Poppies for Paper Players

It's a blustery, wet and cool evening here in Western Oregon.  While we don't have 3 feet of snow, there's lots of flooding and trees coming down on houses and power lines.  But here in our house in Sherwood, we're fortunate that we've not had any damage from this crazy storm that's been hitting the West Coast since Friday.

So let me share a card with you that I made for the color challenge at Paper Players, where we are to use Real Red, Calypso Coral and Black.

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

Since these are the colors that are in the Stacked with Love designer paper, I thought the paper with red and coral would be a logical fit, but in the end used the black patterned side of the paper and instead decided to highlight an image with Pleasant Poppies so I could use Blendability markers.

After coloring the poppies and trimming the image down for a long, slim look, everything was adhere to the main panel covered with the dsp.  Some lovely Real Red grosgrain ribbon was then wrapped around everything.

 
A pretty clean and simple card.  I guess I'm becoming a convert(!!?!).

As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to use the link to check out the wonderful inspiration and join in the challenge - there's still plenty of time.  I hope if you are enduring rough winter weather that you stay safe and warm the next few days!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Pleasant Poppies, Fabulous Phrases
Paper:  Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Basic Black, Stacked with Love dsp
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Basic Black marker
Blendability Markers:  Wild Wasabi, Calypso Coral
Other:  Brights Candy Dot, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon

Blue Moon

Good afternoon and welcome back!  Today's card uses one of the images from the lovely Moon Lake stamp set, a couple of which are perfect for masculine cards.  A co-worker had a birthday recently so I used the goose image for his card.

The base is Island Indigo and is covered with a slightly smaller panel of the same card stock stamped with the Hardwood background stamp in Island Indigo Ink.  A banner of Crumb Cake was attached after running through the Big Shot with the Stripes embossing folder.

Coloring the background behind the goose took a few tries.  I wanted to create a setting sun in the background but I was not satisfied with my efforts, so I ended up starting over and just blending colors for the water that gently faded to the "sky".

A pretty simple card but I think that works well for a male recipient.  Thanks for taking a look and I'd love to hear from you if you have moment to leave a comment!  I hope you have a great week ahead!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Moon Lake, Hardwood
Paper:  Island Indigo, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizazz, Watercolor
Ink:  Jet Black Stazon, Island Indigo, Soft Sky, Pear Pizazz, Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake
Other:  Hemp Twine, Antique Brad, Stripes embossing folder

Hi Be You TIFUL!

Welcome back!  A wonderful color challenge at Pals Paper Arts and a great sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch inspired me to make a card this afternoon.

http://www.palspaperarts.com/

I LOVE the color combo of pink and gray, and the contrasting darker Rose Red led me to decide to pull out my Flower Patch stamp set and make something spring-like with layers of flowers on this otherwise gray and rainy day.

I started with a panel of Whisper White just slightly smaller than the card base and covered one side with a length of Pink Pirouette 1 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon.  I found a piece of retired I Am Me dsp in Basic Gray (score!) which was then adhered next to the ribbon.  As I was putting the card together, I decided a little banner in the upper left corner would be a festive touch, so I pulled out the cute Banner Blast stamp set from a prior Sale-A-Bration, inked up the banners in Rose Red, cut them out with the Banner punch, then popped them up on dimensionals over a piece of white twine.

The leaves and larger flower images were all cut out with matching framelits.  The littlest flower was fussy cut with my paper snips.  I like that the sentiment offers a bit of versatility so the card could be used to say hello, give encouragement or even wish the recipient a happy birthday on the inside.

Thanks for visiting this afternoon!  I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  There's still plenty of time to join the challenges, so be sure to use the links above and check out all the inspiration and maybe play along!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Flower Patch, Banner Blast
Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Gray, I Am Me dsp
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Rose Red
Other:  Frosted Sequins, Painted Blooms Cotton Twine, Flower Fair Framelits, Banner punch, 1 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

Nuts About You & Me

Hi there and welcome back!  Today I'm sharing a card created for Mojo Monday.  I've made my husband a fun valentine that I've had in mind since I first got this stamp set.

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

I started out with a Crumb Cake base, topped by a slightly smaller panel in the same card stock stamped with the Woodgrain background stamp, then added a strip of cute designer paper from Stacked with Love dsp.

The tree was inked in Early Espresso, then I wiped off the leaves and used a Garden Green marker to color them.  The squirrels and heart on the tree were all stamped on Whisper White and fussy cut.

A couple of card stock banners and some Early Espresso Baker's Twine finished it off.  I think because it's humorous rather than mushy it works well for a masculine Valentine or anniversary card.

As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to click on the link above and check out all the great inspiration and/or join in the challenge.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Nuts About You, Woodgrain
Paper:  Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Real Red, Early Espresso, Stacked with Love dsp
Ink:  Early Espresso, Garden Green, Real Red, Baked Brown Sugar
Other:  5/8", 1" and 1 1/4" circle punches, Early Espresso Baker's Twine, Paper Snips

Love Ya!

Good evening!  Valentine's Day is coming up and I have a couple of cards to share with you in today's post and another a bit later this week.  I made the first one for our 12-year old grandson using this week's sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch.

http://casethissketch.blogspot.com/

I looked to keep this card as CAS as possible, which I knew would appeal to my grandson.  I started with a Crumb Cake base, stamping it with images from Chalk Lines to represent the horizontal lines in the sketch.

The stamps are photopolymer, which enabled me to easily line them both up on one of the largest Stampn' Up! clear blocks.  Once the stamping in Crumb Cake ink was complete, I added the rectangles, hearts and the fun sentiment from Just Sayin'.  So easy and fun.

Thanks so much for taking a look!  I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  Be sure to use the link above to visit the CAS(E) this Sketch blog and join in if you are able.


Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Just Sayin', P.S. I Love You, Chalk Lines
Paper:  Confetti Cream, Real Red, Baked Brown Sugar, Crumb Cake
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Baked Brown Sugar, Real Red
Other:  Large Heart Punch, Word Bubble Framelit

Buddy Birthday

Hello again!  My card today was made for a great nephew who is having his first birthday in a few days.  I pulled out the cute Little Buddy Birthday stamp set to create it and used the sketch challenge at Friday Mashup for my card design.

http://www.fridaymashup.com/

I found some scraps from a long retired designer paper that work well for a little boy's birthday card due to the bright colors.  And it had blue and green, the colors I wanted to use for the dinosaur.

I began by stamping the dino three times, once each on Whisper White, Pacific Point and Pear Pizazz card stock.  The balloon and sentiment were added to the white piece, with the balloon then colored with a Real Red marker.

The green dino body was cut out first, then the blue spots and back piece were adhered.  I tried coloring the image with inks and a blender pen after I first stamped it on Whisper White but I didn't like how it turned out, and since we don't yet have Blendability markers in Pacific Point and Pear Pizazz, paper piecing it was!

That's it for today - time to join my husband and watch on the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.  As always your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Be sure to use the link above to check out all the wonderful inspiration and join in the challenge.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Little Buddy Birthday
Paper:  Whisper White, Pacific Point, Pear Pizazz, Bashful Blue, Celebrations dsp
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red
Other:  Brights Buttons, Linen Thread, Pacific Point Stitched Grosgrain ribbon, Paper Snips

Coral Birthday

Good evening!  I hope your week has been going well.  The Paper Players have a great sketch challenge this week and I was happy I was able to join in with tonight's card.  I don't always have time to play along with this challenge, so I was glad it worked out this week.

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

I pulled out the new Love is Kindness single stamp and inked up just the floral image, leaving off the sentiment so the image would fit in an oval shape.  It was colored with Calypso Coral and Old Olive Blendability markers.

I started with a base of Sahara Sand card stock.  In order to accommodate the oval image, the card size was expanded from the normal A2 (4.25" x 5.5") to 5" x 7".  The next layer is a cute piece of Etcetera dsp with Calypso Coral polka dots.  The stamped image was backed with Island Indigo card stock cut with the next size up Oval framelit.

I added the super cute lace trim and white cotton twine and then I was kind of stuck.  I knew the card needed something else for a bit of extra "oomph" and then I saw the butterfly, left over from a failed project, that was just waiting to be used. It added just that one extra element I was looking for.

Thanks so much for the visit!  Please be sure to use the link to check out the wonderful inspiration over at Paper Players and join in if you have time, although you may have to hurry as the deadline to post your card is mid-day tomorrow.  If you have a moment, I would love it if you'd leave a comment; always love to hear from those that take time to drop by!

