Proud Colors for The Paper Players

Mornin' y'all and happy Sunday!  We had a small but mighty gallery for last week's Paper Players challenge from Jan, and I hope to see lots of players in this week's color challenge from Stef:

I went with Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake, and Real Red for my colors, which immediately made me think of the old retired favorite Fresh Prints (...of Bel Air, I can't help it) DSP stack which has the latter three colors in it so that put me three quarters of the way to the color combination.  And you know what I've had on the brain lately?

Yep, I did it, another peacock!  I went through the DSP stack first and I really liked that floral print with three of the colors in it, and the peacock from World Treasures seemed to match the style of artwork so I stamped him in Bermuda Bay to round out the challenge colors.  I did accent some of his feathers with some Coastal Cabana ink, but I kept the card very simple since the pattern is busy and the peacock's tail of course is also a lot visually.  I used a simple strip of Crumb Cake cardstock to ground the peacock and that gave me a place for a simple stamped greeting.  Almost everything I used on this card is retired, but that doesn't mean I can't still use those supplies to play with : )

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

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!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  World Treasures, Express Yourself
Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana
Paper:  Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Fresh Prints DSP Stack
Accessories:  Dimensionals

Dressy Thanks

Here it is past 2:00 in the afternoon and I don't have a card for today.  I spent the morning at the dentist having fillings done, and I just haven't felt up to working in my craft room today.  So instead here's a card I made quite a while ago with some retired stamps.

My mom the shopaholic (HI MOM!!) sent me a box last summer with three brand-new dresses in it, so I made this to send to her.  One dress was blue, one was green, and one was yellow, hence the color combination.

I stamped the "thank you" part before I watercolored the dresses, and I thought it was funny when I squished the ink pad lid down that I got this reverse thank you on the lid.

Cheers, peeps.  Back with something new tomorrow.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Simply Sweet, Express Yourself (both retired)
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Pacific Point, Cucumber Crush, Daffodil Delight
Paper:  Pacific Point, Whisper White, Cucumber Crush & Daffodil Delight DSP
Accessories:  Decorative Label punch, Dimensionals

Friday Flashback: Triple Treat Flower

Happy Friday, peeps!  Welcome back to the Friday Flashback.  Today's featured stamp set is actually one single stamp, the Triple Treat Flower.  So let's look back in the archives...

Also features All Holidays

 Oh, okay.  That's it for the archives.  Well then, on to today's new card!

I like the colors.  I used the ColourQ color challenge (colour challenge) and decided to use Island Indigo as the main color and just pops of the other colors.  And I decided to use the Get Well sentiment from Express Yourself because I don't have a big stash of Get Well cards.  I have lots of Thinking of You which also works for that, but we like variety.  Anyway, here's the ColourQ challenge graphic:

I also used this week's Freshly Made Sketch:

Those collage-type layouts aren't really in my comfort zone, so I appreciate this challenge making me stretch a bit and I do like how the card came out.

It wasn't all sunshine and roses working on it though.  Have you ever opened up a red ink pad and seen the dreaded gold sheen?  I don't know what causes it but I opened up my Raspberry Ripple ink pad and there it was.  Well, Raspberry Ripple is retired, and as I had no fear and nothing to lose, I took the ink pad up to the sink and rinsed it out, hoping to get all the gold sheen off.

Note to self:  do not rinse out ink pads in a white porcelain sink.  It looked like a crime scene cleanup.  Luckily it came off with some Clorox wipes.  After I rinsed it out and squished it on a lot of paper towels, I set about inking it back up with an ink refill.

That little bugger was hard to squeeze, this is what the ink pad looked like when I was almost done.  And then I tried inking up my stamp.  And I think maybe I didn't get enough of the water out of the ink pad before I started with the ink refill.  I'm going to have to think about how I might possibly salvage this ink pad...might have to go rinse it out again and let it dry really good before inking it up again.  Only I won't use the white sink to do that ;)  I ended up using a marker to color in the stamp, which turned out much lighter and less saturated than the ink pad would have but at least it worked.

Anyway.  It's time for me to get off the computer and go tackle something else.  Though I might check all my red ink pads for the dreaded gold sheen...

Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Triple Treat Flower, Express Yourself
Ink:  Island Indigo, Cajun Craze, Raspberry Ripple
Paper:  Island Indigo, Always Artichoke, Whisper White, Island Indigo DSP
Accessories:  two retired flower punches, 1/2" circle punch, hexagon punch, rhinestone, Circles Framelits, Secret Garden Framelits

Friday Flashback: Express Yourself

Happy Friday, peeps!  This week's Friday Flashback stamp set is Express Yourself, a collection of sentiment stamps that was a hostess set in the 2013-14 catalog.  A lot of times I don't use hostess sets a whole lot, but I do love this one so let's go!

Also features Hello Lovely

Something CAS to start off with; I think that Eastern Elegance DSP was one of my all-time faves.

Also features Falling Leaves

This was for one of the crazier Splitcoast sketches; I haven't done one of their challenges in a long time actually.

Oops, I chose the pic that doesn't have the entire card front on it but you get the idea.  Made this for the hubs for our 10th anniversary a couple years ago.

Also features Hearts a Flutter

Another CAS creation...

Also features Best of Autumn

And here's another fall card.  I like that leaf, it's a pretty image.

Also features Serene Silhouettes

I loved how the color wash looks on the silhouette image panel, and then right when I was finishing up this card I got a smudge on it.  Oops.

Also features Lovely as a Tree

Are you seeing a trend with the sentiment stamp yet?  The other sentiments are perfectly good too but I seem to be drawn to that "always thinking of you one".  And for my next trick:

Yup, I used the same sentiment on today's new card.  I do love how this one turned out though, I used the color challenge from Colour Q:

Those colors just screamed FALL to me so I went with it (though I do have some flower stamps that look like the images on that phone case).  Fall is my favorite time of year; I'm looking forward to cooler temperatures, sweaters and scarves without being absolutely frozen solid, and of course fall baking.  Because Thanksgiving.  And I just love baking.  Washing the dishes afterwards, not so much :p

I based my card layout off of this older Sketch Frenzy Friday sketch, but the linky is closed for it.

That's it for me this week, have a great weekend.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Express Yourself, Gently Falling, Sanded
Ink:  Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie, Taken with Teal, Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand
Paper:  Early Espresso, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Autumn Meadows DSP
Accessories:  Wide oval punch, Dimensionals

Hearts a Flutter

Happy Manic Monday, stampy friends!  I've been totally mildly obsessed with scrapbooking lately but I managed to make a quick CAS card today.

I keep wanting to add more rhinestones, but I couldn't figure out where they'd look good so I left it at just the one on the heart.  I used the latest sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch:

And my card is a farewell ode to two retiring stamp sets, Hearts a Flutter and Express Yourself.  Well, not really a farewell since I keep all my retired stamps like a rubber-loving dragon with her hoard of treasure.  Hence the need for Friday Flashbacks so that I dust all those retired sets off once in a while :)

That's it for me today, thanks for stopping by.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Hearts a Flutter, Express Yourself
Ink:  Wisteria Wonder, Primrose Petals
Paper:  Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White
Accessories:  Apothecary Accents & Hearts a Flutter Framelits, Mosaic EF, rhinestone, Dimensionals

Anniversary Hearts

Another card I made last year and didn't post yet...

I sponged Elegant Eggplant ink onto the smaller heart, and even though I made this card last October and tried to clean off the ink pad at the time, it still has some sparklies on it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Express Yourself
Ink:  Elegant Eggplant, Midnight Muse
Paper:  Midnight Muse, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer, Print Poetry DSP
Accessories:  Heart Framelits, Dimensionals

Nachos: Winter Trees

Happy Tuesday!  Are you ready for a great sketch challenge from the Nachos?

Super simple and easy to work with!  Here's what I did:

What's funny is that two other Nachos used that exact same stamp this week!  I hadn't used Lovely As a Tree in such a long time, too.  I just had to laugh when I saw how often these trees showed up this week.

For the background, I scribbled Pool Party and Pistachio Pudding markers on a large acrylic block, misted with water, and then stamped it on Very Vanilla cardstock.  I had to do it two or three times before I got one I really liked, I like how this one looks like crayon scribbles.  I let it dry completely before I stamped the trees and sentiment with Island Indigo.

So go see what the other Nachos have done with this sketch, then get to your own stampy station and show us what you've got : )  Have fun!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Lovely As a Tree (a.k.a. The Set That Will Never Retire), Express Yourself
Ink:  Pool Party & Pistachio Pudding markers, Island Indigo ink pad
Paper:  Island Indigo, Very Vanilla, Venetian Romance DSP
Accessories:  Subtles Candy Dots

Love You Leaf

I made a card for my hubs yesterday 'cause I think he should be the recipient of more of my creations.

When I saw the new challenge at Dynamic Duos, this idea popped into my head--I even already had the leaf stamped and cut out from a previous project.

If I hadn't already had that leaf done, I might have been tempted to do a Christmas card with these colors, but I'm in denial about how close Christmas is.  Anyway, when I paired the colors with the latest Freshly Made Sketch, this card practically made itself.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!  Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Best of Autumn, Express Yourself
Ink:  Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Bermuda Bay
Paper:  Bermuda Bay, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Real Red DSP
Accessories:  Button (retired style, because as soon as I got all the buttons from last year's catalog, they came out with a new set!), linen thread

Friday Flashback: Falling Leaves

Happy Friday, ready to Flashback?  This week's stamp set is Falling Leaves, which I love :)  So let's get to it!

