STAMPIN' UP! BLOG HOP : MASCULINE THEME

Today I'm taking part in a blog hop, with 7 other friends who are also Stampin' Up! demonstrators in Australia.  The theme of our blog hop this time is "masculine projects" - right up my alley!

You may have come from Sue Madex's blog, but if not, you can catch up with Sue's creation once you've 'hopped' around the circuit (list of participants is at the end of my post).

I've made a couple of cards using Stampin' Up!'s Frightful Sight Designer Series Papers.  I love the colours in these papers - Basic Black, Basic Grey, Cajun Craze and Old Olive.  They get me out of my usual habit of gravitating towards browns and blues for male cards.

First up is a card I made for hubby's nephew, whose birthday was last week.

To make the 'medallion' for around the sentiment, I used my Scallop Circle punch, rotated the punched shape and punched again (to 'sharpen' the rounded scalloped edges), then snipped the edges by hand to give the shape a less uniform look.

Stamps: Up,Up & Away

Card: Basic Gray, Cajun Craze, Whisper White, Basic Black, Old Olive

DSP: Frightful Sight Designer Series Paper

Ink: Cajun Craze and Old Olive stampin' pads, Basic Gray stampin' pad and marker, Sahara Sand stampin' pad and marker, Jet Black Staz-on inkpad

Other: Timeless Type Alphabet dies, 1/4" Circle punch, 1 3/8" Circle punch, Scallop Circle punch, paper snips, Tasteful Trim Bigz XL die, Color Spritzer tool, Stamp-a-ma-jig

My second card is perhaps suited to an older male - I think the background paper makes it look a bit conservative (despite my use of the ever-cool Extreme Elements stamp set!).

Stamps: Extreme Elements, Texture jumbo Stampin' Around wheel, Happiest Birthday Wishes

Card: Basic Black, Whisper White

DSP: Cheerful Treat Designer Series Paper

Ink: Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Basic Black and Basic Gray stampin' pads, Jet Black Staz-on inkpad

Other: 2 1/2" Circle punch, Perfect Pennants Bigz die, Top Note die, Basics Glimmer brads, sponge daubers, Mat pack and Paper Piercing tool

Next on the blog hop today is Kathryn Mangelsdorf - you must check out what she has made, and continue on to visit all 8 of us.  We'd love some "comment love", so we know you've been to visit!

Here's a complete list of everyone taking part in the blog hop today:

Ros Davidson http://www.rosdavidson.typepad.com

Sue Madex http://www.madexcreations.com

Christine Blain http://www.christineblain.blogspot.com (you're here!)

Kathryn Mangelsdorf: http://klm55.blogspot.com

Nikki Sadler http://www.inkyart.com.au

Di Dunk http://www.stampartbydi.typepad.com

Alisha Watson http://www.ratherbstamping.blogspot.com

Tina Gillespie http://scissorspapercard.blogspot.com

We hope you get some inspiration for cards for the boys and men in your life!

SC # 50/12: REFLECTION TECHNIQUE WITH STAMPIN' UP!'S ORNATE BLOSSOM

We have got to the end of the week, and I realised that I'm fast running out of time to enter this week's challenge at Sunny Challenges & Creations.

I have never tried the Reflection Technique, so I really wanted to give it a go.  I had an idea to use the Ornate Blossom stamp as a water lily/lotus type flower (sorry for my floral ignorance!).   This is the first time this stamp has seen ink!!  I first inked up the stamp using my Pretty in Pink stampin' pad.  I added colour with markers, and stamped onto Whisper White card.  Using my aquapainter and stampin' pads, I added a bit more depth of colour to the flower.

 The end result of my reflection stamping is not quite what I had in mind, but I'll leave it as is, and chalk it up to experience!  I think because I chose a lighter colour ink (Pretty in Pink) to stamp on the acetate, the mirrored image was a bit patchier than I'd hoped.  Perhaps it was just my bad stamping.  Anyway, here's the card I came up with for the challenge, that closes in a few short hours!

