June 19, 2015

11 Year Old Birthday

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge As You See It, card, challenge, embossing, markers, masculine, Stampin' Up 0 Comments

The Big News stamp set from Stampin’ Up! is a great choice for an 11 year old boy. My son has a TONNE of birthday parties scheduled for these last days of the school year and that means I have boys on the brain!!

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

And the card I designed:

I used my new Whisper White thick cardstock for the base of this card and let me tell you – it is AWESOME!! This paper holds it’s shape so beautifully for a very professional finish. I’m so glad that Stampin’ Up! decided to offer it.

I heat set the Gold Embossing powder for the sentiment on this card. Cherry on Top Designer Series Paper was used as the colour inspiration as I pulled out the Cucumber Crush, Bermuda Bay and the yellow (but instead of Crushed Curry, I wanted to use the brighter Daffodil Delight for my candles).

I REALLY wanted to put a ribbon somewhere, but as my intent was to create a more masculine card design, I withheld!

My favourite part about this design is the candles. I stamped them very close together in Jet Black Stazon ink in groups of four so I could cross the fifth one over them (fussy cut and on pieces of Stampin’ Dimensionals) to complete the counting in groups of fives. They are coloured with Stampin’ Write Markers in Bermuda Bay and Cucumber Crush with Daffodil Delight for the stars. I also used a Sponge Dauber with Daffodil Delight ink to create the glow around each star.

I like glowing. Glowing is good.

I also like to hear about you. What are your tricks to creating a masculine card? Ribbon? Colours? Styles?

Leave a comment in my “reply” section and tell me what you know!

Amy

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.