Stampin! with Jaydee

Happy Sunday.

It's the fabulous Ann's turn to host our Paper Players challenge this week and she has a great theme for us.  I decided it was a great opportunity to make a birthday card out of a set that I originally bought from Pinkfresh Studios to make Christmas cards.  (MMMM... note to self.... next time.... need to make card way ahead of time so that I can send them out before going on vacation!). The set is called Winterberries and is such a pretty set.  I used it along with the matching dies and stencils.  Here's a sneak peek:

And here's Ann's challenge:

I began by stamping and heat setting the winterberry images with gold embossing powder.  I then used the matching stencils to color the leaves and berries.  I used the matching dies to cut out the florals and arranged them in a circle.  I needed a background that would add some texture so ran a piece of Neenah Solar White card stock through my die cutting machine with a very much loved embossing folder from Stampin' Up!  I thought the distressed brick was a perfect backdrop for the wreath!

i stamped and cut a sentiment and placed it in the middle of the wreath and popped the wreath up with foam dots.  Easy peasy!

Here's my full card:

I hope you will join us and play along with our challenge this week.  As this is the start of a new year, we also welcome two new guest designers to our team.  I hope you will check out their blogs and welcome them.  Welcome Cynthia and Jolanda, I look forward to crafting alongside two such talented ladies!

As always, the design team have some fabulous inspiration for you.

• Ann
• Claire
• Joanne
• Laurie
• LeAnne
• Anne Marie
• Cynthia
• Jolanda

On a personal note:

Well, we are currently sailing somewhere in the North Atlantic and are expected to come within 60 miles of the Titanic wreck at around 2am in the morning.  The storm in the North East has certainly caused us to have a fairly slow pace over the last couple of days and we have hugged the coast line pretty closely.  The swells currently are over 35 feet and the winds at a 10 on the Beaufort scale - which is strong gale force winds.  The ship is designed to handle these conditions, but we have had some pretty rocky times over the last few hours.  Getting to and from the restaurant and other areas on the ship really means holding on to the provided rails in the passageways.  I've stayed in flat shoes on my journey throughout the ship and marvel at those women who can wear heels in this conditions!

I'll be back tomorrow with a few photos and a history of world cruises and will also share a personal story about a cousin I discovered during genealogical research.  I hope you will come back and check out the post.  In the meantime, warm hugs and prayers to those of you who need a little lift tonight.

Hugs

Jaydee

Card recipe:

• Stamps, dies and stencil:  Winterberry - Pinkfresh Studio
• Embossing folder:  Exposed Brick 3D Embossing Folder - Stampin' Up!