Really Tempting Olives for the PPA

It’s Thursday and time for this week’s Pals Paper Arts challenge! We have a color challenge planned for you as we pair Tempting Turquoise, Real Red and Old Olive together. It’s a Tropical Party and You’re Invited to my Island Oasis! How’s that for using the names of the stamp sets and Designer Series Paper used to create this card all in one sentence? I hope that you have as much fun designing your projects as I did in making this card for you! And if you don’t have these exact colors, it’s OK! Just use something similar!


The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

  • Dare to be different! By zipping the sentiment from Please Come through a Crimper, a touch of whimsy was added in seconds. And with a card that is visually “busy”, the eye is drawn immediately to the sentiment.

  • Odd man out! Tempting Turquoise and Old Olive are the foundation colors for the Island Oasis Designer Series Paper. Therefore, I decided to cast Real Red, the odd man out, in the role of “pop” star. The card base, matting and red flowers just “pop” right out at you!

  • “To bow, or not to bow”…that is the question. I opted to not make a bow. Instead I layered the ribbon. Despite the perfusion of blossoms and the funkiness of the sentiment, the look of this card is still clean and tailored, with grosgrain ribbon adding to the texture and dimension.
I hope that today’s card serves as an inspiration for you. That is one of my goals when designing for the PPA. I would love to see your creations using this color combination. So before you head off to your “creative space”, won’t you please leave me a comment? And remember to Email Me if you have questions about any of the techniques that I use. Until next time…
Stamp Set: Tropical Party (W 118515; C 120081—Summer Mini), Please Come (115046); Inks: Real Red (103133), Tempting Turquoise (100814), Old Olive (102277); Designer Series Paper: Island Oasis (117173—Summer Mini); Card Stock: Whisper White (100730), So Saffron (105118), Real Red (102482), Old Olive (100702), Tempting Turquoise (102067); Tools: Big Shot Die Cutting Machine (113439), Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (119176), Little Leaves Sizzlits Die (114511), Crimper (101618); Glitz and Glam: Tempting Turquoise 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon (109038), Old Olive 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon (109054), Bold Brights Brads (106957)

PPA42 Sneak Peek


As is tradition, I am offering you a peek at this Thursday’s Pals Paper Arts challenge card. Notice that I have provided you with a little glimpse of texture. But wait…are those bright colors you see? Last week’s PPA card featured bright colors. Am I turning over a new leaf, leaving behind the Earth Elements and Rich Regals? No…I am just having a little fun expanding my “comfort zone”! Stay tuned this Thursday for the complete reveal.

And now I bid you adieu as I return to grading Physics tests and Anatomy lab reports. Just 3-1/2 more weeks and I will be a cardmaking, blog posting fool!!! Are you ready? Feel free to leave me a comment to let me know what you think about this week’s sneak peek! And of course, I am always available to answer any questions about techniques and Stampin’ Up! products. I am just an email away! Until next time…

Hummingbird Don’t Fly Away for PPA 41


It’s Thursday, and time to play the Pals Paper Arts challenge. It’s an inspiration challenge this week focusing on this delightful inspiration photo:

My problem with today’s challenge was that there were so many ways to go! Yikes! Butterflies, flowers, birds, colors! However, there was just something about that bird plate that was calling my name! So…I grabbed my Whisper White card stock, rounded the corners, and pulled out my…gasp…Bold Bright inks! Many of them were in pristine, never used condition. It appears that I am not very “Bright”, being a more “Earthy, Subtle, Regal” kind of gal! Whether you select birds, butterflies or flowers, have fun with this fun and funky photo!

The Stampin’ Schach Tips:

  • Create your own Designer Series Paper! I used Tempting Turquoise, Only Orange, Green Galore, Brilliant Blue and Pink Passion inks to randomly stamp the “Hummingbird” image from the Elements of Style stamp set. I was blown away by all of this “brightness”, so I toned it down a bit by zipping it through the Big Shot die cutting machine with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.

  • Itty Bitty Buttons give GREAT BIG style! I paid homage to the flowers in the inspiration photo by using my Itty Bitty Flower Punch and the Itty Bitty Flower Buttons! I punched a trio of flowers into a strip of Whisper White card stock and mounted Tempting Turquoise behind it. Next, I cut thin strips of Brilliant Blue card stock, and actually sewed the buttons to the card stock using the paper thread. The buttons are firmly secured with nary a glue dot in sight. It’s “sew” easy!

  • Layered labels look lovely! The Whisper White Curly Label nestles nicely onto the Brilliant Blue tag cut from the Lots of Tags Sizzlits 4-Pack for a unique twist on an old favorite!

I hope that you join us in this week’s challenge! How many times have I stated that challenges help us grow as paper artists and sometimes take us out of our comfort zone? This is a good thing. I am not a “random” stamper, yet the more I practice it, the more comfortable I become with this technique. I am not a “Brights” person, yet it was fun to move away from my old stand-by’s. And to be honest, stamping a “plate” full of hummingbirds took me on a trip down memory lane to a more youthful and less wrinkled time. I could hear Seals and Crofts melodic refrain, “Hummingbird, don’t fly away, fly away…The sweetness of your nectar has drawn me like a fly. I just love you, love you, love you and I don’t even know the reason why…” Ah, yes! Those were the days…

If you ever have questions about the cards that I create or the techniques that I use, just drop me an email. And remember, your comments are important to me. So please, won’t you let me know that you have visited by leaving me a comment? Until next time…


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Stamp Sets: Elements of Style (W 118611; C 120045—Summer Mini), Great Friend (113792); Inks: Only Orange (102696), Tempting Turquoise (100814), Brilliant Blue (100691), Pink Passion (101212), Green Galore (102122); Card Stock: Whisper White (100730), Brilliant Blue (100721), Tempting Turquoise (102067); Tools: Big Shot (113439), Square Lattice Embossing Folder (119976—Summer Mini), Lots of Tags Sizzlits (114508), Curly Label Punch (112208), Punch Pack (118309—Summer Mini), Corner Rounder (109047); Glitz and Glam: Itty Bitty Buttons (118761—Summer Mini)