Paper Smooches Guest Designer - Go Fish...

Had so much fun playing with Paper Smooches stamps and dies with a sketch from Let's Get Sketchy!

Created the watercolour background behind the photo using teal Glimmermist and green Twinkling H2O, overstamped with Paper Smooches Happy Travels sentiment. Die cut Large Wood Sign, stamped with Happy Travels sentiment and die cut Happy Camper bear, also overstamped and fussy cut. Papers are a combination of Echo Park and Simple Stories, with American Crafts and Scenic Route chipboard alphabets for the title. 

Playing along with Shopping Our Stash "Anything but a Card" challenge too 
- although the stamps and dies are brand spanking new, the Scenic Route letters are so old the company is out of business!!
Playing along with Hanna and Friends "Everything Except the Card" too, as this Paper Smooches bear has to be one of the cutest bears I know!

Paper Smooches Guest Design - 3D Faux Metal Photo Frame

Thought I'd try something a bit different for my Guest Designer spot at Paper Smooches this week, and created a 3D faux metal photo frame using Paper Smooches diecuts. If you hurry you can still join in the fun @ Paper Smooches June Guest Designer search today!

My project started out with a chipboard photo frame base covered in heavy black gesso (watered down slightly), and layered this with a selection of Paper Smooches Hugs and Kisses, Smooches and Hearts diecuts in black cardstock. Once the base layer dried, I added a top layer of heavy black gesso over the diecuts (see photo below).

Once the gesso dried completely, I mixed some transparent soft matte gel together with Mica Powder, one lot in Black Cherry, and a second in Copper. I dipped a soft brush in the soft matte gel mix, brushed off most of the colour on a wet wipe so there was only a tiny amount of the soft matte gel mix on the brush, which was then lightly applied over the photo frame - almost like you apply blush when you are doing your makeup! It is important to add only a little at a time and I find it useful to keep the brush strokes on a diagonal to the project i.e. first layer from the top right hand corner towards the bottom left hand corner next layer from the top left hand corner towards the bottom right hand corner and so on.   

Playing along with {PIN}spirational Challenge #165,

Through the Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge,

Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies 

Paper Minutes Hearts Challenge too!

 

P.S. Adventure Awaits @ FUSION

This fortnights fabulous FUSION inspired this super cute nautical themed card. First stamped watercolour paper with Paper Smooches Wicked Nauticool waves and Summer Groves clouds in Versamark Watermark ink and heat embossed in clear. Added water base then coloured with Twinkling H2Os. Added paper pieced Paper Smooches Wicked Nauticool yacht and Polaroid die cut, stamped with Happy Travels "Adventure Awaits" sentiment, topped with Studio Calico wood veneer anchor.

This month at FUSION we are also lucky enough to be joined by special Guest Designer, Cris G so make sure you stop by for some extra fabulous inspiration from Cris and the FUSION team!

Betty J - Jeanne Jachna - Julia Aston - Katie Brooks

Karren J - Kimberly Wiener - Lynn Mangan - Michelle Folland

Michelle Lupton - Sandie Munro - Stephanie Severin

I would LOVE if you could join in the fun @ FUSION too!

Playing along with Color Throwdown,

CAS Mix Up and Simon Says Stamp Monday Emboss It challenges too!

Paper Smooches Guest Designer - Bear Hugs!

I just LOVE this super cute Paper Smooches bear, coloured with Copics, he looks like he's just woken up from hibernation! With this month's new release at Paper Smooches, now he has his very own die cut, so he can stand out even more! Created using Paper Smooches Happy Camper stamps and die cuts, together with this fabulous new Paper Smooches Hugs & Kisses sentiment die cut. The super gorgeous Tag Stitched and Hearts Dies die cuts are Paper Smooches too! 

Remember you still have time to hop on over to the Paper Smooches blog and enter to be a Paper Smooches Guest Designer too!

Inspired by this fabulous CAS(E) this Sketch!

 

Paper Smooches Guest Designer Shaker Style...

So super excited to have been invited to be Guest Designer over at Paper Smooches this month!! I just LOVE playing with their fabulous stamps and die cuts and this months release is no exception! If you want a chance to join in the fun, hop on over to Paper Smooches blog for your chance to be a Guest Designer for June.

Created this super cute hot lips shaker using the fabulous Paper Smooches Hugs & Kisses die and Smooches. Created the shaker box by die cutting the Paper Smooches Polaroid in red cardstock, then added a clear layer of acetate before backing with another Polaroid die cut from foam sheet, then filled with cardstock hotlips!

Had super fun playing with the Paper Smooches Smooches stamp set from last months Thanks a Million stamp set, coordinated with the super Paper Smooches die cut Smooches lips and sentiment.

Playing along with AAA Cards CAS Shaker too!

 

Another Year Wiser with FUSION...

Super fun with this fortnight's FUSION. Love this gorgeous FUSION inspiration photo, perfect for paper piecing with Paper Smooches cutie Hooties owl. Mixed and matched with Paper Smooches alphabet sets, Graffiti, Alphadot and Mini Monograms, with a Whimsical branch. Couldn't resist using the "Accomplished" dictionary page as a background. I keep thinking this would make a super cool card with a diagonal pocket to slip an owl bookmark into!

Can't wait to see how you are inspired by FUSION too!

This month we are also lucky enough to be joined by special Guest Designer, Kate Lorenzini of Pinned and Penned, so make sure you stop by for some extra fabulous inspiration from Kate and the team!

Betty J - Deanne K - Jeanne Jachna - Julia Aston - Katie Brooks

Karren J - Kimberly Wiener - Lynn Mangan - Michelle Folland

Michelle Lupton - Sandie Munro - Shannon Jaramillo - Stephanie Severin

DD is already in Paris, and we will be joining her there soon, so may be a little more quiet than usual here, depending on internet access!

Paper Smooches March Challenge Birthdays and
Seize the Birthday The Great Divide

PS It's FUSION Time...

Time for another fabulous fortnight of FUSION inspiration!

I have to say this fortnight I was inspired by the super cute stacked pumpkins - reminded me of a mini snowman! So I interpreted the wavy sketch lines as huge snowdrifts and paper pieced my Paper Smooches Freezy Fellas snowman with an extra warm scarf and beanie, topped off with a nine carrot nose (pun intended!). Paper Smooches Christmas Words sentiment is die cut from sparkly gold glitter paper, and golden bokeh snow background paper is from Websters.

As usual, you can play along with FUSION using either this gorgeous photo inspiration, or this fabulously versatile sketch, or a combination of both.

Pop on by the Design Team blogs for some more super FUSION inspiration:

Betty J - Brandi Hall - Deanne K - Jeanne Jachna - Julia Aston - Katie Brooks

Karren J - Kimberly Wiener - Lynn Mangan - Michelle Folland

Michelle Lupton - Sandie Munro - Shannon Jaramillo - Stephanie Severin

Hope to see you playing along, can't wait to see what you create!

Playing along with the fabulous new Paper Smooches GOLD Challenge 

and Paper Smooches Guest Designer Challenge 
and The Paper Players Colour Challenge too!

 

This made me smile...

What's the Buzz...

Combined Paper Smooches Giddy Bugs and Cyber Cafe stamps with Paper Smooches Hexalongs and Reflections Flowers die cuts to create this card to play along with Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes. Inspired by Keep It Simple Text Challenge and the fabulously versatile CAS(E) this Sketch. Colourwise I'm still influenced by last weeks Paper Smooches Picture Perfect Challenge - co-incidentally the same as this fortnights FUSION colours too! Inked up using my Dark Grey Artemio again - I LOVE that these inks wipe off your stamps completely, even if you forget to clean up straight away! I've had these dark grey ribbon roses in my stash for a while now, matched with Echo Park Sweet Day, and Basic Grey Urban Prairie paper with a couple of buttons to match.

 

Don't forget Paper Smooches February Guest Designer Search closes soon! 

P.S. August GD - With Gratitude, Thank You!

I can't believe this is my last week as Paper Smooches Guest Designer  - hope you have enjoyed seeing my Paper Smooches creations as much as I enjoyed bringing them to you!!!

The first card today features Paper Smooches Artisan Blocks to create the patterned flag, stamped in Tide Pool and sentiment from Many Thanks, stamped in Versamark Watermark and heat embossed in White. This gorgeous background was created using a stencil and texture paste, to add texture without colour. The best thing I discovered is that you can use any of your Paper Smooches die-cuts to create textured shapes to add to your cards, just cut them out of chipboard and fill the space left with texture paste, using a pallet knife to create a smooth finish. This cards layout is based of this fortnights versatile Seize the Sketch and colours on this fortnights CASual Friday Aqua, Green & Blue.

The second card today features three sets from the August Paper Smooches release, Borderlicious used to create the vertical panel and border, Artisan Blocks stamped on the vellum butterfly and Many Thanks sentiment (the August Thanks A Million set FREE with orders over $60). The die cuts are Paper Smooches Duo Die 2 in Echo Parks Cool Summer paper and and Butterflies 3 in coloured vellum. The vertical panel is stamped in Tide Pool, Green Hills, Butter Bar, Orange Soda and Bubble Gum, the scalloped edge and butterfly stamped in Soft Pool and the sentiment stamped in Orange Soda. This cards layout is based on this weeks fabulous Retro Sketch, and colours influenced by this weeks CASE Study.

  

Playing along with Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes too!

This made me smile...

P.S. Just for the Record...

So excited to bring a third week of Paper Smooches Guest Designer projects!

Today I was inspired by Paper Smooches Many Thanks "A Note of Thanks" sentiment, to create a 3D musical shaker! I used this gorgeous retro player from Perpetual Bliss to create a 3D "note of thanks" musical shaker.  The player was stamped onto Kaisercraft wood veneer paper backed with black cardstock (for added strength) and fussy cut.  I glued a clear sheet behind this for the face of the shaker.  3D foam was adhered to the back of the shaker face.  A very fine strip of black cardstock creates the inside wall of the shaker and a very fine strip of wood veneer cardstock creates the outside wall of the shaker.  The shaker contains die cut musical notes and treble clef, together with black sequins - the perfect black vinyl LOL!  The centre circle from Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm features pink sheet music. The record shape was cut using Lil Inkers Stitched Circle dies, and the back circle is scored about 2cm from the top and glued to the card front. Because the card is round, you can roll it to activate the shaker too!  Playing along with the Less is More Round & Round Challenge too.

I snuck my second card in early to make the deadline for the Moxie Fab Trendy Triangle Challenge, and details of this Laura Bassen inspired card can be seen here.

Paper Smooches August GD - Covering all the Angles...

So excited to be presenting another Paper Smooches Guest Designer spot this week!  Today's cards cover all the angles - with the first card featuring trendy triangles and the second featuring colourful chevrons!

The first card focuses on the sentiment, die cut Paper Smooches Thanks, paired with the August release Many Thanks "bunches".  To create this card, I cut the Crate Paper Maggie Holmes paper into 2.5cm squares (about 1 inch), then cut them diagonally to create the series of triangles.  To make the cutting easier, I had already sketched the layout before cutting.  I used the leftover triangle as a template to create the strip for the sentiment, secured all the triangles in place, stamped the sentiment and secured the die cut, then pop dotted this layer over the chevron background.  Right about now I'm wishing this pattern was actually a lovely quilt on my bed I could snuggle under as I've been laid low with a nasty flu virus - I can tell I'm not feeling well when I don't even feel up to crafting LOL!

Card # 1 playing along with Moxie Fab Trendy Triangles Challenge, and 

Simon Says Stamp Triangles

This second card is well and truly inspired by Jennifer McGuire!  Playing along with this weeks CASE Study,  I used the Paper Smooches Borderlicious chevrons to create a rainbow of sun's rays. Stamped in Tide Pool, Green Hills, Butter Bar, Orange Soda and Bubblegum, with the Paper Smooches Many Thanks sentiment stamped in Bubblegum too.  Lil Inkers circle and rectangle dies are used to add the stitching details.

Card #2 playing along with CASE Study Inspired by Jennifer McGuire, 
Paper Crafts Connection August Gallery - Sending Sunshine,
 Keep it Simple Chevron Challenge, 

Addicted to CAS Summer, and
Little Red Wagon Use a Sun.

Paper Smooches August Guest Designer...

So excited to be Guest Designer over at Paper Smooches!!!

Delighted to bring my first two cards featuring the August Paper Smooches release Many Thanks stamps, these are the Thanks A Million stamps for August too - so any August order over $60 (before discounts & postage) receives this fabulous set for FREE!

This set will certainly never leave you short for a word of thanks! I couldn't decide which of the fabulous Many Thanks sentiments to choose - so I (nearly) used them all!  I created the background using Distress Inks in Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry and Squeezed Lemon, then spritzed with water and a touch of Dylusions Lemon Zest (hungry yet anyone LOL!), and used a heat gun to ensure this was thoroughly dry before stamping.  I aligned all my stamps using my Fiskars Stamp Press before stamping in Momento Black ink, and adding these cute wood veneer hearts and speech bubble from Studio Calico.

My next card features sentiments from Many Thanks, combined with this funky little Bee Mine bee and "Bee" sentiment, together with the August release Artisan Blocks hexagon honeycomb.  The honeycomb background was created by stamping Artisan Blocks on yellow vellum using Versamark Watermark then heat embossing with Whispers Black Glitter - it's amazing how this looks in real life! The bee was also stamped in Black Glitter on yellow vellum, with his body backed using white cardstock - and fussy cutting the holes out for his eyes.  Paper Smooches Hexalongs dies were used to create the negative space for the honeycomb, and to also cut a negative space in the dark grey cardstock base - so the yellow vellum honeycomb becomes a translucent window - perfect for playing along with this weeks Paper Smooches Sparks Trend Watch - Sheer & Clear.   The white cardstock layer and bee were pop dotted, and this cute little Studio Calico wooden heart was stained with Versa Color Opera Pink ink.

Playing along with Dynamic Duos,
Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes,
The Pink Elephant Texture Challenge
Little Red Wagon Falling to Pieces, and
Summer Camp Online Class Homework Week 1 - Day 2 too!

A Colour Smooch for Homework...

Second post for the day!

I love getting my fingers inky every now & then, and the Summer Camp Homework Week 1 - Day 2 gave me the perfect excuse!  I inked and swiped and sprayed a couple of background pieces in Distress Ink Picked Raspberry, Squeezed Lemonade and Peacock Feathers, perfect colours for playing along with this weeks Color Throwdown Five Years #250 Celebration too.  This piece reminded me of rain running down a window or tears, which made me think it would be just right for a Miss You card.  I die-cut a Lifestyle Crafts balloon and used the reverse die cut, plus the little sliver, stamped with Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler and hand drew the string drifting into the distance.

Linking up to Paper Smooches August Guest Designer Search too. 

ETA. The paper I use is a pad of Mont Matre A4 Watercolour Paper, from the Art Shed (I think!)