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

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…

anna-stampin-cave-stampin-up-dragonfly-dreams-bundle-and-rose-garden-thinlits-dies-inlaid-partial-die-cutting-technique

…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

Anna' Stampin' Cave - Roses And Dragonfly Birthday Card using Inlaid Partial Die Cutting_Stampin' Up! Rose Garden Thinlits Dies_Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies

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.

Anna' Stampin' Cave - Roses And Dragonfly Birthday Card using Inlaid Partial Die Cutting_Stampin' Up! Rose Garden Thinlits Dies_Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies 4

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.

Anna' Stampin' Cave - Roses And Dragonfly Birthday Card using Inlaid Partial Die Cutting_Stampin' Up! Rose Garden Thinlits Dies_Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies 3

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.

Don’t forget to check:

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

Anna' Stampin' Cave Stampin' Up! Retiring Products 2017

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 ->

Inside The Lines Altered Photo Frame

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Inside The Lines Altered Photo Frame

In my project today I decided to create altered photo frame with beautiful, Inside The Lines Designer Series Paper. With an ever-growing trend in adult colouring books, this paper is just spot on.

inside-the-lines-dsp

I don’t know about you, but I love these bold botanical designs. They coordinate with Dragonfly Dreams Stamp Set & Dies, but you can use them on their own too. Colour them in with markers, inks or watercolour pencils – it’s fun and very therapeutic…or leave them black&white. Whatever tickles your fancy.

anna-stampin-cave-stampin-up-sale-a-bration-inside-the-lines-dsp-frame

The frame is from Ikea and is called Virserum. It measures 7-1/2 x 9-1/2″ (19 x 24 cm) and comes with inside mount, hence I only needed 4″x 6″ (10 x 15 cm) piece of DSP to fit inside.

I’ve chosen this lovely, jungle-like design and cut it into 4″x 6″ rectangle. Because I was aiming for a subtle look I decided to watercolour my piece.

Bear in mind this is not watercolour paper so you can’t add too much water to it.

For the foliage, because it’s such a small area, I’ve used Stampin’ markers: Pear Pizzazz, Wild Wasabi, Old Olive, Garden Green and Always Artichoke. First, I scribbled my markers on a craft mat. I also spritz some water on my craft mat, next to the markers. I did it deliberately, to have more control of how much water I use. Next, I took dry aqua painter, picked up some water with its brush, next picked up some colour from the mat and started colouring my foliage. I was adding more colour and more water to the mat when needed. There are 4-5 layers of colour on leaves, each layer added when the first one was dry.

anna-stampin-cave-stampin-up-sale-a-bration-dsp-inside-the-lines

To colour in the rest of the image, I’ve used ink pads as my palettes.

I’ve used Soft Sky for sky and dragonfly (with a little dab of Island Indigo marker). Mountains are coloured with Smoky Slate.

For the tree trunk, I’ve used Tip Top Taupe ink pad. To add some highlights I’ve used Whisper White Craft Ink (yes, I’ve used it with aqua painter too).

anna-stampin-cave-stampin-up-sale-a-bration-inside-the-lines

Polypores or conks (I’m not sure how they are called in the UK so forgive me if I’m wrong) are watercoloured with a mix of Sahara Sand, Crushed Curry and again some white craft ink for highlights.

For the final touch, I’ve added White Perfect Accents as dew drops (one on the sky is hiding a little boo-boo). And as a must, I had to add some shimmer with clear of Wink of Stella to the dragonfly, mountain tops, and polypores. Sadly it’s really hard to capture this lovely shimmer on photos. But now to the frame.

anna-stampin-cave-stampin-up-sale-a-bration-inside-the-lines-dragonfly

Believe it or not, this is my first ever altered photo frame. I knew I want flowers, but for a long time, I couldn’t decide on a colour. First, I wanted to go with quite a feminine look, so pinks and oranges. But once I had all my flowers ready I didn’t really like it. Typical haha. But no worries, I will use them to something else. And then I had this revelation: how about Very Vanilla?! Genius!

I die-cut oodles of flowers and leaves from Very Vanilla and Vellum cardstock. Arranged them around the frame and once I was happy with the placing, I adhered them with glue dots.

anna-stampin-cave-stampin-up-sale-a-bration-inside-the-lines-dsp-picture-frame

But as you may know me already, nothing can be too easy haha And when I looked at my frame something was missing, in my humble opinion. Oh right, it was too ‘clean’, too ‘white’. I needed some ‘controlled mess’.

I pressed Pear Pizzazz and Soft Sky ink pads next to each other on the craft mat and spritz it with water. I covered the glass with a piece of paper, and using a clean brush I added random and less random splatters to the flowers and leaves. And I have to say I love it now! And I hope you like my little project too.

I also want to add this project to the #071 Theme Challenge over at Global Design Project Challenge Blog. This weeks theme is ‘3D Or Off The Page’

gdp071

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

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day!

 

Inside The Lines Designer Series Paper

Inside The Lines Designer Series Paper
[143830]
£0.00

Botanical Builder Framelits Dies

Botanical Builder Framelits Dies
[140625]
£30.00

Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock

Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock
[106550]
£8.25

White Vellum A4 Card Stock

White Vellum A4 Card Stock
[106584]
£6.00

Many Marvelous Markers

Many Marvelous Markers
[131264]
£99.00

Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad

Crushed Curry Classic Stampin’ Pad
[131173]
£6.00

Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad

Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin’ Pad
[131180]
£6.00

Tip Top Taupe Classic Stampin' Pad

Tip Top Taupe Classic Stampin’ Pad
[138325]
£6.00

Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad

Sahara Sand Classic Stampin’ Pad
[126976]
£6.00

Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad

Smoky Slate Classic Stampin’ Pad
[131179]
£6.00

Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad

Soft Sky Classic Stampin’ Pad
[131181]
£6.00

Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad

Whisper White Craft Stampin’ Pad
[101731]
£7.25

Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush
[141897]
£7.25

Aqua Painters

Aqua Painters
[103954]
£15.50

White Perfect Accents

White Perfect Accents
[138416]
£4.50

Liquid Multipurpose Glue

Liquid Multipurpose Glue
[110755]
£3.75

Glue Dots

Glue Dots
[103683]
£4.75

Stampin' Trimmer

Stampin’ Trimmer
[129722]
£27.00

Big Shot

Big Shot
[143263]
£99.00

Dragonfly Dreams Stamp Set & Coordinating Dies

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

anna-stampin-cave-ink-smooshing-technique-with-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.

anna-stampin-cave-ink-smooshing-technique-with-dragonfly-dreams-stamp-set-detailed-dragonfly-thinlits-dies

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.

anna-stampin-cave-ink-smooshing-technique-with-dragonfly-dreams-stamp-set-detailed-dragonfly-dies

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.

anna-stampin-cave-ink-smooshing-technique-with-dragonfly-dreams-stamp-set-detailed-dragonfly-thinlits

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.

anna-stampin-cave-ink-smooshing-technique-with-dragonfly-dreams-bundle

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

Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Bundle
[144728]
£42.25

Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies

Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies
[142749]
£28.00

Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Stamp Set

Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Stamp Set
[142924]
£19.00

Cucumber Crush A4 Cardstock

Cucumber Crush A4 Cardstock
[138342]
£7.25

Island Indigo A4 Card Stock

Island Indigo A4 Card Stock
[124390]
£7.25

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

Whisper White A4 Card Stock
[106549]
£8.25

White Vellum A4 Card Stock

White Vellum A4 Card Stock
[106584]
£6.00

Shimmery White A4 Card Stock

Shimmery White A4 Card Stock
[121717]
£7.25

Cucumber Crush Classic Stampin' Pad

Cucumber Crush Classic Stampin’ Pad
[138324]
£6.00

Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad

Island Indigo Classic Stampin’ Pad
[126986]
£6.00

Versamark Pad

Versamark Pad
[102283]
£7.75

Embossing Buddy

Embossing Buddy
[103083]
£5.50

Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder

Copper Stampin’ Emboss Powder
[141636]
£4.50

Aqua Painters

Aqua Painters
[103954]
£15.50

Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush
[141897]
£7.25

Liquid Multipurpose Glue

Liquid Multipurpose Glue
[110755]
£3.75

Stampin' Dimensionals

Stampin’ Dimensionals
[104430]
£3.75

Paper Snips Scissors

Paper Snips Scissors
[103579]
£9.00

Stampin' Trimmer

Stampin’ Trimmer
[129722]
£27.00

Big Shot

Big Shot
[143263]
£99.00

Dragonfly Dreams Clean & Simple For GDP#069 Colour Challenge

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

gdp069

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.

anna-stampin-cave-stampin-up-dragonfly-dreams-stamp-set-and-dies-bundle-clean-and-simple-card

‘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.

anna-stampin-cave-stampin-up-dragonfly-dreams-bundle-clean-and-simple-card

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.

anna-stampin-cave-stampin-up-dragonfly-dreams-bundle-clean-and-simple-card-inside

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.

Anna' Stampin' Cave Dragonfly Dreams Bundle Clean and Simple Card.JPG

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.

anna-stampin-cave-stampin-up-dragonfly-dreams-bundle-cas

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

gdp_blog_header

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

Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Bundle
[144728]
£42.25

Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies

Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies
[142749]
£28.00

Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Stamp Set

Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Stamp Set
[142924]
£19.00

Gorgeous Grunge Clear Stamp Set

Gorgeous Grunge Clear Stamp Set
[130517]
£18.00

Delightful Dijon A4 Cardstock

Delightful Dijon A4 Cardstock
[138345]
£7.25

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

Whisper White A4 Card Stock
[106549]
£8.25

Delightful Dijon Classic Stampin' Pad

Delightful Dijon Classic Stampin’ Pad
[138327]
£6.00

Embossing Buddy

Embossing Buddy
[103083]
£5.50

Versamark Pad

Versamark Pad
[102283]
£7.75

Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder

Silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder
[109131]
£4.50

Stampin' Dimensionals

Stampin’ Dimensionals
[104430]
£3.75

Liquid Multipurpose Glue

Liquid Multipurpose Glue
[110755]
£3.75

Stampin' Trimmer

Stampin’ Trimmer
[129722]
£27.00

Big Shot

Big Shot
[143263]
£99.00