Stampin' Up! Achievers Blog Hop - Colour Me New

 

Hello again and thanks so much for joining us in this month's Grand Vacation Achievers Blog Hop. This month we have a new theme that requires us to
"Use at least two new 2015-2017 In-Colors in your project. Other colors can be used, however please use at least two new In-colors."   You are at Ann Craig's Blog now and I'm so glad you've stopped by.
THEME: COLOR ME NEW!  I didn't think this would be too hard as I am enjoying most of the new 2015 -2017 In Colors, however I have struggled to create something  for this blog hop that I feel is satisfactory. This is what I ended up with...

  I've seen plenty of gorgeous examples of cards using the Vintage Leaves stamp set and thought combining the In Colors would give some wonderful Autumn Colours. I knew I'd be able to neutralise some of the colours by overlapping them and am really happy with the way the leaf turned out. It is a combination of Delightful Dijon, Watermelon Wonder and a little Mint Macaron sponged onto the stamped image and then over-stamped with the original image in Tip Top Taupe ink.  

  You can see that I crumpled it a little before placing one dimensional in the centre and adhering both the tip of the leaf and the stem, to the background of the card. I've used my "go - to" stamp sets - Gorgeous Grunge and Work of Art, to create the background in Mint Macaron, Watermelon Wonder, Delightful Dijon and Tip Top Taupe. The card base is Whisper White with edges sponged in Tip Top Taupe, matted onto Mint Macaron and Watermelon Wonder. 

The tag is stamped with a greeting from "I Think Your Great" stamp set, and the "celebrate" is from Expressions Naturals Elements that I have sponged lightly with Delightful Dijon ink.   

I hope you like what I've made - I'm still not convinced although I am warming to the finished product.

Thanks so much for stopping by....

Now you should hop along to the next link in the list below to get some more awesome inspiration on ways to use the new 2015 - 2017 In Colors.
Simply select the name after my name and you'll be on your way!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Making Your Own Vintage Leaves.

Do you ever need some nice Vintage looking leaves for a project, but don't have the time to purchase any? I was in that position the other day, so started to think how I might make them. I've been making some Vintage Flowers from brown paper, smooch spray and ink that I saw demonstrated by Valita Reynolds, and decided to have a go at some brown paper leaves. Paper bags will do, and then all you need is the Large Heart punch from Stampin' Up!®, the Soft Suede Ink Pad and a sponge.

Don't they look realsitic? To make them you simply cut the heart in half ( I used a slightly curving cut) fold the leaf in half and scrunch it up into a tiny ball. It is fairly fragile, so be a little careful. Then load the sponge with Soft Suede ink, unfold the leaf, but keep it in half, and ink quite heavily long the vein or spine of the leaf. Open the leaf out and apply ink to the rest of the leaf, then just give a light spray with Gold Glow Smooch Spritz ($7.95 #118770 ) - this will be available in the New Summer Mini Catalogue that is available now, but sales start on the 1st of December.

Here is a quick tutorial for you:

The Large Heart Punch (old style now available in flat  style)

Punch heart shapes from brown paper

Cut hearts in half

Fold shapes in half

Scrunch leaves up into a tiny ball (take care not to tear them)

I've opened the leaves up here to show you, but the next step is to keep the leaf folded in half and ink along the spine. Then open it out and apply less ink over the leave to catch the high points of the crumpled paper.

Finally spray with Smooch Gold Glow for a really antique effect. And here is the completed cover of another of my Mini Brown Paper Albums.

 

If you would like more information on my Brown Paper Albums: you can contact me.

I have a variety of kits available for sale, and/or tutorials on how to make your own albums. They are fun and make a wonderful personalized gift for special friends or family members. 

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and will give these leaves a try. Of course you can use any sort of card stock or paper depending on the finished effect you have in mind. 

Until next time,

It's Always a Perfect Day for Stamping,