Peonies and Paper Chains

Choose[ing] Happiness for Pals Paper Arts!

Hello friends! So glad you are here to see the latest Pals Paper Arts design team project that I created...it is a special one for this challenge! Let's take a look at the sketch:

This sketch (PPA260) was fun to create and I really enjoyed creating with it! Here is the full card that I put together:

It is not often that I create using what I consider to be a vintage style, however that is the feel that the Choose Happiness and this card evoke for me. And while vintage often has even more embellishing, the card felt just right to me. Here are the fine details again:

Now I mentioned earlier that this card is a special one and it is special for many reasons...

• because of all the layers...
• because I cast aside my brayer and picked up my heat embossing tool (I definitely do not pull out this tool often enough)...
• because I used a stamp set that I have been eyeing for a year and only just finally purchased a month ago...
• because it is my last Pals Paper Arts design team project (PPA isn't going anywhere, I am simply stepping away from the team for now).

Of course, I got a little nostalgic when working on this and decided to take a stroll down memory lane...

• The one time that I was a "PPA Pick" prior to joining the design team
• My very first design team project (you'll see my old "branding" in this post)
• The first PPA sketch that I designed
• My favorite PPA challenge, PPA200, where all 20 design team members contributed an inspiration project 

To my fellow design team members - Linda, Michelle, Mary, Katy, Lisa, Patti, Michelle, Dawn, Sandie, Susan, Ann, Maggie, Peggy, Mike, Beth, Ginger, Rae, Amy, Nicole, Brian, and Windy -- it has been such a pleasure and honor to design alongside you! You are all so very talented and I love the mix of beautiful stamping styles that span across the group!

And to everyone else reading today, please be sure to join in and play along with us for PPA260! I can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy a little creativity today!

 
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The Latest Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge

This week, Pals Paper Arts has a fresh, fun color combo (PPA258) to get your creative juices flowing! It combines two new In Colors (Watermelon Wonder and Cucumber Crush) with the tried and true hue of Night of Navy:

 

As I said, it is fresh and fun. I am confident that so many of you will adore creating with these colors!  The green and pink-ish red are bright and cheerful while the blue brings in a nice balancing tone.  It's actually quite the "preppy" color combo (and I mean that in the best way) and really wonderful for summer.

However, I must admit, I really struggled with this one...

I do not have ink in Cucumber Crush or Watermelon Wonder and that was part of the quandary. When faced with a challenge to use a color combo, a "go to" technique for many crafters is lots of white space with just a few splashes of color. That was not a possibility for this one!

So, using lots of another neutral (Smoky Slate), a couple pops of color from Cucumber Crush and Watermelon Wonder card stock, a little stamping with the Words of Truth and Writing Notes stamp sets and my Night of Navy ink, I have this inspiration for you:

Oh, did I mention I pulled out my brayer too?  The Night of Navy background is courtesy of my brayer and ink! This is truly becoming my fave "fast and fabulous" technique!

Here is the full collection of new In Colors:

Of the new colors, which ones are you "crushing" on? For me, it is Mint Macaron and Tip Top Taupe...love them! Be sure to leave a comment with your faves!

And, do come play along with us at Pals Paper Arts! The PPA258 Challenge closes on July 7 at 12 noon Eastern!

 

Enjoy a little creativity today!

 
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Up Against a Brick Wall for PPA. Truth.

Hello friends.

Today I'm sharing my latest Pals Paper Arts design team project. Truth is that it is framed by a "brick wall" courtesy of the brand new "Brick Wall" Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. 

It is a 6"x6" folder and I love the large size of the folder!

Do you notice how realistic the brick shapes are?! I think this folder has moved into first position as my favorite folder...it is going to get a LOT of use! I could go on and on, but let's take a look at the actual sketch for this PPA challenge!

This is a week where I kept to the sketch...there is no tweaking at all!

I do adore creating square cards and the one I made is its 3"x3". This size cannot go in the mail unless of course you place in a larger envelope. For those who keep the Stampin' Up! Medium Envelopes on hand, I recommend making 4-1/4" square cards -- easy to drop those square cards in the mail!

Here is my card once again:

One would think that I knew the Triple Banner Punch was coming when I put this sketch together but I assure you that I did not. However, this new punch is just the right tool for this sketch!

And I absolutely adore the new Words of Truth stamp set! I'm confident that it will be in heavy rotation at our house! Here's the full set:

This set is just right for making lunch box or suitcase notes for loved ones, quick cards from friends or colleagues, or even to create framed art.

To my fellow Design Team members, to each of you, I say, you're a rock star and I am excited to see what you've done this week!

To everyone visiting today, Remember you can do it! Play along with us at Pals Paper Arts!

Wishing you a creative day!

 
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Bring on Regarding Dahlias for Pals Paper Arts!

 

Hello friends! I'm delighted to share these thank you cards that I whipped up as my latest Pals Paper Arts design team project.  And when I say whipped up, I mean that I made 20 of these note cards in under 30 minutes...not bad! School ends next week and I needed some more thank you cards for teacher gifts.

This week, the Pals Paper Arts challenge is a color challenge and if you have not guessed the palette already, it is:

Because Strawberry Slush just retired as an In Color, I substituted Melon Mambo in its place. And, as you'll note in the image below, my supplies were minimal: 

The only thing you don't see are a set of Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes and some Grid Paper to protect my work surface when using my brayer to create the So Saffron backdrop.

Be sure to take a look at all the design team projects! Then, pull out these colors, give them a whirl, and share your creation with us at Pals Paper Arts!

And before I sign off, I must say that I do love color challenges!  They are my fave...how about you?

Happy creating!

 
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Birthday Wishes for PPA 250!

Hi there friends! It's time for the latest Pals Paper Arts color challenge and we have a fabulous combo for you this week! I had so much fun creating with it and I hope you will too! Here it is:

This fabulous palette pairs the retiring In Colors of Coastal Cabana and Baked Brown Sugar with Hello Honey, an In Color that is sticking with us until 2016. I'm sad to see Coastal Cabana and Baked Brown Sugar go...I've loved these colors and was so glad to pull them out for this challenge! 

Here's my project in full color:

We have a few birthdays coming up and this polka-dotted mini muslin bag will be just right for holding a little gift and/or gift card!

In the next image, I love how you can see the color variances in the polka dots that were added to the bag using my sponge dauber:

QUICK TIP:

Use a Mini Brad or a Candy Dots Base to hold together the ribbon and to directly attach it to the Mini Muslin Bag. Mini Glue Dots can then be used to attach the stamped "embellishment". For added stability, you could put the brad through the bottom piece of card stock...I did not do this, but I think it would work well!

Hope you'll grab your Coastal Cabana, Hello Honey, and Baked Brown Sugar and play along with us! Check out all of the design team inspiration over on the Pals Paper Arts blog and join us in using this combo!

Have a creative day!

 
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Get Your Challenge On! Kinda Eclectic for PPA248!

 

It's been awhile since I have pulled out my Kinda Eclectic stamp set and I had so much fun using it to create the background for today's card. This little square card (3.5") is based on the brand new Pals Paper Arts Challenge -- PPA248:

 

 

As you likely just noticed, I did not use the design precisely according to sketch...the diagonal sentiment is longer and the stamped sunburst and leaves replace the rectangular element. Sketches are meant to be a starting point and you don't have to stick with them as is though I know it is sometimes a challenge to break out from doing so.

 

 

The close up gives you a chance to see the intricacy of this stamp set...the pattern of the leaves, the text on the dotted pattern (which you can really see in the upper left portion of the card). Kinda Eclectic is truly such a gorgeous stamp set and I love every element of it! You are not seeing the larger butterfly image or the sentiment ("a little kindness goes a long way") from  the set, but I did incorporate all the others. The "a thousand thanks" stamp is from the Thankful Thoughts stamp set which is filled with several options for expressing gratitude!

 

It will soon be Teacher Appreciation Week and I'm pretty sure I will be holding onto this card until then! The girls have been working with some wonderful teachers this year who are more than deserving of a card like this.

 

Be sure to see all of the inspiration projects from this sketch over on the Pals Paper Arts site and, please, join in the fun and play along with us!

 

Wishing you a little creativity today!

 
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Berry Baskets for Pals Paper Arts!

You may have caught a glimpse of my project for the new Pals Paper Arts color challenge on Instagram earlier this week. My Instagram account is the go to spot for peeks at my projects...and a little of everyday life around here.

I loved used this week's color to put together today's design team project. I find the PPA 246  color combo to be quite spring like and dreamy:

I knew instantly that I wanted to make a couple little baskets using the Berry Baskets Bigz L die. They are so quick and easy to make and so very adorable! 

 

The basket bases were made using the 12 x 12 Kraft paper and embossed with the Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. This combo of paper and embossing creates a very natural looking basket. The edges done in Crisp Cantaloupe and Pistachio Pudding provide for a pretty contrast against the Kraft paper.

 

 

The embellishing of my Berry Baskets was kept clean and simple --

• initials stamped using the Larger Than Life Alphabet & Numbers stamp set and cut out with my 2-1/2" circle punch
• names added using the Alphabet Rotary stamp
• little paper ribbons/flags
• wooden clothespins to hold everything in place

As you may have noticed in the image above, Brooklyn's name was popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals and the edge of piece of card stock colored in Crumb Cake -- these details take just moments to do!

 

 

Hope that you are feeling inspired to pull out your Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, and Kraft! To see the inspiration from all of the design team members, click here!

And, please be sure to play along with us at Pals Paper Arts this week! The challenge closes at noon on Tuesday! 

 
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P.S. I was out of Pistachio Pudding card stock to use for this project. However, thanks to my Pistachio Pudding ink pad,  my brayer, and a strip Naturals White card stock, my dilemma was solved! 

 

Flipped It!

 

The cheery card you see today was designed using the new Pals Paper Arts sketch (PPA244):

I'll freely admit that when I pulled up the sketch to get creating today's project, I thought "ugh, a star"...I just was not feeling it! And then I was happy to look closer and see that the star reads "any shape"...off the hook for making a project with a star when I was just not up for that!  And, just for the record, I feel fine saying all this because I designed this sketch!

With Sale-a-bration about to end, I knew I wanted to create something using one of my favorite Sale-a-bration exclusive items the "A Happy Thing" stamp set. Originally I intended to use the same vertical orientation as the sketch, however as I layer out my pieces on my Daffodil Delight card base, I realized that horizontal worked better so I simply flipped it.

Here are a couple details for this card that I love most:

The bird beak!

After using my Aqua Painter and ink pads to color in the bird, I decided to punch out the image using my 2" circle punch. That meant having to cut off the beak. I stamped and colored another beak and then carefully cut it out and applied it to the base of the original.

The stripes!

After assembling the card and adding the sentiment, I felt like the background was just too stark. I pulled out my Work of Art stamp set and grabbed my Daffodil Delight ink pad and added a few stripes to the card...hopefully you can see the stamped image running behind the "love life" sentiment!

The effect of the stripes is subtle, but I think the stripes are turned an excellent finishing touch!

 

You'll find my supply list -- less the "A Happy Thing" stamp set (139131 - wood | 139134 - clear) and the "Best Year Ever" accessory pack (138634) as both are Sale-a-bration exclusives! As a reminder, Sale-a-bration ends on March 31!

I'm excited to see how everyone else on the design team approach today's project and I can't wait to see what you do with it too! Be sure to play along with us at Pals Paper Arts this week!

Enjoy a little creativity today!

 
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A Sweet Treat for PPA!

No ifs, ands, or buts about it -- I am hooked on the bags made from the Stampin' Up! Mini Treat Bag Thinlits! They are sweet as can be! I pulled out the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits out for the first time to make my project for the new Pals Paper Arts challenge (PPA242) and absolutely fell in love! It is so easy to create fabulous little bigs with these Thinlits. Easy and quick...a paper crafting must have in my book!

The colors that I used on my "enjoy" treat bag -- Garden Green, Gold, and Basic Black -- come from this week's PPA color combo:

The Garden Green has a soft tone because I used my Brayer to apply it along both the base of the Mini Treat Bag and on the inside at the top. All the brayering was done before assembling the bag.

The gold sequins were pulled from the Gold Sequin Trim and applied to the bag using Mini Glue Dots...easy as a can be! (Okay, truth be told they can get a little tricky to do with your fingers alone. I know some people use tweezers to work with these though I love the challenge of using my fingers.)

And that sweet little "you made my day" sentiment is from the Simply Wonderful stamp set is a Sale-a-bration exclusive that is free with a minimum $50 purchase. Learn more about Sale-a-bration.

For this bag, I did elect to punch a hole to run through some ribbon so that a gift card could be tucked inside the bag and stay there safely. There are actually two pieces of ribbon...one looped through and a second that is tied around the other.

I'm itching for the weekend to arrive when I know I'll have an opportunity to take out the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits again! Can't wait!

Be sure to see all of the design team creations at Pals Paper Arts and join the fun by playing along with us!

Have a creative day!

 
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PPA - You Made My Day!

 

Hi friends! After a week off, Pals Paper Arts has a brand new color challenge that features three beautiful Stampin' Up! colors:

 

Such a sweet combo for PPA238! It is perfect for last minute Valentine's projects! Or for every day paper crafting projects, like the card I'm sharing with you today!  

 

 

Do you recognize the stamp that was used to create the large white circle?

 

 

It's a fresh new take on Wondrous Wreath and cut out with a Circle Punch rather than with the the coordinating Wreath Framelits. Really creates a completely different look!

Notice too that I rolled my circles across my Basic Gray ink pad -- it helps each circle pop off one another!

The overall card background was created by inking up my Decorative Dots embossing folder and running the Pink Pirouette card stock through my Big Shot. Be sure to experiment a little with this -- too much ink and you may get a look that is a little too grungy for your taste!

Be sure to play along with us at Pals Paper Arts this week! Can't wait to see what you create!

 
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