Gallery Blooms for Colour Inkspiration 193

 

Welcome to the 193rd challenge at Colour INKspiration. This challenge runs for nearly two weeks and will finish on Monday August 25, 7pm AEST.

This colour palette was chosen for us by Crew Member, Vicki Boucher. Isn't this just the most gorgeous, delicate set of colours? I hope you enjoy crafting with it as much as I did!

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 welcome Michelle Pepper as our Guest Designer for this challenge.

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

These colours were so delicate that I knew I wanted to use something with lacy die cuts and probably some water colouring. The dies in Gallery Blooms were just perfect so I started by ink smooshing some Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper with some Balmy Blue and Highland Heather. Once it was dry, I cut several of the lacy agapanthus heads from it and also several maidenhair fern leaves from Cloud Cover. From these beginnings a card was born!

I had a wreath in mind, so cut a hoop using circles from Stylish Shapes to use as a base. I cut a square of Basic White, embossed it with the Damask Delsigns embossing folder, added the wreath and then wondered what was next?!

I toyed with the idea of a square card but instead used a Cloud Cover base and a piece of Cloud Cover DSP from the 2025-2027 In Color Stack. I chose this design because it has an ink smooshed look to it. The card needed something else to make it pop, so I added in a piece of Highland Heather, embossed with the Exposed Brick 3D folder behind the square which also helped to visually elongate the wreath panel.

The next dilemma was the sentiment. What colour to stamp it and what colour to stamp it on? Embossed white on Highland Heather? A Balmy Blue banner? Too many choices. While pondering that, my eye fell upon the narrow piece of the DSP that I'd trimmed off for the card front. Perfect - I used that, stamped with Highland Heather and turned into a banner. The sentiment is from Beautiful Motifs, the companion set to Gallery Blooms. 

To finish, I added a trio of Purple Fine Shimmer Gems to pick out the Highland Heather.

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 stamp with me, and shop with me, from anywhere in New Zealand. Click here.

Textured Notes for Paper Players 750

Welcome to a new week at The Paper Players. I enjoyed seeing the many ways people interpreted Stef's 'By the Water' theme last week. I'm glad I wasn't choosing headliner! Thank you for all the wonderful entries.

This week, Claire is our hostess and she has a bright colour challenge for us. 

The colours seemed quite autumnal to me, so I reached for Textured Notes - specifically the lovely foliage stamp. 

I went for an old, tried-and-true technique for this one: Baby Wipe. I got out a wet wipe, folded it in half and put it on a large acrylic block. Using re-inkers, I dotted some Blackberry Bliss, Cherry Cobbler and Pumpkin Pie ink on it and let the drops run into each other. Then I used this as my temporary inkpad to stamp randomly over a piece of Basic White card. I love the variegated effect achieved with this technique!

After cutting the panel to size,  I added some Old Olive  around the edges with a blending brush.

 

The sentiment, from Textured Notes, was inked in Blackberry Bliss and cut with a die from Nested Essentials. The border is Old Olive and the card base is Blackberry Bliss. 

The finishing touch was a trio of deep Purple Fine Shimmer Gems.

What will you do with these colours? You can see what the rest of the team have done and link up your entry on The Paper Players page. 

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:

1. Create a new paper-craft project specifically for this challenge.
2. Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us.
3. Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge entry.
4. Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL, including ours
5. Have fun, and thank you for playing with us!

Don't forget to check out the great inspiration from the rest of the design team.

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater

Joanne James

Anne Marie Hile (on leave)

Ann Schach

Jan Clothier - You are here

Stef Perry

Eliz Stewart

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 stamp with me, and shop with me, from anywhere in New Zealand. Click here.

Impressions Abloom for As You See It 354

The new theme for this week's challenge at As You See It almost had me stumped. I don't have a single stamp or piece of DSP that's in any way related to picnics. Clearly some creative thinking was going to be needed for this one

Creative thinking was involved in this card but alas, most of it was not mine. Tammy Wilson from Stamp, Paper, Scissors is the inspiration for this card. I first encountered her work when we were both on the 2020 Artisan Design Team and I've followed her ever since. She posted this fabulous card where she made watermelons using the dies from Impressions Abloom. 

Since no picnic is complete without some sliced watermelon, the card was born!

I chose Forever Plaid to emboss the background, since it's reminiscent of the generic checked picnic blanket. 

To create the watermelon, I used the large oval label die from Impressions Abloom to cut an oval from Strawberry Slush cardstock. I cut it in half and sponged Strawberry Slush ink in the centre, using a blending brush. 

To create the rind, I used the stitched edge label die to cut an oval edging in Shy Shamrock cardstock. I cut it and added it to the outer edge of the Strawberry Slush slices. (A little fudging around is required.)

Following Tammy's lead, I cut the pips using the small leaf die from the Birthday Celebration dies. These can still be found in the Last Chance section, if you don't already have them. 

The sentiment is from the Sweet Jar stamp set, and I've cut is using one of the Spotlight on Nature dies. The Shy Shamrock circle underneath the sentiment was cut using my old favourite set, Stylish Shapes. 

To finish off, I added in some flowers - which were also cut using the Impressions Abloom dies - to create the feel of wildflowers in the meadow. The very final thing was to add some Strawberry Slush gems for a touch of bling. 

I hope your path to a picnic themed card is easier than mine was! I look forward to seeing your creation in the As You See It gallery. You can also see the rest of the team's inspirations 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 stamp with me, and shop with me, from anywhere in New Zealand. Click here.

 

Notes & Totes for Paper Players 749

 Welcome to a new week at The Paper Players! I had a great time last week, checking out the gallery to see what everyone made of my sketch challenge. I loved the entries and choosing a Headliner was tricky. Thank you for making the sketch shine! 

Stef is our hostess this week and she has a theme challenge: By the Water. It's a great theme as you can be by the water in so many different ways. 

My favourite 'by the water' is the beach, so the Notes & Totes bundle was a natural starting point. Some of my favourite parts of this bundle are the dies for the seashell and the starfish. I cut them from Crumb Cake, Lemon Lolly and Coastal Cabana before creating them a little beach to rest on.

I put down a piece of masking paper and sponged some Coastal Cabana ink about it, using a blending brush. After removing the paper, I stamped in some dots in Crumb Cake to suggest the sand, then added my shell and starfish. I gave the starfish a coating of Wink of Stella so they could twinkle a little. 😀

I cut the panel using the largest of the Textured Notes dies and added the sentiment in Crumb Cake. The finishing touch was to add three Holographic Dots. I liked them for the job as they suggested water drops to me, and who doesn't like a bit of splash?!

What's your favourite 'by the water' place or activity? You can see what the rest of the team have done and link up your entry on The Paper Players page. 

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:

1. Create a new paper-craft project specifically for this challenge.
2. Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us.
3. Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge entry.
4. Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL, including ours
5. Have fun, and thank you for playing with us!

Don't forget to check out the great inspiration from the rest of the design team.

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater

Joanne James

Anne Marie Hile (on leave)

Ann Schach

Jan Clothier - You are here

Stef Perry

Eliz Stewart

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 stamp with me, and shop with me, from anywhere in New Zealand. Click here.

Perfectly Pears for Paper Players 748

Welcome to a new week at The Paper Players! Weren't the Clean and Simple Things With Wheels entries last week fabulous? I loved the way people were so inventive about using things with wheels but while keeping the CAS vibe. Lots of you proved that CAS doesn't equate with mundane!

I'm your hostess this week and it's my favourite kind of challenge: a sketch. I love a sketch challenge and even more, I love seeing the many and varied projects that come from the same starting point, so I'm going to especially love visiting the gallery this week. 

Regular followers will know that I've been having a bit of a love affair with the Painterly Pears suite, so once again, I've reached for it. 

For the background rectangle of the sketch, I've used a pair of die cut trellises. The card front is embossed with the Damask Designs embossing folder. Sweet, isn't it?

One of the unexpected delights of the the Painterly Pears DSP is that one of the sheet is full of images that match the dies, so I've die cut out a large pear, a stem and a small pair of pears from the paper. How simple is that?!

The rest of the card was easy too:  rectangle of Painterly Pears DSP for the right hand rectangle block in the sketch, a sentiment stamped in Secret Sea and die cut using a banner from Stylish Shapes,  and a few additional die cut flowers in Darling Duckling (with Iridescent Pearl centres).

How will you use this sketch? You can see what the rest of the team have done and link up your entry on The Paper Players page. 

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:

1. Create a new paper-craft project specifically for this challenge.
2. Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us.
3. Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge entry.
4. Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL, including ours
5. Have fun, and thank you for playing with us!

Don't forget to check out the great inspiration from the rest of the design team.

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater

Joanne James

Anne Marie Hile (on leave)

Ann Schach

Jan Clothier - You are here

Stef Perry

Eliz Stewart

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 stamp with me, and shop with me, from anywhere in New Zealand. Click here.

A Bit of Everything for AYSI 353

It's time for a recipe challenge at As You See It. If you've not played along with one of these, it's really easy. Just take the five 'ingredients' from the challenge graphic, add whatever bits and pieces you want from your own stash and see what you can cook up! 

Today's selection of ingredients seems to be steering us down the road of elegance and glamour. I've used an eclectic collection of items to bring you this card....

1. Black, White and/or Gold  - I've stuck to these three colours because I like the combination.

2. Heat Embossing - I've heat embossed gold splatter on the card front, which has been embossed with the Damask Designs embossing folder. The splatter stamp came from Perfectly Pears.

3. Rhinestones or Sequins - I've used my old favourite, Basic Rhinestones.

4. Punches or Dies - I've gone overboard with this one. I've used Stylish Shapes, Thankful Garden, and Gallery Blooms dies.

5. Gold Foil or Paper - some of the dies are cut from Gold Foil. 

The sentiment is stamped in Tuxedo Black and is from Perfectly Pears. I also added in a bow from Twisted Gold Cord.

We'd love to see what you come up with from these five ingredients.  You can see what the rest of the team have done, and link up your entry, at the As You See It Challenge 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 stamp with me, and shop with me, from anywhere in New Zealand. Click here.

Prairie Grass for CAS Colours and Sketches 564

My sporadic attempts to complete my New Year's resolution of playing more challenges just for fun continues today with my take on the latest sketch at CAS Colours and Sketches. And 'latest' is a bit of a stretch since I'm really only getting this done just under the wire! On the plus side, there really will be a new challenge in the next couple of days! 

Here's my take on it, using Prairie Grass from Online Exclusives.

I used direct colouring of the stamp with Stamp'n'Write markers (Shaded Spruce, Berry Burst and Gorgeous Grape) to get the multi-coloured image. The sentiment is stamped in Tuxedo Black. 

Then I used a little Gorgeous Grape ink and water to create some background splatter. I mounted this panel onto a matte of Gorgeous Grape then to a card base of Thick Basic White.

I added three Purple Fine Shimmer gems to finish.

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 stamp with me, and shop with me, from anywhere in New Zealand. Click here.