Clean and Simple Springtime Card for The Paper Players

Ahh!  Spring is in the air!  I can tell by the smell of the air.  Even though today was rainy and chilly, there was a certain "greenness" in the air that can mean only one thing.  Spring is on the way!  Also, there were two ducks, mallards, in our fish pond this morning and they only stop off in the spring, maybe on their way north.

                                         

The Paper Player's Challenge #187 is a Clean and Simple Spring theme this week.

I looked on some of my Pinterest Colour Palette pins and came up with this one:

And the resulting card looks like this:

• The image is from the Backyard Basics stamp set.  I inked it up with Daffodil Delight and Smoky Slate Stampin' Write markers.  
• The sentiment is from the stamp set, Delightful Dozen, and is stamped in Soft Sky ink.
• The Fancy Fan design on the Smoky Slate DSP from the Neutrals Designer Series Paper Stacks is a perfect background to the simple image on the main panel.  
• Daffodil Delight is one of the few colours available in the 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon.  It adds a shiny pop of colour to an otherwise subdued card.

• Have I mentioned just how much I like Candy Dots.  They are the perfect afterthought.  They look like brads, but unlike brads, can be added last minute to help give your card balance and eye-appeal.
• If you ever get stuck for colour combinations, search for colour palettes on Pinterest!  You'll come up with more than you can ever use of delicious, mouth-watering combinations, some even labelled with Stampin' Up colours.  If not, just match the colours to Stampin' Up's and you've got yourself a beautiful combination to use on your next card.

Have you got everything you wanted from the Sale-A-Bration Brochure?  If not, it's still not too late to submit an order of $60 and pick up one more free item.  Or how about a $200 order and get 3 Sale-A-Bration free items and $35 in other free products of your choice for hostess rewards?

And if you want more than that, now is a great time to sign up for the Starter Kit and join my amazing team, the Papercraft Cats.  The kit is only $125, but during Sale-A-Bration, you not only get the normal $155 worth of any current products you choose, but Stampin' Up is adding an extra $35 on so you get $190 worth of any current products in your kit with free shipping!  And you get 20% discounts after that on all your stamping needs!  But here's the best part:

YOU’RE INVITED!

                 

Stampin' Up is giving all Demonstrators who sign up between July 1, 2013 and the date that Convention Registration closes or registrations fills up, free registration for INSPIRE, CREATE, SHARE 2014!  (You would be responsible for your own travel and accommodation.)

Here's some highlights from Convention 2013:  Be The Difference!

          

Let me know if you want in on all the fun!  Phone or email me.

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today!

Product List

129255	129258	128547	122652	130132	119683
131203	119677	131898	131181	125583	130931
104430

Dynamic Duos Meets Mojo Monday

It's Black Tie week over at Dynamic Duos this week, with a dessert option of a shaped card, but I also wanted to complete the Mojo Monday sketch this week because I really like all the elements of it, so a compromise - Dynamic Duos meet Mojo Monday!!

Here's the Dynamic Duos Challenge #90:

And here's Mojo Monday Challenge #333 sketch:

And when you put them together, here's what I came up with:

• I love the bold statement, these two colours make, but they also make me immediately think of bees. That brought to mind the Hexagon Hive Thinlits die, new in the Occasions Catalogue, so you can see where my mind went from there. 
• It was a good opportunity to use some of my less frequently used Design Series Paper from the Modern Medley collection and the Quatrefancy Specialty DSP on the back panel and underneath the Hexagon Hive.  I was able to repeat the quatrefoil design in each paper.
• I needed a bold flower design that would look great in black and yellow and the flower from Blooming with Kindness stamp set was ideal because you are actually stamping the shadows and leaving the highlights unstamped.  When I inked it up in Jet Black StazOn ink and stamped it on Daffodil Delight cardstock, the results were just what I had hoped. I punched it out with the 2 1/2" Circle Punch and created a matte for it with the Circles Collection Framelits.

• The little bee from Springtime Hello in the Occasions catalogue would have been fun to use but it was too small scale for this card and the black and yellow wouldn't have been as obvious, so I went to Backyard Basics for this bee, and the great thing is, there are framelits to match so I didn't have to cut it out by hand.  Perfect fit!
• I didn't use the full Hexagon Hive framelit die cut and so there were some unattached ends, but when I mounted the Quatrefancy DSP on a matte of Basic Black cardstock, the ends blended in with the matte and everything looked nicely framed and finished.
• Instead of a ribbon, I stamped the birthday wishes sentiment from Blooming with Kindness on Very Vanilla (to match the vanilla on the Modern Medley paper) and used one of the framelits from Chalk Talk to die cut it.  It was rather long with the bracket only on one end, so I used the framelit to die cut a longer piece but kept the bracket close to the beginning of the sentiment.  Then I flipped the framelit and positioned it close to the end of the sentiment and die cut a second time with the Big Shot.  

Check the Clearance Rack

Just a reminder to check out the Clearance Rack, which has been restocked and there are some great deals to be had while supplies last.  You can order on-line, or contact me and I will put in an order for you.

Thanks for popping by today and come visit again tomorrow for a star-struck card for The Paper Players.

To purchase any of the products listed below used to make this project, simply click on the links which will take you directly to my On-Line Stampin' Up!  Store, where you can view the products and make a purchase if you like.  You can have it delivered right to your door!

• Blooming With Kindness
• Blooming With Kindness Clear-Mount Stamp Set
• Backyard Basics Wood-mount Stamp Set
• Backyard Basics Clear-mount Stamp Set
• Quatrefancy Specialty Designer Series Paper
• Modern Medley Designer Series Paper
• Basic Black 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Daffodil Delight 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Very Vanilla 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Jet Black StazOn Pad
• Backyard Basics Framelits Dies
• Hexagon Hive Thinlits Die
• Circles Collection Framelits Dies
• 2-1/2 Inch Circle Punch
• Chalk Talk Framelits Dies

Edwardian Journal

I sometimes wonder what life would have been like for women living in the Edwardian era in England.  I don't know if you are a fan, but I love the TV series, Downton Abbey, which takes place during that period. It seems that women were either slaving drudges or pampered socialites, neither of which appeals to me much.  If forced to choose, I think that having work and mastering skills would be preferable to the boredom  of the socialite's life.  I've often run across one woman's solution to that boredom in the form of a Country Diary that she kept.

The author, Edith Holden, kept detailed notes about the plants and animals she encountered in the British countryside and filled the diary with illustrations and poetry.  The publication became popular after her death in 1920, but it is a charming and interesting book.


I had this book in mind with my card today:

The card was made using The Paper Players Colour Challenge #149 using the colours below:

• I think that the combination of those subtle colours with the neutral Early Espresso, plus the bird image on the challenge logo, made me run right off the bat to a new stamp set, Backyard Basics!  This set reminds me so much of Nature Walk, which just retired, but it is a little less realistic and needs some added colouring to work well.  
• The great thing is that it has a set of framelits to match so no more fussy cutting with this set!  You can buy the stamp set and the framelits together as a bundle and save 15%!
• I used the Stampin' Distress tool to easily distress all the edges, then sponged them with a little Soft Suede ink to age them.
• I stamped the butterfly, the egg and the bird onto Calypso Coral, Pool Party and So Saffron cardstock respectively, with Early Espresso ink, then used the same colour Stampin' Write marker to add some extra details.

• The background paper is Naturals White cardstock and the tulip was stamped right on the white and coloured in using markers and a Blender Pen.
• The sentiment is from the Bring On the Cake stamp set.
• I splattered the card with some Early Espresso ink to finish it off.

It's time for Product Shares!!

Have you been pouring over the new catalogue, wondering how on earth you're ever going to find enough ready cash to get everything you want??  I have a solution!  You sign up for a Product Share!  A product share is when five of my customers pool their resources to buy all of the new ribbons, buttons or paper and then it is divided up evenly between them, so they get a smaller quantity, but a greater variety of the new paper and embellishments.  I do all the ordering, cutting and sorting and you get the products all divided up for you.  I DO, however, need 5 people to sign up before I can order.  If you think you'd be interested, click on the product share button at the top of this page and read the instructions carefully, then use the sign up on that page or email me with your preferences!  This offer is also open to my out-of-town readers, as long as they live in Canada.

YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL!

Stamps:  Backyard Basics (w129255; c129258); Bring On the Cake (w128490; c121958)

Paper:  So Saffron (105118), Early Espresso (119686), Calypso Coral (122925), Pool Party (122924), and Naturals White (102316) cardstock

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Early Espresso (126974) and Soft Suede (126978); Stampin' Write Markers in Calypso Coral (131263), Pool Party (131263), So Saffron (131263), (all as part of the Subtles collection) and Early Espresso (119680)

Tools:  Stampin' Distress tool (127562); Squares Collection Framelits (130921); Backyard Basics Framelits (129380); Stamping Sponges (101610)

Backyard Basics Stamp Set

Bring on the Cake Stamp Set

Backyard Basics Bundle with Framelits

Squares Collection Framelits

Stampin' Distress tool