Christmas Spirit(s)

Here's a whimsical holiday hostess gift using new stamp sets from Flower Soft, The Christmas Spirit and Santa and Pals!  It was quick and easy using Spellbinders circles, a few designer paper and ribbon  scraps, Memento ink and Copic markers.  I colored it intending to hang it from a bottle of red, but we only have white, so there ya go!  I also couldn't help but draw and paper-piece a little bartender's apron for this festive fella to wear!  ;)

More ideas on the Flower Soft blog!

Gourmet Rubber Stamps DT Challenge

It's design team challenge day for our Gourmet Rubber Stamps team.  Just look at this gorgeous Fall color inspiration photo! 

Kelly Gettlefinger's twisted cards were a huge hit on Splitcoaststampers not long ago, and I'm finally getting around to trying one!  I thought this design would make a really fun Halloween pocket card.  The diagonal lines of this fold are easy to accentuate with designer paper...stripes and graph paper prints really emphasize the angles.

When it is opened, the card has a bat wings sort of shape, with lots of little nooks and crannies to decorate.

I used a variety of GRS stamps outside and in...some were inked and stamped off before stamping onto card stock; others were stamped and then colored with Copics, and still others colored with markers directly to rubber.

This is such a fun fold!  I know I will be using it for other cards since I had such a great time with this one!

Visit the GRS blog and my design team mates to see more gorgeousness with this lovely color inspiration!  Just a reminder that you can save 25% off your order over $35 by entering this code upon checkout: FALL2012. Good through September 30th. Happy shopping!

Notes:
Gourmet Rubber Stamps Ghostly Greetings, spider web
Authentique designer paper
Memento ink
Copic markers
Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink
black rhinestones
May Arts ribbon

CPS Sketch

This week's CPS sketch is sponsored by My Favorite Things Stamps.  Since "Talk Like a Pirate" day was not so long ago, I used this cute stamp for my card!  Visit the CPS blog for lots more great cards with this sketch, and more ideas using MFT Stamps.

Notes:
MFT Stamps:  I Treasure Our Friendship

Copic blending paper

Memento ink

Copic markers

Echo Park Hello Summer, MME designer papers

Canvas Corp rope

It's finally here!

Fall is finally really here!  It officially arrived on Saturday, but this morning northeast Floridians awoke to a crisp 57 degrees!  So lovely! The skies are a high bright blue, and we're planning to spend at least a little time enjoying the cooler temps and sunshine!

My card for today is a celebration of harvest time and the symbols of Fall, using the Our Craft Lounge stamp set, Bountiful Harvest.  I made it for the Copic class I'll be teaching tomorrow at Scrappies in Palatka.  If you're a local, I'd love to see you there!

Creative Ways to Use Toppers

All week long our Flower Soft team has been sharing projects featuring creative ways to use Flower Soft toppers.  I used this beautiful image from Magical Santa to adorn the cover of a December notebook.  

I kept things ultra simple (no glitter or fluff) because I expect this project to see some serious every-day use.  The gold peel-off sticker borders and gold cording tied around the spine add some elegance without making the organizer bulky or awkward to use.  It will go shopping for groceries and gifts, and in between excursions will decorate the table beside my chair where I have my morning coffee and organize plans for the day.

The inside of the cover has designer paper pockets for stashing receipts and stuff.  It will be a great place to keep a few hand-made gift tags.  

The right side has a post-it pad and a place to store a pen or pencil.  It will be ready and waiting for notes on my Christmas card and thank-you card lists, friends who've called, gift-giving ideas, grocery lists...there's always a lot to remember in December, and this will help me keep it all together, literally and figuratively. ;)

There are magnets to hold the cover closed, so everything will stay right where it should.

Visit the Flower Soft blog to see the great projects my friends have been posting all week.  You can also visit their personal blogs for all the details.

• Monday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday

New Dies from TSOL

There are new die sets being released today from The {Stamps} of Life.  The Christmas 4-pack coordinates with Christmas2build.  I used October Afternoon designer papers along with Stephanie's inks for this flip-it card.   Santa's pencil is a toothpick from Gibson's (we-must-have-dinner-at-Gibson's-every-SummerCHA!) that I colored with Copic markers.  

The flip side features a sentiment from joy2Christmas.

Visit this TSOL gallery to see more ideas using the new Christmas dies and our new onesies dies also!  

ihp and Zva Bling It On!

Do you LOVE bling? So do we! This month the i {heart} papers design team and the team from Zva Creative are celebrating the love of beautiful bling! Since each of our teams have designers that are also Paper Craft Planet Super Novas, we asked the PCP team to host some special challenges throughout the week. There will be lots of beautiful, blingy inspiration!

