Sunday, June 14, 2026

PP790 Color Challenge from Christy

Happy Sunday, peeps!  Christy is our hostess at the Paper Players this week and she has an awesome color challenge for us:


I admit that those hues gave me a bit of a pause at first!  I needed a birthday card for one of my great-nephews who is turning four, so....four colors, four crayons, here we go:


I just got this fun crayon set from Spellbinders and had not had a chance to get it inky, so this was the perfect time!  I hope Cole doesn't mind a "Strawberry Slush" crayon and think the color is too girly, LOL!  I stamped and diecut each of the crayons out using the challenge colors, then added a sentiment from the same set and mounted everything on a polka-dot embossed mat:



I just love those cute little faces! A sentiment from Concord & 9th went on the inside:


This will be winging its way in a few days to the birthday boy!  I know these colors are a bit challenging but check out what the Paper Players DT did with them to get some inspiration, then come play with us! We can't wait to see your creations!  Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Crayon Creations (Spellbinders), Retro Radio (Concord & 9th)
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, Gorgeous Grape, Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Lemon Lime Twist
 Ink Basic White, Gorgeous Grape, Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Lemon Lime Twist, Versafine Black
Accessories Dimensionals
Tools     Big Shot, Large Polka Dot Embossing Folder (ret)

Saturday, June 13, 2026

52CCT#26 Let It Snow!

Happy Saturday, peeps! I am honored to be a guest designer at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week, which is a color challenge!  It is a bit of a challenge for sure--non traditional colors!  Check it out: 


So here we go:


My glimmer paper snowflakes are mounted on three "stitched" panels from Simon Says Stamp, stamped in Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie and Cool Caribbean inks and diecut with the matching dies.  I added some matching sequins to each center.  The sentiment is a older one from Waltzingmouse Stamps, and everything is mounted on an embossed snowflake mat:


Another Waltzingmouse sentiment on the inside:



I know this is an unusual color for a Christmas card, but I like it!  I hope you can find a creative use for these colors as well!  Share your creation at the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown challenge so we can all enjoy it!  Thanks for visiting today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!


Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Stitched Shapes (Simon Says Stamp), Compliments of the Season (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, White Glitter
 Ink Pumpkin Pie, Pretty in Pink, Cool Caribbean (ret)
Accessories Sequins from my Stash, Dimensionals
Tools     Big Shot, Stitched Snowflake Dies (ret), Stitched Shapes Dies (Simon Says Stamp), Starry Snowflake Embossing Folder (Spellbinders), Rounded Rectangle Layers Dies (Impression Obsession)

Friday, June 12, 2026

CAS on Sunday #336 Birds

 Happy Friday, peeps! I have the honor of being the guest designer for CAS on Sunday this week, where the challenge is birds!  I love birds! It was hard to choose which one I was going to use, but I decided to go for a vintage feel, so here we go:


My robin is from a set by Artistic Outpost called Birds of a Feather, and the sentiment is from Flourishes' Sweet Violets.  I stamped him in Black Stazon ink, watercolored him in, then added some speckles and a bit of embossing around the edge.  On hindsight, that embossing reminds me of bird tracks, LOL!  Maybe that was a subconscious thought of mine!!!


I left the inside blank, so it could be used for most any occasion!

Now, how about you?  Do you have some bird stamps you could use to create a clean-and-simple card?  We would love to see them at CAS on Sunday!  Thanks for visiting today! Enjoy it and be blessed!


Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Itty Bitty Backgrounds (ret), Birds of a Feather (Artistic Outpost), Sweet Violets (Flourishes)
Card stock & Papers     Very Vanilla
 Ink Stazon Black, Really Rust (ret), Old Olive, Cajun Craze, Smoky Slate, Crushed Curry, Basic Beige,, Crumb Cake
Accessories
Tools     Big Shot, Stitched with Whimsy Dies (ret), Aquapainter

Monday, June 8, 2026

AHSC685 The Best Day

Happy Monday, all! Hope you had a nice weekend! It was lovely here in PA!  The sketch today from Atlantic Hearts is a lovely one, as usual!


 It features flowers but I went in a different direction:


I stamped, colored and cut the pups from Cutest Crew out, then mounted them on a panel embossed with the Eyelet Blooms dies.  I heat-embossed a sentiment from the same set on a piece of Hydranga Hue cardstock and added a matching ribbon and a couple of pearls:


It all went on a piece of Hydrangea Hue polka dot paper from the In Color Painted Patterns DSP.  Cute and simple!

I hope you'll play with our sketch this week---as you can see, you don't need to use flowers! I can't wait to see what you create!  Share it with us at Atlantic Hearts!  Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!




Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Cutest Crew
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, Hydrangea Hue, In Color Painted Patterns DSP
 Ink Versafine Black, Craft White, Hydrangea Hue, Pecan Pie, Smoky Slate, Strawberry Slush, Crumb Cake, Garden Green, Crushed Curry
Accessories Hydrangea Hue Ribbon, Pearls, White Embossing Powder
Tools     Big Shot, Cutest Crew Dies, Eyelet Blooms Dies, Aquapainter, Heat Tool

Sunday, June 7, 2026

PP789 Masculine Challenge from Stef

Happy Sunday, all!  Time for a new Paper Players challenge, with Stef as our hostess.  She has a timely theme challenge as Father's Day is coming up! But don't limit yourself to just that holiday!   Here we go:


I chose to go with a masculine birthay card rather than Father's Day, and I used the Retro Rubber Tic-Tac-Toe grid as my guide:


I chose the middle column of stripes, squares and twine, using the retired Out West (2010) stamp set:


I stamped my cowboy on a stitched square of Basic Beige using Catherine Pooler's Macciato ink.  I also overstamped it with the Linen (2006) background stamp using Crumb Cake ink.  I mounted it on a square of Early Espresso cardstock, distressing the edges for a rustic look:


My sentiment is from Poppy Stamps Whittle Sayings - not sure the age, but I have had it a couple of years - and it all went on some barbed wire paper from Authentique's Frontier collection.  You can just barely see it; I didn't even see it until I photographed my card, behind the barbed wire is a very faint vintage newsprint pattern.  Very cool!  I used the other side of the barbed wire paper as the horizontal panel, then added a "lasso" of some twine I had in my stash.  I know of a few rootin-tootin cowboy types in the family who might enjoy this card!

I hope this challenge will prompt you to make a masculine card! We know they're not as fun to make as feminine ones but we're sure you'll rise to the challenge!  Share your creations with us at the Players!  We can't wait to see them!  Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!


Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Out West (2010), Linen (2006), Whittle Sayings (Poppy Stamps)
Card stock & Papers     Basic Beige, Early Espresso, Frontier (Authentique)
 Ink Crumb Cake, Macchiato (Catherine Pooler)
Accessories Dimensionals, Twine from my stash
Tools     Big Shot, Stitched Square Dies (Lil'Inker)

Saturday, June 6, 2026

CAS Christmas Bird

 Happy Saturday, peeps!  It's hot out there today!  Nothing like making a Christmas card to cool one off! Loll has begun her CAS Christmas Card Challenge again with the theme of "Bird":


I love birds, so I had lots of stamps to choose from, but I had not used this little Elzy Bell image for a long, long time.  This bird may be the tiniest bird on a card you've ever seen:


My card is 4 1/4" square with an embossed snowflake background.  I stamped little Elzy Bell with black Stazon ink and colored everything in with a blender pen and ink.

I added some Wink of Stella to the snow for sparkle, and a little Purple Onion sentiment.  The inside sentiment is from Cornish Heritage Farms.  I am trying to use my older stamps, can you tell?!!! 



In the spring, my birds wake me up promptly at 5 am!!  I am willing to bet this little bird sounds just as sweet!  Thanks for popping in today! Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps A Winter Song (Elzybells), Christmas Expressions (Cornish Heritage Farms), Seasonal Sayings (Purple Onion)
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, Azure Afternoon
 Ink Stazon Black, Azure Afternoon, Real Red, Pecan Pie, Barely Blush, Crisp Cantaloupe
Accessories Dimensionals, Wink of Stella
Tools     Big Shot, Stitched Square Dies (Lil'Inker), Banner Die (Pink & Main), Snowflake Embossing Folder (Darice), Blender Pen

Friday, June 5, 2026

AYSI374 Friends Are Like Seashells

Happy Friday, everyone!   We have a new challenge from As You See It today, and it's a lovely sketch:

I was in a beachy mood, so I pulled out some retired DSP and used that as my starting point.  Here we go:



I stamped some shells from Friends are Like Seashells  in Pretty in Pink, adding a bit of shading with ink and a blender brush, then I popped in a few diecuts from Rolling Waves.  I also heat-embossed a sentiment on some Sunset Shimmer vellum paper---didn't turn out quite the way I planned, but it's still legible, so I'm stickin' to it! 


A few sequins finished it off. I also embossed the circle but I covered up most of it, so that was probably not a good idea, LOL!  I stamped a sentiment on the inside with Strawberry Slush ink and adhered the remaining Rolling Waves diecuts:


What's your take on this sketch?!  I hope you'll play along with us at As You See It so we can see what your interpretation is!  Thanks for visiting today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!


Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Friends Are Like Seashells (ret)
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, Pink Sunset Shimmer Vellum, Sand & Sea DSP (ret)
 Ink Strawberry Slush, Versamark, Pretty in Pink
Accessories Sequins from my stash, Dimensionals, Clear Embossing Powder
Tools     Big Shot, Rolling Waves Dies, Seaside Seashells Dies (ret), Circles Framelits (ret), Ruffled Embossing Folder (ret), Heat Tool

Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Inspire.Create #217 Congratulations

 Happy Wednesday, all!  Inspire.Create has a fun sketch this week:


So many possibilites with this!  I thought about using squares of DSP but changed my mind and decided to put a few of my plethora of embossing folders to work, along with some of my never-ending stash of DSP:

I punched out  1 3/8" squares of Thick Basic White cardstock, then embossed them with six different embossing folders and mounted them on a mat of Cloud Cover cardstock.  They all went on a plaid panel from Everyday Happiness.  The sentiment from Extraordinary Flora was stamped in Cloud Cover as well and diecut with a Timeless Arrangements die.  That die comes with little floral diecuts that attach behind the die--very clever! I added a Cloud Cover bow and some tiny pearls to finish it off:



I do love my blues and this shade is one of my favorites!  Thanks for visiting today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!


Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Extraordinary Flora (ret)
Card stock & Papers     Thick Basic White, Cloud Cover, Everyday Happiness DSP (ret)
 Ink Cloud Cover    
Accessories Cloud Cover Ribbon, Dimensionals, Tiny Pearls from my stash
Tools     Big Shot, 1 3/8" Square Punch (ret), Timeless Arrangements Dies (ret), Eyelet EF, Stone & Vine EF, Lazy Daisy EF, Gathering Leaves EF,Greenery EF, Wrapped in Texture EF (most ret)

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

In(k)spire Me 591 Birthday Wishes

Happy Tuesday!  Here's a wonderfully easy sketch from In(k)spire Me that I used for an equally easy birthday card:


I only used the sketch this time (one of these days I'll use the colors, too, LOL!)  So here we go:


I used Painted Patterns DSP in Peaceful Pine along with some Chevron Ribbon and a sentiment from the retired Little Delights, diecut with a Spotlight on Nature die.  The candles are from the retired Picture Perfect Birthday--I thought they matched the DSP pretty nicely!


I added a Waffle Flower sentiment on the inside along with a couple of birthday hats from Little Delights as well:


What a great sketch--I may whip up a few more of these!  Thanks for visiting today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Picture Perfect Birthday (ret), Little Delights (ret)
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, Peaceful Pine, Peaceful Pine Painted Patterns DSP
 Ink Peaceful Pine, Golden Glow
Accessories Dimensionals, Chevron Ribbon
Tools     Big Shot, Spotlight on Nature Dies, Layering Circles DIes (ret)

Monday, June 1, 2026

AHSC684 You're Sweet

Happy Monday, everyone! Happy June!  We have a lovely sketch for you this week at the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge:


Ooh, I love things in threes!  I pulled out some vintage-look papers to go with a strawberry I had already made and was sitting all lonely on my desk:


The strawberry is from the Made With Sweetness dies; papers are from Carta Bella's Roll with It and Papertrey's Chicken Scratch gingham.  I had a panel already embossed with the Softly Sophisticated embossing folder, so I diecut it into a circle and added a scalloped mat.  Sentiment is from Sweet Stuff, stamped in Soft Succulent and colored in with a blender pen:


I added a little baker's twine bow for fun!  I hope you'll play along with our fun sketch this week at As You See It! Thanks for popping in! Enjoy today and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Sweet Stuff (ret)
Card stock & Papers     Basic Beige, Whisper White, Daffodill Delight, Strawberry Slush, Garden Green, Soft Succulent (ret), Roll With It (Carta Bella), Chicken Scratch (Papertrey)
 Ink Soft Succulent (ret), Real Red
Accessories Dimensionals, Yellow & White Baker's Twine (ret)
Tools     Big Shot, Made With Sweetness Dies, Stitched Shapes Dies (ret), Layering Circles Dies (ret), Banner Dies (Nellie Snellen), Softly Sophisticated Embossing Folder (ret)

Sunday, May 31, 2026

PP788 A Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge from Joanne

Happy Sunday, peeps! Happy last day of May! Since there are five Sundays in the month, it means a tic-tac-toe grid for the Paper Players and this one is from Joanne!  Here we go:


I had a new stencil and stamp set in my stash, never been used, so I thought this would be a perfect time to get them inky, since my choice on the grid was the right hand column of die cut, stenciling and layers!  So here we go:


I am not 100% sure, but I think Jaydee might have been the enabler that convinced me to get this little bundle from Waffle Flower called Postage Collage Sew Fun.  I used Smoky Slate, Golden Glow, Timid Tiger, Cajun Craze, Flirty Flamingo and Versafine Black for my stenciling and stamping:




The stamps are from the matching set, along with the Postage Collage set, then I diecut it with the Waffle Flower Postage die. I added a Crisp Cantaloupe bow and a wee little embellishment down in the left hand corner, then mounted it all on a Smoky Slate piece of DSP and a Petal Pink card base.  Here's the inside with another sentiment from the set and a birthday sentiment from Our Daily Bread Designs:


I have several crafty friends that might be the recipient of this card!!!  I hope you'll find some inspiration from our Tic-Tac-Toe board this week and play along with us at the Players!  Can't wait to see you there!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Postage Collage Sew Fun, Postage Collage (both Waffle Flower), Mini Tag Sentiments (Our Daily Bread Designs)
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, Petal Pink, SMoky Slate DSP (ret)
 Ink Versafine Black, Smoky Slate, Timid Tiger, Flirty Flamingo, Golden Glow, Cajun Craze
Accessories Crisp Cantaloupe Ribbon, Crisp Cantaloupe Dot (ret), Dimensionals
Tools     Big Shot, Postage Collage A6 Blocks Dies (Waffle Flower), Triple Heart Punch (ret), Rounded Rectangle Layers Dies (Impression Obsession), Blending Brushes

Friday, May 29, 2026

Today Blooms Just For You

 Happy Friday, everyone! I had some stamping time yesterday but try as I might, I just couldn't make things work quite the way I wanted!  Ever have days like that? I really wanted to use the challenging colors at CAS Colours & Sketches as well as squeak something in for the Retro Rubber sketch:


I don't have any "bubbly"-looking stamps, so I opted for some diecut flowers---an old set from My Favorite Things.  I diecut a bunch of them from Balmy Blue cardstock, added some Night of Navy centers and put them all on a floral-embossed panel and a Gray Granite card.  And I confess that Gray Granite is not one of my go-to colors, so it was definitely a challenge for me to use it!   So here we go:


Even though it didn't take much time to make, I am not sure I would consider it "Clean and Simple", so I may not qualify for that challenge, LOL!  The sentiments are from Perennial Birthday (2018), stamped in Night of Navy:



I did add a couple of sequins for some extra "bubbly-ness"!  Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!


Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Perennial Birthday (2018, ret)
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, Gray Granite, Balmy Blue, Night of Navy
 Ink Night of Navy
Accessories Dimensionals, Sequins (from my stash)
Tools     Big Shot, Lazy Daisy Embossing Folder, Stitched FLower Dies (My Favorite Things), Banner Dies (Pink & Main), various circle punches (ret)

Thursday, May 28, 2026

FMS738 Thank You Kindly

Happy Thursday, all!  Cecile's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches was really a cool one, I couldn't wait to play:

A friend of mine recently gave me a pink of homemade strawberry jam---YUM!  I wanted to make her a little thank you card, so I remembered I had an Altenew set that had some strawberries in it:


I first diecut a stitched border with a die from Reverse Confetti and mounted it on a Peaceful Pine card base.  I stamped the berries in Versafine ink, then watercolored them and fussy-cut them out.  The background foliage was stamped in the new In Color Peaceful Pine (stamped off once), and a little stitched stamp was stamped in the same color. 


Sentiment is from Whittle Sayings, and I added some little mini sequins for sparkle!  I think I might have to go have some toast with jam after this, LOL!  I am also going to enter this at the Farm Quest challenge where they are looking for fruit!  Thanks so much for popping in today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Beautiful You (Altenew), Borderline Stitches (Technique Tuesday), Whittle Sayings (Poppystamps), Celebrate Family (Fiskars)
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, Peaceful Pine
 Ink Versafine Black, Peaceful Pine, Real Red, Strawberry Slush
Accessories Mini Sequins from my stash, Dimensionals
Tools     Big Shot, Banners Dies (Pink & Main), Lacy Scallop Frame Die (Reverse Confetti), Aquapainter