Peonies and Paper Chains

Five for Five!

Happy Friday, friends! Today is the 5th Friday of 2015 and I'm sharing the fifth Stampin' Up! five color combo with you. We're off to a good start!

Now before I share the latest color inspiration with you, I wanted to share a little about some emails I received lately. I've had a few loyal blog readers (thank you!) reach out and ask if I'll be sharing any three color combos or if the combos will work if only 3 of the colors are used.

To the first question, the answer is no and the reason is two-fold...

1. Five color combos push us stretch our creative muscles - two and three color combos may get us trying new colors together, but five sometimes makes us really work for it (me included).

2. I love the alliterative quality of "Five on Friday" -- "Three on Friday" is just not the same. As I sit here typing this I realize I can get the same alliterative quality with "Four on Friday", however I am thinking I will still stick to "Five on Friday". When I first launched the Five on Friday series a year and half or so ago, I missed things up...five was to use ribbon, my five favorite Stampin' Up! tools, five mini card sketches. It was the color combos though that resonated most with people and that's why I chose to simply focus on those.

Wow...that was long-winded!

And the answer to the second question is "yes, absolutely"...pick any three colors from the combo and they should work together!

By now you must really want to get to the new combo! Here goes...

Honestly as I sit here looking at this now, it has such a summery feel to me! Frankly, that is kind of nice given that we got 33" of snow earlier this week! Here's an image of my sweet boy Brinkley (a Brittany) out in the path we had to clear!

 

Brinkley took a lap around the dog track! #brittany #snowdog #blizzardof2015

A photo posted by Kerry Willard Bray (@kerrywillardbray) on Jan 27, 2015 at 12:22pm PST

 Hope this week's color combo (or the photo) inspire you to get creating this weekend!

 
Get inspiration in your inbox  |  Shop on-line 24/7 for paper crafting supplies

  

A Happy Thing for PPA!

Today I'm sharing the card that I created using the latest Pals Paper Arts sketch challenge (PPA 237) as my inspiration. What a fun sketch by Nicole Watt! The card features the stamp set "A Happy Thing" that Stampin' Up! is offering as an exclusive Sale-a-bration stamp set. It is definitely one of my absolute favorites at the moment!

Take a closer look at the bird's tail:

It was originally under the strip of Pool Party and it looked ridiculous! As a result I decided it should be resting on top, yet I also did not want to snip out the entire bird. Here is a behind the scenes look at my solution...

It is not pretty, but it gets the job done!

Since I simply cannot end the post with that photo, here's the full card again:

Wishing you a happy day! And a little creativity today, too!

 
Get inspiration in your inbox  |  Shop on-line 24/7 for paper crafting supplies

 

 

New Five on Friday Stampin' Up! Color Combo!

Happy Friday, friends! I've got a fun new combo to get your creative juices flowing this weekend...

This combo feels sweet and dreamy to me...what do you think?

And, lest you think I forgot about creating something with last week's Five on Friday color combo, I promise that I did not! In fact,  I paired it with this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge and came up with the following:

Love this sentiment! This stamp comes on its own as a single clear mount stamp and I had fun inking it up with my Stampin' Write Markers!

Hope you are able to carve out a little time for creating this weekend! I'd love to see what you create with either this week or last week's color combo and I invite you to share your creation over on the Peonies and Paper Chains Facebook page!

Have a fabulous day!

 
Get inspiration in your inbox  |  Shop on-line 24/7 for paper crafting supplies

 

 

Stamp Review Crew: Valentine Free for All

It's time for another Stamp Review Crew Hop and we have something really special in store for you! It is a first for us...a free for all! Crew members are sharing any stamp set of their choice for Valentine's projects! It was lots of fun creating my project together and I am so very excited to see what everyone else has made!

Whether you just stopped over from Cindy Beach at Stamps, Paper, and Ink or are starting here, I do hope you'll hop on through and see all the creations today!

