Thursday 27 October 2016

Cozy Critters and Forever Evergreen - Season's Greetings


Hello and welcome back. Today's cards has been inspired by the Global Design Project #59. Theme: Animals. I just couldn't wait to have a play with the Cozy Critters set with the cute Owl and Fox. This a hostess set and can be earned through Stampin' rewards with a qualifying order. I have also used the Forever Evergreen set for the sentiments. Just love the font and they go so well with the Cozy Critters. These will make wonderful Christmas cards to give to family and friends.




Please be sure to check out the creative gallery and why not play along using this fun theme of Animals/Pets so many cute projects on there to get inspired by.

I have made three cards using the Cozy Critters set and have been inspired to try out a new fun technique shared by Jennifer McGuire - Color Stamping on dark cardstock. Jennifer has a video tutorial on this technique and she shares 4 ways of doing this.



All cards are top folding and have used the White craft pigment ink technique on the Night of Navy card below using Whisper White Craft ink for the branch. The ink takes a while to dry and have heat dried with a heat tool before adding colour over the top.

Once dried, I have used coloured pencils to colour in the branch and leaves. This is another technique that Jennifer has shared.



Gold heat emboss looks great on the Night of Navy cardstock and have applied it on the ornaments and sentiment as inspired by Jennifer McGuire. 

The snow fall background is taken from Merriest Wishes set and have stamped that with Whisper White craft pigment ink just to give a soft texture in the background.

The owl has been stamped on Whisper White cardstock in Night of Navy ink and punched out using the Owl Builder punch. I have stamped another version in Real Red to get the scarf and have fussy cut that out and adhered on with Tombow multipurpose glue. The owl has been mounted on with Stampin' dimensionals.  


Inside the card, I have used the same layout and owl, however stamped on Whisper White cardstock so no white craft ink here hehe. I just love the sentiment used from Forever Evergreen as it matches perfectly with the layout and trimmings.

This is my second card and inspired by Jennifer McGuire's stamping on colored cardstock - Kraft cardstock. However, I have only used white heat embossing for the sentiment and Whisper White craft ink for the snowfall. The fox and present did not look that effective stamped directly on the Kraft cardstock due to the details, so have settled for stamping on Whisper White cardstock, fussy cut each detail and mounted with dimensionals.





Inside the card. The large present is stamped directly on the card base in Garden Green and added the Real Red bow by fussy cutting a second stamped image. The fox and small gift have been mounted with Stampin' dimensionals just to build the image and create layers. The small gift has been gold heat embossed.

My third card, has been stamped as per normal on Whisper White cardstock. The branch have been stamped with Stampin' Markers in Sahara Sand and Wild Wasabi. It has been clear heat embossed, to resist the ink blending background in Pool Party . 

The snowfall has been white heat embossed to also resist the ink blended background. The ornaments have been gold heat embossed for ink resist. 

The scarf on the owl has been stamped in Sweet Sugarplum, for a fun and soft colour to go with Pool Party.  





Inside the card. It's a similar layout to the front and to the Night of Navy version.

I hope you have enjoyed these cards and found inspiration. Jennifer McGuire is such an inspiration and has so many great ideas. Both techniques used adds so much versatility with the set and looks wonderful on both dark or light cardstock - a matter of preference like day or night hehe. Love to hear your thoughts.

Thank you so much for stopping by and hope to see you next time. Happy Crafting! :) 


Products used:







Sunday 23 October 2016

Crazy Crafters October Blog Hop with Special Guest Bibi Cameron




Hello and welcome to the Crazy Crafters October Blog Hop. We are so honoured to have a very special guest Bibi Cameron from the UK joining us.  I'm so delighted and thrilled to be CASEing her gorgeous work. Bibi is so highly talented and creative - just love her work!






It was such a hard decision to choose which card to case, and decided to case the gorgroeus card below.  "Watercolor Wings latch card with action wobble spring"

Bibi has really brought this set to life by creating this beautiful card that is also interactive. It's a great opportunity to have a play with this set for the first time and make this interesting card fold. Bibi has a wonderful video tutorial on how to make this card. Please be sure to check it out on how to make it. She has a video tutorial on all her gorgeous creations on her blog and are all so helpful and so generous in sharing. 





Without further ado, here is my card as inspired by Bibi.



I have followed the same watercoloring and colours that Bibi has used for the butterflies in Pool Party, Blushing Bride and Mint Macaron. However I swapped the colour arrangement. I also substituted the wobble spring by using two foam dimensionals stacked on top of each other. This still works well, as the arrangement of the interlocking wings helps to close the card.

Here's the coloring of the butterflies using the two images to build the butterfly. It has been stamped first with the ink and then watercoloured with a brush to soften and blend the edges for a no line watercolouring. 



I have modified the card to be an A2 size card to fit in a standard C6 envelope and the measurements that I have used are marked on the photo above.






Here are all the elements that make up the card with additional details:

• The watercolor background using Gansai Tambi watercolours on Arches watercolor paper in Aqua, light green and light blue. 

• Diagonal Stripe set for the background in Pool Party - stamped  three times for good measure, using Misti tool for a defined image.

I went with the diagonal stripes as Bibi has used this style before with gold on her other cards. It just gives another design interest to the border and oh so stylish hehe.




The assembled card front angle view.

The mini butterflies have been watercolored in on vellum to blend with the main butterflies and adhered with mini glue dots.

Embellishments used:

• Fancy Frost Sequins for similar colours and a single White sequins from the Metallic Sequins Assortment.
• Silver Metallic Thread as inspired by Bibi.
• Silver Metallic Shapes on the butterflies.

The inside of the card:

The two butterflies from the front also flows to the inside which is such a great feature and have added the same elements from the front to the inside. 


The sentiment has been white heat embossed for some ink resist blending in Pool Party, Tempting Turquise and Mint Macaron. A light touch/pressure is all  that's needed for this soft glow and helps to blend the colours easily with minimal ink. A mini round ink blending tool applicator from Ranger helps work smaller areas such as this. 








Inside the card - standing up

Bibi has such a great style and just love how this card turned out. The little details on the butterflies with the silver metallic thread truly makes it special. Thank you so much Bibi for this stylistic inspiration. 


Make sure you continue to hop all the way around and see all the amazing inspiration from the Crazy Crafters team. You are going to love what our team have come up with using Bibi's cards. Currently you are at my blog: Juana Ambida - so check the list to see who is up next. Enjoy!

I have also entered this card in the Crazy Crafters Team Project Highlight. Please be sure to check out all the creative projects for more inspirations and remember to vote for you top three favourites. :)  




Thank you so much for stopping by and hope to see you next time. Happy Crafting! :) 











Products Used:
139424 - Watercolor Wings Photopolymer Stamp Set
141917 - Diagonal Stripe Clear-Mount Stamp

Embellishments:

141678 - Metallic Enamel Shapes
138390 - Metallics Sequin Assortment
142519 - Fancy Frost Sequins


Thursday 20 October 2016

Glamper Greetings - International Project Highlights






Welcome to our International Project Highlights using current Stampin' Up!® Products. We have all created this gallery of projects for you to be inspired by! We would love it if you could visit every one of our blogs and see a close up of our projects. You can see the gallery below and this will be on every blog that you click on so you will never be lost.


Today I'm showcasing the 'Glamper Greetings' set from the Holiday catalogue on page 42. It's just the cutest set and has many images to create a fun and quirky camper scene. The glamper is such an idealic way to go for an adventure whilst still having the comforts of home and that luxury camping experience hehe. 

Being photopolymer and transparent makes it easy for lining up the images. It comes with various sentiments that can be used for many occasions all throughout the year. This set is just ideal for colouring either watercolour or markers and can be therapeutic in some ways.






This set just says adventure to me and I wanted to capture that by framing the scene. I have also taken inspiration from the Global Design Project #58 Sketch Challenge and have utilised the layout. Be sure to check out the creative projects from both the design team and entrants for more inspirations. Hopefully you'll join in the fun too. 






I have done watercolouring for the glamper scene and have used Arches watercolour paper. The images have been stamped with black Stazon ink, as this is perfect for watercolouring. I have used Gansai Tambi watercolors as it's highly pigmented and gives such a vibrant finish. The background has been done with a very soft watercolour wash by using more water and less of the watercolor pigments. This can also be achieved with Stampin' Up! inks and aqua painters.


The photo frame has been created using the layering squares framelits to cut out the square window. The rest has been customised to fit the glamper and contain the watercoloured scene. I have used regular Whisper White cardstock for the custom made frame.





The base cardstock is Pool Party, a personal favourite colour of mine and also coordinates with the glamper colouring. It's a top folding card and measures 10.5cm (w) x 15cm (h) or approximately 4 1/8" x 5 7/8".


I have also added an embossed feature on the front card base and have only embossed it halfway for contrast. I have use the Sparkle Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and just love the pattern it creates and ties in with luxury camping - that sparkle hehe.




The washi tape look on the photo frame has actually been die cut using the little tape die from Mini Treat bags thinlits. I have used a left over piece of the Melon Mambo polka dot pattern from the Pop of Pink designer series paper. Just love Melon Mambo with Pool Party and adds to the retro look.

The sentiment, "Hey there, happy camper", has been white heat embossed on basic black card stock for contrast and raised on dimensionals to help it pop. I have added glossy accents on the home baked pie and the decorations/lights to give it extra dimension.





Inside the card, the sentiment 'Home is where you park it', has been white heat embossed on basic black and mounted on dimensionals. It's such a great sentiment. The die cut washi tape using the Pop of Pink dsp is added behind for layering. The glamper has been stamped in the coordinating Pool Party. It's kept relatively simple and on one layer, to be able to write a personal message.

I hope you have enjoyed this card and found inspiration. By simply adding embellishments and other accessories, really make this set go further with creativity. This set is so versatile and can see the potential design possibilities - all in the little details. There is a list of products that I have used and are available on my online store.

Thanks for visiting my blog today, there are so many amazing ideas and inspiration you don't want to miss. We know that you will love our gallery of projects made from Stampin' Up!® Demonstrators around the world!

I have also entered this card in the Crazy Crafters Team Project Highlights. Please check out all the projects from our team for more creative inspirations and remember to vote for your top three favourites.





Products Used

• 142202 - Glamper Greetings Photopolymer Stamp Set
• 141468 - Sparkle Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
• 137547 - Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies
• 141708 - Layering Squares Framelits Dies
• 141648 - Pop Of Pink Specialty Designer Series Paper


Monday 17 October 2016

Garden in Bloom - Friendship



Hello and welcome back. Today's card has been inspired by the Global Design Project #57 Colour Challenge. 






The colour pallete reminds me of florals and I have used the Garden in Bloom set and wanted to try the Friends sentiment in the set for the first time.

Here is a snap shot of  the ink blending and stenciling using the colours.




I have used a combination of white heat embossed resist with ink blending as well as using the new Seasonal Decorative Mask from the holiday catalogue of the spotty snowfall stencil.

The flowers have been ink blended with Blushing Bride in the centre and Rich Razzleberry on the tips with a mini round ink blending tool. It gives a very subtle transition of the colours. 

The Butterfly has been ink blending with Blushing Bride and the leaves in Mint Macaron.

I have then fussy cut each image and arrange the floral composition.

The background has been sponged with Whisper White craft pigment ink using the Seasonal Decorative Mask on Crumb Cake cardstock. It takes some time for this ink to dry so I have heat dried it with a heat gun.

Using the stencil is such a great way to create your own custom made background and so artsy looking.

I was inspired by Stampin' Up!® layout resource designer series paper promotion -  Buy 3 DSP and get 1 FREE! 

Here is that gorgeous layout with the circle off the edge of the panel framing the sentiment.




I have cut out a circle window using the layering circles framelits to frame and highlight the sentiment. It gives such a nice contrast with the whisper white cardstock showing underneath and leads your eye to it. 

This panel has then been mounted on fun foam to give an even raise.





The card base measure 10.5cm (h) x 15cm (w) side folding card in Whisper White cardstock.

I have added silver sequins just to add a sense of whimsy to the compostion and a touch of shimmery detail.










Inside the card has a similar floral arrangement, however as a stamped version. I have masked the flowers to be able stamp over the top and build the image. The centre flower was a left over of the ink blending and have placed it on top on dimensionals to make it pop.

I hope you have enjoyed this card and found inspiration. The colour challenge was such a great inspiration and please be sure to check out the creative projects and hopefully you'll be able to join in the fun. Also the great layout provided by Stampin' Up!® is well worth giving a go. 

Thank you so much for stopping by and hope to see you next time. Happy Crafting! :) 





Products Used: