WWC85 Jean's Colour Challenge

Thanks for dropping by.  It's time for this week's Watercooler Wednesday challenge which is being hosted by our wonderfully talented Jean Fitch.  Jean has chosen black, white and copper for her colour challenge. Although Jean's inspiration came from this adorable calico kitten picture, the mix of these three colours is nothing short of bold and dramatic. 

Here's My Card:
When I began playing with these challenge colours I was struck by the elegance of this combo.  It made me think of black tie affairs and crystal ball rooms.  Before long I was working out the details for a floral wedding card.  That's how it rolls! 

Although show casing copper on a wedding card may seem non-traditional, the trends today are changing and copper is the "new kid on the block".  If you don't believe me, just check out the large variety of black, white and copper wedding invitations, table settings and home decor on PINTEREST.  It's mind blowing!

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Rose Wonder
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black
Card Stock:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Copper Foil 
Accessories: Big Shot, Trimmer, Rose Garden Thinlet #140619, Seaside Textured Embossing Folder, Tom Bow Adhesive

 Instructions:
1.  The card base measures 8 1/2 x 11 and is scored at 5 1/2" for a side fold card.
2.  The black layer started out as a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" piece of Basic Black cardstock that was cut on the diagonal.  This piece was embossed with the Seaside Textured Embossing Folder and adhered to the front of the card.  Make sure it butts up against the folded edge of the card. 

You only need one of the Basic Black pieces to complete your card. 

3.  The Rose image and some additional leaves for the inside of the card were die cut from a piece of Copper Foil using the  Rose Garden Thinlet dies. 

The Rose Garden Thinlet has 5 dies that coordinate with the Rose Wonder Stamp set on pg 132 of the Annual Catalogue and with the Helping me Grow stamp set on page 40.  

Note:   I kept the image of the rose in tact when I removed it from the Big Shot, flipped it over and applied adhesive to  the back side so the pieces of the petals wouldn't separate from the thinlet.  Let dry for 10 minutes.  

4.  Use fine adhesive to attach the rose and leaf thinlet image over the Basic Black layer.  Trim off end pieces that overhang the edge of the card.  Note:  Just a caution if you are using the fine detail glue use it sparingly and try to keep it off the Copper Foil.  Unlike Tom Bow glue it is not very forgiving and will not come off with an eraser if you're trying to clean up the card.  If you try to erase smudges from the Copper Foil you will wind up with streaks that can't be removed.  

5.  The sentiments on the card face and inside are from the Rose Wonder set and are stamped in Momento Tuxedo Black ink.  I love, love, love this stamp set and the font!
 

The Rose Wonder Stamp Set #140697 has 14 Photopolyer stamps that are perfect for all occasion cards. 

6.  For the inside of the card I cut a 5 1/4 x 4" piece of Basic Black Card stock and then a 3 3/4" x 5 " piece of Whisper White card stock. 

 

For the inside of the card I simply stamped this beautiful sentiment and added two clusters of Copper die cut leaves.  The layers are detailed above.

Well that's it for today folks.  I hope you liked my take on the Watercooler Wednesday WWC85 Color Challenge.  If you haven't visited the Design Team on the home page yet, don't forget to do so as there's such a great variety of wonderful cards on display.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Token's Stampin' Spot
 The Hostess Code for September is: 2KDCKBQE

New Items in the Clearance Rack

 Special Offers in September 

100+ Items Added to the Clearance Rack Today! Get Them Now!

The Clearance Rack was updated today with 5 pages of items that are available at the lowest prices while they last.  Save up to 60% off!  What are you waiting for check it out.  Click on my Clearance Rack post to see more!  

Stampin' Up! Special Offers in September - Week Two

It's Thursday and Stampin' Up! has a whole new group of Special Offers for you this week and you can save up to 25%.  Check them out:

 

These special deals are available from September 8th through midnight on September 14th, 2016.  Click here for Special Offers 

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot
Hostess Code for September
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WWC84 Deborah's Sketch Challenge

The very talented Deborah Smart is our host for this week's Watercooler Wednesday challenge and she has chosen a wonderful sketch that I know you're going to want to try out.  Here it is:
 

 

Here's My Card:

I really liked the composition of this sketch and new that it would be quick and easy, which I need these days, to recreate.  I decided to change the layout of the sketch though, and chose to go with the card fold at the top and the layers running down the card front. 

