WWC36 - Our Special 3-D Watercooler Wednesday Challenge

I enjoy making 3-D projects.  What fun to see that our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge this week would be all about 3-D.

For this project my plan was to finally open up my new Delicate Ornament Thinlits dies and create a pretty 3-D ornament.  I knew precisely what I wanted to do and proceeded to cut my pieces.  For my creation I would need four lacy die-cut ornaments.  Those would be cut from Silver Foil.  Instead of simply leaving the ornament open and lacy, however, I wanted colour to  show through to showcase that delicate lacy effect.  My plan was to cut circles from the new Red Foil.  In order to have the red show on both sides, I would need to cut four circles and then glue them back-to-back.  

Well, by the time I had the two layers of Silver Foil and the two layers of Red Foil all glued together, they were too bulky to make the folds necessary to create the ornament.  Obviously I would have to reduce my project by at least one layer.  I tried Real Red cardstock and simply didn't like the result and also found those three layers bulky.  Back to the drawing board.

One thing I had not yet tried and had actually forgotten about was the new Cotton Paper which had been introduced in the new Annual Catalogue.  Nothing could be lighter than that paper.  I dug it out and decided to use the Watermelon Wonder since I had been working with reds all this time.  (Next time I'm definitely going to use the Bermuda Bay).  This time the layering worked.  I had reduced enough bulk to get a nice, clean fold in my ornament.  

  

The real bonus, however, was that the Cotton Paper is so lightweight, almost like tissue paper but stronger, that light easily glowed through.  In real life this ornament just glows with coloured light when it gets close to a light source.

I hope you'll join us this week for our Watercooler Wednesday challenge.  Wouldn't you like to make a 3-D project?

PCCCS164 -- Cheers!

When I saw the sketch for the Paper Craft Crew Challenge, I knew I would be turning to my friend the Penguin and the Cherry On Top Designer Stack paper.  I could see a bright and cheery card in that sketch.

For this card I decided that there would be a whole lot of goodies.  An ice cream cone in the Penguin's hand (flipper) was a must.  I also chose the Designer paper with the doughnuts all over it as my background.  From a scrap of that paper as well as a couple of the other papers in the Designer Stack, I managed to fussy-cut a doughnut, an ice-cream cone and a cupcake.  Goodies galore!  For the banner I knew I wanted some fun texture and so turned to the Boho Chic embossing folder.  

A little Watermelon Wonder bow-tie and the card was done.  I love all the fun parts of this card.  I hope you'll come over to the Paper Craft Crew Challenge and join us this week.

WWC35 - You'll Be Missed

One of the things I've liked about other challenges has been participating in the occasional "anything goes" challenge.  It's always been such fun whenever they've come around because there are no rules---anything can be created and posted.  Imagine, therefore, my delight to see that our Watercooler Wednesday included an "anything goes" challenge for this week.  Actually the only problem I ran into was that I couldn't settle on any one idea.  Finally, however, I decided on a card.  You know what they say.  When in doubt, do what you enjoy.

Marsha introduced this "anything goes" challenge for September and I love the image for her challenge.  It's a box filled with surprises.  I hope our challenge and all our creations provide you with some happy surprises (and inspiration).

I've been loving the new window die introduced in the Holiday Catalogue.  The Hearth & Home Thinlits Dies also comes with a little window box die.  I''ve just used the window itself.  I decided to use a base of Whisper White and then added a layer of Early Espresso and a layer of Tip Top Taupe.  The Tip Top Taupe underwent some work before it was added.  First I took my Brick Wall embossing folder, used my Brayer to add Whisper White Craft ink to it and then embossed the cardstock.  To "age" the brick a bit more, I very lightly sponged a bit of the craft ink on the bricks.  For the fancy little corner at the left bottom, I used the Curvy Corner Trio punch.

 Although I usually cut the windows in white, I decided to cut this one from Early Espresso.  As a background I used a piece of Marina Mist and love the way the colour compliments the earth tones.  I know that the window die set comes with a matching stamp set of background "through the window" scenes, the Happy Scenes set.  They're great but I like to try scenes that are also possible using other stamp sets that I've bought.  For this one I used the White Christmas set which was introduced last winter and was added to this year's Annual Catalogue.  You can see I also used the Curvy Corner Trio punch for a fancy corner on the Marina Mist piece to compliment the one in the brick.  Well, I also used that same punch to add notches into the brick along the top and bottom right of the card so that my ribbon would lie nicely.  What a versatile punch, right? 

That sentiment is from the Wild About Flowers set and was cut out using one of the new Tags & Labels Framelits.

I hope you'll check out the "anything goes" projects created by the other Watercooler Artists at our Watercooler Wednesday challenge.  Better still, consider linking up your own project for us to enjoy.

