November 2015 Inspiration Challenge #37

Hello Crafty Friends,
Here today with inspiration for the Paper Sweeties November Challenge!  Here is the inspiration photo:

Oh the beautiful colors of Autumn!  The crisp air, the leaves turning, and the lovely smell of pumpkin EVERYTHING!!!!!  Yay!!!!!!

The Paper Sweeties challenge is open the entire month of November and one winner will receive a $20.00 Gift Certificate to the Paper Sweeties store and a chance to Guest Design.  How great is that!

I was lacking a little bit of mojo after being up with my sick kiddo for a few nights in a row so I decided to head to my secret mojo igniter....Pinterest of course....for a sketch!!!!  I just type in "Card Sketches" and pick the first one that appeals to me.  The one I chose to use is:

Freshly Made Sketches is a wonderful sketch challenge blog and they always have tons of inspiring sketches to use to kickstart some creative time.  Just looking at their blog full of creative inspiration can get you salivating to create!!!!  Seriously!!!!  What could be better!

Anyway....

Here is the card I came up with....it was such a great sketch that I ended up making two of the same card as shown in the photo at the top of this post...

 Here is a close up view of our sweet Sophie doll all dressed for Autumn in her poncho!  Her outfit and the sentiment are from the stamp set "The Splendor of Autumn".  I added some white gel pen details to her poncho and shoes and hairbow for additional interest.  A few wooden buttons and some solid orange twine finish of this card....the second card has green twine.  Both of the cards were also embossed to add lots of background texture to the cards.

Now I get to send you off to continue hopping and hope you will visit all of the rest of the wonderful Paper Sweeties Designers:

Angel Johns
Annette Witherspoon

Cheryl Lea

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties <– you are here!

 Emily Frasier

Jill Norwood

Julie Tucker-Wolek

Kathy Schweinfurth

Larissa Heskett

Mackie Robertson

Maria Patrick

Michelle Bala
Mynnette Kitchen

Nancy Penir

November Guest Designer:  Michele Henderson

I want to give a warm Paper Sweeties welcome to our November Guest Designer Michele Henderson! Michele blogs at Crimson Owl Creations and you will thoroughly enjoy a trip through the posts on her blog!  All of her cards are so inspiring!  We are so glad she is playing along with us this month!!!! Welcome Michele!!!!

I hope you will come back for sneak peeks on November 13th as we get ready for our next release!  You will love this new release!!!!  I am so excited!
 See you then I hope!
 :) Jill

Happy Halloween!

Hello Friends,
Here to wish you all a Happy Halloween!  This sweet little card uses a wonderful image from Purple Onion Designs by artist Stacey Yacula!  Adorable right?!

This sweet card is going out to my dear Mom to wish her a Happy Halloween!  She is recovering from surgery and is at home so we are taking a wee bit of Halloween to her today.

 I was originally going for a rustic look to the card but a smudge of black ink on the right side of the card (which I could not remove no matter how I tried) forced me to add some bling and a wee bit of glitter to the raccoon's eyes.  Necessity is the master of invention right!

I thought I would also share some pictures of my boy from when we got our pumpkins:

 I love his grin here!

 And for this picture he looked at me and said...."Look Mom...Is it a pumpkin or a GIANT candy apple?!"
He has the sweetest sense of humor and makes me laugh!  What a blessing he is in my life! 

I hope you all have a lovely day today!  It is rainy and extremely gusty here in Seattle so it definitely feels like Halloween!  LOL!  Enjoy!

Jill

Your Next Stamp Sketch Challenge #25

Hello Friends,
Playing along today with the Your Next Stamp Sketch Challenge #25!  Here is the wonderful sketch:

There is also a lovely Color challenge available full of gorgeous Autumn colors if you decide to play along.  You can use either, or both depending on your mood.  I just went with the sketch this time.

Here is my card:

I just love this sweet little bunny in the "Sprinkles - Coffee and Tea" stamp set!  Isn't she cute?!!!!

Here are the "Your Next Stamp" products I used:

Thanks for taking a look at my card!  

: )   Jill

Papertrey October Blog Hop Challenge

Hello Friends,
I totally forgot that today was the wonderful Papertrey October blog hop challenge!  But I did have some crafty play time on Friday and had posted a couple pictures to Facebook over the weekend and my incredibly talented blog friend Wanda Guess who blogs at "A blog called Wanda" asked if my post was for the Blog Hop?!  Luckily what I made fit the challenge perfectly so I hope it is okay that I am linking up!