As I scrolled through my new Holiday Catalogue I practically shrieked with delight when I came across the Merry Mice 7 piece stamp set.  Mice have been one of my all time favourite images for Christmas cards and the three main stamps in this set do not disappoint.   I knew it would be the perfect stamp set to use with this sketch.

Merry Mice 7 piece stamp set #142142 (wood) or #142145Clear Mount.  Also available in French.  Page 23 of the Holiday Catalogue

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Merry Mice, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Cookie Cutter Christmas 
Card Stock:  Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Water Colour Paper
DSP:  This Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper

Ink:  Tuxedo Momento Black Ink, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Dapper Denim, Soft Sky, Pirouette Pink, Smokey Slate
Accessories:  Big Shot, Trimmer, Holly Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Dimensionals, Tom Bow Adhesive, Candy Cane Lane Baker's Twine - Whisper White with Red Metallic Thread, Mini Glue Dots, Wink of Stella Clear

Assembly:
1.  The card base is a 4 1/4" x 11" piece of Garden Green card stock scored at 5 1/2".  I've chosen to do a top fold card and have flipped the original sketch to the top.

2.  The first layer is a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock.

3.  The second layer is a 3 3/4" x 5" piece of "This Christmas Specialty Designer Series paper". 

This Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper #141628 page 172 of the Annual Catalogue is a light weight Christmas themed paper, including sheet music. It includes 24 12 x 12 sheets of paper - 4 each of 6 double-sided designs, that can be used with Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, and Very Vanilla card stocks and inks. 

4.  The third layer is a 1/2" by 4 1/4" strip of Garden Green card stock that was embossed with the Holly Embossing folder. I mounted this strip with dimensionals across the face of the card and left a small strip of the Cherry Cobbler card stock visible at the top.

5.  The fourth layer is a 3" x 4 1/4" piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock that is mounted on the DSP layer with dimensionals.

6.  The final layer is a 2 3/4" x 4" piece of water colour paper on which I coloured the image.  Before adhering this piece to the Cherry Cobbler layer, I wrapped it with a 12" piece of Candy Cane Lane Baker's Twine.  I used the Whisper White with Red Metallic thread spool. 

7.  I stamped the sentiment "Merry Christmas" from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set in Garden Green ink at the bottom of the water colour paper layer. I chose this stamp because of the dots underneath the sentiment.  They match the diagonal red dots in the designer series paper. 

8.  I had so much fun colouring this little guy and the more colours I added the more animated he became.  Don't you just love the expression on his cute little face? He just makes me smile!

Note:  I began by stamping the image on water colour paper with Momento Tuxedo Black ink.  In retrospect, I should have used Staz On ink as the Momento ink bled a teeny bit along the tail and around the ear. The reason was because the aqua painter I was using to apply the colour was releasing too much water and it saturated the paper in places, causing the bleed. 

You can't tell from this picture but the book has a shiny gray cover achieved by covering it with Glossy Accents.  I also added some sequins with Mini Glue Dots and Wink of Stella Clear on the White strip of the mousies hat, the pom pom and the musical notes.   

I brushed on Soft Sky ink in the background around the mouse and Smokey Slate beneath him.  I think he turned out pretty cute!

9.  For the inside of the card I cut a 4" x 5 1/4" layer of Very Vanilla card stock.  I embossed the top of the layer with the Holly Embossing Folder and stamped the sentiment "Have Yourself A Beary Merry Christmas" from the Cookie Cutter Christmas stamp set in Cherry Cobbler.  I used scraps of Garden Green and DSP on the base of the layer.  The Garden Green measured 1" x 4" and the DSP 6/8" x 3 7/8".  

I'm a little embarrassed to admit I missed the word "Beary" in the sentiment I stamped on the inside of the card, because it's actually referring to the Bear image in the Cookie Cutter stamp set.  Instead of throwing out this panel I decided to add the Holly embossing in the hopes that it would be interpreted as "berry" not "beary".  We'll see!

Well that's it for this week.  I'd love to hear what you think of my card or this stamp set. Let me know what your favourite images are at Christmas, I'd love to know. And, don't forget to check out the other design artists for this Watercooler Wednesday Sketch Challenge, they've created some awesome designs.  

Oh, and if you like this holiday card be sure to come back on September 15th as we're having our September Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop and we're going to be featuring our favourite holiday stamps and accessories from the new 2016 Holiday Catalogue. 

Happy Stamping!
Penny Token's Stampin' Spot 
September Hostess Code:  2KDCKBQE

Special Offers on Thursdays Sept 2st to 21st......

 
You may remember that last year Stampin' Up ran a promo on Tuesday's called "Weekly Deals" that was discontinued in the Spring.  

Well, Stampin' Up! has come up with a new promo for you which is running from September 1st through September 21st, 2016.  It's a great new way for you to get a 25% discount on selected products and they're calling this promo "Special Offers".  

These Special Offers will be available every Thursday until September 21, so make sure you come back here to check out what's new.  Click here to see this week's deals which are discounted through tomorrow.  If you see something you want, make sure you order it today since these are limited-time savings!”

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot
Hostess Code for September:  
2KDCKBQE

Holiday Catalogue - Handmade for the Holidays!

It's September 1st and the new Stampin’ Up! 2016 Holiday Catalogue is here!  I'm so excited to share it with you! 

It's full of fun Halloween, Fall and Christmas items that you're simply going to love! I couldn't put down my copy when I first got it. Honestly, there were so many awesome new stamps sets and bundles, designer series papers, dies, punches, and embellishments it was hard for me to decide what I wanted to order. So whether you're into making seasonal cards, special projects or home decor for the holidays ahead you're going to find that this catalogue is a festival of fun just waiting for you. 

If you haven't received a print copy of the catalogue from me yet, you can view it on line by clicking here for the PDF version.  If you want your own catalogue contact me to see how you can get a FREE copy.  Use my on-line shopping site and you can place an order anytime that will be sent directly to your home.  Not sure how to do that just click on the contact me link, and I'll be happy to guide you through. 

NOTE:  Since I'm a Canadian hobby demo, I can only provide catalogues to Canadian customers.

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot 
September Hostess Code:  

Z- Fold Birthday Wishes - WWC83 Penny's Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Welcome to the last Wednesday of August. Hope you've had a good month and are looking forward to everything September has to bring. 

I’m very excited to be hosting this week’s Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #WWC83. My theme for this challenge is a Tic Tac Toe project. Whoo Hoo!  Are you ready?  This is going to be fun, and I hope you'll join me and the Watercooler Wednesday Design Team by trying your hand at this challenge. 

The fun thing about using the Tic Tac Toe outline is that you're not restricted to a sketch or image and you get to choose a variety of different elements to build your design. So put on your thinking caps because you'll begin today's challenge by selecting three elements in a row, either horizontally, diagonally, or vertically, and use those elements on a project. You can use other products as well, but you must use the three in the row you choose.  What fun!

Here's My Z-Fold Birthday Card:

"Z Fold Cards are a very popular trend in card making right now.  You see them all over Pinterest and other sites. There are several variations on the Z Fold, but whichever one you choose, you're guaranteed to make a great card that's quick and easy to assemble.  For today's card I'm CASEing Dawn Griffith's Z Fold Pop Up Card with Balloon Bouquet Punch because I simply couldn't wait to try out her balloon pop up idea.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge, Boys Will Be Boys (R), Party Pants (R), Stylized Birthday
Inks:  Emerald Envy, Peek A Boo Peach, Flirty Flamingo, Sweet Sugar Plum, Versa Mark, Momento Tuxedo Black
Card Stock: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Emerald Envy, Flirty Flamingo, Peek A Boo Peach
DSP:  Playful Palette 6 x 6 Designer Series Paper Pack
Accessories:  Big Shot, Trimmer, Heat Gun, Copper Embossing Powder, Balloon Bouquet Punch, Balloon Framelit Dies,  Bunches of Banners Framelit Dies, Basic Rhinestones, Glue Dots, Window Sheet Strips, Sequins, Dimensionals

Directions:
1.  For the card base cut a 4 1/4 x 11" piece of Basic Black card stock and score it at 5 1/2 and 2 3/4".

2.  For the Z Fold band cut a 1" x 11" piece of Basic Black card stock and score it at 5 1/2" and 2 3/4".  This band when folded should fit completely across the front of the card starting at the left edge and running the width of the card to the far right side.  Mine is adhered about 3/4" from the bottom.  I attached the left edge first, only applying glue on the DSP and then placing the strip across the adhesive.  Make sure this strip is straight and then adhere putting adhesive on the back of the 2 3/4" part and holding it down to the card.  Watch Dawn's video to see placement. Note:  Before attaching the band to the card complete step #6 and finish the band with step #9.

Here you can see the Z fold Banner stretching from the left hand to right hand side of the card.  Because the Playful Palette DSP was 6 x 6 I cut it into 1" strips to extend across the Z fold. See note in Step #6.

3. Cut a 2 1/2" x 4" piece of Very Vanilla for the front panel. Adhere.

4. Cut a 5 1/4' x 4" piece of Very Vanilla for the inside panel. Adhere.

 

5. Cut two pieces of DSP 2 3/8 x 3 7/8". Using Versa Mark ink, randomly stamp the small splotch from Gorgeous Grunge on the DSP and heat set with Copper Embossing Powder. Adhere these DSP pieces to the front and inside Very Vanilla panels.

6. Cut a strip of DSP 1/2" x 5 1/4", and 2 pieces 1/2" x 2 1/2". Using adhesive attach these strips to the Z fold band. Leave even strip of Very Vanilla showing around the edges. Note: If you are using 12 x 12 DSP you can cut this strip to measure 1/2" by 11 and then just score at 5 1/2 and 2 3/4".

7. Punch large and small balloon shapes from DSP and card stock with the Balloon Bouquet Punch as follows:  1 large and 1 small Flirty Flamingo, 3 small Emerald Envy, 2 large and 1 small DSP, 1 small Sweet Sugar Plum, 2 large and 1 small Peek A Boo Peach.  

 

I used a stylus and a foam mat to round the edges of my balloon and I distressed the edges with a sponge dauber and the corresponding ink. You can see the balloon technique by clicking here. I stamped the words "Cake Time" from the retired SAB set "Party Pants" on the Peek a Boo Peach large Balloon.

8. Using the Small Bow Framelit from Balloon Framelit Dies set cut out 10 bows in a variety of the card stock colours (see card) once the balloons are attached to the window strips and card add the bows with mini glue dots and basic rhinestones. Note: The glue dot will over lap the bow, so before attaching to the bow roll the glue dot a bit with your fingers to make it fit.

This wonderful little Framelit Die set coordinates with the Celebrate Today stamp set.  Never be without a perfect bow with this framelit!

9. Stamp the "happy birthday" sentiment from Boys Will Be Boys (R) stamp set three times in Versa Mark ink on 2 3/4" x 1" strips of basic black card stock. Emboss each strip with Copper Embossing Powder and cut into banners using the straight banner from "Bunch of Banners" Framelits. Attach these banners with 2 dimensionals per banner to the center of the DSP strip on the Z Fold Band. Attach two banners to the 5" strip centering between left and right sides, then attach the remaining two banners to the center and end of the band. Note: These banners can be attached after the Z Fold Band is adhered to the card front, see step #2. I put a large rhinestone between the first two banners for a bit more sparkle.

Bunch of Banners Framelit die coordinates with the Birthday Banners and Banners for You photopolymer stamp sets.  

10. Attach the balloons with strips of window sheet cut 1/4" by 3 inches. Use large Glue Dots to attach the window sheet strips to the center Z fold band.

In this view you can see the window strip attached with the large glue dot.

Attach the balloons next using large glue dots and dimensionals. The front of the balloons are puffed out (see #7). The center balloons were finished with an additional flat balloon face on the back side so you can't see the glue dots and window strip when the balloon is opened and shut. 

In this view you can see the backs of the balloons are covered with the extra balloon images I cut out because they are visible if the card is turned around.  I also finished off the Peek A Boo Peach balloon with an extra green bow to hide the glue dot. 

11. I finished the inside panel with a few balloons and some sequins.

Because there wasn't any room for writing a greeting on the inside panel once it was decorated, I added a piece of Very Vanilla card stock to the back of the card and stamped "Happy Birthday" with the Stylized Happy Birthday stamp in Momento Tuxedo Black Ink. 

Well I think that just about does it for today's card challenge. I'll leave you with just a few more shots of this fun card. If you try out my tutorial let me know if it was easy to follow. Thanks for dropping by and make sure you visit all the other Watercooler Wednesday Design Artists to see their fabulous Tic Tac Toe creations.

 

 

Happy Stamping!
Penny Token's Stamping Spot

Ending on August 31st, 2016:

• August Hostess code EZGKEM73
• July Bonus Promo - Last chance to redeem coupons
• Thoughtful Blooms Photopolymer Stamp set - last chance to purchase, once all the supplies are gone it's fully retired 

Starting September 1st, 2016:

• New Catalogue launches September 1st to January 4, 2017
• Special Deals - replaces last year's Weekly Deals - starts Sept 1st each special runs for 7 days.