Hugs,

Stef



Product details:
Stamps:  Love is Kindness, Butterfly Basics, Papillon Potpourri
Paper:  Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Island Indigo, Etcetera dsp
Ink:  Pool Party, Memento Tuxedo Black;  Blendability markers:  Calypso Coral, Old Olive
Other:  Sahara Sand 7/8" Lace Trim, Painted Blooms Cotton Twine, Ovals Collection framelits, Large Butterfly punch, Basic Rhinestones

Prairie Friendship

Hi there again!  I've made a card with the cute Sheltering Tree stamp set from the Occasions catalogue.  I love the tree and the variety of ways to use it.  The Sweet Sunday Sketch #252 provides the basis for my design.

http://kgiron.blogspot.com/2015/01/sweet-sunday-sketch-challenge-252.html

I wanted something springlike for the base, so I dug through some designer paper I've had for several years and came upon a nice piece where the colors really inspired me.  It goes beautifully with the Bermuda Bay and Pool Party card stock used as well as the Pear Pizazz ink used for the leaves stamped over the tree in the main image.

Next the bicycle was stamped leaning against the tree. It's a two part stamp, so the first stamp (wheels, pedals, seat and handle bars) was inked in black, with the second part (consisting of the frame) stamped in Encore Silver then heat embossed with Pewter embossing powder.

The Bermuda Bay banner was embossed with the Polka Dot embossing folder and adhered with the debossed side up.  A couple of strands of Bermuda Bay sequins, a silver button and Pool Party twine decorate the top.  I really love how this turned out, especially the bright, fresh colors.

Thanks for stopping by!  I would love to know what you think of my card if you have a moment to leave a comment.  Be sure to use the link above to check out all the inspiration at the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Sheltering Tree
Paper:  Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Urban Prairie dsp (BG)
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Bermuda Bay, Memento Tuxedo Black, Encore Silver
Polka Dot embossing folder, Retired Basic Silver button, Pool Party twine, Bermuda Bay sequins, Pewter embossing powder

Birthday Collage

Hello once again!  Tonight my post contains a card made for the sketch challenge at Pals Paper Arts plus the challenge at Friday Mashup to make something floral.  The "mashup" also included using the Triple Layer Technique but I decided to stick with just the "floral" part of the challenge.

  http://www.palspaperarts.com/

http://www.fridaymashup.com/

I decided to build a collage with Butterfly Basics behind and around the rectangle on the right side of the card.  I used Classic ink in Garden Green to stamp the fern images.  The floral image was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black, then colored with Wild Wasabi and Pink Pirouette Blendability markers.

After stamping the butterfly in Soft Sky, it was run through my Big Shot with the smallest of the Butterflies thinlits.  Hard to tell in the photos but it was then sprayed with Vanilla Smooch Spray before adding the rhinestones.  I cut a mask from a large Post It note for the floral image, then stamped the honey comb over the top.

The little banners were made from a large scrap of vellum that had been embossed with the Polka Dot embossing folder.  I thought they would add a nice bit of texture but remain subtle with the opaque nature of the paper.  Everything looked rather feminine, so I thought it would be appropriate to add the new Sahara Sand lace trim to the bottom of the main image.

With the butterfly overhanging the edge, the card would not fit in a standard envelope, so I made one from retired Pink Pirouette textured card stock with the Envelope Punch Board.

Well that's it for this post.  Be sure to use the links above to visit the blogs and check out the super inspiration.  As always, your visit and comments are so very appreciated!  I hope you have a  great week ahead!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Butterfly Basics
Paper:  Whisper White, Soft Sky, Vellum
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Sahara Sand, Garden Green, Soft Sky, Hello Honey;  Blendability markers:  Wild Wasabi, Pink Pirouette
Other:  Sahara Sand 7/8" Lace Trim, Painted Blooms Cotton Twine, Vanilla Smooch Spray, Butterflies Thinlits, Polka Dot embossing folder, Banner punch

Venetian Lotus

Welcome back!  Today I have a brief post to share a card made using the sketch from Mojo Monday as the base for my design.  It's similar to one I posted back on December 27th (http://stefperry.blogspot.com/2014/12/lotus-thank-you.html) in that I am using the same stamp and dsp.

