Mother's Day Ensemble

Earlier this week I designed and posted a Mother's Day card on the WWC66 Watercooler Wednesday sketch by Libby Fens. 

I really liked this sketch and my design so I decided to make another Mother's Day project using the same concept but stepping it up. 

This time I've changed up the colors, added some die cuts and created an ensemble that includes a Mother's Day card, a gift bag and a tag.  

I think it worked out really well.  Just remember that the beauty of ensembles like this is that by simply changing up some of the stamps for different sentiments or images, you could use this layout as a shower, a birthday, a thinking of you, or get well ensemble.  The possibilities are endless.

Okay, so here is the "Mother's Day Ensemble" I came up with and all the details you'll need to create one of your own:

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  All About Everything and Lovely Little Wreath  (Paper Pumpkin April 2016)
Ink:  Blushing Bride, Rose Red, Wild Wasabi, Versa Mark
Card Stock:  Blushing Bride, Rose Red and Wild Wasabi
Accessories:  Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Lovely Lacey EF, Botancial Dies, Basic Pearls, Basic Rhinestones, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Rose Red 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Delicate Designs EF, Edgelits Die (Retired), Corner Rounder Punch, Occasions Paper Piercing template for Ovals, Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Tom Bow Glue, Sticky Strip adhesive, Paper Gift Bag.

The Card:

So basically this is the same card as the one I designed for the WWC66 challenge.  Beyond the card stock and ink changes, the alterations I've made are minimal.  I've added a bow to the oval, changed the die for the horizontal layer, stamped a few more leaves on the background piece and added pearls instead of decorative dots in several places.  
 

The card on the left is my original design and I used Pink Pirouette, Calypso Coral and Pear Pizzazz for my colour palette. 

The combo of Blushing Bride, Rose Red and Wild Wasabi really works well together.  I've added small pearls throughout the stamped layer images and I was happy I had some Rose Red ribbon for the bow on the card and the gift tag.  

The measurements for this card are:
 
Card Base:  Whisper White card stock measures 8 1/2 x 5 1/2  and is scored at 4 1/4".
1st Layer:  Wild Wasabi measuring 5 3/8" x 4 1/8"
2nd Layer:  Blushing Bride 5  1/4 x 4" and embossed with Lovely Lacey EF
Vertical Stack Layer:  The measurements are: Wild Wasabi 2 1/4 x 4 3/4", Rose Red 2 1/8 x 4 5/8", and Whisper White 2 x 4 1/2".  Randomly stamp floral and leaf images from the All About Everything Stamp set in the 3 ink colours.  Adhere all three layers together leaving a 1/8" border on all sides and add some small seed pearls randomly to the stamped images.
Horizontal Layer:  Cut a strip of Rose Red card measuring 1" x 4 1/2" die cut with Edgelits die.  Using the fan design as a guide cut this piece down to 3 5/8" (all fans will show evenly).  Adhere this strip with mounting tape or dimensionals.  Place a small pearl at the center of each fan design.
 

Oval Layer:  Cut the Wild Wasabi 2 1/2" Oval using the Ovals Framelits.  Pierce around the edge using the Occasions Paper Piercing Template that coordinates with the Oval Framelits (retired).  Cut the Whisper White layer cut with 2" Oval die.  The images are randomly stamped with the All About Everything stamp set.  When you're doing this kind of collage stamping, remember to stamp off the image before stamping directly on the card stock, to give a softer look to the design.  Stamp sentiment "To the Loveliest Person I Know" from the  Lovely Little Wreath  stamp set in Wild Wasabi.  I stamped my image first in Versa Mark ink and then in Wild Wasabi ink then applied Clear Embossing Powder and heat set it. 

Here's a view of the inside of the card.  I cut a 5 1/4" x 3 7/8" piece of Wild Wasabi for the base layer and added a 5 1/8" x 3 3/4" layer of Whisper White.  The Whisper White piece is stamped with the "Happy Mother's Day" sentiment from the Lovely Little Wreath stamp set in Wild Wasabi and flowers from the All About Everything set.


