It’s Thursday and time to play with Pals Paper Arts! This week we are featuring a fabulous sketch by our own Pal, Margaret Moody.  I decided to bring out the Spice Cake Designer Series Paper and the Always Grateful stamp set to make a card that expresses how I feel about all of you who frequent The Stampin’ Schach.  I am so grateful to have you as my friends!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips

• Coordinate! You can never go wrong with Stampin’ Up!’s Designer Series Paper. All of the patterns coordinate so well with each other!

• Say it with style! Jazz up your sentiment by flagging the end and adding pearls! Three pumpkins from the Always Grateful Wheelbarrow image draw the eye up to the sentiment.

• Depth and dimension!  Extra pumpkins were adhered both inside and out of the wheelbarrow for added depth.

I had wanted to create an old faded wheelbarrow like we had when I was growing up on the farm, so I carefully colored it using Cherry Cobbler. However, when Muffy Lin and I were out walking this morning and passed a green wheelbarrow…I remembered that the old wheelbarrow on the farm was green! Oh, well!

Speaking of Muffy Lin…when she was getting her bath this evening I noticed a huge scratch on the inside of her hind leg.  Poor baby!  She must have scratched it in the backyard when she was having playtime.  I put a little ointment on it and told her she was such a good girl.  However, it will take a miracle for it to heal by the time she shows on Saturday.  But she is such a trooper, and it does not seem to bother her movement.  As for the other Twin,  Brody is now stitch-free! Woo hoo! His next show is in two weeks, so we will see if he will be penalized for his scar.  He was so happy to be able to finally have a bath after his surgery, that the moment I took off his collar he headed straight to the tub and jumped in! The Twins do LOVE their baths!

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

;Stamp Set:  Always Grateful, French Foliage;  Inks:  Soft Suede, VersaMark, Soft Suede Craft Ink, Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke, Basic Gray, River Rock, Basic Gray Stampin’ Write Marker; Designer Series Paper:  Spice Cake; Card Stock:  Pool Party, Very Vanilla; Tools:  Color Spritzer Tool, Heat Tool, Cutter Kit, Clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder, Blender Pens, Sponge Dauber; Glitz and Glam:  Basic Pearls

On March 27, 2009 I posted my first card, a CASE of a card created by my good friend, Mary Fish. That card received two comments…one from me testing the commenting format, and one from Mary.  This is that card:

• The gift certificate can only be redeemed through me. 
• You must use your gift certificate prior to December 31, 2011.
• Merchandise can only be sent to US addresses as per Stampin’ Up! regulations.

I debated on whether to offer a Big Shot, but since you may already have one, I decided on the Gift Certificate.  Just think of all the pearls you can buy with this!!!  Good luck, my friends!  Until next time…

Thursday:  Pals Paper Arts Card
Friday:  Buried Treasure
Saturday: The Paper Players Peek
Sunday:  The Paper Players Challenge
Monday: ??? and the Winner’s Post

I am thrilled to be this week’s Guest Designer for Freshly Made Sketches. This is a brand new challenge blog with a weekly Sketch Challenge. The “twist” to this challenge is to keep your interpretation of the sketch CLEAN.  Not Clean and Simple…just CLEAN!  For me, this meant no color spritzer, no sponge dauber, no seven-sided tool! I will be so anxious to read whether you think I succeeded in staying clean.  Here is today’s sketch:

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:  Keeping It Clean

• Emboss it! The image from A Christmas Carol was inked with VersaMark and stamped onto Whisper White card stock.  It was then heat embossed with the new yummy Cherry Cobbler Stampin’ Emboss Powder.  Heat embossing brings the image to the forefront,  giving depth and dimension without distressing the edges.

• Pearl it! Adding Basic Pearls around the edge of a scalloped oval accentuates the shape and draws the eye to the sentiment.  Alternate sizes for even more interest!

• Scrunch it! Keeping it clean does not mean you can’t scrunch your ribbon!  In fact, scrunching Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding adds perfect texture!

I hope you will join us in this week’s challenge.  Lesley Croghan, the creator of Freshly Made Sketches, has put together an extremely talented group of designers. I would like to thank her for letting me prove, in the lingo of the Midwest, that I “clean up well”!  So please let me know what you think of today’s card. And remember…if you ever have any questions about the cards that I create or the techniques that you use, I am only an email away! Until next time…

(And in case you did not notice…the ol’ counter has surpassed the “1 Million Hit” mark.  That means it is time for my Blog Candy Blow Out.  Please watch for a post later today outlining just exactly what I will be giving away!  Trust me…I think it will be worth the wait!”)

Stamp Set:  A Christmas Carol (W 122635, C 122637);  Ink:  VersaMark (102283), Cherry Cobbler Stampin’ Write Marker (119681); Designer Series Paper:  Letters to Santa (122349);  Card Stock:  Marina Mist (119682), Riding Hood Red (111348), Cherry Cobbler (119685), Whisper White (100730), Very Vanilla (101650); Tools:  Scallop Oval Punch (119856), Large Oval Punch (119855), Heat Tool (100005); Glitz and Glam:  Cherry Cobbler Stampin’ Emboss Powder (122949), Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding (120992),  Marina Mist 5/8″ Satin Ribbon (Retired), Basic Pearls (119247)