Merry Little Trees - Stampin' Up! Christmas Trees Dies

   The Paper Players Challenge is back with a new challenge today! Ann has given us a fun Tic-Tac-Toe board for our inspiration.  Pick a row or column down, across or diagonal and use those 3 elements to create your card.

  I chose the middle row down; Circles, Patterned Paper & Embossing to make my card.  I need to get going on Christmas cards so that was my focus for this card.  

  Apologies for the poor photo!  I was losing my natural light to photograph so I promise this card looks better in person!

  I used circles for the trees, the embossed patterned and the little gems at the tops of the trees.  Embossing is the embossed polka dots as well as the silver embossed sentiment.  And of course the patterned paper for the trees which I layered behind the circles with the trees cut out of them.  The Christmas Tree dies and Whimsy & Wonder DSP are definitely the stars of this card.

  Check out the rest of the Design Team and then share your creation in the gallery so we can oooh and aaah over it!

Jaydee
 LeAnne
Claire
Joanne
Laurie
Anne Marie
Ann
Nancy
Debbie 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Christmas to Remember

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Whimsy & Wonder DSP

Accessories: circle punches, Christmas Trees Dies, Checks & Dots embossing folders, Metallic Edges ribbon (retired), silver embossing powder, dimensionals, Elegant Faceted gems

Cozy Knit Sweater & Fork Bow How To VIDEO - Stampin' Up! Knit Together Bundle

   There are a lot of fun perks about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator but one of my favorites is teaching cool little tricks and tips to other stampers who get just as excited as I do.  I had a class this week for my local stampers (if you're in the Richmond, VA area and would like to get on my email list just leave a comment or send me an email!) and we made this adorable Christmas card using the Knit Together bundle.  Not only did they get hands on time with this fun stamp and die set but I was able to (re)teach them how to make a fork bow.  A 'what' you ask?  Yup, it's a bow made with a fork.  I promise it's super easy and super cute.  Check it out on the card we made!

  And now here's a quick video showing How to Make a Fork Bow.  If this is a new tip for you I bet a fork will find it's way into your stamping supplies!

 

  The card is a fun one to put together and the Knit Sweater dies offer endless mix and match opportunities for patterns and colors.  The card we made in class starts with a Smoky Slate base.  Then we stamped a layer of Cherry Cobbler (a must have color for fall and Christmas card making!) with Cherry Cobbler ink and the Knit Together background stamp.  I mounted the stamp on the Stamp-a-ratus for even inking and stamping.  

 After the stamping we used the Knit Sweater dies to cut the pattern in the Cherry Cobbler layer. We added a layer of Basic White behind the die cut layer so the patterns would pop.  To add even more fun details we cut a piece of Evening Evergreen with the tree die and a piece of Smoky Slate with the deer die and then added the shapes back into the negative space on the Cherry Cobbler piece.  If you don't like messing with glue you can use some of our adhesive sheets and the cardstock to make little stickers for ease of application.  It's a great product to use for fine detailed die cuts that are hard to apply adhesive to.

  When the deer and trees were finished being added back in the sentiment from Sweet Little Stockings was stamped in Evening Evergreen on Basic White then cut out and backed with a Smoky Slate circle.  It's then popped on dimensionals and then we added our sweet little Evening Evergreen fork bow as the final touch.

 I hope you have fun making your own fork bows now that you know how easy it is!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Knit Together, Sweet Little Stockings

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Evening Evergreen

Paper: Smoky Slate, Cherry Cobbler, Basic White, Evening Evergreen

Accessories: Knit Sweater dies, circle punches, Evening Evergreen open weave ribbon, dimensionals, fork(!)

 

Autumn Petals - Stampin' Up! Hand-Penned Petals

 It is a dreary day here in Virginia!  It's been raining on and off since last night and it is gray and soggy. A perfect time to stay in and stamp. A not so perfect time to try to photograph projects or record videos!  My stamp room lighting deficiencies are shown in full on dark days like this!  

  What kind of lights do you use for your stamping space and for photography and video recording?  Usually I just use natural light from my big window for photographs and that works really well but on days like this it's hard to get enough light. Check back over the next few days for some how to videos if I can get them to not look like I'm in a cave! My desk lamp and the camera ring light will be working over time for sure!

  For today I have a clean and simple (CAS) card that I'm sharing over at CAS Colours & Sketches for their current layout.  It's also the second of two entries to try out for their design team call.  To see my first project click HERE.

  I've had this color combo in my pile of inspiration for a while now and this challenge seemed like the perfect time to use it for this non-geometric shaped flower cluster.  The Hand-Penned Petals set is gorgeous no matter what colors you use but I'm really digging this fall inspired combo. 

