March 13, 2020

You Make My Life Better

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge, simple and cute 2020, card, challenge, circle punch, fill in the blank, quick and cute, Sale-a-bration, sweet and simple 0 Comments

When I saw this “fill in the blank” challenge, I wasn’t sure what my answer would be. I have to be honest and admit that I don’t send cards nearly enough and I fall behind very easily. I still have a graduation card to send from June 2019!! (oh my gosh, that’s so embarrassing!!). Basically, my real answer to this fill in the blank question is “My favourite card to send is any card that I actually get in the mail!”

But I thought I should be more specific, because how can I make a card that represents THAT?

… okay, I just got an idea …

… but that’s beside the point!! LOL!

Here’s the As You See It Challenge that inspired my card today.

So, to be more specific, when I do remember to send a card, the type of card that is my favourite to send is a “just because” card. They’re my favourite because they’re unexpected and can only be considered a direct-from-the-heart card. A card for no reason except to let the person know that they were on your mind is probably the most genuine and meaningful to me.

I chose to create a card with a sentiment from the Well Said stamp set from Stampin’ Up!. I was thrilled to win this stamp set at a Stampin’ Up! event in Vancouver. I love that it has so many sentiments for all sorts of occasions and that it has a coordination set of dies, the Well Written Dies, that are also words! I love the power of words, so please excuse me as I take a moment to express a little squeal of delight!

EEP!

I used the standard Thick Whisper White cardstock for my card base. The next layer is Pretty Peacock cardstock, but I fancied it up with some texture by adding Pretty Peacock circles to that layer using my 1″ Circle Punch. Some of the circles have HELLO in them, another sentiment from that Well Said stamp set, stamped with Pretty Peacock ink. It’s a simple add, but one that creates so much more interest on the card.

The next layer is attached with Stampin’ Dimensionals and is the basic Whisper White cardstock as a matte to the Lilly Impressions Designer Series Paper. This paper is only available as a FREE item with a $60 purchase during Sale-a-bration. That amazing Well Said stamp set just so happens to be $61, so if you choose to purchase that stamp set before the end of March, you’d be able to also get that beautiful paper or another Sale-a-bration item as well! How cool would that be!

The sentiment (from the Well Said stamp set, in case you missed that, LOL!) is stamped on a piece of Whisper White cardstock with Lovely Lipstick ink. I tied a bow of the Whisper White Baker’s Twine on the end of this strip of Whisper White and attached it to my card with more Stampin’ Dimensionals. Before adhering it, I tucked two different ribbons under the banner piece: the Whisper White 5/8″ Polka Dot Tulle and the Petal Pink 1/4″ Metallic-Edge Ribbon. Three Champagne Rhinestone Basic Jewels add a great final touch of sparkle to the design.

One of the many great things about making your own cards, is that you can make them as simple or as involved as you like. Here is a version of this very same card design using fewer steps and fewer products.

Give the challenge a go and share it with us at the As You See It Challenge Blog. We love to see your creations!

As always, all of the products used to make these cards are available for you to purchase at my Online Store. Head on over there to browse Stampin’ Up! products and order your favourites! (if you live outside of Canada, you will need to order from a demonstrator in your country, but thank you so much for supporting me by visiting my blog!)

February 28, 2020

Painted Petal Label

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge 2019, 2019-2020 annual catalogue, 2020, As You See It, card, challenge, photopolymer, Stampin' Up, watercolour 0 Comments

The As You See It Challenge has a very pretty and fresh colour challenge for us today! I thought I would try using the beautiful Petal Label Dies from Stampin’ Up! along with some watercolouring to create my design..

Here’s the colour combo that inspired the card in today’s blog post.

Isn’t it a precious image! The little swan makes me think of the Christmas ornaments my mom made out of felt one year. She never made a swan, but she did make a little dove. I get a lot of my creativity from her, of course. Thanks mom!

I used the Petal Labels Dies and the Stitched Retangle Dies to cut the Watercolor Paper for my card front. I don’t think the 2019-2020 Annual Stampin’ Up! Catalogue gives the Path of Petals Bundle enough air time. It really is a gorgeous bundle and is only part of the Pressed Petals Suite by Stampin’ Up!. The entire suite is so stunningly beautiful, but I feel like it has been lost in the shadows of the many show-stopping suites in the catalogue. I want to give this one a little more attention! The Petal Labels Dies are delicate and beautiful. The Path of Petals Photopolymer stamp set has the most beautiful fonts for the most eloquent sentiments.

I chose to use a Thick Whisper White card base for this card. Let’s be honest here, I use Thick Whisper White A LOT for my card bases. It is so easy to just add a layer to a white base. I don’t need to do anything fancy to the inside and it makes such a clean and crisp card every time! I struggle to use coloured cardstock for my card bases. I think I need to try to branch away from that a bit. Maybe, I’ll try Very Vanilla. LOL!

With an Aqua Painter and my three ink colours, Mango Melody, Grapefruit Grove, and Poppy Parade, I added colour to the floral edge of the oval die cut watercolour paper. I started with the lightest colour first, then worked up to the darkest colour. I was careful to colour only the floral shapes, trying to keep a clean edge so the oval area would remain defined.

To some of the fronds, I added black sequins from the Peaceful Poppies Sequins pack using Glue Dots to hold them in place.

On a separate piece of Whisper White cardstock, I stamped the beautiful sentiment from the Path of Petals Photopolymer stamp set using Tuxedo Black Momento Ink. I did stamp it a little bit crooked, but that’s why I did it on a separate piece rather than stamping it directly on the card base!! (I’m smart like that, LOL!). I adhered it (with the sentiment straight) to the water coloured, die cut layer using Stampin’ Dimensionals. I needed to do some trimming with my Paper Snips (since the Whisper White layer was now sticking out, crooked, under the die cut layer), then I was ready to attach those two layers to my card base using my trusty Multipurpose Liquid Glue.

Now it’s your turn. Get into your craft supplies and make a card using these colours (or colours as close to these as you can get). This is an opportunity for you to get creative and use this colour challenge as a jumping off point. Sometimes, you just don’t know where you might land!! Don’t forget to share your finished card on a public internet site (Pinterest, public Facebook Page, public Instagram page, Flicker, Splitcoast Stampers, your blog, etc), then share it with us on the As You See It Challenge Blog! We love to see what you’re creative brain does with the challenges.

As always, if you like any of these products, head on over to my Online Store and get them into your shopping cart! Stampin’ Up! makes it easy to create beautiful things!

If you’re outside of Canada, you can’t legally shop from me, but I hope you will continue to visit. Don’t forget to comment and let me know that you did!!

January 4, 2020

New Year’s Resolutions

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge, simple and cute, Techniques 2020, block stamping, card, do the impossible, markers, occasions, quick and cute, watercolor wash, watercolour 0 Comments

I know, I know, nobody really takes New Year’s Resolutions seriously these days. The problem is that we are all gungho to make change and be better, but we often don’t have a plan to make those changes stick. I don’t have the answer for that problem. I can barely stick to a plan in a day, let alone stick to one for a year! I keep trying to find that thing that will turn on the part of my brain that gives me discipline and perseverance. I’ll let you know if I ever do.

In the meantime, I feel like we have to keep trying. Where would we be if we just stopped trying to be better. Nobody would invent things, nobody would make new discoveries, and we probably wouldn’t have any stamps!!! It would be disaster!

I don’t have any official New Year’s Resolutions, but I do know that I will continue to push to be healthy, to be more organised, to spend less time on the internet and more time with my kids, to declutter my house, and to share more of my love of stamping. There are a lot of things that I am always working on. I don’t know that I want to focus on just one thing. And it certainly doesn’t have to be decided for my whole year.

Being healthy is important to me and that’s why I’m drawn to the Do the Impossible stamp set in the new catalogue. I also have some athletes in my life that I can make cards for, using this stamp set.

If you were on my blog yesterday, you would have seen this set altered for a card I designed to give to my niece. That card was pretty involved and shows how making your own cards allows you to personalize it to the recipient. I wanted to show you another design with the same stamp that you can easily replicate. (Because not everyone wants to lay down all that extra ink or even knows what cross-country skiing is!)

The fanciest part of this card is the colour wash background behind the joggers. If you want to see that technique in a Facebook Live video by clicking HERE.

If you don’t want to get caught in the Facebook vortex, the technique involves applying ink with Stampin’ Write Markers to an acrylic block, spritzing it with water using your Stampin’ Spritzer, then “stamping” that colour onto your watercolour paper with the block as your stamp. You might need to blot off some excess water to take control of the look you’re going for, then let the colour wash fully dry before carrying on with the rest of your card.

The rest is simple stamping. Here’s the supply list: Sahara Sand cardstock, Peaceful Poppies Designer Series Paper, Whisper White cardstock, Watercolor Paper, Daffodil Delight Stampin’ Write Marker, Crumb Cake Stampin’ Write Marker, Coastal Cabana Stampin’ Write Marker, Stampin’ Spritzer, Clear Block E, Daffodil Delight cardstock, Jet Black Stazon Ink, Do the Impossible stamp set, Black Stampin’ Mini Dimensionals.

Do you have a New Year’s Resolution? I hope it involves stamping. You know that if you’re in Canada, you can order all you stamping and paper crafting supplies from my Online Store, right!? And that there’s a bunch of new products AND it’s time for Sale-a-bration when you get free stuff just by purchasing stuff that you were already going to get anyway!! How awesome is that!! Go to my ONLINE STORE and have a look!