This or That Thursday - Magnolia Mood

 Hello, today's 2 cards are very similar this week which is I suppose the idea. Using the Magnolia Mood stamp set, today I stamped the large flower and coloured them both differently. Obviously! One is the Berry Burst all over which is very like my Magnolia Soulangiana Nigra (black), that I have in my garden and the other is the standard beautiful Soulangiana. The first one I mentioned is called black but it truly is the colour of Berry Burst with darker shades in it. I have about 8 magnolias in the garden and they are just starting to bloom. They are so beautiful. 

 However, although I used the same colours they were each used in a slightly different way. The Holographic foils are both different. The foil behind the Berry Burst flower (THIS) is like waves bubbling across the water and the white flower (THAT) is very holographic and shines beautifully in lots of different colours. Apart from the direction of the cards, that's more or less it. It is therefore a case if which colour ways you like the best, or if at all? However, the landscape card I used a strip of retired Bubble Bath ribbon with the silver edging on the outer edges and as always, Stampin' Up! ribbons can be coloured really easily. How cool is that? I used the Berry Burst Stampin' Blends pen to colour this one today. I usually use my Stampin' Write Marker pens but today and for speed for it to dry quickly, it was the Blends  pen. They are both very easy to use and can do similar things too, very cool!

THIS

 

 THAT

 

Do please let us know which version is your preferred one. Thank you in advance. 

Gill xx

Watercolour Wednesday - Santa's Delivery

Well, I have discovered that I cannot for the life of me, watercolour Santa and his train! I tried 4 times and eventually gave up! So back to the drawing board and I made a background. Using the Fluid 100 watercolour paper and 3 drops of the pale blue of Balmy Blue ink refil into a tablespoon of water, I mixed it up then washed it across the paper and let it dry. Then I added some Orchid Oasis ink refil, a soft purple and mixed that into the blue and washed that across the top portion of the card and let that dry. Once that was dry I then went on to use the Starry Sky ink refil. I repeated the same process with only a few drops of the refil but added it to the previously coloured water. That was also washed across the whole of the paper and again left to dry. 

I decided to add a sky full of snowflakes to the now dry mat. Using Versamark, I stamped the snowflake stamp from the Christmas Scottie stamp set all over the blue paper and poured some white embossing powder all over before I heat set it. Once done, I added the Santa's train over the top. As I had such a disaster with my colouring the train, I used the Blends pens to colour it all in. A sentiment at an angle and this card is completed.

Technique Tuesday - Santa's Delivery

 Welcome to some more of Christmas. Today's card is a very simple card but it's clean and fresh in my opinion. I have used a card base in one of the very dark greens we have. It's called Evening Evergreen and is from our In Colour range. Using the Santa's Delivery stamp set, I stamped a Merry Christmas. onto a scrap of white card and punched it out using the Label Me Fancy punch and punched another in the Evening Evergreen too. I then took a C6 white mat which is 10cm by 14.4cm and using one of the Charming Landscapes embossing folders which has the hills on and I embossed the white card. I decided to add a little more snow on the front of the mat so using the Snowfall Accents Puff Paint, I dotted a little all over and then heat set it with the glue gun. The heat gun makes the puff paint pop up! It's brilliant! All I did after that was punched a fancy circle using the Decorative Circle punch and die cut a circle from the Designer Series Paper, Santa's Express. That's that! I hope you like it. 

 

Fun Fold Friday - Whale Done

For my last card this week using Whale Done stamp set I have used a style of card that I love to make. It's an arrow fold card within a square card base. I started by cutting a piece of Night of Navy A4 card lengthways to 14.85cm by the full length of 29.7cm. I then scored it in half at 14.85cm. That has now given me a 6" by 6" card base. I took another piece of card, Basic White this time and cut it at 14.4cm by 16cm then scored it at 14.4cm. That gave me another square of card.

I marked the centre lowest edge at 7.2cm with a pencil and along both sides at 5cm and 10cm. Using my trimmer and score tool, I lined up the centre mark with the top scored corners and then scored between them both. see picture 2 for the diagram. The fold at the top will be concealed behind another white mat of 14.4cm by 14.4cm when it is adhered to the card base. 

 

 

For the paper to coordinate on this card I used some pieces from The New Horizons Designer Series Papers. Most of what you see above is the image on the paper itself. I have added a few plants, fish and birds as well as the 2 whales to the paper. The sentiment is from Peaceful Sayings stamp set. 

 

As you look to the side, you can see the inner flap of the Arrow Fold card which will show more interest to the recipient.

 

 
 

I would often decorate the upper triangle on the card too to add another feature to it. 

Well, that's it from me for this week. Cary will be back again next Monday with some more of her creations to inspire you. 

Until I get back, 

STAY SAFE, BE WELL but most of all 

KEEP ON CRAFTING.

xxx Gill xxx

Tips, Tricks and Techniques Tuesday - Awesome Otters

My tip for Tuesday this week is add some texture. With the Awesome Otters and Special Moments (also a FREE stamp set from Saleabration) I used and embossing folder called Tasteful Textures to emboss the soft green mat of Pool Party card. It seems to add a litle ripple in the water behind the circular mat with the otter on. I'm really pleased that they coordinate really well. I had a previously die cut scalloped circle from the Layering Circle Dies and then stamped the little otter in the water so decided to die cut the image from another circle. I used the Label Me Fancy punch for the sentiment and mats.

A little colouring, this time using my Stampin' Blends pens and its completed.