  I started with a Basic White thick card base that I embossed with the Stitched With Whimsy dies just for a bit of subtle detail.  I added a some light shading with my blending brush and Misty Moonlight ink to create a space for the flowers.

  Next I stamped the big flower cluster in Night of Navy then filled in the flowers with Cajun Craze and Bumblebee ink.  The leaves are filled in with Misty Moonlight.  I die cut the shape then popped it on the card base with dimensionals but first tucked a piece of retired corduroy ribbon underneath.

  The sentiment from Many Messages is stamped in Night of Navy and cut with the Tasteful Labels dies.  It's then backed with a Cajun Craze circle and also popped on dimensionals.  The final touch are a few Bumblebee enamel dots.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hand-Penned Petals, Many Messages

Ink: Night of Navy, Cajun Craze, Bumblebee, Misty Moonlight

Paper: Basic White thick, Cajun Craze

Accessories: Stitched with Whimsy dies, Penned Flowers dies, Tasteful Label dies, dimensionals, corduroy ribbon (retired), enamel dots (retired), circle punch, blending brush

Gorgeous Purples - Stampin' Up! Gorgeous Leaves

   Happy Wednesday stamping friends!  The last few days have been all about stamping! I've been designing for, prepping for and having my monthly class.  I love seeing my local stampers each month and getting to share new projects with them.  If you're local to the Richmond, VA area and would like to join in on the monthly stamping fun just reach out and get on my email list so you can get all the details.  

  I'll be sharing those class projects soon but in the meantime I have a card that I can finally show as I made it for my mother-in-laws birthday last week and now that I know she's received it there won't be a spoiler!

  I had a lot of fun putting this beauty together!  There's a lot of texture and detail in there and I combined products from a few different suites to get just the right look.  To start I used a Crumb Cake base, then a layer of Basic White, then a piece of Harvest Meadow DSP in a nice neutral pattern.

  For the small square element I used a bit more Crumb Cake then topped it with a vellum square doily.  Next up is a Basic White circle embossed with one of the Greenery embossing folders.  Now comes all the layering of stamped leaves, gold die cut leaves, and a branch all using the Gorgeous Leaves bundle.  A sprig of wheat cut using the Harvest dies gives some height to the arrangement and ties in with the DSP.

  Next comes some fun sparkly embellishments in the way of gold sequins, purple sequins and a few Fresh Freesia adhesive gems.  A length of Gorgeous Grape sheer ribbon helps anchor the sentiment.

  The sentiment is from the All Squared Away set and embossing in gold.  After I trimmed the ends I layered it on a slightly larger piece of the Gold Metallic Specialty paper which I absolutely love (page 135 of the Annual catalog, the sample is so small and tucked into the fold so it's really easy to miss!).  I love all the purple and gold against the Crumb Cake; it's nature-y but with a fun 'pop'!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Gorgeous Leaves, All Squared Away

Ink: Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, Fresh Freesia, Versamark

Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic White, Soft Suede, Gold Specialty Paper, Fresh Freesia, Gorgeous Grape

Accessories: Stitched Shapes dies (retired), Greenery embossing folder, dimensionals, Harvest dies, Intricate Leaves dies, sequins, adhesive gems, sheer ribbon, gold embossing powder, square vellum doily

 

Moonlight Coneflowers - Stampin Up! Nature's Harvest - Paper Players 564

   I always say the best way to start the week off is to do some stamping!  Lucky for you The Paper Players Challenge is back with a great new challenge to help you get started!  LeAnne has us working on a great sketch this time!  So many possibilities with those rectangle panels!  Can't wait to see what you all create.

 This is the card design that I sent out to my team for their October monthly hello card.  If you're ever interested in learning more about being a demonstrator feel free to reach out to me.  I'd love to answer any questions.

  I went full on Misty Moonlight with just a touch of cork for my card.  I love this color and couldn't resist using 3 different DSP sheets for my card!  The Harvest Meadow DSP has two of the patterns and the third (the stripes) comes from the Sale-A-Bration freebie Penguin Playmates DSP.  I layered the DSP over a piece of Cork Specialty paper and a Basic White layer.

  The stitched circle is embossed with the Tasteful Textile folder and makes for a nice texture for the coneflowers from the Nature's Harvest set.  I stamped them in Misty Moonlight and then used my blender pen to lightly blend some of the ink for a very light color.  I didn't add any extra ink but just pulled it from the stamped image to fill in some of the white spaces. You want to be careful you don't over work the cardstock with the blender pen as the cardstock will start to pill and get muddy looking but it's a great technique for a very subtle color.  Once the flowers were cut out I adhered them to the circle and then the whole thing to the card front.

  The sentiment from the Many Happenings set is stamped in what else; Misty Moonlight! I used the long label from the Harvest dies to cut it out.  I have had this white twill ribbon forever and it's long since retired but I thought it was just right for adding to the underside of the sentiment.  The whole strip is popped on dimensionals.  The final touch is two retired white sequins and a retired enamel dot in Misty Moonlight.  No matter how much I use these retired dots and sequins I always seem to have just as many left!  I think they have babies in the drawer!

  The Paper Players Design Team always knocks these challenges out of the park so head on over and give them some love before playing along!

Jaydee
 LeAnne
Claire
Joanne
Laurie
Anne Marie
Ann
Nancy
Debbie 

   Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Nature's Harvest, Many Happenings

Ink: Misty Moonlight

Paper: Misty Moonlight, Basic White, Cork Specialty, Harvest Meadow DSP, Penguin Playmates DSP (SAB)

Accessories: Stitched Circle die (retired), Harvest dies, dimensionals, blender pen, sequins (retired), enamel dot (retired)

Fresh Falling Leaves - Stampin' Up! Intricate Leaves Dies

   I was able to quickly finish up all of my stamping 'work' on Wednesday morning so I found myself with some time on my hands before I had to leave the house for an appointment.  I decided to get busy with 2 challenges that had just posted.  I'll be sharing this one on both CAS Colours & Sketches for their color challenge as well as Freshly Made Sketches for their layout.  The CAS Colours & Sketches team has put out a design team call for next year so I thought I would throw my hat in the ring and try out by submitting this card for consideration.  

  I found these colors fun to work with as they are older Stampin' Up! colors and have been around for a while.  I guess they would be some of the veterans in my color collection and deserve some love!

  Following the Freshly Made Sketches layout I started with a Basic White thick card base then embossed a piece of Rich Razzleberry with one of the Greenery embossing folders.

  Next is a layer of Night of Navy then a layer of Basic White embossed with the retired Subtle folder.  Using the 3 challenge colors I cut different leaves with the Intricate Leaves dies as well as one of each from foam sheets.  Once I had my leaves assembled and looking nice and popped up I adhered them to the Basic White panel.  

  I embossed the 'hello' from the Beauty of Friendship set and trimmed it and popped it up with dimensionals.  I added a length of Night of Navy twine to help anchor the smaller sentiment as well as adding a few Rich Razzleberry sequins around it.  The whole leaf panel is then popped on dimensionals on the card front.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Beauty of Friendship

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Night of Navy, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive

Accessories: Intricate Leaves dies, dimensional sheets, white embossing powder, Subtle embossing folder (retired), Greenery embossing folder, baker's twine, sequins

24 Hour Only Stamp Sale - Wednesday October 20

 

  All cling stamps in the 2021-2022 Annual Catalog (except for host stamps) will be 15% off!!!  Check those wish lists and order on Wednesday.  All sale stamps will be listed in the online store under 'Stamp Sale' for easy browsing.

  Use my monthly Host Code: C4NMB3J9 to be entered into the door prize drawing for a pack of the Gingerbread & Peppermint DSP.  Each $25 spent (before tax/shipping) gets you one entry.

 

Autumn Wreath - Stampin' Up! Sparkle of the Season

   I've been busy designing projects for my next class and I realized I haven't finished sharing all the projects we did last month!  I have one left and as it's seasonal I should probably get it shared before it's too late!

  I love the look of this somewhat neutral and soft fall card.  I wanted to show off some Sale-a-Bration products as well as the Sparkle of the Season bundle. Unfortunately by the time class rolled around the Be Dazzling paper was already sold out but a few of my customers were able to snag it before it was gone.  It was definitely it hit and fingers crossed that Stampin' Up! offers it again in the future.  I hope you got your favorites!

  This card also has a piece of the Peaceful Prints DSP which was also a Sale-a-Bration choice.  I love this birch wood pattern since it isn't overtly Christmas and can be used on all kinds of cards.

  The wreath is mostly die cutting with 2 layers of the wreath stacked and then the stamped leaves and pine cones along with the sentiment.  The pumpkins are cut from Pale Papaya cardstock and lightly inked along the edges with the same color ink using a blending brush. A bit of Soft Succulent open weave ribbon is tucked under the cluster for some added softness.

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sparkle of the Season

Ink: Soft Succulent, Crumb Cake, Pale Papaya

Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic White, Pale Papaya, Be Dazzling paper (SAB), Peaceful Prints DSP (SAB)

Accessories: Seasonal Swirl dies, dimensionals, open weave ribbon,