Watercooler Wednesday Challenge – WWC78 – Backyard Billygoats

WWC78 – Jean’s Anything with a “B” Challenge

Welcome to this weeks Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I hope I haven’t confused you with my anything with a “B” challenge.

It truly is anything that starts with a B.   The list in the challenge graphic is just a starting point.  If you need more ideas try Google with things that start with B.

I have to confess…I started by wanting to do a card with billygoats.  And since that started with a B…well…you get the picture right?

Picture being the operative word…or the lack thereof.   I currently have goats (and billygoats) courtesy of my neighbors in the pasture.  They’re terrific mowers of brush and blooms of all kinds.  Even star thistle and overhanging pine boughs!!   The perfect environmental (and non sweat creating) solution to a quarter acre pasture that has brush about 4 ft or more high!   But…these goats are camera shy.  If they even see me looking at them out the kitchen window they start moving out of view!  So what’s a stamper to do?   Why stamp the picture of course!   Luckily Stampin’ Up has a wonderful set called Barnyard Babies that has a goat.   Not the spotted goats or orangy brown goats like most of those currently in residence but a goat none the less.    Sadly the set only has one tiny little sprig of grass  for the goats to eat so I had to improvise with more brush type images from In the Meadow.  Found my backyard hills there too.    Of course my own hills are covered with pine trees up to the top since I live in the Pacific Northwest, but at least you get the idea.  And…there is gold in them thar hills to boot (oops…never use the word boot around a goat).   Those hills in fact (or at least the front ones) are actual trash piles from the processing of the gold.  After 75 years the mounds of fill and detritus have covered themselves in grass and trees and now you’d never know the mine is there on the backside.   It’s also for sale in case you are interested.  Not sure how much commercial viability there is there but there is gold…or so I’ve been told.

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Backyard Billygoats

(B is for Billygoat)

(as always click the pictures to see larger images)

 

Inside of Card

Supplies:

Stamps:  Barnyard Babies, In the Meadow, Labeler Alphabet, Watercolor Thank You (ret.)

Inks: Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede, Dapper Denim

Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake Cardstock

Punches: Triple Banner, 3/4″ Circle

Tools & Adhesives:  Aquapainter, Linen Thread, Dimensionals, SNAIL

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Labeler Alphabet tip:

 

Unless you have previous experience setting type backwards you may want to try this tip.  Place the letters you want to use to spell out a sentiment or element upside down but in the direction you will read on your desk.

Then place the block over the backs and VOILA!  You have your stamped phrase ready to go with no tearing of hair or looking in a mirror to see how to spell backwards.

 

Card Designing Tip:    I’ve been reading a number of blogs lately while I’ve been spending large amounts of time in bed and came across a wonderful tip shared by several other stampers.  If you aren’t sure of placement or other stamping design elements work with copy paper so you can preserve your wonderful cardstock.  The perfect solution for my evolving design on this card.   I took it one step further.  In stead of cutting copy pieces to the size of a card front or layer as others suggested…I folded the paper into fourths (or is that eighths since you end up with 8 sections counting both sides of the paper).  That allowed me to fold and refold to a new card front as I moved along in my design ideas.  See the photos below so you can see what I mean.

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That’s it for this challenge.  To see the rest of the design teams contributions to my Anything with a B Theme Challenge head on over to the Challenge blog website here.   That’s also where you can add your own creation with the linky doodad.  When you add your own design and there are more than three entries, one of you will be a challenge winner or runner up and have the option to place our badges on your own site.  Of course…you’ll also win bragging rights!

Check here to see the winner of last weeks challenge.  And here to see all of last weeks other linky and Artist Team entries.  Check the challenge site for rules on competing for future challenges.

I really hope you will add your own creations this week.  I love the inspiration I find in your shared creations.

I hope you’ll join us next Wednesday for yet another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

 

 

 

 

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Watercooler Wednesday Challenge – WWC71 – Nautical Father’s Day

WWC71 – Heidi’s Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Welcome to this weeks Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

Today we not only have a new challenge…but we also have a new Watercooler Artist who has joined us for the next 3 months.   Penny Hanuszak.  Yay, a new pal to play with.   Penny and her creative talents will be familiar to many of you as she has participated in many Watercooler Blog Hops.   A wonderful friend and a creative artist.   I’ll be looking forward to seeing what she has for us today and in weeks to come.  Welcome to the Challenge Miss Penny!

Today Heidi has opened up many choices for our designs with the Tic Tac Toe challenge pictured above.  Technically I went with the far right vertical listing (gift card holder, Father’s Day, die cut or punch) but I also managed to fill in just a few other squares too.  Originally I was going to try for all 9 but a friend convinced me that I was being an over achiever in my goals so I went with a design I shared at a recent Stamp Camp instead. 😀  I also have a few alternates that used the same design but different sentiments just to show how versatile this “guy” card can be.

Please note:  My design is a CASE (copy and share everything) of a design I found on Pinterest with just a few tweaks to make the colors pop and of course the “pocket” added inside for the gift card.

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 Nautical Father’s Day

(as always click the pictures to see larger images)

And the Pocket for the gift card.

And here are a few alternates with different sentiments as well.

One last variation by a talented member of our Rogue Stampers Group that meets once a month.

I love how the design was turned on it’s side and has more of the log image showing stamped in a darker shade of ink.  A different set of sunburst rays too.

Sadly the Open Sea stamp set is retired but it won’t be leaving my shelves anytime soon. 😀   Of course I may have to see if I can tweak this design with more current papers and ribbons.   And maybe another sun like image.  Stay tuned…one never knows when creativity will strike.  {grin}

Note:  You won’t always see this many retired products on my posted projects but this design was shared at my May Stamp Camp (so sorry you didn’t join us for that) before many of them went bye-bye for good.

Supplies:

Stamps: Open Sea (retired), Crazy about You (sentiments)

Inks:  Basic Black, Sahara Sand

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Delightful Dijon, Sahara Sand, Whisper White Cardstocks.   Timeless Elegance Designer Series Paper (retired)

Punches: 2-1/2″ Circle, Triple Banner, Small Banner (retired)

Tools & Adhesives:  Big Shot, Circle Collection Framelit dies (mat for the circle punch), Sunburst Thinlit die,  Banner Framelit Collection Die, Burlap Ribbon (retired),  Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Tear n’ Tape, SNAIL.

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I really love how the Cherry Cobbler makes the Dijon and the Black DSP pop (that was one of my tweaks to the original design) against the neutral Whites and Sahara Sand.   Hard to see but I used the sailors log image to add a bit of texture to the Sahara Sand card base.

I also love how easy it is to use our wonderful Tear n’ Tape to create a pocket for a gift card.  Makes it easy for any card to double as a gift card holder.  Need a holder?   Grab a card from your stash and add a pocket!  Easy peasy.

There is one trick to this card that might not be obvious.  Using a 2-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ piece of Delightful Dijon place the paper in the far left side of the die to cut.   Cut and then flip and place on the right hand side of the card.   In short the Sunburst die cut was carefully placed to create a partial die cut and then flipped before being attached to the card base.  The rest is pretty much stamp, punch or die cut as shown.

The key unifying factor to most of the elements is the banner cut on just about everything.  Cut with dies or with scissors.  Either works.   The sentiments are a combination of words from the Crazy about You stamp set collection collaged on a clear block.

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That’s it for this challenge.  To see the rest of the design teams Tic Tac Toe Challenge contributions head on over to the Challenge blog website here.   That’s also where you can add your own creation with the linky doodad.  When you add your own design and there are more than three entries, one of you will be a challenge winner or runner up and have the option to place our new badges on your own site.  Of course…you’ll also win bragging rights!

Check here to see the winner of last weeks challenge.  And here to see all the other linky and Artist Team entries.  Check the challenge site for rules on competing for future challenges.

I really hope you will add your own creations this week.  Really…this challenge is an easy one.  Grab your colors and play!

I hope you’ll join us next Wednesday for yet another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

 

 

 

 

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge – WWC70 – Sketch of Gratitude

WWC70 – Marsha’s  Sketch Challenge

Welcome to this weeks Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

Today’s challenge is a sketch shared by my dear friend Marsha.  I’m sure it will come as no surprise to her that I had to do something just a tad different.  Instead of a card…I created a box to fill with cards.  I also took a few liberties with the sketch.  As you will see the basic sketch is present but I added an embellishment or two in the shape of extra flowers.  My theory was that flowers = pearls and sequins that others added to their cards.  What to do you think…was I stretching the envelope?  Or the sketch?   Sorry about that Miss Marsha. 😀

As you might have guessed by the title I decided to play with the Grateful Bunch Bundle that first appeared in the 2016 Occasions Catalog and whose components (punch and stamp set) are available as individual components in the new 2016-2017 Annual Catalog from Stampin’ Up!

Expressing gratitude has been much on my mind of late (note to readers…I’m very grateful for you!)

Lately I’ve been finding myself very grateful for my family doctor and the help he’s been in sorting out my chronic health problems.  After working on masculine cards for recent challenges and in anticipation of Father’s Day I’ve been in a masculine creative mood so I thought I’d create something to share my gratitude with my doctor that he and his family could make use of as needed.  After all…who couldn’t use a supply of cards right? 😀

He’s a real upbeat kind of guy who’s always positive, life affirming, big on nutrition and yoga and other forms of creative living.  One who gives as easily as he receives…or so it seems to me.   He even gets up with his little ‘uns when they have a sleepless night (now that’s my idea of a dad).  I’m hoping this  box of cards will reflect all that.

