June 12, 2015

Thanks a Melon!

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge 2015, alphabet rotary stamp, As You See It, card, challenge, quick and cute, Stampin' Up 1 Comment

A summer-themed watermelon card using the Alphabet Rotary stamp to create a play on words. How convenient that Stampin’ Up has the perfect colour, Watermelon Wonder, to make this cute design!

Here’s the sketch for this week’s As You See It Challenge #91:

I was short on time this week, but my design came together super fast! (this is a very rare occurrence, believe me!!). The most time-consuming part was to try to think of a cute saying that worked in watermelons or seeds, or even spitting! You never know what you might find on the internet!

Basic Black was used for the card base over which is a layer of Watermelon Wonder cardstock and Cucumber Crush cardstock using Stampin’ Up Dimensionals. A piece of Whisper White Organza ribbon covers the seam where the two colours meet and is simply wrapped around the back and secured with Tear Tape (a new product from Stampin’ Up!). A second piece of the Organza ribbon is tied in a single knot around the first piece of ribbon to create a faux bow.

Originally, I was going to use my Tree Builder Punch to create the watermelon seeds. However, I completely forgot that I loaned it out, so I used a black permanent marker on some Basic Pearls and placed them with “careful randomness” (pretty sure that’s an oxymoron, lol!). I think the pearls are actually the better choice as they add some texture and dimension to the card, while the water drop part of the Tree Builder Punch would have only created flat black seeds – much less interesting. A win for me!

Before putting it all together, the 1 3/4 inch Scallop Circle punch was used to create the bite out of the top of my card. Then, very carefully, the sentiment was added using the Alphabet Rotary Stamp with Jet Black Stazon Ink. There is coordinating ink sponged around the edges of the two pieces of coloured cardstock to bring some extra richness – kind of like creating a vignette border around the card. This can help pull the eye into the center of your artwork.

You can see other designs that use this sketch by going to the As You See It Challenge blog where you can also link the project that you make with this sketch! I hope you do! It’s amazing to me how much variety can develop from the same starting point.

Glad you stopped by!

Amy

June 5, 2015

Colourful Well Wishes

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge, Techniques As You See It, card, challenge, masking, One Layer, quick and cute, Stampin' Up, technique 0 Comments

Welcome to my blog where I share my love of designing with my Stampin’ Up paper, inks and stamps! Check out how I used the hearts mask from the Hearts and Stars Masks set for today’s card.

Here’s the challenge that I started with from the As You See It Challenge Blog.

One layer cards are a very scary thing for me. I’m sure I’ll have nightmares tonight!

Ok, they aren’t that bad (but, seriously, way more challenging than you might think!).

That’s the challenge today; a one layer card. As a lover of Stampin’ Up Dimensionals, this was so so hard. But, it’s all about being challenged so you can develop your skills and stretch your creative muscles!! So, don’t shy away from this one.

I decided to stick with a basic Whisper White card base after a few attempts with other colours and ideas (and a few smudges and crooked stamping).

I used the hearts from the Hearts and Stars Masks and, with Sponge Daubers, applied the following inks: Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, and Crushed Cucumber. Then I shifted the mask to allow me to strategically place overlapping hearts in random places to get this kind of colourful bokeh look.

I was careful to leave a vacant area in the center of the card while doing the hearts so I could have a spot for my sentiment (from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set). The “get well wishes” sentiment was stamped with Jet Black Stazon ink. I wanted to try to create a focal point for the words, so I placed a 1-3/4″ punched out circle of paper over the area and lightly sponged with Soft Sky ink around it before removing it again (TIP: you can put a tiny bit of SNAIL under the mask to help it stay in place, but even then, I still hold it very firmly while I sponge around it).

The cute little black heart is from using the Bordering Hearts punch and was attached with my beloved Multipurpose Liquid Glue (just the tiniest amount, though, so it won’t squish out around the heart and stay sticky forever and ever and ever). Over that, a single sweet little Basic Rhinestone.

The scary thing about one layer cards, is that if you make a mistake, that’s it! The gig is up! Start over! I started over with my gig, um, I think 4 times, (6, if you count my first attempts with watercolour paper). Yeesh!

You know what though. I think this would be a great card to make multiples of and have on hand. It’s sweet and simple and extremely cost effective! So, give a one layer card a try and let me know how it goes.

Don’t forget to upload your picture to a public site like Pinterest, then link it to the As You See It Challenge #90 and show off your hard work!!

Amy.

May 29, 2015

Hand Embossed Wedding

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge, Techniques As You See It, card, embossing, Itty Bitty Accents, Stampin' Up, technique, wedding 3 Comments

Tip Top Taupe is my new favourite neutral colour. The new annual Stampin’ Up catalogue launches on June 2nd along with a whole new set of 2015-2017 In Colours, like Tip Top Taupe!

I am a designer for the As You See It challenge blog and have the privilege of sharing a card with you each week according to the challenge put out by AYSI. Here’s your inspirational sketch for this week:

This layout inspired me to try a weaving technique with the Tip Top Taupe 1″ Dotted Lace Trim and the Hearts Border Punch with Blushing Bride cardstock. What a beautiful combination those two colours make! I also thought I would try a hand-embossing technique using a stylus and the Stampin’ Pierce Mat.

Check it out!

Can you see how the leaves from the Summer Silhouettes stamp set are raised? I stamped them first with Blushing Bride ink; stamping off on a scrap piece of paper to lighten the colour, then adding more ink on the tips of the leaves before stamping on my cardstock. I used the Simply Scored Stylus to outline the image on the front of the card, then I flipped the cardstock over and traced over the outline again and filled it in by rubbing the fatter end of the stylus in small circular patterns. All this was done over the Stampin’ Pierce mat as you need a surface that has a bit of give to it, while still offering stability.The most challenging parts of this card for me: adhering the bulk of the lace between the taupe layer and the punched layer without making a mess, and lining up the mosaic patterned stamp (also from the Summer Silhouette stamp set) as it needed to be stamped twice in Tip Top Taupe ink to make it across the card. A Stamp-a-ma-jig would have been the smart way to go, but I decided to try it without and only messed it up once!

Also used on this card: A thin mat of Whisper White cardstock, Whisper White Baker’s Twine, Basic Pearls, the sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and is stamped in Jet Black Stazon ink, Tip Top Taupe ink was sponged around the edges of the taupe layer, and the small heart from the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack was used to punch out a bit of love from the gold lettered paper of the Neutrals Colour Collection paper which I coloured with my Blushing Bride Stampin’ Write Marker.

So, be sure to check out the As You See It Challenge blog and play along!

I hope you’ll leave a comment and let me know what you think of my take on the sketch. What do you think of the puffed sections of lace? Do they work or are they silly? Have you tried embossing by hand before? How successful were you and what tools did you use?

I’d love to hear from you!

Amy