With Sympathy for PP787

Hello friends!  We have a new sketch challenge over at the Paper Players and this week LeAnne is hosting.  She's created a fun one to work with.

Paper Players

I decided to use a die set from Honey Bee Stamps that I bought two, maybe three years ago, and never used it, so I'll be sending it over to Darnell's NBUS challenge as well.

NBUS

Here's what I came up with.

When I was young, my parents planted a beautiful Dogwood tree in our front yard.  It was my mother's favorite, which was enjoyable to think about as I was making this card.  

The branch and leaves were die cut from colored cardstock and the flowers from white.  I added ink blending to all the die cuts, including the extra flower, leaves and the circle. Since the sentiment was gold foiled, the flower centers were die cut from gold as well to bring more gold into the design. 

For the background I used a rectangle die with the same design as the circle to cut a panel of white and attach it to the card base.  The lattice was also cut from white and turned out to be the perfect size for the rectangle in LeAnne's sketch.  There were a few foiled sentiments from the same set already made and the sympathy one seemed to fit best.  Fortunately, I have no immediate need for a sympathy card, but it is always good to have extra on hand.  

Thanks for stopping by and I encourage you to visit the challenge blog, where the other DT members have some wonderful cards to inspire you!  The challenge will remain open until 3pm EDT on Friday May 29th.  I hope you'll join us this week!

Stef

• Honey Bee Stamps Lovely Layers: Dogwood dies
• Spellbinders Woven Lattice Texture die
• Pinkfresh Studio Folk Edge Circle and Rectangle dies
• Spellbinders You Are Everything BetterPress plate and die

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

Peace and Joy for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  The Paper Players have a new sketch challenge for you and this time the lovely Ann is hosting.  She's given us a good one with lots of options.  In fact, I ended up making 2 cards.

Paper Players

Both cards utilize patterned paper to achieve the three sections shown in Ann's sketch but one is a rustic look and the other a fancier appearance.

I have a limited supply of patterned paper for the holidays but I found this wood grain with the white images in a packet that was a gift for purchase from Honey Bee Stamps.  I couldn't believe the panel divisions worked perfectly for the sketch.  I trimmed it down to 3 1/8 x 4 3/8 inches, then matted it with Poppy cardstock from Concord & 9th.  I didn't have a matching ink but found another from Altenew that worked perfectly.  I layered up and adhered the sentiment, loosely wrapped the twine and added to the scallop card base with thin foam tape.  I thought the shaped card was a nice bit of added interest. The last thing was to add 3 ancient, retired SU snowflakes with gems in the center.

Making that card went so quickly that I decided to create a second. 

I used a panel of patterned paper on this one also and used thin strips of red metallic paper to create the divisions.  A leafy branch was die cut from white glitter cardstock and added to two additional layers before adhering to the card front.  I found a sentiment that couldn't have been a more perfect fit and finished things off by using sparkly gems for the berries.

I like both cards but I think the first is my favorite, with that rustic feel.  Do you like one better than the other?  Let me know in the comments below.  My amazing teammates have created some fantastic inspiration with varying ways to use this sketch, so I encourage you to head over to the challenge blog for visit.  The challenge will end on Friday, November 28th at 3pm EST.  I hope you'll join us this week!

And a Happy Thanksgiving to all those celebrating in the US this coming week!

Thanks for visiting and take care.

Stef

Card #1

• Simon Says Stamp Making Spirits Bright stamp and die
• SSS Chunky Rectangle die
• SSS Opal Dazzling Gems
• Altenew Heartbeat ink

Card #2

• SSS Etched Berry Branch die
• SSS Strips die
• Altenew Moonstone Glitter cardstock and Red Jasper Gem Sparkles
• MFT Cool Colab patterned paper

Snowflake for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  It's Sunday and time for a new challenge at the Paper Players.  This week I'm hosting our monthly sketch challenge and created one that will be super easy and versatile for you to use.

PP757

As you can see, the circle can be any shape, so your choices are vast!  

For my card, I created a simple Christmas card.  In fact, it was so simple I ended up making four altogether.  But here's my favorite...

I had several ideas for this card, but I ended up with a foiling session, using the Pinkfresh Studio Radiating Snowflake press plate and a couple of Spellbinder sentiment sets.

Next I pulled out one of my favorite Christmas patterned paper pads and found four that would match the snowflakes I'd made.  For the most part, the papers all utilize a bokeh effect, along with different colors and some with more prominent snowflakes.  I love the gold and blue on the card above.  

Putting the card together was super simple.  The snowflake was layered on two additonal die cuts then adhered to the card front, the sentiment popped up with foam tape and then I added three snowflakes cut from white glitter paper and topped with sparkly gems.  I used the same design on the other three cards.

I hope this easy-to-use sketch inspires you to join us this week!  For more design ideas, my wonderfully talented teammates have some fabulous cards on challenge blog here. The challenge will remain open until 3pm EDT on Friday 3rd - I hope to see your card in the gallery! 

Stef

• Pinkfresh Studio Radiating Snowflake Betterpress plate and die
• Spellbinders Comfort & Joy Sentiments Hot Foil plate and die
• Spellbinders Sending Joy Sentiments Betterpress plate and die
• Kristina Werner Kristina's Essential dies A2 rectangle
• SSS Woodland Treescape Snowflake dies
• SSS Warm Tones, Surf and Prism Dazzling Gems
• Whimsy Stamps Blurry Flurries patterned paper

Beautiful Day for the Paper Players

Hello friends! This week at the Paper Players, the lovely Jan is hosting our monthly sketch challenge.  Here's what she came up with.

Paper Players

I tried out different ideas but nothing seemed appealing to me, so I went with a CAS deconstructed and minimalist interpretation of the sketch. Jan, I apologize if I've gotten a little loose in my interpretation lol! 

I was looking through my floral stamp sets and saw this image that would fit across the entire panel, letting the flowers represent the circle.  It was stamped, stenciled and die cut. The sentiment is from the same stamp set.  

For the background, I wanted some detailed embossing for all the white space and decided to use a tile motif embossing folder.  It was trimmed down slightly before adhering to the card base.  The flowers were added with foam tape, and I finished things off with some pretty green gems that matched the leaves. 

What are you inspired to make with Jan's fabulous sketch?  I encourage you to pop over to the challenge and see the variety of designs my talented teammates came up with.  The challenge remains open until 3pm EDT Friday, August 1st.  I hope to see your card in the gallery this week!

Take care!

Stef

• Altenew Craft Your Life Project Kit: Hello Beautiful stamp, stencil and die
• Altenew Featured Sentiment die
• Spellbinders Tiled Motif embossing folder
• Honey Bee Stamps Vintage Love gems