Eleanor and The Paper Players

The talented Nance Leedy is our hostess for The Paper Players this week, and she is challenging us to design a Clean and Simple card Using Buttons.  To be truthful, this was not my first design.  I started with Stampin’ Up!’s Brights color palette and tons of buttons.  But it just was not me.  So I started over and truly tried to stay faithful to a clean and elegant design using the new catalog preview set, Everything Eleanor.  Enjoy today’s quick and easy card!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:  Clean and Elegant

The card measures 4-1/4″ wide by 5-1/2″ long.

  • Buttons! Buttons take on a different twist when topped with a Basic Pearl.  The resulting look adds a touch of elegance! In addition, the Pearls coordinate with the centers of the Rose Red Boho Blossoms, thus pulling the design together.
  • Bows!  Add a touch of class instantly with a beautiful bow.  Seam Binding is a perfect choice for enhancing a softly feminine look.
  • Butterflies! A Pretty in Pink Beautiful Wings Embosslit Butterfly accentuates the Pretty in Pink buttons, adding just the right amount of a lighter pink hue to balance the card.

Since many of you may not have the Everything Eleanor Flourish which I used, why not try either of these sets, both of which have gorgeous flourishes:  Baroque Motifs, Wedding Sweet.

The Blogger Blues


Hopefully The Stampin’ Schach is loading for you again! After several days of troubleshooting, Heather Wright-Porto of  Blogs by Heather, was able to solve my redirecting problem. Heather does an excellent job with blog design and blog maintenance, and I would not hesitate to recommend her in a heartbeat.  What caused the problem will remain a mystery…but let’s hope it does not occur again! Heather, I can’t thank you enough!  And I also need to thank those of you who kept me posted as to whether the site was coming up and the specific error messages you were receiving!  I LOVE my blogging friends! So clear your cache and cookies, and keep on coming back!

As always, your comments are important to me! I would love to hear what you think about today’s card.  So won’t you leave a comment today?  And as always, if you ever have a question about the cards that I create or the techniques that I use, I am only an email away! Until next time…

The Paper Players Design Team

Stamp Set:  Everything Eleanor (Not Available Yet);  Ink:  Jet Black StazOn (101406); Card Stock:  Rose Red (102544), Whisper White (100730);  Tools:  Big Shot (113439), Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (119976), Beautiful Wings Embosslits (118138);  Glitz and Glam:  Rose Red Seam Binding (121884), Basic Pearls (119247)

Out West with the Pals…A Masculine Card

Yee haw! Howdy, Pardners! It’s Thursday and time to play with the Pals at Pals Paper Arts!  The talented Margaret Moody has designed another fabulous sketch for us.  I have been rearin’ to use the Out West set since I purchased it several months ago.  I know…I know…It has been sitting gathering dust all that time.  I just could not find the right way in which to use it, until this sketch came along.  With a huge image space available, I envisioned showcasing the horse image. But to my dismay, the image looked miniscule.  Then I had an “ah-ha” moment!  I was gonna lasso me up a sentiment! I hope you enjoy today’s masculine card.  It’s perfect for a rootin’ tootin’ birthday card for the special cowboy in your life! 

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:  Masculine and Western

The finished dimensions of this card are 5-1/2″ wide x  4-1/4″ long.

  •  Perfect Paper!  What could be better paper for a masculine card than the Well Worn collection!  By turning the “Brick” pattern on its side, you have instant barnboard!  Plus, there is no need to distress this rustic looking paper, thus saving time!
  • A Horse is a Horse!  In keeping with the muted tones of the paper, our horse and rider are bedecked in Cajun Craze, Not Quite Navy, and Soft Suede.  Popping our pony up on Stampin’ Dimensionals adds depth to this card! Go gettum’, Cowboy!
  • Lassoing Up a Happy Birthday!  The “Happy Birthday” sentiment is from the Best Dad Ever stamp set and is the perfect font for a masculine card.  Inked in Early Espresso and stamped onto Very Vanilla, the banner has been pennant-snipped, edge distressed, and speckled using the Color Spritzer Tool. 
 
  • Texture!  Naturals Ivory card stock was zipped through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  The absence of any stamping allows the eye to focus on this card’s “wow” factor…the lasso!  Tip:  To add more depth, use the debossed side of the “plus” signs!
  • Steering You in the Right Direction!  The Steer Head Skull make a perfect embellishment, especially when sporting a coil of Hemp Twine rope!

    And there you have it! Won’t you please leave me a comment to let me know what you think of today’s card? Your comments are important to me, and I do read each and every one.  And as always, if you have a questions about the cards that I create or the techniques that I use, I am only an email away.  Until next time…


    (Please note:  For some reason my blog is experiencing problems.  I am having it checked out.  It appears that some of you can access it, some of you can’t.  Arghhh! Technology…what can I say???)

    Stamp Sets:  Out West, Best Dad Ever; Inks:  Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Not Quite Navy, Early Espresso Stampin’ Write Marker; Designer Series Paper:  Well Worn; Card Stock:  River Walk, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Naturals Ivory;  Tools:  Paper Snips, Big Shot, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Color Spritzer Tool, Sponge Dauber, Blender Pen; Glitz and Glam:  Hemp Twine, Basic Pearls

    A PPA Peek and Brody, Too

    It’s time for a little peek at this week’s Pals Paper Arts card.  The Design Team members who have already seen it have said it is quite different for me…and I must agree with them.  All I can say is that I bought this stamp set when it first came out, and then I never used it.  Have you ever done that before?  It is a masculine card, so the question is whether or not I used pearls. I can’t wait to hear what you think of this one!  So won’t you join me Thursday for the reveal? And just because my first peek does not give you much to go on, here is a second peek:


    Big Boy Brody

    Brody the Boxer showed at Columbia, Missouri last weekend.  A friend who happened to be there snapped this photo of what I will call “Grumpy Brody”.  As much as they tried to get him to put his ears up, he refused to cooperate.  What a pooh!  However, my little boy is growing up.  He still has at least one more year before he reaches his prime, but just look at how much he has grown since this first picture I took of him and Muffy.  I never thought I would make it through those puppy days with the Twins!

    Big Boy Brady



    And in a twist of fate, Brady the Boy will be auditioning and interviewing this Friday for a teaching assistant position at the University of Missouri in…you guessed it…Columbia, Missouri!  My two-legged boy is also growing up!

    I hope that you have enjoyed today’s peeks…at both the card and my two big boys!  And please, won’t you join me for Thursday’s reveal! In the meantime, remember your comments are important to me. I do read each and every one of them.  Until next time…