Paper Players Plus Fabric {PP36}

Happy Paper Players Sunday, everyone! I am thrilled to be the hostess this week over at The Paper Players where we are challenging you to have "Fun with Fabric"!

"Fabric" can be anything woven so ribbon, lace, crochet trims...all apply!  I chose to use some Sweet Stitches fabric on a card for you today:

The layout and card are pretty basic but there are a lot of little details--always my favorite!  First, the flower.  My first use of SU's Sweet Stitches fabric and I love it!  I used the Flower Folds XL die to cut four large flowers and layered them using the same technique as here.  I backed it with another flower cut from chocolate brown felt and sewed on a BIG Melon Mambo button.  

Next, I inked the tape measure from Sew Suite in Chocolate Chip, stamped it onto Daffodil Delight cardstock and trimmed it down to look like every seamstress's best friend!  Doesn't it look cute decked out in some Melon Mambo pom-pom trim?  I also stamped the Crumb Cake background with the Pattern Pieces stamp--such a fun background!

Lastly, don't you love it when two stamps sets match up perfectly?  That's what happened here when Puns From the Past met Sew Suite for a sentiment made in heaven!  I inked the pincushion in Tempting Turquoise and stamped off once before stamping onto Very Vanilla CS.  Then, I overstamped "Sew Glad" in Chocolate Chip, popped it out with the Curly Label punch and tucked it under the tape measure.

Be sure to check out the rest of the wonderful design team inspiration over at The Paper Players.  Now...it's over to you...let's see what you can do with fabric and fabric trims--I can't wait to see!  Have a great week my friends!

the goodies:

stamps: sew suite, puns from the past, pattern pieces

ink: chocolate chip, tempting turquoise, crumb cake

paper: daffodil delight, crumb cake, very vanilla CS, sweet stitches DSP

xtras: flower folds xl die, curly label punch, sweet stitches fabric, sweet stitches big buttons, melon mambo pom-pom trim

Butterfly Bliss {CD98}

Happy Wednesday all!  It's Color Dare day here under the Canopy and I can't wait to show you what I've created for you!  Riley's colors this week are so rich and elegant.

CD 98 

Pale Plum

Always Artichoke

+ neutral of your choice

This was the first chance I had to use the SAB set, Bliss and what fun I had with it!  I stamped the damask image in Pale Plum onto Very Vanilla cardstock.

The Bliss butterfly was stamped in Pale Plum onto Vellum cardstock and hand cut.  I attached him with a glue dot and hid it under 3 small basic pearls.  With his wings bent up, it looks as if he just alighted there.

The Tasteful Trim XL die made these large and lovely Pale Plum scallops from some retired Halloween paper--yes that's the "B" side of Halloween paper!   But look at that Always Artichoke seam binding ribbon!  This is such a cool trick for easy scrunching.  Just snip the end of the ribbon and pull at the end until you expose the middle threads.  Then grab onto one of the center threads and PULL!  Instant gathered ribbon!  I laid down a row of sticky strip and tucked the ends under--voila!

I liked the look of a non-sentiment front so I left it as is but added a sympathy-appropriate sentiment from Word Play to the inside along with another Pale Plum butterfly and a strip of Always Artichoke patterned paper from a retired hostess pack.
I hope you'll check out the rest of the design team's inspiration and will think about joining us at The Color Dare this week!

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

A Sketch for the Paper Players {PP35}

Happy Sunday everyone!  Hope you're having a good weekend. Welcome to Paper Player Sundays!  Lesley is our hostess this week and she has designed this versatile sketch for us:

It's a good one, eh?  I went with a traditional A2 size as it fit the focal image that I had in mind...

When I pulled the Build-a-Cupcake punch out of my Sale-a-Bration order box and looked at all the parts it punches, I couldn't wait to use the top part of the cupcake--that is, the frosting--as clouds!  Believe it or not, this card started with the clouds!  I knew I wanted to use the clouds where the flowers are in the sketch.  Once I had the clouds, a tree seemed the next logical choice and it just snowballed from there!  My three colorful and fun panels are taken from the Play Date designer paper.

This tree from Valentine Defined is one of my favorites in the set and it fit perfectly inside a 3" circle mat cut from Chocolate Chip cardstock with my new 3" Circle die.  Of course, I used the same Pony Party grass I used in this card and added a red glimmer heart with the smallest heart from the Heart-to-Heart punch.

The clouds were punched from Whisper White cardstock with the Build-a-Cupcake punch:

and the edges were sponged with Tempting Turquoise ink so they would stand out against the other white cardstock.

The sentiment from You're a Gem seemed to fit the mood of this card and I matched the Old Olive ink and Chocolate Chip mat to the main image.  For a little more texture, a strip of Chocolate Chip cardstock was edged with the Scallop Border punch and run through the Polka Dot impressions folder.

So there you have it--what do you think?  I hope you like it!  Be sure to hop on over to the rest of The Paper Players design team for some fabulous inspiration.  If all that inspiration gets you crafting, come back to our blog and link up your creation by midnight Friday February 25th for a chance to be our "Headliner" or "A Cut Above"!  Hope you'll join us!

the goodies:

stamps: valentine defined, you're a gem, pony party

ink: old olive, tempting turquoise

paper: so saffron, chocolate chip, whisper white CS; play date DSP

xtras: build-a-cupcake, scallop border, 1" circle, 1 1/4" circle, heart-to-heart punches; 3" circle originals die; nestabilities; stampin' write markers; red glimmer paper

Dear Friend {CD97}

Hello friends!  Oh, I think you're really gonna like the colors Riley chose this week at The Color Dare--I sure did!

CD 97

Marina Mist

Night of Navy

River Rock

 And here is what I made for you:

It all started with the Marina Mist striped wide grosgrain ribbon...oh how I love this ribbon!  I'm slowly collecting it in all the available colors and it is so lovely.  Here, I ran a straight stitch with my sewing machine down one edge and pulled on the strings to gather the center together.  I punched a 1 3/8" circle of Marina Mist, covered it completely in sticky strip and pressed the gathered center onto the sticky circle.

To attach the center button, I used my paper piercing tool to poke two holes in the sticky circle and threaded the large button (from my stash) on and tied it at the back.  On top I used large glue dots to layer on a Night of Navy button tied with some linen thread.  Next using the two-step XL Bird punch, I popped out some Night of Navy branches and attached them to the back of the flower.  I used this week's Stamping 411 sketch for my layout and got to work arranging my panels.

The bottom layer was embossed with one of my favorite embossing folders of all time--Vintage Wallpaper.  The top layer is taken from the Neutrals Designer Series Paper stack in River Rock and matted in Marina Mist. 

I dusted off an oldie but goodie--All Holidays--for the perfect sentiment in Night of Navy.  I loved this color combination and I hope you do too--can't wait to see what you come up with!  Check out the inspiration from the rest of the design team and then share it with us over on The Color Dare blog.

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

supplies:

stamps: all holidays

ink: night of navy

paper: river rock, marina mist, night of navy CS; DSP neutrals stack

xtras: marina mist wide 1 1/4" striped grosgrain ribbon; vintage wallpaper embossing folder; 2-step xl bird punch; night of navy button; linen thread; button from my stash

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentine's Day friends!  I hope your day is filled with love and laughter!  I'm a bit Valentine'ed out so I have no card to share today but this seemed a fitting occasion to mention that recently I was the lucky recipient of a Liebster Blog award from two of my very dear blogging buddies--Anne Marie and Christina.  Wow!

Anne Marie, or Stampin' Anne to the blog world, is a super talented crafter with a heart of gold and a design style as big and bold as the state where she lives--yep, Texas!  She is a master at mixing patterns, texture and BLING and a visit to her blog is sure to inspire as well as bring a smile to your face with her sparkling personality not to mention the occasional song lyric!  Thank you Ann Marie--it's an honor!

Christina, of Sea Glass and Sentiments, is another super talented crafter with an amazing attention to detail and a clean and simple style that is to die for!  She mixes colors and layers to perfection and is wicked with her sewing machine!  She also has a heart of gold and always leaves me the sweetest and most encouraging comments.  Thank you Christina--I am honored!

As part of the award, I am to pass it on to 3 other blogging buddies whom I admire.  Of course, I find inspiration from so many talented bloggers out there--my Google Reader list grows everyday--but the following artists inspire me not only with their amazing creations but their kindness as well:

1. Linda @ Stampin' Seasons--not only do I love her effortlessly elegant style, Linda is generous with her comments and always makes me laugh!
2. Lesley @ Always Playing with Paper--Lesley gave me my very first spot on a Design Team and along with that, confidence in myself and my designs .  On top of that, she is super friendly and I love her style.
3. Tara @ Tara Bee Ink--Tara's creations are always stellar.  An amazing attention to detail and a superb sense of color.  I always leave a visit to her blog with my jaw still on the floor!

And, iIf you're still with me I will leave you with a virtual Valentine's bouquet straight from the camellia bushes in our backyard.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!