Friday, July 31, 2015

Watercolour Wings a la Monet for As You See It Challenges


I struggled a little with the direction in which to take this week's As You See It Challenge. I decided to use Watercolour Wings again and I was thinking of using the Boho Chic Embossing Folder as a stamp for the background (see below for the how-to). When I was finished, the whole thing reminded me of the style of Claude Monet, one of the French Impressionists. Of course, I'm not comparing myself to a famous painter. I can only wish that I had that talent, but the colours and the impressionist style with this technique remind me of those paintings.

Here are some famous paintings by Claude Monet:



 Here's the As You See It Challenge sketch:


And here is my design for As You See It Challenges this week:

  • With the Watercolour Wings Photopolymer Stamp set, the possibilities are endless, depending on which colours you choose. This time I went bright, using Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo. This is three step stamping, so for the first step, I stamped off the Daffodil Delight to make it lighter. The outside edge of the wings was full strength Daffodil Delight and then the inside details were stamped in Melon Mambo.  I even used the little butterfly stamp that I didn't even notice until today!
  • The butterfly is die cut with the coordinating framelit from the Bold Butterfly Framelits, and the little butterfly matches the Elegant Butterfly Punch.
  • The background is made using the Boho Chic Embossing Folder as a stamp. I sponged areas of Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo on the side of the folder that I wanted the image to look like. In this case, I wanted to have a larger area coloured so I used the debossed side. I spritzed it with water and inserted my Whisper White cardstock and closed the folder, just rubbing it with my fingers in the area of the colour. I removed the cardstock and used the Heat Tool to dry it.
  • The Silver Metallic Thread creates a great accent under the butterfly.  The sentiment is from Watercolour Wings as well and is die cut with the Bitty Banners Framelits.
I hope you have a great weekend! I'm excited because I'm going antiquing with my hubby. We're especially looking for some old oars for decor in our new beach cottage themed house, and maybe some old floats or buoys. We'll see what we can find! Back on Monday!


Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today!


Product List

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Grateful for Freshly Made Sketches


Today I felt like making a Grateful fall card. Heaven knows why. I was just missing the warmth and texture of fall I guess. I'm not ready for summer to be over, not by a long shot, but the feeling didn't pass and I went with it!


The simplicity of the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge felt just right for the kind of card I was thinking of:


I've also been keen to use Delightful Dijon in an autumn design, so this was my chance:


  • Oh, hello, Soft Suede! It's been a while! Good to see you again, and I love how you pair with Delightful Dijon!
  • I dug out For All Things because of the shape of the watercolour wash stamp. It fit perfectly with the square shape of the image panel. I debated a while before picking the acorns for the image as opposed to the sheaf of leaves or wheat or whatever it is, but I chose the acorns in the end because I could use a different colour ink on them instead of the Delightful Dijon I used for the sentiment. Both are from For All Things stamp set.
  • Burlap ribbon has been another stranger lately and imagining the banner in burlap was what really set my mind on a fall card in the first place. I continue to love the texture it creates on any project.
  • I combined the rustic texture of burlap and the sparkle and class of gold when I created the "rat's nest" of thread behind the main panel to add to the texture of the card. If you cut yourself a 12" or so piece of burlap ribbon, trim off the sewing on the edge and pull out the threads, it gives you a wavy piece of burlap thread to use in place of linen thread. The Gold Metallic Thread comes just as you see, wound on a spool, ready to use.
Well, maybe thinking about the colours of fall, the chill in the air that it brings and the return to routine will make you cherish another month of summer a little more!


Thanks for dropping by today, and tomorrow I'll have another design for As You See It Challenges!


Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today!


Product List

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Crazy About You for The Paper Players


I have a Backyard Quick and Cute Card Class coming up tomorrow night and I needed another design for the attendees to make, so when I saw The Paper Players Challenge sketch this week, it was perfect! 


I haven't used my Crazy About You Stamp Set very much and, with its flowers and leaves and sentiments, it was just made for this challenge.

  • The Farmer's Market Designer Series Paper (DSP) gave me the colour and texture I was looking for to add interest to this simple design. I used the wood planking design and the Blackberry Bliss gingham for accenting.
  • The Scallop Tag Topper punch was used to create the tag top and it needs a strip of Whisper White only 2" wide. I wanted to add a bit more width and so used strips of the gingham DSP again on the sides. I rounded the outside top corner of each strip with the Project Life Corner punch before adhering them to the sides of the tag. 
  • The leaves from Crazy About You are stamped right on the tag in Sahara Sand and the sentiment comes in two parts, each stamped right onto the tag as well. Photopolymer stamps make correct placement so easy! 
  • I stamped the flower in Blackberry Bliss on a separate piece of Whisper White and used the     1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch to punch it out. It was mounted with a Stampin' Dimensional and I added a White Perfect Accent to the center.
  • A Tea Lace Paper Doily adds more interest and texture in the upper right and some Black Stitched Satin ribbon does the same for the top of the tag.

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today!


Product List