahara Sand
Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White CS; Sweet Sorbet DSP*
Xtras: Banners Framelit Dies; Itty Bitty Banners Framelits; Gold Sequin Trim
*Available January 28, 2014-March 31, 2014 during Sale-a-Bration