[Paperplay Challenges] Week 47 - Being Thankful

Note: If you are looking for DYSU challenge - please keep scrolling :)

Happy Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you are enjoying friends and family. I am currently enjoying some vacation with friends in Hong Kong, enjoying the warm, warm weather. I am getting some hiking, good food, and major relaxing! If you are looking for a good challenge PaperPlay Challenge has the right thing for ya! And in honor of Thanksgiving, the theme is Being Thankful.

Thifs is a quick card...almost a one-layer!


Stamps: (Botanical Silhouettes) Papertrey Ink
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Fine Linen) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Memento - Tuxedo Black, London Fog) Tsukineko
Embellishments: (Saddle-stitch Ribbon - Fine Linen) Papertrey Ink; (Chip Shapes) Studio Calico

I stamped the sentiment off, since I wanted it as close to the edge as possible. The botanical silhouettes is a nice stamp set. I really love the black silhouette flower against the grey.



The butterflies from Studio Calico are super cute! They have the perfect neutral color and compliment the rest of the card. The chipboard accents helps weight the top left against the black silhouette flowers, imho. Or maybe I was just looking for an excuse to finally use them :)

Please check out what the other PPC girls have prepared for this Thanksgiving and enjoy the time with family and friends!

Our sponsors this week:

• Bunny Zoe's Craft

[DYSU] Challenge #47 - Grass

[2011.11.24 - Edited] If you read the first version of this blog post and it sounded like gibberish, I apologize. This has been fixed now :)

Hello avid DYSU-ers and lovely readers! How are you today? This blog post is pre-scheduled, so here is hoping that it goes off without a hitch. This week I'll be showcasing how to take a Grass theme, make it into a lovey-dovey fall card. As cheerful as the inspiration picture is, I could not get myself to do something summery...

Grass is easy to incorporate when the digi I get to play with has grass! Dearie Dolls made these really adorable digis. This one is called "Windy, Windy Day."


Stamps: (Windy, Windy Day) Dearie Dolls Digis; (Out on a Limb Revised) Papertrey Ink; (Falling For You) My Favorite Things
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Vintage Cream) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock - Cream) Recollection; (Earth Love) Cosmo Cricket
Ink: (Jenni Bowlin - No. 3 Chili Powder, No. 5 Chicken Feed, No. 6 Stick Candy, No. 8 Soap Powder, No. 11 Brown Sugar) Ranger
Embellishments: (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor; (Stickles - Diamond) Ranger; (Nestabilities - Label One) Spellbinders; (Leeza Gibbons Legacies - Decorative Ribbon) Xyron

I decided to extrapolate the grass and windy leaves onto the card. The ribbon is actually velvety, which is perfect for a fall touch...and it had the perfect fall colors! And I could not resist the punny sentiment from a MFT set. Here an up-close look of the lil digi...



Anyways, I am keeping this short and sweet. Go hang out and see the other grassy creations from the DYSU girls. If you have a cute grass border punch, green markers, pencils or inks, or any fun pattern paper, it's easy peasy. So come play :)

Our sponsors this week:

Dearie Dolls Winner’s Choice of 4 Digis

Love To Stamp Winner’s Choice of 1 Little Darlings Rubber Stamps

Stitchy Bear $10 Gift Voucher

[Scrap Our Stash] November Challenge - Recipe Challenge

Lots of things have been going on at the office, including one of the co-workers becoming a new parent. So in honor of the new daddy role, I madde a couple of baby cards. For inspiration I used the Scrap Our Stash's November Challenge where we are using a Recipe. Kathy has challenged us with:

5 embellishments
4 words or letters
3 pictures
2 pattern paper
1 solid papers

This card is to welcome a little baby into the world and give the parents three cheers!


Stamps: (Sewing Box Hugs) Waltzingmouse Stamps; (Mega Mixed Messages, Just for You) Papertrey Ink; (Snag 'em Stamps - Baby Powder Collection: Giraffe)
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Lemon Tart) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock - Cream) Recollections; (Hometown Summer) Pink Paislee
Ink: (Jenni Bowlin - No. 6 Candy Stick, No. 8 Soap Powder, No. 11 Brown Sugar) Ranger; (Pigment Ink - Gold) Recollections
Embellishments: (Inkssentials - Glossy Accents; Stickles - Diamond) Ranger; (Rhinestones) Recollections; (Double-tipped Marker) Prismacolor; (Value Ribbon) Target; (Yellow Rope) Recycled

I managed to cramp the whole recipe onto this little card ;) Yep - go ahead and check :D



This giraffe is so cute, isn't it? I thought the Glossy Accents would be able to give the little guy a little special something to "shine" without sparkling light a Christmas tree. The blue & green color scheme is a great palette to make the yellow really stand out. This card has a recycled element from a bag that I saved (the yellow rope). And the blue rhinestone is a great accent, and so are the clear, sparkly Stickles...

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Check out the Scrap Our Stash's November Challenge. You have until the end of the month to finish up. Perhaps some time over Thanksgiving, while the other are out shopping in madness ;)

[Mami Doodles] Challenge #38 - Fairy Tales are Realmam

Happy Friday, Everyone! I've been busy packing and preparing for my vacation. So I kinda forgot to post about our Mami Doodle challenge: Fairy Tales are Real. Speaking of which, I better start pre-posting all my entries up here :)

For this challenge I am showing an oldie but goodie digi Mr. Mouse's Christmas. Aren't they super adorable?


Stamps: (Mr. Mouse's Christmas) Mami Doodles; (Season's Of Love, Frame-It) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - White) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Memento - Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko; (Jenni Bowlin - No. 2 Cough Syrup) Ranger
Embellishments: (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor; (Stickles - Red, Gold) Ranger

Christmas to me is a magical time! Growing up we had many white Christmases, and it was a time when I had imagined a bunch of magical, extra mice picking up the slack to clean, dust, prep and make it all perfect for the Christkindl to come. All the extra baking and cooking must have been done by many, little secret helpers! I think somewhere along my childhood I watched the Disney version of Cinderella one too many times ;) 



I wanted to off-set the sentiments differently in each card. With this Mr. Mouse I didn't realize where I stamped the frame until it was too late. Since he was already colored so nicely, I didn't want to re-do it! This next little Mr. Mouse is a cutey...



My favorite is this little guy. Isn't this little Christmas tree just adorable? The star is made out of puffy gold glitter. It's quite a perfect reminder to "Keep Christmas in your heart..."



Anyways, go check out the rest of the DT's inspiration and give it your best twist in incorporating something magical! Prizes are to be had, and the Christmas season is just around the corner. So, come play along :) 

[Waltzingmouse Blog Waltz] Celebrating Christmas

Note: If you are looking for DYSU challenge - please keep scrolling :)

Hello Waltzingmouse Fans! This is my favorite part of the month, and since I can't play along consistently in all the challenges, I try to make it for the waltz. If you're new to the Waltzingmouse Blog Waltz, you can read all about it here. Come check out the amazing creations and come waltz along for endless fun & inspiration, and make a new friend or two along the way.

This waltz's theme is Christmas and if you know anything about Claire's work, you know she really does Christmas designs so well! It's one of her favorite holidays and she really makes fantastic stamps!


Stamps: (Twas the Night Before Christmas, Flourishes - Scallops & Dots, Very Vintage Christmas) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Fine Linen) Papertrey Ink; (Peppermint Collection) Crate Paper; (Life Stories - Collection 1) My Mind's Eye
Ink: (Perfect Match Pigment Ink - Vintage Cream) Papertrey Ink; (Jenni Bowlin - No. 9 Brown Sugar) Ranger; (Brilliance - Moonlight White) Tsukineko
Embellishments: (Peppermint Collection - Stand Outs, Chipboard Accents) Crate Paper; (Topnotch Twill Tape 3/8" - Fine Linen) Papertrey Ink

I really have been wanting to stamp the entire Christmas poem for a long time now. I also saw some of My Mind's Eye paper lying around that I had unpacked from my last Two Pea's order. Life's Stories was a promotional gift, for buying 20$ worth of MME products, and I decided the Blue Damask was the perfect pattern paper for it. This card is an interpretation on this week's sketch. If you squint hard enough, you can see all elements on the card, just flipped, transposed or rotated ;)

I added a cute little chipboard component onto the little rosette, created a little tag, and added a piece of ribbon along the card. This Fine Linen color is starting to become my go-to color.



Anyways, I hope this card adds a little inspiration to get going on the Christmas creations. Thanks for taking the time to visit and make sure to hop along and see the other girl's creations!

[DYSU] Challenge #46 - Splash of Blue

Hello girls! It's almost the end of the week and I'm a few more days closer to my vacation! Yay! But today we have a challenge to use a Splash of Blue on your cards, paper projects or anything else...

I am using one of my favorite The Craft's Meow stamps from Nina B Designs and created a card that fits almost all occasions, be it for a wedding congrats, a quick hello, or a way to thank someone.


Stamps: (Nina B Designs - Simply Delightful) The Craft's Meow
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Kraft) Papertrey Ink; (Sweetbay) Memory Box Co
Ink: (Memento - London Fog, Tuxedo Black; Versamark) Tsukineko; (Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Antique Linen) Ranger
Embellishments: (Very Vintage Buttons - White; Saddle Stitch Ribbon - True Black) Papertrey Inks; (Embossing Powder - Ebony) Martha Stewart

It has a quirky vintage but also modern feel. Vintage modern! Does that even exist? I took some blue pattern paper from Memory Box Co and stamped the doily flower on it. I wanted one black one to stand out and decided to anchor it on the corner.



A nice elegant black embossing for the sentiment and a thick, elegant saddle stitch ribbon to make a nice statement. I also inked up the edges with some Antique Linen to soften the pattern paper.



I found this shimmery button in my mix of White buttons from my Very Vintage Papertrey stash, and it reminded me like mother of pearl. It's quite divine and decided it makes a great finishing touch. What do you think?

Don't forget to visit the other DYSU girls and see how they added their version of a splash of blue. Then come and play along, since prizes are are stake, as well as bragging rights :) Since it's time for holiday cards production, there is plenty of way to make this inspiration fit, such as blue snowflakes, blue skies, some non-traditional Christmas colors, Hanukkah...you name it!

Our sponsors this week:

Robyn's Fetish Winner’s Choice of EITHER 5 digital stamps OR 4 digital stamps and 1 paper pack

Mami Doodles 4 Digital Images

Raindrop Echo Drops Winner’s Choice of 4 Digi Sentiment Sets

Winner for TCM's Little Frieda & Lulu

I promised to draw a winner last Friday. Unfortunately my internet has been out since Friday morning and only came back on Monday night. To top it off, I've been sick, down with a fever and sore throat. Yick!

Anyways, I'm here to announce the winner for Little Frieda & Lulu - Mischief

Marlena M. said...
Such a sweet card! ;)

I think the set TCM set Fly Free is amazing. ;)
NOVEMBER 4, 2011 3:17 AM

Congrats! Marlena, please send me your address by emailing me (check the left side bar for my email address).

[Papertrey Princesses] Ink Up An Oldie But Goodie...

Hello girls! Sorry for the day-late post and a big thank you for being so patient with me! I finally had a chance to ink up some stamps last night. 

The year is almost over, and it's time look back on a few things, including your stash. What did you realize about yours? Here are a few highlights of this year: Mine has grown in pattern paper (oh such a vice of mine!) and in new stamps. I also picked up some new products to try, such as liquid pearls, more chipboards, "new" brands and paper collections that have caught my eye, and I started slowly upgrading my ink pads to the Jenni Bowlin Dye inks *swoon* However, I realized some of my oldie but goodie favorite didn't get a chance to get as much inky love. So here is my challenge to you, dust of your old first loves and create something around your favorite stamp sets.

Needless to say, they include a lot of the basic Papertrey Ink sets and the cute little Beetle from Enjoy the Ride. Here is a CASE on my friend Belinda's card. I have a sweet neighbor who had an 80th birthday and that's quite a milestone!


Stamps: (Polka Dot Basics, Enjoy the Ride, Botanical Silhouette) Papertrey Ink
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Spring Rain, Smokey Shadow, White) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Jenni Bowlin - No. 3 Chili Powder, No. 8 Soap Powder) Ranger; (Memento - Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko
Embellishments: (Vintage Buttons - Pure Poppy) Papertrey Ink; (Summer Days - Element Stickers) Echo Park; (Border Punch - Upper Crest) Fiskars; (Hero Hues - Gems) Hero Arts; (Silver thread) stash

This was a fun card to make. I really enjoy pulling out old stamp sets that I love very much. Some of these were some of my first PTI purchases, that never even kissed a Jenni Bowlin ink pad! 



The only festive button colors I had were red or green. But I thought a red beetle, like Belinda's, was super festive and fun and the Jenni Bowlin red matched quite well. I love the light blue ink; it matches Spring Rain so well and made a fun bottom border to match the clouds outlined in faux blue stitching...



I'm going to pop this into my neighbor's mail tomorrow. I hope he likes it! It's a tad late, since I only found out two days ago while chatting with him in the drive way.

I hope you like the challenge...the most important part is that you have fun with it :) Can't wait to see what you have all up your sleeves!

[Paperplay Challenges] Week 45 - Cracked Glass

Note: If you are looking for DYSU challenge - please keep scrolling :)

When I saw this week's theme of Cracked Glass I started panicking. I stayed away from this technique for such a long time with no reason in mind. I actually love using my heat gun and I enjoy melting particles, so why was this so foreign to me? This challenge gave me the perfect excuse to try a new technique. The girls on the team were kind enough to send me links to see this technique in action. I really like this tutorial by Heather because of the detail in the description. Thank you, Heather, for the great pictures and explanations!


Stamps: (Complements of the Season, Seasons of Love Tags) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Aqua Mist, Fine Linen, Enchanted Evening) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Jenni Bowlin - No. 9 Spice Tin, No. 8 Soap Powder; Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Antique Linen, Vintage Photo) Ranger; (Versamark) Tsukineko
Embellishments: (Melt Art UTEE) Ranger; (Nestabilities - Small Classic Circles, Classic Scalloped Circle Small) Spellbinders

I actually tried to pick up UTEE at my local scrapbooking store, but they only had available in 1-lb giant size. Where is the 4 oz or 8 oz jar when you need it? And at that prize I was not sure if I wanted to commit to loving this medium or not. Thankfully Scrapper's Cove has always been super accomodating and they send me home with a sample by scouring their workshop area for an already open UTEE product. Wohooo!

If you ask me now if I am a fan of UTEE, I'm not sure I have an opinion quite yet. This project took me longer than usual, and I had problems mastering the technique, resulting in either burnt fingers *outch*, a sample snapped in two (after the freezer technique) *yikes oh no!*, ripping the paper *oops...darn really another fail? le sigh...*, or almost all of the "epoxy" splintering right off my paper circle *oh are you kidding me?*. Over two evening sessions and 4 cracked glass attempts and almost no UTEE left, I had something that works. The finished product is cracked glass *yippee* but I was pretty frustrated. My jeans had lots of UTEE love snowed on to them, and my Macbook's keyboard got a fair share...any tips to keep the mess to a minimum? I don't have this issue with embossing powder...hrm.



My snowflakes come from two different Waltzingmouse sets, and I love how my Jenni Bowlin inks are stamping! I did stamp the snow flakes as a background as well as on my little circle. To give it that aged look, I distressed the circle with Antique Linen before applying the UTEE. I also ran some Vintage Photo after the cracks were created to give the cracks an older look as well...



Go check out the rest of the eye-popping projects at Paperplay Challenge Design Team and leave them some love. Please feel free to leave me some UTEE tips or a UTEE story. I want to learn from your experiences and give this medium another try...Oh and don't forget to play along ;) 

Our sponsors this week:

• Whiff of Joy

[DYSU] Challenge #45 - Inspired by Song

Currently my song obsessions "Moves like Jagger" from Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera. It's something that gets me in my work groove and I keep chugging along to it. And it's super happy. However, when this week's theme was  Inspired by a Song, my song didn't get my very far...

I am playing with a digi from Di's Digi Downloads, perfect for the winter season. Unless these little cuties are have moves like Jagger, my song obsession makes a very weak inspired card. So this week my song is something more classic "Winter Wonderland."


Stamps: (Which Way) Di's Digi Downloads
Paper: (Lucky Teal Cards & Envelopes) Creative Imaginations; (Basic Card Stock - Cream) Recollection
Ink: (Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Tumbled Glass) Ranger
Embellishments: (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor; (Liquid Pearls - White Opal) Ranger; (MT Deco Washi Tape Samekomo) Kamoi Kakoshi Co. Ltd; (Fun Flock - Cotton Ball White) Stampendous!

I picked up a few new supplies to play with, including this fabulous washi tape and liquid pearls. Have you seen Wendy's work with the liquid pearl? I have seen it on so many of her cards and felt inspired to try it. I definitely didn't have the patience to make each the same and just dabbed them on here and there. Next time I will have to use more discipline and patience and see if I can get mine half as perfect as hers. The up-close picture gives a nice detailed look on the new Tumbled Glass ink that I picked up.



Another angle to show off the liquid pearl effects on the sign. There is some three-dimensional glob over the sign and fun flock for the bear's hat.



Are you feeling the holiday season coming on? I was meeting my best friend in King of Prussia this past weekend and we noticed how the mall was already blasting forcefully all the holiday and Christmas tunes! Did we start this early last year? I haven't had a chance to think of what kind of hand-made Christmas gifts I want to make this year. I know I am pushing my luck with the deadlines looming this close, but can you blame me with the 70F degree weather we have been having? I rather go spend a few precious warm and sun-lit days outside :)

Anyways, enough about holiday woes. Off you go to check out the other wonderful creations of the DYSU girls. I am sure you have a favorite song currently playing in your head; and if not, just head to any mall, I bet they are playing something holiday-ish to inspire you.

Our sponsors this week:

Di's Digi Downloads Winner’s Choice of 5 Digis

Dearie Dolls JLJ Designs $10 Gift Certificate

Reminder: TCM Little Frieda & Lulu Mischief...

to give away here. All you have to do is leave a comment, telling me which of the TCM stamps is your favorite by this Friday noon on this blog entry.

[DYSU] Challenge #44 - Teal

This is one of those weeks where I am counting my lucky stars to be on the road and enjoying living in a hotel. Well, one can't complain too much if it's the Sheraton, since they have pretty good housekeeping and comfy beds, not to mention I almost always get an upgrade. The internet is still out at my house, and I was told that it would take 5-7 days for Comcast to fix it. Since the internet has been out since Saturday, it will make it a whopping 9-11 days in a row with no service. That's a significant percentage of a month and their service is not cheap. *Le Sigh*

So please bear with me if you aren't getting comments or if I seem MIA. In the meantime we have a new challenge at DYSU to tie you over. All things Teal is what we're looking for...

We are sponsored by a personal favorite of mine: The Craft's Meow. When I heard of this news I was squealing with glee. In fact, good thing no one was home to witness the oh-so-very-embarrassing girlie display. I was sent a sweet little stamp set called Little Frieda & Lulu - Mischief, which I actually already have in my stash. So, guess what? Leave a message telling me which one of The Craft's Meow stamp set if your favorite and why and I will pull a random comment to give away my extra Little Frieda & Lulu - Mischief! Just because... ;) Shall we give this a week or so before I draw a winner?


Stamps: (Little Frieda & Lulu - Mischief) The Craft's Meow
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Kraft, Vintage Cream) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Vintage Photo, Antique Linen); (Memento - Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko
Embellishments: (Mister Huey - Lunch Tray) Studio Calico; (6x6 Template - Mini Flower Frenzy) The Crafter's Workshop; (Stella & Rose Decorative Trims - Mabel "Little Lady" Trims) My Mind's Eye; (Border Punch - Apron Lace) Fiskars

My inspiration and starting point is actually from the current TCM sketch. It's a fun one, isn't it?

If you squint you can tell that I moved the scalloped edge into the card frame itself and moved the trim to the bottom. I tried oh so hard to put a bow and tag in but the card got so cluttered and I really wanted the Mister Huey and my new template to take full effect. So I left it off, and am truly hoping the TCM girls can still see the sketch inspiration in this lil darling card.



Did I mention how much fun I had creating this Teal card? Go see what the other amazing girls on the DYSU blog are whipping up. And don't forget to play along in our DYSU weekly challenge and the TCM sketch challenge!

And if you like this stamp, leave a comment.

Our sponsors this week:

The Craft's Meow Winner’s Choice of 1 Stamp Set

Dearie Dolls Winner's Choice of 4 Digis

Copic Marker Scrapbooking 6 Copic Ciao Markers (North/South America), Martha Stewart punch (rest of the world)