Stampin! with Jaydee

Paper Players Challenge # 2 - Color Inspiration

Hi Everyone.  Happy Saturday night.

Tonight's card was one of three.. yes... three... cards I made using the color combination for the APP challenge number 2. Tonight's card features one of my all time favorite stamp sets - Asian Artistry.  This hostess set retires on June 31, but it is one that I will not be donating to Ronald McDonald House, as I really love using it.

Today's challenge is a really interesting combination, and one that took me out of my comfort zone!  I did change it up just a fraction.  I used Marina Mist instead of Bashful Blue.  Lesley was gracious enough to let me change it out. :-)

Of course, I absolutely HAD to use Pacific Point. I know I have said this before, but I am SOOOO enjoying this color renovation.  I have been really inspired by the new colors and combinations I have been able to put together. 

I will post the other two cards that I made for you later this week.  They both use the same stamp set - but are entirely different.  Really different!

When I looked at this pic that Lesley provided, it was obvious that blues were the predominant color, with a touch of green.  I kept that same theme on the card.  The inspiration has lots of petal shapes, but I decided to change it up and was inspired to go with a strong shape, but a more angular shape.  The argyle print texturz plate really seems to fit with this image for me. 

I added the pearls to echo the dots in the inspiration pic.  The ribbon was perfect for this.  When I first got this thin ribbon in my pre-order, I really didn't think I would find many uses for it... Well... you know what thought did!!! Cos, I have certainly managed to find a few uses for it in the last week.

So, here's my card for APP#2

You can check out the other great inspiration cards at the following DT's sites

Corie

LeAnne

Jeannie

Lesley

Remember, you have until Saturday to play along with us.  We really look forward to seeing your creations and thank you to all of you who played along last week in the masculine challenge.  

I love the combination of Pacific Point and Marina Mist.  You can see that on the flower on the left I used Pacific Point.  The flower on the right is Marina Mist.  The flower in the middle - is both :-)

Card recipe:

• Card stock:    Pacific Point (card base), Old Olive (layer 1), Marina Mist (layer 2), Whisper White (focal layer)
• Inks:  Old Olive, Pacific Point, Marina Mist
• Stamps:  Asian Artistry.  Sentiment:  Because I Care - new level 1 hostess set
• Accessories:  Marina Mist 1/8th" inch ribbon, Modern Label Punch (for sentiment), half pearls, stampin dimensionals for top two layers.  Texturz plate for background.  Sanding block.

Instructions:

• Cut card to A2 - vertical
• Cut layer 1 - Old Olive 3" W x 3 3/4"H
• Cut layer 2 - Marina Mist 2 3/4"W x 3 5/8"H
• Cut layer 3 - Whisper White 2 5/8"W x 3 1/2"H
• Run card base through Big Shot.  TIP: Take sanding block and lightly sand top layer of embossed image.  This really brings out the embossing as you can see in the pic.
• Ink stamp using markers.  TIP:  This is a great way to get multiple colors on a stamp and add interest to the focal image
• Layer the Whisper White to the Marina Mist using stampin dimensionals.
• Layer Marina Mist to Old Olive using stampin dimensionals
• Wrap Marina Mist ribbon around front and underneath the sides of the 3 layers.  Adhere using snail or other adhesive
• Adhere stamped sentiment over ribbon and place two half pearls on either end of the stamped sentiment.  TIP:  Using a stamp-a-ma-jig is the best way to get perfect alignment.

On a personal note.  Well.  It rained again today.  So no eating out for breakfast, or for dinner.  Adelle... I think this has something to do with you :-)  I know that you tried to clean out your garage for quite a while, but couldn't due to the rain.  Well, you obviously sent it our way!

We drove to the Twin Cities today to do a little shopping for our new deck.  We couldn't get everything we needed, but at least it was a start.  Hopefully, we will get to eat out tomorrow. 

