February 9, 2018

Gently Falling

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge, Techniques 2006 SAB, 2018, Gold Glitter Flakes, Sale-a-bration, Shaker card, stitched shapes Framelits 3 Comments

I had an interesting time with the As You See It Challenge this week. I was able to review my Demonstrator Starter Kit order from back in February, 2006. At that time, we couldn’t order whatever we wanted and it cost a lot more (my total was $379 CAD, including tax!). We could switch out some of the suggested items for items that were of equal or lesser value. To get the starter kit now, it’s only $135 (taxes and shipping free) and you get to choose whatever you want up to $165! Sweet deal! And during Sale-a-bration, which is right now, you get the usual $165 of product for $135, but you ALSO get to choose two additional free stamp sets of any value! SO GOOD!

So, here’s the challenge:I actually remember the very first stamp that I purchased. It was from a little stamp store in my town and they had a kiosk set up in the mall. They showed me what heat embossing was and I was so enamoured! I purchased a tiny little ladybug stamp and a wee black ink spot. I wish I knew where that little ladybug stamp disappeared to. I’m sure it’s in my house somewhere! The “fly” in my Inking on the Fly title actually represents my love of ladybugs – not cutesy cartoony pictures of ladybugs (I hate those), but real ladybugs. Ladybugs represent my love of nature and the beauty of the outdoors.

I don’t have any of the stamp sets from my Starter Kit anymore, but I do have a Sale-a-bration stamp set that I ordered during Sale-a-bration in that first month, so I thought I would revisit that stamp set called “Gently Falling”.Since Valentine’s Day is coming up, I figured I might as well use the falling hearts image from the set. Since it is currently Sale-a-bration now, I figured I would also offer a mash up of 2006 SAB and 2018 SAB!The card is Sweet Sugarplum and Berry Burst with Basic Black and Whisper White to give it contrast. I stamped the hearts image with Momento Tuxedo Black ink, then coloured in the hearts with my Rich Razzleberry Blends Markers and a splash of Clear Wink of Stella. The YOU sentiment is from the Celebrate You Thinlits Dies (free with a $120 order until March 31st) which I obviously cut from the paper using my Big Shot. The rectangular shape was die cut with the Big Shot as well using a square from the Stitched Shapes Framelits. That’s right, you read that correctly- a SQUARE! LOL! With some fancy partial die cutting, I used the square framelit twice to create a stitched rectangle.To create the shaker element under the word, I first attached a piece of Window Sheet behind the die cut. I then used the Foam Adhesive Strips to create a closed fence around the die cut, added the Gold Glitter Flakes into the foam fence, then attached a piece of Basic Black cardstock over top to contain the flakes. Shaker cards are so much more fun, don’t you think!?

PRO TIP: to keep your glitter from sticking to the inside surfaces of your shaker frame, give the Window Sheet and the cardstock a vigorous rub with either the Embossing Buddy or a dryer sheet. No more static cling!

I added more bits of Foam Adhesive strips to the back of the Whisper White cardstock piece and attached a loop-the-loop of Gold Metallic Thread, then adhered it to the Basic Black mat of cardstock.

The Berry Burst Cardstock piece was first sponged all around the edges with Berry Burst ink, then run through the Big Shot with the Softly Falling embossing folder (it’s hard to see in the photographs). I thought it was funny to have the Gently Falling stamp set combined with the Softly Falling embossing folder. It’s as though they were meant to be together!

The final step was to sponge Sweet Sugarplum ink all around the two edges of the Sweet Sugarplum cardstock before putting the card together.I am quite happy with the finished product. The offset of the Berry Burst layer is much more flavourful to me than having everything centered like I often would do.

Do you remember what your first stamps or craft tools were? Please share in the comments and be sure to play along with the As you See It Challenge!

December 1, 2017

Floral Retirement

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge, Mini Album, Techniques 2017, accordion binding, As You See It, card, challenge, colour challenge, Detailed Floral Thinlits, framelits, Stampin' Up, technique 4 Comments

It’s time for ….

AN UBER CARD!!

Every now and then my husband asks me to design a card for staff at the university who are moving on to bigger and better things – like retirement! This is when I get to design what I call a book card; that is a larger card (usually 5″x7″, like the one today) with multiple pages inside for a large group of people to sign. I like to do the accordion binding, but sometimes I do different bindings with stitching, o-rings, or flip designs. The card I have to show you today has an accordion binding with three pages.

I chose to use the As You See It Challenge colour combination as a starting point for the design as my husband didn’t have much to give me to go on. I like to customize the card to the person, if possible.

I really struggle with blue and pink colour combos, but I think it worked out with the Whisper White and Sahara Sand neutrals that I chose to add to the mix on my Uber Card.

It is a 5″x7″ card with a 1/4″ depth (basically, it has a 1/4″ spine, like a book). The card base is created with Stampin’ Up’s Thick Whisper White Cardstock. I used Pacific Point cardstock as a very thin mat layer under the layer of Whisper White Floral Thinlit die cut. Peeking out from under the die cut, you can see the sponging of the three challenge colours, Pacific Point, Pool Party, and Flirty Flamingo that I did on Stampin’ Up’s beautiful Glossy White cardstock! I love how well the colour blends on this glossy paper!

The Flirty Flamingo scalloped circle and the Whisper White circle are cut using the Layering Circle Framelit Dies. The images from the Wild About Flowers stamp set were stamped on the Whisper White circle using Sahara Sand and Flirty Flamingo ink. The circles were attached together with Tombo Multipurpose Liquid Glue and adhered over the 5/8″ Burlap Ribbon and the Foil Frenzy Specialty Designer Paper banner with Stampin’ Up Dimensionals. Behind the circles, you can also see the Silver Metallic Thread in swooshy loops (such a pretty addition to almost any card).

The Happy Retirement sentiment is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set and was stamped on the Sahara Sand banner with Tuxedo Black Momento Ink. The ends of both paper banners were perfectly cut using the Triple Banner Punch (Thank you, Stampin’ Up!). Whisper White Baker’s Twine was just the right touch to wrap and tie on the Sahara Sand banner before attaching it to the circle with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The sweet little Silver Foil bee was die cut with the Detailed Dragonfly Thinlit Dies and also attached with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The inside of this Uber Card, is created with an accordion fold binding technique. This is done by scoring the cardstock of choice at half inch intervals, then gluing them together with your pages caught between every second fold. I keep meaning to do a tutorial video of this technique! If you bug me with comments on this, I just might get around to it more quickly (just sayin’, lol!)

For a secure binding, I left a section of the accordion folded cardstock free of scoring so it could be used as a full back page. The little bee from the Dragonfly Dreams stamp set was stamped in Sahara Sand ink with the You’ll be Missed sentiment from the Wild about Flowers over it with black ink.

I really struggled with mucking up my paper with ink repeatedly! So frustrating!! The pretty little Detailed Floral die above the bee is covering up one of those smudges. I also added extra stamped bees on my inside pages to cover up annoying smudges. Even the front of the card ended up with a blasted smudge of Sahara Sand ink on the Whisper White cardstock!!! All I could do there was dab it with my White Chalk Marker, letting it dry, then repeating until the smudge was mostly hidden unless the light caught it just so. I have had to use that Chalk Marker technique a few times for small smudge repairs. It’s definitely better than redoing the entire card and most people won’t notice the tiny flaw that remains. If they do, they chalk it up (pun intended, lol!) as a unique flaw in a hand made product.

If you’re interested in a video tutorial on how to make an accordion fold binding like I used in this card, write it in the comments on this blog post.

Also, if you have any tips on hiding ink smudges (or avoiding them), please add it to the comments on this post as well. I would love to hear any wisdom that you have to share!

August 25, 2017

Coloured Embossing Paste

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge, Techniques 2017, As You See It, birthday, card, challenge, embossing paste, Stampin' Up, technique 1 Comment

I’ve been spending some time online keeping a close eye on the forest fire that is burning just about a 15 minute drive from my home. I video-recorded the belongings in my home for insurance records. I also put aside important documents like birth certificates and passports. People (some of them are my friends) and their livestock have been evacuated.

The wind changed yesterday and our neighbourhood is filled with hazy smoke. In BC, we’ve had more than 1000 forest fires since April 2017 (that’s more than one million hectares of land!) and more than half of them are caused by human carelessness. Often it is cigarettes tossed out the window of a moving vehicle, sometimes is a spark of a hot vehicle on dry grass, sometimes it’s from a poorly attended campfire. If you travel to Canada in the summer (it’s beautiful here in the Okanagan when the air is clear of smoke), be aware of your smoking habits. It’s often the cigarettes out the window that threaten neighbourhoods. That is likely the cause of the fire that could threaten my own home today, if the wind blows unfavourably. So, please be in the habit of butting your cigarettes in your vehicle, don’t smoke in our forests or grasslands AT ALL, and don’t flick your butt, EVER! You may not have the same risks in the area where you live, but good habits could protect you and the people you love, wherever you are.

I also ask that everyone be on watch for people who are not being responsible and say something to them. Report them, if need be. It’s not worth risking our lives, our homes, our pets, our beautiful forests or the creatures who live in them. It breaks my heart to think of all of those who have been affected by fires over the last few years.

My card design today is not intentionally related to this topic, although, I read the sentiment and realize that it is! LOL! I did not plan this at all!

Here is the As You See It Challenge sketch from which my design was inspired:

Here is my fire-safety card, lol! The sentiment is from the Birthday Banners stamp set.

I used a small amount of Embossing Paste from Stampin’ Up! in three separate little containers. Then I added a tiny drop of colour to each of them: Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, and Tempting Turquoise. I mixed each one until the colour was fully blended into the paste before spreading each colour over the diamond- shaped mask from the Patterned Party Decorative Masks. I love how each colour blends ever so slightly into the next.

The sentiment and banner were stamped in Stampin’ Up! Archival Black on Watercolor Paper. I was careful to make sure it was fully dry before adding a Bermuda Bay colour wash over the banner area. I also added some little white decorative dots to the words on the bottom banner using my White Chalk Marker (not sure if I like that as much).

The 3/8″ Mini Chevron Ribbon in Bermuda Bay was added behind the banner along with the Black Mini Sequin Trim and the Gold Metallic Thread. The banner and metallic thread was adhered with Stampin’ Up Dimensionals, while the ribbon and sequin was attached on a strip of Tear and Tape.

I added the Metallics Sequin using the Fine-tip Glue Pen, then assembled my layers:

Card base is Basic Black cardstock, then a delicate layer of Whisper White and a slightly wider layer of Melon Mambo cardstock. The completed top layer of Basic Black with the embossing paste and sentiment were attached to the Melon Mambo cardstock with Stampin’ Up Dimensionals.

I used the same layering to complete the inside of the card, finishing with a layer of Whisper White cardstock for writing a personal message to the recipient.

I’m writing this late this morning and a bit hurried as I have to take my kids to swimming lessons and I haven’t finished video-recording my craft room supplies or my ski equipment. I think I will take my dog to swimming lessons today, just in case (we will have to watch the kids through the windows from outside, of course).

Try this As You See It sketch for yourself and show us what you come up with by uploading it to you As You See It challenge website.

And be fire-safe!! Candles, too!!

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