Pear Pizzazz

Love You More

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

You know when you plan, prepare and get all ready?  And then suddenly everything gets in the way and it seems your work was in vain?  That was this morning.  However, I am trying to get it sorted out and keep my commitment to myself and have fun doing it.  How do you do that? Just keep smiling and pushing forward.  Twelve hours later, here is the blog project I had all ready.  Technology isn’t always my friend, but I want it to be.

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I gave myself a challenge to create seven projects from my leftover workshop project kits.  The goal is to use the materials provided and make it look different than the original.  This one was hard to reinvent because of the designer series paper.  Kind of had to stick to the pear thing, but I still managed a bit of a twist.  The stamping is definitely different as well as this fun and funky burlap ribbon.  I like it, but it is kind of hard to work with.

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This project was relatively simple, and even more lovely.   Creating something new out of something old can be very rewarding.  Cleaning up my desk has actually been kind of fun. Enjoy the next several days as I share more of my tidying up.

Hope you had a creative day!  Mind was more frustrating than creative, but still satisfying.

Moana

Fruit Stand Delight

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This project is a different take from a prior card I made.  The first one was a full water color card front, stamped and water colored.  This one uses the coordinating designer series paper with a single pear stamped and water colored.  I like the difference, and so did my card workshop ladies.  They are the best!

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I added an extra layer, but the process was the same.  A single pear stamp in pear pizzazz, and water color the lighter areas of the image with daffodil delight and blend it together. The leafs and stem were done in garden green and blended a bit too.  The background was a light wash of daffodil delight.  Then, top the pear with a tiny bow of linen thread with a glue dot and grin at your work.  What a fun way to spend time with friends, making cards like this.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Fresh Fruit

~ moanaj ~ 3 Comments

The same stamp set as yesterday, but fruit as promised.  I went much lighter in tone and worked with water coloring for a softer look.  Maybe this is my guilt for not picking pears that are ready to go, but I would rather just enjoy the art of it instead.  I do have pears to pick though…

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This particular stamp set recreates the look of water coloring so nicely.  I started with a base image of the pear in pear pizzazz of course.  The light area is left blank, all ready to receive another color.  I painted in some so saffron and then blended into the green.  It was really fun.  The stem and leaf stamp is one and was stamped in garden green.  I also went over that image lightly with a wet brush to blend again.

I thought about leaving the background blank, but decided it looked unfinished.  I kept with the so saffron, just diluted it a bunch more.  I didn’t worry about being too perfect around the edges, but since I was working wet on dry I didn’t have too many problems.  There you have it!  I even made a pretty pear on the inside of the card.  I think I should go pick pears, put them in a basket and give them to someone along with this card.  Maybe tonight when it cools off some.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Country Basics

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

This particular project really made me slow down and think.  My usual haphazard color selection just didn’t work out, as you can tell from the huge collection of colors I have listed. This might be the most color I have used on one project.  It ended up kind of cool in the end, but not sure what it will end up serving as.

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One single stamp was the beginning, just the guitar.  The rest of the images were at the end and quite an afterthought to be honest.  I painted the guitar with cajun craze and the color adventure began.  I had thought it would have been fun to sew metallic thread in the guitar string area, but when I spent so much time on the painting I really wanted to walk away. Maybe next time.

Even though it can be a bit frustrating, it is also quite relaxing to work like this.  It also helps a lot with patience.  I know that if I just stick with it, eventually it will come together. Then, the next project doesn’t seem so daunting, because look at what I managed to pull out of the trash bin!

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I left it clean of sentiment and all other embellishments.  The images speak for themselves and that guitar, I love that guitar.

Have a creative day!

Moana

I am Much More Me When I’m With You

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What do you do with a huge pineapple stamp?  Well, just about anything you want I guess.  I loved it, but probably had more questions than answers.  This is definitely one of those answers.  I asked my daughter to pick out a stamp from my stash of new product and give me a color.  She chose light green and this stamp.  Sometimes you just need a nudge in the right direction to get moving.

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Yesterday, and well into the evening, I spent my time helping a good friend with a wedding photo shoot.  You never know how much you are needed, but judging how tired I am today, it would have been so hard for her without me.  And of course we had an absolute blast.  We work nearly seamlessly together, another plus.  I thought this would suit us nicely.

I went with light water color washing using only two colors.  I wasn’t sure how they would blend in the middle, hoping it wouldn’t make some kind of brown.  It turned out great.  I opted for minimal distressing and one single stamping.  The leaves needed a bit, so I used my aqua painter to blend them a bit, but left the pineapple pattern alone.  I stamped it again on the inside, but more in the corner for more interest.  Good stuff there!

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The tags & labels framelit set fit perfectly around the sentiment and provided the perfect place for my favorite ribbon.  A few of the new enamel dots found there way as well.  The card front and inside panels were both layered with an additional piece of pear pizzazz card stock and the front was popped up with dimensionals.  There you go!

