INCHY BLOG RIDES AGAIN

Over 6 years ago I used to run a rather successful Inchy challenge blog.  When I stopped crafting I stopped the blog.  I've found it again and thought it would be fun to see if I could get it up and running again cause there are lots of people who like working with small challenges.

So I'm excited to say there is a new challenge running this week on Inchy Challenge blog.

It will run until next Monday 6th June and there will be a small prize for the winner.

The challenge this week is quite easy - just put an inchy on a card.  Here's my example to start you off.  I used the retiring Serene Silhouettes to create these inchies.

Just for your information the challenge blog is not purely Stampin' Up! - you can use any stamps you want.

Hope to see you play along with us. The link to the blog is here

SHOOTING STAR

  
 I'm slowly starting to love this set.  It was one I won at Convention in Telford and all around me people were winning the Teddy Bear - yes you know the one!  And he was so cute!  But I thought well I need to work outside my comfort zone and its often the stamp sets you overlook that suddenly become your favourites.  I wouldn't say this set is quite my favourite yet but I'm starting to feel a rather warm fuzzy feeling towards it and its proving very versatile for a couple of challenges so far.

This one is going in for the Case This Sketch challenge which gave us this sketch to work with

 

I took my inspiration from all the stars and covered the shooting star in dazzling diamonds to really make it stand out from the rest.  The Card stock and ink is Dapper Denim a new In-colour just in case you didn't know! You'll find their challenge here

 

HAPPY CRAFTING

PAINTER'S PALETTE - PAPILLON POTPOURRI = BANNER BANTER

 

 LOOK!  It's my favourite stamp set again lol! And also one of my favourite retiring sets :( I found Banner Banter with its co-ordinating punch a real favourite when I needed a small sentiment and I'm sad to see it go. 

TIP ALERT The banner punch is great for doing the ends of strips of paper also to make a banner.  As long as the strip is thin enough - slide it into the punch from the top of the punch not in through the side.

My card also uses some of our new In-colours - Dapper Denim for the card stock - such a fab colour I love it!  Its been used in the ink also along with Melon Mambo to really make it pop!  The little butterfly was inked in the same colours but stamped off (inked once and stamped on scrap paper then inked again for the image) - to give it a softer colour. 

The addition of some pearls along the butterfly's back adds an extra touch.

I'm entering this card into the Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge this week.  Their challenge was a sketch as below and I thought this easel was perfect.  You'll find their challenge here

 HAPPY CRAFTING

PINKIES BLOG HOP

Thank  you  for  joining  us  on  another  Pinkies  Blog  Hop!  We're  showcasing  lots  of  gorgeous
projects using products from the new Stampin' Up!® Annual Catalogue. Simply use the
buttons at the end of each post to keep hopping!

Our theme today is Sneak Peak Items - A chance to show you  some of the wonderful new products coming up in our new catalogue.  What can we tempt you with today?

My Card today showcases the new In-Colours of Peekaboo Peach, Dapper Denim, Flirty Flamingo, Sweet Sugarplum and Emerald Envy.  The cardstock is Emerald Envy with Whisper White.

My stamp set today is Painter's Palette.  This is going to be one of my favourite stamp sets this year.  I just love it and it has endless possibilities.  It is a set of 9 stamps, three of which are great sentiment stamps and I've used two of them on this card.  The one I've missed out reads "Your Idea to have a Birthday was simply a stroke of Genius!"

I used some of the In-Colour markers to colour the sentiment on the front of the card in Dapper Denim and Sweet Sugarplum.  The frame of the easel has been cut out and applied with dimensionals to give depth to the card. A touch of Wink of Stella around the outside of the frame adds a bit of sparkle.

I hope you've enjoyed my Sneak Peak.  Please hop forwards to get some more inspiration from fellow Pinkies Stampin' Up! Demonstrators.

HAPPY CRAFTING

FIONA

BOTANICAL FRAMELITS - WEDDING CARD

 

 I have a Wedding card to do for a swap challenge I'm in and thought the colours of this card would be suitable.  I just love the soft combination of the Mint Macaron and the Whisper White.

I've used the Botanical Framelits here and also embossed with the new Floral Affection Embossing folder which you can see in the close up.  I also popped the flowers into th eDecorative Dots embossing folder(sadly retiring) and ran them through the Big Shot to add texture to the flowers. 

Theedges of the  flower petals were gently inked with some Mint Macaron

 

 I used the Botanical Blooms stamps to add detail to some of the leaves and some jewels and a touch of Wink of Stella for that little bit of sparkle.  Sadly the Mint Macaron lace ribbon is also retiring so that needs to be used up!

The challenge over at SUO Challenge this week is Wedding cards so I'm going to pop this on their list.  You'll find the challenge here.

 

SUPPLIES 

Cardstock - Whisper White - Mint Macaron

Embossing Folders - Decorative Dots, Floral Affection

Framelits - Botanical Builder

Stamps - Botanical Blossoms

Ribbon - Mint Macaron Dotted Lace

Wink of Stella 

 

All supplies can be found on my website HERE 

SHOOTING STAR MASCULINE CARD

 

The challenge over at Watercooler Wednesday this week is Masculine Cards CAS - clean and simple. You can find it here and play along

I don't have a lot of stamps that suit a masculine card so I was a bit stumped until I had a closer look at the new Shooting Star set.  I thought this seemed quite masculine.

The sentiment says You're Out Of This World stamped in Dapper Denim on a bit of torn Whisper White card stock.  The star has been embossed with white embossing powder. 

 Popping the World stamp onto a scallop and a dimensional completes the card.  No glitter and no flowers!!!

Happy Crafting

PICTURE PERFECT ROSE

 

Playing with the Picture Perfect stamp set again but this time its the three step Rose stamp.

The challenge over at Time Out challenges this week is to use flowers or weeds - There are no weeds in my garden!!!  I tell a lie - there are lots really. I like to think of it as a natural garden - my mother-in-law says I'm just lazy!  You will find the challenge here

The Challenge over at Use Your Stuff #224, a new challenge to me, is asking for you to use inks, inks and more inks.  My card uses normal ink, marker pens and versarmark ink. You'll find their challenge here.

So my flower card today has no weeds.  I've stamped the rose using only two of the steps and then fussy cut it out and popped it on to dimensionals.  It was stamped using Night of Navy and Dapper Denim.  

The background uses two stamps sets,  Playful Backgrounds and one of the stamps from Painter's Palette.  The inks used were some of the new In-Colours, Sweet Sugarplum and Flirty Flamingo as Stampin' Write Marker pens. 

I also used some of the leaf stamps and also a touch of the Botanical Framelits for the two cut out leaves.  The inks were stamped in Garden Green and Mint Macaron.

The sentiment was clear embossed.  I used versamark on Night of Navy ink and then clear embossed.  The easiest way to emboss your ink colours.  The sentiment is from the Picture Perfect set.

The pearls on the bottom have been inked with a Dapper Denim Stampin' Write marker to blend in.  

Whisper White layered onto Night of Navy Cardstock completes the card.

Hope you like my card.

Supplies:

Card Stock                       Whisper White, Night of  Navy

Stamp Sets                        Picture Perfect, Playful Backgrounds, Painter's Palette

Inks                                    Night of Navy, Dapper Denim, Garden Green, Mint Macaron, 

Stampin Write Markers   Flirty Flamingo, Dapper Denim

Embellishments                 Perfect Pearls, Versarmark, Clear Embossing poweder

SHOP HERE 

Don't forget to add the hostess code

GLOBAL DESIGN PROJECT #037 - PICTURE PERFECT PAINTER'S PALETTE

The challenge over at Global Design Project this week is a colour challenge, as below.

 

 I've used the hummingbird from the Picture Perfect set together with the new Painter's Palette set for my card.  I loved this colour combination although I only had an ink for the Island Indigo but less is more no?

I've been doing a lot of practising with this bird to get him right and its still a bit hit and miss.

  A TIP - I've actually numbered the birds on the little tabs so that it doesn't get confusing once they are off their backing paper.

 

 I stamped the Tip Top Taupe cardstock with one of the background stamps from Painter's Palette in the same ink.  It gives a nice texture to the paper. The easel has been stamped in Early Espresso - the bird has been stamped in Mint Macaron, Early Espresso and a touch of Island Indigo.

The white part of the easel has been cut out and put on dimensionals.  The part with the bird on has also been put on dimensionals so it gives this card a lot of dimension.  Wink of Stella on the bird makes him shine.

  

 I finished it off with a sentiment from Painter's Palette and a touch of Mint of Macaron dotted lace trim ribbon.  I don't have much ribbons at the moment but I do love this one. 

 

The eagle eyed amongst you may notice I've only used three of the hummingbird stamps here - nos 1, 2 and 4.

Card Stock         Whisper White, Tip Top Taupe

Inks                      Early Espresso, Mint Macaron, Island Indigo

Stamps                 Picture Perfect, Painter's Palette

Accessories          Mint Macaron Dotted Lace Trim Ribbon, Decorative Label Punch, Wink of Stella 

AS YOU SEE IT CHALLENGE #135

I found a new challenge this week to play along with.  As You See It challenge had a sketch for us to use as inspiration.  You can play along with the challenge here.

This is the sketch they gave us to work with.

I've used all Stampin' Up! naturally, some new stamps and some current stamps.

.

The cardstock base is Crumb Cake, layered with Mint Macaron and Very Vanilla.  The Inks used are Watermelon Wonder and a touch of Mint Macaron on the butterfly.

The background stripes are from the new Playful Backgrounds set and I thought they suited this challenge perfectly.  The sentiment is from the Love and Affection new set and the butterfly is from the current Papillon Potpourri. A touch of Dazzling Diamonds on the butterfly adds a bit of sparkle and a touch of Mint Macaron ribbon finishes off the card.

I'm pleased with the way this turned out and really love these colours together.  Hope you do too.

 

Papillon Potpourri Clear-Mount Stamp Set

Price: £14.00

 

 

 

 

SIMPLY SKETCHED CHALLENGE BLOG

Welcome to another Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge Blog Hop.  I hope you'll join us and visit all the blogs to see some great inspiration made with Stampin' Up! products - some from the New Catalogue I've no doubt!   This is the sketch we had to work with this week.

 My card uses Whisper White card stock and some Melon Mambo across the top and Mint Macaron for the scallop and the layer.  The ink was also Melon Mambo and a touch of Mint Macaron inside the flowers.  I've used the new Floral Affection Embossing Folder together with the new Love and Affection stamps.  There is also some gorgeous designer series paper to go with this suite - known in the new catalogue as Affectionately Yours.  The sentiment also comes from the stamp set which is a set of 16 polymer stamps three of which are sentiments.There is a touch of dazzling diamonds on the raised part of the embossed paper and some in the middle of the flowers.

 

 Pop along to Lisa's blog next or if you're going the other way pop back to Sally's.

GUEST DESIGNER AT WATERCOOLER WEDNESDAY

I'm thrilled to have been asked as a Guest Designer at Watercooler Wednesday blog this week.  I've loved playing along with their challenges each week and its really helped me get back into the world of blogging after a long break.

The challenge this week is

Libby's Colour Challenge 

and these are the colours we could use.

My card uses Whisper White as its base and Mossy Meadow and Hello Honey inks for the flowers.  The set I've used is Birthday Blooms and I'm so pleased that this set is continuing in this year's new catalogue.  The flowers have been cut out twice and popped onto dimensionals for added affect and a touch of Wink of Stella to make them shimmer.  The Designer Series Paper is Wildflowers which sadly has been retired.

Birthday Blooms Clear-Mount Stamp Set

Price: £17.00

Birthday Blooms Wood-Mount Stamp Set

Price: £24.00

Happy Crafting

Fiona

FLYING BY

 

 I've been practising with the Picture Perfect set and aligning this hummingbird.  The bird has four stamps to give it dimension .  I must admit its not the easiest thing to do but when it works its so satisfying.  This little fellow is flying in for the Less is More Challenge who have asked for a one layer card with the theme At Sea.  Very tentative link but my bird is all At Sea because he can't find a flower!

  I've used one of the background stamps from Painter's Palette for the dots round the edge in Mint Macaron.  The bird has been stamped in Basic Gray with just a touch of Mint Macaron at his throat and the base of his wing.  A touch of Wink of Stella makes him sparkle just a little.  The Sentiment is from Thankful Thoughts.

You can find the challenge here if you want to play along

PEEKABOO PEACH - SNEAK PEAK - PAINTER'S PALETTE

 I've had a lovely busy weekend this weekend so sorry not much crafting being done on here.  We went to Center Parcs Longleat just for the day to be with my daughter and her boyfriend.  We've been going there since my daughters was 18 months old and she is now 25.  We've been to all of them in the UK and one in the Netherlands but Longleat is still our favourite.  Nowadays though I find one day is enough!  But the kids,  (can I call them that still?)  still love going.

I hate selfies!!!

It was also my mother-in-law's 91st Birthday on Sunday and I took her out to the Leckford Water Gardens which are owned by John Lewis and only opened a few days during the summer months.  It was lovely and tranquil there and my favourite flowers, rhodedendrons were out in full bloom.

  

Anyway enough about me - on to the crafting!  I've actually used one of the new In-Colours here - Peekaboo Peach.  Haven't really seen peach since the 1980's when I had it as wallpaper - didn't we all?  I didn't think I'd like it but I find I actually do.  Its a lovely soft muted peach and I think it works well with the Mint Macaron.  I've been playing with the Botanical Builder Framelits again (!) and the Botanical Blooms stamps.  Hope you spotted the fern!  The sentiment is from Painter's Palette.

 

 

 

 

 

RETIRING DESIGNER SERIES PAPER - BOTANICAL GARDENS

I'll be sad to say goodbye to the Botanical Gardens Designer Series Paper - especially as I have just purchased the Botanical Builder Framelits and the stamp set.  Such a shame that this lovely paper is leaving us.

The challenge over at SUO challenge this week was to choose your favourite paper that is retiring and make a project. I decided to make a box and was delighted to see that Watercooler Wednesday is asking for a box so that was lucky!

This type of box is called a split top box and there are plenty of tutorials on youtube with different sizes and dimensions.  Mine uses 8.5" x 7 1/4" and is ideal for popping in some tea lights or soaps or chocolates!

I've used Hello Honey cardstock which we are also saying goodbye to and have decorated the box with flowers from the Framelits in card stock and DSP.

The Challenge for SUO #148 is here

The Challenge for Watercooler Wednesday #67  is here