Peonies and Paper Chains

The #1 Washi Tape Tip You Need!

Let's cut to chase friends and get right to today's tip -- it is a big one!

Here goes...

When you accidentally CUT your cardstock where you meant to SCORE it, wrap a big long piece of Washi Tape all around the card "spine" to keep it together! Washi Tape to the rescue!

How is that for a tip?!

I'm thinking that you'd like to see the rest of today's card and I am super excited to share it with you.

When I do so, I may be spoiling the surprise of the December Paper Pumpkin (more than I have already because the two stamp images above are in the kit).

Close your browser now if you don't want to see what is in the kit!

My December Paper Pumpkin kit arrived on Monday and I simply could not wait to use it!

I shared this peek at today's project on Instagram that night:

 

The card design was inspired by the Pals Paper Arts Sketch (PPA232) that starts today:

 

 

Here's the full card for you:

 

This is the very first shaker card that I have ever made...so MUCH fun! Not sure why I waited so long to try this out and I'll definitely be making more!

For those who are curious, I did jumbo size to a 5 x 7" card base using Bermuda Bay cardstock instead of using a base from the Paper Pumpkin kit. In addition, I added the Washi Tape and piece of Strawberry Slush cardstock.

Do be sure to play along with us at Pals Paper Arts this week!

And please, do tell me, am I the only one who has ever cut a card base when I really meant to score it? Fingers crossed that I am not!

 
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Hello December!

November was an absolute whirlwind month at our home.

So much so that I squeezed in hardly anytime for creating and blogging.

While I know December will be busy, I was beyond ready to say "Hello December" the other day. I'm excited to usher in this new month!

And, today, I'm happy to share my design team project for the latest Pals Paper Arts color challenge! This week we are working with a beautiful blend:

This mix of Cherry Cobbler, Baked Brown Sugar, and Very Vanilla is such a classy color combo!

That little sliver of a project that you saw the beginning of the post is a very special card...

It is a completely custom 4" x 6" card for a little December #PLxSU album that I am creating! It features stamps from the Project Life December Wonder Photopolymer Stamp Set and some sweet little sequins from the Hello December Project Life Accessory Pack.

Ready to see more of the card? Here it is with its companion cards in a 6" x 8" plastic sleeve:

This title page for the album brings together the PPA color pallete with a patterned card from the Hello December Project Life Card Collection and a custom made 3" x 4" embossed piece of Baked Brown Sugar card stock. I just love the On Point Textured Impressions Embossing Folder -- it was perfect for this project!

I've also put together the first couple pages of the album and thought I show you those:

We'll be recording our memories day by day this month. Some days (like December 1st) will feature a quick journaling entry.

Others will have photos and I know I will be putting in some photos for December 2 and 3, however, I initially prepared the album with some place holders so that it looks nice even without the images:

For December 3, I'll be including a photo of our elves, Oko and Madeline:

 

Oko & Madeline finally arrived while the girls were out today! Really Oko II & Madeline II as I am pretty sure our original elves went into the witness protection program! #elfontheshelf #elfantics2014

A photo posted by Kerry Willard Bray (@kerrywillardbray) on Dec 12, 2014 at 3:47pm PST

The girls love the elves and were so excited for their return to us. In fact, Brooklyn even made some gifts to give Oko and Madeline.

I'll be sharing more pages (complete with photos) as the month marches on! In the meantime, be sure to stop over to Pals Paper Arts to see what the other members of the design team have created!

 

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Flipped for Four Feathers!

When I saw the sketch for this week's Pals Paper Arts challenge, I immediately thought "great sketch -- I love this!" I'm pretty sure it was the simplicity of the sketch that was so appealing:

 

Am I right? Sleek and simple all the way.

Of course, those of who have been visting my blog for awhile now know that I often like to put a little twist on my projects. This challenge is no exception. So I took the sketch and flipped it around:

Not only did I flip it, I used the sketch to decorate a Tag a Bag Box (I love these boxes) rather than to create a card. Here's the full DIY gift box:

 

My "main ingredients" for this project are:

• Tag a Bag box (130927)
• 1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon (132140)
• Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad (131171)
• Four Feather stamp set (wood 135050 | clear 135053)
• Rich Razzleberry card stock (115316)
• The sweet sentiment stamp was part of the October 2014 Paper Pumpkin -- love the exclusive stamp sets that Paper Pumpkin delivers right to me each month!

Be sure to visit Pals Paper Arts to see all the other fabulous projects from this sketch. And, of course, play along with us! I'd love to see what you create!

Enjoy a little creativity today!

 

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Enjoying the time!

I've been to precisely two big music concerts in my life. The first was INXS in Sydney, Australia when I was an exchange student in high school. It was incredible! Not to date myself, but this was the original INXS band line-up.  

The second was seeing James Taylor. It was an outdoor gig and I attended with a bunch of friends from college. Definitely a much more laid back atmosphere than INXS but equally as wonderful.

What in the world does all this have to do with paper crafting?

Well, whenever, I pull out my From the Heart stamp set, it makes me reminiscent about the JT concert! And, that is precisely the stamp set that I used to create my design team project for the brand new Pals Paper Arts challenge (PPA 226):

And, while I had not thought of when making the card, it is not just the sweet James Taylor sentiment card that brings me back to that concert, the color palette does too. It was a was a fall concert - a crisp cool, fall day in Pennsylvania -- and this week's color combo is perfect for autumn:

Definitely a very rich and pretty color combo! 

Believe it or not, this card took me less than 10 minutes to make from start to finish and I know it is one you could quickly CASE if you wanted to do so. There are three elements that make it delightful, yet simple:

1. Layers, especially when popped on with Stampin' Dimensionals, add interest and are kept easy by sticking with basic shapes. 
2. Stamping Off brings in new hues and allows you to cover elements of a page with minimal re-inking.
3. Sweet sentiments pull everything together and I adore this quote from James Taylor. It is perfect for use on a birthday card, but also works for everyday.

For those who are curious about the Cajun Craze "frames" on the card...

the backdrop for the sentinment is a cut piece of cardstock

and

the edges of the card base are some Cajun Craze ink that I rolled on with my brayer.

What is your favorite element of this card? The layers? The stamping off? The sentiment? I'd love to know! Feel free to leave a quick comment, I so enjoy reading what you have to share!

Enjoy today! 

 

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Bearing Gifts for Pals Paper Arts

Hello friends. It is time for a brand new Pals Paper Arts Sketch Challenge (PPA224) and it is a fun one!

Given that I decided to use the very adorable "Bearing Gifts" stamp, I decided to tip the sketch on its side and my end result is this:

Here's a closer look at the wee ones in full color:

These little ones are so incredibly sweet! And, I love polar bears...no wonder this stamp made my must have list!

The color palette for the All is Calm Designer Series Paper includes some of my favorites -- Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, and Wild Wasabi. These colors do speak of pure serenetiy and calm to me.

Scroll back up for a minute and take a look at the embossing...do you agree that turning the On Point Textured Impressions Embossing Folder on its side, gives the effect of movement? Right side up, you get a distinct feel of a pine tree forest and upside down is a very fun triangle pattern (at least in my book).

Be sure to visit Pals Paper Arts to see what the other members of the design team have created to share this week! And, please, play along with us! We'd love to see what you come up with based on the sketch!

Enjoy a little creativity today!

  

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What's not to love?

One of my all time favorite paper crafting techniques is tying a paper knot. It is easy to do and you can embellish with any color cardstock "ribbon" to work seamlessly with your project.  What is there not love about that?

This particular paper knot is adorning a card inspired by the latest Pals Paper Arts color combo (PPA223):

 

And the latest Mojo Monday sketch (MOJO367):

 

Now, before I share my project, remember I said "inspired by"...there are a few twists:

• Early Espresso is my "go to" dark neutral so I used that in place of Basic Black
• Tangerine Tango made its way onto my card rather than Tangelo Twist (this was a case of not re-checking the color swatch before I created and, well, let's face it, I'm not on top of telling the difference between tangerines and tangelos in the grocery store so perhaps understandable I mixed up the ink colors)
• The sketch was shrunk down to create the focal point of the card rather than used for the whole front.

Here goes:

The Truly Grateful stamp set was just right for this project! Not only is the sentiment apt as we gear up for Thanksgiving, I also love that the chevron pattern echoes the vertical elements on the sketch. It was actually the use of this stamp set that prompted me to convert the sketch to a focal element rather than using it for the full card front.

For those who read regularly, you might suspect the background ink for the card and envelope were applied with my brayer. While it does look that way, I actually simply dabbed the entire ink pad right onto the cardstock and envelope. Can't get much easier than that!

Tying a Paper Knot

1. Cut a thin piece of cardstock (about 1/4")
2. Pull the cardstock along your bone folder a few times to loosen the fibers
3. Tie a single knot
4. Trim the ends

Yes, it is that easy! My knot was attached to the card using a couple Mini Glue Dots.

What about you? What is one of your favorite paper crafting techniques?

Enjoy a little creativity today!

 

 

 

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PPA 222: Embossed Grunge

Yes, you read that right...embossed grunge.

And, honestly, it looks even more gorgeous than I thought it would!

Today marks the start of a brand new Pals Paper Arts color challenge (PPA 222) and I instantly loved the color combo that we were asked to use:

The So Saffron, Calypso Coral, and Early Espresso most certainly create a sophisticated palette. And that, of course, made it even more fun to pair with the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set. Take a look:

As you may have noticed, this project is a little Kraft Grid Journals. Here it is standing up:

This journal combines traditional heat embossing (the water-like splatters onthe journal) and the emboss resist technique. 

Did you know that when you emboss an image and then daub ink on and around the image that the embossed area will "resist" the ink? I daubed my Calyspo Coral all around the splatters and then simply rubbed a napkin over the top to really make the embossed image as spiffy as can be. Doesn't get much easier than that and I love the marbled look.

Do be sure to visit Pals Paper Arts to see what all the other design team members put together to share!

Have a creative day!

 

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PPA 220: Double the Fun!

Within about two hours of the September Paper Pumpkin kit arriving at my home, I was busy creating with it! While I have yet to assemble the entire kit, the first little bag I put together was for The new Pals Paper Arts sketch challenge (PPA222):

Here's what I created:

The lil' tag was created based on the sketch and as I assembled the complete project, I could not help but think that the entire project itself is a take off on this week's great sketch! So consider this project to double the fun from the design!

Be sure to visit the Pals Paper Arts to see all the inspiration from the design team!

Have a creative day!

 

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P.S. I can't wait to use the rest of this fun Paper Pumpkin kit...as someone who loves Halloween, I'm finding it is my favorite kit yet!

An Amazing Thank You for PPA!

The latest Pals Paper Arts Challenge (PPA 214) has arrived!

After being a whole week ahead of schedule and sharing my original project here, I had to pull together a little something special for this challenge. Andm since I've been having such fun using the Amazing Birthday stamp set, I decided to do so for the challenge. Except this time I used the set to create a thank you card:

This week's challenge is a color challenge and I'm enamored with the combination of  Crisp Cantaloupe, Wild Wasabi, and Island Indigo:

The background of the card was created by inking up my Alphabet Press Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, placing the Very Vanilla card stock inside,  closing the folder, and then running my brayer over the top. This created a fun grunge-like feel!

When it comes to the pennants that serve as the focal point, a little distressing was done. For the striped pennant (this is a stamp in the Amazing Birthday set), I stamped and cut out with my Banners Framelits. My cut was rather crooked and rather than toss, I chose to distree by brayering some Wild Wasabi over top and then dragging the edges of the pennant over my Island Indigo ink pad. 

Fortunately my cut of the sentiment was spot on! For a little added interest I cut another flag of the same size from Crisp Cantaloupe card stock and then inked it up with the same color. There layering adds some interest!

The sentiment, "so thankful for every bit of you", is so very sweet! What a great addition to teh Amazing Birthday stamp set to be used in creating thank you cards!

Be sure to play along with us at Pals Paper Arts this week! And make certain to see what the other design team members have created!

Wishing you a creative day!

 

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OOPS!

So remember yesterday how I shared this sneak peek for today's Pals Paper Arts Challenge? 

It is truly one of my all time favorite projects...I love the look and it literally only took me 10 minutes to make.

Yes, ten minutes. That was all I could spare because I needed to get out the door the other day and had to get the project to the design team member who prepares our challenge posts.

So yesterday I heard back from the design team member who said that she loved the project (thank you, friend!).

And then she wrote "P.S. I hope you realize that this is for next week! No PPA this week, it's the 5th Thursday."

True story.

The Pals Paper Arts Design Teams take a break on the rare months when there is a 5th Thursday. Our next challenge begins on August 7. There was no need for me to rush to put together a project at all!

The good news?

I am a whole week early on the deadline and that is a great thing!

The even better news?

I've decided I love the project too much to make you wait a full week to see it. Time for me to make something else for the PPA challenge next week. 

Without further ado, here it is...the best looking 10 minute project I've ever completed (at least in my opinion):

 

I'm thrilled have this on display in my home. Would you like something like this in yours?

And, please, tell me that I am not the only one...have you ever had a situation like this happen where you hurried to reach a deadline only to find out that you were actually way ahead of schedule?

LAST DAY - DON'T MISS OUT! Buy 3, get 1 free on Designer Series Paper! Order your Designer Series Paper favorites today!

Wishing you a creative day!

 

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