A Summer Mini Review and Blog Candy

As you know, the August 31st deadline for ordering from the Summer Mini is here! If you have a favorite stamp set that you have not ordered, don't hesitate a minute longer! Here are some of the cards that I have made over the past few months that highlight a few of the Summer Mini stamp sets.

A Little Bit of Magic (W 118613; C 120033)

King of the Grill (W 121707; C 120066)

In a Word (W 117143; C 120057)

Watercolor Trio ( W 117050; C 120084)

July Fourth (W 118523; C 120063)

Pedaling Past (W 116972; C 120069)

Tropical Party (W 118515; C 120081)

Blissful Bride (W 118527; C 120036)

Don't hesitate! Make certain to stock up on your favorite items from the Summer Mini now!

It's Blog Candy Time

In celebration of the new Holiday Mini going live in the next few days, what could be yummier than a little blog candy? Simply let me know your favorite product from the Holiday Mini and all of these retired Stampin' Up! items could be yours. Please leave me a comment with your answer at the end of this post by Wednesday, September 1st, 10:00 PM CST and you could win:

• 50+ sheets of assorted Designer Series Paper, cut into 6" x 6" sheets
• 50 buttons
• 10 yards of Pumpkin Pie Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
• unmounted Halloween Frights stamp set

I'll choose a random comment and announce the winner on Thursday, September 2nd. Note: I only ship within the U.S. The winner will have 24 hours to email me their name and mailing address! So be certain to check in on Thursday! And if you need a copy of the Holiday Mini, please email me and I will drop one in the mail for you for FREE! So...leave those comments! To get you started, my favorite item from the Holiday Mini is...the Decorative Label Punch! It is the perfect size for many of my favorite sentiments! Tomorrow I will reveal more of my favorites from the Holiday Mini! Until next time...



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Burning Leaves for the Paper Players

Welcome to The Paper Players "Anything Goes" challenge! With this challenge you can post any new project that you create during the week. You can create a card, a scrapbook page, a three dimensional project...the sky's the limit! Plus, you can combine this challenge with any other challenge! How great is that! For my card, I used one of the Holiday Mini sets, French Foliage, and combined it with the faux burning technique. I hope that you enjoy "Burning Leaves"!

The Stampin' Schach Design Tips:

• A vision with vellum! A variety of leaves from French Foliage was randomly stamped with Always Artichoke, Cajun Craze, and More Mustard onto Very Vanilla. I layered vellum over the top, thus creating a dreamy film.
• Layer your labels! The wonderful sentiment from Just Believe was inked with Early Espresso and stamped onto a More Mustard selection from Autumn Spice Specialty Designer Series Paper. This was then punched out with the fabulous Decorative Label Punch and layered onto a second label punched in Cajun Craze.
• It's all in the details! The Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border was punched out twice in Cajun Craze, and laced together with Linen Thread. Two Basic Pearls were added for a touch of the unexpected.
• Come on baby light my fire! Faux Burning is a "hot" trend right now, and it is so easy! Simply rip the edge of your paper and use a Sponge Dauber and Early Espresso ink to darken the edges. I then curl the edges up slightly using my fingernail.

I was tempted to spritz it up a little, but I exercised some self-control and left my Color Spritzer Tool in the drawer. But I just had to use my Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder to add a little more texture!

I hope that you will join us at The Paper Players! Remember, it can be anything (yes anything) that you create this week! I will be anxious to see what wonderful projects you make this week. So, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think about my first card made with French Foliage. And remember, if you have any questions about the cards that I create or the techniques that I use, I would love to answer them. Just email me! Until next time...

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Stamp Sets: Just Believe (W 116948; C 120453), French Foliage (W 120845; C 121166---Available September 1); Inks: Early Espresso (119670), Soft Suede (115657), Cajun Craze (119671), Always Artichoke (105219), More Mustard (103162); Designer Series Paper: Autumn Spice (120808---Available September 1); Card Stock: Early Espresso (119686), Very Vanilla (101650), Cajun Craze (119684), White Vellum Paper (101839); Tools: Big Shot (113439), Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (119976), Sponge Dauber (102892), Decorative Label Punch (120907---Available September 1), Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch (119275); Glitz and Glam: Linen Thread (104199), Basic Pearls (119247)

A Sneak Peek for the Paper Players

Woo hoo! I have been asked to stay on as a member of the Design Team at The Paper Players challenge for another month! I am certainly flattered to be a part of this talented group. Today I have a little peek of my card for this week's challenge, which will go live on Sunday. I hope that you will join me!

