TCTC#3 - Celebrate You

Well, I'm entering another of the Colour Tree challenges.  This time the colours made me think masculine and so I created my card along those lines.

I turned to what is becoming one of my favourite new die sets, the Botanical Builder framelits.  I haven't used them all yet, but several of the dies are so very versatile that I keep going back to them.  I used the curvy leaves to divide the card diagonally.  First I took a piece of Soft Suede cardstock and ran it through the Big Shot using my Softly Falling embossing folder.  Then I cut it diagonally with the leafy framelit.  To add some texture and depth, I sponged the perimeter, including the leaves, with Soft Suede ink.  

I planned to attach the Soft Suede piece to a full 4" x 5" piece of Very Vanilla.  Before doing so, however, I sponged around the perimeter using Soft Suede ink and then stamped over it with the flourish image and the splatter image from the Timeless Textures stamp set.  For the flourish I used Soft Suede ink offstamped twice to ensure a pale image.  For the splatter I used Mint Macaron ink offstamped once to ensure a pale image as well.  Then I attached the Soft Suede diagonally cut piece.

I wanted the open cut leaves to be in Mint Macaron and so took a scrap of the cardstock and cut it using the leafy framelit.  I took the cut leaves and glued them into the open leaves of the Soft Suede.  I took my sentiment from the Birthday Blossoms set and stamped it on the already stamped Very Vanilla using Soft Suede ink.  

Finally I tied some strands of Gold Metallic Baker's twine around the piece diagonally and then mounted the piece onto a 4 1/8" x 5 1/4" piece of Mint Macaron, offset to show the Mint Macaron only on the Soft Suede side as well as at the top and bottom.  I also offset these completed layers onto the base cardstock by not leaving any Soft Suede showing on the left side.  I like the finished effect of this "double offset".

As a finishing touch I added some loops of Gold Metallic thread topped with a small punched Gold Glimmer paper heart.

Just a reminder that we're having a Design Team call for the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.   This week's challenge is "anything goes".  I look forward to seeing your creation and to any Design Team applications.

WWC52 - Our Hearts Decide

For anyone interested, the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge is having a Design Team call.

Our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge this week is a fun one.  We're having an "anything goes" challenge and I simply love those, don't you?

I decided to use that beautiful new Bloomin' Heart die introduced in the Occasions Catalogue.  I had the idea of cutting it out in one colour and then putting the little negative pieces back in but in another colour.  So I cut the heart out in Blackberry Bliss and then in Very Vanilla.  About halfway through piecing the bits back into the die-cut heart, I almost gave up.  There are a LOT of pieces!

My base cardstock is Blackberry Bliss.  I followed that up with a layer of Mint Macaron and then a layer of Blushing Bride.  Before attaching them to the base, I cut the upper right and lower left corners using the Curvy Corner Trio punch.  I also used the Timeless Textures stamp set and Whisper White Craft ink to stamp several patterns over the Blushing Bride layer.

If you look closely at the Very Vanilla flower petals which I pieced back into the Blackberry Bliss heart, you may notice that I covered them with a layer of the clear Wink of Stella shimmer.  I sponged the die-cut Blushing Bride flowers lightly with Blackberry Bliss to add texture.

Finally I added part of a sentiment from the Picture Perfect stamp set, stamping it in Blackberry Bliss ink.

I hope you'll join us this week and link up your own creation.  Remember, it's "anything goes".  For more samples created by the Watercooler Artists, check out the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I've also entered my card in the Stamp Ink Paper Challenge which gives options in a Tic-Tac-Toe.  I chose the far right vertical.

I've also added my card to the SUO Challenge since that is all about Valentines.

PCCCS179 - Just for You

This week's challenge for the Paper Craft Crew is a Love Theme.  With all the great new products that Stampin' Up! introduced in the Occasions Catalogue and Sale-a-bration brochure, there are a lot of wonderful stamps from which to choose.

I chose the couple from the Beautiful Ride stamp set along with the large sentiment from the Botanicals For You set.  I created a background from three inks:  Rose Red, Hello Honey and Tip Top Taupe.  Then I stamped the couple image on the background and coloured it with my Stampin' Markers.  After that I used my Hearts framelit to cut it out and surrounded the heart perimeter with small hearts cut with my Confetti Hearts punch.

For the sentiment, I used my Stampin' Markers and the same colours to colour sections of the stamp and then stamped it on Whisper White.  After that I fussy-cut the sentiment.  For my card base I used Tip Top Taupe and then a layer of Basic Black which I embossed with a retired script embossing folder.  Finally I attached the sentiment and heart to the card and added three Rose Red Candy Dots.

I hope you'll check out what the rest of the Design Team created for this challenge at our blog site, Paper Craft Crew Challenge.

The Wacky Watercooler Second January Mini Blog Hop

Welcome to our second mini blog hop for this January.  As you'll remember from our first mini blog hop, that's what we've decided to do this month since the Occasions 2016 Catalogue just launched and we've begun Sale-a-bration.  It just didn't make sense to wait and hold our usual single blog hop on the third Thursday of this month.  What does this mean for you?  You'll get to see even more wonderful creations using the gorgeous new products from the new catalogue.  Especially since we've added more "hoppers" and most of us have even more products with which we've been able to play.

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 participating 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 and creative Christine Giuda.  Weren't her projects terrific?

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My first project is all about the stunning Bloomin' Heart thinlits.  What a wonderful tool this is!  I think the lacy heart is gorgeous on its own but it's a real bonus being able to use it in a number of alternate ways as well.  My first thoughts at seeing it in the catalogue were that it would be a "one trick pony" and who wants something that is so extremely limited?  But then some of the creative geniuses from around the world began posting their own ideas and I knew I would have to buy this die set.  "One trick pony, indeed!"  This set performs all sorts of "tricks".

I decided to cut the heart out of the carried-over Red Foil.  I'm so glad that product didn't retire, aren't you?  With Valentine's around the corner, this paper is perfect for so many projects.  I kept this card simple since the Bloomin' Heart  is so fancy.  Instead of using an embossing folder on the Very Vanilla, I decided to line it with a layer of the patterned vellum from the Sale-a-bration Botanical Gardens vellum stack.  The effect is very subtle but gives it a wonderful background.

I cut the flowers from the Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper.  In real life they dazzle, almost outshining the rhinestones in their centres.  To finish off, I took a sentiment from the Timeless Love set and stamped it in Real Red ink.

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For my second project I decided to finally try out a fold which I had found on Christina Griffith's page a few years ago.   It's a Double Twisted Easel card and took some planning to create.  After all, you have to think about what it will look like when closed and then also ensure that it makes sense when it is standing open.  But the challenge of making the card appealed to me and I'm happy with the result.

It's a tall card, measuring 8" x 4" when closed as you see it.  I took the sentiment from the Endless Birthdays set and stamped it on a Whisper White "paper clip" cut using one of the cute Project Life Paper Clips thinlits.

The top of the card is created as if you're making a 4" x 4" card as is the bottom of the card.

I love the added interest and texture created by the Lovely Lace embossing folder, don't you?  For my teapot, I used the new Cups & Kettles framelits.  First, however, I used Tombo glue to attach a design from the Sale-a-bration Botanicals Garden vellum stack to a piece of Blushing Bride cardstock.  Cutting it out after the pieces were together made it easier to handle.  I coloured a few of the blossoms from the vellum using my Blushing Bride and Rose Red Stampin' Markers as well as the Stampin' Chalk Marker.

For this square I used the new Botanical Builder framelits and some Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake, Rose Red, and Garden Green cardstock.  The pearls finish the flowers off beautifully.

I used more of the die-cut flowers for the inside of my card.  I also used the new Party Pop-Up thinlits instead of stamping my sentiment.  Over the base layer of Whisper White I added a layer of Crumb Cake and then a layer of floral Crumb Cake from the Neutrals Designer Series stack.  The centre is a layer of Rose Red cardstock and a layer of Crumb Cake cardstock, both cut out using the Ovals Collection framelits.

I love the way this card stands up, don't you?

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And that's it for my projects.  I hope you've enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed creating them.  From here you'll be returning to the beginning of the circle again, and another wonderfully creative stamper, Marsha Reed.

If you get a moment, I'd love it if you would leave a comment.

