Welcome to The Paper Players Challenge #18. This week the Players are hosting a Monochromatic Challenge…and YOU get to pick the color family of your choice! How fun is that! I happened to select brown. I have always loved earthy colors! So I selected Crumb Cake and Early Espresso card stocks and a lovely Soft Suede pattern from the Deck the Halls Designer Series collection. The images from A Wish for Peace were perfect for the vintage feel I was trying to achieve. I hope that you will join us this week…it really doesn’t get much easier than this!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

• Trying for the vintage look? Try faux burning and paper curling. Stampin’ Up!’s Distressing Essentials Kit is a must. I simply used the Round File to break down the paper fibers in order to separate the Brushed Gold card stock into layers. Each layer was then curled around the file. An Antique Brad, adorned with two small Basic Pearls, decorates the corner. For more information about faux burning and distressing, check out this video.

• Pearls and Pearlized Paint! Illuminate Top Coat Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink (that’s a mouthful), was applied to the boughs of the main evergreen tree to simulate snow. A variety of Basic Pearls adorn the treetops for a touch of “Vintage Glam”!

• On the wings of a dove! The Dove’s wings were snipped with Paper Snips, and then curled up as if in flight. In addition, the dove was coated with Illuminate Top Coat for a touch of sparkle and shine!

• A few more distressing details! The Color Spritzer and a Soft Suede Stampin’ Write Marker instantly aged the card with a few selected “sprinkles”. The wonderful water spots were added using the stamp from French Foliage. What’s the key to perfectly aged water spots? Ink the stamp in Soft Suede, stamp off once…and then stamp onto your card!
• Finish with a flair! A beautiful Early Espresso satin bow adds the finishing touch. If you have not already done so…please check out my video tutorial for creating quick and easy bows!

I hope that you enjoyed today’s vintage card. I am interested in hearing what you think of it. So please, won’t you leave me a comment? And of course, if you have any questions about any of the techniques that I use, don’t hesitate to email me. I enjoy hearing from you! Until next time…

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Two months ago, I was asked if I would be a Guest Designer for The Paper Players, an up and coming challenge blog. Impressed by the talented designers on this team and their amazing work, I agreed. A few weeks ago, Lesley Croghan, the team “leader”, asked if I would like to become a permanent member of this team, beginning this month. I happily said “Yes”. So what you have today is a peek at my first card as a bona fide member of The Paper Players Design Team. I hope that you will join us tomorrow for the reveal. Plus, you can still upload a card for this week’s challenge until 6:00 PST today!

If you are up to another challenge, you have until Tuesday at Noon CST to participate in the Pals Paper Arts Clean and Simple Button Challenge. Once again, as a member of this design team, I find myself surrounded by another amazing group of talented stampers. I am so lucky to have found myself on both of these design teams!

Questions and Answers

• What original length of ribbon should I use to make my bow? I am a miser…so I usually use about 12″. But I have found that with wider ribbon it is easier to have it a little longer. Usually I wrap the ribbon around the template and then add an additional 5 – 6 inches. It won’t take long until you find a length which is best for you!

I know that this is a stamping blog, and I really should not stray too far off topic, but so many of you asked this question, so here it is:

• When does Muffy get to come home? Muffy will be able to leave the breeder’s for her “forever home” on October 12th. However, my husband works during the week and he cannot get the day off. I am trying to convince him that I am a big girl and can drive by myself…with Muffy tucked safely into a carrier! You can bet that there will be plenty of pictures of her homecoming, as she will be a very important member of our family.

Blog Candy Winner

A big “thank-you” goes out to all of you that left comments this past week. I appreciated learning about the styles of cards that you like, as well as tutorials which would interest you. As determined by Random. org, the winner of the Blog Candy is:

#139 Colleen Dietrich

Your blog is lovely, Ann, and thanks for the bow tutorial video!

Colleen, please email your address to me by midnight, Sunday, and I will send out your yummy blog candy Monday! And if your were not a winner this time, I promise there will be more Blog Candy, just as delicious and calorie free later this month!

Hurry…time is running out on the special Greenhouse Gala Tote offer! Sign up to become a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator by October 18th, and this delightful tote can be yours FREE! I would love to share with you all of the details about being a demonstrator and what it means to me. It has become my dream job since my retirement from teaching. I am able to set my own hours, and work as little as I want or as much as I want. And yes…I originally joined because I wanted the discount. But as I started teaching classes and conducting workshops, I found that I loved the interaction with fellow stampers who are as passionate about card making and scrapbooking as I am. If you would like to hear more about the business opportunities or the hobby benefits, as well as the other perks associated with being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, please email me to set up a time when we can chat.

Now booking October and November Workshops …Email me to set up yours today! I am also available for customized technique classes.

And remember, if you ever have any questions about the cards that I create or if you have questions about ordering the right Stampin’ Up! product for the job, please email me. Until next time…

Please Click Here to Order Stampin’ Up! 24/7!

Have you ever made a card and then decided that you didn’t like it, so you try to fix it? Well, that happened to me with this card. I wanted to create a card that was fairly Clean and Simple…and those of you who are regular readers know that I have a difficult time with Clean and Simple cards. I am so envious of those that are masters of this style. I also wanted to use this yummy color combination. But I “overly distressed” my card base, and I appeared to be “spatially challenged” in my ornament arrangement. But instead of pitching this card, I decided to try and save it. Enter Attempt #2!

I raised the ornaments and added a sentiment to fill up the “empty space”. I layered my labels, and added Basic Pearls. But now, the edges of the ornaments seemed a little too stark…and the Very Vanilla card base still looked like it had been attacked by a possessed Sponge Dauber. Plus, I really did not like the two Early Espresso bows at the tops of the ornaments. But by now, I had too much time invested to start from scratch. Enter Attempt #3:

I switched out the Very Vanilla card base with Cherry Cobbler…and I liked it better. I switched out the Early Espresso bows with Chantilly Crochet Lace Trim, and now I am not so sure that I didn’t like the two little Early Espresso bows better. I distressed the edges of the ornaments with Soft Suede and a Sponge Dauber…but once again that dauber had a mind of its own, and I over-distressed. I probably should have used Crumb Cake instead of Soft Suede for a softer touch. Now I wish that I would have left the ornaments the way they appeared in attempt #1. Enter my 4th and final attempt:

I removed the ornaments, and trimmed off the overly sponged borders with Paper Snips. I punched out two more ornaments with the Ornament Punch from Very Vanilla, and layered the Cherry Cobbler ones on top. The lace bows were replaced with new Early Espresso bows. And my “Not So Clean and Simple card was finally finished…I think!

Final Day for Blog Candy Giveaway

Just in case you missed my previous posts, I am giving away blog candy this week! It is delicious…and calorie-free! I have assembled a collection of this and that, and with the exception of the lace, it is all Stampin’ Up! Here is what you will be receiving: