Clean and Simple Flurry {PP68}

Happy Paper Players Sunday, friends! So glad you could join me today for another week with The Paper Players design team.  This week our fearless leader, Lesley, has challenged us to create a "Clean and Simple Christmas themed card using the colors Red & Green".  So my card uses a tried-and-true technique that I love...especially for Christmas:

...embossing on vellum and then using Dazzling Diamonds to highlight the raised areas:

Clean and simple and perfect for a mass-produced holiday card...especially with a coordinating stamp set on the inside:

So will you join us?  ...I hope so!  Please link up your creation by midnight, Friday October 21st at midnight (PST). I can't wait to see your CAS Christmas creations!  Thanks for stopping by, friends!

supplies:
stamps: beautiful season, snow burst [retired]
ink: old olive, cherry cobbler, jet black stazon
paper: old olive, cherry cobbler, whisper white, vellum CS
extras: northern flurry embossing folder; old olive satin ribbon; basic rhinestones

A Gentle Seat {CCMC171}

Happy Thursday friends and welcome to another week at Create with Connie & Mary!  This week the gals have cooked up a beautiful color challenge for us, take a look:

Aren't they pretty?  I might have mentioned...it was going to be difficult for me to put down my new Gently Falling stamp set, right?  Well, I used it again on today's card:

Only this time, I took a cue from my friend, Ann Schach, and covered the stamped background with some cardstock vellum to mute the colors.  This allows my main image, from the Have a Seat stamp set, to take center stage. 

I inked the bench in Bravo Burgandy and stamped onto a Very Vanilla oval cut with the Ovals Original die.  Behind the bench, I stamped the flourish from Creative Elements in River Rock and sponged the edges with more River Rock.  Did you notice the Baja Breeze peeking out from behind?

Recognize it?  It's from the Lots of Tags sizzlits cut in half and layered each half behind the oval.  I'm always looking for different ways to mat or frame images and I really like the look of the partial mat here.

And a closer look at the little flower and sentiment banner--one flower from the Boho Blossoms punch and the other from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack paired with a flagged sentiment from Trendy Trees.  

What do you think?  Inspired to play along?  I hope so!  Be sure to check out even more Design Team inspiration over at Create with Connie & Mary.  If you play along with us, please load up your project at the Create with Connie & Mary blog by Wednesday, October 19th at noon (EST).  Thanks for stopping by, friends!

supplies:

stamps: gently falling, have a seat, creative elements, trendy trees (sentiment)

paper: river rock, baja breeze, very vanilla CS; designer patterned paper stack (regals)

xtras: ovals originals die; linen thread, boho blossoms punch; itty bitty punch pack; lots of tags sizzlits basic pearls; 1.25" square punch (to flag the banner end)

Two Step Leaves...Bravo! {PP67}

Happy Paper Players Sunday, peeps!  Jaydee is our hostess-with-the-mostess this week and she has a fabulous autumn color challenge for us:

I am certain that I never would have put these colors together as I think my Bravo Burgandy ink pad has seen rubber only once before today's card!  But what a lovely combination this is...and perfect for fall holidays.  I finally broke down and ordered the Gently Falling stamp set...I had resisted and resisted and then....sigh...any attempts at further resistance were futile.  I caved to the inevitable and....

{happy sigh} it is everything I expected it to be!!  The two-step stamping adds such richness to the image and these leaves are fabulous!  Speaking of fabulous, I took my sketch cue from those fab girls at Freshly Made Sketches for this go-to sketch:

Let's take a closer look at those yummy leaves, shall we?

I stamped the oak leaf in all the challenge colors and added the second outline layer in Versamark ink just to the More Mustard leaves and heat embossed with gold stampin' emboss powder.  Isn't it pretty?!

The background panel is Bravo Burgandy cardstock that was run through the Big Shot with the "Distressed" texture plate [retired].  Before I ran it through, I rubbed my Bravo Burgandy ink pad all over the texture plate so the ink was pushed into the de-bossed areas for a faux letterpress look. I love how this technique accentuates the texture of the plate.  It almost looks like woodgrain doesn't it?! ;-)

I hope I've inspired you to play along with Jaydee's fabulously fall color challenge this week--you're gonna love these colors!  Be sure to check out the delicious eye-candy 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
Cindy Hall (October GD)

I hope you'll play along with us this week!  If you do, please be sure to link up your crafty goodness over at The Paper Players by Friday October 14th at midnight (PST).  I can't wait to visit you!  Thanks for stoppng by today!

supplies:

stamps: gently falling; pursuit of happiness

ink: bravo burgandy, cajun craze, more mustard

paper: bravo burgandy, cajun craze, more mustard, very vanilla

xtras: 3" circle die; perfect pennants die (scalloped circle); distressed texture plate; gold stampin' emboss powder; 1 1/4" striped grosgrain ribbon (cajun craze); linen thread; antique brads

Always So Cajun {CCMC170}

Happy Thursday, friends, and welcome to another week at Create with Connie & Mary!  Connie & Mary are treating us to a sketch challenge this week and you know how you like sketches, right?  Check it out:

The sketch is shown as a square but sometimes a square just doesn't work so you can take a little creative liberties and convert it to a standard A2 sized card as I did:

I was so happy to see the Day of Gratitude set return in the big catalog and didn't want to miss out on it during this fall season.  I combined it with a lovely autumn color combination from the Color Coach: Always Artichoke, Cajun Craze and So Saffron.  It's a pretty simple card but I'll just show you a few details:

Fussy-cut leaves combined with an Antique Brad and some linen thread....notice how the design in the middle of the brad coordinates with the design on the big medallion?  Love Stampin' Up for their coordinating designs!  The Square Lattice embossed panel adds such great texture--kinda like burlap which is especially fitting for fall projects, don'tcha think?

And just because it isn't a holiday card without a little shimmer or shine, I spritzed some homemade Champagne Shimmer mist in a sweep across the front as well as a few speckles with an Early Espresso marker and my Color Spritzer.

That's it from me today...busy, busy, busy!  Be sure to pop on over to see all the fabulous design team inspiration over at Create with Connie & Mary.  We would love for you to join us this week and, if you do, be sure to link up your lovely creation by Wednesday, October 12th at noon (EST) to be in the running for a Top 3 Pick!  Thanks for stopping by today!

supplies:

stamps: day of gratitude; hand-penned holidays; seasonal sentiments [retired]

ink: so saffron, cajun craze, always artichoke, early espresso

paper: so saffron, cajun craze, always artichoke, very vanilla

xtras: always artichoke seam binding ribbon; antique brad; linen thread; square lattice embossing folder; seven-sided distressing tool; early espresso stampin write marker; color spritzer

Music & Joy {PP66}

Happy Paper Players Sunday, friends!  It's good to be back--I missed stamping with my Players pals last week!  LeAnne is our sweet hostess for this week's theme challenge: music!  Add music to your project or create a project inspired by your favorite song...whatever puts a bounce in your step and gets you stamping!

Music is always around our household and most of the time it is my husband's choice but come December 1st, I get  to play Christmas music...and hubby just groans, lol!  But, he indulges me with the Frank Sinatra Christmas album and Vince Guaraldi Linus & Lucy--my two favorites!  So with Christmas in mind, here's what I made for you:

The color combination is a Splitcoast Stampers color challenge last week: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler and Pool Party.  Aren't they pretty together?  Such a fresh take on the holidays! 

I embossed this image from Comfort & Joy with Cherry Cobbler embossing powder and then colored the dove with a blender pen and Pool Party ink.  Letting some Very Vanilla peek through the dove's middle and some extra shading on the wings, really gives it dimension.  A little Dazzling Details on the wing tips match the shimmer border at the top.

Here's the musical score from Nature's Pace inked in Pool Party on the same color cardstock.  Lots of ribbon detail here with Cherry Cobbler quilted satin and Very Vanilla seam binding onto which I stamped the sentiment from Comfort & Joy. 

This detail gets lost in the first picture but wanted to you to have a closer look.  I stamped the same dove image repeatedly across the bottom half of the card in Cherry Cobbler ink.  It gives a really nice tone-on-tone textured look and adds just a little more interest.

Lastly, a peek at the inside with my favorite technique of repeating the main image from the front but stamping off so that the sentiment is the focus.  I also sponged the edges lightly with Early Espresso ink and added a strip of EE cardstock behind to draw your eye in.

Thanks for joining me under the Canopy today....be sure to check out the rest of the design team for their amazing projects!  This week we welcome our October Guest Designer, Cindy Hall--she is one of the nicest people I've met in blogland and you're going to just love her gorgeous style!

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)

We hope you'll play along with LeAnne's musical theme...if you do please link up your creation over at The Paper Players by Friday, October 7th at midnight (PST).  I can't wait to stop by for a visit!

supplies:

stamps: comfort & joy

ink: pool party, cherry cobbler, versamark; timber brown stazon

paper: pool party, cherry cobbler, early espresso, very vanilla CS; silver shimmer paper; frostwood lodge DSP

xtras: ovals die; cherry cobbler quilted satin ribbon; very vanilla seam binding ribbon; designer buttons (regals); silver elastic cord [retired]; dazzling details; blender pen