Dynamic Duos and Sweet Stop Sketch {Kind Thanks}

Even though I am unable to design with my Dynamic Duos Challenge, I still like to play along when I can! This week I chose a Soft Colour Combo for the weekly colour duo, Soft Suede and Pool Party! I added Crumb Cake as my neutral. I actually also created another card for this colour combo, which I will share later this week.

I inked up a brand new set for me from Close to My Heart. The flower was so pretty! I inked it in Soft Suede and then stamped the inside of the flower with Pool Party Ink. The Scallop Edge at the bottom of the card has little pearls across it. The french script background stamp from SU! was added using Soft Suede Ink and the leaves stamped with Soft Suede onto Crumb Cake card stock. I received a new camera about a year ago and I have been trying it out. I really need to get a light tent for my photos, sometimes I can take the photos outside but not today, it is pouring out there! The sketch comes from the current Sweet Stop sketch, it is a classic sketch that really inspired me. I moved the sentiment to the top of the card as it was overpowered by the French Script.

Cardibilities #54 {Thank You}

Time for another week at Cardibilities!  This week's sketch is super versatile!  I chose to ink up a an old favourite of mine called "For All You Do". This set is retiring at the end of May! I hope you get the chance to join us for the next two weeks! 

I choose to work with Calypso Coral, Pear Pizzazz and Lucky Limeade. The flowers have some pearls in the centers and I used the Scallop trip border punch for my trim in the middle. The designer paper is from the In Colour Designer Paper Pack.  I embossed the bottom of the card with my dots folder. A quick and simple thank you card for my stash!

Paper Players Sketch #92 and Color Throwdown #188 {Happy Day to You}

April is flying by! I can't believe how quick the days are getting, so much to do everyday and suddenly it is 9pm and I need to get to bed. It is actually Thursday night and I managed to get my Paper Players Challenge card done before the weekend! Woo-hoo! I am usually "Last Minute Lesley" and making my card on Saturday night, so I am pretty pumped to have my ducks in a row! At least for this week anyway...

This week's challenge comes from my pal Nance. She did up a sketch for us this week and I love all the possibilities it holds!  My inspiration comes from the colours at the Colour Throwdown.  I love the soft, springy hues and decided to get out my favourite stamp combo from Stampin' Up..."Elements of Style" and the "En Francais" background stamp! I also used my newest sentiment set called "Friendly Phrases". I liked the look of the modern script with the romantic roses.

We hope that you will join the Paper Players Challenge this week!  Please be sure to visit the other DT Members to see their wonderful creations! I also created a brand new FACEBOOK page for us! Wahoo! I hope you will "LIKE" us!!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy
Jenn Picard
Heidi Boos

Shirley Pumpkin (April GD)

Paper Players Challenge #70 {Anything Goes Fall} and BLOG CANDY!!!

This week at the Paper Players we have an "Fall Themed Anything Goes Challenge" for you!.  I have BLOG CANDY at the end of this post!!! Be sure to enter for it!

I decided to showcase the set called "Creative Elements". This one is a pretty set with a flower that looks like a mum to me. I decided to create a Fall coloured card, with a vibrant Cherry Cobbler Mum as the main focal point.

Here is a closeup of my card! Notice that I stamped my Textured Crumb Cake Paper with the En Francais background stamp and then stamped the swirl from "Creative Elements" in Soft Suede right over top. Then I coloured in the swirl with my Crumb Cake Marker.  Everything is sponged with Crumb Cake or Soft Suede ink.

I used my Scallops #2 die for the centre of the card and used my mat pack and paper piecer to make holes in the scallops.  The butterfly is stamped in Early Espresso Ink onto Very Vanilla Paper, then I fussy cut it out and hightlighted it with some pearls.  Yes that piece in behind the scallop circle is crimped! Oh how I love my Crimper!

Blog Candy Alert:  Would you like a copy of my Nature Walk Tutorial?  Here is a picture of the cards you will make with my step by step instructions.  Normally I sell this tutorial for $10 but I will draw 3 names next week to win this tutorial for free! 

My Nature Walk Tutorial:

1. has a list of supplies needed for the entire project
2. has photo of each card in it for easy reference
3. has a MDS sketch of each card with the pieces of each card numbered for easy breakdown!
4. has a measurement chart for each card
5. has directions for each card

 Here is what you have to do to qualify!

1. Become a follower of my blog.

2. Please leave me a comment! I love reading them!

Thank you for stopping by! Be sure to visit the team to see their Fall Creations!

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile
Cindy Hall

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Rita Wright

Tara Bilbao

Pals Paper Arts and Just Add ink

Pals Paper Arts is hosting a cool colour challenge this week...I'll admit, I was intriuged and wanted to see how the colours would work together.  So I created a card...I am not sure how I feel about it...it is just not what I had in mind but I did it!!!  This card is also for the Just Add Ink Sketch which I thought was awesome this week. I loved the dots below the main image on the sketch, hence my use of the scallop border punch and the pearls...

I used the Summer Solstice stamp set again and tried to channel my pal Ann...I added some pearls and some baker's twine and sponged the edges. 

Thanks for stopping by!!!

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Pals Paper Arts and SUO Challenges

I had a chance to play with some new rubbah tonight!  I made this card for two great challenge blogs; Pals Paper Arts and SUO Challenges.





Pals had a great challenge to used a recipe...one designer paper, one punch and one sentiment.  Easy peasy!  Except I missed the deadline...got my days mixed up, thought I had until tomorrow to post.  Oh well, it was a great challenge and really inspired me!  Then the SUO Challenges asked for our favourite "new" stamp set and this was what I needed to ink up my new sets called "Established Elegance" and "Field Flowers".

I made this card for my mom because she has over halfway to her goal weight and she is looking amazing!  She just turned 60 and wanted to be more fit.  She has been working so hard...you should see the difference.  None of her clothes fit, she is down many sizes with still a long journey ahead but I am so proud of her accomplishments. 

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Smiles,

Lesley

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All week I have been looking at the awesome colour challenge over at Inkspirations.  It seemed like a Halloween combo to me but for some reason, I do not own any Halloween stamps except for sentiments!  So I went back to the drawing board!

My friend Jaydee is a Clean and Simple designer, I just love her cards and I have been trying the "Less is More" approach too.  So today I created a CAS using the Inkspirations Colour Combo!!!

I finished the inside too...I love this new "Petite Pairs" stamp set!  That is where the sentiment on the front of the card and the sentiment on the inside come from, they actually match eachother and fit in the large Oval Punches!!!  Yippee!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Smiles,

Lesley

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CR84FN and Splitcoast Stampers Sketch Challenge

I have never played along with the CR84FN Challenge before.  I just LOVED the awesome colour combo and decided that I wanted to give it a try!  The Design Team inspiration is amazing!  Then I went in search of a sketch, and found an awesome one for the SCS Sketch Challenge this week!  The samples over there were inspiring too!!!

I decided to ink up another new stamp set (no, I didn't buy EVERYTHING from the new catalogue!! LOL!).  This set is called "Summer Solstice" and it was the number one set I wanted when I saw the new cattie!  I LOVE how it stamps and it is really affordable!  

I used the new In Colour called "Wisteria Wonder" and used Celery and Basic Gray as the colour challenge suggested!!!  The sentiment is from " Pursuit of Happiness" again, I just LURVE that set!!!  Once again, I used my favourite French Script background stamp!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Smiles,

Lesley

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Paper Players Challenge- A Sketch by Nance

Wow!  Two weeks away from the computer has flown by and I am back!  My hubby and I had a great time on the Oregon Coast and then spent this past week fishing at a lake about 4 hours from our home.  It was lovely.  I have to say, I was pretty proud to be the lead fisher "person" with 3 fish caught!!  Yippee!  And they were BIG trout!  It was exciting and they were sure yummy cooked on the campfire!  Corey has the camera, he and his dad are off ocean fishing today, but I will add some photos of our trip(s) as soon as the camera is back!

Today at the Paper Players Nance has created a terrific sketch for us to try!  I made a card for it a LONG time ago, right when I first saw her wonderful sketch!  I changed up the ribbon placement, mostly because of memory problems, but I am happy with how the card turned out!!!  I hope you like it too! My card club made this card for their last class.  We were doing watercolouring, I used Tangerine Tango and Peach Parfait for my colour choices.

We hope that you will join the Paper Players Challenge this week!  Please be sure to visit the other DT Members to see their wonderful creations!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Lauri Ingram

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Sandra Azzopardi

Tui Nathan (GD)

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Smiles,

Lesley

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Picture Perfect Creations #61-Thank You

Good morning friends!  We finally got the Guest Room completed and I have some photos to share later this week!  I am so happy with how it looks, my father-in-law Glen is pleased as punch with it too!  He finished adding the trim and painting the trim!

Today is the new Picture Perfect Creations challenge.  This week we are being challenged with some Fall colours but I decided to be a rebel and use the colours to create a fresh, springy card!  It is the end of my school year and I need some thank you cards for all the helpers I have had in my room throughout the year!!

I used my Stampin' Write Markers to create the main image.  The stamp set is called "Just Believe".

I hope you will join us this week at the PPC!

Smiles,

Lesley

Supplies:
Stamps: Just for You, En Francais
Inks: Cajun Craze, Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery
Papers: Whisper White, Certainly Celery
Extras: Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch, Celery Ribbon (retired), Buttons (Retired), Pearls

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Smiles,

Lesley

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Picture Perfect Creations #56

This week at the Picture Perfect Creations our colours are SO pretty!  I love blues and these colours influenced me to get out some watercolour paper and to use my aqua painter!  I inked up my daisy from Fifth Avenue Floral and stamped in Stazon on Watercolour Paper.  Then using markers and my aqua painter, I coloured them with Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy Inks.

I wanted to created some leaves out of the Pear Pizazz Paper and used my Bird Punch!  I love how quick and easy the punches are to use!  I also had a Baja Button and added to the side with a wee bit of Victoria Lace Ribbon.  The sentiment is from All Holidays.

I used my FAVOURITE background stamp set En Francais and sponged all the corners of the Baja Breeze paper with Baja Ink.  Also used the Scallop Edge Border Punch for the main strip going across the card!!!

Stop on by the Picture Perfect Creations Challenge blog and join us for this week's Colour Challenge!!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Paper Players Challenge #44- A Sketch from Me

Happy Easter everyone!  It is Sunday and time for another Paper Players Challenge!  This week I am the challenge hostess and have designed a sketch!

I was very excited to receive my Stampin' Up Pre-Order on Wednesday night!  I broke open the set called "Fabulous Florets" and went to work!  I absolutely LOVE it!!  It is a "fabulous" set that will be available May 1st!  I got out my Paper Snips and cut out the flower and popped it up on dimensionals!

I am on a new colour kick!  I absolutely love Peach Parfait and have used it on my card today!  My colours are Peach Parfait, Pear Pizazz and Not Quite Navy.  That ribbon is retired, it was from my first stamping year! LOL!  The Colour is called Blue Bayou and it was on of my most favourite In Colours that Stampin' Up has offered!  I cleaned up my ribbon stash this weekend and decided to use this ribbon on my card!

I also needed to make a birthday card for a dear friend who is celebrating her birthday in a couple of days!  This card won't get to her in time but I am sending it off to her to let her know that I am celebrating with her, even though we are far apart!

I used the En Francais Background Stamp in Peach Parfait ink on Peach Parfait Paper!  I love how it looks!  I also used my Modern Label punch for the side of my card and yep, I finished off the inside too!  I love doing that!

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I hope you will get the opportunity to join us this week at the Paper Players!  Please let me know if you have any questions about my card!  I also want to thank all my blogging friends for your supportive comments over the last couple of weeks!  I appreciated ever single one!

Hugs!

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All supplies are Stampin' Up:
Stamps: Fabulous Florets (Summer Mini Catalogue), En Francais, On Your Birthday
Inks: Peach Parfait, Pear Pizazz
Paper: Peach Parfait, Pear Pizazz, Whisper White and Not Quite Navy

Tools: 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Modern Label Punch, Ribbon, Dimensionals, Snips

A la Card Monkey and Stampin' Up Only

Hello!  It is me again!  Yes I am posting for a third time today and no my laundry is not getting done!  But my husband actually asked me to make a card today.  I gasped in amazement and then caught myself, "Sure honey...no problem", I responded nonchalantly as I raced down to my craft room to get started!!!  Yippee!!  The birthday card is for one of Corey's co-workers.  She is turning 29 again (50!!) and they wanted a special, pretty card for her. 

I was unsure of where to start!  I am someone who loves to create "efficiently" so I went looking through my list of challenge sites and saw some wonderful inspiration for my card!  The Colour Q has some pretty colours this week.  I had already made a card with these colours this week and I loved them so much I made another!!!  Then I noticed that the Stampin' Up Only Challenge was having a Birthday Card Challenge and there is a brand new challenge blog out there!!!  It is called "A la Card Monkey".  Their challenge this week is "Nature" and so I tailored my card to be "All About Nature".  You should get over and try out these challenges this week!

So here is my card...what do you think?  Okay...I am off to do laundry now!!!

Thank you for stopping by!

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All supplies are Stampin' Up:

Stamps: Strength and Hope, Elements of Style and En Francais

Inks: Celery, Espresso, Pink Pirouette and Crumb Cake

Paper: Same as above

Tools: Scissors, clear block D, Ribbon Border Punch, Decorative Label Punch, sponges