Red Birthday Balloon - Stampin' Up! Many Messages - Paper Players 537

   Happy Sunday everyone!  I hope you've been having a relaxing weekend so far.  I've not been stamping much lately as the new puppy keeps me on the go most days with not much time left for sitting down and creating.  He's a very good boy but hasn't yet been approved as a stamp room dog.  Fingers crossed that that happens sooner rather than later!

  I definitely made time to stamp for the new Paper Players challenge this week.  Laurie has given us a fun Clean and Simple Birthday challenge!  As we all know CAS cards can be tricky.  It's a fine line between boring and CAS (but still well designed!).  I can't wait to see your creations in the gallery!

  Stamping confession time:  I actually had a whole other card made and ready to photograph when I decided to double check the challenge 'just in case'.  I was glad I did because my first card was a birthday card but it was not by any means Clean and Simple!  Uh oh!  Back to the drawing board for something completely different!

  This card is a mix of brand new, retiring and carrying over Stampin' Up! products.  I started with the retiring In Color Seaside Spray for the card base.  Next I used the new Basic Borders dies that will be available in the upcoming annual catalog to make the cloud edges.  I used Whisper White and cut 2 layers and popped the smaller layer up with dimensionals.

  Next, I used some more Whisper White and just colored in a spot with my dark Poppy Parade blends marker and punched it out with the retiring Balloon Bouquet punch.  I used the color lifter to make the little highlight then tied some black baker's twine for the string.  The balloon is also popped with dimensionals.

  The sentiment from Many Messages in the Jan.-June mini catalog which is carrying into the new annual catalog was stamped in black and then the end was flagged.  I popped it again with dimensionals and added a Seaside Spray faceted gem to finish off my clean and simple birthday card.

  To see the rest of the Design Team samples head over to The Paper Players or go to their individual blogs:

 Jaydee
 LeAnne
Claire
Joanne
Laurie
Anne Marie
Ann
Nancy
Debbie 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Many Messages

Ink: Memento Black

Blends: Poppy Parade dark, Color Lifter

Paper: Seaside Spray, Whisper White

Accessories: Basic Borders dies, Balloon Bouquet punch, dimensionals, black baker's twine, faceted gem

Natural Birthday - Stampin' Up! Rooted in Nature - The Paper Players 536

   It's always a good day when there's a new Paper Players Challenge to share!  This week LeAnne has given us some colors to work with!  Misty Moonlight, Merry Merlot and Crumb Cake!  

  At first I was thinking that these would be good colors for Christmas but after looking at my Christmas stamps I just wasn't feeling it so I switched to a masculine card.  I always need them and never have a stash to pull from plus my mother-in-law has requested a set of birthday cards for later in the year and it's never too early to get a start on those!

  Rooted in Nature is on the retiring list so if you've always loved it but never ordered it now is the time! This set has been a staple in my stamp set collection for a long time and it never fails to turn out a nice card!

 Nothing really crazy or technique heavy on this card but I'll just point out a few things; the strips of Merry Merlot are embossed with the Old World Paper embossing folder for just a bit of texture against the woodgrain pattern of the In Color DSP.  Since you can't glam up guy cards with too much sparkle a great way to add interest is with texture!

  The ribbon treatment is just two lengths of Misty moonlight twill ribbon tied with linen thread and an old retired vintage trinket safety pin goes through the knot.  I was looking through my embellishments for something "guy" and I really don't have anything that is current.  I had some old metallic brads that I was going to pop on somewhere but then found the little container of vintage trinkets and thought the safety pin would be just the things.  Maybe with this upcoming catalog I'll invest in some guy embellishments!

  I hope to see you card in the challenge gallery!  Check out what the rest of the Paper Players Design Team has done with these colors!

 Jaydee
 LeAnne
Claire
Joanne
Laurie
Anne Marie
Ann
Nancy
Debbie 

 Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Rooted in Nature, Here's a Card

Ink: Crumb Cake, Misty Moonlight

Paper: Crumb Cake, Merry Merlot, Whisper White, In Color DSP

Accessories: Nature's Roots dies, Stitched Nested Label dies, Old World Paper embossing folder, twill ribbon, linen thread, vintage trinkets (retired), dimensionals

Blended Butterfly Thanks - Stampin' Up! Brilliant Wings Dies - Fab Friday 211

 TGIF stampers!  The crew at Fab Friday is back with a new challenge to make your Friday even better!  We can't wait to see what you create with this fun sketch!

  I needed to make a set of thank you cards so I put the Brilliant Wings dies to work.  That center oval looked like a perfect place for a butterfly!

  To make multiple cards using the die cuts I started out first by blending 4 colors of ink onto a piece of Whisper White.  I used Melon Mambo, Mango Melody, Coastal Cabana and Highland Heather and with the blending brushes just made splotches of color blending in the edges until all the white was covered.  Then I used the large butterfly shape die where they are all connected and cut out all of the butterflies from the single sheet of colored paper.  Each one came out different depending on what colors they fell on.

