PPA Peek


It’s time for a quick peek at this week’s Pals Paper Arts challenge card! Of course, the complete reveal will be Thursday morning. As I have always said, challenges are a great way to help us improve our card-making skills. Sure, they may pull us out of our comfort zone, such as this Thursday’s challenge does for me, but that is a good thing! Unless we are challenged we can never grow as designers! So won’t you join us this week? And be sure to check out the winners of the Monochromatic Purple challenge. There were so many gorgeous cards!
And speaking of challenges, how about creating a vintage card over at Always Playing with Paper? I love the vintage style! And needless to say, I was so happy to be asked to be a Guest Designer for the month of August. I would love to see your vintage creation, so make certain to upload your project before Friday at 5:00 PST.

I will be busily creating my final gallery for the Splitcoast Dirty Dozen over the next week. What this means is that I may be missing in action…but I will also be able to share another gallery right here at The Stampin’ Schach beginning August 15th. So please be patient with me!
Ready to book a workshop and take advantage of Stampin’ Up!’s extra $25 in free merchandise for workshops over $350 (product total before shipping/taxes)? Email me today if you are located in southeast Iowa, western Illinois, or northeast Missouri! I still have a limited number of dates available. But hurry…this promotion ends August 31st. Until next time…

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Greeting Card Kid for Always Playing with Paper

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:

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)

Butterfly Prints for the PPA


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!
For fun, I popped up the wings, and curled up the antennae just a wee bit! I hope that you enjoyed my little trio of “flutterbies”, as my niece used to call them. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of today’s card. And don’t forget, I am always here to answer any questions about the cards that I create or the techniques that I use! Until next time…


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Stamp Sets: Butterfly Prints (W 121049; C 120738); Elements of Style (W 118611; C 120045); Inks: Perfect Plum (101437), Elegant Eggplant (105210), Rich Razzleberry (115658), Basic Black (101179), Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Write Marker (120970); Card Stock: Whisper White (100730), Perfect Plum (101889), Elegant Eggplant (105126), Rich Razzleberry (115316); Tools: Butterfly Punch (119848), Paper Snips (103579); Glitz and Glam: Rich Razzleberry 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon (119957), Basic Rhinestones (119246), Antique Brads (117273); Other: Small Open Ended Envelopes (107286)