Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone has managed to save some candy for the kids tonight.  :o)     I'm sneaking out to dinner with my dear husband and hiding out from all the scary monsters.   Our kitties get so stressed over the doorbell and will sometimes try to run out the door, so it is just better for us to avoid the whole candy thing.    I do miss seeing the kids in costume, but I usually catch a glimpse of them out the window after we get home.  

This Friday is my Girls' Night Out stamp club, so I worked on our first project this weekend.   I hope they will love Gently Falling as much as I do.   I modified last week's Just Add Ink card to work for club and Thanksgiving and I love it!   I don't use Pumpkin Pie a lot, but it looks pretty amazing with Early Espresso!   Per the request of one of the members, we'll be making this card from scratch.  It will be different for me to not be pre-cutting everything, but I hope it will help them learn how to utilize their supplies. :)   I have a nice cheat sheet started in My Digital Studio for them, so it should be pretty easy to put together.  

Stamps:  Gently Falling, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Woodgrain 

Ink:  Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie

Paper:  Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso, Whisper White

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Scallop Squares Duo, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, Color Spritzer, Pumpkin Pie 1/4 grosgrain ribbon

Jason and I carved our pumpkins and got them all ready to shine for Halloween.   I think they turned out pretty good this year.  Mine is on the left and his on the right.   I really love carving them; I think more holidays should involve carving up things.  :)    This year we also roasted the seeds from them and they are delicious!

Play Date Cafe #105

The Play Date Cafe had a wonderful inspiration photo this week and I just had to play along.   I am more than  a little obsessed with any kind of coffee drink, so it took me a bit to quit looking at the picture and actually work on my card!   Don't those look yummy?    Anyway, on the the card....

I'll start by saying that I don't do vintage.  It is totally outside my comfort zone and I find it very confusing.  Distressing?  I end up way more distressed than the paper!  However, I love to challenge myself so I recently purchased the Distressing Essentials kit.   I pulled out my tea stain ink and started swiping, wiping, and crumbling like an old pro.   I hope I managed to achieve a vintage feel to it.  Any suggestions or comments from you vintage professionals?  I'm so happy that Stampin' Up! decided to carry this set over through June.   I had no idea I was such a fan of nautical things until I got it.  

I hope you enjoyed my card today!  I'm off to start some pizza dough and get ready for some football!  Go Texans!   

Stamps:  The Open Sea, Something to Celebrate (retired)

Ink:  Marina Mist, Crumb, Cake, Chocolate Chip, Tea Stain Distress ink

Paper:  Marina Mist, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla

Tools/Accessories:   Big Shot, Stripes embossing folder, Distressing Essentials Kit, Mini Brads - silver, 2 1/2 circle punch, Chocolate Chip 1 1/4 striped ribbon (retired), paper snips

Fall Blog Hop with The Paper Players

Greetings!   Welcome to The Paper Players Fall Blog Hop!   The entire team, along with the fall guest designers, has created some beautiful creations to wow and inspire you.   Some of the Players even have blog candy to share, so be sure to make your way through the entire hop!

Here's the list of participants with clickable links:
Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Cindy Hall

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan 

Nance Leedy

Rita Wright (You are here)

Tara Bilbao

I have 2 projects to share with you, so let's get started!    

When I hear fall this year, I automatically think SPICE CAKE!   :o)  This is my absolute favorite paper ever and I can't stop using.  Now there seems to be a bit of debate about Pool Party being a fall color, but it coordinates so well with the others that I think they've welcomed it into their mix.  One of the best ways to show off any gorgeous designer paper is to make a quilt card, so that's what I did.  Isn't it pretty?!   I added some embossing and sponging to really bring out the beauty and add some texture to the card.   

I thought my card could use a matching treat box, so I pulled out my Fancy Favor die and made this cute box.  I decorated the front some some gorgeous leaves from Day of Gratitude and added some sponging to them as well.   I had to use my Spice Cake here too of course, so I added a little belly band of the More Mustard pattern.   The box holds some yummy Godiva chocolates in a cellophane bag that has been stuffed with a bit of homemade confetti and tied with Pool Party ribbon.  

I hope you enjoyed my projects.  Before you head over to Tara's blog, take a minute to sign up to follow my blog and leave me a comment.   I'll be picking a random winner from all the comments to send this lovely card to next Saturday (November 5th).   

Be sure to visit The Paper Players challenge blog tomorrow for a new challenge!   

Red and Pink Christmas

Well, I've said many times that I love non-traditional colors for Christmas, so here's a bit more proof!     When I saw the color combination at Just Add Ink this week, I knew I'd be doing a Christmas card.   Cherry Cobbler always makes me think Christmas and I knew I could somehow work in Blushing Bride with it.   One of my favorite products is Cherry Cobbler seam binding, so that was my first thought when I saw the Pals Paper Arts challenge to use ribbon.   Nothing makes bows quite like the seam binding.  I love it!

What do you think?   I have a friend who just loves pink, so I know where this one is going next month!   :)

Stamps:  Bright Hopes
Ink:  Versamark
Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Blushing Bride, Whisper White
Tools/Accessories:  Cherry Cobbler embossing powder, Cherry Cobbler seam binding, embossing buddy, heat tool, Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder

colourQ 108: Roar!

I love dinosaurs, so this set was calling my name when I saw it in the catalog.  I'm not sure that Peach Parfait or Daffodil Delight dinosaurs ever roamed the earth, but for the sake of my card, let's pretend they did, okay?   :o)   This didn't turn out quite how I imagined it, but I think it's a cute card for a little boy.   The colors are from this week's colourQ challenge; they are a fun mix, so go play along!  

Stamps:  Dinoroar
Ink:  Black Staz On, Daffodil Delight, Peach Parfait, Lucky Limeade, So Saffron
Paper:  Peach Parfait, Daffodil Delight, So Saffron, Basic Black, Whisper White, Pick Your Poison DSP
Tools/Accessories:  Paper Snips, Stamp-a-ma-jig

FMS8: Gently Falling

Time for a new challenge from Freshly Made Sketches!   Our featured designer this week is Holly Endress from HollyBeary Creations.  Be sure to drop by and say hello!   This sketch really has endless possibilities, so I can't wait to see all the wonderful creations this week.    

I hope you'll like my take on the sketch.  I tried a different arrangement of leaves to make it a bit more like the sketch, but I ultimately gave up and went with this arrangement.   I enjoyed borrowing this set so much that I ordered my own over the weekend.  I just know my club ladies will LOVE it as much as I do, so I had to get it so they could try it too!

Stamps:  Gently Falling, Thank You Kindly
Ink: Pool Party, Soft Suede
Paper:  Spice Cake DSP, Neutrals DSP stack, Pool Party, Soft Suede
Tools/Accessories:  Paper Snips, Linen Thread

Christmas Keepsake Box

Pretty, huh?   If you'd like to have your own to make, you can now order one!    It's such a gorgeous gift box and a steal at only $19.95!   Now you will need a few supplies of your own to complete it, but most of them are pretty standard.  It does come with directions and of course I'm always here to help out!  If you like to order yours, you can get it in my online store (http://ritawright.stampinup.net) using order number 129024.    They are just while supplies last, so don't hesitate if it is something you really want!  

The additional products needed to complete it are:

• Pines & Poinsettias stamp set
• Early Espresso Stampin’ Write Marker
• Real Red  Stampin’ Write Marker
• Wild Wasabi Stampin’ Write Marker
• Adhesives
• 3/16" Corner Punch
• Paper Cutter
• Paper Snips
• Needle
• Glue gun

Bows and Boxes

Today I decided to work on a hostess gift for my upcoming workshop.   I have always wanted to try making a paper bow, so I pulled up the instructions on Splitcoast Stampers and got to work.  I hope the rest of my designer papers know that they are in trouble now.  I had so much fun making this that I can't wait to do more!   I'm pretty sure there will be bows on everything soon!    :)  I used the lovely Frostwood Lodge designer paper from the Holiday Mini for this one.  It is a bit rustic and works great with the cute Kraft boxes you can also find in the mini.  :)   Don't you want to make your own now?   We'll be doing them next month at my Try It Thursday class, so you might want to mark your calendar and plan to attend!

Today I got an awesome box of goodies in the mail from my VERY talented friend, Brandi.   If you aren't following her blog, go now and get that one your reading list.   I absolutely love her work and as a bonus, she makes me laugh a lot too!  Winning her blog candy allowed us to become friends and I'm so happy that the random number generator picked me!   :)   I can't wait to play with my new stamp set and drool a bit over my pretty card.   Maybe my next workshop hostess will get lucky and get a decorated tin!   Don't they look fun to work with?    Thanks again, Brandi!   You rock!

I do apologize for the crummy pictures.   I didn't get in my room until late today and missed the good light.  I am slowly getting together the pieces to make my light tent, so hopefully that won't be an issue in a few more weeks.