Totally Techniques Blog Hop - Watercolour Technique

I am feeling really excited about this month’s hop with the Totally Techniques design team – the reason being that I know how incredibly talented they are at water colouring. . .

You have possibly just come by from Heather Wright-Porto's blog. Wasn’t Heather's card incredible?

Here is mine and I have to admit to being a bit of an amateur at water colouring and I wanted to use only Stampin’ Up! products so of course am using the Classic Ink Stamp Pads as my colour medium:

Surprise, surprise a square card lol!

The base card is Rich Razzleberry, since Blackberry Bliss was released two years ago, I don’t use this colour as frequently as I once did but I thought it was perfect for this card. The square mount on top of the base card is Old Olive.  I tend to lean towards square cards because I can fit more stamping and textures on them and I notice that the people I give them to seem to keep them on show a little longer. I am sure that they end up in the bin ultimately but if I can extend the shelf life that’s what I am all about lol.

I have been having trouble with the quality of my Stampin’ Up! water colour card so I opted to use the Coaster Board as my stamping base. Because I wanted a stamped image to be the main focus I heat embossed in white the flowers from the Helping Me Grow set. I like to unclip the lid of the ink pad and squeeze the lid and the base together so that you are left with a big squelch of ink in the base that is easy to pick up you are water colouring.

I dampened the embossed flowers with water – it’s really simple to do this with a clean aqua painter and it helps the colour to be taken up. I then water coloured the flowers using an aqua painter and Classic Ink Stamp Pads I used Rich Razzleberry as my main colour and then blended in the tips of the petals with Blushing Bride – I wanted two colours that contrasted as well as complementing each other.  I allowed the images to dry a little then came back in with Rich Razzleberry in the centres to have a more dramatic contrast.

The stem is coloured in Old Olive and Mossy Meadow.  I used Old Olive and the fern stamp from Butterfly Basics in the background but didn’t stamp that aspect until I had done the background.

Whimsical backgrounds can be created with ink pads as well and that was my goal with this card. I spritzed the background with water being careful to avoid the coloured flowers so that they wouldn’t bleed into the background. I came back in between the individual flowers with a clean aqua painter to dampen the areas which I was trying to avoid bleeding into (this meant that the blue background would still spread on the background between these images as well).

In order to get a fair bit of ink on the background without looking like it was dabbed on I squeezed the lids and base of the Classic Ink Stamp pads until there was a large amount of ink residue in the base. I then spritzed the base of the stamp pad with water (it makes a colourful puddle), mixed the colour and the water through and applied it to the still damp background with an aqua painter. I squeezed the aqua painter as I went to ensure even more water flowed through the nib. The colours I used on the background were Pool Party and Old Olive for the background.  

Next I generation stamped the ferns from Butterfly Basics across the bottom left hand corner to blend the stamped images a little more.  I also stamped the fly poo dots from Gorgeous Grunge in Pool Party ink to add to the randomness of the background.

On a separate piece of Whisper White cardstock I stamped the border from the Rose Wonder set in Rich Razzleberry and the ‘happy birthday” sentiment in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. I fussy cut the shape out to avoid the white edge on the boarder.

I wanted to tie in the base card colour and the images on the front of the card so I punched three Rich Razzleberry flowers using the 4 petal flower out of the Itty Bitty Punch Set. These are mounted with glue dots and I couldn’t resist adding some pearls for the centres. To have a contrast to the flowers and the flatness of this card I used Linen Thread for texture and criss-crossed it across the card three times.

I hope that you have found some inspiration in my card, feel free to leave a comment - I love to hear what you think. And don't leave - stick around and check out the next blogger Nadine Weiner!

Happy water colouring!

Cheers

Shanni xx

Totally Techniques Design Team Roll Call

Sandi MacIver

Patrice Halliday-Larsen

Amy Koenders

Lee Conrey

Shelagh Freemantle

Marine Wiplier

Erna Logtenberg

Heather Wright-Porto

Shannean Moncrieff (that's me)

Nadine Weiner

Alison Solven

Fancy Folds Design Team Blog Hop - Gate Fold Card

Wow! So delighted to be invited to be part of this very talented group of global Stampin' Up! demonstrators. . . chances are you have just visited Frenchie's blog - isn't she amazing?

This month we are creating different Gate Fold cards and here is my creation:

You will have followed the very simple instructions for how to make a Gate Fold card. I think that this style of card is so versatile and fun because you can build pockets inside for gift cards and cash and you can add a little more panache to the decoration on the outside.

I love square cards - they feel so much more substantial and extravagant than smaller cards but be conscious that you can adjust this design to any size preference. My base card is Whisper White Thick Cardstock (12" x  6"). I have scored and folded it to the Gate Fold template. It is mounted on a square of Watermelon Wonder Cardstock to "frame the whole creation and tie in the colours of the stamped project.

I have lined both the inside of the card and mounted the designer series paper on the front with Old Olive Cardstock. The inside is then mounted with another piece of Whisper White Cardstock. On the outside I mounted a square of floating leaves design paper from the English Garden DSP (primary colours Mossy Meadow and Old Olive). I couldn't resist layering a piece of the Watermelon Wonder 1" Stitched Ribbon over one edge of the DSP - I was wanting some extra texture and interest and a splash of solid colour to balance the images.

Using the Oval Framelits I cut a piece of Whisper White using the largest plain oval. I then traced the outside edge of that framelit on Old Olive Cardstock and cut out a mounting piece just marginally bigger that the white. I stamped the filigree stamp from First Sight stamp set in stamped off Old Olive ink. I heat embossed the flowers from Birthday Blooms in black on a separate piece of Whisper White Cardstock (two of the large flower and three of the smaller poppy image).

I water-coloured the heat embossed images using Watermelon Wonder, Blushing Bride, Mossy Meadow and Old Olive inks and an aqua painter. I then fussy cut the images out and played with the arrangements until I was happy with the balance. Don't be afraid to cut into stamped images like these to change the configuration depending upon your project. Imagine these blossoms cascading down the side of a scrapping page!

The fussy cut flowers are mounted on dimensionals whilst the pink poppies are adhered flat on the background. The stringed pearls are from the Love Blossoms Embellishment Kit. I adhered them with glue dots that I rolled into narrow sticky spots to hide under the pearls.

I hope you can see the differences in the layering. The oval is mounted using dimensionals on the left hand opening of the card and there is a fair bit of weight in that side of the card which holds it firmly together. The sentiment "dear friend" from the Birthday Blooms set is stamped in Mossy Meadow on Whisper White and punched out using the Large Oval Punch. It is adhered directly onto the DSP background.

The finished project! I hope you have gotten some ideas for your next Gate Fold card.

Check out the the rest of our blog hop here:

Here is the full roll call of blog hoppers this month:

Patrice Halliday-Larsen

Patty Bennett

Monica Gale

Tanja Kolar

Delphine Lorelli
Martha Inchley

Frances Poitras Martin

Shannean Moncrieff

Until next time

Shanni xx

Totally Techniques - Bouncing Brayer

Wow! When I blink I lose time. . . does that happen to anyone else? It seems like yesterday that I was blog hopping with my Totally Techniques Team and BOOM! its that time again already!

This month's technique as you may have gathered is Bouncing Brayer.

The step by step "how to" do this technique is available on every YouTube channel so I am not going to bore you with the details. . . jumpin' straight in. . . Here is my card:

This is a great technique but difficult to match with a lot of the stamp sets in our current catalogue and mini catalogues. . . I ended up opting to use Beautiful Ride and That Thing You Did. I kind of channeled tie-dying as my theme for a retro-groovy feel.

It's a 6"x 6" square card - base card is Pool Party. Mounted on that is a square of Bermuda Bay and a minimally smaller square of Tangelo Twist. The stamped cardstock (what I like to call my stamping canvas) is Whisper White although you possibly don't believe me on that lol.

I did the "bouncing brayer" technique on the left hand side of the card  using a brayer and the following inks in named order Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight. I followed the YouTube video by Kelly Acheson. Whilst  the technique was easy I was overwhelmed with how bright the colours were because you will have worked out I am not a brights chick.

I then brayered the remaining white area of the stamping canvas (the right hand side) in Pool Party in the standard brayering manner. I masked off the starburst bouncing brayered area with post it notes to avoid mixing the colours too much. You will see that I graduated the colour from intense down to minimal at the bottom.

My goal was to balance all that colour in the background! The little VW beetle is heat embossed in white with the image from Beautiful Ride on Bermuda Bay cardstock and I fussy cut the border.

I needed to bring down the colour of the background a little more so opted for some clouds punched from Vellum Cardstock using the Tree Builder Punch and scattered a few Bermuda Bay Sequins to tie in the colour scheme and pop the beetle.

The sentiment "you're so Vintage" from That Thing You Did is heat embossed in black to overcome the bright background.

Finally to tie in the colours a little more and to complement the theme of groovy, vintage and free love I punched out some hearts using the Confetti Hearts Border Punch in Pacific Point, Bermuda Bay and Tangelo Twist - these are glued down using the precision tip glue which I adore!

I hope that you find some inspiration and love for my groovy card and enjoy the balance of the blog hop.

Next stop is the incredibly talented Nadine Weiner

I hope you have enjoyed the hop and look forward to seeing you again soon. . .

Peace out dudes

Shanni xx

Order of Bloggers this month

Sandi McIver 
Patrice Halliday-Larsen 
Amy Koenders
Lee Conrey 
Sheelagh Freemantle
Marine Wiplier
Erna Logtenberg
Heather Wright-Porto
Shannean Moncrieff (that's me!)
Nadine Weiner
Alison Solven

Totally Techniques - Shaving Foam Fun

Happy 2016 Peeps! Its been a busy few months with lots of changes in my personal life but I am well and happy and full of energy and zest abut the coming year.

I was recently invited to join the Totally Techniques Design team and feel both honoured and excited about the projects that are lined up. This is this month's line up of stampers:

Patrice Halliday-Larsen

Amy Koenders

Lee Conroy

Shelagh Freemantle

Marine Wiplier

Erna Logtenberg

Heather Wright-Porto

Shannean Moncrieff - that's me! Thanks for stopping by. . .

Nadine Weiner

Alison Solven

This month's technique is Shaving Foam and I have to admit that whilst it is not the most creative project that I have come up with it certainly smells the best!

You have already seen some awesome creations courtesy of this talented group of ladies and there is a good chance that you have just finished on Heather Wright-Porto's blog they are some big shoes to fill. . . here's my creation:

You all know that I love square cards and of course I couldn't resist making this one a large 6"x6" size. The base card is Blushing Bride mounted with Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper (I adore this glimmer paper of all the current colours lol). I then mounted the stamping base card (Whisper White) on a marginally bigger square of Rose Red card stock.

I used Serene Silhouettes and the new Balloon Celebrations stamp set along with the sentiment from First Sight - these two sets are available in the new Occasions Cattie which is overflowing with divine stamp sets, accessories and products.  Serene Silhouettes and the dandelions from Balloon Celebrations are stamped in Jet Black Staz-On and Tuxedo Black Memento Ink respectively. The sentiment is stamped in Blushing Bride classic ink.

The balloons are where I have included the Shaving Foam Technique - I made up a sheet of Whisper White using the shaving foam and Rose Red, Blushing Bride and Pink Pirouette re-inkers. I then heat embossed the three different balloons from Balloon Celebrations in clear embossing powder. The stippled one was inked in Versamark, Blushing Bride then embossed in clear. There is of course a matching punch [sigh - I love it when there is a matching punch or framelit] for the balloons.  I then stretched the back of the card stock using a stylus ball and the foam piercing mat to add dimension. . . I love the hint of gloss on the balloons.

Bling was essential to balance the glitter of the glimmer paper so I used the sequins from the Memories in the Making Project Life Accessories Kit - the pearlescent and blushing bride colours don't photograph well but they add the touch of whimsey that I was after!

