The Paper Players #368: Tic-Tac-Toe from Jaydee

Hello again and welcome back for another fun challenge over at The Paper Players.  We have a fifth Sunday this month so you know what that means...Tic-Tac-Toe!  Jaydee has come up with a great one this week:

I'm still trying to get a jump on the Christmas card stash, so I went for the middle row across: Christmas - Die-cut - Wreath:

Here are the products I used for Santa's Workshop:

Cardstock - Neenah Solar White; Slate Grey
Stamps/Dies - Hero Arts Santas Elves & Santas Door Accessories, Hero Arts Paper Layering Wooden Door, Lawn Fawn Stitched Borders, MFT Wooden Plank BG
Other - Martha Stewart Gooey Drip Border Punch, Copics, Prismacolor Pencils, Glossy Accents, Wink of Stella, Frosted Lace Stickles, and small red ribbon scrap

We hope you'll play along with us this week!  Check out the other DT members' blogs for some fantastic inspiration:

The Paper Players Design Team

• Claire
• Joanne 
• Jaydee
• Laurie
• LeAnne
• Nance
• Sandy
• Deanne
• Jan

Thanks for visiting ~ I hope you have a wonderful week!

Turkeys and Reindeer

Hi there!  No, it's not a wildlife post...just a couple of holiday cards I played with today.  I SHOULD have been cleaning up the leaves in the backyard so I thought I could at least make a card with some!

The first card is a Thanksgiving card for the challenge over at my ol' alma mater - Words 2 Craft By - where they're looking for Autumn cards inspired by the following quote:

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. 

I used Ranger Texture Paste and a great leaf motif stencil from Catherine Pooler for the background.  I wanted to add some random color to the leaves, so after it dried I dabbed on some different Memento ink colors.  The sentiment is from The Stamps of Life layered on a vellum shadow.  I have to say this was really fun and really messy at the same time!

My second card is Christmas-themed for the current challenge over at Shopping Our Stash where the theme is "That's Sketchy."  You can use any sketch you'd like so I based my project on The Paper Players sketch challenge from last week:

On a Gina K. Ivory card base, I layered a scrap of woodgrain DSP from Authentique's "Smitten" paper pack.  The die cut banner (MFT) was also a scrap from that same pad (which is for Valentines Day...shhhh).  The Tim Holtz reindeer was layered over the Gina K. sentiment.  A little snippet of red/black ribbon tied with May Arts black twine and some MME black enamel stars finished it off.  I really liked Claire's sketch and know I will use it over and over!

Thanks for stopping by ~ I hope you have a terrific week ahead!

Cherish

Happy Friday!  I had some crafty time when I got home and wanted to play along with CASology's latest challenge:

Now this may be a stretch, but when I saw the cue card with "Cherish" I immediately thought of 8th Grade and the original song by The Association.  It's a long story but to keep it short (and not bore you to tears :) it was a school dance and they played that song.  I wanted Jack to ask me to dance soooo badly...and {drum roll} he did!  Best dance ever!

Anyway, hopefully my little trip down memory lane explains where I went with this card:

Sorry the pic is a little dark...like the sky today.  Thanks for visiting ~ I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Peace on Earth

Hi there!  This morning I thought I'd make a Christmas card and decided to try a new challenge (to me) over at the Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge blog.  My teamie, Claire, over at The Paper Players just joined their DT so it's gotta be a fun one!

I like Tic-Tac-Toe Challenges because they're like a buffet.  You can pick what you want to eat play with!  This time I went with the diagonal:  Peace, FREE, & Rhinestones.

On a smooth white card base, I white heat embossed some older stamps from Inkadinkado.  I've always liked that angel and try to use it every year.  I added a little snow flurry stamp escaping from her horn.  The panel was then blended with Distress Oxide Salty Ocean ink and misted with water.  I added the navy blue die cut sentiment from Tim Holtz and itty bitty rhinestones on the snow trails.  To finish it off, I used Wink of Stella on the sentiment.

That's it for today...time for the football game!  Hope you're having a great weekend and thanks for stopping by.   

The Paper Players #367: A Sketch Challenge from Claire

Welcome back, Paper Player fans!  Last week we had some very spooky Halloween cards.  Thanks to everyone that played along and congrats to all the winners!  This week it's time for a Sketch Challenge hosted by the very creative Claire:

I went with a Christmas card this time because I was itchin' to use the Paper Smooches Snowman die that I bought last year.  I just think he is so cute and perfect for a kid's holiday card.  The card base is Gina K. Ivory cardstock and the banner of DSP is from my scrap bin.  The sentiment is from The Stamps of Life "mittens2stamp," stamped in Catherine Pooler's Icing on the Cake brown ink and heat embossed.  The little extras include Stampin' Up Linen Thread, white pom pom, Glossy Accents (eyes), and Wink of Stella (nose).

We can't wait to see what you come up with this week!  For some terrific inspiration, check out the talented design team members' blogs:

The Paper Players Design Team

• Claire
• Joanne 
• Jaydee
• Laurie
• LeAnne
• Nance
• Sandy
• Deanne
• Jan

 Thanks for visiting!  I'd also like to play along over at the Sparkles Christmas Challenge where the theme this month is:  Christmas is for Kids.

 Have a wonderful weekend!

More Halloween!

Happy wet, wet Saturday...at least in my neck of the woods!  They are calling it "the river in the sky" and it is definitely flowing down.  This means plenty of crafty time for me...yay!

The first card is for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and I'm hoping it will work for the Shopping our Stash #325 - The Walking Dead.  I don't have any zombie type stamps and it can't walk but it does celebrate the dead.  A stretch I know, but I needed a card for an avid fan of the holiday anyway!

I used a Hero Arts black notecard and stamped the MFT Primitive Chevron background stamp in VersaMark for the tone-on-tone card base.  The sugar skull was a free mask digi from Pinterest that I enhanced with Prismacolor pencils, Wink of Stella, and white gel pen.  

The second card is also for Halloween and I think it's the last one I have to make.  I started with the latest Freshly Made Sketch:

On a Neenah Solar White card base, I added a stitched circle (MFT) inked up with Distress Oxide Fossilized Amber and spritzed with Sheer Shimmer.  The branch die cut is from Savvy Stamps.  The sentiment and spooky owl are from Taylored Expressions Peek-a-Boo Halloween stamp set.  I used a combination of Copics and Prismacolor pencils to color the owl then glued on some Doodlebug Designs eyeballs.  That wasn't the plan but when I stuck my fingers in the eyeballs to test the Glossy Accents and they weren't quite dry...you know the rest!

Anyhoo, I hope you're having a fantastic weekend and thanks for visiting!

So sorry.

Happy Friday!  A quick card today that I almost forgot to link up to CASology's latest challenge.  I made it a couple of days ago when it was pouring down rain and too dark to take a photo!  Still a little dark but at least it's dry. 

Sympathy cards are always a difficult card for me to make.  I'm glad this challenge keeps it clean and simple.

On a Neenah Solar White card base, I added a Memory Box red stitched heart die cut that I cut with scissors for a broken heart.  The sentiment is a very old rubber stamp (mfg unknown).

Thanks for visiting today.  I hope you have a terrific weekend!

Cards in Envy: Let's Play Dress Up!

Hi CIE fans!  Over at Cards in Envy, we're getting ready for Halloween and want everyone to play dress up this week...with Halloween costumes!  

One of my favorite parts of Halloween is seeing all the little trick-or-treaters wonderful costumes and their faces light up when they dig into the treat bowl.  I thought Tim Holtz' Trick or Treat die cut was perfect for this challenge with a colorful, gold shimmery Distress Oxide background.  The sentiment is from one of my absolute favorite Halloween stamp sets by Lawn Fawn called 'Boo-yah.'  

We hope you'll dress up with us and play along!  Just make sure your card (any size) is flat enough to fit comfortably into an envelope.  Thanks for visiting today!

Oops! Forgot Thanksgiving!

Happy Sunday!  I finally had some badly needed crafting time this morning so I thought I would play along with a few challenges and add to my holiday card stash.  

The first card is for Halloween and I'd like to play along over at:

CASology:  Odd (odd number of shoes)
Shopping our Stash #324:  If The Shoe Fits... (witches shoes)

I used minimal products on this one.  The card base is Neenah Solar White.  I added a strip of silver glittery washi for the "ground" and stamped the shoes and sentiment from Hero Arts' Witch Feet.  I decided the middle pair should be dancing, so I added a mini action wobbler to the die cut and colored the stockings with orange Wink of Stella.  

The second card was for my Christmas stash, using Freshly Made Sketches' latest sketch as a starting point.

This one was inspired by a couple of dear neighbor girls that received phones for Christmas last year and love taking selfies!  I used Bazzill Candy Necklace cardstock for the base, layering Lawn Fawn's Perfectly Plaid DSP die cut with a MFT stitched rectangle.  The photo frame from Savvy Stamps was die cut from Neenah Solar White and I added a background of white heat embossed snowflakes.  The adorable little elf is from Hero Arts' Santa Elves stamp & cut set and colored with Copics.  I finished it off with a white heat embossed Hero Arts sentiment (Irreverant Elf Messages), some sparkly snowflakes, and Wink of Stella.

Thanks so much for visiting - I hope you have a great week!    

The Paper Players #366: Spooky CAS Challenge

Don't be afraid but it's a Spooky CAS Challenge from lovely Laurie starting over at The Paper Players today!  

You probably know from my blog that I'm a dog person.  I'm allergic to cats but not when it comes to Halloween cards!

I used Fossilized Amber and Abandoned Coral Distress Oxides to ink up the masked off moon.  The spooky cat (Tim Holtz "Witchcraft") is die cut out of black glitter cardstock and poised on top of Savvy Stamps' Picket Fence die cut...hsssst!  I added a tiny clear rhinestone for his eye, colored green with Copics.  The grass border is from Taylored Expressions (Wispy Grass).  The sentiment (MFT) was stamped with VersaFine Onyx Black ink.  I also used shimmer on the moon but, alas, that doesn't show in the photo.  I really like how scary he looks!

Please check out the spooky creations from the rest of the team for inspiration:

The Paper Players Design Team

• Claire
• Joanne 
• Jaydee
• Laurie
• LeAnne
• Nance
• Sandy
• Deanne
• Jan

We can't wait to see your CAS Halloween spookiness!  Thanks so much for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful week! 

The Paper Players #365: A Color Challenge from Joanne

Welcome back for another fun challenge over at The Paper Players!  This week, the very creative Joanne has come up with a wonderful color challenge featuring some fall-tastic colors:

I didn't have the 'exact' SU colors but attempted to match them as best I could with Gina K. inks for a Thanksgiving card:

On a Neenah Solar White card base, I stamped the falling leaves from Catherine Pooler's Leaf Motif stamp set for the background.  The tag was assembled using Simon Says Stamp tag dies and tied off with SU linen thread.  The leaf die cuts and sentiment are also part of Catherine Pooler's SOA collection.

 We can't wait to see what beautiful projects you come up with!  For some fantastic color inspiration, please check out the other team members' blogs:

The Paper Players Design Team

• Claire
• Joanne 
• Jaydee
• Laurie
• LeAnne
• Nance
• Sandy
• Deanne
• Jan

I'd also like to link up this card and play along over at Shopping Our Stash:  #323  - Give Thanks.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Cards in Envy: Blowing in the Wind

Happy Fall and welcome back to another fun Cards in Envy challenge!  To kick off Autumn, we're celebrating leaves ~ like all the ones that are blowing around in the wind in my backyard.  I really need to find that rake but first, here's my card:

My maple leaves are from a very old rubber stamp set.  I think it was Fiskars but can't be sure.  I colored the stamp with 3 different colors of Zig Clean Color Markers, spritzed with water, and stamped on ivory cardstock from Gina K.  I also used FineTec Metallic Watercolors and Nuvo Golden Sunset Glitter Drops to splatter the background.  The sentiment is from Impression Obsession, stamped on a stitched sentiment strip (MFT).  The sentiment strip was wrapped with some metallic gold thread and popped up.

We hope you'll embrace those falling leaves and join in the fun over at CIE.  Make sure your card is not too lumpy or bumpy and will fit comfortably in an envy and, most of all, have fun! 

The Paper Players #364: Theme Challenge from Sandy

Hello Paper Players and welcome back for another fun challenge!  This week, Super Star Sandy has come up with an Autumn Floral theme for us to play with:

I made a card base from embossed woodgrain cardstock (Ellen Hutson) and then swiped some Memento Desert Sand ink on the front to give it a bit of a worn look.  The wreath is wrapped postal twine with some gold metallic thread woven in.  The foliage was die cut (Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves & Memory Box Chloe Stem) from metallic copper cardstock.  The flowers were paper stickers from Martha Stewart that I colored with Copic markers and dotted the centers with Nuvo Golden Sunset Glitter Drops. The sentiment from Sunny Studio's Autumn Greetings was stamped on kraft and heat embossed with Ranger gold EP.  To finish it off, I sprinkled some Pretty Pink Posh metallic gold confetti around the wreath. 

For more inspiration, please check out the beautiful Autumn creations from the rest of the DT and leave them some love:

The Paper Players Design Team

• Claire
• Joanne 
• Jaydee
• Laurie
• LeAnne
• Nance
• Sandy
• Deanne
• Jan

We can't wait to see what you link up!  Have a great week and hopefully you'll have some crafty time to play along!