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

Watermelon Wonder You've Got This

I have been trying to figure out different ways to use the Timeless Elegance DSP without simply sticking it on every single project up front and centre where it deserves to be. . .

Here is today's project incorporating the You've Got This stamp set and the Timeless Elegance DSP.

The base card is Very Vanilla. I mounted it on a square of Basic Black cardstock to frame the card. There is also a square of Basic Black cardstock on top of the base card and then on top of that I have included a square of the Timeless Elegance DSP.

I stamped directly on to the DSP using the leaves from Kinda Eclectic in Jet Black StazOn Ink. I wanted some subtle leaves behind the stamped images which would draw your attention to the central feature. I stamped the floral image from You've Got this in Jet Black StazOn Ink on Very Vanilla cardstock and painted the flower in Watermelon Wonder, Soft Suede and Always Artichoke using an aqua painter. I fussy cut them, chopping off the stem at various lengths.

The opaque layer is of course Vellum cardstock cut to the same size as the DSP. I placed two of the coloured floral images on top of the stamped leaves but behind the central image on the top of the card.  I wanted to use the Watermelon Wonder Dotted Lace Trim but not tie any bows or knots because it would have made the card too busy.  The black strip on top of the lace is Basic Black cardstock which I have distressed and torn apart.

I then located the full coloured image on the front over the vellum and other images and on top of the Trim and cardstock strip.  I coasted it with Crystal Effects to make it extra dominant.

The sentiment "Love This" is from the Project Life Remember This set, stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink on Very Vanilla and punched out with the Large Oval Punch and simply stuck across the stem.  The three black Candy Dots are for added interest.

I wanted to take a photo without the light reflecting on the Crystal Effects so that you can get a better feel for the depth of colour and full shadows created by the Vellum.

Thanks for visiting
Shanni xx

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

You've Got This on Glimmer Paper

 I love all things that sparkle and glitter. . . and I am always looking for different ways to us Glimmer Paper in my projects.  Here is my project today using the You've Got This stamp set:

The base card is Very Vanilla mounted on a rectangle of Basic Black cardstock to frame the card. This card has a number of layers as I wanted a sensation of luxury to prevail despite the simplicity.

I stamped the flower image from the You've Got This stamp set on Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper in Versamark and dusted it with Black Stampin' Emboss Powder. Be careful when you heat the embossing powder, pull up as soon as the embossing powder goes off to avoid melting the paper.  I then coloured the embossed image using Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke Classic Stampin' Ink Pads and aqua painter.  Finally when it had dried I fussy cut around the image.  I mounted the image on an oval of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper using dimensionals.

The Glimmer Paper is mounted on a piece of Vellum Cardstock that I embossed with the Lovely Lace TIEF and mounted on top of a piece of Timeless Elegance DSP - it is a Fancy Fan design in Crumb Cake and White.

Because I love texture I couldn't resist using a piece of the Tip Top Taupe Dotted Lace Trim - I covered the Glimmer Paper and stamped image at the bottom to add to the luxe textures and appeal. The sentiment "just because" is from And Many More, stamped in StazOn Black on Very vanilla, punched with the Word Window Punch and mounted with dimensionals on top of the trim.

Hope that the bling appeals to you too!
Shanni xx

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog