Monday, August 31, 2015

Paper Sweeties September Inspiration Challenge #35

Welcome to the Paper Sweeties September Inspiration Challenge!  I love the sweet colors we get to play with this month:


Isn't that a sweet bouquet of pencils in that gorgeous red mason jar! Adorable and inspiring!

Here is what I created:

A sweet scarecrow shaker card in a scalloped circle shape.  I used the "Stand Add-on: Scarecrow" stamp set to create my sweet Autumn scene and colored it with my Copic markers. The sentiment is from the "Happy Fall Ya'll" stamp set.  And then I added some fall colored paper sweeties sequins in "cookie dough" and "creamsicle".   I also added some brown sequins from my stash.


I love how it looks like leaves are falling all around the scarecrow when you shake it!  Plus it just makes such a fun sound!  My son loves to shake this card!  :)

I am ready to send you off to the rest of the Paper Sweeties Teamies who have lots of inspiration to share with you:

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties 
Nancy Penir

A special welcome to Jeri Thomas who blogs at Bug'n Me Creations.  I hope you will give her a warm welcome as our....
September Guest Designer: Jeri Thomas

I hope you will find some time to play along with us this month! You have a chance to win a $20.00 gift certificate to the Paper Sweeties shop and a chance to be a guest designer.  And we have a new Facebook Group where you can upload your projects: HERE

And don't forget to join us for the September stamp release previews starting on the 13th!  You will love the new stamps and dies that Debbie is releasing this month!


:) Jill



Sunday, August 30, 2015

SAF 2015 - Patterns Challenge


Hello again....
It is Sunday afternoon and I am playing along with the Patterns Challenge from this weekend's Stamp-A-Faire event at Papertrey Ink.

I chose to use the inspiration sketch from Melissa Phillips for my card:

She made such a sweet card with this sketch.  You can see it: HERE at Lilybean Paperie.

And here is what I came up with:
I could not decide if I needed the third heart in the upper right corner...

Visual triangle with the bird and two sets of hearts?  Or visual triangle with the hearts throughout the card in all three places?  I decided I liked the three sets of hearts in the end. LOL!

Stamps:  Little Bitty Bird
Cardstock: White: PTI
Papers:  PTI and digital gingham
Dies: border die and little bitty birds dies - PTI
Other: Button: MFT; Twine: MFT; flower - Hobby Lobby; ribbon: Paper Sweeties

Lots of company this weekend.....a little bit of Stamp-A-Faire crafting squeezed in as time is permitting.  Still hoping to play more....

Thanks to everyone at Papertrey Ink for another wonderful event!  The "Vogue" song has been running through my head all weekend and putting a smile on my face!
: )  Jill


Saturday, August 29, 2015

Good Morning Stamp-A-Faire 2015 and Bridal Challenge

Good Morning to everyone having fun with Papertrey Ink's wonderful Stamp-A-Faire 2015 event!  Did you see the wonderful opening video?  If you didn't you have to go check it out!  So full of fun!

I love joining in this event each year!  I live in the Pacific Northwest so we get a very early start if we want to be ready to go with all of our East Coast friends - not to mention everyone joining in from around the world!  What time is it where you are?  Here is what I was doing very early this morning to get ready....

First you brew some very strong coffee......then you pour it and add some cream and sugar....one needs all the help they can get this early.....

 Then of course you start to drink it....

And once you feel that your eyes are focusing properly you can head downstairs to your craft room to start joining in the fun....

So here is my first Stamp-A-Faire 2015 card for the Bridal Challenge:

 The sentiment is from "Love and Marriage" and is embossed in silver to match the silver paper I used for the bride and groom die cuts.

I also used the "Night Sky" cover plate in vellum for the background.  To add texture I used some glue and glitter around the edge of the card.  This turned out so beautiful but I had a very difficult time getting a good photo!  LOL!

Thanks for taking a look!  Have fun today! I have lots of out-of-town guests this weekend so I am not sure how many cards I will get made today and tomorrow....but we have until Tuesday morning at 7am to participate so I hope to get a few more made if time permits!  Whatever you are doing - ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!

Edited to add: new picture....I forgot his vest, hankie, and bowtie!  Oops!  That is what happens when I craft in the early morning hours! LOL!


Hugs,
:) Jill





Thursday, August 20, 2015

Christmas In August....

Hello Friends,
Thought I would post a few, all right a LOT, of pictures from my "Christmas in July" tag making.  Summer is drawing to a close and often I forget to photograph my tags before packaging them up and putting them away.  I give each of my family members a set of Christmas tags each year on Thanksgiving to use for their Christmas gift giving.  I have a big family so this is a LOT of tags!  I like to get most of them made during the summer months when I have a little bit more free time.  Here are some of the tags I have made so far this summer:

First some candy canes:

This is probably my favorite tag die!  It is an old 4x4 die that was made by Lifestyle Crafts and cuts two candy canes - one is a solid back piece and the other is an overlay piece for the candy cane stripes.  After cutting and gluing the two pieces together I just add some embellishments and a string tie.  The tags are from two different stamp sets.  Friendship Jar Holiday Fillers from Papertrey Ink for the "candy canes 5 cents" tags.  And  a Christmas tag set from Lili of the Valley stamps in the UK for the "Christmas Hugs" sentiment.  These two stamp sets and their various sentiments and tags are used on almost every set of Christmas tags I make! 

Next come the gingers!  Gingerbread men on parade....


This is an old gingerbread man steel-ruled BIGZ die from Sissix.  It is definitely a favorite of mine and my family members for Christmas tags!  It gets a lot of use each year!  I get a lot of questions about where to purchase this die....I got mine on EBAY.  It is, very sadly, retired!  I wish Sissix would bring back this one! :)

 How about some smaller gingers:
These are some 2" gingerbread men using a die from Cottage Cutz.  They are all hanging out together in a little gingham box!  Too cute!

And here is one more:
This tag uses the sweet gingers in the "Ho Ho Ho" stamp set from Paper Sweeties!  The sentiment is also from Paper Sweeties.  It comes from the "Christmas Blessings" stamp set.  I love that their is both a boy and a girl ginger!  I colored these with some Prima colored pencils. 

Now onto some sweet little deer tags:

 This adorable set of "Oh Deer" stamps is from one of my favorite stamp companies - "Your Next Stamp"!  Karen the owner is as sweet as can be and has some really fun products!  This is one of my favorite sets for baby cards and Christmas tags and cards.  These deer are so darn cute!!!!
 This set uses the Minnie Pearl tag set from "A Jillian Vance Design"  I love the sweet scalloped edges on these tags.  And this deer is looking at the sweet butterfly that has landed on its tail!

 These tags use the Tag Sale #8 dies from Papertrey Ink.  And this deer is running and has a bow around its neck! (Sorry about the poor picture quality!)

 Minnie Pearl tags again....and this deer has one hoof up.  They are all so cute!

How about a pink version:

Perfect for a little girls gift this Holiday season!  Or....a new baby gift this winter?!

All right that is it for now!  I am still working on my stash of angel, mitten and stocking tags.  Hopefully I will squeeze in another post to show them off later but I wanted to at least get this post in as usually once school starts my crafting time is more limited!

Crafty Hugs!
Jill 




Saturday, August 15, 2015

Paper Sweeties August Release Rewind + RRR123

Happy Release Rewind Day!  Did you pick up some of the wonderful new stamps and dies from Paper Sweeties August Release?  Such fun birthday themed products this month!

Today is the day that the P.S. Creative Designers combine some of the existing Paper Sweeties products with the new products that were just released.  So fun!

I will warn you I have quite a few cards and projects to share with you so coffee or tea would be a good thing! LOL!

Here are the cards that I created using the new "Let's Party" stamp and sweet cuts sets:
On this first card I used the new lollipop stamp and colored three of them with my Copics to create a nice focal point.  I added a matching sequin at the base of each lollipop for some sparkle.  Then I chose the  sentiment "You Make Life Sweet" from the "Sending Sweet Thoughts" stamp set.  I think it works perfectly with this new "Let's Party" set.

My next card is similar except that I covered each of the lollipops in some cellophane wrap for some added texture and dimension.  I used some of our existing "Watermelon" sequin mix on this card to add some sparkle!  The sentiment is from the new "Wishing You" stamp set.  


I have a couple more items to share with you.  These are some "off the page" items that I created to send to Debbie as a 3rd Birthday Celebration Gift and also to wish her a Happy Birthday personally as her birthday is this month too! 

I was inspired to create these sweet embroidery hoop wall hangings after seeing some wonderful creations made by two of my favorite creative artists Melissa Phillips and Amy Tsurata.   An online hour of pinning different ideas on Pinterest helped also. 

  Here is what I made using my Paper Sweeties stamps and some canvas:

 This first one uses the "Tea for Two" stamp set.  It is one of my favorite stamp sets from Paper Sweeties!
 I stamped the teapot and sentiments with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with my Copics.  I added a fabric heart which I embroidered onto the teapot with a heart in the center.  It is hard to see from these photos which are actually taken from my video on the Paper Sweeties YouTube channel.  I still cannot believe I forgot to photograph this one before mailing it off to Debbie!  Oops!
 I edged the hoop in some light pink felt which added a nice softness.  A trio of sewn buttons finishes it off nicely I think.

How about a little Christmas inspiration:
 This is a very small embroidery hoop ornament with cream colored denim fabric that has been stamped with the Gingerbread men from the "Ho Ho Ho" stamp set.  The sentiment is from the "Homemade with Love" stamp set and goes perfectly!  Again I colored with my Copic markers.  A gingham bow and a snowflake button are placed above the sweet sentiment.  A small 1/8" red velvet ribbon creates a loop for an ornament hook so it can be hung on the tree.  The hoop is framed with a hand cut red felt strip.  I love the color this adds to the ornament.  The glittery snow the gingers are standing on is some Sparkle Modge Podge that I painted on with a paint brush.  I wanted it to look like they were standing in the snow!  I think I will be making more of these for Christmas gifts this year! They are tiny and adorable! 

 This hoop celebrates Debbie's sweeties doll "Abigail"!  And following your dreams!  The sentiment is from the "Make Today Beautiful" stamp set.  And the butterflies are cut from some trim that I had in my stash. Some Melissa Frances trim edges the hoop and a light gold gingham ribbon finishes of the top.  The idea of making a gift for Debbie was what started me creating this hoop and the whole "Off the Page" project...ie: no paper!  This is actually the very first one that I made.

And I couldn't leave out an Autumn-themed hoop because the Fall season is coming whether we want it to or not! LOL!....I actually love Fall...my son just doesn't want to go back to school!  I cannot blame him as summer break is so much fun! :)

 I just love how this one turned out!  This sweet scarecrow is from the "Stand Add On: Scarecrow" set!  Isn't he just TOO CUTE!  I also brought in some other Fall season accessories from the "Stand Add On: Fall Harvest" set and did some masking to fit them all on.  A sweet green and white gingham ribbon and Melissa Frances trim help to make this one look festive. And the orange buttons with twine bows finish the scene off nicely.  The sentiment is from the set: "Happy Fall Ya'll".  

I am going to add my little hoops to the challenge at Really Reasonable Ribbon (RRR123) as soon as this post goes live.  They are having an "anything but a card" challenge that uses ribbon and trim.  I love the variety and awesome prices they have on their trims - especially the gingham assortments!  

Okay....that is it for me today. (FINALLY!) I need to send you off to the other Paper Sweeties Team Members who all have some lovely projects to share too:


Thanks so much for joining us all for the August Release!  I hope you join in the "Happy Birthday" themed challenge before August 31st to help Debbie celebrate Paper Sweeties 3rd Birthday!  Don't forget that their are some incredible prizes - including a $100.00 gift certificate to the Paper Sweeties store! 

If you made it through my post all the way to here - Wow!  I am in awe! :)
See you soon!  Happy Crafting!
Jill




Friday, August 14, 2015

Paper Sweeties August Release Party

It's Finally HERE!  HAPPY RELEASE DAY WITH PAPER SWEETIES! Today is the BIG day!!!!  It is August 15th and that means all of the new Paper Sweeties products are available in the store right now! Hooray!  This is such a fun release!!!!!  I have not stopped creating with it since I received it!

Here are the sets that are being released today:



FOUR wonderful stamp sets and THREE sets of awesome Sweet Cuts Dies! 

I have a sweet card to share today featuring the cake from the new "Happy Cake Day" stamp and die set:


I tried my hand at some water coloring by using the "smooshing" technique on my background panel using my distress inks.  I made the panel on some Ranger water color paper and allowed it to dry overnight.  Then I added some pink "Fireworks" glitter spray in a few spots the next day.  In real life the background has a very pretty shimmer. Once everything was completely dry I embossed the background with my swiss dots embossing folder to add lots of texture.  The cake takes center stage on this card and a second embossed panel with hearts sets the tone for a wedding cake.  I plan on adding a beautiful wedding sentiment to the inside of the card.  A few marshmallow sequins add a little sparkle to finish the card off just right!


There is a lot more inspiration to be shared on my Paper Sweeties teammates blogs:


I hope you will come back tomorrow for the release rewind where everyone will be sharing projects that combine these new sets with some of the existing Paper Sweeties stamps and dies.  I have a lot more to share with you including some non-card projects so I hope you will join all of us once again!

 Thanks for visiting me and leaving such sweet comments! I read each and every one! 
:) Jill

PS:  For your convenience I have linked all of the brand new products below:




Thursday, August 13, 2015

Paper Sweeties August Release Countdown


Hello and welcome to day two of the Paper Sweeties August Release countdown!  Did you see all of the sneak peek posts from yesterday!  Wow! Such fantastic projects from the entire team!!!!  This is such an INCREDIBLE RELEASE!!!!!

As you probably know by now this month Paper Sweeties is celebrating its THIRD birthday!  Debbie, Paper Sweeties Owner, Creator and Illustrator,  has designed an absolutely fantastic set of birthday themed stamps and dies that you are going to positively adore!!!!!  My cards practically made themselves this month! 

Today I am sharing a card (in Debbie's signature PINK color) of "Sophie" one of the original Paper Sweeties Dolls all dressed up to go to the party:

 Her outfit is from a new boutique stamp set called "Wishing You". Isn't that a sweet party dress and hat?  I also paper pieced the balloon in this same stamp set with some of the pink gingham paper.  A few marshmallow sequins as embellishments finish the card off nicely.  The sentiment "Have a Sweet Day" is from the existing "Sweetie Pie" stamp set.

Time to send you off to my fellow Paper Sweeties Teamies so you can see their beautiful projects too:



Thanks for your sweet comments on my sneak peek post!  Enjoy the hop!  And don't forget about all of the wonderful prizes up for grab's as part of this month's August Challenge over at the Paper Sweeties Blog:  HERE!






Hope to see you tomorrow for our fantastic August Release Party!  All of these wonderful products that we have been showcasing will be available for purchase at the Paper Sweeties store!  
Hugs,

:) Jill




Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Paper Sweeties August Release Sneak Peeks

Hello and welcome to Sneak Peeks for the Paper Sweeties August Release!  And the continuation of the month-long Birthday celebration of Paper Sweeties turning THREE!



 Debbie has outdone herself with some truly wonderful birthday themed products this month so I hope you will join us for the next several days as we show you all of the new stamp sets and sweet cuts dies!  I could not stop playing with these new sets!  They are FABULOUS!

For my sneak peek today I am going to share a set of small 4x4 cards that can be used with birthday gifts.

 Here are three cards that use the cupcakes that are part of the new "Cupcake Banners" set, as well as the cake plate that is part of the new "Happy Cake Day" set.

First up.... a  blue gingham card with purple and pink tones colored with my prima pencils:
Don't you just love those sweet little cherries on top of the cupcakes? These tiny cupcakes are so fun to color and glitter up!  Too adorable!!!!


Next a yellow card...also colored with my Prima pencils:

These cupcakes feature polka dots and candles and a little bit of glittery frosting!  Again - so cute!!!!!

And finally a green card....colored with my Copics this time:
 On this one I colored the polka dots and of course added some glitter to the frosting to make it sparkle!  So sweet don't you think?

And now some 4x4 inch cards featuring one of the cake tiers from the "Happy Cake Day" set:
Later in the countdown this week I will be featuring a card that shows the entire cake which is 3 tiers tall and absolutely perfect for birthdays or wedding cakes!  On this card I just hand-cut and used the middle tier of the cake and added 1 candle.  A sweet little gittery flower decorates the cake plate which is also part of the set.


Last....one more cake card in red gingham!  On this one I added three candles in honor of Paper Sweeties 3rd Birthday celebration:
 

I love this sentiment...."Happy Cake Day"!  I will be using that one a lot!

Well that is it for me today!  I hope you enjoyed the sneak peeks I shared with you!  And....I hope you will visit all of the rest of the Paper Sweeties team members too!  There are many more wonderful sneak peek projects to see today!  I cannot wait to take a peek at everyone's designs with these fabulous products:

And don't forget about our wonderful "Happy Birthday" challenge running throughout the month!




The array of prizes this month is INCREDIBLE!  And there is a $100.00 gift certificate to the Paper Sweeties store among them! Check the Paper Sweeties Blog - HERE for all of the information and a complete list of our wonderful and generous prize sponsors!

I hope to see you back here tomorrow for more of our August Release Countdown!  You won't want to miss all of these wonderful new products!!!!
:) Jill