Sweet Sugarplum

You’re in my Thoughts & Prayers

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This is day three of seven projects re-purposing leftover workshop kits.  The only thing this card has in common with the first sample is color and a floral motif.  Wow, I love how it turned out.  When I made this I thought it was lovely, but didn’t have a special someone to give it to. Sad to say that now I do.  I do love having somewhere to express sincere thoughts and feelings. This will be perfect.

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The card front was stamped with the huge image from Rose Wonder.  The small flower image is also from the same set and I used it plenty all around.  I then sponged color lightly over all of the images.  I wanted soft color not exact or even water coloring.  The color almost glows. Then I ran it through the big shot with the elegant dots embossing folder.  The look was stunning.  I nearly left the rest of the decoration off.  It was lovely enough to be a one layer card.  But I kept on and dressed it up some more.

The doily was sponged with sweet sugarplum to match perfectly, love that option.  I crumpled it up some to offer more texture.  I was surprised on how many flowers I got out of that little piece of glimmer paper in the kit.  Careful use of specialty paper sure does make it last.  I staged the doily and sentiment tag before putting down all of those flowers.  There was a nice spot for everything if I do say so myself, and I do.

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Everything was sponged and sponged some more.  It put everything in a soft focus look which lends itself to a card like this.  I didn’t want any harsh lines.  I don’t always re-create a project, but I can see myself making this one again.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Out of Limitations Come Creativity

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When a couple of friends get together to explore a few techniques, really cool things can happen.  The sentiment reads, Out of Limitations Comes Creativity.  Sometimes the limitations are our own minds, not finding new things to try, or new ways to try the things we already have.  Great example below if I do say so myself.

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We wanted to try a technique Jennifer McGuire recently shared using versamark ink and perfect pearls.  That was a lot of fun.  My beginning samples are fun to look at, and might turn into a project, but might not.  I still have them at my desk, but they led me to this project.  The sentiment was created with this technique.  It was neat though, how the perfect pearls clung to areas of the water color paper that weren’t all the way dry.  A neat accident that really adds to the look.  I also gave distress crayons a go.  Those are pretty darn cool.  I bought a set that came with the stamps I used here as well as a basic technique booklet.  Those techniques were put together and actually turned into this project.

Literally, we sat down with several products, a technique idea, and some great conversation. That was so much fun!  So, maybe I should have a sentiment stamp that says something like, Good Company Sets Free Creativity, or something much more poetic, but you get the idea.  Can’t wait til our next time together. Creative friends are so much fun!

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Don’t Quit Your Day Dream

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Glimmer paper makes everything look better.  How fun!  These projects were part of this last weekends workshop and the ladies really enjoyed making one.  Good thing we worked with the glimmer paper from this years sale-a-bration because it ran out and they would have missed out completely.  So glad I could share a little at least.

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Pretty straightforward cards here.  A few layers, some stamping and a delicate little bow. I helped out the ladies by pre-diecutting their leaves.  Folks get a bit frustrated waiting to die cut or emboss their work, so I try to make it a bit easier.  Maybe one day I will add a second Big Shot, maybe.

The sweet sugarplum glimmer paper may be gone, but the blushing bride is part of the annual catalog, so I can make more of these.  I am thinking about a thank you card gift set and this might just be the thing, with a different sentiment of course.  I think yes.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Hello Glimmer!

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

Glimmer paper, floral stamps and dies, water coloring, beautiful ribbon, these are several of my favorite things.  Seeing them all together really does make me happy. I needed a special thank you card and this has more than accomplished that.

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I hadn’t had the detailed floral thinlits out for a bit, so that was reason enough.  The sweet sugarplum glimmer paper is where it all started though.  It is such a fun paper pack.  Four 6×6 sheets in three colors, sweet sugarplum, bermuda bay and mint macaron, and the set is free with a $50 purchase.  If you are going to enjoy great product, why not get a bonus at the same time, right?  Since sale-a-bration ends this month, I will have to make sure I get another pack.  So pretty.

The background had a light patterned water color wash in the same ink color and then lightly stamped as well.  I glued the edges of the detailed cut outs to secure them easily. This allowed my ribbon to be tied easily and not look like it was pulling on the paper.  I stamped lightly on the inside as well to coordinate it.

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The thanks sentiment was cut out four times from inexpensive white cardstock and then glued together one piece at a time. A bit sticky, but worth it. I then added the glimmer paper one to the top and used my trusty tombo glue to place it on the front at a slight angle.  I was temped to add more, but made myself stop.  Details are great, but not if they distract from the simple beauty you started with. My club ladies would love this card, but I think a large group would be too messy, so I will just share the sample for ideas.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Blooms & Wishes Gone Wild

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Using a stamp set different than intended can lead to some lovely results.  The main image here is a flower base and the sentiment does come from the same set.  However, when you change it up some, and maybe create a silly creature instead, that same sentiment remains tender, but also very silly.  That kind of sums me up I guess.

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The background took some time, and I nearly tossed it when I was sure it was wrecked. Since I make myself walk away sometimes and return with a new perspective, I kept on. The colors came together nicely and I wish I could repeat it.  Sadly, I think this will be a one of a kind for sure.

The flower creature was stamped in black, leaving plenty of room for those little legs. He got a heavy brushing with gold wink of stella and a couple of google eyes.  I tried a mouth, kind of, but let it go.  It will just have to remain a mystery.

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The inside got some echo stamping with a smaller flower from the same set and that was all it needed. What an adorable card if I do say so myself, and I do.

Have a creative day!

Moana

You’ve Got This

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

A simple floral card really speaks to me.  Like so often happens, I had started in a different direction with this project, but it took its own way.  I love how it turned out, but I don’t know if I can make it happen like this again.

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The background stamp came from the same set as the flower and sentiment, You’ve Got This. It is supposed to look a little more water colored, or even just painted.  Well, I believe my water color paper acted a bit more like a resist than intended.  I thought about spritzing it to have the color spread more, but decided to leave it until it was time to color the flower.

The flower and sentiment were both stamped with versamark ink and embossed with copper embossing powder.  With the flower I forgot to use a static resist tool and it was very obvious.  I cleaned it up as well as I could without destroying the image, but it still showed my mess.  The sentiment, I remembered and it is super clean.  I did water color the background of the sentiment, but very lightly.

I painted the flower with sweet sugarplum, blushing bride and old olive.  It turned out really lovely.  The odd messy dots of extra embossing really add to it.  That is what I meant by trying to re-create it somehow.  Accidents aren’t always easy to control a second time.

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Either way, it turned out quite lovely.  A sweet inspirational card is wonderful to make, but even better to give away.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Special Reason

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Opening new product is so much fun.  This is a stamp and framelit bundle I bought from the spring Stampin’Up! catalog, and I love it.  I had a tag sitting on my work station trying to inspire me, and I went to this set.  Fresh eyes are hard to come by sometimes.  The tag had some colors that I would not have put together myself, or I thought, because I had made that tag!  Silly me.

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Either way, this is what I came up with.  I stamped my background paper using the two floral images from the Special Reason set and then sponged with sweet sugarplum to fill in the spaces some.  The flowers were stamped off once before hitting the background to soften the colors.

I made a die cut from each of the ink colors in coordinating card stock to become the background for my sentiment.  How lovely.  Instead of wrapping ribbon around the card, which is what I love to do, I only made a sweet little bow from ruched ribbon and attached it with a glue dot.  I wanted the ribbon, but not the distraction it would have caused with too much of it.  A very nice balance.

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The inside got a little stamping, as always, to finish it off.  I like this project so much, I think it will become the second project for my class on Saturday.  The ladies love to make their own background paper.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Thanks For Being You

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

What a perfect way to say thank you, for just being you.  A great compliment anyone would love to receive, I know I would.  Mixing a project with butterflies and flowers are one of my favorites.  Interesting how even when creating my moods show through.

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I have dipped into the falling in love designer series paper pack so many times since I got it. It really is a lot of fun.  I had put off using this pattern, feeling like I use too many butterflies in my work. When I was a bit fussy though, I went right for it.  The flower stamp and these tiny butterflies and a perfect pairing.

The flower and sentiment come from the Avant-Garden stamp set which is another free one available during this springs Sale-a-bration.  If you are going to buy fun product to work with, you might as well get something free too, right?

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There isn’t anything too complicated here today.  Just a little extra layering.  I even refrained from sponging, but looking at it again I think I would have liked it sponged up. I might have to try it again.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Fear Not My Friend…

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

When I am wanting to convey more emotion in a card, I go directly to water coloring.  The softness it creates is perfect.  And with this card, I literally poured my heart into it.

