Failed Faux Mother of Pearl

Today's project ended up totally different from what I had originally planned. I was trying to do the Faux Mother of Pearl technique, following a tutorial posted by a very creative fellow demo, France Martin. Must have missed the part where she said to use glossy white paper. I used Whisper White. Had the image all stamped and coloured before I realized my mistake. 

So I decided to tear and smear and curl corners and rough up edges instead to make this.

Here's what I used:

Stamps: Bella Toile background stamp, Elements of Style, Four Frames

Paper: Whisper White, Marina Mist, Crumb Cake

Ink: Stazon Black (to stamp the Bella Toile); markers to colour image: Crumb Cake, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, Marina Mist, Pear Pizzaz; edges and image are sponged with Soft Suede.

Other: Crochet Trim, Decorative Label punch, Stamp-a-ma-Jig (to place sentiment).

Creativity is always a journey - at least for me it is! Sometimes a project takes a detour and I end up in a totally different place from where I thought I was going. But that's what makes it fun!

Tropical Invitation

What a long time has passed since my last post! In my defence, I have been a bit distracted by some events that happened very quickly. The most major event is that I sold my house, quit my job and I'm planning on moving to the west coast of British Columbia!! I'm very excited about it as I am moving to the Sunshine Coast where my Mom and my youngest sister have been living for almost 25 years.

So I have been busy packing, packing, packing!! My goodness I have a lot of stuff. And I haven't even started on my stamping stuff yet. It's getting down to crunch time, so I have to get going on that right away - like tomorrow!! I was debating whether or not I should pack it first - so I wouldn't be tempted - or leave it till last - for stress relief.

I also held off on placing my pre-order for the new catalogue that will be available on July 1. I finally got my order in yesterday and it's being shipped to my new address. Now I really can't wait to get there! There is some fabulous stuff in the new catty.

Once my friends and co-workers heard the news, I got a few "rushed" orders for cards before I leave town. Also was asked to make invitations for a 50th birthday party for the father of a co-worker who happens to be a Parrothead. I'm also a Parrothead and was excited to be able to use the Tropical Party stamp set from the Summer Mini. It was the first thing on my wish list, along with the Island Oasis Designer Series Paper. I CASED the design from Cherie Franklin. Take a look:

Stamp Sets: Tropical Party, Elements of Style
Paper: Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Glossy White, Whisper White, Island Oasis DSP
Ink: Sahara Sand, Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette and markers in Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Summer Sun
Accessories: markers, circle punches, sponges

This will  probably be my last post until I'm settled in my new home. I'm hoping to be on the road by the end of this week. Thanks for stopping by and have a Very Stamping Day!

Summer Mini Madness!

There are so many things I love about the Summer Mini Catalogue. To see what's in it, click on the link to the left to go to my Stampin' Up web site or click here .

The first thing I want to share with you today is another project using the Elements of Style stamp set. Can you tell I really, really like it? Here is what I used to make this:

Stamps: Elements of Style, Sincere Salutations

Paper: Sahara Sand, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Rich Razzleberry, So Saffron, Regal Rose, Old Olive, Mellow Moss, Sahara Sand

Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note Die, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, markers, Aqua Painter, sponge, Wide Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch

And here is how I did it:
First, I stamped the big flower image from Elements of Style using Close to Cocoa ink on Sahara Sand cardstock. I then coloured it using my favourite watercolour technique and Stampin' Up markers. Then I ran it through the Big Shot using the Top Note Die. I trimmed it following the line of perforations left by the die. I put it through the Big Shot again, this time using the Square Lattice Textured Impressions folder. Love the texture this creates! Using a sponge, I rubbed Sahara Sand ink all over it. This gives it even more texture and depth.


I mounted this image on Old Olive cardstock. Now, because I like to try to use every scrap, I took the cut-out left over from using the Top Note die, and placed it around the image. Because I had trimmed the image, this leaves a nice border of Old Olive showing through, and nothing gets wasted! This was then mounted on the card base of Rich Razzleberry.


The sentiment from Sincere Salutations was stamped on Sahara Sand using Rich Razzleberry ink and punched out with the Large Oval Punch. It was mounted on Rich Razzleberry punched out with the Wide Oval Punch. "Thinking of You" is a sentiment that could be used for many different occasions.


CASEing Shelli
I have been faithfully following the experiences of Shelli Gardner, co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up, as she criss-crosses the continent conducting a series of Workshops of a Lifetime. Several demonstrators in Canada and the US won the privilege of having Shelli visit their homes and actually conduct a workshop! I can just imagine what an awesome event it would be, to watch Shelli do a workshop.


On her blog, So Shelli, she writes about each workshop and posts the projects for each one. They are always inspiring and amazingly simple yet striking at the same time. Perfect to do for Make 'n Takes. I just had to CASE this next project.


Here are the supplies used:
Stamps: Favourite Thoughts, Tropical Party
Paper: Whisper White, Taken With Teal, Island Oasis DSP
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: 5-Petal Punch, Big Shot, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, mat pack, paper pierceing tool, brad (non-SU)

This card was very quick and easy to make. In fact, I did several of them and used all of the stamps in the Favourite Thoughts stamp set. I had to make a couple of substitutions. Shelli had used Tempting Turquoise for her flowers, a colour I don't have but will be ordering soon, as the Taken With Teal that I used will be discontinued soon. I also didn't have yellow SU brad to use for the centre of the flower.

For the flowers, I ran a piece of cardstock through the Big Shot, using the Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and then punched out the flowers with the 5-Petal Punch.

The pattern from Island Oasis Designer Series Paper really lends itself to this design, as it is perfect for cutting in a strip.

I'm going to send one of these cards to each of my 5 sisters. If any of them are reading this, watch your mail closely!

If you like what you've seen here, there are many more great products in the Summer Mini Catalogue. Products can be ordered from this mini until August 31.

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Very Stamping Day!

Summer Mini Catalogue now available!

Just had to do another post tonight to let you know the new Summer Mini Catalogue is now available. Just click on the picture to go to my Stampin' Up web site, then click on Shop Now and you can view this catalogue as well as all the other current catalogues.

If you would like to book a workshop and earn free product and cool hostess gifts, contact me to set one up for you.

You can also order on-line through my Stampin' Up web site.

The first thing that caught my eye and that I just knew I had to have was the Elements of Style stamp set. It is gorgeous and has so many possibilites! Here is the very first card I created with this set. I can't claim it as an original design. It is a total CASE (Copy And Share Everything) of a card done by Heather Mills in the Shabby Chic style.

Stamps: Elements of Style, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Sanded Background Stamp
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa, Sahara Sand
Ink: Sahara Sand, Close to Cocoa and markers in So Saffron, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Aqua Painter, Very Vintage Brads, Scallop Border Punch, Word Window Punch, Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon, Linen Thread, Bone Folder, sponges
Technique: watercolouring, distressing, sponging

I stamped the flower image using Close to Cocoa Classic Ink on Sahara Sand cardstock. With the markers, I scribbled them on top of a plastic stamp case and picked up the colour with the Aqua Painter. This makes the colours very subtle, like watercolour painting. It's also easy to build up shading with this technique.

To do the distressing, I used the Bone Folder to rough up the edges and create the folds and tears. Using a sponge dauber, I dragged the Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon across the Sahara Sand ink pad to dirty it up a bit.

I love this look and this stamp set. Check back to see what else I've done with it!