Sunday 30 September 2012

Glittery, flocked ornament...

Hi there,

This week Anne Marie has got a fun Tic-Tac-Toe challenge for us at the Paper Players this week!


Whenever I see one of these challenges my first thought is 'how many can I complete?' I really wanted to try the buttons/wedding/yellow & grey... as well as the ribbon/yellow & grey/birthday... but in the end I ran out of time (this week has been crazy busy) and ended up going with Christmas/Sparkle/Bling/Ribbon because I had made a card that fit this for my latest class... Let's be honest: what Christmas card of mine doesn't have ribbon and sparkle/bling involved lol!?


I was really pleased with how the ornament piece turned out - I die-cut the shape from Naturals Ivory card using one of the ornaments framelits then pierced around the edge of the shape using the matching template. I then layered some of the flocked acetate from the Candlelight Christmas dsp underneath and popped that up with dimensionals over some Champagne glimmer paper. Looks fab IRL with the combination of flocking, acetate and glittery paper! The ornament that I had die-cut I used for the sentiment (from Beautiful Season), sponging around the edges for a bit of definition.

The Real Red background was stamped repeatedly with a couple of the smaller images from the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set then I layered a torn piece of Candlelight Christmas dsp along the side. I added some real red 1/8" taffeta ribbon to the sentiment ornament and a few pearls to finish.

Check out what the rest of the design team have created...

The Paper Players Design Team

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Friday 28 September 2012

Orchard Leaves...

Hiya,

Just popping in really quickly with my Friday Mashup post,..

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge:
  1. Make a "Fall Leaves" themed project.
  2. Or Make a project with "Twine".
  3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Fall Leaves Themed project using Twine".

I went simpler than usual on this one...


I used the Wonderfall stamp set and dies as well as the Orchard Harvest dsp and matching colours. I would normally give more details but I've got a crazy weekend and I need to get to bed pronto so I get up at 6am tomorrow for a long journey!

Have a wonderful weekend, whatever you're doing...

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Thursday 27 September 2012

Saffron Congratulations...

Hi there,

I'm on a bit of roll this week with creating and blogging! Probably means I'm woefully behind on other thngs lol! Anyway, I couldn't pass up playing with the colours at the Fab Friday challenge...


I love yellow and grey together! Here's what I ended up with...


The label image was stamped with stazon and coloured with a blender pen and ink - I added some silver dazzling details for a bit of added sparkle. The banner strip was created with a piece of Howlstooth & Scaringbone dsp (I don't do Halloween but these patterns are so versatile you can use them for lots of diffeent projects!). The Sahara Sand background was embossed with the Lacy Brocade embossing folder and I added some So Saffron brads in each corner. The ribbon is white organza dyed with So Saffron ink (I used a spritzer filled with a few drops of reinker and water).

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Wednesday 26 September 2012

Ornament Pile Up...!

Hiya,

I absolutely love the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set (and dies of course!) in the Autumn/Winter catty, but I haven't played with them as much as I would have liked (that's going to change today and tomorrow as I have a class on Friday night using these goodies!!). I did get them inky for the Create with Connie & Mary sketch challenge this week though...


This card should come with an 'OTT' warning lol! I got a bit carried away with adding things...


See what I mean??! I started with some Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations card and embossed with the Lacy Brocade embossing folder then sanded and layered on Early Espresso card. The Very Vanilla panel was die cut with the new Oval Accent bigz die (coming on the 1st of October) and I added some faux stitching with a Crumb Cake marker. I used some Crumb Cake scalloped tulle to create a ruffled strip then wrapped a piece of lace trim around. I stamped one ornament in Gumball Green and painted with a bit of Champagne shimmer paint to add some sparkle. I stamped a smaller ornament with Soft Suede three times, folded each in half and adhered together to make a 3D ornament. The other ornament was die-cut from Candlelight Christmas dsp, with the top part cut from brushed gold card. The sentiment is from Perfect Punches, punched and layered with circle punches and sponged with Cherry Cobbler ink. I added a couple of seam binding bows to the largest ornaments to finish (couldn't help myself!!).

That's all for now... thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Tuesday 25 September 2012

Papaya Sympathy...

Hello,

I combined a couple of challenges and some new goodies the other day...

     
 
I used the Papaya Collage set from the new catalogue (coming on October 1st!!) as well some Crumb Cake tulle ribbon that I was convinced I didn't need, but after playing with some at a recent demo day I quite like it!



The main panel is Naturals Ivory, stamped with the leaves from Papaya Collage using Crumb Cake ink and sponged around the edges. I embossed the oval frame then layered the sentiment (from Hopeful Thoughts) over the top - this was stamped with Midnight Muse and punched out with the extra large oval punch. The butterflies were stamped with Midnight Muse, coloured with a blender pen and I added some pearls to their centres. The flower was created using the Blossom Party die and some Beau Chateau fabric, with a Brushed Bronze button in the centre secured with some linen thread. I layered this on a bow tied with Crumb Cake scalloped tulle and added a strip of lace trim to finish.

Thanks for stoppng by!

x Amy x

Sunday 23 September 2012

Fabulous Birthday Sketch...

Hiya,

Ann is bringing us a fun sketch at the Paper Players this week...


I've been wanting to play with some new papers coming in the October catty called Floral District and I thought the background space on this sketch would be perfect for showcasing this pretty paper...


As well as the new papers I also used the Create-a-Cupcake stamp set as well as Elements of Style. The banners were created using a combination of white strips and a square punch, as well as the new banner framelits dies. The ribbon is new too - Daffodil Delight stitched grosgrain!

Make sure you check out what the rest of the design team have created...

The Paper Players Design Team

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Saturday 22 September 2012

Papaya Colour Q...

Hi there,

I was playing with the new Papaya Collage set coming in the new catty in October and when I saw the colour combo at Colour Q this week I got inspired...


So pretty!! Here's what I came up with...


I was inspired by the flowers on the cups so I used the beautiful rose image from Papaya Collage, stamping it with Stazon on white and colouring with Wisteria Wonder, Rich Razzleberry, So Saffron and Old Olive inks. I stamped a couple of extra leaves so I could add a few more around the flowers. The frame was stamped with Sahara Sand and cut out with my paper snips - I masked two of the corners with post-it notes and stamped the leaves with Old Olive ink. The sentiment was stamped on vellum with Rich Razzleberry ink and adhered over the leaves (love how this worked out!). The So Saffron background was stamped with the butterfly image from the same set and sponged around the edges with So Saffron ink. I added some faux stitching with a Sahara Sand marker and finished things off with some ruffled white organza ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Friday 21 September 2012

Indian Summer bouquet....

Hiya,

It's time for another Friday Mashup challenge and this week Heidi is challenging us with an Indian Summer theme...

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge:
  1. Make a "Indian Summer" themed project.
  2. Or Make a project with any three colors from "Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Raspberry Ripple, Lucky Limeade & Early Espresso".
  3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Indian Summer Themed project with the color combo".
 
I used Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Lucky Limeade and Early Espresso and created an 'Indian Summer' bouquet with a sunflower and autumn leaves...
 
 
The flower was created using the Blossom Party die and More Mustard card with a bronze button in the centre. The leaves are from Wonderfall, stamped with Lucky Limeade and Cajun Craze on the matching die-cut leaves. The background is Early Espresso core'dinations card embossed with the Holiday Frame embossing folder then sanded with the sanding block. The greeting is from Perfectly Preserved, layered on an image from Four Frames then framed with a flourish designer frame from the Autumn/Winter catty.
 
Make sure you check out what the rest of the DT have created over at the Friday Mashup!
 
Thanks for stopping by...
 
x Amy x

Monday 17 September 2012

Bravo Summer Butterflies...

Hello and happy Monday!

I combined a couple of challenges I've had my eye on this evening...


I ended up with something quite unusual for me but I kinda like it...


