Roses and Dragonfly Thank You For A Smile Card for GDP#075

Image ~ 24 February 201722 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 10 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Roses and Dragonfly Thank You For A Smile Card for GDP#075

Hello and welcome everyone! Today I’ve got for you a card I created for this week’s Global Design Project theme challenge: Winged Creatures. I’m bit late to the party but thankfully not too late.

I’m a big fan of detailed die-cutting and had this idea bouncing around in my head for a while now, just never had enough time to try it.

In this card, I’ve incorporated two die-cutting techniques – inlaid die-cutting and partial die-cutting – using a couple of detailed die sets: Rose Garden Thinlits Dies and Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies.

Roses and Dragonfly Thank You For A Smile Card dimensions:

Sweet Sugarplum 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 cut into two panels: bottom one measure 5-6/8″ x 4″ (14,5 x 10,2 cm) and top one 5-1/2″ x 3-7/8″ (14 cm x 9,8 cm)
Blooms & Bliss Designer Series Paper: 5-1/2″ x 3-7/8″ (14 cm x 9,8 cm)

To create my card I started with die-cutting.

I wanted this small dragonfly to be in the foreground of my die-cut panel so I run it through my Big Shot first.

For this technique, you first want to die-cut the image you want to have in the foreground of your card and you work your way backwards. Everything you die-cut later will appear to be ‘behind’ this first image.

Once it has been die-cut, I removed the dragonfly die and die-cut and I placed the rose die on the panel. I placed it the way that some parts of the die overlapped the negative space where dragonfly was die-cut previously from.

Again, I run it through the Big Shot and very carefully removed my rose die-cut from the die, being careful not to lose all the separate pieces as I will need them all to inlaid them back to my panel. I die-cut two more partial roses (one at a time) from the same panel, every time making sure they overlap the space of a previously die-cut image and saving all the little die-cut pieces. I arranged all my die-cut on the desk, so I knew

Once all the images were die-cut, I adhered what was left of the panel to the Blooms & Bliss DSP piece. And now the fun began: I had to inlay all the die-cut outlines where they came from.

The easiest part was to inlay the dragonfly outline. From there, I worked my way through the roses in the same order I die-cut them. Once I was done, I matted my detailed panel with slightly bigger Whisper White piece and next mounted it onto my Sweet Sugarplum card base.

I masked bottom part of the sentiment ‘Thanks for the smile and everything else’, stamped it on a strip of Whisper White cardstock in Basic Black Archival Ink and cut it into a banner. I also cut a banner from Sweet Sugarplum cardstock and adhered them both to my card, offsetting slightly.

I was pretty happy with the outcome but I had a feeling that something was missing. So I masked the detailed part and all the edges of my card, and I added some tiny speckles in Basic Black and Sweet Sugarplum. Few rhinestones wrap up my card.

I hope you feel inspired and that you give this technique a go. Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

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

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

Anna' Stampin' Cave

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

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Roses and Dragonfly Thank You For A Smile Card for GDP#075

For this technique, you first want to die-cut the image you want to have in the foreground of your card and you work your way backwards. Everything you die-cut later will appear to be ‘behind’ this first image.

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.

Dragonfly Dreams Clean & Simple For GDP#069 Colour Challenge