Modern Oval Punch for AYSI 343

Welcome to a new challenge at As You See It. The last challenge in our rota of six types of challenge is the Speed Stamping challenge. It's a love it or hate it kind of challenge and generally, I love it. 

It's simple: just make a new project on the given theme in TEN MINUTES OR LESS.

That might sound impossible, here's what you need to know:

• Thinking time isn't included. So you can plan out what you're going to do before the clock starts.
• Gathering supplies isn't included. So you can get out your stamp set, block it up, put the dies or folders or punches on the table, get the embellishments to hand etc. 
• Clean up time isn't included. Just as well, or we'd never get inside the time limit!

BUT

     Once you cut, ink or punch the clock has to start.

If you've never tried a speed challenge before, give it a go. It can be quite addictive and often very satisfying to see what you can achieve in such a short crafting time.

For this challenge, Joanne has challenged us to get speedy by using a punch. This challenge made me realise that I don't really use punches that often. It turns out I'm more of a die cut crafter!

I do have a Modern Oval punch, so that's what I used. I got out my Neutrals DSP stack and punched out a variety of patterns, then arranged them on a piece of Basic White.  I made sure that a light pattern went where I wanted to have a sentiment then I trimmed off any overhangs.

I stamped the sentiment in Early Espresso. This 'thank you' is from Something Fancy. I mounted that onto a piece of Pecan Pie and adhered the whole thing to an Early Espresso card base.

I added three Antique Pearls as embellishments.

And here's the time. 

Not bad! 

Another time, I might have the first column of ovals as vertical halves so that the unadorned right side strip is more obvious and perhaps run the whole thing through an embossing folder. Or maybe not! 😀

Anyway, we'd love to see what you create in ten minutes or less using a punch. 

Visit the As You See It page to see what the rest of the team have done and to link up your entry. You can join in the challenge until Wednesday March 19, 11.59pm PST.

If you live in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up Demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the Contact Me tab at the top of the page. 

You can shop with me from  anywhere in New Zealand here.

Mix and Match Ephemera for AYSI 325

At As You See It, we've rolled around to the last challenge on our rota and that's the love-it or hate-it Speed Challenge. This one really gets the blood flowing as you take on the challenge of creating a Thank You card in TEN MINUTES OR LESS!

Yes, you read that right - ten minutes or less! Before you start to think that's not possible, here's how it works.

Your ten minutes DOES NOT include:

• Thinking and planning time
• Getting out your supplies eg blocking up stamps, putting embellishments and dies on the desk
• Cleaning up!

However, the clock starts the moment you do any actual making - inking up the stamp, cutting the card, cutting the dies, embossing the paper. Whatever you do that actually uses the supplies you've gathered is clock start time. 

For a speed challenge, I'm always looking for quick hacks such as really pretty DSP, large die cuts or stamps. You know the kind of thing - big impact, little effort/quick. I've tried out a new thing today and that's the new Mix and Match Ephemera Packs. 

You'll find these on page 18 of the new catalogue and they're easy to pass over. There are sets of notecards and envelopes, plus various packs of pre-printed die cuts that you can put together in any combination. While you can use these in a self-contained way, you can add them to your general supplies. I've used some of the die cuts but my own card base and embellishments. Best of all - a good looking card in just over 5 minutes - and minimal clean-up!

I used Peach Pie for my card base and the Eyelet 3D embossing folder on Basic White for the card. The Brushed Brass Butterflies are from my stash too. But the elements of the focal point come from the Fully Flowering Mix and Match Ephemera Pack and the Labels & Layers Mix and Match Ephemera Pack, which was stamped using the Simply Said stamps.

Here's what the clock said when I pressed stop. To be fair, I did not count the time I spent choosing the elements from the Mix and Match Ephemera Packs since to me it was the equivalent of browsing the stamp set shelf or the embossing folder box to select things.

The Design Team would love to see what you can cook up in ten minutes or less and to see the tricks and tips you use to save time. Visit the As You See It Challenge page to see what the rest of the team have done and to link up your own entry. You can play along with us until Wednesday 19 June, 11.59pm PST.

If you live in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up Demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the Contact Me tab at the top of the page. 

You can shop with me from  anywhere in New Zealand here.

The latest Step-by-Step Class

Join my friend Joanne Jame (The Crafty Owl) and I in a Step-by-Step Class for four beautiful projects. Simply purchase the Thoughtful Wishes Bundle and Thoughtful Journey DSP from either of us and we'll send you the PDF. 

If you already have these products but would like the class, simply order products of corresponding value from us, let us know that's what you've done and we'll send you the class. If you live in NZ, you can buy from me anywhere in the country here. 

Modern Heart for AYSI 212 - Design Team Card

After theme week, it's speed challenge week. This is one of my favourite types of challenge because it really is so.... challenging. The mission, should you choose to accept it, is to create a card using only shades of blue in ten minutes or less.

That's right - ten minutes or less. It's not quite as bad as it sounds. For instance, you can have thought about what you're going to do. You can have all your stamps blocked up and equipment out and ready. However, the moment you ink up your first stamp, cut your first card or touch the handle of your die cutting machine then the clock should be running. 😀

The stamp set I used was straight out of a just-arrived box of goodies, Modern Heart.
With the large heart image and the watercolour fill stamp, it was a good choice for a speed challenge. This set comes with several sentiments. Don't you just love the mix of block and script in the font?

I picked up the italic font from the sentiment and used the Scripty embossing folder to add interest to the card base.  The ever useful Stitched Rectangle dies cut out the main image and sentiment. A few faceted dots in Seaside Spray and voila - 7 minutes 18 seconds later, the card was done.

So why not gather up a few shades of blue, get your stopwatch ready and see what you can come up with? We'd love to see what you do.

You can see what the rest of the team have come up with in their ten minutes and you can link up your entry here too.

If you live in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up Demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the Contact Me tab at the top of the page. You can shop with me from anywhere in New Zealand by clicking on the SHOP NOW button in the sidebar or clicking on any of products below.

Product List

Modern Heart Cling Stamp Set

[149328]

$48.00

Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock

[106577]

$18.50

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

[106549]

$20.50

Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad

[147110]

$15.75

Seaside Spray Classic Stampin’ Pad

[150085]

$15.75

Stitched Rectangle Dies

[148551]

$74.00

Scripty 3D Embossing Folder

[149634]

$20.00

2019-2021 In Color Faceted Dots

[149607]

$13.75

As You See It 160 - DT Card

I was very impressed by the amazingly creative ways in which people used last week's recipe in the challenge. I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone sees this challenge too. This week at As You See It, we have a different challenge: a speed challenge.

The very first time I came across As You See It was late in 2015. I'd really only been obsessed with stamping for a few months and had only recently discovered the exciting universe of the on-line challenge. I found this site and they had a speed challenge using shades of white. I was intrigued and entered it. Completely loved the challenge and thrill of the clock on the countdown! I was hooked!

I hope you will find it as enjoyable as I did. The secret is to have done all your thinking before hand. I spent part of a sleepless night coming up with ways to approach this challenge. Tonight, after work, I laid out all my stamps and inks and bits and bobs. Then, I took a deep breath, started the clock and cut my card base.

I did think I might have been a bit crazy trying to fit in embossing and sponging in the time frame. There was a small intake of breath as I started to heat the white and realised I'd missed a section of the image and had to stop and re-powder it. Originally, I'd intended to put the sentiment on a strip raised up and with perhaps another touch of colour. However, with the clock rapidly hitting the final minute, a more... minimalist... approach to the sentiment prevailed. On the whole though, I like the contrast of the stark words above the strip of colour.

Here's my final timer...

9 minutes 34 seconds!

We'd love to see how you see this speed challenge. You have ten minutes from the moment you begin to make the card. You can use any shade(s) of orange plus you can use neutrals (white, vanilla, black, grey) but no other colours.

You can join up and play with us until 18 October.

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. You can message me through my Facebook page, linked in the sidebar of this blog, or by leaving a comment below.

Ingredients

Card: Whisper White, Shimmery cardstock, Tangelo Twist

Stamps: Awesomely Artistic, Thoughtful Banners

Inks: Peekaboo Peach, Calypso Coral, Tangelo Twist, versamark

Other: white embossing powder, sponges