AWH Blog Hop: New Catalogue

Hi!

Tonight the Art With Heart team are sharing creative products using supplies from the upcoming 2019 - 2020 Annual Catalogue. If you would like a copy of the brand new Annual Catalogue, contact any of the girls on the blog hop and we will get in touch with you.

New catalogue time is always an exciting time for devotees of Stampin' Up!, and this year's catalogue is no exception. I found it very difficult to narrow down what I was going to play with, and in the end went for one of the very first products I got my hands on - Mosaic Mood SDSP.

I used two different sheets from the pack to create my background. It's a fairly classic layout - top third on one pattern, bottom tow thirds in another, with a solid strip between them to break them up. In this case I've used some Mint Macaron ribbon. I love the patterns in this paper, and can't wait to play some more with them.

The humming bird was fussy cut from a third sheet of DSP. What you can't see in the photo is what makes this pack a Specialty pack. The catalogue calls it 'shiny accents', but it's like an actual mosaic. The design is raised and very textural. So pretty - just like running your fingers over real tiles.

I stamped the inside with the humming bird from the retiring stamp set, Humming Along. It's a great tie in with the DSP, so if you love the paper, I'd grab the stamp set before it's too late!

Now it’s time to hop on over to our next participant, the very talented, Ros Davidson.     

If you find a broken link or have come to this blog hop from a different entry point, you can view the participants below:

Christina Barnes
Rachel Woollard
Tina Gillespie
Ros Davidson
Vicki Boucher
Rebecca Jacovou
Claire Daly
Catherine Proctor
Rachel Palmieri
Kimberly Hern
Kate Morgan

Bye for now,

Tina

Springtime In Sahara

Hi!

Welcome once again to the new Colour Creations Blog Hop. I'm joining in even though I'm still in New Zealand, so hopefully nothing technical goes wrong!

This week we are featuring a neutral that I don't use very much. - Sahara Sand. I was so lacking for inspiration that I went googling and I found this card by Teneale Williams that I decided to CASE. There are lots of products on her card that are long retired, so I had to make do with similar current products.

As the current butterfly is wider than the old style one, I flipped the card to be landscape orientation. I kept the strips of DSP at each end of the card, as I quite liked that feature.

I promise that I used some Sahara Sand DSP from the Neutrals pack on my card, the photo is just showing it as more like Crumb Cake! I pulled out an old favourite stamp set, Timeless Textures to add some detail under the butterfly. There are actually two butterflies layered - another feature I loved from Teneale's card.

Similar inside stamping, and I also repeated the DSP under the panel trick for the strip along the bottom of the inside. I will have to remember that one!

Time once more to pop on over to Catherine's blog to see the rest of this week's Sahara Sand cards. You'll be glad you did.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #451: Just Add Inspiration

Hi!

Welcome to the new Just Add Ink challenge. This week Jo has found this gorgeous Inspiration photo for us to use to spark our creativity. Wouldn't your heart sigh when you met a friend at this cafe? It's so pretty!

I was particularly taken by the colours in the photo, so I pulled out my Petal Pink, Call Me Clover, Melon Mambo and Whisper White cardstock and off I went!

I started with the Beautifully Detailed Laser Cut panel. It's so pretty, and the opening in the middle made me think of a window like the one in the Inspiration Photo. I popped it up over a panel of Petal Pink and then set all that over lots of Call Me Clover layers.

I was very excited to realise that the Everyday Label punch is the perfect match for the opening in the  laser cut paper. I don't know why I was surprised, as coordination is one of Stampin' Up!'s hallmarks! The Whisper White label on it's own wasn't enough, so I cropped an extra two from Call Me Clover card and layered them underneath to give a narrow border.

I used the Sprig punch on both the front and inside to provide a base for the flowers. Did you know that the punch had carried over from the Holiday Catalogue? Not long now 'til we know if it will appear in the new Annual Catalogue!

Why not pop on over to the Just Add Ink to see the rest of the Design Team's cards, and to link up yours? Can't wait to see how your creativity is sparked by the Inspiration photo.

Bye for now,

Tina

Poppies On Parade

Hi!

Welcome to the new Colour Creations Blog Share! This week is another favourite colour of mine - Poppy Parade. I was very excited to see it back in the lineup after a bit of a hiatus.

Once again, I decided to try a new to me technique for the blog share. I receive the Splitcoast Stampers emails, and the latest had a tutorial for Die Embossed Watercolouring. The sample looked stunning, so I couldn't resist giving it a go.

Basically, you use you embossing mats and a die to create an embossed impression on your cardstock. I used Shimmery White, as it copes pretty well with watercolouring and is a cheaper alternative to watercolour paper. I used the large flower die from Springtime Impressions to create the base of my image. You then just watercolour the image. I used Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, Green Apple Green, Garden Green, Highland Heather, Soft Suede and Balmy Blue.

I have said many times that I am very much a 'slap on the colour' watercolourer. This perhaps isn't the best way to approach this technique! What do you think? Do you like the look and am I being too critical of myself? You can see that Poppy Parade is a very orange red, and watercolouring really brings this out. I used a second layer of ink in the embossed sections to add a bit of shading to the flower. I think that maybe this card is one of those 'stand back and unfocused your eyes a little' types of cards. LOL!

I think I will give this technique another go when I'm a bit less time poor and have more patience. Done correctly, I think it would be wonderful!

That's it for me, now you can pop on over to Catherine's blog to see the ret of this weeks Poppy Parade cards.

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC #217: Happiness Blooms

Hi!

Oh, wow, where did that week go? They are just flying by right now! Suddenly it's time for the Sunday night CASEing The Catty Blog Hop. Yay! The blog before mine was my fellow South Aussie and friend, Kathryn.

This week we are looking at the Happiness Blooms section of the Occasions Catalogue. It is quite a large section, clocking in at a whopping 9 pages. Plenty of inspiration to be found!

My eye was caught by the 'smile' card from page 26, and so that's what I CASEd this week - in particular the colours and the vellum element.

I started by stamping the image from Lovely Lattice on Shimmery White cardstock using Stazon ink. I then watercoloured the image using Lovely Lipstick, Pineapple Punch, Call Me Clover and Night Of Navy ink. I'm very much a 'slap on the colour' type of watercolourer - so while I try to get colour variations in each section I'm not really hung up on trying to get the shadows just right.

I love the used of vellum for a sentiment where you don't want to cover your image. If you've just spent all that time and effort colouring, why cover it up? Vellum is a great compromise. I stamped on this strip with Stazon and then wrapped it around the main panel, adhering it at the back and solving the problem of needing to hide the adhesive.

Sigh, I've tried so hard to get my cards out early this year, but it's late February and I've already had to drag out the 'happy belated birthday' sentiment. Oh well, March is a fresh month to get back on track!

It's your turn now - which card inspires you? Do you like the layout, the colours, or maybe a technique? Get creative and share your card over in our Facebook group.

Before you dash off to make your card for this week's challenge, don't forget to complete the Blog Hop! Next is the lovely Monique.

Bye for now,

Tina

AWH January Blog Hop: Occasions Catalogue

Hi!

Tonight the Art With Heart team are sharing creative projects using product from the Occasions Catalogue. The Occasions Catalogue is current now until June 3rd. Be sure to request your copy of the catalogue today (along with the Sale-A-Bration brochure).Did you know that Sale-A-Bration is also a great time to join our fabulous team? Ask anyone on the blog hop if you’d like more details. 

I decided to use one of the smaller items in the Occasions Catalogue for tonight's projects. It may even be one you've overlooked - the Sweet Pins and Tags, on page 15 of the catalogue. They are part of the How Sweet It Is suite of products. I'm not a big fan of that suite, and I'm not really even sure why I ordered the tags. Maybe to bump up an order so that I reached a SAB threshold for a freebie? Sound familiar? LOL

As I sat to craft, I looked at page 14 of the Occasions Catalogue and noticed that the samples had coloured tags.  I was so excited by this - it makes the tags so much more interesting! The basic tags are white with iridescent foil edges - pretty, but a bit ho-hum. How much nicer does it look in Calypso Coral? The iridescent border stands out soooo much more, and you really get to see the features like the stripes on the corners.

To colour the tag, I simply used my sponge brayer, but you could probably just apply the ink with a spritzer, dauber or sponge. I completed the card with two more Occasions Catalogue products - Happiness Blooms DSP and Itty Bitty Birthdays stamp set. The flower on the tag was fussy cut from the DSP, as is the flower on the inside.

Now, once I'd coloured one tag, I couldn't stop there. The pack has three different shaped tags, and you get 8 of each, plus some cute little pins that you could use to attach them to ribbon, etc. I chose not to use the pins as they don't really make sense on a card.

This card features the round tag, brayered with Lovely Lipstick ink. Once again, the DSP is from the Happiness Blooms DSP pack. I love the bold colours and patterns in the papers!

The stamp set I used on the inside is also a new set from the Occasions Catalogue, called Incredible Like You. I really love the cursive font - what do you think?

I've cheated a little on this last card, as apart from the tag, it's mostly SAB products. As soon as I saw the tag I decided it would make a great resting spot for a butterfly from the Botanical Butterfly DSP. I was right!

This tag was brayered with Balmy Blue ink to match the colours in the DSP. Even though it's a softer colour it really makes the tag pop.

I returned to Itty Bitty Birthdays for the inside sentiment.

Here are all three cards together. Are you rethinking the tags now? At only $8.95 for a pack of 24, they are a value buy, and definitely worth another look, especially as they can be changed to any colour you desire. Just doing a spot of enabling there!

Phew! That's finally it from me, now you're off to visit Ros Davidson, who always creates something pretty amazing!

Here's the list of links in case you get lost or find a broken link along the way.

Tina Gillespie
Ros Davidson
Kate Morgan
Caroline Manwaring
Sharon Davern
Kimberly Hern

Sue Madex
Claire Daly

Bye for now,

Tina

Dragonflies In The Mossy Meadow

Hi!

This week's Colour Creations features Mossy Meadow, a colour I am yet to really warm to. It's a part of the Neutrals family and is a dark, earthy green. It's a feature colour in the gorgeous Petal Promenade DSP pack, so that was my starting point for this card.

My class ladies had seen this card on my blog, featuring the Inlaid Dies Technique, and were keen to give it a go. That card was too complicated for a class situation, so I made this as a simpler alternative. I love how the floral paper looks cut into the dragonfly shape!

So as a recap, the technique is a bit like masking, but with dies. You start at the back by cutting the circle. The hole is then 'filled' by the same sized circle in a different pattern paper, held in place with washi tape on the back. Next I cut the top dragonfly, again filling the hole with the floral paper. Finally, I cut and filled the lower dragonfly. You need to use a *lot* of washi on the back to hold it all in place, but it's worth it - I love the look!

I kept the circle from the front, and also the first dragonfly die cut, to use on the inside. The dragonfly wasn't a complete cut, so I made sure he was flying off the edge to disguise that fact.

I hope you like the card and try out the technique - it's a fun one!

Why not pop on over to Catherine's Blog, where you can see what everyone else has done with Mossy Meadow this week?

Bye for now,

Tina

Humming Along In Lipstick

Hi!

Its time once again for this week's Colour Creations Blog Share. This week we are looking at Lovely Lipstick. It's a colour I haven't used much as it intimidates me a bit! I can't decide if it's a red or a pink! What do you think? Today's card definitely leans towards pink. What ever you think, it's bold colour, and so I toned it down a little with a layer of vellum.

I have used a stamp set that was an All Attendee gift at OnStage, called Humming Along. It will be available from January when the Occasions Catalogue goes live. Isn't the flower gorgeous? It's a lovely big bloom, just right for colouring. Does anyone know the type of flower? I'm a bit horticulturally challenged! EDIT: My friend Rachel tells me it's a hibiscus!

 When we are at OnStage we get to see a lot of different stamping presentations. One which really stuck with me was Dale Hampshire's presentation on colouring for people who have problems with holding markers - maybe they have shaky hands, as Dale does. I've been thinking off and on about other ways to colour.

I decided to give smooshing as a method of colouring a go, and I was quite pleased with the results. Do you remember how to smoosh? You basically just transfer some ink to a clear block, spritz with some water, pick up the watery ink with a bendable plastic sheet and then smoosh the sheet onto your cardstock.

This time I stamped first in Stazon ink so that my outline wouldn't run. I was then able to be a bit more selective about where on my Shimmery White cardstock I smooshed each colour (Lovely Lipstick, Old Olive and Mango Melody). It looks quite messy like this, doesn't it? Look closer though - the water and the way you bend the plastic help to create colour variations in the different parts of the flower and leaves. It's not a perfect way of colouring, but it's not meant to be! Take a look at how it ends up once it's fussy cut (BTW: there's a gorgeous set of dies to match the stamp set, but I don't have them yet!):

I was so pleased with the results, and I can't wait to try it with my class ladies! It really is a cheat's watercolouring.

I finished off the inside with another of the blooms and a strip of DSP left from the front. The sentiment comes from the Varied Vases set. You may be interested to know that there's a new stamp set to match the lunch in the Occasions Catalogue too!

Why not pop on over to Catherine's blog, where you'll find the rest of this week's Lovely Lipstick cards? It's a bold colour, and I can't wait to see what the other girls have done with it.

Bye for now,

Tina