PPA103

I finally created another card for a challenge! I was creating for challenges all the time a while ago and then life got in the way. I have been trying to get back in the swing of things lately and I finally did it.

This week Pals Paper Arts is having a sketch challenge. I like sketch challenges because you can change them up a little to sort your personal style. Here is my creation for this week.I started with a small piece of the Baja Breeze Pocketful of Posies DSP leftover from Convention. My Color Coach said that Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy are a dynamic duo so I decided to go with it. I really like how my little snowman came together. You can't see it very well in the photo, but I added Dazzling Diamonds the the snowball and around some of the edges on the snowman. The snowflakes also have Dazzling Diamonds.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Don't forget about the $99 starter kit special with the FREE Christmas box kit! Contact me today or sign up online at http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/robertasmith/.

Vintage Friends for PPA

This week over at Pals Paper Arts, the challenge is a vintage theme. I am more of a clean and simple card girl so vintage is a challenge for me. With some advice that Ann Schach posted on her blog about how to create vintage cards, I went to work (play). I started with the faux silk technique from Splitcoaststampers tutorials. It is basically a piece of tissue paper that has been stamped and crumpled up. I used the Friends 24-7 stamp set because I had it out and thought that it would work perfectly. I was right. With a little sponging, crumpling and distressing, this card came out great and it was so simple to do. I will be making some more vintage cards in the near future.

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to leave me a comment to tell me what you think. See you next time.

-Roberta

Blue Bell and PPA

This week Pals Paper Arts is having a Summer theme challenge. If ice cream doesn't scream summer to you, I don't know what does. For those of you who are unlucky to not know what Blue Bell Ice Cream is, it is the "Best Ice Cream in the Country." Blue Bell is a local Texas favorite and not available everywhere. I would recommend that if you ever get a chance to come visit us down here in Texas, you try it and you will agree.

Now on to the 6x6 scrapbook page. I used Crumb Cake as the base and layered a piece of DSP from the soon retiring Tea Party set. I then layered a piece of Chocolate Chip and another piece of Tea Party DSP. The two photos are each matted with the soon retiring Gable Green, as was the top note in Very Vanilla. The ice cream cones are from the Sweet Scoops set available in the Summer Mini Catalog. The bases are stamped in soon retiring Close to Cocoa. The ice cream is stamped to look like Mint Chocolate Chip, Strawberry and Cookies and Cream.

If you are interested in any of these retiring products or any of the many others, click here for more information. If you are interested in becoming a demonstrator for only $99, click here and use password "Creative Space". Thanks for visiting and see you next time.

-Roberta

Thank you for Memorial Day PPA

This week Pals Paper Arts is having a Memorial Day inspiration challenge. When I first saw the challenge for this week, I immediately thought "red, white and blue with the American flag". I made the card and knew instantly that I was not going to use that one. I did not like the way it turned out at all. For the next couple of days, I kept trying to decide what to do and when I was combing through the SCS website yesterday afternoon, it came to me. Red, white, and blue with stars!

I used Brilliant Blue for the base and versamarked the stars from the Under the Stars stamp set. Next comes Whisper White with Thank You from Teeny Tiny Wishes in Brilliant Blue and Real Red. I versamarked the same stars as before on Real Red for the top layer. Before adhering this to the base, I wrapped a piece of Whisper White Organza ribbon around it. The stars were made with the Stars #2 Die and the Big Shot. They are finished with a silver brad and dimensionals to give them some "pop".

Thanks for visiting and see you next time,
-Roberta

P.S. Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think.

Not Quite Vintage

This week over at Pals Paper Arts they are having a Monochromatic-Blues challenge. You can use any shade of blue and any layout you want. I chose to use Not Quite Navy and Whisper White. I have seen these flowers made with the scallop circle punch a lot in the past few days and I got the tutorial here. These flowers are fun and super easy to make. The tiny buttons in the middle of the flowers are from the Bitty Buttons collection available May 1st. The stamps are from the Vintage Vogue stamp set.

Thanks for visiting and see you next time.
-Roberta

P.S. The blog candy in the previous post is not mine. I am just advertising for a fellow demo. Sorry for the confusion.

Mother's Day

It has been a couple of weeks since I did a PPA challenge. This one was a sketch challenge and a very easy one. The sketch is pretty basic but all the samples they have posted are extremely different. That is one of the things that I love about stamping and paper crafting. No matter what you start out with, no two people are going to finish with the same exact project.

For this card, I wanted to do all purple because my mom's favorite color is purple and I will most likely give this card to her. I really like the way it turned out. I don't have many embellishments because 1) I don't have them and 2) I like to believe that less is more.

Thanks for visiting and see you next time!
-Roberta

Stamp Set: All Holidays
Paper: Orchid Opulence, Very Vanilla, Shades of Spring DSP
Ink: Orchid Opulence
Accessories: Very Vanilla grossgrain ribbon, eyelet border punch

My First Digital Card

This is my first all digital card using Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio. I love this software. You can create so many different projects with it. You can make cards, calendars, scrapbook pages, and the list goes on. Stampin' Up! also has additional digital downloads available, although it does come pretty loaded up.

It is also time to Play With PPA! It has been awhile since I have participated in one of their challenges but I am glad to start again. This week is a sketch challenge. This sketch was designed by Margaret Moody. You can check her blog out here.

On my card, I used Chocolate Chip, Old Olive and Very Vanilla. The sentiment and stamp are both from the stamp set Thoughts & Prayers, which is preloaded on the My Digital Software.

To order your own copy of My Digital Studio click here. To play along with the PPA challenge, stop by Pals Paper Arts.

Hope you enjoyed this card and have a great day! Thanks for visiting.
-Roberta

Dasher

Sorry about the picture quality. I haven't been able to get the lighting quite right lately. Today's card is for Pals Paper Arts sketch challenge. It is a simple card sketch, but I just couldn't get what I really wanted. This is what I have settled for.

• I started out with a standard 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 Basic Black card base.
• On a 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 Basic Black square I stamped Dasher with my new Frost White Shimmer Paint. I then cut him in half both ways. Each 1 1/4 square is mounted on a 1 1/2 square of Ruby Red Holiday Lounge DSP. These four squares are then mounted on to a 3 1/2 square of Whisper White and then adhered to the card base.
• For the sentiment, I again used my new Frost White Shimmer Paint and the "Merry Christmas" stamp from Holiday Best on Basic Black. This was punched out with the scallop circle punch. I punched another scallop circle from the same Ruby Red Holiday Lounge DSP and layered the two circles together.
• The ribbon is the Whisper White Organza ribbon. I simply tied a small knot and adhered it to the inside of the card and to the back of the scallop circle layer.
• Done!

I haven't used a Basic Black card base in a while so I hope you enjoy this one. Stop by Pals Paper Arts to try the challenge or just see what the other stampers have come up with. You might get some inspiration. Thanks for visiting.

-Roberta

be merry

Once again I am late for mojo monday. Oh well, better late than never I say! Today, I wanted to do something a little more simple. I only used one stamp.

• I started out with a standard card (5 1/2x 4 1/4) in Soft Suede. I used one of the designs from the Christmas Cocoa Specialty paper cut at 5 1/4 x 4 which is layered on the card base.
• I cut a piece of the Real Red paper from the Christmas Cocoa Specialty paper at 5 1/4 x 1 1/2 and layered it to the card base.
• On a piece of 2 1/2 x 4 Soft Suede, I layered yet another design from the Christmas Cocoa Specialty paper cut at 2 1/4 x 3 3/4.
• For the top layer, I cut a piece of Soft Suede at 3 1/2 x 3. I layered a piece of 3 1/4 x 2 3/4 Very Vanilla. I stamped the "be merry" from the Warm Words stamp set in Real Red.
• The bird and poinsettia were both made with Stampin' Up!'s Birds and Blooms Sizzlets dies for the Big Shot. I punched tiny Yo-Yo Yellow dots for the eye and center of the poinsettia. The poinsettia is popped up with dimensionals.
• Done!

