Thinking Stamping

Wednesday, 8 December 2021

Snowflake Wishes for CI113

Welcome to the final challenge of the year at Colour INKSpiration! We've got a an interesting, modern palette for you. You can go down the Christmas road or not, as the fancy takes you!

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. This time however, we don't have a GD since we had under 10 entries in the last challenge but we are introducing to you our latest Crew Member, Michele Miller. Welcome, Michele!

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, Sahara Sand and metallics are free colours, as are flesh toned Stampin' Blends.

The other thing you need to know about this challenge is that it will run for SIX WEEKS! That's right - once Christmas is over, the presents are unwrapped and the guests have gone, you'll still be able to join in with us!

Although I hadn't intended to, I have gone down the Christmas road with this colour combo.

The Expressions in Ink Specialty DSP included both Pale Papaya and Polished Pink, so I started with a piece of DSP that has both. I like the swirly, sunset sky feel of this paper.

I embossed the sentiment, from So Many Snowflakes, in Black directly on to the paper to add some extra sparkle. 😀

Then I added in some snowflakes, cut with the So Many Snowflakes dies from the three different golds in the Brushed Metallic Specialty DSP pack.

I used some Pale Papaya and Polished Pink gems from the 2021-2023 In Color Jewels pack to finish off the card front.

Visit the Colour INKspiration site to check out the album of Crew Cards for inspiration. You can also add your entry there.

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 on any of the products below.

Product List

Snowflake Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set

[153444]

$55.00

So Many Snowflakes Dies

[153560]

$76.00

Pale Papaya A4 Cardstock

[155669]

$18.50

Basic Black A4 Card Stock

[121688]

$18.50

Expressions In Ink 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper

[155464]

$32.00

Brushed Metallic Cardstock

[153524]

$32.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

$20.00

Basics Embossing Powders

[155554]

$38.00

2021–2023 In Color Jewels

[155571]

$14.75

Tuesday, 30 November 2021

Tidings & Trimmings for Paper Players 569

I couldn't pass up the chance to play along with Anne Marie's gorgeous sketch at The Paper Players this week.

With Christmas looming up so quickly, it was a good chance to make another card. My favourite equal bundle of the season is Tidings & Trimmings. Tailor Made Tags, another great set of dies to have in the cupboard, helped out.

The Tidings of Christmas DSP is wonderful for all Christmas projects, all in colours I love: Cherry Cobber, Evening Evergreen, Soft Succulent and Sahara Sand.

I've used the Timeworn Type 3D embossing folder for the background and used a few 2021-23 In Colour Jewels for some bling.

Product List

Tidings & Trimmings Bundle (English)

[155716]

$85.50

Cherry Cobbler A4 Card Stock

[121681]

$18.50

Basic White A4 Cardstock

[159228]

$20.50

Evening Evergreen A4 Cardstock

[155575]

$18.50

Soft Succulent A4 Cardstock

[155777]

$18.50

Tidings Of Christmas 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[155718]

$24.25

Gold Foil Sheets

[132622]

$10.50

Evening Evergreen Classic Stampin' Pad

[155576]

$15.75

Tailor Made Tags Dies

[155563]

$46.00

Timeworn Type 3 D Embossing Folder

[156505]

$21.00

Simply Elegant Trim

[155766]

$15.75

2021–2023 In Color Jewels

[155571]

$14.75

Friday, 26 November 2021

No Bones About it for AYSI 264

This week, at As You See It, it's time for a theme challenge. It's one that will give you lots of scope - Pets.

I know lots of people love their pets but I'm not really one of them. I once had some goldfish and in a moment of whimsy, named them Desdemona and Othello. The story didn't end any better in real life than it did in the theatre!

So for me, this challenge was more about the pet I wished I had, rather than the pets I could have had. Dinosaurs have always fascinated me, ever since the day in primary school when I opened up a plainly bound green book and found a picture of a brontosaurus. It was revelatory - what had happened to those creatures? If they could pass from the world, could life as we know it also do so? Then there were the words. I realised that brontosaurus, stegosaurus and tyrannosaurus had to be the same kind of creatures because they had the same bits in their names. And that 'tri' had to mean three since triceratops had three horns just as a tricycle had three wheels.

All my children have shown an interest in them too. I discovered early that one of them could be bribed into willing participation in swimming lessons if they could go pick up the next instalment of their week-by-week dinosaur encyclopedia and get another bone for the build-by-the-week glow-in-the-dark T-Rex skeleton! I felt a secret glow of maternal pride hearing my six year old son telling someone that they'd seen a fast car - one that was going "as fast as a hypsilophodon!"

So despite the lessons of Jurassic Park, there are still times when I wonder what it would be like to have a pet dinosaur! Perhaps it's more of an imaginary pet friend but I did enjoy getting out the retired No Bones About It set. It was part of my Demonstrator Starter Kit and I'm keeping it forever!

I started by blending Old Olive and Balmy Blue in a masked strip on the card front. Then I added in the Stegosaurus - the bones in Night of Navy and the body in Balmy Blue.

I added in some suggestions of landscape with some foliage and stones by stamping in Mossy Meadow. The inside has the other half of the sentiment: 'You're gRRRReat!"

Inspiration for this design also came from the sketch at CAS Colours and Sketches. I've rotated the sketch.

Update: Delighted to be a Weekly Winner at CAS Colours and Sketches.

We'd love to see what you do with this theme. What are your favourite pets - or do you, like me, have an imaginary pet? Perhaps you've always wished for a unicorn?

You can see what the rest of the team have done and link up your entry at the As You See It Challenge site.

Product List

NB No Bones About It is a retired set.

Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock

[106577]

$18.50

Basic White A4 Cardstock

[159228]

$20.50

Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad

[147110]

$15.75

Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad

[147105]

$15.75

Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad

[147090]

$15.75

Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad

[147111]

$15.75

Blending Brushes

[153611]

$25.25

Wednesday, 24 November 2021

Quiet Meadow for CI112

It's already time for a new challenge at Colour INKspiration! The crew are loving seeing the wonderful entries that are rolling in. We can't wait to see what you make of these colours, chosen by Crew Member, Vicki Boucher. Vicki deserves a big round of applause as it was announced at the On-line On Stage that she is part of the 2022 Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team. This is a huge honour and huge opportunity for her and I can't wait to see what she comes up with!

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. This time, we have Yvonne Spikmans - Van Bruggen joining us as Guest Designer. She too has been named in the 2022 Artisan Design Team and I'm delighted for her.

The very pretty graphic that Vicki chose did lead me to think of florals but it was a trickier combination than I first thought. I ended up back with Quiet Meadow.

Originally, I put the flower panel on a white embossed background but it just didn't seem right. I hit on the idea of using some subtle Gray Granite DSP instead. I like it - it's sombre enough for a sympathy card without being too dark.