November 22, 2019

Blueberry Watercolour Blossoms

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge, Personal 2020, occasions 2020, onstage, Stampin' Up, vegas, watercolour 2 Comments

My husband has been trying to convince me to go to Las Vegas for a few years now, but it was never a city that interested me. I’m not one who enjoys crowds of people, flashy lights, or casinos. So, when I found out that Stampin’ Up! was hosting one of their OnStage Local conventions in Las Vegas, I thought that was a great opportunity to get there with my husband for a weekend adventure. Alas, my husband teaches at the university and wasn’t able to take the time off work. So … I went without him!

Las Vegas was pretty much exactly as I expected. Lots and lots and lots AND LOTS of people, lots of flashy lights, lots of smoky casinos. As an introvert, I found it overwhelming, over-stimulating, and just exhausting.

But you know what I DID like? I loved being with other Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. They are my friends and travel companions. I loved watching them get excited about the fountain at the Bellagio, the Bellagio buffet, and the boats in the indoor canal at the Venetian. I loved watching them, with their different way of handling our surroundings, as they chatted up the bartender when we stopped to rest our feet and have a slushy cocktail at the Hard Rock Cafe. I loved how they went out of their way to find a coffee shop that could make me a great latte. I loved how they sat with me while I ate gelato, even though they decided they didn’t want any after all. I loved seeing them turn in their seat in the airplane to wave and make funny faces at me when I was sitting with strangers a few rows back because I refused to pay extra to be able to choose my seat. I loved exchanging roomie gifts, business tips, and sharing ideas. I love how different we are and yet, we still can get excited about the beauty that we each bring to the world. I also love the Cirque de Soleil show, “O”. It was absolutely spectacular!

I’ve been home for 5 days now and I still don’t feel like I’ve recovered and recharged! I felt like I could have slept for three days straight when I got home!

Working on my design for the As You See It Challenge card was actually really helpful for me. It gave me the focus that I needed to take my head out of the fog caused by over-stimulation. This bright and cheerful colour combination was just what I needed to grease my creative gears.

Of course, the fun part about going to a Stampin’ Up! OnStage event, other than the fabulous community of demonstrators, is the free product!! My card today is made using the Forever Blossoms stamp set I received for FREE! This set will be available to purchase in January when the new Occasions Catalogue comes out.

I decided to do some watercolouring with the flower image. I used Blueberry Bushel for the blossoms and Granny Apple Green for the leaves. The yellow spatter is created from loading the brush tip of an Aqua Painter with Pineapple Punch ink, then briskly tapping the Aqua Painter against my finger over the watercolor paper. To protect the blue blossoms from turning green from the wet yellow ink, I first stamped the blossoms on a piece of Post It Note and loosely cut them out so I could use the Post It as a mask over my blue blossoms. See! No green on my flowers!

I used the Stitched Nested Labels Dies to cut the stitched shape with my die cutting machine and adhered it to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals (the black ones, actually! they are great!!). Behind that is the Sahara Sand cardstock that was embossed using the die cutting machine and the Tin Tile 3D embossing folder. I layered a piece of Pineapple Punch cardstock behind that and a strip of Blueberry Bushel cardstock behind that, which was embossed as well, using the die cutting machine and the Pinewood Planks 3D Embossing Folder.

I stamped the sentiment with Versamark ink on Basic Black cardstock (using my Embossing Buddy first, of course), then applied the White Embossing Powder to the stamped words and heat set it with my Heat Tool. I then cut the sentiment into three sections and attached them to the card front using the combination of Stampin’ Dimensionals where it needed to be raised and Tombo Liquid Glue where it attached to the watercolor paper. I stamped the single blossoms from the stamp set on the Thick Whisper White card base with Pineapple Punch ink (before adhering all the things to the card base, of course, LOL!)

AVID STAMPER TIP: the words in the sentiment are actually quite close together, making it awkwardly tight when cutting them into sections. To add a bit of space, I actually stamped the sentiment twice and applied the powder. Before heat setting it, I brushed the powder off of the “so much” part of one of the stamped sentiments and off of the “you mean” and “to me” parts of the second stamped sentiment. After doing that, I heat set the powder with my Heat Tool. That way, when I cut the sentiment into the three sections, I was able to have a bit more space before and after the words on each section that I cut.

After all my talk about how Las Vegas wasn’t my thing, you might assume that I would never go there EVER again! That’s what my husband thought. But, you know what? I would totally go again! I would just do it a little differently. I would go with my husband and enjoy a few shows, maybe a couple of museums, and definitely would go off of the strip for some nature hikes to escape the crowds, the flashy lights, and the cigarette smoke. I would go see performers doing Sinatra, Elvis, Billie Holiday or Big Band music.

Yes, I would go again. I just need to look a little harder to see past the flashy, “adult Disneyland”, to seek out the natural and the historic Vegas. But, I might need to get in a few camping trips here in British Columbia first. I need a bit more nature to make up for all that …. cement.

Have you been to Vegas? Would you go? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

November 8, 2019

Gold and Green

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge, Christmas 2019, As You See It, card, challenge, sketch, Stampin' Up, watercolor, watercolour, wreath 1 Comment

I’m thinking of the ice cream in the freezer. I should probably go get it and eat it while I write my blog. You don’t mind, do you?

