It’s Sunday and time to play with The Paper Players! This week Jaydee has a Clean and Simple Challenge for us…Make a One-Layer Card.  What a challenge that was for me! Yikes!  I need ribbon…and banners…and mats…and PEARLS!!! But here it is…my rendition of a one-layer Swallowtail card.  Enjoy!

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

• The ink is black…the page is white! After masking off the edges of the card base, the Swallowtail image was inked in Jet Black StazOn, creating a crisp, sharp image that jumps off the page.  I really liked this elegant look.  But then I was tempted to try…COLOR!

• The world is a carousel of color! I shaded the butterfly in shades of So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, and Pacific Point. The key to achieving this look was to keep the color very light.

• Love is all you need! To finish off this card, the Scripted Love stamp, from the Best of Love set, was inked in Pacific Point.

Although I felt the upper left-hand corner of this card looked mighty plain, I decided to just leave things alone.  Sometimes it is best to err on the side of caution.  So what do you think of my attempt at a one-layer card?  Won’t you let me know in today’s comment?  It is my first ever…and certainly took me outside of my comfort zone. As always, if you have any questions about today’s card, don’t hesitate to email me! Until next time…

Stamp Sets: Swallowtail, Best of Love;  Inks:  So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Pacific Point, Jet Black StazOn; Card Stock:  Whisper White; Tools:  Blender Pens

It’s Thursday and time to play with the Pals at Pals Paper Arts! The talented Margaret Moody has a fabulous sketch for us this month.  Don’t you just love all of these layers? Since I needed to design a Mother’s Day card for a class I am teaching, I did just that.  I apologize for using the Field Flowers stamp set again, but my inspiration for this card was my own mother, and I knew that she would have loved these images.  Enjoy!

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

• Two steppin’! The blossoms were stamped in Crumb Cake ink and overstamped in Soft Suede.  When doing two-step stamping, I always use a Stamp-a-ma-jig. And remember, use a lighter ink for the main image, and a darker hue for the overstamp.

• Pearl on a perch! What better place to put a Pearl than on top of a button for a “pearl-fect” touch!  Extra leaves were stamped and snipped to add more foliage.

• Think outside of the…oval!  A trio of snipped blossoms extend beyond the oval. Popping them up on Stampin’ Dimensionals brings them to the forefront.

I will admit that the tears flowed freely while creating this card.  A flood of emotions that I hadn’t felt for many years poured over me. My mother loved flowers.  And although it may sound funny, the color brown was one of her favorites. I know she would have loved the linen thread and the pearls, as well as the Victorian feel of the border.  Every single design element was selected with her in mind.  It’s hard to believe that my mother has been gone for thirty years. When someone lives on in your heart, they never leave you…

As always, your comments are important to me, so won’t you please let me know what you think of today’s card? And remember, if you ever have any questions about the cards I create, I am only an email away.  Until next time…

Stamp Sets:  Field Flowers, Waterspot Image from French Foliage; Inks:  Crumb Cake, Soft Suede; Card Stock: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake; Tools:  Big Shot, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Delicate Designs Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Ovals Collection Framelits, Paper Snips, Sponge Daubers; Glitz and Glam: Pop-Up Posies Designer Kit, Crumb Cake Seam Binding, Linen Thread, Basic Pearls, Neutrals Designer Buttons

It’s Lexi’s birthday today! Can you believe this little bundle of cuteness is now a year old?  They grow up so quickly, don’t they?  Although Lexi is still too thin, she and I will be heading out Friday for her first show in a month and a half.  Woo hoo!  And speaking of shows, I am so proud of Muffy.  Although she was not the big winner, she still won her class two of the four days, this past week.  Muffy is such a sweetie! We had a great time in Joliet, IL and Crown Point, IN.  But being away from home so long really puts me far behind.  I need some serious stamping time! But the good news is that after this weekend, the girls and I are home to stay until the Memorial Day weekend!

PPA Sneak Peek

It’s a sketch challenge this week at Pals Paper Arts.  Margaret Moody, our resident sketch artist, has outdone herself this time.  Join me tomorrow for the reveal! Until next time…