Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #134 - Anything Goes

This week's challenge is a really fun one. It's Anything Goes! That means your project doesn't have to be a card. It can be a 3-D item, a home decor item or how about a fun gift bag. The choice is yours.

I can't seem to stop playing with the Painted Harvest set, soon to be available in the Holiday Catalogue. This also seemed like a good time to try a technique that has been around for awhile - but I had never actually tried it. And since I have been sorting through boxes of my crafting stuff that hasn't been unpacked since I moved - more than a year ago! - and I came across things purchased some time ago with the intentions of altering them, this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

The technique is stamping on a candle. Well, technically, I stamped onto tissue paper and then melted it onto the candle. And I had enough of the stamped tissue paper left over to do another technique - Faux Linen - which I used on a card. Like this:

To stamp the sunflowers, I used three different colour combos: Daffodil Delight & Crushed Curry, Crushed Curry and Pumpkin Pie, and Pumpkin Pie and Cajun Craze. The centers are Early Espresso and the leaves are Old Olive and Always Artichoke. Some Jute Twine is wrapped around the candle and another bit of it is on the card. This is another new product from the Holiday Catalogue.

The Faux Linen technique is simply done by scrunching up the tissue paper after it has been stamped, then adhering it to a piece of cardstock, being careful not to smooth out the lovely wrinkles. Here's a close-up:

I used Whisper White cardstock behind the tissue paper, then matted it with Cajun Craze. The card base is also Cajun Craze, and on top of that I used Very Vanilla. Then I finished it off by stamping the sentiment from Painted Harvest in Cajun Craze ink and scattered a trio of Black Rhinestones.

Want a closer look at the candle, too?

Wouldn't this make a great gift ensemble? Or a centerpiece for Thanksgiving dinner? Or just a fun, fall-themed decor piece for your home.

Now visit Watercooler Wednesday and check out what everybody else came up with for Anything Goes.

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #133 - Penny's All About Christmas Challenge

Time for another All About Christmas Challenge hosted by Penny.

It's always great to be able to use a stamp set in a way that  it was not intended to be used. That's what I did with an awesome new stamp set that will be available September 1 from the 2017 Holiday Catalogue.

The set is called Painted Harvest and is a wonderful two-step stamp set meant to be a sunflower. And it makes a beautiful sunflower!

I turned it into a Christmas wreath, after seeing a sample posted on our demonstrator Facebook page by someone who had CASEd someone else. Sorry, I don't remember your names - but thanks so much for the idea!

And here's what I did:

I stamped the sunflower image on Very Vanilla using Pear Pizzazz for the first layer and Old Olive for the second layer. The dots are also from the set, and I stamped those with Real Red. The bow is from the Jar of Love stamp set, Real Red ink stamped on Real Red cardstock and cut out with the Everyday Jars framelits.

To give it some sparkle, I used clear Wink of Stella on the bow and added some of the fun new Black Rhinestones. Those will also be available Sept. 1.

The sentiment is from Christmas Pines, and stamped in Always Artichoke. The black lace is also from the upcoming Holiday Catalogue.

To mat the image panel, I used a pattern from the Daisy Delight DSP. On the cardbase, which is Thick Very Vanilla, I used one of the leaf stamps from Painted Harvest, and stamped off once with Pear Pizzazz.

This stamp set is going to see a lot of ink! And just to show you what it looks like as a sunflower:

Off you go now to check out the offerings from the other Watercooler Artists at Watercooler Wednesday. Then show us your Christmas creation.

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #132 - Marsha's Masculine Anything Goes Challenge

It's time for another masculine challenge hosted by Marsha.

I still struggle with doing masculine themed cards. Mostly because a large number of my stamp sets are floral. This week, while tidying up my crafting space, I thought I should go through "the pile".

Most cardmakers, I think, have such a pile. Mine consits of projects not done, projects that weren't working out, projects I got bored with ... you get the idea.

While going through my pile, I came across a card that only needed a sentiment to call it finished. But - it ended up in my pile because I had not liked how bright the colours ended up being.

So I grabbed a sponge dauber and my Whisper White craft ink pad and toned everything down by giving it a soft, hazy look. I never thought about taking a before picture, but here is the after:

I used the Work of Art stamp set to create hints of hills, a grassy foreground, and a sunset sky. The lone pine tree is from Lovely as a Tree. Colours used are Always Artichoke, Lost Lagoon, Daffodil Delight and Tangerine Tango.

After sponging with the white craft ink, I stamped the birds from High Tide with Archival Black ink. To create some more interest in the foreground, I stamped a leafy stem from Jar of Love using Old Olive.

The sentiment is done in Cajun Craze, stamped onto a piece of the Colour Theory DSP, punched with the Decorative Label punch, and sponged around the edges with Old Olive.

The main panel is matted on Lost Lagoon and the card base is Smoky Slate.

When weather permits, I like to take my photos on my deck. When I went out to shoot this card, there were several leaves on the table. Since the colours in the card look somewhat autumnal, I posed a couple of the leaves as well.

Now go visit Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and check out the wonderful samples done by the other Watercooler Artists.

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #131 - Kath's All About Birthdays Challenge

This week's challenge, courtesy of Kath, is All About Birthdays. Birthday cards are something we all need and it's nice to have a stash on hand, ready to grab when you need one.

 However - I frequently find myself scrambling at the last minute to make a card. My design for this week couldn't be easier - or faster - a stamp, a piece of Designer Series Paper, some strips of Copper Ribbon.

I started with a Tranquil Tide card base and stamped around the edges with the lacey-looking image from Touches of Texture and Tranquil Tide ink for a tone-on-tone look.

The DSP is from Wood Textures DSP stack, with a strip of Copper Ribbon across the top and bottom.

For the image panel of Whisper White Cardstock, I chose this lovely, large leafy branch from Remarkable You and stamped it in Archival Black ink. It's coloured with a light wash of Lemon Lime Twist, applied with a Blender Pen.

I  stamped the greeting from Butterfly Basics in Tranquil Tide. And that's it! One birthday card ready to go.

Now go visit Watercooler Wednesday and check out what the other Watercooler Artists have created, then link up your project.

I'm also linking this project to the SUO Challenge #180 - Happy Birthday.

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #130 - Gail's Feminine Anything Goes Challenge

It's my turn to host this week's challenge and I picked a theme  I haven't picked very often.

Not sure why I haven't picked a  feminine challenge more often,  as most of my stamp sets fall into that  category. At least as far as flowers can be considered a feminine theme.

So, flowers is what I went with. And pink.

Pink is probably the colour I use the least. But this year, I'm really liking the way three of the new 2017-2019 In Colors work together: Powder Pink, Berry Burst and Fresh Fig.

My design is inspired by a video I watched, done by Kylie Bertucci, a Stampin' Up demonstrator from Australia. Her card had multiple layers, but I pared my version down to just one.

The images are from Touches of Texture and Jar of Love stamp sets. I just stamped randomly - one of my favourite things to do! on the Whisper White cardstock. The sentiment was stamp first in the middle and then all the other images around it.

Using a framelit from the Layering Ovals set, I cut out the sentiment and layered it onto a Berry Burst scalloped oval from the same set. That was then popped up with dimensionals over a strip of Copper Ribbon. For some reason, I love the look of the copper with the pink tones.

Want to see what the other Watercooler Artists have done? It's easy! Just visit Watercooler Wednesday, then show us your feminine side.  

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #129 - Libby's All About Christmas Challenge

It's time for another All About Christmas Challenge, presented this week by Libby.

I'm really liking having a Christmas Challenge as part of our regular rotation. How about you? By the time Christmas comes along, I should have a nice collection.

This week, I had the added incentive of receiving my order of a sneak peek bundle from the upcoming Holiday Catalogue! While it's only available to demonstrators until the end off July, the good news is that in August, it is available to everyone.

And believe me, you are going to want it! Here is my very first creation done with the Carols of Christmas stamp set and co-ordinating Card Front Builder Thinlits.

 
This is a CASE (Copy And Share Everything) of a design by Carol Payne that stopped me in my tracks when I saw it on Pinterest.

The main panel is a piece of Basic Black cardstock, embossed with the Woodlands Embossing Folder. After running it through the Big Shot, I took my Craft Whisper White ink pad and just dragged it from top to bottom on the de-bossed side. Then I used one of the Card Builder Thinlits at the top to cut out the moon and stars.

I cut the trees from the middle of the piece of silver glimmer paper that is under the embossed piece, and the deer are cut from Copper Foil.

The sentiment is embossed with Copper Embossing Powder on the Whisper White cardstock, then cut with a Stitched Shapes Framelit and popped up with Dimensionals.

For more Christmas inspiration, visit Watercooler Wednesday to see what the other artists have come up with.

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #128 - Heidi's Masculine Anything Goes Challenge

Welcome to this week's Watercooler Wednesday Challenge. Heidi is our host and has chosen a Masculine Theme for this challenge.

This theme was a real struggle for me this week, for some reason. I had one idea that just did not work for me, and instead of tossing it, decided to try to salvage it. Here is what I came up with - eventually! I'm calling it more "gender-neutral", rather than masculine.

I've used Embossing Paste. Again! Apparently I can't make a card these days without it. The clearly visible images are from Tuscan Vinyard; the sentiment is from Dragonfly Dreams; the less visible images are from Guy Greetings.

If you are thinking this is a strange combination of stamp sets - you would be right! This came about because my original plan  was to  try doing the Retiform Technique. And here is that attempt:

It just was not speaking to me. So, Embossing Paste to the rescue!

Have you ever had this experience?

Visit the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog to see how the other Watercooler Artists have been inspired.