Thinking Stamping

Sunday, 10 November 2024

Latte Love Gift Card Holder for The Paper Players 715

Hi everyone! A week goes by pretty quickly and it's already time for a new challenge at The Paper Players. This week, our hostess is Claire and she's set us a bright and cheery colour challenge. First up, I had to interpret the generic colours into Stampin' Up! colours. I went for Melon Mambo, Gorgeous Grape, Azure Afternoon and Pumpkin Pie.

Truth be told, I run a bit scared at the prospect of a bunch of really bright colours. I'm always looking for a way to tame them down. One way to do that is to have lots of white space and to use the colours in small amounts. This is the approach I've used for this gift card holder.

I chose the Latte Love bundle from the Online Exclusives as a starting point because I really love the little cups in the die set. I cut some in each colour - and I really love that the two dies have handles on opposite sides of the cup.

I used stamps from the set to stamp a tone-on-tone pattern on them. I particularly like the ones with the coffee beans. I used Early Espresso as my neutral colour to add coffee to the cups and a sentiment from the stamp set.

Although tempted to leave the card front plain Basic White, I used the largest Perennial Postage die to give some form to the card front and added a mat of Azure Afternoon. And I like the result. 😀

The inside is where the gift card will go. I used the cup stamp, the crema pattern stamp and the splatter stamp in Azure Afternoon on Azure Afternoon to create the background before adding in the sentiment and some more of those sweet little cups, one in each colour, to the front of the holder.

We'd all love to see what you do with Claire's cheerful colours. You can see what the rest of the design team have done, and link up your entry, at The Paper Players page.

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:

Create a new paper-craft project specifically for this challenge.
Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us.
Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge entry.
Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL, including ours
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.

Jan Clothier - You are here

Stef Perry

Eliz Stewart

Jolanda Johnstone

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.

Friday, 8 November 2024

An Old Favourite for AYSI 336

I found this week's challenge at As You See It a real challenge as I just couldn't find anything on my current shelves that contained either acorns or seeds. Minor panic stations for a while there until I went to my retired shelves.

I have a curated collection of special stamps that I keep, mainly made up of stamp sets that either are one-of-a-kind images or sets so beautiful I just don't want to part with them. The long retired Dandelion Wishes fell into the latter category. Getting it out again to play with new things was a real pleasure.

I started by stamping the trio of dandelion seed heads in Petunia Pop, then added in some stamped seeds-in-the -wind. I sponged some Petunia Pop over the seed heads and seeds lightly, and more heavily in the seed head centres. I cut the image out with one of the dies from Spotlight on Nature. I cut a second circle, with a different die, from Petunia Pop. I off-set layered them and mounted them to one side of the card front which had been embossed with the Dotted Circle 3D Embossing Folder. After trimming off the excess, I mounted the front onto the Petunia Pop card base.

Having decided that there was an air of celebration in this design, I splattered some Wink of Stella over the seed heads before attaching it to the card front. I like the little hints of shine it gives.

The sentiment is from the Something Fancy stamp set and is cut using one of the Something Fancy dies. I raided my dwindling stash of Silver Glimmer paper to cut a shadow shape for under the sentiment. At the last minute, I added in a twist of Silver & White Sheer ribbon under the sentiment. The final step was the addition of three Petunia Pop Shimmer Gems.

The team and I would love to see what you do with this acorn and seed theme. 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 November 20, 11.59pm PST.

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

Sunday, 3 November 2024

Regal Flora for Paper Players 714

Elizabeth has set the challenge this week at The Paper Players and I'm sure it will be a popular one, especially in North America. But no matter where you live, there's always time to be thankful to people.

I've always been taken with one of the sentiments from the Something Fancy set, so this was the perfect time to get it out. 'Grateful for the everyday magic of you.' Isn't that great?

Something Fancy is a sentiment only set, so I've paired it up with one of the loveliest suites in the Mini Catalogue: Regal Winter. The Regal Winter DSP is so lush and opulent while the Regal Flora bundle has lots to offer as well.

I started with a rectangle of the DSP that's predominantly Night of Navy and a strip of the reverse.

Possibly my favourite thing from the whole bundle is that wonderful label with the two rounded corners and long-stitch details. Just the thing for the sentiment plus a gold foil companion to act as a shadow.

I used the baby wipe technique with Gorgeous Grape and Pretty Peacock re-inkers to stamp some leaves, then used direct to rubber colouring to stamp the small flowers. Once they were die cut, I sponged the edges lightly with Night of Navy ink and a blending brush. That took the starkness from them (a nervous moment for me as I like stark!) and also made them blend in more with the look of the flowers in the DSP.

To help create the bouquet, I die cut some gold foil foliage using one of the Lifetime of Love dies. The bow is the new gold cord from the new on-line exclusives.

I felt the card front needed some texture - and seriously, when doesn't a card need some texture?! So I used the cross hatch pattern from the Basics 3D Embossing set.

The finishing touch was the addition of three of the pretty gold-flecked Night of Navy Regal Foil Gems.

The team would all love to see what you do with the "Give Thanks" theme. You can see what the rest of the design team have done, and link up your entry, at The Paper Players page.

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:

Create a new paper-craft project specifically for this challenge.
Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us.
Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge entry.
Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL, including ours
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.

Jan Clothier - You are here

Stef Perry

Eliz Stewart

Jolanda Johnstone

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

Sunday, 27 October 2024

Cake Celebrations for Paper Players 713

Time for a new challenge at The Paper Players! This time our hostess is Ann and she has a sketch challenge for us.

Sketch challenges are my favourites. This time, I used it unashamedly to try out a new set that arrived during the week. The Cake Celebrations bundle is one of the new online exclusive products that will be generally available on November 5.

The set is one of those that has lots of bits that can be arranged in any combination that you like. This is enhanced further by the extras in the die set. I really like that the candle and the flames are separate stamps so that you can have any coloured candles.

The most impressive thing was the beautiful way the cake stand stamped, so that it looks three dimensional.

The card base is Pretty in Pink, chosen to match the very pretty DSP from the Unbounded Beauty collection. I chose the Eyelet 3D embossing folder for the feminine vibe.

The cake is stamped in Lemon Lolly and Daffodil Delight, the cake stand and flower centres in Early Espresso, the flowers in Pretty in Pink, the leaves in Granny Apple Green and the candles in Flirty Flamingo. It's all assembled on a circle from Stylish Shapes.

The sentiment is also from Cake Celebrations. The words are also mix and match, so I went for a 'Happy' and a 'Birthday' in Early Espresso. The label is from Unbounded Love dies set.

As you see, I went for a very simple fancy fold. I cut 3 cm (about 1 1/4") from the front and added the DSP to the inside panel of the card.

We'd all love to see what you do with Ann's sketch. You can see what the rest of the design team have done, and link up your entry, at The Paper Players page.

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:

Create a new paper-craft project specifically for this challenge.
Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us.
Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge entry.
Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL, including ours
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.

Jan Clothier - You are here

Stef Perry

Eliz Stewart

Jolanda Johnstone

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

Friday, 25 October 2024

Thoughtful Wishes for AYSI 335

The recipe challenge is one of my favourites in the As You See It schedule. Sometimes it's just nice to be given a starting point to create with, then let it roll and see where it goes. This time, our five 'ingredients' are quite opulent - the caviar and lobster of the craft room!

To join in the challenge with us, just create something that included metallics, textured embossing, a 'thinking of you' sentiment, a tag and use warm tones.

Here's what I came up with.

I chose a square format for a change. I cut one of the tags from the Something Fancy dies in Very Vanilla and a shadow from Mossy Meadow.

I stamped the little flowers stamp from Thoughtful Wishes in Blackberry Bliss then coloured it with Peach Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Mossy Meadow Stampin' Blends. I added in some splatters in Blackberry Bliss.

After gluing the tags together in the desired position, I added in a bow of Linen Thread, one of my very favourite SU products of all time!

The die cut flowers and foliage were cut with the Thoughtful Wishes dies in Peach Pie, Copper Clay, Mossy Meadow and Blackberry Bliss. The card base is Blackberry Bliss.

The sentiment is stamped in Blackberry Bliss on Very Vanilla and cut with a die from Everyday Details.

However, the thing I enjoyed playing around with the most was the card front. I started by embossing a piece of Very Vanilla with the Distressed Tile 3D embossing folder - another favourite of mine. Then I applied some Copper Enamel Effects from the Metallics Enamel Effects Basics, using a dry Water Painter. I love how this came out, with the richness of the copper picking out the embossed pattern, rather like a Victorian pressed tin ceiling. I'm keen to try this with the gold next time.

The finishing touch was the addition of three Regal Foiled Dots. I picked Blackberry Bliss ones, each with flecks of gold foil - beautiful!

The team and I would love to see what you can cook up with this selection of deluxe ingredients. 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 November 6, 11.59pm PST.

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

Wednesday, 23 October 2024

Magnolia Mood for Colour INKspiration 176

Welcome to the 176th challenge at Colour INKspiration. Australia has just the best of birds - isn't this one a real beauty?! Crew member, Lou Kitzelman, said it is an Australian Pink Robin. She's given this to us as the inspiration for the latest challenge.

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. Please welcome our Guest Designer for this challenge, Janette Goodall.

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

This challenge is open for three weeks and closes Monday November 11, 7pm AEST.

I loved this bright colour combination - maybe I was just carried away by the beautiful robin! I saw flowers in these colours and I turned to the Magnolia Mood bundle straight away.

I stamped the large flower and cone images in Tuxedo Black, then coloured them with Stampin' Blends in Petunia Pop, Crumb Cake and Granny Apple Green before die cutting them out.

The front card panel I embossed using the Painted Texture folder and it is attached to a Petunia Pop card base.

I cut a circle using the Spotlight on Nature dies which I added to one edge of the card front, trimming off the excess at the left hand side. The sentiment is white embossed on Basic Black cardstock, which is cut with one of the Unbounded Love dies.

I added in some Silver & White Sheer ribbon in a bow under the sentiment and finished off with three Petunia Pop Shimmer Gems from the In-Color Shimmer Gem pack.

The most time spent on this card was my havering around over whether to go for a Basic Black card front with a black-on-white sentiment! Otherwise, this is a pretty straightforward card. I think the design lends itself to a whole host of colours.

We'd love to see what you do with the challenge colours. You can join the group in the following link, if you aren't already a member. Don't forget to answer the questions when you ask to join. 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.

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

Sunday, 20 October 2024

Simply Zinnia for Paper Players 712

Welcome to the latest challenge at The Paper Players! Our hostess this week is the wonderful LeAnne, who has a CAS challenge for us with the theme of 'Tag, you're it!" Last time we had a CAS Theme challenge, I managed to forget all about the CAS part! I was much better prepared this time!

Before I get to this week's card, I just wanted to mention all the wonderful entries in Joanne's colour challenge last week. I always love to see what everyone comes up with and to visit blogs to see the creations in more detail.

So, despite my intention to keep this card really Clean And Simple, the tag element made it a little tricky to be really CAS minimalist because the tag automatically added a layer. However, I think I kept to the spirit of CAS which is lots of open space, minimal clutter and minimal embellishment.

I used one of my current favourite stamps, Simply Zinnia. I made a tag using the Elegant Edge Tag Topper Punch, one in Basic White and one in Fresh Freesia. I used the trio of blooms image and stamped in Tuxedo Black onto the tag and coloured it using Stampin' Blends in Fresh Freesia, Highland Heather and Petunia Pop, along with Lemon-Lime Twist and Granny Apple Green for the leaves.

Originally, I was going to black emboss the sentiment at the base of the tag - which I did. But it just didn't stand out enough, so I stamped it then die cut it using one of the banners from Stylish Shapes instead. Designing decisions on the fly! 😀

The sentiment is from Country Birdhouse.

I do love texture, so I couldn't help but emboss the card front with the Zinnia embossing folder. Three Purple Shimmer Gems complete the card.

We look forward to seeing your romantic creations. You can see what the rest of the design team have done, and link up your entry, at The Paper Players page.

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:

Create a new paper-craft project specifically for this challenge.
Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us.
Please provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge entry.
Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL, including ours
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.

Jan Clothier - You are here