Missing You for The Paper Players

Smack dab in the middle of all the fun, but sometimes ghoulish, Halloween products in Stampin’ Up!’s 2016 Holiday Catalog is a gorgeous brick wall stamp.  It’s a part of the Ghoulish Grunge stamp set, and it’s a perfectly beautiful image for Halloween and not-Halloween.  I imagine the wall to be outside a little apartment in NYC.  While I principally used Cajun Craze, I incorporated all of this week’s colors at The Paper Players – Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry and Pear Pizzazz to make this sweet card:

Ghoulish Grunge, Bear Hugs, Peaceful Pines, Places You'll Go, Stampin' Up!, Brian King

And here’s the banner for LeAnne Pugliese’s color challenge that inspired my card:

Stampin' Up! Color Inspiration: Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry, Pear PizzazzTips, Tricks and Reminders

  • Ghoulish Grunge.  As a general rule, we love our grunge sets – the sets that allow us to add beautiful background textures to our cards.  Gorgeous Grunge, Timeless Texture, Touches of Texture – and now Ghoulish Grunge.  While the brick wall can be used year-round, this set has a handful of images that are perfect for the spookiest time of year.  There’s a gauze-textured image, dripping blood (or ooze), a netting and a fun spider web.  These are perfect images to spice-up your Halloween treats:

    Ghoulish Grunge, Stampin' Up!

    Ghoulish Grunge, Stampin’ Up!

  • K.I.S.B.  Every once in a while, I have to remind myself, “Keep It Simple, Brian.”  My designer’s instinct was to add a thin border around this Whisper White panel, but my practical side said, “It looks so good like this.”  After about an hour and a half of fighting (the voices in my head can be so loud!), the practical side won, and I decided to go with the simple approach.  The bold panel of Cajun Craze frames my focal panel perfectly, and the small panel frames my wall, flower and sentiment perfectly.  There’s such an intimate picture without all the layers of cardstock.  EDITOR’S NOTE: Even as I write this, I want to add another layer or two to the card, but something deep inside me tells me is O.K. as it is.  Another voice laughs, knowing it’s far too late to recreate it.
  • Pairing the Envelope.  The envelope is generally the first thing people know about the card inside.  I added a scrap of Cajun Craze paper from my Regals Designer Series Paper Stack to the flap of my envelope.  The friendly words point to the sentiment on the inside of the card and pair perfectly with the feel of the card inside.  I love how easy it is to add that detail – glue it down, and snip around the edge of the envelope flap.  So easy!

Stamp Sets:  Ghoulish Grunge, Bear Hugs, Peaceful Pines, Places You’ll Go  Papers:  Cajun Craze, Thick Whisper White  Inks:  Cajun Craze, Archival Basic Black, Crushed Curry, Pear Pizzazz  Accessories:  Bear Hugs Framelits, Perfect Pines Framelits, Stampin’ DimensionalsGhoulish Grunge, Bear Hugs, Peaceful Pines, Places You'll Go, Stampin' Up!, Brian King

I hope you’ll pop over to The Paper Players site to see the cards by the design team members and to play along with this week’s challenge.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian

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18 Comments

  1. Phyllis Ponton Shepherd

    LOVE this Brian!!!

  2. WOW, your voices are busy today. But listen to the “It’s just fine as it is” voice. Great card, somewhat nostalgic but lovely.

  3. Margaret Ann Hammond

    I love this card . You stopped at the right time. I am glad to see parts of
    this stamp set being used in another setting not halloween thank
    you for this idea

  4. You’re so incredibly clever! I had to think about where the brick wall came from?! I would never have thought of this! KISB way the way to go – it’s really beautiful. xx

  5. I’m thinking need that stamp
    Set just for the brick wall. So many ways to use it. Love it Brian.

  6. This simple beauty is one of my all time faves! Sitting on the deck watching the ocean and enjoying your sweet card!

  7. Love this elegant card! Now…. you all have got to stop enabling me!!!!?

  8. Stunning card Brian, so simple, soft but it says it all.

  9. You and your voices, Brian…LOL! Do we need to commit you? I think not, because your voices are what keep us laughing…and I don’t want to stop. As for myself, I had a voice that said to score a wee bit around the panel on the card base. But I love what you came up with!! 🙂

  10. So very elegant with all of the simple glory!! So beautiful, what else pretty is just not sufficient enough….and I love how your voices help you create…it’s hard sometimes to be okay with perfection…have a great day and tell those voices to be quite…you’ve got this???

  11. I love this. Didn’t realize that I needed that brick stamp until now!

  12. Voices ???? Rest assured there will NEVER be a voice that tells you to add glitter.
    Great card, Brian.

  13. Oh Brian – I did not fail to note the photo set up for this card against the brick wall of the fungeon! You are so magnificently artistic it’s not funny. You ARE funny but your talents are amazing. Now you are going to cost me more. You are getting to be a pretty expensive (but well worth it) enabler. LOL I’m kidding……….I love all you do for us.

  14. I’m happy you listened to your inner voice and held strong. Your card is beautiful in its simplicity. I’m a clean & simple card maker and fight the same battle. Great job!

  15. Sometimes less is more and today’s card with fewer layers than your usual is perfect. When I first saw the card, I thought of the flowers sitting near a brick fireplace. The imagination is always interesting. Great take on the challenge.

  16. Love the card…but your Post today had me in stitches! Thanks for the first laugh of my day today Brian!

  17. adorable snippet of brick, especially with the simple flower pot. another voice in your head . . . it’s perfect the way it is!

  18. Love, love, love it! Your card just reinforces my need for the Ghoulish Grunge Stamp Set!

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