Everything’s Coming Up Balloons – Sunday Stamps 117

by Shannon Jaramillo // December 20, 2015 // 7 Comments

Hello there friends! It’s Sunday, which means another Sunday Stamps challenge! Yay!! I’m sure most of you busy with holiday activities but the challenge runs for two weeks so play along if you have the chance!

Isn’t this a pretty color combination?? It just says birthday to me, so that’s the direction I went:

A sweet birthday card meant for a sweet young lady 🙂 I’ve had this stamp set for quite awhile and have no idea why I haven’t used it before now! I love that the balloons do double duty by having the sentiment on them so you can really fill the whole card front with balloons!

I tried and tried to stamp the balloon strings that are part of the stamp set but discovered that they had a manufacturing defect. I will take care of that with the company (it happens), and I tried working around the flaws without success, so I pulled out a die set instead. Aren’t the balloon strings and bows adorable?? Thank you Papertrey Ink, for rescuing me!

I don’t think it would be a young lady’s birthday without some sparkle so I carefully added Wink of Stella to all the balloons. Now they look like a party!!

And the inside…a super sweet sentiment!

I hope that my project has inspired you to join us in this challenge, for more inspiration please visit these lovely ladies:

Thank you for visiting today!

Products Used:

Cardstock: Stamper’s Select White by Papertrey Ink; Crumb Cake by Stampin’ Up!

Pattern Paper: Neutrals Designer Series Paper Pack by Stampin’ Up!

Ink: Hibiscus Burst and Sweet Blush by Papertrey Ink

Stamps: Balloons by Avery Elle; Fabulous Four by Stampin’ Up!

Dies: Balloons by Avery Elle; Femme Frames by Mama Elephant and Balloon Strings Dies by Papertrey Ink

Tools: MISTI

Embellishments: Wink of Stella

Mom’s Special Day

by Shannon Jaramillo // May 9, 2015 // 3 Comments

WooHoo! It’s Saturday at last!! And Mother’s Day weekend! It’s been a busy and headache-y week so I’ve haven’t been very crafty but I did want to share this card before it was too late! My last Mother’s Day card for the year.

I hope you are celebrating the moms in your life this weekend…I will be spending time with my boys, now that they are grown, time with them is the BEST gift of all!

Wishing you joy and blessings!

Products Used:

Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Lemon Tart and Spring Moss by Papertrey Ink

Pattern Paper: Everyday Blessings by Papertrey Ink

Ink: Lemon Tart by Papertrey Ink

Stamps: Oopsie Daisy by Papertrey Ink

Dies: Text Block and Oopsie Daisy by Papertrey Ink; Femme Frames by Mama Elephant; and Envelope Liner Die by Stampin’ Up!

Punches: Misc Sizzix Flower Punch

Embellishments: Swimming Pool Sprinkles by Doodlebug Designs

Cheerful Daisies – The Paper Players 242

by Shannon Jaramillo // April 26, 2015 // 10 Comments

Hello and welcome to a new challenge from The Paper Players! This one is from Ann…

Great sketch, Ann! I can’t wait to see what you all do with it! Here’s a bit of inspiration to get you going this morning…

Aren’t those daises delightful? And the perfect size for my stitched oval die! I picked a few coordinating papers for my background and then colored my daises to compliment. I recently invested in a few Copic Markers and this card is my first attempt to use them! I know I have a lot to learn, but it sure was fun to color!!

I didn’t have two colors of yellow close enough to blend well, so I just added a second layer of color, keeping it away from the edges. I think it looks great, and a liberal dose of Wink of Stella doesn’t hurt either!! It’s nice that you can just see a bit of it in this photo.

The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted Stamps. I chose it because I felt that the dainty font complimented the dainty flowers well. A few Marshmallow sequins from Pretty Pink Posh are the perfect jewelry!

Please stop by to see the designs from the design team…they are beautiful!!

The Paper Players Design Team

Wishing you joy and blessings!

Products Used:

Cardstock: Rustic White by Papertrey Ink

Pattern Paper: Lost & Found: Sunshine by My Mind’s Eye

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Stamps: Daisies by Rubbernecker; Many Messages by Clearly Besotted Stamps

Dies: Stitched Mats: Ovals by Lil ‘Inker; Femme Frames by Mama Elephant; and Envelope Liner Die by Stampin’ Up!

Tools: MISTI by My Sweet Petunia (for the sentiment)

Embellishments: 4 mm Marshmallow Sequins by Pretty Pink Posh; Wink of Stella

Other: Copic Markers: BG11, BG15, BV00, E000, G24, R20, YG03, YR23

Birthdays Are Feathers – The Paper Players #229

by Shannon Jaramillo // January 25, 2015 // 17 Comments

Welcome friends to another Sunday and another challenge from The Paper Players. Can I just say, last week’s challenge was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! Over 100 participants and soooo many beautiful and inspiring creations!! I was overwhelmed by all the talent!!

This week, Jaydee has a darling sketch for us. It’s a fun and simple sketch, with lots of room for interpretation…which is good because I got a bit carried away during the creative process. After I completed and photographed my project I had a moment of panic as to whether or not I had strayed from the sketch…!! Sometimes I get so caught up in the creation of the card that I forget what I am “supposed” to be doing!

I went looking through my stamps for inspiration for the circle element and found the beautiful Fancy Feathers stamp set by Clearly Besotted Stamps (one of my favorite designers). From there I added in patterned paper. I admit I was a bit stumped by the sketch as it called for patterned paper on top, as well as a sentiment, but no layer for a sentiment…this means I need to stamp on the pattern paper! Not usually a problem for me, but I prefer to have a bold pattern on top and a more neutral pattern on the bottom so this was upside down for me! I solved my quandary by making the bottom layer smaller.

Did you notice that the bottom layer of the card is the same pattern paper as the envelope? It turns out that these two patterns are on flip sides of each other, so to make this card I have to use BOTH 6×6 squares of paper up AT THE SAME TIME!! That’s a bit hard on my paper hoarding tendencies!

In this case I had to be careful with my cuts because I’m using both a 6×6 piece as well as a 4x 5 1/4 piece. No room for errors! So I simply cut my 4×5 1/4 piece and made a cut in it at the appropriate spot and flipped the paper over to show the other side. To cover my seam, I elected to insert a small piece of scalloped cardstock. it covers the seam as well as providing a nice clean break between the two patterns.

I inked my feather up with Spring Moss ink and, using my MISTI, stamped onto my cardstock. I then used a sponge dauber to ink the stamp up again with Canyon Clay, stamped, and then inked up again in Soft Suede and just a touch of Blueberry Sky. I love the resulting variegated colors. I had some fibers on my table that I had rejected from yesterday’s card, it turns out that it is a perfect tone for this card so I figured out how to work it in. What do you think of the texture? I love it!!

My sentiment is also from the Fancy Feathers stamp set and has been stamped in Soft Suede ink. What a lovely thought as well as beautiful font!

I found a sentiment from the Inside & Out: Birthday stamp set from Papertrey Ink. I think it works very well with the outer sentiment! A nice card, perhaps masculine? A card for an older gentleman? What do you think?

So are you ready to play along? Be sure to check out the amazing inspiration from the rest of the design team:

The Paper Players Design Team

Products Used:

Cardstock: Fine Linen, Canyon Clay, Spring Moss by Papertrey; Primitive Whte by My Favorite Things

Pattern Paper: Now & Then: Mildred by My Mind’s Eye

Ink: Blueberry Sky, Canyon Clay, Spring Moss by Papertrey Ink; Soft Suede by Stampin’ Up!

Stamps: Fancy Feathers by Clearly Besotted Stamps; Inside & Out: Birthday by Papertrey Ink

Dies: Fancy Feathers by Clearly Besotted Stamps; Femme Frames (for scallop) by Mama Elephant; Stitched Mats: Rectangles by Lil’ Inker; Envelope Liner Die by Stampin’ Up!

Tools: MISTI by My Sweet Petunia

Embellishments: Retired Fiber from Making Memories; Candy Dots by Stampin’ Up!

A Special Get Well Wish

by Shannon Jaramillo // January 23, 2015 // 3 Comments

A few days ago, a question was posed in a Facebook group I am in, asking what Stampin’ Up! ink color did we think we were? Most everyone chose one color, but I just couldn’t. I don’t think I AM just one color so I came up with several. I said Sahara Sand, with pops of Calypso Coral, Pear Pizzazz and So Saffron. Well, the whole thing led me to decide to make a CARD that represents me…so I did!

What do you think? I’m so happy with it I could just pop! We’ve got the Sahara Sand covered with the card base and the sentiment. Large pops of So Saffron and Pear Pizzazz, some Soft Sky for added softness, pops of the bright Calypso Coral and teeny tiny pops of Wisteria Wonder 🙂

I had a friend point out to me recently that I really like flowers, I had never noticed that before but she’s absolutely right!! I use them ALL the time!! I chose this particular set because it is soft and dainty and works perfectly with all of my soft colors. Now, the thing about this stamp is, it’s all one stamp. So how did I color it? With Stampin’ Markers? Nope. For me, Stampin’ Markers don’t work very well on photopolymer stamps. I can never seem to get the ink to spread evenly. So…how DID I do it?

With my favorite new tool, of course!! I positioned my stamp where I wanted it to be on my cardstock (which is Primitive White by the way, to keep the effect soft) and then pulled out my Post-It Notes and got busy masking!! Yes, I masked off for every color, stamped, cleaned it off, repositioned my masks and stamped again. Fast forward about 40 times to finish the card!! Have you ever tried something ridiculous just to prove you could do it? Lol, I am guilty of that here! But I wanted ALL of these colors on my stamp, what’s a girl to DO??? At the very least, it’s a great advertisement for the MISTI! I could never achieve this look without it!!

Once I had the large image stamped, I added bits and pieces from individual stamps to add a bit of color to the top left hand corner. It looked lonely up there ;).

And having stamped the outside, I proceeded to the inside…

These stamps at least are individual, so I just played around until I had a grouping I liked.

From there, I moved on to the envelope….

I know, that’s A LOT of stamping!! I sure was having fun making a ‘ME’ card…and it’s for a very special person. She deserves it and I KNOW she will appreciate it. Can’t say any more than that in case she, by some random fluke, actually reads my blog!

Well, that’s it, me laid out bare for you all to see. Please be gentle with your comments, I’m a delicate flower!! (I’m laughing at myself here because in reality I’m an introvert so unless I’m really working at it, you would never think I’m a delicate flower. Aloof maybe, but NOT delicate!)

I hope you’ve enjoyed my latest endeavor, it’s actually been sitting on my desk for awhile, I’m a bit nervous about sharing so much of me!!!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Today is my every-other-Friday off so I’ve got lots of plans to clean out closets and paint. I don’t know what it is about January that brings this out in me, but I won’t rest properly until it’s done!!

I will be back on Sunday morning with another fun Paper Players challenge!! Can’t wait to share!!

Wishing you joy and blessings!

Products Used:

Cardstock: Rustic White by Papertrey, Sahara Sand, Pear Pizzazz and So Saffron by Stampin’ Up!

Pattern Paper: Blink of an Eye by My Mind’s Eye

Ink: Sahara Sand, Pear Pizzazz, Calypso Coral, Soft Sky and Wisteria Wonder by Stampin’ Up!

Stamps: Embroidered Bouquet by Wplus9, Rustic Wreath and Inside & Out: Healing Touch by Papertrey Ink, Envelope Sentiments by Simon Says Stamp

Dies: Femme Frames by Mama Elephant and Envelope Liner Die by Stampin’ Up!

Tools: MISTI by My Sweet Petunia

Embellishments: Pearl Basic Jewels by Stampin’ Up!