Summer lovin'

This is the name of Jenn Shurkus AKA Creative Chick's latest online class. I was lucky and I took the class actually LIVE this weekend. Lucky or mad as it kicked off at my 3am but it is so helpful being able to ask questions as the class is happening. Though saying that Jenn is really awesome at getting back to you quickly if you do have a question and you're just doing it as a virtual class.

Jenn was working with the following Lawn Fawn sets: Mermaid for You, Duh-Nuh, On the Beach, So Jelly and You are Sublime. I don't have all these sets so I ended up using Mermaid for You, On the Beach, Ocean Shell-fies and Seahorsin' Around. I also didn't have the exact cover plate die she used and used my dotted scallop one from PFS and I had a different sun die than she used but everything worked out great and the star of the show as always is the cute Copic coloured images. Jenn does an amazing job of teaching you how to colour up small cute images for cards EASILY and even though I maybe using different images than she was (Seas the Day card) I just coloured up the different image with the same colours to get a "rainbow".

I also learnt that I was using the wrong Ranger cardstock for my backgrounds as I was struggling to get a smooth blend. Using Distress Oxides it wouldn't matter what cardstock you are using they blend like butter on everything but Jenn wanted to use dye inks as cleaner and not milky (like the sea should be). I persevered with what I had prepped and blended on for the class as with all the elements on top you don't really notice. This was my first go using my inks which were comparable in colour to the Lawn Fawn inks Jenn was using and I hated it, it was on the smooth side of my Ranger Distress Watercolour paper.

In the break I flipped it over changed out the pink ink and tried again it was better but  still not loving it, but it is what I did end up using after blending in more pink and lilac ink.

Anyhow Jenn took one look at my pictures and said you're using the wrong cardstock it's not watercolour paper I use Ranger Heavy Cardstock. Scratching my head now and lo an behold I do have some in my stash (surprise, surprise) but never used (surprise, surprise). I haven't tried blending on it yet but it is really smooth to touch.

I should have been using the cardstock on the LHS but it is interesting how their properties are identical and to be honest I assumed (wrongly) they were the same thing because of that and thought it was just different packaging and I'd never got around to opening it to cut into 1/4s for projects/classes.

This is Jenn's class sneak peek and her colours are so vibrant (they always are) so looking forward to having a go on the right card for the bonus cards I have yet to make.

As always this was another great class and it is interesting to see what others in class have substituted for the class too but here's some close ups of the cards I KReated to finish of with, I hope you all have a fabulous day and the sun continues to shine for us in Aotearoa.

Thanks for popping in for some Summer lovin'.

✿ Karen ✿

New Stampin' Up! catalogue has launched

I had a fabulous Sunday at the Gordonton Hall on Sunday with 2 of the local Waikato demos Rayleen Baker (from Gordonton) and Irene Wardlaw (from Te Awamatu). These two ladies always have amazing cards with lots of fancy folds. It's a really relaxed day, we take our own lunch and get pampered with everything else being handed to us to create with. 

I'll just post the cards in maybe my favourite order, the first has to be the Lemon-Lime Twist card with the Zany Zoo DSP. I was devastated when they retired Lemon Lime Twist (it was an in-colour) as I love lime green, and when younger a lot of my clothes were lime green. I was still a demo when it retired and I was one of many demos who used to regularly chant in demo forums "bring back lemon lime twist".

Isn't this just fun and I love the "theatre" the Zany Zoo dies also has as part of the die set. These images all come from the DSP, some of them are coloured, some of them you colour up yourself. Some have matching dies, some do not and you have to fussy cut out. We have coloured up the images with SU! watercolor pencils, I used to own both sets but when I stepped down again last year I gave away my sets to the 2 ladies I attended the crafting day with but I was really happy how easily it was to colour them up with the watercolor pencil and a blender.

This card uses the Cheerful Daisies bundle and daisies are my favourite flower but I personally found the die cuts tricky to get out and would like to try the set with a metal shim before I bought the set but I loved learning how to make a curtain fold as an accent, it really is a stunning card.

Now the following cards are not really my vibe but I like the folds a lot, I just don't like fussy flowers or darkish cards.

I'm not sure what kind of fold you call this and I don't think Rayleen or Irene knew what it was but it was pretty fab and I actually surprised myself how much I loved the DSP we were working with. It's called Countryside Inn and a mixture of blues to white with wee small animals on it, mine has a wee bird, but I saw foxes and bunnies on other papers. The stamp set was Seasonal Branches.

The next card is a pretty cool design and I know they're trying to show of the new in-colours released this year but I personally don't like the colours and the motorcycle doesn't stand out enough IMO but it is a cool die as was the In-colour Lustre Specialty paper, which I was nearly tempted to buy as so luxurious looking.

Colours in my motorcycle are Boho Blue and the background card is Pebbled Path.

Last but not least this was amazing, a "seagull" card, it was so easy to put together but also so hard thinking back. The "wings" wrap around the front of the card too. We've used Petal Park stamp set and Inked Botanicals DSP.

Well what a fabulous day, lots of crafting done, introduced to what's new with SU!, lots of gossip and I learnt some new techniques. If you'd like to know more please contact Rayleen or Irene directly to attend a class, a home workshop or a future event. I have linked their names to their e-mail addresses I hope, in the first paragraph.

✿ Karen ✿

Time to go to the beach...

Just not in New Zealand at the moment, we seem to have a polar blast hitting us at the moment but it was lovely to colour along and play with beachy things and think of Summer.

AAA Cards has a beachy inspiration board for their current challenge which looks amazing and the water looks so warm (sniff). I have been inspired by the red bucket with yellow and green accessories lower LHS to finally colour up my beach girl from At the Beach  stamp from CTMH. This is a fab stamp set but their stamps are a bit on the big size to me. I guess so they can make ephemera for scrapbook pages but when your best friend is a CTMH consultant sometimes you just have to support them and buy really cool stamps and dies.

My card has a lot of stuff, hopefully it's clean and simple enough but I have wanted to colour the girl in her sarong up for ages, so I sea-zed this opportunity to do so.

My background panel was created through a Watercolor Wash stencil from MFT. I used Gina K masking magic to make the mid-way border. The sea is all distress oxides: Cracked Pistachio, Salvaged Patina, Peacock Feathers. Spritzed with water, wait a few minutes, blot off. Then I made a wee wash with the Peacock Feathers ink and splattered with a no. 4 paintbrush. When dryish, time to blend in the sand with Antique Linen distress oxide and then splattered with Tea Dye distress ink wash.

I did all my blending on Lavinia Multifarious Smooth and Supreme paper it's great for blending and is WHITE and quite a heavy weight. I then used the deckled rectangle in the Mix and Match Frames from Altenew.

I stamped the girl from At the Beach using Memento Tuxedo Black to XPress IT blending card stock and coloured in with my Copics. Colours listed below (darkest >>lightest).

Straw Hat: YR31/30

Hair: E44/43/41/40

Skin: E11/00/000

Red: R29/35

Green: G09/05/02/00

Yellow: Y08/06/02/00

I have stamped the sentiment from another CTMH set Voice of the Sea and the wee shells are from Lawn Fawn On the Beach using Gathered Twigs ink from Pinkfresh Studios. 

Anyhow this is a fun challenge as either it is summer where you live or you're like me wishing it was ;)

✿ Karen ✿