Watercooler Wednesday - #107 Penny's Masculine Anything Goes Challenge

Hi stampers!  Welcome back to the Watercooler Wednesday challenge.  This week I'm happy to bring you a Masculine Challenge.  The style is an "anything goes" challenge so there aren't really any restrictions other than it has to be a guy card.    

Here's My Card:
I made this masculine birthday card for my dear brother-in-law Ken's February birthday.  Ken's kind of a burly guy but he's not reluctant to say he likes bling and he certainly is a fan of Stampin Up!, so I thought a combo of Bear Hugs and Balloon Adventure would fit the bill for his special day.

This is a Shadow Box card. I've haven't made a Shadow Box card for some time now, but when I saw a recent Dawn Griffiths post on Youtube  using Balloon Adventures and this card style, I knew I wanted to CASe it.  

What a fun card to make! I fell in love with this card style all over again.  For sizing and details on how to make a Shadow Box card just click on Dawn's name above for a direct link to the video.

Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Bear Hugs, Balloon Adventures, Bella and Friends
Card Stock:  Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Basic Black
DSP:  Gold Glimmer Paper,  Type Style Designer Paper (R)
Ink: Tuxedo Momento Black, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
Accessories:  Balloon Pop-Up Thinlet Dies, Bunch of Banners Thinlets, Big Shot, Trimmer, Dimensionals, Tom Bow Glue,Glue Dots.

Balloon Pop Up Thinlet Dies

Balloon Adventures part of the Party Animal Suite in the new Occasions 2017 Catalogue.

The sentiment is from Balloon Adventures, the little bear is from Bear Hugs and the small balloon  image is from Bella and Friends. The Very Vanilla panel is 5" x 3 1/2" and is layered on Basic Black.

The layers for my card front are:  5 1/2 x 8 1/2" Soft Suede card base.  1st layer is  5 1/4" x 4" Very Vanilla, 5" x 3 3/4" DSP layer.  For the layers with the bear I cut a 3" x 3 1/2" Soft Suede, 2 3/4" x 3 1/4" Basic Black and a 2 1/2" x 3" Very Vanilla panels.

Here's a side view of the sentiment and balloons.  The "Party On" sentiment is from the Balloon Adventures stamp set. I stamped it in Momento Tuxedo Black ink on a scrap of Very Vanilla card stock and then cut it out with the Bunch of Banners Thinlet Dies.  The edges  were sponged with Soft Suede ink and I used a thumping technique to apply for ink to the banner to give it a mottled appearance.   I used the negative image dots from the die cut balloons as additional trim and applied them with glue dots. 

The Gold Glimmer Paper balloons were perfect for this card.   They add such sparkle to the soft Suede paper.  The large balloon die from Balloon Pop-Up Thinlets fits perfectly on this panel of the card so no extra trimming is required.  I used the "Let's Celebrate" stamp from the Balloon Adventures Stamp Set.

Well that's it for today.  I hope you enjoyed this card and will add this technique to your collection of fancy fold cards. If you haven't already checked out the other Watercooler Wednesday Design Artist's cards make sure you stop by. This challenge is open until 5:00pm MT so if you'd like to link up your masculine card creation, we'd be thrilled to have you join us. 

Happy Stamping!Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot 

Wacky Watercooler February 2017 Spring Fever Blog Hop

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day this week. I know for some of you you're still getting winter storms so you'll probably welcome our thoughts of better things to come with our Spring Fever Blog Hop which runs from today through Saturday February 18th, 2017.  Hopefully no matter what your weather situation, you'll be able to have happy Spring thoughts.  

The Wacky Watercooler blog hop is a circular hop so no matter whether you start at the beginning of the list or enter at some other point, if you continue moving from participant to participant you'll always wind up where you started. 

This time around I'm very excited to be starting off the hop, so you're either beginning or ending at my site.  Hope I don't disappoint.  There are a total of 8 other talented paper crafters following me who're all eager to share their creative and exciting projects with you, so I hope you'll relax, settle in and enjoy the hop! 

My First Project - Sparkles:  

It seems I'm caught up in Sparkles and Birthdays this week, so it's appropriate that my first project combines both.  This is a fun birthday/gift card holder I've made for a very special girlfriend of mine who absolutely "sparkles" in everything she does.  

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Love Sparkles #143183
Card Stock:  Whisper White and Smokey Slate, Silver Glimmer Paper, Silver Foil Card Stock
DSP:  A Little Foxy Designer Series Paper Stack #141637
Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories:  Big Shot, Mini Treat Bag Framelit, Balloon Pop-Up Thinlet #142753, Star Blast Edgelits#142763, Tom Bow Glue, Basic Rhinestones, Stitched Rectangles (Non-Su)

 

This project started with a Mini Treat Bag made with the dies of the same name.  Since my friend is such a glam and glitzy girl, I chose this beautiful designer paper from the "A Little Foxy Designer Series Paper stack to go with my gray and white theme. It was perfect.  Note:  You need two 6x6 sheets to complete the mini bag.

I absolutely love the Star Blast Edgelits.  They just instantly create happiness and excitement on a project.  For this bag I cut both a Smokey Slate and a Silver Glimmer Paper star blast image.  I attached them with Mini Glue dots at the base so the stars would still bob and move around once they were adhered to the bag front. For some additional glam I added a strip of silver foil to the Smokey Slate card stock base and adhered this piece on an angle across the bag. 

For the sentiment I stamped the "Sparkle" sentiment In Momento Tuxedo Black ink on a scrap of Whisper White card stock and cut it out with a non-SU stitched rectangle die.  I added some silver foil stars and Basic Rhinestones to complete the sentiment piece.    

The inside gift card was made with a piece of Whisper White card stock that measures 5 1/4" x 3 7/8".  The overlay was made by cutting a piece of Smokey Slate card stock with the Balloon Pop-Up Thinlet.  

I added touches of Silver Glimmer paper for the balloons and stars and some small Basic Rhinestones.  I cut two Smokey Slate bows using the Bow die cut from this set for the handle on the card.  The sentiment "It's Your Day" is from the Love Sparkles stamp set.

The back of the insert has a 2" by 3 7/8" piece of the designer series paper across the bottom. It was attached with a small amount of Tom Bow glue on three sides. The gift card slides in length-wise in the center. The sentiment "happy birthday" was stamped at the top of the insert with Momento Tuxedo Black ink. 

My Second Project:  A No-Cut DSP Gift Folder CASE

My second project is also birthday related and uses products from the Party Animal Collection in the Occasions 2017 catelogue.  My inspiration for this project came from the very talented Diane Barnes, who has been making what she calls a "No-Cut Patterned Paper Gift Folder" since 2008.   

Here's What I Came Up With:

This is the front of the folder.  

Inside the gift folder are two side pockets where you can add notes.  I've left mine blank so I can personalize for the fellow I'm going to give this to. 

This is the back view of the gift card holder. The Pacific Point bow on the side is the gift card pullout. Because of the additional pull-out, you would have to custom make an envelope to hold this card.


Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Balloon Adventures #142823, Love Sparkles #143183, and Avante Garden (143272 - Happy Birthday)
Ink: Emerald Envy, Watermelon Wonder, Pacific Point
Paper: Party Animal Designer Series Paper, Silver Glimmer Paper
Card Stock: Emerald Envy, Tangerine Tango, Watermelon Wonder, Pacific Point, Whisper White.
Accessories: Balloon Pop-Up Thinlet Dies #142753, Star Punch from Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack (R), Banners Framelits #132173, Lots of Labels Thinlet Dies #138281, Emerald Envy Bakers Twine, Dimensionals, Tear N' Tape, Tom Bow Glue, Simply Scored, Trimmer and Big Shot.

Side view of the Gift Folder

The blue tab on the side is for the gift card.  It is tucked into this side-seam.

 

This is the front of the actual gift card holder that I designed and added to the card.  It comes complete with it's own little tab on the side that I cut out with the Balloon Pop-Up Thinlet Dies.  I slid this into the side seam created by the fold in the card stock and it fits snugly inside. 

Here you can see I just created a small pocket on the reverse of the holder that the gift card can just slide into.

I loved the fact that there are all kinds of neat little folds and hiding places on this gift card holder. And, although I basically CASED Diane's design I like adding my own take on a project, such as adding glue on some folds so that the package didn't come apart and I also created a square gift card holder that I could tuck into the side seam. 

Assembly:
Because Diane happily shares her template and fabulous instructions for this Gift Folder, on her blog, I've provided this link so you can check out her post on this topic.  I'm sure you'll be just as eager as I was to create one or maybe several of this fun gift card bag(s).  Whatever you do please acknowledge her and drop her a comment, let her know I sent you.  

Project Three:   Avant Garden Spring Card

With Spring just around the corner and a plethora of birthdays coming up in March and April I decided to make a simple card using the Avant Garden stamp set for my third project.  You can't buy this stamp set, but you can earn it for free during Sale-A-Bration with the purchase of $60.00 CDN from any of the other Stampin' Up! catalogues currently available.  

I stamped three of the bouquet images on a piece of 3 1/2 x 3 1/2" Very Vanilla card stock.  I water coloured the flowers and stems with Sweet Sugarplum and Pear Pizazz inks.  To get the fullness in the image, I restamped three more floral images, painted them and fussy cut them out attaching various bits and pieces to the original stamped flowers with dimensionals.

Well you've come to the end of my projects for this hop and I hope that I've inspired your creative side in some way.  Now it's time to move on to the wonderful Kath Rick's blog so she can wow you with her projects.  Have fun and remember to leave some comments along the way..... we love to hear from you.

Kath Ricks

Heidi Weaver

Wacky Watercooler Feb 2017 Blog Hop

Happy Stamping!
Penny Token's Stampin Spot

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 - #105 Marsha's Colour Inspiration Challenge

Watercooler Wednesday has rolled around again and this time we are having a colour challenge brought to you by Marsha.  WWC105 features a lot of colours but Marsha has indicated you can use a minimum of three plus a neutral of your choice.  I'm not sure what colours you see when you look at this display, but based on Stampin' Up! ink colours, I see  Mint Macaroon, Pirouette Pink, Blushing Bride, Rich Razzleberry, Always Artichoke and Smokey Slate. 

Here Is My Card:

My inspiration for this card came from Caro Thomas who show cased some beautiful masculine cards in June 2016, using the Swirly Scribbles Thinlet dies.  I really liked how she inlaid the colour pieces in the die cut.  

Initially I planned to CASE her card substituting the colours from this challenge, but after playing with the die cuts a bit I decided to change up my design and only used her colour matchup on the inside of the card.  

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Jar of Love #141587 and Delicate Details #143214 (SAB)
Ink:  Rich Razzleberry, Smokey Slate, Pink Pirouette, Always Artichoke, Blushing Bride - Markers 
Card Stock:  Rich Razzleberry, Always Artichoke, Pink Pirouette, Smokey Slate and Whisper White
Accessories:  Big Shot, Trimmer, Swirly Scribbles Thinlet Dies, Spray Mister, Heat Gun, Festive Embossing Folder, Tom Bow Adhesive, Adhesive Remover

Swirley Scribbles Thinlet Dies #141497

Festive Texture Embossing Folder #141471

How It's Made: 

1. Cut card base from 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Smokey Slate card stock
2. Cut 1st mat 5 1/4" x 4" from Rich Razzleberry and glue to base
3. Cut 2nd mat 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" from Always Artichoke and glue to 1st mat
4. Cut a piece of Whisper White for the top mat measuring 3 3/4" x 4 7/8".
5. Place the wavy die from Swirly Scribbles on the long side of this mat so that it's closer to the left edge, and run through the Big Shot.  Retain all pieces. 
6. Cut a strip of Watercolour Paper to measure 1 1/2" x 4 7/8".  This will be the base for your colour and for adding the cut out pieces of the Swirly Scribbles. 
7. I used markers to colour five striped bands along the length of this piece.  The bands were at least an inch high.  Once all the colour has been added spray the bands with water and allow the ink to flow.  Dry with a piece of paper towel and a heat gun.  
8. When this piece is dry run it through the Big Shot in the Festive Embossing folder. 
9. Add adhesive to the Swirly wave piece center and glue to the watercolour strip. Then glue the two cut out pieces to each side.  You now have a rectangle.  
10. Stamp the "thank you" sentiment from Jar of Love below the swirl in Rich Razzleberry ink.
11. Ink up the thin lace strip from the Delicate Details and stamp along the top and bottom edge of the card, getting as close to the edge as possible.  Glue this mat to the Always Artichoke mat.
12. Add random sprays of Basic Pearls.
13. Finish the inside of the card with a 4" x 5 1/4" mat of Whisper White card stock.  I cut Swirly waves from Always Artichoke, Smokey Slate and Pirouette Pink.  I adhered the Always Artichoke to the Whisper White mat and then fitted in pieces of the other colours and adhered with Tom Bow glue.  
14. I didn't use a sentiment on the inside of the card because I wanted room to hand write my message of thanks. 

I really like how the band of colour beneath the Swirly Wave turned out.  The watercolor piece was perfect and once it was embossed the details reminded me of effervescence in the water.  This step could be done in two other ways:

1. By gluing strips of coloured card stock to a piece of Whisper White and then embossing it or, 
2. colour block a strip of Whisper White with your ink pads or by inking up an acrylic block and stamping bands of colour.  

I liked the effect I got with the markers and it was so fast and simple. I also like the basic pearls as they seem to carry along the idea of bubbles.

The beautiful stamped lace from the Delicate Details stamp set added some balance to the card.  It's stamped in Blushing Bride ink.  I know I'm going to be using this stamp set a lot.  I got mine for free from the Sale-A-Bration catalogue after I placed a $60.00 order. 

 

Well that's it for today.  I hope you enjoyed this card and will leave me a comment.  Also I hope you'll visit the other Watercooler Wednesday Design Artist's sites to see their projects.  I know you'll love them.  

This challenge linky is open until 5:00 pm MT Monday February 13th so I hope you'll play along with us.  We always love to see how we've inspired others.  Who knows you may be the next papercrafter to "Rock the Watercooler".

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot