The Paper Players #470: A Theme Challenge from Laurie

Hello friends! It feels like forever since I've been able to play and post so today was a great day! I'm playing along over at The Paper Players with a fun theme challenge Laurie:

I made this card using an older stamp set and dies from The Stamps of Life.  I've always loved "building" this snowman and the size is great for an A2 card!

She's actually a snow-woman with her pink scarf, gloves and hat. The 'accessories' are covered with sparkly Nuvo Glitter Gloss and the nose super shiny with Glossy Accents.  The heat embossed sentiment is from MFT and the background DSP from DCWV.  

Thanks for stopping by and your kind comments!

Hugs,
Annie

The Paper Players #466: Theme Challenge from Anne Marie

Hi Friends! Today I'm playing along over at The Paper Players where it is a great Theme Challenge called "Into the Woods."

I must share my inspiration for this one!  Down on the coast, November is the month of the "Rut." That's when the boys (Bucks) seriously look for their girlfriends (Does) so we can have adorable little fawns running and playing around in the Spring.  As I was looking out my window, a beautiful 5-point Buck chased an unwilling Doe into the woods...thus this card:

It ended up being quite the mash-up of products. The trees were stenciled using TCW's 'Aspen Trees' and Hickory Smoke Distress Ink.  The studly Buck is a die cut from Savvy Stamps (Deer Head) and the scarf was die cut from Catherine Pooler's 'Build a Snowman' dies and colored with Copics.  The sentiment (which I thought was perfect because of what's happening in the woods :) is from Ellen Hutson.  The stitched ovals are Gina K. and the stitched rectangles are MFT.  Whew! See what I mean...a total mash-up!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're having a great week - I know the Bucks are!

Hugs,
Annie

The Paper Players #464: CAS from LeAnne

Hello friends! Today I'm playing along with The Paper Players #464 Challenge:

It's a Clean & Simple Challenge featuring big sentiments...love the idea!

I die cut and inked up the Merry Christmas Blend stamps from MFT with two different Catherine Pooler inks.  I was a little disappointed with the coverage (need to reink :( )  so my 'fix' was to stamp the sentiment again with VersaMark and heat emboss the letters with Wow's Wanderlust embossing powder.  It's clear and very glittery and covered up the boo boo's perfectly!  I popped the sentiment up over a confetti stenciled background (MFT) and layered on a Memory Box Lagoon notecard. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Annie 

The Paper Players #463: Color Challenge from Laurie

Hello friends! Oh yes, I was excited to see the colors that the lovely Laurie over at The Paper Players picked for this challenge!  I wrapped up my Halloween cards with this one using black, gray, purple & orange!

Supplies I used:

Memory Box Cardstock

Paper Studio 'Stargazer' DSP

MFT 'Witch Way is the Candy' stamps & dies

MFT Stitched Rectangle and Sentiment Strip Die

PTI Border Die

Zig Clean Color Markers, Glossy Accents, Sharpie White Pen

It's a quick post today ~ thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,

Annie

The Paper Players #462: Joanne's Theme Challenge

Hi Friends! Joanne's Grateful/Thankful Challenge over at The Paper Players this week meant it was time to take a break from Halloween cards and play in the leaves! 

I had my mind on raking leaves when I made this one.  I spent a few hours doing that this weekend and then...Monday came, the rains came, and boy did the wind show up too.  It didn't look like I had cleaned up anything!  Oh well, I know these leaves aren't going to blow away:

I don't usually do too many scene cards but the tractor and trailer were screaming at me for one.  I randomly blended a sky, added a grassy hill, and a die cut tree (Lawn Fawn) from woodgrain cardstock.  The little leaves were also part of the Lawn Fawn set that I die cut out of scrap cardstock to fill the trailer.  I just love this tractor and trailer from Catherine Pooler's latest Christmas release (Christmas Tree Farm stamps & dies). I inked them up with CP inks and also used colored pencils for some of the details. The sentiment dies are from MFT and the sentiment is a very old wood-mounted one. 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you're having a good week!

