Woodland Wonder Slimline - #FMS469

I liked the layout of Kim's Freshly Made Sketches #469 design and all the great samples by the FMS Design Team this week, so decided to give it a go.

FMS#469

My original plan for this sketch was to create a thank you card using a large font "thank you" instead of the three lines in the sketch.  My "any shape" image was going to be a floral image.  

Well that was the plan when I started out but somewhere along the line it morphed into a slimline birthday card.  That's the fun thing about creativity, you're not always sure where the path will lead.    

Here's My Card:  

My slimline card featuring stamps from the Woodland Wonder stamp set measures 9 x 4 inches.  I cut a piece of Cinnamon Cider card stock that measured 8" x 9" for the card base and scored it at 4".  The first layer is a 7 3/4" x 3 3/4" piece of Old Olive and the Whisper White layer measured 7 1/2 x 3 1/2".  

The Woodland Wonder Stamp Set #155321 includes balloons, animals from the forest, pieces of a tree that you can put together, and great sentiments to let someone know you're thinking of them on their special day. This set features 16 photopolymer stamps, that work well with either the Stamperatus stamp platform or with acrylic blocks a, b, d, i.  This stamp set doesn't have coordinating dies  but at $23.00 CDN it's a terrific value and it's super easy to fussy cut out the images.  This stamp set is available in the January to June Mini catalogue from now until June 2021.  

I stamped "happy birthday" three times on the left hand side of the card, leaving a gap in between number two and three so I could fit in the little "yay" flag. 

I stamped all the images on the card stock using my Stamperatus stamping platform. The platform made it so easy to line up the images.  All of the images were stamped with Momento Tuxedo Black ink and then coloured with Stampin' Blends. Inks used to colour the animals, tree and grasses at the base included light and dark shades of: Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Gray Granite, Smokey Slate, Balmy Blue, Flirty Flamingo, Pumpkin Pie, and Basic Black. 

I re-stamped all the images on masking paper, fussy cut them and applied them over the original images before sponging in the sky with Pool Party ink.  I was so excited to do this step because I purchased the new blending brushes from Stampin' Up and this was my first try with them.  I was not disappointed!  

I stamped all my images on Stamping Masking Paper by Inkadoodle.  This works better than post it notes for me, because they sheets stay tacky for a long time and you can fit a lot of images on them to cut out. Another great thing about this masking paper is the full coverage of the image which makes it easier to sponge over. 

This picture isn't quite right though, because in my eagerness to start sponging, I stamped on the wrong side of the paper. Fortunately I had only cut out one image before discovering the error or my ways.  

Okay, error corrected and everything is masked properly in this photo.  I started blending at the top of the panel and the new blending brush was easy to move around and gave me the exact colouring I was looking for.  I think I am in love!  

To create the grass look at the base of the tree I used a stamp from the By The Dock stamp set. I applied the stamp in various directions to create the uneven ground effect and coloured it with light and dark Old Olive blends.  

By The Dock Stamp has a number of great stamps but the one I've used the most is the little patch of grass.  So versatile.

For the inside of the card I again began with a 8 3/4"x 3 3/4" piece of Old Olive card stock and an 8 1/2" x 3 12" piece of Whisper White. 

I stamped the sentiment "hope your day stacks up to be one good thing on top of another" in Momento Tuxedo Black ink and added the rabbit and balloon to the right side.  The "Happy Birthday"  sentiment is from the Here's A Card stamp set and was  stamped in Old Olive ink.  

It wasn't my intention when I started stamping the inside of this card to have balloons across the bottom, but my inky fingers left some marks that I had to cover up.  The cover-up worked except for the green balloon which seems to be flying a little higher..... oh well.

Well that's it for my post today.  I'm really enjoying the slimline card and glad that I switched gears and made this card.  It gave me an opportunity to try new things like the blending brushes and the Woodland Wonder set.  What fun!  

Cheers and as always, 

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Penny Hanuszak, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator 

JANUARY HOSTESS CODE:

Sale-A-Bration Is On - January 5th to February 28th, 2021

For every $60 and/or $120 you spend from either the Annual Catalogue or the January-June Mini, you’ll earn an exclusive Sale-A-Bration item for free! Depending on the amount you spend, you’ll be able to mix ‘n’ match the Sale-A-Bration items you earn. Stampin' Up! has provided a stunning variety of stamp sets and Designer Series Paper for you to choose from—take a look.

Shop My 24/7 On-Line Store:  Click Here

A Touch of Ink from Sale-a-bration

Today I'd like to share some of the cards I've made  using "A Touch of Ink (#155233) stamp set which I got for FREE from the Sale-A-bration catalogue as part of my order.  

A Touch of Ink is a two-step Photopolymer stamp set that has 17 image and sentiment stamps.  The line drawn images for the butterfly, flowers, leaves and hummingbird all have coordinating "filler" stamps so you can use markers or ink pads to colour the designs. 

"A Touch of Ink" makes it so easy to create nature inspired scenes and backgrounds, and these stamps are just the right size for combining with labels and backgrounds or doing multiple images of the same stamp. There's also a good variety of sentiments with fun fonts, which cover almost any occasion.  This would be a perfect stamp set for someone new to stamping. 

Lets See What I Made With It:

For my first card I visualized laying on my back looking up into the branches of a Jacaranda tree and seeing the vivid purple blooms and sky beyond  Here's my card:

Jacaranda Tree with Spring Blooms 

• This card begins with a Granny Apple Green card base that measures 81/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored at 4 1/4".  This is followed by a Gorgeous Grape mat that measures 4" x 5 1/4". 
• I randomly stamped the leaves in Momento Black ink on a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4" piece of Whisper White card stock, leaving enough room in the top center of the panel to stamp three clusters of flowers among the leaves. 
• I also stamped the top of the flower image in the white spaces around the edges of the card stock, and stamped the image between the leaves. 
• I randomly stamped the flower filler stamp with Purple Posy ink on the flowers and added highlights and depth with light and dark Purple Posy Stampin' Up! Blends.
• The flower centers were coloured with Mango Melody Blends 
• The leaf filler stamp was inked up with Granny Apple Green ink and I used the Dark Granny Apple Green Blend to outline and give them more definition.

For the inside of this card I added a 1/4" x 5 1/4" strip of the background design to adorn the top of the panel.  The floral image was stamped in the lower corner and coloured the same as the front of the card. Ample white space was left for messaging. 

One of the highlights of the "A Touch of Ink" stamp set, for me, is the little speckled image.  I know it will become one of my go to stamps for adding texture to my stamping. On this card, I inked the pebbled stamp up with Purple Posy and stamped randomly between the flowers and leaves on the front and on the inside panel of the card. 

Here's a close-up of the floral stamp..........so pretty.  I love that little pebble stamp too as it's great for filling in or covering those little ink "whoopsies".  

 

My second card features the Hummingbird image and another stamped background.  I created a background with the flower outline and filler stamps and then added some accent with the pebble stamp. In California we have Hummingbirds  visiting all through the day and this is what they look like:

Here are the details:

• The Soft Sea Foam card base measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored at 4 1/4".  
• The first layer started as a 5 1/4 x 4" piece of basic black card stock. The  bottom edge was die cut with the Curvy Dies from the Jan-June Mini Catalogue.

The Curvy Dies can be bought separately or as part of the Quite Curvy Stamp and Die Bundle.

• The background piece measures 3" x 3 3/4".  The floral image and pebble image were randomly stamped across this layer in Tuxedo Momento Black ink and the flowers were stamped with the filler in Melon Mambo Ink. 
• To soften the look of the Melon Mambo flowers, I coloured in the white space with Light and Dark Soft Seam Foam Stampin' Blends  and add random colour to the leaves in the background.
• I stamped the pebble image stamp in Momento Black Ink between the flowers.  If I were doing this card again I would have used Basic Gray or Gray Granite for this purpose.   

My third card was created with my "butterfly loving friends" in mind. It features the butterfly stamp and I've used it both as the background focal and for the main image. What a great image and very easy to fussy cut!

Here are the details:

• The Basic Black card stock base measures 8 1/2"x  1/2" and is scored at 4 /4".
• The Silver Foil layer measures 5 1/4" x 4" and I die cut the label from the center of this layer before adhering it to the card base using a die from the Tasteful Labels die set. 
• I stamped the butterfly image in two rows across a 5" x 3 3/4" layer of Whisper White card stock with Momento Tuxedo Black ink.
• The Butterfly filler stamp was inked up with Purple Posy Ink and the edges of the design on the wings were coloured with a Dark Purple Posy Stampin' Blends.  
• A faint outline around the butterfly was drawn with the Light Purple Posy Stampin' Blend.  
• Once again I randomly stamped the pebble image stamp with Purple Posy ink throughout the white space between the butterflies.
• On a scrap of Whisper White I stamped off the butterfly image a couple of times using the "stamping off" method (second generation stamping). I stamped the Best Wishes from this set in Tuxedo Black ink over top of these butterflies and then die cut this label with the Tasteful Labels die cut.  
• An additional butterfly was stamped, coloured and fussy cut and attached to the label with Dimensionals. A sprinkling of Rhinestones finishes of this card.      

My fourth card started out as an image test, and then blossomed into this simple thank you card.

Here are the details:

• The Whisper White card base measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored at 4 1/4"
• The second layer is a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Basic Black cardstock.
• The next layer is a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of Whisper White.
• Colours used for the butterfly are the same as in Card Four however I used Rich Razzleberry Stampin' Blends to out line the Butterfly.  The flowers were coloured with Mango Melody and Petal Pink Stampin' Blends and the leaves were coloured over with Granny Apple Green Blends. 
• The sentiment "Thank You So Much" was stamped in Tuxedo Black Ink.
• To finish the card a few Basic Rhinestones were added.  

Well that's it for today, I've come to the end of my time, so I hope you liked these sample cards and the details I've provided for making them.  I'd love to hear from you.  Let me know if you have a favourite?  

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator 

JANUARY HOSTESS CODE:

Click here for PDF Version 

First It Was A Chocolate Box

Hi and welcome to my blog post today.  I'm a big believer in recycling and I try to practice recycling every chance I get, so instead of sharing a challenge card I want to share my recent recycling project with you.     

It all started with a box of Purdy's Chocolates that my wonderful hubby bought me for a Christmas treat.  Over Christmas we savoured each and every one of those wonderful morsels until they were all gone.  What a treat!.  

Now when my husband who is a very smart man, bought the chocolates, he was catering to my sweet tooth, but he also knows I'm the type of gal who is just as much in love with the box as I am with what's inside.  Here's the empty box.  Too pretty to throw away right?   

The empty box contained a paper liner, a wrapper with the chocolate description written on it and a plastic tray holder for the chocolates.  On the way to the garage to dispose of the insides, the plastic tray grabbed my attention.  While I was staring at the tray trying to figure out if there was something I could use it for my crafter's light bulb suddenly lit up the room and I was off to check out my idea.

I surprised my husband when I came rushing down stairs, chocolate box and tray in hand.  He knew something was up because I had a big smile on my face and "that look in my eye", so he followed me to my craft room to see what all the commotion was about.  By the time he arrived I was already grabbing some Stampin' Spots off my counter and busy popping them into the tray.  Oh did I mention I was now yelling "they fit, they fit!"   Needless to say he thought I'd lost it until I explained what I was up to.

So here's what all the yelling was about.....

This chocolate box and tray are now the new home for my Stampin' Up! Spots. The square indentations on the tray were the perfect, and I mean perfect size for holding the Stampin' Up!s Stampin' Spots.  Each spot will sit tightly in the individual slots.   

Although I'm only showing a few colours, there's enough room for 32 spots in this tray.  I can fit 8 spots per row and will probably organize them by colour family. The 12 1/4" x 6 3/4" box is the perfect size for storing on my work shelf or desk top.      

Being a true crafter and recycler, I didn't want to leave the outside of the box the way it was.  So, I dug through my paper stash and found some old Concord Crush DSP.  I cut four 1" by 12" strips for the box sides and a 6 3/8" x 12" piece for the lid.  

I didn't want to go overboard decorating the lid, so I decided to just spell out the words "Stampin' Spots on it.  

I die cut letters using an old square block alphabet die set from Concord Crush card stock, but they looked too dark when I laid them out on the lid.  It dawned on me that the letters would look better in foil, to match the trim around the edges of the box, so I cut an additional set of letters from gold foil and glued them to the Concord Crush letters, which gave them a bit more solid.

Well, what do you think......trash to treasure?  I'm so happy with this box. It was a simple solution to housing my collection of Stampin' Spots.  I plan to fill this box  with Stampin' Spots that co-ordinate with whatever current project I'm working on. They can be interchanged easily and these spots are the perfect size for inking up stamps on my Stamperatus.  Usually I have the large ink pads everyone on my desk so I'm thinking this box will keep my workspace neater and it will be easy to find the ink I need.

Happy Stamping
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Penny Hanuszak, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

January Hostess Code:

CAS Color and Sketch #401 Weekly Winner.............Yeah!

What great news today!  I'm proud to say my Donkey Birthday Care was one of the three Weekly Winners of Challenge #401 at the CAS Colour and Sketch Challenge last week.  How awesome is that? 

Click here to see my post and details on this card

I'm very proud to display my Weekly Winner's badge:  

 Click here for Announcement

Thanks so much to the CAS Colour and Sketch Team for choosing my card along with Stephanie L. and Lucie's.   Made my day!  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Penny Hanuszak, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

JANUARY HOSTESS CODE:

First Challenges for 2021

Hi everyone, Happy January and here's to new beginnings and hopefully a much, much better year ahead.

January is such an opportunity for fresh starts and I'm happy to say that I'm planning to do more paper crafting challenges this year.  This week I'm entering two challenges - a colour challenge with CAS Colours & Sketches and a sketch challenge with Freshly Made Sketches #467.

Colour Challenge: 

Challenge #401

Sketch Challenge: 

Here's My Slimline Card: 

My finished slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 4".  I cut a piece of Bermuda Bay for the base that measured 8 1/2" x 8" and then scored it at 4".  I added a layer of Pool Party that measures 8 1/4" x 3 3/4".  This was followed by the Whisper White layer which measures 8" x 3 1/2".  The inside Whisper White panel measures 3 3/4" x 8 1/4".

I fell in love with the images and sentiments in the Darling Donkeys Darling Donkeys  stamp set featured in today's birthday card. I don't know about you, but they put a smile on my face.  I knew they'd be perfect for this birthday card. 

This 8 piece red rubber cling stamp set is available in the newly released Sale-a-bration brochure and I got it for free when I ordered $60 in Stampin' Up! products.   You can too!

I stamped the donkey for the card front in Momento Black ink on a scrap of Whisper White card stock and coloured it with blends (see details below).  I fussy cut out the image and mounted it over the splotches with mini and regular dimensionals.   

The donkey inside the card was stamped directly to the panel and coloured in the same way.

The splotches beneath the donkey were inspired by Tashanda Lundy,  and are created using two images from the Painted Poppies stamp set.  

I stamped the center one in Pool Party and the two outer ones in Bermuda Bay ink.  I like the way they anchor the donkey and provide a great backdrop and, I think the colour contrast of Pool Party and Bermuda Bay really makes this card special.   

There are 3 splotch images in the Poppie Parade stamp set.  I used the flat one which created the background and stamped it off once (2nd generation stamping) in Pool Party.  The two pebbly splats were stamped in Bermuda Bay and were first generation stamping so you get a darker look.  I didn't use the smallest splotch although I contemplated it for the inside of the card.  

The sentiments on this card are from the Happiest of Birthdays stamp set in the Annual Catalogue.  There are only 4 cling stamps in this set, but they go the distance, in terms of great birthday greetings.  I stamped both sentiments with Cherry Cobbler Ink.   

I stamped both sentiments in Cherry Cobbler ink.  Unfortunately I did not use my re-inker on my ink pad or my Stamperatus to stamp these sentiments so they are not as robust as I would have liked them.  

 

Details:

Stamps:    Darling Donkeys (155264), Happiest of Birthdays (152539) and Painted Poppies (15382)

Card Stock:  Bermuda Bay, Pool Party and Whisper White

Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Pool Party and Momento Tuxedo Black

Blends:  Gray Granite (Light/Dark), Light Crumb Cake, Light Petal Pink, Light/Dark Cherry Cobbler, Light/Dark Granny Apple Green.

Well that's it for today's card and challenge.  Hope you liked it.  If you need any information about Sale-a-bration products or the new January to June Mini Catalogue, please contact me. 

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Penny Hanuszak, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

January Hostess Code: