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Inspirations

pcc #403

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It’s Paper Craft Crew challenge time! How about a fun inspiration photo to get your creative mojo going.

I love the calmness in this photo. The dark blue, crisp white and a pop of red. So, that is what I drew my inspiration from.

The Paper Craft Crew would love to have you join the fun and play along. Head over to the PCC blog and check out how the rest of the design team was inspired by this photo.

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pcc #394

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Hello friends, so glad you are here today. Let’s play along with a Paper Craft Crew challenge! This week we have a fun Autumn Adventure inspiration photo to get those creative juices flowing.

Inspiration photos are fun because you can really go any direction from them. Color Combos, Layout, Images, theme are just a few ideas. For this picture, I was immediately drawn to the wood background. I had the perfect wood grain DSP to use! Next I focused on the autumn produce. Here is how it all came together.

I cut a square of Plaid Tidings DSP with a Stitched Square die and added it to the lower right corner for a table runner, napkin or placemat feel. I stamped the milk can and flowers from Country home and colored them with Copics. Image is cut out and popped up on dimensionals. Sentiment is stamped on vellum attached with a couple of brads with a strip of Bumblebee dsp behind. Finished off with some linen thread and silver pearls.

I love the fall country feel of this card! What inspiration can you find in this week’s PCC challenge?

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osat blog hop: new beginnings

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Welcome to August’s One Stamp At A Time blog hop! Our theme this month is new beginnings. This really covers a wide range of occasions! I think my projects would work for a lot of different ones. I have had this idea in my head for quite sometime. This theme seemed like a good time to try it out.

I love the Disney movie Up. Last year when I got the Sweet Silhouettes die set with the word “adventure” in it, I knew I would have to combine the two. The result is this fun card and mini Paper Pumpkin box. Perfect for anyone heading off on a new adventure!

I used the balloon punch to punch out a lot of balloons in various colors. Add in a cloud stencil and some white baker’s twine we have the bunch of balloons Carl used to lift his house. Of course, the sentiment for the card had to be “adventure is out there”.

The small banner is from the Smooth Sailing die set. I used the Make A Difference alphabet stamp set for the phrase.

On the box, I wrapped the strings around the edge of the box for a fun touch.

What do you think? Did my idea translate to my project? I like to think so. This one goes out to all of my Disney lovin’ friends. Adventure IS out there!

The OSAT Design Team has some amazing projects waiting for you. Make your way through the full blog hop. PLEASE CLICK THE BLUE BOX BELOW FOR A POP UP LIST OF THE DESIGN TEAM

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paper craft crew challenge #388

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Boy, summer is just flying by. I kind of wish it would slow down. But, time marches on. And with another week, comes another Paper craft Crew challenge! We are stepping away from the card sketches this week and working with an inspiration photo.

Oh, I love the summer vibe of this photo. The bright colors are fantastic. So, obviously, I didn’t use any of that for my card. LOL! I really like the rule grouping of threes in this pic. Here’s how that played out in my card.

I sponged three columns of color on my stitched rectangle panel: So Saffron, Rococo Rose, and Blushing Bride. Then I stamped the diamond image from the Prized Peony set in those same colors. The peony images were stamped in Gray Granite and watercolored. Finished card size is 3.5″x5″

The PCC Design Team has some wonderful projects to share with you on the Paper Craft Crew blog. Head on over to check them out and play along!

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I love a good challenge

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Hello friends! I have some exciting news – I have joined the Paper Craft Crew Challenges Design Team!

Each week the Paper Craft Crew puts out a new crafty challenge: a card sketch, color combo, inspiration photo or tic tac toe, etc and invites paper crafters to join the challenge and create something fun! The Design Team kicks things off to give you all some added inspiration. I was honored the PCC Team coordinator, and my friend, Pam asked me to join. I love a good challenge and I look forward to the creativity ahead.

Today’s challenge is this fun inspiration photo:

After staring at the photo for awhile, I asked myself – What do I like about the picture? I like the white space with bold pops of color and the aqua, bright pink and orange colors. I also like the single flower focal point. Here is how I put those elements together.

I opted to put the flower focal point on the opposite side of the card because of the natural bend the stamped image had. I used an embossing folder to give some texture and depth to the background taken from the out of focus background in the inspiration photo. (sneak peek of the Old World Paper 3D folder and new In Color Magenta Madness from the NEW 2020-21 Stampin’ Up! catalog!)

Check out the Paper Craft Crew Challenges blog and join the fun! Create your own project and share it in the PCC#379 post. Challenges are open for one week. Who knows, you may even be a Top Pick!

I’m so glad you stopped by! Please join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

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monogram decor

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We had a great time at Stamp-n-Storage’s September Creative Class that was held during the annual Warehouse Sale. We made a fun monogrammed home decor piece and a coordinating card.

We started with a 11.5″x11.5″ piece of sanded wood that we painted with white chalk paint. Tore the edges of a piece of patterned paper and added it to the wood with Mod Podge. The leaves are wrapped with twine around an embroidery hoop which was hot glued to the base along with the painted monogram letter. (I made this for my daughter which is why it has an ‘L’)

We then took inspiration from elements of this project to create a card.

Inspiration is all around us! Where do you draw inspiration from?

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stamp review crew: birch

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Welcome! So glad you are joining me today to check out the fun Stamp Review Crew blog hop featuring the Birch background stamp. I knew this was a must have stamp the minute I saw it. I really love wood textures and have always loved the look of birch wood. Now, I can have that look – in any color I choose!

My first card I stayed with the traditional white birch look and used Gray Granite ink.

I think the Coastal Cabana gingham print is a great contrast with the birch look. Let’s open the card and take a peek.

I layered the gingham dsp and three flowers on the left so they are in the same place as the ones on the card front. A fun detail is how the scallop circle is mostly hid when the card is closed. The Daffodil Delight and Calypso Coral flowers are from the Flourish and Well Written die sets.

My second card had a more subtle Birch look. I used Crumb Cake (stamped off) ink on a Crumb Cake panel.

I added some sponging with Whisper White ink for a more rustic look. The Daisy Lane daisy is colored with Watercolor Pencils, but not watercolored. Isn’t the white pencil on the crumb cake card stock fun!

Are you ready for more amazing Birch inspiration? Head on over to the talented Heidi or you can go back to Holly and her wonderful creations. Then make your way through the full blog roll. You won’t be disappointed.

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enjoy today

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I have something I have to confess… I am a paper-holic. I love designer papers – the colors, patterns, possibilities! But, I often have a hard time using my pretty papers in fear that I will not have a particular pattern any more. Then what will I do? Ummm – BUY MORE PAPER! There are always pretty new papers coming out. So, what am I waiting for? I am working on using my stash, not just gazing at the pretty patterns. In fact, lately, I use dsp on almost every card. It adds a great level of detail without a lot of work.

Today’s card is actually a really simple card that looks much more complicated thanks to the gorgeous Magnolia Lane DSP.

The flower and leaves from the Magnolia Memory dies provide a great focal point. Just add a few accent details: punch out circle on edge of dsp, flower stamped in the open circle, scalloped detail between dsp prints, green linen thread and sentiment popped up.

So, use up those gorgeous papers. Make beautiful projects. There are always new patterns coming and more paper to buy!

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stamp review crew: sailing home

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Hello friends! Welcome to another Stamp Review Crew blog hop. What is the Stamp Review Crew? We are an international group of paper crafters that get together to feature and review a single Stampin’ Up! stamp set on the first and third Monday of each month. All of our previous stamp set reviews are archived on the Stamp Review Crew blog. I get the honor of starting off the blog roll today.

For this hop, we are giving the Sailing Home stamp set its moment center stage. This stamp set isn’t one I normally would gravitate towards. But, I am SO glad I got it and the full Come Sail Away product suite. I have had so much fun creating with it.

This first card is one I made for a custom order. I was asked to make a sympathy card. A boat sailing into the sunset is what was requested. Here is what I created.

I created the sunset by sponging ink onto a Whisper White panel. I used Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Terracotta Tile, Balmy Blue and Night of Navy. I used some of the retired Wood Grains DSP and distressed the edges. The sentiment is from the retired Teeny Tiny Wishes. The boat was colored with water color pencils. Here is a closer look at the corner:

My second project today uses the card fold i learned from Ronda Wade and first showed on the Stamp Review Crew’s Bird Ballad blog hop. You can see that project HERE. I liked the fold so much so I kept playing with it.

I really like the Crackle Paint background stamp with the rope pattern Come Sail Away DSP. Here is the first open:

And full open:

I used the stitched label that was cut out from the front of the card as a layer for the sentiment. This card fold is such a great way to showcase gorgeous designer series papers!

Are you ready for more amazing inspiration with the Sailing Home set? I’m sending you over to the talented Ann, just click on the NEXT button below. If you like you can go back to the amazing Nikki by clicking on the PREVIOUS button. Which ever way you travel be sure to hit all of the stops along the way. So much creativity and inspiration awaits!

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everything is rosy

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I love Rose Gold. In fact, it is the accent color in my white and gray studio. I even found rose gold drawer pulls! When Stampin’ Up! announced the Everything Rosy Medley and we saw that Rose Gold was a prominent feature, I knew I HAD to have it. And I was not disappointed. It is GORGEOUS! The rose gold foil highlights, mirror disc embellishments and shimmer paint are fan-tab-u-lous! I may need to order a second kit so I don’t run out. Oh, and did I mention, you can create Ah-Mazingly cute projects with it! Check it out –

The photo doesn’t do justice to the gorgeous rose gold foil on the designer series paper, die cuts or the spatter of rose gold shimmer paint. The Everything Rosy kit comes with sheets of printed and rose gold die cuts that help cards come together even faster.

I adhered the strip of DSP to the inside of the card and trimmed of 1.5″ from the card front for a unique look. The sentiment label and die cuts hang over the front edge. I LOVE everything about this kit. Grab yours today – but hurry it is only available until May 31!

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