Tag It for the Players {PP79}

Happy Sunday, friends, and welcome to another week with my best gal-pals The Paper Players! It's Jaydee's turn as hostess and as our reigning queen of clean and simple, she is challenging us to "Tag It: Create a Clean-and-Simple card with a tag on it!"

I pulled out my current favorite designer paper, Everyday Enchantment, and dusted off an old favorite, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die, to make this:

A friend pointed out to me today that I use Pool Party a LOT.  It's true, I'm guilty...but it is such a versatile color!  Here, it pairs well with Crumb Cake and the Pure Poppy of the designer paper.

There's some other upcoming Sale-a-Bration goodies on here...Calypso Coral Organdy Ribbon and the Everyday Enchantment brad pack.   Tied onto the butterfly, the ribbon makes a fine pair of gossamer antenna, don't you think?

Even though it's retired, this sentiment from the Hope Happens set is my favorite to pair with a butterfly.    This card will be on it's way to a friend who recently went back to work after several years at home with her children.   

And there you have it--a clean-and-simple post for a clean-and-simple card!  Be sure to check out the rest of The Paper Players design team inspiration.  We hope you will consider playing along with us this week!  Our challenge closes on Friday, January 27th at 12 Noon (PST).  I hope to see you in the gallery!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Supplies

Stamps: Fabulous Phrases; Creative Elements [butterfly, inside]; Hope Happens [retired] 

Ink: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Early Espresso classic inks

Paper: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Very Vanilla CS; Everyday Enchantment DSP [SAB available 1/24/12]

Extras: Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die; Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack; Scallop Tags die [non-SU]; Filial Press Textured Impressions folder; my sewing machine 

Very Gold Cobbler {PP76}

Happy Paper Players Sunday, friends!  So glad you could join me today..I'm recovering from my almost-8-year-old's first sleepover birthday party.  All went well but Mama is POOPED, lol! So, today you're here for a card...and what a lovely color combination Ann has for us:

Oh so perfect for the holidays!  I used a sketch from Just Us Girls--even though it was last week's, I really liked it:

The oval in the center was calling out for a gold embossed tree don't you think?

Sorry the picture quality stinks but the weather was totally uncooperative today.  Yes, there's even a little bit of wood grain in the background:

I stamped Woodgrain in Cherry Cobbler ink on the oval before I stamped the tree.  It looks like a few stray bits of embossing powder got on the woodgrain but I think it's a lovely effect...or at least that's what I'm telling myself! 

The Brushed Gold cardstock was embossed with the Petals-a-Plenty impressions folder and I used a lovely pinecone spray from the Autumn Days set for a random background pattern.

The Champagne Shimmer paint has a light gold touch so I sponged it directly onto the tree and stamped it on the inside along with the companion sentiment from Petite Pairs.  And that's it, pretty clean and simple!  If you like my card, be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team's work:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao
  Rita Wright (December GD)

Since this is our last challenge of 2011, we are extended our deadline and will keep the challenge open until Friday, December 30th at midnight (PST).  We hope that you will find some crafty time to yourself during this busy holiday season and come play along with us!  Thanks for stopping by!

supplies: 

stamps: lovely as a tree, woodgrain, petite pairs, autumn days

ink: cherry cobbler, versamark

paper: cherry cobbler; brushed gold; very vanilla

xtras: petals-a-plenty EF; vanilla seam binding ribbon; decorative label punch; ovals nesties

Peace & Palms {PP75}

Hiya friends and welcome to another week with The Paper Players!  I am excited to be the hostess this week for a Holiday Hoopla theme challenge...only it's Holiday with a twist.  The challenge is to Create something Holiday with non-holiday stamps or colors...how fun is that?!  

My card isn't quite what I had in my mind's eye but I really wanted to show you what Christmas looks like in my part of the world:

We really do have palm trees in our yard and while it's too tall to hang ornaments on it, it does get decked out with Christmas lights every year!  Let's take a closer look:

I needed something small to decorate my tree so I used a standard-issue office supply paper punch to punch a hole and saved the circle it made.  I added a drop of Crystal Effects to each one and while it was wet, sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds on.  Faux glimmer brads...in any size you want!  I sponged some Bashful Blue clouds in the background and colored the tree with Stampin' Write markers in Certainly Celery and Lucky Limeade.  The rest is pretty obvious so I will just encourage you to pop on over to The Paper Players and check out the amazing work by my fellow Design Team members--rumor has it there's another palm tree on the DT:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao
  Rita Wright (December GD)

I hope you'll consider playing along with our Holiday Hoopla!  If you do, please link up your crafty goodness to The Paper Players by Friday December 9th at midnight (PST).  I can't wait to see what you do with this theme!  Thanks for visiting!

supplies:

stamps: plant hope, comfort & joy, creative elements, sanded [retired]

ink: bashful blue, early espresso, crumb cake

paper: crumb cake, whisper white, early espresso; brights & subtles pattern designer paper stacks

xtras: ovals die; stampin write markers (certainly celery, crumb cake & lucky limeade); dazzling diamonds; crystal effects; daffodil delight pom-pom trim [retired]; office supply hole punch

A Dashing Sketch {PP74}

Hiya friends! I hope my US friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that everyone is enjoying the weekend. It's another week at The Paper Players and the lovely and talented Lesley is bringing us a sketch:

Lesley always comes up with the best sketches--ya know she's the creator of Freshly Made Sketches--and this week is no exception!  One look at that tilted panel and I knew what I wanted to do:

Since titled panels are a challenge for me, I like to tilt the paper but stamp the image straight.  It's a sneaky way to embrace the tilt!  For this card, I paired some Mocha Morning DSP with some Brushed Gold cardstock cut with the Two Tags die.  I did cut it down a little to better fit my image.  Dasher was inked in Versamark, then Early Espresso, stamped onto the Brushed Gold and heat set with clear stampin' emboss powder.

The background was stamped in Early Espresso with the En Francias stamp and I added a little fussy ribbon treatment with vanilla seam binding, linen thread and a glimmer brad.  You might notice that the tiny tag was sponged with Champagne Shimmer paint to dull the brightness of the vanilla a bit.

I did the same with the Northern Frost snowflakes--the vanilla just seemed too bright next to the gold.  A little bit of shimmer paint sponged right on gives it instant sparkle with an aged look.

I went to town with the shimmer paint using it to ink up Dasher again on the inside.  Applied directly to the stamp gives it a shimmery watermark appearance.

And there you have it!  I hope you like today's card...please let me know if you have any questions.  Be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team at The Paper Players:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao
  Susan Joyce (November GD)

If you decide to play along with Lesley's fabulous sketch, please link up your creation to The Paper Players by Friday, December 2nd at midnight (PST).  I can't wait to come visit you!

supplies:

stamps: dasher, seasonal sentiments [retired], en francais, tiny tags

paper: early espresso, very vanilla, brushed gold CS; mocha morning DSP

ink: early espresso, versamark, soft suede

xtras: northern frost die; two tags die; very vanilla seam binding ribbon; linen thread; glimmer brad; basic pearls; champagne shimmer paint

Festival of Lights {PP73} {FMS11}

Yay, it's Paper Players Sunday!  Hiya friends, welcome to another week with the PP Team!  This week our reigning Queen of Clean-and-Simple, Jaydee, is our hostess with a fabulous CAS Color Challenge...

to use Night of Navy, Whisper White and Silver which I combined with my friend Linda's clean and fabulous sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I had another yet-to-be-used stamp from the Holiday Mini, Hanukkah, that was the perfect companion to Jaydee's blue and white palette:

Please ignore the dribble marks--it was just starting to rain as I snapped these photos!  You can see that I kept this one VERY clean and simple but upped the glitz factor with a lot of sparkle and shine.  I embossed the image onto Night of Navy cardstock with silver Stampin' Emboss powder...

and popped out all three Star of David with the tiny circle from the Itty Bitty Punch pack.  The whole thing was matted onto a large piece of Silver Glimmer Paper and wrapped with some Whisper White taffeta ribbon.

I inked just the bottom half of the stamp with silver ink and stamped them, almost like ornaments, across the inside.  Even though this sentiment is from a "Christmas" stamp set, I think the phrase is fitting for the Festival of Lights celebration as well, don't you?

Please be sure to check out this week's fantastic creations from the rest of the Design Team:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao
  Susan Joyce (November GD)

I hope you will be inspired to play along with us this week.  If you do, please make sure to load your crafty goodness over at The Paper Players by Friday, November 25th at midnight (PST).  I look forward to visiting you!  

supplies:

stamps: Hanukkah, beautiful season

ink: night of navy, versamark, silver encore [retired]

paper: night of navy, whisper white CS; silver glimmer paper; pattern designer paper stack [regals]

xtras: whisper white taffeta ribbon; silver stampin' emboss powder; itty bitty punch pack

Little Red Riding Hood {PP72}

Hiya friends...happy Sunday! Welcome to another week with The Paper Players.  This week LeAnne has a fabulous holiday color challenge for us:

These colors gave me a holiday vibe but you could go in many directions with them depending on which color is most prominent in your design.  I paired them with Rita's fantastic sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

 I had not used the Greeting Card Kids set in awhile and I just love the little girl image:

A blender pen with Riding Hood Red, River Rock and Always Artichoke classic inks made quick work of coloring the image.  I also added a little Dazzling Diamonds to her coat, hat and the snowy ground.

You know I have just about every color of the wide striped grosgrain ribbon...even some retired colors like the Riding Hood Red piece I used here.

I tied it off with some linen thread and two mini jingle bells--they make the sweetest little sound when the card is opened!

One other little detail is the stamped border from Creative Elements that I used to frame the center panel. 

And there you have it!  I hope I've inspired you to play along with us at The Paper Players.  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

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao
  Susan Joyce (November GD)

 

If you do play along, please link up your creation to The Paper Players by Friday, November 18th at midnight (PST).  Thanks for stopping by today!
 

 supplies:

stamps: greeting card kids, sincere salutations, creative elements; seasonal sentiments [retired but available in MDS]

ink: river rock, riding hood red, always artichoke; jet black stazon

paper: very vanilla, always artichoke CS; timeless portrait DSP

xtras: riding hood red wide striped grosgrain ribbon [retired]; linen thread; mini jingle bells; dazzling diamonds; blender pen

Let's Get Cooking! {PP71}

Lordy bees, have I got a challenge heavy project for you today! Happy Sunday, friends and welcome to another week with The Paper Players!  Anne Marie is our hostess with the most-est this week and she has cooked up a Texas-sized recipe for Theme Challenge #71!  Take a look:

Wowzers!  But I had a day off of work and was feeling fresh and ready for the challenge.  I put on my crafting apron and browsed some favorite challenges sites for additional inspiration.  Bingo!  Check out these amazing fall colors over at the Colour Q:

I also remembered this amazing sketch from Create with Connie & Mary that was perfect for Anne Marie's "3 different patterned papers" (there's still time to play at CCMC):

So, I mixed all of that in my crafting stew pot and came out with a birthday card for a friend and co-worker:

The stamp set, Forever Young, has just been itching for ink so I obliged in Soft Suede, stamped onto a 3" circle of Very Vanilla and sponged a setting sun with Pumpkin Pie ink.  You can see 3 different patterned papers in Island Indigo, Pumpkin Pie and Cherry Cobbler--all from Designer Patterns Paper Stacks in the Brights, Regals, and In Color family of colors. 

For the two different ribbons, I wrapped the scalloped panel in Soft Suede taffeta ribbon and tucked in a small piece of Chantilly crochet trim ribbon.  This is such a great way to bring in another color and some texture without using a lot of specialty ribbon!  Since this is Anne Marie's challenge, I had to give it more than just a sprinkling of glitter!  LOL!  So, I [liberally] spritzed the main image with Vanilla Smooch Spritz for some real sparkle and glitz!

Lastly, using Stampin' Write markers, I finished off the inside with all the challenge colors and a bright and happy sentiment from the hostess set Happiest Birthday Wishes.  All together, I used 3 different patterned papers, 2 different ribbons, one punch, one die, 4 color families and 5 stamp sets to complete this card!  Whew, you should see my craft room--it exploded!  Well, I hope you will go make a mess in your craft space and join us over at The Paper Players with your handcrafted creations!  Be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team inspiration and give a big welcome to our November Guest Designer, Susan Joyce--hi Susan!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao
  Susan Joyce (November GD)

If you can join us, please load your creation to The Paper Players by Friday, November 11th at midnight (PST).  I can't wait to visit you!  Thanks for stopping by, friends!

supplies:

stamps: forever young, woodgrain, short & sweet, happiest birthday wishes, pony party (grass)

ink: soft suede, pumpkin pie

paper: soft suede, very vanilla; designer pattern paper stacks (brights, regals, in color)

xtras: soft suede taffeta ribbon; chantilly crochet trim; 3" circle die; scallop border punch; vanilla smooch spritz

Gratitude for the Paper Players {PP69}

Happy Paper Players Sunday, friends!  Today I am the hostess over at The Paper Players and delighted to bring you a sketch I designed:

I hope you'll play along with us!  For today's card, I featured the "B" sides of the beautiful Spice Cake designer paper and went with a palette of soft greens:

click to enlarge

My base is Soft Suede cardstock, layered with River Rock onto which I stamped a Pear Pizzazz flourish from Creative Elements in place of the sentiment:

My sentiment took center stage on the flagged banner with an embossed oval made with the Designer Frames embossing folders:

I sponged the edges with homemade Champagne Shimmer mist and popped out the sentiment from Day of Gratitude with the Extra Large Oval punch, adding a Linen Thread and Chantilly crochet trim bow.

The real stars are the leaves I made out of Pear Pizazz and Soft Suede cardstock with the Leaves #2 die.  They were embossed with the Finial Press and Square Lattice embossing folders, sponged in Soft Suede and spritzed with Shimmer Mist.  It's amazing that they're still standing after all that "distressing"!

Lastly, I finished the inside with one of my favorite [retired] stamp sets Seasonal Sentiments adding another Creative Elements flourish behind and sponging the edges.

So, I would love to hear what you think of today's card!  Has it inspired you to play along with my sketch?  Be sure to check out the rest of the Paper Players Design Team for some amazing inspiration:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao
Cindy Hall (October GD)

I hope you'll play along with us...if you do, please link up your creation to The Paper Players by Friday, October 28th at midnight (PST).  I can't wait to visit you!

supplies:

stamps: day of gratitude,  creative elements, seasonal sentiments [retired]

ink: soft suede, pear pizzazz

paper: soft suede, pear pizzazz, river rock, very vanilla CS; spice cake DSP

xtras: linen thread; chantilly crochet trim; extra large oval punch; designer frames embossing folders; leaves #2 die; shimmer mist; scalloped ribbon border punch