Dragonfly Dreams sneak peek

I cannot wait to spend more time with this stamp set from the new Occasions 2017 catalogue!

Not that I'm super crazy about dragonflies, but something about this stamp set and the matching framelits just talk to me.

These card were made using two of the current in colours, Peekaboo Peach (card stock) and Dapper Denim (ink), Pool Party ink and Whisper White card stock.

Both of the cards were SO easy and quick to make. The first is just stamps, the second is upgraded by using the matching framelits and Dapper Denim card stock. 

So simple and so elegant!

Mountain Adventure

Okay, this post was supposed to be of either a dragonfly or hot air balloons, but with the cold weather outside, it just didn't feel right - so you are getting a snowy scenery instead :-)

This card is made using Mountain Adventures stamp set (from 2016 Holiday catalogue), Crumb Cake, Whisper White and Soft Sky card stocks, matching inks and silver 1/8" ribbon. The greeting is from Star of Light stamp set. 

I just love how you can make your own designer series paper using the skis and snowboard stamps from this set by using matching card stock and ink - in this case Soft Sky.

I have to say, on a cold day like this, I'd rather be in that cabin (with a roaring fire and a cup of hot chocolate) than in that chair lift :-)

Be Jolly, By Golly - Christmas is around the corner!!!

I cannot believe that Christmas is just 2 weeks away! Last week I was thinking, that 'oh, it's good we still have plenty of time until Xmas'. This weekend I realized, that there is only 3 weeks until Christmas, and I still need to make cookies, gingerbread houses, deck the tree (well, assemble it first) and and and....

Most of my cards are luckily done, and I just finished writing my cards to Finland (23 in total). I have 40 English cards done for the family and friends here, but I need 20 more for Tom's co-workers. Luckily I have 3... I mean 2 weeks to get those done :-)

These 2 cards were done using 'Be Jolly, By Golly' stamp set from the Holiday catalogue.

The first uses also Candy Cane Lane Designer Series Paper, Dapper Denim Card Stock and ink and Real Red Ink. The card base is Thick Whisper White Card Stock.

The 2nd card is also made using Thick Whisper White Card Stock (I like this card stock if I don't want to do a lot of layers, as it holds well on its own).

The colours on this are Mint Macaron and Watermelon Wonder. I cut the swirly bit out of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper using Swirly Scribbles thinlits. The sequins are also from the Holiday catalogue.

Sneak Peek - Up and Away

If you know me, you know that 

I LOVE HOT AIR BALLOONS!

So no-one could have been happier than I was seeing, that there was a stamp set with MATCHING FRAMELITS with Hot Air Balloons in the upcoming Occasions catalogue!!

Since I attended the Stampin'Up! OnStage event in Ottawa earlier this fall, I was able to do a pre-pre-order of certain sets, and this bundle was among the things we were able to order.

For this card I got inspiration from a fellow Stampin'Up! demonstrator Pamela Parker. 

The stamp set is called 'Lift me Up' and the matching framelits are Up & Away. The colours in this card are Blushing Bride (Card Stock and Glimmer Paper and ink) and the white card stock is Shimmer White. The pattern paper is also from the new Occasions catalogue and is called 'Falling in Love'

 The Balloon was cut out from Shimmer White card stock using the framelit and then I used the die to draw the shape on the back of the Blushing Bride Glimmer paper and cut it just inside the line with scissors. Then I glued the balloon cut-out using fine tip glue pen on top of the glimmer paper.

Star of Wonder, Star of Light

Well the song actually goes 'Star of Wonder, Star of Night', but since I used the Star of Light stamp set on these cards, I felt that I just had to use that in the title.

The next 4 cards all use Star of Light stamp set.

This first one was inspired by Kimberly Van Diepen 
I LOVE HER DESIGNS!

The card base is Thick Whisper White card stock and was stamped with various stars from Star of Light stamp set. The colours on the stars are Soft Sky, Dapper Denim and Sahara Sand.

The large star is also stamped using Sahara Sand and cut out with the matching framelits. The thread on the card is a strand from the burlap ribbon. According to Kimberly, it makes a nicer loop, than Linen Thread, and I have to agree with her on this!

The second card uses Dapper Denim ink. The star burst was stamped/heat embossed on Whisper White card stock with VersaMark ink and Clear Embossing powder. Once it cooled, I rubbed Dapper Denim ink with Sponge Daubers. Just remember to wipe the image with a clean paper towel after inking, to remove any ink from the embossed image. I made two different colour versions - Gold and Silver. They both use Foil paper, Glimmer paper and Doilies.

Silver

Gold

And the last card was assembled from bunch of left over pieces I had from other card creations. The Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper snow flakes are actually floral images from Flourish Thinlits dies, the Soft Sky star is from Starlight thinlits. The starburst is stamped with Dapper Denim and I twisted some Silver Metallic Thread behind the snow flakes.

Wintery scenery

Is there a better time to post these wintery cards than now? Well at least here in Ottawa!

These 2 cards were made using the Mountain Adventure stamp set from the Stampin'Up! Holiday catalogue.

The first card has a strip of 'home made designer paper', which I made by stamping the ski's and the snow board on a piece of Crumb Cake card stock. The image was coloured using ink and blender pens. I also used some Candy Cane Lane Designer Washi Tape to adhere the image on the card front.

The second card is also coloured using ink and blender pens. I have to say, I miss the watercolour pencils (wait wait... they are coming, they are coming!)

The colours in the second card are Soft Sky, Sahara Sand and Real Red. The trees I believe were coloured with Pear Pizzazz.

 The next card was made using the Cookie Cutter Christmas stamp set

The little eskimo kids were coloured using Soft Sky and Sweet Sugarplum inks and blender pens. The  Fancy Frost Sequins are from the holiday catalogue, and the Sequin Trim and Metallic Thread are from the Annual Catalogue. The background stamp is from You've Got This stamp set. The card base is Tip Top Taupe.

And the last wintery scenes are made using Be Jolly, By Golly stamp set and Swirly Scribbles Thinlits dies.

The darker card is made using Dapper Denim card stock and Night of Navy ink, and the silver embossing was done using VersaMark ink and Silver embossing powder.

The other card is using Soft Sky, Tip Top Taupe and Pear Pizzazz inks. In both cards, the swirls are cut out from Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper.

Christmas cards

Oh my, I had this post done a while back, but didn't get to post it. So here is the first batch of Xmas cards.

 The first set of cards uses the Cookie Cutter Christmas stamp set and Candy Cane Lane Designer Series Paper - both from the current Stampin'Up! Holiday Catalogue.

In the first card I stamped 3 gingerbread men with Soft Suede, and adhered Real Red Enamel Shapes as their buttons.

The second card has two reindeers stamped with Early Espresso, and I coloured the insides of their antlers with Early Espresso marker (I used the thicker end, and just drew lines to fill the space, you don't have to be super precise with your colouring.


This next card uses the Star of Light stamp set, and the matching framelits set.

I stamped the big star using Versa Mark and White embossing powder on Mint Macaron card stock and did the same with the smaller stars on Dapper Denim card stock, and cut them out using the matching framelits. 

Then cut out the 'dotted star' from the framelit set onto a vellum piece, and the smaller star from Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper. I wrapped some Copper Metallic Thread behind the large star, stamped the greeting using Dapper Denim ink on Whisper White card stock and used Dimensionals to pop it  up.

NOTE: When adhering the vellum piece on the Crumb Cake card base, I used Fine Tip Glue Pen and made sure, I used glue in areas that will be covered with the stars or the greeting.

Masculine cards from last week

I had a lot of fun working on these masculine cards. I got some inspiration from Pinterest for them and I had the HARDEST time not to bling them up!

The first card was inspired by Lisa Young. It is Whisper White card stock layered with dimentionals on thick Whisper White card stock. The stamp sets are Work of Art and Traveler.

I first inked the larger watercolour stamp from Work of Art with Smokey Slate and spritzed the inked stamp with water. I used a little bit too much water on this card, but it turned out great anyways. I stamped the same stamp 3 times without re-inking it. Then I took the smaller watercolour stamp from the same set, inked it with Emerald Envy and spritzed it with water, and stamped it 3 times without re-inking it.

The camera is from the Traveler stamp set and it, as well as the sentiment from Work of Art, are stamped with Archival Basic Black. 

