Delicate Desert for As You See It Challenge #290

 

Well, I've enjoyed my break from As You See It Challenges over the holidays, but it's time to get back to work now, into our regular rotation of challenges and the first one, #290, is a sketch challenge. Here's the challenge banner:

Just what I like, a simple sketch with lots of white space left for our own interpretation. I've had gobs of new products to play with, and, due to being sick recently, no motivation to use them until now. So, I was glad for the chance to get out the new Delicate Desert Suite and take the products for a test drive. Here's the result:

• I loved this suite from the start for the Southwest motifs which I've always liked, the DistINKtive stamp images of succulents and the colour choices in the DSP and specialty paper. I'm trying to incorporate all of these tastefully in this card.
• I felt that the border pattern in the sketch was tailor made for the border die in the Desert Details die set. Here I used it on a narrow piece of the Dry Brushed Metallic Specialty DSP.
• I used the Southwest motif die and the succulent leaf plant die on the Soft Succulent colour of the Dry Brushed Metallic Specialty DSP.
• The card base is Calypso Coral, layered with a piece of the Delicate Desert DSP. A strip of the DSP in Gray Granite was added on the left side with another narrow piece of the Petal Pink/Gold Dry Brushed Metallic DSP to the left of that. I die cut another narrow piece of the same DSP with the border die and layered it on top of that.
• I made a sentiment label with one of the sentiments from the stamp set, embossed in gold and die cut with a panel die then cut in half.
• I stamped a large succulent in Soft Succulent and a small one in Petal Pink and die cut them with the corresponding dies, then layered all the die cut elements at the top of the sentiment label as shown.
• The last step was to add some of the Gold Faceted Adhesive Backed sequins that came with this suite.

Shop with me during Sale-A-Bration and earn some of these wonderful rewards when you spend $60 or more:

Check the 2023 Sale-A-Bration Brochure for more details.

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

Desert Details Cling Stamp Set (English) [160523] $33.00	Desert Details Bundle (English) [160532] $72.00	Delicate Desert Suite Collection (English) [160537] $122.75	Delicate Desert 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [160521] $16.50	Dry Brushed Metallic 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [160837] $11.00
Calypso Coral 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [122925] $12.75	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276] $14.00	Versamark Pad [102283] $13.00	Metallics Embossing Powders [155555] $25.00	Soft Succulent Classic Stampin' Pad [155778] $11.00
Petal Pink Classic Stampin' Pad [147108] $11.00	Gold Faceted Adhesive Backed Sequins [160536] $11.00	Desert Details Dies [160531] $47.00	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] $170.00	Stampin' Seal [152813] $11.00
Multipurpose Liquid Glue [110755] $5.50	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $6.00

It's Here! The 2023 January - April Mini Catalogue and Sale-A-Bration Brochure!

The 2023 Jan./April Mini Catalogue

Hey, everyone! It's finally here: The 2023 Jan/Apr Mini Catalogue is available for shopping as of today!! It's a beautiful catalogue! I'm sure you're going to find many beautiful bundles and paper that you will love! Feast your eyes on the PDF version you can download above, or leave me a message in the comments and I will send you a hard copy of your own!

2023 Sale-A-Bration Brochure

 It's also time for Stampin' Up's biggest sale event of the year - Sale-A-Bration, and this year there is only one and it only lasts from now until Feb. 28th so you have no time to fool around! You've got to earn those rewards quickly! For every $60 Canadian you order, you earn a level one Sale-A-Bration reward. For every $120 you order, you earn a level two Sale-A-Bration reward or two level one rewards!

If you Host a party of any kind and the sales reach $375 CAD, you earn the Scenic Garden Stamp set!

And if you decide you'd like to join Stampin' Up! during Sale-A-Bration this year there are 3 amazing options:

1. Pay the usual $135 for the Starter Kit and instead of the usual $165 worth of your choice of Stampin' Up! products, you get $225 worth of your choice of Stampin' Up! products! Wow! That's an extra $60 worth!

2. Pay just $40 more dollars - $175 - and not only get the $225 worth of your choice of Stampin' Up! products, but also the original White Mini Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine, worth $86.

or 3. Pay $175 and not only get the $225 worth of your choice of Stampin' Up! products, but also the exclusive Boho Blue Mini Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine, worth $86!

So cute!! I've got one! It's so nice to have a little colour in the die cutting corner.

Let me know in the messages if you want one of these! I can tell you how to Join My Team.

Here's a video sharing about three of the new bundles in the Jan/Apr Mini.

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 the link for my Online Store.

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

 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:

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:

• 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.

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.

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

*Musical Season Wood-Mount Stamp Set [144814] $33.00	*Musical Season Wood-Mount Bundle [146048] $63.75	Brushed Metallic Cardstock [153524] $21.00	Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [119686] $12.75	Pumpkin Pie 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [105117] $12.75
Sahara Sand 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [121043] $12.75	Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [101650] $14.00	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [147114] $11.00	Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad [147085] $11.00	Mango Melody Classic Stampin' Pad [147093] $11.00
Regals Stampin' Write Markers [147155] $42.50	Merry Melody 3 D Embossing Folder [156392] $13.75	*Musical Instruments Framelits Dies [144677] $38.00	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] $170.00	Stampin' Seal [152813] $11.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $6.00

* Retired items: no longer available for sale

Speedy Bauble for As You See It Challenge #289

 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:

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:

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.

• 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.

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.

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

Merriest Moments Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [156353] $30.00	Merriest Moments Bundle (English) [156783] $73.75	Glimmer 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [159537] $13.75	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276] $14.00	Shaded Spruce 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146981] $12.75
Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad [147088] $11.00	Merry Merlot Classic Stampin' Pad [147112] $11.00	Simply Elegant Trim [155766] $10.25	Festive Pearls [159963] $9.75	2" (5.1 Cm) Circle Punch [133782] $24.00
Mini Glue Dots [103683] $7.25	Stampin' Seal+ [149699] $16.50	Stampin' Seal [152813] $11.00