Cute Peacock Card

Good evening! I have a quick post to share this Cute Peacock Card. The peacock digital image is from Doodle Pantry. It came pre-colored and I used the coordinating digital paper. The layout is from this weeks sketch challenge at Tuesday Morning Sketches. My crafty friend, Jessi Fogan at OneCraftyMama designed the sketch. The only change I made was to the twine area. My image is on the larger side so I had to make room for the three gemstones. I love the bright colors in this cute peacock and I intentionally didn't use a sentiment to keep my options open. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

My Cute Peacock Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch
• 4 Crafty Chicks: Anything Goes
• The Crafter's Cafe: Use a Digi

Reach for the Stars Winner

Wow, July went by super fast!  I want to thank the participants who played along in our Reach for the Stars Challenge. There were so many different ways to use stars and I found inspiration in each of your designs. To select the winner the top five selections were numbered and placed in a bowl and hand drawn the old fashioned way. The winner is...

Valerie Ward from Val by Design

Valerie's card highlights a fun summer activity in her beautiful and colorful card. The starry sky over the camping scene is just perfect. Thanks for sharing your creation with us Val! In the next few days I will send you an email to request your mailing address for the challenge prize.

Check back tomorrow for the start of our August Photo Inspiration Challenge. 

Blended Bloom Take Two

It's always fun to see how using the same design details in different colors changes the look of a card. So, last night I decided to play around with the Blended Bloom Card I made for The Paper Players and use different colors. To see the other card scroll down to my last post or click here. I used the Flowerpot dsp but I selected different papers. Using the Stampin' Blendabilities I colored the Blended Bloom focusing on Daffodil Delight with the center Calypso Coral. I changed my sentiment to Hello from the Lacy & Lovely stamp set and I used the sketch from The Paper Players challenge. I hope you enjoyed seeing the differences in my cards. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This Blended Bloom Card is entered into the following challenges:

• The Pink Elephant: Anything Goes
• 613 Avenue Create: Anything Goes optional use a sentiment
• Craft Your Passion: Flower Power
• The Craft Place: Anything Goes

Blended Bloom for The Paper Players

Hello and Happy Sunday! I do believe the summer months go by faster or it seems that way the last few weeks. This is my fourth week as a guest designer at The Paper Players and we have a sketch challenge for you! The hostess this week is Ann and I must say the design team have created some marvelous inspiration for you! When I first looked at the sketch I pondered on the oval space trying to figure out what I wanted to put in it's place. Then I decided to play around with my new Stampin' Blendabilities and the Blended Bloom was the solution I needed. Hopefully, you have time to play along with the sketch challenge at The Paper Players (click here). We would love to see what you create! The challenge is open until Noon (PST) on Friday August 1st. Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous day!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

• Paper: Garden Green, Crushed Curry and Whisper White cardstock. Flowerpot dsp and discontinued Night of Navy dsp.
• Stamps: Blended Bloom and Sassy Salutations.
• Inks: Stampin' Blendabilities in Calypso Coral and Daffodil Delight. Classic stampin' pad in Garden Green.
• Other Stuff: Paper snips and dimensionals.

Beautiful Bloom Miss You Card

This morning a few of the local Stampin' Up! demonstrators got together for some stamping fun! For my project I made this Beautiful Bloom Miss You Card. I used the sketch from Create with Connie & Mary. All supplies are by Stampin' Up! and include: Whisper White and Lost Lagoon cardstock, All Abloom paper stack, Beautiful Bunch stamp set, Lacy & Lovely stamp set (sentiment), Daffodil Delight and Mossy Meadow stampin' pads, white emboss powder, heat tool, Fun Flower punch, paper piercing tools and stampin' dimensionals.

The main thing I wanted to try today was paper piercing. It's really sad that I've had the tools for months and this was the first time I've used them on a card. Every time I see it on other card creations I really like it but I always forget to incorporate it into one of my designs. So I'm happy I finally tried something new! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

My Beautiful Bloom Miss You Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Create with Connie & Mary: Sketch, CCMC313
• Crafty Catz: Anything Goes
• The Crafter's Cafe: Anything Goes 

Candy Cane Bear Christmas Card

July is almost over and I wanted to make at least one Christmas card for all the Christmas in July challenges. I decided to rescue an image that I printed too large last year. This cute Candy Cane Bear image is by Bugaboo Digi Stamps and I colored the image with my Copic markers. I sacrificed a big portion of the worded patterned paper to make the candy cane words fit just right at the bottom of the card. Then I decided to add a strip of blue polka dot paper to add some color. The Candy Cane paper is from The Paper Studio and the Happy Holidays sentiment is by Stampabilities. The cardstock colors are Crumb Cake and Real Red by Stampin' Up!. I added a little sparkle red circle with a sparkle white brad next to the sentiment to add some detail. That's about it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

My Candy Cane Bear Christmas Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Creative Knockouts: Christmas in July
• Aud Sentiments: Christmas in July
• Southern Girls: Christmas is a-coming
• Crafting for all Seasons: Christmas in July
• Little Red Wagon: Christmas in July

Circles Thank You Card

Good afternoon! I have a quick post to share my newest card. This Circles Thank You Card was made using the colours from the current challenge at ColourQ. The only problem was I didn't have stamp pads that even closely resembled Concord Grape or Pretty in Pink. For that reason I decided to play with patterned paper. The layout comes from the sketch challenge at Try Stampin' on Tuesday.  I ended up with what I think is a fun card and the only thing stamped was the sentiment. All patterned paper and Sassy Salutations Thank You sentiment is from Stampin' Up!. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

My Circles Thank You Card is entered into the following challenges:

• ColourQ: Colour
• Try Stampin' On Tuesday: Sketch
• Party Time Tuesdays: Anything Goes

Monochromatic Cards for The Paper Players

Hello and happy Sunday! It's time for another challenge at The Paper Players. This week the challenge theme is Clean and Simple Monochromatic hosted by Sandy. I love making monochromatic cards and ended up making two cards for this challenge. The first one (see below) is a Calypso Coral and Crisp Cantaloupe color scheme with butterflies. My second card (at left) was made using my favorite Green Monochromatic colors. The green colors used are: Garden Green, Pistachio Pudding and Wild Wasabi. I would love it if you would let me know which one you like better? My hubby picked the coral card and you'll notice I still chose to share the green card. However, this does not mean I always do the opposite of what he says (although he would debate this topic). In the end I decided to share both cards.  I hope you enjoy them and will make your own monochromatic card to share at The Paper Players (click here). The challenge is open through Friday, July 25th at Noon (PST). Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day!

Stampin' Up! stamp sets used include: Mixed Bunch, Blooming with Kindness and Papillon Potpourri. The Hey There sentiment is from a Paper Pumpkin kit that I altered, it used to say Hey There Friend.  

Do Small Things Card

Good afternoon, I hope you're having a wonderful day! This morning I was playing around in my craft room and although I really needed to clean (ha!). I ended up making this Do small Things Card. The Dove image is by Meljen's Designs and I colored it with my Copic markers. When deciding which patterned papers to use I wasn't sure these two would work together, but I went with it. In the end I really like how it turned out. The polka dot paper is from Recollections and the green is by American Crafts. For the cardstock colors I used Coastal Cabana and Lost Lagoon by Stampin' Up! The sentiment is from Hampton Arts and the green rhinestones are from Recollections. Well, I still need to clean my craft room since the cleaning fairy has not found her way to my house. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!!!

