Celebrate the Season for The Paper Players and Sunday Stamps

Hello, friends and welcome back!  It's Sunday and that means it is time for new challenges at both The Paper Players and Sunday Stamps!  The lovely Anne Marie is hosting the Tic Tac Toe challenge at The Paper Players.  At Sunday Stamps, we have a beautiful color board that is perfect for the holidays.  

The Paper Players

Sunday Stamps

I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the them is Anything Goes.

I combined both challenges for today's card.  I used the top row of the Tic Tac Toe board (patterned paper, die cut, embossing) although I think it would have worked for the right column as well.  From the Sunday Stamps board, I kept it traditional, using light and dark green along with red.

I started by die cutting the ornament layers in Midnight Green, Soft Seafoam and white.  Although the photos don't show it, the white layer was prayed with shimmer spray and when dried adhered all the layers together, adding the topper die cut from silver foil paper and set it aside to work on the base and sentiment.

I used both sizes of the Deckled Rectangle dies to cut the white panel and the patterned paper, adhered them together then added them to the Cherry Cobbler card base with fun foam.  Next the sentiment was heat embossed on the same red card with silver embossing powder, then die cut with a Sentiment Labels die.

With all the components completed, the ornament was adhered directly to the patterned paper, then the sentiment popped up with foam tape for additional dimension and the Cherry Cobbler twine bow glued to the topper.  In hind sight I wish I would have added some silver gems to jazz it up a little, but I decided not to in order to keep it mail-friendly.

Thanks so much for visiting, I really appreciate it!  I hope you're continuing to stay safe and healthy, and have a great week ahead!

Links to both challenges have been added above so be sure to head over there to check out the amazing creations by both DT members!

Stef

Stamps:  Winter Wishes Sentiment Set (Purple Onion)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Midnight Green (SSS), Cherry Cobbler and Soft Seafoam (SU), Holiday Traditions 6x6 paper pad (Honey Bee), Silver Foil (SU)

Ink:  Versamark

Other:  Radiant Ornament dies (Birch Press Design), Deckled Rectangle dies (Waffle Flower), Sentiment Labels die (SSS), Cherry Cobbler twine (ret.), Silver embossing powder (Hero Arts), Sheer Sparkle Shimmer Spray.

Snowman Greetings

 Hello friends and welcome back!  I'm deep in making Christmas cards, it's getting down to crunch time, and I have a cute one to share.  I'm joining the current Double D challenge, where the theme is Winter Blues.

Double D Winter Blues

I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the current theme is Anything Goes.

I love all the images in the DD mood board, but I recently received the November My Monthly Hero stamp kit and wanted to use it to make some Christmas cards.  I did a few with a mass production mode, then decided it would be fun to make one of them a shaker, which is a style I rarely do.

I began by taking a panel of white, a T-Square ruler and a pencil to draw a rectangle on the panel, then cut it out with a craft knife, which is always an exciting experience (not!).  Next I lined up the panel to my white card base and traced the inside of the square so I would know where to stamp my snowman and background. 

After stamping the snowman, I masked him in order to stamp the background stamp using an Ombre ink pad.  The kit actually came with a few dies they call "masking" dies, which cut without the normal white halo, so it makes masking sooo much easier. Once that was complete, I used a couple of green Copic markers to color the scarf and hat.  

I used a sequin mix I had on hand, that went well with the inked background and once the skaker element was constructed, I thought it needed just a little something more, so I added a die cut frame. It really seemed to finish things off nicely.  

Thanks for visiting, I really appreciate it so much!  I hope you are continuing to stay safe and healthy, and have a wonderful upcoming weekend.  I will be in Christmas card making mode, hopefully getting them wrapped up and ready to send by next week.

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  My Monthly Hero 112020 (Hero Arts)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Island Blue (SSS)

Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Winter Sky Reactive Ombre (HA)

Other:  MMH112020 masking die, Stitched Rectangle Frame die (MFT), Pixie Dust Sequin Mix (SSS)

Copics:  G17, 14

All About You!

Hello friends, and welcome back!  I have a sweet birthday card to share that was made for the current challenges at Color Hues and Seize the Birthday.

Color Hues #6

STB #207

I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is Anything Goes.

When I saw the pink and brown colors for the Color Hues challenge, I knew I wanted to use this sweet bunny image.

I started by stamping little bun in Chocolate Truffle ink and coloring with my Copic markers.  After the image was die cut, I painted the balloon with an aqua shimmer pen, then covered it using some Tonic Nuvo Crystal Drops that dries clear.  Setting the image aside to let things dry, I worked on the background.

On a panel of Bristol paper, I ink blended some pink clouds with Distress Inks in Worn Lipstick and Spun Sugar, then added a small amount of Antique Linen for the bunny to stand on.  It was sprayed with a shimmer spray (which of course my camera wasn't able to capture LOL!).  When it dried it was die cut with an oval die and matted on a slightly larger oval of Cinnamon Cider card.  The sentiment was stamped in brown pigment ink then the oval layer added to the base with fun foam.  Foam tape was added to the back of the bunny and balloon, then adhered to the card to finish things off!

Thanks for visiting, I always appreciate it so much!  I hope you're continuing to stay safe and healthy, and those in the US have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  It's just my husband and I this year as our family has decided to social distance but of course lots of texts (none of us are Zoom savvy) to share the love.

Stef

Stamps:  Birthday Wishing (Anita Jeram for Colorado Craft Company)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Cinnamon Cider, Strathmore Bristol

Ink:  Gina K Chocolate Truffle Amalgam, Versafine Clair Pinecone, Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar, Antique Linen

Other:  Birthday Wishing coordinating die, Essentials Ovals dies (Ellen Hutson), Sparkle Sheer Shimmer Craft Spray, Morning Dew Crystal Drops and Aqua Shimmer pen (Tonic Nuvo), Rolling Clouds Stencil (MFT)

Copics:  RV91, 21, 10, 00, R20, 00, E37, 35, 33, 31, 30

Snowflake Christmas for The Paper Players

Hello friends and welcome back!  It's time for a new challenge at The Paper Players!  This week is a sketch challenge brought to us by the amazing LeAnne!

The Paper Players

I'll also be joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is, appropriately, Christmas.

Well, I have to admit LeAnne's sketch was a bit of a head scratcher for a while because I had to USE MATH!! But eventually I figured it out, creating three columns 1.25" wide on a 5" x 7" size card it worked out fine.  Not to say that all the little pieces are aligned absolutely perfectly but my T-ruler helped immensely. The bottom line is, I had a great deal of satisfaction when the card was complete because it was a literal challenge

For starters I cut a lovely light blue mirror card stock into the various rectangle sizes and then the patterned paper a quarter inch smaller on both sides, so it was nicely matted.  I did not want to use liquid adhesive as I always end up smearing it on mirror card stock, so I used dotted tape runner to mat the panels then popped them up on foam tape.

Next the sentiment shadow was die cut from the same mirror card stock and the sentiment twice from white card stock and once from white glitter paper.  To adhere the sentiment to the mirror card shadow, I used double sided tape for the two white die cuts, layered them together then adhered the white glitter layer on top. Then I removed the release paper for the bottom layer and easily added it to the mirror card shadow. The last step was to die cut the glitter snowflakes and add them to the card front.

Thanks for visiting, I appreciate it so much!  I hope you remain safe and healthy, and have a wonderful  Thanksgiving holiday, even if you're not able to be with those you love.

I've added a link above to the challenge and below to all the DT members, so be sure to check out all the beautiful DT inspiration this week!

Stef

Jaydee
LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater
Joanne James
Laurie Schmidt

Anne Marie Hile
Ann Schach
Allisa Steinlicht

Stef Perry (that's me!)

Mary Deatherage

Stamps:  None

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Memory Box 6x6 Foil Sheets, Slimline Pattern Paper (Trinity Stamps), White Glitter paper (SSS)

Ink:  None

Other:  Large Written Merry Christmas die and Sensational Snowflake die (both SSS), Couture Creations Diecut'N Bond double sided tape roll 

Bearing Gifts

Howdy friends!  Welcome back, I hope you're continuing to stay safe and healthy!  I have a fun card that I created using the beautiful colors for this week's challenge at Color Throwdown.

CTD 620

I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is Christmas.

Of course, it's Christmas card crunch time so I took this opportunity to add yet another to my small but growing stash.  I used one of the cute images from Christmas Selfies by MFT.

I started by stamping the bear on white card and coloring him with Copic markers.  I used the light tan/cream color from the challenge for the background.  When the coloring was complete, a white gel pen was used to add polka dots to the package and a kind of plaid design to the scarf.  The image was cut down to a square that would fit behind the Polaroid Shaker Frame, also die cut from white card, adhered then the sentiment added below.  This will be perfect to send to one of my grands with a gift card inside.

Keeping this card pretty simple, a panel of white was die cut with a deckled rectangle and mounted to the white card base with fun foam. After die cutting the snowflakes from white glitter paper, they were arranged and then glued down, with the main image added on top with foam tape. And that was it!  Easy peasy!

Thanks for visiting, I always appreciate it so much!  I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving, even if you're not able to be with those you love this year.

Stef

Stamps:  Christmas Selfies (MFT)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, White Glitter (Simon Says Stamp)

Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Other: Sensational Snowflakes and Lea Snowflake dies, Polaroid Shaker Frame die (MFT), Deckled Rectangle die (Waffle Flower), Sakura White Gelly Roll pen

Copics:  RV99, 69, 17, 09, BG49, 32, 11, E41, W5, 3, 1, C3, 0

Merry Little Christmas for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Hello friends and welcome back!  It's time for a new Tic Tac Toe Challenge.  This week Jeanne is hosting and has provided us with this awesome board! For my card I went across the bottom row (metallic, green, enamel dots/gems).

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

My card is pretty simple but that didn't mean quick to make LOL!  I used a large, A2 sized stamp from PinkFresh Studios with a beautiful design.  

I began by stamping it on white card and then set about coloring with Copic markers.  It took some time, first to decide on the color palette, then color all the images. I began by coloring the background with one of the lightest blue-green Copic markers, then worked through the remainder of the images.  Once complete, the panel was die cut with a rounded rectangle die.

Next the panel was edged with silver metallic paint, which was also added to the middle of all the little snowflakes and the little dots around the flowers.  When that dried, it was mounted to a Peacock card base, then a few aqua jewels were added for a bit of bling.  

Thanks for visiting, I really appreciate it so much!  I hope you are continuing to stay safe and healthy, and have a wonderful upcoming weekend!

Be sure to use the link above to check out all the wonderful cards by the other DT members and we would love it if you would join us for this great challenge this week!

Stef

Stamps:  Merry Little Christmas (PinkFresh Studios)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Peacock (Simon Says Stamp)

Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam

Other:  Rounded Rectangle Nested Infinity die, FineTec Pearlescent Colours Metallic paints, Ocean Wave Crystals (Studio Katia)

Copics:  [RV23, 21, 10] [RV66, V05, 01] [BG32, 11, 10] [BG78, 49, 15] BG0000 [YG23, 03, 01, 00][YG97, 95, 93]

Peace, Love & Joy for Sunday Stamps

Hello friends, and welcome back!  It's time for a new challenge at Sunday Stamps, where we have a wonderful sketch by Amy to spark our creativity.

Sunday Stamps

I began by stamping the sweet scene with the bunny and deer on white card then colored with Copic markers.  This stamp set was created for the Colorado Craft Company by Anita Jeram, who is a well-known illustrator of children's books.  I love her style and was so smitten I just had to buy a couple of the stamp sets.  I used the other one here for a birthday card.

I started the coloring with the blue sky background.  Sometimes Copics will not provide a smooth coloring over a large space.  In this case, it wasn't too bad, but with some white gouache splattered gently over the panel (flicked on with an old toothpaste brush), it wasn't especially noticeable.  After all the coloring was complete and before adding the splatter I used a white gel pen to add snow to the tree branches and some on the leaves on the bushes.

After all the paint dried, the panel was cut with an oval die and matted with a slightly larger white oval.  The white card base was layered with a piece of very light gray polka dot patterned paper, then the main image popped up with fun foam for dimension.  The sentiment strip was trimmed down and adhered, then three retired SU snowflakes were added for the elements on the sketch, and topped with iridescent jewels for a bit of sparkle.  All in all, a very quick card to put together.

Thanks for visiting, I always appreciate it so much!  I hope you're continuing to stay safe and healthy, and have a great week ahead!

Be sure to use the link above to check out the beautiful cards by the other DT members, and hopefully join us for this great sketch challenge!

Stef

Stamps:  Snow Happy (Colorado Craft Company/Anita Jeram)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, 9x4 Winter Hues Paper Collection (Trinity Stamps), CZ Design Reverse Christmas Sentiment Strips (Simon Says Stamp)

Ink:  Gina K Chocolate Truffle, Versafine Pinecone

Other:  Essential Ovals dies (Ellen Hutson), Sakura White Gelly Roll pen, White Gouache, Snowflakes, Iridescent Jewels (Lucy's Cards Little Things)

Copics:  B01, G46, E47, 44, 37, 34, 31, 30, W5, 3, 1, BV20

Pinecone Decoration for The Paper Players

Hello friends and welcome back!  It's time for a new challenge at The Paper Players.  It's Clean and Simple week and the lovely Ann is hosting with a "Hooray for the Holidays" theme.

The Paper Players

I'm also joining the challenges at Freshly Made Sketches, Color Throwdown and Double D, where the theme is Pine Trees or Pine Cones.

FMS #461

CTD619

Double D Pines or Pine Cones

I knew what stamp I was going to use for the PP challenge, but went looking for a color scheme and found a beautiful one at CTD.  Then the other two challenges happened to work perfectly as well-I love it when that happens!

I've had this beauty of a stamp for a couple of years and it is one of my favorites that will probably make an appearance every holiday season - I just hope I don't send it to the same person this year that received it last year LOL! I don't keep track of those things so...

To begin, the pinecone image was stamped on white card and colored with Copic markers.  It's hard to see in the photo but the small white flowers are shaded with a light gray and then covered with a glaze of the lightest Copic blue-green.  To add silver to the card, I used a metallic gel pen on the edges of the ribbon and on the small "berries".  And of course the sentiment was heat set with silver embossing powder on a small strip of Pool Party.

To create the card, the colored panel was trimmed down to fit on a 5" x 3.75" panel of white, along with the strip of red polka dot paper (a real stroke of luck to find a red that matched as I'd already colored the image!).  That panel was added to the white card base with fun foam and the sentiment popped up on the front with the same.  The final touches were to use a shimmer pen on the red "berries" and then cover them and the silver ones with crystal glaze, so they look nice and shiny.  A very simple card to pull together.

Thank you for visiting, I always appreciate it so much!  I hope you're continuing to stay safe and healthy, and have a great week ahead!

I've added a link above to the challenge and below to all the DT members, so be sure to check out all the beautiful DT inspiration this week!

Stef

Jaydee
LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater
Joanne James
Laurie Schmidt

Anne Marie Hile
Ann Schach
Allisa Steinlicht

Stef Perry (that's me!)

Mary Deatherage

Stamps:  Pinecone Decoration (Stampendous), Gnome for the Holidays (sentiment/Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Pool Party, Half Half Dots-Christmas paper pack (Waffle Flower)

Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versamark

Other:  Sentiment Labels die (SSS), Silver embossing powder (Hero Arts), Sakura Silver Metallic Gelly Roll pen, Tonic Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen and Crystal Glaze

Copics:  BG49, 13, 11, 10, 0000, R59, 46 24, 05, E29, 37, 34, 31, T2,0

Plaid Christmas for The Paper Players

Hello friends and welcome back!  It's Sunday, which means there is a new challenge over at The Paper Players.  The lovely Joanne is hosting our monthly Color Challenge and she has chosen some classic holiday colors!

The Paper Players

For my card I stepped away from my normal style and went for something much more graphic, almost retro in nature, yet still festive.

I started with layering plaid stencils, ink blending using a couple of Distress Ink greens on a panel of Bristol paper.  While that panel dried, the sentiment, scallop frame and mat layer were all die cut. That makes it sound very simple, doesn't it? Actually, I tried several mixes of colors for the background, the sentiment shadow, the scallop frame, the card base and finally, FINALLY felt good with this mix.  You know how sometimes you know from the start what all your layer colors, etc. are going to be? This was not one of those times LOL!  But in the end, I did end up with a card I liked.

After adding the red mat to the white card base, the silver frame was adhered to the plaid panel, then mounted on the card with fun foam. The die cut sentiment was added directly to the card, although it has plenty of dimension because the words were die cut and layered three times.  Lastly I added some really awesome holographic star sequins in different shapes and sizes.  I tried to capture the shine from them in this photo but wasn't terribly successful.  Trust me, they sparkle in the light like nothing else I've seen.

Thank so much for visiting, I really appreciate it!  I hope you're continuing to stay safe and healthy and have a great week ahead!

I hope you'll join us this week for the great color challenge (link above)!  I've linked the rest of the DT members below so be sure to use them to check out all their gorgeous creations!

Stef

Jaydee
LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater
Joanne James
Laurie Schmidt

Anne Marie Hile
Ann Schach
Allisa Steinlicht

Stef Perry (that's me!)

Mary Deatherage

Stamps: none

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Real Red, Koh-I-Noor Bristol, Silver Foil

Ink:  Lucky Clover and Pine Needles Distress

Other:  Phrase Builder-Happy Holidays dies (PinkFresh Studios), Slimline Scallop Frame die (Simon Says Stamp), Diamond Plaid Layering Stencils (PFS), Oh My Stars Confetti Mix (Trinity Stamps), Aqua Shimmer pen (Tonic)

Fall Leaves

Hi there friends!  I hope you've had a good week and are staying safe and healthy.  I'm back with a card I've made for three challenges - Color Throwdown, Festive Friday (where I used hearts, die cut and sentiment) and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the current theme is Thinking of You.

CTD 618

FF0071

I'm a real sucker for background stamps, especially the new styles, were you can remove the center, or some are stripes or rainbows.  For this card I used the Center Cut Fall Leaves, but I left the center cut heart in when I stamped the image.

I started by stamping the image with brown, Copic friendly ink on Neenah Desert Storm and colored it with the challenge colors of red, orange, green and brown, focusing just on the leaves inside the heart.  After coloring the leaves, I used a light brown to fill in the outside of the heart so it would stand out even more from the rest of the stamped design.  I love the muted look of the Copics on Desert Storm.

After completing the coloring, the panel was die cut with a deckled rectangle and then edged with some beautiful gold metallic paint.  While that dried, the sentiment was heat set on a strip of brown card stock. The main panel was then adhered to the red card base with fun foam and the sentiment added to the front of the card with thin foam tape.  I tried out a few sequins and jewels for a little bit of bling but they just didn't look right with the busy pattern of leaves, so I left them off the finished card.

Thanks for visiting, I always appreciate it so much!  Be safe and have a great weekend!

Stef

Stamps:  Center Cut Fall Leaves (Simon Says Stamp), Heartfelt Sentiments (Altenew)

Paper:  Lipstick Red (SSS), Neenah Desert Storm, Early Espresso

Ink: Gina K Chocolate Truffle Amalgam, Versamark

Other:  Deckled Rectangle Frames die (Waffle Flower), Finetec Pearlescent Colours Metallic paints, Hero Arts Gold embossing powder

Copics:  E34, 37, YG17, 25, 03, 01, YR07, 16, Y17, R46, 24, 05

Floral Thanksgiving for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge

 Hello friends and welcome back!  It's Thursday and that means it's time for a new Tic Tac Toe Challenge!  The marvelous Annie is hosting this week and brings us this board with oodles of design options.

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

For my card, I went straight across the top (gold, stencil, floral) using a pretty sunflower grouping from the Big Thanks Autumn stamp set.

I started with a panel of Neenah Desert Storm, using a stencil to mask off the edges so that I could stamp on the inside or negative portion with the floral image. I used Copic Markers to color, then used the interior part of the stencil to mask off the floral image and ink blend around the exterior.  Well, that did not turn out as I hoped and so I went with plan two, which was to die cut the colored portion and then mount it on a separate panel of gold stenciled leaves. 

After heat embossing the sentiment on a strip of Peacock, I decided to use gold metallic paint around the edges of both panels and added a bit of splatter on the colored panel, just for good measure! Once the paint was dry, the stenciled panel was adhered directly to the Ivory base, then the floral panel popped up with fun foam.  With the sentiment adhered with foam tape, my card was complete!

Thank you for visiting, I always appreciate it so much!  I hope you continue to be safe and healthy, and have a great upcoming weekend!

Be sure to use the link above to check out the new Tic Tac Toe challenge and the beautiful cards by the other DT members!

Stef

Stamps:  Big Thanks Autumn, Clean Line Gratitude (sentiment), ( both Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:  Ivory, Peacock (SSS), Neenah Desert Storm

Ink:  Versamark, Delicatta Golden Glitz, Gina K Chocolate Truffle Amalgam

Other:  Autumn Leaves stencil (Pretty Pink Posh), Gansi Tambi Starry Colors Metallic watercolor paints, Hero Arts Gold embossing powder