Oh, No! Not Stippled Blossoms…Again!

It’s Thursday, and time to play at Pals Paper Arts!  It’s a summer-rific trio of colors this week: Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe and Pistachio Pudding! It’s like these colors were selected just for me.  I love the beach.  I know that’s ironic since I live in Iowa. I love cantaloupe. Living in Iowa does have some benefits, since I live less than an hour away from some delicious melon fields.  And I absolutely LOVE pistachio pudding-laced Watergate cake and Watergate salad! I bet you thought I could find no tie to Iowa and Watergate. Guess again.  Iowa State University is having a seminar on October 17th entitled “Watergate Forty Years Later”.  Enjoy today’s “clean and dirty” card.


The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips: Clean and Dirty
Today’s finished card measures 4-1/4″ wide by 5-1/2″ long.

  • It’s a little sketchy! The key to a clean card is a clean sketch. I took my inspiration from Freshly Made Sketches #95.  It’s perfect for spotlighting Designer Series Paper. I used a Crisp Cantaloupe pattern from Birthday Basics and Polka Dots from Afternoon Picnic.

  • Dimension! Coastal Cabana Stippled Blossoms were given a twist. After curling and distressing,  certain petals snipped from another blossom were adhered to the “foundation flower”. The result is eye-catching. Notice that the Pistachio Pudding leaves were also distressed and curled.
  • Friends go better with Pearls! A line of Pearls accents the Sweet Essential “friends” sentiment.  Of course, you can’t have petals without pearl centers, at least not at The Stampin’ Schach! 

What do you think of the curled up petals? Won’t you let me know in today’s comment?  Your comments are important to me, and I do read each and every one of them. Of course, 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… 

 

All items are from Stampin’ Up! Stamp Sets:  Stippled Blossoms, Sweet Essentials; Ink: Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding, Soft Suede; Designer Series Paper: Birthday Basics, Afternoon Picnic;  Card Stock: Very Vanilla, Very Vanilla Core’dinations; Tools: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Sponge Dauber, Paper Snips; Glitz and Glam: Basic Pearls

A Peek at the PPA, Lexi Wins, Shares Have Mailed and More!

Here’s a little peak at this week’s Pals Paper Arts inspiration card.  I hope you join me for the reveal on Thursday! It’swhat I like to call a “Clean and Dirty” card.

The Shares Are on Their Way!
For those of you who participated in the First Round of Holiday Shares, your shares have been mailed! You can expect them in the next two to three days.  Missed out on the First Round? Don’t despair. There are still openings in Round Two.  Check out the Details!  The deadline for participating in the Second Round is August 12th. This will be the last round offered, so get your name on the list!

Lesson of the Month
The premiere of the Lesson of the Month will be August 14th.  I will be finalizing my lesson plans, updating my class rosters and posting the cards then. Remember, our first set will be Truly Grateful from the Holiday catalog…unless you have requested a substitute set.  More details will be forthcoming.

Boxer Bulletin
Have you ever met yourself coming and going? That’s me during the month of August. Since Convention, I have been home for a total of 8 full days, and they were not in a row. Yikes! And I will be heading out the door again by the time you read this post. Yep…Muffy and I are heading for South Milwaukee and Racine, Wisconsin for four days of shows on the beautiful shoreline of Lake Michigan.  Hopefully, Muffy will return home a Champion. If she does, you will hear me shouting for joy from coast to coast. If not…we will keep on searching for that last, elusive win.  Since I have not received her win photo yet, here are two of my favorite pictures of  her.

She is so sweet. I could just gobbler her up!  And speaking of winning, that is exactly what Lexi did on Sunday! Woo hoo for the baby girl! I have ordered her win photo. As soon as I receive it, I will share it. She is sooo stinkin’ cute, don’t you think?  I just love traveling with my two snuggle bunnies!

A big “thank-you” goes out to all of you for hanging in there with me as I attempt to survive this hectic, hectic month with the girls. Until next time…

A Fall Gift Box for The Paper Players

It’s Sunday, and time to play with The Paper Players! This week, the talented Anne Marie has a theme challenge with a twist.  It’s a Fall ABC Challenge…Anything But a Card!  I will admit that when I first discovered what our challenge was, I panicked! But then I decided to seize the opportunity to make a gift box for Muffy’s handler. I had purchased a little “something-something” for her to celebrate Muffy’s major win last Tuesday.  A nice fall box would be the perfect package!  I hope you enjoy today’s project.

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:  Easy Box
Part 1:  Creating the Box

  • Over the top!  To make the top of the box, I began with a 4″ x 4″ square. I then set a compass to 2″ and added half-circles on all four edges of my square. (I re-cycled a piece of cardboard from a package of designer series paper to create this template!) I traced the template onto a piece of Sweater Weather Designer Series Paper and snipped it out.
  • Corners! The scalloped corners were made using the Big Shot, Scallop Circle die, and Sweater Weather Designer Series Paper. What better than Pearls to accents the scallops! 
  • Bottoms up! To create the bottom of the box, take an 8-1/2″ x 11″ piece of card stock and score at 2-1/4″ and 6-1/4″. Turn the paper 90 degrees, and repeat.  Cut both vertical scored lines on one side of the paper up to the horizontal scored line. Do the same on the opposite side. Fold up the flaps and adhere with Sticky Strip.

Part 2: Think “Outside of the Box”

  • Flower Power!  How gorgeous is this Creped Filter Paper flower! The added plus is that it is easy to create. I simply took 8 Creped Filter Paper circles straight from the package, and zipped them through the Big Shot with the largest Floral Frames Framelit. I poked a hole through the center using a stylus, and then I separated them. After spritzing them with a fusion of Tangerine Tango and Daffodil Delight ink refills and rubbing alcohol, I simply stacked them and held them in place with a brad. Each layer was then scrunched up toward the center and shaped.
  • Don’t “leaf” it alone! Add a few leaves for a festive fall flair. The Crushed Curry leaves are part of the Thankful Tablescape Simply Created Kit. The Tangerine Tango one was hand snipped.
  • Twine is fine! A few loops of hemp twine coordinates with the new Burlap Ribbon, and provides a nifty contrast to the elegance of the Creped Filter Paper flower.

I hope you enjoyed today’s project. I think Muffy’s handler will like it…and the trinket inside. Won’t you let me know what you think of it in today’s comment? And remember, if you ever have any questions about the cards and projects I create, I am only an email away! Until next time…

Stamp Set: Glorious Grunge; Inks: Soft Suede, Tangerine Tango Ink Refill, Daffodil Delight Ink Refill; Designer Series Paper: Sweater Weather; Card Stock: Chocolate Chip; Other Paper: Creped Filter Paper, Thankful Tablescape Simple Created Kit; Tools:  Big Shot, Floral Frames Framelit, Sponge Dauber, Scallop Circle Bigz Die, Stampin’ Spritzers; Glitz and Glam: Basic Pearls, Burlap Ribbon; Retired Stampin’ Up!: Hemp Twine; Non-Stampin’ Up!: Rubbing Alcohol