Branching Out for Paper Players 765

Thanks for joining me for a new challenge at The Paper Players. Thanks to everyone who played along with Stef's CAS Christmas Challenge. There were some really clever and beautiful CAS creations. This week, Ann is our hostess and she has a sketch for us.  

Unlike some people who start on their Christmas cards really early, I just can't quite get in the mood until at least late October and more likely, November. So I took the chance to get another one done with this sketch.

I started by cutting a pair of the labels, one from gold foil and the other from Modern Christmas DSP, using the dies from Branching Out. After layering them up, I cut them into 3 even pieces. These were attached to the card front which had been embossed with the Beautiful Pattern embossing folder. 

This was attached to a Basic Black standard card base. 

The sentiment is from the Traditional Labels stamp set and cut using Stylish Shapes.

The festive cluster is cut using the Branching Out dies in Shaded Spruce, Cherry Cobbler and Gold Foil.

I finished off with a trio of Traditional Sparkling Sequins in red. 

Where will Ann's sketch lead you?

 You can see what the rest of the team have done and link up your entry on The Paper Players page. 

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

Eliz Stewart

Christy Stanford

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

Branching Out for Freshly Made Sketches 713

I do love a sketch! So it was with great pleasure that I sat down to play with the latest one from Freshly Made Sketches.

Since I can never hit Christmas Card mode until at least late October, I let this sketch help me out in that department!

I started by using one of the label dies from Branching Out as the rectangular element of the sketch. Hoping to create something of a rustic mood, I used a piece of DSP from Country Woods - probably my all-time favourite DSP. 

To pick out the dark wood, I used an Early Espresso card base. The card front is embossed using the Exposed Brick folder - another favourite. 

To create the Christmas cluster, I used the Branching Out dies again with Shaded Spruce, Cherry Cobbler, gold foil and a touch of Early Espresso. For a bundle that's not even overtly Christmas, this set has become my go-to this holiday season. 

And the reason I don't consider Branching Out to be a Christmas set is that there aren't any Christmas greetings amongst the several great ones on offer. So I borrowed a sentiment from Joyful Tidings, stamped in Early Espresso and cut with another favourite - Stylish Shapes.  This card is turning out to be a paean to my favourite products!

Finishing touch - a trio of Traditional Sparkling sequins in gold. (Yes, my favourite embellishment of this season too!)

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.

 

Holly Jolly Christmas for Stampin' Fancy Friday

This month at Stampin' Fancy Friday, our inspiration is 'Holly Jolly Christmas'. We were encouraged to make a Christmas card with any Stampin' Up! product. 

The team at Stampin' Fancy Friday don't blog hop but we do a daily inspiration post on Instagram (and Facebook). The team at Stampin' Fancy Friday are all current or past members of Stampin' Up!'s Artisan Design Team, so it really is a great place to pick up ideas or recharge your creative mojo. 

Follow @stampinfancyfriday if you don't already or visit the Facebook page. 😀

To me, the most beautiful Christmas product is the Traditions of Christmas DSP, followed by the Branching Out bundle. Naturally, this card uses both. Best of all, it's really very easy to make. 

I started with a standard Cherry Cobbler base and added a piece of the gorgeous red and gold DSP. 

I used the stitched labels from Branching Out to cut one label in Gold Foil and one size smaller in Basic White.

The sentiment is from Ornamental Christmas and is heat embossed. In the top left corner, I've added some splatter stamping in Crushed Curry and sponged a little Crushed Curry with a blending brush to give a background for my tree bough. Using the Branching Out dies I've cut some pine boughs in Old Olive then added some extra Old Olive ink to the tips. I've cut some berries in Cherry Cobbler and some dinky little pine cones from gold foil. Then I arranged them in a pleasing manner in the top corner, popping the pinecones up on dimensionals for some extra lift. 

Finishing touches were to add a double bow made with the White and Gold Baker's Twine and a trio of Flower Accents around the sentiment. 

Don't forget to follow @stampinfancyfriday on Instagram, or Stampin' Fancy Friday on Facebook, for more daily ideas.

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 shop with me from anywhere in New Zealand by clicking here. 

Branching Out for Colour INKspiration 198

Welcome to the 198th challenge at Colour INKspiration. This challenge runs for nearly three weeks and will finish on Monday November 10, 7pm AEST.

This colour palette was chosen for us by Crew Member Alisa Tilsner.

If you haven't played with us before, we are a group of Stampin' Up Demonstrators from the South Pacific. Challenges are shown and entered via our Facebook Group page. If you don't belong, and would like to, click here. Don't forget to answer the three easy questions you'll be asked when you ask to join the group.

Each challenge, Top Picks and a winner are chosen by the crew and the winner offered a chance to Guest Design with us for a future challenge. We welcome Jenny Engelke as our Guest Designer for this challenge.

If you don't have an exact challenge colour, feel free to replace it with whatever you have that's closest, for example Cherry Cobbler for Real Red. Black, White, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Basic Beige and metallics are free colours, as are flesh-toned Stampin' Blends.

While these colours didn't immediately speak to me of Christmas, the graphic did. It was a great chance to play around with an idea I had for the Branching Out bundle. I had wondered whether the pine needle stamp might work as Pohutukawa blooms for a New Zealand Christmas vibe. 

The pohutukawa is often called the New Zealand Christmas tree as it blooms with red over the Christmas season in coastal areas, making a really festive display. The idea of the beach worked well with the Pool Party and Coastal Cabana - and of course, the beach is a popular Christmas/New Year location for many kiwi families.

I started by cutting a Very Vanilla label from the Branching Out dies and a slightly larger one in Real Red. On the vanilla, I stamped in some branches in Crumb Cake, added in some 'blossom' in Real Red and some Coastal Cabana splats to suggest sea spray.

I sponged some Pool Party ink behind the blooms to create the impression of the ocean being glimpsed through the branches. 

I love the gold embossed sentiment which is from Ornamental Christmas. To bring in more gold, I die cut some of the leafy vines from Branching Out and used them like ribbon to draw the eye to the sentiment. I used some of the gold Sparkling Sequins, although I almost used the Pool Party ones instead. 

The card base and front are Coastal Cabana - such a gorgeous colour - and I've embossed the front with the new Online Exclusive folder, Beautiful Pattern.

You can see what the rest of the Design Team have done with these colours in the Crew Inspiration Album on the Colour INKspiration Challenge Facebook page.

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.

 

Delightful Wishes meets Branching Out for AYSI 359

 Hello and welcome to a new challenge at As You See It. It's recipe week and Deborah has given us these five ingredients to cook with: Flowers, Frame, Happy Sentiment, Dies or Punches, Shades of Orange. You're free to add any other ingredients from your pantry to the recipe. 

Ahh, so many choices to make for this one! 

Did shades of orange mean I couldn't use any green? My self-appointed answer was that green came under the heading of 'other pantry ingredients' so as long as it was mostly orange, that was ok. 

What counts as a shade of orange? I dragged out all the ink pads that matched and came up with Cajun Craze, Peach Pie, Timid Tiger, Pumpkin Pie and Calypso Coral.

What stamp set to use? Well, I went with the Delightful Wishes bundle since it hadn't seen any love lately but paired it up with the new Branching Out bundle for dies and sentiment.

In keeping with the shades of orange, I used Very Vanilla for the card front and frame interior as it added further warmth.

The five recipe ingredients?

1. The Frame - made using the Branching Out dies.

2. Flowers - the blossoms from Delightful Wishes.

3. Happy sentiment - "Happiest Birthday Wishes" from Branching Out

4. Die Cut - the frame, the flowers, leaves and branch.

5. Shades of Orange - Cajun Craze, Timid Tiger, Peach Pie

What can you cook up with these five ingredients? Visit the As You See It page to link up your entry and to see the rest of the team's inspirations.

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.

Branching Out for Colour INKspiration 196

Welcome to the 196th challenge at Colour INKspiration. This challenge runs for nearly two weeks and will finish on Monday October 7, 7pm AEST.

This colour palette was chosen for us by Crew Member, Lou Kitzelman. 

If you haven't played with us before, we are a group of Stampin' Up Demonstrators from the South Pacific. Challenges are shown and entered via our Facebook Group page. If you don't belong, and would like to, click here. Don't forget to answer the three easy questions you'll be asked when you ask to join the group.

Each challenge, Top Picks and a winner are chosen by the crew and the winner offered a chance to Guest Design with us for a future challenge. We welcome Mariel Altamirano as our Guest Designer for this challenge.

If you don't have an exact challenge colour, feel free to replace it with whatever you have that's closest, for example Smoky Slate for Gray Granite. Black, White, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Basic Beige and metallics are free colours, as are flesh-toned Stampin' Blends.

I used these colours to play with a new bundle from the September-December Mini Catalogue, which is now available. Branching Out is an interesting bundle. There's all kinds of branches and cones and berries to let you build your own tree as well as a good mix of sentiments, yet it can also easily be a Christmas set too.

This card grew as it went along. I started with a piece of DSP from Woven Textures that used Gray Granite. While thinking on how I might use it, I decided to stamp the design directly onto the paper. After stamping the branch in Early Espresso, I added some pine boughs in Shy Shamrock and Summer Splash. The I stamped some background splatter in Gray Granite using the berry die and the pollen die. Then I stamped in some pinecones in Early Espresso. 

With the background work done, I die cut some pine boughs in Summer Splash, some berries in Shy Shamrock and some pinecones in Early Espresso. I arranged these around where I wanted the sentiment to go. The greenery got a coat of Wink of Stella for a bit of shine.

The sentiment is stamped in Early Espresso and cut with a die from Nested Essentials. The finishing touch was the addition of some Flat Pearls in Shy Shamrock and Summer Splash.

You can see what the rest of the Design Team have done with these colours in the Crew Inspiration Album on the Colour INKspiration Challenge Facebook page.

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.

 

Branching Out for Colour INKspiration 195

 

Welcome to the 195th challenge at Colour INKspiration. This challenge runs for nearly two weeks and will finish on Monday September 22, 7pm AEST.

This colour palette was chosen for us by Crew Member, Monica Formosa. 

If you haven't played with us before, we are a group of Stampin' Up Demonstrators from the South Pacific. Challenges are shown and entered via our Facebook Group page. If you don't belong, and would like to, click here. Don't forget to answer the three easy questions you'll be asked when you ask to join the group.

Each challenge, Top Picks and a winner are chosen by the crew and the winner offered a chance to Guest Design with us for a future challenge. We welcome Petra Noeth as our Guest Designer for this challenge.

If you don't have an exact challenge colour, feel free to replace it with whatever you have that's closest, for example Gray Granite for Smoky Slate. Black, White, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Basic Beige and metallics are free colours, as are flesh-toned Stampin' Blends.

I used these colours to play with a new bundle from the September-December Mini Catalogue, which is now available. Branching Out is an interesting bundle. There's all kinds of branches and cones and berries to let you build your own tree as well as a good mix of sentiments, yet it can also easily be a Christmas set too.

After creating the trees and berries scene, and sponging the corner with some Crushed Curry ink, I cut the label using the stitched edge dies that are part of the set. I cut a larger one in Smoky Slate to layer with. 

I added the birthday sentiment - also from the set - and added three gold Flower Accents as embellishment. The Basic Black card front was embossed with the Joined Together embossing folder. 

You can see what the rest of the Design Team have done with these colours in the Crew Inspiration Album on the Colour INKspiration Challenge Facebook page.

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.

Branching Out for Paper Players 752

How lovely it was to see all the Clean and Simple Critter cards in Elizabeth's gallery last week! So much creativity! This week at The Paper Players, Jay Dee is our hostess and she's given us this super sketch to inspire us. 

It's no secret that sketch challenges are my favourites and this one is great. As my preorder for the September- December Mini catalogue had arrived, it seemed the perfect chance to try out something new. 

I've used the new Branching Out bundle. This set has branches, cones and various bits to create a tree scene of your own design as well as a good range of sentiments that cover many occasions. The dies contain some pine-related bits but the bulk of the die package is a layered set of stitched edged labels. 

I've used two of these new label dies to create the central cartouche. Although the set doesn't have any overtly Christmas sentiments, with these pines it would be easy to add one and quickly switch this into a Christmas card. 

I've used the Joined Together 3D embossing folder, split into two panels for the background. I think that, together with the pines, there's a hint of Oriental in this set too. 

I did add in a horizontal of Linen Thread and a bow which are additional to Jay Dee's sketch. The embellishments are Flower Accents and add a wee touch of luxury. 

What will you do with Jaydee's sketch? You can see what the rest of the team have done and link up your entry on The Paper Players page. 

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

Eliz Stewart

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.