Let's Party with the Paper Players!

Mornin' y'all!  It's Sunday and time for a new challenge from The Paper Players!  This week the super Stef has a fabulous theme challenge for us:

And this is super timely too, as both the hubs and our kiddo have birthdays this weekend!  Yes, Ryan's birthday is the day after his dad's.  Anyway, this challenge graphic reminded me of the Birthday Bouquet DSP that was released quite a few years ago, so I dug it out and made this:

I keep a sheet protector with each set of DSP that holds all my DSP scraps for that pack, and when I pulled out the Birthday Bouquet scraps I had over a dozen pennants that I had cut when I did a baby shower for my SIL.  (Um, niece turns TEN in April!)  So I picked a pennant with balloons on it, added a simple stamped greeting and a few Candy Dots, and bam!  Card sorted.  Even with hemming and hawing a bit over colors I still had this done in about ten minutes.  The card base is Pool Party, the greeting is Mint Macaron, and my supporting color is Blushing Bride, all colors from the DSP pack (though the balloon pattern doesn't have any Blushing Bride in it).  I should send this to my niece when the time comes!

Check out the other design team creations on the Paper Players blog, and you can hop through their individual blogs to leave some comments too:

The Paper Players Design Team

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater

Joanne James

Anne Marie Hile

Ann Schach

Jan Clothier

Stef Perry

you are here --> Christy Stanford

And then upload your card at the Paper Players blog!  Keep in mind a few simple rules:
1.  Create a new paper project
2.  Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us and provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission
3.  Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL
4.  Have fun!

And don't forget to keep it CAS this week!  Lots of white space, limited layers and embellishments.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Bonanza Buddies
Ink:  Mint Macaron
Paper:  Pool Party, Blushing Bride, Basic White, Birthday Bouquet DSP
Accessories:  Pennants Bigz die, circle punch, Layering Circles Framelits, Dimensionals, Candy Dots

And if you're interested, you can see the baby shower invitation here, and the card I made to go with my baby shower gift here.  Apparently I didn't share pictures of the decorations on my blog, but I made a bunch of mice treat boxes as party favors.  So there's my walk down Memory Lane!

The Ringmaster's Secret

Happy Saturday and that means it's time for a new Nancy Drew Challenge!  We are now at #31, The Ringmaster's Secret:

Both covers are by Rudy Nappi, and on the left we have a scene from the book.  That is NOT George in the tutu (George would never), it's Nancy's new friend Lolita who is an aerialist in the circus.  I think this cover is very busy, with so many different colors going on.

The revised text cover is simpler and actually reminds me of the revised cover for #8, Nancy's Mysterious Letter, with the main colors being dark reds and pinks.  This one is redder than the Mysterious Letter and for once Nancy is much smaller on the cover than the main antagonist, who is certainly creepy.

I think I have to give it to the revised text cover for this one.  Plus, since it has a lot to do with horses, this was one of my favorite Nancy Drews as a kiddo : )  Let's take a look:

Case file:  Nancy's Aunt Eloise gives her a golden bracelet with horse charms that has a mysterious past tied to a circus performer, so Nancy immediately joins the circus that just came to town as a trick rider (she has suddenly taken up trick riding and this is Never Mentioned Again).  She becomes friends with teenaged aerialist Lolita, who wants to elope with her clown boyfriend but her controlling foster father the mercurial ringmaster won't allow it.  Nancy discovers what really happened to Lolita's mother, gets the ringmaster and his accomplices arrested, and performs several times with the circus in between getting kidnapped with George, temporarily blinded by toxic fumes, and taking a quick trip to the UK.  She's very busy.

Here's my card:

I chose Boho Blue for my main color to match Nancy's dress, and I went with the lion image because a.) it's circusy and b.) there is a lion in the book--at the climax of the novel, the ringmaster opens the lion's cage and tries to push Nancy inside, but it's Ned who gets scratched saving Nancy.  Again, it is dangerous to be friends with Nancy.

I worked in the Pear Pizzazz and Real Red from the background on the book cover as colors for my balloons, but couldn't work in any pink for Lolita's outfit.  Still, I liked this plaid pattern I used because it felt kind of circusy to me?  Cannot explain that one, it just is.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Bonanza Buddies
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Darling Duckling, Cinnamon Cider, Calypso Coral, Pear Pizzazz, Real Red
Paper:  Boho Blue, Calypso Coral, Thick Basic White, Timeless Plaid DSP Stack
Accessories:  Bonanza dies, Stitched Rectangles dies, Stitched Shapes dies, Dimensionals, Fine Sparkle Gems

Next up is the revised text:

No major plot changes and let me just say that this book is ever so much better than the previous circus-themed Nancy Drew, the hot mess that is The Mystery of the Ivory Charm, which is still the low point of the series as far as I'm concerned.  Here's my card:

I wanted to do something with a horse image since that's what's on the cover of this book, and the golden horse bracelet is the catalyst for the mystery this time...though they never explain why a European queen would give a dainty horse bracelet to Lolita's mother, who was an aerialist and not a trick rider.