The second card is using 'Hardwood' and 'Stylized Birthday' stamp sets. The card base is Crumb Cake, the layer is Delightful Dijon and the top is Very Vanilla card stock. I made a template from printer paper (you need the layer to be thinner than card stock, so that you get a nice stamped background). I stamped the Happy Birthday greeting on that layer paper, and then tore it out, trying to keep the shape fairly rounded. Then I layered the template on the Very Vanilla card stock and stamped the Hardwood image with Mint Macaron ink. Then stamped the Stylized Birthday with Delightful Dijon. I used the 1/2" burlap ribbon and tied a knot half way, and adhered it to the back of the two layers.

The third card was inspired by Amanda Bates, and uses Wetlands stamp set and the card base is Crumb Cake, and the second layer is Whisper White. The top layer is from Serene Scenery Designer Series Paper Stack. The way you stamp this is you position your top piece (Serene Scenery) on top of the card base (leave the second layer of Whisper White out at the stamping point). Make sure you don't move your pieces while stamping the birds and the grass (you may want to use a small piece of snail tape to keep them together). The birds, the grass and the sentiment were stamped using Early Espresso. Once the images are stamped, layer the top piece on the Whisper White card stock and attache it with dimentionals on the card base.

My favourite card from this class

The fourth card is made on Crumb Cake card base and layered with Whisper White card stock. I first stamped the larger swirls from Swirly Bird stamp set using Crumb Cake ink. Then stamped the smaller swirls from the same set using Rich Razzleberry ink. The splatters are from the same stamp set and are stamped both with Crumb Cake and Early Espresso. The greeting is Stylized Birthday stamp and stamped with Early Espresso. The ribbon is Rich Razzleberry from the 3/8" Ribbon Trio Pack in the Holiday Catalogue.

When we had the class, I offered the girls the option to use other colours than Rich Razzleberry. The ones I had matching ribbon were Delightful Dijon, Mint Macaron and Bermuda Bay. And everyone chose a different colour! I also made one using Bermuda Bay.

MOJO MONDAY 473, Occasions sneak peek

I attended the Stampin'Up! OnStage event this past Saturday in Ottawa, and we got to play and bring home some of the upcoming new supplies. I was lucky enough to win this 'Beautiful You' stamp set - WHICH I LOVE!! This stamp set will be available to order starting January 4th, 2017.

I decided to use it on this Monday's MOJO challenge. 

The back ground is Crumb Cake layered with Whisper White, which has been stamped with the swirly stamps from Swirly Bird stamp set using Crumb Cake and Sweet Sugarplum inks.

The lady is stamped with Early Espresso (and the layering pieces are also Early Espresso) and the 'swoosh' is from the same 'Beautiful You' stamp set, as the lady and it's stamped with Sweet Sugarplum.

I decided to use the Blushing Bride Glimmer paper for my embellishment. It was cut using the butterfly from the Sunshine Wishes thinlits set. I also used some copper metallic twine behind it, and finalized the design with 3/8" Glitter Ribbon in Sweet Sugarplum (from the current Stampin'Up! Holiday Catalogue)

Sneak peek for Occasions from Stampin'Up! onStage event

I was lucky enough to be able to attend this years Stampin'Up! event here in Ottawa.

We got a sneak peek for the upcoming Occasions and Sale-A-Brations catalogues and got to play with some of the stamp sets. We also were able to place a pre-pre-order for certain supplies.... cannot wait to get them in few weeks time!

Here are the cards we created during the event. The lighting in the room was horrible for crafting, so placement of the stamps was a bit tricky, plus we got some super green baby wipes to clean the stamps, but they bled right through, so you got ink all over, and until we realized that, I got some ink from my fingers on my card stock (the first card). And this was not like my card classes, where you get replacement pieces, so I had to stick to the one I had :-)

The first card was made using the 'Party Animal Suite' which includes 'Balloon Adventures' photopolymer stamp set, Party Animal Designer Series Paper, Washi tape, Emerald Envy 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Party Animal Embellishment (balloon and party hat) and Balloon Pop-Up thinlits dies (used inside the card).

The colours in this suite are: Crumb Cake, Crushed Curry, Emerald Envy, Pasific Point, Tangerine Tango and Whisper White.

Here is a close up of the balloon embellishment piece. It has a little loop at the top, so that you can string your yarn through it. The party hat is blue, and also has that loop at the top.




The Balloon Pop-Up thinlit cuts the pop-up insert (used in this card) plus it has balloon shapes etc in it. the pop-up die scores the lines. we just stamped the balloons from the stamp set on the cut out. I added some swirly stamps to the sides, where I placed my inky fingers. Also one of my balloons got some ink, so added a little bit of swirls there too :-)

The second card set we created was using 'Sending Love Suite' which includes 'Sealed with Love' stamp set, Sending Love Designer Series Paper Stack (6x6"), Mini paper clips combo pack, Sending Love ribbon combo pack (1/8" grosgrain ribbon in Real Red and Whisper White), Sending Love Embellishments (wood), Sending Love Glassine Sheets and Love Notes Framelits dies (hearts, arrows, mini envelopes and heart border. The colours in this suite are: Real Red and Whisper White.

The first note card has a die cut heart and arrow and a wooden embellishment.

The second note card has a die cut arrow and the third note card has a mini envelope made from glassine sheet with an insert.

The third card uses 'Falling in Love' suite, which includes Falling for You stamp set (which we didn't actually use), Falling in Love Designer Series Paper (HAS BOKEH DESIGNS!!!), Very Vanilla 1/4" Satin ribbon, Lace Doilies (one side whisper white, the other very vanilla!!), Falling in Love embellishments, Falling Petals Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. 
The colours in this suite are: Blushing Bride, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky, Sweet Sugarplum and Very Vanilla.

And the last card is using a paper from Sale-A-Bration catalogue, called 'Inside the lines' designer series paper. As the name says, it is like a colouring paper, it only has lines and you can colour the paper what ever way you wish, or leave it black and white.

And we used the NEW WATERCOLOUR PENCILS! It is SOOOO great to have the watercolour pencils back, specially since the blendabilities were discontinued, we were lacking on colouring tools. In this card, we coloured one of the pieces using the new watercolour pencils. Since the lighting in the room was so poor, I could not tell how my colouring looked, so it is not as smooth as I wish it would be. We blended the colours using Blender Pen, but you can also use the Aquapainter.

Hope you enjoyed these cards. I cannot give the credits to the designers, as for the life of me I cannot remember which one of the demonstrators showcasing these sets had designed them. But it was not me :-)

Stay tuned for more sneak peeks!

Tomorrow I will post my MOJO Monday card, which uses one of the new stamp sets. 

Halloween cards from the class

Finally got to post the halloween cards we made at the Halloween Card Class on October 13th.

The stamp set used in this one is Cookie Cutter Halloween. I heat embossed the skeleton with VersaMark and white embossing powder on Basic Black card stock, which was then mounted on a piece of Halloween Night Specialty Designer Series Paper. The other pattern paper layers on this card are also from that same set. 


The 'swirly bits' are cut with Swirly Scribbles thinlits, and the bat is punched first with the Elegant Butterfly punch, and then the bottom of the butterfly is punched out with the Bitty Butterfly punch, to make it look like a bat.

The second card is also using the Swirly Scribbles thinlits. Here you can cut both pumpkins at the same time (the smaller circle fits inside the large circle centre, so you have no waste!. The leafs are stamped with Swirly Bird stamp set using Emerald Envy ink. The background splatter is from Swirly Bird stamp set and the sentiment is from Work of Art stamp set and I used Emerald Envy and Sahara Sand inks.

The third card uses again Cookie Cutter Halloween stamp set. The background smutch is painted with a paint brush and Crushed Curry ink refill. The leaves are cut out using Leaflets Framelits. The orange leaf is then embossed with Woodgrain embossing folder, and the Delightful Dijon maple leaf is texturized by breaking the card stock apart.

This creates a 'suede' feel and look to the card stock. This is how I did it:

1. cut out your shape
2. use a bone folder to break the paper fibres by 'curling' the piece in different directions. This curling motion will break the fibres, and you will see that the paper layers start to peel apart. Just be careful with your curling, specially smaller parts may break. Even my leaf had some tears, but I made sure those parts are covered with the other leaf.
3. once your layers start peeling, gently tear the layers apart.

And the last card uses the same Cookie Cutter Halloween stamp set and the Halloween Night Specialty Designer series paper. The sentiment is stamped with Labeler Alphabet stamp set, and the background behind the scarecrow is stamped with a stamp from Butterfly Basics.

Both scarecrows are coloured with Blender Pens.