Stampin' Sunshine-Bringing Sunshine to Every Day

Pals Paper Arts Challenge PPA 9

I wanted my first card post to be from the Pals Paper Artschallenge.  The designers at PPA are top notch, and it was a great way to get my feet wet. 

This week's challenge was an Inspiration Challenge, based on this gorgeous picture:

Fall is my favorite season, and no one experiences the beautiful colors of Fall like we do here in Maine.  This picture reminded me of our beautiful fall foliage, and I wanted to bring those colors to my card. 

I started by folding a piece of 8.5 x 5.5 of Old Olive textured card stock into a 4.25 x 5.5 card, using the Bone Folder to make the crease crisp and exact.  Using the Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder and my Sizzix Big Shot machine (my FAVORITE tool, I must admit!!) I added a bit more texture to the front of the card.  Continuing with my Big Shot, I used the Little Leaves Sizzlet to create a set of leaves out of textured Chocolate Chip and Really Rust card stock.  Using the Large Oval Punch, I create 3 ovals of textured Pumpkin Pie card stock.  I used Snail Adhesive on the back of one of the ovals, put the other two side by side, then centered the top oval over the two, creating a fun and easy pumpkin.  I snipped the stem out of a little piece of textured Old Olive card stock, using the very handy Paper Snips.  These little gems make cutting small areas a breeze, and are a must-have for any paper crafter. 

I love the subtle look of same-color ink on same color-paper, and using Old Olive ink and card stock, I stamped the sentiment "Thanks" using a stamp from the Thank You Kindly stamp set. The large oval punch was just the right size to cut out the Thanks, and it settled nicely into a frame of textured Pumpkin Pie card stock cut with the Scallop Oval punch.  

What a fun way to start my blog.  I would love to have you join me each Thursday for the Pals Paper Arts Challenge.  Let me know what you think.

Stamp Set:  Thank You Kindly

Paper:  Textured Old Olive, Textured Pumpkin Pie, Textured Really Rust, Textured Chocolate Chip

Ink:  Old Olive Classic Ink

Tools:  Big Shot, Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder, Little Leaves Sizzlet, Large Oval Punch, Scallop Punch

Misc:  Snail Adhesive

It's here!!

Welcome!!  As my precious nephew Jacob would say, "Here my am"!!  My newly-designed stamping blog is up and running, thanks to Jenny at Simply Delightful Designs .  Thank you Jenny, for all of your hard work, and mostly, for your patience with me as I kept coming back with "just one more thing."   :)

My tagline is "bringing sunshine to every day" because that's what stamping and creating does for me, and I hope it will bring some sunshine to your day as well.  I'm new to blogging, and fairly new to stamping/papercrafting (I've been doing it off and on over the past several years, but this is my first time committing to it, blog and all.)  I welcome any feedback, and look forward to getting to know many of you over the coming weeks and months.  I will be participating in challenges-my first will be at the Pals Paper Arts, and invite you to participate as well.  Run, don't walk over to PPA to get in on the fun.  It's a great way to challenge yourself and be encouraged.  I'm excited about doing my first challenge.  Check back to see how I do!!

I'll be posting projects that I've done, as well as lots of fun, useful information about everything Stampin' Up and stamping/cardmaking/papercrafting.  I would love to hear from you any suggestions, thoughts, feedback, so please feel free to either leave a comment, or e-mail me using the link above.  I'm excited about starting this new adventure, and welcome you along for the ride.  Hold onto your coffee!!