You should have arrived from Andrea's blog...if you missed the beginning, head straight to Kate's blog so you won't miss a single gorgeous project!

i {heart} papers retails the industry's best paper crafting supplies from your favorite manufacturers while offering stellar customer service and super fast and FREE US shipping with any $60 order. (We also ship internationally.) We are proud to offer our exclusive i {stick} papers redline tape, which is manufactured just for us in long-lasting 60 yard rolls, at an amazing price! We also provide a publication incentive for our three private stamp lines, Mint Motif, The Petal Press and Chicken Girl. Visit our website and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and our blog for news, sales, coupons and more!

Zva Creative produces many beautiful color groupings of high quality pearls, flowers and crystal embellishments that can be used on scrapbooking, card making and mixed media projects. Visit Zva’s gallery or blog for great project ideas and to find a list of stores and online retailers that sell Zva click HERE.

Zva Creative will be selecting one lucky winner who comments along the blog hop to win a Zva prize package worth $30. All comments must be received by 11:59 pm on Wednesday, September 19th. Winners will be announced on Zva’s blog on Thursday, September 20th.

My project, also for today's PCP 3D challenge, is a tea caddy.  I found the template via Pinterest on Heidi Bak's blog.  I kept the basic scoring and construction in keeping with Heidi's instructions, with some beautiful Teresa Collins designer paper and washi tape...the washi tape was functional as well as decorative!  The picture at the top of my blog shows the pretty tape that decorates the outside...the picture above shows the washi tape that helps hold the flaps of the box lid flat while it also looks beautiful!

Since my Card Positioning Systems project was also due, and the supplies from this project were still cluttering my desk, I made a card that could coordinate with my tea caddy.  It's minus the rich golds of the designer paper, so I'm not sure I'd actually present them together, but still, I really like the way the card turned out! This layout is absolutely perfect for washi tape and Zva Creative!

Notes:
GRS stamps tea pot, tea bag, and sentiment

Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Copic markers

Tim Holtz distress ink

Zva Creative bling

Teresa Collins Vintage Finds designer paper

Teresa Collins Vintage Finds washi tape

Bow Easy

Zva Creative clear crystal flourish

dimensional adhesive

Scor tape

Scor Pal

From here, you're visiting Lisa Gregory. Thanks for visiting, and enjoy the hop! We hope to see you and your creations this week on Paper Craft Planet!

New Gourmet Rubber Stamps Appetizers

Some really fun new appetizer sets are being released from Gourmet Rubber Stamps today!  You will LOVE them! 

First up is a new Halloween set called Ghostly Greetings!  I adore this spooky house image! I paired it with some new We R Memory Keepers designer paper...I used some yellow-green Copic markers to just barely tint the windows to match the stars in the paper, which gives everything an eerie glow.

For the inside, I used a spider web image which is available as a single now, but will be part of the larger Diners set to be released soon.  The longer lines extending to the edges were made with a Copic multi-liner.

Circles of Christmas has two lovely wreaths, an ornate ornament, and a beautiful greeting.  I accented this evergreen wreath with pearls and some thin, gold thread.

Be sure to visit the GRS galleries to see more ideas with these brand new appetizers.  My team mates have made some fabulous projects that you don't want to miss!

Scrap-It Frames from Flower Soft

Welcome to another fantastic Flower Soft blog hop!  You should've arrived here from Linda's blog! 

Today our team is sharing projects made with a really cool new Flower Soft product, Scrap-It Frames.  These are easy-to-use shadow-box style fold-and-tuck frames.  You can use all kinds of media to alter them, and then insert your own art or photo.  Just wait until you see everyone's amazing projects!

For my vintage collage I used October Afternoon patterned papers with Flower Soft's silhouette Santa stamp of Santa double-checking his list.  I adhered some striped MME designer paper to the frame, added Spellbinders fleur de lis corners embellished with buttons and sparkly embroidery floss.  This is one of my favorite color combos!  I really love how all these elements work together!

From here, you will be visiting Cibele!  Here's the entire list, just in case you get lost along the way!

• Jeanne Streiff 
• Krista Riley
• Stephanie Lee
• Dawn Lusk
• Linda Beeson
• Deb Felts (you are here)
• Cibele Glazer
• Jen Buck 
• Vicki Henderson Harper
• the Flower Soft blog
• Flower Soft on FaceBook

OCL free digi, challenge, and SALE!

On Friday, Kendra posted a new challenge to the OCL blog, to use OCL stamps.  Hard as it is to fathom, some of you might not have any, so Debbie Corbari, one of our amazing illustrators, drew a digi, "Love Floats," to offer as a freebie!  It is SO cute!

I resized the digital image and printed it on a piece of light gray Authentique patterned paper, again on a text print "sky," and a third time on a piece of white card stock.  I trimmed the gray piece and glued it to the text print, then colored and cut the hearts from the white card stock.  This way the Copic colors come out cleaner and brighter on the white than they would on the gray, and there's less risk of bleeding through the lines, which reds are so prone to do.  (Even if they DO bleed out on the white, you're cutting that right off anyway!)

I love finding new ways to use old sets, so I went flipping through my baskets (yes, I have two!) of OCL stamps to find anything that might work with this new image.  Debbie's coordinating set, Love is in the Air, and single, Spilling Over, are obvious choices.  I stamped the cloud, colored it with Copic markers and accented it with a punched heart.  A fussy-cut chevron border from Every Heart Beat, stamped in black on red, brings in more color.

I inked the #9 part of "Love Potion #9 from Love Potion (ha!  are we FB friends?  Look at my cover photo!) and stamped it on the balloon to coordinate with the Cloud 9 sentiment on the inside.

I hope you'll download the digi and play along with our challenge.  Be sure to visit the OCL blog, and while you're there, check out our SALE!

Notes:
Love Floats digital stamp
Love Potion
Every Heart Beat
Authentique designer paper
Copic blending card stock
Memento inks (Tuxedo Black, Lady Bug)
Copic markers
Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink
floss
button

True Colors

My CPS sketch project for this week is a little unconventional, but when I saw the layout, I couldn't resist!  I have had these bathtub crayons for a while just waiting for the right moment to embellish them.  The sketch looked just like a belly band to me, so the time is now!

Notes:

Gourmet Rubber Stamps True Colors
Memento ink
Copic markers
K & Co "bubbles"
Bella Blvd Washi Tape

i {stick} papers tape

dimensional adhesive

Crayola Bathtub Crayons

Onesie Template and Tutorial

I made a onesie card quite a while back, and one of my readers recently requested a template.  I finally got around to finding the card (Yes, I still have it! Some are hard to part with!) and thought I would show you how I constructed my template.  I'm sure you've seen these here and there, but maybe mine is not exactly the same...I made it so that the openings on the template are 1/8 inch larger than the finished card size because I like being able to see my trace marks and use them to align the dies to cut the openings.  They come out so much prettier die-cut than just trimmed with scissors!

You may prefer to just download the template and use it as it is, but some of you like to see the process, so I've included the template construction in my video.  I hope you like it!  It's today's Paper Craft Planet Monday Tutorial.

Notes:
Gourmet Rubber Stamps' Bloom and Grow
Memento ink
Ranger tea dye distress ink
Copic markers
Spellbinders circles, ovals, scalloped ovals, and labels dies
BoBunny designer paper
Maya Road elastic trim
teeny tiny baby buttons (colored with Copics)

products for the original "Baby's First Christmas" onesie 

OCL challenge and PCP sketch

Do you remember telling spooky stories when your family went camping? I have two older brothers, and when we were kids they LOVED to tell stories that would scare the ever-living daylights out of me! My card for today is inspired by those memories! I used several OCL stamp sets, old and new, to make a little Halloween easel scene with a paper-pieced tent and a misty moonlit graveyard. It's a combo card for this week's OCL challenge and Paper Craft Planet's sketch challenge!  

OCL's challenge this week is to use OCL stamps.  What?!  Don't have any?!  Well then, make sure to visit the OCL blog on Monday for a fun surprise!  Until then, save 25% on orders of $25 or more (before tax and shipping).

When this photo was taken, it was hot enough to fog the camera lens, and it was just about to rain...maybe that's why the colors seem gray instead of amethyst!  No matter how I tried to color correct and brighten them as I edited the photo, I just couldn't get the color to be life-like, so this card is actually much cuter IRL!

That horizontal striped panel just above the sentiment has a practical purpose as well as an aesthetic one…it is what keeps the easel from sliding shut. 

If you play along with either of these challenges, be sure to use the appropriate keyword with your upload!

• use OCL stamps:  OCL133
• and for the sketch on Paper Craft Planet: 090712

Notes:

Our Craft Lounge stamps:

• Happy Camper (tent)
• Ghostly Greetings (moon and clouds)
• On the Fence (graveyard, tree)
• Spooky Tags (graveyard border, sentiment)

Memory Box designer paper

Memento Espresso Truffle ink

Copic markers

amethyst velvet ribbon

Mabel Lucie Attwell Card Creator

Welcome to our Flower Soft blog hop featuring Mabel Lucie Attwell card creators...you should've arrived here from Linda's blog!  

This card creator image is a real cutie, the perfect colors and size for a patriotic tent card!  It's nice that this non-traditional fold still fits in a traditional envelope.  The card creator includes the rectangular image panel as well as a portion of the image to fussy-cut and pop up on dimensional adhesive.  

I coated a small paper-punched heart with Flower Soft glue and covered it with Diamond Range Ruby Flower Soft to make an accent for the safety pin that suspends a tiny star charm from a sheer twinkle ribbon bow.  It adds a pop of color and just enough sparkle!

Notes:

Mabel Lucie Attwell card creator

Diamond Range Ruby Flower Soft

Flower Soft Glue

Pebbles two-sided designer paper

Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink

Sheer "twinkle" ribbon

Making Memories safety pin

star charm

heart punch

From here, you will be visiting Cibele!  Just in case you're lost, here's the entire list, so you can make the rounds, including our FaceBook page and the Flower Soft blog!  

• Jeanne Streiff 
• Krista Riley
• Stephanie Lee
• Dawn Lusk
• Linda Beeson
• Deb Felts (you are here)
• Cibele Glazer
• Jen Buck 
• Vicki Henderson Harper
• the Flower Soft blog
• Flower Soft on FaceBook

Sew Pretty!

September is National Sewing Month! Next week on September 10th, the sewing machine will have its 166th birthday!  In celebration of this momentous occasion, this week's STV Oldies but Goodies challenge is "Sew Pretty!"

There are lots of ways to incorporate a sewing theme into paper-crafting.  For my card, I used a texture stamp, faux lace, a "madras" plaid designer paper, measuring tape, buttons, thread, dressmaker pins, a scissors charm, machine stitching and an image that looks straight off of a dressmaker's pattern.

Visit Stamp TV to check out the challenge and play along!

Notes:
Gina K Pure Luxury card stock
Sew Pretty
Timeless Textures
Lacy Borders
Wishing You Joy designer paper
Memento ink
Ranger tea dye and frayed burlap distress inks

CPS Sketch 281

Today I'm sharing a card that I made for this week's CPS sketch, sponsored by My Favorite Things Stamps.  I've always loved MFT and they just keep getting better and better!  This week's sketch really works well with this cute Pure Innocence image, PI and the Pinwheel.

I chose to paper piece her clothes, adding some contour to them with Copic markers, and then fussy cut the image so that more of these lovely Carta Bella designer prints could show from underneath. I made two tiny pinwheels from scraps of the same paper, held together by itty bitty pink Queen and Co brads.  Because they were so small they were tedious to make...they took me longer than the rest of the coloring and card construction combined!  ;)

I love these colors!  They are soft and warm,  and the dark gray background really makes 'em pop!  She is such a cutie, and this sentiment is so perfect for her!  

Notes:

MFT's PI and the Pinwheel

Memento Espresso Truffle ink

Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink
Copic markers

Copic blending card stock
Carta Bella designer paper
Gina K card stock
Queen and Co tiny brads

trees4Christmas

Here's a brand new set from The {Stamps} of Life, trees4Christmas!  I had so much fun playing with it on Friday!  It's great because it has a fabulous mix of line art, solid stamps and coordinating sentiments, so there's lots you can do with it!

For this card, I stamped the tree with Memento ink and colored it with Copic markers.  Perfect match for these country colors!  The layout came together easily since these Simple Stories papers did most of the work!  I love the way the plaid design and the tree frame the trio of sentiments.  The snowflake accent has a nice, homespun feel!  

The TSOL trees4Christmas gallery is FULL of gorgeous cards using this delightful set!  

Notes:

TSOL trees4Christmas

Clearsnap ink (star)

Memento ink

Copic markers

Copic blending card stock

Simple Stories Handmade Holiday designer paper

Maya Road snowflake

button

jute thread

Pizza Party!

The first of the month means a new diners' set release for Gourmet Rubber Stamps!  This one is called Spice Up Your Day!  LOVE it!  So perfect for our family, with my husband's Italian roots!

When we visit Patrick's family in upper Michigan each summer, his sister always make pizza!  Her recipe is one that she's honed to perfection through the years.  I remember the first time I had pizza there...I was totally surprised when they cut it into bite-sized squares instead of tradition pie-shaped slices.  I had never seen that before!

Notes:
Spice Up Your Day!
Memento Tuxedo Black ink
Copic blending paper
Copic markers
Crate Paper designer paper (recipe, ruler)
Simple Stories designer paper ("tablecloth")
twine
button

Images from Spice Up Your Life are also available in custom sets from i {heart} papers.  There's That's Amore` and Spice Up My Day. Sure makes it convenient to buy your stamps and supplies all in one order!

Visit the GRS blog, my design team mates, and the Spice Up Your Life gallery for ideas with this delicious diners' set!