WWC #168 - Helen's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Who's up for another card challenge?   If you answered yes, I hope you will join us this week at Watercooler Wednesday and play along. It's fun and it's easy and we'd love to have you join us.  Between the Design Artists and all our participants, there's always a ton of inspiration going on. 

Our host for this week's "Feminine - Anything Goes" challenge is Helen Finlay.  Helen has started us off with a beautiful card inspiration.  This challenge will remain open from today through 5:00pm Mountain Time on Monday May 7th, 2018, and the details are posted on the main page of the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog.  See you there!

Here's My Card:
From the time they arrived on the scene Stampin' Ups! Butterflies Thinlets were one of the most ultra feminine embellishments I could  incorporate into my card designs. They brought me pure joy!  I've chosen to CASE one of my own favourite card designs using these thinlets.  I hope you'll enjoy this project.

Here's My Original Card: 

This is such a great card design.  I've used it many times and changed it up by using different pieces of designer papers and embossing folder backgrounds.  This is also a great card for using up paper scraps.  Not much is required.  Changing the sentiment and embellishment also gives this card a different look. All in all a great design layout to have in your arsenal of 5-10 minute card design sketches.

And here's my updated version:  

Supplies: 
Stamp Sets: Stylized Birthday
Card Stock: Whisper White, Tranquil Tide and Fresh Florals Designer Series Paper
Ink: Tranquil Tide
Accessories: Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Petal Burst Embossing FolderButterfly Thinlet Dies, Tom Bow Glue, Basic Rhinestones - small, 

Details:

1.  The card base is an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Whisper White scored at 4 1/4".

2.  The Whisper White layer measures 5 1/4" x 4" and was embossed with the Petal Burst Embossing Folder. Note: If you don't recognize this Embossing Folder design it's probably because I reversed the panel and I'm showing the "de-bossed" side.   

Debossed side of the Petal Burst Embossing Folder

3.  I cut a strip of the Fresh Florals Designer Series Paper (DSP) that measures 1 1/2" x 5 1/4" and adhered it to a 1 3/4" x 5 1/4" piece of Tranquil Tide card stock.  This piece was adhered 1/4" to the right of the edge of the white panel.  The Fresh Florals DSP will be retiring at the end of this month or while stocks last. 

4.  The Happy Birthday sentiment from the Stylized Birthday stamp set was stamped in Tranquil Tide on a 2 1/4" x 3" piece of Whisper White card stock.  It was mounted on a 3 1/4" x 2 1/2" piece of Tranquil Tide card stock and then mounted with Dimensionals a 1/4" from the bottom of the DSP panel.  

5.  The beautiful butterfly was cut with the medium sized die from the Butterflies Thinlets.  A row of small Basic Rhinestones was adhered to the spine of the butterfly and this die cut was attached on an angle above the Happy Birthday sentiment with Dimensionals.  I fluffed the butterfly wings up to make it look like it was in flight.

6.  I kept the inside of the card fairly simple by adding a 4" x 5 14" panel of Whisper White card stock to which I'd adhered a 1/2 x 5 1/4" strip of the DSP.  

Voila that's it for today's card.  I have to be honest, I'm terribly sad to see these delicate thinlet dies retire, at the end of May, but I probably will continue using them.  How about you will you be sad to see them go?  Have you used these dies and are they one of your favourites too?  I'd love to hear from you

If you haven't visited the Watercooler Wednesday main page, click here.   You don't want to miss all the beautiful cards created by our Design Team.  Until next time............... 
Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot! 

WWC #167 - Gail's All About Christmas Challenge

Hello friends.  Gail is hosting our Watercooler Wednesday challenge this week and it's "all about Christmas".  What better opportunity for you to get a head start on your annual Christmas cards. 

If you need some ideas just  head on over to the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog and check out all the fabulous inspiration from the DT and then play along with us!  You can find all the info you need right HERE.   We hope you'll join in this challenge which is open until 5:00pm Mountain Time on Monday April 30th, 2018.  

Here's My Card: 
Creating Christmas cards at this time of year is such fun.  There's no pressure and it allows me an opportunity to explore different techniques and use stamp sets that might have seen little ink.  

For this week's card, I've gone back in time to use a Stampin' Up set called Wonderland.   It was one of my all time favourites and I took inspiration for this particular design from Alexandra Agelean and her Youtube video.  

