Colourful Striped Background For Global Design Project – I am Guest Designer

Image ~ 1 May 201722 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 8 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Colourful Striped Background For Global Design Project – I am Guest Designer

Hello, my friends! I am so excited as today I am a Guest Designer for Global Design Project. How amazing is that?! I’m so humbled and honoured that GDP team has chosen me to join them for this week’s Colour Challenge. And boy, what a great colours we have to play with!

Choose your fav three wasn’t an option for me because I love all of these and wouldn’t know which to choose, to be honest. So I decided to be a rebel and for my project today I’ve used all five. Let’s say this post is a farewell to these beautiful In Colours.

Colourful Striped Background card dimensions:

Mint Macaron 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)
Very Vanilla cardstock: two panels, one for the card front, one for the inside of the card 5-7/8″ x 4″ (14.8 cm x 10.2 cm) each
cardstock for building the background: 5-7/8″ x 3-1/2″ (14.8 cm x 8.9 cm)
scraps of cardstock in colours: Mint Macaron, Delightful Dijon, Watermelon Wonder, Cucumber Crush and Tip Top Taupe
White Vellum for stamping and die-cutting

I started my card by creating this fun and colourful striped background. I took my scraps of cardstock of 2015-2017 In Colours and I cut it into strips of different widths. Next, I took a piece of cardstock (random colour as it won’t be seen anyway), covered it in glue, using snail adhesive, and adhered my strips diagonally, mixing colours and widths, making sure there’s no space left in-between the strips. When the whole panel was covered, I trimmed any overhanging stripes.

Can you see the shimmer on this panel? I took empty spritzer bottle and fill it with water. Next, I took Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush and squeezed pretty few drops of it into the spritzer. I shake it really well, spritz my entire panel with this glittery mist and let it dry.

I took the Very Vanilla panel and die-cut this intricate butterfly from Butterflies Framelits Dies in the middle of it. I also die-cut solid butterfly from vellum using Bold Butterfly Framelit Dies.

Using t-ruler, I draw two diagonal (and parallel) lines at the back of my panel. Using these lines as guides, I cut my panel into three and discarded the middle piece. Next, I stamped this lovely chicken wire (kinda) pattern from Butterfly Basics Stamp Set all over the other two pieces. I stamped it in Mint Macaron and to create this faded look I stamp off twice before I stamped on the cardstock.

I adhered my Very Vanilla pieces to the background panel, with butterflies inlaid between them: vellum butterfly at the bottom and vanilla one on the top, and added the whole panel to the card base with liquid adhesive.

For the sentiment, I chose “Sending Wishes Your Way”, also from Butterfly Basics Stamp Set. I prepared vellum with embossing buddy, dabbed my stamp in Versamark and straight away in Basic Black Archival ink, and stamped it onto vellum. Sprinkled it with clear embossing powder and heat set it. Adhered it to the card with few tiny drops of Fine-Tip Glue Pen. All that’s left was to add second Very Vanilla panel inside of the card. Done!

Once again I wanted to thank amazing GDP team for this opportunity and privilege, that I could showcase my project alongside such wonderful artists. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As always, I really want to encourage you to visit the Global Design Project challenge and play along. You too have a chance to be the next Guest Designer

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

Rustic Best Birds For Global Design Project #084 Challenge

Image ~ 30 April 201722 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ Leave a comment

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Rustic Best Birds For Global Design Project #084 Challenge

Hello and welcome everyone! Today I’m back with my entry for Global Design Project. This week is Case The Designer Challenge over at GDP and we’re casing wonderful Michelle Last. I have to admit I absolutely love Michelle’s style. She’s an incredible artist and amazing person too (I had the privilege to meet her in person a few years back).

It’s a beautiful card to CASE: clean & simple with lots of yummy texture. But I didn’t really want to follow the colour combination or the layout of Michelle’s card (but as you will see I failed miserably as I ‘accidentally’ cased the layout anyway haha ). For my card, I decided to focus on a couple of products she used instead: Best Birds Stamp Set and coordinating Birds & Blooms Thinlits Dies.

Rustic Best Birds card dimensions:

Crumb Cake cardstock: 8-1/4″ x 5-7/8″ scored in half at 4-1/8″ (21cm x 14.8 cm scored in half at 10.5 cm)
Crumb Cake cardstock: 4-1/8″ x 5-6/8″ (10.2 cm x 14.6 cm)
Whisper White cardstock for stamping & die cutting
Pool Party cardstock: 3/8″ x 4-3/8″
Burlap Ribbon: approx 5-6/8″ (14.6 cm)

I don’t know about you, but when I first saw this stamp set it has called countryside to me. I only bought this bundle a few weeks ago and was really eager to have a play. So this week’s challenge was perfect for inking up my stamp for the first time.

First, I created the background for my ‘idyllic’ scene. I took Crumb Cake panel and stamped it with Hardwood background stamp in Soft Suede. I also sponged the edges of the panel with Soft Suede ink to add to the ‘rustic feel’.

Next, I stamped and die cut all the elements of my scene. The bird is stamped using Crumb Cake ink. Flowers – Pool Party. For little berries/fruits, I’ve used Pear Pizzazz. Branch is stamped in Soft Suede ink and coloured in with markers: Crumb Cake for the branch and Pear Pizzazz for leaves.

I love this sentiment “It’s a good day” from Best Birds Stamp Set. I stamped it in Soft Suede on a piece of Whisper White cardstock and die cut using an oval die from Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies. I think stitched edge suit rustic ‘feel’ of this card just perfectly.

Before I assembled my card I played a little with a placement of all the elements. To add some ‘natural’ texture I decided to use Burlap Ribbon as a banner. I also cut a thin strip of Pool Party cardstock to ‘break’ all the browns. When I was happy with the placement, I took a photo and started the assembly.

Tip: If you have a layout, either a card or a scrapbook page, that consist of lots of small elements, play with the placement first, before glueing things down. Once you’re happy, take a photo of your test layout with your phone ( we all have it on hand, don’t we?). Next, assemble your card/scrapbook page piece by piece by piece with a help of your reference photo. No more guessing ‘where was this or that element supposed to go.

I truly hope you like my little, rustic card. It reminds me of my childhood in Poland and summer holidays we spent in the countryside with our great-grandmother. Wonderful memories.

As always, I really want to encourage you to visit the Global Design Project challenge blog to see other beautiful projects from all around the world. Just click on their logo below to visit the website

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

Best Birds Photopolymer Bundle

[142315]

£38.50

Best Birds Photopolymer Stamp Set

[141525]

£19.00

Birds & Blooms Thinlits Dies

[141477]

£24.00

Hardwood Wood-Mount Stamp Set

[133032]

£18.00

Hardwood Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[133035]

£13.00

Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies

[145372]

£27.00

Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock

[121685]

£7.25

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

[106549]

£8.25

Pool Party A4 Card Stock

[124391]

£7.25

Soft Suede Classic Stampin’ Pad

[126978]

£6.00

Crumb Cake Classic Stampin’ Pad

[126975]

£6.00

Pool Party Classic Stampin’ Pad

[126982]

£6.00

Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin’ Pad

[131180]

£6.00

Neutrals Stampin’ Write Markers

[131261]

£22.00

Subtles Stampin’ Write Markers

[131263]

£27.50

Many Marvelous Markers

[131264]

£99.00

5/8″ (1.6 Cm) Burlap Ribbon

[141487]

£6.50

Stampin’ Dimensionals

[104430]

£3.75

Liquid Multipurpose Glue

[110755]

£3.75

Fast Fuse Adhesive

[129026]

£9.00

Stamping Sponges

[141337]

£3.25

Stampin’ Trimmer

[129722]

£27.00

Big Shot

[143263]

£99.00

Roses & Dragonfly No°2 – Inlaid & Partial Die-cutting Birthday Card

Image ~ 17 April 201710 November 2017 ~ Anna Krol ~ 4 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Roses & Dragonfly No°2 – Inlaid & Partial Die-cutting Birthday Card

And here I am again with Rose Wonder and Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies!

My little sister (well not that little, she’s nearly 22 y.o. But hey! she will always be my little sister) came to last week and said she and her friends wanted me to make a birthday card for their girlfriend.

They really liked this card I’ve made a few weeks back…

…and wanted something similar hence No°2 in the title 🙂

The base colour they wanted was orange with silver details, as these are the colours their friend loves. So fun and challenging as I don’t create much in orange! But I love challenges. I love to sit down and design, create something unusual; not just grab a card, two or three colours one stamp and bah! – five minutes later the card is done! I do clean & simple sometimes but that’s not my concept of creativity 🙂 I am an artist at heart. It have to be a process, it have to be messy and a little bit crazy too; so when I’m done my soul sings…

…and this is exactly how this card came to life

Roses & Dragonfly No°2 card dimensions:

Calypso Coral cardstock card base: 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: 5-6/8″ x 4″ (14.6 cm x 10.2 cm)
Whisper White cardstock: 2 panels 5-5/8″ x 3-7/8″ each (14.3 cm x 9.8 cm); one for blending and one for die-cutting
strips of Calypso Coral and Whisper White cardstock for sentiment

First I adhered panel of Whisper White cardstock to the card base using snail adhesive. Next, I took one of the smaller panels and using ink pads and sponges I created a backing panel for the die-cut piece.

As first, I blended in my darkest colour, Calypso Coral, followed by Pumpkin Pie and Peekaboo Peach. But you can start with the lightest shade first, it doesn’t really matter. I continued adding more colour until I was happy with the depth. To add more interest I flicked few droplets of water to my panel.

Water react with ink creating this beautiful, distressed look. Bear in mind that for the best results you have to do it when the ink is freshly blended.

I took the second Whisper White panel and arranged the dies how I wanted them to go. Next, I die-cut all elements, one at a time and put them away on a flat surface so I don’t lose any of the small pieces. Once everything been die-cut I adhered what’s left of the panel to the orange background. I’ve added some splatters of ink all over it and inlaid all my die-cut pieces back in. More detailed explanation can be found here ->

I added this panel to the card base with Foam Adhesive Strips for extra dimension.

The sentiment I’ve used comes from Rose Wonder Stamp Set. I stamped it on Whisper White cardstock with Versamark ink. I heat embossed it in silver, mounted on a slightly wider piece of Calypso Coral cardstock and add it to the card.

To make the card looks even more pretty, I scattered rhinestones all over the panel. To wrap it up, I stamped dragonfly image inside the card and on the envelope. It’s hard to see but I’ve used all three colours of ink on this little creature.

The card has been given already and I know the girl loved it to bits. That is my biggest reward 🙂 But I hope you like it too. Would love to hear your opinion it the comments below.

If you wish to purchase any of products I have used, simply click the images below to go directly to my online store and don’t forget to enter the hostess code for the month of April XMAJ4CYX to receive a gift from me.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

Just a note: the Dragonfly Dreams as a Bundle at 10% discount is available only until 31 May. After that date, you will be able to purchase Dragonfly Dreams Stamp Set and Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies only separately, not as a bundle.

Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Bundle

[144728]

£42.25

Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Stamp Set

[142924]

£19.00

Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies

[142749]

£28.00

Rose Wonder Photopolymer Stamp Set

[140697]

£24.00

Rose Garden Thinlits Dies

[140619]

£28.00

Calypso Coral A4 Card Stock

[124392]

£7.25

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

[106549]

£8.25

Calypso Coral Classic Stampin’ Pad

[126983]

£6.00

Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin’ Pad

[126945]

£6.00

Peekaboo Peach Classic Stampin’ Pad

[141398]

£6.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

£7.75

Embossing Buddy

[103083]

£5.50

Silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder

[109131]

£4.50

Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments

[119246]

£4.50

Stamping Sponges

[141337]

£3.25

Liquid Multipurpose Glue

[110755]

£3.75

SNAIL Permanent Adhesive

[104332]

£6.25

Foam Adhesive Strips

[141825]

£7.25

Heat Tool – Uk Plug

[129054]

£27.00

Stampin’ Trimmer

[129722]

£27.00

Big Shot

[143263]

£99.00

Don’t forget to check:

Stampin’ Up! Spring Summer & Annual Catalogue 2016 2017 Retiring List

It’s that time of the year again, when Stampin’ Up! is getting ready to retire stamps and accessories from both the Annual and Spring Summer catalogues. As sad as it is to see these products go, there’s still time for you to get them before they’re gone. Retiring products will only be available until 31 May, or while supplies last. So if there’s something from retiring products on your wishlist, don’t wait until last day – once they’re gone, they’re gone. And they are selling fast! Click here for more details ->

Global Design Project #081 Colour Challenge – Watercolour Birthday Blooms

Image ~ 7 April 201722 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 16 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Global Design Project #081 Colour Challenge – Watercolour Birthday Blooms

Hello and welcome! Today I decided to play along with Global Design Project and their Colour Challenge. I love that one of the colours can be our own choice.

I had couple of ideas which colour to use, but because I couldn’t decide which one to choose I created two cards instead of one 🙂

Basic Grey/Night of Navy ‘Friend To Friend’ card dimensions:

Basic Grey cardstock: 8-1/4″ x 5-7/8″ scored in half at 4-1/8″ (21cm x 14.8 cm scored in half at 10.5 cm)
Watercolour Paper: 3-6/8″ x 3″ (9.5 cm x 7.6 cm)
Regals Designer Series Paper Paper Stack: 3-5/8″ x 3/8″ (9.2 cm x 1 cm) strip of diagonal stripes design paper in Night of Navy
Night of Navy Solid Baker’s Twine: approx 33″ (84 cm) + strip of Basic Grey cardstock to secure/hide the twine ends inside the card

For this first card, I decided to use rather classic Night of Navy with Basic Grey colour combination.

I heat embossed beautiful floral image from Birthday Blooms Stamp Set on a piece of Watercolour Paper in Whisper White Embossing Powder. Next, I watercolour the image using my ink pads as palettes. For the flower, I’ve used Night of Navy ink pad. For the leaves, I’ve used Basic Grey Archival ink pad, which was a little bit tricky but doable. Just had to work really fast once I squished some ink onto my ink pad cover flap. When finished my leaves, I’ve added more water to the ink that left on the cover and I’ve done a quick wash of light grey around the flower.

For the sentiment, I chose sweet ‘friend to friend’ from Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set and stamped it in Basic Grey Archival Ink in the bottom right corner of my watercolour panel.

Tip: If using clear mount or wood mount stamp sets, always use Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to align your sentiment. It’s best tool ever!

To prepare my base I stamped the same floral image all over the card front with Versamark ink. Next, I wrapped Night Of Navy Solid Baker’s Twine around the front of the card and secured it at the back with a piece of cardstock.

I adhered a strip of DSP underneath the watercolour piece and added it to the card base, slightly offsetting my piece. The final touch was to add Clear Wink Of Stella to my floral.

For my next card colour combination, I took an idea from Stampin’ Up!’s Annual Catalogue, page 76. I love how Night of Navy and Delightful Dijon complement each other creating distinguished look.

Delightful Dijon/Night of Navy ‘Friend To Friend’ card dimensions:

Delightful Dijon cardstock: 8-1/4″ x 5-7/8″ scored in half at 4-1/8″ (21cm x 14.8 cm scored in half at 10.5 cm)
Regals Designer Series Paper Paper Stack, Night of Navy diagonal stripes design: 4-2/8″ x 3-5/8″ (10.8 cm x 9.2 cm)
Watercolour Paper: 3-6/8″ x 3″ (9.5 cm x 7.6 cm)
Night of Navy Solid Baker’s Twine: approx 12″ (30 cm)

Same as with my first card, I stamped the whole card front with a floral image from Birthday Blooms Stamp Set in Versamark Ink and adhered the piece of DSP in the middle of my card base.

Next, I stamped and heat embossed the same image on the watercolour panel in Whisper White. Flowers, as before, are watercoloured with Night of Navy ink, just this time I decided for darker, deeper shade. For the leaves, however, I’ve used Delightful Dijon ink, with a very light wash of DD in the background.

A sentiment, same again, is stamped in Night of Navy ink in the top right corner of the panel. I took a piece Night of Navy Solid Baker’s Twine, wrapped it at the bottom of my watercolour piece and tied a little bow. I adhered my panel to the card base, offsetting again. Clear Wink of Stella finishes off the look.

And here are both of my cards together:

I love how they turned out! Same stamp set, same technique, and same design but two completely different looks. Which one do you like the most? Please let me know in comments below.

As always, I really want to encourage you to visit the Global Design Project challenge blog to see other beautiful projects from all around the world. Just click on their logo below to visit the website

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

The Creative Flow Blog Hop – Hello Spring

Image ~ 26 March 201722 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ Leave a comment

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – The Creative Flow Blog Hop – Hello Spring

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. And this month’s theme is ‘Spring is sprung’.

I don’t know about you, but for me, nothing says ‘spring’ more than flowers. So today I’ve got for you a set of super cute, 4 x 4″ notecards.

Spring notecards dimensions:

In Colour cardstock: five pieces, one of each colour, 4″ x 8 ” scored in half at 4″ (20,3cm x 10,1cm scored in half at 10,1cm) + scraps for die cutting
Whisper White cardstock: five panels 3″ x 3″ (7cm x 7cm)
Linen Thread five pieces, 20″ length each
Pearls: 15 mini pearls, 3 for each notecard

For the base of my little notecards I decided to use, soon retiring, 2015-2017 In Colours. I stamped each card base with a ‘dotty’ stamp from Number Of Years Stamp Set in Versamark.

I stamped each 3 x3″ Whisper White panel using Writing Notes background stamp. I’ve used Cucumber Crush, Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride and So Saffron x2. Next, in the middle of each panel, I stamped a little bouquet of flowers, from Number Of Years Stamp Set. This is a two-step stamping set, so I first stamped the foliage using Pear Pizzazz and Wild Wasabi ink pads, and next I added the flowers in So Saffron, Pool Party, Watermelon Wonder, Blushing Bride and Wisteria Wonder.

I die-cut my bouquets with stitched circle die and adhered a leftover piece to the card base. I also die-cut five scalloped circles: one in each In Colour. Next, I layered each bouquet with a scalloped circle and adhered them to the card base with dimensionals.

Sentiments come from Crazy About You Stamp Set and I stamped them in coordinating colours once my cards were assembled. For the final touch, I added mini pearls to some of the flowers. I also created cute little bows using Linen Thread and added them to the cards using glue dots.

I’m really pleased with my little notecards and I think they fit the theme perfectly. But just a little reminder that In Colours 2015-2017 will retire soon (end of May) so if you love them I would really advise you to stock up on cardstock, Designer Series Paper, and ink refills as they surely will be sold out way before the end of May. Click the picture below to check the entire collection.

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

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day

Anna' Stampin' Cave

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

Hostess Code

Colourful Striped Background For Global Design Project – I am Guest Designer

Rustic Best Birds For Global Design Project #084 Challenge

Roses & Dragonfly No°2 – Inlaid & Partial Die-cutting Birthday Card

Don’t forget to check:

Global Design Project #081 Colour Challenge – Watercolour Birthday Blooms

Tip: If using clear mount or wood mount stamp sets, always use Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to align your sentiment. It’s best tool ever!

The Creative Flow Blog Hop – Hello Spring