Gratitude for The Paper Players

Hello friends!  It's the fifth Sunday of the month and that means we have a Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge at The Paper Players this week!  The amazing Claire is hosting and created this fun TTT board to inspire you!

The Paper Players

My initial choice was to go across the top row, but in the end, my card also fit left to right diagonal as well as the center column.

I couldn't decide which way to go but then I challenged myself to use some patterned paper.  I don't have a lot (I purged most of it years ago) but have since acquired some through card kits or very selective purchasing.  

The background is a piece of that pp that was included in a card kit about 3-4 years ago. This piece a pretty vintage style collage and even after trimming it down I was able to capture a sunflower and pumpkin for the background.  For the "table" I found a piece of brown from another paper pack and embossed it with a woodgrain folder, although you really can't tell in the pictures.  

Next, I went to my Fall dies and found the pumpkin already ink blended and assembled. The same thing happened when I was searching through my Autumn themed stamp sets.  The stamp set I pulled out had the leaves colored and die cut, and the sentiment already stamped, so I just used the coordinating die for it.  I used a rounded corner punch for the base and pp, then assembled all the elements, including the three enamel dots.  And I was really happy with how this turned out!

Claire's TTT board has many opportunities for a variety of cards.  I hope you'll find a column or row that suits your fancy and play along!  The challenge will remain open until 3pm EDT, Friday October 4th.  

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

• Simon Says Stamp Layered Pumpkin die
• SSS/Memory Box Beautiful Moments Collaboration set (Stamptember 2022?)
• Tim Holtz Lumber embossing folder
• P13 Autumn and Honey Bee Stamps Harvest Festival patterned papers
• Spellbinders Corner Rounder punch
• Altenew Warm and Cozy Enamel Dots

Merry & Bright for The Paper Players

Happy Sunday, friends!  It's time for a new sketch challenge at The Paper Players and this week the lovely Joanne has created a fabulous one for us!

The Paper Players

I was bound and determined to make a Christmas card with this sketch, so I started by going through my patterned papers.  I found a package of A2 sized papers that was a gift with purchase from Honey Bee Stamps a year or two ago and chose one to use as the background.

I loved the design on the paper with the packages, branches and flowers, plus the colors were not your standard fare for the holidays.  I had a trimmed down piece in the same package that served as the horizontal strip, then I found a piece of red cardstock that was similar to the background, although a bit brighter.  

After looking at a few branch dies I found this pretty design that arched like the branches in the background.  And bonus!  I had two leftovers from last year stored with the die. And because this made my card assembly so quick, I ended up making two cards. 

The branch was created using a couple colors of Tim Holtz Distress Mica spray and I apologize but I don't recall which colors.  I used the branch die again, this time with a piece of the red cardstock, trimmed off the berries, then added them to the green die cut.  I added sparkle with a shimmer pen then covered them with Glossy Accents for shine.

The sentiment was stamped in a dark teal color that matched the background beautifully, then cut with the matching die.  I cut one more, layered them up and added them to the red strip and my card was complete!

This is a great sketch and I hope you're inspired to come play along with us this week.  My talented teammates have some wonderful inspiration for you, so please head over to the challenge blog and take a peek.  The challenge will remain open until 3 pm EDT on Friday, September 20th.  

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

• Simon Says Stamp Etched Berry Branch die
• SSS Graceful Holiday Greetings stamp and die
• Tim Holtz Distress Mica Spray Stains
• Nuvo Shimmer pen
• Ranger Glossy Accents

Girl With A Dream for Color Hues

Hello friends!  I'm back with a card for the new Color Hues challenge.  This time the lovely Cindy has chosen a pretty color combination of pink and blue.

Color Hues

To me, this is a rather dreamy color combination, and when pink is involved, I always want to color flowers.  But this time I had fun with a rather kooky little card.

I'd had my eyes on this stamp set from Stamping Bella for quite a while and so a few months ago I bought it along with a couple of the other Oddball stamps.  I soooo adore these!  Just the drawings crack me up but this one had a fabulous sentiment as well that had me smiling the entire time I was making the card.

I began by stamping her on a 3.75" x 5" panel of white, making sure I had room for my sentiment (which I cut apart in order to fit), then colored her with Copic and Olo markers.  

Next, I softly ink blended pink all around her, then used a stencil to add tone-on-tone detail.  The last step was to add the sentiment using foam squares.  I think this card will be sitting on my desk for a while because it tickles me so!

How do these colors speak to you?  As you can see, there are many directions you could go with them.  For more ideas and fabulous inspiration, please head over to the challenge blog and see what my talented teammates and Guest Designer Ishani have created! I hope you'll join us - the challenge remains open until 9 am EDT on Sunday 9/29.

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

• Stamping Bella Oddball With A Coffee
• Simon Says Stamp Lattice Tile Stencil
• Copics - W3, 0, C9, 7, 5, 3, 1, B93, E11, 21, 00
• Olos - RV 1.7, 1.5, 1.3, 1.1, B0.6, 0.5, 0.3, 0.2

Seasonal Blooms for The Flower Challenge

Hello friends!  I'm back with my reminder card for The Flower Challenge.  This month the theme is to include a stamped flower.

TFC 95 Reminder

 

For my card at the beginning of the month, I used a new stamp set, so for the reminder, I went with an older but well love stamp.

This is such a large stamp that I ended up making a 5" x 7" card.  Of course, the image could be trimmed down but I wanted to include both sunflowers, so I went big!  

I colored it using both Copic and Olo markers.  Even with this large of an image, it didn't seem to take too long to get done and once I was finished I used the coordinating die to cut it out.

The background was inked with a light blue, then the floral image adhered to it after adding two additional die cut layers under it for some dimension.  I chose a large sentiment because of all the open real estate on the top of the card, plus I always love using those fancy sentiment dies with the flourished tails!  Before adhering the sentiment, I added a bit of white splatter.  No embellishments this time, I thought the splatter was sufficient.

If you haven't played along with us yet this month, grab your favorite floral stamp and join us!  Or if you already have a card in the gallery, why not add a second one - the challenge will remain open through the 25th of the month, so plenty of time yet.  Do be sure to pop over and check out all the beautiful reminder cards from my talented teammates - lots more inspiration!

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

• Altenew Seasonal Blooms stamp and die
• Altenew Fancy For You die
• Dina Wakely White Glossy Acrylic Spray
• Copics - YR23, Y19, 15, 13, E59, 57, G29, 19, 16, 05
• Olos - YG 1.6, 1.4, 1.2, V2.7, 2.6, 2.4, 2.3, BV1.7, 1.4, 1.2

Merry Moose for The Paper Players

Hello friends!  It's Sunday and time for a new challenge at The Paper Players.  This week the lovely Ann is hosting our CAS week and this time it's back to nature!

The Paper Players

You are welcome to use any plant or animal on your card, just remember to keep it clean and simple.  For my card I used a fun moose!

Well, our silly moose found himself all tangled up in the decorations but not to worry, he's having fun!  The moose and the sentiment are both from the Merry Moose set from MFT and there are so many fun images.  I colored a number of the moose images with Copic markers but decided this guy was my favorite for this card  

In keeping this very simple, I used some older MFT pattern papers on the bottom of a panel, stamped the sentiment above, then die cut it with a deckled rectangle.  Two more layers of scrap cardstock were cut with the same rectangle die, added to the back of the main panel, then adhered to the card base. I did the same with the moose, layering up two additional die cuts.  If I'm making a CAS card, I like adding that bit of dimension for more interest.  Although you can't see it in the photos, I added Glossy Accents to the ornaments and lights in his antlers.

This is a great challenge because you can use any plant or animal, so lots of options for a CAS card.  We'd love to have you join us this week and if you drop by the challenge blog, you'll see lots of inspiration from my talented teammates!

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

• MFT Merry Moose stamps and dies
• Waffle Flower Deckled Frames
• MFT Cool Collab patterned paper
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Copics - E59, 57, 55, 53, R39, 37, 35, BG07, 45, 53, C9, 7, 3

A Class Act for The Paper Players

Hello friends!  Today, over at The Paper Players, the lovely Elizabeth is hosting our monthly color challenge and has chosen bright and fun primary colors.

The Paper Players

These colors reminded me of a cute MFT stamp set that couldn't be more perfect with these colors!

This little cutie is from an older Birdie Brown stamp set but I think she's ageless!  She is fun to color and this time her apparel reflects the challenge colors.  I used my alcohol markers and then she was die cut with the matching die.