My Do Small Things Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Crafting By Designs: Use a Sentiment
• Suzy Bee's: Anything Goes
• Chocolate, Coffee and Cards: For the Birds
• Fairytale: Use a Digi Stamp
• Sister Act: Anything Goes

Warmest Wishes Birthday Card

It's been a long day and my energy is starting to fade, therefore this will be a quick post. I created this Warmest Wishes Birthday Card for the following challenges:

• Pals Paper Arts: Sketch, PPA212
• Create with Connie & Mary: Color, CCMC312
• Through The Purple Haze: Birthday

All supplies are by Stampin' Up!:

• Paper: Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Sahara Sand and Whisper White cardstock. Patterned paper from the Moonlight paper stack.
• Stamps: Serene Silhouettes, Bordering Blooms and sentiment is from the Blooming with Kindness stamp set.
• Inks: Classic stampin' pads in Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey and Sahara Sand.
• Other Stuff: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder and stampin' dimensionals.

                      

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

A Kitty Story and a Card

This morning my spunky nine month kitty Taz decided he didn't want me to be asleep. It was about 4:50 am and he starts making all kinds of noise by my bed. Knowing it probably wouldn't make a difference I get up and give him some food. That bought me 30 minutes until he was doing the same thing again. I gave up and made my morning coffee and an hour later I'm wide awake and he is asleep on his favorite ottoman.

After taking care of a couple of chores and fixing the hubby some breakfast I made my way into my craft room. There wasn't a lot of creative juices flowing at this time of day so I used the layout from the card I finished last night and changed it up. This Simple Banner Thank You Card features patterned paper from the Quilting Bee 6 x 6 paper pad by My Mind's Eye. The cardstock colors are Soft Suede, Very Vanilla and Daffodil Delight by Stampin' Up! I decided to do a little sponging on the edges and added Antique Linen Distress Ink by Tim Holtz/Ranger. Having a good time adding the distress ink I also added it to the twine so the white wasn't as bright. The Thank You stamp is by Stampabilities and the ink is Soft Suede by Stampin' Up!

I'm entering this card in the Thankful Thursday Challenge, "Thank You" #136 at DL.Art. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Blossom Hello Card

Hello! I hope you are having a wonderful week. I haven't had a lot of crafting time over the last couple of days. This Blossom Hello Card has been a work in progress since Monday. Finally, tonight I was able to sit down and finish my card. This card started with the idea of using woodgrain for the challenge at Just Us Girls. The woodgrain and black patterned paper are from the Spring 6 x 6 collection by American Crafts. The Hello sentiment is from TPC Studios and it was stamped using StazOn Jet Black ink. All other supplies for this card are by Stampin' Up! and they include: Natural, Crushed Curry and Whisper White cardstock. Square Lattice embossing folder, Banner framelit, Secret Garden leaf framelit, Blossom punch, Mixed Bunch stamp set, Classic Stampin' pads in Strawberry Slush, Crushed Curry and Wild Wasabi. There is one lonely Crushed Curry Candy Dot and Stampin' dimensionals. It may have taken me awhile to complete but I really like the contrast of the black background with the Strawberry Slush flower. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This Blossom Hello Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Just Us Girls: Woodgrain
• Crafting From The Heart: Anything Goes
• Creative Moments: Anything Goes/Use One Flower

Bloom for You Card

Hello! Is it just me or did last week go by quickly? I can't believe it's Sunday already but I'm glad it is! Today is the start of a beautiful color challenge at The Paper Players hosted by LeAnne. You may already know that I love color challenges and this one was no exception. When I started this Bloom for You Card I had already decided floral was the way to go. As luck would have it the wonderful UPS driver delivered my package of new Stampin' Up! goodies last week and I was able to play with a few new supplies. The Bloom for You stamp is the main focal image for my card and it looks lovely in Wisteria Wonder. Just a quick reminder to use your new punches on some scrap paper before punching your stamped images. I got all excited and forgot this step and the residual oil on the punch soiled my first attempt. However, it was re-purposed for another project. The leaves are from the Kinda Eclectic stamp set. I used the stamp off technique to give them a less saturated look and I masked one leaf each time to leave more white space. Once my focal panel was complete I played around with the rest of the card until I ended up with what you see. I hope you like it and I hope you will join us over at The Paper Players (click here). The challenge is open through Friday, July 18th at Noon (PST). Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day!

Bloom for You Card supplies:

• Paper: Blackberry Bliss, Wisteria Wonder, Lost Lagoon and Whisper White cardstock. Patterned paper from Moonlight paper stack and Flowerpot dsp.
• Stamps: Bloom for You, Kinda Eclectic and Teeny Tiny Wishes.
• Inks: Blackberry Bliss, Wisteria Wonder and Lost Lagoon.
• Other Stuff: Fancy Fan embossing folder, Fun Flower punch, Small Oval punch, Banner punch, 7/8" Scallop Circle punch, rhinestone basic jewels and dimensionals.

Stop by and see the wonderful creations by the design team members. Here are the links to their blogs:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile
Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

Guest Designers

Andrea Whisman

Claire Broadwater

Joanne James
Laurie Schmidt

Mike Funke

Yapha Mason 

Tangerine Tango Floral Thanks Card

It's way past my bedtime but once I got started I had to finish my card. This Tangerine Tango Floral Thanks Card was made using the Summer Sketch from Create with Connie & Mary. The angles on the sketch were a lot of fun to work with! I didn't do any fancy embellishing, it's just simple and clean. All supplies are by Stampin' Up! Here is the supply list:

• Paper: Night of Navy, Whisper White and Garden Green cardstock, Flowerpot dsp and a long retired Blushing Bride dsp.
• Stamps: Another Thank You stamp set and the discontinued Simple Stems stamp set.
• Inks: Night of Navy and Tangerine Tango.
• Other Stuff: Fancy Fan embossing folder, Crushed Curry twine, one lonely candy dot and dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day/night!

Floral Congrats Card

This week I found out my neighbor is getting married at the end of this month. That meant I needed to make him a card quickly. To create this Floral Congrats Card I used the color challenge at Create with Connie & Mary for my inspiration. Color challenges are my favorite but I must admit that I find a three color challenge VERY challenging. The colors are:

• Coastal Cabana
• Hello Honey
• Baked Brown Sugar

To start I selected my patterned paper from the Moonlight paper stack and then used my Big Shot with the Top Note Die. At this point I sat at my desk for at least thirty minutes trying to figure out my layout. Finally, I walked away. When I came back I rotated my card and things started to come together. I was really happy I ordered the new Hey You sentiment stamp set (134519), it worked perfectly for this card. The flowers were stamped using Baked Brown Sugar ink onto Coastal Cabana cardstock using the Flower Shop stamp set and then punched using the Pansy Punch. The final step was creating the flower centers using the Bordering Blooms stamp set, the retired itty bitty scallop circle punch and of course a pearl in the center. Although I struggled with this card I think it turned out nicely. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

My Floral Congrats Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Create with Connie & Mary: Color
• Little Red Wagon: Wedding/Anniversary
• Crafty Girls: Anything Goes 

Yellow Bird Card

Good morning and hello to my new followers! It's a lovely sunny morning here in Oklahoma but the humidity is going to be awful this afternoon. So today, I am thankful for air conditioning!!! If you have followed my blog for awhile you may remember that I love birds and the colour green. When I came across the colour challenge at Daring Cardmakers, I immediately knew I had to play along. The nature inspired colors and photo are perfect. I combined the colours with the sketch challenge at Sunday Sketch and Stamp and the word BIRD from Just Us Girls challenge to create this Yellow Bird Card. I'm also entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Crafting From The Heart. The bird and flourish stamps are both by Inkadinkado and the Just for You label stamp is by Stampin' Up! Daffodil Delight ink was used for the bird and Early Espresso for the flourish and label. The green patterned paper is by Crate Paper, script patterned paper by My Mind's Eye and yellow paper by DCWV. There are two die cuts on this card, the circle scallop by Spellbinders and the Little Leaves Sizzlits. The bird was stamped onto the white circle and then stamped again, fussy-cut and adhered with dimensionals. Well, that sums it up. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

                        
                                           

By the Tide Watercolor Card

Welcome to my first post as a guest designer at the Paper Players! It was a lot of fun creating my card for this weeks theme challenge. This week Nance is the hostess and the theme is "Let's go to the Beach!"

