Simple Butterflies for Paper Players #162

Hello there! This week over at the Paper Players, the ever fabulous LeAnne has come up a fabulous color combo to try. Isn't this mix of Pool Party, Rich Razzleberry and Basic Black just gorgeous?

To be honest, my card was actually 2 different cards before I just decided I was over-complicating the process trying to add too many bells and whistles to my card. I also smudged some black ink right across a water colored image on my second card as it was 95% complete, which made me want to throw in the towel. Ugh! I finally just decided to keep it clean and simple and let the colors take center stage. I guess I was inspired by the trio of butterflies in the challenge graphic, too. I added the little pop of pattern and chevron embossing along with raising up the butterflies and the oval with Stampin' Dimensionals. The sparkle adds a fun finishing touch. I have listed all of the supplies at the end of the post.

Please join us over at the Paper Players!  The challenge is open through Friday, September 13th, 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

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Stampin' Up! Supply List

Stamps: Another Thank You Photopolymer Stamp Set

Paper: Polka Dot Parade DSP (ret.), Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Basic Black and Whisper White card stock 

Ink: Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink

Punches: Small Butterfly

Accessories: Ovals Framelits, Apothecary Accents Edgelits, Chevron Embossing Folder Big Shot, Stampin' Dimensionals and Basic Rhinestones 

Lovely as a Tree for Paper Players #161

Hello there! I'm here (a wee bit late) with my card for the Paper Players challenge this week. The always awesome Sandy Mathis is our hostess this week with a Fall Theme Challenge. As it is currently, 100 degrees here in South Texas, I am very much in the mood for fall to arrive...SOON! It's just too hot! 

For my card, I pulled out the Lovely as a Tree stamp set. This is one of those stamp sets that it took me forever to finally break down and purchase but I'm SO glad I did. I decided to ink up the trees with my Stampin' Write Markers to make them look "fall-ish". Here is the funny part, I stamped the image ONCE and really liked how it came out. Yup, one try. That is virtually unheard of for me. I usually have to stamp 3 or 4 times before I am happy with the results. I know I'm not the only one out there who does that! Haha! 

I used the Sweater Weather DSP again which I know has Tangerine Tango in it...and I used a Cajun Craze marker and the Candy Dots Accents. *Gasp!* I just liked the way it looked, even if technically they aren't the same color. I sponged around the edges to rough it up a bit and added some texture from two different ribbons. All of the supplies I used are listed below. 

Please join us over at the Paper Players!  The challenge is open through Friday, September 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

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Stampin' Up! Supply List

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Truly Grateful (sentiment) and Hey There (background "splotches") 

Paper: Sweater Weather DSP, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla card stock 

Ink: Chocolate Chip and Crumb Cake Classic Ink

Stampin' Write Markers: Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze and So Saffron

Accessories: 1- 1/4" Burlap Ribbon, 1/4" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Naturals Buttons, Hemp Twine, Sponge Daubers, Word Window Punch, Big Shot, Stampin' Dimensionals and Regals Candy Dots

Sweater Weather for Paper Players #160

Happy Sunday to you! Hope you are having a great day so far! I'm off to photograph some dogs for a local rescue organization later this afternoon, which I am pretty excited about. Hopefully the photos help them find their forever homes. This week at the Paper Players, the lovely Nance is our hostess and she has an awesome sketch for us. I couldn't wait to bust open the new pack of Sweater Weather Designer Series Paper on my desk. Maybe it is wishful thinking for some cooler "sweater weather" down here in South Texas...as it is expected to be in the 90's again today. C'mon fall!

Once I got working on my card and picked the papers I wanted to use, all I could think about was Starbucks...specifically a Pumpkin Spice Latte! It's almost time for those cups of deliciousness to make their appearance on the menu again. They are my favorite! Ok, enough talk about my obsession with Pumpkin Spice Lattes . You came to see a card, right? Ha!

As a tribute to the coffee, I decided on the Perfect Blend stamp set for this one. I like this set because it is easy to cut out, which makes paper piecing a snap. I could NOT cut three chevrons the same size to save my life, so I added the chevron element to the background and went with some twine and a button accent in place of the three chevrons that I couldn't produce. Gah! I sponged some ink to "dirty" the card up a bit and there you have it, a card for a coffee-loving friend. That sentiment cracks me up! All of the supplies I used are listed at the end of the post.

Please join us over at the Paper Players!  The challenge is open through Friday, August 30th, 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

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Stampin' Up! Supply List

Stamps: Perfect Blend

Paper: Sweater Weather DSP, Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand and Very Vanilla card stock 

Ink: Chocolate Chip and Sahara Sand Classic Ink

Accessories: Chevron Embossing Folder, Houndstooth Embossing Folder, Hemp Twine, Tangerine Tango button (ret.), Sponge Daubers, Big Shot, Stampin' Dimensionals and Basic Pearls

Non SU Accessories: scallop rectangle die cut

In Celebration of Freshly Made Sketches 100th Challenge

Hi Everyone! After some BIG woes with Blogger, I hope that this post will finally stay put. (It disappeared 3 times! ACK!) I am super excited to share my card for the Freshly Made Sketches !00th Challenge Celebration! Every week, the team at FMS shares a fabulous layout for inspiration to get the creative juices working. I am proud to call many of the lovely ladies on the Design Team "friends", so I was over-the-moon when Jen asked me if I wanted to be a part of their celebration. They are featuring a few former Guest Designers for a Blog Hop with this week's challenge. The complete Blog Hop list is on the FMS page.  But the fun doesn't stop there. Do you like prizes? No celebration is complete without treats so check out the challenge to see what a few lucky people could win for playing along! 

I decided to use some all new stamping goodies for my card. I am a huge fan of non-traditional colors for holiday cards, so as soon as I saw the Winter Frost Specialty Designer Series Paper, I knew I had to have it. There is something about that combo of Island Indigo, Coastal Cabana and Smokey Slate that I LOVE! Maybe it is the fact that it is still 100 degrees here in South Texas and the tropical names are perfect for Christmas cards in August. Haha! I went a little heavy on the bling, but that's really nothing new, is it? The new Frosted Finishes Embellishments are the perfect finishing touch and sooooo gorgeous. All of the supplies i used are listed at the end of the post. 

Finally, here is a quick shot of the inside of the card. I used the same snowflakes from the Festive Flurry set along with the sentiment from the Warmth and Wonder set, which is a hostess reward set from the SU Holiday catalog. 

I hope you will stop by Freshly Made Sketches and join in the fun this week. Their Design Team created some gorgeous projects, as always and you can get the complete list of everyone who created projects for the Blog Hop. Whoo hoo!

I also made another card with this same color combo, paper and stamp set for a SU Demo swap earlier this week. Coincidentally, I also used a former FMS sketch for the layout on that card, too. Check back soon for that. :)

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Stampin' Up! Supply List

Stamps: Festive Flurry, Teeny Tiny Wishes and Warmth and Wonder (Holiday Catalog Hostess set)

Paper: Winter Frost Specialty DSP, Island Indigo, Coastal Cabana and Whisper White card stock 

Ink: Island Indigo and Coastal Cabana Classic Ink

Punches: Scallop Border Punch, Word Window Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch and 1" Circle Punch

Accessories: Stylish Stripes Embossing Folder, Houndstooth Embossing Folder, Festive Flurry Framelits, Big Shot, Stampin' Dimensionals and Basic Rhinestones

Warmth and Wonder for Paper Players #159

Hello there! It's time for another fun challenge over at the Paper Players. This week, my buddy Ann Schach is our hostess and we are keeping it simple with a one layer card challenge. Oh, how I am challenged with one layer cards. I decided to take a different approach to a "layer" without adding to the front of the card. I just cut it out with a die cut oval! It might be sneaky, but it helped me fix some crooked stamping on my original card...that's how the idea with the die cut oval came about. :) 

I wracked my brain and tried three different stamp sets on three different color combos before settling on this card. I just had a huge Stampin' Up order delivered on Friday and the Warmth and Wonder stamp set was calling my name. It is a Hostess Rewards set, so if you are interested in earning it, give me a shout to plan a party or stamping event. 

Here is a close up of the embossed and bejewelled sentiment. Cherry Cobbler is such an awesome red. I love it for holiday cards. The sentiment and the "ornaments" on the tree are heat embossed with Cherry Cobbler embossing powder for some added shine.  I added some bakers twine and bling for fun. Even though this card was tough to photograph, it WAS fairly east to create. All of the supplies used are listed at the end of the post. 

Please join us over at the Paper Players!  The challenge is open through Friday, August 23rd, 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

On a quick side-note, Miss Violet (our foster pup) is actually still with us. She came down with a "puppy cold" and wasn't able to make the trip to Illinois last week. She will be here for another month, then she will join her new family in Seattle. She is such a sweetie!

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

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Stampin' Up! Supply List

Stamps: Warmth and Wonder (Holiday Catalog Hostess set)

Paper: Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla card stock 

Ink: Gumball Green Classic Ink and VersaMark

Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Mini Jingle Bell (ret.), Oval Collection Framelits, Big Shot and Basic Rhinestones

Anything BUT a Card for Papr Players #157

Helllooooo there! This week at the Paper Players, I am hosting our theme challenge. I went with a Fall Theme, WITH A TWIST.Get your "INK-ing" caps on...because we would love for you to share your creativity by making anything BUT a card this week. 

For my project, I decided to use the Tag-a-Box Bundle from Stampin' Up! This is such a cool kit (#131372) and comes with 8 boxes and accessories to create fabulous gifts. This is an awesome kit and at $12.50 for 8 boxes with supplies, it is a great value, too.

Can I tell you a secret? The box in this kit fits two "baby" Yankee Candle jars perfectly. I learned that while trying to come up with an idea for my project this week. How fun is this for a hostess gift? Seriously...what a fun gift to bring to a dinner party, or for a birthday, thank you...or to just tell a special friend they are awesome!

I used a retired stamp set (Day of Gratitude) for my project. This is one of my favorite stamp sets EVER. No, it isn't current but this set just says "fall" to me. I use it often.

Here is a shot of the inside of the box, filled with FALL fragrances: (Apple Pie and Pomegranate Cider) I created the "shred" by running colored card stock through my crimping tool and then sending it through the electric shredder. Afterwards, I scrunched it up in my hand. It's a simple way to use your scraps and add some color.

Here is another shot of the gift box. The colors are a little non-traditional but with a sponge and some Crumb Cake ink, it is easy to add some "distressed detail" to a project. The label and the mini clothespin came with the box kit. I traced one of the tags from the kit onto Crumb Cake card stock then cut it out, embossed and distressed it a bit. I added a little pop of Champagne Glimmer Paper for fun. All of the supplies used are listed at the end of the post.

Please join us over at the Paper Players!  The challenge is open through Friday, August 9th, 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

One more thing before I go. I wanted to share our foster pup, Violet. She was pulled from euthanasia at the local shelter and will be headed to her new home in Illinois mid-August. She is gorgeous and only 7 months old. They guess her to be a mix of German Shepherd and Australian Kelpie. Either way, she is stinkin' CUTE and so far has been a wonderful house guest!!  

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

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Stampin' Up! Supply List

Stamps: Day of Gratitude (ret.) 

Paper: Epic Day This and That DSP, Champagne Glimmer Paper, Wild Wasabi (I KNOW Gumball Green is in the paper but I wanted a softer look), Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla card stock 

Ink: Calypso Coral, Early Espresso and Crumb Cake Classic Ink

Punches: Scallop Edge Border Punch

Accessories: Chevron Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Naturals Designer Buttons, Natural 7/16" Trim, Basic Pearls, Stamping Sponges, Sticky Strip and Stampin' Dimensionals

Kit: Tag a Box Bundle (#131372), Crushed Curry Baker's Twine, Mini Clothespin, label and tag 

Mixed Bunch Thank You for Dynamic Duos #64

Hello there! Hope you are having a great day so far! This week at Dynamic Duos, we are featuring a "Bold and Sassy" color combo that I just love: Strawberry Slush and Daffodil Delight.  Talk about a happy color combo! We hope you will join us and play along. 

I was inspired by the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and as soon as I saw the layout, I decided to use a set I haven't brought out in a while: Mixed Bunch. I love that the set has a coordinating punch, too. It really makes it easy to add extra dimension to your project. 

I added a pop of pattern with the Gingham Garden Washi Tape and Gingham Garden DSP. Ok, I know that the patterned paper is "technically" Melon Mambo but I held it up to both Melon Mambo AND Strawberry Slush and it seemed to work better with Strawberry Slush. Or maybe I just need glasses. LOL! Either way, I used it. The complete supply list is at the end of this post.  

Please pop on over to the the Dynamic Duos page and join us! The challenge is open through Thursday August 8th, until Noon (PDT). Be sure to stop by and visit our fabulous Design Team members, too 

The Dynamic Duos Design Team

Alison Barclay

Debbie Henderson

Hayley Kew

Janet Bagnall

Janet Zeppa

Lori Turner

Michelle Williams

Susie Wittwer

Tara Bourgoin

Tracey McNeely

...and me! 

Have a HAPPY day! :)  

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

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Stampin' Up! Supply List

Stamps: Mixed Bunch and Sassy Salutations

Paper: Gingham Garden DSP, Daffodil Delight, Strawberry Slush and Whisper White card stock 

Ink: Strawberry Slush and Daffodil Delight Classic Ink

Punches: 1/2" Circle Punch, Scalloped Border Punch and Blossom Punch

Accessories: Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Big Shot Daffodil Delight Seam Binding, Daffodil Delight 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Gingham Garden Washi Tape, Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals