Happy Autumn for PP808

Hello friends!  It's time for a new challenge over at the Paper Players and this week I'm hosting.  This is Clean and Simple week and in addition to that, we're looking for cards with a fall/autumn theme.  

Paper Players

I'm also joining my friends at TOC #324.  I think a couple of the elements on my card (pumpkin, coffee cut) fit well with their photo inspiration challenge.

TOC #324

And I'm also playing along with the current Tic Tac Toe challenge, using Fall Colors, Leaves and Metallics.

#tttc303

Autumn is my favorite time of year and I know I'm not alone in that.  I had so many ideas about cards to make but then I received my Simon Says Stamp October card kit and that was the deciding factor as to what to create.

In the kit were four Seasonal Whimsy card fronts that incorporate both a pattern and a squiggly-edged white space on one layer.  That way the card looks layered but it's not.  Since I knew I would be using an orange and teal color combo, I chose this striped pattern.  

The images are from the Homespun Gratitude stamp and die set.  They were stamped in brown ink, then colored using Copic markers.  The set has multiple small images so they can be mixed and matched any way one chooses.  I thought the cup with the scarf wrapped around it was like the epitome of "cozy" (even though I probably would be too afraid of spilling my cup to wrap it up like that!).  They were die cut and added to the card front with foam tape.  

The sentiment is an older one from SSS and was cut with teal and added to the vellum die cut shadow before adhering to the card.  My camera did not like taking a clear shot of the sentiment, so I apologize for its fuzzy appearance.  The final touch was to add a few gold confetti sequins.  I know my card is a bit busy for "CAS", but I figured with limited layers I could squeak by. ;-)

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it!  Please take a moment and visit the challenge blog where the rest of our amazing design team has some fabulous CAS fall cards to inspire you.  The challenge will remain open until Friday October 23rd at 3pm EDT.  I hope you'll join us this week!

Stef

All products are from Simon Says Stamp

• Homespun Gratitude stamps and dies
• Happy Autumn die set
• Seasonal Whimsy card front
• Gold Embellishments

Boo to You

Hello friends!  I'm popping in to share a card made for the challenges at Just Us Girls and Festive Friday.  I had a die set on my desk for creating one last (I think) Halloween card for my family and realized it would work great for both of these challenges.  

JUGS #845

 

The little ghost cup with it's cute smiling face reminded me of the three I was readying for my card, except they have a few more apparel items, shall we say!

FF0220

My card has 4 items off the Inspo List - orange, black, green and a Halloween sentiment.

And here's what I ended up making...

These adorable ghosts are from a die set that I bought on sale earlier this year because I found their cuteness so charming.  I used a quad layout for my card similar to an example on the Spellbinders website except I changed up a number of things.  

I went with classic Halloween colors of green, orange, purple and black, both for the attire that the ghosts are wearing and the background.  After putting together the three ghosts and the sentiment, I went to work on the background.

I used four different colored panels cut to 2.5" x 3.5" and adhered them together on a 5" x 7" piece of super lightweight cardstock.  Not quite as thin as copy paper, which would work fine too, but thin enough that I could then emboss the layered panel after finding the right sandwich.  One of the small panels had pulled away from abutting the other during the embossing, so I cut four black strips to cover that up, which also acted to separate each of the four sections.

The ghosts were then added with thin foam tape as was the pumpkin candy holder and the sentiment.  Lastly, I used some black star embellishments that came in my Heroween kit to add a bit of sparkle.  I think these ghosts are so adorable and I'm also thinking their hats and glasses might work with other dies sets...we'll have to see!

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 

Stef

• Simon Hurley/Spellbinders Boo Crew Die set
• Spellbinders Diamond Blocks embossing folder
• Simon Says Stamp Strips die
• Spellbinders Peridot, Rainforest, Lilac, Fog and Brushed Silver cardstock
• SSS Creamsicle and Black cardstock

Boo Mobile for CH143

Hello friends!  Today is the start of a new challenge at Color Hues.  This time, the fabulous Tracey is hosting and has chosen a great color combination for this time of year.

Color Hues

With this color pairing and given the time of year, I felt only a Halloween card was in order.

If you're a fan of Spellbinders, you're well aware of this die set and embossing folder that came out in the clubs for August of this year.  I love everything Halloween, so of course they both had to come home with me.  

After all the die cutting from regular and glitter cardstock, assembling it was pretty easy. I did ink blending over both the Boo Mobile and the pumpkin ornament prior to assembly to give them more shape and dimension. 

I thought the design on the packaging was great, but it included a flying eyeball that I wasn't especially fond of.  Then I saw this version from Nichol Spohr using the skull and crossbones at the top of the car and I liked that much better.  

For the background, a panel of gray was ink blended around the edges with Black Soot Distress ink and embossed with the spider web folder. When the black ink was dry, I used an older white pigment ink pad to swipe white over the tops of the webs.  And yes, it did leave a tiny bit of color, but I have this ink pad especially for these kinds of projects and have two others that are pristine.  Sparkle and white splatter were added as well.

The sentiment was heat embossed in white on black, die cut and added to the bottom of the dried panel before adding the car full of our crazy, creepy crew (don't you love those witches' legs?).  

So how are you inspired to use these colors?  We'd love to have you join us and see what you come up with.  I encourage you to visit the challenge blog to see the variety of fabulous creations by the rest of the design team.  The challenge will remain open until Thursday October 29th at 9 am EDT.  Hope to see you there!

Stef

• Spellbinders Large Die OTM Aug 26 - Boo Mobile
• SB 3D EF OTM Aug 26 - Spooky Web
• SB Clear Stamp and Die OTM Aug 26 - Trick or Snark
• Black Soot and Walnut Stain Distress Inks
• SB Sparkle Splatter Effects
• SSS White Splatter Medium

Breezy Day for PP807

Hello friends!  Another Sunday has rolled around and it's time for a new challenge with the Paper Players.  This week the fabulous Jan is hosting our monthly color challenge and has chosen a lovely trio of colors.

Paper Players

 

This color combo made me think of the outdoors, although I think it would also look wonderful in a plaid design too.  However, I decided to use a new die set to make kind of a fun, whimsical outdoors card. I was thinking birthday, but really the sentiment could be for other occasions as well. And because it's a new set, I'm sharing over at Darnell's NBUS blog.

NBUS

And here's my card...

I went super simple for this card.  While I don't have the SU inks, I used colors I thought were as close as possible - Altenew Blue Horizon and Simon Says Stamp Limelicious and Pearfection (for shading).  I started by stenciling a sky using a cloud stencil and trimming the panel down to just slightly smaller than my card base.

The kites were die cut from white and Spellbinders Fawn cardstock.  I used the green inks to color the kites, attached them to the Fawn base and added the cross bars, also out of Fawn.  Originally, I'd added white bows on the tails, but they got lost against the sky.  So, I opted to die cut them from matte gold cardstock, which also matched up nicely with the foiled sentiment.  The kites were added to the card front with foam tape and the sentiment was die cut twice more and adhered together for a bit of added dimension.  Super easy, peasy and probably one of the more CAS cards I've made in a while.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I encourage you to head over to the challenge blog and see all the amazing creations by my talented teammates.  The challenge will remain open until Friday October 16th at 3pm EDT.  I hope to see your card in the gallery!

Stef

• Altenew Breezy Day die set
• Pinkfresh Studio Wonderful Sentiments Foil Plate & Die
• MFT Mini Cloud stencil

Mountain Peak for PP806

Hello friends!  It's the first Sunday of October and that means a new theme challenge at the Paper Players!  This time the talented and lovely Ann is hosting and has chosen a wonderful theme.

Think of all the possibilities with this theme!  Winter snow, October skies and leaves, the bright colors of a field of wildflowers in spring... For my card, I went with my beloved mountains.  Growing up in western Oregon, I had the delight of seeing Mt. Hood in all her glory nearly every day (when it wasn't raining ha ha) and then spending decades skiing up there.  So, when I saw the Mountain Peak stencil set from Altenew, there was no question it belonged in my craft room.

The set includes 4 layers plus a mask of the mountain, which allows you to extend the scene to include more than one peak, which is what I did here.  Instead of using grays, I went with a set of periwinkle-ish inks to create the look of a partial mountain range.  For the sky I used a light hand to apply a slightly different light purple, blush and light blue inks.  

Since this card was going to my husband for our anniversary, I decided to dress it up with the arched window die cut from Altnew Glacier Iris cardstock, popped up with foam over the stenciled mountains scene and added a gold frame.  I had a number of previously foiled sentiments on hand that fortunately included the "Happy Anniversary" which fit perfectly in the arched opening and finished off my card.

Won't you come join us this week for this great themed challenge?  I encourage you to visit our challenge blog to see all the wonderful inspiration from my talented teammates.  The challenge will remain open until Friday, October 9th at 3pm EDT.  Hope to see your card in the gallery!

Stef

• Altenew Mountain Peak Stencil set
• Simon Says Stamp A2 Arches die
• Spellbinders You Are Everything Press/Foil plate and die
• Sea Breeze, Blue Horizon, Blush, Wisteria, Celestial Mist, Glacier Iris, Dreamy Periwinkle and Twilight Sky Altenew inks

Artsy Leaves for CH142

Hello friends!  Happy October 1st!  I'm doubly happy because October is my favorite month of the year and I am hosting the new challenge at Color Hues.  I've chosen a definite fall-ish color pair of Amber and Burnt Red, and I hope you have fun playing with these colors.  

Color Hues

In addition to challenge colors, you may also use neutrals (e.g. white, ivory, brown, gray, black and metallics).  And unfortunately, green is not a neutral. *wink*

Don't get too hung up on perfectly matching the colors in the prompt. Use what you have to get as close as possible.

For my card I had a great time mixing and blending Distress Spray Stains for my leaf dies.  Take a look...

Aren't those leaves fun?  I started with a couple panels of Distress Watercolor paper and used a mixed of reds and some yellow on one and then two yellows and a yellow mica stain on the other.  I know the photo makes the red look almost rust...I had a heck of a time getting one decent photo.  But in real life, the red really comes through.

The leaves were cut out using Artsy Leaves dies from Tim Holtz.  The veins were cut with Spellbinders Tuscan and Concord & 9th Brickyard. The Alabaster background was embossed with the Whimsical Skies folder, which I thought was perfect for fall.  The gold frame was layered on two additional die cuts then added to the embossed background before adhering the leaves.  

The panel was matted on a slightly larger piece of Vineyard Berry from Altenew, which has more of a brick look than a berry appearance. The final step was to add the gold die cut sentiment, also layered on two additional die cuts.

I hope you'll find time to join us this next fortnight!  I encourage you to head over to the challenge blog to see all the fabulous inspiration by the other DT members and our fabulous guest designer Crystal.  The challenge will remain open until Wednesday, October 14th at 9 am EDT.  Please come play along with us!

Stef

• Tim Holtz/Sizzix Artsy Leaves dies
• Simon Says Stamp Fancy Hello die
• SSS A2 Nesting Frame die
• Spellbinders Whimsical Skies ef
• Fossilized Amber, Rusty Hinge, Lumberjack Plaid and Crackling Campfire Distress Spray Stains
• Flickering Candle Distress Mica Stain

Indian Summer Birthday for PP805

Hello friends!  This week at the Paper Players, the lovely Jaydee is hosting our monthly sketch challenge and she has a great one for us to create with.

Paper Players

This sketch gave me the opportunity to use a piece of loved, older (aka hoarded) patterned paper and combine some different colors for a fall look.  

I'm also joining the current Seize the Birthday challenge, where the toppings option is to use fall colors.

STB #335

And here's my card...

After searching through my patterned papers, I came upon on old Basic Grey pad called Indian Summer.  I chose this piece because I like the drama of the dark background and the inclusion of berry and pink colors along with yellow and orange.  I found a half panel of Stampin' Up retired Merlot cardstock and matched it up with some Spellbinders Scilly cardstock, which to me kind of looks like a coral-orange color, both of which I thought they worked well together and with the BG paper.

Both the Merlot and patterned paper were cut down with the Spellbinders Playful Stitched Panels die and adhered to the Scilly background panel just in the middle of both sheets. This allowed me to gently bend up all the corners.  The leaf and branch die cuts were from some unused leftovers, and I used an old SU stitched circle die onto which they were adhered.  The foiled sentiment was added atop all of those layers, then the final touch was to add three gold confetti embellishments.

Thanks for visiting, I appreciate it.  Please take a moment to head over to our challenge blog and check out the fabulous inspiration from the other DT members.  The challenge will remain open until Friday, October 2nd at 3pm EDT.  I hope you'll join us this week!

Stef

• Basic Grey Indian Summer patterned paper pad
• Spellbinders Playful Stitched Panels die
• Altenew Zero Waste Leaf Pattern die (leafy branch)
• Spellbinders Build-A-Wreath die set (branches)
• Spellbinders Fancy Sentiment Strips Betterpress plate and die
• Stampin' Up retired Stitched Shapes circle die
• Simon Says Stamp Carmel Corn embellishments