Stamps: Ornate Blossom, Friends Never Fade, Trendy Trees

Card: Rose Red textured, Whisper White, Pool Party

DSP: Pool Party Patterns Designer Series Paper

Ink: Versamark inkpad, Jet Black Staz-On inkpad, Pretty in Pink stampin' pad, Regal Rose stampin' pad and marker, Rose Red stampin' pad and marker, So Saffron marker, Pool Party stampin' pad

Other: Aquapainter, Labels Collection framelits dies, Word Window punch, Basic Rhinestones, Pool Party ruffled ribbon, sponge dauber, Scallop edge punch, mini glue dots, acetate

JAI #128: INSPIRATIONAL PHOTO

This week at Just Add Ink, Jodene has come up with a gorgeous inspiration pic to set our creative juices flowing!

The elements that stood out to me, when I first saw this photo, were the pink and orange flowers - Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink and Pumpkin Pie, in "Stampin' Up! speak"!  So, I have a rather  PINK creation to show you today. 

I have used one of the die-cut doily paper sheets from Stampin' Up!'s Flirtatious Specialty Designer Series Paper, and adhered it to a panel of Pretty in Pink doily paper from the same selection.  A few punched-out flowers, bright buttons and little leaves finish off my card.

Stamps: Curly Cute

Card: Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Lucky Limeade

DSP: Flirtatious Specialty Designer Series Paper

Ink: Lucky Limeade, Pretty in Pink stampin' pads

Other: Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch, Melon Mambo dotted scallop ribbon, Brights buttons, White baker's twine, Sweetest Stem embosslits, Scallop Edge border punch, sponge dauber, mini glue dots, Tombow liquid glue, 3/4" Circle punch, Anywhere glue stick

We'd love to have you play along with us.  You might take inspiration from the flowers, or the colours, or any element in the photo.  Check out the rest of the Design Team's gorgeous creations, for even more inspiration!

STAMPIN' UP!'S AUTUMN-WINTER MINI FLOWER CARDS

There is only one week until Stampin' Up!'s Autumn-Winter Mini catalogue finishes.  This Mini contains some fabulous new products, that have become "go-to" items in my stash.  I'd like to share with you a card we made in my classes this month, that focussed on products from the Mini catalogue.  The card design is very simple, but I think showcases beautifully how well Stampin' Up! do the "matchy-matchy" thing! 

We white-embossed one of the flower stamps from Mixed Bunch, onto In Color cardstock.  The Blossom punch perfectly punched out the shape, and the flower centre is decorated with a cute Jelly Bean brad.  Check out how the ruffled ribbon and baker's twine match the cardstock and brad - cute, don't you think?!  The card also features a scalloped edge cut using the new Adorning Accents Edgelits dies (love them!).  We had a play with the new Diagonal Plate for the Simply Scored scoring tool, too, to add a bit of texture to the card.

Here's the card my class attendees made, using Calypso Coral:

Stamps: Mixed Bunch, Curly Cute

Card: Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Whisper White

Ink Versamark inkpad, Jet Black Staz-On inkpad

Other: Blossom punch, Jelly Bean brad, Mat Pack & Paper Piercing Tool, Simply Scored Tool and Diagonal Plate, Calypso Coral ruffled ribbon, Calypso Coral Baker's Twine, Adorning Accents Edgelits die, stampin' dimensionals, Tombow liquid glue, mini glue dot



I made similar cards in the other three In Colors that feature in the Jelly Bean brad designs.  Here is the same layout in Pool Party:

......   and Wisteria Wonder:

.... and, finally, Lucky Limeade:

I varied my diagonal scoring a bit, so you can see what a difference a little change can make.  I love these cards, and think they'd make a nice little gift set - don't you?

DD #12 : STAMPIN' UP!'S FLOWER FANCY, TAKE 2

I have made another card for this week's Dynamic Duos challenge:

My original plan was to create a card with a glossy Poppy Parade-coloured flower ... but the Crystal Effects I applied to my coloured image didn't want to dry.  It's now a full two days ... the flower is dry and ready to be added to a card! 

When I applied Crystal Effects over the centre of the flower, that I'd coloured with a Basic Black marker,  the ink bled, giving a soft, cloudy look that I really like!  To draw the eye in, I added a cute Kaisercraft Sparklet to the centre.  The layers behind the flower have been embossed with my Square Lattice embossing folder, to complement the texture of the flower centre.

