Friday, 11 January 2019

First Play with 'Well Said'

Initially I felt a bit stumped by CAS(E) this Sketch's challenge #304:
 but then I got my new Stampin' Up! box and in it was a set I suspect I'm going to use a lot: 'Well Said'. I decided to use sentiments on repeat as the lines of the sketch, and this is what I came up with:


Ingredients: Stampin' Up! card, (Whisper White, Basic Black, Lovely Lipstick, Call Me Clover), ink (Basic Black), stamps and dies (Well Said and Well Written).

Cheers!

I saw the latest CASOLOGY challenge - Week 326 - as I was languishing inside to escape the heat of a Hawke's Bay (New Zealand) summer - so the challenge word 'Frozen' had one and only response - ice - as in ice cubes!  I hope this antipodean response is okay!
It's a pretty CAS card - but I did get to use my new Stitched Rectangles, which was fun.



Ingredients:
Stampin' Up! card (Whisper White, Thick Whisper White) ink, (Grapefruit Grove, Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo), stamps (Mixed Drinks), dies (Stitched Rectangles).

Wednesday, 9 January 2019

Hello 2019!

It's great to come back to making cards after a break, where guests needed to sleep in the craft room. My first 2019 cards were inspired by CAS(E) this Sketch's challenge #303. I'm just loving the Needlepoint Nook Suite and so turned to it with glee. I particularly like playing with the loved stitched patterned die. My first card pretty much stuck to the sketch, but I thought I'd also post the more off-piste 2nd version as well (same basic principal, but the central shapes much bigger).
The first card:

and the second:




Ingredients: Stampin' Up! stamps (Needle and Thread), dies (Needlepoint Elements, Stitched Shapes, Layering Circles), DSP (Needlepoint Nook), vellum, card (Whisper White, Old Olive, Poppy Parade, Blushing Bride), ink (Balmy Blue, Old Olive, Poppy Parade, Basic Black) embossing powder (white), pearls, glitter enamel dots.

Saturday, 1 December 2018

Best Sentiment for Christmas

The sentiment on this card is one I wholeheartedly agree with - and I indulge in a kind of wistful imagining (what if this WAS the year where these qualities were in evidence everywhere?) whenever I use it.
In this case, I've used Global Design Project's sketch #166  as a basis for the card.
I was pleased with the background stars - I tried using the embossing powder while the sponging wasn't 100% dry in the hopes that there'd be a background 'shimmer' of stars and (in a way that doesn't often happen) it turned out the way I'd imagined!

Ingredients:
Stampin' Up card, (Whisper White, Shimmery White, Marina Mist, Night of Navy), ink, (Soft Sky, Marina Mist, Night Of Navy), Stamps (Musical Season, Christmas Pines), dies (Petals & More), silver embossing powder, Subtle embossing folder
Other products: Kaisercraft Moonstars dies, Fiskar circle punch, Fynmark vellum


Christmas baubles

I loved Fab Friday's sketch challenge #151 and, as is my habit at the moment, made a Christmas card in response. Happily, an embossing folder I got a couple of years ago marries nicely with Stampin' Up's 'Beautiful Baubles'. The handy stitched embossing die in Sweetly Stitched Framelits proved a subtle way to add the final embellishment.

Ingredients:
Stampin' Up! card (Whisper White, Shaded Spruce, Soft Suede), ink (Basic Black), watercolour pencil (Cherry Cobbler), gold embossing powder,  Beautiful Baubles stamps, Detailed Baubles framelits
Other products: Craft Creations Kiwiana Christmas series - embossing folder, Derwent Inktense Teal Green watercolour pencil

Thursday, 29 November 2018

New Favourite

Well, there's no question what my new favourite is from Stampin' Up - the utterly delicious Needlepoint Nook suite - so it was great to see Paper Craft Crew's invitation, in challenge #316, to showcase it. I recently went to a card class run by the marvelous Jan Clothier (check her out here!) where we made screen cards, so the first thing I did when I got home (who needs dinner, anyway?) was make one using this new favourite.


Ingredients:
Stampin' Up card (Petal Pink, Old Olive, Whisper White), ink (Berry Burst, Granny Apple Green, Basic Black), Needlepoint Nook,DSP, stamps and framelits, Happy Birthday Gorgeous stamp (for sentiment), banner punch (for base).

Butterfly exploration

The other day, I got to experiment with the upcoming Beauty Abounds bundle - which is full of lovely surprises. As a base, I used the latest Freshly Made Sketches challenge: #365. The stamps and dies called out for soft colours, so I obeyed their demands! The two panels have a sponged base and then are lightly over-stamped with one of the stamps from the set. The butterflies are (carefully!) detached from the stunning larger framelit in the 'Butterfly Beauty' framelits.
A lovely set  - I look forward to more exploring.


Ingredients
Stampin' Up: Card (Shimmery White, Whisper White, Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, Balmy Blue), ink (Gorgeous Grape, Balmy Blue, Soft Sky, Lemon Lime Twist, Pineapple Punch), stamps (Beauty Abounds, Needlepoint Nook - for sentiment), thinlits (Butterfly Beauty)
Other Products - francheville rhinestones