Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - Season's greetings

Hello, and happy Monday.  Well, it's actually a bittersweet Monday for me, as this is my last post as part of the Paper Smooches SPARKS design team.  Our six month term is up, and the team for the next term has been selected.  I'm excited to see what they come up with, since there are some seriously talented girls on the next team.  But I will really miss being part of the DT.  It has been such a pleasure designing with Kim's stamps and working alongside such creative ladies.  But I'll definitely be playing along with the challenges, and starting up some of my own challenges on the Paper Smooches Flickr fan page (more details to come soon!).  But first, on to this week's challenge!  Being that it's the fourth week of the month...

...that means it's a photo inspiration challenge.  And here is the photo:

I was drawn to the white-matted gray background and the three white utensils with yellow birds on top.  And being that Christmas is coming up, I created this paper yummy:

I used three snowmen and a bird from the Swanky Snowdudes stamp set, and the other two birds are from Chilly Chums and Santa Paws.  The sentiment is from Christmas Sampler, and I double-stamped it in black and red for a different look.  Here are some other views:

I'm super excited to see how other people are inspired by this photo!  I really hope you'll play along.  You have until Sunday, November 4th at 11:59 pm EST to do so (it's a 2-weeker!).  You can play along with the challenge here.  The winner will receive a $30 credit to the Paper Smooches store!!  And don't forget the check out the rest of Team 2's wonderful creations, and give em' some love!

Angeline

Erica

Jackie

Savannah

Thanks so much for looking!

Supplies: cardstock: Copic X-Press Blending card (white), Recollections (gray); stamps: Paper Smooches; ink: Tsukineko (black), TPC Studio (red); markers, black pen: Copic; white pen: Uniball Signo; glitter glue: Stickles by Ranger

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - Let's be merry

Happy Monday!  I hope everybody had a wonderful weekend and a great World Card Making Day!  I know I sure did.  I got to sit down and make a few cards, and even had a friend stop by and make one with me.  I played along with the challenges over at the Paper Smooches Blog.  And speaking of Paper Smooches, let's get to the SPARKS challenge for this week!  Since it's the second week of the month, that means...

...yep - it's a sketch challenge!  And here is the sketch we're working with this week:

And I think I've probably said this about every single other sketch that Kim has given us during this design team term, but this sketch truly challenged me.  I struggled with it for the longest time.  But as soon as my brain stopped seeing a big ol' arrow head, but rather 4 triangles at the bottom of the sketch, I had an idea!  And I paired that idea with the new (adorable) Chilly Chums set to create this paper yummy:

I would have NEVER thought to do something like this on a card, and that's why I love Kim Hughes and her sketches. And her stamps.  I started off by cutting a piece of cardstock down to 2.25" x 4.25".  Since, in the sketch, the square on the right (below the word) looks just slightly wider than the square on the left, I cut the cardstock so that I had two pieces: one a 2.25" x 2.25" square, and the other a 2'"x 2.25" rectangle (the difference is pretty subtle).  Then I cut each of those directly in half, diagonally, to create a total of 4 triangles.  I stamped each triangle with the little hat (also from Chilly Chums), then masked it and stamped the adorable animals over the mask.  I colored them in with Copic markers, then positioned them onto my patterned paper so that there was just a slight gap in between each one.  I stamped a sentiment from the Christmas Sampler set (which I'm really loving!) onto some candy cane striped patterned paper, and rounded the top corners.  I stitched around the edges of all the chums, and between each lil' guy as well.  I added some baker's twine to represent the vertical line in the sketch, and finished off the card with Stickles on the hat trims and Glossy Accents on the eyes and beak.  I LOVE THIS CARD!  I think it's so different, and what's not to love about those cute little faces looking back at you?!?  Here are a couple close-ups of the chums:

EEK!  I love those faces!  I'm super excited to see how other people are inspired by this sketch!  I really hope you'll play along.  You have until next Sunday, October 14th at 11:59 pm EST to do so.  You can play along with the challenge here.  The winner will receive a $30 credit to the Paper Smooches store!!  And don't forget the check out the rest of Team 2's wonderful creations, and give em' some love!

Angeline

Erica

Jackie

Savannah

Thanks so much for looking!

Supplies: card base: The Paper Studio (kraft); cardstock: Copic X-press It Blending Card (white); patterned papers: Lawn Fawn (yellow, green), My Mind's Eye (red); stamps: Paper Smooches (Chilly Chums, Christmas Sampler); ink: Tsukineko; markers: Copic; Stickles glitter glue, Glossy Accents: Ranger; corner rounder, hole punch: We R Memory Keepers; sewing machine: Kenmore; quilting thread: Americana; stapler/staples: Ranger (Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher); baker's twine: Divine Twine

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - Thanks

Hello, and happy Monday!  I hope everybody had a great weekend.  Starting tomorrow, I have another six days off work, so yay for that!  But first, I'm bringing you the new Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge for this week!  Yippee!!  Since it's the fourth week of the month, you know what that means:

Yep, it's a photo inspiration challenge.  And here is the lovely inspiration photo for this week:

I just love the soothing feel of this room, from the pale robin's egg blue walls to the crisp white trims, then that POP of green apples and those yummy apothecary jars.  Swoon!  Those are the elements I was inspired by to create this paper yummy:

First I used a stamp from the Potpourri set to create the background.  I stamped it repeatedly onto a diagonal striped patterned paper by My Mind's Eye.  Then I traced and cut an oval from white cardstock to mimic the white oval mirror in the photo.  I used the straight line stamp from Hullaballoo to create the "shelf", then used the test tubes/beakers from the Great Chemistry set for the "vases":

I used a tiny heart and a flower from Hubby and Wifey on the middle vase, then finished with more flowers, leaves, and the sentiment from the Daisies & Paisleys set.  I colored in the images with Copic and Prismacolor markers.  I added a cute green gingham ribbon, and voila:

How are you inspired by this week's challenge?  I'm really excited to see how other people interpret this photo!  You can play along with the challenge here. You have until Sunday, September 30th at 11:59 PM EST to play along.  The winner will receive a $30 credit to the Paper Smooches store!!  And don't forget the check out the rest of Team 2's wonderful creations, and give em' some love!

Angeline

Erica

Jackie

Savannah

Thanks so much for looking! 

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific; patterned paper: My Mind's Eye; stamps: Paper Smooches (Potpourri, Great Chemistry, Hubby and Wifey, Hullaballoo, Daisies & Paisleys); inks: Hero Arts (blue), Tsukineko (black); markers: Copic, Prismacolor; ribbon: American Crafts

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - School is cool

Happy Monday to all!  I just got off work this morning, and have the next six days off!  Yay!  I have the best schedule ever!  I plan to do a TON of crafting and get caught up on several projects.  But first, I'm comin' at ya' with the new Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge!  Since it's the second week of the month, that means...

...it's a sketch challenge!  As I've said many times, these have been some of my favorite challenges since joining the SPARKS design team.  And this week's sketch is no exception, it's another great one that got me thinking.  Here is the sketch:

And here are the paper yummies:

As the sketch lends itself to a CAS style, I decided to stay true to that.  I thought the vertical element in the sketch looked like a giant pencil, so I used the sketch for a back to school card.  To create the pencil, I cut a piece of yellow cardstock to the size I wanted, then scored two vertical lines to mimic the barrel of a wooden pencil.  Then I repeatedly stamped the awesome chevron from Geo-Graphic in a yellow ink.  I cut a piece of pink patterned paper, and rounded the bottom corners for the eraser.  For the "metal" part, I cut down a scrap of kraft cardstock, but any color would work.  I covered it with Versamark ink, then embossed it with metallic pewter embossing powder.  Once I had the metal look I wanted, I ran the piece through my paper crimper.  I created the sentiment using the Alphadot set:

For the circular element in the sketch, I punched a hole in my ledger background paper to make it look like it was notebook paper.  I used a little ribbon scrap and a tiny staple to finish off the card.  It doesn't really translate in the photo, but I used a strip of foam tape down only the middle of the pencil, and adhered the left and right sides down flat.  Here's a close-up of the "metal" crimping:

 

How are you inspired by this week's challenge?  I'm really excited to see how other people interpret this sketch!  You can play along with the challenge here. You have until Sunday, September 16th at 11:59 PM EST to play along.  The winner will receive a $30 credit to the Paper Smooches store!!  And don't forget the check out the rest of Team 2's wonderful creations, and give em' some love!

Angeline

Erica

Jackie

Savannah

Thanks so much for looking! 

 

Supplies: cardstock: Core'dinations (kraft, yellow); patterned papers: Echo Park (dot, ledger); stamps: Paper Smooches (Alphadot, Geo-Graphic); inks: TPC Studio (turquoise, yellow), Tsukineko (Versamark); embossing powder: American Crafts; punches: We R Memory Keepers (corner rounder), Hampton Art (circle); ribbon: The Ribbon Boutique; stapler: Ranger

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - You're groovy!

Happy Monday to all!  I hope everybody had a great weekend.  I'm back today with the new Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge for this week!  YAY!!  Since it's the fourth week of the month, you know what that means:

Yep, it's a photo inspiration challenge.  And here is the very cool inspiration photo for this week:

Isn't that just the funkiest sofa ever?  It really threw me for a loop as to how to translate it into a card.  I definitely stepped outside my comfort zone to create this paper yummy:

So I'm not sure that I really channeled the sofa in my card, but I think it's pretty darn funky too.  I used the rounded rectangles stamp from the Spiffy Scooters set and stamped it multiple times to create the background.  Then I colored them all in with Copics, trying to simulate the general location of the colors in the sofa.  I created the sentiment using the Graffiti set, and finished it off with a flower from Qwick Qwips and a lil' rhinestone.  Here are some more views:

How are you inspired by this week's challenge?  I'm really excited to see how other people interpret this photo!  You can play along with the challenge here. You have until Sunday, September 2nd at 11:59 PM EST to play along.  The winner will receive a $30 credit to the Paper Smooches store!!  And don't forget the check out the rest of Team 2's wonderful creations, and give em' some love!

Angeline

Erica

Jackie

Savannah

Thanks so much for looking! 

Supplies: cardstock: Recollections (black, kraft), Copic (white); stamps: Paper Smooches; inks: Tsukineko (black), TPC Studio (red); markers: Copic; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers; rhinestone: craft supply; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - Hey diddle diddle

Happy Monday, everybody!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Today I have a card for this week's Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge.  Since it's the second week of the month, that means it's time for a designer drafts challenge:

Yep, it's another one of Kim's awesome sketches.  And like I've said before, these sketches have truly challenged me.  But from every challenging sketch has come a card I've been really happy with. And this sketch is no exception.  Here's the sketch:

See, those curved lines just messed with me. My brain wants them to have a purpose, and not just serve as an arbitrary place to change patterned papers or something like that.  I need to have a reason to have something shaped like that on my card.  Dumb, I know, but that's just how my brain works.  So after looking at that sketch for a while, it hit me: those two curvy lines create a shape that looks like a crescent moon.  Then I had the perfect idea for this paper yummy:

 I used that crescent moon to make a baby card based on the nursery rhyme "Hey, diddle diddle."  You know, the part where "the cow jumped over the moon."  I free-hand drew the moon, cut it out of the yellow gingham paper, and stitched around the edges.  I stamped the cow from the Green Acres set onto white cardstock, masking the legs when I inked it so that I could stamp them at an angle to make it look more like the cow was jumping.  After I colored it in, I fussy-cut around it, and boy is that tale skinny!  I stuck the back legs and udders behind the moon, and the front legs on top of the moon.  I adhered the back of the cow down flat to the card, and used foam tape under his face:

I stamped a star from the Space Cadet set onto the blue patterned paper, and drew in a line to make it "hang" from the moon. I used the Alphadot and Graffiti sets to create my sentiment.  I was inspired by this post by Kim Hughes herself where she encouraged us to use stamps in different ways. To create the "Hey", I used the A from Graffiti, but masked off the top part to turn it into an H.  The y is a lower case h turned upside down.  I ruffled some gingham ribbon and hot-glued it around the edge of the blue paper.  I finished off the card with a button and some twine:

I'm really excited to see how other people interpret and use this sketch!  You can play along with the challenge here.  You have until next Sunday, August 19th at 11:59 PM EST to play along.  The winner will receive a $30 credit to the Paper Smooches store!!  And don't forget the check out the rest of Team 2's wonderful creations, and give em' some love!

Angeline

Erica

Jackie

Savannah

Thanks so much for looking!  Now get busy with that sketch! :)

Supplies: cardstock: Core'dinations (kraft) Georgia Pacific (white for stamping); patterned papers: My Mind's Eye; stamps: Paper Smooches; ink: Tsukineko; markers, black pen: Copic; ribbon: American Crafts; button, twine: craft supply; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Coats & Clark (yellow), Singer (white)

Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge - You're out of this world!

Happy Monday, everybody!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Today I have a card for this week's Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge.  Since it's the second week of the month, that means it's time for a designer drafts challenge:

Yep, it's another one of Kim's awesome sketches.  I'm tellin' ya, these sketches have been some of the most challenging sketches I've done.  They're not your typical straight-lines-and-shaped-elements type sketches.  She's really left a lot to interpretation, and thrown in things that "scare" me: diagonal lines, curved lines, asymmetrical elements, etc.  And I've created some of my FAVORITE cards by using her sketches!  And this week is no different.  Here's the sketch:

Since I tend to follow sketches pretty literally, that curved line was really throwing me for a loop.  I didn't know what to make of that for the longest time.  And then, Kim Hughes to the rescue!  My problem was solved with the July Paper Smooches stamp release.  The new set Space Cadet set gave me the idea to create this paper yummy:

I stamped the rocket ship onto white cardstock, stamped the flame coming out the bottom, then repeated the flame using generational stamping. I had never really used that technique before to depict movement or distance, and I'm thrilled with the way it turned out:

I masked the rocket, then stamped one of the aliens "inside" the ship.  I colored everything in using Prismacolor markers.  I added Glossy Accents to the window to make it look like a bubble window:

I used some Core'dinations cardstock to create my moon, and sanded it to give it some color variation.  Then I used the champagne bubbles and wedding band stamps from the Hubby and Wifey set, and the solid circle stamp from Metropolis to create "craters" on the moon.  I also used Metropolis for the small white stars on the black cardstock.  I finished off the card with a sentiment strip I created using Space Cadet and Alphadot:

I'm really excited to see how other people interpret and use this sketch!  You can play along with the challenge here.  You have until next Sunday, July 15th at 11:59 PM EST to play along.  The winner will receive a $30 credit to the Paper Smooches store!!  And don't forget the check out the rest of Team 2's wonderful creations, and give em' some love!

Angeline

Erica

Jackie

Savannah

Thanks so much for looking!  Now get busy with that sketch! :)

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific (white), Recollections (black), Core'dinations (yellow-orange); patterned paper: Echo Park; stamps: Paper Smooches (Space Cadet, Hubby & Wifey, Metropolis, Alphadot); inks: Tsukineko (black), ClearSnap (ochre), Joann (white); markers: Prismacolor; glitter glue, Glossy Accents: Ranger; corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers; sanding block: Making Memories; white gel pen: Signo Uniball 

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - HELLO SUMMER!

Happy Monday to all!  I hope everybody had a fantastic summery weekend.  It sure is hot here, but we might be getting a little rain today and tomorrow.  I don't love too many things about summer in Arizona, but one thing I do love is our monsoon season.  The smell of rain on the desert is one of my summer faves... and speaking of summer, let's talk about the Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge for this week!  YAY!!  Since it's the fourth week of the month, that means

Yep, it's a photo inspiration challenge.  And this photo just SCREAMS summer to me:

I love that cool tiered tray with the red and white checked tissue paper, and those de-freaking-licious looking cupcakes with the flags are too cute for words (and I'd like to eat all of them. Right now).  That scrumptious photo inspired this paper yummy:

Another thing that screams summer to me is this paper line by Simple Stories.  LOVE IT!  I couldn't NOT use it on this card, especially since they included that awesome red gingham patterned paper!  I used a little journaling card from the 6x6 pad, that already said "HELLO SUMMER!", and based my card around that.  One of the flags from the Paper Smooches Circle of Honor set fit perfectly around that sentiment.  I used a ruler and a pen to draw in the "toothpick" that sticks into the cupcake (from Yummers).  I paper-pieced the cupcake wrapper with the gingham paper, and paper-pieced the icing with some text patterned paper, to which I added some sprinkles:

