WWC73 - Gail's Clean and Simple Challenge - Summer

It's officially summer now, so how appropriate that this weeks Watercooler Wednesday Challenge hosted by the wonderful Gail Allen is a Clean & Simple (CAS) challenge with a Summer theme.  What fun! 

Living on the West Coast it's hard not to equate summer with being at the beach.  I have fond memories of end of school year outings to the local beach.  My classmates and I were always looking for sea life in the tidal pools, and hoping we'd be the one to discover something bigger and better than a sand crab?  It was so exciting and such fun!

Well I had that same feeling of excitement while using the two-step star fish images from the Picture Perfect stamp set for this card. It was my first time inking up these stamps and that little star fish was calling my name. 
Here's my card:

Background Design:
Visually I divided this card into three sections, but if you wanted to you could use an acetate or post it note mask on each area.  My card base was an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Soft Suede Textured card stock scored at 4 1/4".  I added a 4 x 5 1/4" layer of Island Indigo and a 3 7/8 x 5" piece of Whisper White card stock that was sponged with with Crumb Cake, Island Indigo and Soft Sky inks. Working with a piece of scrap paper beneath the layer of card stock I'm stamping makes it easier to manage the amount of colour I'm applying.

Sand:  Starting from the bottom and working towards the sky with Crumb Cake ink I sponged in circular motions until I had the sand a third of the way on the card stock.  To give some life to the sand I stamped the speckled image from Gorgeous Grunge in Soft Suede and then again with Versa Mark and Gold embossing powder.

Water: To get the look of movement in the water I stamped the lined image from Gorgeous Grunge in Island Indigo ink just above the sand line.  Starting off the card stock I began sponging with the Island Indigo ink in a soft circular motion until I had sponged the ink just above the lined image. 
 

The Gorgeous Grunge Set contains 5 texture images that are perfect for creating background scenes.  For this card I used the top speckled image for my star fish and sand and the lined image that looks like tire tracks for the water.

Sky:  I sponged Soft Sky ink in a circular motion from the water line to the top of the card, so it looks like soft rolling clouds on the horizon.  The sentiment is from Rose Wonder and is stamped in Early Espresso ink.   

Note:  I'd already attached the star fish to the card base before I chose this sentiment, and while I was stamping it I rocked the stamp resulting in some blurring.  If you're CASing this card I'd recommend stamping the sentiment first and then adhering your star fish. Lesson learned.

Star Fish:  To bring this star fish to life I began the process by stamping the first image in Crumb Cake ink on a scrap of matching card stock.  The second star fish stamp has more texture and I stamped it in Soft Suede.  I stamped a third time in Crushed Curry and then stamped the small speckled image from Gorgeous Grunge in Versa Mark ink across the center of the star fish and heat embossed the speckles with Gold Embossing powder. The star fish was adhered to the back ground with small strips of the new foam adhesive strips - love this stuff!  It's only 1/8" wide so perfect for this embellishment. 

Inside of the Card:

Since I didn't have any small star fish stamp images, I couldn't resist stamping these little sand pipers on the inside of my card.  There from one of my favourite Stampin' Up! sets called Wetlands.  

Supply List:
Stamp Sets:  Picture Perfect, Gorgeous Grunge, Rose Wonder, Wetlands 
Card Stock:  Whisper White, Soft Suede, Island Indigo, Crumb Cake
Ink:  Island Indigo, Soft Sky, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Crushed Curry, Versa Mark
Accessories:  Snips, Heat Gun, Paper Trimmer, Gold Embossing Powder, Tom Bow Glue, Foam Adhesive Strips 

Well that's it for today. I love hearing from all my visitors, so I hope you'll leave me a comment and let me know what beach or summer memories you remember.

Click here to access the WWC73- Gail's Clean and Simple Challenge and visit the other design team members to check out the details on their WWC73 CAS Summer entries.  There are some awesome designs and tips so you won't want to miss out on.  And, I hope you'll decide to play along, it's a great way hone your stamping skills.  It's easy and you have until next week to get your entry in.  In the meantime Happy Stamping! 

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot 

Wacky Watercooler June 2016 Blog Hop

Hi there!  Today I'd like to welcome you to our June Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop which runs from June 16th through 18th and it's all about celebrating the new Stampin' Up! 2016-2017 Annual Catalogue. We have eight fabulous blogs for your inspiration.  

Because this blog hop is circular it doesn't matter where you start, you'll eventually wind up where you started from. If you've come here from Priscilla Iver's wonderful blog, I bet you were super impressed with her great projects.  Priscilla is always so creative.  When you've finished with my post you'll find some icons at the bottom of the page to move along either to the next or previous blogs, or you can go right to the beginning.  
 
So let's get started.  I've been anxiously waiting  to share my three projects featuring my new favourite Incolour, my favorite stamp set and finally the designer series paper that I can't get enough of.  Are you ready? Have fun and enjoy! 

My Favourite New Incolour:
I've never been a "blue" person in either colour or attitude so I'm surprised that this year my favourite colour is fast becoming Dapper Denim. Whether it's that mid range of colour or the reminder of a good pair of jeans, I'm not sure. But, that's my colour choice. 

Here's my card:  
I decided to make a birthday card using Dapper Denim card stock for the base and a layer of Emerald Envy. I stamped the floral bloom from Birthday Blooms stamp set in Dapper Denim around the perimeter of a 4 x 5 1/4" piece of Very Vanilla card stock and then coloured it with sponge daubers and a blender pen.  I added a bit of Emerald Envy for the leaves.

For the inside of the card I stamped around the outer edge with a textured stamp from Timeless Textures and then stamped the flower once again in Dapper Denim.

When the images were coloured on the Very Vanilla piece, I embossed it with the Fluttering Embossing Folder.  You  can see the butterflies better in this image.

Supplies: 
Stamps: Birthday Blooms, Timeless Textures
Ink: Dapper Denim, Emerald Envy
Card Stock: Dapper Denim, Emerald Envy and Very Vanilla 
Accessories: Big Shot, Trimmer, Fluttering Embossing Folder, Sequins, Blender Pens, Sponge Dauber.


My Favourite New Stamp Set:
It's really difficult for me to call one stamp set my favourite because I have a handful I love combining for my projects.  However, I'm thrilled that the Picture Perfect Two-step Photopolymer stamp set was carried over from the Occasions Catalogue, because it's quickly becoming a "favourite" not only for its 18 stamps but the ease of creating something art worthy with the two-step stamp process.

Here's My Card:

 I really enjoyed stamping and colouring this beautiful little hummingbird, my "favourite part" of the stamp set.  Where we live we have five feeders and each day are host to 50 or more voracious little feeders.  They've become a big part of our outdoor life.  I can really wile away the hours watching them at my feeders and flowers baskets.

Four stamps were used to create the hummingbird image and I added additional details with a gel pen, blender pen and Dazzling Details.  Smokey slate ink was used for the foundation colour or first image and the second layer of Blushing Bride and Sweet Sugarplum were added for the ring around the neck.  I actually stamped the image again into the top of the wing for an additional pop of colour and used the blender pen to draw the pinks into the darker areas. When I added the third stamp layer I inked up with Emerald Envy but stamped off before adding it to the image to dilute the colour.  

The final layer is Night of Navy full strength. I added some details to the wings, eye and underbelly with a white gel pen and added some Dazzling Details for sparkle.  If you're wondering how I got two wings from a one winged stamp, I stamped the bird twice and fussy cut the whole image and then just the wing from the second image.  The back wing was glued to the card stock and the hummingbird was added with dimensionals.

The card base is Night of Navy followed by a layer of Blushing Bride.  Oh my those colours are so beautiful together.  Then I added a layer of Whisper White that I'd embossed with the Softly Falling Embossing Folder (another great carryover from the Occasions Catalogue).  The verse "you are made of WONDERFUL" is from the same stamp set and is stamped in Night of Navy.  

For the flowers I used the Botanical Builder Framelit set.  This is another great tool to have on hand when you want to create die-cut flowers and leaves in no time at all.  From leaves to flowers and stamens it's all included in this set and it coordinates perfectly with the Botanical Blooms Photopolymer stamp set.  Additional details on the card face include a sprinkling of Basic Rhinestones in the flower centers and above the sentiment.  

I used Very Vanilla card stock for the inside panel of this card.  It was stamped with the large floral image from the Botanical Blooms 17 piece two-step photopolymer stamp set.  I had an oops moment when I stamped the sentiment from Kinda Eclectic on the inside panel.  I was so proud that I got it straight without using my Stamp-a-ma-jig (which I was too lazy to grab), that it took me a moment or two to realize I'd stamped the verse in Tuxedo Black Ink instead of Night of Navy. Oh well, I won't tell if you don't............ 

  Okay one last look at this card which I really enjoyed making:

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Picture Perfect, Botanical Blooms and Kinda Eclectic
Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black, Night of Navy, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizazz, Emerald Envy, Sweet Sugarplum and Smokey Slate
Card stock:  Night of Navy, Very Vanilla, Blushing Bride
Accessories:  Trimmer, Big Shot, Botanical Builders Framelits, Softly Falling Embossing Folder, Basic Rhinestones, scissors, Black Marker, White Gel Pen, dimensionals, Tom Bow glue 

My Favourite New Designer Series Paper:
So far, my favourite new DSP is called Playful Palette and it comes in a 6 x 6" paper stack.   The designs in this pack are a mixture of upbeat and active patterns and the 12 double sided designs feature a mix of Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Blushing Bride, Emerald Envy, Peekaboo Peach and Sweet Sugarplum colours. 

The great mix and match in this colour scheme will make for some exciting projects such as the ones in this Stampin' Up! sampler:

Here's my card:
Beyond using my favourite designer paper, for this project, my concept was to create an upbeat, colourful and gender neutral adult milestone birthday card.   Here's what I came up with: 

The card face features a split diagonal technique.  To achieve this I cut a piece of DSP to 4" x 4 1/4" and then cut on the diagonal from corner to corner.  The basic black layer beneath the DSP measures 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  The card base is Peekaboo Peach and measures 8 1/2" 5 1/2" and is scored at 4 1/4".

I used the black space left by shifting the diagonal DSP pieces to the edges of the black card stock for my sentiment.  The "Happy" "Birthday" sentiments from the Number of Years stamp set worked perfectly in this space and because the words are two separate images I was able to ink them up with Versa Mark ink and emboss them in gold.  

 

Number of Years Order #40653

While I had the heat gun out , Versa Mark ink and embossing powder handy I randomly stamped the dots image from the same set and heat set them with gold embossing powder.  This addition to the DSP adds a little highlight and ties in with the gold sentiments.  
  
I really wanted the large numerals from the Large Numbers Framelits to pop off that card so I did two things.  First I like to create a shadow effect with the numbers, so I cut two sets, of numbers, one in Basic Black and the other in Emerald Envy. When I glued them together I just slightly offset the black set so it looks like a shadow.  

I created a pin wheel and used two different sheets of dsp for the squares. If you have never made a pinwheel or would like a refresher click here for my pinwheel tutorial.  Make sure you scroll down because there are step by step pictures.   What fun!  I love that set. 

Large Number Framelits Order #140622

 I carried over the dsp to the inside of the card and added some fun balloons.

The inside of the card has a Very Vanilla panel that measures 4" x 5 1/4".  I added a 1" x 5 1/4" strip of Playful Palette DSP  and a 1/2" x 5 1/4" strip of Basic Black card stock to the right edge of the panel.  Because this is a Birthday card and it looked just a little too plain for the occasion I added two Emerald Envy and one Peekaboo Peach balloons.  If you're interested in how I made these check out my entry in last week's Watercooler Wednesday Challenge for detailed instructions.  

Supplies: 
Stamp Sets:  Number of Years
Card Stock:  Peekaboo Peach, Emerald Envy, Basic Black and Very Vanilla
Ink:  Versa Mark, Emerald Envy and Peekaboo Peach
Accessories:  The Big Shot, Trimmer, Gold Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Large Number Framelits, Stylus, Black Marker, dimensionals and Tom Bow Glue.
   

Marsha Reed

Priscilla Ivler

Wacky Watercooler June 2016 Blog Hop

Happy Stamping! 
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot 

WWC72 Jean's Colour Challenge

Have you been waiting for this week's Watercooler Wednesday challenge?  If so, I know you're not going to be disappointed.  This week's challenge is brought to you by the fabulous Jean Fitch and she's chosen to use the new amazing 2016-2017 Incolours for her theme.  

Click here to go to the Challenge

Here's My Card:

The challenge says you can use 3, 4 or all 5 of the colours in your project and there was no specific theme, so it was a really open field to begin with.  Believe me I stared at those colours and played with them for a while before I decided to make a birthday card and showcase the colours in the balloons.  I think this was a good choice.

Supplies: 
Stamp Sets:  Gorgeous Grunge, Balloon Celebration and Birthday Blooms
Ink:  Dapper Denim, Emerald Envy, Flirty Flamingo, Peek-a-Boo Peach and Sweet Sugarplum and Momento Tuxedo Black
Card stock:  Dapper Denim, Emerald Envy, Flirty Flamingo, Peek-a-Boo Peach and Sweet Sugarplum and Whisper White
Accessories:  Balloon Bouquet Punch, Basic Rhinestones, Dimensionals, Tom Bow Glue.

 
The card base is an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of Flirty Flamingo scored at 4 1/4".  This is followed by a 5 1/4 x 4" layer of Emerald Envy and a 5 1/8" x 3 7/8" layer of Dapper Denim.  

I don't know about you, but I love those fat little "splats" or blotches in the Gorgeous Grunge set and the lines so I used both of these to create a background for the balloons.  

I began by stamping the lines vertically in Dapper Denim on a 5 1/8" x 3 6/8" piece of Whisper White card stock.  I then stamped a "splat" in each of the Incolours in an arch across the Whisper White card stock.   Originally I had planned on just stamping the balloons on the Whisper White panel, but I decided to punch balloons from the Incolour card stock and then layer them across the splats.  I was happy I did this because it really worked.  It was so easy punching out the balloon shapes with the Balloon Bouquet punch. 

To make the balloons look like they really were in flight I tried out a technique I've seen recently that plumps the balloon up and adds dimension to it.  This is easily achieved by running the fattest ball on your stylus around the edge of each balloon until the edges began to raise and take shape. 

I sponged around the edge of each balloon with the corresponding ink

I added a little crescent on the left hand side of each balloon with a white gel pen.

With the balloon face down on the sponge piercing mat I ran the stylus around the outer edge of each balloon until the edges started to curl up. 

Once I had the shape molded around the balloon I mounted the balloons  over their corresponding colour splat using dimensionals. I drew the balloon strings free hand with a neutrals black marker and I stamped the sentiment "Happiest of Birthdays to You" from the Birthday Blooms stamp set in black ink at the base of the card.

When I was finished I felt the balloons needed just a bit more "something" so I stamped some star clusters from the Balloon Celebration stamp set on the face of the balloons and added a Basic Rhinestone at the base of each balloon.  Perfect!

Well I guess that's it from me for today's challenge.  I hope you enjoyed it and will try this technique. I'd love to hear how yours turned out.

Oh and while you're at it, grab your ink and card stock and make a card of your own to enter into the challenge, we'd love to see what you come up with. You can go back and check out the other designers at this link.

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

JUNE'S HOSTESS CODE IS:   XUB7WFD2

Pssssssssst - Paper Pumpkin Flashsale

Coming June 9th - One Day Flash Sale:

If you've never subscribed to Paper Pumpkin Stampin' Up!s monthly paper crafting kit, here's your opportunity to try it out for just $7.00 Canadian plus tax. 

This amazing offer starts Thursday, June 9 at 5:00 PM (MT) and ends Friday, June 10 at 11:50 PM (MT).  Technically that’s just shy of 31 hours—a little more than one day, but it will go by in a blink! 

Take advantage of this offer to grab your first Paper Pumpkin kit for practically pennies. Get ready to click “subscribe” at 5:00PM on Thursday.
 
The fine print:

• This offer is open to first-time subscribers only. 
• Use Promo Code:  ONEDAYDEAL
• Discount applies to one kit for June 2016. 
• After the first month, the price for the subscription will return to $26.95 CAD. 
• Available for month-to-month subscriptions, not prepaid subscriptions.

Happy Stamping! 
Penny Tokens Stampin Spot
June Hostess Code:  XUB7WFD2

WWC71 Heidi's Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge

It's Wednesday and that means it's time once again for a new Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  Heidi Weaver has taken the lead on this one and chosen a Tic-Tac-Toe theme.....what fun!

WWC71-Heidi's Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge

Wow, so many decisions!  I wasn't sure which way to go - vertical, horizontal or diagonally across the middle.  In the end, I decided to use the end column and make a Gift Card Holder for Father's Day, using one of my new stamp sets called Bear Hugs and its matching Bear Hugs Framelit Dies.  In the end it turned out this design also worked diagonally.  Who knew!
Here's my card:

This is a quick and easy gift card holder to make. I found the original instructions in a video by Dawn Griffith.   Here are a few more details and views.

The easel on the front of the card can be in either in a raised position or flat (see next picture).  To stop the top portion of the card from sliding forward I cut a scalloped circle from Dapper Denim and layered it with a wood grain piece and a blue button with some rafia tied in a bow.   

 

The card base was cut from Dapper Denim card stock, one of the new Incolours.  The wood grain panels were stamped on Crumb Cake  card stock and the sentiment panels on Very Vanilla card stock. I wanted the Papa Bear to look like he was in a huge tree trunk so I inked up the Wood Grain embossing folder with Soft Suede ink and my trusty brayer and ran these pieces through the Big Shot.  

This is such a fast and fun technique and clean-up of the embossing folder and brayer are a breeze with warmy soapy water. For the hole in the tree I punched out a 2" circle and put a square of basic black card stock on the back.  I stamped the full image of the bear and tucked him into the opening.  His bottom half is glued to the back of the card front and I placed a dimensional behind his head and paws to make him stand out.
  

The "World's Greatest" and "DAD" sentiments from the Guy Greetings stamp set really work with this card face.  What would we do without this great masculine set? Guy Greetings covers every occasion and is so versatile. 

Look at that Papa Bear, he's soooo cute!  He was stamped in black ink on Crumb Cake card stock and his fur and around the edges were sponged with Soft Suede ink.  I also added a wee bit of Crystal Effects (now retired) to his nose and claws to make them stand out.  That cute bow tie is stamped in the black ink on Dapper Denim and then cut out with the matching Bear Hugs Framelit die.    

These jars started out as honey pots but I wanted them to say "DAD".  I began by stamping the three honey pots in black ink on Very Vanilla card stock.  Before I actually stamped the image, I wiped off the word "honey" with a wet one. Once the pots were stamped I inked up the word "DAD" and added it to the center of each pot. To finish the jars I coloured the lids with a Hello Honey (appropriate) marker and the jars with Sweet Sugarplum, Peek A Boo Peach and Flirty Flamingo markers.  The final touch was some Crystal Effects on the honey.  Voila! 

This view gives you an idea of what's going on inside the card.

The top wood grain panel holds a standard size gift card.  The opening is cut out with the 2 1/2" circle punch. To give it some strength for removing the gift card, I used 1/8" sticky strip instead of glue around the 3 edges

 
I love this cute little bear.  He's stamped with black ink on Crumb Cake and I softened the edges and added a bit of colour with a sponge dauber and Soft Suede ink.  A 3/4" strip of the woodgrain card stock was added about 1/2" from the bottom of this panel.  Don't you just love that bow tie? The sentiment "It's For You" is from the Bear Hugs Stamp Set. 

The Very Vanilla panel was stamped with black ink.  The "Happy Father's Day" sentiment is from Guy Greetings and the "I love you" heart is from Bear Hugs.

Stamping Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Bear Hugs, Guy Greetings
Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black, Soft Suede
Markers:  Hello Honey, Sweet Sugarplum, Peek A Boo Peach, Flirty Flamingo
Card Stock:  Dapper Denim, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Basic Black
Accessories:  Big Shot, Trimmer, Woodgrain Texturized Embossing Folder, Bear Hugs Framelit Dies, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 2" Circle Punch, Scissors, Brayer, Button, 8 " Raffia, Crystal Effects (now retired).

Well that's it for my card this week. I hope you like it.   Be sure to check out all the Design Team cards and leave some comments along the way.  

Oh and, how about participating in this challenge?  If you've never done a Tic- Tac-Toe challenge now's the time to try it out, we'd love to have you join us and play along!  You can do it!

Happy Stamping! 
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot