Life is a Matter of Moments

During the past few weeks I have had a wonderful time creating my Splitcoaststampers Dirty Dozen Fan Club gallery. Can you believe that this is already my third month? This month’s theme, “How Does Your Garden Grow“, was right up my alley. (You do have to belong to the Fan Club to access this gallery, so if you are not a member and need more information about joining, click Here.) Since I always find the last few days before the deadline a little hectic, I decided to relax today by going “blog surfing”. Of course, I am always on the look-out for a fun challenge. As luck would have it, I discovered the Picture Perfect Creations Crafty Challenges blog today. Their challenge was to incorporate these colors:

Although I have never used all four of these colors together, they are colors that I love and use in various other combinations. Since so many colors were involved, I opted to go with a rather simple layout, allowing the colors to do the talking. I hope that you enjoy today’s card!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

  • Create your own Designer Paper! The En Francais stamp inked in Soft Suede and stamped off once, provides a delicate background for the “Swirl” image from Elements of Style.

  • Go for the “WOW” factor! Bravo Burgundy swirls and 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon draw the eye immediately to the Scallop Circle Flower. There are many tutorials for making this type flower! However, here is one of my favorites: Creations by Corie. I did switch Corie’s directions up a bit by wetting my circles with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz. Then I “scrunched” and dried it. It makes it look a wee bit more “shabby”.

  • Don’t forget the bling! Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz provides a soft pearl sheen to the Perfect Plum Beautiful Wings Embosslits butterflies and the Scallop Circle Flower. And what could be finer than a Clear Rhinestone Brad as the flower’s center!

I had a great time with this fun little challenge, and I would encourage you to visit the Design Team Members over at Picture Perfect Creations and view their wonderful inspirations. But before you do, please leave a comment and let me know how I did! And remember, if you ever have any questions about the cards that I create or the techniques that I use, I am only an email away! Until next time…

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Stamp Set: Elements of Style (W 118611, C 120045—Summer Mini); En Francais (109521); Inks: Soft Suede (115657), Bravo Burgundy (105214); Designer Series Paper: Perfect Plum (112158); Card Stock: Very Vanilla (101650), Bravo Burgundy (105123), Sage Shadow (101563); Tools: Big Shot (113439), Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die (118138), Scallop Circle Punch (109043); Glitz and Glam: Clear Rhinestone Brads (113144), Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz (118772—Summer Mini), Bravo Burgundy 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon (109153)

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…