September 13, 2019

Toile Tidings

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge, Christmas, simple and cute 2019, card, CASE, Christmas, tidings all around, Toile Tidings 5 Comments

The Stampin’ Up! catalogues are not just catalogues of stamping and art supplies that you can purchase, but they are a great resource for ideas and inspiration! My card design today is one that I copied from the cover of the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalogue. I changed out the colours a bit and made some other minor changes, but it’s a copy. And I LOVE it!!

Today’s blog post is also inspired by the As You See It Challenge Blog which challenges participants to create a card using their most used punch or die.

What’s your go-to die or punch?

My favorite is the large 2-1/4″ circle punch from Stampin’ Up! I love how quick and easy it is to use punches instead of a die cutting machine. There are fewer steps to using a punch, which makes it easier and faster to create a card (and especially multiple cards) with a punch, rather than a die.

When I saw the card on the cover of the Stampin’ Up! holiday catalogue, I was immediately drawn to the plaid designer series paper and the square/circle combination with the layers on the card.

Can you spot the card on the cover that inspired me!?

Now, I do have nearly all of the products shown on that sample, but I wanted to put my own spin on the design. I started with Real Red cardstock for the card base, then added the 3″ x 5.5″ piece of the red plaid (or is it gingham?) patterned paper from the Toile Tidings Designer Series Paper pack.

Next was to cut a 3-3/4″ square of Very Vanilla cardstock and stamp the wreath image from the Tidings All Around stamp set in Garden Green ink. To this, I stamped multiple berries from the same stamp set using Real Red ink. The square is adhered to the card front using Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then I added a piece of the Garden Green 3/8″ Double-Stitched Ribbon, approximately 8.5″ long, folded in half over the wreath image. Mini Glue Dots made attaching the ribbon super easy!

I love how the bow of Linen Thread tied onto the top of the folded ribbon adds an extra touch of a country cottage style. Of course, the circle of Very Vanilla cardstock is created using my favourite 2-1/4″ Circle Punch from Stampin’ Up! First, I stamped the sentiment with Real Red ink onto a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock, then used the punch so that the sentiment would be centered in the circle. This was then attached over the ribbon to the middle of the stamped wreath image with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The final touch was to add the three gold Metallic Pearls around the sentiment.

Do you have a punch or die that you find yourself using quite a lot more than the others? Let me know in the comments on this post. Or, why not just make a card with it and share it on the As You See It Challenge Blog! We all want to see how you use your go-to cut-out!

As always, you can order these products by going to my Online Store. Just click on the SHOP option on the top menu of the page or click on the SHOP circle on the side bar on your computer or scroll down to find it at the bottom of this post if you’re on your mobile device.

August 30, 2019

Rooted Heirloom

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge, Techniques 2019, chalk marker, colour challenge, rooted in nature, sponge brayers, technique, woven heirlooms 3 Comments

My card today features the Rooted in Nature stamp set and the Woven Heirlooms stamp set by Stampin’ Up! Check out the gorgeous texture created by sponging and stamping!

Here’s the inspirational colour challenge from the As You See It Challenge Blog.

I love this image of warm light and the out of focus background of contrasting colour that creates a bokeh effect. It makes me want to know what else is in the room and who is enjoying that atmosphere. Is it an outdoor wedding? or is it on the front porch of a rustic cabin that overlooks the lake? or maybe it’s in a Greek taverna, and we are looking out at the lamp-lit, stone-paved streets through the large open doorways. I can hear the bouzouki music, the subtle clinking of dishes, and the murmur of intimate table conversations. Wherever it is. I think I’d like to be there. How about you?

My first instinct with this colour scheme was to play with sponging and blending. This had me pulling out my Sponge Brayers from Stampin’ Up!. Here’s my take on this colour challenge.

I tried to find a sentiment to add once all of my sponging and rolling and stamping was done, but nothing seemed to fit without taking away the balance of the overall card design. This one will have to say it all on the inside with my personal note instead.

My first step was to take a piece of Whisper White cardstock and roll Mango Melody ink across the bottom half with my Sponge Brayer. Then I placed a circle piece of Post-It Note that I had punched out using the 2-1/4″ Circle Punch from Stampin’ Up! where I wanted the sun to be. Then more rolling. I added more Mango Melody, then switched to a clean brayer sponge and rolled on some Coastal Cabana, then some Pretty Peacock ink. I removed the Post-It Note and added a bit more Coastal Cabana and Mango Melody until my sun didn’t feel so harsh.

Next, I stamped the tree image from the Rooted in Nature stamp set from Stampin’ Up! using Coastal Cabana ink (it’s in there, I promise). To stamp the image, I used my Stamparatus because I wanted to reposition the paper after stamping and stamp it again with Pretty Peacock ink so that the top of the tree would have a sort of highlight as though the sun was brightening the other side of the tree. It worked, but I added something else at the end. Keep reading!

Once my tree image was in place, I was mostly happy with my artwork, but it was missing something. It was so smooth and … a bit too perfect. I decided to add some texture using the largest stamp image in the Woven Heirlooms stamp set. This I added over the entire paper, being sure to use Mango Melody over the Mango Melody, Coastal Cabana over the Coastal Cabana, and the … well, you get the idea. I stamped like this multiple times until the texture you see came to existence. You can see that I also used this technique on the Pretty Peacock layer of cardstock in the bactkground. Such great texture and suddenly the image was interesting and alive. It makes me think there’s quiet air movement and a lot of heat where that tree lives!

The tree begged for more light, so I used my White Stampin’ Chalk Marker to add highlights between the Coastal Cabana tree and the Pretty Peacock tree images.

Once my art piece was complete, I knew that I wanted to add some embellishments. That’s where the Pretty Peacock Scalloped Linen Ribbon and the Whisper White Solid Baker’s Twine come in. First, I added a very narrow Whisper White matte layer to delicately frame my art, then I wrapped the linen ribbon around the card front, securing it on the back with Mini Glue Dots. The baker’s twine was wrapped around three times before finishing it with a bow.

Stampin’ Dimensionals hold those layers in place on the stamped Pretty Peacock layer. The card base is Coastal Cabana cardstock.

What would you do with these colours? What does the image inspire in your creative mind? Why not create something and share it with us at the As You See It Challenge Blog.

As always, if you are in Canada, you can order any of these products from me at my online store by clicking on the shop button on this page or the menu at the top of the page.

August 16, 2019

Wag On

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge 2019, card, challenge, Dog, Dog builder punch, Happy Tails, Mosaic Mood Specialty 4 Comments

The As You See It Challenge Blog has another sketch challenge for us!

This one inspired me to use the Dog Builder Punch from Stampin’ Up! I punched the dog out of a piece of Soft Seafoam cardstock that I die cut with one of the circles from the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies. I then die cut a scalloped circle from a piece of Pretty Peacock cardstock using the Layering Circles dies and embossed it with the Subtles embossing folder. Before adhering it with Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals behind my dog punched piece, though, I put a piece of Flirty Flamingo cardstock between the layers so the heart would be pink!

Isn’t the dog adorable!? He looks so expectant and alert, like he’s waiting for a treat or a pat from someone he loves. I bet he’s a good dog.

The card base is Pretty Peacock. I added a piece of designer series paper from the Mosaic Mood Specialty paper. Over that there are a couple layers of cardstock, including Pineapple Punch and Mint Macaron.

I stamped the sentiment from the Happy Tails stamp set with Pretty Peacock Ink.

There are a few Flirty Flamingo hearts punched with the Dog Builder punch added to the card with Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals. I also added a big loopy bow of Linen Thread to complete the card.

If you see any products that you like, you can find them (and more) on my online store by going to the SHOP page. If you are not in Canada, be sure to find a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator in your country to purchase from.

And hey, no matter what part of the world you are from, I always love to hear from you. Leave a comment and let me know you stopped by!