Global Design Project 93

The colours at Global Design Project were so bright and cheery that I made time to play with them today and I might even scrape in before the deadline!

I did go back to an old, old favourite, Awesomely Artistic as a base for this card but added in some newer products, Dragonfly Dreams (certainly destined to be a future long time favourite) and Happy Birthday Gorgeous.

The colours were so vibrant, airy and delicious, they directed the direction of this card no matter quite what I'd thought at the outset. I started by using an acrylic block to stamp the background, then built up some detail with a mix of stamping and embossing.

The dragonfly has a soft shimmer from a coat of clear Wink of Stella and has a Lemon-Lime Twist underling that peeks out from certain angles.

The butterfly is also stamped in Pool Party to give him some detailing.

Thanks for such a fun challenge!

Ingredients

Card: Pool Party, Berry Burst, Lemon-Lime Twist, watercolour paper

Stamps: Awesomely Artistic, Dragonfly Dreams, Happy Birthday Gorgeous

Inks: Pool Party, Berry Burst, Lemon-Lime Twist, Tuxedo Black, Versamark

Other: Detailed Dragonfly thinlits, Stitched Shapes framelits, White embossing powder, clear Wink of Stella, Berry Burst finely woven ribbon, rhinestones, mini-dimensionals, dimensionals.

CAS 219 JAI 356

I started today with two challenges in mind and somewhere along the way, they morphed into one and then separated again. So in this one post are two cards with a shared genesis but for two challenges. Variations on a theme, I guess.

The two challenges that I started from were the colour challenge at CAS Colours and Sketches

and the rather intriguing challenge at Just Add Ink...

I'd always liked the look of bokeh backgrounds but had never experimented with making one before. So last night, instead of watching the rugby, I played around with bokeh using Mint Macaron and Old Olive and that happened because I was thinking about the circles from the JAI challenge.

While making up the dragonflies for the Colours and Sketches card, I realised how good the background looked with gold - so that lead to a second card using metallics for the JAI challenge. 

Here they are. For the CAS Colours and Sketches colour challenge....

The dragonflies are stacked to give some height. I've stamped over them using the wing pattern from the large dragonfly stamp then given them a coat of clear Wink of Stella.

For the JAI Choose Two challenge, using circles and metallics...

I played around with giving the dragonfly layers but in the end, decided that plain gold worked best with the colours of the background, making it light and airy and playful.

And here they are together, fraternal twins...

And just like children, hard to pick a favourite!

Ingredients for CAS Colours and Sketches card

Card: Tip Top Taupe, Very Vanilla, Mint Macaron, Very Vanilla

Stamps: Dragonfly Dreams, Big on Birthdays

Inks: Mint Macaron, Old Olive, Tip Top Taupe, White pigment ink

Other: Detailed Dragonfly thinlits, Metallic Enamel Shapes, clear Wink of Stella

Ingredients for JAI Choose Two card

As above, except for no Wink of Stella

And

Gold foil paper, Gold metallic thread, versamark, gold embossing powder, dimensionals

Paper Players 337

There's a very pretty, layered sketch in the latest challenge from The Paper Players that I was keen to play with.

I'd been playing with the Detailed Dragonfly thinlits and had cut one of the small bumblebees in copper foil to see what it looked like because it was always being overlooked for the flashier dragonfly dies. While playing around with it, I came up with this card.

I like the bumble bees stamped onto Crumb Cake in the background. Their lacy wings are beautiful.

Update: Utterly delighted to be named Headliner at The Paper Players!

Ingredients

Card: Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, copper foil

Stamps: Avant Garden, Dragonfly Dreams, Labeller Alphabet

Inks: Daffodil Delight, So Saffron, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso

Other: Honeycomb embossing folder, Detailed Dragonfly framelits, Circle framelits, Dimensionals

Cas(e) this Sketch 205 and CYCI 145

Today's card takes inspiration from several places. One is the sketch at Cas(e) this Sketch, one is the colour combination from Can You Case It? and the other is a 'how to' tip that I got from a fellow local demonstrator, Carol. There's a small group of local demonstrators who get together, share events and ideas from time to time and she showed us how to do this very cool crackled background using greaseproof paper, an embossing folder and an iron. I've been looking to use this technique in a challenge and today was the perfect chance.

Isn't Carol's background idea lovely? After embossing a piece of greaseproof paper, you put it into a sandwich of paper and iron it. Then you can colour the paper however you like. I've sponged it with two colours, then stamped and embossed over the top. Softly Falling was the embossing folder used, and it's also used on the front of the card base, behind the decorative panel.

The underdragonfly is silver embossed on Island Indigo. The lacy wings have had clear Wink of Stella applied and in real life have a glimmer of their own.

Update: Delighted to be a Top 6 Pick at Can You Case It.

Ingredients

Card: Heavyweight Whisper White, Whisper White for the panel, Silver foil card, Island Indigo

Stamps: Dragonfly Dreams, Awesomely Artistic

Inks: Island Indigo, Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Versamark

Other: Detailed Dragonfly thinlits, silver embossing powder, Softly Falling embossing folder, dimensionals, Wink of Stella, Metallic shapes, greaseproof paper, iron, sponges.

Global Design Project 69

Today's card is also an experiment. What happens if the white space stops being white? For inspiration, I used the colour challenge at Global Design Project.

I've recently made a card in Hello Honey, grey and black. I thought it was a smart and stylish combination so I chose black as my third colour in this challenge to echo that.

And on the inside...

I like the crisp feel and the way the embossed black background takes on the look of pressed tin. To keep it more masculine, I resisted the urge to add a scattering of sequins. Note to self: go for a dark background more often - the result can be a more dramatic card.

Ingredients

Card: Basic Black, Delightful Dijon, Silver foil, Whisper White (inside)

Stamps: Big on Birthdays, Dragonfly Dreams

Ink: Tuxedo Black, Delightful Dijon (inside)

Other: Detailed Dragonfly thinlits, Sparkle embossing folder, Silver metallic thread, metallic shapes, dimensionals

 All products Stampin' Up