A Daring Adventure for the PPA

It’s Thursday and time to play at Pals Paper Arts!  This week the Pals are having a “Dress for Success” challenge.  The recipe is simple. Just use 1 piece of Designer Series Paper, 1 Punch, and 1 Sentiment. How easy is that!  Having just received the Daring Adventure set, I could hardly wait to ink it up and make a card for my son, Brady.  Since he will be enrolling in his final year of college, I felt that the Helen Keller quote from this set was perfect.  I know that I will miss him immensely, as will the Twins.  But before I get all teary-eyed, let’s move along!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:  Masculine and Distressed
  • Pick your Designer Paper! For my masculine card, I decided on this fabulous geometric design from the Well Worn collection.  I drew my colors (River Rock, Cajun Craze, Not Quite Navy) from the colors in the pattern.  Geometric patterns are often great choices for masculine cards.  I opted for a busier pattern since the only major stamping was a sentiment and there would be no competition with an image.
  • Pick your Punch!  I love using the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch for masculine creations.  The Linen Thread cross-stitching adds texture and interest.
  • Pick your Sentiment! In this case, the sentiment says it all and was perfect for the motherly advice I was wanting to convey. 
  • Pick the Perfect Details!  I am a fool for the tool…the Color Spritzer Tool!  Soft Suede speckles were added instantly.   A Sponge Dauber and Soft Suede ink were used to age the edges.  Of course, who can resist the “Waterspot” stamp from French Foliage! I inked it up with Soft Suede ink, stamped off once, and then stamped away!
  • Pick the Unexpected!  Whoever said you can’t place Pearls on a masculine card never asked me! I like the interest they add.  Brads would do the same, but the pearls are just so…ME!
  • Pick a Panel! A back panel was stamped with the Lettering, Flourish and Footsteps from Daring Adventure.  A Houndstooth embossed strip anchors and balances the design.
So, what do you think?  I love mixing up styles, and it felt great to get down and dirty after the clean card I created for Sunday’s The Paper Players challenge.  What about you?  Do you like to mix it up, or do you find yourself getting stuck in a rut?  Won’t you please leave me a comment and share your thoughts?  Now that my Internet service provider seems to be providing me with Internet service, I feel as if I am back in the land of the living! I can’t wait to respond to your emails and check out your blogs! Woo hoo!  As always, if you ever have any questions about the cards that I create and the techniques that I use, I am only an email away! Until next time…

Stamp Sets: Daring Adventure (W 122600, C 122602), French Foliage (W 120845, C 121166); Ink:  Soft Suede (115657);  Stampin’ Write Markers:  Cajun Craze (119678), Not Quite Navy (100059), Early Espresso (119680);  Designer Series Paper:  Well Worn (122359);  Card Stock:  Naturals Ivory (101849), Cajun Craze (119684), River Rock (108640);  Tools:  Big Shot (113439), Houndstooth Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (123134), Color Spritzer Tool (107066), Sponge Dauber (102892), Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch (119275); Glitz and Glam:  Basic Pearls (119247), Linen Thread (104199)

Happy Birthday, Twins

I know! I know! This is supposed to be a card blog where I speak of all things Stampin’ Up! However, I know that I am not alone in that there are many of you who are just like me, and adore your furbabies!  It is a special day for the Schachs because the Twins turn one year old today! 

They are such a part of my life, as well as Kim the Husband’s and Brady the Boy’s, that I would be remiss if I did not celebrate their birthday with you.  As I look back on the last year, I wonder how I survived raising not just one, but two, bouncing Boxer babies.  Was I crazy?  Well, maybe it was just a moment of temporary insanity.   Indeed, what was I thinking when I agreed to have the breeder deliver “What Were You Thinking” (Brody) the day after she brought Muffy to live with us? 

Yet I survived double the housebreaking woes, double the vet bills,  buying double the food and double the toys, and paying for double the show expenses…in exchange for quadruple the unconditional love.

The Twins fill my days, now that I am retired.  They are my constant companions…my adoring fans…who never care if I have any make-up on or if my closet still contains the same clothes it contained five years ago.  They do not care if the bed is unmade or the dishes unwashed.  They do not judge me, but love me regardless.  Like Missy the Boxer before them, they are now content to lay at my feet as I create.
They are the stuff of which childhood dreams, now the dreams of an old woman, are made.  And even though they may never be the champions of which I have always dreamed of owning, they are champions in their own right. 

From them, I have learned many lessons.

That not only should you take time to stop and smell the flowers…

it is OK to eat them, too…

and laugh about it afterwards!

I have learned that if you bury your head in the bushes…

you will come out covered with cobwebs…

and you will sneeze!

And that even though the judge may complain that your legs are not straight…you still have four perfectly good feet on which to run and jump and play.

That even though your head may not be perfect, your eyes can still see…

your ears can still hear…

and your nose can still sniff.

That although your chest may be too thin…your big butt is still capable of greeting all those you spy with the wiggles and jiggles like only a Boxer can do.

You are still the Queen of your yard…

and the King of all you survey.

Here’s to many more fun-filled years, Cimarron’s Do You Know the Muffin Man and Cimarron’s What Were You Thinking! Until next time…

School Daze for The Paper Players

It’s Sunday and time to “Play with the Players”!  This week The Paper Players are hosting a theme challenge…School Daze!  I can tell you that the Design Team has created adorable projects and cards this week! I hope you will join us for “Show and Tell”!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:  The Basics
  • Watercoloring 101! For quick and easy watercoloring, I always use Blender Pens and ink.  I simply touch the tip of the pen to the ink pad and color away! Make certain to shade around the image to add depth and to ground the image.  Get A+ results each and every time!
  • Intro to Embellishments!  The new Mini-Clothespins provide a cute way to attach a tiny tag.  You’ll go to the “Head of the Class” for showing innovation and creativity!
  • Stampin’ Math for Beginners! Think in threes! Three buttons, complete with Baker’s Twine bows, accent the curvature of the Scallop Circle mat.  Follow the “Rule of Three”, and your cards will always “pass the test”!
I hope that you enjoyed today’s relatively quick and easy card!  Your comments are always important to me, and I do read each and every one. So please let me know what you think of today’s creation! And of course, I am always ready to answer your questions about the cards that I make and the techniques that I use.
And the Winner Is…
The winner of the Sweet Scoops Stamp Set and retired Designer Series Paper is…Kimberly S.
    Kimberly S. said…
    Goodness sakes!! This card is BEAUTIFUL!! I LOOOVE butterflies…but they look FANTASTIC on this letterpress plate! I gotta get that one soon! GORGEOUS creation!!
Kimberly, please send me an email with your address, and I will drop your prize in the mail! I thank all of you who left comments.  Rest assured, I will be offering more retired paper in the near future! Until next time…

Stamp Sets:  Word Play (W 120308, C 120651), Tiny Tags (W 118091, C 118592), Greeting Card Kids (W 119887, C 120633); Inks:  Jet Black StazOn (101406), Soft Suede (115657), More Mustard (103162), Pretty in Pink (101301), Cherry Cobbler (119669), Daffodil Delight (119667), Bashful Blue (105209), Not Quite Navy (103008), Basic Gray (109120), Blush Blossom Stampin’ Write Marker (100037); Designer Series Paper:  Just Add Cake (124339); Card Stock: Cherry Cobbler (119685), Whisper White (100730);  Tools:  Big Shot (113439), 3″ Circle (122125), Scallop Circle Die (113468), Blender Pens (102845), Jewelry Tag Punch (117190), Spiral Edge Punch (retired);  Glitz and Glam:  Mini Clothespins (122942), Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine (123125), White Baker’s Twine (124262), Cherry Cobbler 1/2″ Scallop Dots Ribbon (124138), Subtles Designer Buttons (119745), Regals Designer Buttons (119744)