Tulip Time! PP383 & CTD482

Hi friends!  The fabulously talented Jaydee is our hostess with the mostess this week at The Paper Players and she's got a Theme Challenge that is spot-on for the weather in Florida this week:

Tulips do not grow here in FL but they were a perennial sign of spring during my childhood in Michigan.  I love that our florists and markets here can import tulips from all over so I still get to embrace them even if they aren't native here.  They are among my favorite flowers so I they were my go-to for this challenge!

Despite being a favorite flower of mine, I only have one stamp set featuring tulips.  So, I asked my auxiliary stamp coordinator--my mom--for any of her favorites.  A true devotee of PTI stamps, she shared the Tulip Time set and coordinating dies and oh how pretty they are!  I tried many color combinations and couldn't settle on anything until I saw these gorgeous colors at The Color Throwdown:

The Smoky Slate center panel was run through, first, with the Wonky Stitched Rectangle dies from My Favorite Things.  I wanted a little interest and texture on the main panel but not bulk so I used Post-it tape to mask off a border and stamped the Burlap background stamp in the center.  The tulips are a three step stamp--the solid base of the flower is Powder Pink followed by Blushing Bride and finally Crumb Cake at the base to match the two-step Crumb Cake stems--whew! That's a lot of stamping!

Once I got the hang of all those stamped parts, I had fun carrying them to the inside panel.  I thought the happy birthday sentiment coordinated well with the "A Time for New Beginnings" sentiment not just for spring but a birthday is always a time for a fresh start, right?  And speaking of a fresh start, the azaleas are in full swing here and spring has definitively sprung!

I hope you enjoyed my card today...be sure to pop over and check out my teammates and their fabulous spring creations at The Paper Players!  Join us before our challenge ends on Friday, March 9th at Noon (PST).  Thanks for stopping by!

The Paper Players Design Team 

Claire Broadwater

 Jaydee

Joanne James

Laurie Schmidt

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy 

Sandy Mathis 

Annie Abrahamson 

Jan Clothier 

Elizabeth Stewart 

Thank Goodness for Clean-andSimple PP340

That's right, thank goodness for LeAnne's cute Clean-and-Simple challenge this week at The Paper Players!  My brain couldn't handle more than CAS this week and even at that, my card is ridicuously simple.  First, here's LeAnne's cute challenge:

I had all kinds of ideas swimming in my head and maybe that was part of the problem--I couldn't settle on just one.  I think it's really after a couple weeks off, my creative juices are slow to get started again.  Anway, here's my card:

Almost embarrassed to post it because there is little stamping or creativity involved--I let this cute paper do all the work.  I've been hoarding saving this retired paper for just the right moment and I think this is it.  Love these cute bikes in their bright colors.  I used a new-to-me die from My Favorite Things--Stitched Basic Edges--to make the fun off center edge.  Before I cut it, I did back the DSP with a piece of cardstock to give it more weight.  I knew I wanted to pop it up on the card base and didn't want it to sag.  The sentiment is from a sweet PTI set, Pedal Pusher, that I borrowed from my mom.   Thanks, Mom!  The sentiment is heat embossed in white on the Bermuda Bay base.  Like I said, ridicuously simple!!

My teamies have some great CAS projects to share with you over at The Paper Players so go check them out before our challenge closes on Friday, April 21st at Noon (PST).  Thanks for stopping by, friends....and for those that celebrate...Happy Easter!

The Paper Players Design Team 

Claire Broadwater

 Jaydee

Joanne James

Laurie Schmidt

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy 

Sandy Mathis 

Crystal Komara
Valentyna Komisarenko
Deanne 

Who is that stylish lady?

My mom taught me to sew when I was 7. It was not a common hobby for my generation but I loved it! My earliest sewing memory is making handkerchief blouses that were successful enough to sell to my fellow fifth grade friends! It was an early introduction to the pride of handcrafting which continues to this day. Today, my daughter enjoys helping with the cutting and sewing is always very proud when she wears a "made by mama" outfit! While on vacation in Michigan last week, my mom introduced me to her favorite craft store...Archiver's. When I saw this Sew Stylish set there, it was a must-have! OMG! I was in heaven at that store. It's probably a good thing there isn't one in Florida, LOL!

The color combination is a little out of my comfort zone but I actually like it and think it works well with the images. The Crumb Cake base was stamped with Versamark using a companion stamp made up of pattern pieces. Might be able to see it better here:

I stamped the oh-sew-stylish lady in Chocolate Chip on a Very Vanilla Top Note and sponged the edges with a little cat's eye ink pad (sorry can't remember the color and I'm too tired to go get it right now!) Her outfit was colored with a Real Red marker with a few "white" spaces peeking through to highlight the "fabric" and show movement. In my head her suit is a plaid wool boucle (a la Chanel) and I think the Square Lattice impressions folder on the Night of Navy cardstock evokes the texture of my imaginary fabric.

Lastly, you can't sew without a tape measure so I stamped the measuring tape image from this set on a strip of daffodil delight and created my own measuring stick! And I love the little bit of chocolate PTI baker's twine threaded through the fun yellow button. (Thanks Mom!)

Thanks for stopping by and indulging my little trip down memory lane. Have a great day!

supplies:
stamps: sew stylish & make your own (hero arts)
ink: chocolate chip, versamark
paper: crumb cake, very vanilla, night of navy, daffodil delight cardstock
xtras: top note die, square lattice impressions folder, baker's twine (PTI), real red stampin' write marker,

Two for One: CQC{41} & 2S4Y{56}

Hi all! First, I need to give a big welcome to a lot of new friends. The number of friends following and reading this little blog has really picked up this week! Thank you so much for giving me a virtual morale boost. Knowing you're out there is so encouraging to me.

OK, on to the reason you're here...the card! I had so much fun putting this one together. I'm not sure which came first in my mind: the colors or the sketch but both are courtesy of two great challenges. This sketch over at 2 Sketches for You
was really easy to work with and is a definite keeper! I flipped it so I could allow more room for the other details on the card. So many possibilites with this one!

Then, who could resist Arielle's luxe combination of colors and textures over at the Color Que this week?! Pretty, yes? I didn't have any Pink Passion so I substituted with Melon Mambo, a current core color. Love the sophisticated color combination. The black card base got a zip through my Big Shot with the Movers & Shapers die. So cool--it cuts, scores and cuts out a little window shape in the card. Here I used the modern label shape to mimic the rectangular piece of the sketch. Once the window is cut and the inside cardstock glued down I just stamped my sentiment right through the window!

A little closer look at the sweet armchair from PTI's On My Couch stamped in Versamark directly onto some Basic Grey designer paper then heat embossed with black embossing powder. The embosssing really makes the details of the chair stand out. The grey stripe looks a bit like a man's suit, yes? That sweet little Melon Mambo pillow is from the same set stamped on whisper white and cut out. I punched a 1 3/4" circle of Whisper White, stamped the coordinating Melon Mambo "rug" and set up the chair on dimensionals. The Melon Mambo scallop circle was run through the Square Lattice impressions folder and then punched out with the new 2 3/8" scallop circle punch--you must have this, it's such a great size.

See the cute background? It didn't photograph that well but the armchair is randomly stamped in Basic Black ink on the card background. Cute? Gives a nice subtle backdrop to the colors and textures in the rest of the card.

Peeking through the modern label window shows a sweet little friend on the inside.

Thanks again for all your comments and support on my crafting journey I "chair-ish" each of you! :-)

supplies:
stamps: PTI on my couch, on my couch additions
ink: melon mambo, basic black, basic grey, versamark
paper: basic black, whisper white, melon mambo cardstock
xtras: whisper white organza ribbon; 1 3/4" circle, 2 3/8" scallop circle, scallop edge & corner rounder punches; black stampin' embossing powder; movers & shapers die; adhesive rhinestones from my stash (still waiting for my SU ones!)

One of a kind chair

I have always had a thing for chairs. I think of them as an accessory to a room--kind of like a great statement necklace with a simple dress or sweater. So, it was no surprise that my mom recently gifted me with this fabulous PTI set. Lo and behold, there is a perfectly fitting Three Cheers for Chairs challenge over on the Moxie Fab World blog--apparently I'm not the only one with a thing for chairs!

I kept my card base pretty simple in color and design so that the patterned chairs would really pop. Each chair is stamped and paper pieced--so much fun! The chair legs are colored with my Stampin' Write marker in soft suede. I stamped the rug, kind of as an afterthought, to balance out the weight of the ribbon on the left with the sentiment on the right. I also kept the ribbon treatment simple so it would accent, rather than compete, with those lovely chairs! And, I can't forget the inside...not a great pic, but the set also includes a faux-wood floor and a lamp which has a paper pieced lampshade to match the chair on the front. So let's hear it for the chair! I'm going to go curl up in one right now....well, maybe after I help my daughter in the tub, into her jammies, put her to bed, do the dishes....sigh...maybe I'll just look at these chairs instead! ;-) Have a good one!