   Next I cut out the basic Black overlays and added them to the colored piece with dimensionals on the body.  The sentiment is from Friends Are Like Seashells and is stamped in black and popped on dimensionals.  A few small rhinestones decorate the sides.

   I added the butterfly to the card front over the top of some crinkled seam binding ribbon which is over the top of a piece of Butterfly Bijou DSP which I'm sorry to say sold out so fast customers barely had a chance to get it.

  The DSP is over the top of a piece of Whisper White embossed with the Greenery embossing folder.  The card base is Whisper White thick with opposite corners rounded for a bit of interest.

  So not much stamping but a lot of ink use!  I think I did 5 different panels so I have a whole stack of butterflies to put onto cards!

  Head over to Fab Friday to see the rest of the fabulous Design Team samples!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Friends Are Like Seashells

Ink: Memento black, Melon Mambo, Mango Melody, Coastal Cabana, Highland Heather

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Basic Black, Butterfly Bijou DSP (retired)

Accessories: Brilliant Wings dies, Greenery embossing folder, blending brushes, dimensionals, rhinestones, crinkled seam binding ribbon

Strawberry Blossoms for Spring - Stampin' Up! Sweet Strawberry - The Paper Players 535

  Has spring sprung where you live yet? Or are you still waiting for those first spring flowers to pop out?  Either way you can have some spring flowers if you play along with the new Paper Players challenge!  Jaydee has given us the fun theme of Springtime Flowers this week!

  For some of you it might be tough to narrow down which floral stamp set you plan to use!  I didn't have nearly as many choices as I thought I did once I sat down to stamp.  But one set was the clear winner for my card; Sweet Strawberry!  You can't have late spring/early summer strawberries without getting some strawberry blossoms first!

  I had fun putting this card together and it ended up far different than what I had envisioned when I started.  

  This one starts with a Whisper White thick card base then a layer of the retired Gingham Gala DSP in Daffodil Delight.  Then I cut a stitched rectangle in Whisper White and embossed it with the Tasteful Textile embossing folder.

  On a strip of Whisper White I stamped the strawberry vine and blossoms alternating the direction to fill in most of the space.  Then I got to work with my Blends to color it in - colors listed below.  It almost looks like real DSP!  Before adhering the whole panel down on the card front I tied a length of polka dot tulle ribbon across this panel.

  The sentiment is embossed in black on Seaside Spray and then punched with the Tailored Tag punch.

  Next, I stamped, colored and punched out the larger blossoms and leaves and arranged them around the sentiment with everything popped on dimensionals.   The final touch is a few faceted gems in Seaside Spray in on corner.

  I hope you'll check out the The Paper Players Design Team samples for this challenge and then play along with us!

 Jaydee
 LeAnne
Claire
Joanne
Laurie
Anne Marie
Ann
Nancy
Debbie 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sweet Strawberry

Ink: Memento Black, Versamark

Blends: Seaside Spray light, Daffodil Delight light, Mango Melody dark, Pumpkin Pie light, Granny Apple Green light & dark

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White,  Seaside Spray, Gingham Gala (retired)

Accessories: Tasteful Textile embossing folder, Stitched Rectangle dies, Tailored Tag punch, Strawberry punch, Small Bloom punch, black embossing powder, dimensionals, polka dot tulle ribbon, faceted gems

Butterfly Birthday - Stampin' Up Butterfly Brilliance - Paper Players 534

   Happy Sunday stampers!  The team at The Paper Players is back with a fun new challenge.  Anne Marie has given us this great sketch to work with!  I loved having the narrow strips to play around with!

  Since I've only had time to make one card with the Butterfly Brilliance stamp set since I got it it was high time to get another one made!  

  I wanted my butterfly to stand out so I kept the background clean and just jazzed it up with a panel of Whisper White embossed with the Parisian Flourish embossing folder and rounded the corners.  I wanted ribbon but I didn't have any wide white ribbon to use for the strip across the middle so I doubled up with 2 strips of silver edged satin ribbon.  It gives the added bonus of a little sparkle!

  Next I layered 2 strips of the Butterfly Bijou DSP for the 2 vertical elements.  And not wanting to cover up the pattern too much I added a vellum Stitched Circle to attach my other elements to.  The 'for you' is from the So Sentiment set and is stamped in black onto a scrap and then trimmed to fit.  I added a Purple Posy faceted gem for some detail.

  The butterfly is stamped in Memento, colored with Blends and the cut out.  Some spots of the butterfly are highlighted with Wink of Stella for some more light sparkle.  And you can't really see it in this photo but there is a Highland Heather detailed butterfly diecut underneath with a layer of dimensionals along the body so that the top butterfly is popped up.  It's a nice detail when you see the card in person.

  A few more faceted gems above the butterfly finish off this card.

  I can't wait to see what you all design using this sketch!  For more inspiration from the design team see their blogs!

 Jaydee
 LeAnne
Claire
Joanne
Laurie
Anne Marie
Ann
Nancy
Debbie 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Butterfly Brilliance, So Sentimental

Ink: Memento black

Blends: Purple Posy light & dark, Highland Heather light & dark

Paper: Just Jade, Whisper White, vellum, Butterfly Bijou DSP, Highland Heather

Accessories: Parisian Flourish embossing folder, corner rounder, Stitched Shapes dies, metallic edged ribbon, dimensionals, faceted gems, dimensionals

Perennials for the Guys - Stampin' Up! Pretty Perennials

   The team at Fab Friday is back with a new challenge!  Are you all ready to stamp this weekend or do you have yard work to do now that the weather is nicer?  We weeded, mulched and my husband even mowed last weekend so I've got time to stamp this weekend.  Since getting the new puppy a week ago I haven't spent much time in the stamp room so I'm looking forward to getting inky.

  Check out the colors we are working with for this challenge:

 

 I have to admit that while I do like these colors they were a bit of a challenge for me.  With my limited stamping time I couldn't dawdle and play around with too many ideas.  I ended up using some of the smaller accent stamps from Pretty Perennials (which is still on my desk from my custom cards) to make a guy birthday card.  

  Nothing ground breaking here but it gets the job done!  I can't wait to see what you come up with for these colors so I can get some inspiration and try again!  Check out the fabulous ideas from the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Pretty Perennials

Ink: Misty Moonlight, Pear Pizzazz, Smoky Slate

Paper: Whisper White, Misty Moonlight, Pear Pizzazz, Smoky Slate

Accessories: Stitched with Whimsy dies, Misty Moonlight twill ribbon, baker's twine, dimensionals

Personalized Feminine Notecards - Stampin' Up! Pretty Perennials

   As I shared in my last post we got a puppy on Friday and he has been keeping us on our toes so I haven't had much extra time to post or stamp.  He's super sweet and actually very good but our normal routines are a bit out of whack at the moment.  As my husband says, "everything takes 4 times as long to do when there's a new baby in the house".  That's pretty accurate whether it's a human baby or a puppy!

  Here is the little guy:

 

  But I do have the feminine counterpoint to the last card I shared to show off today.  I'm almost finished with the 18 cards for the ladies.  

  Not the best photo with the terrible gray weather we're having but you can get the gist of it!

  I used the SAB Paper Blooms DSP as my starting point for colors and from there just cut the letters and layered the name banner the same as in the masculine version.  

  I have the same number of flowers on each card but have them arranged differently depending on how long the name is.  I'm trying to keep them all balanced and spaced regardless of the number of letters so it takes a bit of time to put each one together.

  The Pretty Perennial stamp set and dies are really perfect for this sort of card as they are simple to stamp and die cut but have some nice layered details.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Pretty Perennials

Ink: Rococo Rose, Night of Navy, Seaside Spray

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Night of Navy, Paper Blooms DSP (SAB), Rococo Rose, Seaside Spray, Old Olive

Accessories: Perennial Petals dies, Playful Alphabet dies, adhesive sheets, Subtle embossing folder, dimensionals, faceted gems

 

Personailzed Masculine Notecards - Stampin' Up! Forever Fern

   I've been working on a set of personalized cards for a family member to use for the staff at her offices.  She wanted a masculine and a feminine design with the employees names so the Big Shot and Playful Alphabet dies have been getting a workout.  I have all the masculine ones finished and am part way through with the feminine ones which I hope to share tomorrow.  22 is a lot of cards!

  I really liked the crisp green and blue for the masculine card.  The Forever Greenery DSP was just the ticket and luckily I had enough of the striped pattern for all the cards I needed.  I layered a piece of the DSP onto a Whisper White thick card base to start this one.

  The name panel is a piece of Whisper White embossed with the Subtle embossing folder.  Then I backed it with a piece of Pretty Peacock.  I sure will be sorry when Pretty Peacock retires as I've used it a ton the last 2 years.  I used Pretty Peacock to cut out the letters as well.  

  I made things easy on myself and used the adhesive sheets to make each letter a sticker so I wouldn't have to mess with glue for 22 different names. If you do a lot of die cutting and want to make it easier to adhere little pieces (or big pieces, there's no size limit!) definitely check out the adhesive sheets.  All you do is peel off one side of the backing, press your cardstock to the sticky side and then die cut the cardstock as usual, then peel off the backing when you're ready to adhere.  I don't use it much when I'm making one-off cards but for multiple it sure makes the process less messy!

  The fern sprigs are stamped in Pretty Peacock and Just Jade and then the one in the background is just cut out of Soft Sea Foam cardstock to round out the sprig.  I layered them and then attached them to the side of the name with dimensionals and then added a braided linen trim knot to the stems.

  I hope to be back tomorrow to share the feminine version but I'm not making any promises.  On Friday we unexpectedly got a new puppy so things are a bit busy and out of sorts but in a good way so stamping business might not happen as it usually does!  

  Isn't he cute??  His name is Herk and Aggie loves him already!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Forever Fern

Ink: Pretty Peacock, Just Jade

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Pretty Peacock, Soft Sea Foam, Forever Greenery DSP

Accessories: Subtle embossing folder, Playful Alphabet dies, dimensionals, adhesive sheets, braided linen trim