from my ink pad to yours

Christmas Quilt Suite

Stampin' Up!'s soon to be released Christmas Quilt set has possibilities far beyond Christmas though Christmas is where I started playing with it.

• Though I used Real Red ink on the Crumb Cake card stock, I used Cherry Cobbler for the "peace",  ribbon trim and mat layer. Other ink colors are Whisper White Craft, Lemon Lime Twist and Emerald Envy. This is a color combination I've used several times in the past and I love to bring it out when I'm getting to know a new set.
• The little white star is from the coordinating thinlet set. Isn't it sweet?
• With no bows this is a very mail-able card.

• I've been wanting to try out Lemon Lime Twist and Melon Mambo for a Christmas card.  I think I need to try it again sometime but with a little less white.

With so many cute red prints in the Quilted Christmas Designer Series 6" x 6" paper tack why not try it out for Valentine's Day? This is a shaker card that I did last month for a challenge calling for a shaker card.

I hope you have had a chance to peruse Stampin' Up!s 2017 Holiday Catalog.  If you need one please let me know.  Stop back early next week to see my BOGO sale of retired stamps that you can combine with orders from the new catalog. There will be several holiday sets/bundles from the past few years.

Happy Stamping!

 

 

 

Spooky Cat meets Hearth and Home/Happy Scenes

 

I getting ready to post some BOGO retired sets next week and couldn't resist letting the cats look out the Hearth & Home window before I let it go.  I'm almost having second thoughts...

• I used today's color challenge 650 at Splitcoaststampers as a starting point and chose the dotted paper from the Delightful Daisy DSP to bring in one of the colors, Tranquil Tide.  Instead of using it as a wallpaper as I first started to do, I decided it looked kind of like snow and used it for my "outside" view.
• The cats are punched from Crumb Cake and Soft Suede, two more colors from the challenge.  I sponged the edges and trimmed the Crumb Cake Cat's tail so that I could reposition it as wrapped around that cat.
• There is a skinny little diagonal type stripe in the Spooky Cat set, an image I would normally use for collage. This time I used it to stamp another challenge color, Soft Sky, to put a stripe on the walls. If you turn the stamp 180 degrees each time you stamp it is easy to get these to blend into longer stripes.
• Here's the fun part: the Window Frame! I die cut three windows and stamped one layer for the top with on of the "texture" type stamps from the Spooky Cat set. This gives a grain to the wood of my window frame.
• I layered the 3 window layers together and sponged the edges before attaching it to the snowy piece of dsp.
• I embossed the words from Happy Scenes (retired - one of the sets originally intended to go with the window frame) onto a piece of Tranquil Tide that would be my floor or carpet. I used an old bottle of white embossing powder which looks a little closer to Very Vanilla than Whisper White. Then I added some more light touches of the texture stamp I used for the wood for some subtle shading to the floor.
• I cut and stamped a 4th frame and cut it apart for some "baseboard trim" before adding the pair of cats.
• Here is a close-up of texture I added:

Yes, the window frame is great to use with the cat punch! If you happen to have one hold on to it! Another set that is fun to use is the Jar of Love set (p29 in the annual catalog).  That will have to be for another stamping session!

Thank you for stopping by

 

Good Friends Pop-Up

I'm going to play catch-up here, posting some projects I did a few months ago:

Lovely Friends Bundle with Delightful Daisy DSP

 

Lovely Friends Bundle with Fresh Florals DSP

 

 

 

Save

and heeere's Spooky Cat!

As I showed earlier the Spooky Cat Bundle doesn't HAVE to be used just for Halloween but then again, why not? I have 3 cards for you today:

• The cat punch works with the Spooky Night DSP so you can punch out black or orange cats.  Ah, memories of the construction paper cutouts, my mom would put put on our windows years ago.
• The other images for this little collage were cut out from the paper. I stamped the bubbles for the experiment bottles with the Spooky Cat set.
• The card base is Very Vanilla.
• All products Stampin' Up!

• More DSP.
• The Spooky Night DSP has two sheets with 16 moon/tree backgrounds on each. These are perfect for stamping the 3 part owl. My owl is stamped with Smoky Slate and Basic Gray for the rings around his eyes, Crushed Curry for beak and feet.  The beak and feet are one stamp. You may want to check to see that you don't have any extra ink on the photopolymer between the two. Or you can just figure that the owl is drooling... This kind of gets covered up with the owl greeting though.
• The little rat stamp will be fun to use in lots of places.
• I used my Smokey Slate marker to add a little depth to my owl, just drawing around the edges.
• Can you see the little bit of Black Vintage Crochet trim adn Black Rhinestone Jewels?

 

• This card was inspired by Ute Gast's egg card.
• I used the largest Circle Framelit from Layering Circles for the So Saffron moon.
• It would be easier to sponge the circle prior to punching out the cat. I just used So Saffron, thinking I would add Crushed Curry or Pumpkin Pie later but I liked the simplicity of just So Saffron for this look.
• You might want to experiment with placement of the cat - die cut some extra circles!

That is it for today. Happy stamping!

Chris

 

 

It's time for a Five for All duo

Five for All made it on to my wish list from my first peek at the current catalog. Who doesn't need more humorous birthday sentiments, right? 

• I pulled it out today to play with today's color challenge at Splitcoaststampers. The colors are Basic Gray, Bermuda Bay and Lemon Lime Twist. Obviously I added white as a neutral. "Dessert" for this Challenge was birthday so voila!
• I wanted to repeat the dots in "25" so I pulled out a skinny border thinlet from the Swirly Snowflake Thinlet Dies that I included on my Holiday Catalog pre-order.
• I've seen this stitched frame idea around and thought I needed to try it myself.  I layered two frames for texture.
• It might me overkill on the texture but I thought why not add some more dots/stitches to my Lemon Lime Twist layer by running it through the Big Shot with the Quilt Top Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, another goodie from my preorder.
• The scallop behind my Basic Gray frame is from the Layering Circles framelits.

• This is another one of the cards I did for the Dare to Get Dirty challenges. I cheated a little because we were supposed to piece together DSP scraps and then die cut them. I didn't cut into brand new sheets of dsp since I'd made several cards with this DSP already. I like how this created kind of an awning look.
• I measured the scallop width from the Seasonal Layers Thinlets and cut some bigger scraps down to fit the die. You will need scant 1 1/8" strips to line up with this scallop die.
• The ink is Night of Navy.
• The ribbon is Whisper White 3/8" Classic Weave.

If Life Gives You Lemons...

... make scallops!

I did the first of these two cards a while back, inspired by a "Delightfully Wild on the Pacific" color challenge on Splitcoaststampers. This challenge was actually back in July but I got busy doing the Dare to Get Dirty challenges and never got it posted.

• The colors are Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi and Pacific Point - plus B/W.  I haven't been using Pacific Point much but it has certainly come out to play a lot more since doing this color challenge. It is a little bright for me but here it gets toned down when stamped with white craft Brushstrokes.
• I also used Pacific Point Reinker (plus water in a ziploc bag) to dye the Whisper White Classic Weave ribbon.
• The lemons are stamped tone on tone with Daffodil Delight.
• I love scallops and am thrilled that Stampin' Up! has a scallop die again in the Seasonal Layers Thinlets BUT if you don't have a die you can always make one with circles!

 

• This card shows that you can never go wrong adding black and white. The not quite polka-dot pattern is from the Whole Lot of Lovely DSP.
• The vertical strip and skinny horizontal border are done with Basic Black Pick a Pattern Washi.
• I used tone on tone Lemon Lime Twist for the leaves. Daffodil Delight for both lemons.

 

• Isn't this gal from You've Got Style fun? I had to add this card today since it features the same paper and washi as the previous card.
• I did this card for a Dare to Get Dirty Challenge that required "eyes".
• A little color from Powder Pink and Melon Mambo help to bring this B/W card to life!

Playing with Painted Autumn

The following cards are made with the items I chose for my demonstrator preview order from the Holiday Catalog (HC) earlier this month.  Products from this catalog will be available September 1, 2017. If you don't want to wait feel free to contact me about becoming a demonstrator.

Every time I receive a new package of patterned paper I cut one of each 12" x 12" pattern into 7.5" x 12" and 4.5" x 12" strips and put them into a 9" x 12" cello bag. It is so much easier for me to experiment with that 4.5" strip than to think of cutting into a whole 12" square piece.

I haven't yet played with each and every pattern but after a stamping intense play date with one of my friends and downline stampers I feel like I have a good sense of the possibilities that lie within the Painted Autumn DSP package.

Here are some of the cards from the past few days:

• Stamps: Spooky Cat, Teeny Tiny Wishes
• Ink: Early Espresso ink for cats' faces, Crushed Curry and Crumb Cakefor sponging the edges of the cats. This gives them dimension and, along with the use of regular and mini dimensionals helps the eye differentiate between the two cats.
• Paper: Painted Autumn DSP, of course; Wood Textures DSP (I love to use this in skinny layers for that perfect little acent.), So Saffron, Early Espresso, Soft Sky
• Accessories: Cat punch, Layered Leaves 3D Dynamic Textured Impressions embossing folder, enamel shapes (soft subltles), 1/4" Copper Trim, Whisper White embossing powder

 

• Stamps: Painted Harvest,
• Ink: Early Espresso ink for greeting, Lemon Lime Twist for watercolor layer of leaflet, Crumb Cake for detailed layer of leaflet, Early Espresso marker to draw some stems on the leaflet to mimic the DSP leaflets.
• Paper: Painted Autumn DSP,  Very Vanilla card base
• Accessories: Stitched Shapes framelit - circle, Leaf Punch, Very Vanilla 1/2" Lace Trim

• Stamps: Painted Harvest, Snowflake Sentiments (both from HC)
• Ink: Wild Wasabi for all green images (I only used the more detailed petal stamp) and Berry Burst for berries.
• Paper: Very Vanilla, Painted Autumn DSP
• Accessories: Dimensionals

• Stamps: Painted Harvest
• Ink: Crushed Curry, Calypso Coral, Lemon Lime Twist, Old Olive, Soft Suede, So Saffron
• Paper: Painted Autumn DSP, Very Vanilla
• Accessories: 1/4" Copper Trim, Lots of Labels Framelits, Dimensionals, 1/4" punch
• This card is mounted on a 5" x 7" purchased card base.  I couldn't cut of any of the stamped piece I had done so I just put it on a stash of larger purchased card bases I keep on hand.

That's it for today. I hope you've had a nice little escape to my stamping world.  Back to our real world - we're in this together!

 

 

An Eclectic Stash of Cards and Such

Here is another little gallery as I play catch up with some of the projects I've been working on this summer. This time it features mostly goodies from the Naturally Eclectic Suite:

I love the watercolor look of the stamped images from Oh So Eclectic (143940).  The leaflet here has Emerald Envy ink stamped on Lemon Lime Twist paper. Twist blends so well with other greens! And what do you think of the pretty stained glass window die? There are so many ways to use this...

I found that though Emerald Envy is the green listed for Naturally Eclectic DSP (144185), you can also use Tranquil Tide as I did here. Doesn't it look right at home? The dots are Glitter Enamel Dots (144200).

 

I used the DSP again for this little gift set with a label from the Label Me Pretty Bundle.  I found the basic directions for the bag here. Top decoration is done by scoring the top for a fold down border showing the other side of the DSP. Then I punched 1/4" holes about 1/2"  to 3/4" from either side of the gusset folds  so that I could weave the ribbon through.

While there is another set, You're Precious, that coordinates with the diamond images in the DSP and Eclectic Layers thinlets, it isn't a part of my collection yet.  So I just used this lovely greeting from Layering Love plus a layer of vellum card stock to show off the gems in this paper.

Lastly here is an 8.5" x 11" page that I did with the die cuts from this suite. I used the "DATE" and dashes from Tabs for Everything.

 

Climbing Orchid Bundle

 There is no "s" on Orchid. I don't know how many times I've typed or spoken the "s". Botanically speaking, I guess the whole plant is the orchid so even if there is more than one bloom it is still one orchid. Now that we have that straight let's check this bundle out:

This is so much fun to play with. 

Melon Mambo/Basic Black with Lemon Lime Twist/Basic Black and just a strip black and white DSP from Pick  Pattern.  Is there anyone else out there who will admit to buying DSP mostly for their black and white prints.  They always seem to be my favorite!

 

Luckily there is also Pick a Pattern Washi Tape! Another good way to get a B&W fix.

Changing gears entirely...I whitewashed a few different tones of Wood Textures DSP with some acrylic paint. I stamped and cut the orchid flowers out of the lighter toned piece and then put a wash of Pink Pirouette and Calypso Coral over them with my aquapainter. The darker, gray toned paper was used for my background.  This is another card that I made for the Dare to Get Dirty Challenges.

********

My hint with this set applies to any set that has thinlets.  Count the pieces in each set and write it on the package or however you store your thinlets. Then make sure you count them and put them away each time you use them. So far I still have everything from this set only because I checked the count when I put mine away - a little too long after I had first used them.  One of the tiniest thinlets was stuck to a post it somewhere else and I spent 2 hours hunting for it.

Enjoy the weekend - find some time to be creative - and I'll be back on Monday.

Floral Statements Gallery

I have the timer on for 15 minutes. That's all I have time for today so I hope you won't mind if my post is mostly pictures.

Making elegant notecards is snap with Floral Statements. It is so gorgeous that you don’t even need to color, though I expect you will want to try at least a few with your favorite form of watercolor! The most important hint I can think of with this set is to break your stamps in first with a good scrub.  I had a little trouble with the A on my first few impressions but it was no problem once I cleaned my stamp and started over.

On Shimmery White: White emboss resist with sponging and Pear Pizzazz Shimmer Ribbon.  I did this one for a Dare to Get Dirty Challenge over on Splitcoaststampers earlier this month.

 

On Powder Pink: With all the detail on these images, markers are a piece of cake.  I like to start with the lightest markers and just add more layers of the same color for depth.  Powder Pink and Pear Pizzazz markers.  The tag and greeting are from the Wood Words Bundle.

 

Same colors of ink on Very Vanilla with a few simple layers of black and Bear Pizzazz.

I stamped this one in Basic Gray and just used a little Pear Pizzazz  on the leaves and So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie on the centers. A simple Strip of The new Stitched edge ribbon in Old Olive finished off this Very Vanilla on Whisper White card.

 

Stamped on Smokey Slate with Basic Black ink, this is once again colored with Pear Pizzazs and Blush Blossom. The Smokey Slate Ribbon adds just the right touch of white to brighten the otherwise muted tones.

Back to the drawing board.  I'm trying to finish up the last of the Dare to Get Dirty Challenges this morning...

 

Save