PCCCS197 - Thank you!

It's time for another Paper Craft Crew sketch challenge.  This week's sketch features layering.

I decided to feature the Pop of Paradise set again along with the lovely Pop of Pink Designer Washi tape.  The colours I chose to use for my card were Whisper White, Basic Black, Melon Mambo and Gold.  When you're dealing with a lot of layering, it's important to decide how each layer will affect the others.  I changed my mind several times, not only with the layered rectangles but also with my background colour.  

Stamp sets:  Pop of Paradise, Thoughtful Banners, You've Got This

Papers:  Heavy Whisper White, Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Gold Glimmer Paper

Inks and embossing powders:  Melon Mambo, Versamark, Melon Mambo EP, Black EP, Gold EP

Tools:  Duet Banner Punch, Owl Builder Punch, Dimensionals, Sponge

Additional:  Pop of Pink Designer Washi tape

I hope you'll check out the other cards created by the Design Team this week for the Paper Craft Crew Sketch Challenge.

WWC69 - Happy Father's Day!

This week's challenge is a lot of fun!  Kath Ricks is hosting a Masculine CAS challenge.  I love CAS and it's fun to do masculine cards for a change.  But on top of that, we're welcoming a Guest Designer as well.  Kathe Deck has been part of the Watercooler gang forever and has actually been participating in the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge since it first began (under its original name).  Check out her card in this week's post at the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

With Father's Day coming up soon, I decided that this would be the perfect challenge to create a card, not for my father since he is no longer with us, but for my daughter's husband who has a "thing" about all things automotive.  

What I love about the image from the Guy Greetings set is all the vintage detail.  It made me decide to go all out and create a vintage card.  Well, vintage insofar as it looks rather aged and faded.  With a CAS theme, I certainly wasn't going to use bows, embellishments and other conventional vintage details like that.  But I think that with the rather faded images around the card, the splatters  and the distressed edges, this card could easily have come out of someone's attic.

Stamp sets:  Guy Greetings, In the Meadow, Gorgeous Grunge

Papers:  Early Espresso, Tip Top Taupe, Sahara Sand

Inks:  Early Espresso, Tip Top Taupe, Sahara Sand

I hope you'll take a moment to check out all the wonderful cards created by the Watercooler Artists this week.  After that, feel welcome to add your own card to our Linky.

I've also linked this card up to the "Less is More" challenge since the car is definitely something that would go "bang" or "pop".

PCCCS196 - Thinking of You

We have another great sketch for you at the Paper Craft Crew Challenge this week.

As you know, the shapes in the sketch can be altered as long as your creation is clearly a result of this sketch.  I've embraced some of the beautiful new products which we were allowed to order early from the upcoming 2016-17 Annual Catalogue.  The new In-Colors are stunning!  And (hurrah, hurrah) they've added copper embossing powder this year.

I've used the palm fronds from the Pop of Paradise stamp set as well as the pineapple and the sentiment.  Don't the colours just "pop"?  If you look closely, the images on the Designer Series Paper are embossed in copper as is the fruit of the pineapple.

Stamp Sets:  Pop of Paradise, Gorgeous Grunge

Paper:  Affectionately Yours Specialty Designer Series paper, Whisper White (heavy and normal), Crumb Cake, Emerald Envy

Inks:  Emerald Envy, Flirty Flamingo, Crumb Cake, VersaMark

Other:  Clear embossing powder, Copper embossing powder, Burlap Ribbon, Dimensionals

The Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop presents the May Mashup!

Welcome to our Wacky Watercooler May Mashup!  What does that mean?  It means that May is a month where we have some favourites which are retiring, we have some products from the upcoming 2016-17 Annual Catalogue which we have pre-ordered, and we have Father's Day ahead of us.  As a result you're going to see some great creations featuring all those things.

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 Libby Fens.  Weren't her projects terrific?

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My first card is all about the retiring products.  I had a hard time with this.  Where would I begin?  So many products and stamp sets that I absolutely love are leaving this year.  Finally I decided to embrace a theme, and that is the hexagon.  Do you realize that we are losing the entire hexagon "family" this year?  My card features every one of them: the Six-Sided Sampler stamp set, the Hexagon punch, the Hexagon Hive thinlits, and, last but not least, the Honeycomb embossing folder.  I've also used all of the retiring 2014-16 In-Colors as well as another retiring stamp set which I loved to use, the Hostess set, Best Thoughts.  With a line-up like that you would think that the card would be a big jumble, right?  Well, it turned out remarkably well, given the numbers of products I used.  But you can judge for yourself.

The Mossy Meadow peeking through the die-cut area was embossed with another retiring embossing folder which I will miss a great deal, the Decorative Dots.  The Lost Lagoon hexagon shapes were hand-cut from the embossed cardstock.

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My second project is all about Father's Day.  For this card I used retired, current and sneak-peek products.  I began with a Chocolate Chip base followed by a layer of Kraft paper with distressed edges and then a layer of Very Vanilla on which I did all my stamping and for which I also tore the edges and then sponged using Tip Top Taupe ink.  The bi-plane is part of the retired Sale-a-bration group, the background mountains are part of the current In the Meadow set (which is carried over into the new catalogue), and the tips of the evergreens in the foreground are part of the retired Wonderland stamp set.  I love the way all the sets work together so well for my little scene.

That lovely little banner in the lower right corner?  It is from the sneak peek of the new Annual Catalogue, from a bundle which includes the banner punches as well as the Thoughtful Banners stamp set.

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For my third project, I turned to my very few sneak peek items and hit a creative block.  My mind simply would not come up with any possibilities.  Two days later, I finally came out of my creative doldrums and knew what I would create, using the new Pop of Paradise stamp set as well as the Botanical Blooms bundle which (hurrah) is carrying over into the new catalogue.

I began with a base of the Heavy Whisper White and decided to make a semi-oval easel card.  Why semi-oval?  Because I wanted the card to be the regular rectangular 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" but I also wanted it to be oval.  You can see from the card how I managed the compromise.  That layer of Dapper Denim was embossed using the Boho Chic embossing folder which I first inked with Craft White ink.  I love the effect it gives and how it emphasizes the pattern.  I used a number of the new 2016-18 In-Colors for this card.  If you look closely, you'll see some So Saffron, Pool Party and Calypso Coral as well.

Card closed

Card standing as easel

Aren't the colours wonderful?  I had a lot of fun making this card.  The most tedious part?  Fussy-cutting the flamingo, especially those legs!

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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 visiting another wonderfully creative stamper, Penny Hanuszak.

I've also entered my masculine card into The Male Room Challenge which is all about transport.

WWC68 - Happy Birthday

It's time for the Watercooler Artists to present the next challenge.  This week it's Libby's turn to host the challenge and she chose the retiring 2014-16 In-Colors---yes, all of them!  But luckily only three or more have to be used to enter the challenge.  I used all of the colours.  Are you surprised?

I love those wonderfully saturated colours.  I'll admit that I haven't used Tangelo Twist as often as the rest, but those time I've used it, I always love the colour.  I decided that I would do my best to use all five of the colours.  The best way to do that, I thought, would be to create a flower garden.  What better stamp set to achieve that goal than the Garden in Bloom?

Because I wanted bees flying around, I created a bee hive using the retiring Honeycomb embossing folder on a piece of Hello Honey cardstock and then cut it using the retiring Ovals framelits.  To give the hive a bit of depth, I sponged the edges using Hello Honey ink.  For my flowers, I stamped the outer lines using Blackberry Bliss and then the inside of the flower with the same colour, but off-stamped once.  The centre of the flower is stamped using Tangelo Twist ink.  Three of the flowers were stamped on a scrap of Whisper White and mounted on  the card using Dimensionals as were two of the bees and all the leaves.  Then they were all fussy cut---my least favourite part of making this card.

Stamp sets:  Garden in Bloom, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Inks:  all five of the 2014-16 In-Colors

Papers:  Heavy Whisper White, regular Whisper White, Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon

Tools:  Honeycomb embossing folder, Big Shot, Paper Snips, Sponge

I hope you'll check out the cards created by the other Watercooler Artists and our Guest Designer, Fiona Whitehead at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  And then it's your turn to link up your own card using our challenge colours.

PCCCS195 - Thanks

Welcome to this week's Paper Craft Crew Challenge.

This week we have a sketch for our inspiration:

For this challenge I decided to mix up some of my current products with some brand new ones which came in the pre-order from the new 2016-17 Annual Catalogue.  That pretty blue cardstock which I've used as a matte for the various layers is from the 2016-18 In-Colors.  It's aptly names Dapper Denim.  The new Designer Series Paper which I've used as a stripe in the lower portion of the card is from the new Affectionately Yours Specialty designs.  The colours which I've used on the embossed design (yes, those flowers and leaves are, indeed, created by an embossing folder) are also from the new 2016-18 In-Colors.  I love them!  I'm sure you will, too, when you get a chance to order them in June.

I hope you'll check out the other cards created by the Design Team this week.  We invite you to join us by linking up your card as well.

WWC67 - A Butterfly Box for You

It's time for another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and this one is hosted by Deborah Smart.  Instead of your everyday card challenge, Deborah made this one all about boxes.

I love decorating ready-made or found boxes but this time I decided to male a very special box with the Curvy Keepsake Box framelits.   I chose to make my box out of the Vellum cardstock and then embossed the vellum using the Fluttering embossing folder.  I loved all the raised butterflies on the vellum but to make them "pop" even more, I coloured each butterfly with my Stampin' Markers.  That took a while.

For my base I used the soon-to-retire Floral Frames Framelits and the Leaflets Framelits.  The butterflies on top of the box were cut with the Butterflies Thinlets.  All along the edges of the Curvy Keepsake Box I heat embossed Gold embossing powder.

Stamps:  Watercolor Wings

Paper:  Vellum Cardstock, Real Red, Garden Green, Gold Glimmer Paper, Wildflower Fields Designer Series Paper, Whisper White

Inks:  Blackberry Bliss, Tangelo Twist, Hello Honey, Real Red, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, Versamark

Tools:  Floral Frames Framelits, Leaflets Framelits, Butterflies Thinlets, Curvy Keepsake Box Framelit, Gold Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Fluttering Embossing Folder

I hope you'll check out the boxes the other Watercooler Artists created at the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge this week and then link up a box of your own.

PCCC194 - A flowery "thank you"

This week's Paper Craft Crew Challenge is all about flowers.  How apt considering that we just had Mother's Day and, at least around this part of the world, the flowers are beginning to bloom everywhere.

Certainly it was easy to put together a floral theme with all the wonderful options that Stampin' Up! offers in the way of stamp sets, dies and punches.  I went all out making it a bright and cheerful "thank you".

Stamps:  Butterfly Basics, Gorgeous Grunge

Paper:  Heavy Whisper White, Whisper White, Garden Green, Tip Top Taupe, Marina Mist, Melon Mambo

Inks:  Garden Green, Tip Top Taupe, Melon Mambo, Marina Mist, Gold Wink of Stella

Tools:  Bird Builder Punch, Owl Builder Punch, Botanical Builder Framelit Dies, Bloomin Heart Thinlits Dies

I hope you'll check out the other Design Team cards for this week's Paper Craft Crew Challenge.

WWC66 - A sketch challenge

I love sketch challenges and this week's challenge is hosted by a fellow Watercooler Artist, Libby Fens.  Her sketch was so easy to work with---once I turned it on its side horizontally.

It really is a great sketch but for my purposes, it really does work best sideways.  You see, I wanted to use the In The Meadow stamp set so that this card would work either as a masculine birthday card or a Father's Day card (no sentiment until I decide which one it will be).  

Stamp sets:  In the Meadow

Papers:  Heavy Whisper White, Marina Mist, Tip Top Taupe, Soft Suede, Mossy Meadow, Botanical Gardens Designer Series Paper

Inks:  Tip Top Taupe, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Mossy Meadow, Marina Mist, Basic Black Archival

Accessories:  Burlap Ribbon, Neutrals Candy Dots, Softly Falling Embossing Folder

I hope you'll check out the other wonderful cards at the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge this week and link up your own version of this great sketch.

PCCCS193 - It's your birthday

Welcome to another Paper Craft Crew Challenge.  Birthday cards are something for which there is always a demand.  When I saw the sketch this week, I knew that I would be making another birthday card for my dwindling stash.

I really do love the entire Botanical Gardens Suite and will miss the lovely Designer Series Paper when it retires.  Thank goodness I won't have to say goodbye to the stamps or framelits.  Good choice, Stampin' Up!

Stamps used:  Botanical Blooms, Endless Birthdays

Papers:  Hello Honey, Mossy Meadow, Whisper White, Botanical Gardens Designer Series Paper

Inks:  Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow, Wink of Stella (both clear and gold)

Tools:  Brick Embossing Folder, Botanical Builder Framelits, Elegant Butterfly punch

The butterfly, while cut using the Elegant Butterfly punch, uses some non Stampin' Up! material with which I fell in love.  After covering my Whisper White butterfly with Tombo adhesive and allowing it to dry so that it was merely tacky, I covered it with Indigo Blu Mega-Flake Chocolate Box metallics and rubbed them in firmly.  Then I hand-cut a Basic Black body and antennae and that was that.

I hope you will check out the other cards created by the Design Team and link up your own version of this sketch at the Paper Craft Crew Challenge.

I've also added my card to the Stamp, Ink, Paper Challenge since it is perfect for the second row vertically.