The Bold & The Beautiful

Time for something bright... Bold Brights in fact! This one is quite a simple card, but I really like it. I've CASEd an old card by Lauren Meader for this one (I'd actually forgotten she'd had purple along the bottom too... it just ended up working out best with everything else - AND got more purple on the card!), using A Beautiful Thing, the matching It's Beautiful wheel, and the matching Eastern Elegance rub-ons. All of these are in the current Spring Mini catalogue which ends on Nov 30th, so if you want to order them you'd better be quick! The Eastern Elegance rub-ons are of course part of this months promotion, making them even better value for a top quality product.

To get the solid stamp image lighter that the detail stamp I simply stamped off onto scrap paper first. I didn't worry about the detail stamp lining up perfectly with the solid background on this card as I was in the mood for something a little less formal and more fun... it seemed to fit the colours too.

If you'd like to see another card using the same sets and similar colours, check out the card I uploaded to the Elite Challenges blog this morning. But don't forget your sunglasses!

All supplies by Stampin' Up!
Cardstock: Whisper White, Orchid Opulence
Stamp Sets: A Beautiful Thing, It's Beautiful
Inks: VersaMark, Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise, Pink Passion, Orchid opulence
Accessories: Eastern Elegance rub-ons, 5/8" Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon

Bold In Black

This card was for an Inklings mini catty swap, and the returns are starting to show up in people's letterboxes so I can finally share this with you. I really loved how it turned out so I even made some extras (to be technically correct this is an extra, and it has the addition of a little pumpkin rhinestone brad). After working with so many soft and pretty colours before this I felt the need to break out a bold colour combination and use a lot of black for dramatic effect. The large flower was stamped on watercolour paper using VersaMark ink and embossed with black embossing powder. I then drew inside each section with a marker, even going over it a few times to get it really dark, then blended in with the aquapainter.

All supplies by Stampin' Up! Cardstock: Basic Black, Purely Pomegranate, Orchid Opulence, Pumpkin Pie, watercolour paper
Stamp Sets: One Of A Kind, It's Beautiful standard wheel
Inks: VersaMark, Purely Pomegranate, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie marker, Purely Pomegranate "marker" (refill + blender pen), Orchid Opulence marker, aquapainter, Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon, Dimensionals, 2-way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Boho Blossoms punch, black embossing powder, 3/16" corner rounder, Fire circle rhinestone brads.

Spring Mini is Here!

So I underestimated things when I said I'd be back to blogging on Monday. I had a fantastic time on the Inklings team weekend, but stayed up waaaay too late creating and chatting. I look forward to sharing what I made in the days to come, but first I want to share with you things I made before I left.

It's August, which means you can now view and order from the SU! Spring Mini (if you'd like your own copy of the mini just email me and I can pop one in the mail for you). While there is a lot to love in this catalogue I thought I'd kick things off with three simple cards. Yes you read right, three cards. And they're simple!

This first card is just a piece of Whisper White, one jumbo wheel, one stamp, 2 inkpads and 1 ribbon (and a tiny bit of black twine). Pretty, simple and easy. Then I stepped it up a little for the next card:
Two pieces of cardstock and a couple of scraps, one wheel, two stamps, two inkpads, one ribbon, one brad, three punches and some dimensionals. Still pretty, still relatively simple and still relatively easy. Then I stepped it up a wee bit more:
Three pieces of cardstock plus scraps, one wheel, two stamps, two inkpads, one ribbon, one brad, five punches and some dimensionals. Still pretty, simple and easy but with a lot more interest.

All supplies by Stampin' Up!
Cardstock: Kraft, Basic Black, Whisper White, Almost Amethyst, Lavender Lace
Stamp Sets: A Beautiful Thing, It's Beautiful
Inks: Almost Amethyst, StazOn Jet Black
Accessories: Kraft taffeta ribbon, black hemp twine, 5-Petal flower punch, Spring Bouquet punch, 1/16" circle punch, Vintage brads, large oval punch, Designer Label punch, Almost Amethyst marker, dimenaionals.