May 30, 2021

Camping is in Tents

Amy Jasper Techniques 2021, blending brush, campology, embossing folder, nature, Stampin' Blends Markers, stitched rectangles dies 2 Comments

I have a lot of great memories of camping with my family. We never had a trailer or RV – always a tent.

When I was 12, we hiked the 78km West Coast trail. I complained a LOT, but what an amazing adventure! We would hike about 10km each day (my oldest brother carried my backpack for me for some of the trek), then pitch our tents and eat our meal by the open fire and dry out our clothes. In the morning, we’d pack everything up again and carry it to the next tenting spot.

The best camping ever is backpacking. No vehicles. Very few people. A minimalist experience where you can fully appreciate nature and all of its scary and beautiful glory!

I love camping, but I have to admit, I’m a bit of a snob. I get very annoyed at campers who play their music without any consideration of the other people in the area. Many campers prefer the sounds of the wind in the trees and soft buzzing of the busy insects as they maintain the balance of the ecosystem.

I’m also not a fan of big RV’s and their loud generators that are strategically placed far away from themselves because of the noise. Which, of course, means that the noise is closer to my tent. My tent! With its thin fabric walls that provide shelter from the wind and rain, but absolutely no protection from the noise pollution of a generator or music.

If you are someone who camps in an RV, offer me some of the ice cream from your freezer and I just might forgive you for stealing my peace and quiet. 🙂 Better yet, consider powering-up with solar panels, if you can. This is better for the environment, your camping neighbours, and your bank account.

But, enough about my camping snobbery. Let’s get to the card I want to show you!

I created this one with the Campology stamp set from Stampin’ Up! and it will be the card that I give to my Dad this Father’s Day. He’s the one who passed on his love of nature and the outdoors to me. I feel incredibly blessed and privileged to have the positive experiences that I did.

Here are some of the products used:

Thick Basic White, Basic White, and Misty Moonlight cardstock
Tasteful Textile Embossing Folder, Stitched Rectangle Dies, and Tasteful Labels Dies
Campology Stamp Set
Mossy Meadow Ink for the trees, Misty Moonlight Ink with a Blending Brush
Tuxedo Black Momento Ink to stamp the tent image
Light Night of Navy, Dark Balmy Blue Blends Markers and the Color Lifter to colour the tent
Old Olive Watercolor Pencil and Blender Pen for the grass
Versamark Ink, Black Embossing Powder and the Heat Tool
Dad stamp is from the Batter Up Paper Pumpkin stamp set
Black Baker’s Twine

After the card was completed, but before the DAD sentiment was attached, I used the Light Night of Navy Blends Marker to flick the spatter of colour over the card. Some of these I tapped with the Colour Lifter Blends Marker to soften them so they would appear out of focus.

Are you a tent camper or an RV camper? Maybe you’re in the middle somewhere and have a tent trailer or a camper van. What matters in the end, is that you’re getting out to enjoy nature and have a little break from the world!

Oh, and don’t forget, if you camp with an RV, offer some ice cream or freezies to your tenting neighbours on those hot summer days. They will love you for it!

May 28, 2021

Spring Chicken

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge 2021, As You See It, challenge, chickens, hey chick, layers, Stampin' Blends Markers 0 Comments

The Hey Chick Stamp set is so much fun! This chicken with the wild feathers on its head is definitely my favourite of the images in the set!

A few years ago, I made a special pop-up card with the Hey Chick stamp set. You can see that card by clicking HERE.

The sentiment from the Happiest of Birthdays stamp set is the perfect size and style for this card design. The Chick Dies add so much more to this card with the die-cut chicken, the Basic White chicken coop, and the Silver Foil chicken wire.

This layered card has all the elements necessary to show you how you can make a card and play along with the As You See It Challenge blog. Can you identify all five of the elements on my card?

Birthday – The sentiment is from the Happiest of Birthdays stamp set and stamped on Calypso Coral cardstock with Versamark ink.
Heat Embossing – White Embossing Powder is added to the sentiment and heat set with the Heat Tool.
Ribbon/Twine – A bow of Navy Baker’s Twine from the Well Suited Twine Combo Pack is attached with a Glue Dot.
Patterned Paper – The Misty Moonlight patterned paper and the Bumblebee striped paper are both from the Dandy Garden Designer Series Paper. The Old Olive polka-dot patterned paper is from the Ice Cream Corner Designer Series Paper.
Die-cut – The chicken, the chicken coop, and the chicken wire are all die-cut with the Chick Dies. Both circles are cut using the Layering Circle Dies. The Night of Navy label that you see behind the circles is cut using the Painted Labels Dies. This element is more than covered, don’t you think!? LOL!

The chicken is stamped on Basic White cardstock using Tuxedo Black Momento ink, then coloured with Stampin’ Blends Markers. Real Red, Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake, and some Daffodil Delight, all play their part in making that chicken so fun! After colouring, I did some careful touch-ups with the pen end of my Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker. I often do this to sharpen an image after it’s been coloured as the colouring process can soften the lines. Doing that is kind of the same as using the sharpening feature when editing photos.

The card base is Night of Navy cardstock, layered with Basic White. Then the patterned paper pieces are added with a 3/4″ wide strip of Misty Moonlight cardstock to separate the two patterns. Next, the Night of Navy die-cut label, the Basic White circle, the Silver Foil die-cut chicken wire, the Bumblebee striped die-cut circle, and the Basic White die-cut chicken coop are layered on the cardfront.

The only items that are attached with Stampin’ Dimensionals are the sentiment and that crazy, funky chicken.

Go to the As You See It Challenge blog to see all the designs shared by our design team. Why not give this challenge a try and share it with us on the challenge blog? It’s fun to play along and we love seeing where your creativity takes you!

May 18, 2021

Dragonfly Garden Note Card Box

Amy Jasper not a card, tutorial, Video 2021, 3D, box, dragonflies, dragonfly garden, Stampin' Blends Markers 0 Comments

On my Facebook Live video yesterday, I shared how to make this cute box! It’s the perfect size for Mini Envelopes and 3″ x 3″ handmade cards. The Dragonfly Garden stamp set, Dragonflies Punch, and the Dandy Garden Designer Series Paper work together beautifully to create this easy box.

Show your appreciation to someone by giving them a box of handmade note cards!

It doesn’t have to be for note cards, though! This size box will fit lots of other things. You could fill it with candy or chocolates, but anything that fits would work: Jewelry, seed packs, candles, figurines, tea, snacks, car keys, ear buds, money, a face mask, make-up, a pair of socks … whatever! LOL!

It would be really funny to get a pair of socks!

The box is an adaptation of a smaller rectangular box that my friend and fellow Canadian Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator, Desirée Spenst made. It was a cute box, but not big enough to fit cards. I just had to adjust the measurements for the base of the box, then I could decorate it my own way. I chose the dragonflies.

It makes me happy.

To make this 3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ square box that is 1 1/4″ high, start with a piece of Thick Basic White cardstock, measuring 6″ x 10 1/2″. Score the long side at 1″, 4 1/2″, 5 3/4″, and 9 1/4″. Score the short side at 1 1/4″ and 4 3/4″. With this as your base, you can use my video tutorial to complete the base of the box. Once you see how I put it together and decorated it, you can do the same or you can decorate it anyway you like! It’s easier than you might think!

After I finished recording the video tutorial, I added some Artistry Blooms Adhesive Backed Sequins and a white heat embossed sentiment from the Many Messages stamp. I think these elements complete the box nicely.

The video below is a recording of my Monday Facebook Live. You can join me live on Facebook at 10:30 PST every Monday morning and interact with me while I share projects with you. Next week I’ll be unboxing the May Paper Pumpkin kit!

Leave a reply or comment and say hello! I love to know that you stopped by!