Welcome to a new challenge at Colour INKspiration.
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 two 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.
If you don't have an exact challenge colour, feel free to replace it with whatever you have that's closest. Black, White, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake and metallics are free colours, as are flesh toned Stampin' Blends.
Aren't these colours wonderful: so rich, so vibrant and they lend themselves to many stamp sets. Since my current favourite is the Sand & Sea suite from the January-July Mini Catalogue, I saw seashells, the ocean and seaweed in them .
To me, the most amazing thing about this suite is the total compatibility of the elements. We're all used to the perfect match up of stamps and dies in the Stampin' Up! universe but in this suite, it goes even further: embossing folder, dies and stamps are all a total match!
Interestingly, this whole card is made using only Basic White card and three ink pads.
I started by using a Blending Brush to colour a piece of Basic White with Pacific Point ink, making sure that it was deep at the bottom and light at the top. Then I embossed it using the Seashells 3D folder. I probably could have missed that step out except that I wanted the tiny bubble texture to be showing on the base.
Secondly, I took a piece of Basic White and using an acrylic block, Spritzer and Granny Apple Green ink, I ink smooshed it so I'd get a softer, variegated piece of Granny Apple Green to work with. Once it was dry, I embossed it in the Seashell 3D folder and then cut it out with the matching die. (AMAZING!) Again, I could have just used the die cut without embossing but I wanted there to be texture on the seaweed so embossed it first.
In the third stage, I stamped the 5 seashells in Sahara Sand ink on Basic White. I fussy cut them out because I wanted a narrow edge to them but I could have used the die that matches the embossing folder to cut them out. Once they were cut, I added wonderful texture to them by inserting them into the relevant slot of the embossing folder and running it through the Stampin' Emboss and Cut machine. Then, as a final touch, I lightly sponged each one with Sahara Sand to highlight the raised parts of each shell. Then I attached them to the corresponding spot on the die cut.
In this case, I wanted a green frame around each, which is why I fussy cut them. If I had not wanted the green to outline each shell, I would have die cut each one and it would have matched to space exactly with nothing showing around the edges.
The sentiment is the 'THANK YOU" sentiment from Friends are Like Seashells repeated three times, cut and added in a random-seeming, but carefully chosen, way.
We'd love to see what you make of these colours. You can add your project, see the other entries and look at the Design Team inspiration by clicking here.
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.