We are currently watching the recorded England vs USA match played in Rustenburg, South Africa earlier today.  A 1:1 draw was the result. 

Cherie, I hope Chloe's 5K went really well today - good luck for tomorrow.

As always, thank you to all of you for spending a little time in my area of the stamping blogosphere.  I know that there are many of you who visit very regularly but don't comment..... your visits are appreciated:-)

Thoughts and prayers to Trish, Germaine, Lynn and Beth again tonight.  I hope you all have a fabulous Sunday, filled with love, laughter and time to do the things you love - with those you love.

Hugs

Jaydee

hugs

jaydee

Asian Artistry meets Whimsical Words

Hi Everyone.

Happy New Year.  I hope you all had a fabulous evening.  Lou and I went to movies (we saw It's Complicated with the ever amazing Meryl Streep) and then went for a late dinner at our favorite restaurant, Sontes.  We got home at about 12.45 and could feel my age:-)  We have had many late nights this last week... 2.30 a.m. in some circumstances.... playing on our Wii, I might add!  So, last night was one of many late nights...  my vacation is quickly coming to an end, so I will be back to more normal hours for getting to bed. :-)

YAY!!!! The new Mini Catalog and the Sale-A-Bration brochure are available on line!  Unfortunately, Typepad is having issues tonight, so I can't sort out the buttons on my sidebar - so here are the links to the actual catalogs on-line at SU.  Here's the link to the Occasions Mini for 2010  and here's the link to the pdf for the Sale-A-Bration brochure.  I am really excited about some of the products in the new Occasions Mini - and the SAB.  I love the fact that you can choose certain items out of the 2009/2010 catalog for SAB this year.  I'll be adding more detail to my blog tomorrow, but you can check out the offerings in the pdf in the meantime.

Tonight's card uses a stamp I have never used before, as well as colors that I don't normally use.  This year I am determined to use all of my SU colors, and not just some of them!

I wanted to make a thank you card using soft, feminine colors.

 
 

Card recipe:

• I used Very Vanilla and Rose Red card stock.  I used Watercolor paper for the central image
• I stamped the central image from the Asian Artistry set on Black StazOn onto my watercolor paper.  I then took my Rose Red, Pretty in Pink and Mellow Moss inks and applied them to the Peonie flower and leaves with my blender pens
• To add extra dimension, I stamped the fowers and petals again and repeated the coloring.
• I then cut each of the pieces out and furled the edges of the flower (as Peonies have such a beautiful soft edge :-)) and then applied them to the original image using dimensionals.
• I took my very vanilla card stock and ran it through my Big Shot and used my polka dot texturz plate to add texture.  The reason I did this is because there is a little texture to the watercolor paper and I wanted to carry that through.  Unfortunately, you can't see the texturizing on the background paper in my photograph!
• I then stamped the sentiment from Whimsical Words onto Very Vanilla paper and punched out a circle with my circle punch.  I punched out another circle in the Rose Red to back the sentiment.
• Two pieces of grosgrain ribbon and a matting layer of PiP and RR finished off the card

Today was a really cold start to 2010.  A high of 4 and we are down to -15 tonight and -30 with windchills.  We went to the movies again tonight - 3 nights in a row I might add.. (oh, the joys of being on vacation!) and it was really, really blowing a freezing cold wind.  I still don't know how the animals survive in this weather.  We filled up all the food and water bowls for the animals and the birds today and the sparrows were even bathing!  I'm not sure about you, but I don't want to bath in -1 degree temperatures :-)

Tomorrow I will be announcing the winner of the December blog candy - as well as details on the January blog candy - something very different for January - and in the spirit of giving :-)

In the meantime, if you have any questions on the new catalog, or the Sale-A-Bration, just send me an email.  Remember, orders cannot be placed until January 5th - and I have a huge order planned for myself.... Like everyone else, I like free goodies :-)

As always, thank you to all of you for visiting my blog - your visits, and your support, are always greatly appreciated.