Also on Sunday I will be traveling to Grinnell, Iowa to participate in a brayering class being taught by the insanely talented Michelle Zindorf. I can hardly wait to share what I learn! I am always blown away by her cards. It will be interesting to see if I can get the hang of this technique!

Join the Schach Pack

With the Holiday Mini going live in just a few days, how would you like to become the newest member of the Schach Pack and receive more bang for your buck? I would love to discuss the benefits of becoming an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator. Please email me today with your questions. Here is what Schach Pack member, Amy, has to say:

"Ann is a wonderful friend and mentor. She is very helpful at keeping me up-to-date on Stampin' Up! changes. She encourages me and supports me to help my business be the best it can be. Because she is also very creative and talented in her own career, she is an inspiration for me to do my best."

Already convinced that Stampin' Up! is for you? Click Here. My recruiting password is "stampinschach".

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Gratitude for Pals Paper Arts with Pictorial

There are so many things in my life for which I am grateful, so when I saw Margaret Moody's sketch for this week's Pals Paper Arts challenge, I knew that I wanted to use the Day of Gratitude stamp set. This set, from Stampin' Up!'s Holiday Mini catalog, will be available for purchase September 1st. Like last week's card, today's card features the Faux Silk technique (view my pictorial Here). However, it also features a customized texture plate, which I made all by myself. Making your own embossing surface is not original to me, as there are several places on the web which offer tutorials. However, this is the first time in which I have used it, and it is so easy! I have added a very simple pictorial to today's post to explain how I accomplished the look. Enjoy!

The Stampin' Schach Design Tips:

• How do you make a "busy" card work for you? Through continuity and repetition! Rich fall colors comprise each and every layer, while the "Leaves" image from Day of Gratitude are repeated on both the Faux Silk background and the image mat!
• Spritzer Tool gone wild! I knew it would happen some day, and it did! I lost all self-control with my Color Spritzer Tool! The Faux Silk background was spritzed using Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, and Old Olive Stampin' Write Markers.
• Brayer a layer! The image mat began as Very Vanilla card stock. I simple brayered a light layer of More Mustard over the surface. The "Leaves" image was then inked in More Mustard and stamped onto the brayered card stock for a tone-on-tone look. Of course, a little spritzing, this time with Soft Suede, was added.
• Give pearls a whirl! One of my favorite new products from Stampin' Up! are Basic Pearls! With their self-adhesive backs, they are a snap to apply! They work perfectly on the new Decorative Label Punch, which is making its debut in the Holiday Mini!
• Need a coordinating Texturz Plate? Make your own. Here's how:

For this embossing plate, I used the Two-Step Bird Punch, cardboard that came with one of my Big Shot dies, and adhesive (not pictured).

I punched out several of the leaves and wings from a second piece of cardboard.

I then arranged the leaves and wings. After I had the pattern the way I wanted it, I adhered the pieces into position. (I outlined them in black so that you could see the pattern more easily.)

I then zipped my homemade Texturz Plate through the Big Shot using Tab 1, the Silicone Rubber Pad and the Impressions Pad. I did mist the Cajun Craze card stock lightly with water in order to receive a deeper embossed image. Don't be surprised if you have to experiment with your "sandwich" as it will be dependent upon the thickness of your card board.

So there you have it...an embossing surface that mimics the "Leaves" stamp that I used. I could have stamped the exact same leaf image several times onto cardboard, and cut them out, but that would have been time consuming! So I selected a punch which would coordinate with this stamp set, and let the punch do the work! I lightly brayered a little Early Espresso ink over the surface to make the embossing "pop". How cool is this!

I hope that you enjoy this week's challenge! It is such a classy sketch, I know that I will be using it again and again! Remember, if you ever have any questions about the techniques that I use, don't hesitate to Email Me! I am always ready to help. So before you head off to view the rest of the design team inspiration cards, won't you please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of today's card! Until next time...

Click Here to Order Stampin' Up! 24/7
Stamp Sets: Day of Gratitude (available September 1); Inks: More Mustard (103162), Early Espresso (119670), Cajun Craze (119671), Old Olive (102277); Stampin' Write Markers: Early Espresso (119680), Old Olive (100079), Cajun Craze (119678); Soft Suede (120973); Card Stock: Early Espresso (119686), Cajun Craze (119684), Crumb Cake...for Faux Silk (120953), Very Vanilla (101650), More Mustard (100946); Tools: Big Shot (113439), Silicone Rubber (114615), Impressions Pad (114615), Two Step Bird Punch (117191), Color Spritzer Tool (107066), Brayer (102395), Sponge Dauber (102892), Blender Pens (102845), SNAIL Adhesive (104332), Decorative Label Punch (available September 1); Glitz and Glam: Basic Pearls (119247); Other: Tissue Paper

PPA Peek and Puppy, Too

How about a quick peek at Thursday's Pals Paper Arts card? I know you will love what we have planned for this week's challenge! So mark your calendars, and join in the fun! Plus I will have a pictorial for you highlighting an awesome technique! You won't want to miss it! And don't forget to check out this week's PPA Artist Picks! They will be sporting our chic new PPA Pick badge!

We Have a Muffy!

Those of you who have been following the Schach family's quest for a new Boxer baby will be pleased to know that we (really I) have made our (my) decision. My husband and son could not agree on which little plain girl to get from this litter. Brady was adamant that he wanted Muffy #2 from this post, while my husband wanted Muffy #3. So to avoid conflict, I selected Muffy #1 with the white in her face. The other two puppies were so similar in their appearance to Missy the Boxer, that I think I made the right decision in selecting the puppy with more "bling". And so dear readers, let me present to you "Cimarron's Do You Know the Muffin Man", call name "Muffy".

Muffy at 1 day of age.

Muffy at 1 week of age.

This was the breeder's "Q" litter, which explains why the video is entitled "Queen". All eight puppies were given names which began with "Q". Let's just hope that I am not too old to raise this puppy! Those of you who are Boxer lovers know exactly what I am talking about! But you know what...the six months during which we were without a Boxer in our lives were six long and lonely months! Starting the end of September, let the fun begin!

Oh no! There is only one week left to order from the Summer Mini catalog! Still a few things on your Wish List? Order today! Until next time...

Click Here to Order Stampin' Up! 24/7

Paper Players Challenge APP12

I am always in for a good challenge, and this week The Paper Players are hosting an inspiration challenge. Out of all of the challenges, I find inspiration challenges the most difficult. As I pointed out in yesterday's post, there are certain tips to focus on when interpreting an inspiration photo. As you take a look at the inspiration photo below, provided by the wonderfully talented Jaydee, I will guide you through how I ended up with today's card!

The Stampin' Schach Design Tips:

• Since I had no blackberry, strawberry, or cheese stamps (I originally thought it was a banana), I decided to go with color! I selected Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Concord Crush and Poppy Parade. Plus, I opted to go with a French theme, since when I think of cheese, I think of wine, which makes me think of France! Whew! Now I have a starting point for my card!
• Stamp your own designer paper! I inked the Circle stamp from Artistic Etchings with Concord Crush and randomly stamped onto So Saffron card stock. After a few little spritzes, using the Color Spritzer Tool and a Concord Crush Stampin' Write Marker, the look is complete!
• Evening in Paris! The Eiffel Tower was inked in Concord Crush and stamped onto Very Vanilla. This time I spritzed with Crumb Cake, and distressed the edges in Concord Crush. After matting onto Poppy Parade and adding a few Basic Pearls, the image is ready. Except...the Poppy Parade looks a wee bit too orange. However, I just used my Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Write Marker and "reddened" it up a little!
• It's all in the details! A fan-fold flower, complete with a Victoria crochet trim center and Antique Brad, makes the perfect accent for the left side of the card. This is balanced by the "Crown" tag on the right!

You may have noticed that this is a modified joyfold card. Beate Johns, of Splitcoaststampers fame, has a wonderful tutorial on making a joyfold card. This is such an easy cardstyle to make, and so much fun!

I hope that you enjoyed today's card. And I hope that you will join us at the Paper Players challenge this week. Of course, if you have any questions about the cards that I make or the techniques which I use, don't hesitate to email me. I am always happy to help. Until next time...

Click Here to Order Stampin' Up! 24/7

Stamp Set: Artistic Etchings (W 118517; C 120573); Inks: Concord Crush (119785); Stampin' Write Markers: Concord Crush (119801---In-Color Set), Crumb Cake (120967); Designer Series Paper: Designer Series Paper Pack-In Color Level 1 Hostess Gift (121028); Card Stock: Very Vanilla (101650), Poppy Parade (119793), So Saffron (105118); Tools: 1-1/4" Circle Punch (119861), 1-3/8" Circle Punch (119860), Color Spritzer Tool (107066), Crop-a-dile (108362), Sponge Daubers (102892) Glitz and Glam: Basic Pearls (119247), Victoria 5/8" Crochet Trim (118481), Linen Thread (104199), Antique Brads (117273), Very Vanilla 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (109055), Metallic Eyelets (105319)

PPA 56 : Challenged by the Challenge? An Inspiration Tip

Are you challenged by this week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge (PPA56)? If so, that's a good thing! I always told my students that if they were not challenged, they would never "grow" as a student. However, as a teacher in the classroom, I was always there to give my students helpful hints. So here is a stamping tip for you! Enjoy!

PPA 56 Inspiration Challenge Tip:
Narrow the scope of this week's inspiration challenge. Simply focus on the bird or flower in the photo.

• Create with color!
• Stamp a bird, and even "bling" it if you like!
• Stamp a stem and a flower or two!
• Pick a punch!
• Build a border!

Anything goes and there's still plenty of time to participate. It's that easy! I know...old teachers never die...they just lose their class! But I could not help but pass along this PPA tip!

Click here to reach the original challenge post and upload your card. Look for the blue "add your link" button at the bottom of the post. I can't wait to see what you create! Until next time...

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Day of Gratitude with Faux Silk Pictorial

The unveiling of the new Pals Paper Arts blog is today, and I hope that you love our chic, new look! The challenges have a twist to them and we have added four new ever-so-talented members to our Design Team. You can read all about it here. But first, lets talk about today's inspiration card. This week the challenge is an inspiration challenge, using this lovely Oscar de la Renta photo:

There was so much happening in this photo, I didn't even know where to start. After staring at this photo in wonder, and wondering how anyone could ever wear heels this high, I opted to draw my inspiration from the colors of the wall and the atomizer between the heels. I hope you will not only enjoy today's card, but also today's spotlight on technique...faux silk!

The Stampin' Schach Design Tips:

• When faced with an inspiration photo, remember all of your options: colors, shapes, textures, objects, or even ambiance! Because these colors were right up my alley, I opted to create in terms of color and texture! But I could not overlook the smidge of lace near the candle...and those shoes!
• Vintage Trinkets! The old scissors pictured made me think of sewing. What better excuse could there be to add snippets of Victoria lace trim, miniature buttons and those adorable vintage looking safety pins. And what a delightful way to add a pair of high heels, stamped using the Things I Love set, into the mix.
• Cajun Craze and More Mustard! The "Floral Image" from Day of Gratitude was inked with Cajun Craze and stamped onto More Mustard card stock, to emulate the colors of the atomizer. The Friends Are Flowers stamp, from Friends Never Fade was inked with Cajun Craze and stamped onto Very Vanilla. Then just the flower from the center was snipped out. This was stamped a second time onto More Mustard, and just the center of the flower was snipped out and adhered to the first flower. The flower was then sponged with More Mustard ink, and its edges were distressed with a little Soft Suede. The flower was then popped onto a Stampin' Dimensional and adhered to the Day of Gratitude image. Basic Pearls complete the look!
• Waffle Paper! A piece of Early Espresso card stock was coated with Tombow Adhesive, and covered with Brown Waffle Paper. The look is instant texture which mimics the trunk!
• Fabulous Faux! While searching for inspiration, my eyes were continually drawn to the background wall. What a perfect place to use the Faux Silk technique! For those of you who are new to this technique, it is so quick and easy. Here is a pictorial of how I created the faux silk background:

To complete the faux silk technique, you will need a wet adhesive, such as Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue, card stock (I used More Mustard) and a piece of ordinary tissue paper. (I rescued mine from my stash of wrapping paper. It is perfectly fine if it is used.)


Spread a thin layer of Tombow onto the card stock.

Smooth using a sponge brush. No sponge brush? That's alright! You can use a piece of scrap card stock, or even your fingers!

Crumple up your piece of tissue and then smooth it out.


Place the tissue on top of the card stock, smooth and adhere.



Ready for distressing!






A Sponge Dauber and Early Espresso ink defines the edges and accentuates the wrinkles! How much easier can it be!

Looking for more unique techniques? Splitcoaststampers has oodles! Remember, if you have any questions about today's card, or the techniques that I use, I will gladly answer them! So, how did I do today? My favorite part of today's card were the little high heels I attached with the vintage safety pin. How about you? I will be anxious to see what you create, and to read what you think about the new PPA! Until next time...

Click Here to Order Stampin' Up! 24/7

Stamp Sets: Day of Gratitude (Available Sept. 1), Elements of Style (W 118611, C 120045), Things I Love (115229); Ink: Cajun Craze (119671), Soft Suede (115657); Card Stock: More Mustard (100946), Early Espresso (119686), More Mustard (100946), Brown Waffle Paper (Available Sept. 1); Glitz and Glam: Basic Pearls (119247), Vintage Trinkets (118764), Victoria Crochet Trim (118481); Other: Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue (110755), Tissue Paper, Foam Brush