It’s time to play with The Paper Players!  I am excited to be the host of our theme challenge this week:  Happy Fall, Y’all!  Fall is my favorite time of year.  I can feel it in the air! I love the crisp temperatures… the turning leaves..pumpkins…apple cider! I love it all…so happy fall, y’all! Let’s celebrate with a quick and easy Fall Fest card!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips
This finished card measures 5-1/2″ wide by 4-1/4″ long.

• When the frost is on the pumpkin! I love the trio of pumpkins from Fall Fest…and I like to switch up the colors. Some are inked in Tangelo Twist while one is inked in Cajun Craze.  Always Artichoke stems were snipped out and adorned with Linen Thread bows. Of course, a little distressing was in order, so I used Soft Suede and a Sponge Dauber to ink the edges.

• The colors of fall! A trio of Leaves, once again from the Fall Fest set, were inked in Hello Honey, Always Artichoke, and Cajun Craze.  The stems were camouflaged with pearls, and the edges were distressed like the pumpkins.

• Hello fall! What a perfect sentiment for this challenge! I inked the Hello Fall sentiment from For All Things twice…once in Soft Suede and once in Cajun Craze.  I then cut out the Fall part and overlayed it.  In retrospect, I think I will re-do the sentiment and use Stampin’ Write Markers and selectively ink. But as they say, “Hindsight is 20-20!”

The Muffy Chronicles

I am actually writing this post in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin where Muffy and I are staying while she attends the Kenosha Kennel Club dog show in Wilmot.  Muffy had a wonderful day in the ring Saturday, winning Best of Opposite, losing only to her half-brother, GR CH CH Happy’s Tails Kit Kat Saves the Day and Stealsaheart, who won Best of Breed.  My guess is that the results will be the same for today…especially since Muffy was stung by a bee Thursday night.  Prednisone brought down the swelling on her face, but she still has a few hives.

However, she had so much fun at the show.  After she was done, we “meeted and greeted” people.  She is such a great ambassador for the Boxer breed.  Oh…and in case you ever wondered, she LOVES motels.  However, she is a pillow hog.  Seriously, Muffy…do you really need all FOUR pillows?

I hope you enjoyed today’s card!  I am not happy with the sentiment, so I can’t wait until I return home to change it.  I will be interested in knowing what you think? Won’t you let me know in your comment today? Your comments are important to me.  And remember, if you ever have a question about the cards I create or the techniques I use, I am only an email away! Until next time…  

Stamp Sets:  Fall Fest, For All Things, Gorgeous Grunge; Inks: Tangelo Twist, Cajun Craze, Always Artichoke, Hello Honey, Soft Suede; Card Stock: Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke, Cajun Craze; Tools: Big Shot, Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Sponge Dauber, Paper Snips; Glitz and Glam: Linen Thread, Pearls Basic Jewels

Second post of the day…

Welcome back for another round of inspiration from the Stamp Review Crew!  This week we are featuring Mosaic Madness. I am #7 on the hop. You may have just left stop #6: my good friend, the incredibly talented Mike Funke. If so, you are in the right spot. 
 
I decided to create a quick and easy holiday card using this set, and I am thrilled with how it turned out. Doesn’t it truly “sparkle”?  I hope you enjoy today’s hop!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips
This finished card measures 5-1/2″ wide by 4-1/4″ long.

• Trio! Three identical Mosaics were inked in Lost Lagoon and stamped onto Whisper White card stock.  In the blink of an eye, they were punched out using the Mosaic Punch.  They were “popped” up on Stampin’ Dimensionals against two banners created from All Is Calm Specialty Designer Paper and Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper.  Of course, Rhinestones seemed to be the perfect embellishment.

• Blinded by the light! Nothing says dazzling like Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper.  The image panel was originally straight…but I decided to put it at a slant to really accentuate the dazzle!

• Sparkle! With a card with “sparkle” as its theme, how could I not use the “Sparkle” sentiment from Good Greetings.  After a few Lost Lagoon speckles, courtesy of Gorgeous Grunge, and a single Rhinestone accent, the end result is a confection of sparkly delight!

I hope you enjoyed this quick and easy card.  You all know how tough it is for me to do something quick, so I hope you like the result.  If you would like to see another card made with this set, here is one from the archives:

Once again, it is quick and easy! Details about this card can be found HERE.

And finally, before you visit the uber-talented Beth Beard, #8 on our list,  won’t you let me know which version of this card you like…Angled 

or Straight.  

If you get lost along the way, visit The Stamp Review Crew blog for a list of all of the hoppers!  Until next time…

Stamp Sets: Mosaic Madness, Glorious Grunge, Good Greetings; Ink:  Lost Lagoon;  Cardstock: Whisper White, Lost Lagoon; Specialty Paper: All is Calm, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper; Tools: Mosaic Punch, Hexagon Punch; Glitz and Glam: Rhinestones

Happy Sunday everyone! It’s time for a little Tic-Tac-Toe fun with The Paper Players.  I hope you have as much fun with this challenge as I did.  Although I was aiming for Patterned Paper, Ribbon, and Purple, I also ended up with Embossing, Green, and Birthday.  What fun! I hope you enjoy seeing my old friend, Stippled Blossoms, again!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips
This finished card measures 4-1/4″ wide by 5-1/2″ long.

• Purple! The Blossom was stamped in Blackberry Bliss, which was stamped off three times.  The stippling was done with “full-strength” Blackberry Bliss. The leaves were stamped in Old Olive.  Of course, Pearls were added to the centers.

• Ribbon! A double bow was fashioned out of Blackberry Bliss Stitched Satin Ribbon, for a touch of elegance.

• Birthday! The Birthday Wishes sentiment from Four You was inked in Blackberry Bliss and stamped onto Very Vanilla card stock.

Unfortunately I selected a Designer Paper which did not photograph well.  This happens to be Very Vanilla Dots from the Neutrals Backgrounds Designer Series Paper Stacks. I loved its creamy color against the Blackberry Bliss flowers.  In person, it is stunning. But the contrast between the dark purple and the light vanilla really did not agree with my camera. I started with my light tent then moved to the porch…

then to my neighbor’s fence…

and on to the rickety bench…

and finally to the evergreen bush outside my front door…

only to decide that the first picture looked best.  Maybe one of these days I will learn to avoid using non-photogenic paper!

I hope you enjoyed today’s card.  After looking at my photographic failures, I actually like it better after I removed the birthday sentiment. What about you? Won’t you let me know in today’s comment? Of course, if you have any questions about the cards I create or the techniques I use, I am only an email away.  Until next time…

(News Flash:  The next Lesson of the Month will be in September, after I return from Founder’s Circle.  I am working on 113 swap cards, so I definitely have my hands full! Plus…September is Muffy’s Month of Shows. It looks like Muffy and I will be doing some motel stamping!)

Stamp Sets:  Stippled Blossoms, Four You; Inks:  Blackberry Bliss, Old Olive; Designer Series Paper: Neutrals Backgrounds Designer Paper Stack; Cardstock: Blackberry Bliss, Smoky Slate, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla; Tools: Big Shot, Ovals Collection Framelits, Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Paper Snips, Stamp-a-ma-jig; Glitz and Glam: Pearls Basic Jewels, Blackberry Bliss Stitched Satin Ribbon;