FMS#200 What a Celebration!

Today has been such a peaceful day.  We went for a walk around Mill Lake, did some shopping, came home, handled a few chores and then drum roll please.......... I had three glorious, undisturbed hours of stamping time, while my hubby watched golf. Yeah!  Got to love golf! What a great day!

To make the most of my creative time I looked for some sketch challenges that would be quick and easy to do, and I came across this one from Freshly Made Sketches which fit the bill.  The design has simple lines and you can do what you want with it, but the twist is to keep your project as clean-lined and fresh as possible.

This is a very special challenge for Freshly Made Sketches as it marks their 200th sketch challenge! That's quite a feat and they are really celebrating! To thank everyone who's participated in their past sketch challenges they've gathered together some of the best known companies from the crafting community as sponsors for this week's challenge. How wonderful is that? 

Here's My Card:

Originally I planned to use a White on White theme for my floral birthday card, but in looking at the design team and other samples, I realized that several other crafters had already gone that route, so I opted to use white and a solid colour.  I chose to work with Elegant Eggplant and Whisper White.  

I stamped the full image of the flower across the two pieces of Whisper White card stock and then re-stamped the floral image onto scrap card stock. I fussy cut out each of the flowers and coloured them with an Elegant Eggplant Marker and a Blender Pen.  To give the flower petals some dimension, I turned them over after they were coloured and rolled a stylus around the edges to give them some shape. The flowers were adhered with dimensionals and I placed a small Basic Rhinestone in the center of the main flower. 

I added three Basic Rhinestones to the bottom of the card in a random pattern.  I inked up the background stamp from the You've Got This stamp set with Perfect Plum ink and then stamped it off several times on scrap paper before stamping it across the two Whisper White layers.   

I kept the inside of the card pretty simple, re-stamping the floral image and the sentiment from the Basic Butterfly set.  I adhered  a 1/4" strip of Elegant Eggplant card stock along the right hand side of the card. 

Supplies:

Stamps:  Basic Butterfly and You've Got This

Inks & Markers:  Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Always Artichoke, Old Olive Assortment of Blendabilities.

Card Stock:  Whisper White and Elegant Eggplant 

Accessories: Detail Scissors, Stylus, Paper Trimmer, 

Blender Pen, Dimensionals, Basic Rhinestones and Tom Bow Glue

Thanks for dropping by today.  I hope you liked my clean and simple birthday card.  

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens 

Wacky Watercooler August Blog Hop

Wow it's August already and time for another Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop. This hop is called "Let's Sprinkle August With Life" and runs from today through Saturday August 22nd, 2015.  We're showcasing the Sprinkles of Life Stamp Set from the new 2015/2016 Annual Catalogue!

If you've been following the hop, you should have arrived here from the very talented and creative Debbie Spano's site. She has such awesome projects! 

We hope you'll enjoy our virtual hop, learn some great techniques for your paper crafting projects or simply enjoy visiting our 12 participants sites and seeing all their great creations! Be sure to click on the "next button" at the end of the post to continue your journey on this blog hop or return to the start point.

Projects One & Two - Sprinkles of Life: 

I'm so happy to be showcasing the Sprinkles of Life Stamp Set along with my fellow Wacky Watercooler designers for the first two projects today.  What fun! 

This set includes 22 Photopolymer versatile stamps 

The Sprinkles of Life Stamp set is notably one of Stampin' Ups! most popular stamp sets this year, and there are a couple of very important reasons for that:  

• The first reason is that Stampin' Up! donates time and money to support Ronald McDonald House Charities. To date they've contributed over $1,000,000 to RHMC and their network of local RMHC Chapters. When you buy the Sprinkles of Life Stamp Set, Stampin' Up! donates a portion ($3.00) of the proceeds to RMHC. 

• The second reason is that it's down right fun to use this set!  You can unleash your creative genius and stamp your heart out with these very versatile stamps.  You can make cards for any occasion using a myriad of combinations of the 22 photopolymer images and sentiments. Your projects can be adorned with cupcakes, clouds, rain, ice cream cones, baskets of flowers, apples, trees and much, much more.  And, as if that's not enough, there's even a co-ordinating Tree Builder punch, to make cutting out the tops of the cupcakes, trees, clouds etc. that much faster.

All Occasion 3 x 3 Note Cards & Gift Box: 
I love having small note cards on hand to tuck into hostess gifts or as a small thank you for good deeds.  You can never have enough of them.  So, for my first project I designed a set of 4 note cards with matching envelopes and a gift box holder using the Sprinkles of Life Set .

The Gift Box:

 

Love this cute little gift box.  It holds 4 gift cards and matching envelopes and is simply tied shut with a ribbon.

The 16" piece of ribbon simply slides under the Whisper White mat that is mounted to the box front with dimensionals and ties at the top of the box. 

Here's what the back of the box looks like when it's closed and done up with the ribbon. 

  3 x 3 Note Cards:
The four note cards that I made match the front of the gift box.  
 

This cute little scene began by stamping the tree trunk from the Sprinkles of Life stamp set onto a 2" x 2" piece of Whisper White card stock.  Next I added two bunches of flower stems around the base of the tree in Cucumber Crush ink.  The flower heads were stamped in Hello Honey and Watermelon Wonder inks. The clouds were sponged in Soft Sky ink around a 1 3/4" scalloped circle.  The top and sides of the square were sponged with Soft Sky ink to blend in the clouds and the bottom of the square was sponged with Cucumber Crush ink.  To finish off the little scene I added small basic rhinestones for a touch of glimmer.  The foliage on the tree was stamped on a piece of Cucumber Crush card stock and then punched out with the Tree Builder punch.  I used dimensionals to adhere it above the tree trunk.

That might sound like a lot of work, but trust me you can complete this card front in just a few minutes.  It will put a smile on your face when you're done!

The Envelopes:

 

I am hooked on using the Envelope Punch Board.  It's one of the best tools I have and I use it for every project that requires an envelope.  Here I made four cute little 31/4 x 31/4" envelopes from Whisper White card Stock.  I've lined then with paper from the Cherry On Top Designer Paper Pack (DSP).  I stamped the flower image on the front left corner of each of the cards, repeating the colouration and design from the front and inside of the gift cards.

How cute is this? 

See below for link to measurements and how to make the liner.  It's super easy!

 

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Sprinkles of Life
Card Stock:  Bermuda Bay and Whisper White 
DSP:  Cherry on Top Designer Series Paper Pack
Ink:  Cucumber Crush, Hello Honey, Tip Top Taupe, Watermelon Wonder, and Soft Sky
Accessories:  1 3/4" Scalloped Circle Punch, Basic Rhinestones, 16" White Cotton Ribbon, Envelope Punch Board, Paper Trimmer, Adhesive, Dimensionals

Cutting Dimensions for Four Cards:
1.  Cut 4 pieces Bermuda Bay to measure 3 x 6" and score at 3" (card base).
2.  DSP layer cut 4 pieces 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" adhere to card base.
3.  2nd layer - cut 4 pieces of Bermuda Bay measuring 2 1/4" x 2 1/4" adhere to DSP layer.
4.  3rd layer - cut 4 pieces of Whisper White card stock, adhere to Bermuda Bay layer once stamping has been completed.   

Card Box and Envelopes: 
For full details on making the card box, envelopes and cards click here for my original tutorial.


Project Two - Sprinkles of Life Positivity Card
One of the wonderful things about the Sprinkles of Life set is that it is definitely full of "positives".  That became the theme for my next card which could be used as a birthday card, an incentive card or a "just because card".  

The positive affirmation on this card reads:  Hope Your Day Stacks Up to Be One Good Thing On Top of Another!

This is the inside of the card.  I simply repeated the ice cream cone from the front of the card but omitted the glitter. 

Love these cones.  I stamped the cones onto Tip Top Taupe card stock and then fussy cut them with my detail scissors and adhered them over the 1 3/4" x 4 1/4" DSP layer.  I stamped and punched out the ice cream scoops from Hello Honey and Watermelon Wonder card stocks.  The scoops were added above the cone with dimensionals. I highlighted the design on the scoops and cherries with Dazzling Details glitter (luv that stuff).  The cute little window and frame was made using my brand new Lots of Labels Framelits.  I'm delighted with how it turned out and I know I'll be using these framelits a lot.

Supplies:
Stamp Set:  Sprinkles of Life 
Card Stock:  Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Watermelon Wonder, Hello Honey and Tip Top Taupe
DSP:  Cherry on Top Designer Series Paper Pack 
Inks:  Bermuda Bay, Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe, Hello Honey
Accessories:  Large Polka Dot TIEF, Lots of Labels Framelits (new), Tree Builder punch, Big Shot, Magnetic Platform, Paper Trimmer, Detail Scissors,and Dazzling Details Glitter.

Project Three - Case The Catalogue: 
We had such a blast and received such excellent feedback from our July Blog Hop "CASE THE PROJECT", that we decided to do it again.  If you haven't checked it out, the Annual Catalogue is an absolute treasure trove of design ideas.  No need to buy a stamping magazine or search Pinterest, it's all there and you simply can't go wrong CASEing projects from it.

Here's the card I'm CASEing.  It's from page 114 of the Annual Catalogue and features the stamp set "Blended Bloom".  

I loved using the original design of this card but changed it up a bit to meet my own needs.  CASEing this card was a great opportunity to use another of my favourite tools the Mini Treat Bag Thinlets and my new Brick Wall Embossing Folder.   Here's my card:

I wanted a sophisticated looking card for my upscale friend who has a passion for white, yellow and black.  I switched up the flower from Watermelon Wonder to Daffodil Delight.  I loved the bold stripes on the original banner but decided to go more subtle with a smaller striped pattern from the Go Wild Designer Series paper pack and the Triple Banner Punch.  The Blended Bloom image was stamped onto Daffodil Delight card stock with Momento Tuxedo Black Ink.  I love the depth you get with that ink and it dries so quickly.  The flower has three layers and I used a Zentangle technique to add dimension to the petals. 

Here's the back side of the treat bag.  I joined two 2" x 6" pieces of DSP together and punched out the banner with the Triple Banner punch.  Sorry this is such a lousy picture........ it's pouring rain out and there's no natural light.  Grrrrrrrr.

 

You can see the detail on the flower a bit more in this shot. I stamped the flower image on Daffodil Delight card stock three times to create the flower layers.  Each layer was fussy cut and the edges were sponged with black ink. Black was coloured into the edges on the flowers to give them a rolled look and adding Crystal Effects to these coloured areas gives them more depth. The basic rhinestones in the flower's center were coloured with a Black Sharpie Alcohol Marker.  I didn't like the bow in the flower center on the original card, so this was the "just right" finish for mine.

A gift card tucks nicely into the DSP pocket.

I cut a 2" x 3 1/2"  piece of the designer series paper and put a thin line of adhesive around the outer edges and bottom to adhere it to the Daffodil Delight card stock.  I stamped a partial image of the flower in black ink.

I like to write my own personal message on my cards so I added a 3 x 4 1/4" piece of Whisper White card stock to the back of the Gift Card insert.

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Blended Bloom and Wetlands
DSP:  Go Wild Designer Series Paper Pack
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black 
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Daffodil Delight
Accessories:  Big Shot Machine, Brick Wall Embossing Folder, Crystal Effects, Banner Triple Punch, Basic Rhinestones, Black Sharpie Marker Alcohol based, Detail Scissors, Tom Bow glue, Adhesive Strips, Paper Trimmer. 

Well that's it for this month's projects.  I hope you liked them and will leave me a comment or two on your favourites, and come back again.  Thanks for visiting!

Heidi Weaver our fabulous blog host and super talented Wacky Watercooler Designer is next on this blog hop so make sure you click on the "next" button below to move to her blog.   You won't want to miss her wonderful and exciting projects!

Heidi Weaver

Debbie Spano

Wacky Watercooler August Blog Hop - Start

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens

Floral Frames Sympathy Card

Sadly, I've just learned my friend Bev's mom passed away over the weekend.  I knew from talking with Bev recently that her mom's health had been failing for some time and she had been slipping away little by little.

I'm so grateful my husband and I had an opportunity to meet Norma and her sweet husband Mel, some years ago and have fond memories of those get-togethers.  

We first met this great couple from Winnipeg on one of their visits to Black Mountain Ranch, in Washington state. Our memories of Norma's friendliness, warmth and great cooking skills during those visits remain. She was one of those women you instantly took a liking to, with her great smile, strong hug and wonderful sense of humour.

Our sympathy goes out to Mel, his children and grandchildren in the loss of their wife, mom, grandma, and an all around great woman.   

Here's a card I made to express our sympathy:

Supply  List:
Stamp Sets:	Gorgeous Grunge, You’ve Got This
Inks:	Rich Razzleberry, Crumb Cake
Card Stock:	Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake
Accessories:	Floral Framelits, Basic Rhinestones, Detailing Scissors, Tom Bow Glue, Dimensionals
Tools:	Big Shot, Paper Trimmer

This is the inside of the card.  I added the additional cut flowers to cover the back of the ones on the front of the card. 

 

Happy Stamping! 
Penny Tokens

Christmas in July Card Classes

July went by in a whirl with two Christmas in July card classes, my bestie returning for Stampin' on Tuesdays and some beginner's Stampin' 101 classes under my belt.  And now, it's on to August. But, before I switch gears, I thought I would share my Christmas in July card class for some inspiration.

What fun we had making these four Christmas cards.  Almost all of the supplies are from the 2015-2016 annual catalogue.  Participants made two of each card and matching envelopes.  All supplies were included.  Details are on my event calendar. 

This beautiful card features the Wonderous Wreath Bundle stamp set and framelits.  The card face is dry embossed with the new Elegant Dots Embossing folder.  The wreath is stamped in Smokey Slate and Versa Mark ink and embossed with Silver Embossing Powder. 

This card also features the Wonderous Wreath stamp set, this time stamped in Pear Pizzazz, Mossy Meadow and Real Red inks.  This is a fancy fold card with a delightful peek-a-boo window behind the wreath. 

This card which can double as a gift card holder was a blast to make.  It's made with the Mini Treat Bag Thinlet Dies, the Tree Builder punch and Boho Chic Embossing Folder. 

 

I've had such a fun time with the mini treat bag that I made some additional samples to show the girls.

This fourth card features a peek-a-boo window made with a retired BigZ Die of the same name.  This is a fun card with its hidden Christmas messages.  

 

I've decided to hold this class again by request, so if you're in the area and  interested in gathering some friends (six maximum) and hosting a workshop in my house or yours, contact me to arrange a date between August 18th and September 30th, 2015.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens