Soft Vintage

Last Saturday was another fun afternoon hanging out at SERS. I usually grab a handful of stuff with no real plans and as a result, rarely come away with a completed project (although I am working on changing this). This time, however, I had an Idea.

Here we have the result of that Idea. To be honest, I didn't finish on Saturday afternoon, because I forgot to bring any punches, but I did come home and finish it that evening.

And for a wonder, it came out pretty much as I had envisaged it beforehand. This is almost unheard of. Usually a project starts off as one thing, then takes several unexpected turns before turning out to be something completely different.

I have used a resist technique here using Versamark ink. First I stamped the En Francais background stamp in Baja Breeze onto glossy cardstock. Then after it had dried, I inked up the Medallion stamp with a Versamark pad and stamped over the top. Once this had set for a little I sponged Baja Breeze and Blushing Bride randomly over the top - voila! The clear Versamark ink "resists" the dye ink and the Medallion image shows through. You can use a tissue to gently polish the gloss cardstock and remove any excess dye ink from the top of the Versamarked image.

I created a "faux lace" effect by running a strip of Whisper White cardstock edged with my Eyelet Border punch through the Crimper tool. The edges of the "lace" have been sponged ever so lightly with Blushing Bride ink.

And as a finishing touch, the flowers from Vintage Vogue are layered on some punched shapes. I took to the Scallop Circle with my Cropadile to create the big holes around the edge. And lastly, a little pearl in the centre.

Supplies used:
Stamp(s): En Francais, Medallion, Vintage Vogue
Ink: Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride, Versamark
Cardstock: Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Glossy White
Other: Eyelet Border Punch, Crimper, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Basic Pearls

My new favourite colour *happy sigh*

No photograph can do justice to the beauty of this colour. Cherry Cobbler, one of the new core colours, is a deep, rich, velvety red - almost a burgundy - and just blows me away every time I see it. The picture here just doesn't show its true beauty *sigh*.

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Medallion, Trendy Trees
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Cardstock: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler
Other: Very Vanilla 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, 1-3/4" x 7/8" Oval Punch (formerly known as Large Oval), Scallop Oval Punch

Chalky Medallion

I have to say, I am really liking this stamp. I read the other day that it's one of Stampin' Up!'s top sellers in the United States, and I can understand why - it's elegant, big and suits a whole bunch of different occasions.

Here I have used a technique known as Poppin' Pastels (well, that's one of its many names), where you stamp an image in Versamark (a clear, sticky ink), then apply pastels over the top with either an applicator or eye shadow sponge. The effect as you can see is quite soft and kind of fuzzy around the edges, the result of rubbing chalks over the surface of the cardstock. The colour will attach itself best to the sticky Versamark, but will also leave a residue on the cardstock next to the image.

The ribbon ... look closely ... can you tell I didn't have any matching ribbon in my stash, so I had to use Whisper White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, coloured with a Bashful Blue marker. Piece of cake - if you have white ribbon and a bunch of markers, you can have any colour you want. Just don't get it wet LOL.

I wish the colour was a little better, so you could see just how well the new Melon Mambo goes with Elegant Eggplant, a rich dark purple.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Medallion Background, Warm Words
Ink: Versamark, Melon Mambo, Elegant Eggplant, Bashful Blue
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Melon Mambo, Elegant Eggplant, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Other: 1-3/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Whisper White 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Bashful Blue Stampin' Write Marker, Stampin' Pastels

Another Medallion Card

Just to show you that a card doesn't have to be super-involved to be effective, here is something I whipped up the other night in about five minutes.

The Medallion is stamped with Ruby Red ink on Ruby Red cardstock to create a tone-on-tone effect.  What I like about this stamp is that it doesn't have to be centred on the cardstock panel to look good - in fact, it looks best if it's off-centre and partly off the card altogether.

The strip of Summer Sun cardstock was just an offcut from trimming the larger layer - I felt it kind of tied the greeting to the rest of the card.  That and I don't have any ribbon that colour (and didn't feel like colouring some white with a marker, which I would have done if I wasn't trying to make a "quick" card.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Medallion Background, Short & Sweet
Ink: Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip
Other: Small Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch

Gotta Love New Stuff!

Aaaaah, that feeling when you get a box of goodies from a new catalogue ... love it!  I received my first big order from the new Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue this week, and almost didn't know where to start.

Finally I decided quick and simple would be best.  This new "Medallion" stamp is just gorgeous!  I honestly wasn't sure that I liked it when I first saw it, but after a quick look around the web at the way other people have used this stamp, I decided it was something I definitely had to add to my collection.

This card was inspired by this gorgeous creation - in fact, this was the card which finally convinced me I had to have the stamp.  I made a few changes, using glossy card instead of the shimmery white which isn't available in Australia, and testing out my new Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder on the strip along the bottom.

And have a look at this fabulous colour- new to Stampin' Up! Australia - Rich Razzleberry.  When this deep magenta colour was released in the States last year I was distraught - it's one of my favourite colours, and with the catalogue year being restructured, I was sure we would miss out on it.  But no, Stampin' Up! have elected to release three of the current US In Colors in the Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue, and this is one of them.  The other two, which I haven't got yet, are Melon Mambo (a bright pink) and Soft Suede, which is almost a coffee colour.

Here's a couple of closeups, one showing the embossed dots across the Razzleberry strip,and the other the layered centre of the Medallion.

If you would like to see some more of the great new items now available from Stampin' Up!, contact me to book your next workshop, or you could even drop by and I can show you a few things *g*.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Medallion Background, Warm Words
Ink: Versamark, Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Glossy White, Whisper White
Other: 1-3/4" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Large Oval Punch, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder