Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #17 – Paisleys & Posies

Image ~ 18 February 201722 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 16 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #17 – Paisleys & Posies

Thank you for joining us for another Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge! We are so excited to be sharing this hop with you. The products used are all available in the current Annual, or seasonal, Stampin’ Up!® Catalogues*. Simply use the buttons at the bottom of the post to keep hopping!

Hello and welcome after a long break. Today’s brilliant sketch has been designed by lovely Sam from Sam’s Sentiments blog. Just check how beautiful this sketch is?! Sadly Sam wasn’t able to take a part in the hop. Such a shame.

I’ve been so busy lately with home renovating and night shifts, that only a couple of days ago I realised our monthly blog hop is today. I panic slightly first but the moment I sit down to the sketch, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I decided to ‘dig out’ my favourite stamp set from Autumn-Winter catalogue: Paisleys & Posies, as it seemed perfect for the technique I wanted to try: watercolour with markers. Well, it’s kinda watercolour. Anyhow. I had so much fun that I created not one but three cards.

Aren’t these gorgeous?! Such bold designs! And they really super easy to make.

Paisleys & Posies cards dimensions:

3x Basic Black cardstock: 11-6/8″ x 4-1/8″ scored in half at 5-7/8″ (29.7 x 10.5 cm scored in half at 14.8 cm) + 2 x strips 1″x 4-1/8″ + 1 stripe 3/8″x 5-2/8″
3x White Vellum cardstock: 3-5/8″ x 5-3/8″(9,2 x 13,6 cm)
3x Water Colour Paper: 3-1/2″ x 5-2/8″ (8,9 x 13,3 cm)
3x Very Vanilla cardstock: 3-1/2″ x 5″ for the inside panels + scraps for sentiments
scraps of the following cardstocks for die-cutting: Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Pool Party & Pear Pizzazz

To start off, I stamped various images from Paisleys & Posies Stamp Set onto the watercolour panel in Basic Black Archival Ink.

Tip of the day: Because I did my cards late at night, I had no time for the ink to dry completely but I didn’t want to smear black all over my watercolour panels. So I sprinkled clear embossing powder over the whole piece once I was done with stamping. But I didn’t heat set it, I just let embossing powder to ‘soak in’ all the ‘moisture’. I let it sit for couple of minutes and then brush off the powder.

When my panels were ready I started to colour them in with Stampin’ Markers. Nothing fancy really, and no need to stay in lines either.

For the first card, I’ve used Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive and Tempting Turquoise. When all the images were coloured in, I spritzed the whole panel with water. And that’s when all the ‘magic’ happen, as all the colours blend together nicely creating a beautiful watercolour piece. It’s like making your own watercolour DSP. And each piece is different.

To add more colour I dried my panel with a heat tool. Next, I colour it in again with markers and spritz it with water. You can build up the colour as much as you wish, just remember to dry your panel in-between.

For my next card, I decided to use all markers from Brights family. But this time I only spritz it once, hence much more subtle look.

For the last cardI’ve used Subtles Stampin’ Markers and I have to say they needed the most work. I had to dry my piece and keep adding more colour several times until I was happy with the outcome. Once all my panels were created I decided to add some shimmer to them. I added few drops of Clear Wink of Stella to the water in my spritzer, and I spritzed all the panels.

Once the panels were dry I die-cut three circles from each panel: full circle using 1-7/8” circle from Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies and two ‘partial’ circles using Layered Circle Framelits Dies. I also die-cut slightly bigger scalloped circles from Basic Black cardstock to go underneath.

To assemble my cards I adhered vellum to card bases and watercolour panels on top. Next, I glued black scalloped circles underneath the watercolour ones and in-laid them back into the panels. I also adhered Basic Black strips, sliding them slightly underneath the die-cut circles.

I stamped my sentiments (masking a part of it) on a 3/8″ strip of Very Vanilla cardstock, and adhered it to the card with liquid glue. The full sentiment is stamped inside of the card.

For the final touch, I die-cut some leaves and flowers using a couple of intricate dies from Paisleys Framelits Dies and adhered them to the black stripes.

And these are my cards for today. I hope you like my take on the sketch. Now be sure to hop along to see more inspiring projects. Your next stop is very talented Hannah.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

The Creative Flow Blog Hop – No Red Romance With Large Letters Framelits Dies

Image ~ 11 February 201721 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 8 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – The Creative Flow Blog Hop – No Red Romance With Large Letters Framelits Dies

Thank you for joining us on our Creative Flow Blog Hop. Each month we are set a challenge to creatively stretch our imaginations. The products we have used are all available in the current Annual and/or seasonal Stampin’ Up!® catalogues. To hop along, please use the buttons at the bottom of the post to keep hopping.

Today’s challenge was to create no-red Valentines Day card, and for some time I wasn’t sure what colour scheme to use. But Global Design Project came to the rescue with their #073 Colour Challenge. I really love this unusual, bright and oh-so-not-valentine’s colour mash-up, so I decided to combine these two together 🙂

I know it supposed to be no-red, but Watermelon Wonder is rather orangy red right lol And here’s what I came up with: a perfect card to give to my hubby on that special day.

No-Red Romance card dimensions:

Whisper White cardstock: 11-6/8″ x 4-1/8″ scored in half at 5-7/8″ (29.7 x 10.5 cm scored in half at 14.8 cm)
Whisper White panel: 5-7/8″x 3″
Emerald Envy cardstock: 2 strips 5-7/8 long and briefly 2/8″wide
a piece of Whisper White for die-cutting

The first step was to die-cut word ‘LOVE’ using Large Letters Framelits Dies. I’ve used regular Whisper White cardstock for this. I’ve sponged the letters with my inks as follows: Watermelon Wonder first, Daffodil Delight next, and Emerald Envy as the last one creating ‘rainbow’ effect. I’ve paid special attention there’s smooth transition from one colour to another.

When I was done and happy with blending, I took a small paintbrush and flicked some water droplets all over the letters. I love how the water reactivates the ink. Such a simple step but add so much interest and texture to the (otherwise) flat surface.

Next, I took Whisper White panel and using the same small brush and my ink pads as a palette, I speckled some inks over the whole panel. I tried to keep my speckles somehow under control colour-wise, so the speckles match the letters that go over them.

Remember: The smaller is the brush, the smaller are the speckles.

When speckles dried, I adhered two strips of Emerald Envy cardstock underneath, one on top and one on the bottom of the panel.

Now to assemble the card. I adhered the panel to the card base using Fast Fuse adhesive. And I have to say I’m happy to say it seems I finally made friends with this adhesive haha.

I wanted to pop-out my letters so I’ve used Foam Adhesive Strips to adhere them to the panel. You could use any regular foam adhesive, but these strips are perfect for adhering die-cuts that are quite narrow in shape. They are long but you can easily cut them to the length you want/need.

I was really happy how nicely this card was coming together, but I was desperate to add some embellishments to it. Yes I know, a card for a hubby and embellishments?! I must have lost my mind, haha. But why not?

So I scattered black sequins from Metallics Sequin Assortment pack all over my card and tried to figure out the placing and how many I will use. Once I was happy I adhered them with Fine-Tip Glue Pen. For the final touch, I coloured some rhinestones with black Sharpie and added them to the card too.

That’s it from me for today. I really hope you enjoyed my step by step directions.

For those of you who asked about stretching your stitched dies using partial die-cutting – I will have a short how-to post for you soon. So watch this space.

Now be sure to hop along our tiny blog hop to see more inspiring projects. Your next stop is lovely and talented Helen.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

Large Letters Framelits Dies

[141712]

£89.00

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

[106549]

£8.25

Emerald Envy A4 Cardstock

[141420]

£7.25

Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin’ Pad

[138323]

£6.00

Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin’ Pad

[126944]

£6.00

Emerald Envy Classic Stampin’ Pad

[141396]

£6.00

Stamping Sponges

[141337]

£3.25

Metallics Sequin Assortment

[138390]

£4.50

Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments

[119246]

£4.50

Fast Fuse Adhesive

[129026]

£9.00

Foam Adhesive Strips

[141825]

£7.25

Fine-Tip Glue Pen

[138309]

£6.25

Stampin’ Trimmer

[129722]

£27.00

Big Shot

[143263]

£99.00

The Creative Flow Blog Hop – Cookie Cutter Peek-A-Boo Baby Cards

Image ~ 31 December 201621 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 8 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – The Creative Flow Blog Hop – Cookie Cutter Peek-A-Boo Baby Cards

Thank you for joining us on our Creative Flow Blog Hop. Each month we are set a challenge to creatively stretch our imaginations. To hop along, please use the buttons at the bottom of the post to keep hopping.

For this month we’ve been set a challenge to use any carry-over holiday-themed stamps to create a non-Christmassy project.

I knew straight away I wanted to use Cookie Cutter Christmas Stamp Set to create some super cute baby cards.

I chose rather traditional baby colours: pink and blue. For the pink, I’ve used beautiful dusty Blushing Bride, and Pool Party seemed just perfect for a baby boy card.

Peek-A-Boo Baby Girl card dimensions:

Blushing Bride cardstock: 8-1/4″ x 5-7/8″ scored in half at 4-1/8″ (21 x 14.8 cm scored in half at 10.5 cm)
Whisper White cardstock: 4-3/8″ x 3-5/8″ (11.1 x 9.2 cm)
Blushing Bride Designer Series Paper from Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack: 4-2/8″ x 3-1/2″ (10.7 x 8.8 cm)
Scraps of Whisper White and White Vellum cardstock for die-cutting and sentiment
Whisper White Organza Ribbon: approx 6″

First, I stamped the little bear from Cookie Cutter Christmas Stamp Set, in Blushing Bride, onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock. For the little face, I’ve used Basic Black Archival Ink Pad. I die-cut the bear image using the second largest oval from Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies. I also die-cut the same size stitched oval shape from White Vellum. Next, I stamped ‘peek-a-boo’ sentiment from Suite Sayings Stamp Set, also in Blushing Bride, on a strip of Whisper White, and cut it into a banner. A baby card can’t go without a little bling so I added a tiny rhinestone to the sentiment banner.

To add some interest (and cuteness) to the card base, I pull out long forgotten Hearts & Stars Decorative Masks. For the girly card, I’ve used hearts stencil. First, I thought to add some sparkle through the stencil, but at the end, I decided for tone on tone effect and sponged hearts with Blushing Bride Ink.

Peek-A-Boo Baby Boy card dimensions:

Whisper White cardstock: 8-1/4″ x 5-7/8″ scored in half at 4-1/8″ (21 x 14.8 cm scored in half at 10.5 cm)
Pool Party cardstock: 4-3/8″ x 3-5/8″ (11.1 x 9.2 cm)
Pool Party Designer Series Paper from Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack: 4-2/8″ x 3-1/2″ (10.7 x 8.8 cm)
Scraps of Whisper White and White Vellum cardstock for die-cutting and sentiment
Whisper White Organza Ribbon: approx 6″

This card was made similarly to the baby girl one. The only significant change, except colour combo obviously, was that I stamped the bear and his ears separately as I planned to punch the bear using Cookie Cutter Bilder Punch.

It turned out that the bear has a slightly wider ‘body’ than the other images from this stamp set and you can’t punch it without losing a little bit of his chubby shape.

At the end, I had to fussy-cut the bear but it’s quite a straightforward process. I punched out his ears and using snail adhesive I glued his ears behind his head and next I glued the bear flat onto the stitched oval shape.

Assembling these cards was pretty easy. First I adhered DSP panels to the cardstock. I added the ribbon at the bottom of my panels. I secured it at the back of the panels using snail adhesive and glued it to the card base.

Next step was to assemble my little bears. I glued the ovals with bears to the vellum ovals, offsetting them slightly. I adhered them to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals for some extra dimension. Sentiments are adhered using Stampin’ Dimensionals too.

I truly hope you like my cute ‘peek-a-boo’ baby cards. They are not only adorable but also very easy to recreate.

Now, be sure to hop along and see more inspiring projects. Your next stop is lovely and talented Heidi.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day

Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #16 – I’m Here For You

Image ~ 17 December 201621 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 10 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #16 – I’m Here For You

Welcome to our 16th sketch challenge blog hop! Today’s sketch has been designed by Amanda Charlesworth.

For a long time, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to create a 3D project or a card for this sketch. But because I definitely feel more confident as a card maker, I saved myself some stress and decided to make a card.

I altered the sketch a little bit and added my own twist to it. The base of my card is Whisper White Thick A4 cardstock that measures 8-1/4″x 5-7/8″, and folded in half at 4-1/8″. Next, I cut two panels: one from regular Whisper White and one Smoky Slate. Both measured 4″x 5-6/8″. I took the Smoky Slate panel and using a multi-wave die from Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies, I die cut one piece of ‘waves’.

Savvy Tip: Save the bottom scrap piece for some masking later on.

I took scribble circle stamp from Swirly Bird Stamp Set and stamp it repeatedly in Smoky Slate over the Smoky Slate panel, overlapping and stamping off until the whole piece was covered.

Now I took Whisper White panel and that Smoky Slate scrap piece I saved earlier to create glimmer bottom layer for my wavy die-cut. I lined up the straight edge of my scrap with a bottom edge of Whisper White and squished Versamark pad over the bottom piece of that Whisper White panel. I didn’t want to cover entire panel, only the part that will be peaking through the ‘wavy’ piece. I sprinkled Heat & Stick Powder over it and heat embossed until melted. Next, I added Dazzling Diamond Glitter over it and heat embossed again to secure glitter in place. But why I used that leftover scrap of Smoky Slate, you may wonder? I’ve used it to make sure the very bottom of my WW panel won’t be covered in glitter, so I had a nice spot for my sentiment.

I adhered Smoky Slate panel and ‘waves’ to the Whisper White panel. To finish off my card, I took a beautiful ‘I’m here for you’ sentiment from Weather Together Stamp Set and stamped it in Basic Black at the bottom left corner of my panel. I also added a couple of rhinestones at bottom right corner for a good measure. I’ve mounted the whole piece to the card base using dimensionals.

I really like how this card turned out. Clean and simple. I hope you like my take on the sketch too.

As always, if you wish to purchase any of the products I have used, simply click the images below to go directly to my online shop.

Now, be sure to hop along and see more inspiring projects. Your next stop is lovely Jillian.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

Swirly Bird Photopolymer Bundle

[142353]

£42.25

Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies

[141497]

£24.00

Swirly Bird Photopolymer Stamp Set

[141749]

£23.00

Weather Together Photopolymer Stamp Set

[141543]

£19.00

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock

[140490]

£6.50

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

[106549]

£8.25

Card Stock A4 Smoky Slate

[131291]

£7.25

Smoky Slate Classic Stampin’ Pad

[131179]

£6.00

Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad

[140931]

£6.50

Versamark Pad

[102283]

£7.75

Heat & Stick Powder

[100625]

£4.00

Dazzling Diamonds Stampin’ Glitter

[133751]

£4.50

Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments

[119246]

£4.50

Liquid Multipurpose Glue

[110755]

£3.75

Stampin’ Dimensionals

[104430]

£3.75

Heat Tool – Uk Plug

[129054]

£27.00

Big Shot

[143263]

£99.00

Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #15 – Follow Your Dreams

Image ~ 19 November 201621 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 14 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #15 – Follow Your Dreams

Welcome to our 15th sketch challenge blog hop! This month it was me who had a pleasure to create a sketch we are gonna work with. Here it is:

When creating this sketch, I won’t be lying, I had our new Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies in mind. And however I don’t have these dies yet myself, I hope to see them used a lot through this blog hop.

I know that in the ‘age’ of everything ‘clean and simple‘ and ‘less is more‘ in crafting world, layered, ‘busy’ and distressed cards are kinda faux pas. But I can’t help I love them the most! I love all the organic, (sometimes messy) creative process of designing a card.

For my card base, I’ve used Island Indigo cardstock (standard top folding A6 size). The first layer is Vellum that measures 4”x 5-5/8” and next one is Whisper White 3-7/8”x 5-1/2” panel which I stamped using Hardwood background stamp in Sahara Sand. But because it felt rather ‘boring’ I also added few ‘splotches’ from Gorgeous Grunge stamp set in Mint Macaron, stamping them off a couple of times. I distressed the edges of my panel using regular scissors.

I also created a similar panel for the inside of the card, but this time I also stamped off the Hardwood image few times, so it wasn’t as crisp as the one on the card front.

I took two pieces of Blooms & Bliss DSP, which measure 4”x 1” each, and cut them into banners. One of the banners I adhered flat down using a fast fuse and a second one I pop with dimensionals with few lengths of Linen Thread underneath.

To create large roses I punched six flowers using Pansy punch from Mint Macaron cardstock (three flowers create one rose). For white tiny roses, I punched nine flowers using Petite Petals punch (again three flowers create one rose). I also punched one petite petals flower from Mint Macaron cardstock to create tiny leaves: I cut the shape apart so I end up with two double ‘leaves’ and one single ‘leaf’. White roses appeared bit ‘blunt’ so I decided to add some interest to them: using Island Indigo ink and a small paint brush I added some ‘speckles’ to them.

I also decided to add some sparkle to my flowers. I dipped the edges of petals first in watered-down Multipurpose Liquid Glue and next in Dazzling Diamonds glitter, and let it dry. Once they were ready I adhered them to the card with glue dots.

For the sentiment, I decided to use this awesome quote you probably have seen many times on the net: “Follow your dreams”. We might don’t have a stamp set with this sentiment, but this is where our amazing various alphabet sets come in handy.

Using Labeler Alphabet stamp set and Basic Black Archival ink pad, I stamped “follow your” on a 2/8” wide strip of Whisper White cardstock and cut it apart. Next, using Brushwork Alphabet stamp set and Basic Black Archival ink pad again, I stamped “Dreams” on a Whisper White panel that measures 7/8”x 3-1/2”, and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder for extra oomph. I pop ‘narrow’ part of the sentiment with dimensionals. For a wider piece, I created a vellum mat that measures 3-5/8”x 1”, and adhered them to the card front with a fast fuse.

Do you like my project?! If so, please leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you!

Now, be sure to hop along and see more inspiring projects. Your next stop is Jillian’s blog – go and see what she has made for you.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

Anna' Stampin' Cave

creative life by anna krol – stampin' up! uk independent demonstrator

Autumn Winter 2016 Catalogue

Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #17 – Paisleys & Posies

The Creative Flow Blog Hop – No Red Romance With Large Letters Framelits Dies

Remember: The smaller is the brush, the smaller are the speckles.

Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #16 – I’m Here For You

Savvy Tip: Save the bottom scrap piece for some masking later on.

Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #15 – Follow Your Dreams