Let's get going! My stamp set is:

Work of Art!

I received this set last spring when I attended the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog Premiere. I loved having a chance to gather with fellow demonstrators close to home and see the new catty before it went live.

The stamp set is fabulous -- it is incredibly versatile!

For those who have the wood mount version, it can also be incredibly frustrating to fit all those stamps back in the case! If you've been challenged to solve this puzzle, print out my photo and pop it into your wood mount case as a guide! Consider this my Valentine's gift to you!

Now let's get to the Valentine's project, shall we?!

This close-up is my favorite picture of this project...

• the shimmery glimmer paper
• the zig zag stamp pattern showing so crisply on the hearts
• the stripes in Coastal Cabana
• the gente sway of the linen thread bow that is tied to the button
• the sweet "love you" sentiment that is perfect for Valentine's day...

All the little details that make this project special!

While this design could certainly be used on a card, what I created to share with you is a piece of home decor:

Here's one more close-up for you:

This project is crisp, clean, and very CASE-able! The supply list is lengthy, though you could easily make substitutions such as using a heart punch (believe it or not, I do not own one) or snipping flag ends on your own rather than using Framelits to cut yours. Here is what I used: 

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

 

Be sure to hop along to see what the Stamp Review Crew members have created for you! Next stop is Wendy Wiexler at Wickedly Wonderful Creations and you'll find the full hop line-up below my signature.

       

Enjoy a lil' creativity today!

 
Get inspiration in your inbox  |  Shop on-line 24/7 for paper crafting supplies

 

Stamp Review Crew Valentine's Free for All Blog Hop Roll:

1. Heidi Baks  
2. Ann Schach  
3. Adriana Benitez  
4. Rochelle Blok  
5. Yapha Mason  
6. Nancy Smith  
7. Debra Burgin  
8. Tanya Boser  
9. Lisa Young  
10. Dawn Tidd   
    
11. Shana Gaff  
12. Beth Beard  
13. Martha Inchley  
14. Holly Krautkremer  
15. Bronwyn Eastley 
16. Linda Callahan  
17. Cindy Beach  
18. Kerry Willard Bray   -- YOU ARE HERE
    
19. Wendy Wiexler  

 

New Stampin' Up! Five Color Combo

Happy Friday, friends! Hope you are ready to get creating because I have a brand new Stampin' Up! five color combo for you:

I'm not quite sure how I would precisely describe this combo, however, the mix of rich earthy tones, soothing blues, and the pop of Crushed Curry really appeals to me!

This weekend I'll be creating with this color combo and I hope you will too! I might even combine these colors with the Pals Paper Arts sketch that designed and shared with you yesterday.

I'd love to see what you create and invite you to share it over on the Peonies and Paper Chains Facebook page! 

Enjoy a lil' creativity today!

 

 
Get inspiration in your inbox  |  Shop on-line 24/7 for paper crafting supplies

 

 

PPA 236: So Honored!

Today is a very special Pals Paper Arts project for me. Today marks the first sketch challenge for which I am the designer. I'm so very honored to be serving design team 1 in this capacity. I've taken over from Margaret Moody who was the original PPA sketch designer -- she did an amazing job for 5 years!

Here's the sketch for PPA236 to get your creative juices flowing: 

 

And here is the project I put together using the sketch as inspiration:

It was so much fun to use the Yee Haw photopolymer stamps to make this topper for the take-out box! While you are unlikely to hear me holler "yee haw", this set is fabulous and has a great mix of elements and sentiment stamps! The little star, barbed wire, and "mighty kind of you" are among my favorites in the set.

You'll find the full supply list at the very bottom of the post.

Be sure to play along with us this week at Pals Paper Arts! I'm so excited to see what you and all my fellow design team members create!

 

 
Get inspiration in your inbox  |  Shop on-line 24/7 for paper crafting supplies

 

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

 

Let's Get Hopping with Stampin' Up!'s Hey, Valentine!

 

Welcome to the first Pals Blog Hop of 2015! We hope your new year is off to a great creative start! To celebrate the start of a new Stampin' Up! season, we are showcasing products from our newest catalog this month - the Occasions catalog. Some hoppers will also showcase new Sale-a-bration products too. If you don't know how to earn free Sale-a-bration products - contact your Stampin' Up! demonstrator to learn more.

You may just be starting the blog hop or may have come from Becky Gifford at The Social Stamper. Whichever is the case, I hope you'll take a look at me creations and use the full lineup below to move along from blog to blog so you see all the projects we've created for you!

I'm really excited to share my creations with you! Those who know me well know that I am a deadline worker and hopefully none of them will spill their coffee or fall out of their chairs when they see that I am sharing Valentine's treat ideas...a full month before Valentine's day! These were so much fun to create using the brand new Hey, Valentine stamp set from the Occasions catalog: 

It is just precious! And perfect for making Valentine's for Brooklyn and Britt to give to their friends.

First up, the sweet little fox:

 

This fox is adorable and makes me smile just thinking of the girls dancing along to the song "What Does the Fox Say" -- it is a regularly requested song for dance parties at our house! It is also one of those songs that just sticks in your head.

Britt will be sharing the fox tags and a few crayons with her friends.  A tightly wrapped band of card stock holds the crayons together and forms the perfect backdrop of the Bermuda Bay ribbon. A box of 48 crayons will be divided up amongst Britt's friends making this a really affordable Valentine's treat!

For Brooklyn's friends, there will be a mix of all the other stamp designs in the set:

The school of fish...that Brooklyn colored in by herself! 

 

The sweet tweet bird...so very sweet!

 

The cutie pie pirate -- I especially adore the parrot perched on the pirate's hand!

 

Since Brooklyn is older, we are going with pencils as her treat:

Do you agree? Candy free and lots of fun?

For those who want to know what supplies I used,  scroll on down to the very bottom of the post!

The next stop is Debbie Crowley at expressivelydeb... on the Pals Blog Hop! Thanks for visiting and I'll see you next month!

              

One more thing before I go...a big shout-out to the one and only Nicole Watt for the fabulous retro badge and buttons! Love them!

 
Get inspiration in your inbox  |  Shop on-line 24/7 for paper crafting supplies

 

Pals January 2015 Blog Hop Line-up

1. Amy Whelan at Amy's Inklings
2. Maggie Mata at Maggie Made Cards
3. Becky Gifford at The Social Stamper
4. Kerry Willard Bray at Peonies and Paper Chains --- YOU ARE HERE
5. Debbie Crowley at expressivelydeb...
6. Amy Williams at Stamps and Spice
7. Rae Harper at WildWestPaperArts.com
8. Sherrie Gross at Stampin' Sunshine
9. Wendy Klein at Doggone Delightful Stampin'
10. Becky Volpp at InkBlossomwithBecky
11. Nancy Gleason at My Stampin Space
12. Jane Knudsen at www.seejanestamp.com
13. Debbie Mageed at Secret Stamper
14. Michelle Quinno at Shell's Life
15. Susan Lankford at Stamp and Create With Susan
16. Karen Hallam at Karen's Blog
17. Kelly DeTommaso at Kelly's Creative Corner
18. Mary Fish at Stampin' Pretty
19. Laurie Chilton at Stampin' Ink
20. Brian King at Stamp with Brian
21. Peggy Noe at prettypapercards.com
22. Martie Pollard at The Crafty Bandit
23. Kim Jolley at Stampin' Artfully
24. Beth Beard at My little craft blog
25. Michelle Gleeson at StampinMojo
26. Sue Becker at RnR Stamping
27. Jackie Diediker at Stampin' Jackie
28. Natalie Bradley at Natalie Bradley Events
29. Lisa Ann Bernard at Queen B Creations
30. Candy Ford at Stamp Candy
31. Dawn Tidd at Tiddbits From Dawn
32. Angie Valle-Peters at Paperluxuries
33. Amy Hoptay at Inking of You!
34. Lynn Kolcun at Stamping with Avery's Owlery
35. Shannon K Jaramillo at Shannon Kay Paperie
36. Liz Gautreaux at Kind Deeds Stampin
37. Beth McCullough at Stamping Mom
38. Nicole Watt at Pixel Maven's Retreat
39. Pamela Sadller at Stampin Pink Rose
40. Jennifer Michalski at Stamping Serenity
41. Shannon Hokanson at Paper Works by Shannon

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

 

 

Ugh...so as soon as I posted this, I realized I forgot the Pumpkin Pie Blendabilities (130997)! Sorry about that, friends!

Stampin' Up! Five Color Combo

Happy Friday, friends! Hope you are ready to get creating this weekend and I hope that this brand new five color Stampin' Up! combo will get your creative juices flowing...

Make a card

Wrap up a package

Put together a pretty display for your home

I'd love to see what you've created with this combo over on my Peonies and Paper Chains Facebook page.

Now for those who want to see what I created, here's my card featuring the Celebrate Today stamp set:

Stamping, embossing, fussy cutting...oh my!

The fussy cutting definitely works for this big "tassel" hanging from the ballon, but certainly not a paper crafting technique that I have patience for everyday!

I'll be sharing some of the other secrets behind this card over the weekend!

Happy Friday! Enjoy a little creative today!

 
Get inspiration in your inbox  |  Shop on-line 24/7 for paper crafting supplies

 

 

New Stampin' Up! A Happy Thing Stamp Set

It's Thursday and that is a happy thing! Perfect for sharing the new Stampin' Up! A Happy Thing stamp set -- this one is a Sale-a-bration exclusive!

Isn't that lemon beautiful?

And the love life sentiment just fabulous?

I'm really loving this set and had so much fun putting together this card -- here it is in full:

A little stamping

A little color with Blendabilities

A little creating a paper ribbon

And a little bit of stitching

Put it all together and it makes for one __________________ card!

You tell me...how would you describe this one? I've got my adjective in mind and would love for you to leave me a comment to let me know what you think!

This is has been a big Stampin' Up! week!

See the new Occassions Catalog items.

Browse the Sale-a-bration exclusives.

Checkout the latest weekly deals.

Have a fabulous day and see you tomorrow with a new Five on Friday color combo!

 
Get inspiration in your inbox  |  Shop on-line 24/7 for paper crafting supplies

 

 

They're Here! They're Here!

What would they be? 

Why the Occassions Catalog and Sale-a-bration, of course! How fabulous for the the two of these to launch together today!

In honor of this, I've got a special blingy card for you, but first things first...

Take a look at the Occassions Catalog -- it is stunning inside and out!

click here or the image above to open the Occassions Catalog

And, now that you've started your wish list, take a look at the Sale-a-bration items you could receive:

click here or the image above to open the Sale-a-bration brochure

Here's the scoop with Sale-a-bration:

SHOP: Receive one free Sale-a-bration prodict for every $50 you spend (before tax and shipping)

JOIN: Purchase a Starter Kit for $99 filled with up to $125 in products PLUS choose from either a free project from the Occassion Catalog OR any 2 Sale-a-bration items. This is an incredible value and there's no obligation to purchse anything else and no risk to drop. The value is up to $149.95 in products and the kit ships free saving you $$$$....a definite win!

HOST: Receive $25 more in host dollars when the party sales are $250 or more!

And, now, the card!

You saw a peek at the front on Friday -- as a reminder, here it is:

With a little ribbon, sequins, and stitching, that card front morphed into this:

Which do you prefer? I always love to hear what you think!

Enjoy a little creativity today!

 

 
Get inspiration in your inbox  |  Shop on-line 24/7 for paper crafting supplies