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I wanted more space to work with so I created a larger card than normal.  This one measures 5″ x 6.5″.  Big, but not too big.  I also created my inside writing panel at the same time.  This card wasn’t going to just get a blank insert, or even a nicely stamped one. Besides, I love writing on water color paper, so very satisfying.

I stamped my floral image and sentiment first so I could control the strength of color where they were.  Then I brushed the papers with clean water to allow plenty of color movement. I kept the background light and tried to keep mixing to a minimum.  The colors I choose don’t always blend nicely, but that doesn’t stop me.  I dried, distressed a bit, and dried until I was happy.

I painted the flowers with strong color, allowed them to dry clean.  Then worked them over properly.  This included adding, dobbing, and adding color on the flower petals for a bit.  I centered the flowers with a strong yellow, but kept the color from the edge of the flower center.  Then I hit that area with a water spritzer and watched the flower bloom all over again.  The color moved nicely and then was dobbed some more.  Gold wink of stella was brushed into the petals and blended with water again.  The overall effect was lovely.

A special card for a very special friend.  She is far more brave than I can imagine.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Artistically Asian

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

New stamps, new stamps, new stamps!  I love having new stamps!  This particular one caught my eye right away on my first browse through this seasons catalog.  I could easily get lost exploring the possibilities, there are so many.

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But, I am totally in the mood for water coloring, so what else would I turn to just now?  I thought some of the new in-colors combined with gold would compliment the Asian feel of the stamp set.  And, I absolutely agree with myself.  Good thing too…

Flirty flamingo is the card base and the main color I painted with.  These colors go so very well together.  I used a lot of water and kept the color light building the intensity but not overdoing it.  Experimenting with this kind of painting is really something you just need to sit down and do it.  I have learned some things that work better for me, and of course there are tons of very talented people online that generously share their techniques to learn from.

I did stamp over the floral image again with both flirty flamingo and gold encore ink.  I wasn’t looking for a particular effect, just more of the image itself.  Then I hit it pretty hard with the gold wink of stella brush pen.  I accented the image quite a bit then followed along some of the water mark lines.  They ended up giving me a bit of a mound for the plant to rest on and maybe an interesting mountain or two in the background?  That wasn’t the intention, but I keep seeing that when I look at it.  Judge for yourself.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Thank You, Friend

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Did I take a few days off?  Well, not really.  My son recently got married and just last weekend we had a reception in our backyard to celebrate.  I thought I could keep things going, but I just had to get a bit more focused. Family always comes first.  Then you have the lovely friends that support and make everything come together.  I have several such friends and I couldn’t be more grateful.

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Could these two adorable friends be any more wonderful?  They come on one stamp and make the perfect pair.  I decided to put several of the new in-colors to work to show them off.  The elephant is painted in sweet sugarplum, the mouse in peekaboo peach and the ground painted in emerald envy.  The sky background needed something different, so I went with soft sky.  Yup, just what the card needed.  Nothing else was needed, no ribbon, no distressing or anything else.

I mounted the water color on a separate piece of sweet sugarplum cut to provide a narrow 1/8th inch border and then raised up on dimensionals.  This is just the type of card I would love to get, but even more, love to give.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Perfectly Wrapped in Sweet Sugarplum

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I am getting pretty darn excited for the new catalog to go live.  Just a couple of more days now!  This is a tiny peek into what awaits.  I usually wait to get into new product until everyone can order the new product, but I decided not this time.  I am so very excited about this particular new color.  I always enjoy the new in-colors Stampin’Up! brings out, but this one has me hook, line and sinker!

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The card itself is really super simple and in my favorite style.  Creating my own background from pretty stamps is the best.  I used several stamps from the same set, Perfectly Wrapped.  It is actually part of a kit that you can make a ton of different types of gift boxes and bags.  I think it would be so fun to play with at a workshop. One thing at a time.  This set is really going to get a lot of use.

And can I say how wonderful this new ribbon is?  In the catalog I was totally unimpressed. It looked kind of dumpy and I didn’t plan on getting it.  However, when I placed my demonstrator pre-order I gave in and am I glad I did!  It ties bows like a dream and looks so pretty.  Again, you just can’t tell from a catalog what things are like.  Too bad I don’t just have one of everything.  How can you, really now.

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Have a creative day!

Moana