WWC #167 - Gail's All About Christmas Challenge

Hello friends.  Gail is hosting our Watercooler Wednesday challenge this week and it's "all about Christmas".  What better opportunity for you to get a head start on your annual Christmas cards. 

If you need some ideas just  head on over to the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog and check out all the fabulous inspiration from the DT and then play along with us!  You can find all the info you need right HERE.   We hope you'll join in this challenge which is open until 5:00pm Mountain Time on Monday April 30th, 2018.  

Here's My Card: 
Creating Christmas cards at this time of year is such fun.  There's no pressure and it allows me an opportunity to explore different techniques and use stamp sets that might have seen little ink.  

For this week's card, I've gone back in time to use a Stampin' Up set called Wonderland.   It was one of my all time favourites and I took inspiration for this particular design from Alexandra Agelean and her Youtube video.  

Back in the day, I bought this set solely for the "Silent Night" sentiment and for the trees...........I absolutely loved that tree cluster and had all kinds of plans for it.  For this card, I've paired it with a newly retired stamp set called Musical Season. I loved the sentiment in this set too but it barely saw ink.  At the end of the day I have to scratch my head, as I've probably only used these "top of my must have stamp sets" two or three times.  Does this happen to you too? 

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Musical Season and Wonderland
Ink:  Emerald Envy, Whisper White, Smokey Slate, Soft Suede Marker 
Card Stock:  Emerald Envy, Whisper White and Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper
Accessories:  Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Tim Holts' Alterations Snowflakes (661599), Iced Rhinestone (R), Whisper White A2 Envelope, Tom Bow Glue, Dimensional. 

Details:
1.  The Emerald Envy card based measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored at 4 1/4".

2.  The Dazzling Diamonds layer measures 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  Note:  I removed the center of this layer with a 3 3/4" x 5" rectangular die, after all you simply can't waste Glimmer Paper.

3.  The Emerald Envy layer measures 4 x 5 1/4". Note: The surface of Glimmer Paper and cardstock simply don't mix so I used  Tom Bow ink in the center part of this layer and Glue dots around the edges to secure it to the Dazzling Diamonds layer.  Worked like a charm.  

4.  I stamped the tree image on a piece of Whisper White that measured 3 3/4" x 5".  I began by stamping the image in Smokey Slate image on the right and left side leaving a gap in the center.  I cleaned my stamp, re-inked with Emerald Envy and stamped the image in the Center and partially on the right and left sides.  Then, I cleaned the image again and inked it up with Whisper White.  I stamped the Whisper White over the Emerald Envy tree images and while the ink was still wet I sprinkled on  Dazzling Diamonds Glitter and used a heat gun to set it.  Note:  I probably should have taken the lead from Alexandra and applied the glitter with a two-way glue pen, as it would have stuck to the card stock better.  Oh well, that's what experimenting is all about and this is a good  "Learn From Your Mistakes" lesson for next time.  

Although this picture doesn't capture the beauty of the Glimmer Paper and the Dazzling Diamonds, trust me it is beautiful and so shimmery.

5.  I stamped the snowflakes from the Wonderland set in Smokey Slate and the Silent Night sentiment in Emerald Envy.  

6.  I didn't have any Stampin' Up! snowflake dies so I used an old Tim Holtz set to die cut a medium sized one from Dazzling Diamonds.  I placed it in the bottom left corner of this panel and added a large Iced Rhinestone to the center with Glue Dots.  

7. For the inside panel I used a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Whisper White card stock.  I stamped off in Smokey Slate ink and stamped the tree image in the center of the card.  I stamped the sentiment from Musical Season "May the spirit of Christmas be the melody that plays in your heart all year long" over top of the trees in Emerald Envy.  

This is one of my favourite Christmas sentiments because it's so meaningful.  For me Christmas is about the heartfelt stuff not presents or commercial things.  It's the peaceful feeling after a walk in the snow or a visit with good friends and it's something that applies all year long.   

8.  I also stamped the tree tops in Emerald Envy on the front left corner of the Whisper White A2 envelope and the small pinecone branch on the flap.  I coloured the pinecone and branch with a Soft Suede Marker.  

