Fabulous Inspiration: {PP49}

Happy Paper Players Sunday, friends!  This week The Paper Players have a bonus challenge for you...Anything Goes!!  Your favorite technique, your favorite colors, your favorite sketch--whatever your creative mind can dream up!  

 Today, I have an inspiration card to share with you.  Since my paper crafting journey began, I notice colors and patterns everywhere but especially in home and fashion catalogs.  Does this happen to you?  I'm looking at a catalog or I see a top, dress or bag on someone and think about what stamps, paper and colors I could use to turn it into a card!  Today's card was inspired by this beautiful quilt at The Company Store:

Isn't it gorgeous?  So...do you see what I see?  I can't help but see Fabulous Florets in Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry and Naturals Ivory.  And, here's my interpretation:

It's a pretty simple one, just layered all the stamps from Fabulous Florets in my inspiration colors onto Naturals Ivory cardstock.  I used the Woodgrain background stamp in Sahara Sand to mimic the woodgrain on the side table and headboard in my inspiration photo.  Super simple and packs a big punch in person!  What do you think?  Would you like to play along?  With such a wide-open challenge, we hope you'll find time to join us at this week!  Check out all the design team inspiration at The Paper Players and then link up your lovely creation by midnight (PST) Friday, June 3rd to be considered for the design team's favorites!  Have a great day, friends!

supplies:

stamps: fabulous florets, woodgrain, curly cute

paper: naturals ivory CS

ink: old olive, rich razzleberry, pumpkin pie, sahara sand classic ink

Play Along on the Open Sea: {PP48}

Hiya friends!  It's Tuesday night and we're half-way to a holiday weekend here in the States.  I can't wait for a long weekend of relaxation!  Tonight, I am so excited to share another card using my sketch for this week's Paper Players challenge.

I just received The Open Sea stamp set--I know what took me so long?--and couldn't wait to use it.  I took a little creative license with the sketch to make this:

My Basic Gray cardstock was inked up with the manifest image from The Open Sea.  Stamped randomly on one side in Basic Gray ink, overlapping to create a collage effect.  

Some Cherry Cobbler paper from the Nautical Expedition DSP was edged with a Basic Black spiral border...

and triple wrapped with Cherry Cobbler baker's twine and a Crumb Cake (AKA Kraft) corduroy button.  These buttons are retired but still available in the Clearance Rack in many fabulous colors.  Their texture is perfect for the feel of this card.

The main circle was cut with the 3" circle die (still available on the carryover list) and stamped with the map image from The Open Sea in Crumb Cake ink (stamped off once) and a Cherry Cobbler ship.  Oh my mateys, the detail on this ship is amazing!  The line art is so delicate it's incredible!

And just a quick finish to the inside with another Crumb Cake map and a Cherry Cobbler sentiment from Word Play.  These two stamp sets are just made for each other! I hope my variation on this week's Paper Players sketch will tempt you to play along.  You have until midnight (PST) Friday, May 27th to post your creation and with my birthday on Saturday, your participation would be the perfect gift (wink)!  Have a great day, my friends!

supplies:

stamps: the open sea; word play; teeny tiny wishes

paper: basic gray, whisper white, basic black CS; nautical expedition DSP

ink: cherry cobbler, basic gray, crumb cake classic ink; jet black stazon

xtras: cherry cobbler baker's twine; 3" circle die; kraft corduroy buttons [clearance rack]; spiral border punch

Define my Gratitude: {PP48} & {JAI68}

Happy Paper Players Sunday everyone!  I am so excited to be your hostess this week for a sketch challenge.  Here's the sketch I designed for you and I can't wait to see what you make with it:

 I used it to make a Teacher Appreciation Week card for my daughter's teacher using the beautiful color combination over at Just Add Ink:  
 
Pear Pizzazz, Baja Breeze, Perfect Plum and Whisper White.

Would you like to see the details?  OK, happy to oblige!  I started with a Perfect Plum card base (why don't I use this color more often?) to which I added the flourish stamp from Strength & Hope in two columns roughly down the center:

I stamped each flourish in Perfect Plum ink and placed a piece of Greenhouse Gala paper down the middle.  I cut a 3" circle of Whisper White with my 3" circle die and a Baja Breeze scalloped circle with a nestie. 

I stamped "gratitude" from Define Your Life in Pear Pizzazz and over stamped with a Broadsheet Alphabet "G".  The "G" is stamped off once so it shows as more of a watermark behind the definition.  

Next, I stamped the roses from Flower Fest in Whisper White craft ink on Perfect Plum DSP, sprinkled with white stampin' emboss powder and heat set.  To make the 3 flowers on my card, I made 6 embossed flowers and cut out the center of half of them to layer and add dimension.  I wanted them to look a bit like sugar coated flowers, so I added some Dazzling Diamonds to the edges with a glue pen.  So sparkly IRL!  A few Pear Pizzazz branches from the 2-step Bird XL punch finished off my flowers perfectly!

The inside uses a non-SU sentiment that is so fitting for my daughter's teacher!  I stamped it in Perfect Plum on Whisper White and added some more Flower Fest roses in Baja Breeze and a couple more Pear Pizzazz leaves.

So, what do you think of today's card?  I would love to know!  Can you play along with us this week?  I sure hope so!  You have until Friday May 27th at midnight (PST) to link up your creation at The Paper Players.  We can't wait to come visit you.  Have a great week my friends!

supplies:

stamps: flower fest, define your life, broadsheet alphabet, strength & hope

ink: pear pizzazz, baja breeze, perfect plum classic inks and whisper white craft ink

paper: perfect plum, pear pizzazz, whisper white, baja breeze CS; designer patterns stack subtles; greenhouse gala DSP

xtras: 2-step bird punch; white stampin' emboss powder; dazzling diamonds; 3" circle die; scalloped circle nestabilities

Paper Players Challenge Extension

So did you survive the big Blogger crash?  Whether you have your own blog or follow others it was a rough stretch for a few days in blogland.  I was lucky and didn't lose posts or info but I'm still glad they got everything working again!  One good thing that came out of the Blogger troubles is an extension to The Paper Players Colour Challenge!!  You have one more week to play along with these yummy colors:

I just received the Nautical Expedition designer paper as well as The Open Sea stamp set and couldn't wait to use both of them so I made another card with our color combo!  

Yes, it looks alot like this card from a couple days ago!  Sometimes I want to create something but don't have the mental energy to put forth, you know?  Yesterday was one of those days so I CASED myself!  This time I stamped the sailboat from Sail Away in timber brown Stazon on SU watercolor paper and brushed on some Not Quite Navy ink with my aqua painter.  I used a Cherry Cobbler base with the manifest stamp from The Open Sea as my background:

Some Early Espresso Nautical Expedition paper was crumpled and sponged with Early Espresso ink.  The Tasteful Trims die got a workout again:

but this time I wrapped it with some Cherry Cobbler baker's twine--doesn't it look oh-so-nautical?  I can't take the credit for the idea--my good friend Elizabeth came up with that fantastic idea (hi, E!).   And here's a quick peek at the inside too:

I hope you've enjoyed my sample for round 2 of our Color Challenge at The Paper Players.  I'd love to know what you think of today's card.  If you would like to play along, you have until Friday, May 20th at midnight (PST) to link up your creation at The Paper Players blog.  We hope you'll play along with us!

supplies:

stamps: sail away, the open sea, word play

paper: cherry cobbler, very vanilla CS; nautical expedition & first edition DSP; watercolor paper

ink: timber brown stazon; early espresso, not quite navy, cherry cobbler

xtras: sprial edge punch; tasteful trims die; cherry cobbler baker's twine; star designer brad [retired]

Perfectly Surprised {CCMC}

Perfectly surprised…that describes this week over at Create with Connie and Mary Summer Edition where they are full of surprises and I am SOOOO excited to announce that I am the SURPRISE GUEST DESIGNER for Week #5.  That’s right, ME!   Surprise GUEST DESIGNER!  If you are a subscriber to Create with Connie and Mary Summer Edition, I will be sharing with you a FABULOUS 3D project and tutorial using one of that week's featured products in the Summer Mini.  But WHICH product is a SURPRISE, too!  

 Now remember...the only way to see my SURPRISE GUEST DESIGNER project is to be a subscriber to Create with Connie and Mary Summer Edition and sign up now while you can save $5 off the subscription price.  The early bird special of $24.95 ends Saturday, May 14th at 11:55 pm.  Don't delay!

And speaking of summer, I am in love with Fabulous Florets from the Summer Mini catalog!   Today’s card features all of the stamps in the set:

Along with some bright and happy colors: Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Daffodil Delight and Old Olive—don’t they look smashing together?!  I used the embedded embossing technique to create my polka dot background: 

To a piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock, I adhered numerous 1 ¼” Whisper White circles and ran the whole thing through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice embossing folder.  I also stamped the smaller flower in Pumpkin Pie on my cardbase in opposite corners.

The big Daffodil Delight flower was created by stamping the big solid flower from Fabulous Floretsthree times in DD on Whisper White cardstock .  Yes, each one was hand-cut but because they are all layered together and the edges appear as part of the flower—the cutting doesn’t have to be perfect!  There are 2 flowers glued together as the base and one popped up on top with a dimensional.  I also stamped the leaf image onto Old Olive CS in OO ink, cut out and crumpled for a realistic look layering one leaf under the top flower for extra dimension.  Some Rose Red seam binding ribbon added a pop of contrasting color—love how it looks with Pumpkin Pie!

The inside of the card received a touch of the Square Lattice embossing folder—just ran it through the Big Shot with just the bottom quarter of the cardstock actually in the folder.  The sentiment from On Your Birthday was stamped in more Old Olive ink and more flowers added in Daffodil Delight and Rose Red

So, were you perfectly surprised?  I sure was…and delighted to be the SURPRISE GUEST DESIGNER #5!  Remember...the only way to see my Surprise Guest Designer project is to be a subscriber to Create with Connie and Mary Summer Edition and sign up now while you can save $5 off the subscription price.  The early bird special of $24.95 ends Saturday, May 14th at 11:55 pm.  Thanks for stopping by and sharing in my big surprise!

stamps: fabulous florets, on your birthday

ink: daffodil delight, rose red, old olive

paper: pumpkin pie, whisper white, old olive CS

xtras: square lattice embossing folder; rose red seam binding ribbon; top note die