It’s Sunday, and time to play with The Paper Players! This week is a sketch challenge, featuring a “tuck-away-tag”.  While I toyed with the idea of making a Valentine, with a tucked-away love note, I opted instead to design a card featuring the whimsical Life in the Forest stamp set.  During Stampin’ Up!’s Leadership, I had the opportunity to play with new Blendabilities alcohol markers, and I colored the adorable Fox from this set.  I wanted to show you the result, and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity.  This seemed like the time. Enjoy!

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

• Rockin’ rodents!  Poking their heads above the grass (made with the new Fringe Scissors), two Field Mice are scopin’ out the scene.  These little critters were tinted using Smoky Slate ink and a Blender Pen, and then snipped out.

• Masked marauder! Pssst! What better way to emphasize the sentiment than to balance the Raccon image on top of it.  Our little masked bandit was inked in Jet Black StazOn and stamped onto Smoky Slate cardstock. 

• Feeling foxy! I used Pumpkin Pie Light, Medium and Dark Blendabilities to color this little vixen! Don’t you just love her!  Because she had been colored on a snippet of Whisper White cardstock in Houston, I snipped her out, and adhered her to the tag. I also paper pieced her mask, ears and tail with Very Vanilla. Blendabilities are at the top of my Wish List for sure.  I absolutely love them.

This was definitely a labor-intensive card because of the coloring and snipping.  But it was so much fun creating the little vignette. Cute is definitely not my style, but I did manage to add pearls.  What do you think of it? Won’t you let me know in today’s comment?  And remember, if you have any questions about the cards I create or the techniques I use, I am only an email away!  Until next time…

 

It’s Thursday, and time to play with the Pals at Pals Paper Arts! This week, we have an awesome sketch from Nicole Watt…just perfect for showing off Stampin’ Up!’s new Designer Series Paper.  My desire to use the fabulous new Retro Fresh patterns caused quite the internal struggle.  One part of me was saying, “Ann, keep it simple. Use an embossed panel on top of that card base.”  But another part of me was crying out, “Ann…take a risk! Mix those patterns! Do it! DO IT!”  So I DID! I did mix those patterns. I liked it, but I didn’t love it…

With a sense of sadness, I disassembled my card.

I pulled out my embossing folders. When I felt none of them would give the result I was searching for, I decided to use Very Vanilla Core’dinations cardstock for my back panel.  The second card was born.  I loved it!  And that other little voice…you know…the one that wanted me to “Keep it simple?” …whispered in my ear, “I told you so”. 

I miss my fun and funky little card, but its memory lives on.  And who knows, I may resurrect that design.  After all, tomorrow is another day.

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

• A “Peachy” pop up! What better way to step up a sentiment than to stamp the sentiment twice in coordinating colors, snip out a key word, and “pop” it up on dimensionals.  I picked out a food combination…Tangerine Tango and Baked Brown Sugar to create this yummy sentiment.

• Direct the focus! All arrows point to the sentiment.  You can bet that I want the recipient of this card to know that she is “peachy keen”.

• Flossing is good for you!  An easy way to remove card components from the card base is to use dental floss.  The flat kind works best.  Just slip it under the edge of the layer you wish to remove, and floss away!

What a difference a card base can make!  I seriously had a very difficult time selecting which card I really like the best.  I hate it when that happens.  In the end, I went with the “cleaner” one.  What about you? Which one did you like the best?  Won’t you let me know in today’s comment? 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 Set:  Peachy Keen; Inks: Tangerine Tango, Baked Brown Sugar; Designer Series Paper:  Retro Fresh; Cardstock:  Tangerine Tango, Coastal Cabana, Very Vanilla, Very Vanilla Core’dinations; Tools: Big Shot, On Film Framelits, Chevron Punch, Paper Snips; Glitz and Glam: Pearls

Also ending on January 27th is the Whole Lot of Love promotion.  Please don’t miss out on these awesome products.  The stamp sets are not just for Valentine’s Day.  They are perfect for a variety of romantic cards.

I was fortunate enough to see the newly revamped Paper Pumpkin line while attending Leadership a few weeks ago.  I can tell you that I was so impressed with what is coming out in February and March, that I went back in and re-subscribed!

If you are a new subscriber, and sign up between now and February 10th, you will receive the introductory Welcome Kit featured above AND a set of the 2012 – 2014 In Color Stampin’ Write Markers.  If you are a returning subscriber, you will not receive the Welcome Kit…you will be receiving the fabulous February kit. 

So to recap…

• Only new subscribers will receive the markers as part of the Welcome Kit.
• New subscribers will need to sign up by February 10th in order to be eligible for the March set.  I can tell you that this is why I returned to the pumpkin patch!
• Returning subscribers DO NOT receive the Welcome Kit.  Instead you get the fabulous February set.

Whew…so head off to My Paper Pumpkin today to sign up!  If you are one of my customers, select me as your demonstrator:  Ann Schach, West Burlington, IA  52655

As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me.  Until next time…