Hey Chick!

Hello friends! This month the Artisan Design Team is sharing projects that feature the Hey Chick and Hey Birthday Chick bundles, the Sand & Sea suite and the Cactus Medley with the Succulent bundle! My assignment was to create some fun projects featuring the CHICKENS! Such a fun and cute couple of sets to work with!

As soon as I saw the big chubby chicken and the little chicks I knew I wanted to showcase them with a Diorama Card! This is such a unique card style to showcase a ‘scene’ and its a throwback to those fun shoebox diorama projects I loved make as a kid for a school project.

To recreate these projects you will need some Stampin’ Blends to add a hint of color to your chickens. The secret weapon and fun tip with this project is to take the wood stump die and the fence die and add extra details and dimensions to them by pressing them into the Cinnamon Cider ink pad prior to running them through the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine. The ink on the die will press into the card stock and transfer, giving the recessed area some ink detail!

I also used the Wired Up background stamp set with my projects. I inked it up, keeping it right in the stamp case, with Grey Granite and then lightly touched my surfaces to the stamp. By not fully pressing it I was able to just add the chicken wire detail in a few places. Its a faint but awesome detail.

I think the bright colors of Poppy Parade, Coastal Cabana, and Daffodil Delight really added to the whimsical feel of these projects. I was really happy with how cheery and fun the finished projects turned out!

The Daffodil Delight card is a traditional card fold. I added die cut chicken wire poking out from each side of the main panel for a fun detail. The sentiment in Coastal Cabana at the top of the card is the sign trimmed to look like a board instead of a sign post. I always look for ways to change how a die works and this was easy! I added a light coloring detail to the chicken on this card with Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight and Mango Melody Stampin’ Blends.

To create the Diorama card you will need a large die to cut the window in the front. I used the largest circle die from the Circles Dies in the Annual Catalogue (a crafters must have set!).

The base of the Diorama card is 6 3/4 x 4 1/2. You want to score this at 3/4, 1 1/2, 5 1/4 and 6. You want to peek and valley fold these score lines to create the raised up front area.

The Basic White background piece is lightly stamped with the Chicken Wire background stamp and measures 4 1/4 x 4 1/2. You can attach this and then piece in the chubby bowtie chicken and fence. I found this was easier as I knew exactly where to place it instead of adding it to the Basic White first.

I then added a Coastal Cabana back piece to the card which measures the same as the Basic White, 4 1/4 x 4 1/2. This also gives the card a bit of weight and makes it easier to stand up.

The little chick on the left hand side is attached with a Glue Dot on his one leg. This gives him the illusion of popping out. The two streamers are cut in Pumpkin Pie and Mango Melody card stock and are attached to the inside of the window. This also contributes to the diorama style and feel.

I finally I just love the belly band on the Mini Paper Pumpkin box. I just love these boxes. They are the perfect size for giving Gift Cards and little treats and fit our Basic White Notecards perfectly!

I created the Poppy Parade belly band to be 2 inches wide and stamped ‘Hey Chick’ in the coordinating ink randomly along the band. I used the chicken wire die again, this time in Coastal Cabana cards stock to add a bit of detail. The chicken with the balloon is colored with Stampin’ Blends and I couldn’t resist giving him a little bowtie! I love that the Birthday Chick dies have a die that cuts Happy Birthday! It was a fantastic addition to this project with the little cupcake trimmed from the Hey Chick stamp set.

If any of these projects have inspired you and you live in Canada, please consider shopping with me. I would love to get to know you and help in your creative stamping journey! I teach a lot of classes and facilitate a number of monthly groups!

Create with Connie and Mary--Easter Cards!

Hello friends! Our official theme this week is Easter Cards, however I have been sharing some Easter inspiration over the past couple of weeks. So hopefully if you haven’t visited in a while you can go back and take a peek! I really love designing Easter cards because I love the soft pastel colors of spring and Easter. Fun Fact—my 5 bridesmaids all wore a different shade of pastel back when I got married 20 years ago! 20 years! Where does the time go?

It was really easy to design this card based around the sweetest bunny ever! You can find this cutie along with an adorable lamb and butterfly in the Springtime Joy stamp set. I have made quite a few things with this set over the past few weeks. You can also follow me on Instagram @stampwithbrenda as I do post almost daily over there!

I also wanted to create a card that used some items that you wouldn’t necessarily think of as ‘Easter’ themed too!

I started with a crisp base of Basic white and ran a layer through the awesome Dainty Diamonds 3D Embossing Folder.

I then cut some squares from various papers to create a fun focal point.

I started with a square of the Love You Always Foil Sheets in the Sahara Sand. On top and at an angle I added some of the Love You Always Specialty Designer Series Paper in the Blushing Bride tone.

And finally I thought this was a good opportunity to showcase the Stitched With Whimsy Dies on a Basic White square with an amazing Gold Hoop! I love these embellishments and I really hope they continue with our new catalogue coming out in May.

I added a little greenery using the Forever Flourishing Dies in Soft Seafoam and added it to the left of the hoop with some glue dots. The cute little bunny is stamped in Momento Ink and colored with the Stampin’ Blends. A fun tip is to use the light Smoky Slate Blend to delicately color around the flower crown to give it a little depth and dimension.

The Springtime Joy stamp set doesn’t have a sentiment that says Welcome Easter so I had to stamp two different sentiments and hand trim them to create my own. I find you can almost always get the sentiment you want by combining a few different stamps!

I hope you are inspired to create something with this set! I have a few other projects I haven’t shared yet so keep checking back! I know the other designers have made some fantastic projects this week too. You can go BACK to see what Melissa has designed and NEXT to see what Connie has made.

Create with Connie and Mary--Punch Art!

Happy Saturday! Thank you so much for joining us today while we create some projects with PUNCH ART…I won’t lie, this is a challenging theme for me! However, I have discovered a really easy way to transform my Daisy Punch into something super cute!

I also wanted to combine our design theme of Punch Art into something with Easter as that holiday will be here before we know it!

I paired up my Daisy Punch with the Arrange a Wreath Bundle to create this adorable Easter Card!

Isn’t this card just the sweetest? I love how it turned out!

Okay, let’s talk creative details!

The base of this card is So Saffron and I added a small strip of Flowers for Every Season DSP to the left hand side of the card base.

I cut a wreath from Soft Seafoam and flicked my Granny Apple Green marker over top to add a little texture. Flicking a marker is my favorite technique! It is the simplest way to add texture and interest.

The box is stamped in Cinnamon Cider and is hand trimmed. The eggs however are cut with a die and are stamped in So Saffron, Flirty Flamingo and Pool Party.

The Punch Art aspect of my card in the bunny I was able to create with the Daisy Punch! Its literally SO EASY! Just punch yourself a daisy in a bunny friendly color and trim away all of the petals until you have 2 bunny ears left! I then just tucked this into the box so it looks like the bunny is peaking out! CUUUUTE!

Happy Easter is stamped in Granny Apple Green on Soft Seafoam card stock (who says you can’t mix greens?) and the teeny flowers on the wreath are found in the die set! A little Elegant Faceted Gem was perfect for the center.

I can’t wait to see what the rest of the Design Team shares this week! You can go BACK to see Melissa’s design and NEXT to see what Connie has created! Please feel free to use my HOST CODE (on the side bar of my blog) if you live in Canada :)

Create with Connie and Mary--St. Patrick's Day!

Welcome to another Create with Connie and Mary blog hop! This week we are all sharing projects with St. Patrick’s Day in mind. Now you might think that Stampin’ Up! doesn’t have a lot to offer to support this theme but I think you will be pleasantly surprised with what we have created for you.

I just love our new spring imagery! This is something that Connie designs for us! She is one talented lady!

Did you know that we sell dies that have Happy St. Patrick’s Day as an option? It is actually one of the die sets that I like to suggest to new stampers because it has a lot of holiday options. It is called Word Wishes and can be found in the Annual Catalogue.

I actually only used a few supplies to create ths card—-but there is some stamping! I began by lightly blending the background with Soft Seafoam ink and our amazing new Blending Brushes. I then flicked my Wink of Stella pen across the background to give it a fun shimmer. I die cut the sentiment in Granny Apple Green which is also the base of my card.

This initial layer is also on Soft Seafoam. I liked the idea of blending our softest green with our brightest green.

I wanted to add a shamrock because its synonymous with the holiday so I made my own with a small heart from the Lots of Heart stamp set and a Stampin’ Write marker for the stem! I hand trimmed it and added it by my sentiment with a Mini Dimensional.

Gold is also an awesome accent for this theme so I added in some of the Gold Glitter Enamel Dots around the sentiment.

I wanted a little bit of detail along the edge of my card so I embossed a strip of Granny Apple Green card stock in the Dainty Diamonds 3D folder. Using my Tear’n Tape adhesive, I ran it the length of the card stock and pressed it into the Gilded Leafing embellishment for that amazing gold pop.

I hope you enjoyed my card project, I had alot of fun designing it and I know the other girls with also inspire you with their creations! Please feel free to leave a comment and if you are in Canada you can shop with me anytime by using my Hostess Code shared on my main page!

Easy Watercolor with the Butterfly Brilliance Bundle

Hello friends! I am always looking for an easy way to create a fantastic background, especially if it can be watercolored! I decided to pair up this easy watercoloring technique with the new Butterfly Brilliance Bundle! It is an awesome bundle with a stamp set and coordinating dies that is an early release product from Stampin’ Up!

I started with a base of Just Jade card stock and added two little strips of DSP from the Butterfly Bijou collection. This 6x6 stack of paper is only available this month! So it is a fun exclusive offering!

I order to do water coloring I would suggest using Shimmery White, which is what I used on my card, or water color paper. Shimmery White is a little more cost effective if you are planning to make a bunch of cards and it is thicker than Basic White so it allows more water to be used on the card base.

The Stamparatus will be your best friends with this large stamp! You can use the stamp on the plate either attached to the base or separate like I did here.

To start creating my background I began by inking of the stamp with White Craft ink and stamping it on my Shimmery White card stock. I added white embossing powder on top and heat set it.

This step helps create an ‘ink resist’ technique as the water coloring will not take where the butterflies are stamped.

I cut a piece of our Window Sheets to the same size of my card base. You can also use one of our cello bags too if you do not have access to a Window Sheet.

Choose an ink refill of your choice, I decided on Calypso Coral for this project. You will also need a water mister and a water painter. The water painter just helps spread the ink around on the window sheet if you need to.

Start by adding a drop of ink onto the window sheet. You will then spritz some water on top and if you need to use the water painter to move the inky water around to cover a larger surface area on the window sheet.

Once you have your window sheet ready you are going to take our butterfly shimmery white card stock layer and flip it over so that the stamped side is going to touch the inky window sheet.

I tapped my paper around using my fingers to press the paper into the ink in different spots. I did not just lay this shimmery white piece on top.

The idea behind this method is that you only want the inky water to touch your paper in select spots.

Each background will be unique and different!

I just think this looks so cool and I love how every single piece will look different! And to clean the window sheet when you are done just. grab a tissue or baby wipe! Easy peesy!

To finish off the front of my card I added a small piece of the Natural Touch specialty paper and a small strip of So Saffron card stock over top. I punched a circle from the Butterfly Bijou DSP and I cut a white butterfly from the dies.

The sentiment is from the In Bloom stamp set and is trimmed down by hand from its original form.

I really love this technique and I hope you are willing to give it a try!