New Stampin' Up colours

When I saw this card design I loved it for two reasons - 1. The colours it uses are the new In Colors for Stampin' Up, some of which I haven't used yet. 2. It features a stamp set that I have and hadn't used yet either.

So this card design is not mine, I found it while searching for some inspiration. It's made by Nancy Riley, click on her name to check out the card that she made. Here's my version of her card:

This is for my sister-in-law.

Materials:
Cardstock: Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White.
Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral.
Stamps: Array of Sunshine (Stampin' Up) and Sophie's Sentiments (Lawn Fawn).
Accessories: (This used to be called 'other')  Basic pearls, ribbon (American Craft),
Tools: (This is a new section) Beautiful Wings embosslits, Circle punch, bird punch, scallop edge punch (Fiskars), Lattice embossing folder, 2 way glue pen, dimensionals, mini glue dots, scissors, double sided tape, big shot machine, Scoring board (Martha Stewart).

Tips and Tricks:
1. The branches and leaves were punched with the bird punch. I ran them through the big shot machine in the lattice embossing folder. I used a 2 way glue pen to adhere them to the card.
2. The coral flower was stamped 3 times and cut out. On two of the flowers, I've just cut out the inner sections and layered them with dimensionals.
3. The circles are glued on with a 2 way glue pen as I don't want the edges to lift up. A tape runner wouldn't get close enough the the circle's edge.
4. The butterflies are stuck on with mini glue dots.

Stuff Ups:
1. Originally I used a Vintage Wallpaper embossed piece of Wisteria Wonder instead of the circles but it was too busy for the look that I wanted.
2. When I finished the card, I had a sip from my can of Coke Zero and a drop of condensation landed on my card - oh no!! I got out my heat tool to dry it and it only let the faintest of watermarks. Silly me.
3. Looking at the card now, maybe I should have stuck the lowest branch over the ribbon instead of under it?

Pleasant Surprises:
1. I'm pleased with the overall look of the circles. I like that textured effect.
2. The ribbon matches the Pool Party butterflies nicely.
3. For once my cutting out was not too shabby!

Another twist on an old success

I made this card yesterday and based it on this card that I made back in October. I played with stripes and colours and I'm pleased with the effect.
Here it is:

Again it's a simple card. I'd spent most of the morning making a baby card just like this one which took longer than expected thus cutting back on the time I had to make this card.

Materials:
Cardstock: Island Indigo, Pool Party, Basic Black, printed acetate by My Memories, P187 Spring Greens: Cabbage Patch by Kaisercraft.
Ink: Stazon Black.
Stamps: Best Dad Ever (for the happy birthday sentiment).
Other: Mini glue dots, baker's twine in Caribbean and Cappuccino by The Twinery.

Tips and Tricks:
1. The sentiment is stamped on the acetate and left to dry before using.
2. All the acetate layers are affixed with mini glue dots.

Stuff Ups:
1. I had to redo the sentiment on the acetate so I removed the ink with Stazon cleaner and tried again.
2. In this picture the cappuccino twine is twisted over itself but I straightened it out before I posted the card.

Pleasant Surprises:
I managed to get the light right for once so the colours in the picture ring true. I also found my mini easel which made it easier for me to get a better photo of the card.

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2012 everyone!
This card is for my Mother-in-law who is in hospital again and we will be visiting her tomorrow. It's quite similar to my last card but I tried a few different techniques on this one.

I did consider colouring the flowers in different shades and tints of purple but since this is a 'get well' card, I wanted it to look more colourful than monochromatic.

Materials:
Cardstock: Shimmery White, Concord Crush, Whisper White, Watercolour paper, In-colour 2010-2011 DSP: Concord Crush.
Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Memento's Tuxedo Black, markers - So Saffron, Melon Mambo, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink and Old Olive, Versamark.
Stamps: On The Mend by Lawn Fawn.
Other:  Basic Rhinestones, clear glitter embossing powder, dimensionals, sponge, Pink Sorbet baker's twine by The Twinery.

Tips and Tricks:
1. Bandaid background - I clear embossed the bandaids. If I had distress inks, I would have used them for the background colour but I don't so I used a sponge and ink pad. I also used the same technique on the flower panel.
2. The vase is paper pieced.
3. I used the Pretty in Pink marker to add rosy cheeks to the flowers.

Stuff Ups:
1. The bandaid stamping is pretty terrible - unevenly spaced, overlapping in parts.
2. The embossing is terrible too - I missed bits and smudged the Versamark when I was sponging. Fortunately most of those bits are covered by the flower panel.
3. I seriously need a lamp because the lighting in my craft room sucks!!
4. On my first attempt at making the flower panel I tried watercolouring the flowers but I guess I didn't let the Tuxedo Black ink dry long enough as it started to run when the aquapainter hit it.