Cyber hugs

Jaydee

Asian Artistry - Sympathy - in black and white

Hi Everyone.  Happy Saturday night and welcome to Jaydee's SU stampin spot.  Today's card was the second sympathy card I had to make.  This one uses Gretchen Barron's Inspiration in Action 108.  I did two cards for this sketch challenge.  You can see the other one here.  I wanted to use black and white for this card.  For the other sympathy card I had to make in the last week I chose a palette of Greys and Blues, but also used the Asian Artistry set.  You can see that card here.   For this card I decided to use the bird stamp as opposed to the flowers and I knew that I wanted to make a black and white card.

Before I share my card with you, let me apologize for the fact that typepad have still not sorted out the underlying coding issue they have with sending my blog updates to Feedburner.  The last update I had from them is to ask me for my patience as there were many others having the same problem!

Also, a quick reminder - my November newsletter is now available.  It covers Christmas cards (anyone surprised by that????) and techniques on using the fabulous new shimmer paint.  If you want to receive the newsletter, just click this link.

Right, back to tonight's card.  Asian Artistry - sympathy in black and white.

Card recipe:

• I used White Glossy card stock for this card
• I used the Night and Day DSP
• I used White embossing powder for the bird image and stamped it onto Basic Black card stock
• I used the Sentiment from the Asian Artistry set and stamped it in Back StazOn for a crisp, cleam finish.
• I double edged another piece of white card stock nwith my eyelet border punch and then placed a piece of the Night and Day DSP, with white organza ribbon over the top

Sympathy cards are always so hard to make and I generally try to go very light on the embellishment.  The only reason I used the ribbon on this card was to soften the black center panel.  The organza ribbon worked so much better than satin or grosgrain.  The satin had too much sheen and the grosgrain had too much texture... so, feeling a little like Goldilocks, I thought the organza ribbon was just right :-)

I hope to get to my stamping space tomorrow, as I had no time to do anything creative today.  I really do miss a day without creativity.

I hope you all have a fabulous Sunday - one that is filled with doing the things you love - with those you love the most. 

As always, thank you so much for spending time in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visits - and your comments... are always appreciated.

Peace

Jaydee

Asian Artisty - With Sympathy

Hi Everyone - Happy Monday and welcome to Jaydee's SU stampin space.

Tonight's card is a sympathy card.  I find that these are the hardest cards to do.  Unfortunately, I needed to make two this week.   I used the Splitcoaststampers Wednesday sketch challenge number 252.  (It was an interesting layout - and I think lent itself to a formal card and to Asian Artistry. To continue the formal theme, I decided to use muted colors of Night of Navy, Basic Grey and Going Grey.  I also wanted to create a softer central image, so stamped my Asian Artisty on Vellum.  

I wanted to create interest and texture without adding more embellishment and the easiest way to do that was to use my trusty Big Shot and my texturz plate.

I used the "with sympathy" sentiment from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set and I used my oval punches to cut out the sentiment and the matt.  A little Basic Grey satin ribbon finished off the card and I attached the oval sentiment with a little silver elastic cord.

Here's a closeup of the details for you.

The cycle of life is an essential part of our existence, but the passing of those we love is always difficult.  However, their memories and their spirits live on in our hearts. 

Both my parents died when I was 29.  My father, having the ridiculously sick sense of humor he had.... chose to ascend on my birthday!  My brother's telegram read:  "Happy Birthday. Sorry.  Dad died this morning"  My poor brother!  :-) My father also managed to orchestrate a totally dreadfully wet, rainy day for his funeral.  It rained as it only can rain in England.... cold, hard, heavy and insistently.... well, all I can tell you is that his funeral turned into a Monty Python comedy skit, with pallbearers disappearing into the newly dug hole, coffin slipping in the mud, etc. etc. etc.  That night, to cheer my mother up, I picked up a video at the local video store and we went for dinner at my best friend Pam's.  About 10 minutes into the movie, Pam turned to me and said.... oh... and what made you choose THIS movie - for TONIGHT?  The movie?  The Big Chill... for those of you who remember the movie, it was about a guy who died!!! Hey, I didn't know that at the time!!!!  

