The Paper Players - Sketch Challenge

This week's challenge at The Paper Players is a great sketch challenge from Lesley.  I was inspired to create this card by a project I saw in Paper Crafts magazine using the emboss resist technique. I did use a few retired items - the Botanical Gazette DSP and All a Flutter stamp to coordinate with my resist image. 

I am actually proud that I pulled out the background honeycomb paper and USED it since I have been hoarding it since last Spring:). At times I become a little too attached to paper and ant to "save" it. I still have an unopened pack of Autumn Meadow DSP that I occasionally take out and admire. Perhaps a little therapy will persuade me to use it someday.

I hope you submit a lovely creation for this week's challenge. Make sure you visit the design team's beautiful blogs and leave a sweet comment. 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaycee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao

Susan Joyce ( November GD)

Paper - Botanical Gazette DSP, more mustard, very vanilla, chocolate chip card stock

Stamps - French Foliage, Tiny Tags, Simply Soft

Ink - versamark, more mustard, chocolate chip

Accessories - black embossing powder, clear embossing powder, jewelry tag punch, crochet trim, very vanilla seam binding, vintage trinkets

The Paper Players - Jaydee's Color and CAS Challenge

This week the Paper Players are working with some CAS designs and crisp colors ( just like the weather!) for Jaydee's challenge this week. I tried to keep this card simple but was just loving all the bling and glimmer that SU has to offer this season. The glimmer paper, the embossing powders, the dazzling details etc. were all calling to me. They really pop when combined and contrasted with the dark Night of Navy.

I started with embossing Bells and Boughs with silver embossing powder and making an extra poinsettia to brush with dazzling diamonds glitter and pop up with a dimensional. Again, My Digital Studio has come to my rescue and I printed the sentiment to my specified size using the Beautiful Season Digital Stamp. The Silver Glimmer Paper, glimmer brad and jewels all sparkle and are in keeping with the silver of the color scheme.

Make sure to visit the other design team's beautiful blogs and leave a wonderful comment.

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao

Susan Joyce ( November GD)

Stamps - Bells and Boughs, Beautiful Season (MDS)

Paper - Silver Glimmer Paper, night of navy and whisper white card stock

Ink - Versamark

Accessories - Silver embossing powder, Scallop Trim Border Punch, dazzling diamonds glitter or dazzling details, basic jewels, glimmer brad, Petals-A-Plenty embossing folder, circle dies, whisper white satin ribbon

UStampwithDawnandFriends - My Advent Calendar

My project for UStampwithDawnandFriends Knock Out Punches (featuring Stampin' Up! Punches)  has posted so I can now share it with you. I actually started designing this quite awhile ago and have since donated it to our church's preschool auction.  What was so surprising was that I was almost completely done with my Advent Calendar when I opened last month's Stampin Success, and I saw their Advent Calendar USING CLOTHES PINS just like mine! I panicked a bit, thinking those that subscribe to USWDAF would think I was just copying something from SU and not creating anything unique.  After a few deep breaths, I then realized, mine was quite a bit different and it would all work out.

An option that can make this calendar a bit fun, is to print out activity cards to place behind each day. Unfortunately, I did not capture these on film, but included them with the calendar. I have searched the internet for ideas, but also came up with a few of my own and they are listed below. You can place the ones that take the most time behind the weekend days.

If you would like detailed instructions for this calendar and MANY other fantastic projects, click the Knock Out Punches blinkie to the right and join today.

Family Advent Calendar Activities.

1. Find a jar and DECORATE IT! – make it fantastic. Put all your loose change in the jar for 3 weeks. Use the money collected at the end of 3 weeks to buy items or donate to your favorite charity.
2. Wrap a small gift and leave it on your neighbor’s doorstep. Ring the bell and RUN!
3. Call grandma, grandpa or other relative and tell them how much you love them
4. With your family, share your favorite memory that happened this year.
5. Go to the library or internet and research how other countries celebrate Christmas – try one of the traditions this year
6. Read the True Story of Christmas
7. Sing your favorite Christmas carol and tell others why it is your favorite.
8. Compliment 3 people today
9. Light candles and have dinner by candlelight
10. Make a Christmas ornament with things you have at home
11. Share with your family your favorite thing about each person
12. Start a Christmas memory book with favorites, Christmas lists, pictures etc.
13. Gather food items for your local food pantry or Ronald McDonald House
14. Enjoy an evening together with no television or computers and read multiple Christmas stories
15. Make popcorn and watch your favorite Christmas movie
16. Write a letter to Santa and include lots of colored drawings
17. Have a family game night
18. Bake some cookies and take them to your local fire station
19. Drink a mug of hot cocoa around the Christmas tree and listen to Christmas music
20. Ask older relative or neighbors how they used to celebrate Christmas
21. Name your Christmas tree
22. Walk around your neighborhood and look at all the Christmas lights
23. Share your favorite Christmas memory
24. Listen to Christmas carols and have hot cocoa and cookies

The Paper Player 's - LeAnne's Color Challenge

This week LeAnne has a wonderful color challenge for us - Riding Hood Red, River Rock and Always Artichoke. I thought of these colors as being very natural and "woodsy" and created this card with a tree trunk and flowers in mind. I wanted to keep it clean and modern so rolled the flowers without any scallops. I hope you will be patient with my photography. I normally shoot my cards outside, but it is very rainy here in Southern California ( don't believe the song that it never rains:)) so I am shooting inside and struggling to get the correct lighting. The Riding Hood Red looks much deeper in the picture and the River Rock appears much more green than gray. The card is much more subtle in person.

Anywhoo, I can't wait for you to submit your creations using this wonderful color combination. Make sure to visit the each design team member's blog and leave a sweet comment.

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao

Susan Joyce ( November GD)

Paper - Frostwood Lodge DSP, riding hood red, river rock, always artichoke card stock

Stamps - Kindness Matters

Ink - Always Artichoke

Accessories - Little Leaves Sizzix die, Standard hole punch, 3/4" circle punch, 1/4" circle punch, glue dots

New Project for UStampwithDawnandFriends

I have been selected to design as one of the Creative Crew for UStampwithDawnandFriends. Click the blinkie to the right to join the fun. Each day multiple talented stampers share their projects with you complete with step by step instructions. Knock Out Punches features all the punches that Stampin' Up! sells. See amazing and creative ways to get use from your punches and create fantastic projects just in time for the holidays. All products used on UStampwithDawnandFriends are Stampin' Up! . Yahooo!


Now that my post has gone live I can share it with you. I created this home-made hot-cocoa kit to make for the holidays. Hand made gifts are a holiday tradition in our family. Not only do our neighbors love the hand crafted gifts, but our family enjoys the time together working in the kitchen and infusing the joy of the season into our creations. Once you get a handle on making these boxes, they go together very quickly. They can also hold many other sweet items and treats. In my instruction packet, I have included a recipe for some home made hot cocoa mix, but look around the internet and find a yummy recipe that you would like to share. Add some chocolate chips, cinnamon or cayenne to your mix to spice it up a bit. Whatever recipe you use or other treat you share, your friends and loved ones are sure to enjoy this cute little package of "sweets the season brings". 

Now that the holidays are quickly approaching, join me at YouStampwithDawnandFriends and  start creating. Just click the blinkie on the right. 

Masculine - Simple Card

I needed another masculine birthday card and was inspired to create this one from a card in Paper Crafts magazine. I used basically the same layout as my inspiration piece, but changed the image. I stamped the leaf using Gently Falling and dug out my glass glitter to do a little broken glass technique. Clean and Simple but with a little bling.

Paper - chocolate chip, pacific point, crumb cake whisper white card stock
Ink - chocolate chip, pacific point, more mustard
Stamps - Gently Falling, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Accessories - square lattice embossing folder, linen thread, button, glass glitter

The Paper Player Recipe Challenge

White Shimmer Paint and Dazzling Diamonds for a Frosty tree

Anne Marie has a fun challenge for us this week at The Paper Players. Everyone was cooking something up with Anne Marie's special recipe - 3 Patterned Papers, 2 Ribbons, 1 punch and a pinch of glitter. It took me a while to chose the DSP, and I opted for Frostwood Lodge. I paired this with Lovely as a Tree and sprinkled the branches with a bit of White Shimmer Paint and Dazzling Details. Although you cannot see it in the picture, the snowflake is painted with the White Shimmer Paint as well. 

I hope you come up with a yummy concoction for this challenge. Make sure to leave a sweet comment on all the lovely design team's blogs. 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao

Susan Joyce ( November GD)

Blog Candy Winner!

Thank you for all your kind comments last week for the Paper Players Fall blog hop. I hope you had fun hopping around. The Random Number Generator selected #73 for blog candy  - April. Congratulations!

April said...

You are so right about the retailers skipping holidays. It's the same way when you want to buy a pair of gloves or a hat when it gets cold, but they don't have any because they sold them during the summertime! I love your Thanksgiving project. I am new to MDS, but I will definitely give this a try. Thanks for sharing! :)


April, please send me your email address so you can claim your blog candy.

Be sure to join us this week at The Paper Players for another fantastic challenge from Anne Marie.

Stamp Club Project

Last night we completed this project for our stamp club. The hostess chose a Thanksgiving theme but did not want anything for a Thanksgiving table setting. I went with the same display idea as my previous post but changed up the size and layout. Again, using My Digital Studio, you can vary the size of your projects. This layout is a twist of that seen in the Holiday Mini Catalog on page 16. I wanted to add a bit of texture so decided to add a small piece of burlap in lieu of a ribbon. I purchased an inexpensive 5x7 frame to complete the look. 

Paper - whisper white, more mustard, old olive card stock

Ink - more mustard, cajun craze, chocolate chip, old olive, versa mark 

Stamps - Gently Falling, MDS Autumn Spice Digital Kit, Texture

Accessories - Pewter embossing powder, Large Circle Scallop die, Tag die, Square Lattice embossing folder, hemp twine, brown button, burlap