Going Places With Lost Lagoon

Hi!


I think that today's card is one of my favourite cards that I have even made. I know - it's a big call! There's just some thing about it that really appeals to me.

I started by stamping some Gorgeous Grunge splatters in the opposite corners on the base card, and then built up the layers from there.

I used the retiring Amazing Birthday stamp for the sentiment. You can see that I used my 1 3/4" Circle Punch to crop the image. I wanted the wider border around it so that I could pierce some holes to add a decorative touch. I also pierced the Lost Lagoon circle.

I really, really love the splatter stamp for adding a little something to the inside of a card also. So glad it's not retiring!


Bye for now,


Tina

Lost Lagoon On The Open Sea

Hi!


Today I have a card for you that uses some of my most favourite retiring products. The very top of that list would be the World Map background stamp and the Lost Lagoon In Colour. Sigh. It's always a bittersweet time when favourites retire.

This card was actually a bit of a CASE of one of my own cards from nearly a year ago. You can see the original card here. You can see I've stayed with the World Map/Gorgeous Grunge combo for the background, but this time I've stamped some images from The Open Sea over the top.

I think the sentiment from Butterfly Basics works so well with the card. It reminds me of an old fashioned script, rather like you'd find in a Captain's Log!

I'll be featuring cards with retiring products for the next few weeks - I have plenty in my 'To Blog' folder and I want to show them off before it's too late!


Bye for now,


Tina

World Traveler on a Beautiful Ride

Hi!

It's been a big few days for Stampin' Up demonstrators and customers - the 2016 Retiring List is out! Have you checked it out yet? There are always a few big shocks about what appears on the list, but it's tempered a little by knowing that there is some awesome new stuff just around the corner when the new Annual Catalogue comes out.

Today's card is made with nearly all Retiring products. It was made a few weeks ago, when I had no idea what was going or staying, so just a big coincidence.

So. What's retiring off this card? A Beautiful Ride stamp set (sob!), The Open Sea stamp set (sob!), World Traveler TIEF (big sob!) and the Candy Dots (half sob here, as they are being replaced with something new!)

All the colours I used are remaining though - Crumb Cake, Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango and Very Vanilla. Yes, that's right, no colour shake up this year, apart from the usual change of In Colours.

There are a few other sob-worthy mentions on the Retiring List. Two of my most used items are going - Decorative Dots TIEF and Sassy Salutations stamp set. But as I said, there's plenty to be excited about in the new Catalogue so I'm sure I won't be sad for too long!

Bye for now,

Tina

World Map and The Open Sea

Hi!

Is it just me, or are the World Map and The Open Sea stamp sets the perfect pairing?  I use them together lots.

This time around I've also paired them up with Gorgeous Grunge (splatters on the map) and Butterfly Basics (sentiments).

The colour combination of Basic Black, Smoky Slate, Real Red and Whisper White is fabulous for a male card.

Do you find making male cards easy or difficult? I must admit that if I have no set card to make I usually tend towards the feminine, but I do enjoy making masculine cards too.

Bye for now,

Tina

World Map Birthday Card

Hi!

A bit of a break from the Christmas cards tonight.  Instead I have a card made for my uncle, who has done a bit of travelling lately.

I recently purchased the World Map stamp set, and this was my first play with it.  I stamped it on watercolour paper with Stazon ink and then watercoloured it.  I coloured the oceans in Marina Mist, trying to make it darker around the edges than the middle of the ocean.

For the land areas I coloured the whole thing first with Summer Starfruit and then coloured around the edges and anywhere else I thought should be green with Wild Wasabi.  I was going for an atlas looking map and I think I got pretty close!

I finished off the inside with the compass stamp from The Open Sea, a great companion set to the World Map!

Have a great week,

Bye for now,

Tina

Epic Day Male Card

Hi!

On Monday I showed you a card I'd made as a sample for a Masculine Cards class that I'd run recently.  Here is one of the other cards we made at that class.

This card showed a great way to use up the multitued of little scraps of patterned paper you always seem to end up with.  I just cut them to the same height and adhered them to a piece of backing cardstock. The widths don't matter, in fact I think different widths look better than uniform widths.

A bit tricky to see, but I scored some lines between the sentiment and the DSP panel.  Scor
ing is a great way to add some interest to a card.

We used the Soda Pop Tops (now retired) to add a feature to the card.  We stamped the compass from The Open Sea to go into the Soda Pop Top and then covered it with a layer of Crystal Effects.  In hindsight I would have stamped it in a darker ink.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #188: Just Add Grunge

Hi!

Here we go again!

This week at Just Add Ink the lovely Paula has challenged us to add grunge to our projects. Great!  My Gorgeous Grunge stamp set has been getting a real workout lately.  Luckily I love it so much!

I also used another grungy type stamp - Off The Grid -  and paired it with an old favourite for male cards called The Open Sea.

The colour combination I used for the card was Soft Sky, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla.  Lots of sponging on the card, but the end result is lovely.  Wait - can a grungy card be lovely?  I know what is lovely - the new Burlap Ribbon from the Holiday Catalogue.

There you go!  Will you play along at Just Add Ink this week?  Give grunge a go - it's lots of fun!

Bye for now,

Tina

A Masculine BIrthday Card

Hi!

Sometimes in December we forget that there are other things going on besides Christmas!  I must admit it was a little strange making a birthday card after so many Christmas projects lately. This one was for my uncle, who turned 70 recently.

Can you believe this was my first play with the Early Espresso Coredinations cardstock? What was I waiting for???? Of all three colours, it is the one with the most contrast once the core is revealed.

My uncle lives near the sea, so of course I had to use The Open Sea stamp set, with some Mini Silver Brads as highlights. I used my retired Distressing Essentials Kit to help age the Sahara Sand and More Mustard cardstock.

More of the same to finish off the inside.  Love the way the inside looks like antique paper!

Bye for now,

Tina

Back On The Open Sea

Hi!

I was most excited to see The Open Sea stamp set made a return in the Annual Catalogue.  I had bought it to use in a class while it was current in a mini catalogue, but hadn't really though it would be a set I'd use much. I was wrong!  I liked it a lot and I'm glad I'll be able to use it again.  Today's card was one I made while the past mini was current but never got around to posting.

OK, the little sentiment has retired, but you could easily switch it out for something else.  I stamped the Sahara Sand panel when it was still in one piece and then cut it in three to make the background.

I liked the look of the Night Of Navy anchor over the Sahara Sand map so I repeated it on the inside.

Stamps: The Open Sea, It's Your Day (retired), Happiest Birthday Wishes (retired Hostess)
Ink: Sahara Sand, Night Of Navy
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Night Of Navy, Riding Hood Red
Other: Mini Silver Brads, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Dimensionals

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #110: Just Add A Sketch

Hi!

Yay, it's Friday, which means it's time for another Just Add Ink challenge.  This week it's a sketch to inspire your creativity.  Just as I was about to make my card for this sketch I had an order arrive from Stampin' Up! that included The Open Sea stamp set.  I could not wait another moment to get it inky!  But first, here's the sketch.

I decided to make a square card using the sketch for inspiration.

I used every stamp in the set on this card - isn't it great when you love every single stamp in a set?  I can see that this stamp set will become a favourite of mine!

I can never leave the inside plain, so a bit more stamping to finish it off.

I hope you can play along at Just Add Ink this week.  The sketch is fabulous and sure to inspire you to create!

Stamps: The Open Sea, Well Scripted (retired)
Ink: Night Of Navy, Sahara Sand
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Riding Hood Red, Sahara Sand
Other: 1" Square Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch, Linen Thread, Dimensionals

Bye for now,

Tina