PCCC163 - Happy Birthday

Guess what!  This week's Paper Craft Crew Challenge is not a sketch.  Surprised?  Well, to mix it up and have a bit of fun, we're adding a different challenge once a month or so.  This time it's going to be a Tic-Tac-Toe challenge.  You know how that goes.  You choose a line that goes straight across, straight up and down or diagonally.  As long as you have those three elements connected, you know what you've going to have to include for your card.

For my card I went straight across the top.  I chose Elegant Eggplant as my purple and then decided to use the swallowtail butterfly die from the Butterflies Thinlits to create an inlaid die-cut effect.  I kept the card very simple to place all the attention on the inlay.  Even my sentiment, stamped using Elegant Eggplant, is understated.  I like the subtle elegance of the finished card.  I hope you do, too.

For more fun Tic-Tac-Toe projects, check out this week's Paper Craft Crew Challenge.

FM226 - Thanks

This year has been so busy that I haven't had the time to enter as many challenges as I would have liked.  Today, however, I took a little "walk" through some of the challenges I've most enjoyed and discovered that the Friday Mashup is having a Design Team call.  I couldn't let the opportunity go by without at least putting in my card and seeing it went.  Fingers crossed.

Here’s the Mashup Challenge:

• Create a project with the Sketch.
• Create a project with Inlaid Die Cutting.
• or Mash it Up! and create a project with the Sketch and inlaid die cutting.

The challenge this week is one which I really enjoy:  inlaid die cutting.  This technique is so subtle but adds such elegance to a card.  Of course if you are sending cards overseas, the fact that the inlaid die cutting lies very flat is a distinct advantage as well.

I chose to keep it very clean and simple.  I kept the main portion of the card to a single layer, made possible because of the heavy weight Whisper White which Stampin' Up! added this year.  Since I wanted my base (and main layer) to be white, this really helped.  I folded the regular sized card into a portrait style and then ran it through the Big Shot with my "thanks" framelit, cutting across the bottom at a slight slant.  Then I cut the same "thanks" from a piece of watercolour style Designer Paper.  I very carefully glued that coloured "thanks" into the space left by the die-cut white "thanks" and then inserted the little white pieces into the cut-outs inside some of the letters.  The inlaid word looked great, especially that fancy border.

While that dried I took another piece of Whisper White and cut a square using one of my Square Collection Framelits.  Then I used the maple leaf die from the Leaflets Framelits and cut the shape out of the centre of the square.  I cut another maple leaf from the same Designer Paper from which I cut the "thanks" and then inlaid it into the white square.  A narrow Cajun Craze matte finished off the square.

Several loops of Gold Metallic Thread behind the square finished off the card.  Clean, simple and gorgeous.

There are some awesome cards over at the Friday Mashup and I hope you'll check them out.

I've also entered this card for the PP263 challenge at the Paper Players this week.

The Wacky Watercooler September Blog Hop --- Mixing it Up!

September already!  I can tell that summer is drawing to a close because some of the leaves are already colouring the landscape with their gorgeous leaves.  Others make me remember summer is still here with their continuing green foliage.  It's a beautiful time of the year.

In the world of stamping and creating, I love that September brings us a brand new Holiday Catalogue.  I'm always anxious to see what direction my Christmas and holiday cards will be taking.  After all, it's what I find in the new catalogue that tweaks my imagination and creativity.  This year's catalogue took me by surprise.  What a lot of wonderful stamp set/framelit combinations there are, not to mention some awesome combination of stamp sets and punches or embossing folders.

So, back to the "mixing it up".  This blog hop is all about mixing up products that have caught our interest in the Annual Catalogue as well as the Holiday Catalogue.  This is going to be such fun!

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 creative Priscilla Ivler's blog.

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For my first project I made a simple "hello" card.  It's great to have something that can be sent out for an occasion or a simple note.  I kept it very neutral.  This card could easily go to either a man or a woman (or a couple).  My colours are Tip Top Taupe, Pool Party, Basic Black and a touch of Whisper White and Pumpkin Pie.  That wonderful background is a piece of the Go Wild Designer Series Paper stack.  I've also used the cat from the Festive Fireside Framelits dies and the window from the Hearth & Home Thinlits dies.  

I've used one of my favourite stamp sets for the silhouette you can see through the window, the Serene Silhouettes set.  The cat owes its colours to some creative colour blocking with my Stampin' Markers and the Pool Party sentiment is the perfect size, thanks to the Greetings Thinlits.

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For my second project I mixed up some products from the Annual Catalogue with the adorable penguin from the Holiday Catalogue.  Yes, the penguin is part of a Christmas bundle where the Snow Place stamp set is perfectly coordinated with the Snow Friends Framelits dies.  Well, I used the penguin and tie from the bundle but the rest of the elements come directly from the Annual Catalogue.  My background is igloo-like thanks to the Brick Wall embossing folder.  I've used the Banners framelits to cut out a matte in Bermuda Bay and the fun images from the Cherry On Top Designer Series Paper stack as well.  The Watermelon Wonder sentiment from the Amazing Birthday stamp set is mounted on a Crushed Curry "stake" from the Handpicked Framelits dies.  

I love the bright colours in this card.  It was such fun to create and, I hope, will bring a happy smile to the recipient.

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For my final project, I decided to create a fun box filled with candy.  I knew I wanted to use the Fry Box Bigz L die but wasn't sure about using the matching All About Sugar stamp set.  Don't get me wrong, it's a great set, but it wasn't giving me any ideas.  I really wanted to make something for Hallowe'en.  On a whim I went to the Stampin' Up! site and checked out the Photopolymer stamp sets.  I was curious whether the Bite Me stamp set was still current since I couldn't find it in the Annual Catalogue.  And there it was!  The set is still being sold and I was so excited that I had to get up and do a little happy dance.  With that out of my system, I got to work creating a little "ghoulish" candy box.

After cutting the heavy weight Whisper White for the Fry Box, I used a couple of the scrap pieces to create a "mummy wrap" effect.  Stamped strategically with images from the Bite Me set, the box was turning out to be exactly what I had hoped it would be.  The spiders look almost real with the bodies covered in Crystal Effects.

For my tag I used the sentiment from the Bite Me set and cut it out using one of the Tags & Labels Framelits.  I tied it to the bag filled with candies using some of that wonderful Thick Baker's Twine in Cherry Cobbler.  

I love the way this turned out.  I'm so glad I checked to see if one of my favourite stamp sets was still being sold.  If you like the images, you can still order it, too.

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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 talented member of our group, Marie Green.  I'm sure you'll be amazed with her wonderful projects.

WWC34 - Hello

It's time for another Watercooler Wednesday challenge and this week's is all about colour.  Jean Fitch has provided a different type of colour challenge.  She has created a challenge within the challenge with her ombre technique.

I just love this!  Instead of using a number of set colours, the idea is to have the card or a part of the card showcasing the ombre technique.  I knew that I wanted to do an underwater scene and so I decided to use a colour I haven't used for a while, the Island Indigo.  

I kept the card very clean and simple.  I wanted the ombre to "pop".  The base of my card is Whisper White and then I've added another layer of Whisper White which I first embossed using the Decorative Dots embossing folder.  After using my Ovals framelit, I set that aside and proceeded to use a sponge dauber to create an ombre effect on the base, making sure I kept the colour towards the centre, leaving the border white.

Then I took a piece of Window Sheet and the From Land to Sea stamp set and heat embossed two jellyfish using Whisper White embossing powder.  You can tell by now that I planned to make this into a shaker card, right?  If you look closely, you'll see several of the sequins behind the Window Sheet.  For my sentiment I decided to create a similar ombre effect on a small piece of Whisper White and then used the Greetings Thinlits to cut the "hello" out.

I really enjoyed this challenge.  Thanks, Jean.  I hope you'll join us at the Watercooler Wednesday challenge to check out the cards posted by the other Watercooler Artists.  Better still, try the technique yourself and post your card to our challenge.

PCCCS162 - Happy Birthday Wishes

The Awesomely Artistic stamp set was among my top three picks from the Annual Catalogue this year.  I love the various images, especially the dragonfly.  Happily this week's sketch lent itself perfectly to the stamp set.

I began with a base of Smoky Slate cardstock and then added a layer of Basic Black.  For the diagonal stripes in the background, I chose the Designer Series Paper Stack.  I wanted to add some glitz to the card and so used Gold Foil embossed using the new Softly Falling embossing folder.  For my main rectangle I used a base of Basic Black and then stamped my images using the new Archival Basic Gray ink.  I only coloured a few of the blossoms with my Melon Mambo Stampin' Marker.  After stamping the dragonfly image using Bermuda Bay, I fussy-cut it out and then covered the wings with some Dazzling Details.  

I hope you'll check out the remaining Design Team cards at the Paper Craft Crew Challenge site and join us with a card of your own this week.

WWC33 - You Make My Heart Smile

It's time for another Watercooler Wednesday challenge and this week we are featuring Bev's Photo Inspiration.  I love photo inspiration challenges.  There is so much one can do with them.  The only rule is that one can tell that the card was created as a result of inspiration from some part of the photo, whether it be the colours, the design, elements within the photo, etc.

WCC33 - Photo Inspiration

You can see that there are almost limitless possibilities within this photo.  I chose to use the colours and also the floral design in the background.  For an added touch I also added a border of Silver Foil circles along the right border to echo the silver circles within the gorgeous chandelier in that bedroom.

I began with a base of Smoky Slate followed by a number of layers of cardstock:  Perfect Plum, Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry and Blackberry Bliss.  My Triptych is stamped with the images and sentiment from that beautiful set, Timeless Love.  I used my Aqua Painter to colour the images using Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry, Perfect Plum, Wisteria Wonder and Pear Pizzazz inks.  I've set the triptych slightly off centre  and then, along the wider border of Perfect Plum, added eight Silver Foil circles.

I hope you'll join us this week at the Watercooler Wednesday challenge and check out the rest of the cards created by the Watercooler Artists.  I hope you'll feel inspired and link up your own creation.  I look forward to seeing it.

PCCCS161 -- Hello Autumn!

Yes, the calendar insists that it's still summer but the temperatures around here have dropped sufficiently to make me believe that Autumn is very close.  Where is our Indian summer?  I'm not sure I'm ready to give up sandals, shorts and short sleeves quite yet.  Yes, the turning leaves are gorgeous.  I'd be a fool to deny their beauty.  But I'm still wishing for summer to continue a while yet.

The sketch for our Paper Craft Crew Challenge lent itself perfectly to an idea I had of a background of falling leaves combined with the tree from that wonderful Ronald McDonald House stamp set, Sprinkles of Life.

For my background, I first took a piece of Watercolour Paper and sprayed it well with water before dipping it onto a window sheet upon which I had mixed drops of So Saffron, Tangelo Twist and Delightful Dijon.  The results were very muted but it took away the white, which is what I wanted.  Then, after the Watercolour Paper had completely dried, I stamped various leaves from the Vintage Leaves set across the paper in every direction using the Basic Grey Archival ink.  The fact that the ink is waterproof appealed to me since I planned to use quite a bit more water and ink to colour the leaves.  When that had completely dried, I stamped more leaves in the empty areas, overlapping onto the coloured leaves, using Smoky Slate and Sahara Sand inks.  The results are very subtle but it really adds so much more dimension.

For my centre oval, I used the new Heavy Weight Whisper White and stamped the tree from the Sprinkles of Life set using the Basic Grey Archival ink again.  Then I coloured it using my Tip Top Taupe Stampin' Marker.  I used the little leaves image from the Sheltering Tree stamp set to stamp the leaves in the tree and on the ground using a variety of different inks:  Old Olive, Delightful Dijon, Cajun Craze and Tangelo Twist.  As an added touch, I stamped the rake image from that stamp set using the Basic Grey Archival ink as well.

I love the final results.  It really does look like Autumn, doesn't it?  I guess that's what I'll be seeing more and more of now that our temperatures have dropped.  

I hope you'll join us at the Paper Craft Crew Challenge to check out the rest of the Design Team cards.  I look forward to seeing your card linked up to our page.

WWC32 -- Sleigh Ride

Do you notice the new banner?  Our favourite Watercooler Challenge has moved to Wednesday, changed its name and, to top it all off, has become a weekly challenge.  Woohoo!

This week's challenge is a sketch challenge by Kath Ricks.  I love sketch challenges and Kath's was a lot of fun, especially when I turned it on its side for my card.  I love that about sketch challenges.  It's fair game to turn them on their sides or upside down as long as the original sketch is still recognizable.

I turned the sketch on its side so that I could try out the brand new edgelits from the Holiday Catalogue.  With a bit of layering I was able to use all three of the Sleigh Ride edgelit dies for my card.  I was totally thrilled about that.  I kept my colours simple.  I used Soft Sky cardstock as my base and then layered some Night of Navy, Silver Foil, More Night of Navy and, finally, some Whisper White cardstocks.  I chose not to use any Designer Papers because I used so many embossing folders on my various cardstocks.  If you look carefully, the Night of Navy is embossed using the Stylish Stripes embossing folder, while the base of Soft Sky is embossed using the Lucky Stars embossing folder.  The strip of Silver Foil is embossed using the Decorative Dots embossing folder.  Finally, the Whisper White is embossed using the new Softly Falling embossing folder featured in the Holiday Catalogue.

Any sentiment or greeting could be used on this card.  I haven't added one and may not.  I like the simplicity of the card without any writing on the front.

For more cards using Kath's sketch, check out the rest of the creations by the Watercooler Artists at our Watercooler Wednesday challenge.

PCCCS160 -- Made With Love

Our weekly Paper Craft Crew Challenge is about to undergo a few changes.  It won't be purely a sketch challenge any longer.  This one is the final one in the series before our change.

I love this sketch!  It's got lots of detail which makes for a fun challenge.  I chose to feature the Made With Love stamp set and had lots of fun, especially fitting some of the images into the Hexagon shapes.

I also cut down some of the beautiful Watermelon Wonder Dotted Lace Trim ribbon as an embellishment and love the way it carries on the colour in my ink and cardstock.  This would be a perfect card to give with a handmade baby gift, wouldn't it?

For more cards made by the Design Team, check out the Paper Craft Crew Challenge.