Here's the finished card:

Stamps: Flower Fancy, Field Flowers

Card: Basic Black, Whisper White, Poppy Parade

DSP: Basic Black Patterns Designer Series Paper

Ink: Versamark inkpad, Poppy Parade stampin' pad and marker, Basic Black stampin' pad and marker

Other: Black embossing powder, Crystal Effects, Large Oval punch, Bird Builder punch (small heart), Basic Black scallop dots ribbon and taffeta ribbon, Square Lattice embossing folder, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch, Fun Flowers die, sponge dauber, mini glue dots, Kaisercraft Sparklet, embossing folder (not SU!)

DYNAMIC DUOS #12: STAMPIN' UP! FLOWER FANCY

This week at Dynamic Duos, there is a GLORIOUS colour combination!

Poppy Parade is a gorgeous orangey-red, that looks really elegant with black.  In addition to the colour challenge, we have the option of using punches on our project.

I had an idea in mind, using a bold, glossy flower - but I covered the flower in Crystal Effects over 24 hours ago, and it's still not dry!  It's a bit chilly here at the moment!  So, "Plan B" kicked in, and here's what I came up with:

...... and a close-up of the cute bow I created, courtesy of my new Bow-Easy (now I see what the fuss is about!):

Stamps: Flower Fancy, Just Believe

Card: Poppy Parade, Basic Black, Whisper White

DSP: Mocha Morning Specialty Designer Series Paper

Ink: Poppy Parade stampin' pad and marker, Basic Black marker, Versamark ink pad

Other: Black embossing powder, Basic Black satin ribbon, In Color Glimmer brad, Mat Pack and paper-piercing tool, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Lace Ribbon border punch, Corner Rounder punch, butterfly punch (not SU!), mini glue dots

Well, I certainly 'went to town' with the "dessert option" of punches - I used 5 punches on this card!

If my glossy flower ever dries, I'll see if I can come up with another card for this challenge .... but in the event I don't, at least I had fun with this one!



JAI #127: COLOUR CHALLENGE

This week at Just Add Ink, Mae has challenged us to use Black & White PLUS ONE. 

Tangerine Tango is a colour that doesn't see much light of day at my place, so I challenged myself to use it for this challenge.  I came up with the idea for this project when I couldn't sleep one night this week, and it came out pretty much how I'd envisaged it.  Miriam Thomas shared on her blog how to make a box using four of Stampin' Up!'s Petite Pocket die cuts.  Perfect - I have barely used my Petite Pockets die (another of the many products I just HAD to have!).

I cut four Petite Pockets from Basic Black cardstock.  The next step was to emboss each one using Stampin' Up!'s Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, that had been inked with Versamark (I just rubbed the inkpad over the raised surface of the embossing folder before inserting the cardstock).  I then randomly sprinkled White and Tangerine Tango embossing powder over the dry-embossed card, and heat-embossed it.

Here's a close-up of how that turned out:

Here is the box, containing a flower arrangement made from embossed flowers (I was on a bit of an embossing kick with this one, wasn't I?):

I was really pleased to discover that the large flower from the Printed Petals stamp set fits perfectly inside the new Blossom punch.  I've hardly used that stamp set, but will now get some more mileage from it, because I do love a stamp that co-ordinates with a punch, y'know!  On Whisper White cardstock, I stamped five flowers in Versamark ink, and used Tangerine Tango embossing powder on three of them, and Black embossing powder on the other two.  The flower centres are also embossed (in the reverse colours); they're one of the smaller flowers from Printed Petals, that have been punched out using the 1" Circle punch.  I used Jet Black Staz-On ink to colour the skewers (messy, but I achieved the desired result).

Here are the 'ingredients' I used:

Stamps: Printed Petals

Card: Basic Black, Whisper White, Tangerine Tango

DSP: Basic Black and Tangerine Tango Patterns Designer Papers (tied around 'stems')

Ink: Versamark inkpad, Jet Black Staz-On inkpad

Other: White embossing powder, Tangerine Tango embossing powder, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Petite Pockets die, Basic Black satin ribbon, Tangerine Tango Scallop Dots ribbon, sticky strip, Blossom punch, 1" punch, Beautiful Wings embosslits

Make sure you visit the Just Add Ink website, to see the variety of projects that the Design Team have come up with - you'll love them!