Creative Crew: Rainbow Spotlight

We all need some encouragement in our lives sometimes. And rainbows. Lots and lots of rainbows!! This card is the result of the Creative Crew Catalog Focus challenge this month. Take a tutorial from Splitcoaststampers.com and use your favorite new SU product.

Well, I am loving the new In-Colors!! I can't get enough of them! And I used a couple of them on this card with the Spotlighting technique. I don't have a MISTI, so I had to improvise a bit and plan for some wiggle room :) Here is how I did it:

1. Cut a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock to 4¼"x11", score in half at 5½". This is the card base.
2. Cut a piece of Crumb Cake to 4"x5¼". Cut a piece of watercolor paper to about 1½"x4½". 
3. Stamp Rainbow on the watercolor piece with part of it off the bottom, use Archival Black ink. Color each letter a different color in rainbow order with an Aqua-painter: Real Red, Peekaboo Peach, Daffodil Delight, Cucumber Crush, Dapper Denim, Bermuda Bay, and Rich Razzleberry. 
4. Lay the watercolor panel down on the Crumb Cake panel where you want it to be. Ink up your image with Crumb Cake ink, then slide the watercolor panel up until you can stamp the image where the watercolor panel with overlay it, but you can still use the panel as a reference. 
5. Repeatedly stamp the rainbow image all over the Crumb Cake panel and alone the bottom edge of the inside of the card base.
6. Lay the watercolored panel over the image you intend to spotlight and trim down to the right size, starting with the ends, and trimming the top down to just above the image. By leaving extra paper to begin with, it gives you wiggle room to adjust the angle and the centering of the image.
7. Stamp the other pieces of the sentiment in Archival Black ink above and below the panel.
8. Outline the Crumb Cake panel with a white gel pen or chalk pencil.
9. Apply dimensionals to the back of the water color panel and adhere to the Crumb Cake panel. Then apply dimensionals to the back go the completed panel and adhere to the cardfront. (I am still using coasters for all of this). All done!

 Here is a side view which shows all of the dimension, and a peek at the stamping inside. I made this a top-fold card, just because I felt like it!

Have you tried the spotlight technique? I think it has a lovely and dramatic feel!

If you have seen something you need for your crafting life, just click the image in the supply list below and it will take you to my store! If you order less than $150, please use this month's Host Code, which can be found at the top of the sidebar on the right.

And be sure to check the box allowing me to contact you when you check out. I can't send you a thank you card if I don't know your address! And I promise to only send you happy mail, no junk mail :)

Product List

Over The Rainbow Photopolymer Stamp Set

[138770]

$21.00

Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[120953]

$8.00

Watercolor Paper

[122959]

$5.00

Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad

[140931]

$7.00

Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad

[126949]

$6.50

Peekaboo Peach Classic Stampin' Pad

[141398]

$6.50

Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad

[126944]

$6.50

Cucumber Crush Classic Stampin' Pad

[138324]

$6.50

Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad

[141394]

$6.50

Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad

[131171]

$6.50

Rich Razzlebberry Classic Stampin' Pad

[126950]

$6.50

Aqua Painters

[103954]

$17.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.00

Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

[101049]

$12.00

Flashback Birthday

The paper in the Playful Palette DSP stack gives me flashbacks to my middle and high school days. And yes, I know that dates me :) I loved the brushstroke look in bright primary colors when I was living in that era, but I am not as thrilled with them this time... but my daughter-in-law loves them! I do like the colors they used, but not so much the way they used them. So it was definitely time to challenge myself to use this paper! The Creative Crew DSP/Color Focus challenge this time was to take one of your go-to colors and pair it with a neutral you rarely use.

So I chose Peekaboo Peach and paired it with Very Vanilla and Basic Black. I do not use either of them very often. And I used a print from this stack that I do not like very much to challenge myself even further! Here is how I did it:

1. Create a Peekaboo Peach 4¼"x5½" cardbase. 
2. Cut a ½"x5½" strip from the DSP. Adhere about 1/8" from the fold of the cardbase.
3.  Flip the DSP and cut a 2½"x5" piece of the same DSP. Cut a piece of Vellum to 3-5/8"x5" and emboss with Softly Falling embossing folder. Lightly adhere the DSP to the vellum about 1/8" from left edge, then stitch in place with sewing machine.
4. Cut a piece of Peekaboo Peach cardstock to ½"x5¼". Cover with Clear Wink of Stella. Adhere slightly over lapping the black DSP strip.
5. Use dimensionals, or trimmed down coasters if you have a bazillion of them like I do, behind the DSP, and adhere to the cardfront, slightly overlapping the shimmery Peekaboo Peach strip.
6. Use a scrap of Very Vanilla that is at least 2"x4", stamp the double banner in Archival Black ink, then stamp the sentiments in the banner in the same ink. Die cut with matching die in Bunch of Banners die set. Apply dimensionals to the back of the banner and peel the backing off. Then create a nest of Copper thread by wrapping around your fingers several times, then lay on the exposed dimensionals, arranging as desired. Adhere this unit to the card front.
7. Inside the card, stamp the candle base 3 times in Peekaboo Peach, then the flames in Crushed Curry stamped off. Then stamp Happy Birthday in Archival Black over the candles. All Done!

This would make a cute card front too, if you like clean and simple! I do like this card. And guess what... this DSP is growing on me too :)

Do you have flashbacks from this DSP? What are they?!

If you have seen something you need for your crafting life, just click the image in the supply list below and it will take you to my store! If you order less than $150, please use this month's Host Code, which can be found at the top of the sidebar on the right.

And be sure to check the box allowing me to contact you when you check out. I can't send you a thank you card if I don't know your address! And I promise to only send you happy mail, no junk mail :)


Product List

Birthday Banners Photopolymer Stamp Set

[141506]

$17.00

Peekaboo Peach 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[141417]

$8.00

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[101650]

$9.00

Vellum 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[101856]

$8.00

Playful Palette Designer Series Paper Stack

[141657]

$10.00

Peekaboo Peach Classic Stampin' Pad

[141398]

$6.50

Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad

[131173]

$6.50

Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad

[140931]

$7.00

Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

[141897]

$8.00

Copper Metallic Thread

[141696]

$3.00

Big Shot

[143263]

$110.00

Softly Falling Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

[139672]

$8.50

Bunch Of Banners Framelits Dies

[141488]

$27.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.00

Creative Crew: Sympathy

Often times when we need a sympathy card, we are just not in a creative state of mind. For that reason, I like to have a stash of sympathy cards available at all times. And they are my biggest sellers at work. So when the Creative Crew Holiday Focus for August was Sympathy cards, I was all over that!

I had bought the Heartfelt Sympathy set this spring, I think, with the thought that it would be a marvelous set for all of those sympathy cards I should crank out. And I paired it with Gorgeous Grunge this time, which is a must-have set in my opinion :)  Here is how I made it:

1. Cut a panel of watercolor paper to 4"x5¼". Create a 4¼"x5½" Soft Sky card base.
2. Squeeze your Soft Sky and Peekaboo Peach ink pads to create a puddle of ink on the lids. Use your Aqua-painter to dilute the inks and watercolor a puddle of Soft Sky. Heat set, then repeat in a different but overlapping pattern with the Peekaboo Peach. Heat set again.
3. Splash clean water on the panel, then dab the water off with a relatively clean cloth. This removes some of the ink in a spatter pattern. 
4. Then either load your Aqua-painter with leftover diluted ink from the inkpad lids and spatter onto panel by tapping the brush over the watercolor paper, or use the fine spatter image from Gorgeous Grunge to apply some spatters. Dry again.
5. Use Embossing Buddy over the water color panel, then test to see if any embossing powder sticks. If it sticks, brush off, then heat with heat tool and test again. 
6. When the embossing powder no longer sticks, use the embossing buddy again, stamp the sentiment in Versamark ink, sprinkle with Copper embossing powder, and heat set. 
7. Stitch around the panel with sewing machine and thread.
8. Apply dimensionals, (or trimmed coasters if you have a big stash of them like I do), to the back of the watercolor panel and adhere to the front of the cardbase. 
9. Stamp the second part of the sentiment in Soft Suede inside the card, then stamp the fine spatter image in Soft Sky and Peekaboo Peach from the right lower corner up towards the center. All Done!

 Soft Suede was about as close as I could get to the Copper embossing powder color for ink. Embossing inside the card on the cardbase tends to warp the card a bit, and I just did not want that for this card :)

What is your go-to stamp set for sympathy cards? And do you keep a stash of them?

If you have seen something you need for your crafting life, just click the image in the supply list below and it will take you to my store! If you order less than $150, please use this month's Host Code, which can be found at the top of the sidebar on the right.

And be sure to check the box allowing me to contact you when you check out. I can't send you a thank you card if I don't know your address! And I promise to only send you happy mail, no junk mail :)


Product List

Heartfelt Sympathy Photopolymer Stamp Set

[138764]

$17.00

Gorgeous Grunge Clear Stamp Set

[130517]

$18.00

Gorgeous Grunge Wood Stamp Set

[130514]

$25.00

Watercolor Paper

[122959]

$5.00

Soft Sky 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[131203]

$8.00

Peekaboo Peach Classic Stampin' Pad

[141398]

$6.50

Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad

[131181]

$6.50

Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad

[126978]

$6.50

Versamark Pad

[102283]

$8.50

Embossing Buddy

[103083]

$6.00

Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder

[141636]

$5.00

Heat Tool

[129053]

$30.00

Creative Crew: Snorkeling Love!

We went snorkeling for the first time on our first cruise. That was in March 2015, and we were instantly in love! Both of us could snorkel all day long, and at least a couple times a week :) Now, every chance we get, we snorkel.

The Scrapbooking and More Creative Crew challenge for this month was to use circles on your layout, and that made our snorkeling pictures jump to my mind! I like to hang these pages in lovely frames in our house, so they are home decor too :) Usually they are of my grandson though, lol.

We took turns with the camera and got lots of great shots of the fish and coral. And a couple shots of each other :) SOOO much fun!!

1. I cut a piece of watercolor paper to 8"x10". Then I watercolored patches of Crushed Curry, Emerald Envy, and Dapper Denim, layering the colors and drying with the heat tool between colors. Then I splashed clean water on the panel, let it sit for 30 seconds or so, then dabbed it off with a sort of clean clothe. This removes some of the ink colors in splash patterns. 
2. Then I pulled out my Circles dies and cut out a variety of pictures with 3-4 sizes of circles.
3. I played around with the circle placement until I liked it, then I lightly adhered the circles with tape runner. Then I decided to stitch them in place with my sewing machine to help highlight the pictures more. 
4. I took sentiments from Sunshine Sayings and stamped them on the watercolor paper. 
5. Then I placed the page in an 8"x10" photo frame. All done!

 Here it is in the frame. I was not sure I liked how this was turning out until I added the stitching. Without the stitching, the pictures all seemed to blend together and confuse the eye.

Have you been snorkeling? Did you like it? And what was your favorite part?

If you have seen something you need for your crafting life, just click the image in the supply list below and it will take you to my store! If you order less than $150, please use this month's Host Code, which can be found at the top of the sidebar on the right.

And be sure to check the box allowing me to contact you when you check out. I can't send you a thank you card if I don't know your address! And I promise to only send you happy mail, no junk mail :)


Product List

Sunshine Sayings Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[141594]

$23.00

Sunshine Sayings Wood-Mount Stamp Set

[141591]

$31.00

Sunshine Wishes Thinlits Dies

[141489]

$27.00

Sunshine Sayings Clear-Mount Bundle

[142339]

$45.00

Sunshine Sayings Wood-Mount Bundle

[142338]

$52.00

Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad

[140931]

$7.00

Emerald Envy Classic Stampin' Pad

[141396]

$6.50

Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad

[141394]

$6.50

Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad

[131173]

$6.50

Aqua Painters

[103954]

$17.00

Big Shot

[143263]

$110.00

Layering Circle Framelits Dies

[141705]

$35.00

Watercolor Paper

[122959]

$5.00