PP63: My Dear Kind & Wonderful Friend

This week at the Paper Players, Nance has challenged us with a stunning color combination. These are not colors that I would naturally throw together, but they work together so perfectly. We actually made this card at my workshop on Thursday. My girls didn't know it...but, they got a sneak peek ;) I must say...this was one of their favorites of the night:


I think my favorite part of the card is the layering of these colors. The gray on the focal image and the postage stamps brings it all together with the gray card base. Those cute postage stamps were some of my new goodies that I pulled out: the Pretty Postage stamp set and the Postage Stamp punch. Can you see a theme here? This card originally started out as a postcard design....but, you can see that it transformed itself.

Have these colors inspired you to hit the craft room and create a project? Be sure to pop on over to the Paper Players blog to see what the other talented ladies have created...and better yet, upload your creation. We'd love to see it!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Ann Marie Hile

Rita (for Jaydee)

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao

Sandra Conner (September GD)

Stamps: Pretty Postage, Because I Care & All Holidays
Paper: Basic Gray, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive and Whisper White Cardstock
Ink: Basic Gray, Rich Razzleberry & Old Olive Classic Pads
Accessories: Postage Stamp Punch, Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Ribbon, Green Rhinestone Brad and Pop Dots/Dimensionals

The Cherry Cobbler Gazette

This card is a CASE of Ilina Crouse's card seen here. The design was simple and the colors were gorgeous! See those yummy red raspberries, that print is trimmed down from a full sheet in the Botanical Gazette DSP.

To go along with the card, I created a coordinating petal cone. The vanilla was a little plain, so I spruced it up by stamping a butterfly on the cardstock before putting it together. It's adds a nice little touch.

On a final note, did you notice anything different about the flower on the petal cone? There's a brad in the center and it's one I've never used before. It's taken a year, but I finally ordered the Antique Brads. This brad added the prefect vintage-y feel to the design.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Nature Walk & Because I Care
Paper: Cherry Cobbler & Very Vanilla Cardstock; Botanical Gazette DSP
Ink: Cherry Cobbler Classic Ink
Accessories: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Petal Cone Die, Fun Flowers Die, Antique Brads, Cherry Cobble Seam Binding, Mat Pack & Paper Piercer and Glue Dots

SCIC45: Simple Elegance

Hi All! Is this photo full of inspiration or what? I was asked to be a guest designer over at Stampin Celebration and upon seeing it, I was immediately drawn to the colors, those beautiful polka dots on the cupcakes and the punched heart images.

I decided to work with the color combo, as I LOVE Crumb Cake and Basic Black together. I tried to work in some Very Vanilla, but decided against it. I wanted to keep the card simple with clean lines and the Fifth Avenue Floral set immediately popped to mind.

The flower images on the left came to me naturally, but I really struggled with the right half of the card. One flower in the bottom corner didn't see like enough to balance it, so I improvised and added a flower in between. The line is a bit straight to me, but I think it works.

Do you see the flowers peeking out from the back panel on the card? I popped up the front panel and added these to give the card a bit more dimension. Love the effect!

If you've found inspiration in this photo, I hope you'll join us in sharing your creation. I would love to see what you do. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral (113734) & Because I Care (118384 or 120118)
Paper: Crumb Cake (120953) & Basic Black (121045) Cardstock
Ink: Basic Black Classic Pad (101179)
Accessories: Modern Label Punch (119849), Movers & Shapers-Punch Windows (115953), 5/8" Black Satin Ribbon (117285), Rhinestones (119246) and Dimensionals/Pop Dots (104430)

Black & White Bliss

I was reading through my blogs recently and stumbled upon this beautiful card by Tina at My Therapy, My Creations. It's classic Black & White Beauty!

I switched up a couple of things on my card: I added a Scallop Circle Mat, created my own DSP using the medallion stamp from Artistic Etchings and my 'For You' is from the Elements of Style set. I love how everything works together.

Most importantly, I finally got to use the New Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder. It's the bottom white mat and just exudes elegance. Love it!

Stamps: Because I Care, Elements of Style & Artistic Etchings
Paper: Basic Black and Whisper White Cardstock
Ink: Basic Black Classic Pad
Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, 1" & 1 1/4" Circle Punches, Black Satin Ribbon, Scallop Circle & Circle Nesties & Dimensionals/Pop Dots

Bonjour Baja!

Welcome back Baja Breeze! As it was one of my favorite In Colors, I'm glad to see it's here to stay. My card today was inspired by a card Jo-Ann Pullen designed here. If you haven't been to her blog, you must hop on over. Her sense of style is amazing!

What drew me to this card was the Baja Breeze and Basic Black color combination. Add in some Very Vanilla and it is just classy! If you look closely, you can see I pulled out my Versamark pad for the design on the Baja mat. Any of the images in this set would be fun to play with and make your own background design. You'll have to give it a try.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Artistic Etchings & Because I Care
Paper: Baja Breeze and Very Vanilla Cardstock
Ink: Baja Breeze & Basic Black Classic Pads; Versamark
Accessories: Modern Label Punch & Sheer Black Ribbon

'Share'ing in Your Sorrow

This is a shameless CASE of Jen Sannes card seen here. I fell in love with how simply stated the design and color palette were. I kept these elements the same and changed up the sentiment and brad accessory.

The 'Sharing in Your Sorrow' sentiment is from the Thoughts and Prayers Stamp Set. This set is great as it has sentiments perfect for Get Well, Thinking of You and Bereavement cards. It also has two botanical images of a tree and flowers that can be used for any type of card.

Thoughts & Prayers is just one of the many stamp sets carried over from the old catalog to the new. Let me know if you need a new catalog to browse through. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Because I Care and Thoughts & Prayers
Paper: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede & Whisper White Cardstock
Ink: Crumb Cake & Soft Suede Classic Pads
Accessories: Linen Thread, Epoxy Brad, 1/16" Circle Punch, Mat Pack & Paper Piercer

Sneak Peak #2 Because I Care

For our vacation this summer, we went on a 10-Day driving adventure to Portland, OR from Phoenix, AZ. It was our son's first road trip. We had a great time and saw sooo many wonderful things. Oregon is one beautiful state!

While there, one drizzly afternoon, we headed off to a botanical garden. Once we got there, the weather let up and it was a photographer's paradise. There were so many beautiful flowers...none of which I could grow in AZ. I think that's what made them so special.

These Hydrangeas were the inspiration for my card. This new stamp set is called Because I care. It is a Level 1 Hostess set and can be earned with a workshop or order that reaches $150. For my colors, I used Bashful Blue and the *New* Pear Pizzazz. I did something I've never done before for this card. I used a Blender Pen to color the flower. I pressed ink onto the inside of my stamp pad cover dipped my pen in and used that as my ink. It worked perfectly!

What have you drawn inspiration from in the past? I'd love to hear.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Because I Care
Paper: Very Vanilla & Bashful Blue Cardstock
Ink: Bashful Blue, Pear Pizzazz & Stazon - Jet Black Ink
Accessories: Nesties, Blender Pens, 1/4" Bashful Blue Grosgrain Ribbon & Dimensionals/Pop Dots