Today is the day!

Announcing a brand new challenge blog to inspire your creativity!  I am so excited to be part of the design team for The Technique Twist!

Come join the fun!

This fun new blog is where we take challenges to the next level! Our goal is to see you go beyond the norm and push your creative boundaries!  Best of all, we want you to have FUN & learn something new! :)  To celebrate our launch we are hosting a blog hop.  You'll find the list and details at the bottom of this post.  

Now for the projects!  Our first technique challenge is Blown Ink.  I have to admit I had never tried this one before, but I sure am glad I did!  I played around and came up with two completely different looks that I just love.  Check them out:

Blown Ink Technique Sample 1

Blown Ink Technique Sample 2

 Cool, huh?  So, are you ready for the how-to?  For the background on the first sample I blew drops of reinker from directly above using a drinking straw and very controlled puffs of air to get as uniform a look as possible. When I was happy with the colour and pattern, I did the Dazzling Diamond Dust technique over top so the whole thing sparkles.  I used the new In-colours for my pallette:  Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Strawberry Slush and Coastal Cabana and then added some Daffodil Delight for a bit of pop.  I thought it looked very psychedelic, so I pulled out a long retired stamp called Extreme Guitar for the focal image.  The sentiment is from a long-retired Hostess set called Perfect Words.  It was a hit with my 6-year old son who is like a magpie with anything sparkly.  I could barely wrest it out of his hands long enough to take a picture LOL!
For the background on the second sample I used watercolour paper that I spritzed with water first to allow me more control over how my ink spread when I blew it.  Then I used Tempting Turquoise, Gumball Green, Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Real Red and Rich Razzleberry reinkers and blew drops across the damp paper to get the rainbow backgroud.  Kind of a blend of Reinker Splash technique and Blown Ink. The butterflies are from the Papillon Potpourri set and the sentiment comes from the One in A Million set.
What I loved about playing with this technique was the fact that I had no plan in mind for either card.  I just played and played and the cards kind of designed themselves!
Now for the Blog Hop details.  Listed below you'll see a series of links to each designer's blog.  Be sure to check out all of their work... you'll be surprised at how many different looks you can get with just one technique.  There's even a little incentive to participate in the Hop.  As you navigate the blog hop, be sure to leave a comment on each designer's post.  If you do, you'll be entered into a draw for some fabulous Stampin' Up! swag!  There will be one randomly chosen winner who will receive a truckload of great product.  My contribution to the  swag bag is the recently-retired Snow Much Fun stamp set 

and a package of Silver Glimmer paper.  

Perfect for getting a head start on your Christmas crafting this summer. So...start hopping!

It's our first challenge at The Technique Twist Challenge blog & what better way to celebrate than with a blog hop!  To enter, leave a comment on each blog for your chance to win a great prize pack!

The Technique Twist Challenge 01:Blown Ink

Jessica

Julz

Lauri

Leena (you are here!)

Pam

 We'll randomly draw one name as our winner out of all the entries! Contest ends on June 26, 2013 at 11:59pm ET. Good luck!

A bunch of BIG cards!

That's what I've been working on all weekend.  I was asked by the social committee at school to make cards for the four members of our staff who are retiring at the end of this school year.  Two are teachers, one is a VP and the fourth is our Office Manager (who totally runs the school!).  All four are wonderful colleagues and will be deeply missed by our staff.  Now the challenge when making cards that more than 60 people have to sign is that they have to be BIG.  Big is hard when most of the products you have to work with are designed for use on a standard 4-1'4" x 5-1/2" card.  I found myself needing to get creative in my designs to that the images weren't lost in the expanse of the large card front.  The first card I did was for a man who is a rocker at heart.  He plays the guitar and is in a band.  So here is the card I designed for him...

Retirement card for a colleague featuring the Extreme Elements, Extreme Guitar, Grunge Rock and Word Play stamp sets.

Inside detail...sentiment is a one I printed in MS Word using RGB codes from MDS so the colours match perfectly!

...not exactly your typical retirement card, eh?  I think it is perfect for the recipient, though!  As I mentioned, this card is big.  It the base is a full sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" card stock folded in half.  I added additional space by making the inner white layers fold out...two 8 1/2" x 11" pieces again.  Hopefully this will be enough space for everyone to sign and wish him well.  I don't think I could have made it any bigger if I'd tried!
Stay tuned for more Plus-sized  cards later this week...

Rockin' Birthday card

I was excited when I saw this week's challenge at A La Card Monkey.  I loved the sketch because it is so versatile and easy to use and the theme of a kid card was perfect!  I've been wanting a reason to crack out my Grunge Rock set that I just got on sale for 30% off as part of Stampin' Up's National Scrapbooking Month promotion.  I decided to do a birthday card for a tween boy...but first, here's the sketch:

I wanted something bright and colourful and fun...here is what I came up with:

Card for Monkey Challenge #56 using Extreme Elements, Grunge Rock and Extreme Guitar sets

Close up of focal image...believe it or not, this is the first time I've used my Extreme Elements set!  I loved, bought it and haven't inked it up till now!  I know...shame on me!

Inside of card

Fun, eh?  I had a great time with this card!  You know when something just comes together exactly the way you picture it in your head?  That's what happened with this.  So here is what I did...

I started by cutting a 3" circle in whisper white cardstock  and a 3 1/4" circle in real red using my Circle Scissors Plus (yet another item that  has sat unloved for AGES!).  I then inked the splatter image from the Extreme Elements set in baja breeze and then sponged real red around the outer edges  before stamping it on my white circle.  I then stamped the stars in pumpkin pie, the diamonds in pear pizzazz and the guitar player in chocolate chip.  I distressed the edges and then sponged then with chocolate chip ink.  I layered it over the real red circle, which I had also  distressed using the tool from my cutter kit.  Setting this aside, I cut a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of the psychedelic chevron pattern from the Greenhouse Gala DSP pack.  I distressed and sponged the edges again in chocolate chip.  I then took a 2 1/4" piece of baja breeze cardstock, ran it through my Big Shot with the harlequin texture plate and then distress and sponged the edges.  I also lightly sponged the embossing to bring out the pattern.  I adhered the baja breeze piece to the DSP and then adhered the whole thing to a real red mat  4 1/8" x 5 3/8" in size.  Wanting to use the ribbon element in the sketch but not wanting anything froo-froo, I wrapped some baker's twine around the cardfront several times, tying a knot slightly off-centre.  I added the trinket crown, tying it on with the twine. I then adhered the entire caardfront to base in chocolate chip. The final element on the front is the stamped crown image, which I stamped in baja breeze ink on whisper white.  I punched it out with my 1 1/4" circle punch.  I distressed and inked the edges in chocolate chip.  I layered it on a 1 3/8" circle that I had also distressed and inked.  I adhered it to the card using dimensionals.
For the inside, I cut a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of whisper white, stamped the diamond image in baja breeze, the stars in pumpkin pie (stamped off once), and the guitar in chocolate chip; all in the lower right corner.  I inked the edges in chocolate chip and adhered it inside the card.  I then cut out a strip of the chevron DSP and adhered it.  I stamped the sentiment, some stars and some diamonds on a scrap of whisper white, notched the ends and distressed and inked the edges.  I rolled the ends slightly around a pencil to make them curl and then adhered the sentiment over the chevron strip.

Now if only I had someone in my life of an age to appreciate this card!  I may have to save it until my son gets a bit older!