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

Elegant Monochromatic With Pop Of Colour

Image ~ 29 September 201622 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 2 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Elegant Monochromatic With Pop Of Colour

Wow! It’s hard to believe, but today is last day with My Hero Stamp Set from Stampin’ Up! Yep, 5 weeks have passed!

For my final project, I’ve created this striking yet elegant, almost monochromatic card, in shades of grey but with a pop of colour in form of dainty orange flowers.

For the base of my card I took an A4 sheet of Smoky Slate cardstock, cut it in half at 4-1/8″ and folded in half at 5-7/8″. I run the front of the base through Big Shot with Festive Embossing Folder. The panel is a piece of Basic Grey cardstock that measures 2″ x 5-7/8″. I adhere it to the base with Multipurpose Liquid Adhesive.

Next, I created my floral composition using Botanical Builder Framelits Dies. I die cut a couple of leaves from vellum and six flowers: three tiny flowers and three small 3D flowers from a scrap of Whisper White cardstock.

Savvy Tip: Don’t know what to do with random off cuts that are to small to use on cards or to punch anything out of them? Don’t throw them away! I save all my off cuts and use them up when need to die cut small elements, flowers, etc using framelits dies

To add a little bit of colour to my flowers I sponged the edges of the tiny flowers with Watermelon Wonder. For 3D flowers, I decided for more ‘dramatic’ look I sponged entire flowers using Pumpkin Pie ink pad and a dab of Watermelon Wonder to the centres. I also added a large rhinestone to each centre. You can’t really tell from the photos (blame the awful English weather) but I’ve added a touch of shimmer using Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush to each flower (tiny ones too).

Next, I took a strip of vellum ( 1/2″ x 4-1/8″) and stamped a ‘Celebrate’ from My Hero Stamp Set in Versamark. Of course, I’ve used an Embossing Buddy prior to stamping. I heat embossed the sentiment with Silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder.

Tip: For best results with heat embossing always treat your cardstock, dsp, vellum, etc with embossing buddy. I takes off the statick from the surface of your paper, and makes the powder stick only to the areas you stamped.

Tip 2: If you don’t have an embossing buddy or any other antistatic tool you can use cornflour instead. Just sprinkle a little amount of flour over the surface of your cardstock, spread it with fingers or paint brush, and shake off the excess. Now you can stamp and heat emboss.

I assembled my composition using Glue Dots and liquid adhesive. Two tiny flowers on the vellum banner are hiding adhesive that I’ve used to adhere the banner to the card base.

I really like how this card turned out. I love the monochromatic, cold look of greys with a pop of bright orange. And what do you think about this colour combination? Do you like it? I would love to hear from you in comments below.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #13 – Birthday In Marina Mist Blues

Image ~ 24 September 201622 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 13 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Birthday In Marina Mist Blues

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 welcome! We are back with our monthly challenge after a long summer break. Did you miss us?

This week sketch was designed by our lovely Mandy and it is…anything goes. I know! A nice little warm-up for us – thank you, Mandy.

I know you see more and more holidays related projects lately. But I decided to keep the warm summer days for a little bit longer. And what says ‘summer’ more than blue skies and butterflies?

This is a birthday card for sweet ‘sixteen’ who loves blue. The base of my card is Marina Mist cardstock, standard A6 size. The first panel is a piece of Color Me Irresistible Specialty DSP that measures 5-5/8″x 3-7/8″. I chose to use white, embossed woodgrain pattern and gently sponged Marina Mist over my piece and adhere it to the base. Next, I cut a strip of Marina Mist cardstock, 1″ wide, and stamped little roses from Number Of Years Stamp Set all over the piece and adhere it across the sponged panel.

I die-cut two circles: large one from Whisper White ( I pierced it around the edge) and smaller one again from Color Me Irresistible Specialty DSP. I sponged this smaller one with Marina Mist. But this time, I’ve added lots of ink for really deep shade. I adhered smaller circle on top of the large one, off-setting it.

I stamped butterfly from Butterfly Basics on a piece of Whisper White in Marina Mist and die cut it using coordinating die. I also die cut larger, detailed butterfly from vellum, using the same die set. Next, I attached small butterfly on top of detailed one, with Silver Metallic Thread in between. I adhered them both to the circles using glue dots and attached the whole piece to the card base, off-setting it to the left.

I stamped numbers 1 and 6, from Number of Years Stamp Set, in Marina Mist of course, and die-cut it with coordinating dies (I love this set!!!). Next, I stamped banner and word ‘birthday’ inside of the banner and die-cut it. For the word ‘happy’ I had to adjust it a little bit, and with help of masking, and partial die-cutting, I was able to create matching smaller banner. I attached the numbers and banners to the card base using dimensionals.

There’s no such a thing as bling-free teenage girl card, right? So my finish touch was to add a gentle shimmer to the butterfly, circle, and numbers with Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush. I think it’s my first card ever where I’ve used one ink pad colour only. And to be honest I really like this monochromatic look.

And what do you think? Do you like monochromatic? Please let me know in comments below.

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 and don’t forget to enter the hostess code for the month of September RKW34AHD, to receive a gift from me.

Now, be sure to hop along and see more inspiring projects. Your next stop is Mandy’s blog – go and see what she has made for you.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day

Product List

Number Of Years Photopolymer Stamp Set [140653] £24.00	Large Numbers Framelits Dies [140622] £28.00	Butterfly Basics Wood Stamp Set [138813] £44.00	Butterfly Basics Clear Stamp Set [138816] £33.00	Butterfly Basics Photopolymer Stamp Set [137154] £22.00
Butterflies Thinlits Dies [137360] £24.00	Layering Circle Framelits Dies [141705] £32.00	Marina Mist A4 Card Stock [121682] £7.25	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £8.25	White Vellum A4 Card Stock [106584] £6.00
Marina Mist Classic Stampin’ Pad [126962] £6.00	Silver Metallic Thread [138402] £2.75	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [141897] £7.25	Paper-Piercing Tool [126189] £3.75	Stamping Sponges [141337] £3.25
SNAIL Permanent Adhesive [104332] £6.25	Glue Dots [103683] £4.75	Clear Block Starter Bundle [129851] £18.50	Clear Block Caddy Storage [120279] £15.50	Stampin’ Trimmer [129722] £27.00
Big Shot [143263] £99.00

You Are My Hero

Image ~ 22 September 201621 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ Leave a comment

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – You Are My Hero

Another week has passed by, and it’s that time again when our little group of demonstrators is showcasing you this lovely stamp set called ‘My Hero’. I love the versatility of this set, as it covers all major holidays/occasions throughout the year. But not only that. This is Ronald McDonald House Charities stamp set, which means for every set purchased, Stampin’ Up! donates £2 to the RMHC. Visit www.stampinup.com/giving_uk to learn how you can help too.

For today’s project, I’ve chosen ‘You are my #1 hero’ sentiment. I’ve seen many beautiful samples using this stamp. It’s perfect for all those oh-so-hard-to-make masculine cards. But I decided to make a card with a feminine twist. After all, women can be heroes too.

This is a very simple card. For the card base, I chose beautiful and very vibrant Emerald Envy cardstock (standard A6 size). Next layer is a piece of DSP from Playful Palette Designer Series Paper Stack. I took half of the sheet of my chosen design ( 3″x 6″) and trimmed 1/4″ from both sides. I adhered the larger piece to the base first and next, those tiny strips on each side of the panel, but reverse side up. Because the base is smaller than 6″ wide, I trimmed any overhanging paper using my scissors. It’s easier, and for sure you won’t end up with a too small panel. Unfortunately, my strips slightly ‘disappeared’, when adhered to the card base. So I draw few black lines along the edges using Project Life Journaling Pens.

Tip: learn from my mistakes! If, like me, you chose a design that has a kinda symmetrical pattern on the reverse, make sure you trim your panel so you have the same pattern on both strips you’ve trimmed.

Now to the focal point. I stamped my sentiment in Flirty Flamingo, on a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and fussy cut it. It’s an easy shape to do so. I distressed the edges slightly. To make the sentiment ‘pop’ I decided to add a square Basic Black cardstock underneath. I could dry emboss it but instead, I decided to create a fun panel using Layering Squares Framelits. I’ve seen this idea just recently, on Carolyn Bennie blog and just had to try it myself. Carolyn is an amazing Australian demo. You should definitely check her out.

I arranged five scalloped squares dies on a piece of Basic Black cardstock, but offset them slightly. I secured dies to the paper with washi tape and run it through the big shot. Before I removed my dies, I’ve added washi tape underneath of the panel, to keep the squares together. I took another piece of Basic Black cardstock and adhered my die cut squares to that panel. I trimmed it to the 2-3/8″ square.

I adhered my fun square to the card base with a couple of dimensionals. Next, I’ve added my sentiment on top of it, with regular snail adhesive. Few rhinestones on the corners of the badge finish off my card.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

You Put The Merry In My Christmas

Image ~ 15 September 201621 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 4 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – You Put The Merry In My Christmas

Hello, and welcome! Today I’ve got for you a couple of rather traditional Christmas cards. As you probably remember we are showcasing My Hero RMHC Stamp Set by Stampin’ Up!®

Aren’t they lovely?! And they are so easy to make.

The card base is standard top folded A6 in Very Vanilla and I’ve used beautiful This Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper for my panels. These were supposed to be simple, straightforward cards, but then again, I can’t make things that are too easy, can I?! So I decided to turn them into a split panels cards.

The panels I prepared earlier were 4 x 5-6/8″ in size. To create split panels, I cut them diagonally into 3 and removed the middle piece. I cut narrow strips of Garden Green and Cherry Cobbler cardstock and glued them underneath my split panels to accent the’split’. I adhered the panels to the base using snail adhesive.

Using my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig I stamped the sentiment in the ‘split’ area. Next, I created these uber cute mini Christmas trees. To make them, I die cut a scalloped circle from a sheet of the same DSP, just a different design. I cut it in half, fold it into ‘tree’ and secured my folds with mini glue dots.

Because design on this paper is quite ‘busy’, you couldn’t really see the trees, once attached to the card. So I die cut 2 scalloped circles in Very Vanilla and run them through my big shot with Festive Embossing Folder.

Next, I die cut 2 slightly bigger scalloped circles: one in Garden Green and one in Cherry Cobbler to create mats for Very Vanilla pieces. Adhered them together (de-bossed side up) and then added my trees on top.

First I thought to pop my circles up with dimensionals. But because these cards got quite of dimension anyway, I adhered them to the base with snail adhesive.

Super easy, aren’t they? I hope you like them. 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 and don’t forget to enter the hostess code for the month of September RKW34AHD, to receive a gift from me.

I’m also adding my card to Craftyhazelnut’s Patterned Paper September 2016 challenge

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

Anna' Stampin' Cave

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

Join Stampin Up

Dragonfly Dreams Stamp Set & Coordinating Dies

Elegant Monochromatic With Pop Of Colour

Savvy Tip: Don’t know what to do with random off cuts that are to small to use on cards or to punch anything out of them? Don’t throw them away! I save all my off cuts and use them up when need to die cut small elements, flowers, etc using framelits dies

Tip: For best results with heat embossing always treat your cardstock, dsp, vellum, etc with embossing buddy. I takes off the statick from the surface of your paper, and makes the powder stick only to the areas you stamped.

Tip 2: If you don’t have an embossing buddy or any other antistatic tool you can use cornflour instead. Just sprinkle a little amount of flour over the surface of your cardstock, spread it with fingers or paint brush, and shake off the excess. Now you can stamp and heat emboss.

Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #13 – Birthday In Marina Mist Blues

You Are My Hero

You Put The Merry In My Christmas