Inlaid Watercolor Wings

What a fun mash up they have this week at Friday Mashup challenge: use the sketch above and/or a technique called inlaid die cutting.  Now I have never tried this before but had a little bit of time on my hands and decided to give it a go.

I have been having some fun with Watercolor Wings and could see this technique working well, it was a bit tricky with the little pieces but I think totally worth the effort.  I used Delightful Dijon and Blackberry Bliss getting the different shades by stamping off and layering colour on colour.  The faux stitching was a last minute addition, but I think it just gives a nice finish.

Happy Stamping
Monique

Friday Mashup - Soft and Pretty

I have had some fun today playing with some new products that arrived just yesterday in a lovely brown box from Stampin' Up! When I saw this challenge from Friday Mashup and the lovely soft colours I wanted to try it out with my new Awesomely Artistic stamp set.

Because I was after a soft look I stamped the flower image in Smokey Slate and then coloured roughly using Blushing Bride and Soft Sky.

It is a bit hard to see but the frame around the sentiment is embossed in Silver Embossing powder. You can see in this picture that I have cut a vellum and card stock butterfly using the Bold Butterfly Framelits, layering them to give extra depth. 

Happy Stamping
Monique

ESAD New Catalogue Blog Hop

To celebrate the start of a new Annual Catalogue a group of demonstrators from Extra Special Australasian Demonstrators are doing another blog hop. Whether you have hopped on over from Jackie's Blog or are starting here, just follow the link at the bottom of the page until you hop around to where you started.

I always love a new catalogue and this year is no exception, with new stamps and products to spark creativity. One of the things I love about this catalogue is the range of new products that coordinate with existing products, so have made that the theme of my post for the blog hop.  

Firstly there is the stunning Watercolor Wings stamp set and framelits that coordinate with Butterfly Basics.  This is a three step stamp set where you add layers of colours to the gorgeous butterfly then cut out using the matching framelits.  Additional new product on this page is the lovely Brick Wall embossing folder, the Tags & Labels Framelits used to cut out the sentiment, and the lovely delicate flowers stamped around the edges are from Birthday Blossoms.

Here you can see how I have actually stamped the butterfly twice, the second time cutting out with the new Butterfly Framelits to give some added depth and life to the card.

This next card uses the cute little flowers again, this time to add some detail to the base of the card. The cute strip across the card is new Boho Washi Tape; and the wreath of spring flowers the butterfly is sitting on is another new stamp set Circle of Spring, that coordinates with the Wonderful Wreath Framelits from previous catalogue.  This card is made using only In-Colours, don't the colours from last year and this year go so well together?

I have used the butterfly stamp from Butterfly Basics to stamp the bottom layer, then cut it with the new solid butterfly from Butterflies Thinlits, and layers of Blackberry Bliss and Vellum for the top layers of the butterfly.

My final card again uses the lovely Circle of Spring stamp set this time stamped in Versamark and embossed with Gold Embossing Powder.  I have added a layer of Gold Foil Sheet to help make it pop.  Photographing this was tricky to give a good idea of how rich it looks.  To add some highlights to the wreath I coloured some of the flowers with Blackberry Bliss Stampin' Write Marker.  The sentiment is from the Birthday Blossoms stamp set (the same one with the cute little flowers used on my previous two cards).  

Time to hop on over to see what Ria has created for you:

Many of you will have visited other ESAD Blog Hops, but if you haven't here is a bit about the group:

Happy Stamping
Monique

Bright and Bold Butterfly

Who doesn't love butterflies and bright flowers?  This photo and sketch from Fusion challenge was just what I need on a cold winter's day to remind me of the warmer months.

This was a fun card to make as I layered the flowers one over the next using masking technique before lightly colouring them with good old colour pencils.  The butterfly was an easy choice with the bottom layer in Bermuda Bay with the cut out layer in Basic Black.  I love how the Bold Butterfly Framlits and Butterfly Thinlits coordinate allowing some really stunning layered butterflies. You are going to be seeing way more of them in upcoming weeks.

The lovely big sentiment is from the hostess stamp set Happy Birthday Everyone, I just love the mixed font and size of this sentiment.  It is one of the Hostess sets available in the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue, which means you can earn it for free with a qualifying order or workshop total, contact me to find out more.

Happy Stamping
Monique