Freshly Made Sketches 457 Entry - Sparkle Snowflakes

Hi crafters,

I have an entry for the latest Freshly Made Sketches Challenge (457).  I love seeing what the design team have created for each sketch - they have so much talent.  

This sketch could be used for any occasion and I went for a sparkly snowflake theme using the Snowflake Wishes stamp set and the So Many Snowflakes dies from Stampin' Up!'s Snowflake Splendor Suite.

I created a card blank from half a sheet of Thick Whisper White A4 cardstock and then placed a piece of the Playing With Patterns DSP straight on top as my first layer.  The centre panel was created using Shimmery White Embossing Paste mixed with a little Gorgeous Grape ink.  I applied the paste through one of the Decorative Masks onto Whisper White cardstock and smoothed out with a palette knife.  Once this had completely dried, which took about 30 minutes, I added fun foam on the back to give even dimension.  I stamped the sentiment from the Snowflake Wishes stamp set in Bermuda Bay ink and then cut this down with my mini guillotine.  The snowflakes were cut from Balmy Blue Glitter cardstock but they didn't match my project so I used a Dark Bermuda Bay Stampin' Blend and recoloured them, adhering with Multipurpose Liquid Glue.  

I would like to enter this card into the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge 457.

Happy crafting, Rachel x

Product List 

Snowflake Wishes Bundle (English) [155172]	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653]	Stamparatus [148187]	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock [140490]	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549]
Playing With Patterns 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [152490]	Balmy Blue Glimmer Paper [153513]	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad [147096]	Gorgeous Grape Classic Stampin' Pad [147099]	Shimmery White Embossing Paste [145645]
Basic Pattern Decorative Masks [150697]	Palette Knives [142808]	Bermuda Bay Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack [144600]	Multipurpose Liquid Glue [154974]

Hopping Around The World Blog Hop - Sketch

Hi Crafters,

On the last weekend of the month you'll find the Hopping Around the World team sharing their latest Blog Hop creations.  This month we have a sketch to follow.  I had the honour of designing this one and I can't wait to see everyone's projects.  If you've come from Rebecca-Jo's post, you are on the right track.  The full list of participants is also shown below if you get lost along the way.  

Even though I designed the sketch, I had some trouble coming up with the perfect combination of products for my card.  In the end I used a background I had made a couple of weeks ago and it became the perfect setting for my Piece of Cake stamping.  Can you guess what colour I used for the dotty background?   

Anyone who guessed Merry Merlot was right!  I certainly wouldn't have known that Merry Merlot would make such a pretty bubblegum pink tone when mixed with Shimmery White Embossing Paste.  After mixing the Merry Merlot ink with the Shimmery White Embossing Paste, I applied it through the dotty mask from the Basic Pattern Decorative Masks pack.  I used a half sheet of A4 Whisper White cardstock for my card base and then attached the embossing paste background panel using fun foam.  This card will be mailed and I didn't want it to get squished.  I stamped the fun cake from the Piece of Cake stamp set in Merry Merlot ink and the cake stand in Gray Granite ink and used the co-ordinating punch to cut them out.  I coloured the ribbon on the cake using my Merry Merlot Stampin' Write Marker which is becoming a little dry.  I added colour to the cake stand using the combo pack of Gray Granite Stampin' Blends.  

I stamped the lollipops in Merry Merlot ink directly onto a small panel of Whisper White cardstock cut using the Stitched Rectangle Dies.  I embossed the bottom of the panel using the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder so that the cake stand didn't appear to float.  My sentiment was from the same stamp set and was heat embossed in white on Gray Granite cardstock and I used Stampin' Dimensionals to pop up the panel and sentiment strip.  The Gray Granite Textured Weave Ribbon was the perfect grounding element behind my small cake panel.  

I hope you are inspired to give this sketch challenge a go too.  To keep hopping, head to Jennifer's blog for more inspiration.  

I would like to enter this card into the SUO Challenge 247 - Embossing.  

Happy crafting,
Rachel x


Blog Hop Roll Call List

1.      Claudia Christensen (D)

2.     Rebecca-Jo Unwin (Australia)

3.     Rachel Macleod (UK) *** You are here ***

4.     Jennifer Downey (USA)

5.     Mo Rootes (UK)

6.     Margriet Siekman (NL)

7.     Melanie Igelbrink (D)

8.     Maï Chapelain (France)

9.     Susan Simpson (UK)

10. Maureen Rauchfuss (USA)

11.   Sheila Turner (Canada)

12. Pamela Poli (FR)

Product List

Piece Of Cake Photopolymer Bundle [150579]	Stitched Rectangle Dies [148551]	Subtle 3D Embossing Folder [151775]	Basic Pattern Decorative Masks [150697]	Shimmery White Embossing Paste [145645]
Palette Knives [142808]	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549]	Gray Granite A4 Cardstock [147008]	Merry Merlot Classic Stampin' Pad [147112]	Gray Granite Classic Stampin' Pad [147118]
Versamark Pad [102283]	White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132]	Heat Tool - Uk Plug [129054]	Neutrals Stampin' Write Markers [147158]	Gray Granite Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [149537]
Gray Granite 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Textured Weave Ribbon [147656]	Multipurpose Liquid Glue [154974]	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]

Inspirational Butterflies with Stampin' Up!

Hi Crafters,

I hope you are all doing well.  I have a card today featuring an inspirational sentiment that makes me so happy.

I made a card blank from thick Whisper White cardstock.  The inked layer is made from Shimmery White cardstock which holds up well to water-based inking techniques.  I added ink in Rich Razzleberry and Mango Melody with a sponge brayer and then applied a layer of water to one of the decorative masks featured in the Autumn/Winter catalogue and placed it firmly on top to remove some of the ink.  The effect is subtle but great for a background.  I cut one of the base butterfly dies an then three of the intricate layers in Whisper White cardstock from the Butterfly Beauty Dies and adhered with Multipurpose Liquid Glue.  I stamped the sentiment from the Above the Clouds stamp set in Versamark ink on Basic Black cardstock and then heat embossed in white.  I fussy cut the words and added them with more liquid glue.

I hope this card makes you smile.  Let me know if you try out the ink lifting technique using water.  You can also do this technique by stamping in water over an inked background.  

Happy crafting,
Rachel x


Product List

Butterfly Beauty Dies [148536]	Above The Clouds Photopolymer Stamp Set [149404]	Basic Pattern Decorative Masks [150697]	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock [140490]
Shimmery White A4 Card Stock [121717]	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549]	Basic Black A4 Card Stock [121688]	Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad [147091]
Mango Melody Classic Stampin' Pad [147093]	Sponge Brayers [141714]	Stampin' Spritzer [126185]	Embossing Buddy [103083]
Versamark Pad [102283]	White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132]	Heat Tool - Uk Plug [129054]	Multipurpose Liquid Glue [110755]