I got the inspiration for the colours in my Double Twisted Easel card from a challenge put on by Bronwyn Eastley, and am going to put this card into the challenge as a result.  I hope you'll check out The Colour Tree Challenge and the wonderful cards linked up there.

WWC51 - The Sky is the Limit

This week's challenge is one we haven't had before.  It's a CAS (clean and simple) challenge presented by Bev and it's all about stars.

Clean and simple is a technique with which I really struggled when I first began to enter various challenges.  It's a lot harder than one might think.  Some CAS challenges are for single layers.  Those really are a challenge.  You have the one single layer of cardstock on which you do your stamping.  The more "white space" or "negative space" you leave, the better your card.  Bev's challenge is CAS but it is not restricted to a single layer.  As with the single layer, however, you want to leave white space and keep any embellishments to a minimum.

I knew what I would use on my card.  I had the idea of stars and that wonderful bi-plane from The Sky is the Limit stamp set along with the signature sentiment.  I didn't want to glue on some stars and add to my layers and then I remembered my Hearts & Stars Decorative Masks.  I  hadn't used the stars stencil in ages and it would be perfect for the card.

You can see the stencilled Daffodil Delight stars which I've scattered across the middle of the Whisper White cardstock.  I left room to add the bi-plane on the lower left of the stars and the sentiment on the upper right of the stars.

Since I used a base of Basic Black cardstock, I stamped the bi-plane and the sentiment using Basic Black Archival ink.  My one small embellishment is a star which I punched from Daffodil Delight cardstock and coloured with my Gold Wink of Stella brush.

I hope you'll take the time to check out the other Watercooler Artists' creations at the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  After that, I invite you to link up your own clean and simple creation.

PCCCS178 - Miss You!

This week we have a great challenge for you from the Paper Craft Crew.  It's a sketch which has been interpreted in so many different ways by our Design Team.

I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this sketch.  It's been a while since I've used the Wilderness Awaits stamp set.  That dog image would be perfect along with some paper from the Cherry on Top Designer Series paper stack.  I kept my colours to the more masculine but muted shades such as Tip Top Taupe, Lost Lagoon, and Mossy Meadow.  

As you can see, I added some embellishments to the right bottom of the card.  You can see the loops of Linen thread, the Burlap Ribbon and an Antique Brad.  All in all, I love the way everything works together in my card.  Let me know what you think.

WWC50 - Thanks

It's time for another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and this time it's Jean Fitch who is presenting our challenge.  Her choice was a technique challenge featuring quilt style paper piecing.

I have to admit that I had some qualms going into this challenge.  I've never created a quilt and found the prospect almost overwhelming.  I kept starting and not liking my attempts.  Seriously, I have about ten or so butterflies cut out in various colours, several shapes also cut out in various Designer Papers and all were put aside as I rejected each idea.  This doesn't happen to me often, thank goodness.

Finally I decided that I would do a quilt style which I had seen and admired in a real quilt.  A friend had done a wonderful quilt all in applique.  And so that's the route I took.  I got my shapes by first using the Lovely Lace embossing folder on Watermelon Wonder cardstock, on Whisper White cardstock and finally on Crisp Cucumber cardstock.  I chose the embossed shapes I wanted for my "quilt" and fussy-cut them out.  It felt good to be actually working towards an idea.

I used a base of the thick Whisper White cardstock and then added a layer of Bermuda Bay.  Then I took a piece of the Cherry on Top Designer Series Paper stack and used the Honeycomb embossing folder on it before attaching it to the card.  Before attaching the applique pieces, I got a bit whimsical and made the floral portion of the applique into a shaker.  Yes, I know, Jean.  Quilts seldom have shakers but I got carried away.

Do you see the varying colours in the "thanks"?  I had fun with that.  I took a scrap of Whisper White cardstock and a scrap of Watermelon Wonder cardstock and taped them together using the Cucumber Crush Washi Tape from the Cherry on Top Washi Tape collection.  Then I very carefully placed the "thanks" thinlit on the taped pieces so that it showed three colours:  Whisper White covered with the Washi Tape, Watermelon Wonder covered with the Washi Tape and, finally, the Watermelon Wonder on its own.  I love the result!

You can see just how I cut it out in this picture.  

I hope you'll check out the cards created by the other Watercooler Artists at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  And then create your own quilt paper piecing and link it up for this week's challenge.

PCCCS177 - So Sorry

Time for another sketch challenge with the Paper Craft Crew.  This week's sketch seems simple but you'll see from all the Design Team creations that it can be left simple or made quite fancy.  It's that type of sketch.


With all the types of cards we make, there is one that we always hope won't be needed.  You know which type that is:  the sympathy card.  For some reason when I saw this sketch, that's the only style of card which came to mind.  I don't really enjoy making them.  I always begin that downward spiral of thinking.  You know, all about mortality and loss and begin to get into a bit of a blue funk.  It's probably a good thing that I don't wait for one of these cards to be needed.  Having a few on hand makes it easier when the time comes.

Now that I've depressed myself and everyone else, lets get to the card.  I kept all my colours rather monochromatic.  I used Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand, Basic Grey and Basic Black.  The Designer Series Paper which I used to stamp the "So Sorry" on is from the wonderful Timeless Elegance collection.  I even chose the black sequins from the Metallics Sequin Assortment and some of the Linen thread which is so close in colour to the Sahara Sand.

I like the way all the products work together in my card.  It's elegant and lovely but I hope I won't have to use it anytime soon.

Please come and visit the Paper Craft Crew Challenge to see all the Design Team projects.

Fun with a new challenge - The Colour Tree

I found a new challenge today and got all excited about participating.  It's the Colour Tree Challenge which is Co-ordinated by Bronwyn Eastley, a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator from Australia.  Actually that's what really made me grin.  I popped back to her challenge site to double check on my spelling and was delighted to see that "colour" is spelled right.  That makes  it so much easier for me since I always stumble over the American spelling even though it should be easier with one less letter.  But habit is difficult to break.

Before I ramble on too much, let's get back to the challenge.  The colours which Bronwyn has posted are lovely colours on their own but I don't use them together very frequently.  Good practise, then, to force the issue and come up with something that isn't fully in my comfort zone.  I wanted the card to use new products from the newly launched Occasions Catlogue but I only have a scant handful of products at the moment.  My big order is somewhere between me and Utah.

The stamp set I finally decided to use is from the Sale-a-bration brochure and is a compliment to the gorgeous Botanical Gardens collection from the Occasions Catalogue.  While I don't have the collection on hand yet, I was happy to play with what I had.  For my base I used Very Vanilla followed by a layer of Perfect Plum.  I topped that with another layer of Very Vanilla which I first stamped with So Saffron using the grid pattern from the You've Got This stamp set.  Then I took the huge sentiment stamp from the Botanicals for You set and stamped it over the grid using Early Espresso ink.

Well, I had used all the colours in the challenge but the card looked rather bare.  I took the three sizes of blossoms from the Botanicals for You set and stamped them on Whisper White using Perfect Plum ink.  Then I fussy-cut those small blossoms, wishing my order had come in since two of the sizes have matching framelit dies.  I used one of the smallest blossoms in place of the dot for the "J" in just and then glued the others in a random pattern in the lower portion of the card.   To finish up the card I cut a solid Perfect Plum butterfly and a lacy So Saffron butterfly, layered them and then attached them half-way up the right side.

For more cards in this challenge, check out The Colour Tree Challenge.

The Wacky Watercooler's First January Mini Blog Hop

Welcome to our first January mini blog hop.  A mini blog hop?  Yes, that's what we've decided to do this month since the Occasions 2016 Catalogue just launched and we've begun Sale-a-bration.  It just didn't make sense to wait and hold our usual blog hop on the third Thursday of the month.  Of course you're getting a bonus this month.  We'll be holding a second mini blog hop on January 21st just to ensure that we cover the third Thursday as scheduled.  What does this mean for you?  You'll get to see even more wonderful creations using the gorgeous new products from the new catalogue.

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 participating 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 and creative Marsha Reed.  Weren't her projects terrific?

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For my first project I decided to combine a brand new embossing folder from the Occasions Catalogue, World Traveller.  I love that we have the world map to emboss, especially since the Sale-a-bration brochure offers a stamp set that absolutely stole my heart, Sky Is the Limit.  You see my nephew is mad about planes and his birthday is coming up this month.  Of course I created my card with him in mind.

I've used a new product, Wink of Stella, on the propeller and also on the clouds.  It's not very obvious in the pictures but it adds a real shimmer to the area where one brushes it.  This close-up also shows the subtle sponging I've done to make the lines of the embossing  pop.

I created a larger than usual card to use the entire embossing folder.  Of course it can also be used for the 4.25" x 5.5" sized cards but a bit of the edge detail will be lost.  As a result the bi-plane looks a bit smaller on my card than it would on a standard-sized card.

I love those little vellum clouds, don't you?

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For my second and final project I used two stamp sets from the new Occasions Catalogue.  As soon as I saw them, I knew I would buy them.  They're versatile and, better still, really appeal to me.  I hope you love them as well.  I created a real scene using them.

I hope you can tell from the photograph that the front window looks reflective because I've covered the Soft Sky with a layer of the clear Wink of Stella.  I've also used that on the chrome areas of the car.  If you've never used the Wink of Stella Glitter Brush, may I suggest you get some.  It makes any colour shimmery.

For my base I've used the heavy weight Whisper White and then topped that with a layer of Daffodil Delight followed by a layer of Basic Black.  For my stamped and painted layer I've used Whisper White.  The background mountains and the tree at the right side are stamped using images from In the Meadow.  The foreground "road" is stamped using one of the images from the Gorgeous Grunge set.  For my classic Volkswagen (or punch buggy as we Canadians are likely to call it), I turned to the new Beautiful Ride set.  I had such fun with that!

I love the way the photopolymer stamps can be seen through for perfect placement.  It would have been difficult to get that cute dog placed in the back window otherwise.

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And that's it for my projects.  I hope you've enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed creating them.  From here you'll be returning to the beginning of the circle again, and another wonderfully creative stamper, Marie Green.

If you get a moment, I'd love it if you would leave a comment.  

WWC49 -- To Someone Great

Welcome to our first Watercooler Wednesday Challenge of 2016!  This time it's a sketch by Jackie Susnik which I had such fun using to inspire my card.

Of course as nice as Jackie's sketch is, I wound up turning it on its end and using it that way.  That's one of the things I love about sketch challenges.  You can always flip them around as long as the finished card is clearly created from the original sketch, whatever direction it's facing.

I chose to use one of my favourite new stamp sets from the Occasions Catalogue which has just launched, In the Meadow.  The images in that set are so versatile and can be used together or even with other stamp sets.  I chose to keep it simple.  My images and sentiment are all from the same set.  For my base I used the heavy-weight Whisper White and then added a layer of Basic Grey embossed using the Woodgrain embossing folder.  Then I added a piece from the Go Wild Designer Series Paper stack the pattern of which reminded me of hoof prints.  Perfect for the deer images, don't you agree?  For the main image, I used three layers.  The base is Soft Suede followed by Basic Black and then my stamped piece of Whisper White.  I kept the trees very light by off-stamping once.

Yes, I did cut out the deer.  Fussy-cutting is a habit which I can't seem to break.  But it does make for an effective image raised on Dimensionals to show it off.

I hope you'll come by the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge to check out the other Watercooler Artists' creations.  And, of course, you're invited to link up your own version of the sketch.

I've also entered my card into the Inkspirational Challenge since on the inside it says "Many Thanks" from the Another Thank You stamp set.

PCCCS176 - You Are Wonderful

It's time for another Paper Craft Crew Challenge and this week's sketch is pure fun.  I decided to use one of my favourite new stamps from the brand new Occasions Catalogue which just launched, Picture Perfect.  It fit the style of the sketch perfectly.

I had a great time blending products from the Annual Catalogue and the Occasions Catalogue.  It's always so satisfying to see how well they can work together.   The Birthday Blossoms stamp set provided the pretty flower and leaves.  I used two patterns from the beautiful Timeless Elegance Designer Series Paper---doesn't the lace pattern look like real lace?  I also used a piece of the Gold Glimmer paper and then added Gold Glitz Dazzling Details to the centre of the flower.  

The real star of the card, however, is that gorgeous hummingbird, made possible by triple stamping the images to make the final very realistic bird.  

I hope you'll check out the other Design Team cards at the Paper Craft Crew Challenge and link up your own version of our sketch.