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

I added an element to the sketch by layering a circle with stamped Lotus flower on the top panel.  The flower is created by combining 3 stamps, all of which were inked in Island Indigo, with the third one stamped off for a lighter shade.

Rather than place a cross panel of card stock across the card, linen thread was used for that element, with the sentiment stamped below directly on the dsp.  A little Pistachio Pudding ruffle trim and some pearls finishes it off.

As always your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Please be sure to use the link to see all the lovely inspiration over at Mojo Monday.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Lotus Blossom, Peaceful Petals
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Pistachio Pudding, Island Indigo, Venetian Romance dsp
Ink:  Island Indigo
Other:  Filial embossing folder, Pistachio Pudding Ruffle Trim, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch, Circles Collection framelit, Linen Thread, Stampamajig

A Little Birdie Told Me....

Hi there and welcome back!  Tonight I have a card to share that was made for this week's challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  It's a very versatile sketch that already has me thinking of several other cards to make with it but for now I'll show you what I ended up making first.

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

I started with a Whisper White card base, then floated a panel of Night of Navy atop it with dimensionals.  Rather than a circle as show in the sketch, I chose to use a square shape, which was cut from the Night of Navy panel with a square framelit to reveal the main image below.

The main image was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black then colored with a variety of Blendability markers.  I love this little scene but it had a different sentiment and I wanted to make a birthday card.  So I actually used the sentiment from another stamp in the same set, and I think it matches perfectly, with the cute little birdie telling the butterfly about the recipient's birthday.  ; - )

A piece of Tangelo Twist ribbon was wrapped around the navy panel and a little piece of card stock in the same color underscores the second part of the sentiment.  I think it looks so bright and cheerful against navy.

Thanks so much for visiting and I would love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment!  Be sure to use the link above to check out all the wonderful inspiration and/or join in the challenge.  Take care and enjoy the remainder of your weekend.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  For the Birds
Paper:  Whisper White, Night of Navy
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Tangelo Twist; Blendability markers:  Calypso Coral, Pink Pirouette, Wisteria Wonder, Night of Navy, Wild Wasabi, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Smoky Slate
Other:  Squares Collection and Bitty Banners framelits, Neutral Button (retired), Calypso Coral Baker's Twine, Tangelo Twist Stitched Satin Ribbon

Blue Corner Garden

Hello again and welcome back!  I have a card to share with you today that was made for two challenges - the color challenge at Pals Paper Arts and the sketch challenge at Sunday Stamps.

http://www.palspaperarts.com/ 

http://www.sundaystamps.blogspot.com/

I love the colors for the PPA challenge this week but just couldn't decide what to make.  Then I saw the sketch at Sunday Stamps and knew in a snap what direction to go.  However I had to flip the sketch to accommodate the Corner Garden stamp.

Starting with a piece of Whisper White card stock, Corner Garden was stamped in Versamark, then heat embossed with Pewter embossing powder.  Soft Sky ink was sponged over the entire image, then Pool Party and Island Indigo were added. The Pool Party has enough of a hint of green to add some interesting ribbons of color in contrast to the darker Island Indigo.

A touch of silver was added, tying into the Pewter embossing.  The sentiment, from the retired Express Yourself, was stamped in Island Indigo on a Whisper White banner that was layered on top of a Silver Foil banner.

Thanks so much for your visit today!  I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  Be sure to use the links above to check out the challenges and all the wonderful inspiration.

Hugs,

Stef



Product details:
Stamps:  Corner Garden, Express Yourself
Paper:  Whisper White, Island Indigo, Soft Sky, Silver Foil
Ink:  Stampin' Emboss Pewter embossing powder, Scallop Border Punch, Silver 1/8" ribbon, White Baker's Twine, Pool Party Button (retired Sale-A-Bration).

Artisan Birthday Note

It's Wednesday evening and I have a quick post to share with a couple of cards I made for the challenge at Paper Players where we are to use something recycled or re-purposed on your card.  I also used this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch.

 http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

http://kgiron.blogspot.com/

What to use, what to use?  First I found some old buttons that thought I could re-purpose as an embellishment, and then I decided to recycle some retired Springtime Vintage dsp scraps by making a "quilt".

