Little Lexi (Burlwood’s Unlike Any Other) was a big winner at the St. Paul, Minnesota dog shows.  Although I was away from home from 6:00 AM Thursday morning and did not return until late Sunday evening, it was worth the trip.  Lexi was Winner and Best of Winners in the Northstar Working Group Show, earning her first two points towards her AKC championship at the age of 8 months.  Then she went on to win the Minnesota Boxer Club’s Best Puppy and Grand Sweepstakes titles.  We are so proud of her!

Unfortunately, I had poor internet connections at the hotel.  I am so far behind in my emails.  And of course, I fly off Wednesday morning to Orlando for Stampin’ Up!’s Leadership…so I will be getting farther behind. However, for those of you who purchased the Spring Catalog New Product Shares…they will be mailed out Wednesday.  Everything is cut, counted and ready to place into their mailers.  My sweet husband wrote out the address labels for me and will drop them off at the post office for me.

And congrats to the following people for correctly guessing the stamp sets I used on Sunday’s card:  The Bean and Amy Williams.  Since you two were the only ones who guessed all four correctly, (the Waterspot Stamp from French Foliage was a stumper for most of you), you will both receive rolls of all five 2012 – 2014 In Color Ribbons.  If you would please email your address to me, I will get your ribbon mailed out to you.

I know that many of you will be at Leadership, and I can’t wait to meet up with again this year! Until next time…

It’s Sunday, and time to play with The Paper Players! Today we have a theme challenge for you : “Love Is in the Air”.  Here is a chance for you to get a head start on those romantic cards for Valentine’s Day.  As for me, I opted to make a collage card.  I don’t design these very often, because there is a fine line between clutter and collage.  And trust me…I did take things off of this before I took the picture.  I hope you enjoy “You Are Loved”.

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

• Ink-a-dink-a-do! The “Heart” image,  from You Are Loved, was colored using Stampin’ Write Markers in hues of Primrose Petals, Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze, Always Artichoke, and Soft Suede.  I then “huffed” on it to remoisten the inks prior to stamping it onto Very Vanilla card stock.  After adding a few Waterspots, courtesy of the French Foliage set, and a few Pearls, the image was then mounted onto a Primrose Petals Heart from the More Amore Specialty Designer Series Paper collection.

 

• Postage Due! A few “Stamp” images from the Postage Due set are awesome add-ons for a collage card!

• Bow! A double Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Bow accents the Wonderful You banner from the Loving Thoughts stamp set.  “Blossoms” from You Are Loved were tinted with Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke and tediously snipped out.  A “Love Ticket” from the Artisan Embellishment Kit was added to the vignette.  Notice the gorgeous snippets of lace? They are also from the Artisan Embellishment Kit.

Not for the faint hearted, this card did indeed take several hours to complete.  Will I send it out?  I don’t think so.  I think I will place it in a keepsake frame instead, and give it to Brady.  He keeps every card I give him, and I know he would appreciate this one.

So how about it?  Did you name all four stamp sets correctly in my In-Color ribbon give-away?  If you said You Are Loved, Postage Due, Loving Thoughts, and French Foliage, you were spot on! And what do you think of my attempt at a collage card?  Won’t you let me know in today’s comment?  Your comments are important to me, and I do read each and every one! Until next time…

 

Stamp Sets:  You Are Loved, French Foliage, Loving Thoughts, Postage Due; Inks:  Soft Suede, Crumb Cake; Stampin’ Write Markers: Primrose Petals, Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze, Always Artichoke, Soft Suede; Designer Series Paper:  More Amore, Print Poetry; Card Stock:  Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla; Tools:  Paper Snips, Sponge Daubers, Postage Stamp Punch, Color Spritzer Tool; Glitz and Glam:  Artisan Embellishment Kit, Basic Pearls, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding;

The Paper Players will be back in full force Sunday, January 6th,  with our first challenge of  2013.  Join us as our five new guest designers unveil their first creations as members of our Design Team.   And if it is any enticement, here is another peek at my inspiration card. 

It’s distressed, pearled, and sports a double bow.  Any ideas on what four stamp sets I used?  All are featured at least once in the peeks.  Leave a guess in today’s comment, and earn a chance at winning  5 spools of 2012 – 2014 In Color Ribbon…one in each color.  I will randomly select one winner from all correct answers left on this post today (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday). Please join me Sunday for the reveal, and to see if you were right.  The winner will be posted Monday, January 7th, upon my return from Lexi’s show.  Until next time…