PP485 A Day at the Zoo

Happy Sunday, peeps!  I am the hostess over at the Paper Players this week, and when I chose this theme a few weeks back, I didn't realize how appropriate it would be...everything is rather zoo-like and crazy these days!  I hope you'll overcome it and share your zoo-themed creations with us at the Paper Players!

Of course, Bonanza Buddies has several cute zoo critters in it, so no surprise that I chose that set for my card today!  Here we go; you'd better put on your shades, it's bright:

I had been perusing some of the many, many 12x12 papers in my stash, and came up with a couple in bright, cheerful colors, so that was my starting point!  Then I stamped my little koala in Gray Granite:

My lion in Grapefruit Grove and Pumpkin Pie:

And my toucan in black, with a Pumpkin Pie, Granny Apple Green and Melon Mambo beak:

A sentiment from Itty Bitty Greetings, stamped in Granny Apple Green, coordinated with the banner!

And my friend Michele challenged me to use the CAS(E) This Sketch this week:

which I did!  However, I think it is a little too busy to be considered clean and simple, so I made this one as well, using some retired DSP and a giraffe image from 100 Proof Press:

I need a few masculine birthday cards this month, so this will be one of them!  I stamped the giraffe in Cajun Craze, colored him a wee bit with a blender pen, then fussy-cut him out and popped him up:

I hope you'll stop by the Paper Players blog and see the fun zoo creations the team has made!  I can't wait to see how you'll interpret my theme challenge this week as well!  Thanks for popping in today!

Somehow this doesn't look too comfortable, but they all seem to be enjoying a comfy moment on the couch! 

 Enjoy your day and be blessed!

First Card Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Bonanza Buddies, Itty Bitty Greetings
Card stock & Papers	Thick Whisper White, Granny Apple Green, Brights DSP, Misc DSPs from my stash
Ink	Memento Black, Gray Granite, Grapefruit Grove, Pumpkin Pie, Granny Apple Green
Accessories	Pom poms, Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Sweetly Stitched Dies, Bonanza Dies, Markers

Second Card Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Sending You Thoughts (ret), Giraffe (100 Proof Press)
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Crushed Curry, Taken With Teal (ret), Orchard Harvest DSP (ret)
Ink	Cajun Craze, Sahara Sand (for shadow)
Accessories	Candy Dots (ret), Mini Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Layering Squares Dies, Stitched Nested Labels Dies, Blender Pen, Subtle Embossing Folder

IB117 Yellow Makes Me Happy

Happy Thursday, peeps!  It's a new Inspired By challenge....one that's sure to make you "happy"!!!

I had just received some goodies in the mail, and I had so much fun with them, and the challenge, that I made two cards!  Here we go:

I had been eyeing the diagonal plaid background stamp from Concord and 9th for a while, and I finally broke down and got it!  I stamped it in Daffodil Delight and added the stitching in Granny Apple Green to make a background for my sweet little diecut tulip:

The die is also from C&9; it actually cuts the tulip and leaves as well as the stitched octagon and the skinny little frame!  I cut a few of them to create this image....I even cut the tulip twice and trimmed it so it would have more of a dimensional look.  (A tip:  I glued the frame and the center to a scrap piece of cardstock, then trimmed it by hand, so that it would be easier to handle.)  The "stem" is from a stitching set by CTMH: 

And can you see my little green lady bug?  I added her just for fun, LOL!  My sentiment comes from a really, really old SU set; I cut it apart and mounted it on some red rubber mount so that I could reposition the words:

In fact, this set is SO OLD that it came mounted on a really thick, hard piece of foam; I remember the first time I bought SU sets, the foam ones were less expensive than wood-mount, so I bought a couple of them....not SU's most shining moment:

They were awkward and cumbersome to use, and you often got that dreaded "halo" around the edge of the image!  Thankfully we've come a long way! Still a really cute set and I love it!  

SO when I cut out my multiples of the die, I had "leftovers", so I put some together with a few pieces of coordinating DSP to create a little birthday notecard:

I used a sentiment from the SAB Sending You Thoughts, and I embossed the bottom portion with the retired Perfect Polka Dots EF.  These colors really do make me happy!!!

I hope that there is something in our inspiration photo that will get your creative juices flowing!  Please be sure to stop by the Inspired By blog to check out the DT's creations and share yours as well!

And Dana recently sent me this picture of some florals from her yard:

My maternal grandfather was a wholesale carnation grower, and he, my uncle and my cousins all took part in running his florist business.  I joke that that particular gene did not come down to me, but it did pass on to Dana!  She's good at arranging!  Thanks for visiting today--enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Sending You Thoughts, Diagonal Plaid (Concord and 9th), Hello Spring (ret), Itty Bitties (ret), Stitched Borders (Close to My Heart)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive Gingham DSP, Bird Ballad DSP, The Bee's Knees DSP (Honey Bee)
Ink	Granny Apple Green
Accessories	Dimensionals, Daffodil Delight Ruffled Ribbon
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Tulip Label Dies, Perfect Polka Dot EF (ret)