SPARKLY UPSY DAISY FOR SUNNY CHALLENGES #018/11

I've enjoyed having a play with an old favourite stamp set, Upsy Daisy, for this week's challenge at Sunny Challenges & Creations.  The brief is to use Stampin' Up!'s "Upsy Daisy" stamp set on a project based on this sketch:

My colour choices were influenced by the paper I stamped my daisies on.  I just love the colours in Stampin' Up!'s Tickets & Tags Simply Scrappin' Kit.  Basic Gray, Crumb Cake, Poppy Parade and Baja Breeze complement one another beautifully.

I first stamped Upsy Daisy in Poppy Parade ink on the grungy grid paper.  Using Versamark ink, I stamped the image right over the top again, and used Stampin' Up!'s new Iridescent Ice embossing powder (being released 1st December) to give the flowers some sparkle.  It is quite subtle; I'm not sure it shows at all in the photo!  A Subtles Glimmer Brad added a bit more bling, to finish off the card.

Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Parlor Prints, Oval All

Card: Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Basic Gray

Ink: Crumb Cake stampin' pad, Basic Gray stampin' pad and marker, Poppy Parade stampin' pad and marker, Baja Breeze stampin' pad and marker, Versamark inkpad

Other: Tickets & Tags Simply Scrappin' Kit, Subtles Glimmer Brad, Poppy Parade Stitched-Poly ribbon, Large Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, sponge daubers, mini glue dots, stampin' dimensionals, Iridescent Ice embossing powder (*new* - 1st December), Stamp-a-ma-jig

STAMPIN' UP!'S CALYPSO CORAL MEETS BASIC GRAY

I am loving playing with the five new "In Colors" (available for 2 years) in Stampin' Up!'s range.  The co-ordinating ruffled ribbon, and Designer Printed brads, are just too cute.

I have paired Calypso Coral with Basic Gray (toned down by Very Vanilla) in the card I have to show you today.  I just love the sweet little flower that was a breeze to make with the new Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch - and doesn't the cute polka dot brad finish it perfectly?

Stamps: Oval All, Confetti

Card: Basic Gray, Very Vanilla, Calypso Coral

DSP: First Edition Designer Series Paper

Ink: Basic Gray stampin' pad and marker, Calypso Coral marker, Sahara Sand stampin' pad

Other: Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch, In Color Designer Printed Brad, Calypso Coral ruffled ribbon, Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder, sponge dauber, Large Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, XL Oval punch, Designer Frames embossing folder, Basic Pearls, mini glue dots

THIRD POST FOR TODAY, AND 3 CHALLENGES IN ONE!

I have had such a nice first day, of the 5-day break we get for Easter / Anzac Day; as you can probably see, I've been playing in my craft room!  Here I am, with my THIRD blog post for the day (I assure you, this is an aberration - but, boy, it's nice to have the time to create).  I have made a card that fits three challenges, which also is a bit of an aberration; it's not easy for me to combine colour, sketch and theme challenges!

This is my first entry over at The Color Room, a site I've just discovered.  Here is the luscious colour palette for this week's challenge:

The site is frequented mainly by very talented scrapbookers, but cardmakers are also welcome to share our creations.  For those who want to use the above colours to make a card, here's this week's suggested sketch:

Thrown into the mix for my card, is the new challenge just announced today over at Just Add Ink.  The challenge is to "Just Add Mateship/Friendship", in recognition of ANZAC Day, which we celebrate on April 25th in Australia and New Zealand.  We owe our freedom and way of life to the courageous ANZACs, and those who have fought for our countries since.  I'm very proud to say that I am both a New Zealand and an Australian citizen.

Now that I've outlined all the criteria, I'll show you my card.  Although it doesn't show very clearly in the photo, I just wanted to point out that I stamped the Medallion stamp on the Taken With Teal panel - in Versamark ink, because I sold my Taken With Teal inkpad when that colour retired from Stampin' Up!'s range last September .... would've been good to have it for today's card!

Stamps: Medallion, Very Vintage stampin' around jumbo wheel, Oval All

Card: Confetti White, Taken With Teal, Early Espresso, More Mustard, Rich Razzleberry

Ink: Versamark inkpad, Early Espresso stampin' pad and marker, More Mustard stampin' pad and marker, Rich Razzleberry stampin' pad and marker

Other: Early Espresso 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Rich Razzleberry satin ribbon, Neutrals brad, Color Spritzer tool, Beautiful Wings embosslits, Itty Bitty shapes circle punch, 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, stampin' dimensionals, sponge daubers, Fancy Flower punch, 5-Petal flower punch, Boho Blossoms punch

JUST ADD INK #59

This week's challenge at Just Add Ink is to base a papercraft project around this sketch:

I decided to use my Greenhouse Garden stamp set, to make a "thank you" card for one of my lovely customers who has just ordered the same set.  I've used an oval sentiment panel, in place of the circle on the sketch, but other than that have stayed pretty true to the sketch.  Here's my entry for this week's challenge:

Stamps: Very Vintage jumbo Stampin' Around wheel, Greenhouse Garden, Oval All

Card: Bashful Blue, Peach Parfait, Very Vanilla

Ink: Versamark inkpad, Bashful Blue and Peach Parfait stampin' pads

Other: Very Vanilla satin ribbon, Scallop Trim border punch, 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval punch large, Scallop Oval punch XL, sponge daubers, Stamp-a-ma-jig, mini glue dots, stampin' dimensionals

I'm unable to watermark my photos at the moment, thanks to a virus that has infected our home computer (all my important files are on there, of course!).  Thankfully I have my cute pink laptop for emergencies, like blogging, LOL.  (This'll teach me to save files like watermarks, and photos of my cards, on my laptop, won't it?).  On a brighter note, can you see the beautiful off-white handrails in the background of my photo?  For the past 10 years, the exterior trim on our house has been dark green (the Mission Brown of the '90s).  It's had a big freshen-up, and been painted off-white, which I just LOVE.  Will share photos of our newly-painted house when it is all finished; I am inordinately excited!

INKSPIRATIONS COLOUR CHALLENGE #48

This week's colour combo, at Makeesha's Inkspirations challenge site, is one that I LOOOOVE.   Here are the colours to incorporate in a papercraft project:

I wasn't even tempted to make a Christmas card, because I am making a lot of those at the moment, and needed a bit of a break.  I decided I wanted to use my new "Love Defined" stamp set, that is in Stampin' Up!'s new Summer mini catalogue coming out in a couple of weeks.  (As a demonstrator, I was able to pre-order a few yummy things to have a play with - fun, hey?)  I've also used the gorgeous Square Lattice embossing folder, that is new to Australia (also in the Summer mini).

Stamps: Love Defined, Oval All

Card: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Real Red

Ink: Crumb Cake stampin' pad and marker, Real Red marker, Old Olive stampin' pad

Other: Top Note die, Large Oval and Scallop Oval punches, Beautiful Wings embosslits, Square Lattice embossing folder, Whisper White organza ribbon, sponge dauber, mini glue dots

"GROWING GREEN" IN CONCORD CRUSH

Yesterday I took delivery of the gorgeous new "Growing Green" stamp set. I have no self-restraint; I'd told myself I wouldn't buy it until October ... couldn't even hold off another week!  I knew I wanted to use Crumb Cake with the maidenhair fern image, but this morning when I went into my craft room I was inspired to use Concord Crush - the new, striking, bluish-purple colour in Stampin' Up!'s range.

I made a couple of pretty simple cards, but I like them, so thought I'd share.

Stamps: Growing Green, Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Card: Whisper White, Crumb Cake

DSP: Daffodil Delight Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack, Concord Crush Patterns DSP (from Hostess Pack)

Ink: Concord Crush and Daffodil Delight stampin' pads

Other: Concord Crush poly-stitched ribbon, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, mini glue dot, sponge dauber

Stamps: Growing Green, Oval All, En Francais

Card: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Concord Crush

Ink: Crumb Cake and Concord Crush stampin' pads

Other: Beautiful Wings embosslits, Large Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, sponge dauber, stampin' dimensionals



Okey dokes, that's it from me for today.  Make sure you pop back tomorrow, to check out the blog hop I am participating in!



IT'S A HAPPY FRIDAY, INDEED

Today I've cleared my schedule, and kept the entire day free to play with NEW STAMPS, papers and other goodies!!  When I arrived home from work yesterday, there were a few brown boxes just crying out to be opened.  Yippee - all the new Stampin' Up! products I ordered last week are now in my hot little hands.

It has taken me the best part of this morning to make just one card, because I've felt rather overwhelmed by the amount of choice I have.  I didn't know which products to play with first!

Before I show you the card I've come up with, I have a card to share with you, that I made the other day (before I had my new coloured cardstock and inks).  It's using "Friends Never Fade", one of the gorgeous new stamp sets, that I was able to pre-order before the official release of the new Stampin' Up! catalogue.

Stamps: Friends Never Fade, Tiny Tags, Oval All

Card: Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Confetti White,Very Vanilla, Certainly Celery

DSP: Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper

Ink: Certainly Celery stampin' pad and marker, Pumpkin Pie stampin' pad and marker, Sahara Sand stampin' pad

Other: 1/2" circle punch, Pewter Build-a-Brad, Fleurette II, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, 1 3/4 x 7/8" Oval punch large, Scallop Oval punch XL, sponger daubers, mini glue dots

Even though it doesn't show in the photo, I 'dirtied' the crocheted flower a little, with Sahara Sand ink, so it would blend in with the 'rustic' colouring of the card.  I really love the look of coloured ink on Crumb Cake card - must use that more often!

Now, onto this morning's creation.  I am in LOVE with the "in colour" Patterns pack of Designer Series Paper, so that was my starting point.  I chose to use Blushing Bride, a really sweet new pink, that will be in Stampin' Up!'s range for the next two years.  On my card, I've used HEAPS of new stuff.  There are two new colours of card and ink, some new paper, two new stamp sets, a new border punch, a tiny, adorable, Sizzlits embosslits die, and .... drum roll please ..... a new, self adhesive (hallelujah!) pearl!  Anyway, enough of my words - here's a picture!

Stamps: Funky Four, Perfect Punches

Card: Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride, Whisper White

DSP: Blushing Bride Patterns Designer Series Paper

Ink: Versamark inkpad, Blushing Bride stampin' pad and marker, Pear Pizzazz marker

Other: Whisper White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Basic Pearl, 1" circle punch, Curly Label Punch, white embossing powder, Beautiful Wings Embosslits die, Scallop Edge border punch, Scallop Trim border punch, mat pack and paper piercer, sponge dauber, mini glue dots, Tombow mono multi glue

I'm loving the new border punch, and think it is so cute that the tiny flower from "Funky Four" co-ordinates with the pattern on this paper.  I am looking forward to having some new ribbons to go with all my new papers and inks ... it is very hard to exercise patience at the moment!

Right, back to my craft room, to see what else I can come up with.  I hope your Friday is as happy as mine is!

RETURN OF TWO FAVOURITES ... and another go at JAI #31

This week's Just Add Ink challenge is open until midnight tonight.  I couldn't resist making another card using this great colour combo:

I've added some white into the mix, and used a couple of stamp sets that I am pleased to say will be in Stampin' Up!'s new Idea Book & Catalogue being released on 1st September!  These stamps are favourites in my collection, but to date had been available only for a limited time in mini catalogues.  Yippee!  I'll get to play with them, and show them off, some more :)

Stamps: Oval All, Butterfly Prints

Card: Kraft, Real Red (smooth and textured), Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Ink: Sahara Sand stampin' pad, Versamark inkpad, Real Red and Chocolate Chip markers

Other: Butterfly Punch, Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, sponge daubers, white embossing powder, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Kraft taffeta ribbon, dimensionals