I know... I wandered a bit from the sketch!! This started out following the sketch perfectly but wasn't happy with what was in front of me so I shifted the pieces and stumbled across the wonky look and really liked it. The three focal squares were created by brayering So Saffron and Summer Starfruit inks onto glossy white card that I had stamped with an image from Elements of Style using versamark ink. Once I had brayered I wiped the piece with some kitchen towel to reveal the white image underneath. I then punched three squares from the panel using a 1 3/8" punch and rounded the corners. I added a little greeting from Tiny Tags to the bottom square using Bravo Burgundy ink. The white panel is more glossy white card, embossed with the woodgrain embossing folder from the Autumn/Winter catty. The butterfly is from a new set coming in October called Papaya Collage - I stamped it with Bravo Burgundy and coloured with a blender pen and Calypso Coral ink. I added a couple of silver mini brads to the butterfly centres for a bit of extra pop. I had some vellum lying around and played around with softening the colours on the card with it and eventually decided to add it as a panel underneath the woodgrain piece. I used some sticky strip to the top and bottom edges to secure it to the card then added some Dazzling Diamonds glitter over the top - love this effect!

I'm dedicating this card to Jane, Hayley and all the other fab girls I met on Saturday at our demo training day - I came away so inspired and had a wonderful time - thanks ladies!!

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x

Sunday 16 September 2012

CAS Banner Love...

Hello!

This week at the Paper Players it's time for another CAS theme challenge...


I saw this inspiration photo over at Stampin' Royalty that gave me an idea for this challenge...


And here's what I ended up with...


Hold the phone... I am actually happy with one of my CAS cards... gasp! Lol! Anyone who knows my style knows CAS is not something I do easily - but this one came together pretty quickly with the help of the inspiration photo. I die-cut some banners using one of the Bitty Banners dies from First Edition dsp, cut them in half and folded the top of each one over and adhered to a piece of linen thread to create the banner. I added some tiny hearts punched with the owl punch using Primrose Petals and Rasberry Ripple card then added a couple of little pearls to two of the hearts. I embossed the heart from You are Loved with clear EP on Crumb Cake card then layered a greeting from Love & Laughter over the top using oval punches.

Make sure you check out what the rest of the design team have created...

The Paper Players Design Team
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 
x Amy x

Friday 14 September 2012

Starburst Christmas...

Hiya,

Rita has a fun sketch challenge for us over at the Friday Mashup...

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge:
  1. Make a project with the "Sketch".
  2. Or Make a project with the "Starburst technique".
  3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project using the "Sketch and Starburst Technique".

The great thing about this technique is that if you use three different papers then you can make three cards with the same layout and design with all the pieces - easy to batch make Christmas cards! Here's what I came up with:


I used some Festival of Prints dsp together with the lovely First Christmas set from the Autumn/Winter catty. The Island Indigo window framelit diecut was pierced with the new template then I joined the dots with a marker to make it look like stitching. The sentiment was embossed in gold but it didn't show very well in this photo for some reason. I finished things off with some Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon.

Make sure you stop by the Friday Mashup to see the fabulous creations of the design team!

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Thursday 13 September 2012

Rustic autumn leaves...

Hello!

I've been having fun with my new goodies from the Autumn/winter catty and one of the sets I hadn't managed to get inky (until yesterday!) was Wonderfall, which has a fab coordinating die. When I saw the colours at Dynamic Duos I thought this set would work really well with these autumnal colours. I used one of the Freshly Made Sketches for my layout...


Here's what I ended up with...


I stamped the leaves in Cajun Craze and Always Artichoke and the acorn in Crumb Cake and added dimension by bending and folding the leaves. I couldn't resist adding a brushed bronze button with a bit of linen thread. The ribbon is Always Artichoke seam binding and underneath is some cotton ribbon (from the autumn/winter catty) that I cut the edges off and frayed for a bit of a rustic feel. The dsp is from Orchard Harvest with some First Edition dsp in the background (can't go wrong with this paper!!) The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and cut with one of the Itty Bitty Banners dies coming in the new catty next month (hee!!).

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Wednesday 12 September 2012

Sweet apple jar...

Hiya,

I have a little conversation with myself when I saw Perfectly Preserved set in the new Autumn/Winter catalogue... It went something like this: "I don't need that stamp set... I don't need that stamp set... I don't... oooh I like that card made using that stamp set... I like that card made using that stamp set... (etc. etc.) I think I'm gonna need that stamp set!!" Have you ever done that?? Anyway, this is the first card I've made using it:


I combined two challenges for this one: the Sweet Sunday Sketch and the new Colour Me Beautiful challenge...


How gorgeous are those colours?? I used some of the prints from the Orchard Harvest dsp that worked really well with the colour scheme and layered them on Always Artichoke card. I stamped the apples, leaves, jar and topper on Very Vanilla then die-cut with the coordinating dies (so much fun!). I also die-cut a shape from Always Artichoke card with a Window Frames framelit then embossed with the woodgrain embossing folder (love this thing!!). The little banner greeting was stamped with Always Artichoke ink and die-cut with the coordinating banner die (coming in the new catalogue in October). I added some lace, cotton ribbon, buttons and a bit of linen thread around the jar topper to finish.

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Sunday 9 September 2012

Snowflake Bling...

Hiya!

This week over at the Paper Players Lesley has a gorgeous colour combo for us...


Baja Breeze is my all time favourite colour so I knew I was going to have fun with this one! I pulled out some new goodies from the Autumn Winter catty to come up with this...



I LOVE this snowflake die!! I added some serious bling with rhinestones and silver dazzling details and love how it all layered together. The grey panel was stamped with some of the small ornaments from Ornament Keepsakes and then the sentiment (from Beautiful Season) was stamped over the top with Versamark then embossed with white EP. I die-cut a border on the black card with an edgelit die and then embossed with the coordinating embossing folder. The Baja Breeze background was embossed with the new Lacy Brocade embossing folder and I added some Baja Breeze seam binding to finish.

I used this week's Freshly Made sketch for the layout...


Make sure you check out the rest of the design team's fabulous creations:
 
Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Friday 7 September 2012

Go confidently... and sew!

Hello!

This week's Friday Mashup challenge is brought to us by Holly and it had me a little nervous...

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge:
  1. Make a "Back to School" themed project.
  2. Or Make a project with "Sewing".
  3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Back to School project with Sewing".

So you might be wondering why I would be nervous about this...? Well me and my sewing machine have had a troubled relationship... namely that most times I try to use it something goes wrong and because I am {clueless} still learning I never seem to know how to fix it! My super-sewer sister (who is an apprentice on Savile Row!) keeps trying to educate me but I seem to forget what she says as soon as she goes back to London lol! Anyway, I'm not one to let something beat me so I was determined to give it a go for today's challenge and here's what I ended up with...


Amazingly, I managed to sew successfully without anything going wrong lol! I used one of the new in colours called Summer Starfruit with a colour combo found in SU's colour coach. The balloons were stamped with Summer Starfruit, cut out and popped up with dimensionals on the background piece of Very Vanilla that I had stamped the baskets and clouds on. The sentiment is from a new set coming in our big catty in October called Word Play that I inked with Marina Mist and Real Red markers. The Summer Starfruit background was stamped with the key from Artistic Etchings using Summer Starfruit ink. I added a strip of First Edition dsp as well as a punched border using the Dotted Scallop Ribbon punch. The ribbon is the new Cotton ribbon from the Autumn/Winter catty that I dyed with a Marina Mist inkpad and a few spritzes of water then dried with a heat gun - I added an antique brad to create the little banner effect.

I used the sketch from the brand new challenge site: Fab Friday...


Make sure you pop over to the Friday Mashup to check put all the fab creations of the design team!

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Wednesday 5 September 2012

This one's for Evi....

Hiya!

My very sweet friend Evi just happens to work for UPS and when I told her I was expecting a delivey of brand new goodies today, she picked them up and dropped them round to me first thing this morning so I didn't have to wait for the delivery man... how sweet is that??! She said she was expecting to see something on my blog tonight with these new goodies so I couldn't let her down so I combined a couple of challenges to get me started...


I finally got to play with my favourite set from the Autumn/Winter catty - Ornament Keepsakes - and the matching dies! I went a bit vintage with this one...


I started by stamping the ornament with Real Red on Very Vanilla and die-cut. I used the new piercing template that coordinates with these ornaments to pierce around the shape (love these new templates!). I stamped the greeting from Delightful Decorations with Basic Grey on Real Red and punched out with a 3/4" circle punch and layered it onto the ornament then added a bow with Real Red 1/8" taffeta ribbon. The Lucky Limeade layer behind was embossed with the new Lacy Brocade embossing folder and I used some Candlelight Christmas dsp in the background. Most panels were layered on Basic Grey and sponged with Crumb Cake ink to add a vintage touch. A little strip of lace and a few Basic Grey buttins finished this one off.

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Monday 3 September 2012

Grateful Elements...

Hiya,

I combined this week's Freshly Made sketch with the fab colour combo from Create with Connie & Mary...

I used a stamp set that we will {finally!!} be getting in our catty come October to create this:


The floral image was stamped on watercolour paper with Stazon then watercoloured with Rich Razzleberry and Lucky Limeade inks. I added a bit of sparkle with silver dazzling details (told ya I liked this stuff lol!) and sponged the edges slightly with Crumb Cake ink for a touch of vintage. The sentiment was stamped with Night of Navy on Very Vanilla and punched out with the Word Window punch. The bird was stamped with Night of Navy and cut out with my trusty paper snips. The background papers are a combination of First Edition, Rich Razzleberry prints and a strip of Candlelight Christmas dsp (I love it when Christmas themed papers can be used for other projects too!).

That's all for now... thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Sunday 2 September 2012

Ribbon Tree for the Paper Players...

Hello!

This week at the Paper Players we have a great theme brought to us by Jaydee:


Originally I started out making something with leaves but got sidetracked by a technique I saw here and I thought I'd have a go using the Christmas tree die from the Holiday collection framelits...


Lots of details to share on this one, so here goes:

The tree was created by cutting two framelit label shapes and cutting out a tree from one then layering ribbon strips on the other (Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon and Choc Chip scallop dots). I added some silver and Real Red brads then layered the piece with the tree window over the top. I added a star cut from the same framelits set as the tree, with lots of silver dazzling diamonds over the top. I added faux stitching with an Early Espresso marker around the tree and the edges of the label. This whole piece was glued onto a layer of Primrose Petals card.



The background paper is from the new Candlelight Christmas specialty paper, layered on Early Espresso card. The ribbon is Very Vanilla seam binding, tied in a bow then with another bow tied over the top with some linen thread. The sentiment from Delightful Decorations was stamped with Real Red on Crumb Cake, punched out with a 3/4" circle punch then covered with Crystal Effects to create an epoxy sticker type of effect. I rounded the corners of all the layers to soften the overall effect.

I used the Merry Monday sketch for my layout:


Make sure you check out the gorgeous creations by the Paper Players design team:
 
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 
x Amy x

Saturday 1 September 2012

Mojo Tidings...

Hi there,

You'll be seeing quite a lot of Christmas cards for the next while as I'm having lots of fun playing with my new Autumn/Winter catty goodies! I was up til stupid o'clock this morning placing my order for the sneek peek items from the up-coming brand new catty as well as ordereing a bunch more things from the Autumn/Winter catty that I had to wait until the 1st of September to get... Am I the only one that is this sad??? I'm feelin' pretty tired now though lol!

Anyway, enough rambling and onto my card... I played along with this week's Mojo Monday sketch:

I went with the square design and used some new Festival of Prints paper as well as a new sentiment set coming in our catty in October..


The sentiment was stamped on Very Vanilla with Cherry Cobbler and I added a bit of extra colour with a blender pen to the bauble. I punched this out with the extra large oval punch and sponged Crumb Cake ink around the edge. I layered this on a framelit label shape that I embossed with the oval designer frame folder. I cut two banners from the Festival of Prints pack and layered them on Cherry Cobbler, punching the ends with a square punch to get the 'v' shape. The background is Crumb Cake card stamped with the flourish from Elements of Style (coming in the new catty!!) and sponged around the edges. I added a piece of Cotton ribbon (from the Autumn/Winter catty) along with a Cherry Cobbler seam binding bow with an antique brad in the centre. A few pearls finished things off...

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x