Christmas Greens

Greetings, friends! I have been trying to go through my UFO (un-finished objects) boxes a little more recently, and put this card together using some leftover bits and pieces. I've been hoarding the scraps of this patterned paper for ages, and have been stubbornly trying to use up every last bit. I still can't quite finish it up! A package of patterned paper can last for ages, don't you think? I'm not sure I've ever entirely finished one up.

My inspiration came from two challenges. First, the awesome sketch at Viva La Verve, which is so perfect for using up little scraps. My sentiment and the subtle snowflake behind it are from a Verve set. Second, Merry Monday is having a Christmas in Summer link-up where you can use any of their previous challenges, and I chose #224, Masculine Christmas Card. I think the woodgrain and earthly colors have a masculine feel.

Products Used:

Stamp Sets: Holiday Greetings (Verve)

Card Stock: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive (SU)

Patterned Paper: Merry Moments (SU)

Ink Pads: Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake (SU)

Tools: Big Shot, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Circles Dies, Woodgrain EF (SU)

Accessories: Linen Thread (SU), Wood Veneer Stars (Studio Calico)

Thanks for visiting today!

Toucan Party, PP357

Hi friends! It's Sunday and that means time for a new challenge at The Paper Players! This week I have the pleasure and honor of being your hostess with a color challenge! 

So, I had something tropical in mind when I selected these colors. Then I went through my stamps and realized I didn't really have anything tropical. I clearly don't always think things through! However, it was no problem a little shopping trip couldn't fix :) I purchased this adorable set from Newton's Nook and had lots of fun coloring it. 

I googled images of toucans and was so amazed by the diversity of their gorgeous colors. They are such majestic birds. Check out this handsome fella. Aren't those colors amazing?! 

Products Used:

Stamp Sets: Toucan Party (Newtons Nook)

Card Stock: Solar White (Neenah)

Patterned Paper: Summer Fun (Echo Park)

Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Markers: Copic

Tools: Big Shot, Stitched Circle Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lawn Fawn)

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please leave a comment, and then head over to visit the rest of the Design Team at The Paper Players. I hope you'll play along with my color challenge this week, too! 

Inky hugs :)

PP356 The Great Outdoors

Hi friends! It's Sunday and that means time for a new challenge at The Paper Players! This week our awesome Nance is hostess with a theme challenge: The Great Outdoors. 

I made this card for hubby on our anniversary back in June and have been waiting for an appropriate challenge to share it with, and this one was perfect! Hubby loves all things nautical, but I'd realized that I'd used the same few nautical stamp sets over and over again over the last few years. I went in search of a digi image and found this free one, and used MS word for my sentiment. I tried every trick out there to seal the ink so I could watercolor, but nothing worked so I resorted to colored pencils. I'm really happy with the way it came out, and hubby seemed to like it. But he's a smart man and wouldn't tell me if he didn't!

Products Used:

Card Stock: Solar White (Neenah), Night of Navy (Stampin' Up)

Patterned Paper: Maritime (Stampin' Up), Summer Vibe (Simple Stories)

Colored Pencils: Prismacolor

Digital Image: Link Here

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please leave a comment, and then head over to visit the rest of the Design Team at The Paper Players. We hope you'll play along with our challenge this week, too! 

Inky hugs :)

Countryside Bouquet

Hi everyone! It's time for a new challenge at Seize the Birthday! 

This time around the "Toppings" options is "Tie One On". However, you can also chose to do an Anything Goes birthday card, the choice is yours!

I'm using a new digi stamp for the first time, Countryside Bouquet. I've always admired Power Poppy Stamps but never purchased any, so when this one on my wish list went on sale I had to have it! I have a lot to learn when it comes to using digi stamps so I kept it simple this time. The image was colored with Copics and colored pencils, and I "tied one on" with some linen thread. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy coloring these days? I can just sit and color for hours. I find it so relaxing.

Products Used:

Stamp Sets: Countryside Bouquet Digi Stamp (Power Poppy), Say it Happy (Technique Tuesday)

Card Stock: Solar White (Neenah)

Patterned Paper: Pint Sized Patterns Beachside (Lawn Fawn)

Ink Pads: Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Markers: Copic

Colored Pencils: Prismacolor

Tools: Big Shot, Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lawn Fawn), Femme Frames Dies (Mama Elephant)

Accessories: Linen Thread (Stampin' Up), Enamel Dots (Echo Park)

I'm so glad you paid me a visit today! If you have a moment please leave a comment, then visit the rest of the wonderful Design Team at Seize the Birthday. We'd love for you to play along, too!

Inky hugs :)

Blue Birthday, PP355

Hi friends! It's Sunday and time for a new challenge at The Paper Players! This week the wonderful and talented Laurie is our hostess with a Tic-Tac-Toe challenge. These are so much fun! I went diagonally from the bottom left corner: Blue, Enamel Dots, Birthday.

This is my first use of the beautiful Kind Soul stamp set from Wplus9. What attracted me to this stamp set was that the bouquet was already assembled, and that I didn't have to spend a lot of time masking and layering. It's also more than big enough to cover an entire card front. It was lots of fun to color, too! I used my new favorite technique, coloring with Copics and then going back in with colored pencils to add some shading.

I'm also linking up to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, which is You've got The Edge (my leaves are slightly dangling over the edge), and at the Wednesday Challenge it's Anything Goes.

Products Used:

Stamp Sets: Kind Soul (Wplus9), Agapanthus (Technique Tuesday)

Card Stock: Solar White (Neenah)

Patterned Paper: Black and White Basics (My Favorite Things)

Ink Pads: Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Markers: Copic

Colored Pencils: Prismacolor

Tools: Big Shot, Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lawn Fawn), Kind Soul Die (Wplus9)

Accessories: Enamel Dots (Simple Stories)

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please leave a comment, and then head over to visit the rest of the Design Team at The Paper Players. We hope you'll play along with our challenge this week, too! 

Inky hugs :)

Graphic Thank You, PP354

Hello friends! It's Sunday and time for a new challenge at The Paper Players. The wonderful Jaydee is our hostess this week with a simple sketch challenge. I love sketches that leave lots of room for interpretation.

This is what I came up with, a kind of graphic card, I think. It was not my original plan to do the flowers in black, but after cutting them in several other colors, I decided I like the contrast of the black against the assorted background patterns. The card base was sponged through a stencil, and the only thing stamped was the sentiment. A simple card to make, really, but it took me forever to make a decision on the flowers. I blame it on the Libra in me, we do not make decisions easily! 

I'm also playing along with the Pin-Sights Challenge at Ellen Hutson, where I was inspired by the dots and stripes.

Products Used:

Stamp Sets: So Much to Say (Lawn Fawn)

Card Stock: Solar White (Neenah), Black (Simon Says Stamp)

Patterned Paper: Let's Polka (Lawn Fawn), Black and White Basics (My Favorite Things)

Ink Pads: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Soft Granite (Hero Arts)

Tools: Big Shot, Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lawn Fawn), Bold Blossom Dies (Ellen Hutson), Grid Stencil (Simon Says Stamp)

Accessories: Silver Sequins (Stampin' Up)

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please visit the rest of our Design Team at The Paper Players, and I hope you'll play along with our challenge this week, too! 

Birthday Fishes STB

Hi everyone! It's time for a new challenge at Seize the Birthday! 

This time around the "Toppings" options is "Splatter". However, you can also chose to do an Anything Goes birthday card, the choice is yours!

I had great fun making this card, and almost everything was leftover from other projects so it came together pretty quickly. Well, quickly for me that is, the worlds slowest stamper! I even had the background in my UFO box. It didn't seem to work well for its originally intended project, but worked great as a watery background. It's smooshed and splattered! 

I am also playing along with the color inspiration board at Lawnfawnatics. Love the colorful inspiration photo! 

Products Used:
Stamp Sets: Fintastic Friends, Mermaid for You, Happy Happy Happy (Lawn Fawn)
Card Stock: Solar White (Neenah), Smooth Watercolor CS (Bristol)
Ink Pads: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Brushed Corduroy, Rusty Hinge, Mustard Seed, Peacock Feathers, Crushed Olive Distress Inks (Ranger), Mermaid, Freshly Cut Grass (Lawn Fawn)
Markers: Copic
Tools: Big Shot, Fintastic Friends Dies, Mermaid for You Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Stitched Hillside Border Dies (Lawn Fawn)


I'm so glad you paid me a visit today! If you have a moment please leave a comment, then visit the rest of the wonderful Design Team at Seize the Birthday. We'd love for you to play along, too!

Inky hugs :)