The Paper Players Challenge #203 ~ Let's Go to the Beach!

Good Morning fellow crafting peeps! I've been up since 3 a.m. surfing all of my favorite blogs. I'm blessed with insomnia AND I'm a crafting addict so I have a lot of project plotting time, so thanks to good ole' Pinterest I have quite the list! I'm lucky I'm still married. Thankfully I have a very loving and patient hubby that understands I suffer from chronic crafting.

Among the many different blogs I follow, The Paper Player's is one of my favorite and they have a new {really fun} challenge this week!

I absolutely LOVE nautical themes, so I jumped right on this one. This card isn't exactly "beachy" but it's close. So, I decided to enter it into this challenge. If you recognize it, it's because I created it a couple of weeks ago. But, it is still a recent creation AND it's still hanging on my "Gallery" wall at home!

Click here for card details!

Blackberry Bliss Meets Mosaic Madness

Blackberry Bliss has to be the BEST color in Stampin' Up! history!!! I've always been a purple fan, but this one really strikes my fancy. I love how vibrant and pigmented it is. It has a very broad spectrum of color and I love that because it makes it so versatile. I don't do monochromatic cards very often, but with this color, I just had to!

What I Used:

Cardstock ~ Crumb Cake, Whisper White

Ink ~ Blackberry Bliss, Black StazOn

Stamp Sets ~ Mosaic Madness, Petite Petals, Gorgeous Grunge, Curly Cute (retired)

Tools ~ Paper trimmer, paper snips, mosaic madness embossing folder, dimensionals, mosaic punch, vellum, adhesive, glue dots, petite petal punch, rounded corner punch

Embellishments ~ Silver Baker's Twine

A Baseball kinda Birthday

Today was an OMG I forgot to make a birthday card day. As I'm wrapping the present I realize I had no birthday card. How does that happen? I should have tons of cards available! So, I kicked it into high gear and whipped this little one out. I think the stitches totally make it come together. 

What I Used:

Cardstock ~ Basic Black, Whisper White, Real Red

Ink ~ Basic Black, Real Red, Not Quite Navy, Daffodil Delight, Soft Sky

Stamp Sets ~ Great Sport (retired), Gorgeous Grunge, Memorable Moments, Perfect Pennants

Tools ~ Paper Trimmer, Paper Snips, Chevron punch, Adhesive, Dimensionals

Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration ~ Friday Favorites!

Today is Friday Favorites at Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration! Once again, I've chosen {Hardwood} as my favorite. This card actually encases a lot of favorites for me. I really really love {By the Tide}. It makes for an easy masculine card. Something that is sometimes difficult to created. Another favorite is Tempting Turquoise. It is such a FABULOUS color! It was so much fun to put all of these "favs" together!

What is a great card without a great envelope? With the help of the Envelope Punch Board, I created this matching envelope. A big white envelope just seems boring to me, so I decorated it to match. Perfect!

What I Used:

Cardstock ~ Whisper White, Island Indigo

Ink ~ Smoky Slate, Tempting Turquoise, Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, Pistachio Pudding, Cajun Craze, Calypso Coral

Stamp Sets ~ By the Tide, Hardwood, Something to Say, Gorgeous Grunge

Tools ~ Paper Trimmer, Paper Snips, Word Window Punch, Sponges, Dimensionals, All Purpose Liquid Adhesive, Glue Dots

Embellishments ~ Hemp Twine (non SU) 

A Ship in the Night ~ An Impressionistic Approach

Father's Day is quickly approaching. I know, you're thinking... no, it's next month. Well, I said that too, then I looked at the calendar and my busy schedule and decided I'd better get started or I'd never get them done I need THREE! One for my dad, one for my father-in-law, and one for the most wonderful Daddy of all...my hubby.

Masculine cards are one of my favorite things to make. Mostly because there isn't a lot of options out there to work with. I love pushing myself (a little).

This card was so much fun to create. It was actually pretty simple and quick to put together. Really, it was! Obviously I wanted to do a nautical theme. I'm addicted to them. I'm not really a fan of DSP, only because everyone has access to it. I wanted something very unique that you can't find anywhere. So, I decided to go with a Van Gogh theme. I think it worked out perfectly.

Sponges and markers were used to color the background.

I added a three dimensional look by cutting out the sails (from a second stamped image) and lifting them with dimensionals.

                            

I've recently started matching the envelopes to my cards. It's a simple way to add that unique, one-of-a-kind touch. I love it!

What I Used:

Cardstock ~ Whisper White, Basic Black, Island Indigo, Baked Brown Sugar

Ink ~ So Saffron, Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Marina Mist, Not Quite Navy, Night of Navy, Island Indigo, Soft Suede, Basic Black, Black StazOn

Stamp Sets ~ The Open Sea, Hardwood, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Tools ~ Paper Trimmer, Paper Snips, SU Markers, Sponges, Blender Pen, Water, Word Window Punch, Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Liquid Glue, Anywhere Glue Stick, Paper Piercing Tool

Embellishments ~ Vintage, Hemp Twine (not SU)

Ahoy ~ A Birthday on the Horizon!

I really love making nautical cards, but I've been stuck in a rut lately and have been using the same things over and over. This time, I decided to do a kid theme. My son has a birthday party to go to in a few days and I thought this would make the perfect card for a wild boy party!

The pirates were so much fun to create. I hope you love this card as much as I do!

What I Used:

Cardstock ~ Night of Navy, Baked Brown Sugar, Whisper White, Basic Black

DSP ~ Fresh Prints (now retired)

Ink ~ Baked Brown Sugar, Crumb Cake, Real Red, Night of navy, Tangerine Tango, Crisp Cantaloupe, Basic Black, Craft White

Stamp Sets ~ Gorgeous Grunge, Banner Blast, Hello Sailor, Happy Watercolor

Tools ~ Paper Trimmer, Paper Snips, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Owl Builder Punch, Cupcake Builder Punch, Banner Punch, Corner Punch, Blender Pen, Sponges, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Sticky Strip, Anywhere Glue Stick, White Gel Pen

Embellishments ~ Vintage Brads, Toothpicks, Googly Eyes, Blue Satin Ribbon (not SU), Burlap ribbon (not SU)

Flyin' High

I recently was asked to join a fun little blog called SSINKspiration. It's a group of very talented Stampin' Up! ladies. I'm excited to see where this takes my creativity and I'm excited to meet all these wonderful gals. My first project for January (I'm not officially a member until January 1st so I'm jumping the gun a little) is a Color Challenge. It was a nice change of pace in the midst of the Christmas rush. 

The colors for this challenge are: Primrose Petals, So Saffron and Bermuda Bay.

Sketch is from Retro Sketches, challenge #94

I'm obsessed with feathers. I think they're fabulous. I created these by drawing them by hand onto Stampin' Up! cardstock, then cutting them out. Then I sponged White StazOn around the edges and cut the fringe with my scissors. Finally I added a little detail with my Stampin' Up! markers to give it a little more dimension. I got my inspiration from Stampin' Up! Fine Feathers. Boy do I love this! Was it time consuming? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes! 

Supplies:

Cardstock ~ Bermuda Bay, Primrose Petals, So Saffron, Baked Brown Sugar, Whisper White

Ink ~ Bermuda Bay, Primrose Petals, So Saffron, Baked Brown Sugar, White StazOn

Stamp Sets ~ Gorgeous Grunge, Chalk Talk

Embellishments ~ Antique Brads, Crochet Ribbon

Gift Sets!!!

I've been working on putting some greeting card sets together. Today's color theme was Pool Party, Crisp Cantaloupe, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso. Oh how I do love that Crisp Cantaloupe! These are so handy to give as gifts too! This set includes...

"Happy Birthday"

"Thank You"

 "Grateful"

"Friendship"

Please let me know what you think!

Oh boy, it's HOT!

The AC in our house went kaput yesterday. It's miserably HOT. So, I skipped out on housework, sent the kids to daycare and locked myself in my woman-cave for the day. It has it's own independent air conditioner. BLISS! Here is what I came up with today. I'm loving the masculine feel. Burlap is my new obsession! This card was created for A.R.T. Card Challenge #5.

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Very Vanilla, Early Espresso

Ink ~ Early Espresso, Pool Party, More Mustard

Stamp Sets ~ Label Love, Everything Eleanor, Gorgeous Grunge

Other Supplies ~ Clear embossing powder, Spice Cake designer fabric, Bitty banners framelits, Labels collection framelits

Non Stampin Up supplies ~ Brads, Burlap, ribbon 

Birthday Boy!

My baby brother is having a birthday. I am always trying to find masculine card ideas. I FINALLY got these stamp sets a while back and this is the first time I've had a chance to work with them. I'm still not 100% in love with the design, but I'm told we are our worst critics.

Happy Day!

The photo doesn't do this card any justice. I really need to figure out a better way to photograph my cards. I have a lightbox, I just haven't had time to set it up yet. Truthfully, I don't have the room!

This card was created around some floral patterned paper that I had leftover from an old project. It's not Stampin' Up! paper so I rarely use it. However, it caught my eye as I was looking for inspiration. It just so happened that it went perfectly with River Rock, Soft Suede, Sahara Sand, and Very Vanilla. 

Of course I had to create a card that had a vintage feel. I antiqued the edges of almost every piece of paper. In fact, I think I did EVERY piece. I did the texture on the base color (River Rock) with a stylus and my Simply Scored plate. I went every 3/4" on the diagonal. I added pearls at every cross section. 

A few different layers of different shapes, a designer builder brad and a stamp from the "Ciao, Baby!" set completed this card. It was such a simple design. It went together so smoothly! I'll definitely be making a few more of these!

 I kept the inside of the card fairly simple. Antiqued the edges. Added a sentiment from the "Vintage Verses" stamp set and a "Happy Birthday" stamp on a banner of River Rock paper. 

Happy Dirtday

I was supposed to be doing laundry, but accidentally got sucked into a project.

I needed to make a birthday card for a good friend's little boy. My stamp collection is mostly geared towards elegant  vintage style cards. I don't  have much for the little ones. In fact, I this is the ONLY stamp set I have that a little boy would like. I feel like I've used, and used, and used this set. Over and over. I'm sure everyone is getting tired of seeing it actually. I've been wracking my brain, trying to think of a manly-little-man birthday design. Using a worn out stamp set, no less.

I wanted to make the tractor stand out. I tried cutting the whole thing out, so that I could add dimensionals underneath. That didn't work so well. I then just cut the bucket and the cab and glued that to the original {bottom} tractor. I added brads to add depth.{It gives it a little manlier feel. he he}

The background is just simple paper that has been arranged into an off center focal with banners off to one side. I antiqued the outside of every detail on this card. Even the inside. I then stamped images onto the inside of the card and the backside of the envelope. I'm smitten with this card. It's cute, but still very much my style. Success!

     Front

                                       
     Inside

     Envelope

I can't wait for little Timmy to see it!