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…


Click Here to Order Stampin’ Up! 24/7
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)

PPA Sneak Peek and National Scrapbooking Month


Here is a little peek at this week’s Pals Paper Arts Inspiration Card. I hope that you will play along with us when the challenge goes live on Thursday! I will tell you that this card uses colors that I don’t typically use, as you can probably see. However, it does feature the wonderful Square Lattice Embossing Folder. I just love the texture that it imparts to any card!

National Scrapbooking Month Promotion
May is National Scrapbooking Month, and Stampin’ Up! is celebrating with another fantastic promotion. During the month of May, if you purchase one of the qualifying stamp sets listed below OR My Digital Studio, you will receive a FREE package of Designer Brads…your choice of four fabulous designs: Circle (112571), Star (112572), Flower (112579) or Filigree (112577)!
Qualifying Stamp Sets
Page 81
Extreme Elements W 115181 $26.95

Page 119
Framed with Love**
W 114389 $27.95

Page 128
Certified** W 113706 $27.95
Page 129
Circle Circus
W 115778 $28.95
Page 12*
Elements of Style
W 118611 $27.95
C 120045 $19.95
Page 13*
Mementos
W 119910 $27.95
C 120105 $19.95
Page 13*
Elements de style
W 119900 $27.95
C 120099 $19.95
Page 14*
Rough Type
W 118659 $26.95
C 120072 $18.95
Page 22*
Sentimental Journey
W 118513 $23.95
C 120075 $17.95
Page 25*
First Day
W 118521 $23.95
C 120051 $17.95
Page 25*
Camino a la Escuela
W 120152 $23.95
C 120154 $17.95
Page 32*
My Digital Studio
118108 $79.95
* From the Summer Mini Catalog
** A “Last Chance” Stamp Set
If you have never tried My Digital Studio, it’s so quick, easy and fun! Here are two of my favorite scrapbook pages designed using My Digital Studio:

Today’s PPA Sneak Peek featured the Square Lattice Embossing Folder, a folder which I have used so much since I received it as part of my Summer Mini preorder. If you would love the opportunity to preorder from the mini catalogs, as well as the new Idea Book and Catalog, join me as an Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator!I would love to serve as your creative mentor and give you the SPA treatment! You can become a Schach Pack Artist! For more information Click Here!
(Note to my beloved Stampin’ Schach Readers: Please bear with me these next few weeks as I enter into the final days of my teaching career. As many of you know, the end of the school year is SUPER busy, and with my impending retirement, I am finding this year to be even more hectic than usual. I didn’t realize how much “stuff” I accumulated during 34 years of teaching! In addition to the usual papers to grade and lesson plans to write, there are end of the year reports, semester tests, concerts, award banquets, a son to move back home from college, graduation parties…and yes…retirement parties! I feel guilty about my lack of posts and cards recently. However, I pledge to make up for it after June 4th! I am looking forward to this new chapter in my life where I can focus on my creativity. I have registered for technique and design classes, as well as the Stampin’ Up! Convention in July, and I am excited to be part of Michelle Zindorf’s brayering class in Grinnell, Iowa in August! Just 22 school days…and counting. So please hang in there with me, and I promise to share all that I learn. Old teachers never die, so be prepared for tips and video tutorials and cards galore! I really do appreciate all of you, my virtual stamping friends…)