Site Meter

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Make a card - and Envelope to Match

Do you ever stamp a card and then make a matching envelope? I seldom do that, but always like when it turns out. I really LOVE this new Fall set from Stampin' Up! It lends itself so well to doing a collage style. With Fall upon us, you can choose so many colors to mix and match. I think the only thing missing on this card is maybe a button or sparkle or something on the bow. This challenge was posted yesterday on the 365 card blog and when I saw it I immediately thought of this stamp set. So, I dug out all my stuff once again and had fun laying down the colors in the leaves. As I stamped the card, I did the envelope too. I really think that stamping matching envelopes and even doing the inside of a card is something I want to do more of in the future. It doesn't have to be fancy - sometimes just a single image or a strip of cardstock or patterned paper is all it takes to really dress up a card.
Well, that is it for today. I may attempt to do the sketch challenge for today at the 365 Card blog - it is a simple one - but thinking that I need to pack up alot more stuff than I had intended on taking on the road with me. I will probably end up with my baggie full of Sugar Nellie and Magnolia Images and my colored pencils and be happy to color my way across the states! The countdown has started - yesterday was my last day at the spa - and Tuesday the moving truck will be here.
Thanks for stopping by - I hope you have enjoyed your visit and I will be back very soon.

~Paula~

Palm Trees?

Yeah, while Fall is all around us - Pam over at 365 Cards decided to throw out this challenge. It was for Day 234 and we were to Imagine Palm Trees. Well, I had to think on this one a bit - knowing I didn't have any palm tree stamps (if I do, they are all packed up) or any paper that would fit the idea. I even thought about doing a TALL card - with leaves on it at the top - but I decided against that and went with this card. This card is SO unlike me - it sort of takes me back to the days of scrapbooking with stickers! Oh my!!! I wanted to do a 'beach-y' kind of card because here in San Diego there are palm trees at the beach - and we are leaving all that in a couple of days - so this card was sort of a remembrance of all that. I had even thought about getting out my pictures of the palm trees and creating a digital card - not sure if we can do that or not - but I decided against that too.I think digital takes way longer than a regular card.

Thanks for stopping by - I have one more card to post - so you might want to stick around.

~Paula~

Friday, October 22, 2010

Friday Five

Pam over at the 365 card blog really keeps us going with the challenges she posts everyday. Yesterday we had the 333, today we have the fabulous five (or Friday Five)!! Only five elements on your card! I started out with the base (not part of the five) - then layered with my first mat, then a red mat, then my patterned paper. I added the ribbon and the 3-D embellishment for my last two items. I like the way this card turned out. It is simple - but I am only working with limited supplies due to the Joann's Craft for a Cause Contest. I haven't decided yet what card I will enter - you can only enter one item. Perhaps when I think I am done making the cards, I will put them all out there for a vote and see what you all think.

Thanks for stopping by - now I am going to see if I can find a palm tree to use for the challenge from Wednesday (I know, I am going one step forward, two steps back!!) - that one has me stumped. May just have to do leaves!

~Paula~

Three Three Three

Well, I didn't think I was going to get any time to craft these last few days of packing. But after spending nearly all day trying to finish up some last minute packing, I decided to sit down and make a few simple cards. I am still doing the challenges on the 365 card blog - and the challenge for Thursday was to pick three patterned papers, three colors and three embellishments. Now, my cards are quite simple and there is a reason - besides the fact that we are moving in just a couple of days - I am going to enter one of my cards in the Joann's Craft for a Cause. My cause is Operation Write Home and I send cards so they can be sent to the troops. So, the catch was that you had to buy all your supplies from Joann's. I didn't want to get alot - and since there is a push to do Christmas Cards and get them sent by the end of this week, I decided to choose some items that I could put together some Christmas cards rather quickly. So, for my card I chose these three patterned papers, my three colors are red, gold and green and my three embellishments are the ribbon behind the Christmas tree, the angel with the horn and the tree itself. All my elements are from K&Company and the Christmas tree is a 3-D sticker that came in a package with several other stickers.
Simple, but it fits the challenge - and I am sure someone out there will be happy to receive this card from their deployed loved one!

Thanks for stopping by,
~Paula~

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Last Post for awhile

As you might have read in my posts over the last several days - I am moving actoss the country in another week. I have been packing up the house and it is coming down to the final few items to get packed up. I have a box of crafting stuff to keep me happy until we get settled - but I have to put it away for now and concentrate on finishing the house. If there is time when everything is ready to load on the truck - then I might make a card or two - but until that time, I must say so long for awhile.

~Paula~

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

CAS White Space!

I like simple cards. Sometimes they can be really elegant the more simple they are. These cards are not as easy as they appear - oh, the final card might be - but the thought that goes into making them CAS is not simple. When I saw the challenge for today on the 365 Card Blog I thought - hmm, that should be easy enough - especially as my craft supplies are dwindling down as I get them packed away. We were to follow a certain idea in making our card. Just two spots and only in those areas were we to embellish - no other area was to have embellishments, stamping, patterned paper, etc. So, lots of white space. I actually like the way this turned out - I might have used dry embossing on the base - but the rules prohibited that. I hope you like my card and I would encourage you to create one - it is really not that difficult - leaving all that white space! I must say that the picture doesn't really give it that elegance - it really is pretty in real life. :)

~Paula~

Day 232 - BUTTONS

When I saw my friend Gloria's card on the 365 Card Challenge blog yesterday and it said to use 15 buttons - I thought to myself - I am so glad I haven't packed up the button box yet. I had packed away all the buttons I generally use in my crafting - but not the button box. So, I looked through it today - sorting and finding all kinds of crafting treasures among which I found these adorable tiny buttons. I just happened to have the exact number of buttons that we were to use - 15!! I have had this cute little Lily of the Valley image that another friend stamped for me. Isn't she just adorable? I decided that I didn't want to take away from the image by adding alot of other embellishments - so I just kept it simple. I hope you like her.
I have a couple more items to share with you - so stick around.

~Paula~

Sketch for Christmas

I had a chance today to do a few of the challenges from the 365 Card Blog that have been posted over the last couple of days.
This first one was the sketch challenge. Quite a simple sketch and I chose to use the Stampin' Up Holiday paper - 'Deck the Halls' for my background. I looped this bow - I wanted something a little different and it was probably the hardest part of this card. While going through my old button box - an antique from my great grandmother - I found these buttons. I doubt they are as old as the box - but I thought they looked cool with the vanilla ribbon. I used pearls under the sentiment just for an added touch. After making this card - I had to go pack a few more boxes. My goal was to pack a couple boxes, make a card - then back to packing - rewarding myself with a bit of crafting indulgence. It worked - I got more packed and caught up on the challenges - which I will be posting shortly so stay awhile and have a look around while I am busy uploading my cards.


~Paula~

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Embossing

I like embossing - as long as it is dry embossing! When it comes to heat embossing - it is not one of my go to techniques. It is messy, and you can't always see if the embossing powder has been sufficiently heated. However, today on the 365 Card Blog the challenge is to pull out a technique that you don't often do - or don't like to do. When I first saw the challenge I immediately thought of heat embossing - but had already packed away my tools for doing this. Well, a discount coupon for my LSS gave me reason enough to go pick up a small jar of embossing powder - besides - mine is SO old I don't know that it would even do what it is supposed too. My heat gun hadn't quite been packed away yet - so I pulled it out and created this Fall card.
I embossed the leaves on the base mat and then stamped a few extra colors in just plain dye ink. I matted with the new Crushed Concord cardstock - which is a beautiful rich color.
I hope you have enjoyed my very simple card.I appreciate all your lovely comments as well.

~Paula~

Triple Challenges

I haven't had as much time to create as I have wanted too - but this morning, I took some time to complete a card for a few challenges. The first challenge was for the 365 Card Blog. Yesterday's challenge was to use specific shapes on your card in a BIG way - A Circle and a Diamond. Well, I had to think about this one for a bit. I knew I hadn't packed away my clear stamps and this diamond pattern is from a clear set. So, I thought on it some more and finally came up with this design. The next challenge that I am doing this card for is the 7 Kids College Fund Challenge #6 Which is to use layers and flowers. I started out by layering the red pattern DP on my card base. Then I cut my large nesties scallop circle and taped that down. I then cut a smaller nesties scallop and then ran it through with one of my CB folders. I popped this off the first circle. I stamped the scroll diamond and fussy cut it and popped it off the circle and finally I stamped the smaller diamond and cut this out and popped it off the previous diamond. I really liked the way it looked and was going to leave it like that, but then decided to add the flower arrangement. Part of the challenge is always to use an image that 7 Kids carries - so I added this ADORABLE Magnolia Angel. I got her in my Fall kit that I got recently and she was just the finishing touch to this card (I think anyway).I colored her with my prisma color pencils - but used Gold Lame on her wand and wings.
I am also entering this card in the ABC Challenge The challenge this week is the letter F - for FLOWERS! There is a fabuloous prize to be had on that blog.
Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed my card. It was fun to do and actually went together quite easily.

~Paula~

Friday, October 15, 2010

Snowmen come from . . .

I LOVE snowmen - my husband and I collect snowmen and every holiday season we look for new snowmen to decorate with. I can't wait to start looking for snowmen - especially when we get to our new home. In the meantime, I have created this card using one of my Sugar Nellie images. The challenge for week 25 on the Paper Craft Planet All Things Sugar Nellie (wow that is a mouthful) forum is to use Snowflakes, anyhow, anyway. I also chose to combine this challenge with the one for Day 228 on the 365 Card Blog The challenge there is to use two specific techniques: Sanding and Sponging. So, I looked through my CB folders and found the snowflake one and embossed the black Core'dination paper. The back of the paper is a pretty light blue. I SANDED the paper to bring the blue to the surface. I then SPONGED the sanded embossed snowflakes just slightly. I colored my snowman with Prisma Color pencils and then cut him using one my nestibilities die. I sponged around the edges of this and then matted it. I pulled out a few of these wonderful snowflakes that I had cut on my big shot and sponged a bit, My sentiment has some snowflakes sponged in the background. All in all the card went together VERY quickly and it is another one to add to my stash of cards to send to the troops.
Thanks for stopping by to take a peek at my Winter-y snowman.
~Paula~

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Better than a sketch?

Is there anything better than a sketch? Well, there is if you like RECIPES!! I DO like recipes too - and with cardmaking - they are almost as good as my espresso cheesecake! So, today on the 365 Card Blog there is a recipe:

1 tag (as the card base)
2 pieces of ribbon
green
1 piece of patterned paper
2 stamps
This is all you can include on your card.

Seems easy enough, right? Except that I have a really hard time making tags. I do have one thought - is the 'green' supposed to be the ribbon color? The tag color? Just what is supposed to be GREEN? Anyway, I have friends that love making tags and they do a beautiful job with them - they even add them to their cards - but when I have made tags - they just look so plain and unexciting! But, since it is the wee hours of the morning and I am wide awake, I decided to have a go of it. Now, the recipe itself is quite simple and since you "can't" add anything else to the card - it has to be simple, right? Oh, I am sure I could add alot more to it - flowers, rhinestones or pearls, but that isn't allowed - and I am probably even pushing it with the cutout around my sentiment. :) I started with a white tag that I had cut out on my cricut awhile ago - I have another project that I am planning to do - one of these days - anyway - I had a couple pieces of ribbon - strays - that worked perfectly for the requirement of two green ribbons. Oh, I could have fancied that up a bit by tying a bow with one of the ribbons, or adding a bow to the ribbon at the bottom - but I had to have something at the top in the tag hole - so this is what I did. I love this DP from last years SU catalog - and still have quite a bit, so a small piece was not going to break me. But then, what stamps to use??? Hmmm - not a hard decision as there aren't many that are available to me at the moment. This is an OLD set that somehow I missed when I was packing my stamps a couple days ago - and I thought it fit perfectly. I think the tag is decent - but I might try making a few more later in the morning when I have slept on it. I think I want to do something with leaves - maybe like a collage. Well, you will just have to come back later and see if I do that one.

Thanks for stopping by - now I think I need to try and get some sleep - it is going on 2:00 in the morning!!!

~Paula~

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Gold, Leaves and Ribbon!

When you think of those three words, what comes to mind? When I think of those together I think CHRISTMAS!! I am having much fun putting together Christmas cards - especially since I rescued this set from the packed boxes! I just couldn't let it get packed away yet! So, when I saw the challenge over on the 365 card blog for today I got out the bells in this set since I hadn't used them quite yet. Then I went in search of a sketch - to make things a bit easier (I DO still have lot's of packing to do) and found a wonderful one over at 2 Sketches 4 You
As many of you know - I like clean and simple (cas) cards and this sketch just lends itself so well to that concept. I have colored the image with my Prismacolor Pencils without any sansodor. I just lightly colored and liked the way the colors worked. I used only the four colors - PC 1030; PC911 for the holly leaf and berries. I used PC950 Metallic Gold for the bells and couldn't decide what color to make the ribbon, and decided that PC949 Metallic Silver would be a nice touch. I used a bit of Gold Lame smooch for the dots on the bells and then sprayed the whole image with Gold Glow smooch. I had fun using one of my newest nestibilities and then matting with the circle scallop. I used the gold lame smooch around the edges of the outer circle. I love using these wonderful flowers from Wild Orchid Craft and finally was able to do a red flower spray. I have touched the edges of the blossoms with more of the gold lame smooch and added the vanilla ribbon as my final touch. I really like the way this card turned out and it really looks so much better in real life.

Thanks for stopping by my Paper Spa today - now I have to run off to the eye doctor and then back home to pack more boxes.

~Paula~

Christmas is Coming - MAKE CARDS!!

Yesterday was a puttering sort of day. It was my day off from the Spa, so I played a bit in the Paper Spa - making cards for a couple of challenges and working on one for the 365 Card Blog Challenge for yesterday as well. I didn't finish the card until this morning - but the stitching was done yesterday. Did I say STITCHING??? Yeah - that was the challenge for yesterday - to use stitching on your card - and not just any kind of stitching - but a particular stitch - BLANKET stitching. A stitch often used to reinforce the edge of thick materials.

It is really quite a simple stitch and I had considered hauling out my sewing machine and doing it that way, however, it was just easy to pierce my paper all along the edge and then grab some of my embroidery thread and stitch away. Thankfully I hadn't packed THAT away yet! :) When I first saw the challenge for Day 225, I wasn't sure what I was going to choose as my image - but then decided that a Christmas card was needed (for the troops - the deadline is the end of the month to get the cards to the shippers at OWH). So I pulled out one of my favorite new sets and stamped this beautiful image. I started coloring with my pencils - and didn't like the way the small flower on the left was turning out - especially when I finished the other flowers and liked them so much better. So, I stamped another image - colored that one flower and then cut it out and popped it off the one that I didn't like.
I am not sure if you can see the layers real well from the photograph. It is only subtly popped off the original image. In real life it is pretty cool. I have these VERY tiny pop squares that I got at a LSS. The store sells these sheets of images that you layer and layer and layer - so the image becomes real 3D - it is kind of neat and one of these days I will pull out the sheets that I bought and make one to share here. Anyway, back to my card - I used my favorite DP this season to mat my card base and then I was able to find some more small pieces of the Early Espresso. I really like this color - it is so rich and beautiful and it goes so nicely with the Cherry Cobbler - another of my favorite new colors.I had considered using ribbon - tied in a bow - on my card, but it just didn't seem to fit anywhere, so I settled for these pearls from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek at my card for YESTERDAY'S challenge - now on to see what they are challenging me to do today and wondering whether it is something I can easily do - you know, with all my stuff getting packed away. :)

Enjoy your day - wherever you are in the world.

~Paula~

Monday, October 11, 2010

Layers and Layers and Layers

I love playing in the Sugar Bowl! I love the Sugar Nellie images that you can purchase from Funky Kits - a small little company in Scotland. Each Fortnight (I think that means every other week by US standards) they have a sketch challenge. As you know from my last post - I LOVE Sketch challenges. Well, let me tell you - the challenge this time around was certainly a challenge - take a look at this sketch -

Many of my internet friends that also enjoy using the Sugar Nellies took one look (or maybe two or three) and weren't sure they were going to do this one. But, if you take a closer look - you will see it is just layers, layers and more layers! Guess what? I am beginning to LOVE layering many many layers.
Now, the theme for the challenge was autumn - however, when I looked through my dwindling stash (remember, I am packing things up getting ready for a move) I didn't see anything that shouted at me AUTUMN! But, I DID find this WONDERFUL paper from Dream Street Papers called Art Nouveau. There are several in the collection - Ornamental, Clever, Muse, Avant Garde and Inspiration. I used all but Inspiration. They are all two-sided, so I had many choices of coordinating colors. I did discover that Early Espresso Cardstock is nearly a match for the dark brown in this DP, HOWEVER, I discovered that I was completely out of it!! I did find a few pieces that I was able to use, but for the most part, I had to improvise with other colors for my matting. So, once I decided that it wasn't going to be a 'traditional Autumn card, I set about to place my layers - and then when that was all finalized, I had to choose my image. For this challenge, it had to be a Sugar Nellie, so I had to look through my small collection to see what I had that I could use. I found this sweet Sugar Nellie fit just fine. So, I pulled out my colored pencils and set about to color her - to coordinate with the papers (of course!!) Then I looked through my very small stash of sentiments - this one I rescued from the packing boxes and it was a brand new set that I had not even mounted on the wood yet - so I did that and then stamped the sentiment - trying to bring the AUTUMN into my card in one way or another! :) While sorting through stuff and packing things, I came across a little baggie of stuff that I was giving away and found this tiny tube of diamond glaze. I have never used the stuff before and decided I would try it out, so I put a dab on her shoes and then added a bit to the flowers in my flower spray. A spritz of Vanilla Smooch and this card is done. Now, for the base of the card, I just took a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock and folded it in half. I think this is probably the largest card I have ever made, but with so many layers, it had to be this big. Inside the card I placed a piece of very vanilla cardstock to give the backside of the card a little more stability since there are so many layers on the front.

I hope you have enjoyed taking a peek at my many layers card - it was quite a fun one to do and honestly, it isn't that difficult - so choose some papers, and layer away.
Thanks for stopping by the spa this morning - I will be in and out of the spa throughout the day, so stop by later to see what other projects I am creating.

~Paula~

Sunday's 365 Card Sketch

You all know how much I really like sketches - they make putting a card together SO MUCH easier!! It is one step in the equation that you don't have to worry about. So, when I saw the sketch on the 365 card blog for Sunday I was really thrilled because it was quite a simple one. The only thing I had to be careful of was the way I cut my angles. I did have to recut one of the pieces - TWICE!! But it all came together rather quickly. I REALLY like this Graphic 45 DP from the Communique Collection. I am not sure when it came out - maybe a year or so ago? I haven't bought much paper lately, so it has to be at least that old - but I had not used it and when I saw this sketch, I knew it had to be somewhat vintage, so this paper worked perfectly. I layered each triangle onto Very Vanilla distressing the edges of both the DP and the base and then inking the edges with Frayed Burlap distress ink. More Mustard is my card base. I recently purchased the Tim Holtz distressed flower die and I thought it a perfect addition to this card. Now, I think an old fashioned button might have worked better - however, as most of you have figured out by now - we are moving and most of my stuff is getting packed away. I do have my Great-Grandmothers old button box which I have yet to pack - and I am sure there are quite a few buttons that would be perfect - but I chose the easy way out and added this little rose and attached this charm from my stash. For my ribbon, I layered black on top of the vanilla and then for the final touch I sprayed everything with Gold Glow Smooch. I REALLY like this stuff - I have Glimmer Mist too, but not sure why I like the smooch better. Maybe because it is in a smaller container? Who knows!!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my vintage card - I seem to rather like it. Stick around, I have another post that I think you are going to love!!

~Paula~

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Let's Go Shopping!

At least I think that is what my sweet Sugar Nellie is trying to say! Sugar Nellie's were my 'First Love' in coloring images - before I discovered the Magnolia's. And I play with my Sugar Nellies at LEAST once a week while participating in the weekly challenges over at All Things Sugar Nellie on Paper Craft Planet. You really should come and join us! Each week one member is chosen to receive THREE Sugar Nellie's of their choice!
So, on to my card - I have colored my Sugar Nellie in many different ways - but never in this 'traditional' way - so when the challenge came up to do traditional Christmas colors of red and green - I new just who I was going to use! I wanted to try using my new red flowers that I got recently from Wild Orchid Craft, but they just didn't seem to work on this card with all the layers.I decided to use an old Splitcoast Stampers sketch that I had printed out and saved in one of my notebooks. It was late and I wanted to practice layering as the Sugar Bowl sketch is quite a layered affair this time around.The Sugar Bowl is another Sugar Nellie challenge blog that I enjoy joining in on every other week. I will be working on that sketch with an Autumn theme. The sketch isn't the daunting part - it is looking through my stash to see if I have any autumn themed papers - I am sure that I do, but they might already be packed away!

Anyway, I appreciate you stopping by the spa this morning - stick around - or come back later and see what other projects I might get to work on today - amongst the boxes and packing!

~Paula~

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Pumpkin Challenge!

Today is the last day of the challenges for the week sponsored by The Character Cafe on the 365 Card Blog Today the challenge was to create a card inspired by an ad. The ad was a picture of a stained glass pumpkin. So, I pulled this Magnolia image of a pumpkin and colored it up. I then added my Tilda. I used an old sketch from Splitcoast Stampers weekly sketch challenges - I can't remember which one now and am too lazy to go look. :) I made the card a simple one, because I didn't feel like getting fancy after packing boxes off and on throughout the day. Tonight, I just wanted to make a couple of cards - so nothing special. I do appreciate you stopping by tonight. I will have another card posted tomorrow - it is a Sugar Nellie - for a change of pace.

~Paula~

Friday, October 8, 2010

A Flip Flop Card

This morning, I got a chance to create this swing card which was the challenge on todays 365 Card Blog, The actual challenge was called Fun Folds, but this was the challenge. We were to create a swing or flip flop card. I had NEVER done one of these kinds of cards before - but it was so easy and fun to do. The one thing I did find out though, was that the part of the card I made as the back (on the flip flop) actually is the front when I 'close' the card. So, when I do one of these again, I will have to keep that in mind.I tried folding it the other way, and it still comes out with the sentiment side of the flip flop showing first when it is closed. This card was really quite easy and quick to put together, and I will have to think about how I want to make another one. As mentioned in previous posts from today - my stamps are packed up except for a very few select ones. I have even considered opening one of the boxes back up to take out a couple of my sets so I can really get into the season - I just might have to do that.
Operation Write Home is gathering Christmas cards right now to send to the troops and they are due to the shipper by the end of this month. I only have a handful of Christmas cards, so I will have to make more - if I can find time between packing and working.
Anyway, thanks for stopping by this evening to peek at my flip flop card and I hope you will take the time to make one of these fun cards - you will be glad you did. You can find the link for the tutorial on the 365 card blog.

~Paula~

Falling Leaves

Do you like patterned paper? Have you attempted to make your own? Well, it really is quite fun and simple to do. Of course, it helps if you have some stamps to work with. When I saw the challenge for Day 221 on the 365 card blog to make your own patterned paper with a Harvest theme - I was somewhat stumped. You see - I have packed up almost ALL my stamps and the only ones I have kept out were a few of my EZ mounted stamps - which are my Sugar Nellie and Magnolia stamps and some Stampscapes. There are a few other miscellaneous stamps too - but mostly sentiments (and even those are limited). However, in looking through some drawers I discovered a couple sets that I missed in packing - and in one of those sets was this little leaf - PERFECT!! So, I got out my stamp pads (not packed yet) and stamped away. Now the challenge though a harvest theme - could be Halloween, Thanksgiving, or just general Fall - so that is what I chose to do. I knew I had this big maple leaf punch that I have had forever - and it is hard to punch - makes alot of noise when you punch it! Anyway, I punched the leaves out and then edged them with chocolate chip. I think many years ago I would NEVER have thought about inking the edges - but it really does set them off nicely. I just did a very simple sketch - the inside (not shown) has a band of more mustard with a green leaf. When I was all done gluing everything down, I decided to give it a splash of gold glow smooch. It really makes the leafs glisten - just like they might in the morning sun with the dew still on them. I REALLY like this card - but I also like the fall colors and doing these types of cards.
Thanks for stopping by to take a peek. I have one other card to show you - but that will have to wait until later today.

~Paula~

Candy Anyone?

It is getting close to that time of year, when we hand out candy to the adorable kids in the neighborhood. What is your favorite candy? Well, I can tell you what candy is NOT my favorite - Can you guess? Yep - you are right, it is candy corn!!! However, for Tuesday's challenge on the 365 card blog we were to use candy corn for our inspiration because Pam - who posted the challenge LOVES candy corn. Now, let me tell you WHY I don't like candy corn. When my sister and I were younger, we pooled our money together to buy some candy - and we decided on a big bag of candy corn. Not sure exactly how that decision was made - but it was. We ate that whole bag between us in a short amount of time, and I tell you - I didn't NOT feel good after that!! Too much candy is NOT a good thing - of course, if you are talking about CHOCOLATE, I might have to dicker with you on that one. :) I am not real crazy about this card - but then, I am not crazy about candy corn, so it goes hand in hand.

I have a couple other cards I will be posting today - not sure if I will have time this morning as I have a full day at the spa - but do come back later and take a peek.

~Paula~

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Coloring Sketches

There is alot going on with this card. I followed the sketch for Challenge #5 on the 7 Kids College Fund Challenge Blog The sketch is for a square card - originally, I was planning on using black for my card base, however, I couldn't find my black cardstock - it might have gotten misplaced among my reorganizing - in the meantime, I used one of my CB folders to emboss the purple and then ended up using it as my base. I guess I must have gotten distracted because I had plenty of the purple at hand to use - oh well - it came together rather easily once I decided how I wanted to use the different colors and shapes. The challenge also asked that we use two images, so I had already colored the pumpkin some time ago and the Magnolia was already cut out and I just had to color her. The color choice came from Day 220 on the 365 Card Blog The colors are PERFECT for Halloween cards - which I typically DO NOT make - however, I couldn't resist this sweet little Magnolia. Since my stamps are all boxed up for the moment - I didn't know WHAT sentiment I was going to use. I knew I had a 'trick or treat' sentiment - but where?? So, I found these cute little stickers - I do NOT usually use stickers on my cards - but this one worked quite well and then I added the bats for that little extra! No flowers on this card - I tried - however, they just didn't work with the pumpkin! I also used a bit of sheer orange ribbon around the die from Tim Holtz. This die is called Styled Labels and I am finding it quite versatile.There are two dies on the same block - but I have yet to use the other one - and have started out to use that one on the last couple of cards I have made. :)
I hope you enjoy my card - and your comments are so appreciated.
Thanks for stopping by the spa where I hope you have found inspiration.
~Paula~

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

I LOVE Christmas!!

Yeah, I know - we haven't even gotten through Halloween yet and I am already talking about Christmas. Well, in my opinion - we can just skip to Christmas - all the lights,A the music, bundling up - that is if you live somewhere where it is cold enough to do that! Anyway, I have discovered yet another NEW blog that has challenges and this one is dear to my heart - it is a Stampin' Up Only blog I use alot of Stampin' Up products - so this fits right in with what I like. So, their challenge for #3 is to make something using products from the Holiday Mini. Well, I just happened to have a card that showcases JUST that. I LOVE the Deck the Halls Designer series paper and the Cherry Cobbler - this is my NEW favorite red. The pearls are not from the mini catalog - but they are new in the catalog and they are WONDERFUL - I especially love the little tiny ones - I used those here on my card.
I hope you have enjoyed taking a peek at my card. Please stay awhile, I have alot more for you to look at -

~Paula~

I LOVE Sketches!!

