Dragonfly Dreams Stamp Set & Coordinating Dies

Image ~ 14 January 201721 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 31 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Dragonfly Dreams Stamp Set & coordinating dies

For today’s project, I have used once again Dragonfly Dreams Stamp Set and Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies. I love this bundle and either together or separate, I just can’t get enough of it. This time though I decided to revisit two of my favourite techniques: watercolour and ink smooching. Bright colours, Cucumber Crush and Island Indigo, seemed perfect combination for a dragonfly card.

Watercolour Dragonfly card dimensions:

Cucumber Crush 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)
Island Indigo cardstock: 4″x 5-6/8″(10,2 x 14,5 cm)
Whisper White cardstock: 3-7/8″ x 5-5/8″ (9.8 x 14.2 cm) and 2-7/8″ x 1/2″(7.4 x 1.3 cm) for a sentiment
Scraps of Whisper White, Shimmery White and White Vellum cardstock for die-cutting

First thing first I had to prepare my watercolour panel. And to be honest I risked a bit using regular Whisper White cardstock here.

If you are not confident with water colouring and don’t want to risk, please always use watercolour paper with ink smooshing technique.

I pressed Cucumber Crush ink pad on a craft mat, spritz it with water (not too much) and took a piece of acetate to lift some of this puddle of colour. I smooshed it on my panel and dried it with a heat gun. I repeat this process couple of times, every time drying my panel in-between until I was happy with layers of colour. Next, I switched to Island Indigo but I only added one layer of colour. The last touch was to add few splotches of ink to my panel with help of aqua painter.

I die cut two dragonflies, one from Whisper White cardstock and one from vellum (without the head) for 3D effect. To colour in cardstock dragonfly I used a very similar technique as previously. I pressed some more of Island Indigo ink on the craft mat, spritz it with water and dabbed the dragonfly straight in the puddle, dried and repeat until I was happy with the colour.

I wanted to add more depth and ‘life’ to my dragonfly, so I sponged the edges of wings and the body with Island Indigo ink. I also added few speckles with bronze metallic Sharpie marker.

While sponging I’ve noticed that the dragonfly was bit ‘flimsy’ (note to myself: if you plan to dab your intricate die-cuts in the puddles of coloured water, use paper with the higher grammage, like watercolour perhaps(!?) lol. So I die-cut just the body of a dragonfly from Shimmery White cardstock, watercolour it, sponged the edges and adhered on top of the dragonfly with liquid adhesive. Next, I adhered the vellum dragonfly underneath, offsetting slightly.

The sentiment I chose comes from the same Dragonfly Dreams stamp set. I stamped it in Versamark on the strip of Whisper White, heat embossed it using Copper Embossing Powder and trimmed it diagonally. The sentiment alone seemed a bit dull so I took a very narrow strip of Whisper White (around 1/8″), dabbed it in Versamark and heat embossed in copper as well. Next, I trimmed it and adhered it to the sentiment, underneath the top edge, so it peeks out slightly.

To assemble the card I’ve used my favourite Tombow liquid adhesive. I love it because it gives you some wiggle room before it sets. Also, it’s the best for those slightly warped watercolour panels. Next, I’ve added my sentiment in the top right corner using dimensionals. For dragonfly, I’ve used Tombow again. The last touch was to add some extra shimmer to the dragonfly with Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush. You can’t go wrong with this stuff right?!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my project and that it will give some extra ideas of how to use this beautiful Dragonfly Dreams Bundle. I would love to hear what you think in comments below. As always, if you wish to purchase any of products I have used, simply click the images below to go directly to my online shop.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day

Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Bundle

[144728]

£42.25

Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies

[142749]

£28.00

Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Stamp Set

[142924]

£19.00

Cucumber Crush A4 Cardstock

[138342]

£7.25

Island Indigo A4 Card Stock

[124390]

£7.25

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

[106549]

£8.25

White Vellum A4 Card Stock

[106584]

£6.00

Shimmery White A4 Card Stock

[121717]

£7.25

Cucumber Crush Classic Stampin’ Pad

[138324]

£6.00

Island Indigo Classic Stampin’ Pad

[126986]

£6.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

£7.75

Embossing Buddy

[103083]

£5.50

Copper Stampin’ Emboss Powder

[141636]

£4.50

Aqua Painters

[103954]

£15.50

Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

[141897]

£7.25

Liquid Multipurpose Glue

[110755]

£3.75

Stampin’ Dimensionals

[104430]

£3.75

Paper Snips Scissors

[103579]

£9.00

Stampin’ Trimmer

[129722]

£27.00

Big Shot

[143263]

£99.00

Dragonfly Dreams Clean & Simple For GDP#069 Colour Challenge

Image ~ 12 January 201721 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 10 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Dragonfly Dreams Clean & Simple For GDP#069 Colour Challenge

Hello and welcome everyone! Something new from me today as it’s the first time when I bite the bullet and decided to take a part in Colour Challenge over at Global Design Project.

I’ve been following this blog for some time now, just never felt confident enough to join in the fun. But hey! It’s just for fun, right?! And when I saw Delightful Dijon (I really, really love this colour) amongst other colours in this week’s challenge, I just knew: now or never. It’s a great colour combination and as my free choice, I simply used Whisper White.

I didn’t craft much lately due to health issues, but I was eager to use a new stamp set from Stampin’ Up! Spring Summer 2017 Catalogue, called Dragonfly Dreams. It comes with coordinating Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies, as a bundle, and is just beautiful. It seemed perfect for the idea I had in my head.

Just forgive me poor photos. I don’t have any fancy equipment and take my photos in the daylight. But the weather is so miserable since few days down here in Midlands, UK, that it was just impossible to take any decent picture.

‘Nearly Inlay’ Dragonfly Dreams card dimensions:

Delightful Dijon 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 cardstock: 2 panels 4″x 5-5/8″(10,2 x 14,3 cm)

First, I stamped the card base with the polka dot (kinda) background stamp from Dragonfly Dreams Stamp Set until it was all covered. I’ve used Delightful Dijon ink for a tone on tone effect.

Next, I die-cut the largest detailed dragonfly, using Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies, from one of the Whisper White panels and adhered that panel (without dragonfly) to the card base. Of course, I forgot to stamp my sentiment before adhering the panel to the card front. Typical, right?! LOL But nothing was lost yet. I picked the beautiful ‘You sure know how to make someone happy’ sentiment from Dragonfly Dreams Stamp Set (I love sentiments and the fonts in in this set) and heat embossed it on my card base with silver embossing powder. Seemed easy, but while heat embossing it, the base ‘curled up’ a bit. So I run it through my Big Shot to straighten it up. Bear in mind if you’ve got worn out plates they will leave an impression on your cardstock – ask how do I know.

For the inside panel, I stamped few dragonflies in Delightful Dijon in the corners before adhered it with liquid adhesive.

I wanted for my dragonfly to carry some silver detail too, so I stamped tiny splotches/dots from Gorgeous Grunge Stamp Set all over the die-cut, using Versamark ink, and heat embossed it with silver embossing powder.

My original idea was to inlay the dragonfly die-cut back to the negative on the card base. But I’ve changed my mind along the way as the stamped detail on the card base wouldn’t be really visible through the die cut. So I decided to adhere my dragonfly only on the body length but it didn’t look good either. At the end, I’ve used tiny pieces of dimensionals to pop the dragonfly up.

I’m really pleased how this card turned out and I hope you like it too.

I really want to encourage you to check the Global Design Project challenge blog. They have a new challenge every week with various themes and extremely talented Design Team – they will simply blow your mind with their creativity! Just click on their logo below to visit the website

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.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day

Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Bundle

[144728]

£42.25

Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies

[142749]

£28.00

Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Stamp Set

[142924]

£19.00

Gorgeous Grunge Clear Stamp Set

[130517]

£18.00

Delightful Dijon A4 Cardstock

[138345]

£7.25

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

[106549]

£8.25

Delightful Dijon Classic Stampin’ Pad

[138327]

£6.00

Embossing Buddy

[103083]

£5.50

Versamark Pad

[102283]

£7.75

Silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder

[109131]

£4.50

Stampin’ Dimensionals

[104430]

£3.75

Liquid Multipurpose Glue

[110755]

£3.75

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

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!

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

Pootlers New Seasonal Catalogue Blog Hop – Thankful, Grateful, Blessed With Paisleys & Posies Bundle

Image ~ 10 September 201621 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 20 Comments

Thank you for joining us on another Pootlers Blog Hop! We’re showcasing lots of gorgeous projects using products from the new Stampin’ Up!® Autumn Winter Seasonal Catalogue. Simply use the buttons at the end of each post to keep hopping!

If you arrived here from lovely Louise’s blog, thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoy seeing all these beautiful projects and inspiration and continue to hop on through to see what everyone has made.

For today’s project, I’ve been using new Paisleys & Posies Stamp Set with Paisley Framelits Dies, and these two are a part of beautiful Petals & Paisleys Product Suite. I used them to create a beautiful contemporary card and matching gift box.

I don’t know about you, but I just love paisley. It is such a trendy design right now, you can find it everywhere: from home decor, through fashion, art and more.

For my card, I randomly stamped various images from Paisleys & Posies Stamp Set on a piece of Whisper White. It’s like creating your own DSP. To take off the guesswork, I’ve used the colours that coordinate with Petals & Paisleys Suite: Cajun Craze, Rich Razzleberry, Delightful Dijon, Mint Macaron, Soft Suede and Night of Navy. I adhered it to my card base (Cajun Craze) and added a layer of vellum on the top, to soften the bold colours. Next, I cut a strip of Whisper White and stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set (love this font!), to the left in Cajun Craze. Backed it with a slightly wider piece of Cajun Craze cardstock, and adhered it to the card front. Using Paisley Framelits Dies, I die-cut two intricate leaves, one in Rich Razzleberry and one in Delightful Dijon, and add it to the panel. The final touch for the card was a tiny Rich Razzleberry bow I’ve made using one of the ribbons from new 3/8″ (1 cm) Ribbon Trio Pack.

Top tip 1: Glue dots are handy to adhere small elements like little bows. Top tip 2: There’s not such a thing as an invisible adhesive for when using vellum; be smart and hide adhesive under panels, die-cuts or embellishments. Savvy tip: To save the precious ribbon, tie a square knot straight from the spool.

For the gift box base, I’ve used, again, Cajun Craze cardstock. It’s really cute dinky little box, with the base being a 2-7/8 x 2-7/8″ square, and 1″ tall. Same as with the card, I created my own piece of DSP to decorate the box. Using dimensionals I slightly elevated the panel that goes on the top of the lid. But panels on the sides of my box are glued flat. Next, I’ve added a panel of vellum to the top of my box, followed by a little banner with a sentiment, and (again) leaves and a bow to match the card.

I don’t make boxes or gift sets too often, but I really like this one. I don’t know why. Perhaps for the autumnal colours and maybe for the paisley design. Whatever the reason, I hope you like it too.

Your next stop is lovely Jerim. Simply click the next button to keep hopping around all the blogs to see lots of new ideas and inspiration.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

Anna' Stampin' Cave

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

Bundles

Dragonfly Dreams Stamp Set & Coordinating Dies

Dragonfly Dreams Clean & Simple For GDP#069 Colour Challenge

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

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

Pootlers New Seasonal Catalogue Blog Hop – Thankful, Grateful, Blessed With Paisleys & Posies Bundle