colour challenge

I Love a Peaceful Autumn

Autumn is here and there’s no more denying that summer is over. It feels like I missed the transition somehow, though, as the new chill in the air seemed to come on so suddenly. In reflecting on the last couple months, I’m realizing that I’ve hardly been outside! Yikes!

Colours of Fall

The As You See It Challenge gives us some colours to design with that immediately made me think of fall. However, these colours would be lovely for any occasion all year round.

Fall is my favourite season; the crisp fresh air, the changing leaves, and the smell of the damp earth as it welcomes the tired plants to join it once more. Autumn brings with it the peace of knowing that the cycle is winding down. Life is slowing and preparing to rest before it’s big reveal in the spring.

There’s comfort in that.

Even though plants are dying and losing their leaves and colours, it’s not the end. Those same plants will flourish again or they’ll live on in the new plants that grow from the seeds they left behind.

I’m not one to keep up a routine or a schedule, but I know that I need to start making time each week to get outside. I have a few little goals that I’m trying to keep up with (and it often feels like I’m failing!), like cleaning and organizing my craft room, submitting my taxes (yep, still not done), keeping up with my blog, and now I need to add “get outside”.

Thankfully, I only work for myself and my family, otherwise, I’d be even more of a hot mess than I already am!

My Design

I have a card for you today that has this peaceful autumn feel. I’m not sure if the sentiment is an expression to a person, or, in this case, to the fall season itself. Maybe it can be both.

The Blackberry Bliss is so striking against the Basic White layers on this design.

I die-cut the Peaceful Place patterned paper with one of the Stitched Leaves dies. Then, I inked a portion of the leaf image from the Love of Leaves stamp set with Granny Apple Green. With a Sponge Dauber, I applied Blackberry Bliss ink to the rest of the stamp, blending it slightly with the green. While holding the die-cut patterned paper in position, I was able to stamp the leaf on the Basic White.

For a bit of extra interest, I used the die that cuts the stitched veins over the stamped image and put that through the Cut & Emboss machine. It ended up being quite subtle, but adds a nice detail.

The layers could then be adhered to my card with the patterned paper lifted using Stampin’ Dimensionals. My sentiment was stamped, heat embossed with White Embossing powder, cut into sections and also adhered to the card. Because the sentiment pieces are placed over two different levels, I used Dimensionals under the right side and my Multipurpose Liquid Glue on the left.

The final touch on this peaceful autumn design are the clear Elegant Faceted Gems. They seem to play well with the silver foil in the Peaceful Place patterned paper.

Enjoy the Season

I cycle through seasons just as the earth does. Sometimes, I am flourishing with new growth, while other times, I’m winding down and preparing for a rest. At this moment, I am in my own peaceful autumn.

Ah yes. That is a comfort.

Things are slowing, but only for a time. It won’t be long before I cycle back around again. Soon, the inspiration will sprout up, where it will leaf into new ideas and blossom with renewed vibrancy.

It can be challenging to be in this phase, but now that I recognize it, I will allow myself to settle into it. I can observe it, welcome it, and even enjoy it.

And tomorrow, I will get outside and enjoy the crisp autumn air!

Exciting New Product Sneak Peek with Watercolouring

It’s always exciting when we have a new catalogue coming out! As a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, I have the privilege to order new products before they’re released to customers. That means that I have new products to share with you today!

As You See It

My card is inspired by the gorgeous fall colour combination in the As You See It colour challenge.

I have been on the As You See It Design Team for many years, which has helped to shape my creative skills. Each challenge invites me to push myself to work within the guidelines provided. You might think that working within limits would restrict creativity, but, in actual fact, it has helped me to learn how to use my creativity in different ways.

Challenging ourselves is how we grow and learn.

Free stuff!

The Feels Like Home stamp set is only available for free.

Yup, you read that right!

We have a summer Sale-a-bration starting August 3rd and running until September 30th. As you probably know, during that time, you choose a free item for every $60 CAD that you spend.

The process

This Sale-a-bration stamp set just begs to be coloured, so I gave it a try. My first attempt looked a bit too “clean”, which didn’t meet my expectations. The second attempt looked a bit too dark, which also wasn’t what I was looking for.

I looked at some water colour artwork and used what I found as a guide for my third attempt. Third time’s a charm! I’m so happy with how it turned out!

Once I was happy with my watercolouring, I added a thin matte of Crushed Curry cardstock behind the watercolor paper. Linen Thread is wrapped around the layers and tied in a bow.

Then, to keep things warm and bright, I used my Blending Brush to add some Cajun Craze ink to the edges of Calypso Coral cardstock. What a delightful effect!

I wanted to add a sentiment, but in the end decided I would let the image have all the attention. Instead of a sentiment, I placed some Holiday Rhinestones. As you can see, they give a sweet tickling of interest.

Join in!

Let me invite you to try this colour challenge, so as to exercise your creativity. The more you use it, the more easily your creativity flows!

Don’t forget to share it with us at the As You See It challenge blog. We love being inspired by your designs!

Shake the Globe

The Snow Globe Scenes Dies and the Shaker Domes used on this card are retiring AND they’ve been significantly discounted! If you like them, order them before they’re gone forever! There are two stamp sets that go with these dies as well: Zoo Globe and Still Scenes. My card is an example of how you can use the dies to create a card that has nothing to do with winter.

The As You See It Challenge today is a colour challenge which makes me think of ice cream! However, I really wanted to showcase these retiring dies before they’re gone, so I didn’t follow my ice cream instincts.

Ice cream is kind of a big deal to me – I loooove good ice cream!

To create my card, I used a Blending Brush to apply Mint Macaron Ink to the front of the Thick Basic White card base. Mint Macaron Ink was also sponged on the edges of the Mint Macaron die-cut trees before adhering them to the front of the card. A bit of Soft Suede Ink sponged onto the edges of my little Soft Suede die-cut bear gives him a bit more definition before placing him where he could meander below the trees.

Adding the bit of colour on the edges gives these die-cuts a bit of a pop!

The next steps took some forethought as I wanted the three layers of cardstock to frame the shaker dome. I didn’t want to put in the effort to die cut the dome shape in all three layers AND have them line up with one another.

To avoid this, I used the die to cut the dome shape out of the top layer of Basic White only, which I had also cut with my Stitched Rectangle Dies. Knowing that the next two layers of Flirty Flamingo and So Saffron cardstock would be conveniently hidden behind that top layer, I used that first layer as a stencil and drew a pencil outline to indicate where I needed it. I cut around that area (no need to make it pretty), and did that with both of those layers.

Ah! So much easier than trying to line up all three layers with a die-cut centre!

With my layers ready, I added a few little shaker pieces on my trees. There are some yellow pieces from the Ice Cream Corner Sprinkles, some of the Flowers for Every Season Gems, and one little Vellum dragonfly, punched using the Dragonflies Punch. It’s fun to have some variety! I peeled of the backing of the Shaker Dome and laid it down to stick to the card base. The three cardstock layers were adhered together before peeling off the backing from the front of my Shaker Dome and adhering those layers to the card front around the dome.

SO CUTE! I love how pretty these colours are together.

The base of my globe was cut with the dies using Flirty Flamingo cardstock. The two pieces were glued together and attached to the cardfront using Stampin’ Dimensionals. I added the heat embossed sentiment from the Campology stamp set and tied on the black and white trim from the Playful Pets Trim Combo Pack.  As a finishing touch, I adhered a few of the clear gems from the Flowers for Every Season Gems to my card front with my handy dandy Multipurpose Liquid Glue.

This design makes me want to get out and meander beneath the trees, just like that little bear is doing!

I think the mountains are calling me. 🙂

Don’t forget to grab these dies and the shaker domes on my online store before they’re gone forever. The stamp sets and the gems are soon to retire as well. If you love them, don’t miss your chance. They will be available until May 3rd or until they sell out, whichever comes first.

Access my Canadian online store by clicking on the SHOP circle on my blog. You can also go to the menu at the top of the page and click on the SHOP option.