DogGone Delightful Stampin'

Mix-It Up Mondays ~~ Lovely As a Tree Meets the Shimmer Paints

 

 

 

Good Morning Fellow Stampers ~~

Oh My!  There has been talk of an early and hard winter here in Colorado, and this morning I am wondering if the naysayers might be right.  We're down to 38 degrees this morning with a drizzly steady rain falling, and depending upon where you are, great big juicy snowflakes coming out of those gray clouds!!  Yikes~~  I got up early and moved my geranium and mum pots into the garage, and am hovering at the ready to cover my gorgeous coleus and other garden items if need be.  Although . . . if the hard 28 degree freeze they are predicting on Wednesday morning happens, nothing may save my coleus.  I've never had the incredible gorgeous coleus I have this year - ever!!  My garden has been gorgeous and I'm always sad to see it go when we reach October.  Usually, though, I can hold on for another week or so.  We'll see!! 

 

Winter is in the air . . . so how about a little fun today with a perennial favorite . . . Lovely As a Tree!  We're going to bring another shimmer paint technique today, by "flocking" our pretty pine tree with the first snowflakes of the season!

 

This fun card is created with a Gray Granite card base, 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", scored at 4-1/4".

An Old Olive background (matted with Soft Suede) embossed with the Pinewood Planks Dynamic TIEF, which I then sponged with both Soft Suede and Crushed Curry for a really fabulous distressed look.

A piece of paper from the Country Lane Designer Series Paper pack on the horizontal to break up our look a little!

And those layers wrapped and tied with Linen Thread - the linen thread pulled through a True Gentleman Button - and tied in a bow to finish off this lovely background.

Now it's time for our focal point - this lovely pine tree from the Lovely As a Tree stamp set!

I used my stampin' write markers to color this tree - Old Olive, Mossy Meadow and Soft Suede.

By using your stampin' write markers you are able to color your image and get this gorgeous coloring.

You'll see that my Old Olive is near the outer tips of the pine branches, and the Mossy Meadow towards the inside; with the trunk colored in Soft Suede.  Perfect!!

 

Finally we're going to add our "snow" with a fine paint brush and the Frost White Shimmer Paint!

This is so easy and a perfect way to add both shimmer and a "flocking" or snow effect to your tree branches.

You can see I dipped my brush and then "daubed" or dotted the paint on the various branches.  By laying the paint a little thicker than we normally would in other techniques, you can get a fabulous effect.

You'll see I also used it on the ground.

 

This vantage point really picks up the shimmer and "white" look of the paint.

Isn't that fabulous??

 

And don't forget the inside of your card -- cuteness abounds!!

LOL

 

What a fabulous way to start a Monday and the week, don't you think?  Okay, well, not if you have to go outside so much!!  LOL  We've covered a lot of shimmer paint techniques these past couple of weeks.  We'll review those soon!  But scroll back through the posts to remind yourself of all the fun we've been having!

Happy Monday everyone! 

Until Next Time . . . Puppy Hugs!

 

 

Case-Out Thurdays ~ Who Better Than My Own Upline!!

 

Hello Fellow Stampers ~

Well, how frustrating to find this morning that yesterday's blog post didn't post the pics!!  Yikes!!  Typepad can certainly cause me blog problems from time-to-time.  I've reset the pics into the post, so be sure to check out yesterday's post - it's so much fun and you don't want to miss it!!

 

And now we've arrived at a CASE-Out Thursday . . .  and we're going to CASE a little differently today.  Instead of a Stampin' Up! sample from the catalog, I'm going to CASE my favorite person!  My upline, Ann Schach!!  Yeah!!  I fell in love with Ann's work many years ago, and then, after chatting with Mary Fish about it, ended up signing my demonstratorship under her.  I love have Ann as my upline, and still admire her work a great deal.  So much so, that her card last week was one I KNEW I'd have to re-create ~~  Love, Love, Love!!  Especially as it is one of my favorite sets in the catalog.  So let's play a little today, with an Ann Schach design!!

 

Now, as is usually the "case" (LOL), when I CASE a design, we will not duplicate Ann's design today exactly; rather, we're going to change things up slightly across the design as a whole, for a slightly different look that I was envisioning.

 

 

 

 

Design Colorology . . . 

Gray Granite

Copper Foil

 There is one other "color" here that I could not locate to put into the "colorology" line-up.  We are using the new Galvanized Metallic Paper for all our focal accent points today - and we'll talk through that here in a minute!!

 

Stamps, and Ink, and Paper . . . Oh, My! 

Stamps: Still Night* [Item #147673 - wood mount; Item #147670 - clear mount]
Paper:  Gray Granite (8-1/2" x 5-1/2"); Copper Foil (4" x 5-1/4"; strip 3-1/2" x 12" for all other cutouts); Joyous Noel Spec. DSP (5" x 3-3/4"); Galvanized Metallic Paper (Strip 3-1/2" x 6" for all cutouts)
Inks:  Versamark [Item #102283]
Other: Night Owl Thinlits Dies* [Item #147920]; Layering Circles Framelits [Item #141705]; Copper Embossing Powder [Item #141636]; Faceted Dots [Item #146910]; Stampin' Trimmer [Item #126889]; Big Shot [Item #143263]; Magnetic Platform [Item #130658]

*Order this item in the bundle and save 10% [Item #149977 - wood mount; Item #149978 - clear mount]

 

 

"CASE-Out" Design Guide

1. Score the 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" Gray Granite cardstock base at 4-1/4" and gently burnish with your bone folder. [Reminder:  Fold "inward" on your bump - bump goes to the inside - to get that nice clean professional look].  Use your bone folder gently so as not to "crack" your cardstock.   Note:  This is a regular A4 side-fold card.

2.  Cut your Joyous Noel Specialty Designer Series Paper at an angle - set the right-hand top "point" corner at 7/8" inch, and align the lower left top "point" corner at approximately 2-5/8".  Align on your 5-1/4" x 4" Copper Foil, allowing approximately an 1/8" between the two pieces at the angle cut to allow the Copper Foil to show through.  Attach to the Gray Granite card base front.  Design Tip: Foil can be a little "slippery" and difficult; use your Fast Fuse to attach for an easier and stronger hold.

 

3.  Cut a 2-5/8" circle from the Galvanized Metallic Paper using the Layering Circles Framelits.  Design Tip:  If you use a small ruler, and measure across the "center" from side-to-side (be sure you're on the cutting edge) of a circle you can find the "diameter" very easily and locate the right-sized circle.  Then cut the slightly larger scalloped-edge circle from Copper Foil.  Attach the two together with SNAIL (or Fast Fuse).

 

4.  Cut the "branch" from the die set and the detailed owl piece from your Copper Foil.  Design Tip:  Attach your Copper Foil to a Multi-Purpose Adhesive Sheet before cutting out your Owl.  Then all you have to do is peel off the backing to attach the owl to the Galvanized Metallic paper - Easy Peasy!!  No Glue! No Mess! 

Attach the branch to the circle (I used 2-way glue for this; you could use multi-purpose glue or fine-tip glue as well).  Design Tip:  Note that the branch "hangs" off the circle at different points; only put glue on the areas that you will actually attach to the circle to hold it in place.  Attach the owl to a piece of Galvanized Metallic Paper [see Design Tip above], and using your Paper Snips, "fussy cut" around the edge (cuteness abounds!).  Attach the owl to the circle with dimensionals; aligned so it looks like he's sitting on the branch!  Add little black Faceted Dots for the eyes.  Spooky Spooky!!

 

5.  Attach your circle to the front of the card with dimensionals.

6.  Stamp the sentiment in Versamark ink on Galvanized Metallic Paper, and heat dry with Copper Embossing Powder and your Heat Tool.  Cut out with the sweet little Oval from the Night Owl Thinlits; cut a second Oval from Copper Foil.  Offset and attach together with SNAIL (or Fast Fuse), and adhere to the card front using dimensionals.

  

 So what did we "change up" today on our CASE-Out?  First, Ann's card is a top fold, vertical 4-1/4" x 11", scored at 5-1/2" card base.  She covered the entire front of her card in Copper, whereas I cut my foil smaller and allowed a matted edge to show. This in turn means the DSP has to be cut smaller as well to allow a copper edge all the way around.  I also used the new Galvanized Metallic Paper for all my pieces today; whereas Ann used Whisper White cardstock.  Finally, I copper embossed my sentiment on the Galvanized Metallic paper, and used two oval cutouts from the die set to create this look.  Ann used regular Rhinestones for her owl eyes; I used the little mini black "dots" in the Faceted Dots collection.

 

Whether you create this design with Ann's original design, or mix it up a little with mine, either one is FABULOUS!!   I just love this paper, our new Galvanized Metallic paper, and this stamp and die set!!  Ooooo laaa laaa!!  So beautiful!  Be sure you get your supplies today!!  Don't miss out!!  Shop in my Online Store 24/7, at your leisure!  You can also click on any of the product pictures below to be taken directly to that item in my store.

 

Thanks Ann!!  We LOVE your inspiration!

 

Until Next Time . . . Puppy Hugs,

Wednesday Highlight ~ Inspired By Quilts ~ Rooted In Nature

Hello Fellow Stampers ~

I'm getting back on track I think.  The dentist is still exploring what might be causing me so much discomfort as we aren't finding anything obvious; and has now started me on a course of steroid to get the inflammation down and see if we can pinpoint a root cause (haha - did you see what I did there?).  So I'm feeling a little better, which is good . . . because I have lots of new product that just arrived from Stampin' Up!, and lots I want to be doing in the Studio.

 

So let's start today with something fun, and perhaps quite unexpected.  How about a card design inspired by a quilt design? 

 

My latest issue of American Patchwork & Quilting just arrived, and the minute I saw this sample, I immediately thought of our Rooted In Nature stamp set, and knew I saw card design in a quilt!  What do you think?

 

And there you go!  A stunning card inspired by a quilt design.

Now you know why I love to quilt and to create cards!!  😉

 

The card base for this card was cut from Early Espresso cardstock, 8-1/2" x 5-1/2", scored at 4-1/4"

The background is cut from a piece of Wood Textures DSP.

Then I cut a piece of Basic Black cardstock, 2-1/2" x 5-1/8", and embossed it with the Seaside TIEF, and flipped it to show the de-bossed side so I could have a "quilted background" effect (similar to the background in the pictured quilt itself).   Kind of fun!

 

Now for some fun details ~~

The "tree" is stamped and cut using the Rooted In Nature stamp set and the Nature's Roots Framelits. I used a sponge dauber to color the tree with Soft Suede, Mossy Meadow and Old Olive inks.

Then I snipped the top tip off on tree, and the bottom tip of the trunk on the other and layered them together to get one big tall tree!!

 

Next, it's all about the shimmer paint ~ Champagne Mist Shimmer paint to be exact ~ some ink refills, glossy white cardstock, and a scrunched up piece of plastic wrap, to create a wonderful variegated marbled background that looks just like the fabric in our quilt design.

 

This technique is easy and tons of fun ~ don't worry about a little bit of inky fingers, just go for it.

By variegating from Sahara Sand, to Crumb Cake, through to Early Espresso, I was able to get the light to dark effect I wanted to achieve.

I then used this piece I created to cut my squares (use the smallest scalloped edge Layering Squares Framelits), and the 1" x 3-3/4" strip for the background behind the tree.

 

 

I even used a piece of my created background for the sentiment - stamping it in Early Espresso, and then fussy cutting it just the way I wanted.

 

 

There is inspiration everywhere; you just have to look 😉  And did you think our new "lovely as a tree part 2" could look so cool?!  Give it a try!!! 

 

Until Next Time . . .  Puppy Hugs!

 

 

Case-Out Thursdays ~ It's a Tea Party

 

Good Morning Fellow Stampers ~

 

I've been wanting to share the projects from our "Tea for Three" class in June for such a long time; and just, with everything going on in my life, hadn't gotten around to it.  So I feel really bad, and very behind; but I'm playing a little catch up this week, and do want to share these fun projects with you.

 

The Tea Room Suite on pages 14 & 15 of the new 2018-2019 Annual Catalog caught my eye immediately when I first saw the catalog.  I adore this suite of products; it's right up my alley, with a total vintage Victorian feel, sweet and soft, and reminds me of my grandmother, great-grandmother, and my teacup collection.  I LOVE collecting beautiful, vintage teacups and saucers; and have several of my great-grandmother's in my home now since she and my grandmother passed away.  They are very special to me.  But I also love searching for those special, old, and unusual teacups and saucers, like special ones that have unusual "legs" on the cup!  So cool! 

 

 

  

 

 

When I saw this suite in the catalog, I knew I had to have "everything!"  And that I'd be CASEing all the samples on the pages, because I just love them.  Here's how it all came together for our class.

 

Design Colorology

Calypso Coral

Coastal Cabana

Crushed Curry

Copper Foil

Petal Pink

Old Olive

Rich Razzleberry

Very Vanilla

Whisper White

 

 

 

 I did a fair amount of tweaking of the samples when I started prepping for class.  Unless you are paying close attention, you may not realize that the adorable copper tins are actually quite small - only 3-3/4" high, by 3-5/8" wide, by 2-1/4" deep and come 4 to a box when you order them.  They fit perfectly a 3" x 3" card collection using  our 3" x 3" envelopes.  They're also perfect to give a gift of tea / teabags, and so many other uses too.  Be sure you have checked those out more closely!!

The tins are covered with the pretty Tea Room Specialty Designer Series paper; and then decorated with "fussy cutouts" from the paper, or dies cut outs using the Memories & More card pack.  The Tea Room Ribbon Combo Pack is also incorporated here and this copper-edged ribbon is absolutely GORGEOUS!!  The designer series paper is a "specialty" paper.  It is thinner than most of our other designer papers, and so lends itself naturally to a delicate Victorian feel, complimenting this suite of products perfectly!

 

The notecard set we made for class were created in the 3" x 3" size to fit as a collection in the tin everyone took home that day.  I only did one "off size" card that I created with our "narrow" whisper white card and envelope collection (2-1/2" x 4-1/4"), and which, obviously would not fit in the tin.

 

 

Not only is the designer series paper gorgeous for this collection, so are the beautiful Copper Vinyl Stickers, and so versatile and useful.  We used the stickers on both the lids of the tins, as well as on several of the notecard designs.

 

The other product in this suite that can easily get overlooked is the Tea Room Memories & More Card Pack.  Don't miss this product!!  It is absolutely wonderful; with duplicate cards of each of the designs, and some fantabulous stickers that were used in the notecards as well (see the gorgeous "fluttering" butterfly on the narrow notecard).

 

Did you know that the Spot of Tea Framelits has a die in it that cuts envelope liners for our little 3"x3" envelopes?  Check out the cute envelope on the left in the picture!  Super cute!

 

All of these creations combine use of the Time for Tea stamp set, the Spot of Tea Framelits, the Tea Room Memories & More Card Pack, Tea Room Copper Vinyl Stickers, and the Tea Room Ribbon Combo Pack.  I also incorporated some of our new Rose Metallic Thread, Artisan Pearls and Copper Foil paper.  You definitely "need it all" - LOL.  This is a good example of what Stampin' Up! does so well - all of our products are so interchangeable and coordinated to work with each other perfectly.

 

I hope you've had fun today reviewing the gorgeous Tea Room Suite with me.  You can buy all your Tea Room Products in my Online Store, from the comfort of your couch!!  :) 

 

Until Next Time . . . Puppy Hugs

 

 

 

 

 

It's a Dog's Life . . . And a Falling Flower Revamp!

 

Hello Fellow Stampers :-)

 

The Annual Studio Clean Out sale has begun after several days of sorting, pricing and organizing.  The remaining items will go online about the June 17th timeframe, so keep your eyes open.

 

So I just had to share with everyone the absolute epitomy of laziness!  So recently I've noticed that some mornings, when I get up a certain dawg doesn't join me.  In fact, sometimes quite a bit of time passes, and I have to go check and see if she's even really still alive - I mean really!!  Sheesh!!

 

This morning was one of those . . . I got up, made the coffee, checked some emails, finalized a Stampin' Up! order, listened to the news, checked on watering the plants . . . you name it!  Not a peep from the bedroom.  Finally, I'm like, I've got to get the bed made and start getting ready for work . . . I think you all should see what a "Dog's Life" really is like!!!  I'm just sayin'!  The look I got was like, where's my breakfast in bed mom?  LOL  Apparently I should take up extended lounging in bed, in the quiet bedroom, listening to the TV in the background!!  Maybe I'd be a happier human-being, I don't know!!

 

 

 

As I've been cleaning up the Studio for the new year, I've been also finishing up and cleaning up old projects, and leftovers from classes, etc.  One of those was a card we did in a class earlier last year, and as I was sorting leftovers from this card, I was inspired to "re-make" it and incorporate new products.  It really was fun to create a fresh look to this design without actually changing it around that much!!

 

 

The original card incorporated the lovely Falling Flowers stamp set and the coordinated May Flowers Framelits.  I used a Marina Mist, Sweet Sugarplum, and Basic Black color combination, and we colored the flowers with Blender Pens.  It really was a sweet card.

 

 

The refresh, incorporates the same stamp set and framelits, but in a new way . . . and I've added a brand new stamp set and die set from the new catalog to create a whole new look.  A refresh means a new color combination, and I took my inspiration from the brand new Faceted Dots embellishments - using Mint Macaron and Grapefruit Grove with the Basic Black as a pop element.

 

This time I stamped the scrollwork image from the Falling Flowers stamp set in the background with Grapefruit Grove Ink, and then just whimsically colored in the leaves and buds with Mint Macaron ink.  The Basic Black strip was popped this time with dimensionals (it was not on the first card), to allow space for the new Mint Macaron Nature's Twine which is fairly thick and sturdy.

 

Next, I used the brand new Detailed With Love stamp set for my sentiment - such a beautiful stamp set with beautiful fonts and sentiments.  I had originally played with creating my center banner using the new Detailed Trio Punch that bundles with this stamp set; and then tried it with the new Stitched Labels Framelits.  The effect I wanted works with either method; but I stuck with the latter because I love the "stitching" created around the outside and cutouts of the label.  I used the openings on either end to weave in my twine and tie the bow at the end, thus this piece is also popped with dimensionals.

 

Finally, I chose the detailed thinlit dies in the May Flowers Framelits to create the layered floral spray, and finished off the card with the wonderful Faceted Dots that inspired it to begin with!!  It was fun to "remake" this design and see how different and yet how alike the two cards can look.  I'm loving the new products - if you haven't taken a look at your new catalog yet, don't wait!!  There are some wonderful new things to play with!

 

 

Until Next Time . . .  Puppy Hugs!