Thanks for taking a look! And thanks to Wanda for reminding me about the challenge!

 These tags use the new "Quilted Winter" stamps and dies plus the new "Tag Sale: Quilted Die".   The holly and berries are a very old die and I am not sure who the maker is? 

Here is a close up view of one of the tags:

This tag doesn't match the inspiration but I love the Victorian Christmas feel it has.....

I need to order some Autumn Rose ribbon though...I was totally out so used pink gingham instead....not enough contrast I think?  But still pretty! :)

Enjoy the hop!
:) Jill

Paper Sweeties October Release Rewind

Welcome back to the Paper Sweeties October Release!  I hope you enjoyed Release Day yesterday and were able to purchase some of your favorite sets!  Today is our Release Rewind Day where we share projects which use the new stamps and sweet cuts dies with some of the existing products in the Paper Sweeties catalog.

First up is a set of sweet tags made with a stamp that is included in the new "The Reason for the Season" stamp set.  I combined it with the "Stitched Tags #1" sweet cuts dies.

I stamped this sweet "come let us adore him" sentiment in some "hot cocoa" ink onto the stitched rectangle tag that is one of the dies in the "Stitched Tags #1" sweet cuts.  It fit perfectly! Then I colored each of the tags with my Copics:  yellow for the star section of the tag, green for the sentiment, and so on.  These were so easy to make and I love the bright colors.

Next a small square card that uses the "Stitched Tags #2 Stamp Set" and a sentiment from the "Let it Snow Stamp Set":

 These mittens were stamped on white card stock and colored with my Copic markers.  Then I added some glitter for snow.  A sweet crocheted flower adds decoration to the mitten's cuff.

And another small square card using the tree and bow from the "Stitched Tags #2 Stamp Set" with a sentiment from the "Let it Snow Stamp Set":

Again I colored with my Copic markers.  Then I added some Stickles glitter glue in "Diamond" to the tree and let it dry before adding my bow die cut.  Simple and sweet!


I now get to send you off to visit the other Design Team members blogs:

Angel Johns
Cheryl Lea

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties
Emily Frasier
Jill Norwood 

Kathy Schweinfurth

Larissa Heskett 
Mackie Robertson

Maria Patrick

Michelle Bala
Mynnette Kitchen

Nancy Penir

I hope you will join in the Paper Sweeties October Challenge before the 31st!  There is a lovely $20.00 gift certificate and a Guest Designer spot up for grabs! Here is the inspiration for this month:

Thanks so much for joining me and the entire Paper Sweeties Design Team throughout the October Release Festivities!  I so appreciate all of your wonderful comments!
Happy Crafting!
Jill

Paper Sweeties October Release Party

Happy Release Day!  Today is the BIG DAY!  All of the products the wonderful Paper Sweeties Designers have been showcasing on their blogs and social media are available at the Paper Sweeties Store!

Here are the stamp sets being released today:

And the Sweet Cuts being released:

Such a wonderful set of products! 

Today I have some lovely felt ornaments to share with you again using the Stitched Tags #2 dies!

 The stitched lines on the mitten and tree make it very easy to sew around the outside with some floss, thread, or even twine.  I sewed these darling ornaments together and added some batting in just a few minutes the other night while watching "The Voice"!   Then I went down to my craft room the next day and added trims to them along with some felt die cuts.

Here are the details for each of the ornaments:

This sweet red mitten was actually sewn together with some vintage string in a cream color.  Once it was stuffed with some batting I sewed the top closed following the stitched lines and created a hanger from the same string. I then added some cream pom pom trim as well as a felt scalloped border I had in my stash.  The tiny green and red holly and berries is a set of dies from the "Snow Friends Sweet Cuts".  All of the trims and embellishments were glued to the sewn mitten with hot glue.

Next the cream and red mitten:

This mitten was sewn together and stuffed with batting in the same way as I stated above.  This time with 3 strands of red floss .  I then hot glued the lace and a felt scalloped border and a red gingham bow.  The red felt snowflake was die cut from the "Snow Friends Sweet Cuts"  and added with hot glue.

And finally the tree ornament:

For this sweet tree I followed the same process with the sewing.  I cut the heart out of the green felt tree but do not recommend this as it made it very difficult to stuff with the batting.  I think you should instead add the die cut heart after as I did with the snowflake on the cream colored mitten ornament above.  I then hot glued two red bows back-to-back at the top of the tree and sewed on a sweet tiny red jingle bell!  I created a loop for an ornament hook with some red gingham ribbon.  This was the first ornament I created and it was how I discovered that you could use and follow the stitching line holes the dies create to do your sewing.  Unfortunately I didn't figure it out until I was almost done sewing this one! LOL!

I also have a card to share with you today using the new "Stand Add-on Manger" stamp set as well as a star from the new "Do You See What I See" stamp set:

 I created a small 4" scalloped circle card which is fairly simple and sweet.   I added some glossy accents to the star and baby Jesus's halo.  I also added a "Cookie Dough" twine bow to his sweet bed. 

Well that is it for me today but there is a TON more inspiration from the rest of the Paper Sweeties Creative Designers:

Angel Johns
Cheryl Lea

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties
Emily Frasier
Jill Norwood 

Kathy Schweinfurth

Larissa Heskett 
Mackie Robertson

Maria Patrick

Michelle Bala
Mynnette Kitchen

Nancy Penir

Don't forget to come visit all of us again tomorrow for the Release Rewind where we combine the new stamps and sweet cuts with some of the existing products in the Paper Sweeties catalog! 

Hugs,

Jill

NOTE:  New products used in above projects will not be linked until October 15th.

Paper Sweeties October Release Countdown

Welcome back to Day 2 of the October Release Countdown for Paper Sweeties!  All of the new stamps and dies that we are showcasing will be available in the Paper Sweeties store on October 15th!  Yay!

As I mentioned in my post yesterday....today I am focused on mittens!  The new Stitched Tags #2 stamps and sweet cuts dies are FABULOUS!  You got to see the tree and bow in my post yesterday.  Today is all about the mitten and bow!   

The mittens pictured above use the "Stitched Tags #2" mitten and bow dies along with a snowflake die from the "Snow Friends Sweet Cuts" and a heart tag die from "Beautiful Little Wishes Sweet Cuts".  I cut the mitten tag twice - once from white card stock for the back of the mitten and once from patterned paper.  I then cut either a heart or a snowflake from the center of each of the patterned paper mittens to create a shaped window.  I stamped a sentiment in the center of the window using a stamp from the new "Stand Add-on Manger" stamp set.   I cut apart the "peace, love, joy" stamp so I could stamp each of the words individually. On these tags I used the word "joy". Some glue and glitter and these tags were all ready for gift giving!  I love how easily these came together!  


Here are a few more mitten tags I have made  this month:

 Red gingham with red felt bows.  The "To and From" stamps are from the "You're Invited" stamp set.

 Shaker mittens with red jingle bells.  The one on the left in red gingham has a hidden sentiment that says "Let it Snow" from the stamp set of the same name along with some glitter and "Strawberry" sequins.  The green gingham mitten is filled with "Green Apple" sequins and glitter.  The striped mitten just has glitter by itself.  Three different looks depending on what you prefer.

 Red and white striped mittens with red card stock bows.

Red mittens with red gingham bows.

And last some green gingham mittens with red bows....

Whoo!  Lots of pictures!  I hope you made it this far!  I make a lot of Christmas gift tags each year because I hand them out to all of my extended family at Thanksgiving.  It is my gift to them each year.

  Now I get to send you off to all of the other designers who have more wonderful inspiration to share with you:

Angel Johns
Cheryl Lea

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties
Emily Frasier
Jill Norwood 

Kathy Schweinfurth

Larissa Heskett 
Mackie Robertson

Maria Patrick

Michelle Bala
Mynnette Kitchen

Nancy Penir

I hope you will come back tomorrow for RELEASE DAY!  

Tomorrow I am sharing some lovely ornaments!

Hugs,

Jill

NOTE:  New products will not be linked until the release date of October 15th

Paper Sweeties October Release Sneak Peeks

Hooray!  It is time for sneak peeks of the October Release for Paper Sweeties.  Oh my goodness do we have a lot of wonderful Holiday and Winter inspiration for you this month!  I have been so inspired by all of the wonderful new products!  I wish I could just play with them all day long!  The sneak peeks the Design Team is sharing today are for products that will be in the Paper Sweeties shop on October 15th!  

Here is a list of the new sets being released:

 Do You See What I See

The Reason For the Season

Stand Add-on: Manger

Stitched Tags #2

Sweet Cuts Stitched Tags #2

 NOTE:  You can see the sets in their entirety on the Paper Sweeties blog at 12:00am on October 15th!

I have a lot to share so I hope you have tea or coffee!  Seriously!  LOL!

The first card I am sharing with you is a showcase of two new stamp sets being released: "Do You See What I see" and "The Reason for the Season"  They are boutique outfit sets for the Paper Sweeties dolls to represent Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus and I just love how sweet they are!  They also have lots of wonderful sentiments and additional stamps.  I love both of these sets so much! 

I paper pieced the outfits onto the sweeties dolls Abigail and Jake which I had already colored with my Copic Markers.  Then I created a round scalloped card to place them on.  I embossed a sun-ray pattern onto some water color card stock and then added a clear embossed coat to make the background shine.  I wanted it to seem like the star was shining down on all of them. I love the way this turned out!  It is gorgeous in real life!  The sentiment "The Greatest Gift"  is from the new stamp set "Do You See What I See" and is embossed in gold embossing powder. And I finished the card with a thin line of Mercury Glass Stickles around the outside to add some sparkle. 


 Now let's shift to the new "Stitched Tags #2" stamps and sweet cuts dies:

This coordinating set of stamps and sweet cuts dies consists of a mitten, a tree, and a sweet little bow.  The mitten and tree have a lovely stitched detail and the bow is so adorable!  The picture above has the bow as a tree topper on each of the tags! Totally sweet! 

To create these tags I die cut the tree die twice - once from white card stock and once from a green polka dot patterned paper.  Then I used the heart tag die from the "Beautiful Little Wishes" sweet cuts to cut a heart-shaped window or aperture in the green paper tree die cut. ( I also used a snowflake die from the "Snow Friends" sweet cuts to create a snowflake aperture or window in some of the tags.)  I glued the two tree die cuts together and then stamped a sentiment in the opening in red ink.  A coating of glue around the heart/snowflake apertures and some pretty glitter creates lots of sparkle!   The sentiments I used are from the new "Stand Add-on Manger" stamp set.

 Here is another set of tree tags using some green gingham patterned paper and bright red jingle bells for the tree toppers. I love the sweet sound of the jingle bells!

And here is what I did with the leftover heart and snowflake die cuts from the window opening in each of the tree tags: 

I used them to create these tiny little tags for sweet little Christmas gifts.

I also added in some of the tiny regular tag and circle tag shapes from the "Beautiful Little Wishes" die cuts.  I now have a whole set of these tiny tags and they are so cute!

Are you feeling all of those JOY's???  Joy! Joy! Joy!!!!!

And a few more styles of the tree tags:

These tags are made from a recycled java jacket...I love all that texture!

And these are a set of tree tags in some earth tones of taupe, brown, and white!  This color combo looks so great on brown paper packages tied up with string!  :)

If you made it to here - thanks for sticking with me!  I went a little tag crazy over the last few weeks! 

I now get to send you off to visit the rest of the wonderfully creative Paper Sweeties Designers!  These ladies are AMAZING!:

Angel Johns
Cheryl Lea

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties
Emily Frasier
Jill Norwood 

Kathy Schweinfurth

Larissa Heskett 
Mackie Robertson

Maria Patrick

Michelle Bala
Mynnette Kitchen

Nancy Penir

Tomorrow I have more to show you and my post is going to have lots of fun mittens in it!
 I hope you will come back and see as we continue counting down to the INCREDIBLE October Release for Paper Sweeties!!

And please join in the fun of the October Challenge over at the Paper Sweeties website!

Here is this month's lovely inspiration photo:

Thanks so much for visiting me today! And thanks too for your sweet and lovely comments! I love reading each and every one!
Happy Holiday Crafting!!!

Jill 

Sissix Christmas Fun - New Debi Potter Dies!

Hello,
Here to share a few Christmas cards using some new Sissix products from Debi Potter!  I love Debi's sweet new Christmas die line for Christmas cards and tags! 

Here is what I have made so far....

 This card uses Debi's "Snowman 1" die.  Isn't this the cutest snowman!  It is a thinlet die and I am in love with it! So adorable!  I added eyelashes and a mouth with a black pen to make her look all girly! 
 This card is going out to my dear friend Alease who blogs at ""Pretties" Please! Crafty Corner"  for a card swap we are doing.  She makes some of the pretties cards around and has lots of awesome cards and goodies in her wonderful ETSY shop called "Pretties by Alease"! So fun to swap cards and a few goodies with a crafty friend! 

 This die is Debi's new thinlet "Christmas Stockings" die.  So sweet!

 It makes the cutest 4x4 cards! I think this card took me 3 minutes total!  Love that for Christmas crafting!

This one is called "From Our Home to Yours" and is approximately 5x5"....this is a 5x5 inch card I have it sitting against so you can get an idea of the size.  I cannot wait to play around with this die some more!

Thanks for taking a look at my projects!
: ) Jill