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Monday, July 30, 2012

The Paper Players Challenge #106 - Tic Tac Toe!

This week The Paper Players are holding a Tic Tac Toe Challenge.  I absolutely love these challenges as they are a great springboard for ideas, by offering lots of different options, as there are 8 possible combinations to try!

I've used the diagonal option of floral/dry embossing/favourite colour.  Here's my creation:-


You've probably already noticed that I am an easy pushover for anything blue, particularly the aqua/teal tonings.  Here I've used Baja Breeze & Island Indigo.  I've teamed these blues with some crisp white, which has been scored with the diagonal score plate.  Sorry, but I just couldn't capture the colour of the flowers accurately, the large flower is much deeper IRL even though it looks kind of turquoise in these photos!  :(  Actually the whole photo is kinda dodgy! - the panels are cut straight, but the perspective is all skewed & the colours are off, so this is one of those cards that look much better in real life than in the photo!!

I've been hoarding some gorgeous wool felt, which I found in my local quilting/haberdashery shop.  I was lucky enough to find quite a few pieces that matched SU cardstock colours (woohoo!)  Before I cut out the indigo flower, I layered it onto a piece of cardstock, using a piece of Multipurpose Adhesive sheet.  I cut it with the Blossom Party Die, then gave it some texture by embossing with the Square Lattice embossing folder.  The bonus about this technique is that it also adds dimension to the flower, by giving the petals a subtle curl.  Here's a close up of the flower:-


The rest of the Team have an awesome array of fantastic designs to inspire you, so please pop on by:-

Lesley Croghan (back next week!) - Always Playing with Paper
Ann Schach - The Stampin' Schach
Anne Marie Hile - Stampin' Anne
Jaydee - Jaydee's Stamping
LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings
Nance Leedy - Canopy Crafts
Amy White - White House Stamping
Dawn Easton - Treasure Oiler Designz
Jen Arkfeld - Stamped Silly

& here is the Tic Tac Toe grid, so you can choose your line & then share with us what you have created (click on the graphic to take you to the challenge):-



Hope you can join us this week!  :)

Card Components: (All SU except for felt)
Cardstock:  Baja Breeze, Island Indigo, Whisper White
Ink:  Island Indigo, Versamark
Stamps:  Vintage Vogue, Pennant Parade
Other:  Blossom Party Die, Big Shot Multipurpose Adhesive Sheet, InColor Brad, Word Window Punch, Jewellery Tag Punch, Scoring Tool
Non SU:  Wool felt

Sunday, July 22, 2012

The Paper Players #105 - Jaydee's Sketch

As soon as I saw Jaydee's sketch for this week, I knew exactly what card I wanted to create!  We have friends heading off to Europe soon, & their itinerary includes Paris, & in particular, the Eiffel Tower.  The panel in the sketch housed my Tower perfectly!  Thanks Jaydee.  :)


Here's my bon voyage card:-




& here is the sketch, which I have mirrored (because the tower just didn't look quite right positioned on the other side, lol):-


(Click on the graphic to go straight to the Challenge)

I've used the Parlor Prints background, stamped in Versamark & clear embossed, to get that luxurious, shiny background.  The Tower has been embossed with black embossing powder.  The sentiment was first coloured with a Versamark marker & then coloured with a Baja Breeze marker, stamped & clear embossed.  To get the longer than normal tag shape, I've punched the word window first, then used the tag punch to create the straight & tabbed ends (there are some pictures in this post, if you would like more detail).


The rest of the Team have some delightful creations to inspire you, so make sure you visit them all & then play along:-

Lesley Croghan (on a break) - Always Playing with Paper
Ann Schach - The Stampin' Schach
Anne Marie Hile (on a mini break) - Stampin' Anne
Jaydee - Jaydee's Stamping
LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings
Nance Leedy - Canopy Crafts
Amy White - White House Stamping
Dawn Easton - Treasure Oiler Designz
Jen Arkfeld - Stamped Silly

Card Components:  All SU except for ribbon
Cardstock:  Basic Black, Baja Breeze, Shimmery White
Inks:  Versamark, Baja Breeze
Stamps:  Artistic Etchings, Oval All ("fabulous" friend sentiment)
Other:  Clear Embossing Powder, Black Embossing Powder, Word Window Punch, Jewellery Tag Punch, Dimensionals, Antique Brad
Non SU:  Black Satin Ribbon

Sunday, July 15, 2012

The Paper Players #104 - Wordsmith Happy Birthday!


LeAnne has a fabulous challenge this week:-


I was totally inspired by LeAnne's awesome design last week, which featured diagonal sentiment stamping.  So I have really put my sentiment to work on this card, using it as both the main element & the background:-


I've kept the layout really clean & simple, using only skinny mats & a single rhinestone to embellish my card.  The sentiment panel is popped up on dimensionals.

To get the tonal graduation in the stamping, I used the trusty stampamajig & four shades of blue ink.  I alternated lines of stamping in a solid colour with lines of stamping that had the bottom half of the sentiment inked in the next darkest colour.

We hope you can play along with us this week.  Make sure you visit all the team for some fabulous inspiration:-

Lesley Croghan (on a break)- Always Playing with Paper
Ann Schach - The Stampin' Schach
Anne Marie Hile - Stampin' Anne
Jaydee - Jaydee's Stamping
LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings
Nance Leedy (on a break) - Canopy Crafts
Vicki Burdick (filling in) - It's A Stamp Thing
Amy White - White House Stamping
Dawn Easton - Treasure Oiler Designz
Jen Arkfeld - Stamped Silly

Card Components:  (All SU)
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy
Stamps:  Happiest Birthday Wishes
Inks:  Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Not Quite Navy
Other:  Basic Jewel, Dimensionals

Mini Flower Pot Tutorial

Hithere, I have been receiving lots of requests for instructions on the mini flower pot I designed earlier this year (look here for another example in pastel colours):-


This one has been attached to a centre step card (look here for another example of this style):-


I created a tute for these but found I was unable to keep up with emailing out the requests, so, thanks to some great advice & help from the very lovely Paula Dobson (go check out her work - it's amazing!), I am pleased to advise you can grab your own copy from Google Drive (formerly Google Docs).

In return, I ask that you:-

  • give credit back to my original design - if you upload a photo of your pot(s), please add a link back to this post, so that others can grab their own copy of the tute
  • leave me a comment so I know that you have been
  • if you have any constructive criticism, please let me know that too, I'll take it on board for any future tutes I create

Thanks so much for your assistance.  :)

You will find the flower pot instructions HERE & the measurements for the centre step card HERE.

Enjoy your paper gardening!!! 

Helen ♥

Project Components:
All the materials & tools used to create the two samples shown here are from Stampin' Up!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

The Paper Players Challenge #103 - Anne Marie's Colours!

This week at the Paper Players, Anne Marie has some fabulous, zesty colours to play with.  Here is my card:-


& the gorgeous palette:-

(click on the graphic to go straight to the Challenge)

I'm not sure if this technique has a particular name, but there are lots of layers. Here's a sideways look:-


The rest of the Team have beautiful creations to inspire you with, so I've listed the links to their individual blogs:-

Lesley Croghan (on a break) - Always Playing with Paper
Amy White - White House Stamping
Ann Schach - The Stampin' Schach
Anne Marie Hile - Stampin' Anne
Dawn Easton - Treasure Oiler Designz
Jaydee - Jaydee's Stamping
Jen Arkfeld - Stamped Silly
LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings
Nance Leedy (on a break) - Canopy Crafts
Vicki Burdick (filling in) - It's A Stamp Thing

Hope you can play along with us.  :)

Card Components: (all SU)
Cardstock:  Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral & Daffodil Delight, White Shimmer
DSP:  Brights Stack
Inks: Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral & Daffodil Delight
Stamps:  Mixed Bunch, Sock Monkey (retired)
Other:  Blossom Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, SAB Brads, Ice Cream Parlor Buttons, Ruffled Ribbon, Dimensionals

Sunday, July 1, 2012

The Paper Players Challenge #102 - Christmas In July!

This week I am very excited to be joining the Design Team at the Paper Players (for a six month term).  How awesome is that???   :)

Ann has this fun theme challenge for you, so pull out your Christmas papers & seasonal stamps, & come  play along!


(click on the graphic to go straight to the Challenge)

Not having any Christmas paper in my stash, I've chosen to make my own, using the emboss resist method.  Here's my project:-


I've stamped the lacy flower image with versamark, heat embossed with iridescent ice embossing powder, to get shine & sparkle, & then sponged the images with pool party ink to make the intricate design really pop!

The sentiment has been stamped on a strip of cardstock & then I've inserted the strip in through the base of the modern label punch to get the fancy shape at either end.


I've also made some matching mini "glimmer" brads (details at the end of the post).

Hope you can join in the fun at The Paper Players!

Here are the links to the rest of the Team:-

Lesley Croghan (on a break)- Always Playing with Paper
Ann Schach - The Stampin' Schach
Anne Marie Hile - Stampin' Anne
Jaydee - Jaydee's Stamping
LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings
Nance Leedy (on a break) - Canopy Crafts
Vicki Burdick (filling in) - It's A Stamp Thing

& my fellow newbies:-
Amy White - White House Stamping
Dawn Easton - Treasure Oiler Designz
Jen Arkfeld - Stamped Silly


Thanks for looking.

Helen  :)

How to make your own sparkly brads:-
  • Hold the brad with a pair of long handled tweezers so you don't burn your fingers.
  • Ink the head of the brad with white staz on ink.
  • Once the staz on is dry, ink the brad with versamark ink, then your chosen ink colour (I used pool party), then dip the brad head straight into iridescent ice embossing powder.  
  • Heat set.
  • Ink the brad again with versamark, then your chosen ink colour & dip straight into iridescent ice embossing powder.
  • Heat set.
It's a bit of a process, but it's nice to have sparkly, matching brads.  :)

Card Components (All SU)
Cardstock:  Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake
Stamps:  Mixed Bunch, Snow Swirled, Contempo Christmas
Inks:  Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Versamark
Other:  Modern Label Punch, Pinking Hearts Border Punch, Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Mini Brads, Pool Party Seam Binding, Dimensionals