Gretchen Barron: Banbury Designer Series Paper -- So Much Fun!

Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross, To see a fine lady upon a white horse.
With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, She shall have music wherever she goes!

These are the words that came to mind when I first saw today's featured Designer Series Paper -- Banbury! It brings back memories of sitting on the floor at KinderMusik classes with my daughter when she was a baby, singing this song and bouncing her on my knee. And so it's not surprising that for at least two of my cards today, I focused on children's cards. This paper is so beautiful with the soft pastel colors of Certainly Celery, Pink Pirouette, Bashful Blue and Close to Cocoa. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger image of each of the 12 patterns in the Banbury DSP pack.

Now isn't this little guy just the cutest? This is Stampin' Up's! new Sock Monkey Set. He comes with all sorts of goodies to hold -- the cupcake, a flower, a banana (of course), a heart, a balloon and a flag. And if that's not enough, you can also purchase Sock Monkey Accessories with even more goodies to dress up this little guy (including bunny ears and a Santa hat). This card measures 5" square -- just the right size to use with the Stampin' Up! 5 1/2" square envelopes. The card base is Brocade Blue with a layer of Chocolate Chip and the argyle print from the DSP pack. I added a length of 5/8" Brocade Blue Grosgrain ribbon and 1/4" Chocolate Chip ribbon on top of that. The Sock Monkey was stamped on Close To Cocoa and then again on Natural White cardstock. I sponged white craft ink lightly over the Close to Cocoa to give him a "heathery" look (like the real socks) and cut him out. I cut out the tips of all extremities (including the tail), his mouth and the patch on his rear end. I colored in the lips and the patch with a Real Red Stampin' Write Marker. I then attached all the white and red pieces using SNAIL adhesive and attached the monkey to a layer of Bashful Blue cardstock with Dimensionals. I stamped the cupcake on Natural White cardstock, colored it in with markers and put it in his hand using a Dimensional. I mounted this layer on a layer of Chocolate Chip cardstock and attached it to the card. The Happy Birthday sentiment was stamped using Think Happy Thoughts in Chocolate chip ink. The little Bashful Blue flower (from the same set) was stamped in the middle. I punched this out with the 1 1/4" circle punch and punched a larger 1 3/8" circle out of Certainly Celery. The Scallop Circle Punch was used on Chocolate Chip cardstock and white dots applied using a Signo White Gel Pen. I put all the circles together, punched a small hole with the Crop-A-Dile and slid in a green brad from the Circle Ice Rhinestone Brads and applied it to the card with Dimensionals. Finally, I tied on a little bow with 1/4" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon. He's just dandy, don't you think?

And now to give equal time to the girls, here's a card that's all so pretty in pink -- Pirouette Pink, that is. A layer of Certainly Celery and then the DSP is mounted on the card base. I scalloped the bottom edge of the Certainly Celery cardstock using the new Scallop Edge Punch and added dots with a White Signo Gel Pen. I tied a length of 5/8" Pink Pirouette Striped Grosgrain ribbon and added a bow. The cupcake image is from Crazy for Cupcakes. I stamped it once on a small argyle print from the DSP pack (for the cup) and again on Regal Rose cardstock (for the frosting). I cut these out and SNAIL'ed them together and added sprinkles of Chunky White Glitter with a 2-way glue pen. The candle is cut from a scrap of the DSP and instead of a flame, I added a yellow Circle Fire Rhinestone Brad. Best Wishes is stamped using the new Cute & Curly set which is bundled with the Curly Label Punch. I punched two additional Curly Labels out of Certainly Celery cardstock and turned them 90 degrees to use as a little larger mat underneath the stamped label. (there's your tip for today!)

One last card today, for the more mature among us (OK, I guess I have to count myself!),using the fabulous Banbury Designer Series Paper. This begins with a cardbase of Close to Cocoa with a layer of Certainly Celery cardstock and DSP at the bottom of the card. I attached a length of 5/8" Certainly Celery Grosgrain ribbon. The sentiment is from God's Blessings, stamped in Chocolate Chip ink on Whisper White cardstock.This is mounted on layers of Close To Cocoa and Certainly Celery. The Certainly Celery layer has both sides scalloped with the Scallop Edge Punch and dots applied using a White Signo Gel Pen. Finally, the bow is cinched up near the sentiment and a piece of Certainly Celery cardstock is attached to the inside of the card. Just beautiful! Have I mentioned how much I love the Banbury Designer Series Paper? Well, now I have (again)!

Well, I need to go. I am actually finishing up some projects today that I need to get in the mail for the latest Stampin' Up! contest. Who knows, maybe they will be in print soon. I can't share them with you yet, but I will as soon as I'm able. Wish me luck!

Remember, I am again offering Sampler Kits of Designer Series Paper and Ribbon sets. It's a great way to get a little bit of everything without having to buy complete packages of paper or spools of ribbon.

And don't forget the CASE contest! Pick any card or project from the current Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog and remake it using your own colors, stamp sets and embellishments. Read the details by clicking on the link!

Have a great day everyone and I'll be back with more tomorrow! Blessings, Gretchen

PS -- that's a strange little nursery rhyme, isn't it? Click here to find out more about it's history and what it means!

Comments

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Oh I am enjoying looking at each of the new samples you are making with the new DSP! And the sock monkey is adorable. I can't wait to try out what you did. :o)

Happy Stampin',
~*Priscilla*~

Posted by: Priscilla | August 26, 2008 at 01:47 PM