Sweet...Sweeter...Sweetest

Hi, everyone.

Today's card was made for the current Paper Smooches Guest Designer Search and was inspired by a card I received several years ago.

Recollections white cardstock
stamps: Paper Smooches Bee Mine and Winnie & Walter Big Bold You
Distress Inks: vintage photo, walnut stain, fired brick, black soot
ribbons: Really Reasonable Ribbon November ribbon, Stampin' Up! cherry cobbler
stash gold sequins; adhesives: Glue Dots and Scotch ATG
inside sentiment: Sweet... Sweeter... Sweetest

I love the whimsy and creativity of PS DT cards. So, I tried to capture a little of that spirit here with these sweet little bees. The card is really a change of pace for me -- essentially one layer without any paper piecing. After seeing it, I'm thinking it's going to be hubby's Valentine's Day card. And, can I just say, that stamp-challenged me is pretty pleased with the way these images and words turned out. :)

Parting Thoughts

Spent today working on some masculine thank you cards for an upcoming craft show. At this show, folks seem to appreciate general sentiment cards in addition to Christmas cards.

November Challenge
Nov. 1 - Nov. 21

The November Words 2 Scrap By challenge is in full swing. Hope you will stop by and join in the fun.

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!

Chalk Talk

Hi, everyone.

Paper Smooches is having a Guest Designer call. So, it sounded like the perfect opportunity to play with a few PS stamp sets that were just calling to be inked up -- including a Botanicals set from their January CHA release.  :)

paper: Recollection black
Paper Smooches stamps: Group Hugs, Botanicals 2, Bee Mine
sentiments and images heat embossed in Stampin' Up! white ep
The Stencil Collection non-smear pastels

There are a couple of things that I really like about this card.

• I am pleased with combining several stamp sets to create the overall look. This is not something that comes easily for me.
• I was also pleased with the embossing itself. All the sentiments came out crisply. As the title of this blog indicates, this is not always the case.  :)
• This was only my second chalkboard card... attempting my first one for yesterday's Operation Write Home challenge. The first one was okay... think this one is better. There was a tutorial on the OWH site with a few really helpful tips, including the suggestion to use a paint brush to brush away random specks of powder.
• Finally, I LOVE the fact that this is a one-layer card! Yep, may be my first ever one-layer card!

That's about it for today. Thanks for stoppin' and happy scrapping!