label love

I was playing around in my craft room yesterday trying to come up with a clean and simple card to use at an event on Wednesday for a handful of new stampers. I wanted it to be something that each of the guests could feel comfortable with completing without too many steps or products, but just to get a feel for the ink, stamps, and paper! I used the Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration February card sketch (very loosely) to help with designing my card.

This was the card I came up with using the Label Love stamp set. I decided not to stop with just this one card and ended up creating three other cards using different images from this same set!

Colors: Strawberry Slush, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry

DSP: Kaleidoscope

Colors: Pool Party, Calypso Coral, So Saffron

DSP: I Am Me

Colors: Melon Mambo, Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz

DSP: Gingham Garden

 Colors: Calypso Coral, So Saffron, Real Red

DSP: I Am Me

And, you're in luck! One of this week's WEEKLY DEALS is the Artisan Label Punch that I used on each of these cards!!You can also save 15% and order the Label Love stamp set & coordinating Artisan Label Punch as a bundle (clear bundle / $28.75 or wood bundle / $34.75)

Regular Price ~ $15.95

Sale Price ~ $11.96

the paper players - sketch challenge #92

Has a week really already flown by since I last posted?! I had a wonderful crafting weekend last weekend with some friends and busted out lots of fun cards that I am excited to share with you and I also held my monthly card making night this past Thursday, so I have those cards to show you, too! 

But first...it's Sunday!! Not only is my sweet little girl turning SIX today, but it's Paper Players time - woo hoo!! Are you ready for a new sketch with the super duper talented Nance? She has created a great sketch for us and I hope that you are able to join along!

 

I decided to pull out a soon-to-be retiring set to work with for this week's sketch. Season of Friendship has always been a favorite of mine and I have used it for a variety of cards and home decor (check out some inspiration HERE). I think it's been in the catalog for quite some time, so I can see why it's time to say goodbye, but sometimes the goodbyes really hurt (*wink*).

I really wanted to add dimension to the card, so I decided to not only stamp leaves onto the tree, but I also used Paper Snips to cut some leaves out and then popped them up with Dimensionals. (I was inspired by Mary Brown's tree...I just loved the Concord Crush and Melon Mambo color combo!)

 

Stamp Set: Season of Friendship, Petite Pairs
Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Concord Crush, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Concord Crush, Melon Mambo, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Dimensionals, Pearl Accents, White Baker's Twine
Tools: 1-1/4" Circle punch, 1-3/8" Circle punch, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle punch, Itty Bitty punch (flowers), Scallop Edge punch

Come join the fun with The Paper Players this week...I'd love to see your sketch challenge creations! Head on over to get inspired by the rest of the design and link up your cards by Friday, April 27 at NOON. 

Off to spend the day celebrating my sweet, sweet girl! I just can't believe that I now have a six year old!

And, don't forget...

 {click below to view the items on the retiring list - last day is May 31st!}

the paper players - clean & simple with watercoloring (pp91)

What a fun Clean and Simple Challenge Jaydee has for us this week at The Paper Players! The twist is to add a little watercoloring to your CAS card. I will be the first to admit that I have a lot yet to learn about watercoloring, but I still have fun giving it a try every now and then. Thanks, Jaydee, for the challenge!


I kind of did the "cheater method" of watercoloring (I didn't even use watercolor paper, shhhh...don't tell!) and used the blender pen with my ink pads. It gives such a soft look to the coloring versus just using the markers themselves.


Stamp Set: Morning Cup, Friendly Phrases
Paper: Lucky Limeade, Basic Black, Whisper White, Poppy Parade polka dots (retired hostess pack)
Ink: Black Stazon, Blender Pen...used with Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Dimensionals, Rhinestone Accents, 1/2" Poppy Parade Poly-Stitched ribbon
Tools: 1-1/4" Circle punch, 1-3/8" Circle punch

For inspiration...

{Stampin' Queens Sketch Challenge #34}

{Colour Q Challenge #132}

I hope that you are able to join in the fun at The Paper Players with your watercoloring creations. The challenge closes on Friday, April 20th at 12:00 Noon PST. Come on by to get inspired by the rest of the design team.

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy
Jenn Picard
Heidi Boos

Shirley Pumpkin - GD for April

the paper players - it's very "punny"

OK...I'm not gonna lie. Anne Marie stumped me this week with the Paper Players sketch...it was a tough one for me! The challenge is to "tickle your funny bone" and I really don't have that many stamp sets that do this. I knew I had the retired Pun Fun set I could pull out, but I wanted something just a little different to work with. My mom happened to have a retired set called Very Punny and I thought I would do something with that, so here is what I came up with...

I ended up printing from the computer the sentiment "you are like no udder" because I wanted it a little bit bigger than what it was on the stamp itself.

To help me with the color scheme, I used the colors from this week's Color Throwdown.


To match the sentiment "you are like no udder", I made one of the cows stand out a bit and gave her pink spots...with a little Dazzling Diamonds of course!


Stamp Set: Very Punny (retired)
Paper: Basic Gray, Regal Rose, Basic Black, Lucky Limeade (striped DSP)
Ink: Basic Black, markers - Regal Rose
Accessories: Dimensionals, Pearl Accents, 3/8" Basic Black Scallop Dotted ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds glitter (with 2-way glue pen)
Tools: Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, 1-1/3" Circle punch, 1-3/8" Circle punch, Itty Bitty Circle punch

I hope you'll come join in the fun and laughter at the Paper Players this week as we celebrate April being Humor Month! The rest of the design team has some fun cards for you to giggle at and get inspired to create something funny of your own!

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile
Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy
Jenn Picard
Heidi Boos
Shirley Pumpkin (April GD)

stamp club - March

Stamp Club Projects

We had another great club meeting last Friday! I decided to pull out the Simply Scored Scoring Tool, as well as introduce the new Simply Scored Diagonal Plate. Two of the three projects used these tools and it was so fun! I can see using these two products together often to create some great projects! There are already so many ideas I have seen already!

Simply Scored Scoring Tool
{$39.95, #122334}

Simply Scored Diagonal Plate
{$11.95, #122586}

Project #1
3x3 note card with coordinating envelope

**To create an envelope to coordinate with a 3x3 note card, cut a 5x5 square and score diagonally (using the Simply Scored Diagonal Plate) at 2-1/4", rotating to all four sides.**

Stamp Set: Fresh Vintage
Paper: Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, Very Vanilla, Everyday Enchantment DSP (SAB exclusive)
Ink: markers - Peach Parfait, Baja Breeze, Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: Dimensionals, Pearl Accents
Tools: 2-3/8" Scallop Circle punch, 1/2" Circle punch, Big Shot, Beautiful Wings die, Polka Dot Embossing Folder, Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Simply Scored Diagonal Plate

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Project #2
Scallop Square Treat Holder
{treat holder inspired by Monika Davis}

Stamp Set: Everybunny, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Whisper White, Pawsitively Prints DSP II (retired)
Ink: Black Stazon, markers - Tempting Turquoise, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: 1/8" Certainly Celery Taffeta ribbon
Tools: 1/8" Handheld punch, Big Shot Die Cutting Machine, Scallop Square Clear Bigz Die, Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Simply Scored Diagonal Plate

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Project #3
Top Note Treat Holder

The third project was a treat holder each of the club members got to make using the Top Note die folded over and then tied together with a ribbon.


Just slip in a small size Kit Kat bar...

Stamp Set: Delightful Dozen
Paper: Pool Party, Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral DSP (polka dots)
Ink: Calypso Coral
Accessories: Calypso Coral & Lucky Limeade ribbon (SAB exclusive), Dimensionals
Tools: Big Shot Die Cutting Machine, Top Note Bigz Die, Texturz Plate, Small Oval punch, Itty Bitty flower punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This month's hostess gift...
A pack of coordinating paper and embellishments

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Each month, I encourage my stamp club members to get out their stamping supplies and I give them a sketch to play with. Those who played with the sketch then bring their card to share with us at the following stamp club. Here is the sketch from last month found on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog.

This was my sketch (also showcased as last week's Paper Players card design).

Vicki Johnson

Kim Caldwell
{sendingasmileortwo.blogspot.com}
Dena Smith

the paper players - sketch challenge (new products sneak peek!)

This week at the Paper Players Ann has created a fun sketch for us! You are free to make it as clean and simple as you would like or make it as complex as you want it to be!


As is mostly my style, I decided to stick with clean and simple. And, although this sketch was a bit tough for me to come up with something I liked, I am pleased with how it all came together in the end. As you can tell, I went outside the box (literally) and chose to place the sentiment on the side of the card instead of using a punch to contain it as shown in the sketch above.

I just love all of the fun, happy colors in this card! Do you recognize the stamp set? What about the designer series paper? It's a sneak peek of an upcoming promotion beginning in April. The stamp set is called Bright Blossoms and the paper is called Summer Smooches. There are more fun sneak peeks coming up and will soon be available to purchase beginning April 1st!



Stamp Set: Bright Blossoms, Perfect Words
Paper: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Summer Smooches DSP
Ink: markers - Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry, Tempting Turquoise, Real Red
Accessories: Dimensionals, Island Indigo 3/8" Ruffled ribbon, 1/8" Daffodil Delight Taffeta ribbon, Rhinestone Accents
Tools: Scallop Trim Border punch

I hope you will come on by the Paper Players to check out the great inspiration from the design team and to join in the fun! This challenge will end on Friday, March 30 at noon (PST).

the paper players - clean & simple with buttons! (pp87)

Hi Stampers! Sorry I have been lacking in posting the last few days! I had a full plate this week, so not much to time to PLAY in my stamp room! I did hold my monthly card making night last Thursday (such a great group of stampers!), so I will post those cards soon!

Today it's time for a fun new Paper Players challenge! Nance has come up with a fun twist on a clean and simple challenge featuring buttons! Buttons are such a great way to add some pizzazz to a card and you must go check out the cards the design team came up with...they are fabulous!


As the challenge is clean and simple this week, I kept my card just that trying to keep lots of white space. I used a sketch from the Clean & Simple Stamping blog from a couple of months ago. With the button aspect of the card, I just couldn't wait to pull out my Button Buddies stamp set. I don't use this set often enough! I just love the colors Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive together, so I kept with just these two colors to make everything pop off the white!


I decided I wanted more dimension to each of the flowers, so I cut out each layer and popped them up with Dimensionals. This definitely isn't a card I would have at one of my events for my stampers to create, but it's definitely a fun one to give for the wow factor!


Stamp Set: Button Buddies, Perfect Words (hostess exclusive set)
Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, markers - Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Brights Buttons (Old Olive & Rich Razzleberry), Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots
Tools: Paper Snips

Come on over to The Paper Players to check out the rest of the design team and to join in the fun!!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy
Jenn Picard
Heidi Boos
Sherry Eckblad-March Guest Designer

the paper players - spring has sprung!

For those of you who follow my blog, you may have read the post last week where I had decided to apply for The Paper Players design team. They were having a design team call looking for two designers for the next three months and I thought I would just give it a shot and apply since I have been so inspired by sketches from The Paper Players on many occasions!

Well...guess what?!

I was chosen! I can't even tell you how excited I was to find this out! The ladies have been so sweet in welcoming me to their team for the next three months and it is a complete HONOR to be "stamping" among these talented paper-artists. I have truly been inspired by these ladies and it is such a privilege for me to be a part of The Paper Players...even if it's just for a few months. This really couldn't have come at a better time. I think I really needed that boost of confidence. What a nice feeling to know that my hard work in putting together my "little work of art" is noticed. I also look forward to committing my time in visiting more blogs of those participating in the weekly challenges, passing along the encouragement I have been given. Thanks again, ladies!!

And, now it's time for the first sketch as being part of the design team. This week it is a theme challenge by Jaydee: Spring Has Sprung! The design possibilities are endless with this theme and that's something I loved about it. And, I am sooooooooo ready for Spring!




When I heard the word Spring, I instantly thought of birds and flowers! I decided to use one of my favorite sets lately (Best of Everything). I wanted the card to be bright and cheery and I knew Melon Mambo would be that perfect color! The Designer Series Paper is called Cheerful Treat (hostess exclusive). I definitely don't use it often enough, so this was the perfect card for it.


Stamp Set: Best of Everything, Pursuit of Happiness
Paper: Whisper White, Lucky Limeade, Concord Crush, Cheerful Treat DSP
Ink: Melon Mambo, Concord Crush, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: Rhinestone Accents, 3/8" Lucky Limeade Ruffled ribbon, Dimensionals
Tools: 2-1/2" Circle punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon punch, Paper Snips

Take the time this week to create a Spring-themed card and join in the fun by linking up at The Paper Players! Head on over now to see what the other designers have in store for you this week and get inspired!

sketch inspiration from my stamp club members

At our first Stamp Club meeting in January, I encouraged each of the ladies to get out their stamping supplies sometime during the month before our next meeting to create a card using the following sketch. I found this sketch on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog which I found via Jen's blog Simple & Sincere (click on the link to see her card).


Here was my sample I created for some inspiration...


Stamp Set: Bold Blossom, retired sentiment
Paper: Whisper White
Ink: Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie (Brights Collection)
Accessories: Pearl Accents, 1/4" Daffodil Delight Grosgrain ribbon
Tools: 1-3/8" Circle punch

Here are the cards from many of my stamp club members who brought some inspiration of their own...








This last card is very close to the original one I found. My mom made this for me for my birthday! She saw that I had pinned it on Pinterest. ;)