Elements of Summer ~ Paper Crafters Sampler July Issue

It's time for the monthly issue of the Paper Crafters Sampler! Our July issue features Summer! When I think of summer, I think of picnics, swimming, sandy beaches and the hot summer sun! Our design team has been busy creating our ideas of what Summer means.

Our projects include a 3-D summer basket bucket list, a 3-D camping project and lots of beautiful floral images. Plue, a mouth-watering picnic idea! These monthly issues come with full description how-to instructions! 

Click HERE to visit the Paper Crafters Sampler blog!

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!

Make a Wish ~ Out of this World

Okay, so I'm kind of having to eat my words from a previous post. I said something like "I don't do cutesy cards" or something like that Well, I have to admit that I actually really enjoyed putting this one together.

I purchased the Circle Thinlits a while ago. I quickly decided that it wasn't something I'd use, so I packed it up. I got it back out today to give it another shot, and realized that I might actually like it. Especially for kids cards. They add a fun little element that a regular card doesn't have. My son is going to a birthday party next weekend, so I needed a card. I thought the center focal point would make a fun theme for this Alien card. It worked perfectly!

Supplies:

Cardstock ~ Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Night of Navy

Ink ~ Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Calypso Coral, Real Red, Tangelo Twist, Daffodil Delight, Black StazOn

Stamp Sets ~ Make a Monster (retired), Perfect Pennants

Tools/Other Supplies ~ Big Shot, Circle Thinlits, Paper Trimmer, Dimensionals, Liquid Adhesive, Blender Pen, 1/2" Circle Punch, small hole punch

Some Old and Some New ~ A Perfect Marriage

My mother-in-law called me this morning and asked if I could put together a card for a wedding they are attending this weekend. EEEEK! One... this weekend is crazy busy. Two... I really struggle with wedding cards. And three... I still haven't made a birthday card for my hubby and his party is in two days! Could I tell her no? Heck no! I will take any chance I can get for creative time. Especially since she offered to take the kids for a couple of hours. Score!

I really don't have much in the line of weddings but thankfully I hung on to this {Mr. & Mrs.} stamp. I just couldn't get rid of it. It's far too far too beautiful! I scrounged around and found this GORGEOUS ribbon. I knew I had to use it. It came from an Occasions Catalog a while ago. Last year maybe? I have a bad habit of hoarding supplies and then not getting to use them until after they're retired. I'll have to work on that.

The color scheme is pretty simple and (I think) a classy one. I used Basic Grey, Pink Pirouette and Silver Glimmer paper with a little bit of that amazing new Fancy Foil Designer Vellum. I topped it off with this fabulous bow and a few rhinestones. Yep, I'm happy. A perfect marriage. I wish I would have done a few more of these!

Where did I use {Stippled Blossoms}? It's underneath the Vellum. I think it gives it a really soft look. It was perfect for this project and added a little extra "oomph" of color.

Supplies

Cardstock ~ Basic Grey, Whisper White

DSP/Specialty Paper ~ Silver Glimmer Paper, Fancy Foil Designer Vellum, Vellum

Ink ~ Pink Pirouette, VersaMark

Stamp Sets ~ Mr. & Mrs., Stippled Blossoms

Tools/Other Supplies ~ Paper Trimmer, Big Shot, Beautifully Baroque Textured Embossing Folder, Heat Gun, Embossing Buddy, Silver Embossing Powder, Hot Glue, Bone Folder, Glue Dots, Liquid Adhesive

Embellishments ~ Rhinestones, Wide Satin Ribbon (retired)

A Little Rusty ~ Retro Sketches Challenge #121

I am obsessed with anything rusty. I'm a junk collector so the rustier the better! I was totally inspired today while surfing Pinterest. The colors are absolutely gorgeous. I love how they contrast and compliment each other. So, I set out on a mission to create my own rusty card.

Here's my Inspiration...

The sketch came from Retro Sketches for challenge #121. It's a fun one that really worked well for this card. 

Here's the Sketch!

My initial idea was to make a gate with rusty hardware, but it didn't exactly turn the way I had it pictured in my head. I just plain ran out of room for hinges. Oh well, I really like the way the coloring turned out. I hope you like it too!

Here's my Creation!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock ~ Early Espresso, Baked Brown Sugar, Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Cajun Craze

Ink ~ Soft Suede, Baked Brown Sugar, Sahara Sand, Cajun Craze, Tangelo Twist, Hello Honey, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Tempting Turquoise, Soft Sky, Early Espresso

Stamp Sets ~ Hardwood, Chalk Talk, Gorgeous Grunge

Tools/Other Supplies ~ Sponges, Big Shot, Circle Framelits, Chalk Talk Framelits, 1/4" Circle punch, Paper Trimmer, Paper Snips, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Paper Piercing Tool, Piercing Mat, Liquid Adhesive, Dimensionals

Embellishments ~ Antique Brads, misc. brads

A Lullaby in the Forest ~ Retro Sketches #120

Oh, Baby!

This baby card was so fun to make. I rarely make a "cutsie" card, but I do enjoy them every once in a while. I purchased this {Life in the Forest} stamp set when it came out in the spring catalog. This is the first time I've gotten to use it. I know it's really not baby related, but it was the only stamp set I have that either wasn't retired or wasn't too mature. Paired with the new {Lullaby} DSP, this made the best card! Plus, it's not gender specific so it's a good one to keep on hand!

The inspiration for this card came from the Card Concept for challenge #13. I really like this blog. They are a bunch of very talented designers that come up with a weekly challenge. You may chose from Clean & Simple, Clean & Layering, Clean & Graphic, Shabby Chic, Freestyle Collage, and Classy & Elegant. Normally my style would fall into the Shabby Chic category, but this time I chose to go with the Clean & Layering category. I hope it fits there. 

The sketch came from Retro Sketches for challenge #120. It was a great one for layering DSP!

What I Used:

Cardstock ~ Whisper White, Baked Brown Sugar

DSP ~ Lullaby

Stamp Sets ~ Life in the Forest, Label Love

Tools/Other Supplies ~ Paper Trimmer, Paper Snips, Artisan Label punch,7/8" Scallop Circle punch, Arrows & Delicate designs Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Liquid Adhesive, Blender Pen, Black StazOn, Glue Dots

Embellishments ~ Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons, Crisp Cantaloupe Thick Baker's Twine

Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration ~ Art Inspired

Today at Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration, we've been inspired by art. I personally am inspired by Van Gogh and his amazing ability to create with little teeny tiny strokes. I wanted to recreate something of his, but not copy it in it's entirety. I also wanted to add this amazing stamp {Blended Bloom}. Since I live on a farm, I thought it was a great idea to create a sunflower. This stamp is really versatile and fit the bill perfectly.

The "brush strokes" were created free-hand using SU Markers. Just scribble away!

I've really gotten into making matching envelopes. It is a fun way to take it an extra step further in creating a very unique, one of a kind card.

What I Used:

Cardstock ~ Whisper White, Basic Black

Ink ~ Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, Tangerine Tango, Gumball Green, Soft Sky, Lagoon, Not Quite Navy, Night of Navy, Early Espresso, Basic Black, Black StazOn

Stamp Sets ~ Blended Bloom, Something to Say

Tools ~ Paper Trimmer, Paper Snips, Dimensionals, Bone Folder, Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch, Sponges, Blender Pen, Crystal Effects