I had a vision of making a scene card, but it didn't work out the way I liked.  I had stenciled the red brick white, so I just trimmed it down and added it to a 4" x 5.25" white panel then adhered that to the card base.  The circles were die cut and adhered to the card front, then the schoolgirl was popped up with thin foam squares, as was the sentiment.  The last touch was to use some bright red enamel dots.

We would love to see what you are inspired to make with these colors!  The challenge lasts through Friday Sept. 13th at 3pm EST.  Don't forget to pop over to the challenge blog and see what the rest of the team created.

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

• MFT Class Act stamps and die
• MFT English Brick Wall stencil
• Hero Arts Infinity Circle and Scallop Circle dies
• Lumberjack Plaid Distress Ink
• Altenew Tea Party Enamel Dots 
• Copics - E11, 21, 00, 29, 37, 33, YR23, Y19, 15, 13, R59, 46, 27, 05
• Olos - B0.7, 0.6, 0.5, 0.3

Graceful Flowers for The Flower Challenge

Hello friends!  Wow, here we are in September already - the year is truly flying by now, right?  

The Flower Challenge is back and this month we have something easy - include a stamped flower.

TFC 95

I used a large floral image so rather than cut it down, I decided to make a slimline card.

This was a super easy card to pull together.  After stamping my floral image, it was colored with Copic markers and die cut with the matching die.  The sentiment is from the same stamp wet and also cut with it's coordinating die. 

At this point I had to make a decision on the background.  Embossing?  Cover plate?  Well, as you can see, I went with the cover plate, but from aqua cardstock and then adhered directly to the card base, for a card size of 3.5" x 8.5".  The flowers were adhered to two additional die cuts for dimension and added to the card front along with the sentiment.  A few clear sparking gems completed my card.

What are you inspired to make for this challenge?  Although this time I used a newer stamp set, I think for my mid-month card I'll be pulling out an older set I haven't used for a while - this challenge was a good reminder for me to do that.  I hope you join us this month, the challenge remains open until Wednesday, September 25th.

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

• Simon Says Stamp Graceful Flowers Stamps and Dies
• SSS Filigree Slim Plate die
• Altenew Crystal Clear Gem Sparkles
• Copics - V09, 17, 15, 01, RV09, 17, 06, 04, 02. B69, 66, 63, YR23, Y15, 11, BG 09, 15, 11

Thinking of You for Color Hues and The Paper Players

Hello friends!  Today I have a card that combines two challenges.  At The Paper Players, the lovely Joanne is asking us to use spots or stripes and I managed to do both!

The Paper Players

 

Over at Color Hues, the wonderful Carol has chosen Rust and Green as her color combination. A note about the color Rust - it covers a range hues - from terracotta, bronze, ginger, cider, burnt orange, so there are lots of options. I really love this combo!

Color Hues

My card features a favorite stamp set, but one that I haven't used for a while, so I thought it was about time.

As you can see, the pots have both spots and stripes (albeit wavy ones!).  The plants and pots were all stamped then colored with alcohol markers, then die cut with the matching dies.  The sentiment is from a different stamp set and was cut with its matching die as well.

Next, the "floor" was die cut from white cardstock using a wood plank die then also colored with markers.  The die impresses embossed woodgrain detail, so I just followed those with my darkest brown marker then when over it with a shade lighter. It was adhered to a panel of light green cardstock and before added the plants I decided to make things look a bit more interesting by adding the die cut lattice.  

What are you inspired to create with these two challenges?  My teammates have so much inspiration to share with you, please be sure to use the links above for both challenges and check out their wonderful cards.

The Paper Players challenge is open until Friday, Sept. 6th at 3pm EST and the Color Hues challenge runs through 9am EST Saturday, Sept. 14th.  I hope to see you in both galleries!

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

• Honey Bee Stamps Happy Plants stamps and dies
• Simon Says Stamp Graceful Flowers sentiment stamp and die
• SSS Wood Plank die
• Spellbinders Woven Lattice Texture die
• Copics: E19, YR18, 07, 04, E59, 57, W3, 1, 0
• Olos:  YG1.6, 1.4, 1.2, G1.8, 1.7, 1.5, 1.4