The Bag and Tag:

The small white bag measures 8 1/2 x 5 1/4".  This is the perfect size for a small gift.  You can purchased these bags at the big box craft stores or sometimes at the Dollar store. Here are the measurements for the layers:

1. The Rose Red layer measures 7 7/8 x 5" 
2. The Wild Wasabi layer measures 7 5/8 x 4 6/8"
3. The Whisper White layer measures 7 1/2 x 4 1/2".   

Tip: I stamped the collage on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of Whisper White card stock and then cut down the layers for the front of the bag, the tag, and the card front.  It's much simpler to do it this way, and then you can put away your inks when you're finished.

4.  For the lace edge at the top of the bag I decided to go with a wider strip  so I cut a piece of Rose Red card stock measuring 5 1/2 x 1" and embossed it with the retired Decorative Design embossing folder.  I then cut it down so the scallops across the bottom were even width wise and trimmed off the excess card stock below the scallops. This was adhered to the Whisper White designed layer with Tom Bow glue.
    

Don't you love these flowers?  They were made with the Botanical Garden dies from this years Spring Occasions Catalogue.  I'm so happy those are going to see another season, as I just want to use them on everything.  To add a bit of variation for the leaves I cut a couple of them from Mossy Meadow card stock.  I punched out a 1 3/4" circle from Wild Wasabi and used this as a base to build the flower and leaf layers into a small bouquet.  I adhered the bouquet to the bag front with sticky strip to ensure it would stay on.     

Please note:  Did you notice that my card has Basic Pearls while my bag and tag have rhinestones?  Well it seems I got carried away while assembling the little bouquet and popped those Basic Rhinestones on without any thought to what was on the card. Oops!  Well, not to worry, I'll either make another card with Rhinestones to match this bag or I'll be doing a change-up so the bag and tag match the card.   Either look is a winner!

For the Tag I cut a 2" x 3 1/2" piece of the stamped Whisper White card stock and then punched it out with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch.  I adjusted the length of the tag and rounded the bottom edges with a corner rounder punch.  To give the tag a little more substance, I cut a strip of Wild Wasabi card stock measuring 2 1/4" x 3 3/4" and punched it out with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch.  Again, I rounded the edges with a corner rounder punch and then mounted the Whisper White piece to the Wasabi layer with dimensionals. The tag was tied to the handle of the bag with a 12" piece of Rose Red ribbon.  I used a dimensional under the tag to keep it in place.  

Okay, that's it.  I hope you didn't mind my repeating this project but I thought you might like to see an alternative look.  

Let me know your thoughts and what colours you might choose to do this bag and card in.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot   

WWC66 - Libby's Sketch Challenge

I'm delighted to let you know I was invited to be a "guest" designer on Watercooler Wednesday this week. You won't believe what an honour this was for me. I'm so over the wall inspired by this group of exceptionally talented paper crafters, it was a real thrill to join them.    

This week Watercooler Wednesday is featuring a wonderful sketch challenge by the talented Libby Fens who just recently became a permanent member of the design team.  Congrats Libby!

Here's Libby's sketch - WWC66:  

  
Mother's Day is just around the corner so I decided to use this delightful sketch to design a card for my mom.

When she was younger, my mom was an avid gardener who couldn't wait for Spring so she could work in her garden. She planted a variety of fragrant and colourful plants including Pinks, Bachelor's Buttons, Forget-Me-Nots, Cosmos, and Sweet William. What joy she took in those flowers!  

Mom really enjoyed her flower garden and I can remember going to the store with her to buy her precious packages of seeds.

I'm hoping this card will bring back some of those memories not only for my mom but for those of you who are flower lovers too.  

Here's My Card:

April was a special month for Stampin' Up's Paper Pumpkin as they were celebrating not only their 3rd birthday but also their one millionth sale.  To reward new Paper Pumpkin subscribers they included an extra exclusive photopolymer stamp set called "All About Everything" which I've featured in the two stamped panels on this card.

In this closeup of the large rectangle you can see some of the detail achieved with the two-step stamping method.  This is the perfect stamp set for creating background paper.  The Lovely Lace Embossing folder which will retired later this month, was used to create the beautiful texture on the Pink Pirouette layer. 

By stamping off before applying the stamp on the oval you get a softer version of the image that looks like it's been water coloured.  To define the edge around the oval I used a retired paper piercing template to poke the holes on the Pear Pizzazz oval.

I always finish the inside of my cards and the matching envelopes with stamped or embossed images. Here's what the card looks like inside:

The "Happy Mother's Day" sentiment is from the Lovely Little Wreath stamp set which was part of the April 2016 Paper Pumpkin kit.  I really like the lettering and the small flowers on this sentiment.  

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  All About Everything, Lovely Little Wreath (Paper Pumpkin April 2016)
Card Stock:  Pink Pirouette, Pear Pizzazz, Calypso Coral
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Pear Pizzazz, Calypso Coral
Accessories:  Big Shot, Trimmer, Lovely Lacey EF, Decorative Edge EF, Decorative Dots,

I hope my card has inspired you and that you'll want to take part in this challenge too!  Be sure to enter your project back at the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge (#WWC66). The deadline to post your entry is Monday, May 9th, 2016. Thank you for visiting today.  I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Wacky Watercooler April 2016 Blog Hop - A Focus on the Retiring In-Colours

One of my greatest pleasures in the past year and a half has been playing along on several of the Wacky Watercooler Blog Hops.  Now that I'm home and settled back into a crafting routine once again I'm totally excited about participating in their latest hop which is focusses on the 2014-2016 Stampin' Up! In-Colours which will soon be retiring.  

Say good bye to the 2014-2016 In-Colours - Tangello Twist, Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey and Blackberry Bliss

Okay let's get to it! The Wacky Watercool April Blog Hop is a "circular blog hop" running from 6:00pm Thursday April 21st through 6:00pm Saturday April 23, 2016.  The focus is on the 2014-2016 In-Colours which will soon be retiring.  No matter where you begin just keep going to the “next” blog on the list and eventually you'll wind up right where you started. What fun!

If you've been working your way forward through this hop you'll have arrived here after visiting the totally talented Libby Fens's blog.   What a great selection of cards she posted to start this blog hop off.  


CASEing Our Friends:
For my first project I've been given the privilege of CASing a card designed by the very talented Marie Green.  Marie has one of those great blogs where you want to spend time wandering so it was difficult narrowing down my choice of cards to CASE.  If you haven't visited Marie's "My Tanglewood Cottage" blog site before, make sure you do, because you'll come away with lots of ideas and tips. 

Telescoping Card Technique:
For my first CASE I fell in love with one of her more recent projects entitled the "Traveler".  This is simply an incredible and inspirational card which offered me an opportunity to play with a "new to me" technique called "telescoping". Here is Marie's stunning "Traveler" card.  

Here's My Card: 

For this card I've used three of my favourite retiring in-colours - Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow and Hello Honey for the base and layers of my card. I also used a gorgeous designer series paper featuring those colours from the "Going Places" DSP paper pack which also retires the end of May 2016.   

This incredible marbled sheet of designer series paper was the perfect match for my second layer.  I cut a 4 x 5 1/4" piece and sponged around the edges with Lost Lagoon ink, then randomly stamped the small dots image from Party Pants around the edges, with Versa Mark Ink.  Gold Glory Embossing Powder was heat set on the dots. Love it! 

Here's a closer look at the "telescoping" layers used to highlight the big blue Maine Lobster.   I only added three layers, while Marie used four in her sample. I have to say I'm totally fascinated by the 3-D dimension this easy technique achieves.  Tip:  Make sure that you increase the depth of the foam tape for each layer you add above the first layer and use good firm foam tape so the layers don't sink. 

I used the center 3 squares on the Square Framelit Dies (counting from the center of the framelits set), but using Circle or Oval framelits would also achieve this same effect.  Originally I was going to line up the squares in a block in the center of the card, but changed this to a diamond pattern as it better suited the stamping on my design and really helps to focus on the lobster which was my intent. 

Don't you love this "birthday banner"?  This super easy to cut and stamp banner is from the coordinating Large Number Framelit Dies and Number of Years Stamp Set.  I really liked the cool "happy birthday" sentiment in Boys Will Be Boys and it fit perfectly on this banner. Bonus!  Because I liked the antique look of the dark embossed gold dots on the DSP layer, I repeated this accent on the stamped collage layer. 

One of my favourite things to create are Collage images.  For this one I began by stamping the 3 x 4 piece of Very Vanilla card stock the printed verse stamp from By the Tide.  To achieve a lighter image that I could layer other images on I stamped off the Mossy Meadow ink before each application of the word stamp to this layer. I then randomly stamped the coral image at full strength in Hello Honey.  Next I stamped the Sea Horses and Anchors in Mossy Meadow.  The beautiful lobster which is the focal point of the card front was stamped in Lost Lagoon.  I sponged the edges in Lost Lagoon and Hello Honey.

The inside of the card features a 5 1/4" x 4" layer of Very Vanilla card stock stamped in Hello Honey and Mossy Meadow.  I thought the sentiment "Hope your day stacks up to be...." from the Sprinkles of Life Stamp Set was a really fun and appropriate verse considering the stacked layers on the front of the card. 

 

Supply List: 
Stamp Sets: By the Tide, Party Pants, Number of Years, Boys Will Be Boys 
Sprinkles of Life 
Ink:  Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey, Mellow Moss, Versa Mark and Gold Glory EP
Card Stock:  Very Vanilla, Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon
DSP:  Going Places (Spring Occasions 2016)#140581
Accessories:  Square Framelit Dies, Heat Gun,  Large Number Framelit Dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Foam Tape

Peek-A-Boo Technique Card:
For my second CASE I chose a Peek-A-Boo Technique card from Marie's blog, that actually was part of the Watercooler Blog Hop in April 2015. Again, this is a "new to me" technique and I just had to try it with my own spin for a boy's birthday card.   

Here's my card:  

For this fun masculine peek-a-boo card I started with a Very Vanilla card base covered with a Mossy Meadow/Very Vanilla designer series paper from the Going Places DSP pack.  I used the Boys Will Be Boys stamp set to stamp the Robot in Mossy Meadow ink.  I used a blender pen and Hello Honey ink to colour the Robot. The Lego image was stamped on scraps of Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey and Mossy Meadow and then fussy cut glued together to form one multi piece block. I stamped the YoYo image as a background on the sentiment piece in Hello Honey.  This is such a fun stamp set to have on hand for crafting kids cards. 

When you open up this card, the magic of the Peek-A-Boo technique begins.  
As you open the card front the picture in the oval changed from the Robot to the Parachute image.  What fun!  To add some dimension to the parachute I first stamped the parachute image on the 2 1/2" oval and then stamped it again on Hello Honey.  I cut out the parachute from the Hello Honey piece and mounted it on the original image with dimensionals.  I used the Large Numbers Framelit set to cut out the number five in Lost Lagoon card stock. The "Look Who's Turning" sentiment is from the Number of Years Stamp Set.  And the "Happy Birthday to you" sentiment is from Party Pants a 2016 Sale-A-Bration stamp set.

The next few pictures show the back panels of this card.  You don't have to do anything with these panels, but I decided to continue decorating and stamping on them and this is the result.   

Supplies:

Stamp Sets:  Boys Will Be Boys, Party Pants, Number of Years

Card Stock:  Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey

DSP:  Going Places (Occasions Spring Catalogue)

Ink:  Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon

Accessories:  The Big Shot, Ovals Framelit Dies, Itty Bitty Accents punch (Star), Banner Punch, Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers, 11/4,1 3/4 and 1/38" circle punches, scissors  

Double Fold Card:
For my third  and final project I was inspired to CASE a card made by Lisa Curcio of Lisa's Stamp Studio.  She called it a Double Fold Card. 

Grateful Bunch Double Fold Card by Lisa Curcio of Lisa's Stamp Studio.

For measurements and a video on how to make this card click on this link.

Here's My Card:  
The sky's really the limit when creating with this fancy fold card.  It's just that super simple but it packs a big wow! I chose to use Blackberry Bliss as the main colour in this card and have added only small touches of Lost Lagoon and Mossy Meadow.  I think it turned out pretty posh?    

Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Remembering Your Birthday, Party Pants 
Card Stock:  Blackberry Bliss, Whisper White, Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow
Ink:  Blackberry Bliss
Accessories:  The Big Shot, Botanical Gardens Thinlet Dies, Lost Lagoon Ribbon, Black Berry Bliss Ribbon, Rhinestones, dimensionals 

I hope you're having fun on the blog hop today and that my creations have been an inspiration for you.  Let me know if you have any questions about the projects I made, I'd be happy to respond.  

Now it's time to move on to the amazing Buffy Cooper's blog to see her wonderful creations.  Enjoy! 

Buffy Cooper

Libby Fens

Wacky Watercooler April Blog Hop

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens Stamping Spot  

The Retired Stamps and Accessories Lists Are Available

It's almost time for Stampin' Up! to release their new Annual Catalogue for 2016/17 and that means it's time to clear the decks and retire products from the Annual and Occasion's catalogues to make room for the new season of goodies coming June 1, 2016.  

How do you benefit from this house cleaning?  Well you could save up to 50% off on some retiring stamps and accessories that you've had on your wish list, but don't be disappointed by waiting too long.  Check out what's on sale today. This sale runs until May 31st or until supplies are gone.  Lists will be updated daily at 4:00pm (MT).

Retiring List Links: 
Here's the link to a printable PDF list:

Here's the link to a printable EXCEL file:

You can also look at the various stamp sets and accessories that are on sale by going to my ONLINE page.  Also don't forget the Clearance Rack and Weekly Deals (this is the last week). 

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot!  

#pennytokensstampinspot

WWC63 - Kath's Color Challenge

Hey stampers, I'm finally back.   Although I've been home for a month now I've been slower than usual getting back into the swing of things on the home front. What that means for me is that I've had very little stamping time with my stamping friends while I take care of business.  

Well, I'm about to change that........drum roll please because I'm challenging myself to get out of my funk, throw off my gloom, grab some ink and stamps and jump back into the stamping world with both feet. How about you, are you with me?  

If you asked me what brought about this change in purpose or enthusiasm, I would have to say it was seeing Kath's Colour Challenge WWC63 on the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge site this week.  Looking at this fabulous colour combo was just the push I needed to get going (along with some gentle prodding by Heidi Weaver). This colour combo makes me feel both calm and happy and that means I'm in a good space.  

How about you, how are you affected by colour?  I'd love to hear what combinations warm your heart or whatever emotion they bring to you.  

Here's the challenge:

Here's My Card:  

I actually loved making this card so much that I decided to make a set of them and a holder so I could give it away as a gift.  Here's the rest of the ensemble:

This is a folder I made to hold the 5 gift cards and envelopes made with 3 x 5 note cards.  The base is Blushing Bride followed by layers of Watermelon and Pear Pizzazz card stock.  

The So Saffron layer was embossed with the Lovely Lacey EF and I used another piece of So Saffron to frame the Whisper White layer which was adhered with dimensionals.  The ribbon is Pear Pizzazz.  

This is the inside of the card holder.  It holds five envelopes and 5 note cards with ease.

Although the stamped layer is exactly the same for each of the five note cards, I chose to mount the stamped layer on coloured card stock before adhering to the note card.  There are 2 each of Pear Pizzazz, Watermelon Wonder and So Saffron.  

The colouring was done with a blender pen and markers.  The blossom image was stamped in Momento Black Ink.  The small yellow flowers were stamped in So Saffron and some leaves were drawn onto them in Pear Pizzazz.  The dots image was also stamped in Pear Pizzazz.  Watermelon Wonder Sequins were glued to each of the small flowers. 

In this picture you can see the five cards and one of the matching envelopes. 

Supplies:
Card Stock:  Whisper White, Watermelon Wonder, Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron and Blushing Bride
Ink:  So Saffron, Watermelon Wonder, Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride and Momento Tuxedo Black
Markers:  So Saffron, Watermelon Wonder, Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride 
Stamp Set:  Birthday Blooms 
Accessories:  Big Shot, Trimmer, Lovely and Lacey Embossing Folder, Sequins
Dimensionals, Pear Pizzazz Ribbon, Blender Pen, Tom Bow Glue , Note Cards and Envelopes

Birthday Blooms is only available in the Occasions Spring catalogue until May 31st, 2016.  

Thanks for coming to look at my cards and I hope you'll leave a comment to let me know how you like this gift set.  

Happy Stamping
Penny Tokens Stampin Spot

Addendum:  

Just a note to say that I was thrilled to hear that I "Rocked the Watercooler" and was the winner of this week's colour challenge.  Thanks to everyone who nominated me and a special congrats to Julie Gearinger and Heather Hopson who were honourable mentions with their stunning cards.