I am using this card for two challenges this week; mojo monday 113 and Pals Paper Arts (PPA16). Be sure to stop by both sites and try the challenges for yourself. They are great fun!! Thanks for visiting and have a great day.

-Roberta

Halloween Gift Sack

I made this gift sack for a workshop I had recently. When I went to see what challenge Pals Paper Arts was having this week (anything but a card), I knew this is the project I would use.

• I started out with a white paper lunch sack that I cut down to 6".
• I adhered Old Olive 5 1/2 x 6 1/2 card stock to the front and back of the bag. Be sure to fold down the bottom of the bag so that it can open when you are finished.
• On the front, I layered Rich Razzleberry 5 1/4 x 6 1/4 and then Cast-a-Spell DSP 5 x 6.
• For the bear, I used the new Build-a-Bear dies in the Stampin' Up! mini catalog. The colors for the bear are Close to Cocoa, Basic Black, Very Vanilla and Cast-a-Spell DSP for the shirt and hat band. I used some Soft Suede around the edge of the broom to make it look used.
• The sentiment is from All Holidays and is stamped in Rich Razzleberry on Whisper White. I punch out the sentiment with the Word Window punch and layered it on two Old Olive pieces I punched out from the Word Window punch. The larger background piece is from the matchbox die and is done in Rich Razzleberry.
• The handle is a 7 1/2 x 1 piece of Old Olive and is attached to the bag with silver brads.
• Done!

I hope you enjoy this project and be sure to stop by www.palspaperarts.com to try the challenge for yourself. Thanks for visiting.

-Roberta

Rootin Tootin Halloween

Today's card is for Pals Paper Arts challenge #11. This week's challenge is to make a card using Perfect Plum, Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie.

• I started with a 5 1/4 x 4 1/2 card base of Old Olive.
• I layered a piece of 5 x 4 1/4 Pumpkin Pie on the card base and a 4 3/4 x 4 Perfect Plum DSP on top of that.
• On a piece of 1 3/4 x 2 1/8 Very Vanilla, I stamped the Halloween girl from "Yippee Kiyay Holiday" in Going Grey. She is colored with Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Creamy Caramel.
• I layered the girl on a piece of 2 1/16 x 2 3/8 Pumpkin Pie.
• Next, I cut four 1" squares of Old Olive and adhered them to the corners of the layered girl.
• This piece gets layered on the middle of the card base and you are done!

I hope you enjoyed this card and be sure to stop by www.palspaperarts.com to try the challenge for yourself. Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend! I have the Scarecrow Festival in Chappell Hill, TX to go to this weekend. I hope it doesn't rain.

-Roberta

Give Thanks

Today's card is for Pals Paper Arts Picture Perfect Inspiration Challenge PPA-9. The rules are simple. Make a project using this picture as your inspiration. You can use colors, photo elements, or overall theme. I chose to mimic the brown table and the green pottery.



For this card, I started with a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 Very Vanilla card base.

• I cut a piece of 1 x 5 1/2 Chocolate Chip and adhered it to the bottom edge of the card base.
• I then cut a piece of 1 1/2 x 3 1/2 and 2 1/2 x 2 Merry Moments green striped DSP.
• I layered those pieces on to 3 3/4 x 1 3/4 and 2 1/4 x 2 3/4 Pumpkin Pie. These two layers got adhered to the card base offsetting each other.
• Next, I took the "Give Thanks" stamp from the Holiday Best stamp set and colored it with Crushed Curry, Soft Suede, and Dusty Durango to give it the look of changing leaves. I stamped it in the upper left corner.
• Finally, I cut out a purple, dark green and red leaf from the Autumn Harvest DSP and layered them on top of each other on the card.
• Done!

Be sure to stop by Pals Paper Arts and try the challenge for yourself. You never know how much fun you will have. Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend.

-Roberta

Love Birds

It is time to play at PPA. This weeks challenge is a color challenge using Brocade Blue, Crushed Curry and Ruby Red. I didn't know what stamps I could possibly have that would work for this color combo. I haven't used these birds yet so I thought I would come up with something. Next, I had to decide on a layout. I had several to chose from and ultimately decided on this one.

• First, cut your Brocade Blue to 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 and fold in half. This will be your card base.
• Next cut a piece of Ruby Red to 5 1/2 x 2 1/2. Along the bottom edge, make a mark at 2 1/4 and 3 1/4. Line up on corner with your 2 1/4 mark on your paper cutter and cut. Cut the other side from the corner to your 3 1/2 mark. You should have a trapezoid.
• For the bottom piece, use a piece of 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 Ruby Red. Mark and cut at 2 1/4 and 3 1/4. Adhere both pieces to your card base.
• For the birds, take a 4 1/2 x 1 1/4 piece of Whisper White and stamp the birds in Basic Grey. Color the birds with Brocade Blue, the beaks with Crushed Curry and the hearts with Ruby Red. Adhere to 1 1/2 x 4 3/4 piece of Crushed Curry and adhere layers to card base.
• With the XOXOXO stamp from Fundamental Phrases, stamp Crushed Curry on 1/2 x 1 1/4 piece of Whisper White. Adhere this to 3/4 x 1 1/2 piece of Crushed Curry and attach to card base lower right corner.
• Finally, apply Crystal Effects to hearts to give them a shine.
• Done!

Thanks for visiting and be sure to visit Pals Paper Arts to play along. See you next time.


-Roberta

Trick or Treat

Today's card is for Pals Paper Arts (PPA). The challenge was to make a Halloween project. I did a card because I find them easier. It took me a while to get started because I don't have any Halloween stamps sets or designer paper. I was looking through my stamps and found "Choo Choo" which I haven't used in awhile.




I decided to stamp the pumpkins from "The More the Merrier" on Very Vanilla, cut them out and stack three of them in the cargo piece of the train. I also decided to make my own "designer" paper. I stamped the pumpkins from "Loads of Love Accessories" in versmark on Close to Cocoa. I also used Versamark to stamp "Trick or Treat" from "Holiday Best" on Close to Cocoa for the sentiment. The orange is Pumpkin Pie.



Be sure to stop by www.palspaperarts.com to join in the challenge. You might even get addicted like me!




Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy this card.




-Roberta

Scallop Enve Box

I love to play at PPA! This weeks challenge is to make anything but a card. I saw this tutorial on Splitcoaststampers.com and new I had to try it. It is a scallop envelop box. It is very easy.

• First cut out four scallop envelopes using your big shot. I used Pacific Point textured card stock because I love that color and am sad it retired.
• Next, glue the flaps of the envelopes together to form a cube.
• Now fold the bottoms under overlapping them. They should stay by themselves, but I glued them just to make sure they would stay.
• Take a piece of 2 1/8 x 12 1/2 DSP, I used Delicate Dots because I have a lot and it looks good with Pacific Point. Adhere one side to the front of your box. Wrap the DSP around the box, creasing the corners as you go. Adhere the other edge to the front. The edges won't match up but that is okay, it will get covered up.
• Layer a piece of 2 1/8 x 2 3/4 card stock the same color as your box (Pacific Point) onto a piece of 2 x 2 1/2 Whisper White. Stamp your sentiment on the Whisper White in the same color as your box. I used the Yummy stamp set. Attach this layer to your box. I also added a little "with love" sentiment at the bottom in Pink Pirouette.
• Done!

I used all retired elements because I had plenty of them and I really like the colors and how they go together. This will obviously work with any color combo that you wish to use.



Thanks for visiting and be sure to stop by www.palspaperarts.com and play along. You will be saying "I love to play at PPA!" before you know it.


-Roberta