Have a creative day!

Moana

We’ll Weather This Together

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A project can go through several phases, and some can be unexpected.  The original vision kind of got lost somewhere along the way, had some confusion, but ended up reasonably pleasing.  These ladybugs though, too much love there.

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My daughters have a canvas in their bedroom that inspired this little card.  I was looking at it recently and thought of the new stamp and framelit set that could help me create my own version.  I pulled some of my favorite pastel colors for the background and started the process.  The more colors I use the longer it takes me to become satisfied with how they blend and flow together.  I went through this one three different times and then once more when I added in the yellow around my little bugs.

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I water colored on a scrap piece a mix of pool party and blushing bride.  The umbrella was then cut out and hit again with more blushing bride.  The clouds and raindrops were cut from areas that just had pool party.  And yes, I did glue all of those parts down, even those little drops.  I love the dimension the thick water color paper gives to them. Before I stamped my sentiment I added a touch of wink of stella to the clouds and raindrops.  All the pieces were layered together and put in place.  And before the blog had even been finished I was able to use it to brighten someones day.  Wonderful.

Have a creative day!

Moana

English Garden with Rose Wonder

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The morning may be trying to run away from me, but I am trying to keep up.  I did get this set made yesterday, but haven’t had the chance to get it shared yet.  Let’s hear it for lunch breaks, everyone needs one.

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The card was the beginning of this trio, and the paper was the focus.  It is sad to say that this paper is retiring soon, I sure have loved using it.  What can be better than water colored floral paper?  With my kind of projects, not much.  Unless I sit down and paint my own, with paper this pretty I don’t have to.

The designer paper is layered on a piece of blushing bride cardstock and then on a pear pizzazz card base.  Old olive is actually the light green used in this paper, but I wanted a lighter tone and thought it looked nice.  All of the sentiments come from the Rose Wonder stamp set, there are some lovely ones in there.  I stamped, did a banner punch, sponged and then sponged another one to layer underneath.  The strip is 1/2″ wide and was left over when I cut the piece of whisper white for the inside card panel.  I love those little leftover strips, they always come in handy.

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I made a couple of gift bags with totally different dimensions in mind.  I usually work with tall rectangle shapes, but went with a short clutch concept.  The cardstock version could hold heavier tall items, but the designer series paper needs to keep it light.  I had several ideas of gift items that would fit inside easily inside, lots of chocolate to be honest.  I love sharing a chocolate treat or two, you should give it a try.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Helping Me Grow

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I do love to water color, that much is more than obvious.  Since spring is everywhere I knew I had to do some flowers like the ones I see everywhere.  How about lupin?  Pretty sure I spelled that wrong, but they are the prettiest wildflower, next to the poppy of course, that are growing all around this time of year.  My husband even recognized the flower on the card, and that is saying something.

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I stamped the large floral image on my masked piece of water color paper in black stazon. The flowers were initially painted in marina mist, letting the ink run lighter as I went up the flower.  After, I added in hi-lights of wisteria wonder in the centers and across some of the petals.  The stems were done in pear pizzazz.  I did a touch more with the gold wink of stella to give it a sparkle.  That was both on the petals and the stems.  I know, it is hard to see in the photo, but it is there.

I painted the background in so saffron, allowing it to be lighter and darker just here and there.  I didn’t have a specific rule in mind, I let it happen.  I then used my aqua painter to drop clean water across the card to make water spots.  I let the drops sit there for several minutes then came back and dabbed them up with paper towels.  That removed ink and left the fun spots behind.

A simple bow across the front finished it off.  I used a piece of very vanilla for the inside.  I decided not to leave it blank and opted for a repeated image of the front.  Instead of black, I used so saffron stamped off and placed it right in the middle just like the front.  The idea is that it is light enough to be written over, kind of like a water mark.  It looks great.

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Have a creative day.

Moana

Watercolor Wings Just for You

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Saturday mornings are usually busy with everything under the sun and then some.  I had the opportunity to chat with my oldest daughter while she got ready for work.  We put each other on speaker phone so we could keep moving along.  This is what I did during our chat.

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With all of the excitement of Sale-a-bration products and the wonderful spring catalog, it is easy to put aside all of the great product in the annual catalog.  This set, Watercolor Wings, has been a favorite since it came out.  I hadn’t had it put to use lately and thought that was long overdue.

I stamped my ink layers onto watercolor paper this time not quite sure how it would all turn out.  The initial stamping was a bit too detailed for the effect I was going for, but I remained patient and kept going.  I moved in with the aqua painter and began blending, but still wasn’t satisfied.  Perhaps because I had stamped off to get the tones I wanted the ink didn’t want to move around too much.

I thought things were a bit stark still so I came in with pear pizzazz for my background. That really helped out a lot.  But the butterflies still weren’t what I wanted.  I got a spritzer out and put more water on.  Which led to dabbing water off, spraying again, and moving along to the heat tool and doing it all over again.  I did finally get a result I liked, but decided to bring out the wink of stella pens, both the clear and gold glitter ones, and put in finishing details.  I think it all worked out, but I wasn’t sure for a while.  Sometimes watercolors can be that way.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Press Forward

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

When it is time to make a set of invitations, I usually struggle to keep them simple.  That was needed this time around though, and I managed to pull it off.  I even got to put some retired product to use.  Love that.

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The invitations are basic and only one sided.  The graphic was provided, I do love it though, and I put it to work.  I got a little digital for this project.  I opened the image in InDesign and started picking fonts.  It didn’t take long to decide, I made it white and placed it as an overlay on the image.  Then I included the basic details below in a softer gray because black looked too stark.

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I used the full graphic, including the title with supporting scripture reference, for a water bottle wrap.  I think these will look adorable.  When digging around, I came across another retired product I could use.  First, ribbon for the invitation, second, bakers twine for the bottle wraps, and third, paper to make a box for the invitations.  Everything gets used eventually, and I love having it on hand for quick project work.  This one wasn’t that quick, but took a good portion of the day from conception, design, prep work and assembly.  All done and ready to go though!

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Rose Wonder

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This was a fun project for sure.  As you have heard me say so much recently, I do love to water color with my stamping.  I wasn’t sure if these two colors would come together in an attractive mix, but they did well.  Having the touches of navy with the blush as a primary is really enjoyable.

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I think I might be making the decisions a bit tricky for these bridal shower invitation choices.  I am not sure which one I like better between the two, guess I will have to come up with another one just for good measure.  I can’t spend too much time playing though, I have workshop coming this weekend.  It is fun to play though.

I stamped this huge wonderful rose on water color paper with stazon ink.  I didn’t goof it up too much, so I went with my first attempt.  I did a trial run with the colors on a scrap of water color paper just to check it out and I liked it.  So, I wet down my stamped image and got to work.  I spent a bit of time trying to be cautious, then I just went for it.  That is why I love to water color, it is pretty darn forgiving.  I even used my trial scrap as a background punch, cool right?  I do try not to waste.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

The Best is Yet to Come

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The project I had in mind for today was just too time consuming.  That will have to be later on, perhaps Saturday.  It was floral, so I still had to get my fix in there.  The main stamp from this lovely hostess set was perfect.

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I try to work when my family is busy, but this was done in the middle of a rushed morning.  So, as I tried to accomplish a quick water coloring, I created something that made me less than happy.  I was doing the no line technique and well, my lines got lost, almost completely.  It looked like I was looking through a frosted glass.  Instead of starting over, I just embraced the look and put some velum over the top.  Win!

The project was just about some simple layers, nothing too tricky.  I love being able to hide my adhesive well when working with velum.  Yup, glue dots underneath the lovely silver spots.  How great is that.  I wanted to use the thread, but with the tags I usually punch a hole and make a bow.  The card is too large in scale for a tiny bow like that, so I tried to go without.  That did not work.  A metal rimmed pearl came to the rescue and finished it off.  Even though it wasn’t quite what I had planned, I do love how it turned out.  What a great all occasion card to have on hand.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Workshop Fun

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Workshop was yesterday and this is the first chance I have had to share it with you.  Two of the projects you have already seen, but this cute little pumpkin is new.

Workshop Fun

I had the opportunity to attend one day of a scrapbooking convention with all kinds of lovely things to see, touch, and of course buy.  One of the many make and takes available was this cute little pumpkin.  When my friend and I would go by this particular area, there was always someone using the stations, but I knew I wanted to try one out.  I took a few photos of the samples and did my best.

Workshop Fun

There are a few other pumpkins on my counter, but this is the one I ended up making for my workshop ladies to play with.  I used  a piece of dsp cut at 6 x 12 and cut strips measuring 3/4″.  You get 15 strips from the sheet exactly, no waste at all.  They were stacked, clipped together, and punched with the ever handy crop-o-dile at both ends.  A hearty brad was used to keep the strips together, then you just fan them out.  Promise, they fan out nicely and curl into this pumpkin.  Then stamping and die cutting the fun leaves and place them where you like.  Some of the samples had ribbon, you could top it how you like.

Workshop Fun

Have a creative evening, since the day is pretty much done.

Moana

Planning Ahead for Christmas

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These cards feel like such a cozy Christmas, don’t you think?  We are making plans for a sunny holiday this year, but peeking out a window to a snowy scene is more than inviting.

Planning Ahead for Christmas

This window framelit set is sure to be one of my favorites.  Peeking through the window, could this snowman be any cuter?  I don’t think so.

Planning Ahead for Christmas

I love inside stamping.  It makes the card feel so much more complete.  Sometimes we need a place to write a nice long note, but other times it is just wishing someone a happy day, or a happy holiday.

Planning Ahead for Christmas

Most people enjoy displaying their holiday cards as part of their seasonal decorations.  These two swaps would definitely be a welcome addition to anyone’s Christmas decorations.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Adventure Awaits Gift Set

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I made this lovely set for a baby shower I went to today.  Don’t you think motherhood is one of the great adventures in life?  It will be her first, so it is definitely an adventure.

Adventure Awaits Gift Set

I have used three of my favorite stamp sets to complete this project.  And yes, all three are retiring.  I will be using them regardless.  When I find sentiment sets that say just what I want, I have a hard time letting go.  The new catalog has some fun options, but I can’t share them just yet.  It goes live on June 2nd.  Wheee!!!

Adventure Awaits Gift Set

I am realizing more and more how my camera is giving up on me.  Sorry for the photo quality, but for now it will have to do.  My main color really is pear pizzazz, really.  I sponged my background paper to give it an ombre look that is so awesome with these patterns.  I had to use my yummy chevron ribbon as well, and am truly sad that it is retiring.  It is so great to work with.  No whining, right?

Adventure Awaits Gift Set

When I finished the two sets of cards I was giving as the actual gift, they didn’t fit in my first bag.  So I had to make another, get a bit creative, and pair them together.  It worked out great!  This bundle has 14 cards and envelopes in total!  The ladies loved it, especially my friend.

Adventure Awaits Gift Set

I think everyone should have beautiful cards to give away, especially as special thank notes.  That is why I love to gift these.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Mother’s Love

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This card is clean and simple, but perfect.  I just got back from a trip visiting family and getting my second ready for university.  I just had to make a Mother’s Day card right away.  I wish I could just walk it over instead of mail it.

Mother's Love

I am normally a stamp, punch, lots of layers kind of girl.  But this stamp set just didn’t call for it.  The stamps go so nicely together.  I can see myself using these flowers all of the time.  But I made myself wait until now.  I hate waiting, but I love the feeling of something new to work with.

Mother's Love

I also don’t usually stamp sentiments inside.  I like to leave them blank for whatever I want to write, which is usually lots.  But this set had such a perfect companion sentiment that I just had to, and then show you.  Isn’t it wonderful?

Mother's Love

Mom’s are the best, so they deserve beautiful things like this to know how much they are loved.  I have many friends whose mothers have already passed, but don’t we all know a mother we can celebrate?  Of course we do!  Truly a great project.

Get out there and have a creative day!

Moana

Hello There Vivid Vases

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Good Morning!  Saturdays are busy, so I don’t always get to post first thing.  But it is still technically morning, so it counts.  And what a lovely morning it has been.

Hello There Vivid Vases

I had an itching to water color.  The vivid vases stamp is simple, but gives a lot of opportunity to play.  And play I did.  I actually had out seven different inks if you can image it.  I love color!  Especially when it is subtle like in this project.

Hello There Vivid Vases

I just got my colors out and an aqua painter.  Enough said.  I stamped my image in stazon on water color paper and then got painting.  I used soft sky as my main color because it was the color of the water in my vases.  It turned out so lovely.

Hello There Vivid Vases

I had some extra paper from the sheet I cut into, so I turned it into a matching sour cream treat container.  Just right for sure.

Hello There Vivid Vases

I also got to showcase the lovely lace embossing folder.  Isn’t it so beautiful?  I finished off both projects with coordinating seam binding ribbon.  I love that stuff.  I think I actually have all of the colors.  That is unusual for me, I am more selective than that.

Have a super creative day!

Moana

Mixed Bunch Work of Art

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I have Easter on the brain and these are the colors that keep coming to mind.  So saffron and pear pizzazz.  They are so lovely together.  This might suggest I am ready for Easter.  Ooops, I am not.  I still have a bit of time though.

Mixed Bunch Work of Art

So, are you a card person, a bag or box person, or do you need a matching set?  I keep going back and forth.  But I do like a bag that is beautiful enough to be a card as well.  This bag is big enough to hold a nice gift for sure.  Almost too big for candies.  Wait, is there a bag too big for candies?

Mixed Bunch Work of Art

I used the same stamp to decorate each piece to tie the set together.  But, since they have the same sentiment, I wouldn’t use them together.  They just coordinate nicely.

Mixed Bunch Work of Art

Either way, I enjoyed making them.  I also hadn’t had the work of art set out for a while.  That one just begs for a quiet afternoon to play with it.  When does that happen anymore?

Mixed Bunch Work of Art

Well, I am off with my girls to enjoy our first day of spring break.  Shopping and nails then lunch.  Wonderful for sure!

Have a creative day!

Moana