Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #150 - Heidi's Masculine Anything Goes - Two Week Challenge

Hi stampers!  Christmas is just around the corner and I don't know about you, but I'm way behind this year with my card making and Christmas preparations.   I've been thrown off schedule with all the events happening where I live and company, but I wouldn't have changed it for the world.  Life happens!  

With that in mind, this week's Watercooler Wednesday challenge is going to span two weeks instead of our regular one week, to accommodate everyone's busy schedule and Christmas week.   I think everyone will give a round of applause to our Administrators for arranging that.  I know I will.  

Remember this Linky doesn't close until Monday, January 1st, 2018 at 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, so you've got plenty of time to get crafting.   All you need to do is follow a few simple rules and link up your post to our blog using the Linky.  Check out the details on Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog's home page. Hope you'll join us.

Here's My Card:

 

This week I'm adding to my Masculine birthday stash and have chosen a country western theme for those male friends and relatives who are "a little bit country". 

Supplies:
Stamp Set:  Country Living, Basic Butterfly and Cupcakes Clear Stamps, Howdy from Artful Impressions
Card Stock:  Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
DSP and Specialty Papers:  Coffee Break DSP, Gold Foil 
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crumb Cake and Momento Tuxedo Black, H2O Twinkles
in brown shades
Accessories:  Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Circle Dies, Sponge Daubers,Stamp-a-ma-jig, Tom Bow Adhesive, Dimensionals, Aqua Painter.

When I began making this card I couldn't decide whether I wanted to showcase the boots or the guitar from the Country Living stamp set but after a few trial runs, I wound up doing a bit of both. 
 

Country Living Stamp Set

The Details:
The card base is an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Crumb Cake card stock that was scored and folded at 4 1/4".  I added an Early Espresso layer that measured 5 1/4" x 4 followed by a 5 1/7" x 3 7/8" piece of the coffee ring paper from the Coffee Break Designer Series paper pack. 

I added three more layers to the card front  a gold foil, an Early Espresso and a Whisper White.  When I was trying to decide how to feature the guitars, I began stamping using my Stamp-a-ma-jig to place the guitars end to end on a larger sheet of Whisper White card stock.  I stamped the guitars in Early Espresso and coloured them with a wash of Crumb Cake and the H20's.  

I had a small Artistic Impressions stamp that said "howdy" that I thought would lend to the country feel and I stamped it randomly between the guitars with Early Espresso ink.  

I splattered Crumb Cake and Early Espresso inks over this panel to give it a weathered look.  When I finished stamping I cut this panel to 3" x 4 1/2" and adhered it to a piece of Early Espresso that measured 3 1/8" x 4 5/8".  This panel was attached to a 3 2/8" x 4 6/8" Gold Foil panel with Dimensionals.  The Gold Foil panel was glued to the center of the DSP panel. 

Love those boots.  I started out by stamping the boots with Momento Tuxedo Black ink on a piece of Whisper White card stock and then I applied a wash of Crumb Cake ink with my Aqua Painter.  I layered on Early Espresso and some of my H2O inks in various shades of brown to finish off the design.  In real life the boots look pretty leathery which was the look I was going for.  The boots were added to the front layer with Dimensionals.

I stamped the "Happy Birthday" sentiment from my Cupcake Clear Stamps set on a piece of Whisper White card stock and cut it out with a 1 1/4" circle punch. I sponged the edges of the circle with Early Espresso.   I cut additional circles from Early Espresso and Gold Foil and layered the sentiment to them.  The Dots are from my stash and I can't remember the Manufacturer.  

The inside of the card features the "Happy Birthday" sentiment from the Basic Butterfly stamp set, some more of the Coffee Break paper and a spare guitar that was left over from my earlier efforts.  After I took the pictures of the inside of the card I actually added a 1/4" x 5" strip of Early Espresso to cover the meet lines between the DSP and the White card stock.  It was an afterthought but worked well.

Well that's it for today's post.  Just a simple card, but I know it will make one of our friends very happy. How about you, do you struggle with themes for your masculine cards?  Do your like the country theme in this card?  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and my card.

