PAPER PLAYERS #303

Here are more details about my card, just in case you're interested.

I hate wasting stuff and always like to re-purpose.  This habit has been compounded over the years by my husband who like me is at the tail end of the baby boomer generation and so we have our parents to thank for our thriftfullness.  (I think I just invented a word.)

So, the other day I was giving my daughter a demonstration on generation stamping and not wanting to waste a good piece of Whisper White I decided to bring the piece of cardstock home and considered myself challenged to make it into a card. 

I had seen a card online using texture paste and this spawned the idea of using the Detailed Floral Thinlits die as a stencil.  (My card isn't CASE'd by the way otherwise I'd be giving credit.)

You can see that the stems of the plant sprig go all the way into the bottom l/h corner of the card and although the texture paste is thick the stamping still shows through, but I think this adds to the overall effect of the card.

Techniques include wrinkle free distress, stamping, texture paste, sponging and stamping and of course you can see the edges of the card front panel are also distressed.  If you want to know more then leave a comment.  I'm more than happy to elaborate.

FOXY FRIENDS

Well my foxy friend arrived last week and I was so excited, yet a little overwhelmed, to play with this set.  There are so many stamping combinations and animals to create with this versatile set.

I knew straight away I wanted to create some old style vintage blocks.  These are definitely not suitable for baby to play with as we all know the first thing they do is put everything in their mouth.  These blocks are finished with Annie Sloan clear wax and so are strictly for decoration only.

I know the Bigz Alphabet Typeset is now retired but it is so perfect for vintage blocks along with the Storytime DSP and the Home for Christmas DSP with that gorgeous vintage deer and Santa.

I decided to add a bit of Annie Sloan dark wax to the edges of the blocks just to give them a pre loved look.  Don't you just love blocks?

I can't wait to create a couple with the other DSP now, just have to wait for more blocks from the supplier.

LOST YOUR MOJO? THEN GIVE IT A NUDGE

Online challenges are so much fun as they really get your creative juices flowing.  I've participated in a couple in the past and lately have been playing along weekly with the Global Design Project. I know there are other challenge sites out there but I haven't really taken that much notice however I came across a couple yesterday and I urge you to go and take a peek.  There are so many wonderful creations not only from the design team but other talented ladies who play along.  Here is my entry for The Paper Players #303.  I'll do a new post and tell you how I created it.

Everyone who submits a project creates a link at the bottom of their picture which takes you straight back to their blog post so you can get a better look.  Hover your mouse over the name and click, it's as simple as that.  Sometimes the link gets underscored and other times the text is in a different colour.  Don't by afraid to leave a comment, it only takes a moment of your time to say something nice.  There are a lot of talented people out there who are just quietly blogging away and would really enjoy hearing from you.  Better still enter your own creation and join in the fun.

I also entered the card I created for Global Design Project #044 on the right into the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.     I then came across The Paper Players #303 is using the fantastic Mint Macaron, Sweet Sugar Plum and Island Indigo combination in their challenge so decided to play along there too.  Click on the links below if you want to check them out.  The Paper Players challenge ends tonight so be quick if you want to join this one otherwise on any of them wait until Monday when the new challenge is announced.

http://www.global-design-project.com/
http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/
http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com.au/

Really, you have nothing to lose and depending on which challenge you choose to enter you may even win a prize as some don't judge your talent but select a winner randomly.  Not all challenges require you to have a blog as they can all be a bit different but if you need a blog you can easily set one up for free.

If you want to give your MOJO a nudge then I urge you to at least take a look around.

 

GLOBAL DESIGN PROJECT #044

CASE the designer.  This week we CASE the very talented Steffi Helmschrott. 

I wanted to take my inspiration from Steffi's use of metallic.  Instead of gold I am going to use copper which is so on trend in the home design field, which always has a flow on effect to other areas of the design world.  I know most of the products I have used on my card are retired but I really like this thank you stamp from A Whole Lot of Lovely.  I've decided to enter my card in the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge as this Blended Bloom flower fits in with the Flora and Fauna theme.

 

I always tend to use pinks and blues for water coloured backgrounds and this time I decided to use brown earthy colours to tone in with the copper embossing powder.  I love the way the pigments used in creating some of the darker ink colours separate when creating a water coloured background.  It's not that easy to photograph but if you look really hard you can see it in the top right hand corner, there is a slight green tinge and I've found when using Always Artichoke there is a rusty brown pigment that appears during this process.  It's interesting just how much we normally gravitate towards our favourite colours and how sometimes going out of our comfort zone makes us feel quite unsure about our choices. 

 

This card is dark and moody with a touch of copper and gold thread.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out and because I had lots of ink left on my silicone mat, I created another which incorporates one of the butterfly dies from the Butterflies Thinlits and of course more copper embossing powder and gold thread.

 

 

 

 

 

GLOBAL DESIGN PROJECT #043

PARTY, PARTY, PARTY!!!

Time to party over at Global Design Project.   This theme leave so much scope.

 

A while ago I bought this cupcake stand with the intention of decorating it with something from the new Stampin' Up range.  I just knew it had to be flamingoes and pineapples. 

I had so much fun with this project but it did involve a lot of fussy cutting.  There is a lot to be said about matching dies.

The big pineapple die is a random that I have in my stash.  When I saw that pineapples and flamingoes featured in the new catalogue I just knew this die would be the perfect compliment.

 

 

Shame I didn't get around to baking the cupcakes.  I even bought pineapple lollies to crown them.  Oh well, I guess I'll just have to eat the lollies.  Shame.

GLOBAL DESIGN PROJECT #042

I had so much fun creating my entry for this week's Global Design Project.  I love the Baby's First Framelits and associated stamp sets so decided to use one of these dies for my main element.


I used all the elements I love in card making.  White, Pool Party, sequins, shaker cards, ladybirds and balloons.

It's a bit trick getting a good photo of a shaker card due to the clear window sheets but well and truly worth the effort for the effect.

As always, the examples created by the team are so inspirational.

LITTLE DOG BIG ATTITUDE

This little dog may be a poodle but he is a tough little thing.  We already owned the two Kelpies in the header photo and then inherited this little feisty when my mum passed away 18 months ago.

I found him for her in the dog pound as he had been picked up roaming the streets with no registration tags and no micro-chip and no one making enquiries.  He likes to run away.  Anyway, he just had a haircut so I bought him a winter jumper which is all attitude, just like him.  One of my facebook friends christened him the Piroodle.  I love it.  His name is Jamie but we call him J'amay.

After shopping for his jumper at City Farmers and waiting outside to get in the car, he was ready to take on the postman delivering their mail. Such a naughty boy. 

He also does super cute too!

GLOBAL DESIGN PROJECT #041

A colour challenge is this week them on the Global Design Project and as always there are some lovely examples using the colours below.  What a great combination.

I decided to use the smaller rose and the leaves from the Rose Garden Thinlits as a stencil and sponged Sweet Sugarplum onto Whisper White cardstock.  I die cut a set of leaves in Whisper White and another in vellum which always adds that  soft floating feeling to a card.  Congratulations is stamped on a hand cut piece of Whisper White and comes from the Balloon Celebration stamp set.

Whisper White always looks stunning and a dark mat and Night of Navy fits the bill perfectly and it helps to tone down the pinkness of the Sweet Sugarplum card base.  Night of Navy splatters and  copper sequins add the final elements. 

I really liked the sponging effect left on the die cut leaves after I had used them as a stencil so decided to make another variation.  Sadly the rose stencil didn't survive the process quite so well and ended up in the bin.

LOVE YOU LOTS

Super cute little hedgehogs in this stamp set.  Swirly Bird makes a good sun too.

GLOBAL DESIGN PROJECT #040

This week at the Global Design Project we CASE the designer Shawn de Oliveira. You can choose to take whatever you like from the card that inspires you - it can be the stamp set, the colours, the flowers, the design, whatever you like! 

I wanted to create a lush tropical greenhouse effect with Monstera Deliciosa  like the ones in this photo climbing up and reaching for the light and Botanical Blooms has just the stamp I need.

My card turned out so over the top with the flashy flamingo frolicking in the tropical garden fresh out of a rain shower and the paparazzi hiding out in the greenery just waiting to catch a photo for the latest celebrity news flash. 

STILL PLAYING WITH FROGS

Love you Lots little froggy. I saw these candle holders at the Reject Shop and knew I wanted to create a mini terrarium using the Botanical Blooms and Love You Lots stamp sets.


This little guy is sooo cute and I know he's going to be used a lot more in future.

I've also used him on this card along with some stamps from Pun Intended.  I cut scrap photo copy paper to the size of card fronts and use them to trial layouts and stamps when I come up with an idea for a card.  If I don't like it I just throw it in the bin and start again on another piece.  It certainly saves wasting good cardstock and recycles the old copy paper too.

You can see I didn't stamp the splatters on the actual card and I added a couple of clear green sequins to the light bulbs.

PLAYING WITH SCRAPS

Swirly Bird scraps.

Living in Western Australia I'm not really into Halloween as it's never been part of our culture but having a sister-in-law who lives in Wisconsin and my kids who have visited I know it's a big celebration for them especially pumpkin carving.

Using up my scraps to cut leaves I realized that the centre of the larges die would make a great ghost face. So here is my take on the Scream ghost/ghoul face and Halloween.  I hope you like it. After visiting New Orleans in January this year it's kinda Voodoo too.

I used black and white cardstock (obviously) Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Botanical Blooms and sadly a retired Little Letters Thinlits  (it was the only small alpha die I had on hand) and gold sequins.  This is my creation using what I had on hand so if you like it, use it as a launch for your own creation.  

 I know I could have added a Wink of Stella on this card  and although it looks fantastic in real life, it is so hard to capture in a photo.

BLOOMIN' BOTANICAL

I've been madly pinning pictures of projects using the Botanical Blooms bundle.  I've seen many pretty items but the one that really grabbed my attention was by Sue Vines at Miss Pinks Craftspot. There's nothing better than hot pink and bright orange to raise the temperature and make it feel like summer.  Melon Mambo and Pumpkin Pie sure do that. It was time to CASe that card.

A few weeks ago I bought a blank paper fan from the reject shop knowing I wanted to used these blooms to decorate it.  I started out with a water wash of Calypso Coral and some black splatters and then got to cutting out my flowers and cutting, and cutting and cutting. (Well maybe a bit of exaggeration there!)

After much procrastination I was finally happy with the layout so took a photo with my phone to use as a reference and began glueing my flowers in place.




While I was happy with the end result I still felt in needed a bit of bling so added some gold swirls from the Swirly Bird set and of course some clear pink sequins.  I did trial some gold dots in the centre of the smaller flowers but am still not sure if I'm going to add them.

These flowers would be perfect to use for wedding invitations and other wedding related items.  I had a few left over flowers so decided to create a matching bomboniere just for fun.  I can just imagine these little beauties gracing the tables of an outdoor summer wedding.

GLOBAL DESIGN PROJECT #039

The challenge this week at Global Design Project #039 is the Get Well theme.


The actual term Get Well may not be appropriate to send to some people but we'd still like to send a card to cheer them up and let them know we are thinking about them.  This is particularly true of patients suffering with a terminal illness.  Thinking of You inside a heart from the new Pop of Paradise stamp set is perfect for times like these.


Sequins in a shaker card add a little fun along with the sparkle of dazzling diamond flowers.  Cute little hedgehogs from Love you Lots and a few sparkles are just enough to cheer your day.

I have been trying submit a card to the GDP each week since I found out about it online and this week I intend to visit each blog and post a comment. 

PLAYING WITH FROGS

Still playing with the little frog and other stamps from the Love You Lots stamp set and working with the new Stampin' Up In Colours.  I think Emerald Envy is growing on me.


Here are a few of my cards.

 

GLOBAL DESIGN PROJECT GDP#038

This weeks Global Design Project is a sketch challenge with the design created by Teneale Williams. 

The thing I like about card sketches is that you can copy them exactly or you can use them as a launch guide and adapt as you see fit.  Some very talented people out there come up with amazing interpretations of sketches and I love to see the variation of cards amongst the people who play along.  Here is my interpretation for this week's challenge.

I had so much fun creating this card.  I've seen this little froggy used a lot lately and of course it's one of the stamps in  the Love You Lots set which is a Hostess set in the new Annual Catalogue.  I wanted my card to be a bit playful and so I created a comic strip with the froggy finally managing to catch a fly at the end.  It's a pretty simple design that uses only a couple of colours but I was going for the look of a comic strip after all.  Of course, cause I was in a playful mood,  I had to give the little Ladybirds the from same set some loving too.

Doo, doo, doo looking out my back door!

BALLOON BOUQUET

Still on the balloon theme.
I love Scrabble tiles and when I found this font online I knew I had to download it as it would be perfect to use on cards.

The card turned out nothing like the picture I had in my mind.  Deciding to stick the letters on the balloons affected the layout of the card and in order to fit them on a standard sized card they needed to be staggered.

I love the combination of colours and I think they would be suitable for a male or female birthday card.  I used Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight and Cucumber Crush to shade the letters  and I love the rainbow effect that happened as the colours blended.  The letters are popped up on foam for a bit of dimension.  The same colours were used to create a softer watercolour background.

I'm really enjoying my new balloon punch and I know I'll be playing with it heaps in future.

USEFUL RUBBISH

These thin little trimmings were so pretty I just couldn't thrown them in the bin especially when I had an idea brewing for how to use them.

The Balloon Bouquet punch and Hello You Thinlits were the perfect combination and to complete my card a little bit of sparkle.

SHHSH OOH OOH, SHHSH AAHHH!

Now I have that Pushbike song going around in my head!


I christened the Pedal Pusher stamp set today.  Pedal Pusher by Stampin' Up was a freebie that I earned during their Sale-A-Bration promotion and it's a really cute set.

Time to play and see how things were stamping.  I tried creating a background which wasn't too successful but I've taken a photo of it anyway.  I was having trouble with the ink and find this is the case with some photopolymer stamps or solid image stamps.  I've tried rubbing and scrubbing the stamp and various inks but sometimes you just don't get the image stamp off you want.  I also need to remember to compare the stamped image to the image on the storage case as sometimes I'm not happy with my stamped image but then realise that's how it's supposed to be anyway.  Silly me.

There is no point wasting a good piece of cardstock when you can flip it over and play on the other side.  If all else fails just bin it and move on to a new piece.  See the background I created on the flipside at the end of this post.

Paula Dobson does some lovely sponging techniques on her cards and the card below is the CASE she did another of her own cards.  She has used 3 of the new colours being Sweet Sugarplum, Peekaboo Peach and Dapper Denim.  I love this combination.  If you want to see more of Paula's work just Google her or go to the Global Design Project website and follow the links. 

After seeing Paula's card, I started pinteresting and youtubing sponging techniques and came across a card that used a balloon stencil with sponging so decided to give that a go.  Products from a different company were used so I just re-created the card with my Stampin' Up supplies and was pleased with how it turned out.  That card actually combined a couple of techniques and one in particular that is really hot right now is layering your die cut words. I made a stencil  with  my Balloon Bouquet punch and used the small balloon sealed with sticky tape to plug the gap. 

 Create a design on your card and then include a portion of the design in the die cut.  More examples of this can be seen in the latest challenge on the Global Design Project website http://www.global-design-project.com/2016/05/global-design-project-036-case-designer.html

Lovely colours remained on my scratch paper where I had dabbed excess ink off when sponging my balloon which gave me the inspiration for the Crazy About You card background below.  Yep, this is the flipside.  You can just seek that Wink of Stella on the bike seat and frame. 

I love how bright that background turned out and I kept the offcuts to create another card.

GLOBAL DESIGN PROJECT #037

Tip Top Taupe, Mint Macaron and Island Indigo.


I have to say Island Indigo hasn't been one of my favourite colours but this week's colour challenge on the Global Design Project may just have changed my mind.  I'm really loving all the cards on the blog this week but I have to say Island Indigo shows up a lot more blue in some of the photos than in real life.


I wanted to keep my card quite soft in colour so used a narrow vertical panel of Island Indigo mounted on Mint Macaron and Tip Top Taupe.  I created my muted background by lightly sponging Mint Macaron and Tip Top Taupe on a panel of vellum.


I'm glad the Made with Love set has carried over into the new Annual Catalogue because the little dear in that set is just so cute!  And I think he looks perfect on my card with his Island Indigo bow and touch of Stella.  Balloon Framelits is also still current and I can see I'll be getting a lot more use from this set in future.


A perfect card for greeting that new baby girl or boy.

GLOBAL DESIGN PROJECT #GDPO36

This week we get to CASE design team member Paula Dobson and what a lovely card Paula has created.  In fact all the design team members are very creative and deliver beautiful examples every week for our inspiration.

I decided to use Helping Me Grow and as lavender is one of my favourite flowers and scents.   I just knew I had to have this stamp set when I saw it in the Occasions Catalogue as it attracted me straight away.

I stamped the flower in black Stazon ink on watercolour paper and then created my background.  I really enjoyed painting the flowers as I find this technique very relaxing and very forgiving. I added some embellishment with parchment, silver thread and splatters.

I also gave the flower heads a subtle sparkle and this time I tried using my embroidery light to catch that elusive Wink of Stella. 

I think I still need to work on my photography skills though.