Friday, December 16, 2022

Music in the Air for As You See It Challenge #289b

music in the air for aysi #289b 1

 Well, Merry Christmas from the Design Team at As You See It Challenges. We've completed our regular rotation of challenges for 2022, but we got to thinking that just when our readers had perhaps a little more time to play with some challenges (and perhaps a little more loot for their craft room under the Christmas tree!!) most challenge blogs took a break over the holidays and challenges to play were few and far between.

So we thought we could help with a bonus challenge! This one is a different type than our regular rotation of challenges - it's an inspiration challenge! That means you look at the photo and use something you see: either colour, images, theme or layout, etc. to inspire your own creation. Here's the Challenge Banner:

challenge #289b

I used the colours and theme for my card, and found an older hoarded stamp set and coordinating dies called Musical Season, long since retired, that it brought to mind:

music in the air for aysi #289b 2

  • I loved the rich browns and oranges in the inspiration photo so I captured those with the card base of Early Espresso and the first layer of Pumpkin Pie. 
  • Then I added a layer of Sahara Sand, embossed using the Merry Melody 3D embossing folder.
  • I stamped the lute image in Cajun Craze ink and the lyre in Mango Melody and die cute them with the coordinating dies. 
  • The treble clef and the English Horn were die cut from Gold Brushed Metallic Cardstock.
  • The branches of greenery were coloured right on the rubber stamp with Shaded Spruce and Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Write Markers, then stamped on Very Vanilla card stock and die cut again.
  • The sentiment was stamped on Very Vanilla with Early Espresso ink and added using Dimensionals.
I was happy to get the warmth that I felt when I looked at the inspiration photo!

What inspires you when you look at the photo? I hope you'll play along with us at some point before January 11th when this bonus challenge closes.

last chance products

You have a huge opportunity to save oodles on your favourite products from the July/Dec Mini Catalogue that are retiring, just in time for Christmas! From now until Jan 4, **while supplies last** you can save up to 60% on many products from that amazing catalogue. Your best bet is to go to my Online Store under Last Chance Products and you can see exactly what's still available in real time and purchase from there directly. While you're there, you might want to also check out the Clearance Rack, because it has been substantially updated with dozens of new bargains from the last mini catalogue and other offers at greatly reduced prices. You can either purchase directly from my store or message me and I'll submit the orders for you. Here is a link to help you check out the Last Chance Deals in a list form.

music in the air for aysi #289b 3

If you live in Canada, and don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator,  I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the right side bar at the top of the page. You can shop with me from anywhere in Canada by clicking on the SHOP NOW button in the top menu or clicking on any of products below from my Online Store.

Product List
* Retired items: no longer available for sale

Friday, December 2, 2022

Speedy Bauble for As You See It Challenge #289

speedy bauble for aysi #289 1

 Have you put up your Christmas tree yet? When do you like to do it? Real or Artificial? We've had ours up for about a week. We got an artificial tree several years ago when we had a water leak incident with a live tree on our laminate floor that didn't get detected due to the tree skirt. That was the straw! 

Here's a photo of our Christmas tree this year:

christmas tree

Nearly the same as last year! Goes with the décor of the living room! We've kept our decorations simple this year because we're putting our house on the market. We're trying to downsize!
This week is a new As You See It Challenge, and it's a Speed Challenge! This can be exciting or terrifying, depending on how accustomed you are to doing them. Here's our banner:

challenge #289

So the way this works is that you have to make a card with the theme of Christmas Baubles in under 10 minutes. You're allowed to plan it out ahead of time, even sketch it. You can gather all your materials. But as soon as you start to stamp or cut cardstock or anything like that, you must start your timer.

I had a problem because the only thing I had with Christmas Baubles, stamps or die cuts, were teeny weeny, so I needed an alternative. I saw someone make a simple tag similar to this by punching out a circle and backing it with coloured paper, so I thought I would adapt it to a card of larger proportions.

speedy bauble for aysi #289 2

  • I started with a Shaded Spruce card base of 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and scored it at 4 1/4". 
  • On a sheet of Basic White, I punched a hole near the bottom, centered on both sides, using a 2" Circle. 
  • I cut a 2 1/2" square of the Gold Glimmer Paper and mounted on the card front so the circle would cover it when the Basic White was mounted in the right place. 
  • I used the fir branches  images from the Merriest Moments stamp set to create the Christmas tree limbs to hang the Christmas bauble from. I stamped them in Shaded Spruce ink. I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set in Merry Merlot.
  • I used Gold Simply Elegant Trim with Glue Dots to anchor it and extended it from the top of the punched hole, straight up and over the top edge of the Basic White cardstock as shown, anchoring it on the back side. I tied a simple bow with another piece of the Simply Elegant Trim and mounted it at the top of the "faux" Christmas Bauble with another Glue Dot.
  • At this point, I adhered the Basic White Layer to the card front adding extra adhesive around the punched out circle.
  • Finally I added a few Festive Pearls to act like mini lights among the branches. It took me 9 minutes 45 seconds to do everything but the Festive Pearls and another 10 seconds to add them. So I finished just under the wire at 9 minutes 55 seconds.
last chance products

You have a huge opportunity to save oodles on your favourite products from the July/Dec Mini Catalogue that are retiring, just in time for Christmas! From now until Jan 4, **while supplies last** you can save up to 60% on many products from that amazing catalogue. Your best bet is to go to my Online Store under Last Chance Products and you can see exactly what's still available in real time and purchase from there directly. While you're there, you might want to also check out the Clearance Rack, because it has been substantially updated with dozens of new bargains from the last mini catalogue and other offers at greatly reduced prices. You can either purchase directly from my store or message me and I'll submit the orders for you. Here is a link to help you check out the Last Chance Deals in a list form.



And, just so you know, the last day to order from Stampin' Up! and be sure to get the product before Christmas, all else being equal, is Dec. 12.

speedy bauble for aysi #289 3


If you live in Canada, and don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator,  I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the right side bar at the top of the page. You can shop with me from anywhere in Canada by clicking on the SHOP NOW button in the top menu or clicking on any of products below from my Online Store.

Product List

Friday, November 18, 2022

Tree Lot for As You See It Challenge #288



tree lot for aysi #288 1

The As You See It Challenge this week is a Theme Challenge and the theme is Vacation Activities. That's easy and hard for me: Easy because we most often camp when we go on vacation; hard because I needed to use lot of retired products to complete my sample card for the challenge. Here's the challenge banner:


as you see it challenge #288

When we vacation we have a 24' foot travel trailer that lets us go to many places and set up home wherever we travel. I love it. So far, because of Covid travel restrictions, we haven't been out of our home province, but hopefully that will soon change.
trailer

We've always loved camping. It's gets you out in the fresh air and the woods and you meet new people and experience nature. We'll probably continue as long as we're physically able to do so.

Here's my card:

tree lot for aysi #288 2

  • On a card base of Soft Succulent cardstock, I layered a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of the now retired New Horizons DSP.
  • Using the retired Tree Lot Dies I die cut three trees from Evening Evergreen and Mint Macaron, with the Mint Macaron backed with adhesive sheets so they stick like stickers to the larger backing pieces. 
  • The main trailer piece is die cut from Cherry Cobbler cardstock with accents die cut from adhesive-backed Silver Foil Sheets and Basic Black cardstock.
  • The sentiment is from the Campology stamp set (still available) and is backed with a Crumb Cake tree ring die cut using the Tree Ring dies (also still available). A bow from linen thread is added.
A quick and easy card to make, but lots of fun, too!

seasonal sale

Today is the Last Day of this great Seasonal Sale with savings up to 20% off on selected products from the Annual Catalogue! 

Create more by spending less during the Seasonal Sale! Between 15 and 18 November 2022, select products from the 2022–2023 Annual Catalog will be on sale with the following discounts:

10% off all punches
15% of all stamps (Host stamp sets are not included in this sale)
20% off all dies
20% off all embossing folders
20% off all non-specialty and non-assortment Designer Series Paper
With the season of giving upon us, this is a great opportunity to buy gifts for your fellow crafting enthusiasts, or to stock up on supplies for all your upcoming handmade projects. Remember, this sale is for four days only! Don’t miss out!

tree lot for aysi #288 3

If you live in Canada, and don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator,  I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the right side bar at the top of the page. You can shop with me from anywhere in Canada by clicking on the SHOP NOW button in the top menu or clicking on any of products below from my Online Store.

Product List

*No longer available for sale