Tuesday 28 August 2018

Retro Rubber Challenge 94 - Design Team Card

I enjoyed going through last week's Retro Rubber gallery for the Tic-Tac-Toe challenge. Thank you to everyone who played along. Picking a winner was tough!

This week, we've got an old favourite - Anything Goes. Of course, since this is Retro Rubber there is still the proviso that you must use at least one stamp that's more than a year old and give us an indication of the age.


I found Anything Goes quite tough this time around. What would my 'anything' be? So I did what I always do when my mojo is on strike - I looked around for a challenge to inspire me. I got this at the very aptly named Inspire. Create. Challenge, who have a fantastic colour combination going this fortnight.

I started off by dripping some reinkers onto a pool of water on the page to create a base for my cluster of elements. Then I did a wee bit of splattering of ink before drying it off and layering in some stamping using Timeless Textures and the three challenge colours. This fabulous set of background textures is still current at Stampin' Up! but I got mine from the 2016 Occasions catalogue.


The Lemon-Lime Twist foliage is from the retired Botanical Builders framelits. The sentiment is from the just retired One Big Meaning, which first appeared in the 2015-16 Annual Catalogue.


To help accentuate the sentiment, I've sponged lightly around the edge in Lemon-Lime twist, mounted it on a Melon Mambo scalloped circle and tucked in a vellum circle behind. Then finally, a few scatted sequins finished off this card.

We'd love to have you join us at Retro Rubber Challenges. You can join us up until 7 September. If you're interested in the Inkspire.Create. Challenge, they are open until 4 September.

Update: Delighted to be Runner Up at Inkspire.Create.

If you're joining us at Retro Rubber, then don't forget that you must use at least one stamp older than a year, tell us how old it is and not join up to more than ten challenges in total.

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. 

And, of course, you can shop with me from anywhere in New Zealand by clicking the SHOP NOW button in the sidebar of this blog or by clicking on any of the products listed below.


Product List
Not included are retired items: One Big Meaning,  Botanical Builders dies and sequins.

Sunday 26 August 2018

The Paper Players 407 - Design Team Card


Welcome to sketch week at The Paper Players. Jaydee's given us an interesting one this week with three strong horizontal panels.


I'm unashamedly playing with my pre-orders from the Holiday Catalogue. Not long to wait now, people - it's live 5 September. I think it's a great catalogue and one where my wish list was long.

You'll know that I don't use that much DSP in my designs but sometimes there's paper too pretty to pass up and the Joyous Noel specialty designer paper is such a one. The earthy tones of Merry Merlot, Granite Grey and Tranquil Tide are matched with glorious copper accents. The sketch was just perfect for letting some of it speak for itself.


Just look at this stunning Merry Merlot glimmer paper that's also part of the Joyous Noel suite! Isn't it fabulous? And yes, the die cut and sentiment are also from the upcoming catalogue, part of the Merry Christmas to All bundle.


The leaf trinket from the annual catalogue and a touch of copper embossing were the perfect partners adding some more glamour but without dominating the sentiment.

I know that Christmas seems a long way away but if you want to add a Christmas card to the gallery at The Paper Players, go for it! We'd love to see whatever you choose to do with Jaydee's sketch.

Here's a reminder of our rules:
  1. Create a new paper project.
  2. Upload your project to your blog with a link back to The Paper Players.
  3. Provide a direct link to your blog post for your challenge entry.
  4. Please link your card to no more than FOUR challenges (including ours).
  5. Enjoy!
Please take note of these few rules as entries that do not comply will be deleted from the gallery. 

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. 

And, of course, you can shop with me from anywhere in New Zealand by clicking any of the products pictured below or the SHOP NOW button in the sidebar of this blog or you can message me.

Product List
Holiday Catalogue items have been excluded.

Freshly Made Sketches 351

I've spent a lot of time in my room playing with the pre-release order I received last week. The items in the upcoming Holiday Catalogue are so beautiful, it's hard to stop. This time for inspiration, I used the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.


My favourite from the Holiday Catalogue is Peaceful Noel. There is utterly gorgeous copper accented DSP that is part of this suite although I've not used it here. I have used the lovely new glimmer paper, which will be available in Merry Merlot and Tranquil Tide, which I've used in this card, as well as copper.


The other thing I can't get enough of at the moment is the Subtle embossing folder. It gives such interest to a background without screaming at you. 

There's also a lovely bundle of Christmas washi tape coming, Suite Season, one of which I've used here.


You might even be able to see the Wink of Stella on the berries too. 

The countdown is on. The catalogue goes live on 5 September.

Do you want a Holiday Catalogue? 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. 

And, of course, you can shop with me from anywhere in New Zealand by clicking any of the products pictured below or the SHOP NOW button in the sidebar of this blog or you can message me.

Product List - Upcoming Items from the Holiday Catalogue
Stamps: Peaceful Noel
Paper: Joyous Noel Glimmer Paper
Other: Sprig Punch, Suite Season washi tape
Retired: sequins

Product List

Friday 24 August 2018

As You See It 183 - Design Team Card


Welcome to a new challenge at As You See It. This week, we've got a sketch for you.


The sketch was asking me to use a row of the same sort of object of various heights, set asymetrically on a base and some sort of a bow. Initially, I thought of doing a Christmas forest scene but then... the courier arrived with a box of goodies. Included in that was the Varied Vases bundle. That was it - Varied Vases came out for a first play. I'm excited by this set as it seems to have endless possibilities for ways to arrange the vases and various floral elements as well as lend itself to all sorts of interesting techniques and styles.


It looks as though you'll have to take my word that the Mango Melody blooms have a cheery coat of Wink of Stella on them but they look fine without it too! The Subtles embossing folder that I used on the background is just an amazing must-have product. It does exactly what it promises - a subtle texturing of the cardstock that adds interest without dominating. How did this thing never exist before?!


Regular readers will know that I am not a ribbon person. I'm making an exception of the polka dot tulle ribbon. It scrunches, it ties beautifully and it's subtle: it's my kind of ribbon.

Pop over to the As You See It site and see how the rest of the team saw this challenge, then why not get crafty and join us?

You can play with us until Wednesday 5 September, 11.55 p.m. PST.

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. 

And, of course, you can shop with me from anywhere in New Zealand by clicking the SHOP NOW button in the sidebar of this blog or by clicking on any of the products listed below.


Product List