You'll see that I love to line up the leaves in this stamp set.  This was for my brother's birthday a few years ago (he was born in November).  I also used French Filigree and the sentiment is from All Holidays.

Here's a card that matches one of the kokeshi dolls in my collection :)  Sentiment is from the eponymous Grateful Greetings.

Here's a baby book layout which also features Wonderfall.

And another baby book layout.  I do believe that Autumn Traditions DSP is the *only* DSP that Stampin' Up! has ever had with Elegant Eggplant in it (aside from the monochromatic stuff that comes in every color).  It's a shame too because I love Elegant Eggplant.  I think I (and lots of other people too probably) would use it more often if it was in more DSP.

Here's a little CAS card; sentiment is from the Bright Blessings wheel that I cut up into a bunch of little stamps.

So that's it for the past projects, here's the new card:

Yep, I lined up those leaves again!  Though this time I think they're a little crooked, I was kinda in a hurry.  This is based on some old SCS sketch and color challenges; the sketch turned out much better than I thought it would (though it's still a bit overcomplicated for my taste) and I love the colors together.  Again, I used the Autumn Traditions DSP though even in that there's not a print that features Elegant Eggplant as the dominant color.  That Riding Hood Red print and the acorn print are two sides of a single sheet of paper.

That's it for today, hope you enjoyed this Friday Flashback!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Falling Leaves, Express Yourself
Ink:  Riding Hood Red, Elegant Eggplant, Soft Suede
Paper:  Soft Suede, Elegant Eggplant, Very Vanilla, Autumn Traditions DSP (retired)
Accessories:  Corner rounder punch, Elegant Eggplant brad (I'm using up some old brads instead of using the new Candy Dots)
Stamps:  Falling Leaves

Amazing You

Howdy folks!  Finally got my card done for today :)  I think I need to quit procrastinating!  Or, y'know, quit doing the dishes or something, 'cause that sucks up a lot of time...or maybe it only seems like it sucks up a lot of time because I procrastinate about doing the dishes too.  Hmm.

I combined today's SCS color challenge with the current sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch for a very CAS card.  The Crushed Curry images (whadya call those anyway?) are popped up on Dimensionals and I put rhinestones in the centers for a little bling.  A bit of patterned paper and a sentiment, and this card was finished in record time.  Why did I choose that "amazing you" sentiment?  No idea, I just liked it :)

Here's the sketch:

Lookit that, I actually did pretty much exactly the same as the sketch.  Yay me.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a lovely day!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Hello, Lovely; Express Yourself
Ink:  Crushed Curry
Paper:  Whisper White, Eastern Elegance DSP
Accessories:  rhinestones, Dimensionals

Watercolor Wash

Happy Monday, folks!  We are officially under a week until the baby shower I'm hosting on Saturday, so I've got to get my rear in gear and finish up a couple projects for that.  The biggest two are done though so yay!

Anyway, I got to try out a new-to-me technique for today's card called watercolor wash.  I found the instructions here on Angie Leach's blog, and here's how mine turned out:

This was a very messy technique...or I'm a very messy stamper...and I was really careful about not getting the wet ink everywhere until the VERY LAST MINUTE and I got a splotch of Elegant Eggplant ink on the left side of the card.  DRAT!  I left it on there because I'm calling it handmade charm (work with me, people!).  The watercolor piece was my first attempt where I didn't stamp off the ink on the block before spritzing and smearing it on the watercolor paper so the colors are extra saturated (my new In Color ink pads are almost ridiculously juicy).  I had another piece that I did stamp off a bit and it was much softer, but then I messed it up when I stamped the image--I hadn't re-inked my Elegant Eggplant ink pad and the image didn't come out dark enough, and then I didn't get it exactly lined up right to stamp over it the second time.  So I inked up the ink pad and then stamped it on this piece instead.

The layout is one of those gonzo old SCS sketch challenges that I think is overly complicated, but the color inspiration came from this gorgeous picture at Just Add Ink:

I used Strawberry Slush, Coastal Cabana, and Elegant Eggplant as my colors based on the picture, though perhaps the darker Bermuda Bay would have been a closer match to the photo.  But I love Coastal Cabana so I had to play with that and did you SEE that scrumptious pattern from the Eastern Elegance DSP?  Love that!!

Ok, enough rambling from me today, I've got work to do.  Have a fantabulous day!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Serene Silhouettes, Express Yourself (new hostess set!)
Ink:  Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Elegant Eggplant, Versamark
Paper:  Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Elegant Eggplant, Watercolor paper, Eastern Elegance DSP
Accessories:  White EP, tiny pearls, Dimensionals