Back in the day, I bought this set solely for the "Silent Night" sentiment and for the trees...........I absolutely loved that tree cluster and had all kinds of plans for it.  For this card, I've paired it with a newly retired stamp set called Musical Season. I loved the sentiment in this set too but it barely saw ink.  At the end of the day I have to scratch my head, as I've probably only used these "top of my must have stamp sets" two or three times.  Does this happen to you too? 

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Musical Season and Wonderland
Ink:  Emerald Envy, Whisper White, Smokey Slate, Soft Suede Marker 
Card Stock:  Emerald Envy, Whisper White and Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper
Accessories:  Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Tim Holts' Alterations Snowflakes (661599), Iced Rhinestone (R), Whisper White A2 Envelope, Tom Bow Glue, Dimensional. 

Details:
1.  The Emerald Envy card based measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored at 4 1/4".

2.  The Dazzling Diamonds layer measures 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  Note:  I removed the center of this layer with a 3 3/4" x 5" rectangular die, after all you simply can't waste Glimmer Paper.

3.  The Emerald Envy layer measures 4 x 5 1/4". Note: The surface of Glimmer Paper and cardstock simply don't mix so I used  Tom Bow ink in the center part of this layer and Glue dots around the edges to secure it to the Dazzling Diamonds layer.  Worked like a charm.  

4.  I stamped the tree image on a piece of Whisper White that measured 3 3/4" x 5".  I began by stamping the image in Smokey Slate image on the right and left side leaving a gap in the center.  I cleaned my stamp, re-inked with Emerald Envy and stamped the image in the Center and partially on the right and left sides.  Then, I cleaned the image again and inked it up with Whisper White.  I stamped the Whisper White over the Emerald Envy tree images and while the ink was still wet I sprinkled on  Dazzling Diamonds Glitter and used a heat gun to set it.  Note:  I probably should have taken the lead from Alexandra and applied the glitter with a two-way glue pen, as it would have stuck to the card stock better.  Oh well, that's what experimenting is all about and this is a good  "Learn From Your Mistakes" lesson for next time.  

Although this picture doesn't capture the beauty of the Glimmer Paper and the Dazzling Diamonds, trust me it is beautiful and so shimmery.

5.  I stamped the snowflakes from the Wonderland set in Smokey Slate and the Silent Night sentiment in Emerald Envy.  

6.  I didn't have any Stampin' Up! snowflake dies so I used an old Tim Holtz set to die cut a medium sized one from Dazzling Diamonds.  I placed it in the bottom left corner of this panel and added a large Iced Rhinestone to the center with Glue Dots.  

7. For the inside panel I used a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Whisper White card stock.  I stamped off in Smokey Slate ink and stamped the tree image in the center of the card.  I stamped the sentiment from Musical Season "May the spirit of Christmas be the melody that plays in your heart all year long" over top of the trees in Emerald Envy.  

This is one of my favourite Christmas sentiments because it's so meaningful.  For me Christmas is about the heartfelt stuff not presents or commercial things.  It's the peaceful feeling after a walk in the snow or a visit with good friends and it's something that applies all year long.   

8.  I also stamped the tree tops in Emerald Envy on the front left corner of the Whisper White A2 envelope and the small pinecone branch on the flap.  I coloured the pinecone and branch with a Soft Suede Marker.  

I didn't take a picture of the front of the envelope as you know what the trees look like, but this tiny little branch from the Wonderland set is so beautiful I just had to share it.  It made the back of the envelope looks as inviting as the front. 

And that's it for today's post.  I hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane with these two Christmas themed stamp sets.  I hope you'll leave me a comment and let me know what if you have a favourite Christmas sentiment you like to use.  Until next time.............

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot 

WWC #166 - Kath's Masculine Anything Goes Challenge

Where do the days and weeks go?  It's hard to believe that only a week ago we were celebrating my mom's 96th birthday and the family was all here to celebrate.  Honestly, this past week seemed to simply evaporate. Since my company left on Monday the rest of the days just blended one into another and here we are and it's Wednesday again.  

We've also been having pretty nasty weather and everyone around me is complaining and wishing the rain and cold winds would "evaporate too".  I'm not letting the weather dampen my spirit though.  I guess I'm a bit like the old saying "when life gives you lemons.......... and I've managed to turn some of that gray dreariness into wonderful stamping adventures.  So far I'm not minding this unusual Spring weather a bit.

Kath is challenging us this week to create a card or project in line with our Masculine "Anything Goes" theme.  

We'd love to have you play along.  There are so many talented stampers out there and we love to see your take on our weekly challenge.  Be sure to check out our Design Team's inspiration this week at the Watercooler because there's ton's of inspiration.  While you're there, be sure to check out our rules for entering your own creation.  It's easy and fun.  You'll find a Linksy at the bottom of the WWC166 post.  This challenge is open until 5:00pm  Mountain Time on Monday April 23rd, 2018.    

Here's My Card:  

This is my first time using the Truly Tailored Bundle from Stampin' Ups! Occasions catalogue, and I have to say I "love everything about it".  There just aren't enough great masculine sets around, so this one just knocks it out of the park for ease of use.  Whether it's the paper, the stamp images or the great Tailored Tag Punch, you can't beat this one.    

Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Truly Tailored, Guy Greetings 
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
Card Stock: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
DSP:  True Gentleman #145593
Accessories:  Paper Trimmer, Tailored Tag Punch, Small and Large Oval punches (R), Tom Bow Glue, Dimensionals, Detail Scissors.

Details:
This is a standard size Double Z- Fold card and folds to A2 size.  To assemble:

1.  Cut a 4 1/4 x 11 piece of Chocolate Chip for the card base.  Score at 2 1/4" and 5 1/2" and crease on score lines. 

2.  To dress up the base cut Designer Paper as follows:

• Cut a 4 x 5 1/4" piece of DSP for the large panel on the right, and
• cut two 2 1/2" x 4" pieces of DSP for the front and inside panels.
• Adhere all panels to the Chocolate Chip base with Tom Bow glue.

3.  For the smaller Z-Fold:

• Cut a 3 1/2" x 8 12" piece of Chocolate Chip for the base. 
• Cut a 4" x 3 1/4" piece of DSP for the front left panel and two 1 7/8" x 3 1/4" pieces for the inside and back panels.  Adhere with Tom Bow Glue. 
• Cut a 3 3/4" x 3" piece of Very Vanilla for the largest panel, stamp the sentiment "Today is your Day....." in Early Espresso and add a 1/4" x 3 1/4" strip of dsp to the left side.  Adhere to DSP.
• Cut a 1 3/4" piece of Very Vanilla and adhere to the inside panel.  Leave the last panel with just the DSP layer.
• To attach the smaller Z-Fold to the larger one put sticky strip on the outside edges of the smaller Z-Fold.  Remove the protective sheet from the end panel and center and adhere it to the back panel of the larger Z-fold. Remove the protective strips from the front panel of the small Z-Fold cener on the front panel of the larger one and adhere. 
• After stamping the image "To a Classy Kind Of Guy" in Early Espresso on a scrap of Very Vanilla I used the Tailored Tag Punch to cut it out.  Easy peasy! To add some pizzazz I cut a second tag from Chocolate Chip and after fussy cutting around the edge of the Very Vanilla sentiment with my detailed scissors I adhered the two tags together with Dimensionals and glued them to the center bottom of this panel.  To add a little more dimension I stamped the comb portion of the sentiment again, cut it out and adhered with a small piece of Dimensionals over the original comb for a nice little pop.
    
• I left the inside panel in Very Vanilla without any sentiment or design and added a small happy birthday sentiment from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set onto a scrap of  Very Vanilla.  I punched this out with the old Small Ovals punch and layered it onto a Large Ovals that had been cut from Chocolate Chip - miss those two punches!  To finish off this tag I stamped the small bow tie (so cute) in Crumb Cake and added it to the tag with Dimensionals.  

• I love Z-fold cards, but I never find they have enough room to write your personal greeting on unless you use a light neutral for the base of the small Z-fold.  Since I didn't do that I added a 4" x 5 1/4" piece ov Very Vanilla to the large panel on the back of the card.  I've left mine plain but you could easily stamp another sentiment here.  

Thank you for visiting my blog today and checking out my  card.  I really enjoyed using this stamp set and this truly amazing paper.  I hope you'll leave me a comment and let me know how you like the Z-Fold card.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin Spot 

2018 Color Revamp

Stampin' Ups! last big colour revamp to core colour families was way back in 2010.  The newest colour revamp will be updated in the 2018-2019 annual catalogue release happening on June 1st, 2018.

Stampin' Up! has listened to the feedback from their demos who along with Stampin' Up! want to stay fresh, current and on trend.  They explored different ways to group colors into collections, with each collection having a colour spectrum element and inclusion of colours that worked best together.  The demos also requested the return of some of the most loved retired In Colours, and Stampin' Up! listened.  

Colour Revamp In A Nutshell:

• 27 of the 50 existing Core Colours are being kept.
• 13 Core Colours are being retired
•   5  2017-2019 In Colours*
•   5  2018-2019 In Colours 
• 10 New Core Colours are being added
•   6 previously retired In Colours are returning 
• A total of 53 Colours are in the new Colour Offering which happens on June 1, 2018

* Stampin' Up! will continue to introduce five new In Colours each year and these new offerings will be available for a total of two years.  The five existing In Colors from the previous year (in this case 2017-2019) will remain in their colour offering in June. 

To see what's going and coming, just click on these pictures and they will enlarge.  

I hope this information I'm providing will help you navigate through the process of change.  I for one can't wait to get my hands on some of these new colours, while I'm sad and have mixed feelings about some of the colours that are leaving.  

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot 

WWC #165 - Tenia's "All About Occasions" Challenge

Hi stampers! Last week was a blur getting ready for weekend house guests and celebrating my mom's 96th birthday.  What a busy time with absolutely no time for stamping, which I missed.  I've spent the time cooking up a storm, cleaning and entertaining.  All worthwhile though, as it was totally great seeing and being together with my family, especially after the tragedy in Hombolt Saskatchewan.  Hug those you love and celebrate when you can.   

This week's Watercooler Wednesday Challenge is being hosted by Tenia Nelson and it's "All About Occasions".  We hope you'll play along with us and post a card or project.  Like the scrolled list says it can be "Any" occasion such as a birthday, wedding, sympathy, retirement - the sky's the limit.

It's easy to link up to our challenge  and it's open until 5:00pm on Monday April 16th, 2018.  

Here's My Card: 
I needed a milestone birthday card last week for a girlfriend who's sensitive about her age.  I wanted to give her a laugh and not emphasize her actual age  so I chose this great stamp from Artistic Impressions called "29 Again".  I think it worked out perfectly.   

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  29 Again Artistic Impressions (AI), Picture Perfect Birthday, Swirly Birds
Ink:  Emerald Envy, Momento Tuxedo Black, Skin Toned SU Blendability Markers
Stampin' Blends:  Crumb Cake, Light Pink, 
Card Stock:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Emerald Envy
Accessories:  Paper Trimmer,  Sequins, Aqua Painter, Tom Bow Glue

Details:
1.  The card base is an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Basic Black card stock, scored at 4 1/4".

2.  The first layer is a 5 3/8" x 4 1/8" piece of Emerald Envy card stock.

3.  The third layer is a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Whisper White that has been stamped with the small to large swirly circles from Swirly Birds stamp set.  I only stamped from the top left corner to the bottom right corner, leaving some white space on the upper right of this panel. 

4.  There are three layers to the image panels.  The first one is a piece of Basic Black that measures 2 1/4" x 4 1/4".  The next panel in Emerald Envy measures 2 1/8" x 4 1/8", and the Whisper White panel the image is stamped on measures 2" x 4".  

5.  I stamped the "29 Again" AI image with Momento Tuxedo Black ink.  The image is coloured with an Aqua Painter directly from the Emerald Envy ink pad.  I used the skin tone Stampin' Blendabilities that were out a few years ago for the facial features, legs and arms.   

This is such an incredibly fun image to colour.  I added some sequins for some pizzazz.  I probably should have done some more shading with the hair and added some Wink of Stella here and there on her balloon or the flowers on the dress, but oh well, next time.

6.  The inside panel measures 5 1/4" x 4" and is stamped with the sentiment and party blowers from a Picture Perfect Birthday stamp set.  Love this set! 

I love these stamps from the Picture Perfect Birthday Set .... what fun!

Well that's it for this challenge.  I hope you liked my 29 Again Birthday Card.  I know the recipient will get a kick out of it.  Let me know what you think.  I hope I inspired you to get out your ink pads and start colouring your images.  

If you haven't checked out the other members of the Watercooler Wednesday Design Team, be sure to do so.  They've done such a fabulous job on their cards this week.  Click here to return to the Watercooler Wednesday WWC#165 challenge.


I'm also entering this card at the following challenges:

http://audsentimentschallengeblog.blogspot.ca/2018/04/201-happy-birthday-aud-sentiments.html

and

http://seizethebirthday.blogspot.ca/2018/04/vibrant-colors.html

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot