International Highlights Winners Blog Hop

Anna' Stampin' Cave - Soft Sea Foam & Coastal Cabana Watercolour Wash with a touch of gold using Artfully Folded Stamp Set by Stampin' Up!

3 July 20183 July 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 18 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – International Highlights Winners Blog Hop

I was so absolutely thrilled that Kylie Bertucci has chosen me to hop amongst the top ten winners of her International Blog Highlight from June.

Every month, the ‘top ten’ get to blog hop with Kylie, using the same theme, and this time the theme was Friendship.

A month ago I’ve used Detailed With Love Stamp Set. This time, however, I decided to use beautiful host stamp set called Artfully Folded.

Artfully Folded card dimensions:

Soft Sea Foam: 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)
Coastal Cabana cardstock: 3-3/4″ x 5″ (9.6 cm x 12.7 cm)
Watercolour Paper: 3″ x 4-3/4″ (7.6 cm x 12 cm)
Coastal Cabana strip for the sentiment: 1/4′ x 2-3/4″ (0.6 cm x 7 cm)

First I heat embossed the image from Artfully Folded Stamp Set on watercolour paper, using Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder.

Once the image was heat embossed, I took an Aqua Painter and using Soft Sea Foam ink pad I started adding the colour to my image. I also added some of the Coastal Cabana ink to the image.

Next, I took a transparency sheet that comes with photopolymer stamps and used it as my palette: I squashed some of both colours onto it, added some water from Aqua Painter and pressed it to my watercolour panel. I love how it turned out.

I took the Coastal Cabana panel and stamped it with various images from the set using Versamark ink and adhered it to the base at a wonky angle. Next, I also added my watercolour panel.

On a strip of Coastal Cabana, I heat embossed a sentiment from this same stamp set (be your own kind of beautiful) and added to the card with dimensionals.

I really hope you enjoyed visiting my blog today and I would love to encourage you to hop along with us and see the rest of beautiful projects designed by amazing artists.

Below is a list of the top ten winners participating in this hop, all very talented demonstrators from all around the world!

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.

HOST CODE for the month of JULY is D369YGBB. Orders of £50+ (excl. p&p) will receive a Surprise Thank You Gift from me. You won’t be disappointed!

Thank You Gifts will be shipped in the first 2 weeks of the following month they were earned (mid-August).

Artfully Folded Photopolymer Stamp Set [146806] £9.00	Watercolor Paper [122959] £4.75	Soft Sea Foam A4 Cardstock [147012] £8.00	Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana [131302] £8.00
Soft Sea Foam Classic Stampin’ Pad [147102] £7.00	Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin’ Pad [147097] £7.00	Versamark Pad [102283] £7.75	Embossing Buddy [103083] £5.50
Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder [109129] £4.50	Aqua Painters [103954] £15.50	Stamparatus [148187] £46.00	Clear Block C [118486] £6.25
Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755] £3.75	Stampin’ Dimensionals [104430] £3.75	Stampin’ Trimmer [129722] £27.00	Heat Tool – Uk Plug [129054] £27.00

Pin me

Summary of the project which gives all the views of the card in one photo. I’d love if you pinned and called by on Pinterest xx

HOW TO USE HOSTESS CODE

DON’T FORGET TO CHECK

1-31 July – GET 10 FREE INK PADS (up to a £63 added value) with the £99 Starter Kit. Choose one of the five colour collections (In Color, Brights, Neutrals, Regals or Subtles). For the full details on the Stampin’ Up! July Special Joining Offer –> click here

1-31 July Stampin’ Up! BUY 3 GET 1 FREE on select Designer Series Paper –> click here

The New Stampin’ Blends Marker Colours Are Now Available –> click here

Emboss Resist Watercolour Background With Beautiful Peacock Stamp Set

23 February 201823 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 9 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Emboss Resist Watercolour Background With Beautiful Peacock Stamp Set

Hello everyone and thank you for visiting my little stampin’ cave.

Today, I’m playing along with Global Design Project and their #GDP126 Sketch Challenge. And I’ve got for you really simple, yet beautiful card, using FREE Sale-a-bration stamp set: Beautiful Peacock. I don’t know exactly why, but I really love this set, even though it’s completely not in my style.

But except the peacock image, its got all those beautiful, swirly stamps, which supposed to be its tail. And I couldn’t resist using one of these for creating a beautiful, emboss resist watercolour background for my card.

Dimensions:

Lemon Lime Twist 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)
Tranquil Tide cardstock: 3-7/8″ x 5-1/8″
Shimmery White cardstock: 3-3/4″ x 5″
Whisper White cardstock for die cutting
Copper Trim: around 2-1/2″

First, I took Shimmery White panel and dust it with embossing buddy. Next, using Versamark, I stamped peacock’s tail all over the panel. sprinkled with white embossing powder and heat set it using a heat tool.

I pulled out three inkpads I wanted to use: Lemon Lime Twist, Bermuda Bay and Tranquil Tide. To prepare my colour palettes I squeezed each inkpad in the middle lightly to transfer ink from foam to the lid and opened the inkpads.

I wet the entire Shimmery White panel, using aqua painter, and next, I started adding my colours: Lemon Lime Twist at the top, Bermuda Bay in the middle and Tranquil Tide on the bottom. I let the colours to bleed into each other.

I love to watch how embossed images resist the ink – it’s like magic

Remember, watercolours dry lighter, so once my piece was dry, I added more water and more colour, and repeat the process until I was happy.

The sentiment I chose comes from Petal Palette Stamp Set. I stamped in on a piece of Whisper White cardstock with Versamark and heat embossed it in copper. Next, I die-cut it using the second smallest square die from Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies.

When assembling the card, I decided to turn my panel upside down – it looked so much better with Tranquil Tide on top.

Instead of a ribbon or twine from the sketch, I swap it for a Copper Trim. I cut briefly 2-1/2 piece and I pulled it apart to create this cool mat for my sentiment. I add it to the card with dimensionals.

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

I’m also adding my card to:

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 RRMR76JH to receive a gift from me.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day

Hostess Code for February: RRMR76JH – Use this code in the month of February and receive a gift from me. Spend £50 or more and use the code, and you will receive Whisper White 1/4″ (6.4mm) Organza Ribbon + a handmade gift from me

Special Notes: 1) Make sure you select Anna Krol as your demonstrator;
2) If you select “No Contact” box I do not have access to your name and can’t send you a gift;
3) If your order is £150 or more do not use the code and grab your own Stampin’ Rewards + gift from me

Product List

Beautiful Peacock Photopolymer Stamp Set [147239] £0.00	Petal Palette Wood-Mount Stamp Set [145785] £42.00	Petal Palette Clear-Mount Stamp Set [145788] £32.00	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies [145372] £27.00	Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock [144250] £7.25
Tranquil Tide A4 Cardstock [144252] £7.25	Shimmery White A4 Card Stock [121717] £7.25	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £8.25	Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin’ Pad [144086] £6.00	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin’ Pad [131171] £6.00
Tranquil Tide Classic Stampin’ Pad [144085] £6.00	Aqua Painters [103954] £15.50	1/4″ Copper Trim [144179] £5.50	Versamark Pad [102283] £7.75	Embossing Buddy [103083] £5.50
White Stampin’ Emboss Powder [109132] £4.50	Copper Stampin’ Emboss Powder [141636] £4.50	Clear Block B [117147] £5.50	Clear Block D [118485] £7.75	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755] £3.75
Stampin’ Dimensionals [104430] £3.75	Heat Tool – Uk Plug [129054] £27.00	Stampin’ Trimmer [129722] £27.00	Big Shot [143263] £99.00

Pin me

Summary of the project which gives all the views of the card in one photo. I’d love if you pinned and called by on Pinterest xx

Don’t forget to check:

New Sale-a-bration release is LIVE. Click here for more details –>

Spring Summer Catalogue Paper & Ribbon Shares. Shares are open to Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands & United Kingdom. 102 sheets of DSP & 2 yards of each type of ribbon from Spring/Summer Catalogue. Click here for more details —>

The New Stampin’ Up! Spring/Summer 2017 Catalogue and Sale-A-Bration are LIVE and it’s AMAZING! For every 60 €/£45, you spend either from Spring Summer Catalogue or Annual Catalogue, you will get to choose one FREE level 1 product from SAB brochure! If you spend 120 €/£90, you get one FREE level 2 product, OR, you can choose two level 1 items. If you spend 180 €/£135, you have the option to choose three level 1 items or one level 1 item and one level 2 item. Click here for more details —>

Ever wondered what it’s like to join Stampin’ Up!’s community? I may have few answers for you. Click here for more details –>

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