As I said before, this cover reminds me of the RT cover for Nancy's Mysterious Letter, and once again I did a monochromatic card in pinks and reds, this time with some gold for the gold bracelet in the book.  I did use Tip Top Taupe for the shading on the horse and this is the first card I've made with Let It Ride since I acquired it on eBay last year.  I also used the Fan Fair DSP pack that I used when I made my card for the OT Clue of the Black Keys.  I decided to tear the edge of the panel with the horse to mimic the edges of the painting on the book cover, and I chose a ticket shape for the greeting to go with the circus theme.  I think about these things, y'all.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Let It Ride
Ink:  Versamark, Merry Merlot, Primrose Petals
Paper:  Primrose Petals, Merry Merlot, Thick Basic White, Fan Fair DSP
Accessories:  Tags & Labels dies, Clear EP, Gold EP, Dimensionals, Gold Brushed Metallic Dots

I still love The Ringmaster's Secret, it's so much fun I give it five stars.  If you're inspired to make a card, please leave me a comment here with a link so I can see!  And don't forget to check back next Saturday, when Nancy will investigate The Scarlet Slipper Mystery.  Cheers!

Baby Luke: One Year Old

Happy Saturday!  I am really closing in on the last of the baby book layouts...I've got today's post and then just one more for the last page in Luke's book.  And this one is super cute!

I loooooooooooooove the Bonanza Buddies stamp set that came out a couple years ago, and the coordinating paper.  Seriously, aren't those little dudes the cutest?!  Love the fun bright colors for this layout, which were all taken directly from the patterned paper:  Mango Melody, Bermuda Bay, Terracotta Tile, and a bit of gray and black for our animal buddies.

Cheers, y'all!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Bonanza Buddies
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody, Smoky Slate, Terracotta Tile
Paper:  Mango Melody, Bermuda Bay, Terracotta Tile, Thick Whisper White, Birthday Bonanza DSP
Accessories:  Bonanza dies, Sizzix letters

Look Who's Turning 2

Scrappy Monday, friends!  Today is Ryan's birthday and he's turning FOUR and I don't know when he got so big but he did and he keeps telling me he's never going to stop growing no matter what I say.  Today I'm taking a break from the Disney cruise pictures to share layouts from Ryan's second birthday (since I've been scrapping chronologically from his birth, I haven't gotten to #3 yet).

I loved Bonanza Buddies that came out last year and the coordinating paper, I was a little sad they didn't carry over but since I never get rid of stamps anyway it's not like it matters to my collection.  Obviously the hubs took all the pictures because he's not in any of them, the same thing happened last Christmas and I really need to work on that.

Before Ryan was even born, I had gotten a star-shaped cake pan to make his first birthday cake in and then we were in the big fat middle of moving house on his first birthday so we did a store-bought cake.  So I did get out the star pan for this birthday and made a red velvet cake (hubs' favorite, but we all like it and Ryan hadn't tried enough cake varieties to have his own favorite) with cream cheese frosting.

Here's a rather dark picture of today's color palette, which is much brighter and more fun than this picture would have you believe:  Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody, Basic Black, and Whisper White.  Love it.  Also last week I discovered that if I take all my stuff out on the little balcony on the front of our house when it's cloudy out, I can actually get good pictures of my scrapbook layouts and color palettes.  Bit of a pain dragging things out there but worth it to get better photos, I think.

Have a great week, peeps!  We're eating lots more birthday cake tonight :D

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Number of Years, Bonanza Buddies
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Bermuda Bay, Mango Melody, Smoky Slate, Daffodil Delight, Stampin' Blends in Bermuda Bay, Mango Melody, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black marker
Paper:  Bermuda Bay, Mango Melody, Daffodil Delight, Thick Whisper White, Birthday Bonanza DSP
Accessories:  Bonanza dies, Stitched Shapes dies

Birthday Koala

Mornin', y'all!  The sun is shining and I'm ready for a good day today, how about you?

Yesterday afternoon I busted out a new stamp set to make a quick birthday card, here it is:

Bonanza Buddies is so cute, amirite?  In addition to this koala, the stamp set has an adorable lion and toucan, plus presents, balloons, and assorted birthday sentiments.  The banner at the top is from the coordinating Bonanza dies, which I cut out of a scrap of Lily Impressions DSP to give them a bit of texture.  I used Lovely Lipstick embossing powder for the sentiment; it was in last year's catalog but I didn't get it until it went on the clearance rack.  It came in a package with four other colors of EP but this is the first one I've used.  I like it!

Check out this week's Freshly Made Sketch:

And the Color Throwdown:

I used Lovely Lipstick, Coastal Cabana/Bermuda Bay (they're both in the DSP banner), and Crumb Cake for my colors.  I love this palette and the inspiration picture, I kinda want to play with them again.

Time for us to get ready to go for the day.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Bonanza Buddies
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Bermuda Bay, Versamark
Paper:  Basic Black, Thick Whisper White, Lily Impressions DSP, Birthday Bonanza DSP
Accessories:  Bonanza Dies, Stitched Shapes Dies, Happiness Blooms Enamel Dots, Dimensionals, Lovely Lipstick EP