Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #145 - Judy's Masculine "Anything Goes"

Hi Stampers!  Welcome to our Watercooler Wednesday weekly challenge.  This week our hostess is Judy Markowitz and she's challenging you to make a Masculine themed card or project and link it to our challenge site.  

What could be easier, hope you'll join us.  The Linksy is open until 5:00pm on Monday November 20th.  All you have to do is make something masculine and link it to your post through our Linsky 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. 

Here's My Masculine Card:

Supplies:
Stamps: One Wild Ride, Happy Birthday Gorgeous and Route 66 (Carta Bella)
Ink: Crumb Cake and Early Espresso
Card Stock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla and Early Espresso plus a scrap of card stock with a straight edge for Retiform sectioning.
Accessories: Paper Trimmer, Detail Scissors, Post It Notes, Sponge Daubers

Some Details:
1. The card base is a 4 1/4" x 11" piece of Crumb Cake scored at 5 1/2".

2. The first layer is a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Early Espresso.

3. The second layer is a 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" piece of Very Vanilla.

4. For the motorcycle layer, I cut rectangles from Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla using my Pinpoint Rectangles dies.  The largest rectangle measures 2 1/8" x 3 1/8" and graduate down in size. 

The edges were sponged with Crumb Cake ink and the sentiment "Birthday Wishes to the Leader of the Pack" from the One Last Ride Stamp set and the tire tread were stamped in Early Espresso ink. The motorcycle was stamped twice on scraps of Very Vanilla ink, fussy cut and the images were put together with Dimensionals. Before layering the motorcycle across this panel, the edges were sponged with Early Espresso ink.

5.  The inside panels are a 4 x 5 1/4" piece of Early Espresso topped with a 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" piece of Very Vanilla. The "Happy Birthday" sentiment is from the Happy Birthday Gorgeous Stamp set.  I inked up the motorcycle with Crumb Cake and then stamped off on a scrap of paper before stamping the image on the bottom of the panel.

The technique used for the background of this card is called Retiform. Click here to see a video by Randi Collins that shows the step by step process to create this type of background.

 
You'll need two sponge daubers, 3 or 4 Post It Notes and a strip of scrap card stock that has a straight edge. For the pattern on my Retiform background I randomly stamped images from One Wild Ride and Route 66 stamp sets.

Well that's all there is to this simple card.  I hope you enjoyed it and will try this technique with your own stamps.  It works best with a stamp set that has more imagery than words.  I'd love to see what you create or hear your thoughts on this technique.

If you haven't checked out the entries from the other Watercooler Wednesday Design Team members just click here to return to the home page.
Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin Spot

5 Reasons to Reserve the New Stamparatus Stamping Platform

Stampin' Up! introduced their newest product sensation the "Stamparatus" at their recent On Stage event, and from all accounts it was an instant hit with the attending demonstrators. 

Check out Carrie's Video and the 5 reasons why you'll want to have this new tool:  

Benefits:
The Stamparatus will change the way you stamp, and before long, you’ll wonder how you ever crafted without it! Why do YOU need one? What will it do for me?  Okay here's what you'll be able to do with this new tool:

• You'll be able to make multiple stamped images with ease 
• You'll be able to  consistently stamp crisp, clean images by simply applying more ink and re-stamping. 
• You'll definitely make fewer mistakes positioning your stamps, which in the long run will save you time and money, and
• You'll be able to easily create 2-step, 3-step, and 4-step stamped images using these amazing reversible plates.

Here's some more details about what this well-thought out tool can do:  

1.  Using the two reversible and adjustable hinged plates you'll be able to develop new and specialized stamping techniques and stamp with precision.  the two reversible plates give you four surfaces to stamp with.

2.  You can stamp with your choice of red rubber or Photopolymer stamps simply by using the foam mat that's included with this tool.


3.   There are built in rulers and grid lines for quick measuring

4.  Because there are two open sides on this machine you can stamp on larger sheets of paper.

5.  There are 2 powerful magnets that will hold your paper in place so you can stamp crisp precise images.  The magnet storage slots have been provided on the back of the took, so the magnets are always handy when you need them.
 
How Much and How Do you Get It?:

First of all this stamping tool is reasonably price at $65.00 CDN plus shipping and handling. 
 
Instead of waiting until the new Occasions Catalogue and Sale-A-Bration events happen in January, Stampin up is releasing the Stamparatus in a slightly different way.  You'll be able to reserve yours during three upcoming periods beginning on Thursday November 16th, 2017.  See chart below for time periods and mark your calendar:

The launch will feature three reservation windows:

• Reservation quantities are “while supplies last”.
• Limit is 1 tool per customer
• You may participate in  multiple reservation windows
• In order to reserve your Stamparatus, you are required to provide your credit card information
• Credit cards will not be charged until the Stamparatus ships from Stampin Up.  When you close your order, be sure to verifiy that your credit card and shipping information are correct.

MORE DETAILED Q & A – click here

Reserve your Stamparatus – click here   

PLEASE NOTE – reservations start on November 16th and are while quantities last.


Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #144 - Penny's "All About Birthdays" Challenge

It's time for me to host this week at the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge, and I'm delighted.  I never seem to be able to keep up with all the birthdays that are coming up.  I hope my project will inspire you to create a card or project and enter it in our weekly challenge. 

The WWC144 Linksy is open until 5:00pm on Monday November 14th.  All you have to do is make a birthday card or project and link it to your post through our Linsky.  All the stuff you need to know about playing along is located on the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge Main Page.  So I hope you'll play along.

Here's My Birthday Card:
My card for this challenge is called a Square Easel and I think (IMHO) it's one of the best quick and easy fancy fold cards you can make. This is my stepped up version and my original plain version is below.

Originally my card was very plain, as you can see from these photos but after setting it aside for a day before posting, I added some additional decorations to bring it to life.  Either card would be great, but I must confess, I love the final version the best. What do you think?

Original card without decorations.  Very plain and simple.

This side view shows how the "stopper" holds up the front layer of the card when it's opened.

Standard Dimensions and Assembly Square Easel Card:
1. Choose your base card stock, a contrasting card stock for your layer, and a neutral card stock of DSP for your focal layer.

2. Cut base card stock to 8 1/2" x 4 1/4" and score at 4 1/4" and 6 1/2".

3. Use your bone folder to crease the center fold at 4 1/4" and then crease the next score line to fold as a Mountain fold. Add adhesive to this front fold.

4. Cut a 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" piece of card stock for your card front.  Adhere your card front to the front of the card where you've placed the adhesive.

5.  You need to add a "stopper" to the bottom inside of the easel card that will support the front card piece so that it sits up in an upright position.  For my stopper on this card I used a double strip of card stock. 

For those of you who are visual and need to see how the scoring works on this card, check out Michelle Boyer's great tutorial.  Her picture tutorial takes the guess work out of it and really shows how easy it is to make an easel card. 

Supplies:
Stamps: Tree Rings and Colourful Season,
Ink: Momento Black, Crushed Curry, Lemon Lime Twist, Early Espresso, and Crumb Cake
Card Stock: Lemon Lime Twist, Basic Black and Whisper White Old Olive, Crushed Curry and Old Olive
DSP:  Color Theory DSP, Color Theory Memories and More Pack
Accessories: Big Shot, Trimmer, Tom Bow Glue, Dimensionals, Happy Birthday and Seasonal Layers Thinlet Dies, Glitter Enamel Dots.

 Details For Stepped Up Version:
1.  The card base is Lemon Lime Twist scored and folded as noted above.

2.  For the layers:

• Cut a 4 1/4' x 4 1/4" layer of Basic Black card stock and adhere to the front of the card base as noted above.
• Cut a 4 1/8 " x 4 1/8" piece of Lemon Lime twist for 2nd layer and adhered to first layer.
• Cut a 4" x 4" piece of Whisper White for stamping layer.  Stamp with Tree Rings background stamp with Tuxedo Momento Black ink. Colour this piece with sponge daubers and Crushed Curry, Lemon Lime Twist, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso inks. Adhere to Lemon Lime Twist layer.

3. Cut the "Happy Birthday" sentiment from Lemon Lime Twist and from Basic Black card stock using the "Happy Birthday" Thinlet Die.  Adhere these two die cuts together, offsetting them "just a touch" so you get a shadow effect.  Glue the sentiment to the card center.  

The Basic Black die cut placed just a touch out of step with the Lemon Lime Twist one creates a shadow and depth.  I put some Tom Bow Glue on my silicone mat, just a dollop, and then used a sponge on the back of the lettering to attach the two sets and then repeated this on the back of the back layer before attaching to the card.  The sponge makes it a lot easier to add glue to die cuts that have intricate patterns. 

4. Using the Seasonal Layers Thinlet Die cut out several small leaves in Crushed Curry, Early Espresso and Old Olive.  Sponge the outside edges of the leaves and then adhere them to the front of the card. I also attached some of the small sticker leaves from the Color Theory Memories Pack (top right corner).  Save three leaves for the inside of the card.

The smallest leaves are actually stickers from the Color Theory Memories and More Pack.  The large leaves were cut out with the Seasonal Layers Thinlets.

 5.  For the inside cut a 4 1/8 x 4 1/8" piece of Basic Black card stock and adhere to card base.  Cut a 4" x 4" piece of Whisper White and adhere to Basic Black layer.  Stamp with the sentiment "May all your tomorrows be as happy as today" from the Colourful Season stamp set, in Momento Tuxedo Black ink.  Attach a cluster of three small leaves below sentiment on right hand side. The top leaf is mounted with a Dimensional and the other two are glued flat.

6. Create a ledge for the card front to rest against by cutting a 4 1/8" by 3/4" piece of Basic Black Card Stock and adhering it 1/4" from the bottom of the card. Cut a 1/2" x 4"strip of Lemon Lime Twist and mount it to the black strip with Dimensionals. Add Glitter Enamel Dots along this strip.

And that's all there is to my Happy Birthday card. What do you think? Did you like it? Would you try to make one yourself? I'd sure like to know your thoughts on it as I plan to make more of them showcasing some different decorating techniques. Okay here's one last look:
 

I hope this post inspires you to join in our weekly challenges. You can click here to return to the Watercooler Wednesday Home Page and this challenge and check out the other Watercooler Design Team Artists birthday designs.

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Creative Circle Design Team Blog November Hop - "Thankful"

Welcome to the Creative Circle Design Team's November Blog Hop.  This fun hop, spear headed by Liz Holloway always takes place the first Thursday of every month.  Our theme this month is "Thankful", a word that has special meaning for so many of us this year, following a host of natural and man made disasters.

Although our Canadian Thanksgiving has just passed I will be celebrating with my American friends at the end of this month, so the "Thankful" theme for this month's hop is still relevant for me, in many ways.

Here's My Project:
I created an accordion fold "thankful" display for a mantle top using the Jar of Love Stamp, Painted Harvest and  Color Theory Paper Stack. This accordion style display is contained in a decorative fall themed belly band, that holds it all together until it goes on display.  Let me show you how it unfolds. 

This little bundle is about the size of a deck of cards.  I made a "belly band" to hold the folded card together when not in use. 

Side view of the accordion bundle.

The two green panels are the outside front and back panels of the accordion fold.

The Belly Band's off and this is a view from the top. 

I wish I could make this picture enlarge more, unfortunately that's as big as it gets.  The whole concertina measures 4" x 24".

Supplies:
Stamps: Jar of Love and Painted Harvest
Inks: Old Olive, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Crushed Curry
Card Stock: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Crushed Curry
Designer Series Paper: Color Theory DSP Paper Stack and Color Theory Memories and More Card Pack, Gold Foil, Copper Glimmer Paper,
Accessories: Paper Trimmer, Adhesive, Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers, Stickles, Wink of Stella, Big Shot, Seasonal Layers Thinlet Dies, Everyday Jar Framelit Dies.
 
Let's Take a Closer Look:

1. Cut three 4" x 11" strips of Crumb Cake card stock.

2. Score these strips at 2 1/2", 5', 7 1/2" and 10. Cut off 1" piece at the end. Attach the first two strips with Tom Bow Glue and then attach the last one. Beginning on the left hand side begin folding at score lines starting with a valley fold, then a mountain fold, all the way to the end of the strip. You should have 10 sections in the strip.

3. Cut 12 pieces of Soft Suede measuring 2 1/4" x 3 3/4". Glue these strips to the inside 10 sections and to the two ends on the outside or back of the accordion strip.

4. From the Colour Theory Memories and More Pack choose the two cards with leaves and an Old Olive background. Cut the cards to measure 2 1/8" x 3 1/2" and adhere these pieces to the two end sections on the inside of the accordion strip.

5. Cut eight 2 1/8" x 3 1/2" pieces from the Old Olive and Crushed Curry Color Theory DSP paper. I chose the sheets with the Ombre look. You will need four of each colour. Sponge the edges with the appropriate ink and then glue to the Soft Suede panels.

6. Cut two more 2 1/8" x 3 1/2" pieces from the Color Theory Paper Pack. I chose the Old Olive cracked design paper and sponged the edges with Old Olive ink before gluing to the two panels on the back of the accordion strip.

7. Using the remaining Old Olive and Crushed Curry Ombre pieces of Color Theory DSP stamp the largest jar image in Momento Tuxedo Black ink. You should have 4 Old Olive and 4 Crushed Curry mason jars. Note: Stamp an extra mason jar in Crushed Curry for the Belly Band and set aside.

Cut the jars out with the Everyday Jar Framelits.  Sponge edges with appropriate inks. Beginning with a Crushed Curry and alternating with Old Olive jars, attach the jars with Dimensionals to the accordion panels.

8. Stamp 8 mason jar lids in Smokey Slate ink on Whisper White card stock and cut out with the matching framelit die. Attach with Dimensionals to the top of the Jar.

9. Using an alphabet framelit set (non SU) I cut the letters to spell "THANKFUL" from Soft Suede card stock. I sponged each letter with Soft Suede ink and then glued the letters to the centers of the mason jars. Note: I would have loved to have used Stampin' Ups! Large Letters Framelit Dies for this part of the project, but they are still on my WISH LIST.

10. Cut a variety of maple leaves from card stock, foil and glimmer papers using the thee sizes of leaf dies in the Seasonal Layers Thinlet Set. Use a sponge dauber and ink to sponge all the edges. Use these leaves to decorate the panels and the belly band.

11.  Stamp the acorn from the Painted Harvest stamp set in Soft Suede and Early Espresso inks on Whisper White card stock and fussy cut the finished acorns.    I stamped and coloured at least 20 acorns so they could be clustered together.I sponged the edges with Crushed Curry to give them a more realistic look.  I loved how they turned out..... such fun!

12. For the Belly Band cut a strip of Soft Suede card stock to measure 2" x 10 1/2". Score at 2 1/2", 4", 6 1/2", and 8". Crease on fold lines and adhere on backside. Decorate the front of the Belly Band with a the Crushed Curry Mason Jar. Attach leaves, gemstones, acorns and leaves. Stamp the sentiment from Painted Harvest, "gather together & give thanks" on a 3/4" x 3" strip of Whisper White card stock. Stamp it in Smokey Slate ink. Cut the ends into banner points. Sponge the edges of the strip with Old Olive ink. 

Here's a look at the individual panels. When I was finishing them I added some extra touches like diamond Stickles on the jar lids and acorns. I also added a few green gems to the belly band and the first and last panel. I added some Wink of Stella around the letters to make them sparkle a little and some ink splatters in Old Olive and Early Espresso inks.

 

Well that's it for my project. I hope you've enjoyed it. I'll be giving mine to the hostess of our Thanksgiving Day dinner at the end of this month and I'm pretty sure she'll enjoy adding it to her decorations for the occasion.

  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #143 - Gail's Feminine "Anything Goes"

Gail Allen is hosting our Watercooler Wednesday challenge this week and is challenging us to make a Feminine card.  It can be for any occasion or event and it can even be a 3-D, so long as it captures a feminine element.   The challenge is open until 5:00pm MST on Monday November 6th , so if you're interested why not join us and link up your creation.  

Here's My Card:
I haven't had much of an opportunity to use the new Powder Pink Incolour since it came out in June, so I thought this week's Feminine challenge would be the perfect time to try it out.   I also needed a few "Thank You" cards for female friends so the timing was perfect.

This was a super easy card to make, it just required stamping and paper trimming.  What could be easier.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Painted Harvest #144783
Ink:  Smokey Slate and Powder Pink
Card Stock:  Basic Gray and Powder Pink
Accessories: Paper Trimmer, Acrylic Blocks, and Tom Bow Glue

Details:
I am so pleased with this two-step Photopolymer stamp set because it stamps beautifully every time and is very versatile. The Powder Pink and Smokey Slate combo created a very dreamy, feminine looking floral image. I absolutely love it!

 I started with an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Basic Gray card base, scored and folded at 4 1/4".  I added a 4" x 5 1/4"  layer of Powder Pink, followed by a 3 3/4" x 5" layer of Whisper White.  I cut a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White for the inside panel.  


I began stamping three of the large floral images in Powder Pink on the left hand side of the Whisper White Panel. The flowers do not overlap and I didn't require a mask.

Next I inked up the smaller floral image with Smokey Slate ink and stamped over top of the first three images.  To add just a bit more definition and colour to the flowers I re-inked then re-stamped the image shifting the placement just a tad clockwise.  Perfect! 

The center of the flower is stamped in Powder Pink and the small dotted image is in Smokey Slate.  The sentiments are stamped in Smokey Slate.  I stamped two flowers on the inside panel and added the sentiment. 

I stamped envelopes with the floral image too, but forgot to take a photo. My friends loved these cards.

Another Card:
I also want to share another Thank You card and envelope made with the same stamp set but in fall colours.  

These were stamped with Crushed Curry, Old Olive and Tangerine Tango inks and layered on matching card stock.  I used my rectangle stitched dies (non SU) to cut out the layers, which adds much more sophistication to the card. Using a sponge dauber and Crushed Curry ink, I also stenciled the back ground after the floral images were stamped using the diamond patterned stencil from the Pattern Party Decorative Masks set.  

I loved the colour combination and the addition of leaves and stenciling design in this card and making these cards almost became addictive.  Here are some more images of this card and envelope.

 

Love the way this stamped on the envelope and picked up  the fibers from the paper.  Beautiful!

Okay, that's it for today.  I hope you liked my thank you cards using the Painted Harvest Stamp set.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on these cards.  If you haven't seen the wonderful selection of cards from our Design team yet don't forget to check them out.  Click here to return to the Watercooler Wednesday Home page.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot