Shadowhunters Fangirl Birthday Card using Stampin’ Up! Products

9 February 201621 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 5 Comments

Sharing something a little different with you today. I’m so happy I finally had some spare time to post this awesome card (if I do say so myself).

My (not so little anymore) girl had her 16th birthday last Sunday. And because she’s a big fan of Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters book series, I really wanted to create something in that theme for her.

Obviously, I don’t own any matching stamp sets so I had to improvise. I’ve used pretty few current stamp sets to create my card. First I choose black & gold colour combo – I think it fits the theme perfectly. It’s a gate-fold card, with base in Basic Black. I “brushed” Versamark around the edges, added gold embossing powder and heat set it. I didn’t go for perfection – it was meant to be a bit edgy, rough. Next, I cut two panels to go on the front. Using Versamark again, I stamped flourishes from Everything Eleanor stamp set, and heat embossed it in gold. As before, I didn’t pay attention to detail on purpose – the edgier the better.

Inside of the card is pretty simple. I’ve found Angelic Rune symbol online, printed it on copy paper and then traced it on a piece of basic black. I hand-cut it and heat embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing folder first. But I didn’t like how this turned out and decided to add more sparkle to it. I dabbed Versamark on top of my symbol and added Heat & Stick powder. I melt the powder with Heat Tool, covered it with gold glitter and heat set my piece again. I love how this turned out. Sentiment comes from Rose Wonder stamp set.

To close my card I created a belly-band. Same as with a card front I added that rough gold edge. I stamped small butterfly from Butterfly Basics, heat embossed it in gold and die-cut it. I also die-cut the more intricate butterfly from gold glimmer paper. I adhered them together, added some gold Metallic Thread underneath and attached it to my belly-band.

And that’s it. That’s my Shadowhunters birthday card. Do you like it? I have to say that my daughter truly loved it. And the moment she opened the card and saw the Angelic Rune symbol – well, that was priceless to see how her eyes light up. Mission completed!

Thank you for stopping by and have a great day,

You Send Me Soaring

5 February 201621 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ Leave a comment

I love the vintage feel to Sky is the Limit stamp set from Stampin’ Up! and I’ve used it recently to create cute Valentine’s Day cards perfect for men in our lives.

First card I’ve made for a card-swap in our group of demonstrators. As all stampers, we love to swap! Swapping lets you share your creativity, enjoy the creativity of other stampers, and gather and collect ideas.

The base of my card is Watermelon Wonder cardstock. For the layer, I cut two pieces of Typeset Specialty DSP (each measure 5-7/8″ x 1-3/8″) and a strip of Very Vanilla cardstock that measure 5-7/8″ x 1-1/4″. Before I adhered them on my base I stamped my images on Very Vanilla using Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad, as I was planning to do a little colouring. Our archival ink pads are perfect for watercolouring as they do not bleed. I coloured heart using Watermelon Wonder ink pad and a blender pen and added a little shimmer with clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush. Yeah, I know that most of the guys do not like a bling. But come on: he loves you, so you can sneak a little shimmer here and there, and he won’t say a word 😉 I stamped the sentiment on a piece of vellum and heat embossed in black. Cut it into a banner and attached to the card using a regular stapler.

For the second card base, I chose cardstock in my favourite neutral colour – Crumb Cake.

For the layer again I reached for Typeset DSP. But this time I stamped directly onto my designer paper. I also added some splotches from Gorgeous Grunge stamp set and sponged the edges to add to the vintage look. This time I stamped sentiment onto a piece of Crumb Cake instead of vellum. I attached everything to the base using snail adhesive. The plan for the heart was to leave it blank this time, but when the card was put together I’ve changed my mind. I colour the heart using a Real Red marker and then filled it with Crystal Effects. I have to say I love how a little of Crystal Effects makes the heart just POP!

It’s been ages since last time I’ve made masculine cards, so rather pleased how these turned out. I was wondering which of the finishes get more votes: Wink of Stella or Crystal Effects. So I’ve asked my fellow crafters (showing them just a hearts sneak peek) what they think. And I’m not surprised that Crystal Effects gets more votes. And which finish do you prefer? Let me know in the comments below.

Thank you for stopping by and have a great day,

Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge Blog Hop #5 – Valentine’s Day Gift Box

30 January 201621 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 15 Comments

Thank you for joining us for another Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge! We’re 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!

Wow! It’s been long since we’ve played with our challenge last time. Did you missed us?! But we’re back with a new sketch and lots of fabby projects to bring you endless ideas and inspirations. So welcome to our 5th sketch challenge! And today’s sketch has been created for us by lovely Cat.

I love this sketch! And the moment I saw it I had this idea popped into my head. It’s a little bit out of my comfort zone because I don’t do boxes usually. But I was just dying to make my idea into a project. So here it is:

Isn’t it cute?! This box measures 4 x 3″ and make perfect “home” for Raffaello chocolates

To create my box I took 2 pieces of whisper white that measured: for the lid 7 x 6″ (I trimmed it later slightly) and for the base 6-7/8 x 5-7/8″. I stamped the top piece randomly using a Real Red ink pad and flowery stamps from Bloomin’ Love stamp set. When it was done I scored both pieces at 1-1/2″ on each side. After I assembled the base I’ve decided I want my lid to be slightly shorter than the base so I trimmed it 1/2″ on each side.

I also stamped same design on a piece of white tissue paper, to put it inside of my box. As for the sentiment, I’ve stamped it in Real Red again and fussy cut it. But because it would disappear in a “busy” background I die cut a circle from Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper. I attached it to my box with Tombow adhesive and added my sentiment on top using dimensionals.

Taa-daah! The box is done! And it’s perfect little box for delicious chocolates. Or maybe for a piece of jewellery? What do you think?

I hope you enjoyed my little project today. I would love hearing from you.

Now, be sure to hop along and see more inspiring projects. Your next stop is lovely Karen – go and see what she has made using our cute sketch. Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day!

Pootlers Spring / Summer Celebration Blog Hop

23 January 201621 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 13 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!® Spring/Summer Catalogue. Simply use the buttons at the end of each post to keep hopping!

If you have arrived here from Jerim Dickins, a big welcome to you. To continue your journey simply use the buttons at the end of each post to keep hopping!

I hope you had a chance to look through our Spring/Summer catalogue and you’ve got your favourites already. I have chosen to use Rose Wonder Bundle from page 18.

I know I said that many times but I will say it again: I love everything about this bundle. I’ve played with this stamp set many times, but in today’s project, I incorporated watercolour with inlaid die-cutting. And yes, I’ve used these two techniques with this bundle already in this project.

This time I stamped my image straight onto watercolour paper with Versamark and heat embossed it in white. I’ve added water to the rose petals first and used Calypso Coral and Blushing Bride as my watercolours.

I let the flower dry completely before I moved to the leaves. And again I added water first. For the leaves, I choose Pear Pizzazz, Wild Wasabi and just a hint of Old Olive.

When my rose and leaves were dry I added water to the background. I didn’t want it to be as intense as last time so I mixed Lost Lagoon with Mint Macaron. I love how these two colours complement each other.

When my background was dry I gave it a little spray with water, and “lifted” those water droplets with a paper towel. As you can see it lifted some colour from background too – beautiful effect.

When my card was dry I’ve used Rose Garden Thinlits Dies to die-cut rose straight from my watercolour piece.

I separated the “frame” and put all these “inside” tiny pieces aside. I dabbed the frame in Versamark, added Heat & Stick powder and heat embossed it for a second. Enough to melt the powder. When it was nice and sticky I cover it with Gold Stampin’ Glitter and heat set it again.

My base is Whisper White. I trimmed the watercolour piece to be slightly smaller than the base. I added Gold Glitter to the bottom of my WW base so this gold will peek a little from underneath the panel.

Now I could assemble the card. I added background panel first, then the frame and all the little die-cuts at the end. I have to say it was really time-consuming but well worth the effect.

For the sentiment, I choose “What a beautiful blessing you are to me” but decided to use only part of the sentiment. I heat embossed it in gold on a strip of Whisper White and finish it with a piece of a doily.

I truly hope you enjoyed coming to my blog and see my card. Now, be sure to hop along and see more inspiring projects. Below is the list of all the participants but you can also use the buttons to keep hopping. Your next stop is lovely Kathleen Rintoul-Waite – go and see what she has made using the new products.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day!

Full blog line up:

Anna Krol –> you are here

Kathleen Rintoul-Waite

Angelina Clark

Ink Smooshing With Bloomin’ Hearts Thinlits Dies – Using Die-cut Negatives

21 January 201621 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 4 Comments

Hello guys! I’m back today with ink smooshing technique again. But this time I’ve used die-cut negatives I’ve saved from my previous project.

For these cards, I decided to choose different colours: shades of red, green and purple. The base of my cards is again a watercolour paper as it’s perfect for watercolour techniques. I explained ink smooshing technique in my post here.

To add some more detail to the die-cut pieces I run them through my big shot with Happy Heart Embossing Folder. I love how they stand out from busy backgrounds.

To stamp main sentiments I have used my die-cut as a guide to make sure I stamp it exactly in the middle of my card. I stamped it in Versamark and heat embossed in gold. Before adhering the panels I’ve made few “splotches” using Gold Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush.

To finish off my cards I took a strip of black cardstock and heat embossed “love you” sentiment in gold. My husband’s friend came over at the weekend and “nicked” one card for his girlfriend straight away haha Hope she will like it.

If you like my project or got any questions please let me know in the comments below.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a blessed day,

Anna' Stampin' Cave

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

Anna’s Stampin’ Cave

Shadowhunters Fangirl Birthday Card using Stampin’ Up! Products

You Send Me Soaring

Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge Blog Hop #5 – Valentine’s Day Gift Box

Pootlers Spring / Summer Celebration Blog Hop

Ink Smooshing With Bloomin’ Hearts Thinlits Dies – Using Die-cut Negatives