Halloween Night--#tgifc283

This week TGIF Challenges has another Designer Take Over challenge. I am loving this new type challenge.  The design team at TGIF Challenges really knows how to change things up in a fun way!  This week designer Tami Hewlett is taking over the challenge with her signature Ink Blending technique. She really is a pro at this technique--her cards are beautiful.  Check this one out on Tami's blog,  Swimming in Stamps.

I decided to use the Ink Blending technique to create a spooky Halloween night:

I used Stampin' Sponges (#141337) to blend Night of Navy, Misty Moonlight and Smoky Slate inks to create the night sky on a piece of Shimmery White card stock.  To make it spookier, I added splatters of Frost White shimmer paint (#147046) with a wet Water Painter (#151298).  The trees were added using White Embossing Paste (#141979), tinted with drops of both Night of Navy and Misty Moonlight refill inks, and the trees mask from the Basic Patterns Decorative Masks (#150697).

The finished sky was layered on a piece of Black Glitter paper (#153518).  (TIP:  cut the center of the glitter paper layer out with a Rectangles Stitched die--so you can use it for other projects.)  This layer was then adhered to the Misty Moonlight card base.

The greeting is from the Hallows Night Magic stamp set (#153356).  It was stamped on a strip of Basic Black card stock with Versamark (#102283) and heat embossed with Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder (#109131). Each end of the 5/8" wide strip was punched using the Banners Pick a Punch (#153608).

The Black Glitter Paper bats were die cut using the Halloween Magic Dies  (#153565).  These dies coordinate with the Hallows Night Magic stamp set and they both may be purchased in a bundle at 10% off (#155188). 

Head over to the TGIF Challenges Blog to see more wonderful examples of the Ink Blending Technique.  

Hope you have a great October!

--Sara Nell 

 

My Mind Took A Wicked Turn--#tgifc282

This week's TGIF Challenge is an inspiration challenge:  a beautiful floral wreath.  I love making wreaths! As I thought about what kind of wreath I was going to make for this challenge, my mind took a wicked turn:

You might ask what does this card have to do with a beautiful floral wreath.  Well, this is an inspiration challenge, so I can be inspired by any part of the inspiration picture.  I was inspired by a wreath, I made a wreath--a wicked spider wreath!

I used the two leaf punches in the Autumn Punch Pack (#153609), to punch leaves out of Cajun Craze, Granny Apple Green and Basic Black card stock.  I crumpled them up a bit and adhered them around a simple wreath I created with two Layering Circle dies (#151770) and Blackberry Bliss card stock. Next I added three spiders stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink on Real Raspberry card stock.  I used an image from Hallows Night Magic (#153356) and the coordinating Halloween Magic dies (#153565/bundled with stamp set, #155188) to create the spiders. 

 

The greeting banner was created with another image from the Hallows Night Magic stamp set.  It was stamped in Blackberry Bliss onto Whisper White card stock.  The card stock was cut to 3/8" wide and the ends were punched out with the Banners Pick a Punch (#153608).  A bow created with a Basic Black Dark Stampin' Blends marker and a piece of 1/4" Whisper White crinkled seam binding completed the wreath.

The wreath was placed on a spidery background paper from the Magic in this Night designer series paper pack (#153517).  The paper was embossed with the Cobwebs 3D embossing folder (#153578) before adhering it to a Basic Black card stock layer.  A Whisper White Thick card stock base completes the card.  

For more wreath inspiration, head over to the TGIF Challenges Blog here.

Have a great week!

--Sara Nell

  

Happy Harvest Blessings--#tgifc218

It's the monthly sketch challenges over at TGIF Challenges. It's a block sketch that I flip-flopped left to right for my card:

The designer series paper I used for the blocks is from the Gilded Autumn Specialty pack (#153520).  The maple leaf from the Gather Together stamp set (#150589) was stamped in VersaMark onto Cajun Craze card stock, heat embossed with Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder (#109129), and die cut using the coordinating Gathered Leaves dies (#150662).

 

The greeting is from Country Home stamp set (#147678).  It was stamped in Early Espresso and heat embossed with Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder (#109130). The banner ends were punched with the new Banners Pick a Punch (#153610).

A layer of Cajun Craze card stock, a Mint Macaron card base and Mint Macaron 1/2" Basket Weave ribbon (#153553, ribbon combo pack) complete the card.

Head over to the TGIF Challenges Blog to see more great cards created with this sketch:

Have a great week!

--Sara Nell

Poinsettia Petals in Blushing Bride--#tgifc280

 When I saw this week's color challenge at TGIF Challenges, I immediately thought the combination would be a pretty alternate color combination for Christmas.  How about poinsettias in Blushing Bride? 

This card really sparkles in person!  I used the Poinsettia Petals stamp set (#153475) and the Poinsettia dies (#153522) to create the card.  These two products are also available as the Poinsettia Petals bundle (#155148) at 10% off. I am almost a Christmas baby, so I am partial to poinsettias and I absolutely love this beautiful bundle. 

   

The poinsettias were stamped in Soft Suede onto Shimmery White card stock (#101910), then heat embossed with Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder (#109130).  The petals were watercolored using Blushing Bride ink and the center in Pear Pizzazz.  I amped up the shimmer with a little Shimmery Crystal Effects (#150892) in the center of each poinsettia.   Once the shimmery Crystal Effects dried, I die cut the poinsettias.

The background was created by randomly stamping the pine bough image in Pear Pizzazz and the berry branch centers image in Blushing Bride, stamped off once.  The greeting was stamped in Soft Suede on to Shimmery White card stock and die cut with a Rectangle Stitched die (#148551).  A Soft Suede card base, Blushing Bride layer and a bow tied with the Old Olive ribbon in the Ornate Garden ribbon combo pack (#152479) complete the card.

There are some beautiful cards using the color combo over at the TGIF Challenges Blog here.

Have a terrific day!

--Sara Nell

 

Creation Station September Blog Hop--Tool Time

 

Welcome to the September Creation Station Blog Hop!  Whether you've hopped in from Sara Levin's blog or are starting here, I'm so glad you've stopped by.  Our theme this month is "Tool Time" and we are highlighting some of Stampin' Up!'s amazing tools.  Be sure to click on the "Next" button at the end of each post to hop around for new inspiration for using your tools.  

Today, I am highlighting the Simply Scored® scoring tool (#122334):

This is my Simply Scored®

I love my Stampin' Up! Simply Scored® for several reasons:  it is large enough to fit a full 12" X 12" piece of card stock on the scoring board, it has scoring lines every 1/8" up to 12-3/8", it comes with its own stylus, it comes with three score line markers which come in handy when you are doing multiples of one project, and it has its own storage compartment at the top of the tool.  The scoring tool is great for creating boxes, fancy fold cards, and rosettes.  I love to use it to create texture on projects like I've made for you today:

To create my scored background, I turned my Crumb Cake card stock upside down and scored the left side with 7 lines 1/2" apart starting 1" from the left-hand edge.  Then I scored the right-hand side the same way, just scoring half way up from the bottom of the page.  I ran the stylus up and down the score lines several times to make sure the score lines stood out on the front of the page.

The following products were used on this page with photos taken by my daughter Katharine:  two patterns from In Good Taste designer series paper (#152494), one for the background and one for the banner flags; Well Said stamp set (#148796), snipping the letters needed for the pieced "secret" from words stamped in Early Espresso on to the background paper; Tailored Tag Punch (#145667) and Early Espresso card stock for the left-hand edging and the "secret" background; the flag die from Tasteful Labels dies (#152886) for the banner; Playful Alphabet dies (#152706), Foam Adhesive Sheets (#152815) and Just Jade card stock for the letters; Linen Thread (#104199); Acorn Trinkets (#153552); Beautiful Autumn stamp set (#153450), the oak leaf from the Autumn Punch Pack (#153609), and Shaded Spruce, Granny Apple Green and Just Jade card stock and ink for the leaves.

Even though it may not always be straight or if I sometimes mess up, I always  write my journaling because my writing is also a part of family history.  I treasure letters from my father and recipes written out by hand by my mother on cookbook covers.  So I'll keep on hand writing my journaling.  Tip:  If you are going to write directly on a background paper like I did here, practice what you are going to say on a similarly sized sheet of paper.  It helps with spacing and you can edit when things don't fit.  And if you mess up on the final go, just cover it up with leaves!

Easton, like his mother before him, likes to put little "treasures" he finds in his pockets.  He needs a little treasure box, so I made one for him out of a Mini Pizza Box (#144645):

I used the scoring tool to score a "plaid" pattern in both the Crumb Cake background and the Just Jade layering piece.  I decorated the box with some of the same products used on the page.  

I'm pretty sure I'll be making a larger box when Easton is older but this mini one is perfect for the next time he and I head to our Secret Hideout.  It won't hold the bugs Easton is fond of, but he doesn't put those in his pockets--yet!

Next, hop on over to Vicki's blog for a look at one of her favorite tools.  I can't wait to see what she has to share with us!

To Vicki Boucher's Blog . . .

   

Poinsettia Gable Card--#tgifc279

TGIF Challenges has a brand new challenge category for us this week:  Designer Take Over.  Love it!  This week TGIF Challenges designer Elizabeth Price challenged us to make a 3D card. Several different 3D ideas went through my head before I thought about a gable card.  I haven't done one of those in a while and thought it would be fun to do (it was!).

My card features the Poinsettia Petals Bundle (#155148, with the Poinsettia Petals stamp set and Poinsettia dies), the Poinsettia Place designer series paper (#153487), the Plush Poinsettia specialty paper (#153486) and the gold trim from the Forever Greenery Trim combo pack (#152475).  In addition, I used Soft Suede card stock for the card base; Garden Green card stock for layering, the greetings and the leafs; and two shades of Brushed Metallic card stock (#153524) for the poinsettias and the berry branches.  The greetings were stamped in VersaMark (#102283) and heat embossed with Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder (#109129).  The leaves were sponged with a bit of Champagne Mist shimmer Paint (#147044).

Also used to create greeting pieces and the Plush Poinsettia paper layers were the

Banners Pick a Punch (#153608), the Stitched Shapes dies (#152323) and the Tasteful Labels dies (#152886). 

Here are the dimensions and scoring and cutting directions for a basic gable card like this one.  As you add your decorations to the card, be sure to fold the card to make sure the pieces will not interfere with the folds or extend over the edges.  You want to make sure it fits into a medium envelope for a 5-1/2"x 4-1/4" card.

Card base:  5-1/2” x 12”, scored at 2”, 4”, 8” and 10”

Use paper trimmer to cut from the first  score line to the last score line, 1-1/2” from  top and and bottom of card.  Fold as shown.

Card stock layers:  2 @1-7/8” X 5-3/8”; 2 @ 2-3/8” X 1-7/8”; 4 @ 1-7/8” x 1-3/8”; 2 @ 3-7/8” X 1-3/8”; 1 @ 3-7/8” X 2-3/8”

DSP layers: 2 @ 1-3/4” X 5-1/4”; 2 @ 2-1/4” X 1-3/4”; 4 @ 1-3/4” X 1-1/4”; 

2 @ 3-3/4” X 1-1/4”; 1 @ 3-3/4” x 2-1/4”

Check out all the great ideas for 3D cards over at the TGIF Challenges blog here.

Hope you have a nice three day weekend!  Maybe you can try your hand at a gable card.

--Sara Nell