It is time for another fabulous Paper Players challenge! With Christmas right around the corner, what could be more fitting than a Christmas Challenge? Simply make and share a Christmas card or project…the sky is the limit! Since I still needs cards to send to family and friends, I opted to make another card with my all-time favorite designer paper, Deck the Halls. I know that you are probably getting tired of it, but with this patchwork design, you could easily substitute another paper or cardstock. I am thinking that this could look very rich with Cherry Cobbler card stock! Yummy!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

• Patchwork! To create the patchwork pattern, I adhered and angled Deck the Halls Curly Label Punches to cover a 4-3/4″ x 4-3/4″ Brushed Gold square. (The distressed look was accomplished with a Sponge Dauber and Early Espresso ink.) Any designer paper that extended over the edge of the Brushed Gold card stock was simply cut off. How easy is that?
• The “Vintage” touch! The “Seven-Sided Tool” from the Cutter Kit quickly and easily ruffles an edge, while the Round File from the Distressing Essentials Kit can easily be used to curl up a corner!
• Age spots! Speckles are quickly added with the Color Spritzer Tool and Soft Suede Stampin’ Write Marker. Watermarks are courtesy of the French Foliage set. Ink up the image with Soft Suede and stamp off, before stamping onto the sentiment.
• Glitz and Glam! Basic Pearls adorn the patchwork where four labels meet, while Basic Rhinestones double as holly berries. A little Silver Tinsel and an Antique Brad add a bit of pizzazz, while snippets of Victoria Crochet Trim and Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding complete the look.

Do these angelic faces look like the faces of canine felons? Looks can be deceiving. Muffy Lin (yes…I am using her middle name) got into Mom’s Sponge Daubers and proceeded to distress the dining room rug. It seems as if she was in cahoots with brother Brody, who insisted that he absolutely had to go outside. I was in such a hurry, so proud of the fact that Brody was actually asking to go out, that I forgot to secure the dining room table by moving everything into the center. (I do all of my stamping at our kitchen/dining room table, and it was covered with all sorts of goodies.) And remember the beautiful skater card from Thursday? Don’t even ask…but I will make another.

The Twins are teething, which causes their ears to do “wonky” things, which is not good for the show ring. So Mom and Dad had to “post” them so they would stand up straight like the Boxers that you see on television. In fact, if you watched the National Dog Show on Thanksgiving Day, a beautiful Boxer won the Working Dog Group and was a contender for Best in Show.

Coming Up this Week:

• Blog Award from Nikki, with 8 facts about me, and fabulous picture from Stephanie
• Occasions Mini Sneak Peeks! My preorder has arrived, and I can’t wait to create and share with you. (If you need a mini, be sure to email me so I can get you on my list.)
• Pals Paper Arts Sneak Peek on Wednesday with a chance to win Glimmer Brads
• Pals Paper Arts Full Reveal on Thursday (You still have time to join us in the Regal Rose, Pear Pizzazz Color challenge.)

As always, your comments are very important to me, so please, will you let me know what you think about today’s card? And remember, if you have any questions about the cards that I create or the techniques that I use, I am only an email away! Until next time…

Click Here to Order Stampin’ Up! 24/7

Stamp Set: Peaceful Season (W 120819, C 121124—Holiday Mini Hostess Level 2); Inks: Crumb Cake (121030), Soft Suede (115657), Early Espresso (119670), Always Artichoke (105219), Soft Suede Stampin’ Write Marker (120973); Designer Series Paper: Deck the Halls (120810—Holiday Mini); Card Stock: Brushed Gold (102935), Always Artichoke (105119), Cherry Cobbler (119685); Tools: Curly Label Punch (119851), Decorative Label Punch (120907), Color Spritzer Tool (107066), Cutter Kit (106958), Distressing Essentials Kit (118762), Sponge Daubers (102892); Glitz and Glam: Basic Pearls (119247), Basic Rhinestones (119246), Antique Brads (117273), Victoria Crochet Trim (118481)

It’s Thursday, and time for our weekly Pals Paper Arts challenge! This week it’s a celebrity color challenge…and our Celebrity Guest Designer is none other than Julee Tilman – artist, owner and designer of Verve stamps, and the original Mojo Maker! Mojo Monday began as a simple card contest on her blog one Sunday in May, 2007. For a journey back through papercraft history, be sure to visit the archives of Julee’s blog, Poetic Artistry. The winners of these early challenges read like a who’s who in today’s stamping world! Although I am certainly not a “who’s who-er”, one of my proudest moments in stamping was being named one of the winners for Mojo 103. I saved the card, and never sent it!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

• Triple the shine! How did the Northern Frost Decorative Strip Snowflakes get so sparkly? Three coats of Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, that’s how! I brayered VersaMark ink on each of the snowflakes, and then heat embossed. I repeated this two more times, and finished each with a Pear Pizzazz Glimmer Brad. The uniquely colored snowflake in the middle was achieved by brayering Early Espresso ink over Regal Rose card stock, followed by a series of three heat embossings. (Hint: When heat embossing, I hold small pieces, such as these snowflakes, with tweezers. No scorched fingers this way!)

• Brayer a background! The lovely Regal Rose sky was simply brayered onto Very Vanilla card stock. This was then zipped through the Big Shot with the Scallop Oval Frame Bigz die. A Stamp-a-ma-jig was used to perfectly place the Early Espresso trees from Lovely as a Tree. A little Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz adds a frosty sheen to the scene! The photograph does not do the Smooch justice!
• Frame it! Early Espresso card stock was passed through the Big Shot, using the Scallop Oval Frame die once again. Basic Pearls accent the scallops.
• Snip, snip, “pop”! The “Skaters” from Winter Post were inked using Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, and Regal Rose Stampin’ Write Markers and stamped on to Very Vanilla card stock. They were popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals after being snipped out with Paper Snips.
• A distressing situation! To tone down the lovely Pear Pizzazz Argyle pattern from Pawsitively Prints II Designer Series Paper, the edges were distressed with Soft Suede ink and a Sponge Dauber. A Soft Suede Stampin’ Write Marker and a Color Spritzer Tool add instant speckles. (Hint: Soft Suede provides a soft aged look. It is my choice of all of the “browns” for distressing.)

It’s time for the traditional Wednesday sneak peek at my Pals Paper Arts inspiration card. The Design Team will be welcoming a very special celebrity Guest Artist this week, so please be sure to tune in Thursday to see what she has created for you. I will be the first to tell you that it will be spectacular! In the meantime, why not stop by the PPA to see the winners of last week’s sketch challenge?

• Place an on-line order OR email me your order.
• Keep track of how much you spend on product before shipping and taxes.
• When you reach $500 in product, email me the dates and amounts of your purchases, along with your choice of stamp set.
• I will verify your orders, and send you your free stamp set.
• The offer expires one year from your initial purchase. For example, if your first purchase was December 1, 2010 you would have until December 1, 2011 to purchase $500 and redeem your offer.
• Remember, you will be responsible for tracking your own purchases and emailing me! It’s that easy!

I hope that you were intrigued enough by my little sneak peek to join me again tomorrow for the full reveal. And don’t forget, your comment earns you a chance at free pearls! Until next time…

Click Here to Order Stampin’ Up! 24/7