It's A Wonderful Life - PPA198 & Mojo339

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Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful...what a great statement!

Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful...what a great statement! 

Wow, did I fly by the seat of my pants for this one! Today's card was created for the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge and the Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge:

This sketch together with this color combination sure was a challenge for me! I'm not sure I was up to the task, but this is what I came up with! I couldn't decide on another DSP to use for the two long pieces so I made my own :) I stamped a flower from the Secret Garden stamp set in Summer Starfruit and another flower from the Simple Stems stamp set in Pool Party randomly across a piece of Whisper White cardstock. I used a Stampin' Marker in Old Olive to color the center of the flowers. I then trimmed the piece in half using my Stampin' Trimmer and trimmed the bottom edges into banners.

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I decided to go with a banner in the center as I really wanted to use this sentiment. I inked the stamp from the Perfect Pennants stamp set up with Stampin' Markers in all three colors and then cut it out using the Banners Framelits Dies and my Big Shot. The resulting banner needed a little something, so I attached it to a piece of Old Olive Core'dinations Cardstock and trimmed the framing banner by hand.

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A little flower punched with the Petite Petals Punch and topped of with an Old Olive button is a nice accent and candy dots in Old Olive provide the final touch of jewelry.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope the rest of your week flies by!

Heartfelt Thank You - PPA171 Color Challenge

I'm here with another challenge, this one from the Pals Paper Arts design team but first I would like to thank them for selecting my submission as an Artist "Pick" last week! Whoo Hoo! You can see the card that was picked here

I had an idea in mind for this challenge but it got swept away by another idea and then...I had NOTHING, NADA, ZILTCH. Just could not come up with anything that pleased me. FINALLY, last night, it came to me...

I decided what I had been stuck on was having Very Vanilla as one of my colors. I kept wanting to add another color to the Baked Brown Sugar and Calypso Coral. Once I got past that block, the card came together very quickly. 

I used my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to place the flowers exactly where I wanted them and stamped once with full ink and then stamped a second time without re-inking (just huffing on my stamp to remoisten the ink) to acheive a variation in color. The sentiment comes from "Another Thank You", one of Stampin' Up! new photopolymer stamp sets. It is the first photopolymer stamp set I have owned and I LOOOOOVVVVVEEEEE it..sorry to shout, but really, really enjoyed using it!

I added just a bit of color to the center of the flowers using Calypso Coral ink and a Blender Pen. Then just a touch of 2-Way Glue and some Dazzling Diamonds for a bit of sparkle. I stamped a little heart from the Another Thank You stamp set, fussy cut it out, popped it up with a Dimensional and added a bit of sparkle to it as well for the jewelry.

I hope you have enjoyed today's project and are inspired to get crafty!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Secret Garden (129144), Another Thank You (133454)

Paper: Baked Brown Sugar (131296), Very Vanilla (101650) Cardstock; Subtles (130135) Designer Series Paper Stack

Ink: Baked Brown Sugar (131174), Calypso Coral (126983) Classic Stampin' Pad

Tools: Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Stamp-A-Ma-Jig (101049), Blender Pen (102845), 2-Way Glue Pen (100425), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Embellishments: Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter (102023)

Sketched Thanks - PPA160 Color Challenge

I am so excited to see each new color challenge created by the wonderful Pals Paper Arts Design team - each color combination is one I really love but probably would not think to have put together on my own. This new challenge is no exception!

Isn't this combination cheerful? Love it! I have to tell you, this card popped into my head (complete) in the wee hours of the morning and the image was so strong that I had to pop out of bed to create it! Luckily, it was a weekend! So without further ado, here it is!

What do you think?!?! I am in LOVE with the beautiful window sheet from the new Quatrefancy Specialty Designer Series Paper line and was determined to fit it onto a card...why not make it the whole card? lol

I adhered a layer of Gumball Green, Primrose Petals and Whisper White cardstock to the inside of the card base and used the AWESOME new ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet & Numbers Stamp Set to quickly add my sentiment. The card seemed to need a bit of 'something' so I used my Essentials Paper-Piercing template to quickly pierce an outline around the edge of the Whisper White card stock. I left lots of room for a personalized message.

Using a window sheet for your card base can be a bit tricky as you have to plan both the outside and inside of the card simultaneously. I chose to add just a bit of the 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon in Gumball Green and a simple daisy from the Secret Garden stamp set. I chose this stamp set because it has matching framelits and is a cinch to cut out! One little Dahlia in Gumball Green is the perfect final touch don't you think?

Another reason that using window wheets can be tricky is that whatever you use to adhere the layers together is going to be visible. I chose to use just one glue dot on each corner of the Gumball Green layer of cardstock to adhere it to the window sheet base and just one more dot to adhere the daisy to the top layer. I am also willing to pass on valuable information I gather during the creative process and my tip for today is to be 100% sure before you adhere anything to the window sheets with a glue dot...they stick like concrete so you will only get one shot at it!!

Thank you for stopping by and please leave me a comment, I love to hear what you think!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet & Number (130565), Secret Garden (129144)

Paper: Gumball Green (126840), Primrose Petals (126841), Whisper White (100730) Cardstock; Quatrefancy Specialty Designer Series Paper (130141)

Ink: Gumball Green (126861), Primrose Petals (126858) Classic Stampin' Pad

Tools: Big Shot (113439), Secret Garden Framelits (129372), Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack (126187), Paper-Piercing Tool (126189), Stampin' Pierce Mat (126199),

Embellishments: 2012-2014 In Color Dahlias (127556), 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon in Gumball Green (126848)

Thanks for stopping by!

Easter Blessings

Good Morning and Happy Saturday to you! I am delighted to participate in an Pals Easter Parade going on today over at Mary Fish's Stampin' Pretty website!

What do you think? I have to admit that when I saw the Secret Garden bundle of Framelit Dies and coordinating stamp set I was underwhelmed. I just passed right over it but over time as I saw projects created with it, it started to grow on me until one day this Easter card popped into my head so I finally broke down and placed an order! I think the only way to get card out of my head was to create it (!) and now that I have, I can see many possibilities for this set so look for more projects to come!

Do you just LOVE the color combination I used here? I have to give a big shout out to a fellow "Pal" Kerry Willard Bray over at Stamp Goodness for her Five on Friday post listing some fab color combinations! If you would like to see the full post, please click here. The colors used are Pink Pirouette, Wisteria Wonder, and Midnight Muse. I would NEVER have come up with this combination on my own but I think the colors together are just divine!

 

I enjoy the clean look of the white background, I believe it really allows the other elements to take center stage and shine. I love that the lattice pattern in embossed Whisper White cardstock adds to the spring'y' (is that a word?) feel of the card...and just a few pearls for jewelry. So easy with all the coordinating products that Stampin' Up offers!

Just a note on the embossing...I have found that with my particular Big Shot (and every one is slightly different) when I emboss Whisper White or Very Vanilla that the tension is so tight, frequently the embossing will crack. Flipping the tab from Tab 2 to Tab 1 reduces the tension just enough to give me a perfect embossed image. Experiment with your own Big Shot!

Of course Easter wouldn't be complete without treats so here's a idea for a little treat holder...

I ran a piece of Pink Pirouette DSP and the Clear Oval Accent Bigz Die through my Big Shot and then scored at 2 2 1/4" from each outside edge to create a 1" base. I 'imagine' it filled with a chocolate bunny...please 'imagine' that with me as the store is OUT of chocolate bunnies! You could also add a little box in there as well with a few chocolate eggs (mmm)...

I think these little treats would sit perfectly on an Easter dinner table as well as being wonderful treats for co-workers. They come together perfectly with the Secret Garden Bundle as well as the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and coordinating Bitty Banners Framelits. And of course a pearl...

I hope you have enjoyed these projects and are inspired to pull out those supplies and get creative!

Please pop on over to Stampin' Pretty for more inspiration from the Pals!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Easter Blessings (129183), Secret Garden (129144), Itty Bitty Banners (126257)

Paper: Whisper White (100730) Cardstock, Pink Pirouette from the Subtles Designer Series Paper Pack (117152)

Ink: Midnight Muse (126860), Pink Pirouette (126956), Wsteria Wonder (126985) Classic Stampin' Pad 

Tools: Big Shot (113439), Ovals Collection (129381) Framelits Dies, Secret Garden Framelits Dies (129372), Square Lattice Embossing Folder (119976), Oval Accent Bigz Clear Die (127005), Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (118309),   Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (118309), Stampin' Trimmer (126889)

Embellishments:  Pearl Basic Jewels (119247), 5/8" Organza Ribbon (114319), Wisteria Wonder Baker's Twine (125576)

Thanks for stopping by!