Ink Up: TCP Tuesday

Angel Johns
Annette Witherspoon

December Guest Designer: Tracey Kelly

Thanks for stopping by, and have a blessed week!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Viva la Verve November 2015 Week 1 Sketch Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Anything Goes
TCP Tuesday Challenge #304: Anything Goes
Sweet Stamps November Anything Goes Challenge

~Hugs,

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Be Merry and Bright Card Set

Friday, November 27, 2015

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving yesterday. Are you still sleeping off all the turkey and trimmings? I definitely ate way too much! ;)

A friend saw a card I made last year and asked me to duplicate it as a card set. I'm not good with making multiple cards exactly alike, and I have almost completely lost my cardmaking mojo since saying goodbye to my little Silkie, Ozzy, 2 weeks ago, so I wasn't sure I would be able to do it. Ozzy was always underfoot when I worked in my craftroom in the middle of the night, and it's just not the same without him around. Since I haven't been able to find my get-up-and-go to design any cards at all, I thought CASing my own card a few times might help me get back in the groove again.

Here's the entire set. I basically just chose four different groupings of paper, twine, and beads, then colored the image to match it's card. I like how they turned out. You can't tell in the pics, but all the Christmas lights have clear Wink of Stella sparkling on them, and the little puppies' noses are all dimensional with Glossy Accents. Close ups of each one follow:

I didn't take pics of the insides, but they all have the same sentiment and 3 flags in the corresponding papers either sewn or stapled to the card. If you want to see an example of what I did, I do have a pic of the inside of my original card here.

While I haven't made any cards in a few weeks, I have been busy making books. Now that I don't have to reference a book or video every time I want to make a book, I can make them without having to concentrate a lot, for most of the process. I'll post pics of them soon.

In the meantime, thank you for visiting my blog today, and BIG HUGS to all my Paper Sweeties Design Teammates, Facebook friends, and real life friends who have sent me such wonderful messages of condolence. I know Ozzy was "only" a pet, but, to me he was as much a part of my family as anyone else in it, and if you've ever lost a beloved pet, I know you understand how devastating it can be. :'‑(

Have a wonderful weekend!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes
Your Next Stamp Color Challenge #28 (the first card fits the challenge)
Sugar Pea Color Challenge #7: CCC7 (the first card fits the challenge)
TCP Tuesday 304: Anything Goes
Tiddly Inks Challenge #171: Anything Goes!
The Paper Shelter Challenge #229: A Christmas Card
DoubleClick Skittles Challenge: Christmas Holiday Challenge
Sweet Stamps November Anything Goes Challenge

~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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Paper Sweeties November 2015 Inspiration Challenge

Sunday, November 1, 2015

I hope everyone had a scary-fun Halloween yesterday! Now, it's time to gear up for Thanksgiving, and what better way to get started than with an Autumn/Thanksgiving Inspiration Challenge from Paper Sweeties! Whatever theme you decide to go with, the warm color palette is sure to inspire you to create something fabulous! I hope you'll play along with us.

I colored sweet Abigail and dressed her in an Indian maiden costume from the Give Thanks stamp set, for a Thanksgiving card. I paper pieced her dress from a scrap that reminded me of leather and dressed it up a bit by stamping the headband design as a belt, which I colored with Spica pens. The pumpkin image and sentiment are both from the same stamp set. And, since every card needs a little sparkle, I added a few Paper Sweeties Black Cherry sequins and filled each of them with Lime Green Stickles.

Whenever I add patterned or embossed paper to a sentiment panel, I like to adhere it to the white cardstock before die cutting. I like the look of the embossed edge extending over the entire piece. I only had a tiny bit of the dotted paper left, so I slipped it just under the edge of the sentiment layer die cut to add some color and to give the front and the inside more cohesion.

I've already taken a peek at some of the cards from the DT, and they are beautiful. You won't want to miss a single one:

Cheryl Lea - That's Me!

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties

November Guest Designer: Michele Henderson

Thanks for stopping by, and have a blessed week!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday: Throwback (I chose the July 2015 We're Going Dotty challenge)
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes
The Shabby Tea Room #262: Colors and Patterns
613 Avenue Create #148: Anything Goes
Sugar Pea Designs SPD21: Anything Goes
The Corrosive Challenge #236: Autumn Splendor
Oddball Art Stamps Challenge: Halloween (or Harvest)
TCP Tuesday 302 (TCPTUES302): Anything Goes
4 Crafty Chicks 4CC #270: Anything Goes (Crazy Egg Challenge)

~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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Paper Sweeties October Release Rewind!

Friday, October 16, 2015

Time for a Paper Sweeties Rewind, where we mix new release stamps and dies with older ones. Abigail and Jake stamps and dies were perfect, paired with the Do You See What I See and Reason for the Season stamps sets.

I used a mix of Dylusions Ink Sprays and Distress Ink to create the background on a Manila tag. Then, I heat embossed the sentiment, first with a gold mirror embossing powder, then again, offset slightly, with a light brown ep. Jake, Abigail, and baby Jesus were colored with Copic markers, and the outfits were paper pieced. Abigail is popped up slightly, but I wanted to keep the tag as flat as possible in case it ended up being used as a bookmark. The edges of the tag were heat embossed with two different Fran-tage embossing powders, and I finished the tag off with several Paper Sweeties seam bindings and baker's twines.

Be sure to visit my teamies' blogs, too!

Angel Johns
Cheryl Lea

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties
Emily Frasier
Jill Norwood

TCP Tuesday Challenge TCPTUES301: Anything Goes
Penny Black October Challenge: Warm Autumn Colours
House of Cards October Challenge: Add Texture &/or Color Inspiration

You still have time to enter this month's Inspiration Challenge!

http://papersweeties.com/blog/paper-sweeties-inspiration-challenge-october-2015/

And, be sure to check out the October Kit of the Month, too.

Thanks so much for your visit, and enjoy your weekend!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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Paper Sweeties October Release Party!

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Paper Sweeties Release Party is here, which means that all the new Paper Sweeties October stamp sets are available in the Boutique starting right now! And, here's another Christmas card created with the newest Sweet Cuts die set, Stitched Tags #2.

After painting corrugated cardboard with white acrylic paint, I die cut the tree in the center. For the colorful tree inside, I happened to have some 12x12 patterned paper with large Christmas trees on it, so I just cut the tree from that. For the shaker, I used my Fuse tool to create a shaker pouch from a sheet protector and filled it with Frosting and Sugar Sprinkles sequins and Fran-tage Shaved Ice. I like the way acetate sheets look for shakers, but I have to tell you, using a plastic pouch is much easier because you can fill it before putting it in the card, and to attach it, I just die cut a tree from a second piece of cardboard, then sandwiched the edges of the pouch between the two cardboard layers. After adhering those layers to a red and white dotted background paper, I made a green bow with Green Apple Seam Binding and Peppermint Baker's Twine, both available at Paper Sweeties, and added a few Strawberry sequins around the card, filled with White Opal Liquid Pearls. Finally the star tree topper was cut with the star die in the Trim the Tree Sweet Cuts set, and Diamond Stickles gave it plenty of sparkle.

On the inside of the card, I stamped a sentiment from the new Do You See What I See stamp set, colored the heart with a Copic marker, and used a paint pen for the highlight. The distressed cardboard Christmas tree is the die cut from the front of the card.

The Paper Sweeties DT has more inspiration for you. Just click on each of the names to see what they've been busy doing lately.

Angel Johns
Cheryl Lea - That's Me!

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties
Emily Frasier
Jill Norwood

Release Week always ends with a Rewind day. Check back tomorrow for Rewind Day, to see one last project featuring the newest releases from Paper Sweeties.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create Challenge #145: Anything Goes
House of Cards October Challenge: Add Texture &/or Color Inspiration
Craft Your Passion Challenge #283: Always Anything Goes
TCP Tuesday TCPTUES301: Anything Goes Challenge

~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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Paper Sweeties September Release Countdown!

Monday, September 14, 2015

As promised, I've got a fun project to share with you today, featuring another Paper Sweeties New Release stamp set. Homegrown is a set of four fruit stamps, which pairs nicely with the Mason Jar stamps and dies I used yesterday, and with their distinct lines and large open areas, they are perfect for simple watercoloring, which I've been enjoying lately!

Since the Homegrown set is all about fruit, I had fruit on the brain, so to speak, and was reminded of Galatians 5:22-23 and the Fruit of the Spirit:

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Gal. 5:22-23 NLT

Now, I wasn't up for making an individual card for each of the nine attributes, but I really wanted to make a set of something. Then, I noticed the huge stack of books in my family room that I'm trying to read through, and immediately started die cutting bookmarks out of heavy watercolor paper. I can use them to keep my place in books, and to remind me to keep these attributes in my life.

On each bookmark, I heat embossed the fruit images with gold embossing powder, then got out my Koi watercolors and Color Bursts to add lots of color. For the text, I used Fancy Monograms (Patience), die cut (Joy), Silhouette cut (Kindness), hand lettering with a Spica pen (Gentleness), and hand lettering with a Versamark pen and gold embossing (Peace). I tried to make each bookmark unique with the word and image placement and fonts, and I am very pleased with how they turned out. I added Paper Sweeties Seam Binding, in various colors, to the top of each bookmark, and tied each one with a Licorice twine bow. I've included photos of each of the bookmarks individually, below. (The color looks a little different in the group versus the individual pics. The group photo is closer to how the colors look in person.)

I wish you could see the beautiful gold embossing on the images. It's just so darn hard to get that in photos! Tomorrow, I'll share more bookmarks, as well as decorative storage for them--Fruit of the Spirit, Part II. ;~)

There's always yummy goodness to be had when you visit the Paper Sweeties Design Team! You don't want to miss even one!

Angel Johns
Cheryl Lea - That's Me!

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties
Emily Frasier
Jill Norwood

Simon Says Stamp Monday: Stamp and Punch/Die Cut

Tomorrow is Paper Sweeties' Release Party, when all the newest stamps and dies will be released! And, for a chance to win a gift certificate to the Paper Sweeties' boutique, play along with us in this month's Paper Sweeties Inspiration Challenge.

I'm entering this project in the following challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday: Stamptember

613 Avenue Create Challenge #141: Anything Goes

TCP Tuesday #298: Anything Goes

~Hugs,

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Paper Sweeties September Release Sneak Peeks!

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Ready for a peek at one of Paper Sweeties upcoming New Release stamp and die sets? I used the brand new Mason Jar stamp and matching Mason Jar Sweet Cuts die sets on this card.

I heat embossed the jar, with clear embossing powder, onto watercolor paper, did some loose watercoloring using Koi watercolors and Color Burst powder, and die cut it with the Mason Jar die. Then, I put the colored image between two pieces of copy paper and ironed it to remove the embossing. The Mason Jar set comes with lots of sentiment stamps, and I chose the simple "Sweet" sentiment to make this an any occasion card, and surrounded the label area with yellow gel Pearl Pen dots. Besides the jar die, this Sweet Cuts set also comes with a cute little fishtail flag die, which I used to cut the flags under the button. After zigzagging around the edge of the main layer, I added a few Paper Sweeties' sequins in Cookie Dough, Robin Egg, and Peppermint, filling the centers with Diamond Stickles.

More inspiration is just a click away on each of my teamies' blogs!

Angel Johns
Cheryl Lea - That's Me!

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties
Emily Frasier
Jill Norwood

Julie Tucker-Wolek
Kathy Schweinfurth

We'd love for you to play along with us in this month's Paper Sweeties Inspiration Challenge. Debbie also has another challenge blog, The Shabby Tea Room, with a monthly challenge, too!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you'll come back again tomorrow. I'll have a super fun project featuring the second New Release set, that I will share over the next two days!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Sugar Pea Designs SugarSketch 29
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Stamp and Punch/Die Cut
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Stamptember Use a Stamp Challenge
My Favorite Things Color Challenge 29
613 Avenue Create Challenge 141: Anything Goes
TCP Tuesday Challenge 298: Anything Goes
Pink & Main Challenge #1: Anything Goes

~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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The Wonderful World of Boxes

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

I love making boxes and books! It's so satisfying to be able to design something from scratch, build it, and have a finished product that is well-made, sturdy, and attractive. And, it sure is nice to be able to decorate a box without once having to consider how heavy or thick an embellishment is!

I made this box to hold a card set that I made last year. I did make a box for the set when I first made the cards, however, it wasn't really deep enough, and envelopes wouldn't fit inside with the cards--not very convenient for a card set! This time, I get the measurements perfect.

I used the May 2015 Week 1 Viva la Verve sketch to decorate the top of my box. The sentiment is stamped onto a piece of canvas that was left over from the box spine fabric, and it is distressed with distress ink, stamps, and a little water. I also stamped a few distressed spots in Pumice Stone Distress Ink in several places.

A side view.

I made this clay embellishment a couple of years ago. It started off as white, but I colored it with Inka Gold. I started with a base of Champagne Inka Gold, then to get the green into the crevasses, I added a tiny bit of water to some Green-Yellow Inka Gold and painted with it. The Copper was rubbed on dry.

The spine of the box has a strip of the same cardstock that covers the top and bottom of the box.

This is the inside of the box.

I added glass marble feet to the bottom of the box, then because these are a little slippery on furniture, I used a standard hole punch to punch small circles of craft foam, then glued them to the glass marbles. The foam dots also help with uneven marbles--no more wobbly boxes!

That's all for now. Have a Wonderful Week!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Viva la Verve May 2015 Sketch Challenge: Week 1
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes
613 Avenue Create Challenge #122: Anything Goes w/Optional Feminine
Robyn's Fetish Challenge #262: Anything but a Card
TCP Tuesday #289 Inspiration Challenge
Paper Issues: Chalk One Up With Your Own Style

~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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Paper Sweeties April Release Sneak Peeks!

Monday, April 13, 2015

Hi Friends! I've been MIA for a couple of weeks, having the best time learning new ways to bind books! I'll tell you more about it later this week, and I'll have pics! In the meantime, we've got new releases at Paper Sweeties, and you are going to love them! Here's a sneak peek...

I used the new Tree of Life stamp set for the sentiment, and to heat emboss the white tree, and added lots of green leaves with the new Tree of Life Add-On: Spring stamp set. Because the tree and leaf stamp are separate these stamp sets are very versatile. I'm already envisioning the tree on a Halloween card in the fall! But, wait, there's more! See the three hearts hanging from the branch and that sweet little blue bird? They are part of the Tree of Life Add-On: Spring set, too, and I used the coordinating Tree of Life Add-On: Spring Sweet Cuts die set to cut them out! The Add-On stamp set has more than a dozen stamps to embellish the tree, and there is actually a matching die for every single one of them! The Tree of Life stamp set has a matching die set, too!!! See...I told you that you were going to love these!

I did a little decorating on the inside, but left it blank until I know who I will give it to.

I'll be back with another card tomorrow featuring the new releases, but for now, you'll want to check out what the rest of my talented Teamies have created for this month's release:

Cheryl Lea - that's me!

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties
Emily Frasier
Jill Norwood