Tropical Birthday

Two cards I made for my husband's birthday (the big 4-0!). Both made using Penguin Pants stamps - unfortunately they've recently gone out of business :(


Stamps: So Many Sayings (SU), Aloha Paradise (Penguin Pants Stamps)
Paper: Whipser White, Old Olive cardstock (SU)
Ink: Basic Brown, Close to Cocoa, So Saffron, More Mustard, Old Olive, Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise, Blue Bayou (SU)
VersaMark (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Word Window Punch, sponges, brad (SU), White Glaze pen (Sakura),VersaMark pen (Tsukineko), heat tool (Marvy Uchida), clear embossing powder (Ranger), 1 1/2" circle punch (Marvy)


Stamps: Aloha Paradise (Penguin Pants Stamps)
Paper: Whipser White, Wild Wasabi, River Rock cardstock, Groovy Guava textured cardstock (SU)
Ink: So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Groovy Guava, More Mustard (SU)
Accessories: Mega Curved Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), CB (Provocraft), lime ribbon (Michael's)

Dino-mite!

A friend asked me to make some bookmarks for her daughter's birthday, which is going to be held at the Royal Tyrrell Museum (= dinosaurs). I didn't have any appropriate stamps, so went with some clipart. I was happy to find an image of the Albertosaurus, which was a dinosaur similar to the T-Rex. The first was discovered in Alberta, BC (the location of the museum).

Sorry, I didn't get any close-ups. You can click on the photo for a larger view.

I printed the dinosaur image and text on a laser printer, and then watercoloured with my blender pen. I was happy to find that the ink did not smear at all! I chose the colours based on this drawing. I think Sahara Sand is the perfect colour for dinosaur skin! It's grey with a touch of green. I masked the dinosaur to stamp the grass, and added a row of dots to fill in the bottom.

You can't see, but I used my JustRite stamper to create a customized thank-you message on the back. I also laminated one of the bookmarks for the birthday girl.

Stamps: So Many Sayings (SU), Around the Farm (Penguin Pants), Small letters (JustRite), Albertosaurus clip art (Arthur's Clipart)
Paper: Whisper White (SU), brown cardstock (Bazzil), green cardstock (unknown)
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, Sahara Sand, More Mustard, Really Rust, Going Grey (SU)
Accessories: Ticket corner, 1 1/4" circle punch, blender pen, hemp twine, jumbo eyelet (SU), Cropodile (We R Memory Keepers), small eyelets (misc), laminate film, Creative Station (Xyron), thick twine (unknown - from a clothing tag!)

Longing for a drink with an umbrella

The card says it all.
The sketch is from StampTV's sketch challenge, STVSC4. I decided to use the fun pineapple from Aloha Paradise. Doesn't it look yummy? I want to be on a beach right now, sipping an umbrella drink ;)

The colouring took the longest time, as I was trying some shading. To create the star accents, I simply inked the star (from the 'O' in the sentiment) with a black marker, and stamped them.

While colouring the coconut, I decided to over colour, so the paper would get too wet, and become distressed (you know how the top layer starts to come off?) because I thought it looked like a coconut husk! It's hard to see in the photo, of course.

I was thinking of adding some sparkle, but I just didn't think it would work with the colours.

Stamps: Aloha Paradise (Penguin Pants Stamps)
Paper: Whisper White cardstock (SU)
Ink: Summer Sun, More Mustard, Wild Wasabi, Close to Cocoa (SU), Noir Black (Palette)
Accessories: Blender Pen, black marker (SU)

Tropical Pastel Paradise

I wanted to make a quick card tonight (hah - more on that later) so I went to my source of inspiration: other blogs! I decided to combine Stamp Simply #77 (heat embossing) and Color Throwdown #32 (Pretty in Pink, Barely Banana, Regal Rose).

This started out as a single-layer card. I wanted to use the flip flops from Aloha Paradise, then decided on the sentiment. I embossed both, and then stamped the trees above the sentiment. I didn't like the layout, so I cut it up and added some simple cardstock layers. A few brads (I think they're actually Apricot Appeal, but they match much better in real life) finished it off.

Stamps: Aloha Paradise (Penguin Pants Stamps)
Paper: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Barely Banana cardstock (SU)
Ink: Pretty in Pink (SU), VersaMark (Tsukineko), pink (Precious Impressions)
Accessories: Scallop Edge punch, brads (SU), clear embossing powder (stampcraft), heat tool (Marvy Uchida)

I know, yet again, I'm late with the blog candy. It's coming, I promise! I'm just gathering a few things. Stay tuned.

Aloha Baby?

Since getting the set, I've wanted to use the flamingo in Aloha Paradise. The Mojo Monday sketch 76 was the perfect chance to ink it up!

I'd started out with colours based on a different ribbon (bright pink, orange, light pink), but they just weren't working. I'm trying to trust my instincts, and so I scrapped everything and started over.

I Googled photos of flamingos, and found that there are variations of colours. I thought Groovy Guava would be a good choice, so I stamped the image on watercolor paper and used my ink pads and blender pen to colour him in. I tried a bit of shading as well.

Rather than add extra layers with paper, I used the Labels Two nesties to emboss the edges of the main image and the Ginger Blossom paper. Don't you think the Ginger Blossom paper is perfect for the flamingo? I don't know what it is, but I knew I wanted to use it.

Okay, so after I finished it, I had the strange feeling that this would work as a baby card. Aloha can mean many things, "hello" being one of them. So if I added a simple welcome baby sentiment on the inside, do you think it would pass? I have need for a baby boy card, and this one could go either way.

Stamps: Aloha Paradise (Penguin Pants Stamps)
Paper: Very Vanilla, Soft Sky cardstock, watercolor paper, Ginger Blossom & Soft Sky DSP (SU)
Ink: Groovy Guava, Soft Sky (SU), Noir Black (Palette)
Accessories: Blender Pen, Soft Sky ribbon (SU), Labels Two Nestabilities (Spellbinders), CB (Provocraft)

So, I've officially passed 10,000 hits (which is crazy, because I passed 5,000 in November). Check back tomorrow for some awesome blog candy!

Tropical Sunset

Since I've been back, I couldn't find my mojo, so I decided tonight I would kick start it with a challenge: Zindorf style. Yeah, way to ease myself back into the crafts room! ;)

The wonderful people at Penguin Pants Stamps asked me to try out one of their sets, and I chose Aloha Paradise. A bit out of my normal style, but I love the images - and would love to be on a beach right now!

I started with Amy's Friday Sketch (AMYRS60) and grabbed my brayer and sponges. After playing with the brayer for a bit, this is what I came up with:
Don't you think this would make a great summer birthday card? Yum. I can taste the mojitos now.

Stamps: Aloha Paradise (Penguin Pants Stamps)
Paper: More Mustard, Ruby Red, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White (SU)
Ink: So Saffron, Only Orange, Summer Sun, Brilliant Blue, Basic Black, Pink Passion, More Mustard, Creamy Carmel, Tempting Turquoise, Yoyo Yellow (SU), VersaMark (Tsukineko)
Accessories: 1 3/8" circle punch, sponges, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip markers (SU), Floral Screen embossing folder, CB (Provocraft), clear embossing powder (Ranger), dew drops (Robin's Nest), VersaMark pen (Tsukineko), white Glaze pen (Sakura), corner rounder punch (EK Success), heat tool (Marvy Uchida)

I stamped the tree in VersaMark, then black, and embossed. Then I coloured with markers - trying a bit of shading - and then covered that in VersaMark using the pen, and embossed again.

Lots of brayering and sponging for the sand, water, and sky. I masked off the sun, and used my white Glaze pen at the surf line (I love how that looks!).

All of the above is all from Michelle Zindorf's blog/techniques. The rest of the card is fairly obvious. The only thing I couldn't work in from the sketch was the ribbon. Oh well, I'm very happy with how it turned out!

Penguin Pants (don't you just love the name?) have a wide range of styles, from fun, cartoon-ish drawings to very realistic, gorgeous images. Another personal favourite is Cheers. Can't you just see a yummy margarita, complete with salt (glitter) on the rim?

You may remember this card I did, featuring Around the Farm. See what I mean about cute images? I just want to squish that pig!

ps. Check out my blog counter. I'm almost at 10,000 hits!!! Look for a great giveaway to come as soon as the counter ticks over.