I punched twenty one inch squares, adhered them to a 4" x 5" piece of recycled heavy duty white paper that backs Stampin' Up! dsp, then ran it through my Big Shot with the Top Note BigZ die.  This paper is such sweet, old fashioned paper, I wanted to make it really feminine by adding retired Artisan Embellishments (flowers, crochet trim, doily).

The sentiment from Petite Pairs was stamped in Baja Breeze on Very Vanilla and popped out with a 1 1/4" Scallop Circle punch, then layered on a slightly larger Not Quite Navy circle.  Everything was adhered to a Baja Breeze panel that was then popped up with dimensionals on top of a card also of Baja Breeze card stock.

I made a second card; or rather I should say I made the following card first but found it to be a little busy as it uses squares from the front and back of two pieces of dsp, whereas the card above just uses one side of each piece of dsp.  Let me know which one you like better...

As always, your visit and comments are greatly appreciated!  Be sure to use the links above to check out the challenges and the super inspiration provided by the design teams!  Take care!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Petite Pairs
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Rose Red, Springtime Vintage dsp
Ink:  Baja Breeze, Rose Red
Other:  Top Note Die, Artisan Embellishments (2011 retired; includes doily, roses, crochet trim and Rose Red Seam Binding ribbon), Linen Thread, re-purposed buttons, 1" Square, 1 1/4" Scallop Circle and 1 3/8" Circle punches.

Crazy Birthday

Hello again!  Tonight I have a card to share using this week's sketch challenge at Mojo Monday.  It's such a fun and easy sketch that I'm going to use it for a Shoebox Swap I'm attending next Sunday afternoon, which it's perfect for as I kept it CAS enough that it went together very quickly.

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

While the sketch is intended for a tall and skinny card (3.5" x 5.5" or 6.5" versus a normal A2 card size of 4.25" x 5.5"), in order to accommodate the flower and sentiment on my card it had to be an A2 size.

Isn't that fun?  The new (available Monday) Stacked with Love Designer Series Paper Stack was adhered to a Whisper White base, then topped with banners in Calypso Coral  and another piece of the same designer paper.  The flower is one of two from the new Crazy About You photopolymer (love it!) stamp set.

The horizontal piece of Crisp Cantaloupe card stock was stamped with a leaf image and sentiment also from the Crazy About You stamp set.  An Extra Large Pearl was added to the center of the flower.  If you wanted to mail this, a Basic Black Candy Dot or a Whisper White Candy Dot colored with a Calypso Coral Blendability marker might work better.

Thanks for taking time to visit, and I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Crazy About You
Paper:  Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Basic Black, Stacked with Love dsp stack
Ink:  Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  2 3/8" and 1 3/4" Scallop Circle punches, Scallop Trim Border punch, Basic and Extra Large Pearls

The Ones have It.

Hi there and welcome back!  Something I don't normally take the time to do is to play along with the daily challenges at Splitcoaststampers.  However, this last Monday the Try a New Technique was to use just one of the following really intrigued me, as it is the recipe for a super quick and simple card.

Here's the instructions:

You will need one piece of card stock, one large stamp image, one sentiment, one color ink, and one ribbon.

Directions:

1. Fold your card stock to A2 size.
2. Stamp your image and sentiment in one color ink.
3. Tie ribbon on an edge.

If you would like, you can fussy cut the edge to highlight the image.

Since the card is to be very simple, with no layers, I wanted the stamp to take of space and be eye catching.  I pulled out a retired single stamp that I thought would do the trick.

After stamping the Elizabeth stamp in Lost Lagoon, the sentiment from Gifts of Kindness was stamped in the center of the oval.  A piece of ribbon went around the top of the card and the edge was scored to add a nice finish.

Wow, simple, right?  Despite the spareness of the card, to me it has enough interest with the ornateness of the main stamp, plus the addition of the ribbon and the scoring.  Lots of white space is not my norm, so it's fun to try and build a comfort level with it.  Of course, one did not have to make a such a spare card to go along with the challenge; there are plenty in the gallery that are a bit busier. Here's a link to the gallery:  http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=TLC514&what=keywords.

Thanks for taking time to look!  Hope you have a great weekend!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Elizabeth, Gifts of Kindness
Paper:  Whisper White
Ink:  Lost Lagoon
Other:  Lost Lagoon Stitched Satin ribbon, Stampamajig, Simply Scored Scoring Tool