Fabulous Kindness

Today I have one more over-sized card for you.  This is the last of the ones I made for departing staff members at school this year.  As it happens, this one also qualifies for this week's challenge over at The Friday Mashup, which is to use sequins on a project...

Thank you card featuring the Kinda Eclectic, Flower Shop, Petite Petals and Million and One stamp sets

For this one I pulled out my new favourite go-to set Kinda Eclectic to add pattern and texture to the large background space.  I stamped the starburst in Crumb Cake and the dots in Mossy Meadow and Metallic Gold.  I also used the leaf image from that set on the label, stamping both full strength and stamped off in Mossy Meadow ink.  The sentiment is heat embossed in gold.

The flowers are from the Flower Shop and Petite Petals stamp sets.  I stamped them using Memento black ink and then coloured them using the Rich Razzleberry and Daffodil Delight Blendabilities.

I added some 7/8" cotton ribbon, on which I stamped the dots from the Kinda Eclectic set using Mossy Meadow ink, and adhered using sticky strip to allow me to pleat it as I laid it down.  I also added a bit of that gorgeous stitched satin ribbon in Blackberry Bliss.

The final touch was a few gold sequins which are just the right bit of shine...and who doesn't like a little bling? ;)

Something Old, New Borrowed and Blue

Well I got another year older since last you heard from me.  Yesterday was my birthday and it wasn't exactly stress-free.  We had a health scare with my Dad that made for a lot of tense moments on my big day...celebrating wasn't really in the cards.  I'm happy to say that my Dad is ok, but that he'll require follow-up care and close monitoring.  It's so hard when one's elderly parents live almost four hours away!
Anyhow...today I have another of the cards I made for my colleagues at school who are celebrating milestones this year.  This one is another wedding card that features something old, new borrowed and blue...check it out:

Wedding card featuring the Flower Shop and Petite Petals stamp ses with sentiment from Together Forever (retired ).

So here goes: 

• Old: I used several retired products on this project:  the sentiments are from the long-retired Together Forever set and I used the Lacy Brocade TIEF, which was in the 2012 Holiday catalogue.
• New:  I used the brand-new In-Colour Lost Lagoon, as well as the Petite Petals stamp set and punch, which are carry-overs from the Occasions catalogue, but are new to the Annual Catalogue.
• Borrowed:  The silver stretchy elastic cord is borrowed from my gift-wrapping stash!  I love the bit of shimmer it adds without being fussy or bulky.
• Blue:  Well duh, Lost Lagoon is a gorgeous shade of BLUE!

Once again, it was a challenge to fill the larger 6" x 7" canvas, but by creating the panels and embossing them individually it broke up the larger space quite nicely...something to remember for when you have a large area to fill.
I think my favourite elements on this card are the vellum flowers, which I heat embossed in silver before punching.  Such an easy way to add richness and elegance to any project...when in doubt add bling...and if that's not enough add vellum!

In other news, my new craft room is coming along!  It is at the point where it is usable (I have yet to stamp anything in there yet though), but I want to wait until it is completely finished before I show you.  I have to say it has been a ton of work so far with more to come, but I'm loving the way it is shaping up!  I'm hoping to have it ready to share with you all by the end of next week...we'll see how that goes!

Messy fun!

Happy Saturday!!  Normally I'd be ecstatic about the weekend's arrival, however the weekend at the end of a week of holidays?  Not so much!  Back to work on Monday I go :(

Here's a little something to get your crafting Mojo working this weekend.  It is time for a new challenge over at The Technique Twist and this time we are all about getting messy with shaving cream!  I did this technique with my monthly group this past week and it was such fun!  Here is the card I designed for the challenge, which we also made at my class:

Thinking of you card featuring the Shaving Cream Background technique and using the Hello Lovely, Petite Petals, Flower Shop and Gorgeous Grunge stamp sets

I love the way this one turned out!  It is so pretty and girlie and just plain yummy!  I am so loving all the trendy gold that is turning up these days, so I decided to embrace it on this card.  Here is how I put this together:

• To create the marbled background, I started by squirting shaving cream (don't use gel...it doesn't work so well) onto a disposable plate.  I smoothed it out and then added several drops of Strawberry Slush and Crisp Cantaloupe reinker.  I swirled the ink around into the shaving cream, taking care not to over mix it so that I could still see the two distinct colours.  I laid my card stock down into the shaving cream and pressed it down to make sure I picked up as much colour as possible.  I removed the card stock and wiped off the shaving cream in a circular motion to reveal the marbled colour beneath.  So messy, but so very cool!!
• The gold doily is simply one of the white Tea Lace Doilies that I inked completely with Versamark and then heat embossed in gold...such an easy way to get a golden gilded doily!
• The sentiment is heat embossed in gold and punched with the Decorative Label punch.
• The flowers are stamped in Strawberry Slush and punched with the Pansy (large) and Petitie Petals (small) punches.  I added a little touch of gold to each flower by inking the edges with Versamark and then heat embossing in gold.
• Once the marbled background piece was dry I stamped it using the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set and Metallic Gold Encore ink.

On the inside, I stamped a few more flowers in the lower right corner.  The sentiment is from the Best of Greetings stamp set (only available till March 31st...get it now!), stamped in Strawberry Slush and punched with the Decorative Label punch.  I added a punched flower and adhered it with dimensionals.

So, are you ready to get messy this weekend?  Get out the shaving cream and have some fun!  Then be sure to link up over at The Technique Twist so we can all see your fabulous creation! 

It's about time...for a Card-in-a-box

Well, I figure it's about time I jumped on the bandwagon.  These cards-in-a-box are everywhere these days, so I decided it was about time I gave one a go.  I'm reasonably happy with my first attempt...see what you think:

Birthday Card-in-a-box featuring the Secret Garden, Petite Petals, Label Love and Flower Shop stamp sets.

I decided to try one that is sized to fit in a standard Whisper White envelope.  It made for a slightly smaller canvas to work with, given this was my first try.  I made the box from Sahara Sand card stock and covered the panels using Sweet Sorbet DSP.  The flowers came from a variety of sets, all with coordinating punches or Framelits to eliminate the need to fussy cut.  I wanted to go for quick and easy, since I will likely do this one in a class at some point. 

The Summer Starfruit and large Pool Party flowers came from the Secret Garden set and were die cut using the matching Framelits.  The Crisp Cantaloupe flowers came from the Flower Shop set and were punched with the Pansy punch.  The small Pool Party flowers came from the new Petite Petals set and were punched with the matching punch.  I die cut the leaves from Pistachio Pudding card stock using the Secret Garden Framelits and then ran them through the Perfect Polka Dots TIEF to add a bit of texture.

I used strips of window sheets to attach the flowers to the box and then adhered other flowers with glue dots or dimensionals to complete my bouquet.  It really was like arranging real flowers putting this together!  Lots of fun!  The sentiment is from the Label Love stamp set and is punched using the Artisan Label punch.

I left room on the back of the box to write a personal greeting to the recipient, decorating it with a few stamped flowers.
Ok, so now I see why this syle of card is so popular!  They offer a real WOW and are such fun to create!  I plan to try a few more in different sizes...stay tuned!

It's Saturday...

...and here I am, which means it's challenge time over at The Technique Twist.  This week's challenge is using Puzzle Piece Resist technique.  Check out my project:

Thank you card featuring the Creative Elements, Flower Shop, Petite Petals and From My Heart stamp sets and featuring the Puzzle Piece Emboss Resist technique.

Firstly, let me warn you that this is not a quick, 10-minute project, though it is pretty accessible if you have the right tools.  Here is a quick how-to:

• I started by heat embossing, in gold, the flourish image several times on a piece of 4" x 5-1/4" Whisper White card stock.
• I die cut a banner, from the embossed card stock, using the Banners Framelits.  I left the die in the negative cardstock after embossing, removing the die cut banner, and then sponged all over with Island Indigo ink, using the die as a mask around the banner-shaped cut-out.
• I die cut another banner of the same size from Gold Foil card stock and then embossed it using the Pretty Print TIEF.
• I glued the sponged card stock, inserting the gold banner in the negative space, to a 4-1/8" x 5-3/8" piece of Brushed Gold card stock.
• I wrapped some gold Baker's twine around the panel several times and tied a bow.  Then I adhered the card front to an Island Indigo card base.
• The flowers are heat embossed in gold on vellum card stock and then punched out using the Pansy and Petite Petals punches.
• The sentiment is stamped in Island Indigo ink and then die cut using the Apothecary Accents Framelits.
• The sentiment and the flowers are adhered using dimensionals.
• The gold sequins are adhered using glue dots.

 I really like this technique...I've used it several times in the past.  It is always fun to try something new and add a twist.  My twist was the swapping of the embossed gold foil banner...I really like the way it pops and draws attention to the sentiment.  If you have time this long weekend, give this technique a try and play along over at The Technique Twist...we'd love to see your creation!

More Blurred Watercolouring for The Twist

Success!!  12 hours later than I had hoped, here is today's post!

Happy Monday!  The first full work week of 2014 and time for me to head back to school.  We have just three weeks until the start of exams, which means mucho marking for yours truly!  Good thing I managed to get most of this month's classes prepped last week!
Today I have another sample of the Blurred Watercolour technique for this week's challenge over at The Technique Twist.  If you saw my post on Saturday you know we have a Blog Hop happening to celebrate our three new Design Team members.  I'll post the list below in case you missed it on Saturday :)
This project is one of those types of cards that no one likes to make but everyone needs from time to time.  It is a sympathy card that uses the Blurred Watercolouring technique in two different ways...

Sympathy card featuring the Everything Eleanor and Flower Shop stamp sets and using the Blurred Watercolouring technique.  Sentiment is from Best of Greetings.

Here's a quick how-to:

• For the background I first brushed my watercolour paper label with my Aquapainter so that it was damp, but not soaked.  I then stamped the flourish, from the Everything Eleanor stamp set, in Pistachio Pudding ink.  The ink ran slightly on the wet paper.  Once the paper dried I ran it through the Big Shot with the Fancy Fan TIEF.

• The flowers are from the Flower Shop set and are stamped in Crisp Cantaloupe ink on Naturals White card stock.  I brushed over each image with my Aquapainter and then went back and added more colour with my blender pen.  I punched them out using the coordinating Pansy Punch and then added the pearls in the centre of each flower.

• The sentiment is from the Best of Greetings set and is heat embossed in pewter on a label cut from watercolour paper using the Apothecary Accents framelits.

• The DSP background layer is from the Sweet Sorbet DSP pack, available as part of the Sale-a-bration promotion beginning January 28th.

• The sentiment on the inside of the card is from the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set.

Inside view with sentiment from Thoughts and Prayers.

Now, in case you missed it on Saturday, here is the Blog Hop list:

The Technique Twist

Julz

Becky B

Pam

Terria

Leena (You are here!)

Katie Zoey Ha

The Technique Twist

 Be sure to check out our new Design Team members:  Terria, Katie and Becky.  They do amazing work!  in the meantime have a great week!

Monday...ugh!

Why is it that weekends go by so quickly??  I'm not ready for it to be Monday yet...I still have more stamping to do!!  To kick the week off I have a pretty CAS sympathy card for you that I designed for The Friday Mashup using this month's inspiration sketch...

Sympathy card featuring the Flowering Flourishes, Flower Shop and Sweet Essentials stamp sets.

In case you've forgotten, here is my sketch for this month:

As you can see, I took a few  liberties with the sketch, but I think the basic layout is still there.  I wanted the design to be very clean, so I omitted a few layers.

I stamped the flower on vellum and heat embossed it in white.  Then I coloured the back side of the vellum with Wisteria Wonder and Blushing Bride markers before punching it out with the Pansy Punch.  Colouring on the back of the vellum gives a very soft, muted look.  Kinda pretty, no?  I skipped the ribbon and settled for just a single pearl by way of embellishment.  Not an easy feat for me, as you well know. 
If you haven't give this sketch a try yet, give it a shot.  There are tons of possibilities.  I'll be back later in the week with another take on it...in the meantime, here's hoping the week passes as quickly as the weekend did!!