PCCCS159 -- Joy to All

I love it when a sketch is totally different, don't you?  This week's Paper Craft Crew Challenge sketch is exactly that, very different.  That star, dominating the left side of the card is just such a challenge. Shall I keep it?  Shall I change it to another shape?  Decisions, decisions.   Hey, I love stars.  Of course I kept the star shape!

I decided to use the star shape as my "peek-a-boo" window into another world.  That world featured the gorgeous new tool from the new Holiday Catalogue, the Woodland embossing folder.  Yes, I've used it before.  For last week's challenge, in fact, but some things just beg to be used.  This is one of them.

I dug into my retired stamp sets and used the snowflakes from the Confetti set.  I thought the patterns of the flakes were perfect for the background.  Instead of two banners, I decided to create a pseudo banner made of Silver Foil stars and then added the second banner with the sentiment.  They look great hanging from the arrow, don't they?  A few rhinestones at the upper right corner and another Silver Foil star resting on the arm of the large star, and my card is done.  Love, love, love that new heavy weight Whisper White which I've used as my base.

I hope you'll join us and link up your own version of this sketch at the Paper Craft Crew Challenge.

WCC31 -- Thanks!

This has to be a first!  I came to my blog this morning, expecting to see my Watercooler Challenge post and it wasn't there.  So I sat back and thought about it.  Yes, I had completed a post after midnight last night.  Oh!  Wait!  That was the post for the main Watercooler Challenge blog site, right?  So I guess I never got around to writing my very own post before the sleep-imps threw all that sleepytime-dust into my eyes.

This time the challenge is all about my own sketch.  That makes it a bit funny that I would neglect my own post, right?  It's a great sketch and I hope lots of people join in and post their own card to our great Watercooler Challenge site.

I love that sketch.  It was such fun putting my card together.  I used the new heavy-weight Whisper White as my base and then added a layer of the new In-Color, Delightful Dijon, and then, on top of that, a layer of the new Winter Wonderland Designer Vellum stack.  My tall strip is a piece of Whisper White embossed using the Elegant Dots embossing folder and then backed with Basic Black and also sponged lightly with Basic Black.  My sideways strip is a piece from the Basic Grey from the Neutrals Designer Series Paper stack.  Before mounting it on the card, I sponged it around the perimeter using Basic Black.  

My image is stamped on a piece of Whisper White using Versamark and heat embossed using Black embossing powder.  I love that image from the Serene Silhouettes set.  Then I used a mask to sponge the large circle of Delightful Dijon behind the trees.  The lighter yellow shade is purely Delightful Dijon, but just the remnants left in the sponge.  

I really wasn't sure about getting the Project Life Paper Clip thinlits.  On a whim I bought them and have loved using them ever since.  I've used them simply as an embellishment or, as in this case, have stamped a small sentiment right on the "clip".  This one was heat-embossed using White embossing powder.  The trick was finding a small enough "thanks" and I finally found it included in the Sprinkled of Life stamp set.

The ribbon?  It's Delightful Dijon and is one of the absolutely gorgeous rolls of ribbon included among the In-Colors Dotted Lace Trim.  It is so easy to tie, drapes beautifully and is a delight to use.  I'm not a "ribbon person" but this particular ribbon is my weakness.

Wacky Watercooler August "Sprinkles of Life" Blog Hop

It's time for another blog hop and this one is different from others we've had.  This time we're featuring a special stamp set and punch for two of our projects.  It's a special stamp set insofar as it's the one dedicated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities this year.  What that means is that for each stamp set sold, Stampin' Up! will donate $3.00 to the RMHC.  This year's stamp set is special.  It's called Sprinkles of Life and is so very versatile.  As if that wasn't enough, Stampin' Up! developed a punch, the Tree Builder punch, that perfectly compliments the stamp set.  I can't wait to see what the other "hoppers" have done with this set.  It's going to be such a fun blog hop.  I'm glad you've come along for the "ride".

As you will remember, if you've wandered through our blog hops before, our blog hop is presented in a circular fashion.  What does that mean?  Wherever you begin in our blog hop, whether you go forwards or backwards through the participants, eventually you will wind up precisely where you began.  I hope you'll take time to visit all the participatings blogs and, perhaps, leave a short message letting us know  what you've thought of our posts.

If you've been moving forwards through the blog hop, you'll have arrived here from the very talented Penny Hanuszak's blog.

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I kept my first project simple.  The little trees, the bird, and the cloud are all stamped using images from the Sprinkles of Life set and then cut using the Tree Builder punch.  I've used Watercolour paper for my background and mixed some Isopropyl Alcohol and re-inkers for the colours.  The upper area has Pool Party ink while the lower strip has Mint Macaron ink.  For the tree trunks I stamped Tip Top Taupe ink on Tip Top Taupe cardstock and for the foliage I stamped Mint Macaron ink on Mint Macaron cardstock.  The bird was stamped using Whisper White craft ink on Pacific Point cardstock.  He's my bluebird of happiness.

The little heart in the tree was cut with my Confetti Hearts punch.

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My next project uses a special fold.  Laura Lipe wrote a tutorial for a similar fold for the Splitcoaststampers and I was intrigued.  Of course the Windows framelits are retired, so I decided to make my card using the Floral Frames Collection framelits.  It worked out well.

I used the Sprinkles of Life set for my crazy off-kilter ice-cream cone with the birthday candles while the sentiment is from the terrific new Happy Happenings set.  The ice-cream for the cone was cut using the Tree Builder punch while the sign with the sentiment was cut using one of my Handpicked framelits.  I had to hand-cut the candles and the cone.

The pretty background paper is from the Cherry on Top paper stack.  I love the variety in that paper stack and the 6" x 6" sheets are so versatile.  The remainder of the cardstock is Whisper White (both the new heavy weight and also the "normal" weight, Bermuda Bay, and Crushed Curry.  I used the heart punch from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack to cut the heart shapes along both sides of the card.

I couldn't resist the candles sliding off the shiny (Crystal Effects) scoop of ice cream.  Let's face it, that's what they'd be doing in real life.

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For my final project I've CASEd the new Annual Catalogue.  I thought it would be fun to add a masculine card to my post and the card on page 98 fit the bill perfectly.  The Guy Greetings set was introduced in the Occasions Catalogue but was so popular that it made its way into the Annual Catalogue.  And no wonder!  There are so many great images in that stamp set!

The original card, p. 98

Of course I wasn't going to make a direct copy.  Where is the fun in that?  I followed the design and flair of the original with my own spin.  I loved that the designer paper used for the sample card was the new Color Me Irresistible Specialty paper.  You'll probably remember how much I loved the Irresistibly Yours paper from Sale-a-bration.  Well, this one is designed along the same lines, giving the impression of an emboss resist without all the fuss and bother.

I used a base of Smoky Slate and added a black on black layer from the Color Me Irresistible Specialty paper.  The thin strip of Crushed Curry patterned paper is from the Cherry On Top paper stack.  For the centre image and sentiment layer, I began with a base of Smoky Slate followed by layers of Basic Black and Crushed Curry.  The final stamped layer is, of course, Whisper White.

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Well, that's it for my projects.  I hope you enjoyed them as much as I've enjoyed creating them.  If you get a moment, please leave a comment and let me know what you thought of them.

Your next stop will be with a very creative member of our group, Christine Giuda.  I'm sure you'll be amazed with her wonderful projects.

PCCCS158 -- Hello!

The trouble with having too many irons in the fire is that some of them get overlooked.  This challenge, for example, wound up with my card being prepared in time and the post being put together but instead of doing my normal scheduled post, I wound up leaving this one as a draft.  Call it a blonde moment or the loss of too many marbles at once, but here, finally is my post.  Sorry about the delay in getting it past the draft stage.

I love the simplicity of this week's Paper Craft Crew Challenge sketch.  Of course sometimes simplicity comes with its own set of problems but this particular sketch had my card just about creating itself.

I knew that I wanted to use the brand new Woodland embossing folder featured in the Holiday Catalogue and I thought that a background of trees from the Lovely As A Tree set would be the perfect compliment.  I was right!  They worked together beautifully.

I wanted to have the embossed trees show up as white against the Soft Sky cardstock which I used.  I couldn't use my brayer and white craft ink on the embossing folder because the trees, while coloured white, would then have been debossed, a very attractive look but not what I wanted.  I knew I could still use the brayer, however, and so I simply embossed the Soft Sky without any fuss or muss and then, afterwards, used my brayer, loaded with Whisper White craft ink, to add white to the raised tree images.  Once that was dry, I used my Basic Grey Stampin' marker to add colour to the lines in the trees, giving the bark a nice touch of realism.

I'm so happy with the finished card.  The Craft paper works so well with the strip of burlap ribbon which I cut and tied, doesn't it?

For more cards using this sketch, check out the remaining cards submitted by the Design Team at the Paper Craft Crew Challenge.

PCCCS157 -- You make my heart smile!

As you already know, I absolutely love the Timeless Elegance Designer Series paper.  The patterns which I've used for this card feature the classic combination of Basic Black and Very Vanilla.  I chose to heat emboss the elegant half-circle  garland from the Timeless Love stamp set onto a circle of Basic Black cardstock using the white embossing powder, which works well since it is more of an off-white than a pure, snow-white.

I also added a further touch of elegance in the form of the 1/8" Silver Ribbon and the Silver Foil butterfly cut using the Bold Butterfly framelits.  For a bit of fun I added a few hearts and 1/8" circles in various sizes cut from the new Watermelon Wonder In-Color.  To help them "pop" just a bit more, I covered them with Crystal Effects.  Doesn't that make them look as if they're acrylic?

For more cards using this sketch, check out our Paper Craft Crew Challenge post.  Better still, link up your own version of this sketch.

WCC30 -- Many Thanks!

It's time for another Watercooler Challenge and this one is so much fun.  Susan Horr added a challenge for a 3-D project.  I didn't even have to think about what I would make.  It was my nephew's wedding this weekend and so a wedding favour seemed very appropriate.

I had a chance to use several framelits and thinlits for this project.  First of all the favour box itself was cut out using the Curvy Keepsake Box thinlit.  I used that gorgeous Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper for the box and it sparkles just like a diamond ring.  For the double butterfly decoration, I used  the smallest of the Butterflies thinlits to cut out a piece of Mint Macaron cardstock and the smallest of the Bold Butterfly framelits to cut out a piece of Silver Foil.   For the centre I added rhinestones to add to the dazzle.

For the sentiment I used the Another Thank You set with Mint Macaron ink and cut it out using a Bitty Banners framelit.  I sponged Mint Macaron ink around the perimeter after cutting it out.  Then, to attach it to the top of the box, I used a paper clip die cut from Silver Foil using one of the Project Life Paper Clip thinlits.  To hold the box together, I wrapped it with some Mint Macaron Dotted Lace Trim which I tied in a pretty bow.  I love how easily this soft ribbon ties into a bow.  It's definitely one of my favourite ribbons.

I hope you'll check out the remaining projects posted by our Watercooler Artists.  Better still, link up your own 3-D project for us to see.  Who knows, you may be the winner of this challenge.

Just click on the Watercooler Challenge to see all the other projects.

PCCCS156 -- You Rock!

I love sketch challenges---a good thing since I'm on the Design Team for the Paper Craft Crew Challenges which are purely sketch challenges.  Once in a while, however, I find myself staring at a sketch without my usual flash of inspiration.  Don't get me wrong.  There is nothing wrong with the sketch.  I just hit a wall and come up blank.

I had that happen to me with this week's sketch.  One by one I saw cards being posted by other members of the Design Team, all wonderful interpretations of the sketch, and I remained "blank".

Just as I was dropping off to sleep the other day, I realized that I knew what I wanted to do with the sketch.  I could see the whole card in a flash.  It was perfect, as long as I flipped the sketch horizontally and then vertically.  

And so, the next morning, I grabbed the products I had "seen" in that flash and made my card in record time.  (Don't you just love when that happens?)  The colours I chose were Tip Top Taupe, Whisper White, Basic Black and, to give it a "pop" of colour, some Watermelon Wonder.

I used a piece of the Go Wild Designer Series paper stack which, for me, appeared to have rocks in the design and combined it with the No Bones About It stamp set.  Those dinosaurs just make me smile.  I also used the Little Letters thinlits and combined it with the "Rock" from the Crazy About You stamp set.  A few stars punched out from a piece of Watermelon Wonder cardstock and the card was done.

Do you recognize the sketch?  Funny how the mind works.  Flipped this way, I had no problems coming up with inspiration.  Why don't you join us at the Paper Craft Crew Challenge to see the other cards and link up a card of your own?