Sneak Preview: Stampin' Up!'s Needlepoint Nook

I'm so glad I went to OnStage in Auckland - and the chance to acquire the completely gorgeous Needlepoint Nook suite early is high among the reasons why!
I used a little of the DSP and some stamps and dies from the suite to make this card for Paper Craft Crew's gorgeous sketch challenge PCC315.
I can see lots and lots of fun ahead experimenting with the suite's different permutations. The closeup shows the lovely stitched-effect die and the delicacy of both the stamps and the DSP.

Autumn colours and Happy Birthday

It's spring here in New Zealand, but the colours in CAS Colors and Sketch's Challenge #288 (Crushed Curry, Gorgeous Grape and Night of Navy) made me think of autumn. Which actually worked out okay, because it's been pretty cold and miserable for the last week - the daffodils are bowing their pretty heads under driving rain and wind.
I used the latest Global Design Project sketch:

to give a form to those rich colours. I'm glad I bought the latest watercolour pencils from Stampin' Up, since they contain both Night of Navy and Gorgeous Grape - which meant I could use both colours on my flowers. Here's the result:

Ingredients:

Stampin' Up ink (Gorgeous Grape, Night of Navy,) watercolour pencils (Night of Navy, Gorgeous Grape) card (Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Night of Navy), stamps (Love What You Do, Happy Birthday Gorgeous for sentiment), dies (Petals and More)

Other: American Craft twine, francheville pearls, Die-Namics Horizontal Stitched Strips

Spring Flower birthday

I was immediately attracted to the colours in Global Design Project's #101 - a great combination, where the richness of the navy offsets the sweet Flirty Flamingo and is complemented by Bermuda Bay. I've been wanting to experiment further with two of my birthday stampsets (see below) so used this as an opportunity.
The result is colourful and bold! Here it is:

Made using:

Stampin' Up paper (Whisper White, Bermuda Bay), Ink (Night of Navy), stampin' write pens (Bermuda Bay, flirty Flamingo) stamp sets (Big on Birthdays, Happy Birthday Gorgeous), enamel shapes. 

Other products: francheville rhinestones, 

Happy 30th!

Congratulations, Global Design Project, on your 100th challenge - and what a great idea to showcase your designers and invite us to CASE one or more - I suspect I'll be returning. I'd been working on how to use the colours from Just Add Ink's challenge #372: Tranquil Tide, Pool Party and Powder Pink, and when I saw Tanja Kolar's lovely card I had an 'aha!' moment.
Here's the result:

Made using:

Stampin' Up 

Ink: Tranquil Tide, Powder Pink, Pool Party

Card: Shimmery White, Tranquil Tide

Stamps: Happy Birthday Gorgeous

Other products: francheville pearls, Kaisercraft numbers decorative dies

New Product play

For this card, I accepted the invitation in SUO's #179 to use a new product from the Stampin' Up catalogue and used the colours in Global Design Project's #097: Crumbcake, Berry Burst and Wild Wasabi.
I can already see I'll be returning again and again to the Happy Birthday Gorgeous bundle: although then words made with the die look so prominent, there are heaps of ways to make each use different.
For example:

Made using:

Stampin' Up Card: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Berry Burst, Basic Black

Stampin' Up Ink: Wild Wasabi, Berry Burst, Basic Black

Other: Stampin' Up Happy Birthday Gorgeous stamp set and Happy Birthday Thinlits Die