Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #117 - Heidi's Feminine Anything Goes

It's been nothing but rain, rain and more rain here in the Fraser Valley for the past few months, so although we've got lots of Spring flowers in bloom, we've had an incredible lack of sunshine.  Lets hope the month of May brings a new weather outlook.

Speaking of change, the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge Blog is undergoing some changes too.  The first change is that our Guest Design Artist, Heather Hopson, is taking a break for the summer and hopefully will rejoin us in the Fall. Thanks Heather for inspiring with all your great cards, posts and comments.  Have a terrific summer!

The Watercooler Wednesday Design Team is also excited to announce is the addition of Fiona Whitehead and Judy Markowitz . These two very talented gals have participated in many of our weekly challenges and demonstrated some pretty impressive paper crafting skills. A big shout out and welcome for these two!  

Another change I'm excited about is the lineup for our challenges is changing beginning this month.  Make sure you check out the side-bar on the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge Blog for the new weekly challenges.  I'm sure you're going to be as excited as I am.  Love it! 

Heidi Weaver is starting us off by hosting our first "Feminine" Anything Goes theme challenge. Since we've been covering the boys pretty regularly it seemed only fair that the "girls" get spotlighted too.  Isn't this a great addition to our line-up?  

This challenge is open from May 3rd and the link closes at 5pm Mountain time on Monday May 8th.  I hope you'll join us for this challenge, by linking up your Feminine Anything Goes card.

Here's My Card: 

I've really been wanting to try out the Beautiful You stamp set from Stampin' Up! and this new challenge was the perfect opportunity to get it inky.  Regretfully I'm also showcasing the soon to be retired Balloon Pop Up Thinlet die.

I cut out the DSP with the Balloon Pop Up Die and mounted in on Basic Black card stock. I also used the balloon images from this die cut to cut out the two Mint Macaroon Balloons.  The Sweet Sugar Plum Balloon was cut out with the Double Balloon punch.  I stamped the dancing girl on Very Vanilla card stock and fussy cut out the image with my detail scissors. 

Supplies:
Stamp Set:  Beautiful You #143637
Card Stock and DSP: Very Vanilla, Basic Black and Sweet Sugarplum card stock. Playful Palette DSP Stack #141657, and the now retired Sweet Sugarplum and Mint Macaroon Glimmer papers. 
Ink:  Tuxedo Momento Black, Mint Macaroon, Sweet Sugarplum, and Blushing Bride.
Accessories:  Blender Pen, Big Shot, Trimmer, Tom Bow Glue, Dimensionals, Balloon Pop Up Thinlet Die, Stitched Shapes Oval Dies, Large Oval Punch, Double Balloon Punch, Project Life Black Marker.

The inside of this card is a little unusual in that the free writing space is on the back of the front panel.  I've added another stamped design and birthday sentiment to the bottom inside panel.  Sometimes it's just nice to change things up!   In my opinion, the inside just adds to the WOW factor in this card lay out.  

In this view you can see the whole inside of the card.  Unfortunately it was difficult to photo graph so this image is very small.

I love the openness of this panel and the two balloons.  There is plenty of writing space left for the sender to express their good wishes for the day!  The balloons were cut out with the Double Balloon punch.  The Mint Macaroon balloon is glued to the panel and the smaller Sweet Sugarplum balloon was added with a Dimensional. I drew the strings free hand with a Project Life marker.

This is the bottom inside panel and I've chosen to add one of the stamped female images and the sentiment "Happy Birthday Gorgeous".  I love how the paper from the Playful Pallet stack really adds a soft colourful touch to this card. 

Well that's it for today stampers.  If you have any questions about the layout of this card or the products used please don't hesitate to email me at pennyhanuszak@telus.net or leave a comment on this post.  I'd love to hear from you. 

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #116 - Kath's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

This week's Watercooler Wednesday challenge #WWC116 is a Masculine "Anything Goes" theme hosted by Kath.   

If you're like me, you're probably always on the lookout for ideas and samples of masculine cards.  This is  especially true with Father's Day looming in the months to come and so many male birthdays on my calendar.

So, my card for this challenge features one of the more masculine stamp sets from Stampin' Up! called "The Wilderness Awaits".  I'm sad to say this set is retiring the end of May 2017, and I wanted to give it a last hurrah!  What better way than to combine it with one of my favourite fancy fold techniques. 

Here's My Card:

This card, called a "Twist and Pop" is one of the more favourite fancy fold cards this year. I've found that making one of these cards is like pulling together a special story and they're such a challenge.  I love making these so much that I'm planning on featuring this card style in my upcoming "Father's Day" Masculine card class, so stay tuned for details. What fun! 

  

Supplies:

Stamp Sets: The Wilderness Awaits #139365*, Here's to Cheers #142101*, Badges and Banners #141610, Avant-Garden (SAB 2017 (R), Gorgeous Grunge #130517*, Stylized Birthday #141828
Card Stock:  Very Vanilla, Tip Top Taupe, Early Espresso
Ink:  Early Espresso, Tip Top Taupe, Crumb Cake 
Accessories:  Trimmer, Big Shot, Woodland Embossing Folder #139673, Brayer, Stitched Framelits - Ovals and Circles*(R),  Stitched Shapes Framelits #145372, Banner Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Large Oval Punch (R).
Note:  All Supplies Marked with (*) are retiring at the end of May 2017 or as long as supplies last. (R) refers to accessories that were previously retired.



For the inside top card panel, I repeated the Woodland Embossing folder layer but used the debossed side to add some interest. I cut a layer of Very Vanilla card stock with the Stitched Shapes Oval Framelits for the "Happy Birthday" sentiment. 

The sentiment was stamped with the Stylized Birthday single stamp. I'm a big fan of this large bold font and find it really works well on masculine cards. 

To finish off I stamped some of the Gorgeous Grunge splotches randomly in Tip Top Taupe on the sentiment and added some more Gold Metallic Star Embellishments. I cut a larger oval of Early Espresso card stock with last years retired Ovals Framelits and mounted this with Dimensionals.

 

Because the card stock is relatively heavy on this card and I want to hold the twist part inside until the card is fully opened, I've added a belly band to give it some stability.  I cut a piece of Very Vanilla with the smallest Stitched Shapes Oval and stamped the "for you" sentiment from the Wilderness Awaits stamp set, leaves from Avant-Garden and splotches from Gorgeous Grunge.  The two small metallic stars give it a bit of pizazz on the card front.  Note:  the Early Espresso oval was cut using the old original large oval punch. It worked perfectly for this layer. 

I really like the four panels inside of the Twist and Pop Card.  You can use them to tell a story with your stamps and sentiments or add photos..... pretty much anything you want to decorate and personalize the card.  The bottom panel was left plain except for the small leaf stamp in the bottom corner.

The Elk's image from the Wilderness Awaits stamp set was repeated for this panel and some splotches from Gorgeous Grunge were added.

This panel was stamped with the Badges and Banner stamp set and the image was cut out with the coordinating Banner Punch. 

This panel was stamped with the Here's to Cheer's stamp set  and Gorgeous Grunge.

This is a mirror image of the Elk from The Wilderness Awaits that was stamped on acetate and then transferred to the Very Vanilla panel.  It isn't as dark as I would have liked it, but the image came through pretty clear.  The "No. 1" is such a cute little stamp and is from the Badges and Banners.  It was cut out with a 1 1/4" circle punch.

Well that's it for today's card challenge.  I hope I've inspired you with today's card and you'll take the time to leave me a comment.  Let me know if you've ever tried this fancy fold before.  It can be tricky, but with practice and proper positioning it is a terrific card style.  I plan on making a lot of these Twist and Pop cards in the coming weeks.

If you haven't participated in our Watercooler Wednesday challenges before I hope you'll give it a try.  Our challenges are posted on Wednesdays and are open until the following Monday.  If you haven't already checked out the Design Team artists I hope you will, they've posted some amazing samples this week.

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Wacky Watercooler April Blog Hop - Retirement Means Goodbye

Hi everyone, thanks for coming to visit my site.  It's time for our "Retirement Means Goodbye" Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop.  All of us are sad to see retirement time come around because it means some of our favourite stamp sets and products will be gone forever.  We thought we'd give some of those a last hurrah and share them with you.  I've attached a link to the Retirement List at the end of this post in case you want to check it out.

This hop runs from Thursday April 20th through the 22nd and features five design artists, who have created some outstanding projects for you. It's a circular hop so whether you've come here from the super talented Marsha Reed's Coffee Pot Stampin Cafe blog or started at the beginning, if you follow along you'll eventually wind up where you started.

Project One: Oh So Succulent Flower Pot Card
I am going to miss the Oh So Succulents Stamp Set and Die cuts so much when they retire at the end of May. I can't get over how beautiful these succulent flowers are and how easy they are to assemble. Here is my rendition of a card I made (see below) at a Stamp Camp earlier this year. I really like my pumped up version.

Stamp Sets:  Oh So Succulent Bundle" and Banners For You

This is a picture of the bundle but these products could be bought as separate products.

Card Stock:  Mint Macaroon*, Tip Top Taupe*, Watermelon Wonder*, Honey Dijon*, Whisper White
Ink:  Perfect Plum, Mint Macaroon*, Tip Top Taupe*, Watermelon Wonder*, Honey Dijon*
Accessories: Succulent Dies*, Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Bo Ho Chic Embossing Folder*, Paper Snips, Basic Rhinestones, Honey Dijon Striped Ribbon*
Note:  All items with an (*) are retiring May 31st or as long as supplies last.
 

This picture shows the card jacket and the inside panel together. 

The inside panel has the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Oh So Succulent Stamp Set stamped in Tip Top Taupe. The florals are attached to this panel with Dimensionals. 

Here's the original card I made at Cheryl LeFore's Stamp Camp in February.  I fell in love with the beautiful succulents and the colour mix - Old Olive, Calypso Coral, Mint Macaroon and Sweet Sugarplum.  I decided to make my own template for a card class and CASe Cheryl's card.  What fun!  

Here are the two cards together.  Mine is in the foreground.  I increased the size of my template to accommodate a larger inside panel and embossed the flower pot with the retiring BoHo Chic Embossing Folder.  I changed the floral colours to Mint Macaroon, Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe and Honey Dijon and added a Honey Dijon Striped Ribbon.  Finally, I added Basic Rhinestones to the flower centers to give them a bit more pizzazz.

Project Two: Timeless Love Gift Card Holder

I'm very sad to say that the Timeless Love stamp set from the Annual Catalogue is Retiring. This has been my go-to set for Anniversary's this season. My project is a combination Anniversary Card and Gift card holder. I was inspired by Diane Barnes No-cut Patterned Paper Gift Folder, which uses only a 12 x 12 sheet of designer paper to create a unique special occasion folder.

This is what the card looks like from the front.  It has a belly band holding it shut.  I've used the beautiful Floral Boutique Designer Series Paper which is retiring March 31st and the Timeless Stamp Set that's also retiring.

I love the font that is used in the Timeless Love Stamp set and the beautiful floral designed images match perfectly with this paper.

Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Timeless Love #139408

Timeless Love Stamp Set has five images that are perfect for anytime you want to express your love.  This set comes in wood and clear mount versions.

Ink: Night of Navy 
Card Stock:  Night of Navy and Whisper White
DSP:  Floral Boutique Designer Series Paper*
Accessories:  Trimmer, Big Shot, So Detailed Thinlet Dies* an embellishment piece (retired).

The belly band slides off the folder.

Inside the folder are two pockets each containing a 5 1/4" by3 3/4" card.  On the left hand side is a Happy Anniversary card and on the right is a gift card holder that's made with the So Detailed Framelit Dies that are also retiring.

This is what the folder looks like when the cards are removed.

The gift card can slip behind the So Detailed die cut and fits just right.  I've stamped another flower image from the Timeless Love stamp set and the sentiment Congratulations. 

There's enough room to write a personal note on this card but an additional piece of Whisper White card stock could be added to the reverse side if more writing or room for a group signature. 

Everything slides into these pockets so well. 

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 Heidi Weaver's blog so she can wow you with her projects.  Or, you can go back to the beginning of the hop at the Watercooler.  Whichever way you go have fun and remember to leave some comments along the way..... we love hearing from you.  Let us know what you're sad to see retiring. 

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