Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #112 - Anything Goes

We have a bonus week this month - which means an Anything Goes Challenge. This leaves things wide open as far as the type of project you do, the colours you choose,  the theme of your project, etc.

I've been wanting to make succulents with the Oh, So Succulent Framelits ever since I got them - weeks ago. So, what better time to use them than for an Anything Goes Challenge!

Using Always Artichoke and Crumb Cake cardstocks, I cut a bunch using all the sizes. The Crumb Cake pieces are sponged with Rich Razzleberry and Craft Whisper White is used for the Always Artichoke. Each succulent has a Basic Rhinestone Jewel in the center.

I made a little container by wrapping the burlap ribbon around a jar lid. It is attached with Tear & Tape. Inside that, I put a bit of Spanish Moss. On a strip of Whisper White CS, I stamped the sentiment in Rich Razzleberry twice then folded it around a piece of bamboo skewer that I cut with the Craft & Rubber scissors (ret.).

Here are some close-ups:

What would you do for an Anything Goes Challenge? Visit Watercooler Wednesday and check out the awesome projects from all the Watercooler Artists and then link up yours!

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #111 - Marsha's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

It's time for another Masculine Challenge, hosted this time by Marsha.

I've been trying to get away from what seems to be an accepted  practice when creating masculine-themed cards - that is an instinct to use dark colours. Now, sometimes dark colours work. But, men like other colours too.

Since it is now offically Spring - yay! - I went to the Serene  Scenery DSP Paper Stack for that very spring-y pattern of lovely green leaves. And I paired it with an image from the Moon Lake stamp set.

I stamped the image with Archival Basic Black ink on watercolour paper. The colouring was done with an Aqua-Painter and ink. The sentiment is from Hey, Chick.

Then, using the Layering Ovals Framelits to cut out the coloured image and the Old Olive layer. A piece of Burlap Ribbon sets the image off from the background DSP. The card base is Tip Top Taupe.

Now, go to Watercooler Wednesday and check out the fabulous samples from the other Watercooler Artists! We are eagerly awaiting your creations.

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #110

Easter is just around the corner and Heather has chosen an Easter Bunny theme for her Clean and Simple Challenge.

I could only find one stamp set among my collection with a bunny image in it. And it wasn't an Easter stamp set. But I had to go with it.

The bunny is from Thankful Forest Friends (retired). I inked the stamp with Crumb Cake and then added a bit of darker colour with a Soft Suede marker. the ears and nose  are colored  with Blushing Bride.

For the tree and grass, I went to Sheltering Tree, stamped in Soft Suede. Love all the branches on that tree - perfect for placing the eggs that are from a long-retired stamp set, Nature Walk. I used markers to colour the eggs using Sweet Sugarplum, Flirty Flamingo and Peekaboo Peach.

The sentiment is from a classic Stampin' Up! set - Teeny Tiny Wishes. This is a set I use constantly. It has a greeting for every occasion you could imagine!

My cardstock choices are Whisper White and Old Olive.

Check out Watercooler Wednesday to see what the other Watercooler Artists have done. Have fun with this Easter Bunny challenge and show us what you come up with!

Think outside the box!

Last weekend my upline, who is in Alberta where I used to live, put together a weekend long on-line stamp-a-thon for all of her downline. She did some Facebook Live videos and had challenges throughout the weekend.

It was a lot of fun!

One of the challenges was to think outside the box. That is, to use a Stampin' Up product in a different way to what it was intended. I had an inspiration to use a stamp set I had just used to create my design team project for this week's Watercooler Wednesday Challenge:

To create the background, I used the 3-part image from the Tie Dyed stamp set from the 2017 Occasions Catalogue. This set is designed to stamp all three parts, in different colours, or different shades of the same colour, one on top of the other. For my challenge card, because it is a colour challenge, I inked the largest stamp in full strength Island Indigo, the middle stamp in Island Indigo - stamped off once, and the smallest stamp in Pool Party - full strength.

As I was working on this, I kept thinking that the design reminded me of ammonites, which are the fossilized, hard shells of extinct mollusks. See what they look like here.

Now, back to the challenge. I was thinking about trying to use the stamp to create an ammonite. But, it wasn't coming together in my brain. But, then I had a lightbulb moment!

You know those big, big lollypops that are different colours, in a spiral? Here's what I came up with:

 
I stamped the image on Whisper White cardstock using Tangerine Tango, Peekaboo Peach and So Saffron. Then I embossed it using clear embossing powder. I did three coats of embossing to make it really glossy. After that, I cut it out using one of the circles in the Layering Circles Framelits.

The stick is a bamboo skewer, cut to length, and tied with a bit off Emerald Envy ribbon. The littles squiggles, stamped in the same colours as the lollypop, is a stamp from the Bithday Blast set and the sentiment is from So In Love.

What kinds of things can you come up with when thinking outside the box? It's fun to do!

 
 

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge 109

Colour challenges are fun! This week at Watercooler Wednesday, Heidi  has given us a pallette I find very soothing with just two shades of blue and two neutrals.

For this one, I went to the Tie Dyed stamp set, which has images in three parts. By stamping off the Island Indigo on one of the parts, I was able to get three shades of blue to create a fun background that was very quick and easy to do.

 
The background is stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock, matted on Basic Black and mounted on an Island Indigo base.

For my focal point, I  used the image from Bella & Friends, stamped it in Memento Black ink and coloured with the new Watercolour Pencils and a blender pen. The balloon has a bit of sparkle thanks to Wink of Stella.

Now let's see what you do with Heidi's Colour Challenge! Check out what the rest of the Watercooler Artists have done by going to Watercooler Wednesday.

 

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge 108 - Gail's Sketch Challenge

It's my turn to host the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge this week, and I've chosen this Sketch Challenge:

I think it is a very simple sketch, but has a lot of possibilities to make it as intricate as you want. Remember, the sketch can be flipped upside down, or turned on its side - whatever inspires you. As long as it is still recognizable as the basic sketch.

However, I decided to use it just as is:

I'm trying to channel spring - the first colour that popped into my mind was Cucumber Crush. Mostly because it is a lovely, spring-y shade of green. But also, because it is part of the 2015-2017 In-Color Collection that will be retiring at the end of May.

This may make some people sad, but I like to think that it is making way for a whole new, exciting set of trendy shades!

For the diagonal bottom part, I stamped every one of the designs from the Sale-a-Bration set, Delicate Details, using Crumb Cake ink on Whisper White cardstock. I really love the look of Crumb Cake on the white!

The image panel is cut with the Stitched Shapes Framelit. No, the collection doesn't have a rectangle, but a quick search on YouTube brings up a lot of tutorials on how to use the square framelits to create a rectangle. I followed a tutorial by Bibi Cameron.

I have to confess, however, that it took me three tries to get it right. And she makes it look so easy!! Really - it's not that difficult. Guess I'm just a slow learner.

The leaf image is from Kinda Eclectic and the sentiment is from the Tin of Cards stamp set - both stamped with Cucumber Crush.

And that's it! Check out Watercooler Wednesday and take a look at what the other Watercooler Artists have done. Link yours up - we love to see your projects!