October 25, 2019

Remember to Breathe

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge, simple and cute 2019, As You See It, card, challenge, colorful seasons, feels like frost, quick and cute, speed, Stampin' Up 2 Comments

Today was a rough day. Lots of unplanned unpleasantness, resulting in a very frustrated, irritated, grumpy, and very spent, me. When I remembered that I hadn’t made my card for this challenge yet, I very reluctantly dragged myself into my messy and crowded craft room (I haven’t unpacked boxes from my last event yet and they’re all over the floor and completely in the way). I started to consider the card I would make and I realized that this card was going to be for me today. I reminded myself to breathe. The worst of the day is done. I got through it.

Just breathe.

Today is a speed challenge on the As You See It Challenge blog. Not the best activity to take on at the end of the day when you’ve already been stressed and rushing around, but no problem. I didn’t rush. I knew what I wanted to do. I had a plan. I took it slow. (well, not too slow!)

Even with taking it easy, I made this card in 8 minutes and 10 seconds. Attaching any kind of ribbon always adds a significant amount of time for me, but I think it was worth it.

I made a card with a similar layout just the other day, so the basic measurements were fresh in my mind, even though it was different paper, stamps, and embellishments.

The Feels Like Frost Designer Series Paper makes anything look amazing, don’t you think! It feels like cheating! I cut mine to 3-7/8″ x 4″, then cut it on a diagonal so I could split it over the piece of 4″ x 5-1/4″ Whisper White cardstock. I laid the lower portion of the split dsp on the Whisper White cardstock so that I could use it as a guide to position my stamped words from the Colorful Seasons Photopolymer Stamp Set, which I stamped in Night of Navy ink.

Before attaching the Feels Like Frost pieces with Dimensionals, I laid the length of Linen Thread down the left side of the Whisper White cardstock so I could tie it after the dsp was adhered.

The Whisper White is layered on a Night of Navy cardstock base. Clean and fresh. Breathe in. Breathe out.

The finishing touch was to add the three Rhinestone Basic Jewels to the Feels Like Frost Designer Series Paper.

And the very last thing was to actually do what the card says, just breathe. Ahhhh. Feels good.

My day is behind me now and tomorrow will be better.

As always, you can order the products featured in my post, by going to SHOP in the menu at the top of the page, or click on the SHOP circle on the sidebar if you’re on your computer.

Now, go and try this speed challenge and share it with us at the As You See It Challenge blog. We want to see your creations!

August 2, 2019

Purple Wonder

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge, simple and cute 2019, New wonders, quick and cute, speed, Speed challenge 3 Comments

Purple is a tough colour for me to work with, so when I saw that the As You See It challenge this time was a speed challenge with shades of purple, I wasn’t very excited.

But then I remembered the piece of Designer series paper from the Woven Threads paper that was purple! Not just any purple, but the new In Color from Stampin’ Up! called, Purple Posy. The rest of my idea for my card pulled together easily after that and I was able to create a sweet and whimsical card.

After coming up with my plan, I started the stopwatch with the aim to complete my card in less than ten minutes. I know from past experience that to keep within the time frame, I should avoid ribbon, die cutting, and colouring, because they can steal time from me and catch me up. You can clearly see that I managed to avoid all but one of those things. I just had to colour the sweet image from the New Wonders hostess stamp set from Stampin’ Up!.

I stamped the fairy image on Whisper White cardstock using Momento Tuxedo Black ink, then used an assortment of Blends markers to colour the image: Ivory, BlackBerry Bliss, Highland Heather, Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Bronze, and Smoky Slate. Isn’t she sweet!?

I stamped the thank you sentiment with Blackberry Bliss ink and added a few small Clear Epoxy Hearts around the images.

Then I assembled. The card base is Basic Grey cardstock, then there is a matte of Whisper White behind the Woven Threads Designer Series paper. The stamped piece of Whisper White was adhered with Stampin’ Dimensionals to finish the card.

No ribbon. No die cuts. Just some basic stamping and some Stampin’ Blends Markers. Definitely a sweet and simple card.

I’m pretty happy with myself. It only took me 8 minutes and 10 seconds to finish and I actually like it!

The New Wonders stamp set can only be purchased by those who either purchase $200 of Stampin’ Up! product or who host a workshop where the total product purchased by all the guests reaches a minimum of $200. So if you like this stamp set, contact me to find out how we can make that happen! You can also order at my online store by clicking on the menu on my page and accessing the SHOP button.

November 2, 2018

Buffalo Check Christmas

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge, Christmas, simple and cute 2018, challenge, Christmas, quick and cute, speed 0 Comments

Oh my, oh my!! I haven’t done a speed challenge for a while and I forgot what a rush it it!! Whoohoo! Making a card in less than 10 minutes isn’t easy and I don’t always like how it turns out, but it ALWAYS gets my creative mojo flowing!!

Here’s the inspiration for Shades of Red from the As You See It Challenge Blog:

After considering what I wanted to do and gathering all my supplies (no cutting ahead of time!), I started my card design. Why I insist on adding bows to speed challenge cards, I’ll never know. I probably would have been done under eight minutes if I avoided the Linen Thread all together!

My completed time: 9 minutes 52 seconds

I used Crumb Cake ink with the Sheet Music background stamp on the Crumb Cake card base. I cut a piece of Real Red cardstock the same size as my card front and used the Buffalo Check background stamp with Tuxedo Black Momento Ink. I find it easier to use these background stamps so that the rubber faces up on the table. That way, I can place my cardstock on top of the stamp and have more control to make sure the image is stamped straight – particularly with any stamp image that needs to be parallel with the edge of my paper. I adhered my checked cardsock at an angle on my card, then trimmed the excess from the edges with my paper trimmer.

I still love the Half Full stamp set because it has images of one of my favourite things: wine! I love wine, particularly red wine. Sadly, wine isn’t very kind to my stomach these days, so I have started reserving it for Sunday dinners with my family.

I stamped the wine glass image on Whisper White cardstock with Crumb Cake ink, stamping off once on a scrap piece of paper so I could have a slightly lighter image. The Merry Christmas sentiment from the same stamp set was stamped with Tuxedo Black Momento ink over top of the wine glasses image. I then trimmed my Whisper White cardstock to the size I wanted and flagged the end with my Paper Snips. The Linen Thread is tied around the end of the Whisper White cardstock into a bow and the completed banner was attached to the card front with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Voila! This is what a 10 minute speed challenge card looks like! Sweet and Simple, don’t you think!?

Your turn! Give the challenge a try. Set your timer for ten minutes and see if you can beat the time. If you get it under, be sure to share your finished work with us at the As You See It Challenge blog so we can ooh and ahh at your creative genius! (we always do!)

If you like these products and are in Canada, you can order them from me by clicking on the Shop Now circle button on this blog. If you are on a phone or tablet, just keep scrolling down until you find the shopping button. If you are on a computer, you will see it in the side bar. Be sure to use the Hostess Code just above the shopping circle so I can award you with Loyalty Points for any order over $50 (before shipping and taxes).

Happy stamping!!