Geometrical Birthday for Paper Players #189

Hello stamping friends! This week at the Paper Players, the always-awesome Nance is our hostess with a tic-tac-toe challenge. I love these challenges...so many options to get your creative mojo working. I went with the top line of the tic-tac-toe board, using a birthday theme with punches and twine.

The Geometrical stamp set was one we received at the Stampin' Up Leadership Conference back in January. I haven't really given this stamp set it's fair share of ink, so I really wanted to use it for this challenge.  It's a "happy" stamp set. I paired it up with the coordinating Kaleidoscope DSP and Triangle punch, which I was ridiculously excited to earn from the Leadership event. I got up in front of the crowd and shared one of my most embarrassing stamping stories. Eek! I'm not proud of that embarrassing story, but I do love this bight and cheery card.  I added some twine and rhinestones, because bling really makes EVERYTHING happier! :)

Please join us over at the Paper Players!  The challenge is open through Friday, April 4th, 2014 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

Before I sign off, I just wanted to share one of my favorite photos of two special kitties. Benny (my 24 pound Maine Coon) isn't usually cuddly with the other cats. He prefers to stand alone and take the spotlight for himself. Recently, my little tripod "ginger kitty" Triple has become infatuated with his big brother and is always by his side. I love that Benny has taken to nurturing him. I almost fainted when I saw them cuddled up together.

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

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

CAS Mixed Bunch for Paper Players #187

Hello there stampers! Hope you are having a great day so far. This week Jaydee is our hostess over at the Paper Players with a Clean and Simple Spring card challenge. Jaydee is truly the Queen of CAS cards. She has a way of doing "more with less". I always over-do CAS cards, it seems. I have really been trying to "clean up my act" and not stress about them when I make them. That was my approach for my card for the challenge. Thank goodness it wasn't a one-layer card challenge or I would have REALLY been in trouble. Haha!

The layout was inspired by one I saw on my stamping pal Lesley's blog: The Challenge. Any layout that has elements repeated in "threes" always catches my eye. I decided to use two stamp sets I rarely ink up and picked out a fun spring trio of colors. It is not a complicated card but I really like how it came out. The colors really pop and I am going to be able to pop it in the mail using only one stamp! Whoot!   

Here are the products I used to create my card: 

• Mixed Bunch Stamp Set
• Sweet Essentials Stamp Set
• Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (Sale-A-Bration item)
• 1" Circle Punch
• Banner Punch (Sale-A-Bration item)
• Basic Rhinestones
• Classic Stamp Pads in Rose Red, Gumball Green and Wisteria Wonder
• Card stock in Whisper White and Rose Red

Please join us over at the Paper Players!  The challenge is open through Friday, March 21st, 2014 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

Looks like Benjamin is waiting to use the Macbook, so it's time to sign off for now. 

Have a great day today! :) 

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

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Label Love for Paper Players #186

 Hello stamping friends! Hope you are having a great day so far! This week at the Paper Players, I am the challenge hostess. Right before the Academy Awards, I saw the photo (in the challenge badge) on the Anthropologie page on Instagram and fell in LOVE with the color combo. I thought it would make for a fun challenge. I hope you think so, too.

I was going to go with an entirely different theme for my card but something just kept making me want to create a baby card with these colors. So, I went with it. I have also been trying to ink up stamps that I have been neglecting in my stamp studio. There are quite a few. I bought Label Love awhile ago and have only inked it up once. The layout is pretty simple but I still got a lot of layers on the card, which always makes me happy.

Here are the items I used:

• Label Love Stamp Set
• 7/8" Scallop Circle Punch
• 1- 1/4" Circle Punch
• Scallop Trim Border Punch
• Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
• Square Lattice Textured Expressions Embossing Folder
• Basic Rhinestones (of course)
• The DSP is retired and the star die cut is non-SU!

Please join us over at the Paper Players!  The challenge is open through Friday, March 14th, 2014 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

Spring Thanks for Paper Players #185

Hello there! How is your weekend going? The weather down here in South Texas has been amazing the past few days. Nothing but sunshine, blue skies and 80 degree temps. It really put me in the mood for the new Paper Players challenge, hosted by the always fabulous, Ann Schach.

This week, we have a "Thankful for Spring" challenge showcasing Thank You cards. I'm going to enjoy our "spring" while it lasts because another cold-front is rolling in late-Monday. Although I know "Texas-cold" is not as cold as what some of you are experiencing (I'm a native New Yorker...I GET snow and cold) the low 40's are COLD down here when you are not used to it!

To get started on my card, I was completely inspired by Narelle's awesome layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week. I LOVE this sketch! SO versatile and I know I will be using it often. 

For my card, I kept it pretty simple but the patterns, colors and dimension still keep it fun. Here are the items I  used to create my card: 

• Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper
• Bird Builder Punch
• Floral Fusion Sizzlits
• 1- 1/4" Square Punch
• Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack
• Colors: Melon Mambo, So Saffron, Elegant Eggplant, Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz and Whisper White
• Sentiment is from the (ret.) Curly Cute stamp set...but I never get rid of my sentiment stamps because I use them often.

One more close-up of those fabby dimensional flowers. It's no secret that I love "puffy" or "chubby" cards. Sure they cost more to mail, but I think they are totally worth it. 

Please join us over at the Paper Players!  The challenge is open through Friday, March 7th, 2014 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

Before I sign off, I wanted to share a photo of my sweet Gidget. She went to her first "spa day" this week and I was so thankful she didn't act all "diva-licious" and bite our groomer. Eeek! Luckily she had her big brother Ozzy there to protect her. Poor baby was quite scared on this adventure but she survived and looks sassy as ever. Have a very HAPPY day today! :)

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

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Just Sayin' For Paper Players #184

Hello there! This week at the Paper Players, we have a fun sketch designed by Jaydee. There are a lot of possibilities for this layout. I know I will be using this one again, for sure.

For my card, I knew I wanted to use a trio of patterned paper for the banners...but that was easier said then done. Ha! I am the most indecisive person on the planet when it comes to paper selection. (If you have ever stamped with me, you KNOW this to be true.) I finally decided on the Fresh Prints Designer Series Paper Stack because I just LOVE this color combo. I also had some baker's twine in coordinating colors sitting on my desk, so that helped, too. ;)

I used the simple sentiment from Just Sayin' and cut it out with the coordinating Word Bubble Framelit Dies. I added a pop of Red Glimmer Paper behind it cut out with the Ovals Framelits Dies. It's more sparkly in real life, I promise. That paper always reminds me of Dorothy's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz. See, now you are thinking it, too! There's no place like home...

Please join us over at the Paper Players!  The challenge is open through Friday, February 28th, 2014 at Noon (PDT). Stop by and say hello to the rest of the Design Team to see what they are sharing this week. Have a great day! 

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

Super Stars for Paper Players #183

Hello stamping friends! This week at the Paper Players we have a fun star-themed CAS (clean and simple) challenge, hosted by the lovely LeAnne. I hope you will join us and play along this week. 

For my card, I used some star die cuts I bought a while back and almost forgot about. I had stashed them away in a drawer and was so excited to find them. It was like Christmas all over again! Haha! Do you have little hidden gems like that in your craft room, too? Maybe it is a sign that I just REALLY need to clean up my stamp studio sometime soon. Who knows what else is lurking in there! 

I ran the star die cuts through the Big Shot then popped up a few layers for dimension. The sentiment is from the Really Good Greetings stamp set. I thought it would be cute for a congratulations card. The banner "tail" was super easy to make using the Banner Punch which I earned FREE from Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration. You could earn one too, with a qualifying order! Visit the link to my online SU! store for more details. I also used the Arrows Textured Expressions Embossing Folder to dress up the background a bit. Of course, I finished everything off with some sparkle (Basic Rhinestones and Silver Glimmer Paper) and there you have it.  

Please join us over at the Paper Players!  The challenge is open through Friday, February 21st, 2014 at Noon (PDT). Stop by and say hello to the rest of the Design Team to see what they are sharing this week. Have a great day! 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile 
Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

Before I sign off, I wanted to share a cute photo of two of my kitties, Tomas and Triple. As I was typing up my blog post, I looked down and there they were cuddled up together and purring away. I had my camera close by, so I snapped this photo of them. So cute! :) 

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

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

A Golden Hello for Paper Players #182

Hello there! It's time for a new challenge over at the Paper Players! This week, Nance is our hostess with a fabulous color combo. I fell in love with these colors as soon as she shared the inspiration photo with us. I personally LOVE shopping for fun accessories. Handbags, shoes...but especially jewelry! I had a lot of fun with this challenge, which really helped me get out of the stamping rut I have been in lately. Thanks, Nance! :) 

While perusing Facebook yesterday morning, I came upon the photo below on the Better Homes and Gardens page. Something about the layout inspired me and I thought it might make a cool card design. Love all the circles! Those colors are really pretty together, too. Hmm, a idea for a different project, maybe?

This is not my usual style and the "random" placement was kind of tough for me to get comfortable with. But once I overcame that (with a little encouragement from my friend and fellow Paper Player Ann) it came together quickly. I added a LOT of gold accents between the Foil Paper, Glimmer Paper, Sequins and Smooch Spritz on the butterfly. I don't tend to use gold very often, so I wanted to make it count. Haha! I also listed all of the supplies used at the end of the post. I really like how this one came out and I hope you do as well. 

Please join us over at the Paper Players!  The challenge is open through Friday, February 14th, 2014 at Noon (PDT). Stop by and say hello to the rest of the Design Team to see what they are sharing this week. Have a great day!  

  

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile 
Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

Just wanted to share a photo of Miss Gidget before I go. I don't think I have mentioned yet that we officially adopted her. Yes, it's true. She got very sick while we were fostering her and her adopters ended up backing out. After nursing her back to health (which was a long and often scary road), the bond was way too strong and we were not able to let her go. The sassy diva is now home! :) 

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

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Stampin' Up! Supply List

Stamps: Oh, Hello and Gorgeous Grunge 

Paper: Gold Foil Paper, Champagne Glimmer Paper, Midnight Muse DSP (ret.) Crisp Cantaloupe, Midnight Muse and Whisper White card stock 

Ink: Midnight Muse and Crisp Cantaloupe Classic ink

Punches: Bitty Butterfly, 1- 3/4" Circle, 1- 3/8" Circle, 1" Circle, 3/4" Circle 

Accessories: Gold Sequins, Midnight Muse 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, Gold Smooch Spritz, Beautiful Wings Embosslits, Chevron Embossing Folder, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals and Basic Pearls

Simple Sweet Treats for Paper Players #181

Hello there! This week at the Paper Players, I am hosting our new challenge! I wanted to focus on the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday with a little twist. This week, it's all about Valentine's Day cards or 3-D projects with a food or treat theme. I hope you have some fun with our "Sweet Treat" theme and play along this week.

For my project I decided to share an idea I had for some quick and easy Valentine's treat bags.  Although my project isn't over-the-top, I think it is practical. Let's be honest, a lot of us (myself included) just don't have a lot of time to spare these days. But it doesn't mean we can't create fun projects for gifts. Stampin' Up has some great new products that I used the Tag a Bag Gift Bags and elements from the Happenings Simply Created Card kit to create this card and gift bag. The sentiment is from the Geometrical stamp set and I had a piece of Natural Chevron Ribbon sitting on my desk that I added to the card at the last minute. It matched the treat bag perfectly and I love how it ties the card and bag together.

The gift bag is filed with Hershey Kisses. I don't know many people who would say no to chocolate treats, so I figured it would be a safe choice. :) I simply sealed the bag with a piece of Washi Tape. Nothing fancy. I love how the bags are already pre-printed with the chevron design, as well. It's super easy to just add a few elements to dress them up. There are 10 in a pack, so I was able to easily create Valentine's for friends and co-workers. 

Please join us over at the Paper Players!  The challenge is open through Friday, February 7th, 2014 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

Vivid Vases for Paper Players #180

 Hello there! Hope you are enjoying your day so far. This week over at the Paper Players, my sweet friend Ann is our challenge hostess with a really fun sketch. There are lots of possibilities with this sketch and I love that little tag element. I hope thou will join us and play along.

I used my new Vivid Vases stamp that is in the new Occasions Catalog for the main image on my card. I received this stamp at SU! Leadership conference a few weeks ago. it is a REALLY fun stamp to watercolor. What I love about watercoloring is that it doesn't have to be perfect. You can go outside the lines a little bit and it just adds to the look. Which is a good thing because I went outside the lines with my Aquapainter more then a few times while coloring this one. Haha!

My little tag pulls out of the card and shows off the super cute Kaleidoscope DSP  Love the fun colors and patterns on this paper!  I had initially intended this to be a gift card holder, but after I got everything cut, I measured it a wee bit too small. Whoops! The recipient could always use the tag for a bookmark or could add to it to use on a card or gift of their own.

Please join us over at the Paper Players!  The challenge is open through Friday, January 31st, 2014 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

Stampin' Up! Supply List

Stamps: Vivid Vases

Paper: Kaleidoscope DSP, Watercolor Paper, Strawberry Slush, Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight and Whisper White card stock 

Ink: Black Staz-On Ink, Strawberry Slush, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight and Bermuda Bay Classic ink

Accessories: New Scalloped Tag Topper punch, Basic Metal buttons, White Baker's Twine, Chevron Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals and Basic Rhinestones