WACKY WATERCOOLER MAY MASHUP BLOG HOP

Welcome to my blog and my contribution to the Wacky Watercooler May Mashup Blog Hop.  Although our hop this time around is smaller than usual, only six participant's, I'm sure you'll agree that everyone has given it their all for this mashup.  

What is a "mashup"?  Well for this month's hop we're presenting projects using products that are retiring, products that are soon to arrive and a masculine project. This hop will run from this evening through Saturday May 21st, so I hope you'll hop on board and join the fun. 

If you're joining us for the first time, this is a circular blog hop, so no matter where you joined if you keep going through you'll eventually wind up where you started from.  If you've coming from the previous blog, you'll have been checking out Heidi Weaver's blog, and her incredible projects.  After you finish seeing my projects just click on the next button at the bottom of this post and you'll arrive at Marie Green's blog.  But for now.......

My First Project - Something Old:  
Who doesn't like butterflies?  No one I know, at least none of my stamping friends.  They're all gaga every time a butterfly stamp comes into their world.  That's why I chose the soon to retire Swallowtail stamp for my "sad to see it go" segment of this blog hop.  I know every one of my stamping friends will be as sad as I am to see it gone.  Here is my final hurrah for the Swallowtail stamp: 

My inspiration for this card came from Dawn Griffith's demonstration of a technique she calls "out of the box".  I've been wanting to try this technique for sometime and I'm delighted with the results. I wont go into the details of how I made it, you can check out Dawns video of the technique on this link.

In this view you can see the embossing on the Whisper White layer.  Although you may not be able to see it clearly, I also embossed the Whisper White oval that the butterfly is part of.  The 5 1/2 x 4 1/4" card base was cut from the new Sweet Sugarplum card stock, and the next layer is Rich Razzleberry.  

Here's a view of the inside of the card.  The base is layered with Rich Razzleberry card stock and Whisper White. The sentiment and small butterflies are from the Basic Butterfly stamp set which will still be available in the 2016-17 catalogue.

I used a blender pen Sweet Sugarplum, Rich Razzleberry and Blackberry Bliss inks and the Sweet Sugarplum marker to colour this large swallowtail.  I only coloured the one side of it as once I positioned the oval framelit the rest was cut away. 

I always like to change up at least three things when I CASE a card and so here are the things I changed from the original:

1.  I changed the direction the butterfly sits on the ovals.
2.  I changed the colour of my card stock and inks so I could try out the new "Sweet Sugarplum" Incolour that will be released June 1s, added an extra layer to my card face and a sentiment. Luv, luv, luv how the Sweet Sugarplum and Rich Razzleberry compliment each other.  
3. My final change was to embossed the Whisper White layer with the "Fluttering" Embossing Folder and Silver Glimmer Paper instead of Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.   

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Swallowtail #129216 and Butterfly Basics # 137154
Ink:  Sweet Sugarplum, Rich Razzleberry, Blackberry Bliss
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Sweet Sugarplum, Rich Razzleberry, Silver Glimmer Paper
Accessories:  Trimmer, Big Shot, Fluttering Embossing Folder, Ovals Collection Framelit Dies, Note Tag Punch, Dimensionals, Tom Bow Glue, Basic Rhinestones, Dazzling Details,

My Second Project - Something New:One of the great things about being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator is getting our hands on new stamp sets and products before Stampin' Up! releases them in the new catalogues.

That's how I managed to get this fabulous new stamp set called "Swirly Bird" as well as the new Incolours and card stocks you'll see in this project. 

I've totally fallen in love with this stamp set and the coordinating die cuts called Swirly Scribbles Thinlets.   They are so much fun to play with that I can guarantee they're going to be on everyone's wishlist come June 1st.    

Here's My Project:

Just look at all those swirls!  For this Happy Birthday card I chose a combination of Watermelon Wonder and the new Flirty Flamingo inks and card stocks.  I didn't use the Swirly Scribbles thinlets for this card, although I was tempted.  This stamp set is such fun to play with you can create all kinds of images and different looks.  I'm working on some other samples which I'll post in the coming weeks. 

This is the inside of the card and the envelope to match.  I layered the Whisper White onto a piece of Emerald Envy card stock............such a beautiful new Incolour!

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Swirly Bird #141749 and Birthday Blooms #140658
Card Stock:  Flirty Flamingo, Emerald Envy, Watermelon Wonder, and Whisper White
Ink:  Watermelon Wonder, Flirty Flamingo, Emerald Envy
Accessories:  Scissors, Trimmer, Dimensionals, Basic Rhinestones, Tom Bow Glue

 

My Final Project - Masculine Birthday Card:I'm dedicating this next card which is indeed masculine to my nephew who turns "21" next week.  As a child he always played with Lego - almost obsessively, so I thought it would be kind of fun to create a jazzed up kid card for him using one of my all time favourite stamp sets Boys Will be Boys. 

 

It was very difficult to take pictures of this card.  The silver on the surface of the Shine On DSP and the silver foil really caught the light.  The base piece of this card which you can barely see is a 5 3/4 x 4 1/2" piece of Basic Black Cardstock followed by a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4" piece of Whisper White card stock. 

Isn't this little robot just the cutest!  I added some small and medium size silver beads that I had in my stash to really give him that futuristic look.  He's coloured with the Smokey Slate marker.

The design on this Shine On DSP really suited the card and was part of my inspiration for making it.  The pattern looks like widgets and bits that would be found in a tool box.  Love it!  This DSP is still available for purchase until May 31st in the Occasions Spring Catalogue.

The card design comes from a post and video by Linda Bauwin and is called a Fancy Fold Pullout card.  I love this fancy fold card design and find I'm going back to it more and more.  It's got just enough of that WOW factor that it makes the card special and yet it can be dressed up simply, and because it doesn't have too many layers mails easily. 

Supplies:

Stamp Sets:  Boys Will Be Boys and Big Day (SAB 2015)
Card Stock:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Silver Foil, and Shine on Specialty DSP
Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black and a Smokey Slate Marker
Accessories:  Trimmer, Scissors for fussy cutting, Dimensionals, Silver Beads (non SU), Word Window Punch.  

I hope you've enjoyed these three projects and will try out some of these techniques.  I'd love to see what you make, and I'd like to hear your comments on whether you liked these designs.  Have fun and enjoy the rest of the hop.  Your next stop is the beautiful Tanglewood Cottage blog, by Marie Green: 
   

Marie Green

Heidi Weaver

Wacky Watercooler May Blog Hop

 


Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot 

wwc67 - Deborah's

Whew, where did the weekend go?  So many things to do and so little time.  As a result I've just missed a wonderful challenge by Deborah entitled "All About Boxes WWC67 on the Watercooler Wednesday Blog Site.  Oh well, that will teach me not to pay attention to the time zones before posting. 

As far back as I can remember in my stamping world, I have always loved to make boxes.  Big ones, small ones it didn't matter.  Most often I like making boxes for card gift sets or for small presents.  

One day in my search for the perfect box instructions I stumbled upon a tutorial on the now defunct Stamping 411 - Stamping With the Operators blog  for a card box that actually worked.  I've been referencing this tutorial "How To Build a Card Box" by Lee Convey ever since.  

Here is My Box
If the design on my box  and colours look familiar, it's because last month I made this double fold card for the last of my three projects using the retiring In Colours for the April Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop.  Since I simply can't get enough of this colour combination I decided to use the same design and supplies for this box.   

Here's  a view of finished box lid.  I've decorated it to correspond with the double fold card inside. 

The box lid measures 6 5/8 x 8 1/8" and is scored at 1" on all sides.  It couldn't get any easier than this!  The corners are miter clipped on an angle to make folding nice and easy.  Once you've added your score tape cut from the short end fold lines to the 1" score line. 

When decorating the lid I began by cutting a 5 3/4 by 4 1/4" mat from Blackberry Bliss, and then added a second mat measuring 5 1/2 x 4" from Whisper White. For the rest of the design I just used the same format as the card, with the exception of adding more floral pieces from Botanical Gardens.

The sentiment is from the "Remembering Your Birthday" stamp set, which I'm so sad to say is retiring on May 31st.  This has been one of my "go to" sets all year and I'm really going to miss it.   The beautiful Lost Lagoon and Blackberry Bliss ribbon's are also retiring, so I made sure I had lots in my stash.

Remembering Your Birthday - this is an eight piece wood or clear mount birthday sentiment stamp set.  Order # 131350.  It's only available froom now until May 31st, 2016 before it retires forever.

Here's a side view showing the height of the box. The sides are 2" high.  The corners fit beautifully, not too snug and not too loose, so the lid isn't hard to lift off or put on. 

The bottom of the box is made exactly the same as the lid.  The starting measurement is  10 x 8 1/2".  This bottom is nice and deep so it's great for holding candy or lots of cards.

This view shows the box lid and the bottom full of matching cards.  It is the perfect box size and so easy to make. 

Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Remembering Your Birthday for the sentiment
Card Stock:  Blackberry Bliss, Whisper White, Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow
Ink:  Blackberry Bliss
Accessories:  The Big Shot, Botanical Gardens Thinlet Dies, Lost Lagoon Satin Ribbon, Black Berry Bliss Ribbon, Rhinestones, Dimensionals

This finished box will hold 8 cards and envelopes comfortably, so if you like giving away boxed occasion cards as a gift, this box is for you.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin Spot

Mother's Day Ensemble

Earlier this week I designed and posted a Mother's Day card on the WWC66 Watercooler Wednesday sketch by Libby Fens. 

I really liked this sketch and my design so I decided to make another Mother's Day project using the same concept but stepping it up. 

This time I've changed up the colors, added some die cuts and created an ensemble that includes a Mother's Day card, a gift bag and a tag.  

I think it worked out really well.  Just remember that the beauty of ensembles like this is that by simply changing up some of the stamps for different sentiments or images, you could use this layout as a shower, a birthday, a thinking of you, or get well ensemble.  The possibilities are endless.

Okay, so here is the "Mother's Day Ensemble" I came up with and all the details you'll need to create one of your own:

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  All About Everything and Lovely Little Wreath  (Paper Pumpkin April 2016)
Ink:  Blushing Bride, Rose Red, Wild Wasabi, Versa Mark
Card Stock:  Blushing Bride, Rose Red and Wild Wasabi
Accessories:  Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Lovely Lacey EF, Botancial Dies, Basic Pearls, Basic Rhinestones, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Rose Red 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Delicate Designs EF, Edgelits Die (Retired), Corner Rounder Punch, Occasions Paper Piercing template for Ovals, Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Tom Bow Glue, Sticky Strip adhesive, Paper Gift Bag.

The Card:

So basically this is the same card as the one I designed for the WWC66 challenge.  Beyond the card stock and ink changes, the alterations I've made are minimal.  I've added a bow to the oval, changed the die for the horizontal layer, stamped a few more leaves on the background piece and added pearls instead of decorative dots in several places.  
 

The card on the left is my original design and I used Pink Pirouette, Calypso Coral and Pear Pizzazz for my colour palette. 

The combo of Blushing Bride, Rose Red and Wild Wasabi really works well together.  I've added small pearls throughout the stamped layer images and I was happy I had some Rose Red ribbon for the bow on the card and the gift tag.  

The measurements for this card are:
 
Card Base:  Whisper White card stock measures 8 1/2 x 5 1/2  and is scored at 4 1/4".
1st Layer:  Wild Wasabi measuring 5 3/8" x 4 1/8"
2nd Layer:  Blushing Bride 5  1/4 x 4" and embossed with Lovely Lacey EF
Vertical Stack Layer:  The measurements are: Wild Wasabi 2 1/4 x 4 3/4", Rose Red 2 1/8 x 4 5/8", and Whisper White 2 x 4 1/2".  Randomly stamp floral and leaf images from the All About Everything Stamp set in the 3 ink colours.  Adhere all three layers together leaving a 1/8" border on all sides and add some small seed pearls randomly to the stamped images.
Horizontal Layer:  Cut a strip of Rose Red card measuring 1" x 4 1/2" die cut with Edgelits die.  Using the fan design as a guide cut this piece down to 3 5/8" (all fans will show evenly).  Adhere this strip with mounting tape or dimensionals.  Place a small pearl at the center of each fan design.
 

Oval Layer:  Cut the Wild Wasabi 2 1/2" Oval using the Ovals Framelits.  Pierce around the edge using the Occasions Paper Piercing Template that coordinates with the Oval Framelits (retired).  Cut the Whisper White layer cut with 2" Oval die.  The images are randomly stamped with the All About Everything stamp set.  When you're doing this kind of collage stamping, remember to stamp off the image before stamping directly on the card stock, to give a softer look to the design.  Stamp sentiment "To the Loveliest Person I Know" from the  Lovely Little Wreath  stamp set in Wild Wasabi.  I stamped my image first in Versa Mark ink and then in Wild Wasabi ink then applied Clear Embossing Powder and heat set it. 

Here's a view of the inside of the card.  I cut a 5 1/4" x 3 7/8" piece of Wild Wasabi for the base layer and added a 5 1/8" x 3 3/4" layer of Whisper White.  The Whisper White piece is stamped with the "Happy Mother's Day" sentiment from the Lovely Little Wreath stamp set in Wild Wasabi and flowers from the All About Everything set.


The Bag and Tag:

The small white bag measures 8 1/2 x 5 1/4".  This is the perfect size for a small gift.  You can purchased these bags at the big box craft stores or sometimes at the Dollar store. Here are the measurements for the layers:

1. The Rose Red layer measures 7 7/8 x 5" 
2. The Wild Wasabi layer measures 7 5/8 x 4 6/8"
3. The Whisper White layer measures 7 1/2 x 4 1/2".   

Tip: I stamped the collage on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of Whisper White card stock and then cut down the layers for the front of the bag, the tag, and the card front.  It's much simpler to do it this way, and then you can put away your inks when you're finished.

4.  For the lace edge at the top of the bag I decided to go with a wider strip  so I cut a piece of Rose Red card stock measuring 5 1/2 x 1" and embossed it with the retired Decorative Design embossing folder.  I then cut it down so the scallops across the bottom were even width wise and trimmed off the excess card stock below the scallops. This was adhered to the Whisper White designed layer with Tom Bow glue.
    

Don't you love these flowers?  They were made with the Botanical Garden dies from this years Spring Occasions Catalogue.  I'm so happy those are going to see another season, as I just want to use them on everything.  To add a bit of variation for the leaves I cut a couple of them from Mossy Meadow card stock.  I punched out a 1 3/4" circle from Wild Wasabi and used this as a base to build the flower and leaf layers into a small bouquet.  I adhered the bouquet to the bag front with sticky strip to ensure it would stay on.     

Please note:  Did you notice that my card has Basic Pearls while my bag and tag have rhinestones?  Well it seems I got carried away while assembling the little bouquet and popped those Basic Rhinestones on without any thought to what was on the card. Oops!  Well, not to worry, I'll either make another card with Rhinestones to match this bag or I'll be doing a change-up so the bag and tag match the card.   Either look is a winner!

For the Tag I cut a 2" x 3 1/2" piece of the stamped Whisper White card stock and then punched it out with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch.  I adjusted the length of the tag and rounded the bottom edges with a corner rounder punch.  To give the tag a little more substance, I cut a strip of Wild Wasabi card stock measuring 2 1/4" x 3 3/4" and punched it out with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch.  Again, I rounded the edges with a corner rounder punch and then mounted the Whisper White piece to the Wasabi layer with dimensionals. The tag was tied to the handle of the bag with a 12" piece of Rose Red ribbon.  I used a dimensional under the tag to keep it in place.  

Okay, that's it.  I hope you didn't mind my repeating this project but I thought you might like to see an alternative look.  

Let me know your thoughts and what colours you might choose to do this bag and card in.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot   

WWC66 - Libby's Sketch Challenge

I'm delighted to let you know I was invited to be a "guest" designer on Watercooler Wednesday this week. You won't believe what an honour this was for me. I'm so over the wall inspired by this group of exceptionally talented paper crafters, it was a real thrill to join them.    

This week Watercooler Wednesday is featuring a wonderful sketch challenge by the talented Libby Fens who just recently became a permanent member of the design team.  Congrats Libby!

Here's Libby's sketch - WWC66:  

  
Mother's Day is just around the corner so I decided to use this delightful sketch to design a card for my mom.

When she was younger, my mom was an avid gardener who couldn't wait for Spring so she could work in her garden. She planted a variety of fragrant and colourful plants including Pinks, Bachelor's Buttons, Forget-Me-Nots, Cosmos, and Sweet William. What joy she took in those flowers!  

Mom really enjoyed her flower garden and I can remember going to the store with her to buy her precious packages of seeds.

I'm hoping this card will bring back some of those memories not only for my mom but for those of you who are flower lovers too.  

Here's My Card:

April was a special month for Stampin' Up's Paper Pumpkin as they were celebrating not only their 3rd birthday but also their one millionth sale.  To reward new Paper Pumpkin subscribers they included an extra exclusive photopolymer stamp set called "All About Everything" which I've featured in the two stamped panels on this card.

In this closeup of the large rectangle you can see some of the detail achieved with the two-step stamping method.  This is the perfect stamp set for creating background paper.  The Lovely Lace Embossing folder which will retired later this month, was used to create the beautiful texture on the Pink Pirouette layer. 

By stamping off before applying the stamp on the oval you get a softer version of the image that looks like it's been water coloured.  To define the edge around the oval I used a retired paper piercing template to poke the holes on the Pear Pizzazz oval.

I always finish the inside of my cards and the matching envelopes with stamped or embossed images. Here's what the card looks like inside:

The "Happy Mother's Day" sentiment is from the Lovely Little Wreath stamp set which was part of the April 2016 Paper Pumpkin kit.  I really like the lettering and the small flowers on this sentiment.  

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  All About Everything, Lovely Little Wreath (Paper Pumpkin April 2016)
Card Stock:  Pink Pirouette, Pear Pizzazz, Calypso Coral
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Pear Pizzazz, Calypso Coral
Accessories:  Big Shot, Trimmer, Lovely Lacey EF, Decorative Edge EF, Decorative Dots,

I hope my card has inspired you and that you'll want to take part in this challenge too!  Be sure to enter your project back at the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge (#WWC66). The deadline to post your entry is Monday, May 9th, 2016. Thank you for visiting today.  I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot