Pleasant Poppies for the Pals

There's nothing like a bit a brown to make Real Red look amazingly vibrant!  Ever since Stampin' Up! brought out Stampin' Blendabilities Markers, I've been dying to dig out my Pleasant Poppies stamp and use it with them.  This week's challenge from Pals Paper Arts was the perfect opportunity!
Here's the colour swatch from the challenge:

Now, I know that we only have Blendies in Cherry Cobbler, but since it is a three shade assortment, if you go a little heavier on the lightest shade, it really looks like Real Red to me.  What do you think?

• I stamped the image in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Whisper White cardstock and coloured in the poppies with the Blendabilities assortment as mentioned above, and using Crumb Cake on the stems.  I carefully cut out the poppies with my Paper Snips, but left the cardstock intact at the bottom of the image.
• On my Soft Suede card base, I added some Park Lane Designer Series Paper in Soft Suede, and then some Crumb Cake DSP from the Neutrals Designer Series Paper Stack. 
• I stamped the sentiment from the Feel Goods Stamp set (it's really the day for oldies today!) in Versamark Ink and heat embossed it using Early Espresso Stampin' Emboss Powder as a neutral on Vellum cardstock.
• I cut slits on either side of the vellum in order to pass the Crumb Cake Seam Binding ribbon through and used the ribbon to attach the vellum to the card base.  I also added some Glue Dots on the vellum under the ribbon, where they couldn't be seen, to help hold it. I tied a bow in some Crumb Cake Seam Binding ribbon and added it with Glue Dots on the left of the sentiment.

I'm really pleased with the way this card turned out. You should definitely try this colour combination! I love how the neutrals make the red positively glow!

I'm leaving today for holidays in Mexico, but will be able to keep in contact through email and facebook if you need anything! I'll be home in about 10 days, when I will resume my regular blog schedule.  I have another post scheduled for Friday and I'll try to post some pictures of holidays in between.

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 Stampin' Up! products used to make this card today!


Product List

Pleasant Poppies Clear-Mount Stamp Set [129499]	Pleasant Poppies Wood-Mount Stamp Set [132061]	Feel Goods Clear Stamp Set [129684]	Feel Goods Wood Stamp Set [131916]	Park Lane Designer Series Paper [133694]
Neutrals Backgrounds Designer Series Paper Stack [130132]	Vellum 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [101856]	Soft Suede 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [115318]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]
Versamark Pad [102283]	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Cherry Cobbler Assortment [130995]	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Crumb Cake Assortment [131004]	Early Espresso Stampin' Emboss Powder [128980]	Crumb Cake 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon [122332]
Heat Tool [129053]	Embossing Buddy [103083]	Stampin' Trimmer [126889]	Paper Snips Scissors [103579]	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755]
Glue Dots [103683]

Get Well, Shelli

Some of you may know that Shelli Gardner, the co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up was badly injured in a

horse endurance race when her horse stumbled, threw her, then rolled over her. She is in hospital in Salt Lake City with a fractured wrist, pelvis and many bruises.  Read the amazing story of her strength through all this here.

I wanted to send my get well wishes in a card to Shelli and I thought that Perfect Plum would be a good colour for a get well card.  So it would double as an entry in Dynamic Duos' Challenge #68:

Here's my card, which is now winging it's way to Riverton, Utah to Shelli:

• We had a choice in this challenge of another colour to pair with Perfect Plum and I chose Smoky Slate along with the neutral Whisper White.
• Pleasant Poppies background stamp, inked up in Perfect Plum, does all the work on the front panel.  I just added a double bow for interest in Whisper White 5/8" Organza Ribbon.
• The sentiment is from Wetlands!  Perfect for this kind of card.  

• A new set I hadn't yet tried, called Blessings from Heaven, provided both inside sentiments, one in Perfect Plum and one in Smoky Slate.
• Whenever you want an inside panel for your cards, the Top Note Bigz Die will die cut a perfect one for you, with lots of room to write your own personalized greetings.

I am so glad to be a Stampin' Up demonstrator for such a great company, and able to create cards like this in minutes and send them to someone who really needs to know that others care!  Wishing Shelli a quick recovery with less pain each day!

Stamps:  Pleasant Poppies (w132061; c129499); Wetlands (w126695; c126697); Blessings from Heaven (w128487; c123052)

Paper:  Perfect Plum (101889), Whisper White (100730) and Smoky Slate (131202) cardstock

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Perfect Plum (126963) and Smoky Slate (131179)

Accessories:  5/8" Organza Ribbon in Whisper White (114319)

Tools:  Top Note Bigz Die (113463)         

Pleasant Poppies Stamp Set

Wetlands Stamp Set

Blessings From Heaven Stamp Set

Top Note Bigz Die

                                                                                       

We Remember...

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day in Canada.  It's a day to take the time to remember.  To remember the courage of a past generation, fighting for the rights we all take for granted so often.  A Canadian soldier in WWI wrote these words:

In Flanders Field

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
~ John McCrae (1872-1918)

My card today honours those who gave their lives in two World Wars and in many conflicts since.  It includes my own father, who was wounded in France and carried the scars until he died a few years ago.

This is a hybrid card, using some elements created on My Digital Studio 2, including the cross and the sentiment.  I used the Pleasant Poppies background stamp, inked in StazOn Jet Black and embossed with clear embossing powder, then watercoloured using an Aqua Painter and Cherry Cobbler and Sahara Sand ink.

When I saw several beautiful photos on Facebook today of the poppies in Flanders Fields, I was inspired to create this card.  Of course, I can't do the real poppies justice, but I think the card gives the right feel of honour and respect.

Dynamic Duos challenge this week is a subtle combination of Sahara Sand and Cherry Cobbler, the perfect colours for this card.

 

I used Crosses of Hope and Words of Courage Stamp Brush sets for the MDS2 parts of the card, but added an Antique brad and some metallic brads to both.  I hand-cut several poppies as well and added them for the look of 3D poppies, blowing in the wind.

 

 

I hope you like the card, and I hope you pay tribute this weekend to some aging heroes and to the concepts of courage and sacrifice.  Don't let their deaths be in vain.

 

 



 

 

Stamps: Pleasant Poppies (w126480; c129499); Crosses of Hope (129595); Words of Courage (130858)

Paper: Sahara Sand (121043), Cherry Cobbler (119685) and Whisper White (100730) cardstock

Ink: Classic Stampin' Pads in Cherry Cobbler (126966) and Sahara Sand (126976); StazOn Jet Black (101406)

Accessories: Antique Brads (117273); Metallic Brads (119741); Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder (109130)

Tools: Aqua Painter (103954); Heat Tool (129053); Lacey Brocade Embossing Folder (127819)

Pleasant Poppies Stamp

 Crosses of Hope Stamp Brush set

 

 

Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers

Alliteration:  that's when a whole string of words begin with the same sound. See?? "Same Sound" is such a sweet sample!  But today, we are not using "SSSS" as our alliterative letter.  Today's post is brought to you by the letter "P"!

You see, I happened perchance upon a paper project at Pals Paper Arts this past week, and I was primed to participate.  Presenting the picture:

The stamp sets I used are Pleasant Poppies and Papillon Potpourri and I wanted to keep it plain and poignant! 

And that's about as far as I can carry that gimmick!
Seriously, though, I loved this sketch by Margaret Moody (Ack!  More alliteration!):

and I was dying to try out my new background set Pleasant Poppies and the lovely butterflies that are part of the Papillon Potpourri, as well as the coordinating punch, Elegant Butterfly.

I wanted to use the spotlight technique, in which you stamp a background in black and white or in one colour, then you add a circle that matches the background, but you give it more colour and punch.  I did that by using a darker circle card stock - Early Espresso (on the lighter Crumb Cake panel) and heat embossed the image using Tangerine Tango embossing powder.  I used the same embossing powder on the butterfly image only on a Crumb Cake background.  The Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon (is there no end to the alliteration today??) adds a sweet note and the sentiment, stamped with Early Espresso ink is from the One in a Million set.

Well, I hope that pumps you up to play with paper today!  Practice your P's.  (But warn me, so I am out of the spray zone!)  Pip! Pip!

Stamps:  Pleasant Poppies (w 126480; set of 1; $21.95); Papillon Potpourri (c 123759; set of 7; $17.95);  One in a Million (w 126380; set of 10; 32.95) 

Paper: Early Espresso and Crumb Cake card stock

Ink: Early Espresso Classic Ink Pad (126974; $7.25); VersaMark (102283; $9.95)

Accessories: Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon (122976; $13.50); Linen Thread (104199; $5.95), Pearl Basic Jewels (119247; $6.50)

Tools:  Embossing Buddy (103083; $7.50); Stampin' Up Heat Tool (129053; $36.95)

Pleasant Poppies

Papillon Potpourri

Elegant Butterfly Punch