WWC69 - Kath's CAS Masculine Challenge

As if CAS isn't challenge enough for me, this week's Challenge Host, Kath, threw another curveball into the mix - Masculine theme!

 With Father's Day just around the corner, this is perfect timing for this Challenge. I had received my pre-order of brand new items from the soon-to-be-released 2016-2017 Annual Catalogue. Two of the colours from the newest set of In-Colors were perfect to use for this - Dapper Denim and Emerald Envy.

On a piece of Whisper White cardstock, stamp the 'Happy' from the Tin of Cards stamp set in Dapper Denim in a column. I inked the stamp once and stamped multiple times before re-inking.

The cute banner image and 'Father's Day' is from the brand new stamp set Thoughtful Banners, which comes in a bundle with a coordinating punch.

I used one of the hats from the hat stamp in the Guy Greetings stamp set, stamped in Archival Basic Black ink and fussy cut. To give it a bit of shine, I coated it with glue from the Fine Tip Glue Pen.

Mount the banner onto a strip of Dapper Denim, pop-up the hat with a dimensional, mat with Dapper Denim and mount the whole thing onto an Emerald Envy card base. And you're done!

Quick and easy! It's also quick and easy for you to visit the Watercooler Wednesday blog to see what all the other Watercooler Artists have done with this challenge. Then, create your own CAS Masculine themed card and link it to our Challenge.

WWC 68 - Libby's Colour Challenge

As the end of May grows closer, we are still saying goodbye to our favourite retiring products. This week at the Watercooler we are giving a rousing send off to what I think has been the best set of In-Colors ever!

This set of colours not only worked so well with many of our core colours, but they also worked perfectly with each other. I can't say that about previous years' collections.

My card uses all of these retiring colours. When I set out to make this, all I knew was that I wanted to use an image from the Wilderness Awaits stamp set.

I Googled images of Mallard ducks to see what colours they were. My duck has Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey, Blackberry Bliss and Tangelo Twist - with some Tip Top Taupe for the body. The head is actually painted with the Clear Wink of Stella brush dipped into a drop of Mossy Meadow. Also used this technique with Blackberry Bliss for the accents on the throat and wings. Some highlights from the white gel pen finish off the ring around the neck and a bit on the wings. Here's a closer look at the duck:

The sky is done with a light colour wash of Lost Lagoon, using the aquapainter. To give it some interest, I used a stamp from Work of Art and stamped "clouds", also using Lost Lagoon.

The water is done with an image from Timeless Textures and Pool Party ink. I love the look of this - like it is really water with light shining off it!

In the foreground, another one of the stamps from Timeless Texture inked with Tip Top Taupe looks like a shore line. For the grassy part, I used a stamp from Wetlands and Hello Honey. Also swiped the Hello Honey stamp pad across the bottom for more depth.

Around the edges of the Whisper White image panel, I just used the Lost Lagoon and Hello Honey stamp pads to darken the edges slightly and matted it with Smokey Slate. The card base is Lost Lagoon.

I didn't put a  sentiment on it, as I intend it to be used as a blank note card.

I will really miss these colours! Thankfully, I do like the new In-Colours that are in the 2016-2017 catalogue and can't wait to play with them. Just got my pre-order today!

Now, we want to see your take on this fabulous colour combo. Visit the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge Blog to see what the other Watercooler Artists have done.
 
 

All About Boxes WWC 67

If it's Wednesday, it's time for a new challenge. This time, Deborah has us All Boxed Up. We all find ourselves in need of a container of some kind on occasion. Whether to present a tiny treasure or a tasty treat, a beautifully hand-crafted and decorated box makes anything special.

 Stampin' Up! gives us many options for creating boxes. There are the ready-to-go Tag-a-Bag Gift Boxes, the food-safe Tiny Treat Boxes and Takeout Boxes (all three of these options are retiring May 31). And the Gift Box Punch Board gives us options for creating many different sizes of boxes - up to 4" on each side - from either card stock or Designer Series Paper.

Then there is the All Boxed Up Kit which makes 10 little milk carton-style boxes. And don't forget the Thinlits: Cutie Pie Thinlits, Curvy Keepsake Box Thinlits and Bakers Box Thinlits.

Now, with all these options available, I decided not to re-invent the wheel, so to speak. One of the types of adhesive I use a lot of is our Mini-Glue Dots. And it just so happens they come in a little box. And it just so happens I had that little box sitting empty on my craft table when I was pondering what to do.

It was really simple to take the box apart - sorry, I didn't take any photos of my process! - but it comes apart easily and is all one piece. I flattened it then glued the entire shape onto a piece of Neutrals Designer Paper Stack, trimmed around it and just folded it up and re-glued it.

No measuring, no scoring, no cutting - well, just a little, no fiddling! Embellish with Burlap Ribbon and a Botanical Blooms flower cut from Watercolour Paper and coloured with an Aqua Painter and Watermelon Wonder ink. In the center is a black star sequin from the Metallics Sequins, topped with a Basic Jewel Rhinestone for some sparkle. A sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes tucked underneath and a couple of leaves - it's ready to go!

Here's a close-up:

Now, we want to see your take on our All Boxed Up Challenge. Visit the Watercooler Wednesday blog to see what the other Watercooler Artists have done. There are some truly amazing creations!

WWC66 - Libby's Sketch Challenge

Sometimes I love having a design all mapped out for me. That is basically what a card sketch does. It shows you where each element will go - and it's like following a road map on a road trip.

That's what we have for this week's Watercooler Wednesday Challenge. Libby gave us this road map - er, sketch - to work with:

A sketch can be done in several ways. It can be followed as is, or it can be flipped on its side. Also, each element does not necessarily have to be a piece of cardstock, designer paper or an actual embellishment. To me, this sketch seemed like it should be a square card instead of the standard 5 1/2" x 4 1/4". I made mine 5 1/2" x 5 1/2".

I set myself a personal challenge with this card - to use the lobster stamp from the By the Tide stamp set. This is a stamp set I ordered as soon as it came out in the catalogue a couple of years ago (I don't remember the year). And I've used every stamp in the set, except the lobster.

Because the lobster is sort of oval shaped, I used it for the oval element in the sketch. After stamping it with Staz-on Black Ink onto Thick Whisper White card stock, I was kind of stumped on how to colour it. I've seen many cards with the lobster coloured bright red. But, they are only bright red after they are cooked. So, I Googled lobster images and looked at many, many photos of live lobsters.

Also, I went to Pinterest for ideas and came across a fabulous video from Tami White - who lives in New England and is very familiar with lobsters! She used Daffodil Delight and Cherry Cobbler to colour her lobster. It was exactly what I was looking for. Very simple to colour, then I fussy cut it.

Timeless Textures had great images to stamp the  backgrounds in Pool Party. For the three elements on the top right hand side, I used the stamp from By the Tide, inked in Lost Lagoon and stamped off three times.

For the horizontal element, I used a strip of the corrugated paper, which is retiring the end of this month. I love it for its texture.

Around the edges of the Crumb Cake card base, I stamped another one of the fabulous textures from Timeless Textures in Crumb Cake ink.

As a finishing touch, I spattered Clear Wink of Stella over everything, and painted some areas of the lobster with it.
Here is a close-up:

 
The sentiment is from the Tin of Cards stamp set, and I thought it was perfect for a lobster card. Not sure what else one would put on a card with a lobster! Except maybe, Bon Appetite - hmmm - have to look for a stamp that says that.

We would love it if you visited the Watercooler Wednesday challenge site and shared your interpretation of this fun sketch. All the Watercooler Artists have come up with great things to inspire you.