I hope that you have found some inspiration. I would love to hear your comments xx

Next stop is the hugely talented Nadine Weiner, this lovely lady is such a beautiful person and great inspiration to me.

Until next time, have fun stamping!

Shanni

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Grand Vacation Achievers Holiday Cattie Sneak Peek

Christmas is just around the corner and there is no better time to start all of your projects and your cards because the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalogue starts on 1 September!

The Grand Vacation Achievers are giving you a sneak peek of the awesome stamp sets and products available in this holiday season's cattie.  Here is my card:

I have done something a little outside the box using the Delicate Ornament Thinlet Dies - instead of using them for cutting out either cardstock, designer series paper or a stamped image I have used them to emboss Silver Foil Sheet.

The card is 6" square Night of Navy cardstock base lined with Whisper White and mounted on the front with a square of Silver Fancy Foil Designer Vellum. I love the diagonal lines and associate the pattern with traditional Christmas wrapping papers.

I embossed the Silver Foil cardstock with the three decorative ornaments from the Delicate Ornament Thinlet Dies - I simply turned the thinlets over and placed the cardstock on the non-cutting surface and passed it through the Big Shot.

I stamped the holly image from the Embellished Ornaments on the Silver Foil with Staz On Jet Black ink. I masked the image a little so that I could stamp the holly tumbling over both sides of the ornament. I coloured the leaves with a Mossy Meadow Stampin' Write Marker. I punched out small circles of Red Glimmer Paper using the 3.2mm Circle Handheld Punch and adhered the red glimmer dots with TomBow Glue. I wanted a little aspect to pop.

The sentiment is from Embellished Ornaments in StazOn. I am certain that this set is going to be a global favourite this season as I have already made a few projects in preparation for workshops and classes.

Finally I added the Silver 1.6cm Satin Ribbon bow so that the large ornament would feature as the main focal point of the card.

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog hop and the amazing creations that everyone has come up with. . . until next time!

Happy planning
Shanni xx

Stampin' Up! Grand Vacation Achievers Blog Hop ~ Colour Me New

Welcome to our brand new blog hop, this month we are all on deck! So very exciting as we have the Grand Vacation achievers here from all of the Stampin' Up! markets. . . I feel very humbled to be in such talented company.

Thanks for stopping by. "Colour Me New" proved to be a real challenge to me as I am still coming to terms with the luscious bright colours that are our new In Colours 2015-17.  I have chosen Mint Macaron and Tip Top Taupe as my feature colours.  This is my project:

I tend to make square cards because I like how they feel (more weighty) and they give me a larger area to create on. . . the base card in this instance is Blackberry Bliss, lined on the inside with Whisper White.  I wanted to create a window box effect so I cut a square of Tip Top Taupe cardstock for the backdrop to the framed and mounted Whisper White front.

I die cut the Whisper White cardstock with the largest framelit from the Lots of Labels Framelit Dies to make a void when mounted over the Tip Top Taupe backdrop. I traced the outline of the perimeter of the framelit on a piece of Blackberry Bliss and trimmed around it neatly. I then removed the centre of the shape with the same framelit to make the narrow outline.

I heat embossed the scattered flowers from the Birthday Blossoms in White Stampin' Emboss on the Tip Top Taupe backdrop. I then mounted the Whisper White front on the Tip Top Taupe backdrop and adhered this to the card base. As a contrast but extension of the theme I stamped the same flowers stamp in Tip Top Taupe on Whisper White cardstock and fussy cut them out. I then stuck them in a manner to overlay the framed edge of the window.

I stamped the fly poo stamp from Gorgeous Grunge in Crumb Cake about the flowers to add a little more focus and detail. The centres of the flowers are highlighted with Gold Dazzling Detail.  I punched little blossoms from Mint Macaron cardstock using the flower from the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack. Pearls in the centre tie in the white colour theme and add a touch of luxe.

On a scrap of Whisper White cardstock I stamped the larger bloom from the Birthday Blossoms set in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and using a Blender Pen and the Mint Macaron and Tip Top Taupe Classic ink pads. I then distressed the flowers with my bone folder for a bit of dimension and applied Crystal Effects to make them pop. The flowers are adhered with dimensionals.  You will see the delicate Gold Metallic Thread looped above and to the bottom right of the flowers. I stuck the thread behind the dimensionals as I was layering the flowers on the card. Economical use of adhesive lol!

I adore the Expressions Natural Elements greetings - this time I have coated the natural timber in Gold Dazzling Detail. The greeting is adhered with Mini Glue Dots.  I tied a double bow using the divine Tip Top Taupe Dotted Lace Trim.

I can't wait to browse the amazing creations that my fellow demonstrators have come up with. Thanks for popping by and I hope to see you again.

Cheers
Shanni xx

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Perfect Pairs - Hawaiian Trip Achievers Blog Hop

Can you believe that it's been a month since our last hop? So much has happened, the new 2015-16 Catalogue has launched and there are so many delicious new stamp sets, papers, tools and products! I am excited, my customers and I have been busy working out wish lists (which seem to keep on growing) and I am starting to build up a new collection of favourite stamps and colour combos. . . let me know if you would like a catalogue mailed to you or if I can help with any of your crafting needs.

I am so excited to be part of this month's blog hop.  There are so many talented people amongst the Grand Vacation Achievers and their projects this month are really inspiring!

This month's theme is Perfect Pairs and we needed to pair something from the old cattie with something from the new. Here is my creation:

I have used Kinda Eclectic, Petite Petals and Beautiful Bunch from the old cattie, Butterfly Basics from the Occasions Cattie (now carried over) and paired them with Awesomely Artistic and Birthday Blossoms from the new Catalogue.

The base card is Mossy Meadow cardstock lined inside with Very Vanilla. I mounted the front with Watermelon Wonder cardstock and the base for stamping is another square of Very Vanilla which I embossed with the Brick Wall TIEF. I daubed the edges of the bricks and other areas with Crumb Cake Classic Ink.  The fern leaves from Butterfly Basics is stamped in Mossy Meadow directly onto the textured background as are the little scatter flowers from Awesomely Artistic in Crumb Cake.

I stamped the two flower images from Beautiful Bunch (2 times) and Birthday Blossom and five of the detailed flower from Petite Petals in Black StazOn Ink on Very Vanilla. I then coloured them with Watermelon Wonder with Cherry Cobbler Close to the centres using an aqua painter. I punched the flowers with the Fun Flower, Pansy and Petite Petals Punches (you will see that I coloured outside the lines to the very edge of the punch ~ brave right lol). I daubed the edges with Tangelo Twist to add a bit more contrast to the colours. I then shaped the backs of the petals with a bone folder, stylus and the piercing mat.  I cut one of  the largest flowers into six separate petals and stuck them a little off centre behind the main flower.

I coloured the centres of the flowers in Crumb Cake and then added dots of Soft Suede and White using the Stampin' Write Marker and Gel Pen. I coated them with Crystal Effects to draw the centres out a little.  The leaves from Kinda Eclectic are stamped in Black StazOn Ink, painted with Moss Meadow, fussy cut and shaped with a stylus and piercing mat.  I added silicon (Selley's All-Purpose Sealer) behind the flower petals and the leaves to maintain their shape.

The dragon fly from Awesomely Artistic is stamped direct on the card in Smokey Slate Classic Ink. I stamped a second dragon fly on a scrap of Very Vanilla and fussy cut the wings out, shaped them with a stylus and piercing mat, added silicon to the back to keep the curved shape and adhered the wings on top of the stamped image. The iridescent effect is Dazzling Details..

I love the new Expressions Natural Elements in the new catalogue. This is a great way to add a salutation without stamping. I wanted the greeting to pop so I covered the timber embellishment with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and adhered it to the card with Crystal Effects.

You can see the dimension in the card - I think it's quite effective and the great thing is that the silicon is light so won't add to postage cost and will avoid being flattened in the process.

I hope you have enjoyed this project and are motivated to try the techniques I have used.  Take the time to check out the rest of the bloggers on the hop - the creations are diverse and awesome! 

Enjoy the rest of the hop!

Shanni xx

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog