Springtime Walk {PP86}

Hey there friends! It's Sunday so you know what that means...it's time for...The Paper Players!  Lovely Lesley is our hostess this week with a gorgeous, I mean gor-juss, color combination.  I'll bet you can guess what color it includes, right?  You got it...Pool Party!

Beautiful aren't they? When I look at these colors I hear, "Spring is here, Spring is here!"  Looking through my stamps for something "spring-y", I found one I haven't used in a long time, Nature Walk which I combined with Linda's fabulous sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

 

This is one of those sets that I struggle with.  All the images are so pretty and lend themselves to a collage style which I love.  Problem is, I still need a lot of practice with the "collage" look.   I fuss over placement of the images when I really just need to let it flow, right?  Well, anyway...after many tries on scrap paper, I'm finally happy with this one...I think ;-).  All the images are stamped in all 4 challenge colors...

with a little extra sparkle, via Dazzling Diamonds, on the bees' wings.  A little background stamping in tone-on-tone Crumb Cake really adds some interest to the plain card base.

I'm not really sure what I will use this card for so I left the inside sentiment-free for use at a later time.  But I did have fun with more Pear Pizzazz foliage and some bees.  Just love that sweet little bee.  That's it for me folks, I hope I've inspired you to play along with Lesley's gorgeous color combination.  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

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy
Jenn Picard
Heidi Boos

Sherry Eckblad (March GD)

Our challenge will close Friday, March 16th at Noon (PST).  I hope you can join us!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies 

Stamps: Nature Walk; Easter Blossoms [retired] 

Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake

Paper:  Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake, Whisper White; Flirtatious Specialty DSP

Xtras: Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon; Linen Thread; Scallop Oval, Scallop Ribbon Border and Large Oval Punches

Canopy Club Treat

Woohoo, look at me with a mid-week post!  I had some time in my craft room today and made some projects for my monthly Canopy Club including these sweet little treats for everyone who came to club tonight:

I finally broke down and bought the Petal Cone die and am I ever glad!  It's so cute and I love the little banner tag that comes with it.  I've seen Petal Cone carrots all over blogland and just had to make one. 

The "carrot" is made from one Tangerine Tango petal cone on which I stamped the spray of blossoms from Easter Blossoms.  I like the effect of stamping on textured cardstock for an instant distressed look!  The die also includes a scalloped half circle which, in Pear Pizzaz, trims the top of the carrot nicely.

There's the sweet little silhouette from Easter Blossoms too--can't get enough of this set!  In fact, we used it on 2 of the 3 cards tonight.

Ribbon Share update: All the ribbon is cut and I am in the process of packaging it all to mail by the end of the week.  Thank you all for your "share"...and your patience!  I promise it will be the worth the wait--I've never seen so much gorgeous ribbon in one place!

That's it for tonight friends...hope you have a great day tomorrow...hugs! 

the goodies:

stamps: easter blossoms, something to celebrate

ink: tangerine tango, soft suede

paper: tangerine tango, pear pizzazz, very vanilla CS

xtras: petal cone die; 1 3/8" circle punch; hole punch; pear pizzazz seam binding ribbon

Blossom Lantern: {PPA87}

If you're looking for my Paper Players recycling card, please click here.

Happy Monday everyone!  Just wanted to pop in and share a card I made over the weekend with my mom.  We were inspired by a card displayed at SU Regional training using punches and a crimper to make a paper lantern.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the name of the artist, so if you know please tell me!  When I saw the latest punch art challenge at the Pals Paper Arts, I knew I had to enter this one:

I cut a Very Vanilla circle with my 3" circle die, stamped the spray of Easter Blossoms in Jet Black Stazon and ran it through my paper crimper.  The Basic Black Small Tag punch was tucked under the bottom and a scaled down Word Window punched piece was attached to the top with a loop of hemp twine.  The Word Window punch was too big so I tucked one end back into the punch, from the top, and punched again giving me a shorter window punch.

Of course, I needed to sprinkle a few Basic Rhinestones to the blossoms as well as a row across the top of the lantern. 

 They are soooo pretty IRL!  To the Crumb Cake base, I added some [retired] Urban Oasis and a punched border of Very Vanilla [non-SU].  

The background looked a little plain so I stamped the blossom spray in Crumb Cake and added a sentiment from Bring on the Cake.

I just can't put down those cherry blossoms!  So, the inside got some too along with another sentiment from Bring on the Cake.  Thanks for stopping by today!  Before you go, I would love to know what you think of today's card.  Have a great day, my friends!

supplies:

stamps: easter blossoms, bring on the cake

ink: crumb cake, jet black stazon

paper: crumb cake, basic black, very vanilla CS; urban oasis DSP [retired]

xtras: paper crimer, basic rhinestones, hemp twine, 3" bigz die, fiskars border punch

Easter Wishes for the Paper Players {PP38}

Happy Sunday friends and welcome to another week with The Paper Players.  Ann has chosen a soft color combination for our Color Challenge:

Aren't these colors beautiful together?  Despite a week off for Spring Break last week, I didn't have a lot of time for stamping so I kept today's project clean-and-simple:

I just love these cherry blossoms from the Easter Blossoms stamp set--so soft and pretty!  Here, I stamped the blossoms in Early Espresso directly on some Blushing Bride designer paper from the Level 1 hostess pack.  Love how the blossoms on the paper are reminiscent of the cherry blossoms.

I added two rows of a scallop border punched from Early Espresso cardstock.  Since the rest of the card is pretty simple, I needed some dimension here so I distressed the cardstock with a bone folder to curl up the edges and separate the layers a little bit.  I wrapped the whole panel with some yummy Baja Breeze seam binding ribbon under which I tucked a strip of Baja Breeze cardstock so the patterned paper would not show through.

Finally, I scattered some basic pearls among the cherry blossoms for a little shimmer and dimension.  Ahhh, love those pearls!

Thanks for stopping by my little blog corner today!  I hope you'll check out the rest of the design team's creations and play along with us this week!  Just be sure to link up your creation to The Paper Players blog by midnight (PST) Friday, March 18th to be considered for the design team's choice as Headliner or A Cut Above!  Have a great week my friends!

the goods:

stamps: easter blossoms

ink: early espresso

paper: very vanilla, baja breeze, early espresso CS; blushing bride DSP

xtras: baja breeze seam binding ribbon; basic pearls; scallop border punch

Spring has Sprung {PP37}

Happy Sunday, friends, and welcome to another week with The Paper Players where our Theme Challenge welcomes Spring!

I recognize that it might not be Spring yet in your part of the world but we're hoping that our collective projects will make it happen that much sooner!  Today's card features the Awash with Flowers stamp set and a springtime color combination of Old Olive, Pretty in Pink and Daffodil Delight:

The flowers are stamped onto Whisper White in Daffodil Delight and Pretty in Pink while the stems and leaves are inked in Old Olive.  Awash with Flowers is a great stamp for achieving a watercolor look without any water--perfect for my watercoloring challenged self!  The Old Olive card base was stamped in the same ink with the French Filigree background stamp and layered with some designer paper from the Subtles pattern pack.

The sentiment from Easter Blossoms was the perfect thought for this Springtime card and punched with the Large oval punch it mats nicely with a Pretty in Pink scallop oval.  I punched the sentiment slightly left of center so I could add a little Daffodil Delight flower, popped out with the Boho Blossoms punch, and centered with a basic pearl.

And speaking of pearls, I just had to add a few to the top of each Daffodil Delight flower for a little shimmer and shine!

Have I mentioned how much I {heart} our wide striped grosgrain ribbon?  Maybe just a few times!  Here I wrapped a piece around the whole card front and tied it off with some Linen Thread and a Daffodil Delight designer button.

In the interest of time, I've been neglecting the inside of my cards lately (shame on me!) so I had to pick up my slack on this one!  I stamped the French Filigree background in Old Olive again on the inside for a different look and topped it with Whisper White and some more designer paper to trim it out.  I've not stamped a background stamp on the inside before but I kind of like it!

Spring has definitely sprung in our neck of the woods so I thought I would share a few lovelies from our yard with you.  Not to tease you but to remind you that spring will come to your corner eventually!  :-)

Be sure to check out all the lovely design team spring creations at The Paper Players--featuring our new Guest Designer, Marian Garcia!  We would love for you to join us this week.  If you do, post your creation to The Paper Players blog before midnight (PST) Friday March 11th to be considered for A Cut Above or Headliner.  Have a great day my friends!

the goods:

stamps: awash with flowers, easter blossoms, french filigree

ink: old olive, pretty in pink, daffodil delight

paper: old olive, whisper white, daffodil delight CS; patterns dsp stack subtles

xtras: daffodil delight wide striped grosgrain ribbon; large oval, scallop oval, boho blossoms and scalloped ribbon border punches; basic pearls; linen thread, brights designer buttons.

Vintage Cameo {PPA80} & {MFW}

Happy Saturday, everyone!  I hope it's a good one so far.  Have you seen the vintage challenge over at Pals Paper Arts this week?!  Oh my word, the photo is absolutely gorgeous! 

Stunning, right?  Oh the colors, the yards and yards of fabric, the black satin--yum!  I really think I was born in the wrong era, lol!  Anyway, I know this challenge isn't a photo inspiration one but it's the photo that hooked me.  I thought the PPA vintage theme was a perfect partner with The Appearance of Cameos Challenge in the Moxie Fab World to create something that's been kicking around in my head for awhile:

I used the Easter Blossoms set to create a cameo from the little girl silhouette.  Isn't she sweet?!  I inked her first in River Rock, then Versamark, stamped onto Very Vanilla and heat set with clear embossing powder.  The Large Oval punch was used to crop out just the top portion and the Scallop Oval punch made a lovely mat in Brushed Gold cardstock.

 

I always admire the mat stacks my friend Christina creates so I tried my hand at it here.  I made another mat from Basic Black cardstock with the Decorative Label punch and decorated the ends with a few Basic Pearls.

I wanted to emulate the gorgeous fabric of the skirt and the closest color I found is Rose Red.  The Rose Red designer paper is from Springtime Vintage DSP which I overstamped with the French Filigree background stamp in River Rock.  I matted it in Rose Red and placed atop a River Rock card base.  I like how the flourishes mimic the voluminous fabric of the skirt.

I love the play of black against the rose and decided to give the wide striped grosgrain ribbon an aged look by snipping the bottom and pulling loose some threads.  Looks a bit like a Victorian area rug!  I just received Fabulous Phrases in a recent order and I love all the sentiments to mix and match!  In the end "happiness" best seemed to describe the feeling I get from the little girl cameo and the soothing colors.

A bit of leftover Rose Red DSP on Very Vanilla adds some interest to the inside and one French Filigree flourish inked with my River Rock marker pulls it all together.  I'm not sure if it's possible to create clean-and-simple vintage card but I think that's what I ended up with!  I would love to hear what you think of today's creation!  Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check back tomorrow for the next challenge from The Paper Players!

supplies:

stamps: fabulous phrases, french filigree, easter blossoms

ink: river rock, versamark, jet black stazon

paper: river rock, rose red, very vanilla & brushed gold CS; springtime vintage DSP

xtras: large oval, scallop oval & decorative label punches; basic pearls; black 1 1/4" wide striped grosgrain ribbon; clear stampin' emboss powder

  

Pretty in Spring {CD94}

Happy Wednesday everyone and welcome to another week of The Color Dare.  This week Riley has chosen a happy springtime combination for us: Pear Pizzazz, Pretty in Pink and Perfect Plum.  So soft and pretty!

With colors like these, I just had to go the springtime route even though it is nowhere near spring--not even here in Florida!  I cut a Whisper White oval with my Scallop Oval Frame die and stamped the little girl silhouette from Easter Blossoms in Pretty in Pink.  so sweet.  I love how the oval looks like an Easter egg!  Next I ran the Pear Pizzazz card base through the Framed Tulip embossing folder.  The pear polka dot DSP is from the level one hostess pack and is matted with Perfect Plum.  You might remember from last week's Color Dare post that when I color stumps me, I try to use less of it than the other colors.  Perfect Plum has always been a stumper (hi Diane) for me.  But here, it tones down the pastels just enough.

I stamped the Perfect Plum strip behind the bow with a row of eggs from Nature Walk.  They're mostly hidden but I like that--it makes you want to peek around the bow to see what's behind there.

I made a big bow with Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon and with a piece of Linen Thread tied this little flower button onto the bow.  I just trimmed the thread short and tucked it behind the ribbon.  Our largest basic pearl fits snugly in the center and because they're self-adhesive it stays in place!

More cherry blossoms from the same set for the inside--stamped in Pear Pizzazz and colored with a Blushing Bride marker (I don't have a PIP marker!).  Love this sentiment and stamped in Perfect Plum, it pulls all the challenge colors together!

So there you have it: speckled eggs, cherry blossoms, tulips and a little girl in her Sunday best!  All the ingredients for happy springtime wishes!  If only that's what it took to make spring, spring!  We'll have to wait a while longer for but you don't have to wait to check out the rest of the design team inspiration on their blogs:

• Riley - our leader
• Glenda - Papers, Scissors & Rocks
• Heather - Princess Scrapper Stamper
• Joan - JJ Creations
• Marisa - Rosemary Reflections
• Melissa - My Paper Obsession

Gonna make this one short on the details...I'm pooped!  Thanks for stopping by and, as always, I would love to hear what you think.  I read each and every comment--sometimes more than once(!)--and appreciate them all!  Have a great day everyone!

Paper Player Blossoms {PP31}

Happy Sunday everyone and welcome to another week with The Paper Players!  This week, fellow DT member and friend, Ann, designed a sketch for us to use:

Use our sketch as an inspiration, a starting point for your creation.  Feel free to use any shapes for the circle elements and you can flip the sketch too--whatever works for your image(s).  In my case, I did both of those things as they worked better with the stamp I wanted to use.

I started with the cherry blossom stamp from Easter Blossoms, inked it in Soft Suede and stamped onto Naturals White cardstock.  I have Lesley (of Paper Players) to thank for introducing me to this cardstock--thanks Lesley!  It's thicker than Whisper White and has a very soft--not distracting--fleck throughout.  I really like it.

The blossoms were colored with a Blushing Bride stampin' write marker and the leaves with Pear Pizzazz.  Some of the flowers have a center dot from my white Signo gel pen but I thought it needed a bit more...so I added the tiniest basic Pearls to some of the blossoms.

 Because I flipped the sketch the element peeking out of the main panel ended up on the bottom.  So, I stamped more cherry blossoms in Soft Suede trailing out from behind the main panel.  I love this look and use it often especially with flowers, vines and leaves.  I also like how it draws your eye down to the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Per the sketch, I added a strip of Blushing Bride DSP (level 1, hostess pack) and a Pear Pizzazz scallop cut with the Tasteful Trims XL die and run through the Polka Dot Impressions Folder.  For the final circle element, I made a Chantilly Crochet trim bow and attached it with an Antique Brad.

So what do you think, will you play along with us this week?  We would love to see what you make of Ann's sketch.  If you do play along, be sure to use PP31 in your post, submit a direct link to your entry on the Paper Players blog and let us know you played by leaving a comment.  We can't wait to visit you!

supplies:

stamps: easter blossoms, teeny tiny wishes

ink: soft suede

paper: soft suede, pear pizzazz, naturals white CS; blushing bride DSP

xtras: polka dot impressions folder; chantilly crochet trim; basic pearls; antique brads; stampin' write markers

Springtime Silhouette for the Paper Players {PP30}

Happy Sunday, everyone. I hope you are enjoying your weekend!  Welcome to another week with The Paper Players.  As this week's hostess, I am excited to bring you a gorgeous Color Challenge: River Rock, Baja Breeze, Rose Red and Very Vanilla.

To me this is a very soft and feminine color combination so I reached for some new toys from the Spring Mini Occasions catalog to make this for you:

Isn't she darling?!  I am sucker for silhouette images so when I saw this Easter Blossoms set in the new mini, I knew it would be one of the first ones I ordered!  Everything stamped here is from this set--it has so many great pieces!  The little girl is stamped in Baja Breeze onto a piece of Very Vanilla that had been cut out with the Oval Scallop Frame die.  The Rose Red scalloped oval was cut with my Nestabilities.  

Onto the River Rock background panel, I stamped these gorgeous cherry blossoms in River Rock ink coming out on either side of the Springtime Vintage designer paper.  I like how they appear to be growing right out of the paper!  I also love the tone-on-tone look of stamping cardstock with the same color ink.  It adds just enough interest to the background to keep things interesting!

I covered the seam between the two strips of designer paper with some yummy Rose Red seam binding ribbon that needed a little scrunching on one side...

and a bow on the other!  Matches the bow in our girlie's hair nicely doesn't it?

More River Rock cherry blossoms trailing along on the inside.  After stamping in River Rock, I colored a few blossoms with my blender pen and Rose Red ink.  I also put a dot of white in the center of each with a Signo gel pen.  Finally, a Baja Breeze sentiment finished the inside and brought all challenge colors together.

Now, I would love to see how you bring these colors together!  Be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team inspiration over at The Paper Players blog--they're sure to have some great eye candy for you!  If you decide to play along, please provide a direct link to your card at the Paper Players blog and use keyword PP30 if you upload to a public gallery.  You've got until midnight (PST) on Friday January 21st to create something wonderful!  Have a great week, my friends!

supplies:

stamps: Easter Blossoms

ink: Baja Breeze, River Rock, Rose Red

paper: Very Vanilla, River Rock; Springtime Vintage DSP

xtras: Rose Red seam binding ribbon; Basic Pearls, white signo gel pen, blender pen