To create my card I quickly decided to use the By the Tide stamp set and watercolor paper. It just made sense! To start, I used Pool Party ink and my aqua painters and covered the entire watercolor paper panel. I let the panel dry some but not completely and stamped the reef images with Soft Suede and Crumb Cake inks. The ink didn't bleed like I wanted, so I went back and dabbed my aqua painter on a few selected areas. Then I stamped the seahorses in Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey and Tangelo Twist. Using my aqua painter and Pool Party ink I went back in between the seahorses to make it look more watery. When the panel was dry I adhered it to a panel of Pool Party cardstock. To add some texture I wrapped the bottom with a trimmed and frayed burlap ribbon and the metallic silver baker's twine. I then went digging for treasure in my bead collection and found the silver seashell charm by Blue Moon. Once everything was tied together I used dimensionals to adhere the panel to the base of Soft Suede layered with Natural cardstock. The edge detail on the Natural cardstock was made using Fiskars deckle scissors. The final touch was the Nantucket anchor circle detail and this card was complete. I hope you like it! Unless stated all supplies are by Stampin' Up! 

Please join us over at the Paper Players! (click here)  The challenge is open through Friday, July 11th, 2014 at Noon (PDT). Stop by and say hello to the rest of the new Guest Designers and the Design Team to see what they are sharing this week. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!   

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile
Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Sandy Mathis

Guest Designers

Andrea Whisman

Claire Broadwater

Joanne James
Laurie Schmidt

Mike Funke

Yapha Mason 

  

Reach for the Stars Challenge

Welcome to our July challenge at Savvy Handmade Cards. This month the theme is Reach for the Stars. Use stars somewhere on your card and play along in the challenge. Our inspiration for you is full of red, white and blue but your creation doesn't have to be patriotic. The challenge deadline is Tuesday July 29th, 2014. Thanks for stopping by and we hope to see your card in the gallery!

Inspirational Designs: 

Andrea's Card using Edward USA by Bugaboo

Erin's Card using Simply Betty image

Challenge Guidelines:

1. Create a New card using the challenge theme, no linking to old posts. 
2. Only one entry per blog address.
3. This is a card only challenge.
4. You must use a stamp, either rubber or digital.
5. You can combine this challenge with other challenges.
6. Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to this challenge. Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission.
7. All brands of stamping products are welcome.
8. HAVE FUN!!!

Mad About Plaid Winner

We certainly appreciate everyone who plaid along with the Mad About Plaid Photo Inspiration Challenge. It was fun to see all the different plaid papers utilized in your designs. The randomly selected winner is:

Alycia from Happy Chick Designs

Alycia's card is lovely. She colored her image beautifully and the patterned papers are perfect! Thanks for sharing your card with us Alycia. I'll send you an email in the next few days to request your address for the challenge prize. 

Check back tomorrow for the start of our July theme challenge.

Guest Designer at Crafting by Designs

Hello! Back in April one of my cards was selected as a spotlight winner for the anything goes challenge at Crafting by Designs. Shortly after an email showed up asking me to be a Guest Designer for their July Anything Goes challenge. I gladly agreed and the challenge starts today! I hope you will play along!!!

When I sat down to create my card I originally made a card to celebrate Independence Day but I wasn't overly thrilled with it. Then I decided to take a different approach and use red, white and blue with the lovely wheelbarrow pre-colored image by Fred She Said. The blue floral patterned paper is by Pebbles and the red is from the brights designer series paper stack by Stampin' Up! This card is a mix of digital and stamped images. The flowers are stamped using the Petite Petals stamp set and crushed curry ink. I used the coordinating Petite Petals punch and added a candy dot in the center of the flowers. The square scalloped die is by Spellbinders and I used a corner rounder on the image panel. After stamping the Happy Birthday Wishes sentiment by Stampin' Up! I used my oval punches and layered the pieces together. In the end I'm much happier with how this card turned out. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!