WWC76 - Penny's CAS Challenge - Butterflies

This is my first time hosting a challenge at the Watercooler and I hope you're going to like it.  I've chosen a Clean and Simple Challenge (CAS) but I've added a theme, one I think everyone will have fun with.  The theme is to include Butterflies. 

Rules for our Clean & Simple Challenges (by group consensus)
So, what is a CAS and what is acceptable for this challenge? Sometimes it's very hard to determine how far you can go with a Clean and Simple design.   So it's clear for everyone,our design team artists recently held a discussion and came up with these guidelines:

• Either a single layer card base upon which we stamp or a card base with a single layer of card stock upon which we stamp, nothing more. 
• Since we use embellishments for any other type of card, no embellishments, die-cuts or anything else is allowed except the simplicity of stamping for the "clean & simple" look.
• Apart from stamping, we will allow heat embossing since, if one decides to use a colour, heat embossing would show better than simple stamping. 
• No dry (EF) embossing on card base or layer. 
• Following these rules will keep it clean, simple and challenging.

Here is my CAS Butterfly Card: 

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Papillion Potpourri and You've Got This
Ink:              Elegant Eggplant
Card Stock:   Elegant Eggplant for base and Whisper White 
Accessories:  Trimmer, Tom Bow Adhesive

This is a really plain and simple type of card for me, but sometimes that's all you need.  Sometimes, you don't have time to do all the fancy stuff and it's nice to step back from all the layers and embellishments and just let the sentiment say it all.  I think this quote is perfect:

For this card I chose Elegant Eggplant for my ink and card base because I love the rich bold colour paired with Whisper White. I think it sets the tone for this friendship card.  

Although I chose Elegant Eggplant for my card any combination of ink and matching card stock along with Whisper White will work with this design.  To demonstrate this I made five additional cards using the new Incolours and my brand new mini Misti precision stamping tool.  In no time at all I was able to make all of these cards.
I

Everyone I know loves butterflies.  I think this would make a nice gift set for someone.  If I were doing these as a gift set along with making a matching box, I would use a variety of sentiments and make 2 of each card colour.

Peek A Boo Peach

Flirty Flamingo

Emerald Envy

Sweet Sugarplum

Dapper Denim

Stepped Up Version of this Card:

For those of you who aren't fussy about "Clean and Simple" cards I decided to make some additional "stepped up" versions so you can see how little it takes to go from my original "plain jane" card to a new level.

1.  For my first stepped up card I took the basic card and simply drew a free hand border around the outer edge of the Whisper White layer using an Elegant Eggplant fine tip marker to coordinate with the ink and card base.

2. I added some clusters of  Basic Rhinestones to this second card to give it more pizzazz.  

3. For my third card I kept all the original design elements but began by stamping a block image from the Work of Art stamp set in Perfect Plum and Rich Razzleberry inks before I stamped the butterflies and sentiment. On this card I wanted to make the butterflies and sentiment stand out more because of the background stamping and so I stamped the images with Versa Mark and Elegant Eggplant inks, and then heat set them with Clear Embossing Powder. A strip of Rich Razzleberry Taffeta ribbon was the final enhancement.

4.  For my final stepped up card I simply changed the card stock base to Whisper White and then added layers of Elegant Eggplant and Whisper White card stocks.  Although you can't see it I also used Wink of Stella on the butterflies for a little glimmer and pizzazz.

I hope you've liked these samples, and would welcome your comments.  I'd love to know whether you like making CAS cards and which is your favourite sample.  

I also hope you'll join the Watercooler Design team this week with this fun challenge.  We're looking forward to seeing some awesome butterfly CAS cards!  Until then, thanks for stopping by and.....

Happy Stamping!
Penny Token's Stampin Spot

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(for on-line orders under $200.00)

WWC31 Heidi's Sketch Challenge

Where is the time flying to.  Suddenly summer's over and it's time for another sketch challenge at the Watercooler Challenge.  

This sketch #WCC31 was designed by the very talented paper crafter, Heidi Weaver.  If you're into cards or layouts with lots of layers then this one will be right up your alley.  

I decided to combine this great sketch with the colour challenge at Colour Me.  It's colour challenge CMCC#86 and showcases Pool Party, Lost Lagoon, Cajun Craze and Tangerine Tango with a neutral of your own choice. I chose to combine these colours with Whisper White.

Here's my entry:
My card started with a 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 Whisper White card base scored at 4 1/4".  The first mat measuring 5 1/4 x 4" is cut from Pool Party and I sponged around the edges with the same ink.

The next mat measures 5 x 3 3/4".  I started with a 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 sheet of Whisper White card stock and stamped a random pattern with Sponge Daubers in the four challenge colours. Some dots were full strength and others were stamped off almost to opaqueness. I also used the dotted image from the Watercolour Wings stamp set and stamped it over the circles in Lost Lagoon ink.  Once all the stamping was done I cut the paper down to the above size for the mat.  I also die cut the three butterflies with the Butterflies Thinlet Dies. 

Note:  If I was making this card again, I think I would have changed how I used the Tangerine Tango, because it's simply too bright a card stock and overwhelms the left side of the card creating an imbalance. In retrospect, I should have have die cut the large Butterfly image and placed it as the bottom layer of the Butterfly stack. I would have then substituted a strip of Lost Lagoon for the Tangerine Tango banner and probably embossed it with the large Polka Dot TIEF, to mimic the circles on the background paper, instead of using the smaller Perfect Polka Dots TIEF which is now retired. 

 

I stamped the sun burst from the Kinda Eclectic Stamp set on a 2 3/4 x 2 3/4" piece of Whisper White.  It makes a nice background design.  In retrospect I should have stamped it using Versa Mark and Lost Lagoon inks and then heat set it with clear embossing powder.

Kind of Eclectic Stamp Set comes in wood or clear mount.

 

For the inside of the card I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment the butterflies and the border strip using images from the Basic Butterfly stamp set.

This eleven piece coordinating stamp set and matching butterfly dies come in a bundle in either wood or clear mount styles. You can save 15% off the regular price of the stamps and dies by purchasing them as a bundle.  I'm totally in love with my clear mount.

I think I've fallen in love with the Boho Chic Embossing folder.  It's one of my favourites this season.  It looks great layered over other images or on it's own.  In this picture you can see a bit more of the background paper that I stamped with all the sketch colours.  Background papers are so much fun to make.

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Butterfly Basics, Kinda Eclectic, Watercolour Wings 
Ink:  Cajun Craze, Lost Lagoon, Pool Party, Tangerine Tango
Card Stock:  Whisper White, Cajun Craze, Pool Party, Lost Lagoon, Tangerine Tango
Accessories:  Big Shot, Trimmer, Perfect Polka Dots(R) and Boho Chic Embossing Folders, Basic Butterflies Thinlet Dies, Basic Rhinestones, Silver Charm (R), Dazzling Details, adhesive and dimensionals.

Well I hope you enjoyed today's colour and sketch challenges.  There's still a little bit of time to play along so if you want to get in on the fun, please click on the Watercooler Challenge or the Colour Me Challenge or both to find out the details.   

HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPING 

Papaya Collage Birthday Cards

On Sunday I had the pleasure of getting together with two of my favourite stampers, Ethel and Sheri. 

What a great afternoon we had! We looked at sneak peaks and chatted about the new catalogue and all the great stamps and products that will be coming out on June 1st with the release of the 2012-2013 Idea Book and Catalogue (IBC).

We made one project during our get-together based on a happy birthday card I designed using the new Papaya Collage Stamp set.  I took my inspiration for this card from a wedding invitation and "Save the Date card I'd recently received.

My original card was made with Daffodil Delight cardstock and ink to mimick the colours used in the Save the Date card.  It looks dull in this picture, however in real life it was beautifully bright and cheerful.

For our group card we chose Wisteria Wonder for the card base, markers and ruffled ribbon.  The front of the card base is embossed with the Framed Tulips embossing folder. 

To create the beautiful floral image we used a Wisteria Wonder marker to colour in the flowers and a Basic Black marker for the stems.  Before stamping we huffed on the stamp image to make sure it was moist enough to transfer the ink to the card stock. 

The butterfly was first wetted in Versa Mark then in Basic Black ink before stamping the image on Whisper White cardstock.  Once stamped, Clear embossing powder was applied and then heat set.  The image was then coloured with Wisteria Wonder and Basic Gray markers. 

Three basic rhinestones were used for the butterfly's body and the finished butterfly was mounted with dimensionals to the card front. 

The sentiment "Just for You" from the Tea Shoppe stamp set was also stamped in Basic Black ink and heat embossed to add some dimension.

Three butterflies were stamped on the Whisper White card insert on the inside of the card and coloured as above. 

Here are the three cards we made together. 

 Here are the two cards together.  Pretty don't you think?