Evergreen Theme for Paper Players #174

Hello and Happy Sunday to you! Can you believe it is December already? Were did the year go? This week at the Paper Players, the lovely and talented LeAnne has given us an "Evergreen" Theme Challenge. What I love about this challenge is that there are many different ways to be inspired by it. 

When I first saw the theme, I knew I was going to use the big ol' "evergreen" tree from the Christmas Lodge (ret.) stamp set...although I wanted to make my card without the color green anywhere on it. Here is what I came up with: 

I am in love with the Winter Frost Specialty DSP in the SU Holiday Catalog. Something about the mix of cool blue hues really makes it stand out on holiday cards. I added a pop of Silver Glimmer Paper in the background and heat embossed the tree for some added shine. I used some Island Indigo Candy Dots for the "ornaments" to dress the tree up a bit too. If you haven't bought those Candy Dots in every color yet...DO IT! They are an awesome accent and super easy to use.

Please join us over at the Paper Players!  The challenge is open through Friday, December 6th, 2013 at Noon (PDT). Stop by and say hello to the rest of the Design Team to see what they are sharing this week. 

  

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile 
Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

CLICK HERE to order anytime 24/7 from my Stampin' Up! website

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Christmas Coffee for {PP #116}

Hey, hey, it's Sunday! We got a cool front last night here in South Texas and it FINALLY feels like fall around here. Temperatures are slated to be in the mid-60's today and that is awesome. Gotta enjoy it while it lasts because we are predicted to be back in the 90's by this Friday. *sigh* Ok, enough about the weather...you came to see a card, right? This week at the Paper Players, the lovely LeAnne has a fun theme challenge for us: Cups! Lots of cups! Please join us!

For my card, I decided to feature some Christmas coffee. I love the Scentsational Season stamp set and the fact that it has coordinating die cuts. I used the layout from Freshly Made Sketches for inspiration.

I used an embossing pen to shade in the "coffee" portion of the stamp. I then heat embossed it with Early Espresso Embossing Powder. Holiday cards are such a great excuse to use Glimmer Paper, so I added a little sparkly silver trim to one of the layers. All of the supplies I used are listed at the end of the post.

Here's a quick shot of the inside of the card, with a sentiment from the Cheers to You stamp set, because it was on my desk from yesterday's card. 

Please join us this week at the Paper Players! Our challenge closes on Friday October 12th at Noon (PDT). The rest of the gals on the Design Team has created some fun projects, too. Stop by and share some bloggin' love! 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile (you are here)

Amy White

Dawn Easton

Helen Heil

Jaydee

Jen Arkfield

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Stampin' Up! Supply List

Stamps: Scentsational Season, Short and Sweet (ret.) and Cheers to You (inside sentiment)

Paper: Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack, Silver Glimmer Paper, Cherry Cobbler, Lucky Limeade and Very Vanilla card stock

Ink: Cherry Cobbler Classic Ink

Punches: 1- 1/4" Square Punch, Small Oval Punch (ret.) and Med. Oval Punch

Accessories: VersaMark Pen, Early Espresso Embossing Powder, Snowburst Embossing Folder, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Finishing Touches Edgelits Die, Holiday Collection Framelits Die, Lucky Limeade 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon, Heat Tool, Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals

Non-SU! Accessories: circle and scalloped circle dies

Tic-Tac-Toe for Our Creative Corner

Hello and Happy Saturday to you! This week at Our Creative Corner, our very own Holly Keen is hosting and she has a fun challenge to try. 

 Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge: "Play along with us in a game of papercrafting tic-tac-toe. Choose "three in a row" on the Tic-Tac-Toe board and make sure you work those elements into your papercraft project.

I know this is shocking...but I decided to go with the top row of the "bingo challenge" featuring: Brads, Pink and Flowers. I used the retired Loves Me DSP for the basis for my color combo of pretty in Pink and Regal Rose. Sure it is retired, but let's face it...I think we ALL have those items in our craft rooms that are begging to be dusted off and brought out of retirement.  I paired the paper with a fun dimensional flower that I first saw HERE from my friend, Nance Leedy. 

The Tic Tac Toe challenge was created by the "pinks" of Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink...the Antique Brad flower center...along with the dimensional flower on the card and the floral pattern on the paper. This card is very PINK...even for this pink-lovin' gal! (Thanks to my friend Rita for the awesome encouragement while making this card! You ROCK, girl!) 


Before I go, I wanted to share a shot of my boys. It's a little cold here in Texas, so they are sporting their coats in this shot. I might have been bribing them with a "cookie" so that is why they are so attentive. Haha! 

I hope that you will join us this week and play along at Our Creative Corner. Please check out what the rest of the Design Team have shared this week...these gals are super-talented:

Linda Coughlin- The Funkie Junkie

Vicki Burdick- It's a Stamp Thing

Sue Butler- Scrumplescrunch
Anita Houston- The Artful Maven Haven

Anne Marie Hile- Stampin' Anne

Wendy Janson-  It's All About Stamping
Marcy Kaminski - En Papillote Arts
Holly Kean- Kean On Paper 
Irena Kowalczyk (aka Rudlis) - Love, Life and Crafts
Meihsia Liu- Simply Paper Crafts
Tui Nathan- Stampin Time
Lori Rider- The Diva Stamper
Kristin Tierney- Lilly Beth Boutique
Sharon Wheet- Designs by Sharon

We sure hope you will join us and play along! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a HAPPY day today!




Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Short and Sweet
Paper: Loves Me DSP (ret), Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose card stock
Ink: Close To Cocoa and Regal Rose Classic ink
Punches: Word Window punch, 3/4" Circle punch, 2- 3/8" Scalloped Circle punch
Accessories: Antique Brads, Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon, Finial Press Embossing Folder, Stamping Sponges (sponged Regal Rose ink around all of the edges), Basic Pearls (colored with a Pretty in Pink marker) and Stampin Dimensionals 

Twitterpated Tag for The Paper Players

Hi there! Happy Sunday to you! This week at the Paper Players, the fabulous Jaydee is our hostess and our theme is to create a Clean and Simple card with a tag incorporated into the design. 

I realized while making this card...that I am pretty much "tag-LESS" in my stamp studio! I guess I really don't use tags a lot on my projects so this was a real challenge for me. I guess I know what will be on my next Stampin' Up! order. Sheesh!  My tag was created from a punched 1- 1/4" Square punch and a 1- 3/8" Square punch with the top corners snipped with the Tag Corner punch (ret.)

Ok, I guess technically this isn't a really Clean and Simple card, by the standard definition. As a self-professed "layer queen", I am still challenged with CAS cards. I guess it's a known fact because while we were creating our make & takes at Regionals yesterday, everyone at the table kept saying to me "You probably want to add a few more layers to these cards, don't you?" Yes, (shaking my head*) I sure did! However, this IS a CAS card in the sense that it didn't take very long to create since I focused on using punches for the images. It came together very quickly. Gotta love those punches! The supplies I used are listed at the end of the post.

Thanks for visiting today! I hope you will stop by and play along with us this week at the Paper Players. Please stop by and visit the rest of the lovely ladies on the Design Team to see what they created, too. 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Before I go, I wanted to share one quick photo from Regionals yesterday. There will be more to follow really soon. Stay tuned! It was SO much fun! From left to right:  Ann Schach, Rita Wright, me and Amy Lazzell:

Have a HAPPY day! :) 


Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Short and Sweet
Paper: Twitterpated DSP, Riding Hood Red, Island Indigo, Blushing Bride and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Riding Hood Red and Blushing Bride Classic ink (which was sponged around the bird)
Punches: 1- 1/4" Square punch, 1- 3/8" Square punch, Tag Corner punch (ret.), Bird Builder punch, Small Heart punch, Scallop Border punch
Accessories: Square Lattice embossing folder, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Riding Hood Red Pleated Satin ribbon, Twitterpated Designer buttons, Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU!: circle and scallop circle dies

Bright and Happy New Year at OCC

Hi there and Happy New Year's Eve to you! (albeit a little late in the day...guess who forgot to schedule her blog post to go live this morning?) Well, another week has passed during this busy holiday season and it's time for a new challenge at Our Creative Corner. I am the hostess this week with a "Color and Theme challenge":

"Bright and Happy New Year" - 

It's time to ring in 2012! Create a card for a CELEBRATION using this color combo. There are so many occasions that call for a celebration ...New Year's, birthday cards, congratulations...just to name a few. Have some fun with these bright and happy colors!

I decided to create a birthday card with some new SU! goodies that are coming out in the Occasions Mini Catty starting January 4th. This post is a little "sneaky-peeky". The flower is stamped from the new Mixed Bunch stamp set, which has a coordinating punch. (Hooray!) The striped DSP is from the Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit. My favorite product in the new Mini HAS to be the Pleated Satin Ribbon. It comes in 4 colors and is sooo pretty! I have a feeling I will be using a LOT of it! 

I embossed the stamped flower in Clear Embossing Powder on Melon Mambo card stock. The center of the flower is a punched 3/4" circle dressed up with a bunch of Basic Rhinestones that I colored with markers. I popped up all of the layers of the flower with Stampin' Dimensionals. 

Finally, here is the inside of the card: 

Thanks for stopping by today! If you have a chance this week, we hope you can play along over at Our Creative Corner. The lovely ladies on the Design Team have created some beautiful projects for inspiration, too. Be sure to check them out. Have fun ringing in the New Year tonight! 

Happy 2012! :) 

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Mixed Bunch (new!), Short & Sweet (front sentiment) and Happiest Birthday Wishes (hostess, inside sentiment)
Paper: Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit (new), Pear Pizzazz, Melon mambo, Daffodil Delight and Elegant Eggplant card stock
Ink: VersaMark, Elegant Eggplant, Pear Pizzazz (for sponging around flower center) and Melon Mambo Classic ink
Accessories: Blossom punch (new), 3/4" Circle punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label punch, Clear Embossing Powder, Pear Pizzazz 3/8" Pleated Satin Ribbon (new), Perfect Polka dots Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Basic Rhinestones and markers to color them! 

Holiday Color Combo for Our Creative Corner

Hello there and Happy Saturday to you! This week at Our Creative Corner, we have a holiday color combo hosted by yours truly. *grin* I found a cute inspiration photo on Pinterest, once again, and thought it would make for a fun for a holiday card. Can you believe Christmas is only one week away? Wow! Hope you can play along with us this week. Here are the details of the challenge: 

Holiday Color Combo

Create a holiday card using Light Pink, Light Blue, Red and White

*PLUS a touch of holiday SPARKLE, just for fun!*

You can also use the photo for some inspiration! 

I saw those buttons in the photo and immediately knew what set was going to make an appearance on this card...Button Buddies! Awww, yeah! I love that set! Next up, I spied a holiday catalog on my coffee table and that was just what I needed to put it all together. The blue shade on the cover pretty much gives away where that catty came from, too...Tiffany & Co. *sigh* Maybe Santa will do a little shopping there for me this Christmas. ;) 

The little snowman was inked up using markers, then stamped and embellished. I added some red glitter to his hat to play off of the sparkly scalloped border and the polka dots in the patterned paper. That Candy Cane Christmas Specialty DSP is retired and I am stretching out every, single, last piece of it. The white button is adorned with some baker's twine and then the edges of the ovals were dressed up with Pretty in Pink sponged ink and Baja Breeze Glass Glitter (ret.). 


I know the challenge says a "touch" of sparkle...but I just decided to "touch" about 3/4 of the card with sparkle. That's just how I roll!

There is a lot of dimension on the card from the popped up layers and the red satin ribbon. That ribbon ties beautifully every time. Finally, I topped the card off with some rhinestone accents. This is as close to a snowman as we can get for the holidays here in south Texas, so why not bring the bling? :)  

Thanks for stopping by today! I sure hope you can join us this week at Our Creative Corner and play along this week with the colors. Please stop by and see what the rest of the lovely ladies on the Design Team have created, too. They are so amazingly talented and have whipped up some gorgeous projects, yet again. 

Have a very HAPPY day! 

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Button Buddies and Short & Sweet
Paper: Candy Cane Christmas Specialty DSP, Red Glimmer Paper, Pretty in Pink, Baja Breeze, Real Red and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Basic Black and Pretty in Pink Classic ink
Punches: Scallop Border punch, Word Window and Modern Label
Accessories: Red Satin Ribbon, Baja Breeze Glass Glitter (ret.), Stamping Sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals, Basic Rhinestones, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie and Black Stampin' Write Markers
Non SU! Accessories: oval die cuts, white button, red/white baker's twine, red glitter glue, snowflake embossing folder

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 Players 64- Plant or Animal CAS

Hi there and Happy Paper Players Sunday to you! This week, the lovely and talented Ann Schach is our  hostess and she has challenged us to create a Clean and Simple card using an animal OR a plant as your  main image. 

For my design, I used the fantastic sketch over at Cardabilities this week. I just discovered this site and there is some awesome creative inspiration there! :) 

I ended up creating TWO cards for the challenge. I started out with a baby card in mind, as I am needing one for a dear friend. Then, after whipping up a 'boy" card...I just decided to make another card for a "little lady", too. You can never have too many baby cards on hand...I actually have a swap coming up later this month that is "baby-related"...hmmmm! As the theme of this challenge was CAS (clean and simple), I tried to keep my layers to a minimum (for the first time EVER) and wanted to showcase the new Nursery Nest DSP I recently purchased. I paired the paper with the Fox & Friends stamp set. 

Here is a close-up of the "boy" card: 

 Here is the close-up of the "girl" card: 

Same elements...different colors...and there you have it: simple cards for a baby boy AND a baby girl! All of the supplies used are listed below but if you have any questions, please shoot me an email.  We sure hope you will join us this week at the Paper Players. Be sure to visit the rest of the gals on the Design Team to check out their lovely creations: 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao
Sandra Conner (September GD)

Before I go, I wanted to share a photo. This is EPIC because since we have had these two crazy cats under one roof...this is THE closest they have EVER been to each other. I think the look on Benjamin 's face completely expresses the utter "joy" he is feeling for this moment, as well: 

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope your day is HAPPY and fun!!! :) 

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Fox & Friends and Short & Sweet
Paper: Nursery Nest DSP, Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride and Marina Mist Classic ink
Accessories: Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Corner Rounder punch, Scallop Edge Border punch, Word Window punch,  Pear pizzazz 1/2" Stitched-Poly ribbon, Blushing Bride 1/2" Stitched-Poly ribbon, Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU! Accessories: silver pearls, circle and scallop circle die cut

Sunny Garden for Our Creative Corner

Hi-ya friends! This week has flown by and it is already Saturday! Yikes! I have had a lot going on lately and haven't had much time to visit Blogger. So, if I haven't popped by to visit YOU, please forgive me.  I'm super excited to share the new weekly challenge over at Our Creative Corner. This week, the super-fabulous Vicki is our hostess at OCC and she has an AWESOME sketch challenge to try: 

I don't know about you, but I just LOVE this sketch! I already added it to my book of "favorites". I decided to play around with the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch for this one...the circle shape reminded me of a SUN and the flowers just seemed to fit. I'm on a patterned paper kick lately, too. These papers came from the (ret.) In-Colors DSP pad and Sunny Garden DSP. Although the paper is retired from the actual catalog, you can still snag it in digital download form in SU! My Digital Studio. So "technically", it isn't truly retired. Which is awesome...because I just LOVE this paper. In MDS I can print my favorite patterns any time I want with a simple point-and-click. The colors are so fun and happy! That's why is was the perfect mix for a (much needed) "thank you" card today. 

The circle element in Vicki's sketch reminded me of a sun, so that's where the whole "flower idea" came from. I added some color to the scalloped circle using Poppy Parade and Pear Pizzazz Stampin' Write Markers. I thought it played off the dotted background. If you haven't ordered the Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack and the matching Bitty Buttons, you really should. They dressed up my punched flowers with an extra pop of dimension. I just love those little buggers! :) 

Finally, here is the inside of the card...ready for a special thank-you note:

Thanks for visiting today! Please stop by Our Creative Corner and see what the rest of the fabulous DT has created this week. We sure hope you will play along! :) 


Have a HAPPY day!! :) 


Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Bold Blossoms and Short & Sweet
Paper:  In Colors DSP Paper Pad (retired in last catty), Poppy Parede, Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight, Very Vanilla card stock and Sunny Garden DSP retired, but on MDS)
Ink: Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzazz (for sponging around the paper edges), Poppy Parade (sentiment) 
Accessories: Blossoms Bouquet Triple Layer Punch and sponges for inked edges, Word Window punch, Bitty Buttons and Basic Rhinestones! 
Non-SU! Accessories: circle and scalloped circle die cut