I didn't take a picture of the front of the envelope as you know what the trees look like, but this tiny little branch from the Wonderland set is so beautiful I just had to share it.  It made the back of the envelope looks as inviting as the front. 

And that's it for today's post.  I hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane with these two Christmas themed stamp sets.  I hope you'll leave me a comment and let me know what if you have a favourite Christmas sentiment you like to use.  Until next time.............

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot 

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #149 - Marsha's Occasions Challenge

Wow a new challenge hosted by Marsha and a brand new theme which we think you'll love.  This challenge is all about "Occasions" - you know Halloween, Christmas, Valentines, Anniversaries, Weddings, Birthdays, 4th of July ......you name it.  What ever occasion fits your need, this will be the challenge week  to show off your project.

Here's My Card:
We've had lovely new neighbors move into our park and last week they held a wonderful Open House to introduce themselves and meet everyone.  I wanted to make a special card to not only welcome them to our "neighborhood", but also to thank them for their hospitality and such a fun evening.  

Here is my "Welcome to the Neighborhood' card. 

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  In the City Photopolymer Stamp Set, One Big Meaning
Card Stock:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Smokey Slate
Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Sky, Smokey Slate, Lemon Lime Twist, Garden Green, Tangerine Tango, Hello Honey, Dapper Denim. Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral, Pool Party
Accessories:  Acryllic Blocks, Detailed Scissors for Fussy Cutting, Dimensionals, Tom Bow Adhesive 

In the City is a 60 piece Photopolymer two step stamping set that is only available  through Stamping Rewards and is in the 2017/18 Annual SU Catalogue.

Details:

In the City is a really fun photopolymer two-step stamp set with 60 images that present endless possibilities for creating cards and projects. When I first got this set I couldn't decided which of the images I wanted to use, so rather than sweat about it, I just sat down and began stamping on scrap paper. 

I store my pre-stamped images in a photo case.  Perfect!  When I'm watching TV I can fussy cut out the images of my choice and keep them safe in this case. 

What a fun afternoon I had and this was such a great way to get to know the stamp set.  The two-step stamping requires two sets of ink - one for the line image and one for the colour portion of the image. You can also colour the images or add details with markers or the new blendabilities.   By stamping all the line art first,  I was able to stamp a lot of the images and have them on hand for making card projects.  

Simply a great way to use up all those scraps of Whisper White I had hanging around!

The beauty of pre-stamping and colouring is that I can pick and choose what buildings, trees, or vehicles I want to use at  a later time. You can also load up an acryllic block with multiple images for the first step and stamp them all at one time. Later you can go in and colour them with the second stamps or by hand with a marker. 

1.  Start this card with an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Basic Black card stock.  Score and fold at 4 1/4".
2.  The second layer is a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Whisper White.
3.  The third and final layer is a piece of Smokey Slate card stock cut out with the 4 3/8" x 3 3/8" Pinpoint Rectangles Die Cut (memory box).
4.  The sentiment Welcome to our Block is from the In The City stamp set too and was perfect for this card.  It was stamped on a scrap of Whisper White in Momento Tuxedo Black ink.  The strip measured 1/2" x 2".  This was mounted on a piece of Smokey Slate and Basic Black card stocks and adhered to the center bottom of the card face with Dimensionals.  
5.  Various building shapes, trees and vehicles  were added with Tom Bow adhesive and Dimensionals. 
6.  A 5 1/4" x 4" panel of Whisper White was cut and adhered to the inside of the card.  I stamped a "thank you" image from the One Big Meaning stamp set in the center of the page.  Sorry I can't show you, I didn't take a picture of the finished page before giving the card away.  Trust me it looked good.
7.  I stamped another Thank You image from this set on the envelope front as I was hand delivering and I wanted it to look good too.  

And that's all there was to this card.  I know I'll be using these sets lots as they're so much fun and so easy to use together.  I hope you enjoyed this post and my card and that you'll leave me a comment.  

Don't forget to drop by the Watercooler Wednesday main page and see the wonderful "Occasions" cards submitted by the other members of the Design Team.  Lots of inspiration there.  We're also searching for a new Design Team artist so if you're interested check out how to apply.  All the details are at the top of the here.
Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin Spot

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #146 - Kath's "All About Christmas"

Hi Stampers!  Welcome to this week's Watercooler Wednesday challenge hosted by Kath. Kath is challenging you to make something related to Christmas.  Let me tell you, this  is one of our most popular challenges, especially at this time of year when every stamper is rushing to finish off their Christmas card stash. 

We hope you'll join us in the fun and enter one of your own creations.   All you have to do is make a Christmas themed card or project and link it to our site through your post and follow a few simple rules.  All the stuff you need to know about playing along is located on the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge Main Page.  Our Linksy is open until 5:00pm on Monday November 30th. 

Here's My "All About Christmas" Card:

Supplies:
Stamps:  Merry Little Patterns 
Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black
Card Stock:  Basic Black, Whisper White
DSP and Specialty Papers:  Silver Foil, Merry Little Christmas DSP
Accessories:  Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Stitched Shapes Circle Dies, Stitched Rectangles (Memory Box), Basic Rhinestones, 10" strip of 1/4" black satin ribbon, Dimensionals, Tom Bow Glue.

Some Details:
1.  Card Base is a 4 1/4 x 11" piece of Basic Black and score at 5 1/2".

2.  Cut a 4 1/8" x 5 1/4" piece of Silver Foil for first layer.  Note:  I don't like to waste my precious stash of foils so I always cut out something from the center of one of these layers.  In this case it was a 3" x 3 1/2" rectangle. 

3.  Cut a 4" x 5 1/8" piece of Merry Little Christmas DSP for the 2nd layer. 

4.  For the circles I began by cutting a 3" circle from  Basic Black followed by a Silver Foil and DSP layer.  I used a combination of the Stitched Shapes circle dies and old Circle dies for these layers.  The circles were glued together and then glued to the card face on the left hand side.  I also added a 10" length of black satin ribbon on this side of the card.  

5.  I stamped the beautiful deer from the Merry Little Patterns Hostess Stamp Set that I received for free in September, on a 2" x 3" piece of Whisper White.  This rectangle was cut out with the Stitched Rectangles Die.  I stamped a second image on a scrap of Whisper White and cut it out to layer on the first one with Dimensionals.  

What a fun image to play with.  Most of the stamps in this hostess set are 2-step stamps.  First you stamp a beautiful line image of the deer and then you ink up a "filler" stamp and re-stamp to add the sweater. The great thing about the filler stamp is that you can ink it up with whatever colour you want.  What fun! 


This panel was attached to the circle and card base with Dimensionals.  I had to stack two Dimensionals together to raise the rectangle in height so it was evenly mounted.  I stamped the "Merry Christmas" from the Merry Little Patterns set on Whisper White and mounted it on Basic Black.  The silver foil snowflake is from an old die set I had. 


7.  The inside of the card was finished simply by stamping another 2-step stamp, the "tis the season" stamp in Momento Tuxedo Black ink on a 4" x 5 1/4" panel of Whisper White card stock.  Beautiful imagery!

Thanks for coming and checking out my card today.  Hope you liked it as much as I do.  As always, I love to hear your thoughts on my creations as it gives me inspiration to keep on doing this blog.  Don't forget to check out the wonderful creations of the other Design Team Artists by clicking here. 

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #139 - Kath's Feminine "Anything Goes"

Our weather shifted this week leaving us with three days of Fall wind, cloud and rain.  What's good about the shift is it doesn't make it difficult to stay in doors and stamp, and that's what I did without any guilty remorse. 

This week I had two wedding cads to make.  One of them was for our friend's son and his fiance who were having a small country wedding. I wanted to make them a special wedding and gift card holder, so the timing of Kath Rick's Feminine "Anything Goes Challenge worked out perfectly.   

Here's My Card:

 

I'm very much about tradition when it comes to Wedding cards.  This wedding was an outdoor country affair so I wanted to make something with a vintage, feminine appeal as well as some WOW factor, and I'm happy to say that's how this card turned out.    

I also wanted to incorporate a gift card holder into the card, but I wasn't sure how I wanted to do that.  My dilemma was solved when I watched a YouTube video by Dawn Griffith featuring a great gift card holder built right into a card.  I knew this design would be the perfect layout for my project and so I CASED Dawns.   All the instructions and measurements are on her blog  "Dawn's Stamping Thoughts" and on her video, so make sure you leave her a comment when you visit those sites.  

Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Floral Phrases#141767, For the New Two (R), Calm Christmas (R) and Colourful Seasons #143726
Card Stock:  Champagne Foil Sheets #144748, Whisper White, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
DSP:  Non-Stamping Up - Elegant Holiday Paper DCWB
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
Accessories:  Stitched Shapes Thinlet Dies, Lots of Labels Thinlet Dies, Seasonal Layers Thinlet Dies, Dimensionals, Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Basic Pearls 

Wow my old cake topper which dates back to 1969 sure looks "vanilla" in comparison to the Whisper White in the card and envelope.  Oh well that was 48 years ago, so it's bound to have faded.

Details:
I would have loved to have made my card using the beautiful Year of Cheer Suite, that's featured on pages 36 and 37 of the Holiday catalogue, but unfortunately, the only paper I had from that suite was the Champagne Foil Sheets and some Whisper White card stock. I was really excited about the combo of White, Gold and Crumb Cake in that paper pack. Oh well there was no time to order it in, so I just had to search my paper stack for something else. I struck pay dirt when I found a pack of DCWB paper called Elegant Holiday.
I chose a single-sided sheet of white and crumb cake paper with a pattern of doves and snowflakes on it.  Although it was Christmas paper I figured that the doves were close enough to the wedding theme to make it work.  It also enabled me to use a retired stamp set called Calm Christmas which features a beautiful floral dove, which I stamped on the inside of the card.

The back view of the gift card holder

Here's a view of the inside left panel where I stamped the "Calm Christmas" dove in Soft Suede ink.  The sentiment from Floral Phrases is stamped in Early Espresso.The Whisper White panel is mounted on a layer of Champagne Foil and Soft Suede card stock. which really added a beautiful touch.

To make this card/gift card holder you need to start with a 5 1/2" x 12" piece of dsp.  For the front of the card I cut banners from Whisper White, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede card stock and attached them on the left side. The Soft Suede and Whisper White banners measured 1 1/2" x 4" and the Crumb Cake one measured 1" x 4".  

The sentiment is from the retired "Colourful Seasons" stamp set.  I super love the font which is stamped in Early Espresso Ink.  The flowers are from the Colourful Seasons Stamp set set and were cut out with the coordinating Seasonal Layers Thinlet Dies.  I stamped them in Soft Suede and Crumb Cake Ink and added medium sized basic pearls to their centers.  I also added medium pearls to the Soft Suede banner.  The ovals for the sentiment were cut from Soft Suede, Champagne Foil and Whisper White card stocks with the Stitched Shapes Ovals.

In this view of the inside of the card you can see the fold that holds the gift card.  Before gluing down the fold, I added a piece of Soft Suede card stock.  The sentiment is from the Floral Phrases stamp set.  I used the Stitched Shapes dies to cut out a 3" circle from the DSP and a 2 3/4" circle from Whisper White and they were mounted on the pocket with Dimensionals.  Before Stamping Wedding Wishes on the Whisper White layer I stamped the floral image from The For the New Two stamp set in Crumb Cake.  I stamped off before applying the image so I would just get a hint of flowers behind the sentiment.  The Wedding Wishes sentiment is from Floral Phrases.  Five pearls were centered below the sentiment and a small Crumb Cake flower was added with a Mini Dimensional.

In this view you can see the insert I created from a small scrap of DSP and Whisper White Card Stock.

  

The sentiment is from the "For The New Two" stamp set.  I cut a piece of the DSP with a Lots of Label Thinlet die and added it to the back of the Whisper White card stock to create a tab for pulling the card out.  I forgot to take a picture of the back of this tag, but I incorporated a slot for the gift card to fit in to.

The card was hand delivered, so I thought it would be a nice touch to stamp "congratulations" to the bride and groom  on the front of the envelope.

I hope you have enjoyed my Wedding Gift Card Holder and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.  This card comes together super quickly, so it's a great pattern to have on hand.   If you haven't already checked out the other WWC Design Team members cards here's a direct link to the Watercooler Home Page.  Until next time.............

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #115 - Gail's Clean & Simple "Spring Theme" Challenge

It's time once again for the Watercooler Wednesday challenge, and this time around the talented Gail Allen is hosting.  It's the WWC115 - Clean and Simple Challenge and the theme is "Spring". 

I'll be attending a Spring wedding later this month and these two "love birds" have chosen plum and minty green for their theme colours. With this in mind, it wasn't difficult to come up with a card design.

Here's My Card:

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Builder Birdcage #142891, Oh So Succulent #142992 and Timeless Love #138772
Card Stock:  Elegant Eggplant, Mint Macaroon and Whisper White 
Ink:  Tuxedo Black, Elegant Eggplant, Mint Macaroon and Wisteria Wonder 
Accessories:  Dimensionals, Big Shot Machine, Paper Trimmer, Tom Bow Glue, Happy Heart Embossing Folder and Misti.

Ten Step Assembly:
1.  The card base is a standard 8 1/2 x 5 1/2" card stock scored at 4 1/4".  It is a side fold card.  The front half of the card was embossed with the Happy Heart Embossing Folder.

2.  1st layer:  3 1/4" x 4 3/4" Mint Macaroon card stock.

3.  2nd layer: 3 1/8" x 4 5/8" Elegant Eggplant card stock adhere to 1st layer.

4.  3rd. layer: 3" x 4 1/2" Whisper White card stock.  

5.  Starting with the Builder Birdcage stamp set, stamp the pedestal base of the bird cage in Tuxedo Black ink, then layer and stamp the birdcage center and top in Elegant Eggplant.  Have fun with this one, because you can make any combination of bird cage you want with this delightful set.

This 16 piece Photopolymer set is on the Retired List and is currently going for $16.30. What a great value and savings!

6.  Next, stamp the bird images in Wisteria Wonder.

7.  Finally, stamp two solid image air plants from the Oh So Succulent stamp set in Mint Macaroon.  I chose to put one in the top of the cage and the other on the opposite side on the bottom.  

The amazing Oh So Succulent 30 piece Photopolymer Stamp set is on sale for 30% off the catalogue price at $19.50, while the matching Succulent Framelit Dies are on for 40% off at $22.00.  That's quite the savings.

8.  Adhere the Whisper White layer to the first two layers and then adhere these panels to the left hand side of the card base with Dimensionals. 

9.   Stamp the sentiment "The best Love story is the one you write together" from the Oh So Succulent Stamp set in Elegant Eggplant ink on a 3/4" x 2" strip of Whisper White card stock.  I also stamped a small flower from the same stamp set in the background of the saying making sure I stamped off the ink first.  I glued the sentiment strip to a 1" x 2 1/8" piece of Elegant Eggplant card stock and attached this with Dimensionals on an angle across the bird cage pedestal.

10.  Finish the inside with a 4" x 5 1/4" panel of Mint Macaroon and a 3 3/4" x 5" panel of Whisper White.  Stamp "Congratulations" from the Timeless Love stamp set in Elegant Eggplant in the center of the Whisper White panel and add a chain  in Mint Macaroon ink below it.  The chain is from the Builder Birdcage set.

The Timeless Love Set is retiring May 31st but it is not at a reduced price. 

This card came together in all of a few minutes.  Because this is a Clean and Simple challenge I didn't feel the need to add rhinestones or other embellishments and I think it turned out beautifully. 

Regrettably all of the stamps and embossing folder used in this card are now part of the Retiring List that Stampin' Up has published.  That means they are only available while supplies last or until May 31st whichever comes first.

If you liked this card and it's bold colour combination please let me know because I really appreciate your feedback.  It gives me confidence to try different stamping techniques and card designs.  

Before you go don't forget to check out the other design team artist's creations this week at the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #115 - Gail's Clean & Simple "Spring Theme" challenge, by clicking on this link.   

And, if you like this challenge by all means please join us by linking up your own creation.  The design team would really like to see your take on the Spring Challenge.  The link is open until Monday April 24th at 5pm Mountain Time.  Hope you'll play along! 

Click here for Online Store Access:

April Hostess Code - G6EFBVU4

USE THIS CODE FOR ALL ON LINE ORDERS IN APRIL AND YOU COULD WIN A PORTION OF THE HOSTESS REWARDS - SEE HOSTESS TAB FOR DETAILS.  

 

Click here to see the Retiring Products:

Happy Stamping! 
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot