Step It Up Saturday with Color & Contour

 One of the many advantages of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is access to so many amazing design ideas and a fantastically talented craft community.

This week in our demo-only email there was a beautiful step it up project that I just had to CASE.  They used the Nature's Harvest set that I don't have - oh dear, I might have to splash out....hahahahaha!   

Anyway, I re-created the project using the Color & Contour bundle.  Take a look:

CASUAL

To make the casual card, stamp the image once in Evening Evergreen, then use the two-step method to ink in the flowers in Pale Papaya.  I stamped the greeting and cut out using a die from Tasteful Labels - there I go getting more bang for my buck again!

AVID

I love the Expressions in Ink DSP, and added an extra strip to make the panel pop a bit more & trimmed the corners on one end.  The gold accents were made using the Sprig punch.  There's a bit of background stamping on the back panel too.

ARTFULLY AVID

My artfully avid version includes a wash of colour across a piece of canvas - I really wanted to use the linen paper from the catalogue, but I don't have any and this layer called for texture. I used my aqua painter and Evening Evergreen ink to create the wash.  You have to let it dry - preferably for an hour or so and weight it down so it doesn't curl when it's drying.  Use a distressing tool, or your scissor blade to "rough up" the edges.

I hope you like this project, and feel inspired to have a go at stepping it up.

Colour & Contour - Stepping It Up!

I don't know about you, but sometimes I struggle with my card designs - too busy, not busy enough, too plain, blah blah blah!

The effect can sometimes be to stop me making a card before I've even started.  Uh-oh, Mojo Muddle!!

As a Stampin' Up! demonstrator we have lots of resources, but one of my favourites is a regular weekly email with inspiration both from the company and other demo's.  It's gold!  This week's message talked about stepping up a card design.   And that took me down memory lane because my first ever upline, the lovely Veronica Riddle in San Diego, CA ran a class (feels like a lifetime ago) that involved going back through our old card designs, and working out ways to step things up.  The beauty of this is that it makes you look differently at each element, but it also shows you that you can make a simple "casual" design easily, with a minimum of materials and still have impact.

Case in point:

If you want different options for the same overall design, stepping up is easy and fun.  It's a bit like baking.  Sometimes you want an easy ready-made sponge cake with jam and cream, and other times you crave a homemade recipe with layers, and then for special days you go all out with fresh berries and wickedly good frosting!

Casual

To make this casual card, stamp the solid flower and leaf images (Color & Contour Stamp Set) in the ink colours you like directly onto Basic White cardstock.  I chose Blushing Bride, Pale Papaya, Daffodil Delight & Mint Macaron.  Overlay the greeting in a darker ink like Evening Evergreen.  Layer onto a piece of Evening Evergreen cardstock (or your fav choice).  Attach a small piece of coordinating ribbon to the back of the layer so it peeps out to draw the eye towards the sentiment.  Attach to your card base.  

Avid

Step this card up by adding dimension to the flowers using an outline stamp in a darker ink - I chose Polished Pink (stamped off), Calypso Coral and Crushed Curry.  I used an aqua painter and Mint Macaron classic ink to add colour to the leaves, and the little dotty spotty background randomly stamped around the flowers.  Change up the ribbon by tying a simple knot.

Artfully Avid

My artfully avid card features the additional embellishments - a ladybug and some Genial Gems.  I also made a bow out of the ribbon and added it to the top corner of the card to take the eye across and down the design.  Add coordinating strips of Hand Penned Designer Series Paper to further frame the main panel.  

If you'd like to have a go, why not use the casual card as a basic overall design and see if you can step it up too?

Products Used:  Color & Contour Stamp Set #154994; Basic White CS #159228; Evening Evergreen CS #155575; Hand Penned DSP #155499; Classic Ink - Blushing Bride #147100, Polished Pink #155712, Pale Papaya #155670, Calypso Coral #147101, Daffodil Delight #147094, Crushed Curry #147087, Evening Evergreen #155576 and Mint Macaron #147106. Woven Ribbon in Powder Pink (Retired).

Happy Stamping!

Karen