Hippest Hippos for The Paper Players 780

Welcome to a new week at The Paper Players. LeAnne is our hostess this week, with a seasonal theme for us. Many thanks to all of you who played along in Ann's Tic Tac Toe challenge last week - the gallery was awash with wonderful cards!   

Of course, in New Zealand we're heading into autumn but that was not the reason that LeAnne's theme caused me a couple of headaches. The set that I'd been expecting to use - well, turns out that I sold it! And also the next set I went looking for had met the same fate! The cupboard was looking pretty bare now but I did remember that Hippest Hippos (retired) had a rather sweet umbrella in it, so that was what I went for. 😀

  

I decided that it was a good time to have a bit of a farewell to the retiring 2024-2026 In Colors too. I stamped the ballerina Hippo in Tuxedo Black and coloured her with Smoky Slate and Pretty in Pink blends. I die cut the umbrella from Basic Gray, and also from a piece of Pretty in Pink DSP, then paper pieced them together. The ballet skirt is also paper-pieced.

I thought the umbrella gave the idea of showers but it needed something else to suggest spring. So I sponged in a grassy knoll with Shy Shamrock, then die cut some flowers from Petunia Pop and the DSP. Then I die cut some flower centres from Peach Pie and placed them to give her a garden to dance in.

Then I needed a sentiment. The new Delicate Whispers set provided me with a lovely 'Hello Friend' which I stamped in Tuxedo Black. The card base is Petunia Pop, as are the Flat Pearl embellishments. 

If you want to stock up on any of the retiring In Colors: Petunia Pop, Pretty in Pink, Peach Pie, Summer Splash and Shy Shamrock, you'll need to do it fast. Once they're gone, they're gone and the In Color products are usually very popular. 

What's your version of Spring Showers? The team and I would love to see!

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:

1. Create a new paper-craft project specifically for this challenge.
2. Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us.
3. Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge entry.
4. Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL, including ours
5. Have fun, and thank you for playing with us!

Don't forget to check out the great inspiration from the rest of the design team.

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater

Joanne James

Anne Marie Hile (on leave)

Ann Schach

Jan Clothier - You are here

Stef Perry

Christy Stanford

You can stamp with me, and shop with me, from anywhere in New Zealand. Click here.

Help Me Grow for FMS 730

Well, Easter Sunday lunch for the big family is done. The dishes are done. Everyone's gone home. So I made my way to the craft room to play around with this week's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches. Well earned recuperation!

Having recently acquired the Help Me Grow bundle (online exclusive) I'm still in play mode and had yet to do anything with the garden tools stamps and dies. This card is an attempt to remedy that. 😀

I've partially embossed the card front with the Lazy Daisy embossing folder (online exclusive) because it's not only an awesome folder but it fitted the garden theme well too. 

I used the ever-faithful Stylish Shapes dies to create the frames. The foliage - and isn't that a gorgeous piece of foliage - is cut from Soft Sea Foam. The tools have Smoky Slate business ends and Bubble Bath/ Berry Burst handles. I sponged the edges to create some depth around them. 

I used the veggie-row label die to create the 'thanks' and tucked it in among the garden tools. I finished off with some Sparkle Dots.

If you live in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up Demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the Contact Me tab at the top of the page. 

You can stamp with me, and shop with me, from anywhere in New Zealand. Click here.