Water Cooler Wednesday - #106 Heidi's Clean & Simple Challenge

 
 It's time for this week's Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #106, hosted by the incredibly talented Heidi Weaver.  Heidi is challenging us to make a Clean and Simple Card with Sparkle.

The rules are simple for our Clean And Simple challenge.  Show lots of open space, use minimal layers and use minimal embellishments.  The Watercooler Artists have given you many great examples of what our Clean And Simple challenge looks like.

Here's My Card: 
You'll see by my use of the word "Sparkle" that I chose to interpret this challenge quite literally.  I simply couldn't resist since we have a fun new Stampin' Up! stamp set called "Love Sparkles" in the new Occasions Catalogue.

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Love Sparkles #143183 and Balloon Adventures #142823
Card Stock:  Whisper White and Basic Black
Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Trimmer, Stamp-a-ma-jig,Tom Bow Glue, Basic Rhinestones, Wink of Stella.
 

Love Sparkles #143183  There are 13 rubber stamps in this set that are sure to help you get your glam on!  I used the little spray of stars and the word sparkle to enhance this card and loved the results.

Balloon Adventures #142823  Such a fun stamp set! I love all the sentiments and there are so many ways to use this 17 piece Photopolymer two-step stamp set that co-ordinates with the Balloon Thinlet Pop-up Dies.  Bundle and save 15%.

Assembly:

1.  Cut an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" base from Whisper White card stock
2.  Cut a 51/4" x 4" Basic Black mat for the first layer.  Adhere to base.
3.  Cut a 5 1/8" x 3 7/8" Whisper White piece for the top mat.
4.  Starting at left edge of top mat randomly stamp a series of stars from top to bottom in Momento Tuxedo Black Ink.  Note by positioning in a different direction as you stamp each image, it will create a ribbon like effect. Colour these stars with Clear Wink of Stella.

Link stamped image as you move along the length of paper so the design flows.

5.  Cut a 1/4" x 5 1/8" strip of Basic Black  and adhere to top mat 1 1/2" from left edge.  Evenly space Basic Rhinestones down this strip.
6.  Using a Stamp-ma-jig for perfect placement stamp "Sparkle" four times.  Use the Clear Wink of Stella brush to add tiny sparkling details on each of the  letters.  Adhere this mat to the Basic Black one.  
7.  Cut a 51/4 x 4" Basic Black mat for the inside of the card and adhere with Tom Bow glue.
8. Cut a 5 1/8" x  3 7/8" Whisper White layer.  
9.  Stamp the sentiment "No One Deserves a Happier Birthday Than You" from the Balloon Adventure stamp set in Tuxedo Black Ink in the center.  
Voila this card is finished!   

Well that's it for me this week.  If you haven't had a chance to check out the other Watercooler Wednesday Design Team Artist's creations, just click on the link to return to the home page.  

And, how about playing along? If you liked this challenge give me some feedback and I hope you'll add your own "Sparkle" Clean and Simple card to our linky. This challenge is open until 5pmMT Monday February 20th.  We'd love to see your creativity and what you can do with our theme!

Happy Stamping!
Penny Token's Stampin' Spot

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge - WWC104 Kath's Sketch Challenge

Hi everyone!  It's time for this month's Watercooler Wednesday Sketch Challenge WWC104 which is being hosted by Kath.   This is such a great sketch.  It's versatile, quick to assemble and could be used for absolutely any occasion.

Here's My Card:

Today I'm featuring a stamp set I've recently acquired and fallen head over heels in love with.  It's called Bella and Friends.

Oh my, the eleven rubber images and sentiments in this set are so much fun and simply bring a smile to your face.  Having several friends with small dogs that resemble Bella, I know these stamps will be seeing lots of ink in future.  

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Bella and Friends and Balloon Adventures
Card Stock:  Whisper White, Calypso Coral and Pool Party
DSP:  A Little Foxy DSP Stack 
Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black, Calypso Coral and Pool Party Markers, Watermelon Wonder, Smokey Slate
Accessories:  Big Shot, Trimmer, Festive Embossing Folder, Bunch of Banners and Oval Thinlets, Wink of Stella, Aqua Painter, Basic Pearls, Tom Bow Glue, Dimensionals. 
Assembly:

1. Cut Whisper White card stock to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and score at 4 1/4".  Cut a 4' x 5 1/4" piece for the inside of the card.
2. Cut a piece of Calypso Coral to measure 4" x 5 1/4" and adhere to the card base.
3. Cut a piece of Pool Party to measure 3 3/4" x 5" and dry emboss with  the Fiesta Embossing Folder, having the design run vertically.
4. For the band, which I chose to place a little higher on the card than the sketch I cut a piece of Calypso Coral 1" x 3 3/4", a piece of A Little Foxy DSP Stack measuring 3/4" x 3 3/4".  I also added a 1/4" x 3 3/4" strip of Pool Party that was embossed.  
5. Sadly I don't own the Stitched Shapes Thinlet Dies that have just come back on the market, or I would have used the beautiful stitched ovals to cut out the Calypso Coral and Whisper White Ovals.  I had to settle for my old Oval Thinlets which are now retired.  I stamped the Bella image and the cupcake in Momento Tuxedo Black ink. I did not colour the images when I assembled the card because I wanted to show how these great line images stand alone on their own.  
6. For the banner I cut two Calypso Coral banners and one Whisper White banner using the Bunch of Banners Thinlet set.  I layered these together starting with the two Calypso Coral pieces and then adhering the Whisper White banner to the top.  I stamped the "Just For You" sentiment from the Bella and Friends set on my card stock before cutting it out.  The label was mounted with Dimensionals. 
7. For the inside of the card I stamped the image "No One Deserves a Happier Birthday Than You" which Calypso Coral and Pool Party Markers. I added a 1/2" x 5 1/4' strip of the DSP to finish it off.
   

So now that you've seen this card with a plain stamped Bella, I'm going to share a stepped up version featuring some watercolouring and Wink of Stella

What a difference a little colour makes. I applied some brush strokes of Smokey Slate and Watermelon Wonder with an aqua painter. Some sparkle was added to the little red heart and the cupcake icing with A Wink of Stella. Voila, a wonderful little card!
I hope you enjoyed this post and this fun card. I'd love to have you comments. For all the challenge details and to share your project, visit Watercooler Wednesday challenge site by clicking this highlighted link. We'd love to have you join us. You have until Monday, February 6th at 6:00 p.m. Central Time to link your project. too.
Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot