Perfect Plum

Golden Garden in Bloom

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Distracted, distracted, distracted.  That would be my theme for the last several days. Sometimes we complain when we get stuck in a run, other times we stress out looking for that comfortable rut.  I think mine was on another planet all together.  Still looking, but getting closer for sure.  This lovely project has waited on my desk for four days to be shared. Worth it though, it is so pretty.

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I sat down, picked out five different colors and began a water color background. That has to be one of my favorite activities, just making soft blending colors.  Almost soothing. When it was dried I added the huge floral stamp from the garden in bloom set. Some images were stamped full strength and others stamped off once. I wasn’t quite happy there, so I took it up a notch. I have these awesome guilding flakes that give a really cool embossed look. You brush on glue from a pen, set them on the glue and swirl a stipple brush over that to get rid of the excess.  This time I brushed the glue directly on the stamp, stamped a glue image and then put the flakes on.  It worked out so great!  Can’t wait to do it again.

The tag was simply created with water color paper.  I stamped the image, rounded the corners and sponged the edges.  It was a bit stark so I took a light wash of color right over the top.  It blurred the sentiment a bit, but not too much.  A touch of ribbon on the side anchored with metallic thread and I was ready to go.

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The inside got a bit of echo stamping of course. I nearly always put that in place.  It just ties it all together so nicely.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Enjoy Your Special Day

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

With all of the crazy flood problems and evacuation orders in our area (Northern California), writing this blog almost seemed silly.  But, instead of constantly worrying, I thought I would try to do something a bit more productive.  This project was actually for Saturday, but I never seem to be able to get a blog in on workshop day.  Just a bit much for a Saturday morning I think.  So here you go!

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The ladies sure did love making these.  I was kind and did the die cutting for them, but that was just so the big shot would be available for the hot air balloon birthday card.  That was blogged the other day, and they loved it too!  I know how to challenge them, make them a bit crazy, and help them have a wonderful creative time.

This project idea came from another Stampin’Up! demonstrator, who got it from one of her friends.  Either way, Dawn’s Stamping Thoughts is the inspiration behind this project.  She used different colors and the white wink of stella covering the entire dragonfly, so only a tiny touch different. I added a bit of inside stamping.

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It looks so much more complicated than in really is.  The back piece of the dragonfly was die cut from whisper white and the detailed overlay from basic black.  They were glued together and the sections were colored in with the brush end of the marker.  I then went over all of the sections with gold wink of stella.  How easy is that!  It is so beautiful in person. I tried to get an angled photo just right to show off the shimmer, but it is so hard to capture those tiny little glimmers.  You really have to try it out.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

It’s Your Birthday

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Do you broadcast your birthday or not?  Well, I think birthdays should always be celebrated, even if you like it small, celebrate.  This is the kind of card that can certainly draw attention and that is totally what I had in mind.

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The stamp set has the marquee image by itself and has different sentiments you can put inside the middle as well as the bottom arrow box.  It doesn’t have to be about a birthday, but that is how I chose to use it for the first time.  I kind of muddled through this project since I only knew I wanted to use embossing powder and a black card base.  Leaves a lot of steps to be followed, even if a bit off.

Most if the projects I have seen with this particular stamp set include stamping the image on different colored card stock papers, cutting the different parts out and then layering them to give a little diversity.  I wasn’t in the mood for that, so I went with my trusty water coloring.  I am not used to coloring around an image so specifically, but it all worked out pretty good in the end.

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Touches of wink of stella helped make it the rest of the way, even though it is hard to see in the photo here.  Projects always look better in real life rather than photos, but what else can you do, right?

Have a creative day!

Moana

Hello Perfect Plum

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Living in the country has its perks, but sometimes it can be frustrating.  For example, when you live far enough out you are restricted to satellite internet.  It is slower for one thing, but when it is very stormy the weather interferes. Sometimes it stops it all together.  That would be this last weekend.  Bummer.  Let’s catch up.

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I made this lovely little gift set for a friends daughter.  She had the role of Violet Boreguarde in a children’s musical this last weekend.  Of course the gift bag needed to be filled with gum, because that is what Violet is all about.  That was so much fun!

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I also dug out one of my old stamp sets from 2004.  I wanted to create the look of bubbles, for the gum of course, and this set came to mind.  I don’t even remember the name of the set.  When you purchase quality it lasts for sure.  This set is twelve years old and worked like a charm.

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I brought in perfect plum, elegant eggplant and some gold encore ink for this set.  Violet did indeed get a golden ticket after all.  When the scene came for her to change into the large blueberry, she had this inflatable suit that literally made her look so huge and round and most definitely violet in color.  It was a great night.  The grin she made when she looked in the bag was fantastic.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Forever Begins Today

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This was for yesterday, however, yesterday was for my family and there wasn’t time to share this with you.  I am sure it was worth the wait though.  Aren’t these flowers just the best thing ever?

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One framelit set gives you all of these pieces, plus a couple more.  And they coordinate with velum, designer series paper just to name a couple. I have been planning this one for a while now, with a very specific goal in mind.  I am fortunate enough to have my son getting engaged and this is how I am going to approach the second reception.  What else could I possibly use for my inspiration piece, right?

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I do admit that once I cut into a piece of designer series paper for a card front, I look to the remainder of the sheet and immediately think of a bag or box I can make to coordinate.  I have a hard time stopping myself to be honest.  I also have a bit of a problem filing back my scraps of cardstock when I work.  All of these colors were available to me in my stack of put me away papers.  I put them to good use for sure.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

The Best is Yet to Come

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

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

Lighthearted Leaves Treat Carton

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

All day long I have tried to get this blog post done.  That gives you a little hint into how my day has been.  Not done yet, but definitely on my way.

Lighthearted Leaves Treat Carton

I had a bag of Lindt truffles on my counter and loved how the bag looked.  I thought that it would be fun to try to make a bag that could hold treats and look elegant too.  I asked my husband for a color choice, I grabbed a ribbon and matching ink and went to work.  Of course I had to use my current favorite stamp set, Lighthearted Leaves.

Lighthearted Leaves Treat Carton

One sheet of 8.5 x 11″ perfect plum cardstock went into this one.  Evenly scored and punched along the sides with the extra-large oval punch to give the windows.  Window sheet was scored along the same measurements and tucked inside.  It was a bit tricky to handle the placement, but with a little patience and plenty of glue dots, I experienced success.  I am so happy with the results.  I am sure to make this one again and again.

Lighthearted Leaves Treat Carton

Have a creative day!

Moana

Sheltering Tree

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

Who doesn’t love the look of the beginning of fall?  The leaves are just starting to turn in my yard.  Some bright, some darker, and then there are those lovely dark ones that look almost burgundy.  Those would be my favorite.

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The tree is stamped in tip top taupe, the leaves in pear pizzazz and the turning leaves in perfect plum.  The card base is also in perfect plum with a slight framing in tip top taupe.  Very clean look for sure.  A few wraps with some linen thread and it was nearly done.

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I did a little echo stamping inside the card with the accent leaf color, just a bit in opposite corners.  I like to have enough there to connect to the front, but not so much that it interferes with the writing room.  It is still a card after all.  The front is popped up on dimensionals and that is all there is to it.  the outer dimensions are 4 1/4 x 4 1/4, a little different for me.  I am not prone to square cards, but I was working with my scrap pile, and that is what I had at ready.

Sheltering Tree

Have a creative day!

Moana

I Cased Myself! Eeeek!

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I have the pleasure of hosting a card workshop for my club this weekend and decided I would use yesterday’s project as one of our projects.  I do like to give them choices and encourage a bit more creativity, so I cased myself to give them another choice.  Too fun I must say.

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Same kind of layout as yesterday, but I made my background paper instead of using designer series paper.  Choices, like I said.  And I love to encourage people to use their stamps differently.  This qualifies for sure.

I Cased Myself! Eeeek!

I used the pumpkin face from the seasonal stamp set Sparkly Seasons.  That is one diverse set, absolutely love it!  I stamped the faces alternate directions using black stazon first.  Then I went back over them to create a shadow/3D look.  It turned out fun.  I will use that technique again for sure.

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When I put the eyes on I placed them over the pumpkin eyes and got a mouth out of it.  So cute.  Then I had the eyes turned to face the word eek and the card was done.  I did use the same pumpkin face for a bit of echo stamping inside.  Just right if you ask me.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Park Lane Duo

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I started this set yesterday morning, got stumped, fussed last night, and finally fixed it this morning.  I kept trying to put the yellow butterfly on the card front.  Yes, the one I inlaid back into the gift bag I cut it from.  Strange how things come together better when you give your creativity a break to refocus.

Park Lane Duo

I colored the paper with my ink sponges.  I didn’t want a lot of exact color, just subtle hints.  So I just used the sponges with leftover ink already on them.  It did the job just right.  Of course my photos make it hard to see, but I love the effect.

Park Lane Duo

When you use delicate die cuts it helps tremendously to sandwich wax paper in between the layers.  The paper just pops out then.  I decided to use the wax paper ones as well.  I didn’t want to cover up the coloring and the yellow butterfly just took over.

Park Lane Duo

After I swapped things around I fell in love.  I attached my wax paper butterflies with some folded glue dots and then ran a string of basic pearls down the body.  It gave such a delicate finish.

Park Lane Duo

One quick stamp from the Sheltering Tree set and the card was done.  No ribbon, no other extras, just some light color and transparent butterflies.  Since they are so thin, the move when the card does.  Beautiful.

Get out there and have a creative day!

Moana