Monthly Archives: May 2015

What makes you happy

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I wanted to make a card for the CAS Colours & Sketches challenge this week but it includes two browns which are not my normal go to colours. But, it’s supposed to be a challenge, right? I’d recently watched some videos including Katie Adams at the South Pacific convention and that gave me the idea to use all three colours on one stamp.

Stampin' Up! Hello Life

The challenge banner that inspired this is:

This stamp is from the Hello Life set and since it’s photopolymer I tried to just eye ball it but in the end it was easier to use the stamp-a-ma-jig. I inked up the top third of the image with soft suede and stamped it on very vanilla. After that I inked up the top two thirds in sahara sand. Since sahara sand is so much paler than soft suede, I just stamped that down on top of the soft suede. For the tangerine tango, I inked up the bottom third, ensuring that there was a little overlap so that there were not any gaps. I checked all of my framelits and the squares seemed to go best which led me to another square card. I made this yesterday actually but didn’t glue it together (dinner got in the way).

So today, I finished the card and thought I’d whip up a quick envelope. The envelope punch board is so easy to use. I measured my card (4.5″ square) which means that I needed a 7.5″ square piece of card stock and to make the first score at 3.75″. Easy. Except my envelope came out completely wrong and not looking even remotely like a square. I assumed that I’d done the first score wrong and cut myself another piece. And again, it came out completely wrong. I started to think that there’s an error on the punch board and went to get a piece of scrap paper rather than using card stock. And it was only as I was cutting my 7.5″ square that I realised the issue. For some reason, BOTH times, I’d cut the first side to 7.5 inches and then the second to 8 inches. Hardly surprising that it wasn’t creating a square envelope. I have decided to blame this error on my 7 mile run this morning. It was hot (75 degrees) and humid (68%) and I looked so bad towards the end that a nice lady said “kudos to you” as I trudged past her. I figured that meant I looked rough. I checked when I got back to the car and yes I did. Bright red, dripping with sweat and presumably looking as if I was about to collapse. So I think that it’s likely that my dehydrated state caused the mathematical error. That’s my story anyway.

See you tomorrow,

Liz

Final Painted Blooms Card

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The title sounds so final. I could make more, since I have more of the paper, but this is the last of the six cards from the one piece of DSP. The DSP is still available until June 2.

Stampin' Up! Painted Blooms and Painted Petals

The sentiment comes from the Painted Petals set; the one that I’m most upset to see retiring from the Occasions catalogue. I stamped it in mossy meadow on whisper white and cut it out using the oval framelits. This made it easy to cut a mossy meadow mat using the next largest oval. I then stuck the DSP onto the mossy meadow card base and used stampin’ dimensionals to attach the ovals so that they had a little height. The envelope flap is lined with the backgrounds DSP in mossy meadow.

I got an exciting email from Stampin’ Up! today – there’s a one day offer (ending at 6:50 MT tonight) on Paper Pumpkin. This is a monthly kit that comes to your door and the box contains everything you need for a project (except adhesive) including instructions so you can, as they say, skip to the fun. Normally it’s $19.95 + tax but if you sign up today, it’s $5 + tax. Since the kit also contains a stamp set and ink, you easily get your money’s worth normally, but for $5, it’s a no brainer! If you want to sign up, click on the red paper pumpkin button and just wait for your kit to be delivered!

PPlogosquare

See you tomorrow,

Liz

Painted Petals for the Pals

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I’ve been back from Spain for three weeks now – it feels like months! – but haven’t really got back into doing many challenges. I decided to change that today. Especially as yesterday I sat down to have some fun carding and couldn’t create anything. Perhaps I’m just too distracted with the thought that my pre-order containing my new supplies, including the new in colors is on the way.

Stampin' Up! Painted Petals

The challenge banner from the Pals Paper Arts that inspired this card is:

http://stampinpretty.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54f95df92883401b7c7857242970b-pi

I’m very sad that the Painted Petals set didn’t make it into the new upcoming annual catalogue and so I may possibly be over using this set at the moment! I stamped the flowers in hello honey on very vanilla cardstock and added the stems in the coastal cabana. I then used my aquapainter and baked brown sugar to slightly darken the parts of the flowers which are supposed to be darker. I used the stampin’ write markers in hello honey and baked brown sugar to colour in the sentiment, breathing on the stamp to remoisten the ink before stamping. This card was calling out to be square, so I went with it – it’s fun and easy to make an envelope with the punch board. I changed up the layers a bit – I realised that I normally have only 1/16″ or 1/8″ showing for the mat so decided to do something different i.e. bigger. I like how it draws your eye to the centre of the card which is, after all, the focal point.

Moon Lake Water colour

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I think this is my favourite of the cards that I’ve watercoloured. That sounds major but I think that there are only about a dozen so far. But I really like doing it, so the number will increase quite quickly I’m sure.

Stampin' Up! Moon Lake

I stamped the image on water colour paper using stazon jet black ink. I go out my aquapainter and started with early espresso for the boat, the stump and the tree. Then I moved onto the tree and ground using mossy meadow. I feel a bit of a mossy meadow phase coming on – I think it’s knowing that it only has one year left which of course means that the other four in colours will probably start to feature more. After, of course, I’ve played with the new in colours – my order was dispatched today! Anyway, I digress!

I then used marina mist for the water, trying hard to ensure that I wasn’t painting nice neat lines and adding a bit more colour here and there. Once the paper was dry – I used the time to make another card – I adhered it to a mossy meadow base with fast fuse. I’m still learning how to use this – you really have to master the check mark to make a clean break on the tape or it gets quite messed up. Let’s just say that I’m getting good at taking the fast fuse apart now.

Sadly the Moon River set didn’t make the cut for the new catalogue and will be discontinued on June 2. So if you want it, now’s the time to buy it. The (also retiring) backgrounds DSP was used to line the envelope although the replacement for this also has dots as one of the options.

See you tomorrow,

Liz

Summer Silhouettes for a birthday

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Here’s a birthday card that I recently sent to my friend Lorie – and I know that she’s received it so I can share it.

Stampin' Up! Summer Silhouettes and Endless Birthday Wishes

I stamped the leaves from the Summer Silhouettes set in wild wasabi on very vanilla and then added the blossoms from the same set in perfect plum. I got the colour combination from the Colour Coach, a really handy tool that is being discontinued – it’s currently still available and at $7.48 is a steal, but it’s only whilst supplies last. I hadn’t actually decided what the card was going to be at this point because I was just playing with the stamp set. So I went looking through my sentiment sets for something that would fit both the available space and the card itself. It seems that the cards often dictate what occasion they are for!

The sentiments in Endless Birthday Wishes are really useful when you need a specific shape or size since the set allows you to make your own combinations. I stamped the sentiment in perfect plum. The very vanilla piece is mounted on a perfect plum card base and of course the envelope is lined in the same shade.

See you tomorrow,

Liz