Paper Players Sketch Challenge - #119

I'm a bit behind on posting my card for The Paper Players challenge.  Ran into a snag with some home improvements that we were working on over the weekend.  Isn't that how it always goes?  I started out painting the "playroom"and converting it into our family room. I picked Pool Party as a paint color and after I trimmed the room, my dear, dear hubby walked in and said that there was no way he'd live with that color.It was going to be a little much maybe.  I think I could have lived with it, but he put his foot down.  So, he drove to town the next day and got a new gallon of paint (my second choice).  And, I started over.  I also spent most of the day painting our, oh, so lovely, glittered popcorn ceiling.  Which apparently had never been painted.  It is now.  And it no longer sparkles.  And here my plan was to paint the ceilings in both the old playroom and the old family room all in one day.  It didn't happen.  And the old family room didn't (and hasn't) seen any new paint at all. It will be our new dining room.  The kids' toys?  They are going to the basement playroom and up to their bedrooms.  With a few exceptions.  I don't mind some toys in our living areas, but I'm tired of being inundated with toys underfoot.  And if you've ever stepped on a toy cow....it doesn't feel very good!  I has also wanted to get started on our new kitchen island - that I've convinced that dear hubby to build from an old dresser.  That didn't (and hasn't!) happen.  Sunday was spent scrubbing the wood floors, Cinderella style, moving furniture, and then going to my Grandma's for some trick-or-treating.  Monday was more cleaning and moving of furniture and catching up on laundry.  Today (Tuesday) finishing up treat containers for the boys' school parties.  It's when I wish Will's class wasn't so big.  He has the largest class in his school.  He was good about helping me tho when he got home from school.

So....onto this weeks card.  It had to be QUICK!  And it was.  Grabbed some patterned paper from Storytime and the Blue Ribbon stamp set.  I also stuck on some gems that I colored with a red Sharpie marker.  Easy peasy.  Stamp, punch, cut, layer and glue.  We're good to go!

Now....I'm off to catch some zzz's and then it's off to Alex's school tomorrow morning for his Halloween Party!  I'll be back tho.  Have tons of things to show you for my first ever 12 Days of Christmas Crafts, starting November 1st!!!  Fun Fun Fun!

Spooktacular Stamp Sale!

You got it! Almost all of our stamps are going on sale - %15 off - for one day only.  This is a great time to grab those stamps that you've had on your wish list for a while now, but have been holding off.  

Here are the details: (Updated 2:35 PM (MT) 10/25/2012)

• Starting at 12:00 AM (MT) and ending at 11:50 PM (MT), almost every stamp we sell will be 15 percent off.

This means all stamps in the current catalogs including

• Background stamps
• Personalized name stamps
• Incentive stamp sets from the supply list
• Cookie press stamps
• Single-image stamps

This DOES NOT include

• Hostess sets
• Bundled stamp sets
• Digital stamp brush sets

There is no minimum purchase, and no limit to the number of stamps you can order.

How would you like me to sweeten the deal a bit?? If you purchase 5 stamps (sets, singles, backgrounds), I will send you a free ink pad of your choice.  Have you used the new firm foam pads yet?  They are perfection!  Purchase 10 sets and you'll get 2 ink pads.  Order 15 sets and I'll sweeten the deal even more - you'll get 3 ink pads + a roll of your favorite ribbon!  That may sound like a lot of stamps, but since you can order single stamps now, it's not such a big deal  Plus, Stampin' Up! Just released more single stamps.  Check them out, some are brand new!

So, how do you get your hands on all these amazing stamps?  Just go to my website to begin shopping.  Or call me. Or email me!

Please be sure to email me with your freebie list so that I can get those out to you too!

Mr. & Mrs.

Hello Friends!  Glad to be back again!  Aren't you glad I'm back on this blogging roll!  It feels good.

I'm a big fan of heat embossing, so let's talk about that a bit today, shall we?  Specifically an emboss resist technique.

This is really quite easy.  I started out with a piece of Very Vanilla Cardstock and then stamped the doily image in Whisper White Craft ink and sprinkled on white embossing powder.  Heat set.  Once that's good and dry, I used a sponge dauber, inked up with Crumb Cake (Kraft) ink and very lightly swirled it on.  I start in the center and swirl outwards slowly and evenly.  You can apply more ink and/or more pressure once you get the feel for it.  I like to start out light tho as to not have a dark spot and regret it in the morning!  I don't spread my ink out much past the doily.

Then, add your embellishments and elements.  Because I like the look of heat embossing so much, I used Pewter Embossing powder for the "Mr. & Mrs."  Doesn't it all look pretty swell together?  Hope you like it - let me know what you think by leaving a comment  down below!

Technical Tuesday - My Digital Studio

Hi there!  Can you tell, I'm kinda getting back in the swing of things!  After all, it's only Tuesday and I've posted 3 times already this week!!  Yippee!!!  

Today, I'm back with a My Digital Studio tip.  This one comes with a video tutorial from Stampin' Up!  (below)  One of the new features in MDS2 is the fact that you can rip paper for that great torn edge look.  You can see that I used this technique on the page above - on the orange/vanilla houndstooth designer paper on the left side.  I'm loving this feature, because if you don't like the way your "tore" the paper the first time, you can tear it again!  It's awesome.

If you aren't using My Digital Studio, what are you waiting for??  This program has a multitude of projects you can create - from scrapbooks to cards to journals to party/home decor! AND - the best part - it's quite easy to use.  With a great resource - http://mydigitalstudio.net - you've got hundreds of tutorials and THOUSANDS of member ideas to inspire you.  Wanna give it a try?  Download the trial version today!

Supplies for my page:
Embellishments
    Button Latte\Chocolate Chip Button Latte - button2

Stamps
    French Foliage\French Foliage - leaf 2, Color = 248,170,62
    French Foliage\French Foliage - leaf 2, Color = 119,60,20
    Splatters\Ink Splatters\Ink Splatter 2, Color = 134,107,86
    Splatters\Ink Splatters\Ink Splatter 3, Color = 77,38,12

Punches
    Labels & Tags\Tag It - punches\Tag It - tag 1,  Filled with: Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Vintage Overlays - designer series paper\Vintage Overlays - texture 3

Photos
    Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Back to School - designer series paper\Back to School - 6
    Card Stock\Early Espresso
    Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Back to School - designer series paper\Back to School - 5    

Makeover Monday

Good day peeps!  It's been awhile since I've done a Makeover Monday, and figured I was due!  So, let's get to it, shall we?  Today's card makeover originated as a Dawn McVey creation.  You all know that I love her style and ability to put colors together.  Here's her card:

And here's my makeover:

I changed quite a bit, but not the main elements.  I used a Floral Frames die for my background die using Early Espresso Coredinations paper.  Then I embossed it in the Argyle folder and slightly sanded it.  I used the coffee mug and candy canes (only the straight portion obviously) from Scentsational Seasons.  I stamped the diamond pattern from Border Banter to mimic the argyle pattern that I embossed. This was really pretty easy to put together.  I did move my sentiment down to the bottom as it fit perfectly.

Things I might do different next time:  glitter the snowflake on the mug, not forget the steam image, stamp a background image in Versamark in all that "white space" at the top.  If SU had a smaller scallop die that would fit behind the circle, I think that would look better.

All in all tho....not bad - eh?  Is there a card that you've seen in blogland that you'd love to seen made over using only Stampin' Up! products?  If so, email me and I'll include it on Makeover Monday!

Paper Players #118 - Framed!

Good morning!  Today over at The Paper Players we're featuring frames!  I created a wintery card with a framed snowflake.  

At first glance, the snowflake may appear to be floating.  But I've sandwiched a piece of window sheet in between the actual card and the card front, to which I adhered the snowflake image.  When I die cut the hole in the card front and card, I place the card front on top of the card so that the holes lined up correctly, then put the window sheet between them, glueing everything down.  I used a pinking shear die cut circle, which I die cut a center circle out of to create the frame. 

I wanted a wintery effect from the flourish.  So, I stamped them with Whisper White Craft Ink and then used Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder.  This was a bit difficult to photograph, to show you the iridescentnous. (new word for your vocabulary!)

I stamped the center snowflake with Versamark and used silver EP.  Because I glued this directly to the window sheet, I didn't want the glue (Tombow Mono Multi) to show, so I stamped and embossed one for the inside too.

One more glittery pic for ya!

Now - go on and create a project yourself with a frame in it, and be sure to link up to The Paper Players blog!  And be sure to check out the other designers amazing cards for more inspiration!

The Paper Players Design Team

Jen Arkfeld
Dawn Easton 
Helen Heil 
Anne Marie Hile 
Jaydee 
Nance Leedy

LeAnne Pugliese

Ann Schach

Amy White

Cheers!

You know what happens when the sun is not sunny and it is too wet to play?  I get to craft away the day!!!  My hubsters was able to take the afternoon off and was a big help with the kiddos, so I got to spend a little extra time in my craft room!  Was a great day as far as I'm concerned.  Might be gloomy and cold and wet outside...but it was bright and warm in my room....

I needed a card for our friend John's birthday yesterday.  Wanted something a bit masculine looking, so chose some patterned papers with those warmer tones.

This one was super quick and very simple.

It's gloomy again today, but don't know how much crafty time I'll get in!  Heading over to The Artisan tonight for a girls night!  I've got some more fun things to show you later tho!

Ornament Frenzy....

So....I had to sit this week out from the fun over at The Paper Players.....because I was hosting my 3rd Annual Stamp Out Parkinson's Crop and Vendor fair.  And while, I always have a great time at the event, I'm certainly glad it's over.  It's a lot of work to put together (as I also prepared 2 meals for the scrapbookers too.)  Plus advertising and rounding up 20 some vendors....but.  It's so worth it!  Parkinson's hits very close to home for me....my mom has it, and was diagnosed in 2007.  She's doing quite well with her treatment, and I pray that someday soon, a cure is found!

So, now that I've gotten myself caught up on laundry (well, it's washed and dried...I might have a little bit of folding to do yet), have cleaned up some disasters around the house, and unpacked all almost all of my bags of papercrafting goodness, I've crafted up some ornaments for an upcoming class over at The Artisan.  Of course, there's the one you see at the top of the post.  And then there are these 3 to follow:

In the class, you'll actually have some options:

You can craft the first one for $10 - and you can create it in more traditional colors if you wish.
You can craft the last 3 (and pick one to duplicate - for a total of 4) for $10, and can again pick more traditional colors if you wish.
OR you can create all of them (5 total) for $20.

This class will take place at The Artisan on October 24th at 6:30pm.  If you choose to make all 5, it should take about 2 hours.  Otherwise, each group will take about an hour.

Email me, or The Artisan to register.

Merry....but not so bright....

....well, only because we have a lot of cloud cover today.  It won't warm up much today here in Iowa...predicted high of 57.  I love fall, but not when it's this cool.  Right around 70 would be more up my alley.  Although, my fave turtleneck sweaters are getting a good workout already!

So, the other day, I showed you a card with a pinkish, greenish color combo and told ya that I had another one that has a completely different look to it with those same colors.....except here I did use Real Red instead of the Rose Red.  This is Always Artichoke, Lucky Limeade, Regal Rose and Real Red.

Doesn't it look like a cozy quilt you could cover up with?  The stamps are from Papertrey Ink and I've been having WAY too much fun with them!  Waiting for Stampin' Up! to get on the hexagon bandwagon!  I'm in love with hexies!

Did you know that you can know purchase some SU stamps as single stamps???  How awesome!  How often have you loved a stamp, but only ONE stamp in the set???  Now you can get just the single stamp in a clear mount version!  Click on the picture below to see the offerings!

Paper Players #116 - Cup of Joy Theme

Howdy folks!  Raise your hand if you are needing something to warm you up this morning???  We've had a first hard freeze in Iowa this weekend - and it is COLD!  But, since we're still only in the beginning of October, it's our rule to tough it out and NOT turn on the furnace just yet.  So, as I write this post, I'm sitting in our living room with a turtleneck sweater on, a fleece sweatshirt over the top of that and a double fleece blanket on.  For good measure, I'm sitting with my back on a heating pad.  Not that my back is really sore or anything, just cuz it feels SOOOO good!!!  :)  No worries about my kiddos tho - they all have on fleece jammies and extra blankets, plus we put an electric heater upstairs.  It's one of those oil filled radiator type heaters - that won't start a fire - and I highly recommend one!  It will heat the majority of our upstairs - and it is cheap to run - about the same energy as a light bulb uses.  My next heater purchase tho - is one of those infrared heaters.  We need something in our basement....anyone have a recommendation?

Alright - I've digressed....you're here to talk to a gal about a card, right???

Well....I started out asking if you needed something to warm you up - how about a cup of coffee - or maybe some cocoa, like I've got in the cup here.  If your ta-ta's need warming, you need to go check out Helen's card!  It'll crack you up!

My card is pretty straightforward -  I wanted to use a bit of a different color combo tho.  I went with Always Artichoke, Lucky Limeade, Rose Red and Regal Rose.  It's alright here - but I'll put up a card later this week that I did with the same combo that I really love!  I did heat emboss my candy cane in clear to give it some shine.

So, what is your favorite warm beverage?  I usually start my mornings off with java.  I used to buy flavored coffee all the time, but then began experimenting with adding spices to my plain grounds.  Like Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus - yum.  I've recently tried pumpkin pie spice - which is good too.  Or just adding vanilla extract to the grounds.  (any extract works - but I don't have anything else 'cept mint and that doesn't sound too appealing.)  When I need warmed up in the afternoon I would prefer a cup of chai.  It I don't have that on hand about any International Foods mix will satisfy me.

Alright - I've blah, blah, blahhed enough now haven't I!!!  Go check out what the rest of the talented gals came up with!  Then be sure to join us this week!  

The Paper Players Design Team

Jen Arkfeld
Dawn Easton 
Helen Heil 
Jaydee 
Nance Leedy

Anne Marie Hile

LeAnne Pugliese

Ann Schach

Amy White