Sunday Stamps 162

I saw this great sketch at Sunday Stamps and thought I'd play along with it. I liked it just as it was and have played it literally.

I do love these the Altenew Peony Bouquet set but the four layers of stamping can be intimidating. You do have to have your wits about you when using it! But it is so pretty when it works out.

I added in some background splatters in So Saffron and some glitter enamel dots to enhance the yellows.

Thanks for a lovely sketch to play with.

Update: Delighted to be picked a Top Cup at Sunday Stamps.

Ingredients

Card: Old Olive, Whisper White, Colour Theory DSP,

Stamps:  Altenew Peony Bouquet, SU Thoughtful Branches and Timeless Textures

Inks: So Saffron, Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Tuxedo Black

Other: Altenew Peony Bouquet dies, SU Stitched Shapes dies, Glitter enamel shapes

All products Stampin' Up except where noted.

Retro Rubber 72 - DT Card

Welcome to Retro Rubber, the challenge that encourages you to look up your old stamps and give them some ink. This week, we'd like you to look up your backlist of stamps and make a card that uses some form of transportation.

When I first started stamping and I hadn't yet become a Stampin' Up girl, I dipped my feet into the world of on-line purchasing and got a few things from Clearly Besotted. This was around late 2014/early 2015. Included in that purchase a set called Good Times. It has this cute bicycle and various accessories such as the basket and a flight of butterflies.

Good Times is teamed up here with some new Stampin' Up product: the ombre Crushed Curry DSP from the Colour Theory suite, the Pick a Pattern washi tape and the enamel shapes. I think the Calypso Coral twine is now retired.

We'd love you to join up with this challenge with your own transportation creation.

Just remember that you need to use at least one stamp older than a year, give us some indication of how old it is and don't link up to more than ten challenges in total.

You have two weeks to join in with us and we'd love to see what you do.

If you live in New Zealand and don't have a demonstrator, please contact me. I'd love to help you with ideas and with Stampin' Up products. You can message me on my Facebook page, linked in the sidebar of this blog or leave a comment below.

Ingredients

Card: Crushed Curry, Whisper White, Colour Theory DSP

Stamps: Clearly Besotted Good Times

Inks: Tuxedo Black, Calypso Coral

Other: Clearly Besotted Good Times dies, Pick a Pattern washi tape, dimensionals, Calypso Coral thick baker's twine, enamel shapes

All products Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted.

The Paper Players 363 - DT Card

There were so many amazing entries in LeAnne's CAS Harvest challenge last week at The Paper Players that selecting just one was a real challenge for me! I think this week's charming sketch by Nance will have as many beautiful creations.

It took me a long time to get started on this card. There were just so many possibilities! In the end, I made myself pick a set and stick with it. It turned out to be Lift Me Up as I was wanting a masculine card for my brother's birthday.

It's a straightforward take on the sketch but I did use markers to colour the small balloon. After stamping and masking it, I sponged in the clouds. It's amazing what half a scalloped circle can do!

I know some people who cut up their stamps. I can't bear to do that so I've masked off and embossed the 'Happy Birthday' but the other half, 'Hope your day is on Cloud 9' is on the inside, stamped in navy along with a couple of other balloons and a strip of that lovely wavy DSP.

We'd love you to play along with us this week. If you do, there's only a few things to remember.

1. Create a NEW paper-craft project specifically for this challenge.
2. Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us.
3. Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge entry.
4. Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL. Entries linked to more than 4 challenges, including ours, will be deleted without notification.
5. Have fun!

If you live anywhere in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up demonstrator, I'd love to help you with ideas and Stampin' Up products. Please message me through my Facebook page, linked in the sidebar of this blog or leave a comment below.

Ingredients

Card: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Watermelon Wonder, Carried Away DSP (retired)

Stamps: Lift Me Up

Inks: Night of Navy, Marina Mist, Versamark, Stampin' Write markers in Watermelon Wonder, Mint Macaron, Night of Navy and Peekaboo Peach

Other: Up and Away thinlits, dimensionals, rhinestones, white embossing powder, scallop circle punch, sponge.

As You See It 159 - DT card

Today at As You See It, we have a different type of challenge for you. To play along with us, you need to make a card that uses all these elements in some way.

Since I've only got one bird set, Best Birds, the rest of the card built up around it.

The bird is stamped in Dapper Denim, then watercoloured with more Dapper Denim, Pool Party and a touch of Crumb Cake. I die cut him out twice and stacked it so that he's a bit raised above his branch,

So, how have I used the elements? The circle and the scallop circle are clear. There's a copper brad in the sentiment. There are three stripes of washi tape and one of those has a striped pattern. The dark blue I've used is Dapper Denim and the bird speaks for himself!

I hope you'll take up the challenge and join us this week.

You have until Wednesday 4 October to show us how you see it.

I'm going to enter this card at Stamp, Ink, Paper because I had such a good time watercolouring the bird and the challenge there this week is Watercolour.

If you're quick, you'll be able to play along with them too.

Ingredients

Card: Dapper Denim, Whisper White, watercolour paper

Stamps: Best Birds

Inks: Dapper Denim, Pool Party, Crumb Cake

Other: Layering Circle framelits, Birds and Blooms thinlits, Washi tape (some retired but the plain copper is in the Christmas holiday catalogue), mini copper brad from my stash, dimensionals.

The Paper Players 362 - DT card

This week at The Paper Players, LeAnne has a CAS theme challenge to get our creative juices flowing.

Harvest time is autumn and also a time of taking stock and giving thanks, so that's the thinking behind my card. I was also keen to try out a new technique that I'd seen on Stampin' Artfully, the blog of the very talented Kim Jolley, about a different way to approach shaving foam backgrounds.

I was very happy with the background, made using Crushed Curry and Fresh Fig ink.

We would love to have you join us at The Paper Players this week, for our CAS Harvest challenge.

Here's a reminder of the few rules we have:

1. Create a NEW paper-craft project specifically for this challenge.
2. Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us.
3. Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge entry.
4. Please link your card to no more than four challenges, total. Entries linked to more than 4 challenges, including ours, will be deleted without notification.
5. Have fun!

I'm also going to play along with the team at AAA Cards for their new autumn challenge.

Update: Delighted to be a Top 3 Pick at AAA Challenge 99

While I was making this card, I also had a bit of a play with the same layout and different colours for the challenge at InKspire Me. 

This time, the background was made with tissue paper, stamped with the new Music background stamp in Early Espresso, scrunched and then lightly gold embossed.

Vanilla, Early Espresso and Gold are a favourite combination of mine, so it was hard to resist their challenge!

Here's the ingredients for both cards

Update: Delighted to have this card chosen as the Winner at Inkspire Me.

The Paper Players card

Card: Fresh Fig, Whisper White, Copper foil

Stamps: Colorful Seasons, Thoughtful Banners

Inks: Crushed Curry, Fresh Fig, Versamark

Other: Seasonal Layers thinlits, copper embossing powder, shaving foam, dimensional

The Inkspire Me card

Card: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Gold foil, tissue paper

Stamps: Music background stamp, Colorful Seasons, Thoughtful Banners

Inks: Early Espresso, Versamark

Other: Seasonal Layers thinlits, gold embossing powder, dimensional

GDP104 and Fab Friday

I've had my eye on the challenge at Global Design Project all week. The challenge is to CASE a card by team member and Artisan, Allison Okamitsu.

One thing that I wanted to take from this project was the repeat stamped background. The others were to do with the layout, specifically the coloured card base and the oval medallion nearer the top than the bottom.

I also really liked that the centre of Allison's card was a quiet oasis against the busyness of the background. To soften the background, I not only stamped off the Dapper Denim once, I also layered a piece of vellum over it before adding in the centre medallion. That is also why I did not add any extra embellishment to the area around the dragonfly.

I did add in a solid sentiment strip underneath. I like how it's like ruling a line underneath and on a more practical level, it meant the glorious wings weren't obscuring it either!

Once I did that, it also started looking a lot like the sketch at Fab Friday, which I'd also had my eye on. Although I had a different idea for that, I'm going to play there too with this card.

Ingredients

Card: Dapper Denim, Whisper White, vellum, silver foil

Stamps: Dragonfly Dreams

Inks: Dapper Denim, versamark

Other: silver embossing powder, Detailed Dragonfly thinlits, Stitched Shape framelits, Layering Oval framelits, dimensionals, 2016-18 In-Colour enamel shapes (retired).

Match the Sketch 194

Today, I've used the sketch at Match The Sketch for inspiration.

I've seen a lot of cards using watercolour wash backgrounds but I am particularly indebted to Natalie Lappako, aka the Stamp Witch, who recently did a lovely card using watercolour wash and Beachy Little Christmas and so I guess I've cased her! Check out her blog as it is wonderful, full of lovely cards and ideas.

I've used Pool Party, Calypso Coral and a touch of Crushed Curry for the background. I've reduced the size of the three elements around the sentiment strip but retained the idea of having one tucked under the sentiment.

Ingredients

Card: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Whisper White, watercolour paper

Stamps: Beachy Little Christmas

Inks: versamark, Crumb Cake

Other: white embossing powder, dimensionals.

All products Stampin' Up.

Retro Rubber 71 - DT card

Welcome to Retro Rubber's newest challenge. It's everyone's favourite, Anything Goes.

It's not quite anything goes though. Since it's Retro Rubber, you do still have to use at least one stamp older than a year, tell us approximately how old it is and not enter more than ten challenges in total.

I always enjoy using this set, Birthday Blooms, which was first available from the 2016 Occasions mini-catalogue. Timeless Textures first appeared in the same catalogue. I like how it looks with the bright colours from this year's In-Colours: Berry Burst, Tranquil Tide and some touches of Lemon-Lime Twist. The sentiment is from Big on Birthdays, from the January this year.

I stamped the bloom on watercolour paper, then coloured it using diluted ink, fussy cut it and popped it up on dimensionals. The background I created using various elements from Timeless Textures. Then finally, I added in a few of the lovely glitter enamel shapes in Berry Burst.

We'd love to have you join us for this challenge, so dust off some of those old stamps, show them a bit of love and show us what you've done. You have until September 22 to link up at Retro Rubber.

Don't forget: at least one stamp over a year old, tell us the approximate age and don't link up to more than ten challenges in total.

Ingredients

Card: Berry Burst, Whisper White, watercolour paper

Stamps: Birthday Blooms, Big on Birthdays, Timeless Textures

Inks: Black Stazon, Berry Burst, Tranquil Tide, Lemon-Lime Twist

Other: Glitter enamel dots, dimensionals

All products are Stampin' Up

The Paper Players 361 - DT Card

This week's challenge at The Paper Players is a very pretty colour combination. by Jaydee. It made me think of Spring - as did the bunch of freesias that a friend gave me this morning.

Pink Pirouette is a colour I don't use much. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's because Blushing Bride has always been my 'go to' pink. I hunted around and found that I did have a Pink Pirouette marker from when I bought a Subtles set and a couple of sheets of card from a mixed Subtles pack.

All the cards I've made using Oh, So Eclectic have been bright, so today I thought I'd try subtle.

The flowers were silver-embossed then coloured. I do love the leaves from Oh, So Eclectic! I adore that distressed look. The little silver glimmer stems are from the Eclectic Layers dies. You can see the vellum circle in behind, which I cut with the stitched circle framelit die. It's easier to see in real life because it contrasts the shiny surface of the foil acetate.

If you're thinking of joining us, there are just a few rules to remember.

1. Create a NEW paper-craft project specifically for this challenge.
2. Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us.
3. Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge entry.
4. Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL. Entries linked to more than 4 challenges, including ours, will be deleted without notification.
5. Have fun!

We'd love to have you join us at The Paper Players.

This card was also inspired by the sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches this week.

If you hurry, you'll be able to join them too!

Update: Delighted to have this card chosen as Queen of Clean at Freshly Made Sketches.

If you live anywhere in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up Demonstrator, you can contact me for ideas and Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in a comment or through my Facebook page, linked in the sidebar of this blog.

Ingredients

Card: Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Silver glimmer paper, vellum, foil acetate

Stamps: Oh, So Eclectic, Big on Birthdays

Inks: Pear Pizzazz, Tuxedo Black, versamark, Pink Pirouette and Pear Pizzazz markers

Other: Eclectic Layers thinlits, Stitched shapes framelits, dimensionals, Silver embossing powder, clear faceted gem

Global Design Project 103

This is a quick post for a card I realised I needed quickly: a card for a new baby boy. So it's definitely a 'for him' card, which is this week's challenge at Global Design Project.

I've never used this little die-cut from Birds and Blooms before, although the rest of the set has had plenty of work-outs. He's so cute and I inlaid his wings with some silver and gave him a tiny pearl eye. There's some sponging in Soft Sky around the edge of the Brush Strokes background and the stitched oval.

Ingredients

Card: Soft Sky, Whisper White, Silver foil

Stamps: Best Birds, Brush Strokes

Ink: Soft Sky, versamark

Other: Birds and Blooms thinlits, Layering Oval framelits, Stitched Shapes framelits, silver embossing powder, Silver metallic thread, pearls, enamel shapes, sponges

As You See It 158 - DT card

This week, at As You See It Challenge, we've a very pretty sketch for you to play with.

I'm still in Christmas mode,  although this card uses hardly anything that is explicitly a Christmas set, except for the sentiment which is from Hearts Come Home. This set and the silver snowflake doily are in the newly released in the Holiday Catalogue.

These gorgeous snowflakes are from the Seasonal Layers dies, part of the Colour Theory suite. The crackly-patterned DSP is also from the Colour Theory suite.

We'd love to have you join us at As You See It. You have two weeks to play with us. Just link up by Wednesday 20 September and show us your creation.

If you live in New Zealand and don't have a demonstrator, please feel free to contact me. I'd love to help you out with ideas and Stampin' Up supplies. There's a link to my Facebook page in the sidebar if you'd like to message me.

Ingredients

Card: Dapper Denim, Colour Theory stack, Whisper White, Marina Mist, Vellum

Stamps: Hearts Come Home

Ink: Dapper Denim

Other: Seasonal Layers thinlits, silver Snowflake doily, Dapper Denim ruched ribbon (retired), narrow silver ribbon, faceted gems, rhinestones.

All products Stampin' Up.

Paper Players 360 - DT Card

After last week's gorgeous sketch challenge, this week at The Paper Players we have a theme challenge for you.

Back to school is the challenge this week. Of course, in my part of the world it isn't back to school. We still have a term and a half left of the school year and we're a month away from the next school holidays. Still, the start of the school year will come again and it doesn't have to be the beginning of the year to give an encouraging card or a thanks to a teacher either.

This challenge is interesting for me, as I am teacher-librarian at a local secondary school. Although the first instinct with a school theme is bright, primary colours and ABCs, or maybe apples and numbers, I started thinking about the teenagers I mix with every day at work. 

It's a common idea that reading is dead and teens are only interested in their phone or their gaming consoles. Some are but there are still plenty of readers out there. Some of them are even reading on their phones or i-pads because it's not the medium that matters but the story. I'm really lucky to be able to spend parts of my working day talking to them about what they've read, hearing them enthuse about their latest read, musing about when their favourite author's next book will be out and helping them with what they'd like to read next.

Now, I'm a Good Reads girl and keep track of my reading and want-to-reads on Good Reads but not everyone does. I've noticed students scribbling down book suggestions on bits of scrap paper or coming in with a tatty list, which is why my project is an altered notebook made to be a reading journal: a place to jot down titles, interesting quotes, questions and thoughts about your books. There's a matching book mark because no matter how many book marks you have, it's never enough and our print collection is still more heavily used than our e-book collection.

We'd love to have you join us at The Paper Players this week. If you do, there's a couple of simple rules to keep in mind.

1. Create a NEW paper-craft project specifically for this challenge.
2. Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us.
3. Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge entry.
4. Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL. Entries linked to more than 4 challenges, including ours, will be deleted without notification.
5. Have fun!

Any products are welcome but if you live in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up Demonstrator to help you with ideas or provide you with wonderful SU products, then please message me on my Facebook Page (link in the sidebar of this blog) or leave a comment below. I'd love to help you craft.

Ingredients

Card: Whisper White, Basic Grey, Lemon-Lime Twist, Fresh Florals DSP, a notebook

Stamps: SU Butterfly Basics, SU Dictionary, Dark Room Door Bookworm

Inks: Lemon-Lime Twist, Basic Grey, Smoky Slate, Tuxedo Black

Other: Grace Taylor Washi Tape, American Thickers chipboard letters, sponge, Lemon-Lime Twist ribbon, White baker's twine, SU scallop-top tag punch.

SIP 114

I've been enjoying playing around with some of my new stuff from the Holiday Catalogue, including the Hearts Come Home bundle. I'd been thinking about how it could be used to update (and hopefully to improve) on a card I made a couple of years ago and the sketch at Stamp, Ink, Paper turned out to be the perfect chance to try it.

It feels a little bit cheaty, since I'm using the same set and same layout as LeAnne's design team card but I think that it shows the great versatility of the bundle that they do look so different with different choices.

All items in the Holiday catalogue are now available. If you live in New Zealand and don't have a demonstrator and would like a catalogue, please contact me. You can message me on my Facebook page, linked in the sidebar of this blog, or leave a comment below.

Ingredients

Card: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Silver glimmer paper

Stamps: Hearts Come Home, Oh What Fun (sentiment)

Inks: Night of Navy,  Marina Mist, Island Indigo, silver (non-SU product)

Other: Sparkle embossing folder, silver ribbon, dimsensionals, Hometown Greetings edgelit dies, Layering cirlce framelits, metallic shapes, sponges.

All items Stampin' Up, except the silver ink.