Blue Dino Birthday - Stampin' Up! Dino Days - Paper Players 530

   The team at The Paper Players is back with a brand new challenge.  Ann has given us a wonderful sketch to work with this time.  Lots of possibilities with the shape and the bigger background panel.  What are you going to make???

 I decided to do a kids birthday card using my neglected Dino Days stamp set.  I don't have much need for kid birthday cards these days but it's nice to have some on hand just in case.  The Dinoroar DSP was perfect for the background!  

  So fun right?  The sketch does say 'any shape' and a T Rex is a shape right?  All the stamping is pretty basic and straightforward.  I did die cut the circle details in a piece of Whisper White and then backed it with some Old Olive for a fun detail.  

  And I did a pink version as well!  I used the triangle detail die and backed those with Pool Party.

  Check out all the fabulous ideas from the rest of the Paper Players Design Team:

 Jaydee
 LeAnne
Claire
Joanne
Laurie
Anne Marie
Ann
Nancy
Debbie 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Blue version-

Stamps: Dino Days, Itty Bitty Birthdays

Ink: Mango Melody, Pretty Peacock

Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, Pool Party, Dinoroar DSP (retired)

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle dies, Old Olive baker's twine (retired), dimensionals, Dino dies

Pink version-

Stamps: Dino Days, Itty Bitty Birthdays

Ink: Lovely Lipstick (retired), Old Olive

Paper: Whisper White, Flirty Flamingo, Pool Party, Dinoroar DSP (retired)

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle dies, Old Olive ribbon(retired), dimensionals, Dino dies

100th Birthday Wreath - Stampin' Up! Arrange a Wreath

   Sometimes being a bit of a procrastinator works out when it comes to participating in stamping challenges.  I had been meaning to make a birthday card for a lady from our church who is turning 100 soon and figured if I didn't get around to making a personalized one I could just send a card from my stash.  But then I saw the Inspired By... challenge which is to use a number on your card.  So the timing worked out for me.

  I also used the Color Throwdown challenge for the colors of turquoise, pink, rust and magenta.  I found these colors to be a true challenge but I think I like the overall finished product.  I always have to remind myself that I don't have to use equal amounts of each color; sometimes all you need is just a little bit of one especially if it's one that you don't think plays nicely with the others.

  The card starts with a a Whisper White thick base and then a layer of Magenta Madness topped with a piece of Whisper White embossed with the Old World Paper embossing folder.

  The wreath is die cut twice in Coastal Cabana and layered on the card front.  The happy birthday from Itty Bitty Birthdays is embossed in white on black and then trimmed.  The numbers are cut out of black glimmer paper and foam sheets using the Playful Alphabet dies.  The 'th' from the Make a Difference set is stamped in black and adhered under the edge of the second zero.

  Little flowers are die cut in Magenta Madness with enamel dots of the same color in the center.  I stamped flower centers in Terracotta Tile onto Blushing Bride and then cut them out with slightly larger flowers.  I arranged them all around the sentiment and added a bow which I made with white crinkled seam binding ribbon and my dark Magenta Madness Blends marker.

  Here's hoping that the birthday girl doesn't have to blow out 100 candles but maybe she'll get 100 cards instead!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Arrange a Wreath, Itty Bitty Birthdays, Make a Difference

Ink: Versamark, Terracotta Tile

Blends: Magenta Madness dark

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Magenta Madness, Coastal Cabana, Blushing Bride, Basic Black, black glimmer paper (retired)

Accessories: Wreath Builder dies, dimensionals, white embossing powder, enamel dots, crinkled seam binding ribbon, foam adhesive sheets, Old World Paper embossing folder,

 

Purple Perennial Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Pretty Perennials

   We've made it through another week stampers!  It's Friday and the Fab Friday Challenge is celebrating with a new color challenge.

  Unfortunately I needed a few sympathy cards this past week so I used these pretty colors to make a clean and simple design.  I think the Pretty Perennials set has been my go to for color challenges lately!  With so many images and die cuts it just works so well for multiple colors.

 

  Going into this design I wanted it very clean and open so I stuck with a Whisper White thick card base and then layered an embossed Whisper White panel on top.  The Dainty Diamonds embossing folder is nice and subtle and I liked the mix of geometric with the floral.

  The sentiment from Many Messages is stamped in Mossy Meadow onto a narrow strip of Mint Macaron.

  I used a bit of Mossy Meadow cardstock for the Calypso Coral berry/buds? stems.  I layered 2 Mint Macaron leaves behind the Highland Heather flower that has multiple layers.  The whole cluster is popped on dimensionals.

  Check out how the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team used these colors and then make your own to share in our gallery!

  Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Pretty Perennials, Many Messages

Ink: Mossy Meadow, Mint Macaron, Calypso Coral, Highland Heather

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Mint Macaron, Mossy Meadow

Accessories: Dainty Diamonds embossing folder, Perennial Petals dies, dimensionals

New Mailman Welcome - Stampin' Up! Snail Dies

   Our mail delivery has always been a bit haphazard since we've lived in this house.  It seemed that there were maybe 2 different routes going through the neighborhood as you would see a truck and then go check the mailbox and there would be nothing and then 4 hours later a different truck would come through and then our mail would be delivered.  And a lot of different mail carriers as well.  Some you would recognize but each day it seemed to be a different person with no rhyme or reason.  The other day we got a little postcard in our box stating that we were getting a new carrier and his name is John.  Huh!  Well if John took the time to put these cards in all the mailboxes introducing himself I figure the least he deserved was a warm welcome to our neighborhood route with a card!

 

  The little envelope die and the USPS colors of Real Red, Night of Navy and Whisper White are a great combo for a little mail themed card.  I used a piece of Well Suited DSP for the background pattern, added a welcome sentiment in Night of Navy and used up some retired candy dots for some masculine embellishment.

  I wanted to stamp something on the background and I thought at first maybe the envelopes from either Snailed It or Kangaroo & Company but the little hearts just didn't seem right; we don't know John yet so hearts seem a little over the top lol!  Maybe once I know he's reliable and won't shove a too large package in my mailbox he'll get some hearts!  So no other stamping.

  Anyway don't forget about your mail carriers; they're the ones taking all those gorgeous handstamped cards and getting them to loved ones.  Maybe they deserve a card too!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Well Said 

Ink: Night of Navy

Paper: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Real Red, Well Suited DSP

Accessories: Snail dies, candy dots (retired), dimensionals

Blushing Rose Thank You - Stampin' Up! To a Wild Rose

   I have not been very productive stamping-wise this past week!  I certainly had enough time and reason to stay in with all the snow and ice days but I was really lazy and didn't create hardly at all.  I did read 3 books so maybe I was just in that zone instead?  So with all that said I'm a bit light on cards to share but I did get one made yesterday with colors I pulled out last week for a now closed challenge.  The Color Throwdown had sage, pink and gold for their colors last week.  I decided to go ahead with the idea that had been brewing and while it didn't quite come out the way I had envisioned I like the end result nonetheless.

  After focusing so much on restocking the birthday card stash I've now run low on thank you cards.  The one or 2 I do have are very much seasonal and don't really work for right now.  I thought pairing some large roses and the Ornate Thanks set would work for going into spring...hopefully.

  The card starts with a Pear Pizzazz card base then a layer of watercolor paper with the corners rounded.  I stamped the To a Wild Rose in the corners and embossed it in gold.  Then I did some water coloring with Blushing Bride and an aquapainter.  

  Next I embossed the sentiments in gold on vellum and a little strip of Pear Pizzazz.  The Pear Pizzazz strip is popped on dimensionals.

  The final touch is a few adhesive pearls.  

    Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: To a Wild Rose, Ornate Thanks

Ink: Versamark, Blushing Bride 

Paper: Pear Pizzazz, vellum, watercolor paper

Accessories: gold embossing powder, adhesive pearls, corner rounder punch

Furry Friend Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Cat Punch - The Paper Players 529

   Is everyone thawed out?  If yes, then it's probably too muddy to go out so you should stay in and stamp.  If you're still snowed/iced in then you should definitely stay in and stamp!  Either way it's a win for stamping!

  We have a new challenge at The Paper Players today.  LeAnne has challenged us to do a Clean and Simple (CAS) Feline card!  It doesn't just have to be a cat you can do a lion, tiger etc!  Get creative but remember to keep it clean and simple!

  I only have one retired cat stamp set and not a single lion, tiger, puma or mountain lion in sight so my options were a bit limited but I got there in the end letting the cat punch do the work!

  You can't get much more simple than this design!  Hardly any stamping and just a few little details to keep it from being clean and boring!  It's always sad to hear when friends or family have to say good bye to a beloved pet so it's nice to have a card on hand to send out to them. 

  It starts with a Whisper White thick base topped with a piece of retired black and white Golden Honey DSP.  Next I cut a Stitched Rectangle in Whisper White, punched out the cat and then embossed it with the Tasteful Textile embossing folder.

  The sentiment from Happy Tails is stamped in black and then cut out with the Tasteful Label dies.  For a pop of color I used a piece of Magenta Madness twill ribbon across the top and then popped the whole panel on dimensional. 

  The final touch is the Rainbow Glimmer Paper heart on the cat.  The pink in the gradient color of this Glimmer paper is a great match for Magenta Madness. 

  For more inspiration from the The Paper Players team check out the challenge blog or their personal blogs:

 Jaydee
 LeAnne
Claire
Joanne
Laurie
Anne Marie
Ann
Nancy
Debbie 

 Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happy Tails (retired)

Ink: Memento Black

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Rainbow Glimmer Paper, Golden Honey DSP (retired)

Accessories: cat punch, Stitched Rectangle dies, Tasteful Label dies, Tasteful Textile embossing folder, heart die, dimensionals, Magenta Madness twill ribbon

Baby Love - Stampin' Up! Kangaroo & Company

   It's not hard creating a cute card with the Kangaroo & Company stamp set.  I keep reaching for it lately and I hope you aren't tired of seeing it!  Today I used it for the The Card Concept challenge.  I really liked the colors in their inspiration photo and a baby card seemed like a good reason to stamp!  I went for a clean and layered look this time.

  This one starts off with a Coastal Cabana base and I stamped the polka dots in Whisper White craft ink.  The circle stamp is actually from the extra rubber in the Snailed It stamp set.  Inside the word bubble is cut out and I saved it just for this purpose.  

  Next I embossed a strip of Pumpkin Pie with the Subtle embossing folder.  On top of that is a vellum square and then a Bermuda Bay scallop square.  The whole square panel is popped on dimensionals.

  Both kangaroos are stamped in Memento black and then colored in with Stampin' Blends.  I used Ivory for the ears and dark Cinnamon Cider for the larger on and light Cinnamon Cider for the little guy.  

  The sentiment is stamped in Pumpkin Pie and die cut with the Stitched Shapes dies.  I added a few Coastal Cabana hearts to fill in some of the open space and bring some of the Coastal Cabana color up front.  The circle is popped on dimensionals.

  A Bermuda Bay enamel heart and Whisper White baker's twine are the final touches for this sweet baby card.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Kangaroo & Company

Ink: Whisper White craft, Memento Black, Coastal Cabana, Pumpkin Pie

Blends: Ivory, Cinnamon Cider light & dark

Paper: Coastal Cabana, vellum, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories: Subtle embossing folder, Layering Square dies, Stitched Shapes dies, dimensionals, Kangaroo dies, baker's twine, enamel heart (retired)

Masculine Mosaic - Stampin' Up! Today's Tiles

   Another icy morning here in central Virginia.  It's perfect for staying in and stamping and blogging.  Dinner is already in the crock pot so I should have hours and hours right?  Probably not but it's nice to dream.  I was able to get a card made yesterday afternoon after seeing the Freshly Made Sketches challenge which actually took a bit of work for some reason.  I pulled out several different sets and nothing was really clicking.  I finally decided that I needed to get a masculine birthday card made for a family member and pulled out the Well Suited DSP for some more inspiration.  Finally I hit on the Today's Tiles set which I hadn't used in a bit and paired it with colors inspired by the Well Suited DSP.

  I mixed and matched Night of Navy, Smoky Slate and Cajun Craze for a variety of combinations for the tiles.  As I've said in the past I actually have 2 copies of this set.  After using it the first time I was happy with the results but not happy with the kind of limited use of having the tile pattern all connected in one larger stamp.  It made it really hard to stamp the inside of the cards as well as envelopes and I found that if I goofed on the alignment of the fill color it was quite a bit of wasted cardstock.  So I ordered a second set and cut it apart and now can use each tile individually.  And I've found using the cut apart stamps that I can use my one inch wide scraps of Whisper White as they are the perfect size for the tiles.

  I mounted the trimmed squares on a strip of Whisper White so I could align them and then mounted them across the card front.

  The sentiment is from Itty Bitty Greetings and is stamped in Night of Navy on the popped up panel.

  And for full disclosure if this card inspires you to make your own version, the 4 tiles across are not quite big enough for a full A2 size card (5.5" x 4.25") so I trimmed the card base down so I wouldn't have any partial tiles so the card is slightly smaller than my usual size.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Today's Tiles, Itty Bitty Greetings

Ink: Night of Navy, Smoky Slate, Cajun Craze

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Night of Navy 

Accessories: dimensionals