Maple Syrup Monday with Catherine Pooler Designs

Hello friends!!  Colleen from Maple Syrup Designs and I are taking another look at Catherine Pooler Designs stamps and dies...and inks!!

I used the recently released Wonderful Wildflowers stamp set for my project today.  This stamp set has co-ordinating dies but I didn't actually use those today. I started by stamping many of the images with Versamark Ink and heat embossed them with white heat embossing powder.

I used Rose Petals, Peppermint Scrub and Skylight inks to blend some colour onto each image. The white embossing resists the ink.  I used a combination of Green Tea and Eucalyptus ink for the leaves.

I fussy cut each image out. In the end, you'll notice that I did not use the small red flower. Each flower comes with three layers: the outline, a full stamp which fills in the outline and one detail layer. To give a bit of interest to the flowers, I stamped the detail layer in the same ink I used to blend the colour.

After I fussy cut each image, I jazzed up the white card front using a light grey ink, a stencil with small polka dots and an oval mask cut out of a piece of typing paper and an oval die.

I stamped the "wonderful" word from the set in both the Peppermint Scrub and Rose Petals ink to create a soft ombre look.  I ended up fussy cutting around the word so I could pop it up off the card.

I adhered all the images with a combination of foam adhesive and liquid glue.

I added a bit of Clear Sparkle Overlay pen to the darker parts of the flowers.  It reacted a bit with the ink, but the effect is pretty.

I finished the card off with a few Sparkling Clear Sequins.

Thank you for stopping by today and I hope you enjoyed today's card!!

Until next time....stay crafty!!

Laurie

Maple Syrup Monday featuring Catherine Pooler Designs!

Hello and happy Monday!! Well, okay, are Mondays ever happy?? I have a card that will maybe cure the Monday blues...maybe.

For this month's collaboration with Colleen from Maple Syrup Designs, we decided to feature products from Catherine Pooler!! Colleen carries A LOT of this line including the all the incredible inks!!

I thought I would tie this post in with the 30 Day Colouring Challenge hosted by Kathy Racoosin! If you've never heard of this challenge, please read about it HERE. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this photo:

I decided to practice a bit of no-line colouring using this gorgeous feather from the Zen Feather Stamp Set and coloured pencils, or pencil crayons as we like to call them here in Canada:)  No-line colouring is not easy for me and this stamp is quite detailed so to make it easier, I ignored all the details while colouring and just used a white gel pen to add them back later!!

I also coloured the flower and tiny leaf image but did not like the way it turned out.  I admit that I rushed through it...I didn't end up using this on the final project.

I wanted to show you something that was kind of cool. Sometimes I will spray my images with a mixture of Perfect Pearls (in the Perfect Pearls shade) and water to give a real pretty sparkle.  I've never done it with pencils before. Since I knew I wasn't going to use this flower, I experimented with it.

Because I used wax based pencils, the water beaded up on the surface and I had to use my heat tool to dry it.  But it gave a very cool texture as well as shine!  I didn't do that to my feather but definitely want to explore that further!

I kept the card simple as I wanted the focus to be on the coloured feather.  

I used the Zen Feather Co-ordinating Dies to cut out the feather and also the zig zag border on the side of the embossed panel.  I totally went "old school" with the sentiment! I used Lawn Fawn Circle Dies and Scalloped Circle dies for that!!

A few clear sequins were enough to give a little sparkle to this card!!

I hope you like this clean and simple Feather Card today!!  And let me know if you are participating in the 30 Day Colouring Challenge!!

Remember to check out Colleen's blog for more Catherine Pooler goodness!!

Thank you so much for stopping by!!!!

Until next time...stay crafty!

Laurie

Maple Syrup Designs and Stamping Bella!

Hey!! Welcome back! Colleen from Maple Syrup Designs and I are back with our second post this month featuring stamps and dies from Stamping Bella.  As I mentioned in our last post, I'm new to this line of stamps but have fallen in love! These are some of the sweetest images, ever!

I used the Lyla Loves Leaves-Tiny Townie Cling Stamp Set and its co-ordinating die.  I decided to do some watercolour today as I really want to improve those skills!

I started by stamping Lyla in Versafine Smokey Grey Ink onto Canson Watercolour paper and embossed it with Clear Embossing Powder. I chose this particular ink because it stays dry long enough to emboss and also for the colour.  I felt black might have been to harsh.

There are a couple of leaf images in this stamp set which are very cute! But I wanted to change the theme a bit. I went through my stamps and found a balloon image in the Friends for All Seasons-all Stamp set from WPlus9.  

I thought the scale of these two images went well together.  I used a set of watercolour paints from Amazon to do the colouring.  I had a piece of left over paper that was stamped using a polka dot background stamp and decided to use it on this project. I wanted to make sure i used some coordinating colours.

I used the matching dies to cut out the images. I also decided to use the little speech bubble from the Friends For All Seasons set and stamped, embossed and die cut it as well.

I used a scalloped die from MFT to create a sky like background. I used the same watercolour paper and paints.  Everything was adhered using foam adhesive.

She is just so adorable!!

I love when you are able to mix and match your supplies as well!!!

I added a few Clear Sequins for embellishments and actually resisted the sparkle penned Glossy Accents :) !!

And just to let you know, THE WINNER of the Surprise Stamping Bella Set is on Colleens Blog!!!

Thank you to all who commented!! You're kind words and support mean so much!!

Until next time...stay crafty!!

Laurie

Maple Syrup Monday with Stamping Bella!!

Hello crafty friends and welcome back. Today is a new instalment of the Maple Syrup Monday collaboration with Colleen from Maple Syrup Designs! About a month ago, we decided to get together and create using stamps and dies that she carries in her shop!

Last month it was all about The Ton stamps. This month we are featuring Stamping Bella!!!  I have to admit that I am new to this company but wow, the images and sentiment are some of the cutest and classiest around!

My card today, features the Tiny Townie Huggy Friends stamp set along with the co-ordinating die. These stamps are rubber which are already trimmed and mounted on cling foam so they are super easy to use.

What is wonderful about these sets is that the packaging they come in have a coloured image on the insert.  Now, this is especially helpful because for someone like me, who does not have any experience colouring clothing, it gives a very helpful reference on shading and folds!!

I tried. I really did. But apparently I need much more practice, hahaha!  Nevertheless, this image was SO MUCH fun to colour!!  Thank you, Colleen for a new addiction!  I referenced the coloured image closely, just switched up the colours.

How adorable are those sweet girls?! And the sentiment just makes me go, awwww.

The matching die makes cutting the image out a breeze but even without the die, it wouldn't be difficult.  I added some sparkle with a Clear Sparkle Overlay pen to the large flower and the sash. And a few Sparkling Clear Sequins for embellishment!  I added a strip of pink polka dot paper to one side of the cardbase to incorporate another colour and foam mounted the image over top of the sentiment.

I adore this card and I hope you do too!!

Now for the fun stuff!!  Colleen is generously giving away one SUPRISE STAMPING BELLA stamp set to one lucky commenter.  

Prize, you say...?? Here's how to get your name entered to win a Surprise Stamping Bella Stamp Set:

First, we'd love to have you follow/subscribe to both of our blogs! Who doesn't love reading reading about crafty stuff? If you comment on both of our blogs, you have DOUBLE the chances of winning!  The draw will be random, so if you have won before, you are still able to win again!

We will announce the winner on May21st which will be our next crafty date!!  GOOD LUCK!!!

Thank you for stopping by today!! Can't wait to see you again!

Laurie

Watercoloring "The Ton" Stamps with Colleen Part Two and a WINNER!!!!

Hello crafty friends and welcome back to the second part of a collaboration with Colleen from Maple Syrup Designs!  A couple of weeks ago, we had our first post which featured The Ton stamps and watercolour. Today, we are continuing with this theme!

I would like to mention that Colleen and I have decided to make this a bi-monthly feature!! We will feature products that she carries in her shop and try to have a theme or technique in there as well!!

Okay, let's take a look at the card I created for you today!  The stamp set I chose to watercolour is Born Classy and I also used the co-ordinating dies.  I also chose a different medium to work with and it's also something Colleen sells in her shop!  I used the Catherine Pooler Inks Reinkers and they worked quite lovely!

I picked Bellini, Peppermint Scrub, Black Jack and All That Jazz to begin with but added Icing on the Cake as well.  I used Bristol Smooth Paper  and stamped the images with Versamark Onyx Black Ink.

If I did this card over, I would use watercolour paper as I used a bit more water than I had anticipated and found that the Bristol started to pill slightly.  I was a bit worried about the skin tone but the Bellini ink worked great! I used All That Jazz for the gown and Black Jack for the Purse. Her hair was coloured with Icing on the Cake.

These inks gave a very interesting look on this paper, almost like coloured pencil! I stamped one of the dress detail images in Versamark ink onto her dress and heat embossed it with Silver Embossing Powder.

Now, I tried to catch this as best I could on a photo.  The Versafine Ink was not completely dry so the embossing powder stuck to it.  I could have brushed it off before heating it but I actually liked the added shine!

Before die cutting my images, I stamped the Floral Border Background stamp in a light grey ink onto a white panel cut with the largest die in the Fancy Frames Die Set from Craftin Desert Divas(also available at Maple Syrup Designs and one of my most loved, most used die sets).

I foam mounted the images onto the stamped panel and adhered the scalloped panel onto a light grey card panel.

I stamped the sentiment with the same Versafine Ink and also added a few confetti images that are also in the stamp set.

So this didn't turn out in a traditional watercolour style but I really like it and plan to experiment more with the CP Inks!

I really hope you liked my project today, it was a lot of fun to make!!  NOW, onto the most important part of this post...THE WINNER of the giveaway which is the Large Peony 5 stamp set and dies from the The Ton!

I'm super happy to say that Carol was the lucky commentor on my blog! I will be contacting you soon and thank you for your lovely comment!!

Thank you for stopping in today!  Please stay tuned for our next installment which will be May7th featuring another amazing stamp company, you won't want to miss it :)

Laurie

Watercolouring The Ton Stamps with Colleen!!

Hi friends!!  Today I have a rather special post!  My friend Colleen from Maple Syrup Designs and I are teaming up to showcase stamps and dies from The Ton Stamps.  If you don't already know this, Colleen is the only Canadian retailer of this fab company!!

We will be posting twice a month using a particular company and try to incorporate a technique in there as well!!  We started this little collaboration to: a) Get some use out of products that may have not seen much love lately, b) show you some simple techniques and c) maybe introduce you to products that you have not used before!!

We are keeping this simple. We hope that you'll be inspired by something that you see here! There will be a giveaway too, so stay tuned to the end for the details!

For our first post, we decided to do some watercolouring!! I am no expert in this field and I don't watercolour for realism. I colour for fun!!  I think this is important to remember...have fun. Whatever you do will be beautiful!!

Let's take a look at what I made!!  I used the gorgeous Summer Blooms Stamp Set and heat embossed it with Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder from Ranger onto watercolour paper.

I actually embossed it 3 times to get this super puffy look!  On the third go, my paper shifted slightly and the stamping was off.  You can see this in the lower right leaf. I didn't think it was a huge deal so I just went with it!

I used an inexpensive set of Meeden pan watercolours from Amazon Canada. I usually use some sort of marker or pencils for my colouring so getting used to this type is a bit of a learning curve!

After the watercolour was done, I risked it by adding a few splatters with some diluted black paint and a Perfect Pearls mixture. Thankfully, it turned out ok!  I trimmed the panel using a stitched rectangle die and foam mounted it to a very light pink cardstock.  Note: this cardstock came from Micheals and is gorgeous! It's 110lb weight and comes in 3 shades of pink. This is the lightest of the shades and is almost a flesh tone. I'm addicted to it right now and already fear me running out!!

I partially stamped one of the sentiments from the set onto a tiny strip and heat embossed it using the same powder.  I strategically adhered it over a boo-boo:)

A few clear sequins finish this card!!!  

Thank you for joining us today.  Remember, our only wish is for you to hopefully get inspired!! I did link products to her shop but please note that these are NOT affiliate links. I just want to let you know that she has a beautiful shop with amazing customer service and carries some awesome products!!

GIVEAWAY ALERT:  Colleen is generously giving away a prize in honour of our little collaboration!  She will be giving away the Large Peony 5 stamp set and co-ordinating dies...WOW!! All you have to do is leave a little love on each of our posts and you'll be entered to win!  

The winner will be announced on April 23rd. This will also be our next blog post:)!

Please visit her blog HERE!! Also, if you are on Instagram, check out the hashtag #maplesyrupmonday. Even better, if you make a project with todays theme, show us! We'd love to see  it AND it will also give you an extra chance to win :)

Until next time, my friends...stay crafty!

Laurie