I am so happy to announce that I have been asked to be an August Guest Designer for Always Playing with Paper! In case you are not aware of this new challenge blog, I will be joining these talented Design Team members, with whom I am sure you are familiar:

• Lesley of Always Playing with Paper
• Corie of Creations by Corie
• Jaydee of Stampin’ with Jaydee
• LeAnne of Wee Inklings
• Marlene of Hands On

The Always Playing with Paper challenges go live on Sundays. I would love to have you join me this week in their “Vintage” challenge! Vintage has become a very popular style over the past year. Characterized by such elements as multiple layers, lace and often distressing, this has become one of my favorite styles of late. And just in case you have not noticed…there is a little sneak peek of the new Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper! I hope that you will enjoy my cards as I enjoy my tenure as Guest Designer!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

• Distressed with distressing? Don’t be! Let the Color Spritzer Tool and Sponge Dauber be your friends! Paired with a Soft Suede Stampin’ Write Marker, the Color Spritzer Tool provides soft speckling. Age spots may not be good for your skin…but they are perfect for a vintage look. As for the edges of the image mat, I used the 7-Sided Tool from the Cutter Kit to roughen the edges, which I then burnished with a Sponge Dauber and Soft Suede ink.
• Lovely lace! I am so happy that Stampin’ Up! released their new Crochet Trims! Victoria was my choice for this card. A snippet wrapped around the edge of the image mat is embellished with tiny brads shaped to look like miniature buttons and a safety pin, all from the Vintage Trinkets collection. The tiny tags were crafted from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set and Fundamental Phrases.
• Pearly girly! The adorable “Christmas Kid” sports pearl buttons on her jacket, while pearls also adorn the tree. Larger pearls accent the four corners of the Cherry Cobbler Large Scallop Square.
• A touch of gold! Brushed Gold card stock forms a mat for the scallop square, and was used to to create the Large Scallop Circle. A little trip through the Big Shot with the Petals-a-Plenty Textured Impressions Embossing Folder add the touch of texture that I love!
• Smooch your cards! Silver Foil Smooch Spritz add sparkle and shine to the Cherry Cobber square. For the Christmas Kid, I opted to use Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, added to rubbing alcohol, for a finer shimmer and glimmer.
• The Wow! factor! Nothing beats a Scallop Circle medallion with an Antique Brad center! Made from Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper, a little Log Cabin Smooch adds a vintage patina to this vintage-style embellishment!

Don’t you just love the new Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper? I realize that this was only a very tiny peek at the Holly Pattern, but I guarantee that it looks great with Cherry Cobbler! I hope that you enjoyed my first creation for Always Playing with Paper! I am so looking forward to the vintage creations that you design. So won’t you join me in this challenge? And I am interested in knowing what you think of today’s card, so please leave me a comment with your thoughts. Of course, if you have any questions about this card and the techniques which I used in its creation, please email me! Until next time…

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Stamp Sets: Greeting Card Kids (W 119887; C 120633), Fundamental Phrases (114968), Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370); Inks: Cherry Cobbler (119669), Pretty in Pink (101301), Basic Gray (109120), Basic Black (101179), Sahara Sand (105208), Daffodil Delight (119667), Garden Green (102272), Soft Suede (115657), Soft Suede Stampin’ Write Marker (120973); Designer Series Paper: Deck the Halls (available September 1st); Card Stock: Always Artichoke (105119), Brushed Gold (102935), Cherry Cobbler (119685), Very Vanilla (101650), Watercolor Paper (105019); Tools: Color Spritzer Tool (107066), Sponge Dauber (102892), Jewelry Tag Punch (117190), 1-3/4″ Scallop Circle Punch (119854), 2-3/8″ Scallop Circle Punch (118874), Big Shot (113439), Petals-a-Plenty Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (116824), Scallop Square Bigz Clear Die (115950), Scallop Circle #2 Bigz Die (113469), Cutter Kit (106958); Glitz and Glam: Victoria 5/8″ Crochet Trim (118481), Early Espresso 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon (119955), Antique Brads (117273), Vintage Trinkets (118764), Silver Foil Smooch Spritz (118771), Log Cabin Smooch Spritz (119921), Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint (116806), Basic Pearls (119247)

It’s time to play at PPA! This week’s Pals Paper Arts challenge is “Monochromatic—Purple”. Be still my heart…purple is my favorite color! I had a blast creating this 6-1/2″ by 3-1/4″ card featuring the new Butterfly Prints stamp set and the “Flourish” from Elements of Style. Rich Razzleberry, Elegant Eggplant, and Perfect Plum are the yummy trio of purples I selected. Enjoy!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

• Random stamping! The Flourish from Elements of Style was inked with Elegant Eggplant and randomly stamped onto Whisper White card stock. Remember to stamp off the edges of the page! Follow this with a sprinkling of speckles, using the Color Spritzer Tool and a Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Write Marker. Finish by distressing the edges with Elegant Eggplant, and layer onto Rich Razzleberry.
• Punch a trio of card stock butterflies! I punched Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, and Rich Razzleberry card stock with the Butterfly Punch! These were then adhered to the randomly stamped Whisper White layer.
• Ink a trio of butterflies! The three butterfly images from Butterfly Prints were inked with Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant and Rich Razzleberry. Mini Glue Dots were used to adhere them to their card stock counterparts. Their bodies were inked with Basic Black, and snipped out with Paper Snips.
• A bit of bling adds zing! Rhinestones accent the heads, while an Antique Brad livens up the Rich Razzleberry bow.
• Finish with a Flourish…down the side of the envelope, that is! A rhinestone or two makes this an “envie” to envy!

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Here’s a little peek at this week’s Pals Paper Arts card to pique your interest! I hope that you will join me this Thursday for the full reveal. I will let you know that this card is a size which I usually do not make, but this is all I am going to say about that…until Thursday! The Pals would love to have you join us for this week’s challenge. Challenges allow us to improve upon our papercrafting skills, plus it is always fun to take a look at what our fellow stampers create!

Make and Take Time

As for the “Make and Takes” at this year’s Convention…well let it suffice to say that I only got one fully completed! As usual, I travelled to the beat of my own drummer just a wee bit! This would probably not be a card that I would normally make, but you know what? I like it! And it did not take forever. That is a plus! It features the Just Believe set, which I love.

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

• Huff and puff! The “Flower Stamp” from Just Believe was inked using Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy, and Old Olive Stampin’ Write Markers. To re-moisten the ink, I huffed on it prior to stamping onto Watercolor Paper. (The directions were to spritz the inked stamp with water, then stamp. But I failed to read them until later! Mea culpa! I always told my lab students to “read all of the directions first!” I guess that I had better practice what I preached!)
• Have a rip-roarin’ time! Tear the edges of the Watercolor Paper and distress with Early Espresso ink. Speckle using the Color Spritzer Tool and an Early Espresso Stampin’ Write Marker. (The directions were to use the Not Quite Navy Stampin’ Write marker, but I improvised.)
• Got the blues? Adhere the Watercolor Paper to Bashful Blue card stock, and tear the edges, distressing with Early Espresso ink. Add a snippet of Certainly Celery 5/8″ Satin Ribbon and Linen Thread as shown. Adhere to a 6″ x 6″ square of Not Quite Navy card stock scored at 3″.
• Glitz and Glam! Thread Linen Thread through an Old Olive Brights Button and adhere with Mini Glue Dots!

How easy is that! My special touches, in case you couldn’t figure them out, were distressing the torn edges and adding the Linen Thread over the Certainly Celery ribbon. And IF I would have had access to a Big Shot…guess what I would have done!!!

Special Hostess Promotion

How would you like to earn an extra $25 in product? It’s easy! Just hold a qualifying workshop of $350 or more (before taxes and shipping) between now and August 31st, and you will be eligible for an additional $25 of Stampin’ Up! product!

Here is what you will receive if you hold a $350 workshop:

• Your choice of either a Level 1 OR Level 2 Hostess Set
• $65 of merchandise ($40 + $25)

Your home or mine! I will supply a demonstration of a technique of your choice, in addition to materials and instructions for a fun “Make and Take”. All you need to do is supply the guests…and I will even help you brainstorm the list! Call or email me today!

Not located in southeastern Iowa, northeastern Missouri or western Illinois? Don’t despair! Email me for details about holding a virtual workshop. Ah! The miracles of technology!

If you have any questions about my cards or techniques, just email me! I love discussing stamping with you, just as much as I love reading the comments that you leave for me! So please, let me know what you think about today’s card! Until next time…

Click Here to Order Stampin’ Up! 24/7

Stamp Set: Just Believe (W 116948; C 120453); Inks: Early Espresso (119670); Stampin’ Write Markers: Old Olive (100079), Bashful Blue (105110), Not Quite Navy (100059); Card Stock: Watercolor Paper (105019), Bashful Blue (105120), Not Quite Navy (101722); Tools: Color Spritzer Tool (107066), Mini Glue Dots (103683); Glitz and Glam: Old Olive Brights Designer Buttons (119747), Linen Thread (104199), Certainly Celery 5/8″ Satin Ribbon (117288)