Country Birdhouse for Colour INKspiration 169

Welcome to the 169th challenge at Colour INKspiration! We have a bluesy mix for you to play with this time around, chosen by Crew Member Cathy Pinchbeck.

If you haven't played with us before, we are a group of Stampin' Up Demonstrators from the South Pacific. Challenges are shown and entered via our Facebook Group page. If you don't belong, and would like to, click here. Don't forget to answer the three easy questions you'll be asked when you ask to join the group.

Each challenge, Top Picks and a winner are chosen by the crew and the winner offered a chance to Guest Design with us for a future challenge. We're delighted to welcome Patricia Leferink as our Guest for this challenge.

This challenge is open for nearly two weeks and closes Monday July 22, 7pm AEST.

If you don't have an exact challenge colour, feel free to replace it with whatever you have that's closest, for example Boho Blue for Misty Moonlight. Black, White, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Basic Beige and metallics are free colours, as are flesh toned Stampin' Blends.

These colours had to sit with me for a few days before they started talking to me. It was the Basic Beige that did it. I thought about it with a wood grain and that lead me to Country Birdhouse. I used the Timber 3D Embossing Folder to add the texture. At times, I wished for a green to add in but in the end, I loved how it turned out in stylish shades of blue and beige.

I also wanted to try out a fancy fold I'd seen around on the Internet in quite a few places: a faux step card. A simple internet search will give many tutorials for this fold.

I did a mirror stamp to get one bird facing each way - it just seemed more companionable that way! I'm pleased with their Misty Moonlight chests too. 

It was a small error to use the same pattern of DSP in both Night of Navy  (card) and Misty Moonlight (the Birdhouse) as it doesn't really show a difference, at least in the photo. I used the 2024-26 In Colour 6x6 DSP pack for the papers.

The sentiment from the set is stamped in Night of Navy and is die cut with the Stylish Shapes dies.

I'm excited to see what you do with these pretty colours!

You can see what the rest of the Design Team have done with these colours in the Crew Inspiration Album on the Colour INKspiration Challenge Facebook page.

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 here. 

Beach Days for The Paper Players 697

I am so pleased to be sharing with you my first challenge as part of the Design Team at the fabulous Paper Players. I was lucky enough to be a Guest Designer with this talented, friendly bunch of people a few years ago so I couldn't accept the offer of a permanent place with them quickly enough!

The challenge this week is a theme challenge - Summer Fun! Very timely for in New Zealand it's winter time. I love the beach so it was nice to have the chance to think about the warm days ahead, even as I'm sitting by the fire and looking out at the rain. 😀

In celebration of both joining the team and the theme, I broke out some new toys: Beach Day stamps and Beach Day dies.

After creating a skyline in Balmy Blue with a mask, I worked on building the sea with Shy Shamrock and Coastal Cabana. I made a mask using the wave die to get some movement in the darker colours and added in some White ink, using the wave die cut as a stencil. Finally, I added in the little bits that had come out of the die as whitecaps on the waves. 

Then I blended some Crumb Cake ink to create a beach and stamped in some grasses and sea shells using Pecan Pie.

Once I was happy with the scene, I cut it out using the Spotlight on Nature dies, and cut a matching sized circle from Balmy Blue. The sky looked a bit empty so I added in the sea bird, stamping her in then colouring her wings with Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends.

I layered the circles and attached them to the Basic White card front, which had been embossed with one of the Basics 3D Embossing folders. I picked this one because the stars were like starfish and the pattern reminded me of tapa cloth. Once the layered circles were attached, I trimmed off the excess before attaching to the Shy Shamrock card base.

To finish off, I added the sentiment from the set. This was cut using a die from Something Fancy. Then I die cut a couple of sea shells, sponged the edges with Pecan Pie and added them to the sentiment.

The team would love to have you join in the challenge. You can play along with us until noon on Friday, PST. Visit The Paper Players page to see what the rest of the team have done.

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:

 
1.  Create a new paper project

2.  Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us and provide a direct link to the post featuring         your challenge submission.
3.  Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL.
4.  Have FUN!

Sea Turtle for AYSI 327

 As always at As You See It, a colour challenge follows a sketch challenge. There were such lovely entries in the sketch challenge, I'm excited to see what you do with this bright colour palette - chosen for us by team member Joanne.

At first, I was planning on something floral with the colours but then I started thinking 'tropical'. Before I knew it, Sea Turtle had found its way off the shelf and onto the desk!

I used the bubble-like stamp with Blueberry Bushel to create the ocean. I stamped it three times, stamping off for a couple of them to get the variation in colour.

The starfish were stamped in Daffodil Delight on Daffodil Delight then fussy cut. The turtle is stamped in Granny Apple Green on Basic White, then fussy cut. I sponged around the edges in Granny Apple Green before popping him into the ocean on dimensionals. 

As the set is an image-only set, I used a sentiment from Country Birdhouse and cut it using the Stylish Shapes dies. The finishing touch was a trio of gems from the Tinsel Gem four-pack.

The Blueberry Bushel base and Granny Apple Green mat really brought the colours together.  I love the look of this simple card, perfect for any recipient male or female. 

Make sure you visit the As You See It Challenge page to see what the rest of the design team have done and to link up your entry. We'd love to see how you see these colours!

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. 

Everyday Details for FMS 642

As I often do, when looking for a fun weekend challenge, I look to the latest at Freshly Made Sketches. 

Today's card is a straightforward make with a straightforward take on the sketch. It's a good mix of old and new too, which I like.

The background is Pool Party embossed with my newest embossing folder, Cute Crochet. However, the shaped bottom uses a retired die set, Ornate Borders. It's always nice to use favourites from the stash. 😀

The stamped image and sentiment are not new - merely underused : Everyday Details. The pretty dotted border is from the matching Everyday Details dies.

After stamping the bird's nest in Tuxedo Black, I coloured it with Stampin' Blends: Crumb Cake, Old Olive and Pool Party. I chose the sentiment because it seemed to go with the nest - perhaps a baby announcement or a new home?

After colouring, I masked off the eggs and nest before splattering some Wink of Stella over it. I popped it up on dimensionals to give it some lift and decided against adding any further bling.

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 here. 

 

Layers of Beauty for Colour INKspiration 168

 

Welcome to the 168th challenge at Colour INKspiration. We have a colourful combination for you this time around, chosen by crew member Bernie Roodt.

If you haven't played with us before, we are a group of Stampin' Up Demonstrators from the South Pacific. Challenges are shown and entered via our Facebook Group page. If you don't belong, and would like to, click here. Don't forget to answer the three easy questions you'll be asked when you ask to join the group.

Each challenge, Top Picks and a winner are chosen by the crew and the winner offered a chance to Guest Design with us for a future challenge. We're delighted to welcome Sharon Dalton as our Guest for this challenge.

This challenge is open for nearly two weeks and closes Monday July 8, 7pm AEST.

If you don't have an exact challenge colour, feel free to replace it with whatever you have that's closest, for example Crushed Curry for Daffodil Delight. Black, White, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Basic Beige and metallics are free colours, as are flesh toned Stampin' Blends.

These colours told me they were a floral mix, so I got out the Layers of Beauty bundle. After stamping the floral spray in Tuxedo Black ink, I used the five layer stencil set to colour it: First layer in Real Red, second in Cajun Craze, part of the third in Daffodil Delight and layers four and five in Lost Lagoon.

After masking the flowers off, I lightly splattered some diluted Lost Lagoon and some Wink of Stella to give a raindrop effect in the background. I like the subtle interest it adds.

I mounted the panel on a mat of Gold Foil before attaching it to a Real Red card base. The sentiment, from Cheerful Daisies, is gold embossed and cut using one of the labels from Unbounded Love die set.

The embellishments, that have a Lost Lagoon tinge to them, are from the Adhesive Backed Pearl Trio.

I'm excited to see what you do with these pretty colours!

You can see what the rest of the Design Team have done with these colours in the Crew Inspiration Album on the Colour INKspiration Challenge Facebook page.

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 here. 

Thoughtful Wishes for AYSI 326

 I always enjoy a sketch challenge so I'm extra pleased that our challenge rotation at As You See It is back to a sketch.

Generally, I don't use a lot of DSP in my card-making but the exception is the wonderful Thoughtful Journey DSP. The evocative water-coloured scenes make cards a breeze. In this card, I've let the paper do most of the work, then added in a sentiment from the set and some die-cut bits to cluster around it.

I really like the extra foliage pieces in the Thoughtful Wishes die set. I've cut some from card, some from the new In Color Glimmer Paper and some from scraps of the DSP. I clustered them around the sentiment which is from the Thoughtful Wishes stamp set. The dies and stamps are available as a bundle, giving you a 10% saving - although if you purchase them in June, there's an extra 10% all bundles. If you're considering this - or any bundle - June is the time to do it.

As a texture lover, I couldn't help but emboss the background with the Exposed Brick 3D embossing folder. I also added in a trio of In Color Shimmer Gems in Petunia Pop.

Colours used were: Petunia Pop, Old Olive, Wild Wheat and Basic White.

The Design Team would love to see how you see this sketch. 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 3 July, 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. 

Magnolia Mood for Freshly Made Sketches 641

Fun Friday for me is to play with a challenge, so for inspiration I looked no further than the latest offering from Freshly Made Sketches.

I'm still enjoying the Magnolia Mood bundle and this sketch drew me to it again.

I stamped, coloured and diecut out the large magnolia image and one of the smaller conebud images. They are coloured with Stampin' Blends in Old Olive, Fresh Freesia and Highland Heather with a touch of Daffodil Delight. I added in some extra die cut leaves to fill out the arrangement.

I masked off a 2cm deep section of the card base and then sponged with Daffodil Delight ink. Hard to see in the picture is the fine splattering of Wink of Stella I added at this point. Once the mask was removed there was a line of clear space. So then I had to be brave and stamp the sentiment directly onto the base!

After mounting onto a Fresh Freesia card base, I added in a trio of gems from the Purple Fine Shimmer Gem  pack to finish off. Got to have a little bling, right?

Update: Delighted to be named a Perfect Princess at Freshly Made Sketches.

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.