 
I added a little ribbon tab and a button with brads through the holes to balance out the card a little bit:

I used the chevron stamp from the Geo-Graphic set and some Versamark ink to add some subtle detail to the navy paper:

I'm really excited to see how other people interpret this photo!  You can play along with the challenge here. You have until next Sunday, July 1 at 11:59 PM EST to play along.  The winner will receive a $30 credit to the Paper Smooches store!!  And don't forget the check out the rest of Team 2's wonderful creations, and give em' some love!

Angeline

Erica

Jackie

Savannah

Thanks so much for looking! 

Supplies: card base: Recollections; cardstock: Core'dinations (kraft); patterned paper: Simple Stories; stamps: Paper Smooches; inks: Tsukineko (Onyx Black, watermark); ribbon: Michael's; button: craft supply; brads: American Crafts; black pen: K & Company; glitter glue: Ranger

Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge - Squeal!

Happy Monday, everybody!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Today I have a card for this week's Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge.  Since it's the second week of the month, that means it's time for a designer drafts challenge:

Here is the awesome sketch Kim designed for us this week:

I thought this was a pretty fun sketch to work with.  I wanted to use some of the super cute stamps from the Paper Smooches June release to make a baby card.  Now for the paper yummies:

I stamped and paper-pieced the adorable little piggy from the new Green Acres set, and used the "squeal" from the same set.  Then I used another sentiment from the Pip Squeaks set below that.  I used patterned papers from the new Echo Park Sweet Day collection.  I fussy-cut this banner from one of the patterned papers, and stitched across the top of it and around the orange paper:

I finished off the card with some twine and a button:

I'm really excited to see how other people interpret and use this sketch!  You can play along with the challenge here.  You have until next Sunday, June 17th at 11:59 PM EST to play along.  The winner will receive a $30 credit to the Paper Smooches store!!  And don't forget the check out the rest of Team 2's wonderful creations, and give em' some love!

Angeline

Erica

Jackie

Savannah

Thanks so much for looking!  Now get busy with that sketch! :)

Supplies: card base: Recollections; patterned paper: Echo Park; stamps: Paper Smooches; ink: Tsukineko; twine: Offray; button: craft supply; sewing machine: Kenmore; thread: Singer

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - just a note

Happy Memorial Day!  I hope everybody is having a safe and enjoyable long weekend.  Today kicks off a new Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge.  And since it's the 4th week of the month, the theme is:

That's right - it's a photo inspiration challenge!  And here is the inspiration:

This photo really threw me for a loop.  I've been thinking about this one for weeks, and nothing really "clicked".  I was inspired buy that cool blue piano, but wasn't sure how to translate that to paper.  I wanted to mimic the piano keys, so I got a little creative with my stamps to make this paper yummy:

I used two of the banner stamps from Circle of Honor to create the piano keys, and I think it turned out pretty darn cool!  I had this idea in my head for awhile, but I was totally lost on the sentiment.  Then my friend Laura said "how about 'just a note'?"  She's some kind of genious.  It's so simple, and so perfect!  I used the Alphadot set to create the sentiment.  Since I don't have a PS set with a music note on it, I also used Alphadot to create the music notes.  They were a combination of letters, numbers, and dots.  I finished off the card with some baker's twine and an orange button:

I'm really excited to see how other people interpret this photo!  You can play along with the challenge here. You have until next Sunday, June 3 at 11:59 PM EST to play along.  The winner will receive a $30 credit to the Paper Smooches store!!  And don't forget the check out the rest of Team 2's wonderful creations, and give em' some love!

Angeline

Erica

Jackie

Savannah

Thanks so much for looking! 

Supplies: cardstock: Georgia Pacific; patterned paper: KI Memories; stamps: Paper Smooches; inks: Ranger (piano keys), Tsukineko (Onyx Black for sentiment, watermark for music notes); baker's twine: Divine Twine; button: craft supply; black pen: K & Company