Wednesday, January 30, 2019

WWC206 - Anything Goes Challenge

https://watercoolerchallenges.blogspot.com/
This week's challenge is a fun one - anything goes! You can do any kind of project you want.

My project is a result of trying to clear off my work table. I found a piece of Whisper White cardstock I had used to play around with the wood slice stamp from Rooted in Nature. But, I was using non-wood colours and tried masking.
I'm not sure what I originally had in mind, but when I looked at the stamped images I immediately wanted to doodle on them.

On the Granny Apple Green image I used the fine tip journaling pen and for the Balmy Blue and Highland Heather images I used a white gel pen.

A thin border of Basic Black cardstock is perfect to set it off on the Granny Apple Green card base. And, just like that, I have a note card to send off to someone.

What will be your "anything goes" project? Link it up at Watercooler Wednesday.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

WWC205 - Donna's All About Holidays Challenge

https://watercoolerchallenges.blogspot.com/
Holidays throughout the year are great card-giving occasions and it's always nice to have them made and ready to go. Like, for Christmas cards, instead of scrambling at the last minute.

For my Christmas card this week, I used a set that I loved as soon as I saw it in the catalogue a couple of years ago. Once I got it however, I drew a blank when it came to using it.

This week, I came across it during one of my on-going, not-always-successful attempts to get organized and decided it was time!
 After all that, this is a pretty simple design: stamps, ink and cardstock. And a little bit of bling.

I stamped the palm tree and the seashells with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured with various Stampin' Blends. The "sand" was created with the mountain-shaped image from Waterfront with Crumb Cake ink.

For the strings on the shells, I used some Sharpie ultra-fine tip markers. Some of the shells got a Basic Rhinestone for some sparkle. And to continue with the tropical theme, I used Coastal Cabana cardstock for the card base.

I thought it was fitting to set it on one of my shell trivets that I brought back from a trip to Maui many years ago.

Wondering which holiday the rest of team picked? Check it out at Watercooler Wednesday.

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

WWC204 - Gail's Masculine Anything Goes Challenge

https://watercoolerchallenges.blogspot.com/
It's my turn to be host this week for the Masculine Anything Goes Challenge.

Looking for inspiration, my eye fell on a jar of silver embossing paste, and I realized I hadn't used it in quite a while. Then, I went through a stack of long-retired stamps and pulled out one I really like - but, again, hadn't used recently.

And, this is what happened:
On a piece of Whisper White cardstock, I first stamped the Off the Grid stamp randomly with Gray Granite. I used the brick stencil with the silver embossing paste.

Since I had no idea what theme this card would be, I started going through my stamp sets and when I came to the Animal Outing set, the light bulb went on!

The rhinoceros is second generation stamping to make a lighter image, and the sentiment is full  strength. To make the frame around the image, I embossed some Galvanized Foil with the Corrugated embossing folder and cut thin strips from it.

Mounting it all onto a Gray Granite card base finished off the monochromatic look.

Take a look at Watercooler Wednesday for more inspiration and then show us your masculine design.

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

WWC203 - Karen's All About Occasions Challenge

https://watercoolerchallenges.blogspot.com/
It's always great to have a supply of cards on hand, ready to grab when needed, for any of the occasions that come up throughout the year. This week, Karen hosts our All About Occasions Challenge to help you do just that.

Last week I showcased a multi-ccoloured background I did using Stampin' Up inks on my 3" x 5" gelli plate. Since I couldn't stop at just one, this week's card also features a background done on the gelli plate - and a brand new stamp set.
Using my brayer, I applied Merry Merlot and Mango Melody inks to the plate in stripes, then used Whisper White cardstock to pick up the ink.

That gorgeous horse is from a brand new stamp set, called Let it Ride, from the 2019 Occasions Catalogue. It is an outline stamp, but I made it into a silhouette by stamping with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and then colouring it all in with a black paint pen. The sentiment is also from that set.

To add interest, I stenciled a compass using Mango Melody ink and then stamped the sentiment over it. The trees are from the Let it Ride stamp set, and I used Shaded Spruce to stamp them, letting them spill over onto the Crumb Cake cardstock.

I made this into a birthday card, with this sentiment from Beautiful Day and Shaded Spruce:
Now, I just have to share something about this card. After I had it all put together, I happened to look at the back - and saw smudges of Shaded Spruce ink! How did that happen? No idea. Now what do I do?

Well, after a few minutes of thought, this is what I did:
I have to say, it's the first time I've decorated the back of a card. LOL

What occasion do you have coming up? Make a card and share it on Watercooler Wednesday.

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

WWC202 - Dawn's Feminine Anything Goes Challenge

https://watercoolerchallenges.blogspot.com/
Welcome to our first challenge of 2019! Dawn brings us a Feminine Anything Goes Challenge.

For a few months now I've been obsessed with a new crafting tool - the gelli plate. It is a soft, squishy surface that does the most amazing things and is used to make mono prints.

Typically, they are used with acrylic paints. I'd been thinking for a while about trying my Stampin' Up inks on it. So, when I got down to making my card for this challenge, I thought - why not give it a try? And I love the results!
 I used my 3" x 5" gelli plate and brayered Granny Apple Green, Mango Melody and Balmy Blue onto it.  Then I placed a piece of Whisper White cardstock on top of it to pick up the ink. Love the way the WW cardstock works for this technique!

I  used the circles from Playful Backgrounds to stamp some texture in each of the three colours. For the focal image, I thought black would look too harsh so I went with Blackberry Bliss - my most favourite of all the returning colours. The sentiment and dancing lady are both from Beautiful You.

Then, it was an easy choice to use Blackberry Bliss for the card base. And that was it! I had so much fun doing this background I did a few more and you may see them pop up on my blog in the weeks to come.

Now go  to Watercooler Wednesday and see how the rest of the team is starting the new year.

WWC211 - Kath's Feminine Anything Goes Challenge

https://watercoolerchallenges.blogspot.com/ It's a feminine theme this week from Kath. A perfect opportunity to play with my new butte...