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

Sweet & Lucky Decorations {CCMC179} {SSSC146}

Happy Thursday, friends! Can you believe it's December 8th--yikes!  So much left to do before Christmas.  But you didn't come here to hear me whine...you came here for some eye candy, didn't you?!  It's color challenge week at Create with Connie & Mary...take a look:

Isn't this a fun take on the traditional red and green?  I love Basic Grey with anything!  I also used this fabulous sketch from this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge:

and was inspired to ink up an old favorite Christmas set, Delightful Decorations:

I flipped the sketch to the left-hand side, somehow it just worked better for me that way.  The Basic Grey base was layered with some Lucky Limeade designer paper from the In Color patterns stack as well as a fun Poppy Parade pattern that looks like snowflakes.  I wrapped the panel with some yummy Basic Grey satin ribbon and added a big bow with a a glue dot.

The ornaments were clear embossed in the challenge colors on Whisper White and layered atop a big beautiful Silver Glimmer circle--isn't it lovely?

Here's a close-up of a little background stamping I did with the Creative Elements set--doesn't it coordinate nicely with the limeade pattern?  I hesitated to buy this set but I really like how versatile each piece is--they really do add a little bit of a creative element to any project. Sorry, couldn't help myself!

So there you have it, folks!  I hope you like today's card and that it inspires you to play along with these fun colors.  Be sure to check out all the rest of the inspiring creations from the Create with Connie & Mary Design Team.  If you decide to play along, please link up your crafty goodness by Wednesday, December 14th at noon (EST).  I hope you'll play along with us!  Thanks for visiting today!

supplies:

stamps: delightful decorations, creative elements,tags til christmas

ink: poppy parade, lucky limeade, basic grey; versamark

paper: basic grey, whisper white, silver glimmer; pocketful of posies DSP; in color patterns stack

xtras: basic grey satin ribbon; basic rhinestones; white baker's twine

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

Mod, Mod Holiday {CCMC178}

Hiya friends and welcome to another week at Create with Connie & Mary!  This week the gals have a sketch challenge for you:

I wasn't sure at first quite what to do with it--there's a lot of parts and pieces--but I just received a pack of the Christmas Lane Simply Scrappin' Kit and was inspired by all the paper and colors:

I just love the happy colors and modern prints in this kit!  It's a pretty straight-forward card with clean lines and clean stamping--not a distressed edge or spritz anywhere!  This is more the style of stamping I did when I first started before I was lured to the "dark side" with sponges and spritzers, files and blades, oh my!  LOL!  It is interesting how our styles evolve and it's fun to go back to the roots now and then, right?  My little tree is stamped in Lucky Limeade with the Pennant Parade set and rests on a Whisper White oval made with the Ovals die.

I kept the fun going on the inside with another tree and a sentiment from Petite Pairs.  It can be tricky to line up the tree stamp exactly with the little pot, so for this one I stamped the pot but used a punched piece (with the Petite Pennant punch) for the tree.  That way I could put it exactly where I wanted it!

It's been a long day so that's it for me folks!  I hope you enjoy today's card, please let me know if you have any questions.  I do hope you'll check out the rest of the Create with Connie & Mary design team and consider playing along with us.  Thanks for visiting!

supplies:

stamps: pennant parade, contempo christmas, petite pairs

paper: soft suede, lucky limeade, cherry cobbler, whisper white; christmas lane simply scrappin kit

xtras: ovals die; cherry cobbler baker's twine; basic rhinestones; petite pennants builder 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