Beautiful Day for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  It's the fourth Sunday of the month and that means a sketch challenge over at the Paper Players.  I'm hosting this week and I've created a sketch that should give you lots of options for your card.

Paper Players

I'm also sharing my card over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where they are looking for feminine cards.

I really love wreaths and thought the wide-open space on the right side of the sketch would work well for one.

The wreath is from Concord & 9th's Briar & Blooms die set and the banner sentiment is from the matching stamp set.  The wreath, along with the layering leaves and flowers, was die cut from colored cardstock, then I did some ink blending to give them more depth and dimension.

I took my color inspiration from the strip of plaid paper, which was part of an old paper pack from MFT.  The light purple paper was embossed with a floral design, then both pieces were adhered to the card base, with a strip of white to cover the seam.

I had to chuckle because this is my sketch and I almost forgot the shape at the lower right.  I wanted something small, which I found in an older Mama Elephant sentiment set.  The smallest die from a Hexagon die set worked beautifully to die cut the sentiment.  

After gluing the wreath to the card front, a bit of foam tape was added beneath the large purple flowers and also the center of the banner.  The happy birthday was also popped up with foam tape. Then, to finish things off, tiny little gems were added to the tiny little flowers for some pretty sparkle.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Be sure to take a moment to visit the challenge blog for some wonderful inspiration by my talented teammates!  The challenge will remain open until Friday, May 1st at 3pm EDT.  I hope you'll join us this week!

Stef

• Concord & 9th Briar & Blooms stamp and die sets
• Mama Elephant Mini Everyday Messages stamp set
• Simon Says Stamp Tiny Flora embossing folder
• SSS Strips die
• Pinkfresh Studio Nested Hexagon die
• MFT Plaid Patterns Paper Pack
• Spellbinders Fairy Tale, Lavender, Beeswax and Saffron cardstock
• C&9 Sprout and Parsley cardstock
• Inks - SSS Honey and Iris; Altenew Fresh Leaf and Mountain Pine; Versafine Clair Mountain Mist

Little Things for the Paper Players

Hello friends! It's time for a new CAS challenge at the Paper Players and this time the amazing Christy is hosting.  She's chosen a fun theme for our CAS cards.

Paper Players

I don't have many baby animal stamps or dies, but I found one in my stash that is so sweet, I'm glad I remembered it.

I have a number of Anita Jeram stamps from Colorado Craft Company but hadn't used this particular image before.  The little bunnies are just toooooo cute in this scene and the sentiment says it all.

To color the image and create a background, I went back to my roots and used Distress inks to watercolor.  The soft colors are wonderful and perfect for this family of bunnies out for a little jaunt on a Spring day.

When the watercoloring was dry, the panel was trimmed down with an Eyelet Layer frame die.  It was adhered to a panel of light blue then added to the card base with foam tape.  

We would love to have you share your baby animal card with us this week!  I encourage you to head over to the challenge blog where my talented teammates have some wonderful inspiration for you.  The challenge will remain open until Friday, April 24th at 3pm EDT.  Hope to see you there!

Stef

• CCC/AJ Happy Days Stamp set
• SSS Eyelet Layer Frame die
• Lost Shadow, Hickory Smoke, Broken China, Mowed Lawn, Worn Lipstick and Mustard Seed Distress inks

Charmed Birthday for Color Hues

Hello friends!  Today the lovely Sheri is hosting our new challenge at Color Hues.  She has chosen some wonderful spring colors.

Color Hues

Remember that you can use any hues of these colors and you'll see that with the gorgeous cards by the other design team members, as well as mine.

I've always found coral to be a bit tricky to create with using inks or alcohol markers.  But then Jennifer McGuire came to my rescue in a video earlier this year, using three shades of Altenew inks (listed below).  So that's what was used to ink blend all the die cut petals on the flower. (If anybody that has suggestions for coral Copic marker combos that don't look too red, I'd appreciate knowing!)

After the ink blending of both the leaves and flower petals was complete, the flower was assembled, all six layers (!) plus the center pieces.  I didn't care for the shape of the top flower center die that was part of the die set so I substituted one from another set.

Both the Betterpress sentiment and the flower center were inked using Altenew Antique Gold pigment ink.  Texture was added to the green background with a cover plate die, then a die cut lattice became the landing spot for the peony.  Other than fussing with the flower center, this card came together very quickly!

The challenge will remain open until Wednesday April 29th at 3:00 pm EDT.  For more inspiration, I encourage you to visit the challenge blog to see all those gorgeous cards created by my amazing teammates and our guest designer Kelly. I hope you'll join us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

• Altenew Coral Charm Peony dies
• Spellbinders Woven Lattice Texture die
• Pinkfresh Studio Stitched Diamonds Cover die
• Spellbinders A Little Message Sentiments Press Plate and die
• Altenew Pink Pearl, Coral Bliss and Coral Red inks
• SSS Lime, Limelicicous and Pearfection inks

Buttercup Bunch for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  Today the Paper Players is back with our monthly color challenge.  This time, the lovely Jan is hosting and has chosen a great color combination.

Paper Players

I really love black and yellow together but I have to admit the gray threw me for a bit, but after some trial and error, a satisfactory card emerged lol!

I knew I was going to use my Altenew Buttercup Bunch die set, because, well, buttercups are yellow lol!  It's a rather modern style so I tried different graphic designs for the background, but nothing worked.  Then I realized I was using too dark of a gray so I went searching around and found the stenciled background I ended up using.  It was in with some Stampin' Up neutral scraps and was one of my last pieces of Smoky Slate (which I didn't even know I still had!).  

The panel was stenciled using Versamark ink. I trimmed it down to have a white border on each side, then added the black strip.  The flowers were arranged with the stems glued down and the flowers popped up using thin foam squares.  The stacked sentiment was adhered, then a few Onyx gems finished things off.

What are you inspired to create with this color trio?  I think it would work equally well for a more "masculine" card. The rest of the design team has fabulous inspiration with a variety of designs over at the challenge blog, so I encourage you to head over and take a peek.  The challenge will remain open until Friday April 17th at 3pm EDT.  I hope to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

• Altenew Buttercup Bunch Layering die set
• Simon Says Stamp Hibiscus Bloom sentiment stamp and die
• Tim Holtz Bubble stencil
• Spellbinders Onyx gems

Showers of Love for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  The Paper Players is back with a new challenge.  This week, the lovely LeAnne is hosting and has chosen a timely theme of Spring Showers. 

Paper Players

Lots of cute ideas in that image board!  I used my favorite stamp and die set for this theme.  It's a retired MFT set but the images still remain cute as ever. 

The cute little girl and her duck friend, along with the clouds, sun and sentiment are all part of the MFT Rain or Shine stamp and die set.  They were all colored with Copic markers and then die cut.  I added some white gel pen highlights and polka dots to her coat, just for fun.

I saw a few cards on Pinterest with the rain to sunshine design for the background, so I thought I'd try that too.  A panel of white was ink blended with two colors of blue, then I used a Copic Mulitliner to create the "raindrops" and colored them in with the white gel pen.  The panel was trimmed down and before adhering to the card base, the cobblestone path was colored then added.  The sun and clouds were all glued to the card front.  Everything else was added with foam tape and the card was done.

This is a fun theme and I hope you'll find time to play along.  For more inspiration, please head over to the challenge blog where my talented teammates have some amazing cards.  The challenge will remain open until Friday, April 10th at 3pm EDT.  I hope to see your card in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

•  MFT Birdie Brown Rain or Shine stamps and dies
• Simon Says Stamp On the Ground stamp
• SSS Galaxy and Twilight inks
• Copics - YG09, 07, 05, 01, B39, 37, 34,  YR24, 23, Y15, 11, 00, E29, 37, 33, 04, 21, 000, R21

Chompster Devours It!

Hello friends!  I have a fun card to share with you today using the new Just Add Cake card kit from Spellbinders.  I was so excited to get it because I knew all of the dies would work beautifully for many of the upcoming birthdays of friends and family members.  

Of course, I had to start with the cute little monster and because he's devouring a cupcake, I'm joining the current Sweet Treats challenge at Time Out Challenges.

TOC #310

And because I created a birthday card, I'm sharing with Seize the Birthday's Anything Goes challenge.

STB #323

This card was so fun to make!

I like the combination of orange and blue because I think it's gender neutral.  I created Chompster from two shades of orange cardstock and used the darker orange for the card base and his party hat.

The monster dies are super easy to put together and I was smiling the entire time because he's so cute!  The background arch panel was embossed with the Confetti Drop folder that comes with the kit.  

The card base was created using arch dies and one of the Spellbinders Color Block Accent Arch dies.  I think that's just the coolest look and I hope in the future they come out with rectangles with the same checkerboard design.  The sentiment is from the Just Add Cake stamp and die set in the kit.  

After creating the card base doing partial die cutting with the large arch die, the layers were added.  The only thing popped up with foam tape is the sentiment.  The final touches were to add the pompom on his hat and some Sparkle Texture Paste to the cupcake frosting.  I was hoping it would have a bit more opacity, but it still looks sparkly IRL.

Thanks for taking time to stop by!  Have a great weekend!

Stef

Sweetheart Daisies for Color Hues

Hello friends!  I'm here with my card for the new challenge at Color Hues. This time the amazing Nancy is hosting and has chosen a gorgeous color combination.

Color Hues

 

I have to say, I love this pair of colors so much!  I should have titled this post "Oldies but Goodies" because much of what is used to create this are things I've had for years.  And I'm so happy I pulled out the Sweetheart Daisies stamp from Kitchen Sink Stamps (sadly closed in 2024), because it is a stunner.

The stamp is a layering stamp, which was one of the big things Kitchen Sink Stamps was known for.  I have always found layering stamps rather intimidating, so I only have two of the KSS stamp sets in my collection. I bought this stamp in 2021, used it once in 2022 here and it's just been waiting for this occasion.

The Altenew trio of Magenta, Fuchsia and Baby Pink was used to color the flower, along with Tanzanite for the navy color.  It almost looks like a photo IRL.  Once the stamping was done, the panel was cut with an arch die.

I found one sole piece of Navy patterned paper from a 2017 Simon Says Stamp card kit in my stash.  It was just 3" x 5.5", so I trimmed off a small amount on the side, then added a strip of matte gold cardstock on each side to finish it off nicely on the card front.

The search for a sentiment to fit the space at the bottom of the heart yielded another older product, this time a SSS thanks die from 2017. It was cut once from gold and layered on a second die cut in white, then adhered to the arch panel.  The panel was then added to the card front with foam tape and a few gold sequins finished things off.

How do these colors inspire you?  For more ideas, please take a couple of minutes to visit the challenge blog to see the gorgeous cards created by my talented teammates! The challenge will remain open until Tuesday April 14th at 9am EDT.  I hope you'll join us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

• Kitchen Sink Stamps Sweetheart Daisies layering stamps
• SSS A2 Arches die
• SSS Strips die
• SSS Script Thanks die
• Altenew Magenta, Fuchsia, Baby Pink and Tanzanite inks
• SSS Stay Gold confetti sequins