Bicycle Birthday

 Hello, on this last Sunday of October!  I't's the day for a new challenge at The Paper Players! This week's challenge #615  is a grid allowing you to choose your options. I made a girlie birthday card using the Bicycle Builders Honey-Cuts from Honey Bee Stamps and designer papers. Isn't it cute?

Here's the challenge prompt from our lovely Anne Marie. I chose the middle row, top to bottom: Die-Cut, Texture, Birthday.

I knew I wanted to use this brand new-to-me die, and the stamps that coordinate have lovely sentiments to include a birthday. I know I'm really going to love using this! 

Texture. Maybe I went overboard but I added a 3D embossed white panel (Tim Holtz), cut the bike frame out of metallic card stock, and used a bit of sparkly tulle ribbon to wrap around the bike handles. 

The basket had textured details which I highlighted with shading, and I dabbed a shimmer pen on the flowers. I really got in some good time experimenting with what I wanted and what did or didn't work with this one. 

Can't wait to see what you will create! I'll see you tomorrow! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

I'm playing along at NBUS. Looking for inspiration? As I write this there are 135 entries for this month!

Tartan Thanks and some rambling thoughts....

 Hi everyone! It's unusual for me to post on a Saturday, but on this cool rainy day I've had some time to stamp. And think. At the same time, HA! 

Actually I've been thinking about this card for awhile. We had an amazing driver on our trip to Scotland and we got to know him very well as we covered the beautiful countryside.  We wanted the thank you card to be special and unique for him.

Of course that led me to buy new supplies, right? No, I don't often do that, but I did this time! I'll tell you about that in a moment, but first, the card. 

Here's how it went. I visited a blogger or two and like me, they have been stamping for a long long time. That led me to a new store called Stamp Simply owned by Sharon Johnson. The tag line is "Keep it Simple - Make it Pretty" and I was enthralled, remembering how much less complicated stamping used to be, and loving again the sweet vintage vibes. At the beginning, before I had much of any style, I was more shabby chic than anything else. 

So I couldn't have been happier to order ribbon again, and a few masculine papers and one set of stamps. The key dies are my favorites.  All will be listed below. 

How has your stamping style morphed since you began? Mine changes almost daily according to my mood. I like it that way. Changes came also based on who or what business I've been following. Anyway, all that to say that I really liked being able to create a masculine card with touches reminiscent of Scotland. And earlier days. I mean, it's been ages since I've used seam binding. And on a masculine card? Seems kind of like the fringes on a kilt.  Patterned paper is something else I've been using less of. Not today! Now that I've bought more, I'll have to use more. And so it goes!

Thanks for listening and for your visit! Now I really am going to get off the computer. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies:
WPlus9 - No One Else and dies
Stamp Simply - A Man Of Knowledge Stamps and Dies, Ribbon assortment. Papers from Craft Consortium - TARTAN, Patina, Metal Textures

Poinsettia Builder for The Paper Players

 Welcome to my blog on this first day of a new week. Time for a new challenge at The Paper Players, and a first Christmas card for my stash for this year. It's a bit to early for me to be starting Christmas cards but you know with lovely and talented Ann's Sketch for TPP# 614 I had to go with what works and add a bit of elegance. 

Pulling out my Poinsettia Builder set (WPlus9) I found quite a few elements already stamped and ready to go, plus a few greenery pieces from Bells & Boughs. These are stamps for layering and the results are beautiful! 

If you haven't seen these before, check them out!* Here's my card. 

I used sponge daubers to add ink to the images before stamping and die cutting. I can't quite remember the inks I used but I suspect they're Distress Oxides as they blend so well. 

I arranged the bouquet on a die cut circle and assembled the card using Paper Rose's 6 x 6 Cosy Rosy papers. It needed a bit of sparkle so I added snowy glitter (hard to see), gold thread and a few sequins. The sentiments are from the Poinsettia Bouquet stamps. 

Please have a look at the wonderful samples our DT has for you this week and play along! Thanks for your visit today, it means so much that you come and have a look around. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

*Want to see more of my cards with this set? Find them   HERE and HERE. 

Welcome Winter

 Hello, welcome to my blog today! I'm jumping ahead to a new season with a simply made card and a sketch for inspiration.

There's nothing like a sketch to kick start your creativity, and this week's Freshly Made Sketch did just that. 

Combined with the new paper pad I just got, it was a quick card and lots of fun to make! The three panels were just cut from the paper. I stamped the greeting and small bird from a long retired holiday set onto a white card stock square.

Thanks so much for popping in, I always enjoy your visit!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Paper is from Carta Bella - Welcome Winter

Where have I been, you wonder? SCOTLAND!

 Hi stamping friends, I have a card to share today, but first a bit of news and a few pictures! 

I usually enjoy posting two or three or four times a week, but got slowed down because we had a fabulous trip to Scotland! There was the  excitement of planning - we decided to go and three weeks later we were on the plane. And preparing. Then the two wonderful weeks we had there. We call it our trip of a lifetime! And the miserable and ongoing stint with Covid my dear man came down with after we got home. Sigh. 

Let's have a look at a few glorious memories. 

We saw beautiful scenery of nature, pastures sheep, the hairy coo, lakes, waterfalls and the ocean. Oh, 5 rainbows. And beautiful Edinburgh. 

So a card, you said?  Creativity is hard to get back into after so much time away.  I made my card using new-to-me supplies, featuring the Jumbo Buckeye Leaf from The Greetery. 

I  sponged it using Oxide inks and added a few marker details. Using smaller images from Curio:Autumn Findings dies I assembled my focal point, adding the sentiment from the Autumn Bliss Stamps & Cut Combo. My background panel was stamped with a Penny Black stamp using WPlus9 inks.

I'm entering this at NBUS and glad to be jumping back to stamping just for fall. Hope your day is wonderful! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Color Hues #51 Here are my color picks!

 Hello stamping friends, it's our mid month challenge, are you ready? It's my turn to choose our colors for the Color Hues Challenge #51 and I'm going with orange and green. I feel sure you'll have lots of ideas for this combo, but you will certainly want to check the DT inspiration!

I decided to feature my go-to images of florals so I pulled out the Thinking of You stamps from WPlus 9 and Distress Oxide inks. Using a sponge dauber enabled me to get a soft look as I stamped flower clusters and fussy cut them. 

The arch dies (The Greetery) are new to me, and I love the interest they add to the layout. I assembled them on a kraft panel. The earthy color seemed to set off the bright colors. 

 I really appreciate your visit today and every single comment you leave. I look forward to seeing your creations fill our gallery at Color Hues! Have a wonderful and happy day!

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Colors used: Distress Oxide Inks - Abandoned Coral, Saltwater Taffy, Orange Marmalade: WPlus9 ink - Limelight

Hello, dear Pinpal!

 Hello ! It's a bright and breezy morning and I can't wait to share my card with you today! The Paper Players  #613 is a Clean-and-Simple Challenge with a theme: wheels!  I wheely had fun with this one! 

Card-making is such a delightful hobby. I absolutely love the zip that playing with challenges adds to my creativity! 

I got out all my stamps with cars. No. 

Then the bicycles stamps. Eh.... used that recently. 

Went through ALL of my stamps to find one that would measure up. 

Here it is, friends! SEW suite! See the wheels? I've had this stamp set for maybe 10 years? Playing with it was delightful.

After stamping, coloring and hand-cutting the images it was time to do more digging from the past.

 BUTTONS! For the sentiment, stitching underneath was just right.

I hope you've been inspired to join the fun and play along and even chuckled a time or two.  I promise you don't need to include silly puns, but I wanted you to know how much I enjoyed making this. After all, sewing USED to be my hobby, ha! 

Next post soon to follow. It's a two-fer day! Wishing you a lovely week.  
Be yourself
          Have delight in your craft
                Make something beautiful!  

 

 

I will be adding this to the Retro Rubber Challenge: Anything Goes! 

Stamps: Sew Suite, Stampin Up! (retired); sentiment from PTI, no longer listed
DSP: Tea Boutique, Stampin' Up! 

A Good Fright for The Paper Players!

 Hello dear stamping friends! It's Sunday and it's time for a color challenge for The Paper Players #612. With the shades of orange, green and purple I pulled out my one and only ever stamp set for Halloween. Called "Good Fright" it's from Hello Bluebird and makes the cutest scenes. 

I began by inking a background using Distress Oxide inks in shades of purple. Then I added some ink splatters and a few larger water droplets for texture. This kind of inking is absolutely one of my favorite techniques! 

I stamped the trick or treaters, colored them with Copics and fussy cut them. Popping them up on foam tape, I added Crystal Gloss to the pumpkin containers. 

My husband suggested that they looked as if they were searching for something, inspiring me to add the die cut tree and sentiments. 

I hope you'll take the time to visit the Paper Players blog and admire the fabulous samples. They never fail to amaze! Thanks so much for your visit today. I hope you have a great week. 

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

The Paper Players: Theme Challenge

 Hello! Hope you are doing well on this Sunday! 

Time for our new challenge at The Paper Players #611 where Joanne has chosen a changing seasons theme, particularly Autumn.

It seems the leaves in our yard have begun to change early this year! My card is created using a randomly stamped background of leaves in Distress Oxide inks: Charted Mariner, Carved Pumpkin,  Wild Honey and Fired Brick. 

Using the Fall Foliage stamps (The Greetery) for the images I stamped the word Autumn in Versamark ink and embossed it with Distress Oxide Embossing Glaze. It's unique in that it's translucent so colors and images underneath are visible.

When stamping images for a background, it's good to have a smaller image or two for fillers. The smaller leaves are from another set. I like to use dots  as fillers too, and these are from the Floral Frames set (Altenew). I am noting it here for myself to remember so next time I don't have to go combing through supplies to find them!

If you love fall as much as I do, then I know the change of seasons is a happy one for you! Thanks so much for spending time here today! Hope you have a great week. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Grateful for Color Hues!

 I can't believe we are greeting another month and you know what that means. A new challenge at The Color Hues! 

We are combining Carol's choice of orange and purple for Challenge #50 and I know you will have fun with that combo. 

I went with a leaf stencil from Gina K that has been around for awhile but it is new to me and I couldn't wait to try it out. Using two shades of each color I brushed them over the stencil. Beware! I was reminded that blue and purple make brown but I decided to go with it anyway! I trimmed the panel to allow lots of white space. 

The sentiment circle is also Gina K and the leaves are from The Greetery. 

These colors are wonderful for fall! I hope that you enjoy using them and will be inspired to play along. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!