CAS Challenge #40

Today's card is a challenge from the CAS - Colours & Sketches blog.  It's a double challenge which means it combines a sketch

and a colour combination

Here's my card:

I've used the Daydream Medallion stamp set with a greeting from Sweet Essentials.  There's a little bit of sponging around the edges of the greeting and also the white card layer.

The greeting was cut out using a framelit from Apothecary Accents. It was a little big so I trimmed the top and bottom of the label after I'd cut it out.  A paper clay flower finished it off, coloured with Marina Mist ink and a sponge.

Thanks for looking!
Karen

Thought I'd whip up another masculine birthday card using the annual catalogue for inspiration again - this time from page 101.

TIP: Cut the banner or flag ends on your cardstock by centre-ing a square punch.  Then curl the ends up with a bone folder and only apply glue to the flat area of the banner, not the curly end.

I'm really into combining stamp images from different sets at the moment, and I think that's the great thing about playing with your stamps;  you can find all sorts of different combinations that work well together, so don't think you can only use stamps from one set on a project.  Mix it up!  In this card, I've used the map log as a background and the compass which all reflect travel for a cyclist friend of mine - and that's where the bike comes in!

And seriously, is there anything that Gorgeous Grunge DOESN'T go with?!

Supplies Used:
Stamp Set:  Postage Due, Clockworks & Memorable Moments, Gorgeous Grunge
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding, Whisper White
Ink:  Night of Navy, Coastal Cabana
Paper Clay - for the button, coloured with Night of Navy marker when dry.
Apothecary Accents Framelits for the Big Shot

Wrapping Special Presents for Special People

Do you like to wrap your presents and make them "special" for each gift you give?  I do!  And the best thing about that is you can co-ordinate your wrapping with your cards & tags too!  Yay, love that.

Here's a really easy way to personalise your gifts using brown paper (I love to re-use the packaging paper that comes with my Stampin' Up! orders), wheels and custom-made tags.

This wheel is called Travel Journal (#126937) and can be used on it's own as I've done here, or as part of our builder wheels where you can put 2 or 3 designs together in one jumbo handle.  The tag was made by cutting a rectangle using Night of Navy cardstock with a layer of Crumb Cake, also stamped with the wheel. I hand cut the corners off - measure if you want it to be even....giggle.  Soho Subway DSP adds a bit of pattern and colour as well as the Postage stamp from Postage Due that was cut out using the Postage Punch. A clay flower makes a cute embellishment and I put a drop of So Saffron ink on it before I blended it and pressed it into the mold.  I didn't mix it thoroughly because I wanted a marbled effect.  Punch a hole in the top of the tag and add some scraps of ribbon, and ta-da you're done.

Happy wrapping!
Karen

Creative Elements with Heat Embossing

I love the look of clear embossing on coloured cardstock, and it works particularly well on darker colours.

This card uses the stamp set Creative Elements (#128523 in wood, or #122647 in clear).  Each image was stamped in Versamark ink (#102283) then covered with clear embossing powder (#109130) and heat set using the heat tool (#129056).  The card stock is Chocolate Chip (#108599) and I've used Very Vanilla (#106550) for the Happy Birthday (from Memorable Moments stamp set #126682 in clear or #132039 in wood) which was cut out using the Labels Framelits (#125598).

The Designer Series Paper (DSP) is from a new pack called Soho Subway (#130140).  There are some great patterns in the pack and it could easily be used for male & female cards as the patterns and graphics are interchangeable.

Punching butterflies is easier than ever with the Elegant Butterfly punch - I've snipped off the little ends from the wings because they got in the way of the sentiment, and the banner is hand cut from a scrap of Chocolate Chip card stock.  

Lastly, I made a flower using Simply Pressed Clay (#130685), died with re inker (Soft suede maybe??)

What do you think?   Feel free to comment below!  I love to hear your thoughts.

Happy Wednesday.  Hope you are enjoying the unseasonal warmth.
Cheers
Karen

In Colours Showing Off Again!

Here's a card that not only features the lovely new In Colours, but also our paper clay.  Ooooooh I like this product!

The idea for this card came from Pinterest. The simplicity and layout appeals to me and I saw it as the perfect opportunity to feature the clay using our button mold.  The squares were all cut using the Postage Punch.  They are in Baked Brown Sugar, Pistachio Pudding, Strawberry Slush, Calypso Coral & Coastal Cabana.  The sentiment comes from the stamp set of the same name - Hello Lovely - and was a freebie from Convention.  Yay, another SU benefit!  It was cut out using the Decorative Label punch.  I used re-inker to dye the clay (it's white when you get it), and adhered each button & the little flower with a glue dot.  You can also use Tombow liquid glue if you prefer.   You'll notice the buttons have a bit of detail in them so I put them in the freezer for a minute or two before popping them out of the mold, otherwise they're a bit tricky and you don't want to bend them out of shape before they're dry.  Watch out for my video on paper clay.

Happy molding!
Cheers
Karen