Kristina's Color Inspiration # 10

Kristina Werner has posted another fabulous Colour Inspiration on her website. The colours for this inspiration are:



What a groovy set of colours!

So, this afternoon, while the kids were playing nicely together (if you believe that you will believe ANYTHING ;-)...I sat down to play myself!



The background cardstock is Not Quite Navy. The next layer is Old Olive Prints Designer Series Papers, and it has a white eyelet mounted in each corner. Then there is a layer of So Saffron cardstock. I have inked the butterfly from Garden Whimsy in Bashful Blue Classic Ink, then Rock n' Rolled it in Not Quite Navy Classic Ink, and stamped on Whisper White cardstock. I have then clear embossed the whole image. A frame of Not Quite Navy cardstock is mounted above the butterfly on Dimensionals, and has been faux stitched using a paper piercer and white gel pen. The ribbon underneath the butterfly is White Taffeta.

Have a great weekend everyone!
Sam.

Pirate Party

We have a little birthday party coming up soon and I saw an amazing card on Karen Thomas' blog and knew that it would be perfect as a party invite! You REALLY should check out Karen's blog right now!!..she is an amazingly talented cardmaker. Her designs are always eye-catching, and her fabulous attention to detail has resulted in many of her cards being marked as 'TO BE CASED' in my Google Reader ;-).





I have used Basic Black, Whisper White, Soft Sky and Brilliant Blue cardstock, Spring Showers and Jersey Shore Double-Sided Designer Series Paper, Cardstock Vellum, Soft Soft Sky, Pumpkin Pie, Brilliant Blue and Basic Black Classic Ink, Ahoy Matey Stamp Set, Matey's Map Jumbo Wheel, Black Brads, and the Designer Label, Small Oval, 1 1/4" Circle, Slit and Corner Rounder Punches.

The invitation part inside the treasure chest is printed on Vellum Cardstock (run through my Epson Inkjet printer, and using one of the SU fonts available on a CD in the old IBC). I have then mounted the Vellum over a piece of Soft Sky using brads to anchor them together. On the Soft Sky layer I have rolled the Matey's Map wheel, in Soft Sky. Unfortunately you can't really see this detail on these pics.

The pirate is stamped on Whisper White cardstock, in Basic Black and coloured using a Blender Pen and Classic Ink picked up from the lids. I have mounted it on a piece of Brilliant Blue and then up on Dimensionals above the Vellum/Soft Sky layer.

The envelope also has the Matey's Map wheel stamped across the back flap in Soft Sky.

I won't lie, I was up fairly late last night finishing these...but am very happy with the end result.

Thanks for the idea Karen!
Sam.

The Emboss Resist Card

Here is the second card that we made at my Technique Class last night. This card was made primarily utilising the emboss resist technique



It is difficult to see on the photo, but the boat, sun, fish and waves are all clear embossed. Various colours have then been brayered over the top to create the scene.

I would like to play a little more with getting some gradation of colour in the sky...but as a first pass I am very happy with the way this card turned out.

Sam.

My First Ever Technique Class....

.....and the first technique off the rank was Crayon Resist!

This is the card we made:



I had never tried this technique before...so I asked how it worked on our online Stampin' Up! Demonstrator forum (its a Yahoo Group for demos, and a FANTABULOUS source of information and inspiration). Lots of demos replied with various tips for me, and I'd like to say 'thank you' to all of them. I also want to say a special thank you to Stephanie Pike who answered a tonne of my questions and sent me photos of her crayon resist cards too! You were very helpful Steph, I really appreciate your time.

In the end I trialled lots of different crayons and slightly different ways of doing it, all of which gave different results. I am very happy with how my final version turned out...and if you want to know how I did it, and which crayon I think is the BESTEST EVER CRAYON IN THE WORLD with which to do it...you'll have to come along to my next class ;-).

ETA: I just wanted to add a close-up of the crayon resist design.



The most frustrating thing I found about the whole crayon resist process was that I kept getting an ink speckled appearance in my crayoned areas (not the stark white that I was hoping for). After tinkering and tinkering and tinkering again, I think I worked out why that happened and finally got a result that I was very pleased with.

I charged $10 for this class and for this my attendees got to make this card and another card which used the Emboss Resist technique (I'll post that up at another time). The cards came with envelopes and inserts, and there was also a light supper provided...which involved home cooked CHOCOLATE CAKE! Is it sounding like an attractive proposition? The $10 was redeemable on any Stampin' Up! order over $100, placed on the night.

If you are interested in attending a Technique Class in my home (or yours) send me a message (navarino@yahoo.com) and we can organise a time!

And now it is bed time...well and truly!!
Sam.

Happy Birthday Flower

I was just tinkering around at my desk last night, I had some things to get done but I was procrastinating and made this card instead.



The ingredients are: Soft Sky, Certainly Celery and Rose Red cardstock, Fall Flowers DSP, a Metal Edge Tag, the Think Happy Thoughts stamp set, Scallop Punch, Trio Flower punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Certainly Celery 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Soft Sky Double-Stitched Ribbon, Soft Subtles Brads, Paper Piercer, White Gel Pen and Dimensionals.

Have a good day!
Sam.

Fall Flowers Birthday

I made this card last night while watching TV (Bring It On...I have those darn cheers going through my head now :-(. Anyway, the card started out as a CASE of a card in the Stampin' Up! (Australia) Idea Book and Catalogue (bottom of page 51), as I was tired and feeling uninspired, but the final product bears little resemblance to that any more. Thanks go to Mum who helped me with it.

The background cardstock is Old Olive. The scalloped trim is in Groovy Guava cardstock and is achieved using the corner rounder punch. I have also pierced each scallop with the paper piercer from the Crafter's Toolkit. There is then a small layer of Whisper White cardstock. The patterned paper is from the Fall Flowers Double-Sided Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. I have cut three of the Really Rust flowers out of another piece of the DSP, put Old Olive Brads through the centres (if I'd been feeling adventurous I would have tried colouring some brads Groovy Guava..but I wasn't) and then mounted them up on the main strip using a Dimensional.

The little 'cake' is a piece of Groovy Guava punched out using the Tab Punch and stamped with 'happy birthday' from the Birthday Best stamp set (it is actually only part of a stamp, but I have omitted the rest of the sentiment). The loop of ribbon above the cake (the candles) is Double Stitched Groovy Guava ribbon.

Have a great Sunday!
Sam.

Three For You Punch Box

First of all I want to apologise for my general posting slackness of late. I have my first ever technique class coming up this week and I have been getting ready for that. I am really, really looking forward to it...I hope the attendees enjoy themselves (oh, and learn some new techniques ;-). I'll post the cards that we are making here on my blog after the class. The techniques are Crayon Resist and Emboss Resist.

So, I was feeling guilty about not having anything new for you to look at, so I made this little card for you this afternoon.



The background cardstock is Blue Bayou Textured Cardstock and I LOVE it (Blue Bayou and Textured cardstock!!). The next layer is Whisper White (no secrets there). The next layer is Soft Sky. I have punched the three flowers out using the Trio Flower Punch from the Three For You Punch Box. I also stamped the three flowers (from the Punch Box) in Pumpkin Pie on the underlying Whisper White layer. I have used Circle Rhinestone Brads in the centres of the flowers. The whole Soft Sky layer is mounted up on Dimensionals. The 'Just For You' sentiment is also from the Three For You Punch Box, and has been stamped in Blue Bayou Classic Ink (using the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig).

The two ribbons are from the positively divine District Ribbon Originals selection (I'm expecting an email or two about this from...you know who you are...but I just couldn't resist ;-).

And that is it, not very hard at all!
Thanks for looking,
Sam.

I like these colours!

My apologies if you are over them. This will be the last one...I promise!

This card is pretty plain, but I like it better than the flowery one. I haven't stamped on it though...UMMMMM AHHHHH! The rub-on is from the SAB 2008 Love and Happiness pack, and is in Old Olive. I've used the Crimper, the Spiral punch the Small and Large Square punches and the Small Star punch. The brads are from various collections. The ribbon is Tempting Turquoise.

Sam.

A second attempt.....

I couldn't let it go...I had to have another go at Colour Inspiration #9. I tried to bend those colours to flowers, but feel that I fell short of the mark. That Tempting Turquoise just didn't want a bar of my card...and I felt the same way about it (the Tempting Turquoise that is ;-).

I think the ingredients are mostly obvious. The felt flowers are from Stampin' Up!'s Flower Fusion (I sooooo hope that it comes here sooner rather than later...notice that I don't entertain the possibility that it won't show here at all...).

The brads are Circle Rhinestone Brads...I LOVE these. The vine on the So Saffron piece is the Watercolour Vine Jumbo Wheel, in Old Olive. The background Real Red cardstock is stamped with the Linen Background stamp. The sentiment is from the 'So Many Sayings' Level I Hostess set (again). This is SUCH a versatile set!!! Mine are mounted separately on Jenga blocks. I can't remember exactly where this idea came from...but it was another blog I found out there in cyber-land...THANKS!

Have a great day!
Sam.

Kristina's Color Inspiration # 9

Hello Readers of my blog!

It is Colour Inspiration time again. This week, Kristina's Color Inspiration #9 is a great combo:



My card this week is:



The card is 5 x 5 inches. The background cardstock is Old Olive. The next layer is Pumpkin Pie and I have used the 1/4" circle punch around the edges and have put a piece of Real Red underneath so that it shows through. This dual layer is mounted up on Dimensionals.

The next layer is Tempting Turquoise. There is then a small piece of So Saffron Prints Paper (from this month's Stampin' Up! promotional offering), and I have wrapped a piece of Wide Grosgrain Ribbon in Old Olive around this.

The chipboard is from the On Board Accents range. I stamped it in versamark then sprinkled on Heat and Stick Powder, heated it briefly with the heat tool, sprinkled on Romantic Red Glitter and heated again briefly to set. The whole piece is mounted up on Dimensionals (lot of them ;-).

A close up to show the glittery Glitter ;-)...



The sentiment is from the So Many Sayings Level I Hostess Set and has been stamped in Real Red.

Thanks for looking!

BTW...Happy Birthday to Kristina for the 15th! My son also shares her birthday...Happy Birthday little man!
Sam.

Another Colour Challenge Card...for Mum!

Well, I got down to making Mum her Mother's Day card tonight (LATE...UGH!)....Mum if you are reading my blog....avert your eyes....you can't look until Sunday (ok?).

Anyway...I decided I'd use Kristina's Colour Challenge Colours again...because, as I said last week, all that stuff was strewn all over my craft table anyway.

This is the card that I made:



I saw a card on Jayne Mercer's Blog recently that had a flower with multiple stems and I had to use the idea....although mine are a bit swirlier than Jayne's. Thanks Jayne!

Now, really quickly because my eyes are drooping out of my head and I'm yawning every 15 seconds...I have used:

- Brilliant Blue Cardstock
- Jersey Shore Double-Sided Designer Series Paper
- White Embroidery Thread
- Crafter's Toolkit
- 3/4 inch circle punch
- On Board Blossoms and Basics Chipboard
- Crop-a-dile
- Crystal effects
- Dimensionals
- White Gel Pen

If you check out the flower centre closely, this is what you will see:




Apparently this is what happens to Crystal Effects when you are impatient for it to dry so you whip out your Heat Tool and give it a blast to speed along the drying process! It looks like little shock waves rippling out from the centre of the circle. It still dried glassy though, so I thought it looked kinda cool. It sort of reminds me of a Lifesaver. I had punched the hole in the centre of the circle (using the Crop-a-dile of course ;-) thinking that I would put a brad of some sort in there.....but after I got the ripple effect in the Crystal Effects I thought I'd leave it as is.

And that is all there is to it!
Sam.

Happy Birthday Mr 2

We have a Birthday coming up in our house...and this is the card that I have made for that occasion!



My apologies for the poor lighting. I may take this card and my challenge card outside tomorrow and re-photograph them. They look pretty dim to me. As an aside, how close are the colours to those of the Colour Challenge? I actually started this card the night before Kristina posted her colours....SPOOKY!

Back to the card though. I have CASE'd this design from a card on Alisa Tilsner's blog HERE. It is actually the card that Alisa used to demonstrate her WOW technique at Convention - Watercolouring! Thanks for the colouring tips Alisa, and the card idea!!

I have used:
- Brilliant Blue, Bashful Blue and Pumpkin Pie Cardstock (the Bashful Blue layer has been Cuttlebugged with the Swiss Dots folder)
- Jersey Shore Double-Sided Designer Series paper
- Wild Wasabi Double-Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon
- misc. brand Chipboard, covered in Jersey Shore, 'iced' with Crystal Effects and mounted up on Dimensionals (OF COURSE ;-)
- Watercolour Paper
- Boatloads of Love Stamp Set, stamped in Stazon ink
- Brilliant Blue, Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, Going Gray and Basic Gray Classic Ink, and
- Aquapainter.

Do you think he will like it?
Sam.

Colour Inspiration #8

I have been looking forward to Kristina Werner's Weekly Colour Inspiration Challenge this week. I am finding them a great source of, well...inspiration! DOH!

These are the colours for this week:



How pretty do they look all together?

This is my submission for this week:



I have used:
- Brilliant Blue, Bashful Blue and Whisper White cardstock;
- Jersey Shore Double-Sided Designer Series Paper;
- Pumpkin Pie Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (wrapped around the Whisper White Cardstock);
- On Board Blossoms and Basics (covered in the DSP), mounted up on Pop-Up Glue Dots and decorated with Circle Rhinestone Brads (in Pumpkin).

The 'Happy Birthday' sentiment is from the It's Your Birthday stamp set and is stamped in Basic Black Classic Ink.

Et voila!

Gotta get back to watching Lost now ;-).
Sam.

Gift Card Purse

The idea for this cute little Gift Card Purse came from a swap that I received from the lovely Stampin' Up! Demo Sharon Turnbull at Convention in Brisbane this year.

It really is a great idea, and if you would like to know how to make it please contact me and we can organise a time for your Stampin' Up! Workshop where I can show you and your guests how.

The products I have used for mine include:
Blue Bayou (In Colour 08), Kraft and Confetti White Cardstock
Le Jardin Double-Sided Designer Series Paper
Sahara Sand and Blue Bayou Classic Ink
Carte Postale Stamp Set
Sahara Sand Taffeta Ribbon

Thanks for looking!
Sam.

More Little Bits of Happiness!

I really do LOVE this stamp set. It is a Level One Hostess set, and it was the first set I got when I made my new IBC purchases in early April. I especially love it because I've been having fun watercolouring, and it lends itself to that nicely.

The background cardstock is Blue Bayou...probably my favourite colour from the new 'In Colour' range for 2008. The next layer is Soft Sky and is textured cardstock. I have embossed a piece of Cardstock Vellum using the Cuttlebug and one of the emboss folders. This layer is attached using silver brads. The ribbon is Purely Pomegrante Satin Ribbon that was given to me by a friend in the US. I hope that it will be available here some time this year. There is then another small layer of Blue Bayou, then the main image is stamped on Watercolour Paper using Stazon and coloured using an Aquapainter and Classic Ink.

Bed time now!
Sam.