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 Grateful Bunch Card Box

Holds several 4-1/2″ square cards

(as always click the pictures to see larger images)

And here’s one of the cards inside:

As you can see I kept the card fairly simple but reflective of the box design.  Perfect don’t you think for a coworker who goes above and beyond?  One of the lovely things about a 4 1/2″ square card is that it also fits in a standard envelope.  Saves on postage if mailed.

Supplies:

Note:  Several of the items listed are retired as of today.  Sorry about that but at the time of creation they were still active so naturally my hands reached for the things I love!

Stamps: Grateful Bunch, Trust God (retired)

Inks:  Mossy Meadow (retired In Color), Watermelon Wonder

Paper: Mossy Meadow (retired In Color), Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe, Very Vanilla and Vellum Cardstock  & Timeless Elegance Designer Series Paper (retired).

Punches: Blossom, Corner Rounder, Large Oval (retired), Scallop Oval (retired)

Tools & Adhesives:  Big Shot, Brick Embossing Folder,  Simpy Scored, Paper Snips, Bone Folder, Tear n’ Tape, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, SNAIL.

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Fairly straight forward construction details.  The Simply Scored scoring tool is perfect for box construction as well as scoring cards for folding.  So many uses it’s a required tool in my studio that’s for sure.

Box was created in the same old fashioned way I outlined in this post.  Creates a 5″ square box to hold my 4-1/2″ square cards and slightly bigger envelopes.

Top: 7-1/4″ x 7-1/4″ square

Bottom: 7″ x 7″ square

Score at 1″ along all four sides for each piece.  Snip up to score line on both corners on opposite sides.  Add pieces of Tear n’ Tape to the corners and fold to the inside.  Burnish with bone folder to activate the adhesive to its strongest stick.

Once the box is completed:

Brick embossed layer – 4-3/4″ square – Stamp leaf stem image in Mossy Meadow on Tip Top Taupe then emboss using Big Shot and the Brick folder.

DSP strip: 1-1/4″ – cut at 7-1/2″ and adhered from center of box with ends cut to measure after adhered to box.

Sentiment layer: 2″ x3″ Corner rounded and stamped in Mossy Meadow with Trust God sentiment.

Scrap Vanilla: Stamp sentiment from Grateful Bunch in Mossy Meadow ink and punch with oval punch.  Sponge edges with sponge dauber and Mossy Meadow ink.   Adhere to Mossy Meadow Scallop Oval punched piece.

Flowers: Stamp flower image in Watermelon Wonder ink on Watermelon Wonder Cardstock and Vellum Cardstock.  Punch with Blossom Punch.  Adhere to box (make extra for cards!)

Hopefully the full assembly is easy to see from the pictures of the finished project.

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That’s it for this challenge.  To see the rest of the design teams Sketch Challenge contributions head on over to the Challenge blog website here.   That’s also where you can add your own creation with the linky doodad.  When you add your own design and there are more than three entries, one of you will be a challenge winner or runner up and have the option to place our new badges on your own site.  Of course…you’ll also win bragging rights!

Check here to see the winner of last weeks challenge.  And here to see all the other linky and Artist Team entries.  Check the challenge site for rules on competing for future challenges.

I really hope you will add your own creations this week.  Really…this challenge is an fun one.  After all the design layout is done for you.  All you have to do is grab your colors and stamps and get creating!

I hope you’ll join us next Wednesday for yet another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

 

 

 

 

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Watercooler Wednesday Challenge – WWC69 – Hello World – Kath’s CAS Masculine Challenge

WWC69 – Kath’s CAS  Challenge

(CAS = Clean & Simple)

Welcome to this weeks Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  This week Clean and Simple is the style that floats my boat.  Oh yeah…you just know I had to get a pun in there right? 😀

Which reminds me.  What stamping god decided that boats/ships and so on are masculine?  Have they met the new Navy?   That said…I do tend to grab ships, cars and trees when someone says make a guy card.  That’s also when the blue color tones come out as well.  Hm…must be that anti pink programming kicking in.

To to keep it simple…here’s the card.

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 Hello World

(as always click the pictures to see larger images)

I’m not entirely sure this counts as simple since I did bring out the heat gun for the emboss resist technique part of the card…but hey…tools and guns…can’t get much more masculine than that.

Same with the card theme.  Hello World…I’m heading out.   Didn’t Columbus, Drake and a few other guys do pretty much that exact thing?  Of course…they didn’t know the world was round.  They must not have had a Stampin’ Up Circle punch or the Open Sea stamp set to guide their travels.

Supplies:

Stamps: Open Sea, Chalk Lines (both are retiring May 31 – don’t wait to order they are almost gone already and Stampin’ Up isn’t making any more).  Watercolor Wishes – greeting

Inks:  Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise, Night of Navy Classic Inks & Versamark & Basic Black Archival or Black StazOn.

Paper: Soft Sky, Whisper White

Punches: 2″ Circle

Tools & Adhesives:  Heat Tool, Clear Embossing Powder, Stampin’ Sponges,  Dimensionals, SNAIL.

Technique:  Emboss Resist Masking Technique

Cost (without envelope): 22¢

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Simple to create (as well as low cost) with the right tools.  On the focal layer (4″ x 5-1/4″) I masked off a narrow strip using post it notes.  Using Versamark ink I stamped the wavy design from Chalk Lines into the masked off area.  Added Clear Embossing Powder and then heat set with a Heat Tool.

Then using Stampin’ Sponges and ink I started with circular motions to sponge first Soft Sky in random areas, then Tempting Turquoise and then a light amount of Night of Navy inks.  Remove the masking papers and admire.   Well yeah…I tend to admire each step along the way.   But especially the inked up look of this technique.  I can get lost staring at the color changes.  If you want to be a bit brave you could also throw in a bit of Wisteria Wonder or Elegant Eggplant to add another depth of color.

After the color tricks just stamp the ship from Open Sea in Black StazOn or the Basic Black archival that will set pretty well on top of the embossed area.  Stamp the World image also from Open Sea in Night of  Navy ink on Soft Sky scrap of paper.  Stamp the greeting in Black (Night of Navy might have been a good choice as well) then punch with the 2″ circle punch.   Add focal layer to Whisper White card base then add the punched world with dimensionals.

If you want to keep it even simpler just stamp the Hello on top of the waves themselves.  Easy Peasy.

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That’s it for this challenge.  To see the rest of the design teams In Colors for Libby’s Challenge contributions head on over to the Challenge blog website here.   That’s also where you can add your own creation with the linky doodad.  When you add your own design and there are more than three entries, one of you will be a challenge winner or runner up and have the option to place our new badges on your own site.  Of course…you’ll also win bragging rights!

Check here to see the winner of last weeks challenge.  And here to see all the other linky and Artist Team entries.  Check the challenge site for rules on competing for future challenges.

I really hope you will add your own creations this week.  Really…this challenge is an easy one.

I hope you’ll join us next Wednesday for yet another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

 

 

 

 

 

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge – WWC68 – Angel on Deck

WWC68 – Libby’s Color Challenge

Welcome to this weeks Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

Today we not only have a new challenge…but we also have a new guest artist.  Yay.   Fiona Whitehead has come out to play with us today.  Fiona has entered several challenges here in the Watercooler and we were all so wowed by her talent we just had to arrange a playdate!   Thanks Fiona for joining us and taking up the challenge as a guest designer.  Looking forward to seeing what you have for us today.

Also today…Libby gave us another “official” chance to play with the retiring set of in colors.  I’m still not sure how I’ll survive their retirement.  Sigh…there are just some colors that reach in and grab your soul.    Of course being the color fanatic that I am I just had to accept the challenge to work with all five outgoing colors.  Libby told us we only had to use 3 but then she added…we could use more if we wished.  So….yep…I wished!

See if you can find all five in my creation below.

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 In Colors Baby Wipe Technique Part 2

(as always click the pictures to see larger images)

Here’s another somewhat lighter picture.  The actual real life card is somewhere in between.  For some reason the digital camera picks up more white space than actually appears on the card and muddies the colors a bit more than they really are.  Loving the bit of textured look the watercolor paper gives the colors and the embossing.

On another topic.  Do you know how hard it is to type watercolor in the same post as watercooler.  Boy is that a challenge!

Supplies:

Stamps: Kinda Eclectic (gold leaves)

Inks:  Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon,  Mossy Meadow, Tangelo Twist, Versamark

Paper: Blackberry Bliss Cardstock, Watercolor Paper, Gold Foil

Punches: None

Tools & Adhesives:  Big Shot, Big Shot Die Brush, Botanical Builder Framelit dies, Heat Tool, Gold Embossing Powder,  Basic Jewel Pearls, Gold marker to color pearls, Fine Dimensionals, Glue Dots, SNAIL.

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Believe it or not this inking is a retread of a baby wipe pad I made several weeks ago for the April Watercooler Blog Hop you can see here.  I stored the “ink” pad I created in an old acrylic clamshell stamp case and it’s still juicy!

Of course the colors have melded and melted together a bit more.  Not the same defined stripes I had before.  But…that worked to my advantage with the technique I used.

I just spritzed the watercolor paper then placed it over the “pad” and tapped around it with my fingers. Moved it and tapped some more. Kept repeating until I got the look I wanted. Dipped the edges a bit to get a nice line of color along them and then gold embossed the leaf image from Kinda Eclectic in a few places.   Cut the fern looking leaves and some flowers from the Botanical Builder dies attached…colored the pears and added those.   Now I just need to find my Trust God stamp set so I can add the God Bless You sentiment.

This card is intended for a very special young lady who gave me the perfect gift on a day when I very much needed it.   Saving that story for another day as it’s time to hop on my way to a bit of a rest so I’ll be bright and bushy tailed for a new class at my local health center this afternoon.

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That’s it for this challenge.  To see the rest of the design teams In Colors for Libby’s Challenge contributions head on over to the Challenge blog website here.   That’s also where you can add your own creation with the linky doodad.  When you add your own design and there are more than three entries, one of you will be a challenge winner or runner up and have the option to place our new badges on your own site.  Of course…you’ll also win bragging rights!

Check here to see the winner of last weeks challenge.  And here to see all the other linky and Artist Team entries.  Check the challenge site for rules on competing for future challenges.

I really hope you will add your own creations this week.  Really…this challenge is an easy one.  Grab your colors and play!

I hope you’ll join us next Wednesday for yet another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

 

 

 

 

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge – WWC65 – Anything Goes Has Rose Wonder Blues

WWC65 – Anything Goes Challenge

Welcome to this weeks Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  Today Anything Goes.  Don’t you love days like that…when anything is possible?  Well…as far as the challenge goes…today…anything goes!   The rest of your day/week is totally up to you and the other rules in your life.  {grin}

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Since anything goes today….I decided that some die cuts that have been sitting on my desk needed a bit of sponging.   Heidi got me going with our Spring CAS challenge last week and I had seen a fun design by Leonie Shroder last winter that got me going.   Nothing much simpler than a bit of sponging and then add the sponged die cuts to the card.   Made me feel as if I was Spring Housecleaning what with cleaning odds and bobs from my desk and throwing in a bit of sponging to boot.

Rose Wonder Blues

(as always click the pictures to see larger images)

Hm…just occurred to me…this card would make quite a nice Mother’s Day card don’t you think?  Or just about any occasion with an appropriate change in sentiment.

Supplies:

Stamps: Rose Wonder, Suite Sayings

Inks:  Night of Navy, Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, Perfect Plum, Blushing Bride, Soft Sky, Pacific Point, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive

Paper: Soft Sky, Whisper White (thick and thin), Shimmer White Cardstocks

Punches: None

Tools & Adhesives:  Big Shot, Rose Garden Thinlit Dies, Big Shot Brush and Pad, Sponge Daubers, 2-Way Glue, Snail, Basic Jewel Pearls

Technique:  Sponging on Shimmer Paper

Cost per card: 48¢ + envelope – as shown without pearls

PDF Directions Created by Jean:  Watercooler Wednesday Challenge – WWC65 – Rose Wonder Blues with Shimmer Paper

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I’m happy to note that both stamp sets used here (Rose Wonder & Suite Sayings) and the Rose dies will be available in the new Annual Catalog going live in June.  They’ve turned out to be popular with me…and my customers.   But why wait until then.  The Rose Wonder stamps and dies are being offered now in the Occasions Catalog at 15% off.  Can’t beat that deal.

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That’s it for this challenge.  To see the rest of the design teams Anything Goes Challenge contributions head on over to the Challenge blog website here.   That’s also where you can add your own creation with the linky doodad.  When you add your own design and there are more than three entries, one of you will be a challenge winner or runner up and have the option to place our new badges on your own site.  Of course…you’ll also win bragging rights!

Check here to see the winner of last weeks challenge.  And here to see all the other linky and Artist Team entries.  Check the challenge site for rules on competing for future challenges.

I really hope you will add your own creations this week.  Really…this challenge is an easy one.  Anything you have completed that hasn’t yet been shared online qualifies.  Easy peasy!

I hope you’ll join us next Wednesday for yet another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

 

 

 

 

Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop: April’s In Color Filled Hop

 

Welcome to our April Blog Hop

This month we are focusing on the retiring In Colors as well as a special “CASE the Watercooler” feature.

Hopefully you’ve arrived from  Marie’s blog.  I love Marie’s creative work as well as the name of her blog.  Tanglewood Cottage just sounds like some place I want to settle in with a cup of tea, a good book and creative and crafty work.  The perfect description I’m sure.

As usual you can follow this hop in a circle going either direction.  You can return to the home hop site if you ever get lost along the way.

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First up is a duo with gold in common but shown in different color ranges.

Golden Number of Years

Two cards for the price of one picture. {grin}   I was running out of the Mossy Meadow version of the paper and decided to see what else would work with this design.  I rather like the look of the Basic Black Designer Series Paper from Botanical Garden.  A very Asian look I thought. One of my favorite design types.

Golden Number of Years (Shiny Version)

I threw in the shiny version picture so you would have a better idea of just how shiny the the gold really is in person and with a bit of light at the right angle.  Either way the look of the cards feel very elegant to me.   Who knew the wild Botanical Garden paper could have such a nice and restrained pattern in it.  Very Saville Row don’t you think if these papers were material for suits?

The card is a tent fold that stands up and has a delicate frame created with our Oval Collection Framelits.  Sadly those Framelits are on the retiring list.  So are the Itty Bitty Accent punches and the Something to Say stamp that I used to create the flowers.  The Botanical Garden paper is going too.   Thankfully the Number of Years and it’s matching set of dies are staying!  Whoop. Whoop!

So if you want to recreate this exactly and don’t have these items…time to start shopping!

Supplies:

Stamps: Number of Years, Something to Say (flower)

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Mossy Meadow, Sahara Sand, Basic Black, Tangelo Twist & Botanical Garden Designer Series Paper

Punches: Itty Bitty Accent Pack

Other:  Big Shot, Oval Collection Framelits, Large Numbers Framelits, Heat Tool, Gold Embossing Powder, SNAIL ,  dimensionals, glue dots.

Technique: Heat Embossing & Frame and Window Die Cutting.

With all the variety of occasions in this stamp set you can easily imagine Birthday or Anniversary as two appropriate occasions for this card.  Add the sentiments now or add them later on the inside.  Either way…Happy is the perfect word for the front.

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CASEing our fellow artists has become a popular feature on many of our hops so of course…we couldn’t resist doing it yet again.

I had my wish granted with Bev as my CASE subject.  I so enjoy cruising her blog and seeing her creative use of color and design mixed with her caring and all embracing spirit.  I always end up with food for thought as well as creativity that reaches into my soul and changes me.  In a good way. 😀

Here’s the card from Bev that I’ve CASEd and a link.

If you want to get a taste of Bev’s outlook that will set you thinking here’s another post that really caught my mind and heart.

CASEing Bev with a Party!

Yes…I know that’s not the usual way of spelling casing.  But…when I CASE (copy and share everything) I use the word case in capitals in a different way so the add-ons change as well. {grin}

Here’s the inside:

Thanks Bev for the inspiration.  This was a fun one!

Supplies:

Stamps: Perfect Pennants, Party Wishes (Occasions Catalog)

Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon, Tangelo Twist, Hello Honey (yes…all the retiring In Colors!)

Paper: Blackberry Bliss, Whisper White & Gold Glimmer Paper

Punches:  Itty Bitty Punch Pack (star)

Other:  SNAIL , glue dots, dimensionals

Technique: Baby Wipe Inking

The Baby Wipe Technique is a fun one and the color choices are only limited by your imagination.

It works by placing lines of color using reinker drops one by one on a folded up pad of two Baby Wipes and then placing your stamp across the lines of ink.    I’m storing the pad I created in an acetate box that closes tightly so I can come back over the next few days and create other designs with the same pad.  A fun and inexpensive way to play.   If you are a tad perfectionist you may want to take out your Stamp-a-ma-jig and place your long banners exactly.  I’m a more seat of the pants stamper so I eye it and enjoy the variations that happen since I can live with surprises and a bit of imperfection.

I love that all 5 of the retiring In Colors work so well together.  Very regal looking colors don’t you think?   I also found that the mix of stamp sets Perfect Pennants (annual catalog) and Party Wishes (occasions catalog) worked perfectly together.  My heart is still trying to get over the fact that both these sets are disappearing from my catalogs.  Really Stampin’ Up?  They’ve had their run?  Sigh.  I know I’m supposed to embrace change but it’s so hard when I love a set so much.  Check them out…truly…you’ll want them too.  That image from Party Wishes that says…a party without cake is just a meeting…caught me from day one of the Occasions catalog.

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I encourage you to play with and purchase  these fun retiring products that I’ve shown you today.  As you can see they coordinate with products you may already have or can find in the Annual Catalog also with the upcoming new catalog as well.  But don’t wait too late if you don’t have them yet.  They are moving fast from available to fully retired and gone.  Sob!

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That’s it for my share of the hop.  Time to move on to my Watercooler friend  Priscilla and her wonderfully inspired creations.  Her sweetness as a friend infuses her work too.  I know you will love her and the projects.

To follow the hop click on the link below:

 

 

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge – WWC64 – Spring CAS – Bridal Showers

WWC64 – Spring CAS

Welcome to this weeks Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  Today…Heidi has brought us a CAS (clean & simple) Challenge with Spring as the theme.  Perfect for the weather we are having here in Southern Oregon.  Look out the window and inspiration is there to be found.   Of course if you live in Denver, CO this week…..that might be a tiny bit harder.

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When it comes to CAS it’s hard to think how this creation could be any simpler.  Stamp, stamp, stamp (in one clear ink), sprinkle a little powder and heat.  No extra colors, no lists of tools.  Okay, truth to tell…I did use one punch and two dimensionals.  But if your hand is steadier than mine you might not need those.  Of course having a little bit of contrast in height for the sentiment does add a little something without taking away from the simplicity.

And did you notice?  I reversed the usual color proportions.  Instead of a white card base with color ink.  I went color base with white images.  Or gold…or you could use black or whatever other color of embossing powder you prefer.  It’s the layout and design itself that makes it CAS.

While I have this card marked for a Bridal Shower really it would work just as well for a Birthday, Graduation or other occasion.  Especially if you have other sentiment stamps to substitute.

You’ll see I have two different versions.  If you don’t mind leaving a comment I’d love to know which you prefer.  The White or the Gold embossing.  The rest is the same.

Spring – A Bridal Shower in White

(as always click the pictures to see larger images)

and for an alternative….

Spring – A Bridal Shower in Gold

Always fun trying to get the color shots to match up from one card to another isn’t it?   Truly…both card bases are Mint Macaron.  It’s just the color adjustment software that isn’t quite convinced.  Must be the gold that throws it off.

Supplies:

Stamps: Best Thoughts (Hostess Set from the 2015-2016 Annual Catalog)

Inks: Versamark

Paper: Mint Macaron

Punches: Extra Large Oval (retiring)

Tools & Adhesives:  Heat Tool, Gold Embossing Powder or White Embossing Powder, Dimensionals.

Cost: 25¢ per card – envelope extra (assuming you have all the materials on hand)

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Hard to believe you can put together such a lovely full size card for so little cost isn’t it.  Saves the real money for a bridal shower or birthday gift.

Another simple element in this card that you might notice.  I used images from one simple stamp set.  I’m quite sad that this lovely hostess stamp set will be retiring very, very soon.   If you find you can’t live without it I’d be happy to help you place an order that will qualify you for the set.  Or if you have your own demonstrator already I’m sure they will do the same.

I’ll be back in the future with a slightly stepped up version for this simple card.  Just using a Mint Macaron layer on top of a Whisper White card base would add a bit more presence to the card.  Add a faint background image, a punched corner with the Trio corner punch and maybe a bit of gold metallic thread looped under the raised sentiment and away you go.

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That’s it for this challenge.  To see the rest of the design teams Spring CAS contributions head on over to the Challenge blog website here.   That’s also where you can add your own creation with the linky doodad.  When you add your own design and there are more than three entries, one of you will be a challenge winner or runner up and have the option to place our new badges on your own site.  Of course…you’ll also win bragging rights!

Check here to see the winner of last weeks color challenge.  And here to see all the other linky and Artist Team color challenge entries.  Check the challenge site for rules on competing for future challenges.

I really hope you will add your own creations this week.  Really…a CAS challenge is an easy one.  And for most of us…Spring is all around to fill you full of creative ideas.

I hope you’ll join us next Wednesday for yet another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

 

 

 

 

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge – WWC63 – Jean’s Birthday Garden

WWC63 – Kath’s Color Challenge

(if you live other places in the world it might be Kath’s Colour Challenge)

Welcome to this weeks Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  Today…we’re playing with soft Spring colors as well as one that makes your mouth water.  {grin}  I don’t know about you but my mouth is watering for watermelon after a day of playing with the color and typing the name.  Thanks Kath for the craving and the colors!

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After playing with the Number of Years stamp set at my last Stamp Camp I just had to bring it out one more time for these lovely soft colors.  And with my sister-in-laws birthday this month it was the perfect time to create a lovely Spring birthday card just for her.

Jean’s Birthday Garden

Outside

Inside

Supplies:

Stamps: Number of Years, Happy Birthday Everyone, Papillon Potpourri

Inks:  Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride, So Saffron, Watermelon Wonder & Wink of Stella Gold

Paper: Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron, Watermelon Wonder, Whisper White Cardstocks

Punches: Itty Bitty Punch Pack (flower), Bitty Butterfly

Tools & Adhesives:  Basic Jewel Rhinestones, Glue Dots.

Cost: 44¢ per card. Assuming you have all the ingredients. 😀    Extra for envelope.

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I love quick and simple cards.  With the exception of a couple of stamping oopsies that meant I had to recut some paper this was one of those 15 minute cards.  It really helps to take that extra few seconds to mount the stamps so the text is straight and level on the block!  Duh!   And now that I have the design down and all the equipment in place it would be more of a 5 minute card for creating duplicates.

One trick is to stamp the first set of leaves/stems (love that it’s all combined in one image stamp) in the middle of the row and then stamp to the left and right with some of the image a bit lower and off to the sides.  I also found that stamping the sentiment in the top corner first gave you a better idea on where and how high to stamp the leaves/stems image.  Originally I stamped the greeting in the left upper corner but well…did I mention that oopsie thing when the stamp wasn’t correctly on the block?  As they say…paper has two sides…but of course Watermelon Wonder is a fairly dark color and does show through.  So when I flipped the card over it was prudent to change the text to the right hand side.   Not really a big deal and gave me a chance to add the butterfly to balance the overall design.  Gotta love the mother of invention right?   The Gold Wink of Stella (love those Stella pens.  So easy to use) was used to add centers to the flowers and a bit of dash to the punched flower as well.  You can see on the inside stamping that I also played a bit with it on the stamped flowers as well.  I couldn’t find my Clear Wink of Stella pen or I would have added a bit more sparkle.  Now that it’s stopped hiding (of course it waited until the picture taking and posting) I’ll add a bit of bling before dropping it in the mail to my lovely SIL.

One other subtle bit of color I love is the very narrow Pear Pizzazz mat.  It adds just the right punch of color separating the vivid Watermelon Wonder and the plainer Whisper White.  Pity I forgot to replicate that on the inside.  Ah well…there is always a next time.   After all…this is the base design for one of the cards at my next Stamp a Stack on April 23.  If you are in the area I hope you will join us.  You can find us at the Central Point Presbyterian Church at 456 W. Pine St.  Central Point, Oregon.

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That’s it for this challenge.  To see the rest of the design teams Color Challenge contributions head on over to the Challenge blog website here.   That’s also where you can add your own creation with the linky doodad.  When you add your own design and there are more than three entries, one of you will be a challenge winner or runner up and have the option to place our new badges on your own site.  Of course…you’ll also win bragging rights!

Check here to see the winner of last weeks challenge.  And here to see all the other linky and Artist Team entries.  Check the challenge site for rules on competing for future challenges.

I really hope you will add your own creations this week.  Really…this challenge is an easy one and you can start stocking up for those Spring Summer occasions ahead.

I hope you’ll join us next Wednesday for yet another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

 

 

 

 

Pictorial Tutorial for Vines and Flowers Flap Card – WWC61

Hi friends.  And yes…if you are reading this tutorial post then I count you friends.  After all…would I have put this much work into something like this if you weren’t? LOL

And yes Miss Patti this tutorial required munchies to get through.  The crunchy kind! And Miss Marsha…Happy Birthday (yesterday)…and yes…I pulled an all nighter to get it done. {grin}

Here’s the original picture from my Watercooler Wednesday Challenge post (WWC61):

And the stitched picture everyone seems to be pinning. (Thanks for that)

Supplies:
Stamps: Birthday Blooms, Botanical Blooms, Suite Sayings, Trust in God
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Versamark, Wisteria Wonder, Mint Macaron
Paper: Mint Macaron, Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder, Garden
Green, Daffodil Delight
Other: Big Shot, Botanical Builder Dies, Heat Tool, Gold Embossing Powder, Pearls,
Tombow Liquid Glue, Snail, Glue Dots

Here’s a PDF with the directions and the pictorial tutorial added:

Pictorial Tutorial -Vines & Flowers Accordion Flap Card – Jean Fitch from Watercooler Wednesday Challenge (WWC61)

And here’s the pictorial Tutorial.  All pictures…few words…except what’s on the pictures (a first for me figuring out doing all that).   NOTE: You’ll likely have to click on the pictures to read the words.  I’m afraid I haven’t yet figured out how to allow for correct sizing on my blog.  The printable tutorial you can download from above is readable.

And first and foremost…THANK YOU STAMPIN’ UP for creating such an awesome bundle of products like the Botanical Garden series.  Too freakin’ wonderful as some of my cool friends would say.  😀    If you love it as much as I do (and don’t have it yet) I hope you’ll run right over to my sidebar and click on the Order SU online button and order yours today.  You won’t regret it!

Pictorial Tutorial

The Key Idea

This is the first really tricky point.
Making sure you get the Mint Macaron card base with die
entering the Big Shot with the correct leading edge side.

Here’s that key idea again lest you forget….

 

Ta Da!  You’ve spaced it correctly!

 

One more fun tip!

And once again the finished card picture….

I know I promised you some alternate examples with some of the step ups I shared last Wednesday.  But that truly will have to wait for another day (over the weekend most likely).

I shot my wad (don’t you love military-isms that have made it into common usage?) on the tutorial and ran out of time for the alternates.  The pieces are cut (YaY!) they just have to be Stamped, embossed and assembled.  Sounds like a fun and restful weekend project right?  While the neighbors sweet long haired kitty comes for a visit? 😀

Hm…you know…I just realized…it’s April Fool’s Day.   Yikes!

I promise…no fooling in this tutorial.  It really does work.

Happy Fooling…and stamping.

Hugs and love.

P.S.  No Foolin’ … Don’t forget to check out this weeks Weekly Deals: