Sparkly Purple Snowflakes for {PP#126}

Hello there stampers! This week at the Paper Players the lovely and talented Ann Schach has a CAS (clean and simple) Theme Challenge for us: Snowflakes. Now, here in South Texas, we rarely see snow, so I am happy to enjoy it anyway I can get it.

My card is...ummmm..a little sparkly. Once the Glimmer Paper comes out, I am not responsible for my actions with it. Haha! I used the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches for inspiration, along with the purple & silver / Christmas challenge from the gals at Our Creative Corner.

As this was a CAS card, I kept it simple...well, except for the layers. I heat embossed the image from the Snow Swirled set and the sentiment from Petite Pairs, for added shine. Where there is Glimmer Paper, there must be rhinestones, so I topped off the snowflake with a few to finish things off. :)

Finally a quick shot of the inside of the card, held by "Nordstrom Santa". We have had this guy the entire time we have been married and look forward to his appearance every Christmas. Although this year, he sits on "higher ground" as our foster dog, Oscar, has developed an affection for chewing on his feet.

I hope you will join us over at the Paper Players this week. Be sure to stop by and see what the rest of the gals on the Design Team have whipped up for inspiration. This is our last challenge of 2012 as we take a holiday break...whoa, I can't believe I just typed that, where did this year go? So, you will have until Friday, December 28th at Noon (PST) to link up a card for the challenge. Happy Stamping! 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy
Amy White

Dawn Easton

Helen Heil
Jen Arkfeld

Snow Swirled Frames for Paper Players #118

Hello stamping friends! Wow...I'm so sorry for my unexpected blogging break. I did not intend to be on "hiatus" for the past two weeks. I have just had a lot going on and have not been able to spend ANY time in my stamp studio. I apologize for the lack of creative posts and blog visits. I hope to be back on track this week, for sure. :) 

It's Sunday so it is time for another challenge at the Paper Players! I am hosting this week with a CAS (clean and simple) themed challenge. What is the theme? Glad you asked. It's all about FRAMES. There are a lot of ways to be creative with frames, so I hope you will join us with your creation. 

My card was super-easy to create. I focused on the Labels Collection Framelits dies and used the Snow Swirled stamp set. I LOVE this stamp set. I have inked it up too many times to count This card is just a wee bit bigger then a standard 4- 1/4" x 5- 1/2" card. It's just between 4- 1/4" and 4- 1/2" to accommodate the die cut frame. (I'm sorry, I'm not an "exact" measurement kind of gal, I just eyeball it a lot of the time.) It still fits in a standard envelope though...I tested it out.

I popped up the layers for some added dimension. The base of the card (in Early Espresso) was embossed with the Stripes Embossing Folder. I heat embossed the stamped image and sentiment in Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder. I tied a simple knot of Cherry Cobbler 3- 1/2" Scalloped Tulle Ribbon on the top for an added pop. That stuff is awesome! Then there is the sparklie goodness with the Glimmer Paper and bling. Hopefully, it doesn't seem like a lot of detail...it really came together rather quickly.

A quick shot of the inside of the card: 

Please join us over at the Paper Players and get "FRAMED" this week! 

The challenge is open through Friday, October 26th at midnight (PDT). 

Stop by and visit the rest of the Design Team to say hello: 

The Paper Players Design Team

Jen Arkfeld
Dawn Easton
Helen Heil  

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Nance Leedy

LeAnne Pugliese

Ann Schach

Amy White

Because I have had a few people ask, I wanted to share a recent photo of Ms. Abby, our kitten. I am happy to report that she has finally reached her 2 pound milestone and that is exciting because that means she can be spayed...and we can then "officially" adopt her. Yes, you read that right...Abby has stolen our hearts and is staying. Hooray! 

Stampin' Up! Supply List

Stamps: Snow Swirled and Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Be of Good Cheer DSP, Champagne Glimmer Paper, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla card stock

Ink: Versamark and Cherry Cobbler Classic ink

Punches: Word Window and Modern Label punches

Accessories: Stripes Embossing Folder, Labels Collection Framelits, Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Cherry Cobbler 3- 1/2" Cherry Cobbler Tulle Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals

Ornament Keepsakes for Dynamic Duos #16

Hi there stampers! It's time for a brand new color combo over at Dynamic Duos! This week is our "Black Tie" challenge where we combine one color with Basic Black and throw in one extra element as a "Dessert Option". You can add that extra element (for this challenge it's brads), or not...either way, it's a lot of fun. We are featuring a color this week, that I rarely use: River Rock. I decided to try these colors on a Christmas card. I am a HUGE fan of Christmas cards in non-traditional colors. 

I have a whole bunch of new products in my studio from the SU Holiday Catalog. There is SO much fun stampin' stuff in that catty, it's awesome. *swoon* The new Ornament Keepsakes stamp set is gorgeous and the best part is, there is a matching set of die cuts to perfectly cut out the stamped images. That ROCKS! 

I heat embossed the ornaments to give them a more elegant finish and what "black tie" event is complete without some pretty pearls? I added the heat embossed sentiment by creating a banner, with the "tails" clipped off with the 1- 1/4" Square Punch. I kind of like how it pops off the card, so this one would need a larger envelope to mail, or just make the exclusive "hand-delivered" list. *wink, wink* All of the supplies I used are listed at the end of the post. 

For the inside of the card, I used the sentiment from the Snow Swirled set. I will probably cry if that set ever retires. That has to be my most used Christmas stamp set, EVER. I had embossed and die-cut an extra ornament that didn't fit on the front, so instead of wasting it, I just added it to the inside. I think it's a nice way to keep the party going from the front of the card. :) 

Thank for stopping by! Please hop on over to Dynamic Duos and check out the challenge, won't you? You can play along through Friday, August 24, 2012 at Noon (PDT). The lovely ladies on the Design Team have created some beautiful projects for inspiration, too. Stop by and say hello to them. :) 

The Dynamic Duos Design Team:

Allisa Chilton

Anne Marie Hile

Anika Lerche

Bronwyn Eastley

Kim Singdahlsen

Lesley Croghan

Lisa Elton

Melissa Chipperfield

Paige Grabau

Sue Joyce

Have a very HAPPY day! 



Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes and Snow Swirled
Paper: Ginger Blossoms DSP (ret.), River Rock, Basic Black and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Basic Black Craft Ink Pad
Punches: 1- 1/4" Square Punch (to make banner tails)
Accessories: Holiday Ornaments Framelits Dies, Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Gold Cord trim (ret.), Basic Black 5/8" Satin Ribbon (ret.), Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Black Brads, Basic Pearls and Stampin' Dimensionals

Year in Review - Part 2

Hello again! As promised, I'm back with my favorite cards from July through December 2011. Oddly enough, 4 of the 6 are Christmas cards and 3 of the 6 use the Ornament Punch. Hmmm! One would think my Christmas cards would have went out on time since I started them so early this year. HaHa! :)  For more info about each card, you can click on the link above each photo to get to the original post. Here we go...

July - Christmas in July

It's not a big secret that I love lots of layers on my cards...and of course, sparkle. It was fun to create a holiday card when it was 105 degrees in South Texas in July, too. 

August - Corduroy Pumpkins

Two of my favorite things...the Button Buddies stamp set and Corduroy Buttons (retired). A friend who received one of these cards told me she framed it to put out every year in her home for Thanksgiving. That totally made my day! 

September - Wicked Little Owl

This little owl card was so much fun to make! Actually, I liked this card so much, I never sent it out. The treat bag with the bitty face just makes me smile. :) This card also made it into the "took-over-3-hours-to-make-club" because I kept adding more and more to it. 

October - Tri-Fold Shutter Holiday

This fold always intimidated me, but was really pretty easy to make. I also seemed to be sponging ink on EVERY edge of my cards for a few months this year. Isn't it funny how you get into using a technique and it becomes your "thing" for a while? 

November - Mocha Morning Christmas

I really wanted to try to make a Christmas card with very non-traditional colors and I loved how this one came out. This Mocha Morning DSP is GORGEOUS!! The sketch (designed by Lesley from the Paper Players) is one of my favorites, also. 

December - Snow Swirled Christmas

The Snow Swirled stamp set has seen a LOT of ink in my stamp studio. There is something about the way that tree looks embossed. This was for Ann's CAS color challenge over at the Paper Players. I really learned to like CAS cards over the past year...although I still tend to use a lot of layers on them. 

Well there you have it! I guess it's time to get crackin' on some new creations for 2012. Hope you are having a great day today and thank you SO much for stopping by! :) 

Paper Players #76 - Ann's Color Challenge

Hi there! It's Sunday and it's time for another fun Paper Players challenge. This is the LAST challenge for the year 2011, as the Players are taking the next two weeks off for the holidays. The good news is, the challenge will be open until December 30th, so there is plenty of time to play along. 

This week, the lovely Ann Schach has a CAS (clean and simple) color challenge for us, which is just perfect for finishing up those holiday cards: Cherry Cobbler, Gold and Very Vanilla. Such an elegant combo, isn't it? 

For my card, I went with the Snow Swirled stamp set. I love this set! I heat embossed the tree with Cherry Cobbler Embossing powder and dressed it up with some gold pearls. The background is embossed with the Snow Burst Embossing Folder for some texture along with the 3/8" Quilted Cherry Cobbler Satin Ribbon. It is a clean and simple card to create and really easy to make a bunch of cards at once....which I did to finish up my Christmas cards this year. I have to get them mailed out next week, for sure. Eeeek!! 

Here is a quick shot of the inside. I popped up a snowflake image from the stamp set and finished it off with a tiny gold pearl. 

Thanks for visiting today! I sure hope you will join us over at the Paper Players and play along with Ann's colors. Remember, the challenge will be open until December 30, 2011. Also, please stop by and visit the rest of the gals on the Design Team to see what they created this week. 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao

Rita Wright

Have a very HAPPY day today! :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Snow Swirled and Petite Pairs
Paper: Brushed Gold, Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Cherry Cobbler Classic ink and VersaMark
Punches: 3/4" Circle punch (inside), Small Oval (ret.) and Large Oval
Accessories: Snow Burst Embossing Folder, 3/8" Cherry Cobbler Quiled Satin Ribbon, Cherry Cobbler Embossing powder, Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU! Accessories: scalloped square die cut and gold pearls

Paper Players #73 - Jaydee's CAS Colors

Hi stampers! Wow, it has been a whole WEEK since I have posted! (ridiculous!!) I  did NOT mean for that to happen...life has been incredibly busy lately. I even had a post ready to share with some of the beautiful birthday cards I received this week. (stay tuned...it's still coming...) I just need a few more hours in the day...Ack!! 


This week at the Paper Players, the lovely Jaydee is our hostess and she selected a deliciously, elegant color combo for inspiration:

These colors are so rich! I tried to do them justice...although what I lack in CAS-skills, I completely make up for in sparkly accents...hopefully! :) The tree and the sentiment are heat embossed and I dressed up the background by adding some texture . I hadn't used the Snow Swirled set in a while, so I thought it was about time to break it out of the case.  All and all, it was an easy card to create, which is totally my cup of tea, lately!  

Please stop by the 'Paper Players and check out what the rest of the DT have created for inspiration this week. We sure hope you will join us and play along! 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao
Susan Joyce
Rita Wright is designing this week, too! :) 

Hope you had a fantastic weekend! Hugs/! 

Stampin' UP! Supply List: 
Stamps: Snow Swirled and Short and Sweet for the sentiment)
Paper: Brushed Silver, Night of Navy and Whisper White card stock and Silver Glimmer paper
Ink: Versa-Mark, Not Quite Navy classic ink
Accessories: Small Oval punch (ret.), Large Oval punch, Snow Burst Embossing folder, Clear Embossing Powder, Basic Rhinestones, Night of Navy Grosgrain ribbon and Stampin' Dimensionals

Paper Player's Challenge #26-Jaydee's Technique Challenge

Howdy and Happy Sunday! I'm a wee bit behind today in my post for The Paper Players. I was under the weather last night and most of today, but am finally here with my project for this week's fun and fabulous challenge. (Thanks to the DT for being incredibly patient with me!) Jaydee is our lovely host this week and she challenged us to break out the embossing powder for some wonderful "wet embossing":

I don't know about you, but I LOVE my heat gun! Even though every time I use it I sustain an injury of some degree, haha! The shiny effect is just so cool and it always adds a bit of POP to any project. If you love your heat gun, too (or if you haven't dusted it off in a while) come play along with us this week at The Paper Players. It's a LOT of fun and I am very excited to share that they asked me to stay on and play as a Guest Designer for the next 2 weeks, too. Whoo Hoo! (*happy dance, happy dance*) Head on over to The Paper Players blog to see what the fabulous gals in the Design Team "embossed up" for inspiration this week.

For my card this week, I went with another non-traditional, holiday color combo. I know, I know, I will put the Snow Swirled stamp set to rest after this card, I promise. I use it entirely TOO much, sorry! :) It is just one of my favorite holiday sets. My color combo is Basic Black, Whisper White, Silver and Elegant Eggplant. This card was originally planned in Perfect Plum, but while getting it assembled today I switched it up to Elegant Eggplant because "something" compelled me to use that color. (Hopefully I'm getting a little chuckle from the gals on the DT and my friend Christina, too!) 


I embossed the tree, the snowflakes and the sentiment in Elegant Eggplant craft ink and clear embossing powder. I love using colored craft ink with clear embossing powder because it is a little more forgiving then colored embossing powder, if you do what I do a LOT and forget to use an Embossing Buddy. (Teeny tiny "oops" on the tree...look away, nothing to see here...) The DSP is the (ret.) Night and Day...which was originally released for Halloween. You can't really see it in the photos but I "smooched" the DSP with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz to add a little sparkle and play off the silver card stock. All of the rest of the supplies used are listed below. The inside was embossed as well...forgot to add that. I really hope you like it! I would love to hear what you think so if you would, leave a comment and let me know! :) 

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Snow Swirled (again! haha!)
Ink: Elegant Eggplant craft ink and Versa-mark (for snowflake on the inside)
Papers: Basic Black, Whisper White, Silver, Elegant Eggplant card stock and Night and Day (ret.) DSP
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Silver Embossing Powder, Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz, Basic Black 1/8" Taffeta ribbon (my new fav!), 2" x 1 3/8" XL Oval punch, 3/4" Circle punch (inside), 1" Circle punch (inside) and lots of JEWELS! 
Non-SU! Accessories: square scalloped die cut


Thanks for visiting! 
Have a HAPPY day! :)

Gate Fold Holiday Greetings

Hello and Happy Thursday! I hope this week has been going well for you out there. I have been wanting to try out the Technique Challenge over at the "Just Us Girls" blog since they posted it but just couldn't get motivated on exactly WHAT I wanted to make with it. Today was the last day to play in the challenge so it was now or never: 

As I sat at my desk trying to come up with an idea, I saw this week's color combo at The Color Dare and was immediately inspired to make a non-traditional Christmas card. I probably have mentioned before that I LOVE Melon Mambo, right? :) I wasn't so sure about Pacific Point at first (I never have gravitated towards that color) but the three colors work really well together.

Color Dare #85

Pacific Point

Melon Mambo

Blushing Bride

Gate Fold cards are actually pretty easy to make. Never tried one before? The gals at JUGS shared a link to a great tutorial from Splitcoast, you can find it here. I thought it would be fun to try to NOT use any patterned paper on this one, to keep the focus on colors and the Snow Swirled tree. I did add some Smooch Spritz to the polka dot layer for some added sparkle. (One of my layers is a little unevenly cut, as well...oops, just caught that!) For the sentiment I just inked up the "Merry Christmas" portion (with a Pacific Point marker) of the sentiment from the Best Yet (ret.) set. I then decided to use a ribbon to tie it closed, so I kept the ribbon ends a little longer then usual. 

The picture below, is the card all opened up. I added some stamped snowflakes with glitter to the side panels to dress it up a bit more. What do you think?

For those of you inquiring about "Schnauzer-Gate 2010", nothing has changed. The little dude is still here with no responses to our many posts all over the city. Yesterday morning, I was downstairs when I realized it had been some time since I had seen either Ozzy or "the Schnauzer" (that's what we have been calling him). That is usually an indication that they are sneaking a snack of the forbidden kitty food. When I finally found them, in our bedroom, I caught them snuggled up together keeping an eye on the neighborhood through the front the window. Oh, these dogs... 

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Snow Swirled, Best Yet (retired, outside sentiment)
Ink: Pacific Point classic ink and Blushing Bride classic ink (sponged around the tree)
Paper: Pacific Point, Melon Mambo, Blushing Bride and Whisper White card stock
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Melon Mambo polka-dot ribbon (ret.), Small Oval punch, Medium Oval punch, Smooch Spritz in Vanilla Shimmer and Pacific Point marker
Non-SU! Accessories: Oval and Scalloped Oval die cuts, 2 colors of pink jewels, silver star, pink glitter glue, lace border punch (inside) and sentiment stamp on inside of card. 



Thanks for visiting! 
Have a HAPPY day! :)

I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas

I won't have to wish all that hard, though. Christmas is always green in Texas! :)

This week at The Paper Players, LeAnne and the fabulous design team gave the following challenge: 

"I am challenging you all this week to use Monochromatic colors in your creation....use different hues or shades of one color. It can be any color....just used varying shades of that color. Adding a neutral is okay, too!"

At first I was going to use reds...then oranges...then I saw a scrap of Old Olive card stock on my desk and *ta-da*, it was decided. I was "Going Green" for this challenge. Thanks to my trusty Color Coach, pairing my colors was a snap.

I busted out my Snow Swirled stamp set because I thought that the tree image would look awesome embossed in green. I used Old Olive craft ink and clear embossing powder to do that. I recently purchased some green bling in assorted sizes and decided it would be a great way to "decorate" the tree. 


For the background I used a swirl embossing folder on Certainly Celery card stock then brushed on some Platinum Shimmer Paint with a paintbrush. I love Shimmer Paints! I think they give such a quick and easy "pop" to any project. 

I wanted to dress up the Eyelet Border punch because it seemed a little boring on it's own. I wove some gold elastic cord through the top holes to create a "stitched effect", then more bling to the bottom holes in the punch. I really liked how it came out. For some final touches I added another strip of ribbon and then embossed the sentiment in gold and punched it out. 

I had to add this next photo because I thought that regular visitors to my blog would get a chuckle out of it. Looks like there is a new sheriff in town! My sweet (and usually more subdued) kitty, Tomas, decided to get in on the action earlier today while I was trying to take photos to post of the card. I guess he has had enough of Benny Max hogging the spotlight. HaHa! :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Snow Swirled, Best Yet (retired)
Ink: Old Olive craft ink (tree) and Versa-Mark (sentiment)
Paper: Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke and Whisper White card stock
Accessories: Eyelet Border punch, 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval punch, Scalloped Oval punch, Platinum Shimmer Paint, clear embossing powder, gold embossing powder, Gold Elastic Cord (retired), Mistletoe Ribbon (retired) and Stampin' Dimensionals
*Green bling and swirl embossing folder are non-SU!

Have a great day! 
Thanks for stopping by,