In fact, my whole trip home for the funeral was like a Buster Keaton movie... I should also admit that I'd fallen off my shoes the day before my birthday and torn ligaments, broken a couple of bones in my foot.. and was in a plaster cast, my first flight lost an engine and we had to turn back, etc. etc. etc. :-)  So....Only my father could have turned his funeral into something none of us would ever forget - without bursting into laughter.  Which is exactly what I think he had in mind :-)  Those of you who read my ditty on Halloween - and some of my other posts - will realize that I inherited my father's ridiculous sense of humour!

I hope you have a fantastic day tomorrow, and get to spend time doing the things you love - with those that you love the most.  And, if you have to spend time doing things you don't like - with people you aren't particularly fond of... then I hope it's short :-)

As always, thank you so much for spending time in my area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visits, comments, emails and your support are always much appreciated.

If you have any questions on the card, feel free to send me an email - I am always happy to provide more information on any of my projects.

Peace and blessings

Jaydee

Asian Artistry - Inspiration Challenge

Hi Everyone.  Happy Monday and welcome to Jaydee's SU stampin space!

Today's card was for an SCS inspiration challenge IC200.  The website that was featured was Kir deVries.  I'd never heard of the site before - but was very pleased to find it :-)  I saw this picture and was very inspired.

I loved the soft colors and the strong clean lines - along with the organic feel.  So, it was out with my favorite leaf set - Asian Artistry - the level 2 hostess set from Stampin Up.  I love this set and you can see more of my Asian Artistry cards here

For the card today, I decided to use vellum as well as card stock - and my trusty texturz plates.

 

 
 

1. I used a mixture of Old Olive and a little Kiwi Kiss for the greens and Whisper White for the remaining card stock.  I wanted to soften the whisper white - but didn't want to go to Very Vanilla, so decided to overlay the WW card stock with a piece of Vellum. 
2. I ran the Vellum through my big shot on top of a texturz plate, to create the embossing on the vellum. 
3. I also used a piece of Vellum over the Old Olive matt behind the image, again to soften the overall feel.
4. I stamped the image in Old Olive, but then used my Frost White shimmer paint and painted over the original image with the thin point of my stylus.
5. When you see it in normal light, the shimmer paint gives a soft ethereal feel - but in the light, it really comes to life. 

Here's a closeup for you. 

To add a little more detail - you can see that I wrapped a piece of the Gold Cord (from the new mini catalog) around matt and backed it with the Mistletoe satin ribbon around the horizontal piece.  It's just a little hint of the cord.  Jaydee tip:  I tried it with the silver cord.... but because the shimmer paint tends to feel "warm", I decided the silver was too cold by contrast.  Also the gold seemed to fit better with the softer feel of the card.   Also.... the stripe on the Kiwi Kiss paper tends to show more yellow - so the gold cord was the right fit and blended in with the white of the satin ribbon and didn't compete with it.

Overall, I was very pleased with the card.  Once again quite a lot going on when you look carefully, but it still retains those clean lines that I like so much.

Even though we are still traveling, today is a work day.  Yesterday we drove from Cape Town to Stellenbosch.  We were literally chasing rainbows.  Seriously!  I've never gotten so excited about seeing a rainbow before.  I shot about 40 pictures trying to find the ideal one.  The rainbow stretched from one side of the bay to the other and was still in front of us 40 minutes later when we got into Stellenbosch.  I decided I really wanted to share one picture with you at least.  

Here's the road that leads to the end of the rainbow as we were coming into Stellenbosch - with it's fainter mirror image. 

and then another one.... as we got closer to the mountain on our approach into Stellenbosch, the rainbow intensified in color

Mother nature never, ever, ever ceases to amaze me.  Does anyone else get so excited about rainbows????

I hope a rainbow moment touches your life today.  Thank you for visiting - your visit is always appreciated - and don't forget blog candy!

Peace

Jaydee

Clean and Simple - Asian Artistry - Color Challenge

Hi Everyone.  Happy Monday night.  Welcome to Jaydee's Stampin' Up! SU space!  Your visits are always appreciated :-)

Today's card is one of two that I did for the splitcoaststampers clean and simple challenge.  The challenge was to use blue, pink, green, white/vanilla.  As there is such a huge range of shades within this color scheme - I was tempted to do two.  

Also, it's been a while since I have made a card with Asian Artistry, I couldn't wait to pull it out and use it again.  As many of you who visit me know, I like to show you as many ways to use a stamp set as I possibly can.  The more times you can use a stamp set, the more value you get out of it!  You can see my other Asian Artistry sets here.  Asian Artistry is a hostess level 2 set.  I was really reluctant to order it... but I've been thrilled that I did.  I've enjoyed every card I have made with it - and am so pleased that I went outside of my comfort zone to order it.

I used:

Card stock:

Ballet Blue,
Pretty in Pink
Whisper White

Inks - all markers: 

Old Olive
Ballet Blue
Pretty in Pink

Accessories:

Big Shot - texturz plate
Shimmer paint
Whisper White grosgrain ribbon
half pearls - pretties kit

Jaydee tips:

1. I used my big shot and the texturz plate to create an embossed background.  To make the background stand out more, I used my sanding block and gently rubbed it over the card stock to highlight the embossed background.
2. As dragonflies are always so iridescent, I decided to use my shimmer paint to rub over the top of the stamped image of the dragonfly.  I used the small end of my stylus to run over the body and wings of the dragonfly. 
3. I needed to repeat the shininess from the dragonfly in two more places.... you know my obsession with doing things in threes... So, I used the same stylus and gently ran over the flowers.  The third and final "shiny element" is in the pearls! 

I don't often use the pastel colors - but I think I'm going to have to do more with them.  I loved the finished product and was so pleased that I had taken up the challenge.

I hope you have a fabulous Tuesday.  It's getting really cold here - and we still have rain.  From those of you who have left comments on my blog - it's been raining in your areas, too.  It really has made me feel like I'm back living in England.  I grew up in Yorkshire.  As soon as I get home, I drive out to Derbyshire and renew my soul.  Do you, too, have a place where you go to refresh your soul?  I've never known what it is about that particular place, but I drive over the hill from Sheffield (and there are LOTS of hills in Sheffield!!!) and you come upon a place named "surprise view"  which is near Hathersage.  As soon as I see that view, I feel refreshed!  Very odd... I know... but I bet many of you have places that evoke a strong emotional response from you.  There are several places in the world that I feel that pull, but none as strong as this one.  San Francisco; New York; Corona del Mar in California; Cape Town, South Africa, The Blue Mountains in Australia; the view from hut number 1 above the Olifants River in the Kruger National Park, South Africa..... are some of my favorite places.  I'd love to hear what yours are!

As always, thank you for spending time in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  I hope you found something that made you go to your stamping space and make something.. just because you wanted to!

Peace

Jaydee

Asian Artistry - Confucius say...

Hi Everyone.  Happy Tuesday evening.

I hope you have had chance to look at the new Holiday Mini Catalog.  I loved so many things in the catalog and the comments I have had from clients has been phenomenal.  

Tonight's card is from the Asian Artistry set and uses the Bella Bleu paper.  This is my submission for the 2sketches4you sketch for this week.  

I loved this sketch and the inspiration challenge so much that I actually made two cards.  

I'll be loading the other one tomorrow.  Tomorrow's is a Christmas card :-).  The challenge was not only to use the sketch, but also to find inspiration on the site of the sponsor of the week.  This was my inspiration .

I've been wanting to use this sentiment from the Asian Artistry set - it really depicts my
motto in life.  We really need to do everything we do with all our heart. :-)

I hope you have a fabulous Wednesday and if you haven't checked out the new catalog -
take a few minutes to do it now. You can download it from my side bar. Additionally, if
there's something you like in there, you can also download the supplies list to help
you create the projects that have inspired you. Remember, that you can shop both the
2009/2010 idea book and catalog - and the Holiday Mini Catalog 24x7 at my
website here. Why shop with me? Before I was a demonstrator I was a customer
and I like to look after my clients in the same way that I liked to be looked after :-)

Card recipe:

Card Stock:

Not Quite Navy, Sahara Sand

Designer Series Paper:

Bella Bleu

Stamp Set:

Asian Artistry (Hostess Level 2 set)

Embellishments:

Pretties kit - flowers (I used the Not Quite Navy ink from my classic ink pad and an Aqua Painter to color the flowers).  I also used the half pearls on each corner.

Inks:

Not Quite Navy stamped on Sahara Sand

Tools:

Circle Scissor Plus, Scallop Punch

As always, thank you for spending time in my little area of the blogosphere. Your visit is
always appreciated. If this is your first visit, please come back and visit again.

If you have any questions or comments on the card - leave and comment and let me
know.

Have a fabulous Wednesday - doing the things you love - with those that you love the
most. Remember, tomorrow's card is a Christmas card using the same sketch :-)

Peace and hugs

Jaydee

Asian Artistry - I'm so Sorry - Challenge Card

Hi Everyone - Happy Tuesday night.
I promised you Greenhouse Garden tonight... but changed my mind :-)  I wanted to show you this card made using the Asian Artistry stamp.  I am really loving this set.  Considering that I was really unsure about it..... it shows that going outside of your comfort zone and trying something new, really can bring you into different directions.  This card fits two challenges this week.  The Stamping 411.blogspot.com challenge 113 and I decided to use the color challenge from the splitcoast clean and simple design challenge to use only browns, with a little bit of red.  That proved more difficult than I could have imagined and really had to play around with different combinations, until I found the one I liked.  I actually loved the challenge of using just a small amount of red and thought that putting it on the birds wings, eye and beak worked really well.  I also used it for the sentiment, as I wanted it to stand out. 

I've tried importing this several times and I'm just not getting the warmth in the colors.  For those of you who know the SU colors - you will know that Creamy Caramel and Chocolate Chip are warm colors - but on the import they are showing a little cooler.  I kept with the warmer colors and used Ruby Red as the accent.  I loved the simplicity of the sketch and loved the challenge of working with only a brown color palette.  That and the image appealed to the very clean, zen lines that I love.

Card Recipe:
Card Stock: 

Creamy Caramel A2.  Chocolate Chip 4x4 3/8. 

Matt: 

Chocolate Chip 4 1/4 x 2 1/2. 

Image:

Asian Artistry stamped on Creamy Caramel at 4 1/4 x 2 3/8.  The image was inked with a Chocolate Chip marker and just the outer wing feathers, eye and beak in Ruby Red

Sentiment: 

Teeny Tiny Wishes, stamped in Ruby Red

Ribbon: 

Chocolate Chip grosgrain

I used stampin dimensionals on the back of the image to lift it from the card and give a little dimension.  In the end, I was very pleased with the overall result - especially as it's outside of my color comfort zone :-)

On a personal note .... I've had several responses to the music on my site - most of it positive... except for Sandycat.... Sandycat was sleeping peacefully next to his mother when mother decided to check out my blog.  On opening the page, apparently The Monkees were playing their signature tune.  (OK... stand up everyone who remembers the Monkees!!!!) - Sandycat was not at all impressed by my choice in music and apparently jumped up and hit her head on the venetian blind!  Oooopssss...... Jean feels sure that Sandycat now senses when she's about to visit my blog!  Others of you have enjoyed the trip down memory lane and as far as I know... none of you have complained about hitting your head on the venetian blinds after reading my blog! 

For those of you who may have checked out my playlist, you will notice that my music choice is exceptionally eclectic.  I can blame my first love of my live for that - he taught me to appreciate all kinds of music including blues, bluegrass, country, Cleo Laine, Pink Floyd and Stephane Grappelli.  His brother (Jon) taught me to love Motown and his other brother (sorry Steve) taught me NOT to enjoy Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull.  So spending time at their house was a pretty interesting time as they took turns in playing LPs..... OK... stand up those who remember LPs!  My music listening started to  blended with my love of The Monkees.... I was a Peter Turk fan - and still am - Davy was too pretty boy for me - although he was a cutie :-)  Today, my music listening stretches across almost everything except Heavy Metal, Punk, and Hard Rock.  Listening to Pavarotti can still bring me to tears.  So... now you know a little about my music background... and I'll give a shout out to AliBaba - a talented musician, who has created a family of musical children and to Jon - who has amazed me with his incredible film making.  Your Mamma would be so proud of you both.  Love ya both.

On that note - pun intended - hugs and peace to all of you.  I hope you find time to do what you love, with those you love - listening to the music that moves your life :-)
Peace and hugs,

Jaydee

P.S. You can check out Jon's site.  He's taken his initial love of martial arts and tried to recreate through documentary film the various lives and lifestyles in Asia - in a way that outsiders can get a glimpse into worlds so different to our own.  AliBaba - my first love from almost 4 decades ago..... wow.... that really makes me feel old....  is a very accomplished photographer himself... but he's taking FOREVER to get his site up and running.  you can check him out here and for heaven's sake Al... get this site finished :-)

Asian Artistry - Thank you

Hi Everyone... a bonus tonight... OK... I couldn't help myself..... the MojoMonday daily challenge number 4 - just screamed Asian Artistry.  This is the best Stampin Up hostess set I've chosen. 

I used it with the cottage wall designer series paper.  It's a really pretty layout, but challenged me to add more than I would normally do.

I hope you had a great evening.
Jaydee

Asian Artistry - Just for You

Hi Everyone - Happy Wednesday night.

So..... I know I thought long and hard about the hostess set "Asian Artistry".... but it goes to show you should push your comfort zone.  I've loved playing with this set - and am not finished yet.  :-) One more sketch for you tonight.  You may remember that I showed you a white and black version for my hubby's birthday and a much more feminine version for the PPA challenge.   For this version, I really wanted to make a strong statement using primarily black, red and white and play with textures.

urz plate for the background and wanted the bird to be really prominent.

• I used the new texturz plate for the background.  I really liked the way the lines of the texturz plate played off the bamboo.
•  I stamped the bird image using Black StazOn, I then used the piecing technique and stamped the bird again, using Real Red classic ink and coloring it in with brush end of the Real Red marker.  I carefully cut around the bird and mounted it onto the original image using a Stampin' Dimensional.     
• The image was stamped on Whisper White - always my go to paper when I want crisp clean lines. The sentiment is from the Teeny Tiny WIshes set...  one of my absolute favorite sentiment sets   
• The card is an A2 size used vertically 
• The first red matt is 3 7/8 x 2 7/8 
• The black matt is 3 3/4 x 2 3/4 
• The final red matt is a much thinner matt and is 3 1/2 x 2 5/8 
• I used Real Red grosgrain ribbon to finish it off 
• The stamp set is the Asian Artistry hostess set 
•  The sentiment is stamped in Black StazOn

On the personal front:  I'm finally off the pills and beginning to feel better - although I think it's going to take a few more days for them to work their way out of my system.  I'm hoping that I will be able to do some playing over the next few days, especially with my sneak peak products.  Tonight's post though will not be a card - but something using the decor elements.

As always, thanks for spending time in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.

Peace and hugs

Jaydee

Asian Artistry - Happy Birthday

Hi Everyone - Happy Monday.
It was my DH's birthday a week or so ago.  He's not really into the traditional "guy" things.... well... unless you count fast, red sports cars with names like Ferrari, Masserati or Lamborghini.  As I couldn't find a stamp that depicted those, I decided to do something a little different.  He's always been attracted to Asian art with simple clean lines.  I got the Asian Artistry set as a Stampin' Up! hostess set and thought that this particular image would work really well for the birthday card.  I stamped the image on Shimmery White card stock using StazOn.  I then water colored the bird in red classic ink.  To mimic some of the Japanese ink drawings, I color washed the image with Going Grey ink.  I left the sentiment simple, and made it a part of the central image.  A little velvet ribbon finished it off. 

I loved the black and white imagery, with just a hint of red and was pleased with the overall simplicity of the card.  Luckily he loved it :-)

Card stock - A2 (vertical):
    Shimmery White, Basic Black
Ink:
    StazOn, Real Red, Going Grey
Ribbon:
    Black Velvet
Stamps:
    Asian Artistry, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Jaydee tip:  to soften the edges of the StazOn ink, I washed it with Going Grey using an Aqua Painter, almost as soon as it had been stamped.  This allowed me to get a slightly softer edge than is normal with StazOn and I felt it was more reminiscent of the Japanese ink paintings.  Also, keeping the sentiment as part of the central stamped image, added to the clean and simple feel.

On the personal front..... I'm still having some problems with my neck, but the range of movement is coming back.  I'm weaning myself off the pills and I know it's going to take a couple of days for them to work their way through my system.  I still have many new toys to play with and can't wait until the next couple of days are over and my mind is back to it's normal self.  Mind you... there are those of my friends who would say that my mind has never been anything close to "normal" :-)

As always, thank you for spending time in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visit is much appreciated.

Peace and hugs
Jaydee

Asian Artistry - Best Wishes

Hi Everyone.  Happy Friday!  It's Friday.  WHOOOOOOO!
The Palspaperarts design team have released their 2nd challenge.  This time a sketch challenge.  My UPS man arrived yesterday with my box of new goodies from Stampin' Up ... thank you UPS!  Amongst my goodies was this new set.  It's a fabulous set - Asian Artistry.  It screams a "zen" layout, but I wanted to force myself to think a layout with just a little more.  I must admit, I was very pleased with the results. 

Cardstock:  Not Quite Navy (100867), Very Vanilla (101650)
Designer Series Paper: Bella Bleu (113974)
Ink: Versamark with Silver Embossing Powder (109131)
Sentiment:  Short and Sweet (my go to set!) (115060)
Embellishments:  Whisper White Satin Ribbon (114616); half pearls - Pretties Kit (109114)

I used an A2 size card cut from Not Quite Navy.
I cut the bella bleu DSP 4 x 4.3/4
I layered my front piece of Not Quite Navy (2 7/8 x 2 7/8) on a Very Vanilla square (3 1/8 x 3 1/8) and then again on another piece of Not Quite Navy (3 1/4 x 3 1/4)

I used the silver embossing powder for the image.  (I think this is going to be one of my favorite embossing powders, especially as we come closer to Christmas.  In fact...... I feel another Dasher card coming on:-)

On a personal note I'm really looking forward to my weekend and playing with my goodies.  I have some things to do around the house... although.... since I started stamping, it's amazing how less satisfying it is cleaning toilets and windows :-)  It's also my DH's birthday this weekend, so we are going to our favorite restaurant tomorrow.  The chef - shout out to Justin! - is a phenomenally talented young man - and is one of the few Chef's I've known who isn't intimidated by doing a vegetarian tasting menu.  So we are really looking forward to our dinner there tomorrow.  Tessa and her husband are fabulous people and have done an amazing job with their restaurant.  My mouth is watering at the thought of dinner tomorrow...

As always..... thank you for spending time in your day in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visit is always appreciated. 

Peace and hugs
Jaydee