Hugs,
Annie

The Paper Players #461: Tic-Tac-Toe from Jaydee

Yippee! The next card I worked on was for Halloween which happens to be my 2nd favorite type of card to make after Christmas! I was thrilled to see The Paper Players latest challenge from Jaydee was Tic-Tac-Toe:

And looky there...middle row across...Orange, Die-cut, and Halloween!

I got pretty inky with this one and did a lot of masking. The background was blended with Distress Oxide Inks. Then I splattered Copic Opaque White and stenciled some stars with Memory Box Starry Nights Stencil.  I used Tim Holtz Crazy Dogs, Crazy Things, and Pumpkinhead stamps and dies, coloring the images with my Zigs.  I just love that puppy...she looks just like my Sydney the Mini Schnauzer!  

Thanks for stopping by ~ I hope you have a great week.  I can't believe it's going to be October but that means it's time to pull out the witches and goblins and decorate!

Happy Fall Y'all,

Annie

The Paper Players #458: A Color Challenge from Ann

Hi Friends!  When I saw the new color challenge over at The Paper Players this week, I immediately thought of Fall like many others did.  Great colors to ink up those leaf stamps with!

I tried to match the colors the best I could and added a little gold embossing for my 'neutral.'

Gina K. Sandy Beach Cardstock

Stampin' Up Very Vanilla Cardstock

Concord & 9th Give Thanks Stamps (sentiment)

Ellen Hutson Rustic Botanicals Stamps and Dies (leaves)

Ranger Very Fine Gold EP

Stampin' Up Cajun Craze ink

Catherine Pooler Peppermint Scrub & Day Dream ink

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you're enjoying the last few weeks of summer 😎

The Paper Players #454: A Color Challenge from Jaydee

Hello friends! I'm excited to play along with The Paper Players Color Challenge this week:

I love black & white plus just about any color!  I decided to use yellow this time for my beach card because I'm enjoying the sunshine we've been having lately.  

The card is pretty bold but I guess I should have expected that when I used Hero Arts' Beachy Bold Print background stamp!  I colored in some of the beach umbrellas and flip flops with a yellow Zig Clean Color Marker.  I die cut the Stamps of Life sentiment three times in white cardstock and glued them together.  I also fussy cut one of the colored umbrellas and popped it up on the sentiment label.  All the layers were die cut with Honey Bee's Deckled Edge dies. I added glitter to the stars but, you know, sparkly doesn't photograph that well! 

Thanks for stopping by ~ I hope you're having a great week!

Hugs,

Annie

A Break from Summer Outdoor Projects!

Hi friends! It's been a busy few weeks. Beautiful weather and lots of company and many outdoor projects but today I was anxious to get in the craft room and play along with a couple of challenges!

The first card is for The Paper Players Theme Challenge hosted by the lovely Claire:

AND to help celebrate Freshly Made Sketches 400th Challenge, I used their sketch that was the very first sketch when the challenge launched 8 years ago. Congratulations!!

I made a school-themed card for my DGS who will be in 4th Grade this year...I can't believe it! I've had this DCWV 'Grade School' paper pad forever that is my go to for school cards.  I white heat embossed the sentiment on a die cut apple (Stamps of Life) and added some VersaMark background dots with a pencil eraser. All were layered on a Hero Arts Black Notecard.

The second card is for the Seize the Birthday AG Challenge with a topping of Flowers:

I watercolored this floral arrangement from Concord & 9th with Zig Clean Color Markers. The MFT Pinstripe background was stamped on a white card base with Catherine Pooler 'It's a Girl' pink ink.  I used a sentiment from MFT's June or July 2016 card kit, white heat embossed on black cardstock, and cut it up and popped it up to work with the 'Wonderful' sentiment.  Nuvo Purple Rain Glitter Drops were added for a little bling to finish it off. 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you're having an amazing summer!

Hugs,
Annie

PP451: CAS Challenge from Ann

Hello! Back again with a card for the latest Paper Players Challenge #451:

I went with a simple Kraft card base and coffee stamp from Riley & Co. I clear heat embossed the image and colored with Prismacolor pencils.  Finished it off with coffee "drips" in VersaFine Clair Pinecone ink. 

CAS was just what I needed and a masculine card for my stash is a bonus! Thanks for stopping by ~ hope you're having a great week!

Hugs,
Annie

The Paper Players #449: Theme Challenge from Laurie

Wheeee! It's a Water Sports theme over at The Paper Players this week. 

A few years ago (actually quite a few), one of my favorite water sports was inner tubing. As I got older, I just enjoyed sitting in one...like my little dolphin friend below:

The background was masked off, blended with Distress Oxide inks, and splattered with water.  I used Distress Glaze to brighten up the colors after adding water.  The darling dolphin from Avery Elle's 'Peek-A-Boo Summer Pals' stamp set and dies was simply colored with Copics and popped up.  I did add Glossy Accents and Nuvo Glitter Gloss to the inner tube for some sparkle and shine. 

Thanks for stopping by ~ I hope you're having some water fun this summer 😎 

Hugs,

Annie

The Paper Players #448: Joanne's Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge

Yay for a 5th week over at The Paper Players!  It means its a Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge which I think are so much fun!

I went with the diagonal for this card: Die-cut, Yellow, & Florals.

The 'Mondo Sakura' (Ellen Hutson) was gold heat embossed and watercolored with Zig Clean Color markers.  The deckled rectangle (Honey Bee) was misted with yellow Distress Ink and layered on a Mango (Memory Box) card base. Some gold glittery leaves (Catherine Pooler Die) were added under the popped up Sakura floral cluster.  The card was finished off with a popped up gold heat embossed banner sentiment (Concord & 9th). I really like gold embossing...should do it more often!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you and yours have a fun (and SAFE) 4th of July!

Hugs,

Annie 

Distressed Weekend

Hi there! I played with Distress inks this past weekend making backgrounds and also created a few cards to play along with some of my favorite challenges. There are three cards so I'll keep the descriptions short 😉 

The first card is for CASology #346:

The cue is "Ring" and I thought of Life Rings. Down at the beach, a lot of neighbors use them for outside decor but we all know how important they are!

The life ring was created with MFT's Donut die, masked off, and blended with DI Carved Pumpkin. I added the hemp rope and popped it up over a masked MFT Wave background. The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn's 'Float My Boat' stamp set. 

The second card was for Seize the Birthday's latest Anything Goes challenge with the Topping of "Cover the Card". 

I used a number of blue/green Distress Ink Cubes DTP (direct to paper) and swiped my background on Neenah Solar White cardstock.

Then I added Tim Holtz' Wildflower Stem die cuts in white cardstock and a heat embossed birthday sentiment from The Stamps of Life.  The card base is SU's Shaded Spruce cardstock.

My last card was for The Paper Players #447 - A Sketch Challenge from Jaydee.  I like this sketch...very clean!

More distressing on this one! The Mermaid Tail (Ellen Hutson) was embossed and blended. I added some Pixie Dust for sparkle - I wish the pic showed that.  The distressed blue cardstock layer was clear heat embossed with the same 'Bubbles' background stamp (Hero Arts) as the card base. I die cut some grass (Memory Box) and popped up the tail.  The heat embossed sentiment is from the same Mermaid Tail stamp set. 

Thanks for stopping by ~ I hope you're having a great week!

Hugs,

Annie 

The Paper Players #446: A CAS Challenge from Claire

Hi there! Summer is just a day away and Claire's CAS challenge over at The Paper Players is a perfect way to celebrate:

I immediately had to go with lemonade for my summer beverage. Truth be told I pretty much can drink this all year round! Plain or with strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries or maybe even an Arnold Palmer? All sound good to me!

First I stamped, watercolored (with Zigs) and die cut lemons and blossoms from Ellen Hutson's 'Squeeze the Day' for a juicy cluster. The sentiment from Stamps of Life was masked off and stamped with VersaFine Clair 'Nocturne' and 'Cheerful' inks on the Neenah Solar White card base. Fun challenge!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Summer!

Hugs,

Annie

  

Super Duper Birthday

Hi there! Today the weather is a lot cooler and I spent some time playing along with a couple of challenges.  The Paper Players #445 is a Color Challenge from Anne Marie:

Loved this color combo so I put together a birthday card for the PP challenge and also wanted to link up to the Seize the Birthday Challenge #167 - Anything Goes:

I just received a new stamp set from Ellen Hutson that featured a scooter which I had to have! I actually have a scooter like many folks do down at the beach...mine is red, of course!

The stamp set is called 'Good Times' and is from the newest release by Julie. And for a change, I used almost every stamp in the set for this card.  The images were simply colored with Copics because that's how I roll...simply. I layered a scrap of MFT DSP before adding the die cuts. The balloons, little French bulldog with shades, and the beep beep sentiment were all popped up before adding some sequins to the party.  The inside sentiment says "Let the GOOD TIMES roll." 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you're having a great week and a fun Father's Day this weekend. I'm going to have lunch with my son who is an absolute awesome Dad to my DGS...so proud!

Hugs,

Annie

The Paper Players #444: Ann's Theme Challenge

Hi friends! I made a card this morning to play along over at The Paper Players:

The summer vacation theme is a fun one. Although I really don't have any vacation plans right now, when you live at the beach it's almost like a vacation every day!

The flamingos are having a splash party at the beach and it looks like one of my birdbaths right now with at least 5 robins in it!  I inked the birds with Distress Ink and lightly misted with water before stamping. I also masked the card base and stamped the brush stroke background stamp in coral ink.  The sentiment was white heat embossed and layered over a DSP scrap. Here are the supplies I used: 

Rubbernecker Stamps' Splash Party

Distress Inks for watercoloring

Hero Arts Sentiment

Hero Arts Background Stamp - Brush strokes

Honey Bee Deckle Edge Dies

Neenah Solar White cardstock

Distress Watercolor Paper

Bazzill Licorice cardstock

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,

Annie

The Paper Players #443 - LeAnne's Sketch

Hi there! This week over at The Paper Players is a sketch challenge from the lovely LeAnne:

I started out with a simple card idea for a dear friend. It ended up being completely different than what I had imagined but that happens sometimes, right?!

Lots of inking going on with this one! Would you believe it started out with a white card base and layer. I started stamping and blending some Catherine Pooler Sage ink and just kept going.  I thought it was such a pretty color 😁. The watercolored stamped images are also from Catherine Pooler - 'Fluttering Friends' and 'F as in...' 

Thanks, LeAnne, for a fun sketch! Hope you all are having a great week!

Hugs,

Annie

Paper Players #442 - CAS Challenge from Laurie

Well, all the crafting stars aligned and I was able to play today.  I made four different cards and the first one I'm posting is for The Paper Players latest challenge for a Clean & Simple project with a "Plants" theme:

I was in a watercoloring mood and EUREKA, I found a stamp set in my stash that I had never used before! I'm sure I'm not the only one that has happened too 😉. It sure makes me happy! The set I used is from Art Impressions and I watercolored with Zig markers on Bristol cardstock.

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

Hugs,

Annie

The Paper Players #438: A CAS Challenge from Anne Marie

I thought 'what fun' when I saw the CAS Challenge from Anne Marie over at The Paper Players this week! 

I haven't paper pieced in forever and was more than happy to try this challenge out.  I'm not a great fussy cutter anymore so that probably has something to do with it!  I know it's why I picked these cute boots to stamp...easy to fussy cut 😄

Stamps of Life 'boots4rain' stamp set

Great Impressions sentiment stamp

MFT DSP

MFT Inks

Nuvo Glitter Gloss (for the puddle)

I love me some cute boots and living down at the beach, I traded in high heels for some pretty wild ones!  I hope you have a great week and thanks for stopping by.

The Paper Players #435: Laurie's Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge

Hello! Today's card is linking up to the current challenge over at The Paper Players:

I ended up with the diagonal (although that's not what I planned!) LOL! The card includes bunnies from Mama Elephant's Bunny Hop  (EASTER), embossed sentiment from Rosie's Roadshow (EMBOSSING), and a strip of DSP from My Favorite Things (PATTERNED PAPER).

I did some simple coloring of the bunnies with Prismacolor pencils, die cut them, and layered over a white card base. I used MFT's cloud stencil and Distress Ink to create a springy sky and finished it off with a strip of the black/white DSP. I love these cute guys and gals! 

Thanks for stopping by ~ I hope you're having a great week. We had April showers this morning and the weeds plants are really growing now!