I love sketches. To me - they are the backbone of inspiration. When I am at a loss for how to do a card, I often will find a sketch that I can use to create my card. I don't even have to look at how others used the sketch - though sometimes it does help - but often, I can use the sketch and go from there. Today, I am just looking at sketches and creating with them. I used this sketch from the The sketch - as you can see - is quite simple allowing for lots of 'white' space. I needed a change of color too - so I chose these blues and a simple sentiment. I still feel like it needs just a little bit more of something, but just not quite sure what! Perhaps another flower? It isn't quite balanced - may just have to add one. Yeah, I think that is it!! Here is the card again with the additional flowers in the spray. I also added a bit of vanilla smooch and some diamond stickles. I also added some small pearls all around the spray. You can't see that because I added it after I took the picture. :) Maybe I am just tending toward a more 'cluttered' card? Could it be that I have migrated to that end of the spectrum? Hmmm, not so sure. I still like clean and simple cards with beautiful embellishments, but not over done. With all the flowers and pearls I am using lately, I can see another order into Wild Orchid Crafts. They really do have beautiful flowers and pearls and for such a great price too.
What kind of crafter are you? Do you clean up your space in between? Or do you craft away with the mess all around? I like my space tidy and I like my HOUSE tidy - but with 4 teens - that is harder to do.
But, I do need to get to the house now - I have crafted all morning (you would think I would have had more done) - and now I need to spend time on the house and organizing more stuff.

Thanks for stopping by - I appreciate all your comments.

~Paula~

Double Challenges

This week I have decided to play along with the challenges on the 365 Card blog again. Of course, I am already a day or so behind, but I am catching up - in a round about way. This card is for Day 218, Monday's challenge, which was to 'make the most of it'. The idea is to choose a paper company and then a line of paper from the company and choose three patterned papers from that line. So, I chose a paper from Basic Grey that came out a long time ago, but I fell in love with it when it did - Bittersweet. I chose my sketch from Twisted Sketches #027. On Twisted sketches, along with the sketch, the twist was to use 'love' anyhow, anyway. One of the papers I chose has hearts all over it - it is the base card mat - but then I added the double hearts to the flower arrangement just because I had them and have not had the chance to use them. Yesterday while I was taking a break from reorganizing, I ventured out to the LSS and found this Tim Holtz die. There are two on the same die, so that is nice and I had planned on using the other one. I have very few sentiment stamps at my disposal right now - so when I saw this one, it didn't quite fit the width of the die. So, I decided to stamp it in two sections - with the 'you are' first and then the 'awesome' under the scallop - however, when I stamped that - I did it upside down! lol So, I set that aside and grabbed this die. I am not as crazy about this one as the other - but I decided it was cut, so might as well use it.
Now, I REALLY need to break out of this BROWN theme and go with something brighter - though I DO like the look of the brown, This one just seems SO plain to me!! Oh, I did spritz it with some gold glow smooch. I also picked up a few more colors of the smooch - this stuff is SO fun!!

Thanks for stopping by - hope you enjoy your day.

~Paula~

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Brown is my New Favorite Color!!

Now, why in the world would I say that? Brown on a card is lovely - I prefer GREEN in nature, not brown - but on a card - this is so fun! So, when I saw the challenge for today on the 365 Card Blog to use Brown, Bling and a Banner - I couldn't wait to get started on my card. Unfortunately, I had a VERY full schedule at work. I thought about how I would create my card all day - so as soon as I got home, I got to work creating. I had already chosen the papers I wanted to use and I decided to do alot of layering on my card. At the last minute, I decided to make it an easel card. These kinds of cards are so fun to make and they really add a wonderful dimension to the finished card. The banner I got from another stamper - but I didn't have a stamp for the sentiment, so I decided to hand-write it. I decided to create this card for my friend Gloria. I had lunch with her earlier this week and enjoyed the visit so much, just wish we could have more visits like that.
When I saw the 'bling' requirement, I wondered if pearls qualified as bling? I had originally planned on using rhinestones, but thought that the pearls looked much better with the flower arrangement. I really like the way the flower arrangement turned out. The flowers and pearls are from Wild Orchid Craft and they are the MOST wonderful embellishments I have ever used. On the inside of the card I placed a row of pearls on the designer paper and then added a bit more of the vanilla cardstock to write a short note.
I hope you have enjoyed taking a peek at my card. I have alot of stuff coming up in the next coupld of weeks, so may not have much time to papercraft - but stop by the spa anyway - you just never know what you might find.

~Paula~

Friday, October 1, 2010

The Three P's!!!

It is FRIDAY - for most people it is the start of the weekend, but for me, I have one more day of work and then it is MY weekend. However, tonight, I took up the challenge on the 365 Card blog for today. The challenge was to use polka dots, paper piercing and pop dots. Well, I have quite a bit of designer paper and I was SURE that I had some polka dots somewhere - and I was right. This paper is from a retired designer paper pack from Stampin' Up! and I just happened to have a piece of Orchid Opulence - which is one of the coordinating colors for this polka dot paper. So, once I chose my paper - then I had to decide what I wanted to do with my card. Well, I recently got this new set of stamps from Paper Wishes. I LOVE everything Tea - and couldn't resist buying this wonderful set. On the back of the stamp package there is an idea for a card, so I took my card sketch and idea from that. I used another piece of DP from the same package and edged it with this beautiful lace from Stampin' Up! I stamped the Teapot with chocolate chip and then colored the rose a bit with orchid opulence. I pierced the top left corner and the right bottom corner and then pierced around the handle and the spout. After matting this, I popped it off the card front with my pop dots. I don't often do the inside of the card, but decided that this one just had to have the inside completed. So I stamped the teacup with the chocolate chip and then added my sentiment. It is a simple card, but I like the way it turned out and once I decided how I wanted to go about creating it - it came together rather quickly.
Thanks for stopping by the paper spa this evening - I would love it if you left a comment - it really makes my day! Come back tomorrow to see what the challenge is and how I am inspired by it.

~Paula~

Day 214 - Fabric, Floss and Fringe

Yesterday on the 365 Card Blog the challenge was to use fabric, floss and fringe - hmmm - this was one I had to think about for a bit. The image started to form itself in my mind - but I had to wait until this evening to create the project. I have had this lavendar stamp for a long time - it is a clear stamp and I am not even sure where I got it. It is clear mounted on a clear block. I have a few of these kinds of stamps - I am not sure if you can find them anymore. The fabric I used on my card I have also had for a few years. It is actually a violet pattern, but I thought it worked well. I took a bit of it and 'fringed' the edge. I have ALOT of floss as I also do cross stitch, though it has been quite a long time since I have actually sat down to do any.
So, that is my card for this challenge - I have another one to show you as well so stay awhile and see what else I have created this evening.

~Paula~

Day 213 - the three B's

I am back with another Magnolia Card. This time for the 365 Card Challenge Day 213. We were to use a BOY, BLACK and BUTTONS. I don't have too many boy stamps - at least not that I wanted to go looking for - but I did have this image of Edwin from the Magnolia line.Since it is getting close to Halloween, I decided that this was a perfect image to color - afterall - isn't Dracula's cape BLACK!! I found another piece of designer paper from my stash - this one isn't as old as the last, maybe a couple years - and some of you might even recognize it as one you have yourselves. Anyway, in a search through my buttons - I found these that went ok with the whole design - still not totally sure on that one. Now, I SERIOUSLY do not have ANY stamps that say Happy Halloween - or something related - so I decided that I would use this invitation sentiment - wouldn't this be cute to send to a young boy for a Halloween related birthday party?

Hope you have enjoyed my card - Come back again soon and stay awhile.

~Paula~

Day 212 - The three G's

This morning I took some time to do a couple more of the 365 Card Blog Challenges. On Tuesday, they posted the challenge to use the three G's - Girl, Green and Glisten. Well, the girl and the glisten were easy for me - but GREEN? I just REALLY don't do green - other than for accent, so this was a real stretch for me and took me out of my comfort box. BUT, I am happy to show you my finished card. It seemed that when I thought I was done, I had to add one more thing, and after I got home from work, I thought about adding another - but decided it was good and I should just leave it be! I started with Certainly Celery - which I really do like - and added a piece of OLD, I am talking REALLY old designer paper. I might have bought that paper more than 7 years ago!! Seriously! Anyway, I thought it went fairly nicely with this SWEET Tilda who is blowing fairy dust - and yeah she got some smudged on her face!! lol I decided to try my hand at the pleated ribbon that is all the rage right now - it went fairly well and then I added a bit of stickles to each of the loops. I also got out some more of that smooch that I used yesterday and added some highlights to Tilda's hair. I also added some stickles to the flower arrangement (getting better at that, don't ya think?) And then sprayed everything with a bit of gold lame smooch. All in all I think my Green card turned out fairly nice - however, that does NOT mean it will be my go to color - just saying!!

Thanks for stopping by - I do have another card I will be posting shortly and then I just might get some time to make a couple more of the cards for the challenges - trying to get caught up before tomorrow.

~Paula~