If you haven't already done so don't forget to drop by and check out the awesome masculine cards contributed by the rest of the design team.  They're pretty stunning and inspiring.  Just click here to return to the Watercooler Wednesday WWC150 Challenge.  Thanks for stopping by!

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

Creative Circle Design Team's December Blog Hop

Welcome to the Creative Circle Design Team's December Blog Hop.  If you're new to the crafting world or not familiar with the acronym, CCDT stands for "Creative Circle Design Team". This is a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around the world who love creating using electronic cutters for their designs as well as Stampin' Up! products and who love to participate in blog hops.  

We hop on the first Thursday of each month and every 3rd month Liz Holloway, the leader of our group provides a pattern and challenge to create something using her 3D SVG and Silhouette formats.

The teams' challenge this month ties in with Christmas and is to create a Church of our choice using Liz's pattern but it must include some type of holder for cards, a mini album, candies or even home decor.


Here is My Project:
For anyone who lives in or who has been through the Sumas Washington area you may be familiar with an old landmark church on the way to Mount Baker that was turned into a pub in its later years called the "Holy Smoke".  This was the inspiration for my church design.  My holder is for Christmas cards.  Enjoy!

In this picture you can see the drawer which opens on the backside of the church open and holding the cards.

Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Hearts Come Home
Inks: In Colour 2017-18 Markers (Lemon Lime Twist, Berry Burst, Tranquil Tide, Powder Pink, Fresh Fig),Momento Tuxedo Black, Versa Mark 
Card Stock: Whisper White, Basic Black,White Glimmer Paper
Accessories: Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Liberty Bell, Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, 1 3/4 Circle Punch, Gold Thread. Stitched Shapes Die Cuts, Detailed Gate Thinlets Die, Sponge, Tom Bow Glue

Details:
I won't be providing measurements for any of the church assembly since it's all covered in Liz Holloway's design package.  But, the following are some of the things I added to my design for the challenge portion of it.  

I made a small box half box to fit inside the church and hold two battery operated candles.  The Church fits over top of the lid of the box and the box holds the church in place.

This is the insert for the support box for the church and holds the candles in place.

In this photo you can see how the church fits over top of the support box.  I actually attached the support box to the center of the drawer platform I made and it very effectively holds the church in place. 

In this photo you can see the base of the church is now mounted to the drawer.  It works similar to an easel card box.  The drawer is located at the back of the church and has a little bead pull to open it.  The drawer will hold four cards and envelopes.

Here you can see the cards inside the box and the drawer pull on the outside.  the platflorm is covered with glimmer paper so it looks like snow. 

When I was decorating my church, I opted to add three windows to the back of the church which was quite plain. 

This view shows the church off the platform.  I created a fancy door and scroll work on the sides and back of the church using the Detailed Gate thinlet die.  I cut one full gate from Basic Black card stock and then cut it down to three pieces of gridwork and the door portion.  I really liked the addition of these pieces to the overall look of the church. 

This is a closeup of the door.  It is cut from the top center of the Detailed Gate.  I mounted it on Whisper White card stock and cut around the design to form the door.  This was added with dimensionals to the front of the church.  The wavy lines you see on the church panels were made with the Seaside Embossing folder.  I wanted to give the appearance of wood siding on the church.

I absolutely love this Detailed Gate and the fact that it's not just for Halloween.  This beautiful die is from the Holiday Occasions catalogue and is only available until January 2nd, 2017.  It is product # 144669.

Here is my night view of the church.  The candles are on and you can see the lights flickering through those cute little vellum windows.  Unfortunately I don't have a closeup of the windows but them were assembled with the SVG cut outs and the vellum was coloured with this years In Colour Markers to give a pretty glow.

I found the degree of difficulty with this SVG design high but achievable and it was a fun project to tackle. I hope you've enjoyed my post and will check out the other design team artists to see their incredible projects.

  










Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot  

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #148 -Heidi's Feminine "Anything Goes"

Hi Stampers.  Wow the time is zipping by and once again it's time for the Watercooler Wednesday challenge.  This week's challenge is hosted by Heidi Weaver and she's challenging us to make a Feminine "Anything Goes" card or project. 

We hope you'll join in the fun and enter one of your own creations.   All you have to do is make a Feminine themed card or project and link it through your  post to our Linsky and follow a few simple rules.  What could be easier?  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  Mountain Time on Monday December 11th.  


Here's My Feminine Card:

Supplies:
Stamps: Painted Harvest, One Big Meaning
Ink: Lost Lagoon, Smokey Slate
Card Stock: Lost Lagoon, Smokey Slate and Whisper White
Accessories: Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Ovals Framelits, Stitched Rectangular Dies, Basic Pearls, Dimensionals, Tom Bow Glue.

Some Details:
1. The card base is an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Lost Lagoon card stock scored and folded at 4 1/4". Lost Lagoon is a retired In Colour from Stampin' Up!

2. The first layer of this card is a piece of Whisper White card stock measuring 4" x 5 1/4" and adhered to the card base.

3. The third layer is a 4 3/4" x 3 3/4" piece of Smokey Slate card stock adhered to the top right hand side of the card leaving a 1 5/8" gap on the left hand side.

4.  The final layer is a 3 1/2" x 4 1/4" piece of Whisper White.  This layer is stamped with the Painted Harvest two step sunflower around the outer edges and top of the panel.  The first layer of the flower is Lost Lagoon followed by Smokey Slate for the second flower and the inner part of the flower is Smokey Slate.  

5.  Before adhering the panel in step 4, stamp the "thank you" sentiment from One Big Meaning in the middle white space on the panel.  Cut out this piece with a 3" oval from the Oval die cuts set.  Once the main panel is adhered to the Smokey Slate panel, attach this oval with Dimensionals in its original slot.  Add three medium sized Basic Pearls to the side of the oval. 

6. Cut a 1/4" x 4" strip of Lost Lagoon and adhere it to the center of the white margin on the left hand side. Run a strip of Basic Pearls down the center.

7.  For the inside of the card cut a 5 1/4" x 4" panel of Whisper white.  Stamp the sentiment "Your Kindness...." and a couple of the flowers in Lost Lagoon and Smokey Slate inks.  Make an envelope to match.

I have to apologize for the poor quality of these photos.  They simply don't do the card justice.  Apart from that I hope you've enjoyed this card.  I simply love these flowers and the soft muted images you can obtain by matching two coordinating colours.  I'd love to hear from you so please let me know if you like these images too.  

Make sure you check out the other design team artists and their beautiful creations in this week's challenge. 

Before I go just a reminder that we're looking for a new Design Team Member to replace Libby Fenn's on our team.  If you're interested all the details on how you can be considered are on the beginning of this post.  Check it out here.
Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #147 - Charlotte's "Anything Goes"

Welcome to this week's Watercooler Wednesday Challenge, hosted by Charlotte.  This challenge is open to any theme or project - no holds barred.  What fun!

We hope you'll join us in the fun and enter one of your own creations.  You could be our next "Rock Star" winner.   All you have to do is make a card or project - any theme is okay - and  link it to our site via 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 December 4th, 2017.

Here's My Anything Goes Project:

Thanksgiving is behind us now and I'm switching to Christmas mode this week. My husband spent Black Friday getting the outside of the house decorated while I was inside lugging out the Christmas ornaments.  One of the things that was missing from my collection of Christmas paraphernalia was a Christmas mantle piece, so for this week's challenge I decided to make an Accordion Card featuring the word "holidays".  

The above picture shows the deck of card sized accordion card I made all bundled up in it's belly band and here it is unfolded: 

Supplies: (All products are Stampin' Up! unless noted)

Stamps: Merry Patterns (Hostess Promo 144973), Merry Little Labels(144795), Jar of Love (141587)

Ink: Dapper Denim, Pacific Point
Card Stock: Whisper White and Dapper Denim
DSP/Specialty Papers:  Color Theory Pack (144193), Silver Foil (132178)
Accessories:Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Tom Bow Glue, Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, Glitter Enamel Dots (144200), Clear Faceted Gems (144142)
Big Shot Accessories:  Stitched Shapes Thinlets (145372), Card Front Builder (144674), Home Town Greetings Edgelit Dies (144671), Lots of Labels (138281), Sleigh Ride Edgelits (139670 Retired), Everyday Jars (1414900
Non Stampin' Up Accessories:  Tim Holtz Snowflakes 661599, EK Tools Alphabet 54-80032, EK Tools Christmas 54-80018

How It's Made:

All of the details and measurements needed to make an Accordion Fold card are listed in my November Creative Circle Blog hop post so I won't repeat them here. Just click on this link for the details.

To make this Accordion Fold card I began with Whisper White and Dapper Denim card stocks for my card base and first layers. I super liked the way the Color Theory Designer Series paper worked out in my Thanksgiving Accordion fold, so I chose the Dapper Denim coloured papers from this paper pack for my DSP layers. I especially liked how the blue crackle design paper worked perfectly for show casing the mason jars from the Everyday Jar stamp set.

The hardest part of making this Accordion Fold card was deciding what word to showcase and how I wanted the alphabet letters to be displayed.  My  display only had room for an 8 letter word so "holidays" worked for me.  

I also chose to go with the mason jars from Everyday Jars because they conjured up all kinds of ideas for displays like mini lights or candle holders.  To get that effect I sponged Dapper Denim ink around in the middle of the jars and then added glimmer swirls to catch the light and look like tiny lights.  Here's a look at the individual sections of the card.
 

This is the belly band that holds the Accordion Card together when not on display.  I also set it to the side of card on my mantle because it adds to the overall decoration.  When designing this cover, I tried to incorporate all the elements of the accordion card - the deer, houses, mason jar etc.  See my supply list for the wide array of die cuts I used in this project.  I also used a ton of basic rhinestones, silver foil and glimmer. 

This is a back view of the Accordion Card in the Belly Band prior to my adding the "Let It Snow" tag.  To make it look finished and professional, I covered the back side of the tag with  a Dapper Denim layer cut out with the Lots of Labels  die cut. 

In this view you can see what the back of the Accordion Fold card looks like.  I added card stock and dsp to the two end pieces, because they are the front and back sides that show when the card is folded and held in the belly band. 

I really like how the Dapper Denim dark crackle design paper adds such a cool effect to this back panel.  I stamped the "Let It Snow" label from the Merry Little Labels set in Dapper Denim ink and added glued it flat to the back panel. 

The first panel features a horse and winter sled from an old SU Edgelit set called "Sleigh Ride".  This die cut works perfectly with the Home Town Greeting Edgelits I used on the front and back panel of this card.  The large snowflake was cut out using the Tim Holtz snowflake dies and I've added a rhinestone accent to the center. 

Each of the panels and the alphabet letters have been sponged around the edges with Pacific Point ink to add some depth.  The jar lids were stamped in Dapper Denim ink on Whisper White and I've added glimmer to give them some sparkle.  The beautiful foil poinsettia, holly leaves and Christmas baubles come from an EK Tools Die cut set called Christmas.  I've also added lots of basic rhinestones, glitter enamel dots and faceted gems to each panel for added bling and blitz.  What fun!

I love how the last panel turned out.  The scene is comprised of various die cuts from the Home Town Greetings and Sleigh Ridge Edgelits.  The Color Theory background paper added to the overall feel of a cold frosty night.  

Well that's it for this week's challenge.  I hope you liked my Accordion Fold Card and that you'll try this out yourself.  It's really a lot of fun deciding what will go on each panel.  Let me know how you like this one, I love receiving your comments.  And, as always before you go make sure you check out the other projects submitted by our wonderful Watercooler Wednesday Design Team Artists.  You won't be disappointed. 

 

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin Spot