I am in awe of those among us who are musicians, especially my son. He plays the trumpet with such passion and feeling. Through his music, he expresses that which cannot be said. This card is the prototype for his spring recital invitation. It uses the lovely sentiment from the now retired set, Music Expressions. However, this classic layout is perfect to showcase any of your favorite sentiments. And by switching out the designer paper, it can be used for a variety of occasions. In fact, in the upcoming days, I will be showing you the same layout, with different sentiments/papers. Since the design process is what takes me the most time, it is always fun to take a classic layout, and switch it up to create new cards in less than half the time.

The Stampin‘ Schach Design Tips:

• Paper work! Let the Designer Paper do the work for you! This gorgeous Music Note pattern is from the Newsprint collection. What could be more perfect for a recital invitation! Of course, I spritzed it using the Color Spritzer Tool and a Basic Black Stampin‘ Write Marker in order to age it.
• Classy and Elegant! Nothing says elegance better than Very Vanilla and Basic Black. The sentiment from Music Expressions (retired) was inked in Basic Black and stamped onto Very Vanilla card stock. The multiple matting lends a formal air to the card.
• Glitz and Glam: Faux Cabochons (made from 5/8″ Very Vanilla Brads and large half-back pearls) are adhered to pleated Basic Black 1 -1/4″ Striped Grosgrain Ribbon. A Basic Black Beautiful Wings Embosslits butterfly has been smooched with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz. A pearl defines the abdomen.

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Stamp Set: Music Expressions (retored); Ink: Basic Black (101179), Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker (100082); Designer Series Paper: Newsprint (117166); Card Stock: Very Vanilla (101650), Basic Black (121045); Tools: Big Shot (113439), Beautiful Wings Embosslits (118138), Color Spritzer Tool (107066); Glitz and Glam: Basic Black 1 -1/4″ Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (115615), 5/8″ Neutral Brads (112533), Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz (118772), Pretties Kit (retired)

The Paper Players are hosting a sketch challenge this week. Since I have been making some “not cute” cards, according to my husband, I decided to try my best to create something that possessed a “cuteness” factor. So I turned to my collection of stamps and pulled out A Cute Christmas. After all, if it has cute in the title, it has to produce cute cards, right? Have fun with this week’s sketch!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

• One-two-three! Using a Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker, I selectively stamped the “Snowman” image from A Cute Christmas. For a touch of whimsy, I matted the top two images at an angle! Sometimes “wonky” is good!
• Retro-mania! Real Red and Baja Breeze Stampin’ Write Markers were used to color this little guy’s scarf. See how it coordinates with the delightful retro-style paper from the Candy Cane Christmas collection? Don’t you just love those red glitter polka dots!
• Add a flake for goodness sake! What could be prettier than a punched snowflake? That’s easy. A punched snowflake with a Real Red Glimmer Brad for its center! Notice how the shimmer coordinates with the paper?
• Don’t let your sentiment fall flat! Add dimension with dimensionals! The focus is on the sentiment when it is popped up on a Stampin’ Dimensional.
• Just because it’s there, doesn’t mean you have to ink it! By using a Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker, I inked up only the “Greetings” section of the Season’s Greetings stamp from Four the Holidays. The result is a card that can be used any time during the winter season!

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I had fun creating my card for the upcoming Paper Player’s challenge, which will be revealed Sunday. After the spider card on Thursday, my husband asked me why I never make “cute” cards. Well, this will be my attempt at…cute! Join me this Sunday and you can be the judge! And there is still time to play in this week’s color challenge of More Mustard, Old Olive, Early Espresso and Cajun Craze! The link closes at 6:00 PST Saturday.

Have you played along with the latest Pals Paper Arts challenge? You can’t beat this week’s theme…Halloween! You have until Noon (CST) Tuesday, September 21st, to link your creation. We’ll announce our Pals Paper Artist Picks Wednesday, September 22nd. I know that I have said it many times before, but challenges are excellent ways to improve our papercrafting skills, while having fun!