November 20, 2015

Christmas Fantasy Box – Part 1

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge, Christmas, Home Décor As You See It, box, challenge, Christmas, edgelits, gift, Itty Bitty Accents, photopolymer, pompom trim, Season of Cheer, thinlits, topper 4 Comments

My preparations for the bi-annual Fly the Coop Mini Retreat are slowly coming together. I love that this retreat takes place in my home, limiting the number of participants to only six people. With the small numbers, we can enjoy the cozy, intimate setting of my home without the interruptions or obligations of our everyday lives getting in the way of the good times we have! Then we can stamp away, finishing all the projects that we brought along to complete!

Things are coming along slowly because I am a very good procrastinator, doing things that shouldn’t really be given that much time when there are other tasks that should take priority. But … because of my amazing procrastination abilities, I have a great project to share with you (when I should have done a much simpler and quicker project instead, lol!)

However, all is not lost, as I will likely use this project (or a very close version of this project) for the Monthly Stampers Group appreciation night and Christmas party that is coming up in December. I get to spoil my monthly group members with special discounts, a free project (this one, whoop whoop!), and Stampin’ Up! door prizes. The members of this group are part of my stamping family and the appreciation night is my opportunity to say “thank you” for their support and loyalty.

Let’s get to the As You See It Challenge for this week. Check it out:

Today, I have a very cool box to show you. I made one only once before, but thought it would be a fun project to do with my Monthly Stampers group. I haven’t completed the inside of this special box yet, so stay tuned for when I share that part with you on Saturday!

I adore how this box turned out! It’s called a Fantasy Box and has a special surprise with the inside design. No scary pop-ups, though. Just something really cool. You’ll have to come back on Saturday morning to see more!

A lot of different Stampin’ Up! supplies were used for this Christmas Fantasy Box. You will find them all listed at the bottom of the page. My favourite part about the way the box looks, is the lid and topper. The Sleigh Ride Edgelits helped me create the sloping lid design.

I’m in love with this box topper. The pine cone was created by layers of paper punched little Gold Glimmer hearts. I adhered them to a mini cone-shape of paper, then wrapped the top with Gold Sequin Trim, finally topping all that with the Gold Satin Ribbon bow.

Can you see the white doily under all those leaves? It is a Spiderweb Doily from Stampin’ Up!! I simply trimmed away some of the edges and used the white side of the doily instead of the black side.

I love that I can use a challenge sketch for projects that aren’t cards. I try to think … outside the box when I design for the As You See It Challenge blog.

Come back on Saturday and check out the inside of this cool Fantasy Box. In the mean time, what will you do with today’s sketch? Don’t forget to link it up with the As You See it page, so we can see what you came up with!

Happy Stamping!

Amy.

Supplies: Coaster Board (not visible), Season of Cheer Designer Series Paper, Red Envelope Paper (not visible), Bitty Banner Framelit, Happy Scenes photopolymer stamp set, Tuxedo Black Momento ink pad, Whisper White cardstock, Real Red Cardstock, Spiderweb Doily, Red Pompom Trim, Gold Sequin Trim, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder (sorry, it’s a retired product), Lighthearted Leaves photopolymer stamp set, Leaflets Framelits, Mossy Meadow ink, Old Olive ink, Old Olive cardstock, Sponges, Gold Satin Ribbon, Glue Dots, Tear and Tape, Fine-Tip Glue pen, Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Hot Glue, Big Shot, Stampin’ Trimmer, and Craft Scissors.

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

May 8, 2015

Soft Sky Sympathy

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge As You See It, Bloom with Hope, Bloom wtih Hope, card, challenge, Itty Bitty Accents, soft sky, something borrowed, Stampin' Up, window framelits 1 Comment

Check out this sympathy card, designed for the As You See It Challenge blog, featuring Something Borrowed designer series paper, Window Framelits, Soft Sky seam binding ribbon, Lost Lagoon ink, and the Bloom with Hope hostess stamp set; all to be retiring at the end of this month from Stampin’ up!

Here’s the sketch that marked the beginnings of this card:

It’s always good to have a selection of sympathy and get well soon cards on hand as they are a necessity for events that often surprise us on our path in life. Yet these unpleasant events are inevitable and require quick response to ease the hearts and bodies of those in the midst of life’s trials. It’s during these times when we need to rally along side the families and show our support and offer our well wishes. Hand-made cards not only offer a word of encouragement and love, but also offer a piece of ourselves with each layer of paper that is cut and each embellishment that is placed with care and consideration.

Even though I don’t currently have a need for this sympathy card, it too is made with a little bit of myself poured into it and is ready to bless someone with an offering of support.

Product retiring: Soft Sky Seam Binding ribbon, Bloom with Hope hostess stamp set, Lost Lagoon Classic Ink, Lost Lagoon Cardstock (under the Jute ribbon), Something Borrowed Designer Series Paper, and the Window Framelits.

Other product used: Soft Sky cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Jute Ribbon, flower punch from the Itty Bity Accents Punch Pack, Basic Pearls, Sahara Sand Cardstock, Sahara Sand Classic Ink, Circle Framelits, Big Shot, and Stampin’ Up Dimensionals.

Give this sketch a try and show it off by linking it to As You See It Challenge #86! Hope you do!

Amy