Birthday Butterfly for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  I'm back with my card for the latest challenge at the Paper Players.  This week, the amazing Joanne is hosting our Clean and Simple challenge with a theme of things that fly. Keeping your card CAS just means lots of empty or "white" space, minimal layers and minimal embellishments.

Paper Players

I had one thing in mind for this challenge but ended up with something else entirely.  Does that every happen to you?  Even so, I like how my card turned out.

Not a unique choice, but I decided to use a butterfly for this challenge.  The wings were die cut from Bristol paper, the ink blended with a trio of yellow to orange inks, then added the body and the rest of the wings. 

I used a cover die for the background to give it some subtle texture and design, then layered on the new SSS Petal-Tipped Labels die cuts for the butterfly's landing place.  The sentiment was popped up on some thin foam tape and I finished things off by using a shimmer pen on all the black parts of the butterfly.

What comes to your mind when thinking of things that fly?  Birds, planes, fairies, butterflies?  For more inspiration, I encourage you to pop over to the challenge, where my talented teammates have some fabulous cards to share!  The challenge ends Friday, May 23rd at 3pm EDT.  Hope to see you there!

Stef

• SSS Exquisite Butterfly dies
• SSS Petal-Tipped Labels die
• Pinkfresh Studio Tulip Love Cover Plate
• Spellbinders Fancy Sentiments Betterpress plate and die
• Altenew Chamomile, Snapdragon and Terracotta inks
• Tonic Aqua Shimmer pen

Plum Happy for Color Hues

Hello friends!  We're at mid-month and that means brings us to a new Color Hues challenge.  This time, the amazing Karen is hosting and has chosen a wonderful pairing.

Color Hues

 

For my card, I went back to a die set that I used earlier this year for another CH challenge.  I saw a video here by Kelly Taylor using this die set and two others to create monochromatic cards and although we have two colors, it worked just the way I hoped it would.

I used Bristol paper for the background and all the flowers and leaves, which makes ink blending a little smoother.  Four inks from the Altenew Sugarplums set were used on the background and leaves.  I inked the background with the darkest shades around the outside of the panel, then did the reverse for the leaves, darker at the stem and lighter towards the end of the leaves.

The plums are very desaturated in color. I found some pinks for the flowers that I thought would play nice with the plums but the colors were just bit too bright.  Soooo, I took the second lightest of the three pinks and basically color glazed everything that was plum and it made all the difference.  

To finish things off, the panel was splattered with white paint and when dry, the die cut sentiment and a few sparkly gems were added.

Be sure to head over to the blog where my talented teammates and our lovely guest Rachel have some fabulous cards in a variety of designs for your inspiration.  I hope you'll join us for this challenge, it will remain open until 9am EDT Thursday, May 29th.  See you there!

Stef

On a personal note, earlier this month I traveled to spend a week visiting family and close friends that I hadn't seen in two years (and 8 years since I'd seen one cousin).  It just reminded me that time passes so quickly, that we all need to take every opportunity to be with the ones we love. 

• Spellbinders Fresh Picked Daisies die set
• Simon Says Stamp Basic Box Card Happy Birthday die
• Altenew Baby Pink, Puffy Heart, Purple Wine, Pale Mauve, Amethyst, Grape Agate and Plum inks
• SSS Taffy Dazzling Gems
• Spellbinders Splatter White Opaque Watercolor paint

Bouquet Birthday for The flower Challenge

Hello friends!  I'm back with my mid-month reminder post for The Flower Challenge.  This month we're adding strips or spots to our cards.

TFC 102R

 

I found myself looking through my Pinkfresh Studio stamp sets and came upon one that I hadn't used for a long time and it was perfect for this challenge with its striped vase.  I looked through the set and found the floral image already heat embossed and water colored.  What a great timesaver!  I did find a mistake I made in the coloring, so I think that's why I tucked it away, but that was easily hidden with a sentiment.  

ETA: Full disclosure - I realized after I posted this that I used this watercolor image (sans boo boo) for my TFC DT card a couple of years ago. Oh well, I hope you enjoy seeing it again on a different design LOL!  I would have created another card, but I was going out of town and ran into a time crunch.

The image was water colored with Altenew Artist 24-pan watercolors.  It was die cut with the coordinating die, then I heat embossed and die cut the sentiment from another PFS stamp set.  

The octagon was die cut from brushed gold cardstock and matted with a panel of SU Pacific Point cardstock and added to an antique ivory base.  The floral image was added with foam tape before adhering the sentiment.   Thanks to my younger self for saving that water colored piece!

The challenge remains open until May 25th, so plenty of time to play along or upload a 2nd card if you've already joined in.  My talented teammates have some gorgeous inspiration on the blog, so I encourage you to go take a peek.  

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

• PFS Inky Bouquet and Joyful Day sets
• PFS Blanket Stitched Octagon die 
• Altenew Artist 24-pan watercolors

Meadow Swag Birthday for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  It's time for a new color challenge at the Paper Players and this week the lovely and talented Ann is our host and has chosen a beautiful color trio.

Paper Players

My card uses no stamping, just stenciling, die cuts and foiling.

I didn't have cardstock that was an exact match for the SU colors but I found pieces that were close.  The swag is actually made from two die sets.  After cutting from cardstock, I used a bit of ink blending to create some shading, but in the photos it's really noticeable on the pink flowers.

Next, a panel of white was stenciled with a light ink, with some areas darker than others.  The panel was added to a card base, then the swag was adhered after layering on the flowers and berries.  The sentiment is one created during a previous foiling session.  It's foiled in black, which gives it a shiny appearance.  Easy peasy card, but I think the sentiment font and the stenciling really step it up.

Please head over to the blog where my talented teammates have some wonderful inspiration for you, and hopefully you'll join us this week.  The challenge remains open until 3pm, Friday May 16th.

Thanks for stopping by and take care!

Stef

• Simon Says Stamp Meadow Swag and Lush Leaves dies
• Altenew Cascading Elegance stencil
• Your Are Everything BetterPress sentiment set

So Kind for The Flower Challenge

Hello friends!  It's time for May flowers at The Flower Challenge!  This month we'd like you to add spots or stripes.

The Flower Challenge

 

I went with spots this time, using an older Tim Holtz stencil that hadn't seen the light of day for some time.

Truth be known, the stamp set hadn't been used for over a year either.  I believe those flowers are camellia japonica, at least that was the photo they resembled in my search.  Anyway, I decided to use all three floral images from the set, along with one of the sentiments.

I colored them with Olo markers then die cut them with the matching dies.  For the background I moved the stencil around the panel to get  uneven coverage, then ink blended around the outside before splattering with gold metallic paint.  When that all dried the layered arch die cut was adhered along with the flowers framing the sentiment.  No gems, I thought the splatter was sufficient.

Well, we finally have some truly warmer weather and I think it's going to stick around.  How about you?  As the weather gets better, I hope you'll still find time to join us this month!  The challenge will remain open until Sunday, May 25th. But, before you head off, please be sure to visit the blog where my oh-so-talented teammates have some gorgeous cards to inspire you.

Take care and thanks for stopping by!

Stef

• SSS/Memory Box So Kind Stamps and Dies (Stamptember 2023)
• Tim Holtz Bubble Stencil
• SSS Nested Domed Arches Frame
• SSS Seafoam ink
• Gansi Tambi Starry Colors Gold Metallic paint
• Olos - RV0.6, 0.4, 0.2, 0.1, G1.8, 1.7, 1.5, 1.4
• Copics - E37, 33

Forest Sunset for The Paper Players

Hello friends and happy May!  It's time for a new challenge at The Paper Players.  This week the amazing Joanne is hosting our theme challenge and she's chosen a fun one!

The Paper Players

For this challenge, we need to pair something old with our newest crafty item.  I recently, finally went all in on the postage trend and bought some of Waffle Flowers Postage Collage dies and their latest stamps.  I paired those new items with one of my older and favorite sentiment sets, also from Waffle Flower.  Let's take a look!

I was quite enamored with these beautifully designed silhouette stamps and had fun deciding what each little vignette would contain.  I started by using the stencil that goes with the product line and used Distress inks for the sunset sky.  I then added a bit of white paint splatter to create stars in the sky.

When that dried, I stamped the various scenes, then layered on the Postage Collage Block die cut from black cardstock, which separates each scene.  The white heat embossed sentiment was added before adhering the entire thing to a black card base.  

Since I had everything out, I made a second card but substituted some brighter inks for creating the sky.  I like both cards and don't know if I have a preference.  How about you?

Won't you come join us this week and share what old and new products you paired? The challenge is open until Friday, May 9th at 3pm EST.  In the meantime, don't miss all the inspiration by my lovely teammates over on the blog!

Take care and thanks for visiting!

Stef

PS Come back later this morning for my new Flower Challenge DT card.

• Waffle Flower Postage Collage die, Blocks Die, Stencil and Forest Sunset Stamps
• Waffle Flowr Elegant Sentiments stamps and dies
• Card #1 - Scattered Straw, Worn Lipstick, Picked Raspberry, Faded Jeans and Seedless Preserves Distress inks
• Card #2 - SSS Lemonade, Sweets, Galaxy and Amethyst inks
• Spellbinders Splatter White paint

 

Sending Sunshine for Color Hues

Hello friends!  Here we are at the first of May and it's time for a new challenge at Color Hues.  The amazing Marcia is our host this week and has chosen a lovely color pairing of blue and yellow.

Color Hues

When I saw these colors, I had a vision of what I wanted to create and set about doing it.  See what you think.

I've had the Spellbinders Build-A-Wreath die set for quite a while (thanks to my friend and crafty enabler, Nancy!) and used just one of the flower dies to create these cute sunflowers.  They were cut twice with a lighter and a darker shade of yellow, layered up and a brown center added.

For the background, the Altenew Trellis die was cut from white to layer on the blue base layer.  The sentiment was cut twice from white and once from the lighter shade of yellow, layered up and added to the white base.  It was centered on the card then the flowers were added on each side.  The sentiment and flower centers were brushed with a glimmer pen and the final step was to randomly add a few clear sequins.

What are you inspired to create with these colors?  To see what the team did, head over to the challenge, where my talented cohorts and our lovely guest Nance have some fabulous cards to share.  The challenge will remain open until 9am EDT on Wednesday, May 14th.  Won't you please come join us?

Take care!

Stef

• Spellbinders Build-A-Wreath dies
• Altenew Scripty Sentiments dies
• Altenew Garden Trellis Cover die

Warm and Merry Christmas for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  For the final Sunday of the month, the Paper Players brings you a sketch challenge!  This time the lovely Claire has created a highly versatile sketch.

I decided to add to my holiday card stash using this sketch and a cute die set that I bought and never used last year.  Time to change that!

I started by putting together the Old Fashioned Rocking Horse die from Honey Bee Stamps.  It has multiple little layers, but my handy reverse tweezers helped me when attaching them.  The rocking horse was added to the white scallop circle, which was then matted on a gold circle before adding to the card.  Here's a close up of the rocking horse:

I love all the embossed texture and the well though-out details.  The patterned papers are also from Honey Bee and the sentiment is from a retired packet of pre-foiled holiday sentiments.  The card ended up being A7 because it was more proportional to the rocking horse and circles.

Thanks so much for visiting!  I hope you'll join us this week and show what you're inspired to make with this great sketch.  In the meantime, for more ideas, head over to the challenge where my talented teammates have some great examples to share!  The challenge remains open until Friday, May 2nd at 3pm EDT.  

Take care!

Stef

• HBS Old Fashioned Rocking Horse die set
• Hero Arts Nested Circle and Scallop Circle dies
• Spellbinders A7 Matting die
• HBS Gingerbread Village patterned paper