. . .

Okay. I’m back with my coffee Haagen-Dazs. Yum. Though, honestly, I really shouldn’t be eating it after all of the Halloween candy I’ve been consuming. Maybe, I’m just getting ready to hibernate.

That’s a thing, right?

Once again, I have a card for you and once again it is inspired by the As You See It Challenge for which I am a designer.

Sketch challenges are pretty great because they provide some clear parameters, but still offer so much opportunity for your own creative spin. I decided to take this sketch and create a square card, rather than the more common 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ size.

I have seen some beautiful watercolour wreaths created from the All Around Wreath Dies from Stampin’ Up!, so I thought I should give it a try. I cut the wreath from a piece of Watercolor Paper and placed it onto one of the clear plates of my Stamparatus. I then used an Aqua Painter to saturate the Watercolor Paper with plain water. Next, I applied ink using the Aqua Painter and Ink Refills. I used Call Me Clover, Granny Apple Green, and Coastal Cabana. As I applied each colour, I enjoyed watching it spread quickly over the paper because of the water that already prepared the way. Once I was happy with the saturation of colour, I used my Heat Tool to speed up the drying time so I could carry on with the rest of my card.

The card base is Thick Whisper White, which I cut to 8-1/2″ x 4-1/4″ so that I could have a completed 4-1/4″ x 4-1/4″ square card. This is a good size for a square, because it will still fit in Stampin’ Up! envelopes. I used the Simply Scored Tool to create an embossed outline around the card base. I like how that simple step somehow instantly makes a card more elegant.

The next layer is a Whisper White square on which I stamped the line stamps from the Christmas Countdown Cling Stamp Set from Stampin’ Up!. I stamped these in Versamark ink and applied the Gold Embossing Powder, melting it to a beautiful shine with my Heat Tool. I wrapped the Gold 1/4″ Shimmer Ribbon (from the new and only available while supplies last, Christmastime is Here Suite!) around this piece and tied it in a bow. This was attached to the card base with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The dry watercoloured wreath was attached to the front of the card with glue dots, but I had to cut it to be able to tuck it under the bow of my ribbon. Pretty sneaky, right!

The sentiment is from the Merry Moose stamp set and was stamped with Versamark ink on Whisper White cardstock. Once again, I applied the Embossing Powder and heat it with my Heat Tool, before cutting it in my die cutting machine with one of the circle dies from the Stitched Shapes Dies. This was applied to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The last few things to add were the gorgeous Gold Glitter Enamel Dots (from the Christmastime is Here Suite), and the Cherry Cobbler flower, which I die cut with my die cutting machine and the Detailed Deer Dies from Stampin’ Up!.

I followed the perimeters of the sketch challenge. I would say that I moved the location of my bow, but the basic sketch is still apparent, don’t you agree?

If you like the products I used on this card, you might want to go to my ONLINE STORE and see what else there is to get excited about! Have you seen the products in the Christmastime is Here Suite? Just beautiful! Definitely have a look.

… and don’t forget to try this sketch and play along with us at the As You See It Challenge Blog!

Okay, my ice cream is done. It was yummy.

April 12, 2019

Sweetest Berry Burst

Amy Jasper As You See It Challenge 2019, As You See It, aysi, card, challenge, embossing, framelits, Stampin' Up, watercolor, watercolour 0 Comments

It’s time for another As You See It Challenge post. The challenge today is a sketch and I chose to use the Sweetest Thing Stamp Set from Stampin’ Up! for this sweet card.

But first, here’s the sketch:

Stampin’ Up! is coming close to a new annual catalogue and with that, there will be some products retiring to make way for new products. I’m so excited to see all the new things this weekend at the Stampin’ Up! OnStage Local event for Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators in Vancouver, BC, Canada!

My card today, shows off two of the In Colors that will be retiring at the end of May: Berry Burst and Powder Pink. I will be sad to see them go, but am excited to see what the new In Colors will be!

The candy jar image, the gummy bears, and the label image are all from the Sweetest Thing Stamp Set. I used the coordinating Jar of Sweets Framelits dies to die cut the jar and the label. It’s so awesome to have dies that work with your stamps! The jar image is stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock in Berry Burst ink and coloured with the use of a Stampin’ Up! Blender Pen and a little bit more Berry Burst ink to create a soft watercolour effect. I stamped the label image on Very Vanilla cardstock with Versamark ink, and heat set it with Basic Black Embossing Powder and my Heat Tool.

At the top of the jar is some Black Glitter Organdy Ribbon tied with a bow in Basic Black Baker’s Twine. Behind the jar are loops of Silver Metallic Thread.

I used the Subtles Textured Embossing Folder and my Big Shot to add texture to my Basic Black banner. The Pearlized Doily was coloured on the non-pearlized side with Soft Sea Foam ink. After attaching all of that to the Sahara Sand and Powder Pink cardstock, the final touch was to add the Gingham Gala Adhesive Backed Sequins.

And there it is! A sweet card for the As You See it Challenge. You know what? You should play along. Why not! You can totally come up with something awesome using the sketch and I would love to see what you create!

You can still order the retiring products, but remember that they can sell out quickly. The retiring list will be out soon, but don’t wait. Just order now and avoid missing out on the products you know that you love!